Originally Posted by DJ's left nut:
Can't say I've seen the Jazz play this year.
I haven't missed much.
These guys suck. The Lakers aren't even playing terribly well and are on pace to score about 150.
Utah starts Svi Mykhaliuk regularly. They are purposely trying to lose as many games as possible to get Flagg (which is the right approach instead of whatever the Raptors are doing). [Reply]
Originally Posted by KC_Connection:
Utah starts Svi Mykhaliuk regularly. They are purposely trying to lose as many games as possible to get Flagg (which is the right approach instead of whatever the Raptors are doing).
Wait - the ex-beaker? The big dude who just kinda stood around looking to take 3s and do...well pretty much nothing else. That guy is in the NBA?
Originally Posted by DJ's left nut:
Hornets looking to dispute the rescinded Williams deal now.
This is just kinda funny at this point. Meanwhile poor Williams is just gonna feel dragged as hell by all this.
Saw that. Complete joke of an organization. They really should just tip toeing out of this situation after what they clearly attempted to do there. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DJ's left nut:
Wait - the ex-beaker? The big dude who just kinda stood around looking to take 3s and do...well pretty much nothing else. That guy is in the NBA?
Jesus. That's bad.
As long as you're 6'6 and can shoot even half decently, you can apparently remain in the NBA for a decade. I wish I was a couple of inches taller and learned how to shoot. [Reply]
There was actually a large segment of Lakers fans and NBA media that continued to squawk that Darvin Ham got a raw deal as recently as December.
This years Lakers, until Luka showed up, weren't terribly dissimilar from a roster construction standpoint than last year's team and yet they are CLEARLY a better team. They're just so much more cohesive on offense and defense. Their rotations make more sense. Their energy level is higher.
It's all things that come back to coaching.
Now NBA coaches are still disposable as hell and it wouldn't shock me if Reddick is gone in 3 years as well. But I'm not coming here to praise JJ Reddick -- I'm here to bury Darvin Ham. That guy was fucking awful. I said it during the season, I said it when they fired him and I'm happy to say it again.
That guy completely sabotaged last year for LA and by simply getting mere competence behind the bench again, the Lakers have put themselves in the same spot in the standings they should've been LAST season when they probably should've been a 4/5 seed based on talent and dodged that first round matchup vs. Denver.
Originally Posted by dirk digler:
Can they beat Denver?
They're better situated to beat Denver than they were.
I said in the playoffs last season that the biggest sin from Ham was that he subjected this team to Denver in the 1st round.
Both teams were built from the middle out, Denver was just built in that fashion but better. The Lakers had no chance to beat that team because Denver did the same thing LAL did but they had more talent doing it.
I said the Nuggest were gettable (turned out they were) but they had to be beaten by a team that did something DIFFERENT than they did and executed that thing at a higher level over a 7 game series. Because nobody is going to go play Denver and beat them at their own game while they have Jokic.
This team can go be a team that does something different, executes that thing, and beats Denver.
Now can they beat Oklahoma City? That's a different animal entirely.
But yeah, I think this team can absolutely being Denver now because they're not trying to beat them doing the same thing Denver excels at. [Reply]
OKC Thunder surpass Michael Jordan's Bulls with best net-rating in NBA history
So far this season, the Oklahoma City Thunder have been nothing short of spectacular. Boasting the best defensive rating in the NBA, OKC has led the league in almost every defensive category all season and has solidified themselves as one of the best defensive teams of all time.
Now, after their dominant 137-101 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans Monday night, Loud City has officially reached the pinnacle of NBA basketball.
When it comes to a team's net-rating, it is the difference between the team's offensive and defensive rating. More specifically, it shows the team's overall efficiency on both ends of the court.
The previous record holder of this statistic (13.4) was none other than Michael Jordan and his 1995-96 Chicago Bulls. This is the same Bulls team that went 72-10, won the NBA title, and is widely regarded as one of, if not the, best team of all time.
And the 2024-25 OKC Thunder just replaced them.
With a current net-rating of 13.5, the Oklahoma City Thunder now have the best recorded net-rating in the history of the National Basketball Association. With teams like the 1996-97 Bulls, 2016-17 Warriors, and 2023-24 Celtics all below them, this measurement goes to show how good OKC truly is.
And of course, all of those mentioned teams went on to win the titles in their respective years. With Loud City having the second-best odds to win the title this year (+230) according to ESPN Bet, history may be on OKC's side when it is all said and done. [Reply]