The NBA - basketball talk

Obligatory comment about the Nets getting swept.

I am so sad for that nice man Kyrie Irving.

Said no one ever.

He just looks so punchable...

I'm disappointed by the Bulls' collapse, and exposure as pretenders. Even if they can stay healthy next year, I can't quite put my finger on what needs to change, whether it's a new big, or the coaching.

Doc Rivers is already practicing what he's gonna say if he blows a 3-0 lead...

Edited by wanderlustwarrior on Apr 28th 2022 at 2:15:04 PM

If there ever was a reason to make a Sports version of Tvtropes, I petition to rename Bullying a Dragon in "Doing A Booker", or "Trash Talking Luka".

(For those who didn't follow:

• Mavs and Suns were tied 2-2 in the Western Conference Semifinal
• Phoenix won game 5
• During the game, after being fouled, Devin mimicked a flop, overplaying how hurt he was, then got up laughing and saying "The Luka Special" - a reference to Mavs' superstar Luka Doncic whom he accuses of flopping.
• After the game, when going back to the dressing room, Luka Doncic outright said to a camera "Everybody acting tough when they're up"
• Next, the Mavs win game 6 at home
• And finally, the Mavs utterly demolish the Suns away in game 7. Half-Time Score: 27-27 - except it wasn't Suns v Mavericks, it was Suns v Luka Doncic, who scored as many points in the half as the entire opposing team. He finished with 35 points...while sitting out the entire Fourth Quarter and cheering on the sidelines.

A completely absurd stat in Luka's young career: he has played 4 playoff games in which a loss meant his team was eliminated so far. His averages during those 4 "all or nothing" games? 38 pts, 9.3 rbds, 8.8 asts.

Edited by Bexlerfu on May 19th 2022 at 12:52:05 PM

I mean, Luka does flop and whine though. Even he knows it.

They're a local team for me and it still bugs me when he does it.

Eh, Doncic isn't anywhere close to the NBA gold standard in that regard; that would be Michael Jordan.

I think if there is such a thing as a trash-talking gold standard, it's not Jordan, it's Bird.

And neither Jordan nor Bird were disrespected much. Jordan turned the revenge mode on for the pettiest of reasons.

This was reminiscent of Wade & LBJ making fun of Dirk during the 2011 NBA Finals with a similar outcome. It must be something with the Mavs franchise players that invite both mockery and comeuppance.

I mean, twice in 11 years isn't exactly a huge trend. And it's not even exclusive to the Mavs.

You have other examples of this occurring?

People talk trash all the time. PatBev was just on ESPN accussing Chris Paul of being a flopper and faking injures to excuse his losses. And of course Jimmy Butler had the "Tobias Harris over me???" quote from the last series.

Edited by ElementX on May 22nd 2022 at 12:38:42 PM

I definitely saw moments of Luka and the Mavs "acting tough when they're up" in Game 2. He has had some good games, but I'm still waiting on that comeuppance.

It just happens that people "take it personal", to use the MJ phrase, all the time. But that doesn't mean it'll turn things around. Heck, this very season Lebron was getting on people for doubting his team. Turns out those people were right.

I don't think Jimmy Butler is a good comparison. The dude is always unbelievably intense whether he wins or loses. He basically moved out of Minnesota because the other players weren't playing hard enough for his liking. He is not a fair-weather trash talker in the least - and that is what makes it such a good player IMO come playoff time.

Bev also seems to be the constantly trash-talking type. It's especially impressive since he got on the receiving end of some epic spankings since he is a point guard and the West had some of the best ones for him to guard in the last decade - Paul, Curry, Lillard, Westbrook, Ja now. He might have taken more Ls then Ws due to talking trash throughout his career, but that's just how he behaves, and probably why teams are paying him.

Booker is not constantly trash-talking. That's not an issue in itself, some incredible players did not do it - Shad mentioned how unnerving it was to see Duncan never answering to anything. It's just that he did it when he was up and felt comfortable, and then got two straight losses including a demolition in which his leadership was completely absent.

Basically, if you replace Booker's personality with Beverley's, Luka won't say "Everyone acting tough when they're up", because Beverley is always acting tough.

So, the Warriors went 3-0 against the Mavericks. It's a pretty tough difference, so, odds that Dallas manages to win at least one game?

I'd be stunned by a sweep, but it really seems like Game 3 was the must win.

NBA finals are set!

One way or another, a tie will be broken. Either the Celtics will once again have the most NBA championships, or the Warriors will pass the Bulls for third place.

Only other time they've met in the Finals was 1964, the Warriors second year in the Bay Area.

Is it just me who needs to a wider variety of sports news, or does the baskteball World Cup not get as much attention as the soccer one?

The major difference is that the US values the Olympic medal in basketball significantly more than than the FIBA world cup; in contrast the FIFA world cup is clearly a higher priority to an Olympics medal for every major soccer power.

Why, though?

My best guess is that the FIFA World Cup has benefited far longer from having the full roster of professional players available for national teams to select from and display for marketing purposes - in the Olympics the men's tournament rosters are mostly under-23s with only 3 exceptions. With FIBA pros weren't allowed in either of the tournaments, Olympic or otherwise, until the early 90s and so pretty much wash out against each other in overall exposure — the fact that many more people would have heard of the Olympics, beyond hardcore sports fans, probably tips the balance then in terms of relative popularity. I figure the same is true for other sports and their international governing bodies.

Edited by megarockman on May 30th 2022 at 6:42:48 AM

As of the end of Game 5, Draymond Green is at 25 total points, 24 total fouls. Jeez...

So, do you think this gets to game 7?

No clue, honestly. I think it kind of comes down to how well Draymond plays defensively in game 6.

Yo can someone help me make this page?

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Film/Hustle

Im gonna continue tommorow

Edited by pewerhetew on Jun 16th 2022 at 6:08:37 AM

Warriors win it comfortably.

As far as all time ranking goes, I'd put Steph comparable to Shaq as far as transformative players, but not an absolute GOAT. If he wins a fifth championship, then the conversation gets really spicy.

A fantastically produced video on iso/dribble moves.