Built Ford Tough

If you could have your choice of any possible lottery result, what would you hope for?

Phenomenal game but I'm taking Luka's game last year in the bubble as more impressive considering he did it against two of the best perimeter defenders in the game in Kawhi and PG as well as guys like Morris who are no slouches there either. Add to that he hit the game winning 3 and the whole surreal atmosphere of the bubble made it more special to me. With that said, not to take anything away from Durant's game as it is one of the best postseason games I've seen in my lifetime. The way he controlled everything on both ends of the floor was nothing short of spectacular to watch. He was in such a zone that it seemed like nothing happened on the floor without him wanting it to in that second half. One thing that really bothered me from a Milwaukee standpoint was the fact that Giannis never once guarded Durant in that second half. Whether it was him not wanting to take the challenge or a coaching decision from Bud it was so stupid to see Giannis chilling in the corner on Joe Harris while KD was carving up his team. I get not wanting to put Holiday on him since he'd be giving up over half a foot in size but seeing former DPOY and multiple time All Defensive team Giannis chilling in the corner all half really left a sour taste in my mouth. No excuse for him not taking that assignment. Guys like Kobe, Kawhi, LeBron, Jordan, etc... would never let KD go off like that without taking their shot at guarding him, whether they failed or not, they'd have gone down swinging.

I don't necessarily disagree with his general idea that the quick turnaround from the end of the bubble to the start of the season has attributed to some more potential injuries, but I would like to know if injuries are actually up this season in comparison to previous seasons. I know the narrative is that they are but is that factually correct or just people running with a popular theme? In addition to that, how many of these injuries that have happened this year can be attributed to fatigue and not just general injury? I know Kyrie's injury has been used as an example but I'd like to think that injury happens regardless of a condensed season or not. Only so much you can do about players suffering injuries in the course of normal basketball plays. The other main complaint I have with his statement is that the he can claim that the players wanted to have fewer games and more rest, but would they be willing to sacrifice their pay in order to achieve that? I find it hard to believe that the players would be willing to give up even more salary by playing fewer games in the season. I can definitely see them complaining about how they have to forfeit even more salary if they cut the season down to 60 games. Can't have their cake and eat it too. The final thing I'll say is the line about how "if there's one person who knows about the body and how it works all year round is ME!" line makes him sound like a complete douchebag lol.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say you banned him more than once haha.

Don't think anyone is surprised to hear this. Who do you think would be the right coach to take over the Blazers and get them over the hump?

I'm going to say no and it's not because of LeBron but because of Davis. I don't have faith in him staying healthy and even if he does, he looks like a really old version of his New Orleans self. I think he won't be able to give LeBron the help that he needs as he winds down his career. He took such a steep drop off this year that I don't have any faith in the Lakers core going forward. It is a problem when a 36 year old, 18 year vet LeBron looks to be aging better than the 28 year old Davis who was supposed to take over the reigns for LeBron. Then not to mention the supporting cast just isn't up to par. I don't see this Lakers core winning another title unless they do some serious tinkering to the lineup this offseason. And even with tinkering what can they realistically do? Its not like they have cap room or valuable trade chips.

Nothing really insightful to add but it's crazy how much this past decade was dominated by two singular forces. I'm definitely excited for the next era of NBA basketball. As much fun as LeBron, raw, prime, grizzled vet, and the Warrior dynasty was to watch, I'm all for the new blood to take over.

Not just you, I can't either.

I like his defensive potential. I think he has potential to be an elite 3/4 swingman defender. I just don't see anything offensively that makes me think he develops into an 80 million player. As a Raptors fan I've watched him two straight years in the playoffs and nothing outside of his defensive game has stood out tp me. He is still young but I just don't see the upside in his game. Hes going to be a really good defender who is lacking offensively imo. I don't see the ball skills and general talent from him.

No. Not even close. Do I have to say more?

Who do you think are reasonable targets for them to find those complementary pieces to Dame? I think a guy like John Collins would be great for them but I'm not sure if Atlanta is looking to move him still and even if they are, what can Portland offer for him? But I agree with your general thought process that this team isn't built for Dame to lead them to a title. Just don't have the complimentary pieces around him to suit his game. Way too many one dimensional scorers.

I'm honestly surprised that there are a lot of guests that are lurking. That is encouraging. Any idea on how to make it worth their time to register though? That is definitely the question. I don't have nearly as much free time as I used to but I'm obviously down to help wherever I can.

Pretty simple question. I love Dame but at the end of the day do you think he can be the man on a championship team?

Obviously it's easier to predict it now after today's game but my original prediction was Clippers in 6 and I'll stick with that. I figured Doncic would have one game where he single handedly carries his team to a win, plus another game where they find a way to pull one out, whether it's through them playing really well, the Clippers laying an egg like they are prone to do, or some combination of both. I think Doncic is definitely the most impactful player in the series. Even though I still think Kawhi is the better player, Doncic obviously has to do so much more for his team and the Mavs stand absolutely no chance without him bringing his best every night. This is one of my most anticipated series though. Last years matchup was so much fun to watch. Seeing Doncic go up against the caliber of perimeter defenders that the Clippers have is so much fun to watch. I'm not saying its on the same level but I get Jordan going up against the Bad Boy Pistons vibes where you have an overmatched, budding MVP and all time great running into an elite team that will push him to his limit and, hopefully, enable him to get to that next level.

Yeah I definitely agree. Most of my online time is definitely spent browsing twitter or reddit on my phone and not on an actual computer. I can go days without actually opening up my laptop whereas back in the day I'd be opening it daily to check this site and similar ones. Would be really cool to have a board up and running like the old days but I'm assuming these are things of the past.

I like Mitchell but I'm curious what is his upside? I may be biased but I genuinely believe that this season was a one off of terrible circumstances for the Raptors and that they are going to be right back in that second tier playoff group next season, assuming covid has settle down and they are back in Toronto and all that. Because of that, I want to see the Raptors try and swing for the fences this year and find a player who could potentially put them over the edge. Is Mitchell that guy? Or is there even that potential guy in this draft if they don't have some lottery luck? From the limited amount of his games I've seen, I'm going to say no. I do love him as a tough, hard nosed, two way guard that I'm sure Raptor fans would love, but they have FVV and Flynn who both fill that mold, even if Lowry leaves. That said, I do think that Mitchell is the type of guy who would be very high on Masai and Webster's board. He definitely fits the mold of this current team. I wouldn't be upset with him at all but I also don't know if I'd be happy with the pick either. Mobley is the one who most intrigues me for this team. From what I've gathered he's a work in progress but considering the complete lack of any decent big man on this team I'd love it if they could find a way to get him on the team. I know he has some risks attached to him but I have complete faith that the Raptors development staff would be able to get him to reach his full potential and become a star. Obviously the odds are very slim that they'd be in a position to draft him though.

Funnily enough I had Utah as my dark horse title contender last season and they obviously didn't meet those expectations of mine for a variety of factors like Conley taking until this year to really look comfortable, Jamaal Murray going supernova in the playoffs, Bogdanovic getting injured and, in my opinion, a general lack of chemistry. Plus, I also found them to be too one dimensional on offense at times last season. This season they don't have any of those problems. Conley was obviously great and I think they play much better as a unit, which is evident by them being so good on both offense and defense. They've looked phenomenal this season and assuming Mitchell's ankle isn't a lingering issue I definitely think they are legitimate contenders. They have a diverse offensive attack that features a variety of threats, a go to scorer down the stretch and a defense that can shut down any team on any given night. Do I think they are going to win it all? No, I probably wouldn't bet on them if I had to bet on a single team but I do believe they are right in the mix with a handful of other teams that can win it all this season. They honestly remind me a lot of the Raptors team that won the 2019 championship. A suffocating defense, a variety of threats on offense, a solid 8 man rotation and a chip on their shoulder from past playoff failures. Obviously they don't have that X Factor in Kawhi where he can single handedly take over an entire series on his own if need be as we saw him do against the Sixers during the Raptors run, but I do think that they have everything else that made that Raptors team special.

Alright back before OTR/DH shut down I like to think of myself as the resident draft guru. In the time since the Raptors actually turned into one of the best franchises in the entire NBA and haven't been lottery bound (Bargnani trade to the Knicks aside, still a wtf moment if I've ever seen one) for 8 years I admit to have slacked off tremendously in the draft area. Well, that ends this year. We are back in the lottery boys! I admit to not knowing much about the draft class this year. The only player I've seen a lot of is Jalen Suggs due to my Zags fandom. So with that said, with the Raptors locked into the 7th best lottery odds after their loss to the Bulls tonight, now is the time to talk draft. Enlighten me on who you think are the best players for them if they don't get lucky and move up.

The tough thing to judge with this team is that their Big Three have played so few games together that it is almost impossible to get a read on them, both positive and negative. There is so little footage of them playing together that it will be hard to gameplan a defensive scheme to shut down their pet plays and what not. However, on the flip side, they also won't have that built in chemistry where they just know where everyone else on the floor will be at any given moment which is what makes it so difficult to guard teams that have that built in comradery. I'm not even going to bother mentioning their defense since we all know any team with Harden and Irving as the starting backcourt is going to be a revolving door on the perimeter, especially when you add in Joe Harris. They are obviously the most talented team in the East but if I had to put money down, I don't think they come out of the East, let alone win a championship. I'm not completely up to date on the standings but if the second round matchup is Brooklyn vs MIlwaukke I'm taking the Bucks in that matchup.

Jokic with Curry second. I honestly don't see an argument for anyone else. With that said, I'd be surprised to see Curry finish in the top 3 since his team will only be a play in team, despite the fact that he has been absolutely ridiculous this year. I'd argue that he is having a better season than his unanimous MVP year. Putting up comparable numbers and efficiency despite having a significantly worse supporting cast around him. This season of his won't get the acknowledgement that his unanimous MVP season did but hes putting up another all time great offensive season. Now despite that, what Jokic is doing is ridiculous, especially how they've continue to truck along despite losing Murray, who is not only their second best player and an all star caliber guy in his own right, but also their only other reliable creator on offense. I mentioned Curry having one of the best offensive seasons, but I think you can make the argument that Jokic is having one of the best offensive seasons we've ever seen as well considering the responsibility that he has for that team. Guys like Wilt, Shaq, Hakeem, Kareem etc... have all put up godly statistical seasons before but I don't think any of them were as much of a hub to everything that their teams did than what Jokic is for the Nuggets, especially without Murray. But yeah, Jokic by a landslide.

Can I get fired by UCLA, please? I'll be generouns and just take the $300K a year for 4 years and leave the $2.3M.

Speaking of progession, I'm really excited to see Paige next year. The improvements he made throughout the course of the season were great and I think he is going to have a superb season next year. I was a big Paige fan coming into the season and probably had too high of expectations for him to begin with, but his play at the end of the year was about what I was expecting from him this year. I think he is going to have a monster year next year and in the discussion for the best point guard in the ACC with Shane Larkin. Speaking of Larkin, huge 3 from him right there. Even if I'm at the point where I want to see all the higher seeds lose, part of me is pulling for the Canes simply because I really enjoy watching Larkin play. I really hate that you can't review that. The ball was clearly off of Kadji yet the refs can't review the call. Instead of Illinois ball with a 2 point defecit, it is now a two possession game with 35 seconds. Huge, potentially game deciding, swing all because the refs can't take a look at that.

It isn't just playing the 5, though. He struggled before Roy went small and put Hairston into the lineup. Granted, Joel James and Desmond Hubert are certainly no Tyler Zeller, but they enable him to play the 4 and not have to guard the other teams biggest player, but he still struggled with them as well. The problem really comes down to the fact he just doesn't have any real skill offensively. He has the body and athleticism that should create mismatches by taking bigger players off the dribble but when you don't have to respect his jumper, they can just sag off him and use length to keep him at distance like Withey did today. Then when he does manage to get by his man and get to the rim, his touch around the basket is pretty mediocore. I can't blame him today because Withey was obviously making him uncomfortable and rush his shots, but even when he wasn't going against elite defenders/shot blockers, he still didn't finish that greatly under duress. I'm not trying to say he sucks or anything, but he needs a lot of work to become a basketball player and not just an athlete who players basketball.

It actually makes sense. The Pens have a plethora of young defenseman. They have 5 defense prospects with a ranking of 7 or better according to hockeys future and also have Cornell's captain Nick D'Agostino and a guy by the named of Robert Bortuzzo who's highly regarded by Bob McKenzie. They dealt from a surplus in the pipeline to pick up a solid piece for their playoff run.

McAdoo has to be one of the most overrated players in the country. I can't believe I was so high on him coming into the season because, quite frankly, the guy sucks at basketball. He looks the part, but that is about it. He was a complete dud everytime UNC played any team worth a damn. Every game against a decent team that I saw this season, McAdoo was a ghost or in foul trouble. Call me crazy, but I like Brice Johnson heading into next year more than I do McAdoo, assuming he stays around, which I don't think happens.