2022/23 NBA REGULAR SEASON THREAD "TANKING FOR WEMBANYAMA"

can't decide if harden taking credit for maxey's development or being "fond of" jabari smith jr (????) is the funniest part of this article

the whole thesis is weak but yeah it really struggles under the weight of the james harden great mentor theory

if i had to guess based on this article thats clearly sourced from hardens camp id say that hes trying to get philly to max him out, but he might be open to going back to houston who knows, the thing that really makes no sense is houston wanting him back, they would have to be insane and maybe they are

― lag∞n, Wednesday, March 1, 2023 12:01 PM (twenty-one minutes ago)

i think the leverage angle certainly has to be part of it. but if harden turns out to be a guy who prioritizes lifestyle over ring chasing i wouldn't be shocked.

also i feel like the unstated part of all this that would never come up in an article so obviously sourced from harden's circle is that he left a franchise that catered to his every whim including stuff like him flying to vegas to party in between games while the rest of the team goes to the next city. he went to a franchise where several other players were prioritized over him & pouted his way out of there and is now in a situation where he's the second fiddle who will likely shoulder all of the blame if/when they lose in the playoffs. if he was daydreaming longingly of being back in a situation where his actions have little to no consequence, i wouldn't be surprised. nor would i necessarily blame him!

from the rockets POV i think they really are just insane. there's been enough public discussion from credible reporters that -- between owing picks out to OKC and having three straight seasons (including this one) of winning 20 games or less -- they want to push for respectability asap that i believe they'll make a run for harden.

it really has the feeling of a chaotic relationship between two ppl where they break up and all their friends are like "finally" and then they start to hang out again and everyone is like "oh my god no" and can just see the inevitable reconciliation in the distance

lmao yeah im willing to accept the idea that were just dealing with crazy people here theres certainly evidence to support it, but the article does make a big point about philly being able to offer more money and that the money is very important to harden, and its safe to assume thats coming straight from the horses mouth, so i do think thats what this is all about, but! if philly is unwilling to offer him the full max could he end up back in houston, yeah it does seem possible, god help them

morey on the verge of totally destroying another team with huge all in moves makes you think

philly out in the second round again, harden goes to houston, embiid demands trade

of course thats only the worse case scenario, just losing harden would be bad, as would resigning him

philly out in the second round again, harden goes to houston, embiid demands trade

― lag∞n, Wednesday, March 1, 2023 12:52 PM (twenty-six minutes ago)

zach lowe was talking openly about this on a podcast just last week. "if you don't think other teams in the league are eyeing this exact situation you're crazy" etc but i personally find it hard to believe embiid would pull the trade lever that quickly. he still has 4 years left on his deal... i can't imagine him being in philly for anything fewer than two seasons after this one.

i do think it's feasible that harden would walk away from more money from philly if things go poorly in the playoffs and he gets blamed for them losing. he's made enough money that he doesn't have to sign up for a toxic relationship w/ the most loony fanbase in the NBA just for an extra $50 million or whatever the difference would be between the max offers from each team. but maybe he would just take the money. i guess we'll see

the situation where philly fans and james harden are in lovey dovey mode after the conclusion of the playoffs seems least likely to me...

Anthony Davis out tonight, guess the Lake Show has given up

embiid straight up for mitch rob, who says no?

mitch rob

the situation where philly fans and james harden are in lovey dovey mode after the conclusion of the playoffs seems least likely to me...

― J0rdan S., Wednesday, March 1, 2023 1:25 PM (nine minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

idk think he would have to play noticeably bad, obvs a very real possibility, for them to really turn on him

shd be noted to that his new more deferential style of play makes a classic harden playoff flameout less likely

of course him reverting to old habits in playoff crunch time would be the most beautiful thing

and embiid lives another year someone how avoiding the choker tag

shd be noted to that his new more deferential style of play makes a classic harden playoff flameout less likely

― lag∞n, Wednesday, March 1, 2023 1:38 PM (one minute ago)

less!? he took one shot in the second half of their final game last season and was like "yeah idk the ball just didn't get passed to me not sure what i was supposed to do"

do people here think he's a choker? when I see Philly in the playoffs he's usually one of the only ones having a decent game, or he's too injured to really play. I think you could win a title with him as a main guy, Harden maybe not

hes had a lot of bad fourth quarters in the offs

less!? he took one shot in the second half of their final game last season and was like "yeah idk the ball just didn't get passed to me not sure what i was supposed to do"

― J0rdan S., Wednesday, March 1, 2023 1:42 PM (one minute ago) bookmarkflaglink

tbf the classic harden flameout involves missing a ton of threes, tho maybe just not taking any is his new style

behind a paywall but doesn't sound good

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2023/03/01/ja-morant-punch-teen-laser/

one of the great nba what-ifs: if kawhi's shot rimmed out

yeah but it was still only the second round

behind a paywall but doesn't sound good

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2023/03/01/ja-morant-punch-teen-laser/

― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Wednesday, March 1, 2023 2:13 PM (six minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

de paywalled https://archive.ph/k4dWe

one of the great nba what-ifs: if kawhi's shot rimmed out

― avatár the way of watár (voodoo chili), Wednesday, March 1, 2023 2:16 PM (six minutes ago)

the answer to this "what if" is actually not that interesting or illuminating: they would have played overtime

why is ja like this

do people here think he's a choker? when I see Philly in the playoffs he's usually one of the only ones having a decent game, or he's too injured to really play. I think you could win a title with him as a main guy, Harden maybe not

― frogbs, Wednesday, March 1, 2023 1:42 PM (forty-two minutes ago)

i don't think embiid is a choker... he's never "choked" in the way we use that phrase. but he has escaped criticism for the entirety of his career despite being an undisputed top 5 player in the league who has never played in a conference finals.

personally i think you can win one 7 game series against any team in the NBA w/ embiid as your best player. but can you win four straight 7 game series w/ him as your best player? that is what i'm skeptical of

one of the great nba what-ifs: if kawhi's shot rimmed out

― avatár the way of watár (voodoo chili), Wednesday, March 1, 2023 1:16 PM (sixteen minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

Giannis 2x NBA MVP

sorry I meant NBA Finals MVP

ja seems to make really dumb decisions

from the sound of it, i'd say ja hasn't accepted the idea that his celebrity status, wealth and privilege protect him, and he is still (mentally) living in a violent world where aggression, threats and your posse are your primary protection, maybe because it feels like the safer, more trustworthy approach to life as a young black man in the USA.

they should have zbo talk to him

the full article is less bad than the headline, tho it doesn't exactly disprove aimless's theory

it's not like he killed anyone but it's like running up on people at finish line in the mall? punching a 17 year old over a pickup game? part of me thinks he's got 2pac syndrome tbh

^what i'm getting at

they should have zbo talk to him

a v good idea. zbo has credibility on this.

get this fucking loser ja outta here man, fuck that guy

basically if you have one zillion dollars you should not beat up teens and threaten playgrounds with guns this should not be hard unless you got extracurricular stuff goin on or brain problems

yeah its behavior that nba players mostly manage not to do, hope he cuts it out

how many times does ja have to act like a bad dude before we call him a bad dude. i know he flies high but i'm ready to call him a heel rn

hes too nice sorry

hes def toeing the line here, we can only hope he tightens his inner circle and gets rid of his childish ways and puts this lifestyle behind him. he has the potential to be one of the faces of the league for a decade+ if he can figure it out.

KD playing in shortly here. nice game to come back to vs the neutered hornets

i mean ja is gonna end up in prison if somebody doesn't get in his ear and tell him bro you have one zillion dollars just chill

i don't think he's a bad guy. beating up a teenager over pick up game beef is a shitty thing to do but ja is not very far removed from being a teenager himself. the gun stuff is a different story for obvious reasons but one gets the sense that there are v important ppl in ja's life who perhaps are not acting as the most responsible guardians of his career & future

now whether he's a heel on the court & w/in the context of the NBA is a different question. the grizzles as a team seem to be rapidly headed in that direction

there’s a pattern of unquestionably sociopathic behavior at this point, not great

this green hue on the hornets court is an abomination

is it sociopathic behavior, or just street shit? calling him a sociopath feels like painting with a very wide brush