Basketball season is finally here

[Zanchief]

Anyone watching hoops? Vonkaar still around? Mavs running Felton in the starting lineup?

[Jay]

Ray Felton has never been bad and he's been a fantasy secret weapon of sorts for me. Starting though? I guess?

Bulls looking so good ^_^

[Zanchief]

He's bad. Secret weapon maybe because he's been starting on a terrible team so his raw stats are good, but he's consistently been the worst starting PG in the league for a while.

Bulls do look good. I was really hoping Rose wouldn't be playing to his MVP form, but it looks like they'll be right there with Cleveland at the top of the east. That would have been the only way Toronto could squeak into second place. Likely won't happen. Third is attainable though. Miami and Washington don't really scare me. Charlotte does though.

[Zanchief]

You catch last nights game, Jay?

Oh man Gasol looks great. Rose looks really good too, but if Gasol keeps playing like he did last year, the Bulls will be good regardless. They need to get a solid backup as insurance though. As bad as the refing was in the third (numerous phantom calls) the Raps lost the game on the glass. Chicago is just a better team right now top to bottom.

[Jay]

Gasol was an amazing edition to the team. I was skeptical but he fills the roster perfectly.

Lotta Bull fans were a little worried about Rose leaving the court but I'm actually a little relieved that he's taking less risks and being careful about his health. Once Rose gets to the playoffs you're gonna see the monster emerge.

[Zanchief]

There are just so few good low post scorers in the league right now, and Gasol is one of them. It's just such an advantage to have a guy that can create his own offense so efficiently, especially for a team like Chicago the struggled so much to score last year. Plus he still defends pretty well (at least on help).

This is going to be a fun season.

[Arlos]

So, Zan, any thoughts on the Warriors?

I know there was some bloviating here when they didn't pull the trigger on the Klay Thompson for Kevin Love trade, but they seem to be doing rather well for themselves so far this season...

[Zanchief]

They are awesome. I've always been a fan of Steph Curry and I'm so glad Bogut is healthy for what feels like the first time in his career. Never been much of a Klay Thompson fan, but he's been playing really well this year. You guys are lucky looking back you didn't make that move. Love is a good stat guy, but not a great player IMO. The fact he got MVP consideration while chucking in Minny always surprised me.

I'd say they're part of a handful of teams that could win it all this year, but I tend to think it takes a season of losing deep in a the playoffs before a team is really ready to win it all.

I think losing Mark Jackson was huge for you guys. Listening to the guy talk makes me feel like I know more about basketball than him.

[Jay]

Grats Vonkaar.

[Zanchief]

Rondo has been pretty terrible all year. He's shooting close to 35% at the free throw line. Could work out, but it's a gamble.

[Arlos]

They are awesome. I've always been a fan of Steph Curry and I'm so glad Bogut is healthy for what feels like the first time in his career. Never been much of a Klay Thompson fan, but he's been playing really well this year. You guys are lucky looking back you didn't make that move. Love is a good stat guy, but not a great player IMO. The fact he got MVP consideration while chucking in Minny always surprised me.

I'd say they're part of a handful of teams that could win it all this year, but I tend to think it takes a season of losing deep in a the playoffs before a team is really ready to win it all.

I think losing Mark Jackson was huge for you guys. Listening to the guy talk makes me feel like I know more about basketball than him.

So, uh, what do you think of Klay Thompson now? How about the W's as a whole? 12.1 point differential halfway through the season is historically huge, from everything I've read. I don't think they'll hit the Bulls' record, but I think they're gonna come in with a win total in the high-60s. Such amazing excitement in the area about them, after decades of being a league laughing stock.

And yeah, pretty much every media figure here who advocated for trading Thompson to get Love has been publicly apologizing and admitting they were wrong. Not every day you see one talking head come out and say "I was completely wrong", much less several. Apparently Jerry West was adamant against making the trade. Article today quoted him as saying "The Warriors would have had one less employee if they had gone ahead with the trade." Hiring him was one of the smarter moves the W's have done, along with replacing Jackson, like you mentioned.

If the Warriors do finish out with a title, that will give this area 2 of the major sporting titles (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL) in the same year. When else has that happened? Has anywhere gotten 3, much less 4? The Sharks are inconsistent as hell this year, but still could potentially reach the cup, so we still have an outside shot at 3, but not looking likely.

[Zanchief]

To be honest I've only seen the warriors play a few times this year, but they are just crushing people. I never would have predicted this level of production. I don't think anyone could have, but good for them. I like the team, but fall short of rooting for them just because I don't want to be a bandwagoner.

The west could be looking very different in the next few years as perennial contenders are falling off (Spurs / Lakers). This could be a period of time where we see the warriors and clippers ruling the west. How strange.

Mostly, though, Basketball depresses me as Toronto has decided to do a complete 180 on what was looking like a franchise defining season. It just doesn't look like the same team anymore.