NBA 2022-23 Season

And other things related to basketball

League's MVP. 22-23

Jokic. Best player in the best team of the west
9
38%
Giannis. Best player in the best (?) team of the east.
2
8%
Embid. Leader of a serious contender.
3
13%
Jayson Tatum. Leader of a serious contender.
9
38%
Lebron. Because he is Lebron
0
No votes
Lillard. Because if you score 71 points in one game...
0
No votes
Donovan Mitchel. As above.
0
No votes
Luka. He does wonders.
1
4%
Ja. Leading the Grizzlies
0
No votes
OTHER.
0
No votes
 
Total votes: 24

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Re: NBA 2022-23 Season

#61

Post by JazzNU »

The best dunk contest we've had in 5 years easy. One of the ideas for revamping it is to move it earlier in the All Star schedule and make it a G-league competition. Those guys have nothing to lose and you see what can happen. That was a ton of fun, didn't matter that we barely knew the guy.
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Re: NBA 2022-23 Season

#62

Post by ponchi101 »

JazzNU wrote: Mon Feb 20, 2023 5:16 am The best dunk contest we've had in 5 years easy. One of the ideas for revamping it is to move it earlier in the All Star schedule and make it a G-league competition. Those guys have nothing to lose and you see what can happen. That was a ton of fun, didn't matter that we barely knew the guy.
Totally. Made me eat my words about nothing new being done. And I agree, let the young guys from the G-league take over. They have the legs.
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Re: NBA 2022-23 Season

#63

Post by ti-amie »

Mac McClung got a chance at the dunk contest. He wants a shot at the NBA.

By Tramel Raggs
February 20, 2023 at 7:00 a.m. EST

Image
Mac McClung won the slam dunk contest with three perfect 50s. (Rick Bowmer/AP)

As the first player from the NBA’s developmental G League to participate in the All-Star Game slam dunk contest, Mac McClung is appreciative of the opportunities that come from being known as a viral dunker.

But as he graciously sits through interview after interview as he is peppered with questions about his highlight-reel days in Gate City, a small town in southwest Virginia, McClung can’t help but feel pigeonholed.

In the same vein as a boy band that’s looking to change its sound but is constantly reminded of its origin in bubble gum pop, McClung has spent the past six or so years trying to prove his abilities on the hardwood extend far beyond the dunking clips that put Gate City High on the map.

“On one hand, I feel like [being known as the White player who dunks is] something you can only embrace at this point,” McClung said. “But on the other hand, I love the game of basketball more than I like dunking. And while I truly can understand why people love to point it out, I’m way more than that, and I think that my numbers and in-game film show that.”

During Saturday’s dunk contest, which McClung won with ease, TNT’s broadcast team presented McClung as a YouTube novelty, not as an actual basketball player.

“Unfortunately for Mac, I do think that the highlight stuff can be a distraction for some of his colleagues and even some personnel scouts,” said Coby Karl, McClung’s coach with the Delaware Blue Coats. “When you have a preconceived notion of what someone is before you meet them, more times than not it’s going to impact your opinion. In Mac’s case, it becomes a distraction from who he truly is as a basketball player.”

McClung recently signed with the Philadelphia 76ers on a two-way contract after averaging 19.1 points and 4.7 assists with the Blue Coats. But making people see him as a basketball player, not as a viral sensation, has been one of the toughest parts of his journey.

Image
Mac McClung was his team's leading scorer during the NBA Rising Stars showcase in Salt Lake City. (Rick Bowmer/AP)

The night before the dunk contest, the 6-foot-2 guard led his team at the Rising Stars showcase with 10 points on 4-for-8 shooting to go with two assists and two rebounds in nine minutes.

Three collegiate seasons, split between Georgetown and Texas Tech, saw McClung average just under 15 points, but on the night of the 2021 draft he went to sleep without hearing his name called. Following a brief stint with the Chicago Bulls in which he recorded his first minutes and points as an NBA player, McClung joined the South Bay Lakers, the Los Angeles Lakers’ G League affiliate. In 26 games, he averaged 21.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 7.7 assists, earning the G League’s Rookie of the Year honor as well as a call-up for the Lakers’ regular season finale. But in the offseason, he was cut.

The Golden State Warriors offered McClung an invitation to training camp this season but waived him at the end.

“I just try to focus on the things I can control,” McClung said. “But I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t tough on me, especially with the Lakers. I was rookie of the year over there, we were winning, and I was just waiting for a turn that never came. Honestly, it hurts when you feel like you’re doing everything right, but your dreams don’t get any closer.”

Given McClung’s celebrity, his journey to the NBA has been chronicled in a way that’s foreign to most G League players.

But Karl, who faced a similar route through the professional ranks after starring at Boise State, said many players find themselves in an awkward position: They’ve dominated the G League but either don’t have the skills to do it at the next level or haven’t had an opportunity to prove they can.

“When it comes to an NBA team, 99.9 percent of the time they already have the guys that they want taking the shots and handling the ball,” Karl said. “So while the highlights, stats and accolades may move the needle on social media, it won’t necessarily get you out of the G. The question that every G League player must answer is how can they impact the game from an auxiliary role.”

To assist in showing his potential as a complementary piece, the Blue Coats shifted McClung’s role from ball-dominant player to more minutes off the ball. Following a brief adjustment period, he has settled in nicely.

Delaware is 11-2 in its past 13 games following a middling start, and McClung is playing some of the most well-balanced basketball of his career, shooting 57.6 percent from the field and 50 percent from three-point range.

“When we got Mac, we knew that he had a great first step, which allowed him to get to the bucket almost at will,” Karl said. “But since we moved him off of the ball, he’s shown that he can be a really good spot-up shooter, which has become one of the most important skills to have in today’s game.”

As a two-way player, there’s no guarantee McClung will play even one second with the 76ers, but getting this opportunity is a necessary step in his journey.

“I’m just a big believer in God’s timing and everything happening for a reason,” he said. “I feel like my story has been a challenge for a reason and I just need to wait my turn. When it’s my turn, I’ll need to be ready. That’s one thing I know for sure.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2 ... ba-career/
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Re: NBA 2022-23 Season

#64

Post by ponchi101 »

I understand that it is incredibly tough. SUPER, super tough.
But this is a league that if you can shoot, rebound, assist or any other basketball skill in a way that will help a team, it will find you. You can be in the backwoods of Namibia, and the NBA will find you.
If he is a known player and he is not permanently in the league, there has got to be a reason.
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Re: NBA 2022-23 Season

#65

Post by JazzNU »

Not loving this article honestly. Sort of woe is me. Shams sat down with him for an interview and Mac came off as nothing but grateful to be in this situation, not "this is great BUT..." He has signed a shoe deal off of all of this too, he's making out well, better than most G leaguers who don't have a famous name.
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Re: NBA 2022-23 Season

#66

Post by ponchi101 »

As we are approaching the end of the regular season, an MVP poll has been posted.
You have 6 votes to spread amongst 3 picks. Like: 3 for the 1st place, 2 for the 2nd, 1 for the third.
Or any combination. But you have a maximum of 3 votes for a given pick.
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Re: NBA 2022-23 Season

#67

Post by ti-amie »

“Do not grow old, no matter how long you live. Never cease to stand like curious children before the Great Mystery into which we were born.” Albert Einstein
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Re: NBA 2022-23 Season

#68

Post by ponchi101 »

That pretty much should do it for the Lakers. With AD also having a thing here and there, they just can't compete.
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Re: NBA 2022-23 Season

#69

Post by JazzNU »

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Re: NBA 2022-23 Season

#70

Post by ti-amie »

Whoa
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Re: NBA 2022-23 Season

#71

Post by ponchi101 »

Right now, scheduled to meet the Warriors in the first round of playoffs.
Uhm, rooting for the Kings. What a feeling.
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Re: NBA 2022-23 Season

#72

Post by Suliso »

Anyone else thinking that Dallas acquiring Kyrie Irving will be in contention for a self inflicted disaster of a decade? Mawericks has been in a free fall since he joined and Luka's performance has dived as well. Nobody seems happy there.
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Re: NBA 2022-23 Season

#73

Post by ponchi101 »

I have been talking about it with a friend down here since Kyrie joined the Mavs. Don't get me wrong: Kyrie is an incredible player, certainly one of the best. But there is something odd. He joined the Celtics and they were a disaster. He joined the Nets, with KD and Harden, and we saw where that went. And now, as you say. He joined the Mavs and they are about to miss the playoffs straight, and perhaps miss the play in.
I think JazzNu mentioned also that these two guys simply could not live together. The moment Luka gets the ball, it is glued to his hand. He plays at a very slow pace, and that is different than Kyrie's pace. And Kyrie is also a ball hog, so as good as those two are, they do seem like a really bad combination.
I think the only player Kyrie can play with is Lebron. They did get that ring, so it has worked in the past. But I agree with you: that trade is not working well at all.
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Re: NBA 2022-23 Season

#74

Post by Suliso »

I'm reading that that Irving is a toxic influence in the locker room. True or not who knows, but the history you list seems to indicate that it might be.
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Re: NBA 2022-23 Season

#75

Post by JazzNU »

No, that's not true at all. That's strictly a media narrative because they don't like Kyrie. Kyrie is very, very well liked by the players which is why he was repeatedly elected to the leadership of the player's union. You cannot go by the media on Kyrie and his likability, and it's even worse if it's a Boston writer. He is in no way a locker room cancer.

Kyrie to Dallas doesn't crack the top 10 of worst moves in a decade, and it's not even the worse of this season. The only thing that gets it into the conversation for a bad move is that they did the trade with no protection of anything past this season, which was dumb as hell. He hasn't made the Mavs worse, he just hasn't made them appreciably better and in doing the trade, the Mavs lost one of their main defensive weapons, but that's a relative loss, the Mavs were never a good defensive team. And more to the point, the Mavs changed their expectations when they got him thinking they were going to suddenly become one of the elite teams in the West and that not coming to fruition has been something the team, especially Luka and Cuban, are struggling to deal with.

There is no, see how that went with Kyrie in that location like it was all bad. He was excellent with the Nets. He just wasn't available for them, and that was the main issue. While a ton of it is blamed on the vaccine, it's also that he stays injured. He's like Anthony Davis but with a different narrative around him. The only reason, or the three reasons, that the Bucks won the year that they did was because Giannis injured Kyrie, Harden was injured, and KD's shoe isn't a half inch smaller. Any one of those three things changes the trajectory of that Nets and that Bucks team. Acting like none of that happened is seriously disingenuous. The Bucks weren't getting past the Nets. Full Stop. It's like the Celtics being super proud of their Conference title like 5 or 6 years ago as if they weren't about to get bounced in embarrassing fashion by the Chicago Bulls in the first round if the injury to Rajon Rondo didn't occur. It's all revisionist history. And the Nets were in route to strong Playoffs run this season when KD and Kyrie were playing well, so again, you can't act like the only person he can play with is LeBron. That just had the best ending.
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