2021 NBA Offseason Thread

[NIkeL]

So Dwight Powell is the latest adition to the achilles injury victims. He was having a good season, it's a tough loss for the Mavs

 

[Man Called X]

So Dwight Powell is the latest adition to the achilles injury victims. He was having a good season, it's a tough loss for the Mavs

This just seems like far too many achilles injuries. I don't recall them ever being as prevalent as they've been recently.

 

[Dr. Claw]

Damn, it was an Achilles? This is kind of weird...

 

[Derek]

The thing is, by any measureable, Khris MIddleton is better than Brown, Tatum, and Hayward. He's shooting absolutely lights out this year.

Bigger problem Boston has is no one to even pretend to slow down Giannis. Philly has a better shot, because they can go big and make him a shooter. He'll just run over Brown or Tatum and get into the paint no matter how far back they want to be. And DanielTheiss and Enes Kanter aren't scaring anyone away from the rim.

I would be very surprised if Boston doesn't try and get Henson.

But how?

Pray for a buyout?

I've been trying to come up with trade scenarios for them, and it's incredibly tough. They are one of the few teams in the NBA that is only paying big money to guys who are major contributors.

 

[Derek]

I disagree on Middleton.....good shooter, yes. Creator? Not at all. Middleton is one dimensional IMO. He relies on guys to get him open and lacks any explosiveness at all. He can certainly get hot, but I don't view him as a guy who can just take a game over in event Giannis is struggling and needs a "Robin".

And Philly messed up horribly bringing Horford in. I said it at time when everybody was applauding the move, but in what universe is it a good idea to put Horford next to Embiid and Ben Simmons? Terrible roster construction. Sam Hinke was crying as they made that move.

But we'll see.....

Not that I don't appreciate Hinkie's role in rebuilding the Sixers, but what exactly has he done that makes you think he knows how to build a roster that fits together?

 

[Dr. Claw]

I feel like the Miami Heat are on track to be The New Bullshit. They drafted really, really well

 

[Derek]

I feel like the Miami Heat are on track to be The New Bullshit. They drafted really, really well

I really like them. If Butler can remember how to at least be a mediocre shooter instead of a terrible one, they could be a true contender.

 

[cavsfever]

delete

 

[LeeBuckeye]

My theory is that it all went south for Kyrie between the ears when Justin Bieber introduced him to his pastor. Look into it


Makes you wonder....sigh. Malone needs to stop playing and get him minutes over the scrubs in front of him (credit to their franchise for taking an awesome risk).

If that isn't sad enough, Zion makes his debut tonight. Hope he can stay healthy too.

 

[Derek]

My theory is that it all went south for Kyrie between the ears when Justin Bieber introduced him to his pastor. Look into it


Makes you wonder....sigh. Malone needs to stop playing and get him minutes over the scrubs in front of him (credit to their franchise for taking an awesome risk).

If that isn't sad enough, Zion makes his debut tonight. Hope he can stay healthy too.

Porter Jr has been playing big minutes for the last month.

Malone has done a great job easing him into a major role on last year's Western Conference 1 seed that brought back every single player, most of them being 25 and under.

 

[billmac91]

This just seems like far too many achilles injuries. I don't recall them ever being as prevalent as they've been recently.

Mentioned it in past, but it’s almost certainly a combination of PED use and tendon fatigue based on how specialized athletes are today.

To be clear, I’m not accusing Powell of PED use, but in general I believe it to be true. With today’s science and medicine, we should be seeing the inverse.....fewer tendon and ligament injuries. Instead, going back just a few years ago, tendon and ligament injuries were sky-rocketing. Even with new emphasis on stretching, muscle development, and overall strategies to eliminate injuries.

Certainly this “10,000 hours” theory some coaches/personal trainers subscribe too is harmful in how it can wear out the body, but PEDs tend to outsmart drug testing by 3-4 years. HGH used to not be detectable....now it is. With as much money as these guys make and the access they have through trainers/doctors, we’d be naive not to think it’s still rampant.

Hell, Clemson had (3) of (15) players test positive for PED’s before the championship game last year (all tested positive for Ostarine which helps keep fat off and helps maintain a lean build). That was just poor administration of taking the drug, as a professional level athlete likely isn’t stepping into that trap with a trainer/doctor watching their regime. We have seen many UFC fighters also test positive for Ostarine but their drug testing is far more strict than the NBA, NFL, NHL, MLB, etc.....

But you combine already explosive athletes with performance enhancing drugs, and it creates amazing performance.......until the ligament or tendon gives out because it’s being asked to stretch beyond what it’s capable of.

 

[brownindian]

Also George Hill is playing like he did in Indiana: not sure what happened with him but he gone Benjamin Button similar to D Rose

The same can be said for D. Rose and J. Clarkson. Sometimes makes me wonder if the organization needs to have a major introspection on WTH is going on.

 

[LeeBuckeye]

The same can be said for D. Rose and J. Clarkson. Sometimes makes me wonder if the organization needs to have a major introspection on WTH is going on.

That 2017-2018 team had such poor chemistry due to lack of time together, radical turnover and poorly mismanaged by Ty Lue in general. I think it was also pretty obvious LeBron was going to LA so guys didn't care and LeBron couldn't fake it and hold them accountable.

Pre-Trade Deadline:
That team played with an all-time low effort like I've never seen and didn't seem to want to be there. IT and Crowder hated Cleveland and Wade had one foot out the door to Miami.

Post-Trade Deadline:
Played with more energy but poorly schemed team with no structure fared well for Clarkson but was a nightmare for Hood who thrived in Utah. George Hill admitted to not knowing what he was doing or where he was supposed to be in the PLAYOFFS. Clarkson went missing as soon as the first round started (Good luck Utah) and Hood managed to play even worse than he did in the regular season.

I think Koby would rather Dan Gilbert forget that season.

 

[brownindian]

I feel like had we kept the same team with D Wade, D Rose etc we would have had better leadership maturity and responsibility in terms of competing. We may have still lost but atleast it wont be such a given.

 

[LeeBuckeye]

I feel like had we kept the same team with D Wade, D Rose etc we would have had better leadership maturity and responsibility in terms of competing. We may have still lost but atleast it wont be such a given.

I agree but that wasn’t a f****** squad accordingly to JR Smith. I think the dynamic with our core vets (JR Smith and Love) didn’t mesh with those guys who played at an highly/elite level on their previous teams. They challenged them professionally and cut into their minutes. Trading JR Smith alone would’ve given us a shot that year lol. What an unmitigated disaster he turned into after our championship season.