digiskunk wrote: Mon Apr 09, 2018 1:11 pm
We're entering yet another season, Stephen A — and you know what that means! — that means we have to start a fresh thread. Oooh, I'm so excited! As you know, the Phoenix Suns won the finals, which is why I'm wearing these hot new sunglasses to commemorate the occasion. Thank you for the custom-fitted shades, Ray-Ban's. Don't they look fantastic? I think so.
But let's tackle some more important matters. It's draft day, Stephen A, and I have a lot that I'd like to discuss. The first 5 selections have already been made, and they've certainly been interesting ones: The Miami Heat have broken things wide open by selecting World B. Free (who I can guarantee will be a star within the next decade), the Bucks selected Devin Booker (who's already charming all the ladies with his charisma and knowledge of Chinese checkers), the Raptors selected Ramsay Bolton (whose basketball IQ is second only to my own), and the Warriors selected Collin Sexton (I'll get to him later).
Out of all these draft-day selections, I'm intrigued the most by World B. Free, simply because he has the exact kind of skillset you'd like to see in a 1st overall pick. He can score the ball at will, he can play the role distributor and pass the ball to his teammates, and his defense is immaculate. Need I say more? Now, if I had to pick a player who has the most "bust potential", it would have to be Collin Sexton. Stephen A, there's absolutely nothing about this player that impresses me in the slightest bit. Sure, he may develop a good jumpshot down the road, but other than that he doesn't have that high of a ceiling. I think they would have made off with the steal if they picked Cheick Diallo, but instead they chose to SCREW THEMSELVES like the Warriors usually do.
kucoach7 wrote: Fri May 11, 2018 11:37 am
I think a word should be be said about the trade deadline before it gets too far behind in the rear view mirror. There are some around the league that feel like Clippers GM Clipsrback should have included #metoo when he accepted the Durant trade. I am not of that opinion. In all honesty, when I first saw the trade, I threw up a little in my mouth. Then I TOOK A STEP BACK, thought about it FROM THE NUGGETS PERSPECTIVE, and proceeded to PUKE MY PANTS! I wasn't thrilled about this trade for the Clippers simply because they already have a point guard on a long-term deal. In terms of talent, I like Chet and Durant is about to WALK in free agency. If Chet is the best they could get, then SO BE IT. My dislike of the trade from the Nuggets perspective is simply a matter of taste. The Nuggets are ONE HUNDRED PERCENT ALL-IN. I think the league is trending away from this sort of behavior but when you look at the SUCCESS the MAGIC HAD WITH IT, why not take a shot? So, while I'm not a huge fan of it, I UNDERSTAND IT and believe it is CONSISTENT with the syndicate's plan for this year, so GOOD FOR HIM.
Skip Bayless, there are two things that separate the Bulls and the Pistons. ONE, Anthony Davis, arguably the greatest player to ever GRACE THE HARDWOOD WITH HIS PRESENCE, missed FOURTEEN GAMES this year. FOURTEEN! The PISTONS went THREE and ELEVEN in those games. So that is one reason the Bulls are DOMINATING. NUMBER TWO! The Pistons had the sixth pick in the 2018 draft. They selected Stephen Keitt. Now, I got nothing against Keitt. He is going to be a PROLIFIC player some day. He can defend inside and out. He can score inside and out and YET, AND YET, I WAS SHOCKED! SHOCKED! I thought for sure they would draft NONE OTHER THAN the starting point guard for the CHICAGO BULLS, DENNIS SMITH JR. Dennis will not be as complete a player as Keitt when all is said and done but Dennis was ready to start on day one and Keitt, well, some might say that Keitt still isn't ready. Taking more than three years to develop isn't a crime, it's the norm, but when you have ANTHONY DAVIS, you need studs now. Dennis Smith Junior has an assist to turnover ratio of FOUR POINT THREE NINE and a PER of TWENTY POINT FOUR. HE IS THIRD IN THE LEAGUE IN STEALS. Imagine if AD had that dude playing next to him!digiskunk wrote: Wed May 16, 2018 11:36 pm
Stephen A, take a look at me. Take a guess: Who am I pretending to be? ... ... Give up yet? I'm pretending to be your boys the CHICAGO BULLS, who are still dominating the DETROIT PISTONS with a 12 game lead, despite the fact that the ****TONS field the league's very best player. Stephen A, I want to dedicate this entire segment to the Chicago Bulls, who are single-handedly turning this league into their own personal playground. The Pistols finished last season with a 65‒17 record. Right now, they're 12 — I repeat 12 — games behind the Chicago Bulls. Stephen A, I want to be clear that I am very sincere in my belief that the Chicago Bulls are the next Finals champion. We're talking about a team that's really flexing their muscles right now and I think it's about god**** time you recognized that fact, Stephen A.
digiskunk wrote: Mon May 21, 2018 9:38 am
Stephen A, as much as I love the Utah Jazz, I can't help but disagree with you on this one. When I take a look at the Phoenix Suns, who are the REIGNING CHAMPIONS might I add, I see a team that's built on unselfish play and sharing the ball. We went through this before, Stephen A, but when Kevin Love is on the court, there's simply no stopping him. It doesn't matter if you play him at small forward or power forward, he's still going to take over the game. Now, the Jazz may have gotten lucky against the Suns earlier in the season, but the Suns are an entirely different beast come playoff time. Watch out, Joseph Kight.
But the one series that I can't wait to see is the #1 Nuggets and the #8 Trailblazers. The Trailblazers shouldn't stand a chance in this one, but if they play their cards right, they could upset the Nuggies. Even at his ADVANCED AGE, Derrick Rose knows how to get the job done and he can make terrible players such as Roy Hibbert even look good. But he's going to need a lot of help from Lavar Ball and Jeremy Lamb if they want to avoid being STEAMROLLED by the NUGGIES
You forgot about ONE THING, Skip Bayless. Or I should say, ONE PERSON. TYLER ULIS. Ulis hung THIRTY-NINE on the Bulls. This dude is the REAL DEAL. HOW DARE YOU? HOW DARE YOU DISRESPECT, DISREGARD, and OUTRIGHT DISMISS TYLER ULIS? This guy is super athletic. He can score from ALL OVER THE FLOOR and CAN DEFEND. When ULIS and JDLR are all growed up, this team is going to be LEGIT! Combine those two with KAT and not even the MIGHTY 76ers will be able to hang with them. So don't you dare. DON'T YOU DARE IGNORE THE BOSTON CELTICS AND TYLER ULIS!digiskunk wrote: Tue May 22, 2018 11:45 am
As I sipped my champagne and watched the Jazz/Suns game from my gazebo last night, I couldn't help but be reminded of the Brooklyn Nets, who lead the league in assists per game this past season — and if you want to know why, it's because the Utah Jazz were putting on a clinic by sharing the basketball. The Jazz had 31 assists that game; the only player who didn't have an assist was Cole Aldrich, who spent most of the evening trying to figure out how to tie his own shoelaces. The Jazz simply out-scored, out-hustled, and out-played the Phoenix Suns, who I must admit looked a little shaken out there. Maybe I was wrong about the Jazz, Stephen A. And maybe for once in your life you were right.
Now that I've gotten that out of my system, I'd like to revisit the Nuggets/Trailblazers series. As you recall, yesterday I predicted that the Failblazers didn't stand a chance in this series and I'm happy to announce that once again, I was right. That's literally all I have to say about that.
But another series I'd like to highlight is this Bulls/Celtics matchup, which is equally as fascinating as it is one-sided. Unless Karl-Anthony Towns gets his act together, this series is going to be over really, really soon, Stephen A. Towns is simply being manhandled out there; they're squeezing him, pinching him in the post, giving him the good ol' reach-around when he least expects it, etc. If the Celtics want any shot of winning this series, Towns is going to have to come out ready to play in game 3. Not only that, they're going to need to score some more points. And most importantly, they're going to have to jump Otto Porter Jr. with a baseball bat and shatter both of his kneecaps so that he can't play. If they do all of these things, they'll win the series, I promise.
digiskunk wrote: Wed May 23, 2018 10:11 am
You're absolutely right, Stephen A, I *did* forget about Tyler Ullis — but that was by design because no matter how hard he tries, we BOTH know that he's incapable of carrying this Boston franchise on his back — especially when you're going up against an opponent with the amount of toughness and fearlessness as the Chicago Bulls. I've been saying it all season-long, Stephen A: The Chicago Bulls are bound to become champions this year, and the Boston Celtics aren't going to be spoiling their plans anytime soon. Tyler Ulis can score 50 points in game 5 — I don't give a ****. The truth of the matter remains that the Boston Celtics have absolutely no shot of winning this series, just like the Frailblazers.
Now We haven't been talking about this Rockets/Warriors series, which I'm surprised has reached game 5. Stephen A, nothing excites me more than a good game of basketball, and that's exactly what we're getting out of this series. How on earth the Warriors are continuing to compete against the ROCKETS, however, is beyond me. Sure they have some good players, but they're lacking the most important ingredient to a championship-caliber team, and that's TESTICULAR FORTITUDE, Stephen A. They're throwing guys out there who are playing like they've got no balls, Stephen A, and I'm overwhelmingly surprised that the Warriors have been able to keep up with the Houston Rockets. And that's about all I've got to say about that.
kucoach7 wrote: Tue May 29, 2018 9:39 am
Skip, I want to make my game 7 picks for the second round right here, RIGHT NOW. Hopefully, I can get them in before being proven wrong, unlike the first round. I desperately want to believe in the Utah Jazz but the solution for the Nuggets is simple. You have two ALL-WORLD wings on your squad. STOP PLAYING FRANK "THE OCTOPUS" GARDEN at the THREE! He's getting TORCHED by James Gebhart, who by the way is tragically underappreciated. All he has to do is switch THE FREAK or THE SLIM REAPER to the three and this series is over.
Now I know I went wrong using this method in the first round but the HOME TEAM has won EVERY GAME in the Sixers-Hawks series. So I got the Sixers in that one. The Hawks ain't gonna get FORTY-FIVE from Carlos Hamburglerstrom and Aaron Donald on the road.
Finally, I'm picking against the DESTROYER OF WORLDS, ANTHONY DAVIS. I love AD. He's a good friend. I got nothin' against him. It won't be HIS fault they LOSE. What I DON'T LIKE is CJ McCollum guarding RUSS WESTBROOK. Game 7. In Chicago. Russ gonna go off.