# NBA Season 2015 - 2016 **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [September 30, 2015, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nba-season-2015-2016/733077 "2015-09-30T20:37:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2016, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nba-season-2015-2016/733077/181 "2016-05-03T13:11:46Z")
So serious question on NBA officiating based on last night: Does LeBron set moving picks 90% of the time in the regular season, too, or just the playoffs? ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2016, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nba-season-2015-2016/733077/182 "2016-05-03T13:36:05Z")
While the NBA remains a distant 3rd among the Big 3, and certainly isn’t close to its popularity during the Jordan era, I do get the impression that it’s more popular now than it was 5 - 10 years ago. But yeah, the entire NBA regular season and playoffs so far has accumulated fewer posts than the first month of baseball. ---
**Author:** ![leftfield6](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leftfield6/32/18780_2.png) [@leftfield6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leftfield6)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2016, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nba-season-2015-2016/733077/183 "2016-05-03T13:54:06Z")
> [@Quercus](#): > > So serious question on NBA officiating based on last night: Does LeBron set moving picks 90% of the time in the regular season, too, or just the playoffs? There was one no call on a LBJ illegal screen last night that was just amazing. I know LBJ lovers say he doesn’t get enough calls his way on the offensive end, but come on. He bulldozed as he rolled on a pick and roll, and took the Hawks player with him, because he NEVER stopped moving. LBJ is so massive that I think refs have a hard time knowing how to officiate him. Add to that the “star aura” that all players at his level get, and he basically gets away with a lot on the court. ---
**Author:** ![brickbacon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@brickbacon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brickbacon)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2016, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nba-season-2015-2016/733077/184 "2016-05-04T01:17:22Z")
> [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](#): > > While the NBA remains a distant 3rd among the Big 3, and certainly isn’t close to its popularity during the Jordan era, I do get the impression that it’s more popular now than it was 5 - 10 years ago. > > But yeah, the entire NBA regular season and playoffs so far has accumulated fewer posts than the first month of baseball. Not really. The new upcoming NBA contract is almost double MLB’s. Baseball is only more profitable/popular by some traditional measures because there are almost twice as many games. More people now watch the NBA finals than the World Series, and basketball fans skew much younger, and look more like the future demographics of this country, so it’s a bit unfair to call it a distant third. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2016, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nba-season-2015-2016/733077/185 "2016-05-04T01:58:19Z")
I’m more of a watcher now that I live in Oregon and have a team to root for. When I lived in Alaska, I lost interest completely. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2016, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nba-season-2015-2016/733077/186 "2016-05-04T05:11:05Z")
And the Failblazers blow it again. ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2016, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nba-season-2015-2016/733077/187 "2016-05-04T14:57:30Z")
> [@brickbacon](#): > > Not really. The new upcoming NBA contract is almost double MLB’s. Baseball is only more profitable/popular by some traditional measures because there are almost twice as many games. More people now watch the NBA finals than the World Series, and basketball fans skew much younger, and look more like the future demographics of this country, so it’s a bit unfair to call it a distant third. You’re not wrong about the TV ratings, but fan polling suggests the NBA barely edges the NHL in popularity. > [@](#): > > In 2014, 35 percent of fans call the NFL their favorite sport, followed by Major League Baseball (14 percent), college football (11 percent), auto racing (7 percent), the NBA (6 percent), the NHL (5 percent) and college basketball (3 percent). > **[Harris Poll: NFL still most popular; MLB 2nd](https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/10354114/harris-poll-nfl-most-popular-mlb-2nd)** > > Pro football is the most popular sport in America for at least the 30th straight year. In any case, the TV ratings for NBA Finals definitely show a sharp decline post-Jordan a pretty strong comeback starting about 10 years ago. I’m kind of bummed that Portland laid a giant turd in the 4th quarter last night. 12 points in the whole quarter. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2016, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nba-season-2015-2016/733077/188 "2016-05-04T19:47:32Z")
> [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](#): > > I’m kind of bummed that Portland laid a giant turd in the 4th quarter last night. 12 points in the whole quarter. No shit. They played brilliantly in the first 3-1/2 quarters. Then when GS started putting on some pressure, they discarded their game plan and started trying to play “hero ball”, which is exactly the wrong tactic against a defensive team like GS. McCollum driving for a lay-up in a 3-1 situation? Is he insane? Plumlee turned the ball over three possessions in a fucking row, for fuck’s sake. Seventeen turnovers for the game. :smack: IMO, it was crucial for PDX to steal this away-game in order to have any prayer of surviving (or even (gasp!) winning) in this series. There’s no way they can come back from 0-2 against a team of this caliber. I’m so pissed at them right now. ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2016, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nba-season-2015-2016/733077/189 "2016-05-05T14:28:06Z")
> [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](#): > > I guess I just don’t think much of Atlanta… As I was saying, the Hawks suck. Halftime score was what, 74 - 38 last night? ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2016, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nba-season-2015-2016/733077/190 "2016-05-05T21:58:31Z")
You guys see the Cavs [shot chart](http://i.imgur.com/wQ6VAQE.jpg) from last night? ---
**Author:** ![borschevsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/97f17d/32.png) [@borschevsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/borschevsky)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2016, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nba-season-2015-2016/733077/191 "2016-05-05T22:14:25Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > IMO, it was crucial for PDX to steal this away-game in order to have any prayer of surviving (or even (gasp!) winning) in this series. There’s no way they can come back from 0-2 against a team of this caliber. I’m so pissed at them right now. It seems to be the pattern in these playoffs that one of the first two games is a comfortable win for the home team, and the other is a toss-up. If you’re the underdog you have to take your chance when it comes. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2016, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nba-season-2015-2016/733077/192 "2016-05-08T16:32:48Z")
The Blazers finally played an intelligent game for four quarters and won one at home. Aminu luckily had one of his “on” nights and the Warriors’ bench had an off night. If they can somehow pull off a miracle next game, this could turn into a series. ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2016, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nba-season-2015-2016/733077/193 "2016-05-09T13:59:13Z")
Yes, good for the Blazers. And it sounds like Curry is unlikely to play again tonight, so hopefully they can knot up the series in Portland. OKC has made things interesting with the Spurs. That series is tied at 2. Westbrook was much more a distributer of the basketball, only scoring 14 points with 15 assists. They can be dangerous when he and Durant are clicking, but the problem is they don’t have a strong 3rd option. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2016, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nba-season-2015-2016/733077/194 "2016-05-10T20:52:17Z")
Fucking hell. ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2016, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nba-season-2015-2016/733077/195 "2016-05-10T23:18:48Z")
Yeah, no doubt. Portland is toast now. And it’s official, Steph Curry is the first unanimous NBA MVP. He deserves it whether I like him or not. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2016, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nba-season-2015-2016/733077/196 "2016-05-10T23:48:53Z")
The guy is inhuman, and it didn’t help that Portland screwed the pooch in the 3rd. Again. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2016, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nba-season-2015-2016/733077/197 "2016-05-11T02:32:50Z")
OKC goes 3-2 up on the Spurs. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2016, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nba-season-2015-2016/733077/198 "2016-05-11T19:54:38Z")
I don’t know how to measure it, but I wonder if in Demar DeRozan was are not seeing some kind of record-setting performance in terms of the delta between regular season performance and playoff ineptitude. It is truly amazing how bad he is, and how much worse Toronto is when he’s on the floor. As for Steph Curry… a few years ago (well, 15 maybe) I wondered on this board why it was that John Stockton, who was shooting something like .450 from beyond the arc at the time, didn’t just light it up every time Utah had the ball; if you just took a 3-point shot every possession and shot .450 you;d never lose a game. It was pointed out to me, which I should have known but was drunk or something, that the very reason he was shooting so well is because he was taking wide open shots, and if he started just jacking it up on every possession soon none of his shots would ever be wide open. What makes Curry a transformative player is not his shooting percentage from beyond the arc - which is incredible, but Steve Kerr’s was better and other guys are close - it’s that he can jack it up every chance he gets. Most shooters take 3-pointers when a play is called that allows them to camp at range, receive a pass, and have time to set and shoot. Curry does not need any of that. He has the ball and he’s moving and suddenly he’s shooting, no hesitation, no warning, he’s in the air with that funny jump shot of his. He attempted 210 more three pointers this year than anyone else in the history of the NBA, and I would expect he will attempt more still in 2016-2017 because apparently he can do that, and if you hit more than 40 percent of them it’s invariably the correct thing to do. Klay Thompson, meanwhile, attempted 650 of his own, which is the fifth highest total ever. 3-point attempts are vastly more common now than they used to be, but we may be seeing, in the Warriors, and completely new type of basketball, one dominated by players trained from an early age to hit the basket from 23-25 feet. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2016, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nba-season-2015-2016/733077/199 "2016-05-12T00:39:18Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > I don’t know how to measure it, but I wonder if in Demar DeRozan was are not seeing some kind of record-setting performance in terms of the delta between regular season performance and playoff ineptitude. It is truly amazing how bad he is, and how much worse Toronto is when he’s on the floor. > > As for Steph Curry… a few years ago (well, 15 maybe) I wondered on this board why it was that John Stockton, who was shooting something like .450 from beyond the arc at the time, didn’t just light it up every time Utah had the ball; if you just took a 3-point shot every possession and shot .450 you;d never lose a game. It was pointed out to me, which I should have known but was drunk or something, that the very reason he was shooting so well is because he was taking wide open shots, and if he started just jacking it up on every possession soon none of his shots would ever be wide open. > > What makes Curry a transformative player is not his shooting percentage from beyond the arc - which is incredible, but Steve Kerr’s was better and other guys are close - it’s that he can jack it up every chance he gets. Most shooters take 3-pointers when a play is called that allows them to camp at range, receive a pass, and have time to set and shoot. Curry does not need any of that. He has the ball and he’s moving and suddenly he’s shooting, no hesitation, no warning, he’s in the air with that funny jump shot of his. He attempted 210 more three pointers this year than anyone else in the history of the NBA, and I would expect he will attempt more still in 2016-2017 because apparently he can do that, and if you hit more than 40 percent of them it’s invariably the correct thing to do. > > Klay Thompson, meanwhile, attempted 650 of his own, which is the fifth highest total ever. 3-point attempts are vastly more common now than they used to be, but we may be seeing, in the Warriors, and completely new type of basketball, one dominated by players trained from an early age to hit the basket from 23-25 feet. Curry’s shot is unique, certainly, but his moves are what gives him the shot. The guy is like a ballet dancer out there, can stop on a dime, deke, juke, spin, and most importantly, _control the ball while doing it_. McCollum and Lillard have great moves also, but they don’t have the same level of ball control as Curry, and often turn it over. He’s a wonder to watch except for that whole oral fixation thing he has; the guy chews his mouth guard, his towel, his nails, or a wad of gum at all times. Makes me nuts. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2016, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nba-season-2015-2016/733077/200 "2016-05-12T14:22:36Z")
Blazers are done, but gave GS four good quarters. They went further and played better this year than anybody thought they would. I look for a really cohesive and determined team for next year that will be better able to close out a game. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nba-season-2015-2016/733077.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nba-season-2015-2016/733077.md?page=11)