Yeah right now there is a lack of American centers. Lots of iso guards and wings, but not much size/rebounding.
Which interestingly is in large part a response to the flood of European big men who started entering the league in the early 00s who had so much better skills than their American counterparts. Development of these players has over compensated and left them with equally large gaps in their game just in a different area.
It’s essentially case of if you focus on fundamentals, both technical and tactical, you produce players who can exploit a weakness of an opponent whatever that weakness is.
We’re a basketball nation now, apparently
Remember watching Saturn Köln in the Basketball Bundesliga in tiny halls, long way from there
I’m definitely unable to give an unbiased opinion on this but certain calls, like that foul and three free throws given against Avramović when Schroder kung-fu kicked him in front of the referee, completely baffled me. It’s a rare type of foul but even a Real Madrid player was adjudged to have fouled a Partizan player earlier in the season for a similar thing (after video review, if I remember correctly, can’t remember the players).
Dobrić was a major loss, though. He’s an incredibly intelligent player, a real team player who would have picked up enough balls that Milutinov was holding up. We really didn’t have luck with injuries in this championship (hell, Simanić literally lost a kidney after a nasty elbow hit), as if major players cancelling hadn’t already complicated things for Pešić.
I really should be celebrating that we won the silver but I grew up seeing my national team win two World Cups and three European Cups. We haven’t won anything since 2002 and I hoped that we would carry our recent form into this match. Somehow, we forgot how to play defence for three quarters and gave Germany a free ride into the block area (I hope it’s called like that, my basketball English is genuinely weak). Still, had it not been for some weak, rushed decisions from our players, we might have won it, so it hurts properly.
I’m definitely in the minority here but I stopped caring about NBA after Jordan had retired, with the exception a short spell of interest in watching Stojaković and Divac playing for Sacramento. In the past twenty years or so, I got the impression that NBA, like NFL, is a product, rather than sport. I can’t even be bothered to watch the likes of Jokić, Dončić and Antetokounmpo for their clubs.
The style of basketball is something that disinterests me, too, you usually get to see some of the world’s most powerful athletes enter a shooting or slam-dunk contest. I don’t think that a Muggsy Bogues or a John Stockton would have gained star status in this NBA iteration.
I prefer European basketball, which always seems more of a contest, where you can see some quality defending and inventive moves (I’m strictly talking about Euroleague), not constant bombardment of the hoop from nine metres. Not to mention the quality of support in the hall, which is on a wholly different plane to the rest of the world.
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Gonna be a fun season, isn’t it.
Look at him in that picture. He looks like a hobo. Huge belly. A Friar Tuck. If you saw him in a pick up game you’d fancy your chances. And he defends about as well as your average park shoot around dude, and works on his game about as hard as well. Yet he’s pocketing $40m a year. 
Wembanyama looks the business. He’s a bit of a Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man, but that’s only working in his favour and he’s strong in the paint.
KD looks even more bored in Phoenix than he did in Brooklyn. Probably fair enough.
Compared to the greater NYC area, Phoenix is pretty dull.
almost every place in the world is dull compared to NYC, yo!
Phoenix is nice if you’re retired, with money.
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He’s just dropped 50 on the Pacers (3 free throws). He just keeps getting better.
Meanwhile, the Clippers were turned over by the 1-8 Grizzlies. Clippers are 0-4 with Harden. -67 with Harden on the court over those games, +24 when he’s been on the bench.
Funny stuff.
Took a pee on the Barclays Centre this eve.
LeBron can be a pain in the arse but this is cool as hell
https://x.com/historyinmemes/status/1754829540378005623?s=20
Natural bedfellows. 
I find that equally fascinating and confusing.
There has been a bit of attention recently of how Klopp is viewed as someone to learn from by NFL and NBA coaches, but it’s pretty easy to see how Klopp has qualities that are transferable to coaches in other sports.
Pep is a boring fuck though with very little about him or the way he works that could identify as being valuable to take anything from for anyone outside of football. What can basketball coach possibly think they can learn from him? Obsessive focus on detail maybe? But the NBA, a star fucker league where games are largely won by the team who has the best player on the night able to play the most minutes, I struggle to see how that lesson could be valuable
Went to the first game of the G League Finals last night - Maine Celtics making their first ever appearance in the finals and they dominated Oklahoma City Blue in a 106-86 win.
Neemias Queta (Utah State), JD Davison (Alabama) and Jordan Walsh (Arkansas) have all made appearances for Boston this season and they were just way too good for this game.
Nosebleeds for night one of the Eastern Conference at MSG are $400 at the moment.
Bargain.
The Sixers look determined not to get there, anyway.
I don’t think I can stomach another person describe the Knicks as having a “blue collar mentality”.
This series (and this city) is getting on my tits.