Around the league: Week 19 2/27 - 3/5

[The Bobster]

They acquired Noel a couple weeks after New Orleans drafted him (cap reasons) but they were so impressed they gave him away for pennies on the dollar just so they wouldn't have to pony up for his next contract.

[Ring_Wanted]

You know what. If the Knicks tank and get an elite prospect their future suddenly looks really bright, even with Melo on the team.

Does it? Outside of Zinger what do they have? I guess if you like Willie Hernangomez.

The Zinger is enough, although WH is nice.

[carey]

It's not. We've seen that one superstar gets you nothing but a 6-8 seed in either conference.

[Ring_Wanted]

It's not. We've seen that one superstar gets you nothing but a 6-8 seed in either conference.

Haha yeah, but that's not incompatible with having a bright future. As in, full of opportunities. And we are talking about Zinger plus another elite prospect. Wouldn't you consider it bright if we had Booker and Jackson/Ball/Fultz?

[carey]

Haha yeah, but that's not incompatible with having a bright future. As in, full of opportunities. And we are talking about Zinger plus another elite prospect. Wouldn't you consider it bright if we had Booker and Jackson/Ball/Fultz?

And nothing else? I'm not sure. But we also have Bender, Chriss, Warren, and Ulis.

[O_Gardino]

Haha yeah, but that's not incompatible with having a bright future. As in, full of opportunities. And we are talking about Zinger plus another elite prospect. Wouldn't you consider it bright if we had Booker and Jackson/Ball/Fultz?

And nothing else? I'm not sure. But we also have Bender, Chriss, Warren, and Ulis.

With 2 stars, it's easier to get free agents. If they are young stars, you don't necessarily make the playoff right away, so you have some good picks in the next year or two. So I feel like that's when you find out how good your GM is. Can he put the pieces around your 2 stars? In NY, the answer is No.

[carey]

Lowry out for the season? After Toronto made all those moves? That sucks.

[In2ition]

Lowry out for the season? After Toronto made all those moves? That sucks.

DAaaamn!
So who goes after Brandon Jennings first, Toronto or New Orleans?

[ShelC]

He'll likely be back for playoffs but they're operating on his right hand so he'll probably be a little rusty. Then there's the whole shooting-a-basketball thing...

[Hermen]

Well, the competition isn't that great, so maybe not. Brogdon is the only other real serious candidate.

Isn't Saric also a rookie? He had a very strong February and there's plenty of minutes and usage for him with Ersan and Noel gone and Embiid also, well, gone, for now, or whatever. Not so sure about Brogdon with Middleton back and unpredictable Kidd rotations... There's also mr. Hield of course

Edit: Just read about Lowry. This absolutely sucks. I would kindly ask injuries to leave us alone. Please?

[Mori Chu]

The timing on that Lowry injury is just cruel. They had just loaded up for the playoff run with Ibaka and PJ Tucker. Hope he'll be back for the postseason. If his hand heals properly, he might even benefit from having fresher legs in the playoffs.

[Split T]

Philadelphia has had some crappy luck and terrible picks -

2016 #1 - Ben Simmons - 0 games played
2015 #3 - Jahlil Okafor - Missed 29 games last year and they couldn't give him away at the trading deadline this year
2014 #3 - Joel Embiid - 31 games played in 3 years (will have missed 215 of 246 games)

Ouch.

You missed the stats for Nerlens Noel.

Noel and Embiid were drafted knowing they'd most likely miss their first season, or atleast a big chunk of it. Hard to feel sorry for Philly in those cases.

[Superbone]

The timing on that Lowry injury is just cruel. They had just loaded up for the playoff run with Ibaka and PJ Tucker. Hope he'll be back for the postseason. If his hand heals properly, he might even benefit from having fresher legs in the playoffs.

Plus they might have had more interest in Knight if it had happened before the trading deadline.

[ShelC]

Nah, no one was taking Knight. The timing sucks for the Raps but he should be back for playoffs. Knight isn't a short term fix for a team.

[Split T]

While Raptors won't really need Lowry until round 2, losing him for the rest of the regular season is going to hurt. Firstly, their chances of moving into the 2/3 game just went down as I don't think they catch Boston/Washington without Lowry. Secondly, it would have been nice to give the whole team some time to get comfortable with one another. The most likely scenario is Lowry coming back for the playoffs and getting 1 round to get comfortable with his new teammates before going up against Lebron in round 2. I don't like their chances in that series. Crazy as it seemed early in the season(I myself wondered why washington was so bad) I think it'll be Washington-Cleveland in the East Finals. Washington is a terrible matchup for Boston as they have nowhere to hide IT as Wall, Beal, or Porter will light him up.

[carey]

Beasley is playing well again for the Bucks right now against the Cavs. He just went down with a minor leg injury though.

[Mori Chu]

While Raptors won't really need Lowry until round 2, losing him for the rest of the regular season is going to hurt. Firstly, their chances of moving into the 2/3 game just went down as I don't think they catch Boston/Washington without Lowry. Secondly, it would have been nice to give the whole team some time to get comfortable with one another. The most likely scenario is Lowry coming back for the playoffs and getting 1 round to get comfortable with his new teammates before going up against Lebron in round 2. I don't like their chances in that series. Crazy as it seemed early in the season(I myself wondered why washington was so bad) I think it'll be Washington-Cleveland in the East Finals. Washington is a terrible matchup for Boston as they have nowhere to hide IT as Wall, Beal, or Porter will light him up.

Interesting comments. I think the East playoffs will be really interesting this year. I am inclined to kind of agree with you about Boston being overrated. They are a good team, but they're still building toward being a contender. I generally like the mix of players on Washington much better. I know Isaiah Thomas is going bonkers this season, but I don't think a Thomas-centered team is likely to go far in the playoffs under the scrutiny of those kinds of defenses. I had thought that the Raptors would be the clear #2 in the East, and they may still be. But I also like Washington, despite their slow start this year.

[Split T]

If lowry gets healthy, I agree. I think Toronto is better than Boston and Washington.

[carey]

https://twitter.com/andyblarsen/status/836405554398404608

[carey]

https://twitter.com/anthonyVslater/status/836732558264139776 What the fuck was Gortat doing there?