The Official 2024 NBA Playoffs Discussion Thread

[Doom]

Chicago Bulls' DeMar DeRozan stays hot, eclipses Wilt Chamberlain's record scoring streak​

ESPN

CHICAGO -- Chicago Bulls All-Star forward DeMar DeRozan stayed on a roll offensively heading into the All-Star break and set an NBA record in Wednesday's 125-118 victory over the Sacramento Kings.

DeRozan scored 38 points on 16-for-27 (59%) shooting Wednesday, making him the first player in NBA history to score 35 points while shooting better than 50% from the field in seven consecutive games. DeRozan surpassed a mark set by Wilt Chamberlain, who put together two such streaks of six games in a row, the last of which came in 1963.

"Just to be in the record books along with staples of basketball history -- [I'm] speechless," DeRozan said following Wednesday's game. "As a kid, as a fan of the history of the game, being in the league as long as I've been in the league, things like that continue to make me even more humble.

"It's something I'll never take for granted. And the crazy thing is, I feel like I missed eight easy shots I normally would have made. I felt like I had a bad shooting night, honestly."

During his streak, perhaps going 16-for-27 is what qualifies as a bad shooting night for DeRozan. He is averaging 38.6 points, 5.7 rebounds and 5.6 assists on 60.7% shooting in his past seven games.

DeRozan has also scored at least 30 points in eight consecutive games, the longest streak by a Bulls player since Michael Jordan in 1996. DeRozan is tied with Philadelphia's Joel Embiid for the longest streak of 30 or more points by a player this season.

Asked to describe his current scoring run and how locked in he feels, DeRozan replied: "I can't."

"I'll be honest with you, I can't. I can't describe it," he said. "It's one of those things where I'm completely locked in as soon as I come to work. Understanding, I want to be able to leave work with a win by any means necessary."

DeRozan's performance has helped carry the Bulls to five consecutive wins, despite fellow All-Star Zach LaVine missing the past three games to see a specialist in Los Angeles about his left knee injury.

With a win Wednesday, the Bulls enter the All-Star break, at least, tied with the Miami Heat for the top spot in the Eastern Conference.

"I'm hopeful that we can get whole at some point, I think I'd like to see what this group can do whole," Bulls coach Billy Donovan said. "I am very, very grateful and appreciative, up until this point in the All-Star break -- we've had some really good moments and some not so great moments, which is typical -- the way these guys have continued to fight, regardless if it's been a win or a loss."

Congrats to DeRozan on surpassing Chamberlain for scoring 35 or more points with 50% shooting in 7 straight games!

 

[Adapting]

Demar is playing on a MVP level, hopefully he gets recognized by the league for it.

 

[Doom]

Demar is playing on a MVP level, hopefully he gets recognized by the league for it.

He should get recognition for how he's playing.

He's made the Bulls to a better team, tying the Heat on top of the Eastern Conference standings, with 38-21 records.

 

[Doom]

Four-time NBA champion Manu Ginobili, WNBA legends Swin Cash, Lindsay Whalen among Naismith Hall of Fame finalists​

ESPN

CLEVELAND -- San Antonio Spurs legend and four-time NBA champion Manu Ginobili and WNBA legends Swin Cash and Lindsay Whalen headlined the 11 finalists from the North American and Women's Committees for the Naismith Hall of Fame Class of 2022.

The other eight finalists were: former Los Angeles Laker Michael Cooper; former Milwaukee Bucks forward Marques Johnson; longtime NBA referee Hugh Evans; longtime college coach Bob Huggins; longtime NBA coach George Karl; women's college and WNBA coach Marianne Stanley; five-time All-Star Tim Hardaway; and Texas girls' high school basketball coach Leta Andrews.

Ginobili - one of two people, along with Hall of Famer Bill Bradley, to win a Euroleague title, NBA title and a gold medal - became one of the faces of the Spurs dynasty, alongside Hall of Famer Tim Duncan and future Hall of Famer Tony Parker, and won the gold medal with Argentina in 2004, and a bronze medal in 2008. His willingness to come off the bench for the majority of his career helped turn San Antonio's second units into devastating weapons.

Cash won three NBA championships, two NCAA championships and two Olympic gold medals on her way to being named one of the 20 best WNBA players of all-time in 2016. She also was a two-time All-Star Game MVP, and a four-time All-Star. Whalen, like Cash, also was a three-time WNBA champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist, making five All-Star teams and three WNBA First Teams during her 15-year career with the Connecticut Sun.

Cooper was one of the defensive anchors of the great Lakers teams of the 1980s, winning five NBA championships while earning five All-Defensive Team nods and the league's Defensive Player of the Year award in 1987. Johnson made five All-Star teams with the Bucks, and won a national championship during his collegiate career at UCLA, while Evans was an NBA referee for 28 years, a run that saw him officiate 170 playoff games, 35 NBA Finals games and four NBA All-Star Games.

Hardaway was a five-time All-Star and Olympic gold medalist whose signature crossover devastated opponents throughout his 13 NBA seasons, primarily with the Golden State Warriors and Miami Heat. Karl has the sixth-most wins of any NBA coach, 1,175, and made the NBA Finals with the Seattle Supersonics in 1996 - one of six stops during his 27 seasons as an NBA coach. Huggins has been the coach at Cincinnati, Kansas State and West Virginia, is one of six Division I coaches to win at least 900 games, and made the Final Four in 1992 and 2010.

Stanley, currently the coach of the WNBA's Indiana Fever, won a college national championship at Old Dominion in 1985, and later coached at Penn, USC, Stanford and Cal. And Andrews spent 51 years coaching Texas high school girls' teams, amassing 1416 wins - the most of any high school coach, male or female, of all-time.

The class of 2022 will officially be unveiled on April 2 in New Orleans during the Final Four, and will be enshrined in the Hall on Sept. 10 in Springfield, Mass.

 

[Bobby Barrows]

Lindsey Whalen should get in without a doubt. Outside of maybe Sue Bird she's probably the greatest women's basketball player of all time.

 

[Chris]

Tbh any WNBA player I can name I feel like should be HOF lol cause they were good enough to make waves when I don't care about WNBA at all

 

[Chris]

Also Manu let's fucking go

 

[Doom]

Lindsey Whalen should get in without a doubt. Outside of maybe Sue Bird she's probably the greatest women's basketball player of all time.

Both women should get into the HOF.

For Manu Ginobili, he's very deserving to get into the HOF. He's spent all 16 seasons with the Spurs in the NBA. He was a huge contributor to the team, as he helped winning the Spurs 4 NBA Championships.

 

[Doom]

Anthony Davis to have mid-foot sprain reevaluated in 4 weeks, Los Angeles Lakers say​

ESPN

Anthony Davis will be out at least four weeks after an MRI showed that the Los Angeles Lakers star has a mid-foot sprain, the team announced Thursday.

Davis suffered the injury in the team's 106-101 win against the Utah Jazz on Wednesday.

He underwent X-rays that night at Crypto.com Arena that revealed no fracture, according to the team, but an MRI Thursday revealed the sprain.

The Lakers said team doctors will reevaluate the star big man in four weeks.

Davis was hurt when he went airborne to catch a lob pass from Malik Monk and came down on Rudy Gobert's heel in the second quarter. Davis' right ankle turned outward and he fell to the floor, clutching the lower leg in pain.

Lakers star LeBron James said Davis left the arena on crutches, and sources told ESPN at the time that Davis experienced significant swelling in the ankle immediately following the injury.

It marks another tough injury break for Davis, who already had missed 17 straight games from late December to late January with a sprained MCL in his left knee.

The Lakers entered Thursday ninth in the Western Conference at 27-31, six games behind the Denver Nuggets, who are No. 6 -- the spot they would have to capture to avoid the play-in tournament. L.A. is four games ahead of the No. 11 New Orleans Pelicans, whom they'll have to stave off to guarantee at least the play-in spot.

After the All-Star break, the Lakers have two games left in February, then play nine games through March 18 -- which would mark about when Davis would be reevaluated.

His ankle injury was hard to watch. After his foot landed, it completely rolled up and injured it. Plus, the Lakers' season has been a train wreck with a lack of depth, star power and injuries.

Best wishes goes out to AD on a speedy recovery.

 

[Adapting]

He should get recognition for how he's playing.

He's made the Bulls to a better team, tying the Heat on top of the Eastern Conference standings, with 38-21 records.

Sadly, he will never win it because the top 3 will mainly be Jokic, Giannis, and Joel Embiid.

Anthony Davis to have mid-foot sprain reevaluated in 4 weeks, Los Angeles Lakers say​

His ankle injury was hard to watch. After his foot landed, it completely rolled up and injured it. Plus, the Lakers' season has been a train wreck with a lack of depth, star power and injuries.

Best wishes goes out to AD on a speedy recovery.

I don't understand how this dude doesn't wear high tops yet... something so small could fix this...

 

[Adapting]

All star weekend was pretty great. Everything aside from the dunk contest was spectacular.

 

[Bobby Barrows]

How bout that Karl-Anthony Towns

 

[Adapting]

How bout that Karl-Anthony Towns

Love KAT, great dude and happy he won the 3 pt contest.

 

[Apoho Creed]

Sorry Grim that is a Silver Medal with what Curry did tonight scoring the most 3 Pointers in a Game. Loved watching big homie Joel cook every Center in front of him including Joker now keep that mentality amigo and we've got the MVP and something cooking if all goes well with Harden and his play down the 2nd Half of the Season.

 

[Darkavius]

I don't understand how this dude doesn't wear high tops yet... something so small could fix this...

There's no easy way out of this whole thing with Davis. You don't do it now but I think the Lakers should consider seeing what they can get for him after next season. LeBron and Westbrook will be free agents after next season and there's no way you are building your new team around Davis.