[Bostongambler]

Ohhhh, last night. Gotcha

[Mac4Lyfe]

They are playing the Hawks, no?

I faded them versus the Hawks tonight too. The Cavs are the walking wounded. Might not win another game.

[stevenash]

Luka 30/15/7

Mid 4th.

Embid can't distribute like Doncic or Jokic or Giannis
That's why Embid will never will an MVP, he can't distribute, his shitty ball handling converts into turnovers.

[Wrongside]

Luka aint big time? I almost wanted to start another thread about him. The fact he is not a clear number 4 in the MVP race says all you need to know. He has the stats and is guiding his team to as good of a season as any of the top 3. Who is Luka's #2? Who is Luka's #3?

It should be Jokic or Doncic, with a nice tip of the cap to Giannis as the most dominant player in the world right now.

[jjgold]

Bucks not same team as last year

So beatable

[Bostongambler]

Very well said Wrongly.

[stevenash]

Luka aint big time? I almost wanted to start another thread about him. The fact he is not a clear number 4 in the MVP race says all you need to know. He has the stats and is guiding his team to as good of a season as any of the top 3. Who is Luka's #2? Who is Luka's #3?

It should be Jokic or Doncic, with a nice tip of the cap to Giannis as the most dominant player in the world right now.

Who said Luka isn't big time?

[KRIT]

Luka 30/15/7

Mid 4th.

Embid can't distribute like Doncic or Jokic or Giannis
That's why Embid will never will an MVP, he can't distribute, his shitty ball handling converts into turnovers.

He's a real 7 foot center, what do you expect?

[stevenash]

He's a real 7 foot center, what do you expect?

And Jokic isn't a 7 foot center?

[Wrongside]

Who said Luka isn't big time?

Just a figure of speech/rhetorical

[stevenash]

Just a figure of speech/rhetorical

[IBetYou]

I was trying to convince someone on here last year that the former Yugoslavia was the greatest talent pool in the world...

HOw does a Jokic/ Doncic/ Bogdan lineup look?

[IBetYou]

They all just get better with age like fine wine. All have a great work ethic, respect for the game etc.

[stevenash]

I was trying to convince someone on here last year that the former Yugoslavia was the greatest talent pool in the world...

HOw does a Jokic/ Doncic/ Bogdan lineup look?

Petro started this whole Euro invasion..
Petro was the one who introduced the Euro-step to the NBA

[IBetYou]

Petro started this whole Euro invasion..
Petro was the one who introduced the Euro-step to the NBA

You mean Petrovic? I thought it was Ginobili...

[stevenash]

You mean Petrovic? I thought it was Ginobili...

Yeah, Petro was his nickname. Ginobil cane eight years later
Portland didn't use him right, went to New Jersey (at the time) became an All Star.
First Euro All Star ever in the NBA

Ginobili came like in 2002 I think, Petro died too young, 1993 in a car crash, he was just hitting his prime.
Ginobili and Dirk were part of the next wave of Euro's

[IBetYou]

I know who Ginobili and Petrovic are ffs! Never in my life heard anyone credit the later with the euro-step but whatever.

[stevenash]

I know who Ginobili and Petrovic are ffs! Never in my life heard anyone credit the later with the euro-step but whatever.

When Drazen Petrovic joined the Portland Trail Blazers in 1989, he already had a hundred nicknames. Most were not subtle. In Europe, fans called him “Mozart,” a tribute to his artistry and flair. One Italian newspaper dubbed him “The Holy Terror from Zagreb.” Another said he was “the white Isiah Thomas.” At times, he was “Petro.” In other moments he was “Draz.” When he starred for Real Madrid, one of the powers of European basketball, he was “Perro Caliente,” the hot dog.




And then, there was the special moniker from Arvydas Sabonis, the great Lithuanian center and a chief rival on the Soviet national team: He once called him “Clown.”



Petrovic was probably the best offensive basketball player in the world outside the NBA, a 6-foot-5 guard with deep range, feathery touch who introduced the Eurostep to the NBA — “The Lawrence Welk move,” as legendary scout Marty Blake put it — but he also was a character, a fiery Croatian virtuoso who hoisted 3-pointers, flipped behind-the-back passes and drove opponents crazy. In 1985, he scored 112 points in one game for Cibona Zagreb. In 1988, he led the former Yugoslavia to a silver medal at the Seoul Olympics. But when he arrived in the NBA, nobody was certain if it would work.

This is partly because “Mozart,” in this case, possessed a lackluster reputation on the defensive end. But it also was because there had never been a player like him, a foreign star who came of age outside the traditional feeder system of American college basketball. When Petrovic joined the Blazers, he told reporters that he’d come to America to challenge himself, to prove he could play against the best in the world, to be the equivalent of a franchise player.


If he had to be the first of his kind, he wanted to make sure he was not last.


But whatever

[IBetYou]

Interesting. I was just reading on Wiki that it was common in 60's basketball in Europe, and also that the term didn't exist until Ginobili arrived. So invented in the 60s, introduced by Petrovic, and popularised by Ginoblli. We got there in the end

[stevenash]

Interesting. I was just reading on Wiki that it was common in 60's basketball in Europe, and also that the term didn't exist until Ginobili arrived. So invented in the 60s, introduced by Petrovic, and popularised by Ginoblli. We got there in the end

I wasn't trying to be a wise ass, and I never knew that until "The Athletic" wrote that BRILLIANT piece on Petro a couple of months ago.
(I actually bookmarked that it was so freaking good and packed with interesting facts)

What I posted was only the first page, it goes on.
Yeah, I thought too the Euro-step came over with Dirk, but Petro was the first to introduce it in the NBA.

*not for nothing*
If one doesn't subscribe to "The Athletic" one is missing out on the greatest collection of sports and sports writing ever.

[IBetYou]

Reggie Miller once called him the greatest shooter of all time -he'd probably say Curry now, but that's a hell of a compliment anyway.

[KVB]

Hard to find a player worth more points in the market for his team than Luka.

This is huuuuuuuugh, especially if he can't get back to health...

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The Dallas Mavericks announced today that an MRI confirmed a left calf strain for Luka Dončić.<br><br>Dončić has begun treatment and there is no timetable for his return. <a href="https://t.co/L7GPE4Lfe0">pic.twitter.com/L7GPE4Lfe0</a></p>&mdash; Mavs PR (@MavsPR) <a href="https://twitter.com/MavsPR/status/1513914227488174091?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" >April 12, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[slayer14]

Best white player in nba now he over take Hayward

[mpaschal34]

Odds show Luka missing time…went from -115 to +267 since the injury.

Word in Dallas from the local reporters is that they expect him to miss the first game and probably two.

[KVB]

Odds show Luka missing time…went from -115 to +267 since the injury.

Word in Dallas from the local reporters is that they expect him to miss the first game and probably two.

Crazy.

They're about 50-50 without him but the competition in the wins was pretty weak.

I have to step away, but I'll try to remember to get much more specific about that stuff, just going off of memory from some research earlier.

The main takeaway from what I was looking at earlier was that they are not very good without Luka.

[Bostongambler]

Best white player in nba now he over take Hayward

Hayward??? He’s a bum. What about Jokic

[CJ]

Hayward??? He’s a bum. What about Jokic

That would require actually paying attention here. Definitely a better comparison. I'd also go with Kristaps, Valanciunas, Vucevic, Sabonis, Herro, both Bogdanovics, Nurkic (plays just as much as Gordon) and probably Steven Adams all over Hayward in the unofficial NBA White Guy Rankings at this point. Giddey and Franz will be there in the next season or two, if not already.

[TheMoneyShot]

Luka doesn't seem like a guy that can play hurt.... he's not a Kobe Bryant.

[mpaschal34]

Luka doesn't seem like a guy that can play hurt.... he's not a Kobe Bryant.

I agree…he hasn’t been able to play hurt well in the past. If he wants to be elite, he needs to take better care of his body. Each of the last two off seasons he has come back overweight to start the season. I remember them making a big deal on a postgame interview when he stayed in the game 17 straight minutes. Sheesh…in the old days, the great players always played 95% of the game.

Lastly, Luka shouldn’t even had been in the 2nd half of that last game. Golden State was up 20 at halftime in their game…and therefore Dallas had nothing to play for in the 2nd half their game (both games were playing at the same time).

[Bostongambler]

Hayward??? He’s a bum. What about Jokic

Maybe I was a little too harsh about Hayward. Who knows how it would of played out if he didn’t get that major injury.

[Bostongambler]

Having himself a game tonight.

[Mac4Lyfe]

I know who Ginobili and Petrovic are ffs! Never in my life heard anyone credit the later with the euro-step but whatever.

Petrovic was unreal. I saw him play in person several times. He was like Steph Curry back in the day. He shot like 45% from 3, was a wizard with the ball. He was the originator of the euro step in the NBA. He dropped close to 50 against my Cavs in a playoff game too. That guy was on pace to be the Euro face of the league. I can still remember where I was when I heard he died. What a sad, sad, day.

[budwiser]

Speaking of old Steph Currys there was Stojakovic. One of the greatest NBA teams never to get a ring, look at this lineup in their prime-Webber, Bibby, Stojakovic, Christie, Divac. Coming off the bench Turkoglu and Bobby Jackson. That is one balanced, incredible team. Usually you need at least 2 stars on the team-they had 4, and this was back before the Super Team era. But they went up against the Lakers, which Shaq and Kobe, and because they were a small market team rumor was strong the NBA did not want them winning.

One of if not the greatest NBA rig videos I have ever seen was a series, here's maybe the crown jewel of the series:

[budwiser]

I thought back then it was more rigged to be close and go game 7 than it was rigged against the Kings.

Back then there was no question they would call national tv games to ensure it goes down to the last minute. The NBA loves a game 7 Kings-Lakers too. David $tern knew the value of ca$h back then, well done.

[budwiser]

More balanced look.

That Kings-Lakers rivalry was must-see tv. A lot of animosity back in the day. Like I said my general take was I was "amazed" how many of those games came down to the last 2 minutes. It doesn't happen nearly as often these days, according to my memory (could b wrong).