2013-14 NBA Thread part 1

I asked a few weeks ago if it was worth wondering if the Cavs had botched that No. 1 pick. The consensus was that it was too early to tell.

How about now?

 

A good breakdown of the draft class is here. As expected, the early returns haven't been promising for top 10:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/nba/news/20131203/nba-mailbag-anthony-bennett-cleveland-cavaliers-new-york-knicks/

With Cleveland so horrible right now, I don't know whether it would be better to play Bennett more, instead of putting him in only for garbage time, or playing him 20 minutes one night and five the next. He's the No. 1 pick, so you're expecting him to be some sort of franchise player. Do you just suck it up now and let him learn from his mistakes? Will playing him more help his confidence? I don't know, but whatever is happening now sure isn't working.

 

Still too early. Not looking good, tho.

 

The thing is, they expected to be a playoff team. I expected them to be a playoff team. I thought they were an Eastern Conference dark horse, for sure. It wasn't a great draft, but a guy like Oladipo, a realistic possibility at No. 1, is at least a contributing NBA player already. And if you're going to draft a non-contributor with the pick, why not just go with Nerlens Noel, who at least has a higher upside, and would be giving you exactly what Bennett is right now, basically.

I know hindsight is 20/20, but I think in this case, it's justified, because it's not like this was the obvious pick at No. 1 at the time. It was a reach on draft day.

 

Yeah. I really thought Oladipo was the best prospect. Really thought the Wizards should have done something to get in position to draft him. He's going to be a star.

 

A rash of broken hand injuries in the past weeks or so - Davis, Redick, Pierce, and MKG.

 

The NBA's business trip south of the border goes off swimmingly.....

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ball-dont-lie/minnesota-san-antonio-game-mexico-city-delayed-due-021530344--nba.html


Elsewhere, Kyle Korver tied an NBA record by hitting a 3 pointer in his 89th straight game.

 

Silver lining for Derrick Rose to have avoided that.

 

Speaking of Rose, looks like he learned nothing about PR from last year.

http://espn.go.com/chicago/nba/story/_/id/10083521/derrick-rose-chicago-bulls-rule-return-playoffs

 

learning in not Rose's strong suit. Maybe he should have hired the guy who took his SATs to get hurt for him too.

 

Nets challenging the Knicks for dysfunctionality:

 

Shocking that Jason Kidd, so well-known for the self control he exhibits in his personal life, would swear at an assistant coach.