From the best Knicks beat reporter, Ian Begley (click those links, people):
Mitchell Robinson will not be with the Knicks during their voluntary team workouts in a “bubble” setting due to personal reasons, league sources told SNY.
The third-year center, who participated with the Knicks during voluntary individual workouts last week, does not have COVID-19, league sources say.
The Knicks will begin their team workouts on Wednesday. Per NBA rules, the workouts can run through Oct. 6. All teams who did not get an invite to the Orlando bubble are allowed to have voluntary team workouts in a bubble setting.
The NBA will allow non-roster players from teams’ G League affiliates to participate. So you should expect some non-roster players from the Knicks’ G League club – the Westchester Knicks – to participate in the workouts.
The Knicks have several 2020 free agents – or players with team options for 2020-21 – currently under contract. It’s unknown if all of those players are participating in the team workouts.
Cool cool cool.
I don’t think it is a bad sign at all.
Nope, just cool cool cool here.
130 replies on “SNY.TV: Sources: Mitchell Robinson will not be with Knicks during voluntary workouts due to personal reasons”
Like Brian says, click the links.
Rumor is that it’s between D’Antoni and Lue for the Sixers job. I want to see what D’Antoni will do with that funky Sixers offense so badly.
I still welcome any thoughts on whether this means anything vis a vis Mitch. I hope not.
Simmons and D’Antoni strike me as a very unusual combination.
I’m more interested in what Thibodeau and the staff think of RJ Barrett and if they’re going to make him the focal point of the offense.
I was going to say, “RJ Barrett the focal point?!?”
But then I thought, “What offense?”
Does this mean anything besides Mitch wants to work out on his own, or doesn’t want to go into a bubble?
Ruptured his patella, has a hot new girlfriend, his mom’s sick, doesn’t want anyone to know yet that he can hit 50% from 3.
I can do this all night.
Paging Jowles the fitness guru – what’s a decent substitute for squatting and deadlifts? I was on a weightlifting team and the football team in high school so I’m not a total newb with lifting, but it’s been a while since I’ve done it seriously and I’m trying to get back into it at least a little. My lower back is all fucked up* and I’m pretty terrified of doing squats or deadlifts with any real weight, so I’ve been using the leg press sled, but I imagine that’s a pretty poor substitute. Would doing more rows be a better idea?
*I spent most of last summer not being able to stand up straight, including two months where I was functionally bedridden. Waking up and not being able to get out of bed on your own is pretty damn scary.
Tyler Herro or RJ Barret, rest of career.
Who ya got?
Herro
I’m in lower back hell these days, was in total agony today,
This game is very herky-jerky.
The only thing that ever helped me with a bad back was rest and a board under my mattress
I know I always stan every low usage big man but Theis has really impressed me. Good on d, sets great screens, and knows how to move without the ball.
You know he has to be good to keep Enes on the bench!
Make that a double…
I knew how good Herro would be when I saw what he wore to the draft.
He’s no David Lee
Good news: this game is OVAAAA!
Bad news: Bam’s wrist looks hurt
That’s an offensive foul, or at least not a foul on Butler
Such a dumb pass by Dragic, though
I may be seeing this through Celtics Hating goggles but that’s getting overturned
Gutted about Bam. Doesn’t look good
That’s a crazy call. Not to overturn it or call it offensive on Tatum. Not to say out of bounds on Tatum.
Wow, this is awful clock management by the Heat.
I’ve heard really good things about yoga. Might want to look into it.
moronic foul but butler
Gotta give the C’s credit…this game should have been over.
This is one of the dumber endings to a game I have seen. Not sure who is worse, the Heat or the refs.
Stuff that conspiracy theories are made of.
But yeah, good playing by the Celtics
Gotta love the end-of-game FT grind. Pretty great product the NBA has, there.
these refs are horrible…but most nba refs suck
Stop humping for the elam ending, it will never, ever happen.
I like Herro’s quarantine beard. Those strands of peach fuzz will rival what Harden’s got in about 40 years or so.
He looks a bit like the Karate Kid
I haven’t paid close enough attention to Herro’s defense to have an opinion, but I’m not sure it matters much when you can shoot from outside that well, get to the basket with ether hand that well, finish at the rim that well, make occasional plays, and stand up to playoff pressure at age 20 as a rookie that well. Riley and Spoelstra will figure out how to improve his defense if need be over time anyway. That kid is going to be a great offensive player.
Ask management to trade everyone that can’t shoot. So basically blow up the team. lol
That would be a horrible fit. I can’t imagine he would want that job. I know he loves coaching, but sometimes you have to say no.
The 76ers have some problems.
Their 2 star players are not a good fit to begin with and one is always hurt or out of shape. They also have several bad contracts that are a bad fit. Just say “NO”.
I thought the Pacers were interested in D’Antoni. That seems a better fit for him.
The rumor was that they were planning their offseason around signing D’Atoni, but I guess the Sixers gig is the more appealing one, so he’s entertaining them first.
I’d rather see D’Antoni get the NO job. For shits & giggles, I’d also like to see:
1. Atkinson in OKC
2. Lue taking over for Rivers
3. Rivers in Philly
Would be interesting to say the least.
Oh..and I’d love to see Cassell finally get a shot. Maybe Philly gives him a call? Sacramento?
The refs dug deep and showed a lot of heart bringing Boston back late but they just came up short
Macri’s newsletter suggests Mitch’s absence may not be panic-worthy:
Will be fun to watch Riley’s revenge.
Maybe its because I’ve been holed up inside this house since March or because of the rough year I’ve had, but I have enjoyed the bubble playoffs more than any recent playoffs I can remember. Its just been so much fun to watch.
I feel like part of it is that this year in particular feels like a passing of the torch from the older all-stars to the next generation. Lebron and AD may still get their title and dudes like Kawhi are still going to be forces to reckon with for a few years more, but this bubble we’ve seen Mitchell, Doncic, Jokic and Murray, Herro and Bam, and Tatum (who was all ready on the rise)…all emerge as the next generation of stars and they’ve been where most of the excitement and fun has come from. While we’ve seen some of the older stars like CP3, Harden, Westbrook, PG…come up short and disappoint. I’m not saying Harden and Kawhi aren’t still going to be good for a few more years and obviously Lebron and AD could win it all this year and next as well, but you can feel that generational shift happening. That’s always exciting when the youngsters start to show up.
I really really hope BAM’s wrist is ok. I ultimately still think (unfortunately) that the Lakers will take it all. But if BAM is ok, I like The Heat’s chances. I think Butler and Bam can somewhat contain Lebron and AD and I think the Heat’s team play and energy would give them a fighting chance. I would LOVE to see Heat vs. Denver in the finals though. I think that would be the most fun.
I am intrigued by Patrick Williams – listened to the Locked on Knicks podcast about him and am poking around his high school stats. Turns out his FT% went from 54->72->73->76% his 4 years, and that he shot 42% from (high school) 3 point range on 370 attempts, including 44% on 121 attempts his senior year. He shot 32% in college but on only 50 attempts, but did shoot 83.8% on 74 free throw attempts. So he may not have a ton of work to do before he becomes someone that needs to be guarded. he already has an NBA body at 18 years old. Would be perfectly happy with him as our pick.
Will be interesting to see what the new FO emphasizes in FA / draft. From Thibs’s relatively uneventful presser yesterday he seemed to acknowledge that playing 2 bigs is probably not what he’s going to do (referenced PG + 3 wings + big as what most teams are doing), and that having shooting on the floor is important (duh).
Dang! Landry Fields making power moves:
https://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/259671/Landry-Fields-Hired-By-Hawks-As-Assistant-GM
I agree with you and the more I’ve thought about why the more I’ve landed on a couple things: First, I think the neutral court is one of the biggest factors that nobody is talking about. One of the best part about all these series has been that every game feels like a true toss-up. Instead of the normal cadence of the home teams trading games the series have been extremely back and forth and you go into a huge game like last night not with the feeling that the home team will probably pull out the needed win but with the sense that really nothing would surprise you.
Along the same lines It also really helps that there is no Warriors level super team. There was tons of discussion about whether the Warriors “ruined” the NBA the last few years, but I have to say at least for me the product is noticeably better without that level of juggernaut. All of the series starting from the 2nd round have really felt weighty with the sense that any of the teams could be eliminated or go all the way to the title whereas the last few years a big chunk of the playoffs has felt basically like a sideshow since the conclusion felt so inevitable.
IMO, the Pacers would be a much better fit than the 76ers. Personally, after the Lakers experience you would think MDA would be smarter about fit and know not to go to Philly.
Donnie Walsh is still an adviser with the Pacers. I’m not so sure Walsh loved D’Antoni. I remember reading at least one article where “sources” said that Walsh regretted hiring D’Antoni because he was too rigid in his approach to offense and wasn’t using some of the players he was given that Walsh liked. Maybe since perceptions about the the game have changed Walsh has changed.
IMO, New Orleans is the prize jewel but I can’t see how you can go from Gentry to D’Antoni when they are similar and you think that style wasn’t working for those players.
Maybe he’ll bring Lin back to the NBA. The story is Lin wants one more crack at an NBA team. I don’t see how he’s not a better backup PG than some players around the league. He’d probably be our best PG. lmao
I’ve been reading some of the articles from the Knicks bubble camp. It seems to me other than player development (keep in mind some of our kids have had a LOT of time to work on their bodies and some skills during the lockdown) there’s not much to talk about. The team was so horribly constructed by Mills/Perry, the off season trades and FA signings are going to be the key to whether this is a competitive team with some youthful upside next year or a continuation of the tankathon.
It’s not just the lack of fans — it’s that players are likely getting optimal rest, as they have almost nothing to do in the bubble but prepare for the next game. There’s no travel, no checking into a new hotel, no nightclubs to keep them out late after a big win.
I think the Warriors’ parity stuff is way overblown. Yes, they went 16-1 in 2017, but they also got beat in the Finals twice, got taken to 3-1 by the 2016 Thunder and went seven in 2018 vs. Rockets, as well as a couple of 4-2 series wins last year. The Warriors are not solely responsible for the 2018 Conference Semifinals going no more than 5 games across all four series, nor are they responsible for the Cavs also going 4-0 in the 2017 Semis and 4-1 in the ECF against the Celtics.
Neither is on my top-10 list, but I’d certainly rather live in Philladelphia than Indianapolis.
Frank, I listened to the same podcast and also came away convinced about Pat-Will! In the modern NBA, it has become crucial for a team to be able to put 4 guys outside the 3-point line (some are now trying for all 5 guys), so finding/grooming a great 3&D power forward has become a very hard thing for teams. If Williams is truly a guy who will be able to bang down low, shoot the 3, defend the 3, make the right pass, and even drive on occasion, that’s a lot of value.
I think in some ways it’s an arguement between taking the guy who already has one exceptional skill (moving up to take LaMelo) versus the guy who projects to be a strong, well-rounded player (Williams).
Yeah no home court makes it far more interesting. Its funny because I think some people will want to put an asterisk next to whoever wins it all, especially if its Miami, Boston or Denver because they’ll say the upset only happened because of the bubble.
But in my mind, I think it kind of makes it more of a true championship bc the better team can’t rely on homecourt. Kind of like the NCAA tournament although even with the tournament there are fans and the big programs always bring a bunch of their fans to root for them.
As far as The Knicks and the other non bubble teams, I worry that not being in the bubble and playoffs this year is going to set them back for a year or two. Not only are they not going to have not played games for a long long time but also, the young players in the bubble are getting this weird boot camp experience. Like Jowles said, the players have no option but to rest and prepare for the next game and I think that’s making them more focused and that could be something they carry with them far beyond the bubble into the rest of their careers.
Would be very interesting and somewhat peotic to bring him back. Assuming he’s healthy (big assumption), I would much rather sign him to a vet min contract than trade assets for Chris Paul or blow a big contract on FVV.
Probably not if you are from West Virginia.
Why does watching Tyler Herro make me so sad?
Herro’s been on a hot streak in the bubble-he’s hitting 50%+ from everywhere inside the arc. But he’s also creating for himself more, rebounding better and playmaking more, so some of his improvement from a kid who looked like a good 3 point shooter into a good NBA player seems like it’s probably real. 450 minutes against largely high quality opposition is a decent sample.
How much must it be paining Celtics fans to know that Ainge, by all accounts, intended to take Herro with the very next pick in that draft?
“He shoulda been ours! He’d have been the next Larry Legend!”
With Alex Gordon retiring after a very weird career, I went over to the Baseball Reference page for the Royals. I don’t know if there’s a weirder 25 years in American sports. 25 seasons, missing the playoffs 23 times, yet winning a title and being one Madison Bumgarner masterpiece away from a second. How did that even happen?
Did anyone catch Thibs’ post practice presser yesterday? lol he looks like he either would rather be working than talking, or like he’s not enthused about what he has to coach. I go with the former. Honestly I can’t wait to see what kind of defense he can build with Mitch and Ntilikina spearheading it. If we can get shooters at the 4 and 2 that are more threatening than what we have now, I actually have no issue with Ntilikina starting at PG. Like Toppin and I dunno..I wanna say Hield but I’m not sure if he’s worth his deal
florida/miami marlins have the same history in the last 25 yrs except they won two titles…
plus the Marlins were the wild card in both those seasons and never have won a division title….
Wow, okay, well, I stand corrected. And the craziest thing? THE MARLINS DON’T EVEN HAVE FANS.
I think you’re selling it a bit short by combining the pre-Durant and Durant periods. It’s really the Durant years when the “ruining the NBA” talk arose and during those years the WCF against Houston was really the only close series they played across the 3 seasons outside of the injury ravaged finals last year of course. And you’re absolutely right that they weren’t solely responsible for the lack of compelling series in those years but speaking just for my own enjoyment I felt that a lot of the other action took on the feeling of an undercard.
Speaking of competitive series, I think the Nuggets are in position to rival the 2008 Celts (as far as I can tell) as the losingest champs within the 7-game first round era of playoff basketball. The Celtics lost 10 games on the way to a title, and the Nuggets currently have 8 losses and a negative Net Rating.
Tyler Herro makes you sad because you’re a Knicks fan and as fun as it is to watch this Heat team, THEY’RE STILL THE FUCKING HEAT AND DON’T YOU EVER FORGET IT.
Also, its just another example of us not picking a guy who got picked later and is better than the guys we’ve picked.
At least we got Mitch though. For now.
I like listening to Thibs. He clearly knows his shit even if he has his warts. Like all coaches that join a new team, he does partly speak in cliches but he also backs those cliches up with some examples that makes you know he knows what he’s talking about. The fact that he talks about corner threes, trapping, switching, icing, etc…it makes you know that he’s thinking about what we need. I like that he says we’re gonna play to our strengths…not that we have any.
“The Honorable Cock Jowles
September 24, 2020 at 2:36 pm
Wow, okay, well, I stand corrected. And the craziest thing? THE MARLINS DON’T EVEN HAVE FANS.”
I remember watching playoff games in 2004 where the Marlins could have used some of the cardboard cutouts of 2020 to give the illusion of attendance.
I don’t know what his film looks like, but by the numbers Patrick Williams seems like a marginally better prospect than Kevin Knox. They’re the same size and entering draft as same age. PW’s steals and blocks suggest he’s potentially a much better defender, but I’d rather draft a higher probability prospect at 8.
I’m also keen to see if Knox can begin to develop in his age 21 season. To give up on a 21 year old to draft a 19 year old with a similar profile two years later doesn’t seem like the best idea.
Hubert I don’t think you’re totally off-base, but Williams is like Knox if some of the bullshit that was spewed about Knox when he was drafted was true.
I watched him a bit this season and think he has much more credibility as a switchable defender than Knox. He’s also much more functionally athletic, IMO. I definitely remember him taking it strong to the basket rather than doing any of Knox’s stupid floater bullshit. His handle is a little tighter too.
Having said that, even a good version of Knox is pretty unexciting and I think we can do better with the 8th pick.
If we’re targeting a stretch four type, I would much, much, much rather it be Poku.
I second that sentiment about poku.. his stroke looks pure.
I think it’s ok to take a guy with the same profile as a guy you previously whiffed on, so long as you’ve deduced that he’s a much better version. What’s worse is to not take a guy because he would be used similarly to a guy on your team that currently sucks.
I’m still really intrigued by Okoro, though. His ft rate is ridiculous, even if he can’t make those free throws. He’s clearly not a great fit with RJ, but his defense and driving ability is tantalizing.
It appears Anthony Davis read that Ringer article about how he needs to be more aggressive. Pure dominance. Sure put Millsap in the blender.
is he? the numbers look eerily similar. i feel like there’s a good chance everything we’re hearing about Williams is as bullshit as the crap we heard about Knox. he definitely seems like a better defender, but this is the kind of profile i’m looking for at 27, not 8.
if we take a guy like this while Vassell or Halliburton is on the board, i think i’ll lose my shit.
Here’s a vintage documentary about The Captain. One thing that brought me back was the live organ playing during his retirement ceremony. The ambiance of the game was so much better than now, none of the gimmickry that you get at a modern sporting event.
I don’t know how anyone could watch this and not conclude that Willis Reed was the greatest Knick ever. Maybe not the most talented or statistically the most accomplished, just the greatest.
The Lakers should keep going to AD he doesn’t miss
Poku is like 7’3″ and by my rough estimate he weights 160lbs
Crazy layup by Murray.
They say 201 for Poku. I will take the under. That fg% seems quite low but not a draftnik.
refereeing is atrocious
The NBA is fast becoming the professional sports version of WWE. It’s not exactly scripted like professional wrestling, but they barely even pretend to call games fairly anymore. It’s obvious they want “LA” in the finals and not “Denver”. These are not biased “home” calls that can creep in intentionally or not. These are neutral court biased calls.
Gallinari at the 4 is a no brainer if their goal is to compete next year. Not long ago he said he wants to finish his career in Italy. He’s looking for more than a 1 year deal (which is what kept him out of Miami) but he’s probably one of the few good players that would take a fair a 2-3 year deal to be in NY (the restaurants in Little Italy will reopen eventually). Speaking of Miami. If Gallo was on that team, they’d be even tougher even though his drive and flop game doesn’t translate to the playoffs very well.
I’m kind of neutral on Van Fleet because I think he’s going to wind up getting overpaid significantly, but I could see him playing with Frank. He works fine with Lowery. I actually like that combination. They’d have 2 playmakers in the backcourt, Frank is taller and can cover either position as required, and they’d add another shooter to Gallo.
Tyler Herro’s 37 points is only the 3rd highest points a rookie has scored against the Celtics in the playoffs because of Wilt dropping 42 and 50 on them an extremely Wilt stat
I remember Jeff Van Gundy saying “a playoff series doesn’t really begin until a team loses on its home court”. Well, since there’s no home court advantage anymore, I think the new cliche is “a playoff series doesn’t really begin until the Denver Nuggets are down 3-1”.
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/29966842/los-angeles-lakers-lebron-james-shuts-jamal-murray-winning
guy can do this at 35. unreal.
It helps when you know you can mug a star on defense and YOU’LL get the star call instead of him. A much bigger percentage of the time in those situations, the offensive star gets the questionable star call. But the NBA wants an LA – Boston final badly. Miami is good enough though. So far they’ve good enough to spoil the bad officiating bias.
I have the All The Smoke episode with AI playing in the background while I work…and I can’t focus lol. This is such a fun and raw interview. I’ve always been a huge Bubba Chuck fan so maybe I’m a tad bit biased. But this one is so entertaining
I’m not buying this.
NBA officiating is bad and random. I think it’s your own bias that sees malicious intent in it.
VanVleet is about to get a max or near-max contract in the NBA, why do you think he’ll be overseas soon?
yep
You are entitled to believe NBA officiating is not biased, that there is no star treatment for “certain players”, that the league would not prefer certain teams in the playoffs to do well over others because of the ratings and money involved for the league and corporate sponsors, and that none of these pressures trickle down into how games are called.
Hell, we have people here that think only right wing media is reporting in a spun, incomplete, and sometimes outright lying fashion to advance the political agenda of the ownership, board, employees (that want to stay employed there), advertisers, and other powerful interests.
One day I grew up, lost most of my idealism, realized how the world really works, threw up my hands in disgust, and now try to function and be a good person surrounded by all the corruption in government, it’s institutions, the intelligence community, the news media, the private sector that uses those institutions to further their own wealth and political ambitions, and now pitifully now even some sports.
I have no gambling or rooting interest in either series that matters much. It’s just obvious that Denver and Miami are not going to get the best of the calls on pretty much any night given neutral courts and the league’s wishes. They will have to be good enough to overcome the referee bias. Believe what you will. You are so obviously wrong about the news media it’s laughable but sadly wrong also about basketball.
I didn’t say anything about overseas, but if you are making a joke that Frank will be overseas soon, I’m pretty sure Thibs is not a moron, sees his value, and will use him correctly. If he continues working hard he will develop further. Most importantly he has to stay healthy so the development can occur and he can get the experience he needs. Then he’ll become a solid 3&d and secondary playmaker in the NBA. I have confidence in Thibs and Frank. Rose and the rest of the new development and other assistant coaches are in “show me” mode except for Perry who can’t be shown the door fast enough.
Strat: All American journalism is biased beyond credibility.
Greek Chorus: Well, there’s ProPublica, who have been doing a lot of good work on government corrup–
Strat: [pinches bridge of nose, sighs] Ackyshally, CNN and MSNBC are no better than Breitbart and you’re foolish to think otherwise. Let me know when you’re old and smart like me.
Keep an honest count of how often it feels like the officiating is biased against the team you’re rooting for vs. the team you’re rooting against and it becomes clear quickly that it’s entirely in your own head. NBA officiating is hamstrung by some bad rules and the fact that it’s a very difficult game to officiate but the idea that it’s fixed is silly. There were close calls in the game down the stretch last night that favored both teams. Overall foul and FT numbers in the series are very similar. The Lakers were the better team all season and have been (marginally) the better team in the series plus they made the one biggest play in the series (ADs 3 to swing a loss to a win). That’s a good recipe for a 3-1 lead.
as I define it
as I define it
as I define it
i believe stars earn favorable whistles with referees over time. but i don’t believe refs are helping the NBA get certain matchups.
we got hosed by the refs in 2013 against the Pacers. if ever there’s a time to put the fix in, it was in game 6 in indiana. could have gotten a game 7 *and* LeBron vs the Knicks. but there they were, respecting roy hibbert’s verticality when he clearly bodied melo on that block.
https://www.brightsideofthesun.com/2019/10/27/20929035/tim-donaghy-phoenix-suns-robert-sarver-marc-cuban-mavericks-lebron-james-charles-barkley-quotes
you should watch season 2 of Angel. it dramatized a similar existential crisis, only with demons and an unholy law firm. really good stuff.
you probably want to get to the epiphany stage instead of running around all demoralized and shit.
i don’t know strat…sometimes it’s good to unplug, all the msnbc, cnn, oan, fox, local news, bbc, bloomberg, etc al. can be a little overwhelming…
sometimes it’s good to focus on your immediate surroundings and those close to you…find the beauty in that…
the world is a vampire, sent to drain…
I don’t think there is an active push by the NBA to get certain teams to the finals but I do believe stars like Lebron get preferential treatment. I mean, all you have to do is listen to last night’s broadcast where they talked about LA sending video footage to the league complaining about how lebron wasn’t getting enough free throw trips and see how much more he went to the line last night to know that stars, especially Lebron (and Jordan back in the day) get special treatment. Can’t see a video of all the missed calls on Plumlee working in the same manner.
But I don’t necessarily buy that they are pushing a Celtics Lakers final. Obviously, historically its a a big deal but a Lebron vs. his old team (and also Riley vs. his old team) is an equally compelling narrative and neither Boston nor Miami have stars in the same stratosphere (popularity wise) as The Lakers.
I find it a little hard to put too much weight on Donaghy’s claims because he kind of seems like he lost it at some point, but even if you really trust his allegations they’re much more of the variety of “so-and-so ref likes doesn’t like this player and so is biased against him”. The only thing I ever saw that he really alleged was fixed was the Lakers-Kings series back in the day and I think the feds investigated and didn’t find anything. *shrug*
I mean don’t get me wrong the refs are human and humans are prone to biases. I’m not saying NBA ref-ing is perfect by any stretch of the imagination. Things like star calls, giving the benefit to the home team, even favoring a player who is polite to you over one who is an asshole etc. can happen subconsciously even if you’re doing your absolute best to be impartial. But it’s a massive jump from that to actually saying the league wants this matchup, or more games or whatever and so the refs fix it to happen.
(insert crying Jordan meme)
If the league only wanted certain teams to go to the NBA Finals, the San Antonio Spurs would have never made a single finals appearance. Almost every Finals they went to had lower than average ratings. I think the Spurs-Pistons 06 finals was the lowest rated finals ever (which is funny cause I remember that being a really good series).
I agree that the “it’s fixed” is highly unlikely but similarly ….it was suggested above that everything is due to random incompetence…that is also highly unlikely…actually not even plausible…..
i would definitely argue against that point…god bless all of you whom having higher expectations for your fellow human beings…
it’s funny, i’ve come to realize (mostly through this site) that i am in fact a big proponent of more governmental control, primarily because i don’t have a lot of faith in such a large mass of people exercising their freedom of will – the catch-22 in that whole situation though is that any and all government is comprised of: people, exercising their freedom of will…their unalienable pursuit of happiness, while they govern…because they’re just people…
yeah man, i’m still holding out hope that the robots will take over one day…330 million and counting out there pursuing their “happiness”…
a little happy side thought: my understanding is that as of now (based on current technological “assistance”), earth caps out at about 2 billion people…in another 30 years or so we’ll hit 9 billion…
you want to to worry about something strat – worry about that…yep, soylent green coming to a supermarket near you…
Being an NBA referee is one of the single hardest jobs I can imagine. I know several referees at lower levels who have told me that the combination of the size/strength/speed of the players and the room for interpretation on so many calls makes it nearly impossible to make everyone happy. Considering how many calls are challenged and upheld (both last night), I find it laughable that someone would conclude that refs were being manipulated into favoring certain teams over others.
If superstars get a slight bit of favorable treatment, it’s partially because they control the motion on the floor so much that there is a small tendency towards bias. But that’s the human element of refereeing. It happens in every sport and always will unless you allow challenges on every play.
I’m totally fine with the state of NBA officiating.
Geo, sorry to contradict, but while a ton of caveats always go into such things, many models point toward hitting 9 billion by about 2040-2042, which is in ~20 years, not 30…
oh, well shoot raven – i might actually make it to see that then 🙂
one comforting thought though, i’m guessing that whether it’s a republican, communist, democrat, marxist, socialist, libertarian or independent – they’ll all taste about the same – sort of like chicken…
It is kind of incredible that when you were born, geo, there were ‘only’ 3 billion of us on the planet.
i remember clearly my first real glimpse of future society was the planet Trantor (from asimov’s foundation series)…the planet was an ecumenopolis – a worldwide city…that image asimov painted of the planet really stuck in my head…
i personally never really envisioned a dystopian future, but, as i age and realize personally there’s a lot more road behind me than in front of me, and a darker future permeates more and more within both written and visual stories being told – i’ll be honest, i’ve become less sure of such a rosy ending for our story…
better to cling to hope though, than to fall prey to despair, i suppose…
Rise up this mornin’
Smiled with the risin’ sun
Three little birds
Pitch by my doorstep
Singin’ sweet songs
Of melodies pure and true
Sayin’, this is my message to you
I kind of checked out of watching basketball a few years ago because I felt the game was fundamentally flawed by the fact that a ref could control an outcome. This was partly from the Donaghy revelations, and partly due to the ambiguity of “contact” and basic human interpretation. I didn’t realize until I started tuning into BubbleBall that they had instituted video review. Though it slows the flow of the game down, it seems to largely take the game out of the ref’s hands to dictate, which I think is worth it, and maybe why I am enjoying watching basketball again.
Also, regarding different players getting different calls, I remember one year Anthony Mason was among the league leaders in technical fouls. Either Riley or Van Gundy (I think it was Riley) told him to learn all the ref’s first names during the off season, and to use them when addressing them on the court. His techs went way down the next year.
Also, in the book 48 Minutes, a ref said that he used Kevin Johnson as a surrogate ref because Kevin Johnson was so honest that he would tell the ref what the call should be in games, and he became dependent on it. I remember liking that story.
Part of it is star quality, and part of it is chemistry between player and ref, and it works both ways.
Although i like traditions and sympathize with the “can’t avoid mistakes-human factor” and the follow the ‘not always fair’ rules mentality i feel that the games should be officiated half live/half video.
Meaning Live refs to keep the games rhythm rolling but also a ref in a video room like Secaucus to play it Deus ex machina and clean up the game by eliminating injustice.
Finally New rules for makin the decisions closer to the truth of what’s happening in the game and not “ok we ve missed that one but what can you do” mentality.
Kemba walker has not looked like a max player. I never liked that signing for the C’s. When he’s not scoring, he’s useless.
Kanter is so tan I didn’t recognize him at first. Boston looks like they want to go home
Watching Jimmy Butler kind of reminds me of watching Sprewell, but with none of Sprewell’s unfortunate flaws. (Like Sprewell fully realized)
It’s amazing to see Kanter out there in the playoffs. He is so good on offense and so bad on D. They went right at him every time. You can’t hide a bad defensive big like you can a guard.
Man, Miami just totally took their foot off the gas
I’m still expecting miami to pull this out in the 4th, we’ll see…
Teams exchanged drugs during halftime
The hoop Boston is shooting at seems much bigger in the 3rd.
Also, I like Van Grumpy a lot. He’s the only guy on these broadcasts I like. Well Breen of course.
Refs talk/ Butler missed goaltending
If you can change a 2 into a 3 and vice versa via video replays you should be able to do it correctly for goaltending too.
Not sure Iggy should be out there
so much for the heat coming back, looks like they’ll be playing on sunday…
So no one read the Vorkunov piece on lineup analytics? It reads like the Rosetta Stone of Knickerblogger: linking advanced data to “player type” and “team fit.”
I’m drooling at some of the names being tossed around as Brodie Van Wagenen’s replacement.
Almost anybody with real MLB front office experience will be better, b/c they’ll be better than him in roster building. BVW overpaid in almost all of his trades and whiffed on pretty much all his free agent signings.
I wonder how the return of Alderson as POBO will affect the GM search. Is he temporary, planning to step down in a few years so that they can promise the new GM will also become POBO? That might the difference with somebody like David Stearns.
First will guess will be Alderson goes with someone he knows, like Owens, DePodesta, or Ricciardi.
As long as they don’t come from the Rockies.
Jeff Bridich has ben ruining an MLB franchise for a lot longer than BVW
Mets have a reasonably good organization at least. There is some excellent young talent in the majors and a decent farm. The Rockies haven’t found almost a single player to pair with Story and Arenado or anyone to pitch out of the bullpen for five years.
This kind of move sometimes impacts free agency, in periods like these.
Here’s the tweet: https://twitter.com/JADubin5/status/1309938054065520643
Here’s the article: https://nypost.com/2020/09/26/james-dolan-cuts-check-for-malliotakis-amid-max-rose-trash-talk/
From the NY Post piece above:
OK guys, who among you is this Congressman?
I wonder if PR maestro Steve Stoute advised Dolan on this.
Berman:
he was pissed he didn’t get a chance to get up on stage and do his bad karaoke thing…although, I’m sure he probably had some original “I survived the virus” tune ready to go…
how nice that must be though, 50k just because someone irked you a bit…they should have jimmy d’s pic next to the word “petty” in the dictionary…
Really makes me think we’re prepping RJ Barrett to go 1-on-5 with no shooting around him. Get ready for RJ Barrett to put up the worst NBA season of all-time on 30% USG