2017-2018 Official NBA Regular season

[Al Bundy]

Let's start it... Warriors going for a back to back and 3 out of 4. Yikes for Gordon Hayward.

[kcxiv]

but they LOST!!!!

Anyways, So happy the Lakers are playing tough games and winning more then they are losing by a good margin lately! They will be back to where they belong in a year or 2.

[TEX]

Originally Posted by kcxiv

but they LOST!!!!

Anyways, So happy the Lakers are playing tough games and winning more then they are losing by a good margin lately! They will be back to where they belong in a year or 2.

I don't know. They're still pretty far behind all the decent teams in the West in terms of talent. They're like the "best" of the bad teams.

[TEX]

Originally Posted by banecat

Nobody can do it alone. Lebron did very well on his own when he was a lot younger. Unless if anyone knows of an example of him having at least one helper before he went to the Heat? Then he had Wade. Then it was Irving. Does he really have anyone now? Has Love stepped up enough yet?

That's exactly why I don't think the Cavs get out of the 2nd round this year. I'd be very surprised if they manage to make the Eastern Conf. Finals, regardless if Lebron is beasting.

For anyone to say that Lebron would win another ring, if the Rockets can somehow manage to get past the Warriors this season, is very far fetched IMO. Not with the team he has now. No way.

[banecat]

Originally Posted by TEX

That's exactly why I don't think the Cavs get out of the 2nd round this year. I'd be very surprised if they manage to make the Eastern Conf. Finals, regardless if Lebron is beasting.

For anyone to say that Lebron would win another ring, if the Rockets can somehow manage to get past the Warriors this season is very far fetched IMO. Not with the team he has now. No way.

I'll give them the EC Finals. But not winning it. The Raptors are psyched out by him still, but it could wear off. It could be the year that it does. But the game is a huge part psychological as well as physical. Boston will have to keep on winning regular seasons until they have everyone back.

The Wizards can beat Lebron. If or when they meet, that will end the Cav's season. I'm not sure if the younger teams have what it takes yet, but maybe they play with house money, or smell blood in the water and attack. It matters little as the winner in the west will win it all anyway

[alpha_omega]

LeBron James on his MVP vote: 'I would vote for me ... I would definitely vote for me'

LeBron James doesn't care about James Harden's consensus MVP season. Even with Harden averaging over 30 points a game and 8.7 assists per game; even with the Rockets in first place in the bizarre Western Conference, James just isn't that impressed -- at least not compared to what he's done this season. That was made abundantly clear when James was asked who he would vote for for MVP this year if he could.

"I would vote for me," James said, via the Associated Press on Tuesday. "The body of work, how I'm doing it, what's been happening with our team all year long, how we've got so many injuries and things of that nature, guys in and out, to be able to still keep this thing afloat, I definitely would vote me."

There's one thing James is right about: The Cavaliers are a mess this year. From weird injuries to weird drama to Tyronn Lue falling ill, there is absolutely no reason that the Cavs should be in third place in the Eastern Conference. But they're there, fighting off teams like the 76ers and the Pacers, who are challenging the Cavaliers from even clinching home court in the opening round of the playoffs.

James is averaging 27.4 points per game, 9.1 assists per game and 8.6 rebounds per game. More than that, he opens up our annual conversation for what an MVP is. Imagine the Rockets without Harden vs. the Cavaliers without James. That's James' best case -- but the voting criteria hasn't been that for a while. If it were, you could never argue for guys like Stephen Curry to get the award on the vaunted Warriors.

"At this point in my career, I'm just trying to break the mold, break the narrative of guys in their 15th year. ... I'm trying to do things that have never been done before," James told The AP. "It's crazy because I'm not setting out to do it. It's just kind of happening organically. I'm just training my body and training my mind and going out and playing and seeing what happens."

The MVP award has gone for James the same way the Coach of the Year award has gone for Gregg Popovich or Bill Belichick in the NFL. People just kind of accept that, by most metrics, James is probably the most valuable player in the NBA, from a value standpoint. However, that isn't necessarily what the MVP is about anymore.

Either way, this year has presented the Cavaliers with some seriously weird challenges that they've had to overcome. If James can do so and lead the team to a deep playoff run this year, then it could be the most impressive feat of his career, MVP or no MVP.

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/l...y-vote-for-me/

[KC_Connection]

I would vote for him too.

[banecat]

He'd have my vote. Would that team even have double digit wins without him on the roster? He may put the team on his back and lead them to another NBA Finals

[KC_Connection]

“Defense was tougher when MJ played”

LMFAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO pic.twitter.com/elaynULAKR

— Barry McCockiner (@Sp0rtsTalkJo3) March 28, 2018

Read the entire thread after this one.

[BigCatDaddy]

Wow.... A Brent Price sighting. Loved the guy at OU, but not such a great NBA player

[kcxiv]

Originally Posted by TEX

I don't know. They're still pretty far behind all the decent teams in the West in terms of talent. They're like the "best" of the bad teams.

eh, they have beaten some of the "great" teams and if they arent beating them, they are keeping it close. Thats all you can ask out of a team thats so damned young. They will get better next year as some of the teams get a little worse.

You can see the growth of the team. Thats all you can ask for with a team thats so damned young. That with them being able to sign a big named player. They will be right back in it. Im not saying they will with a chip next year, but they should make the play offs for the first time in a few years.

[Amnorix]

Kyrie Irving is done for the season. No playoffs for him. Can't wait to see what the Celtics do next year IF THEY CAN STAY HEALTHY!

[BWillie]

Harden should win MVP, but I can definitely see the argument for LeBron. He's never been better, his team is just worse. Turns out it wasn't Isaiah Thomas fault?

[alpha_omega]

Huh???????

Thunder broadcaster suspended for 'cotton-picking' comment about Russell Westbrook

The Oklahoma City Thunder have suspended play-by-play announcer Brian Davis for one game after he said guard Russell Westbrook was "out of his cotton-pickin' mind" during Wednesday night's broadcast.

In a statement to ESPN, Davis said he accepted the suspension and apologized for using the phrase, which he said was not intentionally derogatory but drew criticism on social media for its racial undertones.

"It is with great remorse and humility that I accept this suspension for the insensitive words I used during Wednesday's broadcast," Davis told ESPN on Friday afternoon. "While unintentional, I understand and acknowledge the gravity of the situation. I offer my sincere apology and realize that, while I committed a lapse in judgment, such mistakes come with consequences. This is an appropriate consequence for my actions."

Thunder vice president of broadcasting Dan Mahoney told The Norman Transcript on Thursday that the term was "offensive and inappropriate."

"Brian assures me that it was not meant in any derogatory way, and he apologizes," Mahoney told the newspaper. "But again, we feel strongly that it’s inappropriate and offensive."

Davis, who is white, is in his 10th season as the Thunder's play-by-play broadcaster. He used the phrase in the second quarter of the team's 137-123 win over the Memphis Grizzlies after Westbrook impressively flipped the ball to Terrance Ferguson in the corner for an open three. Westbrook finished with six points, 20 rebounds and 19 assists.

The adjective "cotton-picking" has roots in the American South and has historically been used as a synonym for "damned."

Did he just say “Westbrook is out of his cotton-picking mind”?..... pic.twitter.com/fvPZ5cTkjx

— Mark Robinson (@MarkyRobs) April 12, 2018
Mahoney told The Norman Transcript that it would be up to Davis to decide when or if he addressed his use of the phrase during any future broadcasts. Matt Pinto, the team's radio voice, will fill in for Davis on the broadcast when the Thunder host the Utah Jazz in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series Sunday night, according to multiplemedia outlets.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sport...ive/513835002/

[Rudy tossed tigger's salad]

I live in Texas and had never heard the phrase.

[alpha_omega]

Originally Posted by Rudy tossed tigger's salad

I live in Texas and had never heard the phrase.

Really? I thought it was a common phrase since i have been hearing it for years.