Game Threads Index (December 08, 2021):

Tweet

Smh, who says this?!? I ain’t buying that article.. what that make me?!🤔🤡 #NextQuestion”

Kirschner:

Through 25 games, the state of the Hawks:

Offense: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

Defense: 😬

It's still difficult to grasp how good this team can be as the season progresses.

Twitter user:

It's almost like 3 of their best defenders have been out of the lineup a lot. Oh wait.....

Kirschner:

Let me guess, you didn’t read the story or have no reading comprehension. Which one is it?

Twitter user:

And no, I'm not paying to read this lmfao

Kirschner:

Cool. Say you’re broke and continue about your day

Trae and Kirschner had this exchange a few days ago

Damn Chris ain't winning this one lol

Source tweet: https://twitter.com/mynameisrel_/status/1468647848480808961?s=21

Zion was seen in New Orleans last night and he does not look anywhere near close to 330lbs.

It seems like we have another James Harden situation where the workout gear made him look significantly fatter than he actually is. It also seems the reports of his weight were greatly exaggerated. Zion is recovering from a foot injury at the moment and is getting closer to his regular season debut.

Source

Steph is currently 15 3-pointers behind Allen’s 2,973 career trifectas, which is the most in NBA history. The Blazers feature the league’s worst defense by defensive rating (112.9) and will be without star guards Damian Lillard (abdomen) and CJ McCollum (collapsed right lung). The 20-4 Warriors have the highest net rating (13.0) in the NBA, so it could be an absolute blowout at Chase Center. As such, would Kerr consider leaving Curry in the game in garbage time to break Allen’s record?

“If Steph actually did that and made 15 threes, that means he’s got about 45 points minimum,” Kerr said. “We’re probably winning by a healthy margin, I’m guessing and that would make me the villain if I take him out. And yet, if I don’t take him out, I’m a complete fool because he could get hurt. It’s pretty much lose-lose for me.”

Curry’s career high in 3-pointers in 13, while the NBA single-game record, of course, belongs to Klay Thompson (14). While Curry hinted that he’d love to do it at home, Kerr doesn’t think he’ll go out of his way to reach the milestone Wednesday at Chase Center before the team hits the East Coast for a five-game road trip.

“He would not chase a record like that at the expense of a game, at the expense of other guys’ playing time,” Kerr said. “If it were to happen, it would happen in the context of the game.”

Kerr said he doesn’t think Curry feels burdened by all the of the attention and hype surrounding the record.

“I don’t even think there’s a burden,” Kerr said. “I just think he’s so good at what he does and he loves doing it everyday and he just keeps showing up and having a great time and the records mount. He doesn’t stop and think too much about any of that stuff.”

In addition to a fair number of "Russell Westbrook so far this season" type posts, Westbrook has had 20 of his statlines posted. I think it's no surprise that the frequency has fallen off as he has gotten better the further the season goes on.

12/7 — https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/rbjpx1/russell_westbrook_tonight_vs_the_celtics_24_pts/

12/3 — None

11/30 — None

11/28 — https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/r4nwpu/russell_westbrook_tonight_25_pts_6_reb_2_oreb_9/

11/26 — None

11/24 — https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/r1m4vf/russell_westbrook_vs_the_pacers_20_points_8/

11/23 — https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/r0uobr/russell_westbrook_tonight_31_points_10_assists_13/

11/21 — https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/qz9zql/russell_westbrook_tonight_26_points_9_rebounds/

11/19 — https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/qxwfw1/russell_westbrook_tonight_12_points_513_fg_2_tos/

11/17 — https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/qwfzr3/westbrook_tonight_19_pts_4_reb_15_ast_with_3_to/

11/15 — https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/qv6vwg/russell_westbrook_be_the_bulls_2568_on_819/

11/14 — None

11/12 — None

11/10 — https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/qrehpi/russell_westbrook_against_the_miami_heat_25/

11/08 — https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/qpxmlw/russell_westbrook_tonight_171214_3_steals_7/

11/06 — https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/qoh6e0/russell_westbrook_checks_out_of_the_game_with_879/

11/04 — https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/qn3qm9/russell_westbrook_tonight_2765_and_a_6_but_also/

11/02 — https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/qln93y/russell_westbrook_tonight_27_points_9_rebounds_7/

10/31 — https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/qk7lu9/westbrook_puts_up_2089_with_only_2_tos_and_2_3s/

10/29 — https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/qiua2o/russell_westbrook_tonight_1965_813_from_the_field/

10/27 — https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/qhcwv8/russell_westbrook_with_a_quadruple_double_20_pts/

10/26 — https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/qgn45n/russell_westbrook_tonight_33_points_10_rebounds_8/

10/24 — https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/qf8n09/russell_westbrook_tonight_515_fg_14_from_three/

10/22 — https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/qdxwbh/russell_westbrook_in_his_2nd_game_as_a_laker_15/

10/19 — https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/qbt3ws/russell_westbrook_in_his_lakers_debut_8_points5/

[Austin Krell]

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Luka Doncic is among the players to have expressed interest in playing with Ben Simmons, per source. That interest extends all the way back to the summer.

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Source

https://twitter.com/NBAKrell/status/1468309600122376202

“It didn’t work out and I got it out of my mind right away,” Ayton, 23, said. “What I can do to make it rub in everyone’s faces is to bust my ass, work hard and win games. At the end of the day, it’s all about winning. If you want to get something and earn something in this league, you have to be a winner. Do something that leads to winning. Me putting my head down and working is just closing out all of that noise. I’m not really worried about all of that.

“You had the time to do the negotiations. You had a deadline and it didn’t work out. Boom, Bada, Bing. You still got to work. You still got to play in between the lines. Still got to make sure this dude don’t dunk on me, score on me or do something to win the game. Still got to do that. And that’s just my competitive spirit.”

Article

The Finnish Defense Forces released the names of athletes who have been chosen to spend their military service in their 'Sports School', a unit meant to help athletes to train while completing their military service.

The list includes Markkanen.

The military service is supposed to begin April 11th, one day after regular season ends. I don't know what happens if Cleveland makes the playoffs, maybe Markkanen can postpone his serivice.

In general, Finnish men have to go through their military service (or civilian alternative) by the age of 28. Notable atheletes are often given plenty of leeway in their training to keep their career going, many completing their service in several chunks. The shortest service these days is 165 days.

Not much information yet on how Markkanen will manage it.

Harden has already scored 40 points or higher against every single team in the NBA except of the Rockets, his career high against the Rockets is only 29 points. With KD being rested he will have a good chance to break the record tonight.

Other players that came close to break the records were Kobe and MJ, Kobe has scored 40 points against every team he played against but obviously never had the chance to do it against the Lakers. MJ has done it against every team except the Bulls and Raptors i believe.

The Warriors play Portland at home tonight before going on a road trip. So if Curry wants to break the record infront of his home crowd tonight against the 30th ranked defence, he could also break these records:

To tie Ray Allen at 2973 3PM he will need 15 3PM, so atleast 45 points:

1. Most 3PM in a game (Record 14 - Klay Thompson October 29, 2018)
2. Most 3PA in a game (Record 24 - Klay Thompson October 29, 2018)
3. Most 3P missed in a game (Record 16 - multiple players)
4. Career high (62 points - January 1, 2021)
5. Most points in a half
   1. First half (Record 53 - multiple players)
   2. Second half (Record 59 - Wilt Chamberlain March 2, 1962)
6. Most points in a quarter
   1. First quarter (Record 34 - Kevin Love November 23, 2016)
   2. Second quarter (Record 33 - George Gervin April 9, 1978)
   3. Third quarter (Record 37 - Klay Thompson January 23, 2015)
   4. Fourth quarter (Record 31 - Wilt Chamberlain March 2, 1962)

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I feel like Steph will atleast try to break the record but only time and Steve Kerrs rotations will tell..

Sources: https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/w/westbru01/gamelog/2022

https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/l/lowryky01/gamelog-advanced/2022/

I know the "Lowry is more than the box score" line, but even the advanced stats that in the past captured his value have him severely declining this year which makes sense as he's 35 going on 36

Although the Lakers obviously did a questionable job constructing their overall roster(for example signing DJ who I can tell you from personal experience is absolutely shit) Westbrook over Lowry probably wasn't the wrong move after all

Tweet

At Trailblazers shootaround today Damian Lillard strongly addressed the rumors and noise:

“I’m not asking for a trade.”

“My intentions are to be in Portland and to figure it out.”

He added he’s in the office w/ Chauncey everyday trying to find solutions, not planning an exit.

“I got time, so I kinda hold the cards right now. And one, I’ve never been in this position. I’m kinda embracing that, being able to kinda dictate how I want my future to be and where I want it to be,” Beal said on “Posted Up.” “And at the same time, I’m not gonna make that grand commitment and it doesn’t work. Ultimately, you have to be selfish at some point and for probably the first time in my career, Year 10, I am. And so I’m kinda taking advantage of it in a way.

“Obviously, my full commitment is to the team. I want it to work. I’ve contributed to being here. I’ve committed to being here twice. Now, I want to see that commitment to me, as well, that we can create a winning team here, a winning environment here. And granted, I’m a part of that, so I gotta make sure that I’m stepping up and doing my thing, too, just as well.”

Article

Another great game from the King as the Lakers blow out the Celtics. Russ also had a nice 24/11 double double and AD chipped in an efficient 17/16

Source: https://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/1966/lebron-james

Source via the latest Lowe Post Podcast: https://twitter.com/ziyanm_/status/1468310035642171398?s=20

The tweet is a clip from the latest Lowe Post Podcast. Lowe is pretty shocked to hear about Luka's 260 weigh in and then asks about Zion. MacMahon says he's heard from multiple sources Zion came in at 260+70.

Honestly extremely shocking to hear. Hopefully Zion can get his weight right because he's an amazing talent. But 330 at 6'6 is unsustainable for a healthy regular life let alone a full NBA season.

Full quotes:

Russell Westbrook last 8 games:

23.5 PPG

6.9 RPG

8.9 APG

50/36/72%

He is +39 in that span, the highest +/- by a Lakers starter.

Source - https://twitter.com/statmuse/status/1468454203383169025