2021-22 NBA "REGULAR" SEASON THREAD

Nets lose, Clippers lose (to Cavs), Lakers lose (to Thunder). You love to see it

Just put Jaden McDaniels on an All-Defensive team now. Absurdly special solo weak side defense. pic.twitter.com/wsABxTKWpI

— Tyler Metcalf (@tmetcalf11) October 28, 2021

Feel like things have changed for the cavs because of this guy. Amazing talent

Evan Mobley was incredibly dominant on defense tonight. He deterred and affect so many shots.

A sampling I promise is worth the watch: pic.twitter.com/Qs82fdYKGT

— Jackson Frank (@jackfrank_jjf) October 28, 2021

I like how bickerstaff has gotten the team to buy into the markannen small forward thing. It’s not optimal and they are just doing it because Love has two years left on his deal but they’re making it work.

you have to admire the triple towers if nothing else

That video is great. Dude just waits and waits and never over commits which is rare for a rookie.

yeah mobley is incredible

The rare rookie big who’s immediately impactful

I've seen Harden get his dribble picked out top multiple times this year after it happened roughly zero times in the previous decade. https://t.co/mnyXrNuc3D

— John Hollinger (@johnhollinger) October 28, 2021

he looks broken

in 5 games, harden's numbers so far:

16.6/7/8 on .359/.333/.933 splits with 4.6 turnovers a game

i know hes got a lot of shotmaking ability, but ive never seen someone go down to rule changes this bad

broken feels strong to me but he does seem to be lacking explosiveness... his first step is still quick enough where he can get by guys most of the time on the perimeter but he doesn't feel incredibly threatening once that happens. have to assume he's easing his way into the season but who knows. i feel like given what we know about what harden gets up to in the offseason maybe being on a team where everyone just knows going into the season that the first like 5 months or whatever essentially don't matter plays into his bad habits...

there's as many or more instances per game of harden scoring like james harden as there are him baiting for a foul and not getting it, it's all the in between stuff that is more puzzling, like you just haven't really feel his presence out there all that much. i think he needs to shoot more

prob some combination of rust being out of shape/coming off of injury and adjusting to the new rules, not a great place to start tho could easily spiral into being banged up and out of rhythm all year, feel like were also seeing a lot of guys struggling to care as much as they used to which of course is also a larger cultural phenomenon a lot of people are going through

excpet the heat who have come out vs the bucks and nets like they're in game 7 of the finals lmao

heat got embarrassed last year they seem hungry

adding lowry and tucker to jimmy and bam is like nuclear levels of “culture”

James Harden is 32 and his off court lifestyle is pretty debauched so maybe that’s part of what’s going on here

yeah. i don’t think he looks out of shape exactly just kinda sluggish and unengaged. i feel like they should involve him more as a shooter off the ball

lol harden moving without the ball... in 2021? not happening

he shot a catch and shoot three the other day for the first time in probably years

yeah i’m not even talking about him flying off screens but just like… spacing and shooting. but i guess if he’s doing that then what’s the point of joe harris

I have to say that as someone who thought harden would be a 6th man I do feel that there’s some evidence that the whole “James Harden thing” was mostly the corruption of NBA rules

thought he as supposed to be the best scorer of our generation

James Harden is 32 and his off court lifestyle is pretty debauched so maybe that’s part of what’s going on here

there's definitely a pattern in pro sports where great players suddenly turn mediocre in their early 30s and every time it happens people are shocked

not saying that's what's happening here, for all we know Harden is just using these early season games to see what he can and can't do anymore, but it wouldn't be unprecedented

in basketball at least barring injury it tends to be more of a slow decline for stars, like if harden was this bad all year it would be an unprecedented drop off

yeah this is a purely anecdotal theory but i feel like if you’re an all time level NBA guard who hasn’t suffered any sort of career altering injury you have a really good shot at being useful into your 30s. moreso than prob any other group of pro athletes just in terms of wear and tear, physical strain on the body

the suns look like they are on a finals hangover. but they arent old and proven enough to have that last very long. bucks are now in the zone where they turn it on only if they have to and some nights theyll get steamrolled outta nowhere. clippers are off to a very weird start... are they even a playoff team without kawhi?

the bulls start is cuet but theyre about to embark on a hellish three-week schedule

suns kings was a cool game and harry bs game winner was cold
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8aIEfTnWJo

nice shot

in basketball at least barring injury it tends to be more of a slow decline for stars, like if harden was this bad all year it would be an unprecedented drop off

― lag∞n, Thursday, October 28, 2021 2:58 PM (thirty-one minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

well if one star player was gonna suffer this kind of decline I'd wager it's a guy with an insanely high usage rate who takes a ton of contact who also happens to maybe not be in the best shape

ultimately I think Harden will be fine once he's used to the new rules but I don't think it would be that surprising if he wasn't

why is there no tnt double header

bc they got scared off by thursday night football

jfc

mb i will watch knicks bulls its a brave new world

yeah feel like it’s gotta be football. TNT did 2 games on tuesday night

i dont think its been an issue in the past. or they just havent cared. why not both nights ffs

Packers-Cardinals is the rare good Thursday night NFL game, the teams are a combined 11-1

What’s a Packers?

kemba is starting to crank it up

love kemba hes a great fit with the knicks who badly needed another guy who can put the ball through the ring

yeah their offense would be missing a major component without him. it’s the bulls defense so whatever but their starting line up of kemba, barrett, fournier, randle & robinson has pretty good spacing. kemba has been getting to the rim and either finishing or hitting robinson for alley oops/fouls pretty consistently

kemba is still really good when hes healthy, unfortunately celtics only got half a season of that

and an occasional five game stretch i guess

thibs is one of the most naturally bald men of alltime he has like 25 hairs on his head

i should not have to listen to joakim noah while im innocently watching a basketball game he is still so awful

hes wearing like a hand knit bucket hat

thibs is one of the most naturally bald men of alltime he has like 25 hairs on his head

― lag∞n, Thursday, October 28, 2021 9:23 PM (nine minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

it's the number one thing that makes him look like an actor playing a mobster in a silent film

lol