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

OKC competed well up to All Star Break, but they've lost five on the trot since. They've lost Kenrich Williams for the season, SGA has had minor injuries/health protocols, while trading Muscala for Saric was probably a downgrade in the shortterm.

It's probably in their interests to try to grab a top 8 pick now, rather than compete for the play-ins.

are there 8 really good prospects this year or was top 8 just arbitrary

Just seems about where they'll end up. There's a clear bottom 4 (Houston, Detroit, Spurs, Charlotte) who'll be difficult to catch even with a shameless tank, but OKC will probably end up somewhere in the next bunch with teams like Orlando.

idk seems like okc just needs to play and compete.

yeah okc has a lot of guys really + chet on the way, they won't have a way to pay all these second contracts eventually. they're ahead of schedule so might as well start sorting it out and figuring out what to do with their mountain of assets

Giving newer fringe guys like Ousmane Dieng, JWill, and Tre Mann lots of playing time seems like the most productive thing for OKC for the rest of the season.

getting into the play in and seeing how the teams hold up under pressure should be the goal imo

get some momentum going into next season

yeah idk nothing wrong with taking one more swipe at the lottery but they are 10th in SRS thats usually a playoff team

OKC were poised for a run at the play-in, but losing those 5 consecutive games in quick succession has made that path tricky.

They lost to the Jazz in overtime, but then had the Kings twice and the Suns.

They're looking increasingly bereft of height without Kenrich, Muscala, Poku, and Holmgren.

just seems like this is the third season in a row theyre shutting down sga, just play lol

re: the lakers it seems cosmically inevitable that they beat the wolves on the back of a huge dlo performance

dont think okc should burn out their star so they can get smoked in the first round

hes 24 and needs reps in games that matter imo

if hes actually hurt thats another story

yeah if hes banged up or fatigued or whatever fine otherwise let it rip theyre prob not going to get a great pick anyway

Luka and Kyrie both ballin

Maxey cookin now

Hardens first step seems to be gone. He looks even more out of shape than normal too.

crazy hes only 33 has never had a major injury and has been like this for a few years

bodies are weird, they can be amazing at some things while being bad at others. i saw harden in person and i don't think he's out of shape per se, it's that his body doesn't support quick twitch explosion at this point

not sleeping for ten year could have something to do with it

Yah just bad habits caught up to him I think.

he’s not out of shape he’s just quite literally lost a step. everyone loses quickness, some guys can compensate for it (many would argue harden currently is)

idk if hes out of shape but hes def heavier than he was five years ago

horrible loss for the clippers tonight

Warriors flipped the switch three games in a row

Russ tanking another team you hate to see it. They had looney guarding him to start the game lol. Not even looking his way.

Draymond Green's defense on Russell Westbrook 😳 pic.twitter.com/69ZGFZnucA

— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) March 3, 2023

Might not see another stretch as epic as the Jalen McDaniels run the rest of the decade pic.twitter.com/XK7KBoO2OF

— Andrew Unterberger (@AUgetoffmygold) March 3, 2023

oof haha

Thybulle wasn't anything to write home about, but at least he played defense and sometimes had a positive +/-. McDaniels has been a complete non-entity and has made their bench even thinner.

It seems like Harden still has the first step/moves to get by the first man, he just doesn't have the hops/quickness/strength anymore to finish at the rim when challenged by a second man. He gets blocked on drives a lot now instead of finishing and getting fouled.

the last time I watched him he seemed to be obsessed with doing tricky bounce passes

Yeah he really loves these little no-look bounce pass dump-offs

he is a great passer tbf leading the league in assists

hes still very good but philly could use a guy who can just go and get a bucket which doesnt really seem to be him anymore

if he cant do that is he really good? also maxey can do that

he’s clearly still pretty to very good in the regular season. but that’s a separate conversation — i can’t tell which one we’re having

welp

ESPN Sources: Orlando Magic F Jonathan Isaac underwent season-ending surgery today to repair a torn left adductor muscle. Brutal setback for Isaac, 25, who played only 11 games this season after missing two years with a torn ACL. An MRI revealed the adductor injury on Wednesday. pic.twitter.com/nkPMfszXPI

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 3, 2023

wtf

praying for him

injuries suck : (

speaking of which, still no communication from the team on KAT's status. he's not practicing right now....I think something is up, I don't know if he's going to play this year.

getting to that point where they need to shut him down or set a date

long past imo

the nets should consider putting the ball through the hoop-ring just a thought

sorry but that's analytics gone too far

analytics ruining ball

theyre called the nets not the hoops