re: Luka and Lively to play tonight, the Rockets vs Mavs thread

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I haven't gotten the vibe that the games have been more tense than any other regular season game, because they are just that... regular season games

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Virtually every NBA podcast I listen to and all the national dudes have talked about the early season playoff like atmosphere of some of these games

I get not liking it or not personally caring about this, but I think it's just an incorrect argument to state the players aren't treating these games any differently.

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Are there any stats or trends that actually support that teams are playing with more intensity compared to a non-NBA Cup game this year? Not asking that flippantly, genuinely curious.

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I don't have that.



But I will say every new NBA podcast I've listened to, I'm on 3 or 4 today, are all ranting and raving about what a huge success this is specifically because of the intensity of these games, the playoff feel, and just how seriously the players are taking these games.

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I don't disagree, but I also think that a lot of the people exalting the success of the IST are people who are incentivized to do so.

It's kind of like Mom asking the kids on vacation "We're all having fun now, right?"

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Except everything they're saying is spot on.

I've watched the games too. I have no incentive here, and everything they're saying is very obvious and visible watching those Tues/Fri games in November, especially the final set of games.

We'll certainly hear dudes who just don't like it, that's fine. But you wouldn't be able to find many, if any, national or not, that is on the complete other side and thinks the players have played these games like any other game, no additional intensity or anything like that.