NBA 2020-2021 THREAD

So, from your team's perspective, how do you think they should approach this season? Starters? Rotations? Focus on which aspect of the game? How do you think they'll do?

As a long time Laker fan, I think they should give both AD and LBJ a LOT of rest. Maybe play them in the low 30s most of the time and maybe a little more against the better teams. Give your backups as much time as possible and see which rotations work well together. They can easily go 10 deep and best most teams. Focus should be on the defensive side of the ball.

Lakers will clearly be in the mix. I see the Clips and Bucks and maybe the Nets (but not sure about them) as challenges, but injuries are always the big unknown. There are going to be a couple of teams that mesh well and will surprise. Who do you think the candidates will be for overachievement? Portland maybe? Raptors?

 

Teams that went further into the playoffs, I’d rest their big names a bit more. Shave a couple minutes off here and there where I could because they didn’t get much of an off season.

 

As a Lakers fan also (and a somewhat marginal LeBron fan although I have utmost respect for him) I think there's a bit of danger letting him and AD rest too much.

For AD, we don't know how he'll handle success yet. We have decades worth of dedication from LeBron to know where he'll be mentally, but AD it remains to be seen. For LeBron, he usually starts slow in the best case scenario, I think with the amount of turnover this past offseason it's important to not wind up in a Clippers situation where you realize too late that you haven't gotten enough work in with the new guys.

I believe, barring injuries, the Nets are going to be a serious threat to anybody. The Clippers will be much better when it matters, and Atlanta is my pick for overachievement. That's a dangerous team full of shooters...

 

For sure and it's going to take some work. I would think that about 30 minutes per game would be enough, but I guess that's why Vogel is the coach and I'm not. I'm more worried about AD's minutes because of injury. He seems to get dinged up and I'd like to minimize that risk. It's gonna take some time to jell and they've been pretty inconsistent so far. Let's see where everyone is at the halfway point.

 

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edit: Now, I don't know what's happening.

 

Wait, Kyrie ain't in this deal?

This has a real good chance of being hilarious. All three of them have some really hilarious soft spots.

 

"Now Kyrie, as the third option on this play I want you to stand in the corner in case Kevin or James decides to kick the ball out"

 

Harden and Kyrie are going to fight over who the first option is on a team with Durant.

 

Glad everyone is having a good time. I don't want to necessarily watch the Nets, I just want to read the news.

 

Cavs even after this trade are gonna be meh. It will be a while before they are relevant again.

Glad we got 1

 

I'm glad we (Lakers) got 1 too.

 

Ya'll collect rings like they are ring pops!!!

 

Kyrie is going to need to show up to some of these games before any hilarity ensures. I'm very curious as to how any of this is going to go down. What a locker room this'll be

 

They're an exciting young team though. Just need to deal Love and a couple of the other vets

 

I wonder if they have to end up trading Kyrie....

 

Weak.

I truly believe Harden is one of the most overrated players in NBA history. He's figured out how to manipulate and trick the game with flopping, walking and a whole bunch soft whistles to bail him out of horrible shots. It's preposterous to even mention him in the same breath with Jordan, Kobe or Wade, especially after what he just pulled to escape HOU.

Speaking of, let's see now that's Dwight Howard, Chris Paul, John Wall, Westbrook & DeMarcus Cousins, not to mention the role players he's had in HOU too. Hell they even got him "Lin-sanity" at it's height and gave Carmelo a shot smh. Only to jump under KD again along with Kyrie? How many All-stars has he played with now? You still can't win???! At what point will it be Harden's fault when this also doesn't work?

There's not one leader amongst those three. Not one. And sure they could win a bunch of games and make the playoffs and maybe even the Finals. But they will NOT win a championship as currently constructed. Mark my words....

 

Hawks are wasting no time in being terrible.

 

Didn't they start out pretty strong and slipped lately? I could see them "possibly" sneaking into the playoffs.

EDIT: They're in 8th in the east; 1/2 game up on Miami.

 

Got love and respect for Luka's game, but man, he's got to get his emotions under control. He's the biggest crybaby this side of DeMarcus Cousins, Draymond Green, or dare I say, the King himself.

I can't count how many times the ball goes right past him in transition while he's busy complaining to the refs. But last night was a different level when you start showing up your coach. Carlisle isn't some nobody, he's a champion and one of the best in the league. Especially with some of the egregious defense on display from Luka throughout the game, he didn't need to pout like that...

 

With five straight loses, Knicks back to being the Knicks.

 

Is it too early to start thinking about the draft? lol

 

Not sure why I venture in here for "understanding" sometimes but I need help with this. Right on cue, Kyrie, the ready-made scapegoat, is already getting disrespected as the third wheel albatross that will kill the Nets aspirations for titles and glory and whatever else.

Ok. But how is it that we use stats to back up who we like and ignore them to persecute who we don't?

When it comes to LeBron or MJ, I hear stats all day. Before he died, I heard Kobe stats all day too, except for the ones that went against his narrative, y'know like how he has the most assists at the SG position in league history. Yeah.

With Harden though, not so much. And if we look at the stats, he's not a better shooter, FG, 3P or FT, than Kyrie is for their careers. And takes worse shots to boot, so again I ask, how or why is Harden better?

I've seen Kyrie do it at the highest level in three consecutive closeout games. I've seen him hit one of the biggest shots in Finals history. Has anyone seen Harden do any of this yet? Is winning not the ultimate goal?? If it is, I want to at least respect the winner. Kyrie's a lot of things, but he's also a champion, something Harden has failed to accomplish. When will that matter....

 

I actually like Kyrie. He's the Marshawn Lynch of the NBA.

He just does his own thing while being aware of what's going on in society....and this is the reason why he gets vilified by the media; his actions (on a surface level) easily fit into the narrative of a crazy, selfish, and spoiled NBA player.

 

What do you mean? He doesn't speak about social problems and all?