Everything NBA 2020-21

[golden]

Raptor fans no showing the all star votes this year. Also noticed Matt Devlin isn't pushing it whatsoever. No Pascal, Kyle or Fred to be found

I like how East and West matchup these days:

Lebron vs. Durant
Jokic vs. Embiid
Kawhi vs. Giannis
Steph vs. Kyrie
Luka vs. Harden

It's almost too perfect.

[G__Deane]

But I see good ol' lebron is now saying "I have zero energy and zero excitement' about 2021 All-Star Game"
Did he check with China first?

[chris]

30m/year for a borderline all star like Oladipo? oh hell no. If you're going to pay someone 30m+ you have to be legit.

calling him a borderline all-star is overly generous in my opinion. former borderline all-star would be more accurate i think. like golden pointed out, he's just fucking bad now.

for almost two seasons now i've been saying he's poised to sign one of the worst contracts in the league. i'm not too confident in that prediction anymore since i think his value has plummeted. in any event i have no interest in acquiring him unless he's amenable to a lesser role and lesser money.

[chris]

Depends on how much winning happens between now and then. Beal, Harden, Irving and Brown are probably locks unless Irving decides he's gonna disappear and build his own rocket ship to the flat planet of mars, the odds of him going wacko jacko are better than zero. That leaves 1, maaaaybe 2 guard spots left.

I personally think Fred is better and more deserving than Lavine, Sexton, Young and the rest of the land of the "guys who put up numbers on ass teams". There's always a chance I'm a bit of a homer.

i think young is a lock along with your top group at 27 and 9 on a team currently seeded 8th.

fred's in a large group with the other two players you listed but also probably simmons, brogdan, and lowry. i can't see him getting in unless we go on a tear leading up to the coaches vote.

[The Great One]

calling him a borderline all-star is overly generous in my opinion. former borderline all-star would be more accurate i think. like golden pointed out, he's just fucking bad now.

Good point.

[planetmars]

No Raptor should get in. I've always favoured picking stars from winning clubs. So I'm not going to change my stance now.

[chris]

also fun stat i heard for the board laviniac's from tim macmahon on the hoop collective podcast yesterday:

chicago has a defensive rating of 116.9 when lavine is on the floor, which is better than only the kangz (118.2) league wide. their defensive rating when he sits is 99.1, which would be best in the league by a country mile (LAL 104.5).

now he plays a lot of minutes so that's a small sample size when he sits (250 minutes), but a fairly sizeable sample size when he plays... and they stink!

i think pretty lowly about lavine as a player overall and that still blew my mind. he is the very definition of an empty stats player. just say no to zach lavine

[The Claw Reborn]

Batum shooting in the high 40% from three, his contribution at both ends is so valuable for the Clippers stretch run...not so long ago a not so intelligent poster called me out that he is already wash up, lol. Him and Serge addition to this team can be valuable in a 7 game series.

Celtics looking like a playoff fodder without their heart and soul Marcus Smart and their defensive specialist Jalen Brown. A full healthy team no question makes them a legitimate ECF contender.

[chris]

Batum shooting in the high 40% from three, his contribution at both ends is so valuable for the Clippers stretch run...not so long ago a not so intelligent poster called me out that he is already wash up, lol. Him and Serge addition to this team can be valuable in a 7 game series.

it is such a timeless and inspiring story how he has rediscovered his love of money in a contract year

[The Claw Reborn]

it is such a timeless and inspiring story how he has rediscovered his love of money in a contract year

Like most of these players and any regular joe...money is always the biggest motivator....unless you are wired to be a socialist

[chris]

Like most of these players and any regular joe...money is always the biggest motivator....unless you are wired to be a socialist

of course money is a huge motivating factor for both players and regular joes alike.

however, i would argue that most players and regular joes respect their employers and their jobs enough to not dog it so fucking hard that the employer simply opts to pay them to work for somebody else. that's next level.

anyhow happy for nic. hopefully the clippers or another team that i hate gives him another nice fat contract this offseason

[can't teach wingspan]

I'm not too fussed over zero Raps being on the all star fan lists for a couple of reasons:

1) It'll light a fire under the boys
2) Personally not a fan of having a game this year with the pandemic
3) Shortened and compressed season, give the team a week to rest

We had such a bad start and given no one has even hit the 25 game mark yet, our case isn't great. Although, I could see maybe one Raptor sneaking in from coach/player voting

[can't teach wingspan]

No Raptor should get in. I've always favoured picking stars from winning clubs. So I'm not going to change my stance now.

I'd like to see your all star teams this season. Not trolling, just genuinely curious since your parameters knock out Butler and Bam, Luka, and Beal among others

[can't teach wingspan]

Also, lol at Klay finishing 10th in votes after being out for two seasons

[G__Deane]

Couldn't care less who gets into the All Popularity Game.It's the worst all star game of the major sports with so little to do with an actual game. I'd sooner our guys get some rest and see their families just like those who are voted in are bitching about