Odin

this quarter they are bogging down.

Like what I am seeing.

Yep, offense looks on point and staying in front of his man on D.

http://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/2017-nba-predictions/ fivethirtyeight currently gives us a 49% chance to make the playoffs, and estimates that our record will be 38-44.

While we should not be overly concerned by the losses at the beginning of the preseason, on the same note we should not place too much weight on the performance in the final preseason game. If preseason does not matter, then preseason does not matter. Wait until a few regular season games are played before passing any verdict.

Just being snarky- and I agree that they shouldn't be off partying the night before a game, but we also shouldn't pretend it doesn't happen. And I think you are being very hyperbolic about the off-season. Players don't have half a year to not think about basketball. Players use the off season to practice and gain new skills, refine old ones, and improve their conditioning and strength. They are also often involved in various charity and basketball related outreach programs, healing up from nagging injuries, and, of course, relaxing and having fun.

Wait, you are telling me these are young men that like to go out and have fun and are not basketball playing robots who concentrate on Basketball 24/7?

I am worried that Skiles made him overly conscious of his performance, it often looks like he is thinking too much on the court.

This is pretty funny (magic at the bottom). https://theringer.com/whose-nba-team-is-this-anyway-part-1-1c55670f4fb5#.udy2zrou1

I am going to try not to be worried about some of these guys until about 20 games into the season.

Payton looks like 1 strp forward 2 steps back from the box score. 4 turn overs, ouch

I'd be interested

I think you have to consider size, as guards tend to be smaller and faster while needing less energy to jump. I wonder how his lateral agility stacks up against Kawhi Leonard who might have the best lateral ability in the league, though that might be as much about hip fluidity and instincts as it is speed. The scary thing is he came into the league being able to already jump 40 inches, and he is still getting better. If we took all of the greatest athletes ever in the league at their peak, I wonder how he would match up. Is he equal to 2009 Dwight?

Yep, loved the article. It raises the question, where does Gordon rank compared to other freak athletes in the NBA? NBA players on a whole tend to be absolute athletic specimens, so it can be hard to pick the cream of the crop. Still, I think he might be the most athletic guy in the league right now, with his size, speed, hops, and lateral ability.

Defense is looking generally good. Need to work on the other end.

Mario is passing well. Still needs to tighten up his handle.

The real issue is that there is no payoff. I can't even get myself to watch more than 10 minutes of a magic preseason game. If they are down by 20 do I really care if they are able to come back and win? If they are up by 20 is there any real excitement? The win doesn't matter, nor does the loss. Teams aren't playing their normal line ups, teams still have players on them that won't even be on a team in the regular season who are getting minutes. It is still somewhat awesome if, for say, some rookie dunks on Lebron, but at the same token, does Lebron really care about the result here? Is it anything like when he is playing at high intensity where he would take such an act personally? Preseason is just glorified scrimmages where coaches can try out their new tactics and ideas, where different line ups can be tried out to see if they work, where players can get themselves into game shape, and where fringe guys can make a statement on why they deserve a spot on a team.

Sounds reasonable. I still think it is a good idea to have gordon play the 3 for at least a good portion of the season, as it could really help his development. And I love the idea of being able to roll out super big and athletic lines to annoy and wreck opposing teams, even if it later becomes something done occasionally instead of as a main line-up.

I saw this and want to listen to it. I have to say that JJ has always come across as very intelligent and well spoken. I would not be surprised if he went into broadcasting after he is done with the NBA (I guess the podcast is already a step in that direction) where he would undoubtedly be better than most of the former players that are hired. Anything good said during it?

Yeah, and I think this is a lot like peer pressure. It is easy to shrug off spending more time practicing when only one or two guys are putting in the extra work. If almost everyone else is doing it, it is a lot harder to walk off the court thinking to yourself "yeah, I put in enough work". On the other hand, there is such a thing as overdoing practice.

https://theringer.com/the-completely-absurd-and-definitive-guide-to-nba-free-throws-f8e58b1ea29f#.6xsm4wgni According to The Ringer, Dwight Howard is the worst free throw shooter ever because he is Dwight Howard and Nick Anderson had the most devastating free throw misses in NBA history.

It is really hard to tell what our team is going to look like when three of our starters have been out these two games.

Hopefully he is back this season. Foot injuries are bad.

So it sounds like Bosh is really retiring. It sucks that a player has to go out like that, he seemed like a good guy too who took a lot of undeserved heat when playing with Lebron and Wade. Is it just me, or are a lot more athletes being struck by blood clot issues over the past few years?

I understand. It just goes to show that the main NY teams (Yankees, Knicks, Giants, Rangers? (I think that is their more popular hockey team)) don't really have much incentive financially to win as they can fill up a stadium and charge ridiculous prices while having crappy teams. Even the secondary teams can get away with a lot of that. Meanwhile, smaller market teams have to have good teams to have decent ticket prices and fuller arenas. That isn't to say that they don't want to win, but the owners win financially even without winning on the court.