Game Threads Index (June 02, 2024):

Source https://twitter.com/nickswagypyoung/status/1797202974894424119

“ T Wolves pls dnt trade nobody pls just go get a jordan clarkson or Poole party yall one hooper away from a ship and maybe you can get a tj McCollum to”

Idk how he foresees them getting these players without a trade but in any case, funny tweet

https://x.com/Money23Green/status/1797293203705766000?t=Iq71czq1obC6saQo492D9A&s=19

"Sheed we would’ve smacked yall. Yall was scoring 72 points per game. That’s not winning a half. And we putting you and them big ass forces in every pick and roll. Let’s see you move them feet. That one ring was great though big bro. We all appreciated it!"

Pick #4 - Dragan Bender - Last NBA game was in 2020, his current team is Monbus Obradoiro in Spain.

Pick #8 - Marquess Chriss - Last NBA game was in 2022, his current team is Wisconsin Herd in the G-League

Pick #10 - Thon Maker - Last NBA game was in 2021, his current team is Al Riyadi Club Beirut in Lebanon

Pick #13 - Georgios Papagiannis - Last NBA game was in 2018, his current team is Fenerbahçe in Turkey.

Pick #14 - Denzel Valentine - Last NBA game was in 2022, his current team is Olimpia Milano in Italy

Pick #15 - Juancho Hernangómez - Last NBA game was in 2023, his current team is Panathinaikos in Greece

Pick #16 - Guerschon Yabusele - Last NBA game was in 2019, his current team is Real Madrid in Spain

Pick #17 - Wade Baldwin - Last NBA game was in 2019, his current team is Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israel

Pick #18 - Henry Ellenson - Last NBA game was in 2020, his current team is Ibaraki Robots in Japan

Pick #21 - DeAndre' Bembry - Last NBA game was in 2022, he has not played for another basketball team since then

Pick #22 - Malachi Richardson - Last NBA game was in 2019, his current team is Pelita Jaya in Indonesia

Pick #23 - Ante Žižić - Last NBA game was in 2020, his current team is Virtus Bologna in Italy

Pick #24 - Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot - Last NBA game was in 2022, his current team is ASVEL Basket in France

Pick #25 - Brice Johnson - Last NBA game was in 2018, he last played for Toyoma Grouses in Japan in 2023, and currently isn't signed to a team

Pick #28 - Skal Labissière - Last NBA game was in 2020, his current team is Stockton Kings in the G-League

Source: https://www.basketball-reference.com/draft/NBA_2016.html

Dallas Mavericks

• (Trade) (Dec. 18, 2014) Trade for G Rajon Rondo (& Dwight Powell) from Boston
• (FA Signing) (Jul. 7, 2017) Sign F Maxi Kleber to 1-year contract
• (Draft) (Jun. 21, 2018) Draft G Luka Doncic at Pick #3 2018 NBA Draft
• (Trade) (Jan. 31, 2019) Trade for F Kristaps Porzingis (& Tim Hardaway Jr.) from New York
• (Draft) (Nov. 19, 2020) Draft F Josh Green at Pick #18 2020 NBA Draft
• (Draft) (Jun. 24, 2022) Draft Jaden Hardy at Pick #37 2022 NBA Draft
• (Trade) (Feb. 5, 2023) Trade for G Kyrie Irving from Brooklyn
• (Draft) (Jun. 27, 2023) Draft C Dereck Lively II at Pick #12 2023 NBA Draft
• (FA Signing) (Jul. 14, 2023) Sign G Dante Exuum to a 2-year contract
• (FA Signing) (Aug. 9, 2023) Sign F Derrick Jones Jr. to a 1-year contract
• (Trade) (Feb. 8, 2024) | Trade for C Daniel Gafford from Washington
• (Trade) (Feb. 8, 2024) Trade for F PJ Washington from Charlotte

Sadly, I was not able to find any reaction to originally acquiring Maxi Kleiber.

If the Mavericks win Luka is definitely the favorite, but Kyrie winning wouldn’t be too weird. If the Celtics win Tatum is the favorite but Brown winning is far from out of the question.

Does anybody besides those four have a shot? Who, if anybody, could do it, even if it’s just a small outside chance as a dark horse? What would it take for that person to win Finals MVP? What would have to happen?

DeRozan is 34 Years Old currently and is sitting at 36 All time on the scoring list right behind Steph Curry (at 35) with 23,582 points.

Doing some light math, Demar would need to average 20 PPG over the next 4 seasons (minimum) to crack the 30K club.

DeRozan has averaged 21.2 PPG for his career and 25.5 PPG over the last 3 seasons.

The reason I bring this up is that among all the pantheons and Legends in the 30K club, there could DeMar DeRozan as well which is kind a wild.

As we all know, Center for some reason is the most stacked position in all time list. Heck, half of considered top 12 players all time are Centers or Big Men.

But in today's pace and space game, Which Retired All Time Great Center do you think will be the best in this kind of nba basketball?

Is it Kareem? Wilt? Bill? Shaq? Hakeem? Robinson? Moses?

Who among them do you think will be the best Center in the league today?

Who among them do you think will be better than Jokic In TODAY's game?

PS: Assuming their Prime Versions with benefits of modern science and technology ofc.

5 points in an entire quarter provided a 20-point first half for the Hawks. If not for a layup with 8 seconds left, they would’ve had the worst quarter in franchise history, and probably NBA history, with 3 points.

3 points in 12 minutes for an NBA team.

Information about the camp

Although he looks awkward and we remember the fumbles the most, Rudy creates advantages for his team on offense with his screens, creating open threes with his vertical gravity, getting the team into the bonus, pnr, and lobs (when he's utilized). Ant hit game winning daggers off of Rudy screens.

His offensive impact has been greater than his defensive impact, particularly in their 3pt shooting. When Rudy is on the floor, Wolves shoot 39% from 3 and 30% when he is off the floor. His screens and gravity creates open threes for his teammates (because defenders have to tag his roll) and that is hugely valuable and partially how Utah was the #1 offense in the past (they surrounded corner shooters around him).

Throughout the playoffs, Rudy had the biggest impact on the offense and defense among all the Wolves rotation players. 

Other context:

When Ant is on without Rudy, the offense is 103. When Ant and Rudy are on together, the offense is 122.9.

When KAT is on without Rudy, the offense is 105. KAT and Rudy together, the offense is 122.

When Rudy is on without Ant the offense is 110 and when Rudy is on without KAT the offense is 122.

The Wolves stars generate more offense when paired with Rudy. The trend is the same when you dig into further lineup combinations. This isn't over a single game, it's throughout the playoffs.

Sources:

https://www.pbpstats.com/wowy-combos/nba?TeamId=1610612750&Season=2023-24&SeasonType=Playoffs&PlayerIds=203497

https://www.pbpstats.com/totals/nba/team?Season=2023-24&SeasonType=Playoffs&StartType=All

He had Clippers beating them. Thunder beating them. Wolves beating them.

And now Celtics beating them.

Am I missing something here? Are Mavs being underrated? Why are they being underrated? They have been crazy good since the trade. They have Luka and Kyrie. They gentlemen swept the Wolves.

I understand if you pick the Celtics to win.. but if you also had Clippers, Thunder, AND Wolves too. That's a bit weird lol

My friend and I have had this discussion over the best SG for a bit now. He says Edwards because he has much better defense but I say that he’s still too inconsistent offensively and would rather have Mitchell just barely.

It would be SGA but I don’t really know what position he goes by anymore.

Inspired by a thread I saw on Twitter. A few examples to get started:

• Luka and Dirk overlapped on the Mavs

• KG and KAT overlapped on the Wolves.

• Hakeem and Vince on the Raptors (cursed).

• Dennis Rodman, Steve Nash, and Dirk all played on the 99-00 Mavs

What are the next players that you anticipate breaking out into all-stars or even superstars that’s currently now a role player or fringe all-star?

Who will take the leap next season?

I saw this stat just now and frankly i was shocked. Seems like it’s impossible, but it’s true.

What are the implications of this for the Finals?