₦airaland Forum

Najdorf:
Defense these days is only played in the last 5 minutes of the fourth quarter

Lol we had people arguing with Luka and Jokic when they said it is easier to score in the NBA than in Europe. Armchair fans were arguing with people that played both environments

Just when LeBron is about to break the scoring record, people are bringing up the notion that it's easier to score in this era This insecurity dey pepper my eye. Una go dey alright las las

A40:
Lol we had people arguing with Luka and Jokic when they said it is easier to score in the NBA than in Europe. Armchair fans were arguing with people that played both environments

That is because people who lambast the defense played don't use the logical points Luka, Jokic and Giannis have made. It is easier to score in the nba, than in euro league because
1) The court is bigger in the nba, hence more spacing for players who pound for pound are more talented and athletic.
2) The 3seconds paint rule, that exist in the nba doesn't exist in eurobasketball. So as Luka clearly explained in his appearance on Reddicks podcast, that makes it easier to get to the rim because it takes away the ability for a team to just park one big in the restricted area like they are allowed to do in the Euro basketball.
3) The games last longer in the nba, which ensures that a good to great scorer has atleast 5mins where they are faced against lesser talented defenders, because of squad rotations, especially in the regular season.

Facts don't care about Bronsexual feelings.

29 teams are averaging 109 pts per game.

57 guys are averaging 20 or more per game this season.

Never happened in league history

Khanben:
That is because people who lambast the defense played don't use the logical points Luka, Jokic and Giannis have made. It is easier to score in the nba, than in euro league because
1) The court is bigger in the nba, hence more spacing for players who pound for pound are more talented and athletic.
2) The 3seconds paint rule, that exist in the nba doesn't exist in eurobasketball. So as Luka clearly explained in his appearance on Reddicks podcast, that makes it easier to get to the rim because it takes away the ability for a team to just park one big in the restricted area like they are allowed to do in the Euro basketball.
3) The games last longer in the nba, which ensures that a good to great scorer has atleast 5mins where they are faced against lesser talented defenders, because of squad rotations, especially in the regular season.

The eye test alone for anyone who's been watching basketball since the mid 90s can tell.

Bringing up the European contingent really just buttresses the general argument.

Anyone who watched 1999 Spurs or 04 Pistons will not recognize what he is watching today.

Just watch Jordan Poole every night and see how he double dribbles or our favorite Ajala and even Giannis carrying like running backs. The whistles are a lot looser

There's really no shot protection. Teams are rolling without bigs or bigs that can guard the paint.

You cannot hand check

Teams are taking 35-45 3's a night.

It's a no brainer and I don't see why it needs argument

Lol. Thank God no referee to blame today. Though I no go put am past some shameless people

13 more FTs than the Pelicans

29 more FTs than the Pacers previously

This one go just dey Nairaland 247 dey bad belle Lakers and LeBron. No go find work.

O ti jo werey. Werey alaso

It's the weekend you foolish baboon.

You think everyone spends their working hours felching another adult man like you do. You that come here 24/7 to twerk for the Lakers and Lebron you're doing paid work abi. Asinwin

I just wan know if referee dey to blame today?

A40:
The eye test alone for anyone who's been watching basketball since the mid 90s can tell.

Bringing up the European contingent really just buttresses the general argument.

Anyone who watched 1999 Spurs or 04 Pistons will not recognize what he is watching today.

Just watch Jordan Poole every night and see how he double dribbles or our favorite Ajala and even Giannis carrying like running backs. The whistles are a lot looser

There's really no shot protection. Teams are rolling without bigs or bigs that can guard the paint.

You cannot hand check

Teams are taking 35-45 3's a night.

It's a no brainer and I don't see why it needs argument

Don't forget, the NBA made adjustments to the schedule which means, no NBA plays 4 games in 5 consecutive days.

How about load management? Most star players do not play 3 games if they are occurring in consecutive days. We continue to see fans spend money to purchase tickets in hopes of watching their stars only to be disappointed because they don't suit up.

Finally and the most annoying, this same guys are asking for the league to cut the number of regular season games from 82 to 72!

This guy fit be low key Lakers/LeBron fan o. Because he watches more Lakers games than the average hater Anytime the Lakers play he's here making one comment or the other. We go dey observe am closely

Roland17:
Don't forget, the NBA made adjustments to the schedule which means, no NBA plays 4 games in 5 consecutive days.

How about load management? Most star players do not play 3 games if they are occurring in consecutive days. We continue to see fans spend money to purchase tickets in hopes of watching their stars only to be disappointed because they don't suit up.

Finally and the most annoying, this same guys are asking for the league to cut the number of regular season games from 82 to 72!

Naah this present generation of players are definitely different. They have normalized load management to the point it's now a culture. Bear in mind Michael Jordan in 13 full seasons they say 15 but he really played 13. Featured in 82 games 9 times! Including his age 40 season.

I cannot blame the players and teams when the fans are not voting with their feet. If you're a fan still spending your hard earned money when you're repeatedly burned then you have yourself to blame.

Fewer games mean more costs passed down to the customers. Notice nobody has talked about collecting less money. And nor should they.

In the end everyone is out to game the system as much as they can. Do the least work for the most money. It's the paying customer that has to decide if he wants to be a MAGA or not

A40:
Naah this present generation of players are definitely different. They have normalized load management to the point it's now a culture. Bear in mind Michael Jordan in 13 full seasons they say 15 but he really played 13. Featured in 82 games 9 times! Including his age 40 season.

I cannot blame the players and teams when the fans are not voting with their feet. If you're a fan still spending your hard earned money when you're repeatedly burned then you have yourself to blame.

Fewer games mean more costs passed down to the customers. Notice nobody has talked about collecting less money. And nor should they.

In the end everyone is out to game the system as much as they can. Do the least work for the most money. It's the paying customer that has to decide if he wants to be a MAGA or not

This idea that it's players that are spearheading the load management push is something I don't totally buy. Media has a way of spinning things in such a way to create controversy, thus ensuring talking points, which sells becausetheaveragefan just laps it up.
Which players exactly are clamoring for it, is it Giannis, KD, Luka, Steph, Tatum, Lebron, Embiid, Ja, Dmitch etc.
I am saying this because, it just came out recently, that Iverson was not the main guy against the David Stern dressing code, but Duncan, Dirk and Nash, but the way the media portrayed it during those days was as if AI was the guy spearheading the whole dress as you want push.
Kawhi, Kyrie, Simmons are 3 guys who have been missing games due to issues that every fan should have issues with, but I cannot recall the time Giannis, Luka, Tatum, missed a bunch of games because they wanted to sit out and not because of injuries or the team making the decision on their behalf.

A40:
Naah this present generation of players are definitely different. They have normalized load management to the point it's now a culture. Bear in mind Michael Jordan in 13 full seasons they say 15 but he really played 13. Featured in 82 games 9 times! Including his age 40 season.

I cannot blame the players and teams when the fans are not voting with their feet. If you're a fan still spending your hard earned money when you're repeatedly burned then you have yourself to blame.

Fewer games mean more costs passed down to the customers. Notice nobody has talked about collecting less money. And nor should they.

In the end everyone is out to game the system as much as they can. Do the least work for the most money. It's the paying customer that has to decide if he wants to be a MAGA or not

Naaa baba! The NBA players with their Wokeness are the ones trying to be different. The referees have become the MVP and main attraction with their whistles! E remain make we give those ones flags!

The last time me and you checked, the NFL expanded from 16 to 17 games. We are talking about the most violent and physical game. The players don’t want to sit, they want to compete as long as their bar is secure. Have you read or heard load management in the NFL?

How about the NHL, the 2nd most violent sport? Those ones beat themselves, slice each other and sometimes a legal free for all fight for 82 games! There are even talks of even expanding the games.. So na, this isn’t about American sports but a bunch of weaklings in the NBA who are softer than fresh Agege bread. No one dares sit out or load manage their stars even when the teams are bad or in a losing season!

How about the MLB? These cats play 162 games in a season. With the exception of pitchers, healthy players play 100 games or more, nearly 5 hours of each! Who are we kidding here! No load management, especially for outfield players. The NBA is allowing a lot of nonsense and that is why the ratings have continued to drop.

Notice, I no neva even begin talk in game issues.

Roland17:
Naaa baba! The NBA players with their Wokeness are the ones trying to be different. The referees have become the MVP and main attraction with their whistles! E remain make we give those ones flags!

The last time me and you checked, the NFL expanded from 16 to 17 games. We are talking about the most violent and physical game. The players don’t want to sit, they want to compete as long as their bar is secure. Have you read or heard load management in the NFL?

How about the NHL, the 2nd most violent sport? Those ones beat themselves, slice each other and sometimes a legal free for all fight for 82 games! There are even talks of even expanding the games.. So na, this isn’t about American sports but a bunch of weaklings in the NBA who are softer than fresh Agege bread. No one dares sit out or load manage their stars even when the teams are bad or in a losing season!

How about the MLB? These cats play 162 games in a season. With the exception of pitchers, healthy players play 100 games or more, nearly 5 hours of each! Who are we kidding here! No load management, especially for outfield players. The NBA is allowing a lot of nonsense and that is why the ratings have continued to drop.

Notice, I no neva even begin talk in game issues.

The league wide average for games played in an Nba season is readily available online, and as far as I know it hovers around 80%. The idea that players are not playing is just false, because 3-4 guys miss a lot of games does not mean everyone all of a sudden does the same.
You just used MLB as an example, if we give players a generous average of 120 games played that is still around 74%.
So why is no one yelling about load management in baseball?

Khanben:
The league wide average for games played in an Nba season is readily available online, and as far as I know it hovers around 80%. The idea that players are not playing is just false, because 3-4 guys miss a lot of games does not mean everyone all of a sudden does the same.
You just used MLB as an example, if we give players a generous average of 120 games played that is still around 74%.
So why is no one yelling about load management in baseball?

Don’t jumble stats and present to me…80% of who? Bench, G-league and role players average? Are those the players fans pay huge sums to come watch? A kid flew thousands of miles to watch Butler only for load management to strike! That kid’s parents did not shell thousands of dollars for the kid to watch Oladipo, Herro, Strus..

Here is a better stat. NBA stars miss an average of 28 games because of load management, not injuries oh, load management. From Zion, to Kawhi, to PG13, KD, Tatum to Embiid, to AD, you name it! Credit to Ajala he has refused to sit longer because of his chase. This shouldn’t even be an argument bro..

Should I give you the average number of minutes of star players from over the last 10 years so you can see the steep decline in minutes played? Not because of injuries but load management and rest! Man rest abeg!

Roland17:
Don’t jumble stats and present to me…80% of who? Bench, G-league and role players average? Are those the players fans pay huge sums to come watch? A kid flew thousands of miles to watch Butler only for load management to strike! That kid’s parents did not shell thousands of dollars for the kid to watch Oladipo, Herro, Strus..

Here is a better stat. NBA stars miss an average of 28 games because of load management, not injuries oh, load management. From Zion, to Kawhi, to PG13, KD, Tatum to Embiid, to AD, you name it! Credit to Ajala he has refused to sit longer because of his chase. This shouldn’t even be an argument bro..

Should I give you the average number of minutes of star players from over the last 10 years so you can see the steep decline in minutes played? Not because of injuries but load management and rest! Man rest abeg!

That is a false stat, and a big fat lie, so injuries no longer happen in sports right, the media's mission not to differentiate missing games due to injury and sitting out is rearing its ugly head now because people are just swallowing it hook line and sinker.
From Zion,Murray Simmons, Kyrie, AD, Lonzo, Embiid,KD these are the players who have missed big chunks of the last 3 years and not one of them missed it because of load management.
In the last 5 years, not one of the top 2 guys on any team apart from Kawhi, Kyrie, Simmons, Harden have missed 15+games in a season for anything less than injuries. And in the case of Kyrie, Simmons and Harden we all know their reasons was not load management.
This thread is filled with discussions on AD and Zion being injury prone, and now all of a sudden it's no longer because of injuries but it's load management

PS: As a comparism, Madrid has had two problematic signings in the past decade in Bale and Hazard, but every body knows that both cases are not the same, one decided to down tools while the other can't just stay fit because he keeps getting injured.

Nets to Mavs. I don’t know how to feel

donlittle25:
Nets to Mavs. I don’t know how to feel

Personally i don't like betting your future on Kyrie, but with a history of failing to land FAs I can understand why they took the gamble

Kyrie to the Mavericks. Didn't see that one coming at all

donlittle25:
Nets to Mavs. I don’t know how to feel

Always wanted to see what Kyrie would look like with a legit second guy.

This is a very interesting trade. If they can get a big

Seems Steph has picked up a pretty serious injury.

Saw tibiofibular something something so that must not be good I'm guessing

A40:
Kyrie to the Mavericks. Didn't see that one coming at all

The Mavs can not afford to treat Doncic like Dirk! Your Mavs have to invest in that roster and show Doncic they plan to build seriously around him, otherwise he may walk. Replace Kyrie with Brunson and the Mavs make it to the NBA finals.

Roland17:
The Mavs can not afford to treat Doncic like Dirk! Your Mavs have to invest in that roster and show Doncic they plan to build seriously around him, otherwise he may walk. Replace Kyrie with Brunson and the Mavs make it to the NBA finals.

Are they going to play with 2 balls?

Who will defend?

A40:
Kyrie to the Mavericks. Didn't see that one coming at all

I don't think they complement each other. Luka needs a superstar wing or big that can defend, not another ball dominant guard that can't defend.

afrodoc2:
Are they going to play with 2 balls?

Who will defend?

Defense at the top is probably the biggest issue but part of their defensive problem is their pace on offense.

As for the ball, Kyrie can play off the ball, he has done that with different superstar players. I think it gives them some edge, especially when games are close.

Opponents can no longer double Doncic and shut down the Mavs in the 4th. The pace of their offense, particularly transition offense will significantly improve with Kyrie on the floor.

Doncic will remain the primary ball handler but in Kyrie you have a capable player that can win you games. He is a significant upgrade from Brunson and Dimwiddie.

I am more worried about the lack of consistency from role players like Wood and Hardaway. If both players can give the Mavs good consistent minutes, they will be okay.

Khanben:
That is a false stat, and a big fat lie, so injuries no longer happen in sports right, the media's mission not to differentiate missing games due to injury and sitting out is rearing its ugly head now because people are just swallowing it hook line and sinker.
From Zion,Murray Simmons, Kyrie, AD, Lonzo, Embiid,KD these are the players who have missed big chunks of the last 3 years and not one of them missed it because of load management.
In the last 5 years, not one of the top 2 guys on any team apart from Kawhi, Kyrie, Simmons, Harden have missed 15+games in a season for anything less than injuries. And in the case of Kyrie, Simmons and Harden we all know their reasons was not load management.
This thread is filled with discussions on AD and Zion being injury prone, and now all of a sudden it's no longer because of injuries but it's load management

PS: As a comparism, Madrid has had two problematic signings in the past decade in Bale and Hazard, but every body knows that both cases are not the same, one decided to down tools while the other can't just stay fit because he keeps getting injured.

Let me help you out here. I will use today as an example. The Grizzlies sat Ja Morant, do you know the reason? Go figure, a convenient way to load manage and rest Ja. How about the Nuggets? Well, Jokic, Murray, Gordon and KCP did not even make the trip...Are they injured? You tell me because I know the answer. Come and explain to me the injuries all 4 starters suffered that made them stay back in Denver!

You are seriously telling me that you are unaware NBA teams use historical injuries or different types of injuries to justify load management? Since teams can't rest their players, they use previous/ most recent injuries to justify not playing these stars. No one is talking about long term injuries here, I am not that inconsiderate but to deny that teams are intentionally using resolved or historical injuries to rest star players is absolutely false.

The NBA tried to force the hands of NBA teams when teams started resting star players during Nationally televised games but it failed because teams started using historical injuries which has made. You should look up the Kwahi Leonard rule and stop this pretense. The NBA instituted a 100K fine for any team resting a star player, you want to guess how many teams have gotten fined? None because teams use historical injuries to justify load management and rest.

I mean, how come these players are not load managed during the post season? Why are players playing heavy minutes in the playoffs? who are we kidding here? The numbers don't lie

afrodoc2:
I don't think they complement each other. Luka needs a superstar wing or big that can defend, not another ball dominant guard that can't defend.

He needs another ball dominant guard IMO to lessen the workload on him and to learn how to play with another stay. He has to decide if he wants to be a solo act all his career or if he wants to play with another star and improve his chances to win

I don't see why they can't get a big wing like Jae Crowder that can defend. They just need 1 or 2 3 and D guys and they will be fine. The West is wide open. Denver is the only team looking like a machine with Murray and Porter Jr healthy

Roland17:
The Mavs can not afford to treat Doncic like Dirk! Your Mavs have to invest in that roster and show Doncic they plan to build seriously around him, otherwise he may walk. Replace Kyrie with Brunson and the Mavs make it to the NBA finals.

Well Kyrie is the first step. Still think they need a big wing on defense. But in late close games Kyrie and Doncic would be absolute nightmares especially in isolation

You can't double Doncic anymore. And with a coach like Jason Kidd I'd really want to see the play he draws up.

Luka is often compared to Lebron so I don't see why this cannot work if Kyrie does not display his usual skoinskoin. At least for this season that he will need to audition for a big contract

A40:
Well Kyrie is the first step. Still think they need a big wing on defense. But in late close games Kyrie and Doncic would be absolute nightmares especially in isolation

You can't double Doncic anymore. And with a coach like Jason Kidd I'd really want to see the play he draws up.

Luka is often compared to Lebron so I don't see why this cannot work if Kyrie does not display his usual skoinskoin. At least for this season that he will need to audition for a big contract

Absolutely! All the Mavs have to worry about is getting Kyrie on the court, the off the court issues are what they are. I am not sure of a better scoring combination than Kyrie/ Doncic with the game on the line. They will rank top 3 in any list drafted today! Cuban knows he is running out of time with Doncic and at this time, a 1 year rental doesn't hurt anyone.

afrodoc2:
I don't think they complement each other. Luka needs a superstar wing or big that can defend, not another ball dominant guard that can't defend.

Agreed. Luka needs shots to get his rhythm going, in fact he usually misses his first few. That is at odds with Kyrie who also needs the offense to flow through him to get him going.

Yes, in a late game situation having to guard both would be difficult, but playoffs Kyrie is nothing cant be tamed. Even with KD they couldnt do much last year. Granted they had a terrible coach and the team had not gelled, but Kyries one dimensional game does not translate well into playoffs like everyone thinks.

Roland17:
Absolutely! All the Mavs have to worry about is getting Kyrie on the court, the off the court issues are what they are. I am not sure of a better scoring combination than Kyrie/ Doncic with the game on the line. They will rank top 3 in any list drafted today! Cuban knows he is running out of time with Doncic and at this time, a 1 year rental doesn't hurt anyone.

3 teams have tried to get rid of those off the court issues and failed. At some point, someone will realize the offcourt issues are way bigger than the on court. If you cant fix the former, best to stay away

Roland17:
Don't forget, the NBA made adjustments to the schedule which means, no NBA plays 4 games in 5 consecutive days.

How about load management? Most star players do not play 3 games if they are occurring in consecutive days. We continue to see fans spend money to purchase tickets in hopes of watching their stars only to be disappointed because they don't suit up.

Finally and the most annoying, this same guys are asking for the league to cut the number of regular season games from 82 to 72!

You are right about all this. But I would argue the old rules would have favored Lebron just as well. Guys like Ewing, Elton Brand, Malone, The forwards of the 90s did really well under those old rules you mentioned. A skilled forward like Lebron would still have dropped 40+ nightly with a PG like Pippen or Stockton, or Mark Jackson.

I was watching Lebron the other night, almost 20 years in the league, dribbling from the top of the key, sidestepping 2 defenders and finishing with a left hand roll. With a PF/C body! I dont care what era, that is beyond special. No way around it.