***Official 2021-2022 NBA Thread***
 

Season tips off tonight! LET'S GOOOOO!!!!

As noted in the other thread, the Hawks roster is DEEP. Really looking forward to seeing the young guys mix in a bit with the (still young) vets.

Warriors are going to feature an interesting mix of vets and youth as well. What will Clay look like returning from significant injury?

Thunder are mostly really, really young. Will be interesting to see Giddey develop as a facilitator.

What other teams are folks following?

The team that the GOAT is on at this time, of course, the Lakers.

I just can't get excited about a team full of aging vets. I'm sure they'll win a bunch of games, but I'm not sure I'll want to watch them.

Oh I'm sure anything Westbrook related will be a bit of a mess at this point (he seems like the worst fit possible for a LeBron team), but it should be interesting to watch in any case.

Thanks for starting this thread Pitt!

I know the regular season is boring but at least we can enjoy all the drama with Simmons and Irving.

Should be concerning for the NBA that this is the only compelling part of the regular season.

yeah I have been complaining about the NBA regular season for a long time. They should cut the season in half and start during Christmas.

Didn’t realize that little weasel Grayson Allen is now on the Bucks

Timberwolves still suck. The gravitational constant of the universe

Blazers got to keep Dame for at least one more season. Doubt they make much noise though. I don't think Billups will make much difference in the long run.

I think Ja Morant and JJJ are developing into one of the best 1-2 punches in the league. Ja’s mid range jumper looked much improved in the preseason and if he can get that down he’s going to be a beast in this league. Was disappointed that they teased us with Pat Bev in Memphis only to take him away before the season started.

Disagree. If everyone is healthy, they have an outstanding starting 5. If they hadn't idiotically given up their first in the Delo trade (or if the pingpong balls had bounced differently), they'd have another outstanding piece. Either way, given a little health, they're going to win some games this season.

So watching this first half, it appears LeBron is still the best player in the league at nearly 37 and it appears Westbrook is still terrible. I guess that’s about as expected.

Love me some LeBron, but were you not able to watch that Milwaukee game. Giannis is the best player in this league right now. It’s still crazy that LeBron isn’t that far off at his age, though. His haters keep waiting for the fall off, but he works so hard to stay in probably the best shape in the NBA. I think they’d be best to just let Westbrook run the 2nd team by himself and just give LeBron more of a rest without a complete drop off in offense without him out there.

Giannis plays every possession like it's his last. Incredibly hard-working player that is a superstar. Can't help but love the guy.

Also hope that Holiday's foot doesn't keep him out too long.

When was the last time Klay Thompson played? Must be a hell of a rehab process..

2019 Finals against Toronto. He tore his Achilles last November right before the season

It was so long ago that both the Raptors and Warriors were actually good.

I'm excited to see the Magic this season. Yeah, they're still gonna be pretty bad. But new coach, new drafted player that hopefully pans out in Jalen Suggs (and another one in Franz Wagner.....meh). They're getting Isaac and Fultz back. They could be a .500 team if things go well.

Westbrook is really setting the bar low for the rest of his time there it looks like…

ACL and then Achilles. Couple of horrible injuries.

Lots of teams have good "young" rosters. Should be a fun season.

I don’t even know how you play Westbrook starters minutes based on what I’m seeing. He’s truly bad these days and he’s a horrific fit with LeBron.

They could've had a GREAT fit in Hield. They backed out and took Westbrook instead.

I'm not kidding.

In related news, the Lakers heard that whitney mercilus is available and are DEFINITELY interested.

I say that they shouldn’t start Westbrook but then I look at the rest of their roster and it is complete garbage. Hilariously, they are going to miss Caruso.

Lakers are playing a guy they picked up on waivers yesterday from the Warriors (Avery Bradley) down the stretch LMAO

The Warriors vs Lakers 3-point shootout. Live from Staples!

I can't believe I stayed up and watched this game but it is excellent. GS is my dark horse Finals team as long as they can stay healthy.

Steph with the 3-D and the nice opening night win

Lakers are a disaster right now and aren’t a measuring stick for any team this year, but the Warriors’ fate will only really be decided by what Klay Thompson is.

Bjelica carrying the Warriors.

LeBron goes 34-11-5 on 13 of 23 shooting and a 0 +/- (there’s no way he’s giving this kind of effort in every game this season) and the game isn’t even close. Westbrook was -25 lol

Vegas has them as the favorites to win the West.

I really like this Warriors bench especially this Bjelica guy. They got a good mix of young guys and vets and hopefully when Klay is ready this team is ready to roll. Just got to stay healthy.

They won’t for long. They just got crushed by a very mediocre Warriors team with Curry shooting 5 for 21. Apparently some haven’t quite clued in to the fact that Westbrook has been a terrible basketball player for years now despite putting up volume stats on a nothing team.

These projections are probably a much more accurate look at what the Lakers actually are this year: https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com...a-predictions/


Warriors need Klay back to what he was to even match up against the truly elite teams in the West. Just isn’t enough depth of talent there.

They've got two top young talents waiting on their bench. Clay is great in the near term, but Moody and Kuminga could be outstanding down the road.

Well-run organization.

Your kidding right or are you high? I will take what Vegas predicts over 538. No way GSW is going to have a worse record than the Pelicans or Twolves. And the Lakers aren’t going to be a .500 team and miss the playoffs.

I’m not kidding, there’s a reason these teams are projected low by those statistical systems and it is because they lack any kind of depth of talent (and in the Warriors case particularly because Klay Thompson hasn’t played in literally years and is going to miss a ton of games). Do I think they’ll finish at .500? No. But do I think the Lakers are a championship contender with the roster as it is right now? Not a chance.

Westbrook isn’t just a bad fit with LeBron (which he would have been back when he was elite player instead of a bad one). He’s literally the worst possible roster fit in the league with him. It’s a disaster in the making unless Westbrook somehow figures out how to be a good off-ball player (and he almost certainly won’t). No idea what Pelinka is doing.

We will have to revisit this topic come playoff time but IMO there is no way the Pelicans or Twolves will be better than GSW. Vegas has the Warriors has +1200 to win it all which is 4th.

As you may remember I have never been a fan of Westbrook and always thought he was a shitty player and an asshole. I admit I haven't read up much about the Lakers but I thought I read they don't have many options left to improve their roster. I guess they could try to trade Westbrook but who is going to trade for him at this point especially if it doesn't work out with LA.

That's because they think the Warriors at their ceiling with a healthy Klay are a legitimate contender in the West. That may be correct, but I'd want to at least see Klay playing basketball first again before backing that team.


Lots of players are assholes and still good. Westbrook is no longer one of those players.
He was thought to be virtually untradeable last year before the Wizards got out from his contract. The Lakers may try to do it as well when this inevitably fails, but how many teams are run as poorly as they are?

LeGM strikes again.

LOL @ Lakers. Great start to the LeBron/AD/Westbrick era...

Don't you see the trend? This happens with every team Lebron is on. hmmmm..:hmmm:

This Knicks - Celtics game is having a wild OT. Great game

Double OT

Knicks win. What a game. Jaylen Briwn had 46 coming off Covid.

Are you suggesting LeBron is responsible for the Westbrook trade? Could be. It’s not like it is happening without at least a green light from him. Either way, though, it was dumb as **** and that stands no matter who wanted it. Total mess there.

Went to the Raptors game tonight and that team is effectively tanking this season already. Basically, they’re just gonna spend the entire season trying to develop Scottie Barnes.

Steph finna hang a hunnert on the clips.

GS WINS! That was a fun game. Curry with a 43 point double double

Imagining the Lakers playing tonight’s Warriors team with Curry playing well instead of the one a few days ago. Yikes.

Curry looking like his MVP self again. Luka and the Mavs looked terrible. Really hope Luka can finagle his way out of that contract and wind up on a competitive roster instead. So much talent wasted.

The Meat are the most talented team in the east

Will Lebron tell him to shut up and dribble?

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/...bet-statements

You misspelled "Hawks", but I got what you meant.

Ben Simmons agents/advisors told him to use the “‘Mental Health Get out of a PR Crisis Free” Card.

Should've just done that from the beginning. Rich Paul seems to be a horrific agent. Didn't know there was writing in the CBA that negated fined players from getting their money back from another team, tried the back injury angle to hilarious results, then finally went with the easiest card, mental health, especially considering there's a clause in the CBA that protects players money in case of "mental disability".

There is apparently a lot of buzz around some major story breaking soon about the shitty Suns owner Robert Sarver that could lead to him getting the Sterling treatment.

Suns fans are probably ecstatic.

New look Bulls are looking pretty good. I think they’re a playoff team this year. Also, did Zion Williamson live at a Golden Corral this summer or something? I’m feeling blessed that the Grizzlies missed that lottery pick and had to “settle” for Ja.

Triple double for Zo

Scottie Barnes may end up being really good if tonight is any indication.

Lakers remain an unmitigated disaster.

If you'll recall, I was pretty excited about the prospect of OKC getting Barnes. Wasn't meant to be, I guess.

The Lakers super team is off to tough start.

that’s what happens when your average age is like 40 on their roster

They’re a super team like the Karl Malone and Gary Payton Lakers team was a super team. Except much worse.

I certainly didn’t see that kind of performance happening that quickly based on what he did at FSU. Interesting prospect.

Is there a worse contract out there than Kevin love?

Yeah and their best player keeps quitting mid play. Tragic.

He’s signed up for this shit, so I don’t feel bad for him. If winning another championship was the goal, he shouldn’t have re-signed with the Lakers. Of course, I doubt even he thought he’d still be this incredibly good at this age.

Zion Williamson...
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dZqo4OZ0Pqs" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Watching my Wolves lose night after night is getting really old really quickly. They're not a bad team at all. They just need to win.

Ooh, is it time for that bombshell?

Oh jeez LMAO

You know, why does Draymond Green get to run up the court and say [N-word]," Sarver, who is white, allegedly said, repeating the N-word several times in a row.

"You can't say that," Watson, who is Black and Hispanic, told Sarver.

"Why?" Sarver replied. "Draymond Green says [N-word]."

"You can't f---ing say that," Watson said again.

Hong Kong LeBron still playing?

Do you seriously not understand how to read a box score? What is someone as dumb as you looking for in an NBA thread?

Lebron is getting old. Hurt for the 2nd time and is out a week at least

Jokic about to suspended for awhile

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">HOLY SHIT JOKIC <a href="https://t.co/WFsAGCT8xk">pic.twitter.com/WFsAGCT8xk</a></p>&mdash; Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) <a href="https://twitter.com/WorldWideWob/status/1457927267003240451?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 9, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

better video. Butler telling the Nuggets to meet him out back lol

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Nikola Jokić threw his shoulder into the back of Markieff Morris…<br><br>Morris was issued a flagrant foul 2 and Jokić an unsportsmanlike conduct foul. Both players were ejected. <br><br>Jimmy Butler was also given a technical foul.<br><br>�� <a href="https://twitter.com/BallySportsFL?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BallySportsFL</a> <a href="https://t.co/bjeFB3mQTZ">pic.twitter.com/bjeFB3mQTZ</a></p>&mdash; The Athletic (@TheAthletic) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheAthletic/status/1457929739755147265?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 9, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

That was a pretty unnecessary body check on Jokic there given the scoreline and time of the game. Markieff got what was coming to him.

The Morris twins usually deserve what they get but Hitting him from behind is bush league.

Hitting Jokic like that at that time of the game was bush league as well. Again, he got what was coming to him and I’m sure Jokic will gladly take the 1 game suspension to show he won’t be pushed around by clowns like that.