Topic: American Sports

@Th3solution San Antonio seem to be making hay while the sun shines, getting the best of what they can get without over reaching. Free agents will also want to go there next year, you'd think.

The GM's take sounds like BS on multiple fronts. If the reason was that you don't want word of the trade to get out, why zero in on LA unless it was always the plan. If you let word out your value increases due to a bidding war as it's a "now or never" move. And if the trade failed word would get out and you'd still upset the team. And now you have a team and fanbase blindsided by a trade anyway.

Who has ever turned down the chance at the largest contract in NBA history? Which I assume is what he was eligible for. A competitive team that would have had to pay you super max vs a team that won't necessarily have to? (Eligibility changes upon trade, does it?) I'd heard it mentioned somewhere that he'd automatically be eligible at Dallas, either way.

So is it Luka did want to go? As in LA you can make your money in many other ways by sheer proximity to the money that is there. But if that's the case, it's weird that Dallas wouldn't milk the trade for more as they are the ones being slighted. So it seems unlikely, even though he's been sitting out possibly injured lately.

So what are we left with? Dallas trusts paying an older A.D more so than they trust paying a 25 year old Luka. Is A.D on significantly less money? I doubt it as LeBron wanted him in LA so I imagine he got paid. Can Dallas afford another star the way it's panned out, or is the two man group their limit?

@Ravix If I understand it correctly, the player is not eligible for the “super max” contract unless they have been with the team for more than a year… or something like that. So yes, in Luka’s case he went from likely signing a $350 million contract this summer to a $250 million-ish (not sure on the exact numbers) so I believe this has cost him money. Or he could finish out the last year of his contract and then opt out a be a free agent in 2026 and shop the market. That was the fear, as I understand it. But again, there’s no indication he would have wanted to leave. From all that I’ve read he would probably have signed the 5 yr/ $350 million contract and happily been the face of the franchise, but maybe if they didn’t show signs of progress toward a title, then who knows how it would have gone.

AD is on a smaller contract, and I do think he’s on its last year, which makes it all interesting drama if he’s not happy there and wants to test the open market too. I’m not sure how the salary cap and “aprons” work exactly, but the Mavs definitely have less money on the books with AD vs Luka over the next 5 yrs, so maybe there’s money there to attract a third star, but it will probably not be anyone who’s All-Star caliber. But honestly, two All-Stars should be enough and just get the right role players, play D, and do good disciplined team basketball.

I do see that Charles Barkley, as wheels-off as he is, is one of the few who are saying the Mavs are better off with A.D. instead of Luka. I’ll have to read his thoughts and see what exactly makes him think that.

I do think the Lakers are not complete and in dire need of a big man now. But they’ll have no trouble attracting one next year.

@Ravix Welp, I wasn’t expecting that result in the finals rematch. 😅

@Th3solution I was. Minute 1: playing 5 out and slow dribbling up the court, and then lazy iso attacks into traffic, with KP being used as a predictable bailout again. It's awful basketball when they play that slow and stupid.

When they benched everyone look how fast Pritchard had them playing and that was effective.

One positive, Derek White is shooting that thing again.

But JT and JB were actively preserving energy, you'd have to think. It's the only excuse, so you might as well just rest them and play the reserves. It's happened that many times that it's not going to hurt the record by resting players, and it might actually improve the record 🤦‍♂️

@Ravix I didn’t watch the game but I suspect there was a mental letdown to be playing the beleaguered Mavericks who are a dumpster fire right now, so perhaps subconsciously the effort just wasn’t there.

It’s been a crazy week in the NBA; the Lakers seem to have found their center with Mark Williams who is a good fit for Luka. Butler to the Heat is going to be a dangerous gamble but could make them contenders. And Holmgren is rumored to come back finally for OKC as the rich get richer. I think we should just hand the Western Conference trophy over to the Thunder and save us all some time. 😄

@PorkChopExpress who won it? A Taylor Swift affiliate?

@Ravix @PorkChopExpress Looks like Josh Allen won it, which does surprise me. Barkley was just a few yards away from taking the single season record from Dickerson which had held for several decades, whilst also leading his team to the Super Bowl. Allen is great but I agree that Barkley was snubbed.

Ah right. I assumed they maybe gave it to Patrick, just because. I suppose they will have to settle for just another super bowl

I really can't get in to the NFL this season. I'm going to watch the super bowl, as that is what we do each year, but man, I'm just not feeling it.

Most important question is: who won "the pro bowl games"? which I totally forgot even existed until now 😂

My September predictions were fairly on target. I felt like it might be the Philadelphia’s year. 👍🏼

After their slow start @Ravix gave me a hard time about my faith in the Eagles. 😄

Just a dominating performance by Phili though. The score was closer than the game actually was. I didn’t think Mahomes and the Chiefs would wilt that severely.

Honestly, so many emotions after this. In the end, I guess the Chiefs were just the 2022 Vikings?

Winning one score games mostly on coin flips, with a record that was way overinflated versus their actual talent level. It also shows that for as much as it might all be a conspiracy or whatever, those vital calls in key games during the Chiefs season going their way did help them out, and steal them some wins, regardless of if there was some grand machinations around it or not. Like we can't just pretend those didn't matter, given the Eagles blew their doors off, in a way other teams would have, if so many drives weren't killed by bad calls or bad spots.

And if it was all scripted, then the NFL played it perfectly, so I can't even be mad. I disliked the Chiefs going into this game like they wanted me to, and seeing them basically cancelled out until garbage time gave me the same warm and fuzzies you see from a classic Hollywood ending when the villain finally gets their comeuppance. So I guess the NFL played my emotions like a fiddle if the script is real.

In the interest of fairness @Th3solution 😉

But yes, you picked the two favourites, that's for sure. I tried to get in to the super bowl, having fallen off caring about or watching the NFL, as basketball took priority. But the only story there was "can the Chiefs three...urgh" and the other team was the favourite, so there was no underdog as such, and it really was a pasting by the Eagles anyway, and it was hard to root for a comeback at any point, as it's the Chiefs.

Isn't it weird that we live in a time where the biggest cheer and boo was for a president popping up on screen before the game? Who cares that much about their exalted high leaders? Politics aside, it's so weird that it generates such a big reaction from people. It's the kind of thing you only see in... well. We won't go there.

FUUUHT BAWWWWWL.

You know what, I enjoyed seeing the defences flying around to be honest. So I suppose I'm glad the Eagles won for that reason. They absolutely shut Mahomes down which was good to see. Although, it kind of proves our early season chat that Offensive lines are going to be the most important factor

@Ravix 🤣 Touché. I conveniently forgot about all my other early season picks.

That is one attractive thing about the NFL — every season there are favorites who choke and wildly underperform (for this year the Niners, and to a lesser degree Miami) and also low tier teams that come out of nowhere (Commanders and Texans). It’s what keeps the different fanbases engaged. When they see a Commanders team turn things around so quickly it gives all teams hope.

As for the other issue you brought up, I didn’t see it (I was only watching off and on) although I’m not surprised there was a bipolar response when the president was shown. To live here in this political climate is truly surreal. There really is a huge schism that has fractured society. Sports has always been a way to come together and share in a common distraction but the politics have seeped into every facet of life, it seems. But yeah, I’ll leave it at that. We do live in precarious times.

I’m glad the NFL season is over, and we can shift focus to the NBA, which I feel is going to have a fascinating sprint to the end this last third of the season. I’m also interested to see the NCAA March Madness get going, but I realize that carries less international interest.

@Pizzamorg Although I doubt it was entirely scripted, I agree that you have a point about the Chiefs having an inflated record which oversold their team ability. We’ll never know for sure but I suspect Buffalo, Baltimore, or Houston would have all suffered the same fate against that dominant performance by the Eagles yesterday. I think they were clearly the best team in the league this year. The scary thing is that they have quite a bit of youth on the roster and don’t appear to be slowing down anytime soon. The off season hasn’t begun but Philly is set to be competitive for a while.

I was mostly joking about the script @Th3solution don't worry, I'm not THAT crazy... yet 😂

But yeah, the game was just a "keep it simple, stupid" sorta lesson for a lot of us I think. The Chiefs pretty effectively cancelled out Barkley from the game, and for other teams that might make sense, as most teams usually only have one or two key pieces, but the Eagles had a super roster on both sides of the ball, so cancelling out just one star player didn't really matter. I do think the Bills and Ravens could have taken the fight to the Eagles better than the Chiefs were able to, but I do think in the end, this super Eagles team could have beaten both of them as well.

I do hope if nothing else, we can take from this a more normal conversation about football again next season. The Chiefs really for the last three or so seasons have been the place analysis has gone to die, because we had this irrational fear of this team. It was like this stranglehold on conversations, as time and time again logic was not in the Chiefs favour, and it just didn't matter. They would win anyway, or even if they lost early in the season, still scrape enough wins to be in the playoffs anyway, to the point where it almost felt like the regular season was completely irrelevant for this team, cause the playoffs had basically become the Arrowhead Invitational.

I hope next year we can start talking again about how poorly built this roster is, how they don't play enjoyable football for the eye test and even data wise, it doesn't match the station that has been placed on them. That 2022 Vikings team were called frauds every week for like two months before they went into the playoffs, and people were right, but its funny how the Chiefs are doing the same thing and people treat them like geniuses. Let's start giving this team the same treatment every other team in the league is given, cause tonight the Eagles proved the Chiefs are mortal.

@Th3solution the 76ers can now tank without anyone really caring too. A super bowl is a good distraction for a city and they need to protect that draft pick.

I agree, tbe NBA is set to be pretty exciting for the run in. Although right now there is only maybe 3 teams in the east, there is room for others to move up or hit form. And the west, even though there's only maybe 2 or 3 contenders (still counting Denver because of Jokic, even though they kind of traded away/lost their role players at the year's start) the rest are so even that anyone could become the "surprise" contender, from Houston to Golden State!

What do you make of New York, and why are Boston such a tough match up for them? It was something like an 82 point differential in the two games or something like that. Considering how bad Boston can be when they are messing about 5 out, there's something about the NY match up.

Although, KP was out for both those games. Which goes back to what I was saying, we play better without him, even though he himself is playing well. JT and JB just seem more driven to win and less lazy and reliant on KP. It will be interesting to see of they sort this out by the playoffs, but for the teams benefit, starting Horford might be wiser and having KP backing up the first rotation. Maybe 3 stars is just too much for a proper distribution of shots and usage, and spreading them out can make the team better overall.

But then again, if they work it out having all 3 options available, without just trying to force it to the miss match every time at the expense of the other stars being aggressive it will be unstoppable.

@Ravix
Hey, just wanted to get in on this comment cuz I enjoy the NBA and as a Knicks fan, I saw the talk about the 76ers and the Celtics and had to jump in.
I'd be happy to see the 76ers continue on their downward trajectory. Maxey is that dude and he was my # 1 choice for the Knicks to draft him a few years ago (which the Knicks ultimately took I.Quickley, who was then part of the OG trade) - so from that lens, I hope he does well cuz I saw that he was gonna be a good/great player in the league.
As for the C's - well, it seems like the Knicks start from a place of fear when it comes to them. The Celtics are like kryptonite to NY for some reason (both in matchups and just having bad vibes). It's like the Knicks are awestruck that the Celtics have been in the Finals and are contenders every season and they just get all unorganized and out of their game. Yes, the Cs are stacked with talent but the Knicks have talent too but somehow it's just Jalen Brunson that isn't afraid while the rest of the team already play like they lost. Though somehow the Knicks get up and run circles around the Nuggets (also former champs and consistent contenders).
The Cs will be fine. As a Knicks fan, I'm predisposed to hate them lol

• The Cavs are pretenders though, right?

@straw-hat-crew

Depends if the cavs have the same energy in 3/4 months time.

As of right now they should clearly be contending. It's hard to be great all season and through the playoffs. However, they are great for the conference/league, regardless

I feel like Boston kind of know how to beat both the Cavs and the Knicks, though. So if they don't get in their own way they'd still be favourites. But they have gotten in their own way a lot more this season, which is more like 2 years ago when they were playing like that, and eventually it cost them vs the Heat, despite almost, almost snapping out of it in historical fashion, until JT got injured in the first minute of that game 7.

Boston last year were not playing around, though. And this year, they are playing around a bit too much, which means everyone else has a chance.

I'd be pretty happy with NY, it's a very good team they have assembled, Brunson is a dog, and the team overall is very good. Will Brunson be tired by the end of the season?they do still seem to over rely on him, but that might just be in games like the Boston ones, as I've not seen much else of them to be honest. He can carry a team, clearly, but he shouldn't have to, I guess.

I really like Bridges, Hart and Anunoby though, they should be good in the playoffs at shutting down teams, you'd think.

Also, why does Bridges struggle vs Tatum so bad? As he is a really good, usually.

@Th3solution A.D is out already 😬 does he do warm ups?

@Ravix Yeah, not sure what the deal is with NY, although they have a long history of choking (sorry @straw-hat-crew 😅). I like Brunson, but I’m not sure about KAT. He’s never really been reliable when it counts. He’s a great player and fills the stat sheet in the season but has the tendency to wilt when the pressure is on. Brunson is the opposite though. Dude can ball.

I’m not sure what AD is doing — getting his warm-up program from Kawhi apparently. 😂

@Ravix I think Bridges just falls back into that Knicks vs Boston negative vibes. like I said before, it's that kryptonite green that Boston wears. Also, I mean, Tatum is just real good. He's unpredictable in terms of how he's going to operate offensively, he has an arsenal of moves and it's tough to match up, even for a dude like Bridges. I just know that Tatum will hit that side step slight fade to the right or left 3 pointer and that usually means game over for the opposing team.
and yeah, Brunson can carry the knicks but it can only take the team so far.
@Th3solution Yeah we'll see how it goes with both Brunson and KAT in the playoffs. It'll certainly be a different beast and very matchup dependent in order to see where the knicks really stand in the East playoff picture when it's settled.

-Also, I was a big A.D. fan when he was in N.O but sheesh, this guy can't catch a break - and is def one of the most fragile players in the league. He's so talented but his injuries are more reliable at this point. Lakers with the heist of the century. Jimmy Butler in GSW is just odd. The West is a weird conference.

@Th3solution @straw-hat-crew

Okay, so the all star was... interesting? And since then LA Lakers have lost to Charlotte, Mark Williams played and Luka scored 14 points in 33 minutes. Admittedly I didn't watch it, but it just seems funky and noteworthy. Is there any positives in LA yet? Does it feel like the team will gel eventually, or are they waiting for LeBron to be done first?

Where do you fall on the all star game, too. I thought it was a big bag of unmentionables, despite them "playing harder" for say, 4 minutes total. Why gather all the star players and then have them not able to show off their creativity and talent equally? Not putting in effort defensively is one thing, but making it impossible to put on a show offensively is kind of pointless, right? Maybe 2 or 3 out of all the players got a chance to show off some moves 😅 if someone hits a few threes the game is basically over right away. There was some creative assists occasionally and Kyrie gave JB a dunk in one game. But the rest of that very short game was kind of pointless as they knew they could score 40 before the others if needs be.

Very strange overall. Maybe 160 to 158 is a bit silly, but maybe all star should be a little bit silly, and you can have the coaches pick players like Derick White to defend the offensive all stars, surely? Maybe if they introduce an offensive and defensive vote, or simply have coaches pick defensive all stars if the fans cant manage to do that themselves because we know they'd probably try to vote Trey Young and Lamello into defensive all star teams too, if they could 😅 Does that not kind of solve the issue in a much simpler way though? Pick some defensive all stars and make it a matter of pride for the game 🤷‍♂️

And if not, just go back to letting them play offense as that's what people voted for anyway 🙈