DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Tailgate Forum NBA 19-20 Season

Stealing your idea Vers, but news broke today that I wanted to chat about...

Bradley Beal contract extension: Five things to know about the Wizards star's $72 million deal

The extension includes a player option for 2022-23 and it means he cannot be traded this season

It's odd because I'd think he'd want off that sinking ship. Sure, it sets him up for the Supermax after his player option (10-year vet), but locking himself into more time with the Bullets seems like an odd choice. Maybe that was more Washington's bargaining chip. Meaning, we'll set you up for the supermax timing, but stay here at least one more year.

Also, and I'm surprised nobody has posted about it yet, but this whole China, Morey, Silver and Lebron thing is crazy complicated. Morey supported the freedom and justice side, but burned a lucrative financial bridge that Silver has to fix, if he can. And then Lebron steps in to criticize Morey, essentially telling him to shut up because he's costing Lebron and the league money, but forgets he's always championed himself as the SJW leader of the NBA (even tweeting MLK's words of standing up for what's right no matter the cost...but by crushing Morey, he's giving China a free pass while ensuring that China money keeps rolling in). Maybe it'll die down with the season starting and everyone having a gag order on the subject, but that was fascinating.

I think Dallas could be good this year.

My dark horse: Utah Jazz .. I think they’ve improved and they have two great guards

I could root for Utah.. in the end I will root for whichever team is competitive that DID NOT stack itself with superstars..

I don't think the China thing is going to die down quickly.. in fact I can bet that a month from now Kerr, Curry, et.al. who said they were too uninformed to comment will be asked repeatedly if they have had a chance to look into it and if they were ready to give an opinion..

And I agree with you, the problem is not, in a vacuum, the NBA's position (or lack of) on China.. it's the contradiction of their opinion on China with their opinions on all kinds of other SJ issues..

Utah is not a darkhorse. Everyone knows they are going to be good and are a legit contender

I'm adopting Pelicans.

eh, 7th best favorite ... and 5th best in the west

https://www.oddsshark.com/nba/odds/futures

Right. Not a darkhorse.

okay wrong term: not a favorite

I'm excited for the start of the NBA season. The NFL is turning me off w/all the rule changes, number of commercials, over-officiating, etc. I still love it, but the NBA seems to get how to evolve much better than the NFL.

Some storylines:

--There is no dominant team and there are a lot of teams who are viable contenders for the throne. I think that adds excitement to the league.

--Both LA teams are loaded. Both are probably in the top two or three who are favored to win the championship. Great players on both teams and a nice supporting cast for both.

--A lot of people are going to love the Lakers or hate the Lakers. That makes for great viewing.

--Philly looks like a really good team right now. I think Embid will be much more focused this year. It's said that Simmons has worked really hard on his outside shot. Horford gives them a guy who can hit the outside shot and block shots. They are going to be a fearsome defensive team.

--Zion should be fun to watch. He'll add a lot of excitement to the league, if nothing else.

--There are some dynamic duos. LeBron/AD, Kawhi/George, Harden/Westbrook, Embid/Simmons.

It should be a fun year. Looking forward to it.

I don't want to be right with this prediction, but he's the next Greg Oden. Dude is made of glass.

Your prediction is starting off correct...
Zion Knee Injury

The start of the Zion Williamson era in New Orleans will have to wait. The Pelicans’ No. 1 overall pick will miss a “period of weeks” to start the regular season because of a right knee injury, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Friday.

It’s not clear how Williamson suffered the injury, but on Thursday the Pelicans announced that Williamson would miss the team’s final preseason game Friday in New York because of right knee soreness. He will remain in New Orleans for testing.

According to ESPN, “a severe injury has been ruled out” and “there’s no shortage of confidence” on Williamson making a full recovery but the team is “clearly treating the injury with an abundance of caution,” Wojnarowski wrote.

Williamson suffered a bruised left knee after only eight minutes of summer league play and was shut down until the team’s training camp. His college coach, Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski, told Forbes that the 6-foot-7, 287-pound forward did not seem to be in shape at the time because of other demands on his time, and said that he shouldn’t have played at all.

AD
“I thought really he never should’ve played just because he’s been on this circuit of awards, the ESPYs, everything,” Krzyzewski said. “I don’t think he’s in the playing shape or the mental shape to play.”

Williamson averaged 23.3 points and 6.5 rebounds while playing 27.3 minutes in the Pelicans’ four preseason games. He received 68 percent of the preseason vote to be named rookie of the year in the NBA’s annual poll of general managers.

The Pelicans open the regular season on Tuesday in Toronto against the defending champion Toronto Raptors. Another NBA rookie — 28-year-old Italian Nicolo Melli — is expected to take Williamson’s spot in the Pelicans’ rotation.

He missed time at Duke, could only play one game during the summer league and they said his knee was bothering him and it would keep him out of the last preseason game. Maybe calling him Greg Oden isn't fair, but at some point he has to be able to play more than a few games in a row without hurting something.

Again, I hope he's okay because the league needs a fresh face like that (a guy built for banging on the inside and athletic dunks....not more threes).

Jc

He seems like such a freak athlete ... so large and explosive .. that his knees and ankles would be a risk for me, but who knows in the long run

You guys are buzz-kills.

https://www.thescore.com/nba/news/1860202

Zion’s knee is the buzz kill. Out 6-8 weeks after surgery. Oof.

And since this guy is so special and young, him playing at all this season should be in question. Say he’s 90-95% at 8 weeks for the Xmas day game, you playing him? I’d sit him an extra month no matter what.

Ugh, terrible news for him, the Pelicans and the league.

Hopefully this doesn’t become a pattern for him

Only commenting here because my daughter just had this exact same injury, and surgery on Aug. 1st.

Now, I know she's not a pro athlete, and didn't get any of the perk's a pro athlete got, BUT, she was non weightbearing for a minimum of 4 weeks. 25% after that, at 6 weeks, she was still on crutches, to doctors orders.

Just last week, 13 weeks after her surgery, she still said "I don't feel like I can run. Walking is fine, but if I do too much, my knee hurts.

Again, she's not getting the attention and doctoring and physical therapy a pro athlete would get. I understand that.

She's also not 6'7", 270 or 280 pounds, whose job requires putting huge stresses on her knees, day in, day out.

Sucks for him, as he was someone that had it all. Perhaps he will, but I'd be cautious with him.

j/c:

Really looking forward to LA vs LA tomorrow night. LeBron and AD vs Kawhi and Paul George. Two strong rosters w/a ton of guys who can play defense. It doesn't start until 10:30 EST, so I will probably have to record it. Should be a fun match-up.

Paul George is out for at least ten games.

JC

It seems like the NBA starts earlier and earlier every year. I get that they wanted to spread the schedule out more to accommodate for more off days, but October 22nd thru June 15 is a hell of a grind

I think it's smart that the league has reduced the number of back-to back games and has eliminated the four games in five nights atrocity.

There has been talk of reducing the number of games from 82 to 72, 70, and even 58 w/a mid-season tournament. Not sure how that would work economically or how it would effect the stat records that so many people are fond of?

Anyway, I think starting the season a tad earlier and giving players more time off between games is a wise move. I think Silver is a very intelligent and flexible commissioner and by far the best at his job in the major sports leagues.

No doubt that I agree they should eliminate the back to back games and the 4/5 nights ... but stretching the season so far is not good either IMO. I know why they won’t want to cut it down to 70 games (or whatever), but it would be far better in my mind

They tout themselves as the "progressive" and "players first" league, so they should do what's best for everyone (but the owners) and reduce the season length. I suppose that also hurts parking lot, concessions worker and bars/restaurants, but maybe more people show up and when there are less games to attend. Not sure.

I'm glad they're spacing the games out for less back-to-backs. I've been bashing that forever. Even good teams get rolled on the 2nd night, making the games almost unwatchable.

I'll be watching the progression of Sexton and the new rookies. I'm hoping Kevin can stay healthy so the Cavs can get a nice haul for him (I know he says he wants to stay, but I'd like to see him playing in the playoffs dishing full court passes). I'm liking the Bucks and 76ers, which I think the 76ers will come out of the East. In the West, I don't like the Clippers or Lakers yet. I think Denver is the team to beat.

I think it would be an economic challenge to reduce the number of games. Not only would you lose ticket sales, but think about all the concessions and merchandise that are sold at the games. An even bigger problem might be the TV contracts. There are NBA games on every night of the year. I don't think the networks and local affiliates are going to pay as much money for fewer broadcasts. Thus, if you are generating less money, how do you pay the players as much as you are now?

I think they want to reduce the number of games. I just don't know if it economically feasible.

They should just get money from growing the game in China. It's basically an untapped market. That would make up for the lost revenue from reducing the schedule.

This really replying to the situation in general, but is there a contractual agreement between the arenas and/or cities and the number of home games per season? That may also be an issue

I can't post the video because there is coarse language, but search "Richard Jefferson Talks About The Final Minute Of The 2016 Finals" into YouTube. Hilarious.

Brandon Imgram is an interesting player. He is very fluid. Quick twitch type of guy. Extremely athletic. Can score from inside and outside.

This is going to sound weird, but I think he would be better if he was just a bit more mechanical. It's almost like his moving too freely. I'd love to coach a dude w/that type of talent.

LeBron and the Lakers looking good.

Clippers are the better team, deeper.

I don’t think Paul George is great, but he’s going to make them even better.

Clippers bench straight kicked the Lakers’ butt

I didn't like the Lakers plan to bypass every free agent in the hopes of landing Leonard then and I like it even less now. With Lebron and AD, they have the best duo in the league but after that, it's like the Cavs roster. Sure, Green is good (I don't know if I'd say he's "very good") and Kouzma is out, but the Clippers had two legit starters coming off the bench. They have a complete team.

It's beating a dead horse, but the Lakers should have called Leonard, asked him to sign the day of free agency and said they'll move on to other plans the very next day. But, they didn't (which some speculated that Leonard drew out the process on purpose to freeze the Lakers out of the free agent market because he was going to the Clippers or staying in Toronto, helping his chances if he signed with the Clippers).

If the Lakers stay healthy and get the 4 seed, they might prove out okay in the playoffs because starters play a bulk of the minutes. However, that Lberon/AD duo has to make it there carrying a heavy load. With Lebron being hurt last year and AD always having a few injuries each year, that could really hurt their seeding.

I think they need Kevin from us, but they have nothing to trade. All their firsts are already in the hands of the Pelicans and there's nobody we'd want from their team. Not sure what else they can do (maybe their only move it to wait for an Iggy buyout, but the Griz have said that's NOT happening for free).

their bench dropped 60 points last night. ouch.

always been a lebron team issue. I wasn't surprised about the result last night. If PG played then TNT would have regretted putting that game on. I think its funny that teams still think Howard can play. Injury to lebron or AD for any amount of time and its a lottery team. Clippers are strong candidates to win the west. Coaching will be their hang up.. Rivers is slow to adapt sometimes. But having Leonard will make his job easy

I disagree w/you about the Lakers roster. I think it is a very good roster and that they will be in the mix to win it all.

I'll take that bet. Lakers don't have the depth to handle 82 without a perfect storm. Lebron/AD will be fun to watch until one of them gets injured..crazy to still see lebron bringing the ball up. But Lakers bench is full of streaky players. Don't get me wrong, they could all get hot and make a deep run, but i just don't see it. Until lebron realizes the team would be better running the offense through him instead of him initiating, its going to be the same story. His game hasn't evolved like MJ's as he got older. I do think the west will be alot more fun to watch than the east this year. Not a single team in the east excites me

Ingram is awful and a team killer because he's only able to play with the ball in his hands. He can't do anything unless he has the ball in his hands. He will drag the Pelicans down.

Where was the Lebron that had all off season to rest his body?

Clippers are going to be class of the west. Kawhi is so good.

And they didn’t even have PG last night

Magic favored by 9.5 tonight. I'm not one to put money on games, but if I were, I'd put a load on Orlando covering. The team looked like a mess in the preseason.

Oh well, I hope Garland has a good night (and Kevin, try not to get injured).