NBA 2018-2019 Season thread

[Hiromi]

Punishments out, CP3 gets two games, Rondo gets three, and Ingram gets four

[daBronzeBomma]

Lakers lose a nail-biter in OT to the Spurs.

Has LeBron ever started a season 0-3 before?

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Lakers lose a nail-biter in OT to the Spurs.

Has LeBron ever started a season 0-3 before?

Perhaps not since his rookie season in Cleveland. I'm not sure.

[daBronzeBomma]

My Pistons beat the Sixers in a last-minute thriller!
Undefeated! 3-0! Finals here we come!

[WestPhillyPunisher]

My Pistons beat the Sixers in a last-minute thriller!
Undefeated! 3-0! Finals here we come!

Yeah, Blake Griffin was unstoppable, scoring 50 on my crew last night.

[daBronzeBomma]

I don't recall seeing this many high-scoring games this early in an NBA season. Teams traditionally don't score 120 points a game, but now they are.

Evolution of offense or degradation of defense?

[Hiromi]

Lebron just officially passed Dirk on the all time scorers list moving into number 6 and also becoming the leading scorer among all active players

[WestPhillyPunisher]

I don't recall seeing this many high-scoring games this early in an NBA season. Teams traditionally don't score 120 points a game, but now they are.

Evolution of offense or degradation of defense?

I’d say it’s more a case of what comes around, goes around. Scores like these were pretty much commonplace in the 1970’s and early 1980’s. In my opinion, the defense first mantra came to light in the late 80’s to early 90’s when “Showtime” was replaced by the Bad Boys Detroit teams and Pat Riley’s Thugball Knicks squads. Personally speaking, I like this new offensive explosion, the days when teams struggled to crack 90 most nights and the only time you’d see triple digits was if games went into overtime were boring to me. This more freewheeling style entertains me more.

[Hiromi]

Ty Lue's become the first NBA coach this year to be fired, as the 0-6 Cavs look to be following the trend of every other team Lebron's left

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Ty Lue's become the first NBA coach this year to be fired, as the 0-6 Cavs look to be following the trend of every other team Lebron's left

Lue’s fate was sealed the moment Lebron left. It was simply a question of when.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Firing Luke Walton would be a mistake for Lakers despite 2-5 start

Luke Walton – according to the cunning brain trust of the Las Vegas sports books – was the NBA head coach most likely to earn the ignominious distinction of being fired first this season.

Sin City-bound gamblers can do what they like with their own money, but this was a bad bet all-round. It turned out to be a losing prospect, with Ty Lue’s dismissal from the Cleveland Cavaliers being the NBA campaign’s first axing.

As for the Los Angeles Lakers, getting rid of Walton would be a seriously bad move, too.

While the identity, blueprint and personality of the coach is of critical importance in any NBA situation, the waters get muddied in this case. The Lakers of 2018-19 are a fiendishly difficult team to coach, given that it is an incongruous mash-up of three core components – the biggest star in the sport, a fresh-faced bunch of energetic but inconsistent kids and some old guys brought in to ostensibly steady the ship. The King, Lonzo’s Lads and Rondo’s Relics.

It sure needs some steadying right now, however, just as Walton was not the fountain of all basketball wisdom when he led a ludicrously stacked Golden State to 39-4 in Steve Kerr’s absence three years back neither is he a clueless amateur right now.

[Red Robe Jaldari]

The Lakers fans would have literally burned LeBron alive if he misses the second free throw aginst the Mavs.

[daBronzeBomma]

The King's gambit, indeed.

Really don't see the Lakers making any noise this season, esp not out in the brutal West.

The way I see it, LeBron is damn near superhuman, but even his basketball prime won't last forever.

Hell, I give it this year (2018/19) and next (2019/20) at best for Prime LeBron.

Come no later than fall 2020, we will finally see him past his prime, aka Old LeBron.

[Scott Taylor]

So like Jordan he will start going downhill at 35?

Possibly. Lebron seems to have more to prove still, so I assume he will keep playing after that magic number. Question is will he have people to feed him the ball at that point or will he still need to do it all.

[daBronzeBomma]

Derrick Rose explodes for the least likely 50 point game of the young season!

Happy for him. He'll never be That Guy on a regular basis again, but the rare reminder is greatly appreciated.*

* - his 2011 League MVP still rightfully belongs to LeBron James, as his unpopularity everywhere outside south Florida at the time definitely factored in his not getting the award.