Support NeoGAF

[MaestroMike]

Congratulations to the Denver Nuggets for their impressive run during the 2022-2023 NBA Season; the Denver Warriors are your 2023 NBA Champions

Who will be the team to claim the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy this season? Can the reigning champs repeat?

Key Dates:

This could be the year of the Knicks

Spoiler

 

[MaestroMike]

 

[juliushandle]

Christian Wood has been amazing for the Lakers. He's playing defense; even on perimeter players. When he and AD are both on the floor, they are dominating the boards. Ham and the team haven't even unlocked and realized how "big" they are and can play.

 

[The Lunch Legend]

 

[phendino]

I'm a Pelicans fan. BI, Jose, Trey Murphy III, Naji all out injured atm. Zion has looked ok so far but needs to play himself into shape. Good lord I wish this team could get healthy and stay healthy

As for the chip, I'm going Bucks. Dame + Giannis is so good, I want to see Dame get a ring

 

[EverydayBeast]

2020 lakers at the time were on top of the world, I’m no NBA guru but you could argue todays lakers team is just as good as that lakers crew. I envision nuggets potentially repeating.

 

[NickFire]

Celtics get to rest starters after 3 quarters in last couple games. If they stay healthy come playoffs watch out.

 

[juliushandle]

dude just needs to play another 15-20 yrs without any major injuries and he beats Lebron's all time scoring record

 

[The Lunch Legend]

dude just needs to play another 15-20 yrs without any major injuries and he beats Lebron's all time scoring record

15-20 is a lofty goal for a dude with such a slight body frame.

 

[MaestroMike]

 

[MaestroMike]

 

[juliushandle]

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

I still can't believe someone didn't put Draymond in the same type of headlock. Could have started a headlock train and made joy and laughter for all involved. Probably would have made friends for life.

 

[Carmen Winstead]

Morant comes back after a 25-game suspension just to show he's still unguardable.
Now please never do any stupid stuff again.

 

[Celcius]

Good to see we have an NBA thread.
I'm hoping Draymond isn't back any time soon. Dude needs to learn his lesson for real this time.

 

[Celcius]

The play-in tournament starts tonight!
I'm going for the Lakers and Warriors tonight.
Hoping the Mavs can go far this year too.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Not NBA league related but close enough. Team USA announced.

I know he's injury prone, but no Zion?

Team USA basketball roster finalized for 2024 Olympics as Kawhi Leonard rounds out star-studded group

Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis and Joel Embiid highlight the 12-player Olympic roster

www.cbssports.com

PLAYER	TEAM	POSITION
LeBron James	Los Angeles Lakers	F
Stephen Curry	Golden State Warriors	G
Kevin Durant	Phoenix Suns	F
Joel Embiid	Philadelphia 76ers	C
Devin Booker	Phoenix Suns	G
Jayson Tatum	Boston Celtics	F
Anthony Davis	Los Angeles Lakers	C
Tyrese Haliburton	Indiana Pacers	G
Anthony Edwards	Minnesota Timberwolves	G
Jrue Holiday	Boston Celtics	G
Bam Adebayo	Miami Heat	C
Kawhi Leonard	Los Angeles Clippers	F

 

[Nobody_Important]

Not NBA league related but close enough. Team USA announced.

I know he's injury prone, but no Zion?

Team USA basketball roster finalized for 2024 Olympics as Kawhi Leonard rounds out star-studded group

Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis and Joel Embiid highlight the 12-player Olympic roster

www.cbssports.com

PLAYER	TEAM	POSITION
LeBron James	Los Angeles Lakers	F
Stephen Curry	Golden State Warriors	G
Kevin Durant	Phoenix Suns	F
Joel Embiid	Philadelphia 76ers	C
Devin Booker	Phoenix Suns	G
Jayson Tatum	Boston Celtics	F
Anthony Davis	Los Angeles Lakers	C
Tyrese Haliburton	Indiana Pacers	G
Anthony Edwards	Minnesota Timberwolves	G
Jrue Holiday	Boston Celtics	G
Bam Adebayo	Miami Heat	C
Kawhi Leonard	Los Angeles Clippers	F

We are going to get Bronze at best with that lineup. Good god.


And that is assuming all of those senior citizens stay healthy enough to play.

 

[Celcius]

Lakers win and will face the nuggets for a rematch of last years WCF!

Also, the Kings win and this feels like the end of the Warriors dynasty. I’m assuming both Klay and Draymond get traded this offseason.

I think I’m looking forward to Mavs vs clippers the most though.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

Lakers win and will face the nuggets for a rematch of last years WCF!

Also, the Kings win and this feels like the end of the Warriors dynasty. I’m assuming both Klay and Draymond get traded this offseason.

I think I’m looking forward to Mavs vs clippers the most though.

Why does everyone hate Klay this year? His scoring and efficiency are still well above average. People acting like he's chopped liver all of a sudden.

 

[Celcius]

Why does everyone hate Klay this year? His scoring and efficiency are still well above average. People acting like he's chopped liver all of a sudden.

He scored zero points last night. He played over 31 minutes and was 0-4-1 in an elimination game when you needed him the most. 0 of 10 from the field.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

He scored zero points last night. He played over 31 minutes and was 0-4-1 in an elimination game when you needed him the most. 0 of 10 from the field.

Terrible game, but it appears to be the exception rather than the rule considering his scoring and efficiency were solid on the year.

Do people just think he can't handle playoff intensity defense anymore?

 

[Topher]

Hoping this is the year for my Celtics. Lots of pressure after an incredible regular season.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

I dont follow Raps closely, so I never even heard of this guy until recently, but Jontay Porter banned for gambling. Which includes betting on his own team, and shading stuff like tipping off people about his injury. There was a giant bet placed on props bets where he did bad and it was so shady the casino or sportsbook supposedly cancelled the bet. That game he left the game after 3 minutes "due to illness". LOL

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Aside from cheering on Raps as a bandwagoner, I do have a small cheer for Sacremento. Not sure why, but flipping through NBA games on TV, I found Kings games entertaining to watch (big time homer announcers) and Sabonis and Fox are awesome to watch. The team doesn't seem to be that great either missing the playoffs or scraping in, so I guess the rest of the team probably sucks. But Sabonis is a rebounding stud and Fox can dribble and cut through the opposition great,

 

[demigod]

Warriors era over. Nobody can touch Jordan and the Bulls era.

 

[EverydayBeast]

Lakers have to have a conversation with the Hawks about acquiring Trey Young, based off the loss vs the Bulls we're sure Young and Murray can't play well together.

 

[The Lunch Legend]

Warriors era over. Nobody can touch Jordan and the Bulls era.

The big 3 era is over for the Warriors.

But as long as they have Chef Curry, they can compete for titles.
All they need to do is reload their roster with young talent and a few key free agents.

But yeah, lol, Draymond, Klay, and CP3 all gotta go!

 

[Topher]

Lebron complaining about officials already?

 

[Celcius]

Man that was a tough loss for the lakers. Up by 20 at one point just to lose like that.

 

[The Lunch Legend]

Gut-wrenching loss for LA.

The Nuggets can pretty much toy with them at this point.

 

[DGrayson]

Nuggets are just a lot better than the Lakers. So game here or there doesnt really matter, no way the Lakers can win this series.

 

[DGrayson]

Man that was a tough loss for the lakers. Up by 20 at one point just to lose like that.

 

[Carmen Winstead]

Nuggets are just a lot better than the Lakers. So game here or there doesnt really matter, no way the Lakers can win this series.

This and they have the best player of the last four years in their team.

Caleb Martin smoked the Celtics.

 

[EverydayBeast]

Holy moly the warriors hate, they'll all be back again thought there would be more CP3 production, we'll see how the rookies perform and find an appealing center on the trade market.

 

[Topher]

Come on Celtics. You ain't going to let Miami punk you again, are you?

 

[DGrayson]

Holy moly the warriors hate, they'll all be back again thought there would be more CP3 production, we'll see how the rookies perform and find an appealing center on the trade market.

They need to blow up the team. Keep curry and kuminga and the two new rookies. Besides that everyone can go IMO.

 

[Topher]

They need to blow up the team. Keep curry and kuminga and the two new rookies. Besides that everyone can go IMO.

Especially Green. Guy needs to retire and move into broadcasting. Has a great personality for that. One would think his temperment would improve after all these years, but doesn't seem like that is happening.

 

[bender]

Especially Green. Guy needs to retire and move into broadcasting. Has a great personality for that. One would think his temperment would improve after all these years, but doesn't seem like that is happening.

You probably can't move his contract easily as a lot of the value he brings is based on the system that Golden State runs and Curry compensates for his lack of gravity on the offensive end. The Wiggins situation is even worse. They could trade their '26/'28 firsts and would need to attach one of those just to get off of Wiggins and probably both to get something of value in return. The Wiseman pick and Poole situation is finally catching up to them. They'll probably overpay Klay which isn't the worst thing to do. Loyalty matters in the NBA since players have so much control. Their window is probably shut and my guess is they'll sit down with Curry and ask him what he wants to do and then make their decisions based on that.

 

[DGrayson]

You probably can't move his contract easily as a lot of the value he brings is based on the system that Golden State runs and Curry compensates for his lack of gravity on the offensive end. The Wiggins situation is even worse. They could trade their '26/'28 firsts and would need to attach one of those just to get off of Wiggins and probably both to get something of value in return. The Wiseman pick and Poole situation is finally catching up to them. They'll probably overpay Klay which isn't the worst thing to do. Loyalty matters in the NBA since players have so much control. Their window is probably shut and my guess is they'll sit down with Curry and ask him what he wants to do and then make their decisions based on that.

You are probably 100% correct on this but this is the wrong move. Curry is a loyal guy and will say he wants to finish his career with Klay and Draymond. Thank goodness they got those 4 titles because if they keep this group together they wont win another one until they all three retire.

 

[bender]

You are probably 100% correct on this but this is the wrong move. Curry is a loyal guy and will say he wants to finish his career with Klay and Draymond. Thank goodness they got those 4 titles because if they keep this group together they wont win another one until they all three retire.

Four is a lot of titles. The conversation with Curry is pretty easy: If you want us to trade you, will do you a solid and send you wherever you'd like to go and we'll start the rebuild process. If you want to retire a Warrior, we'll do our best to put a winner around you but the chances of another title are really slim. It's a tough situation as Curry is still really flipping good and can still be a driving force to getting a championship. It feels like Klay is done. Draymond is still useful to the Dubs, but I don't think he'd be near as effective on another team and a lot of teams aren't going to want to deal with the headache and that's all before considering his hefty contract. All of their legacies are secure and they played a beautiful brand of basketball and changed the game of basketball forever.

 

[DGrayson]

Four is a lot of titles. The conversation with Curry is pretty easy: If you want us to trade you, will do you a solid and send you wherever you'd like to go and we'll start the rebuild process. If you want to retire a Warrior, we'll do our best to put a winner around you but the chances of another title are really slim. It's a tough situation as Curry is still really flipping good and can still be a driving force to getting a championship. It feels like Klay is done. Draymond is still useful to the Dubs, but I don't think he'd be near as effective on another team and a lot of teams aren't going to want to deal with the headache and that's all before considering his hefty contract. All of their legacies are secure and they played a beautiful brand of basketball and changed the game of basketball forever.

Agreed on legacies. It makes sense for a season or 2 but that time is over. Steph is still top 10 player in the league and they need tk do something with that. Resiging Klay for anything less than the minimum won't help.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

Warriors era over. Nobody can touch Jordan and the Bulls era.

Celtics era says hello. 11 titles in 13 years.

 

[Carmen Winstead]

Middleton goin' off right now.

Just as I write this, Haliburton gets the bucket and secures the W.

 

[Carmen Winstead]

LMAO the Sons got sonned.
How could we things those bums had a chance for a title?

 

[Celcius]

Man I hope the Lakers don't get swept tonight.
I realize this team likely isn't good enough to win the series but I just hope we can avoid a sweep.

edit: YESSSSSSS

 

[MaestroMike]

 

[Topher]

Lakers out. Lebron not talking about future....

 

[NickFire]

Lakers out. Lebron not talking about future....

I saw an article that said the player option deadline comes shortly after the draft. Based on that my assumption is he plans to force the Lakers to draft his son.

 

[Topher]

I saw an article that said the player option deadline comes shortly after the draft. Based on that my assumption is he plans to force the Lakers to draft his son.

He should do his son a favor and let him earn it.