NBA 2015-2016 Season thread

Fennin_sl said:

You could argue that the starting 5 for the Cavs has played better than the starting 5 of the Warriors, at least when talking about Lebron, Irving, and Thompson. The difference in this series is the Warriors bench is just so much better than the Cavs bench. The Cavs bench has been a disaster again this year, and Love has been mostly ineffective. Livingston, Barbosa, Iguodala, and Barnes are shooting almost 60%, which is absurd production.It would be a shame if Curry or Thompson wins the MVP at this point, since I think Livingston and Igoudala have been way more essential to the Warriors being up 3-1.

As a neutral observer, watching most of the regular season and the finals it has become increasingly obvious what a sad state the game is in currently. Tons of traveling and poor footwork, illegal screens all over the place, complaining after any kind of contact, and hero ball galore. It is like they don't even teach these kids the fundamentals of the game anymore. But the sport still has arguably the most compelling 7 game series' in sports.

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Ambiturner_sl said:

That's BS. Livingston has played really well for Shaun Livingston and is shooting a very high %, but people are crazy if they think he's done more than Curry throughout the series.

Curry's: 21ppg, 5rpg, 4.8apg, 1 spg, 44% fg
Livingston: 10ppg, 3.8rpg, 3apg, 0.3 spg, 64% fg
Iggy: 10ppg, 5rpg, 4apg, 0.5spg, 50% fg

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Pharazon_sl said:

Fucking bullshit. Green assessed a flagrant, resulting in a suspension. I cannot believe the NBA a flagrant for that when Lebron threw Green to the floor, and then intentionally walked over him. Green tries to get Lebron off him, flails him arm, and because it was towards his junk its a flagrant. This seems like it was entirely media fueled and agenda driven from the Cavs end. Honestly, would the NBA even have looked at this if the Cavs weren't begging for a flagrant where there was essentially no contact and the entire thing was instigated by Lebron?

I was joking that the NBA was trying to find justification for it so that they can potentially get a longer series and more $$, but I'm not so sure. I mean if it was a tie series at 3-3 and the NBA had reviewed this going into game 7, do you think there's any chance they give him a flagrant for it? Fuck no.

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Ben Simmons, F, Fr., LSU

Simmons has remained very quiet since he played his last game at LSU three months ago.

Shortly after his season ended, he packed up, signed with agent Rich Paul and moved to Cleveland to prepare for the draft. He didn't show up at the combine and even declined an invitation to attend the lottery selection.

Some have read Simmons' reluctance to interact with teams and the media as antisocial or even arrogant. But after watching him in Cleveland last week, I don't think that assessment is fair. Instead, Simmons appears to be incredibly focused on his NBA career.

His routine is the same every day. He gets up in the morning and heads to the gym, where he's spending time putting up shots, doing ball-handling drills, working on his transition game and change of pace -- the whole works.

The workout I saw in Cleveland looked like the drills most teams put guards through. That Simmons looked comfortable in that setting explains his appeal as the No. 1 pick in the draft. Guys who are 6-foot-10, 240 pounds, move as effortlessly as he does on the court and are as comfortable as he is with the ball just don't come along ... really, ever.

Simmons' jump shot has been the major source of concern about his game. But the indications are, while he's no Kevin Durant, his jumper is not broken.

He shot just three 3s all season at LSU. I saw him get up roughly 100 NBA 3s in the workout. His outside shot is getting better -- or maybe it was solid all along, and he just seldom used it.

In college, he could get to the rim almost at will. He knows that in the NBA he's going to have to force defenses to guard him on the perimeter. It's an area he needs to continue to work on, but it was hard -- in this setting, at least -- to be overly concerned about it, especially given all the other skills he brings to the table.

"The one thing that almost always gets better from college to the pros is a guy's jumper," one NBA GM told me Tuesday. "It's a fixable problem, and frankly, I'm not sure how much of a problem it really is. LeBron [James] couldn't shoot when he came out. Lots of guys couldn't. They get better."

After the morning gym workout, Simmons headed to the weight room, primarily to work on his core and do pool workouts. He has added muscle, and his body is lean, chiseled and explosive.

Then he was back in the gym in the afternoon -- and one more time at night. Three-a-days for the first month, then two-a-days the past month. On the weekends, he's got yoga, boxing and Pilates for balance and focus.

Simmons' work ethic the past two months has been extraordinary. It's a counter-narrative to whispers in the media that Simmons didn't care at LSU, isn't competitive or doesn't want it badly enough. Everything I saw on the court looked like a player who doesn't just want to be the No. 1 pick -- he wants to be great.

"Being the No. 1 guy, they're going to put that target on your back," Simmons said. "But you've got to be prepared for it. It comes with the territory. ... There's always going to be talk about who should be 1 or 2 in the draft. But my focus is just getting ready for the next level. I'm not worried who goes where."

Simmons seems unconcerned about where he goes. His agent has yet to commit to his working out anywhere, including Philadelphia and Los Angeles. It likely won't matter. Sources say the Sixers are strongly leaning toward taking Simmons No. 1. If they don't, the Lakers will jump on him at No. 2.

But Simmons is concerned about being ready for his first real game in October. That's the difference. While most prospects are trying to get the job, Simmons is already working on getting the promotion.

"It's an 82-game season. You have to prepare for that," he said. "I'm worried about playing against Paul George, Kevin Durant and LeBron James next season. Once you get drafted, you're at the bottom. You have to start all over again. People don't care where you were drafted. They just care whether you can play.

"This is my job now. This is the main focus for me. I have to come in every day and put the work in. This is a great job. I love doing it. Every day, the goal is to get better."

from chad fords latest article... i just fell in love with Ben Simmons all over again.

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