Favorite teams :
Blexican : Mavericks
Thunder : Mavericks
The One : Warriors
Lone_Star : Charlotte
Spencer : Raptors
Lex : Thunder
AFO : Wizards
Printable View
Favorite teams :
Blexican : Mavericks
Thunder : Mavericks
The One : Warriors
Lone_Star : Charlotte
Spencer : Raptors
Lex : Thunder
AFO : Wizards
Warriors.
Still fuming a little from that blunder in Game 3. Dubs in 5.
I'm born and raised in Charlotte, so gotta go with my hornets. Currently up 16 right now in game 3 against the Heat!!! But as a NBA fan overall, curry and Westbrook are my favorite players to watch.
Raptors
maybe if the Warriors hadn't tried to set a regular-season record, Curry wouldn't be in this predicament
I wonder how people will look back on this season if the Warriors don't win the Championship. Curry going down so quickly seems to put the writing on the wall.
That's unfortunate with the Curry injury.
BTW Go Celtics! :):clapping:
Russell Westbrook, point guard or point god?
Westbriiiiiick. We'll see what he can do against the Spurs. He always crushes the Wizards though, so I guess I should talk. Also my favorite team is the Wizards. D;
Spurs.
Nice to see them spank that ass. Still should be a close series though.
Sixers
2 weeks until the best day of the Sixers season :) Lottery time. Here's to praying Kings Jump to #1 and someone else to top 3 so Sixers get #1 and #4 picks!
Hawks gonna just shit the bed per usual in the playoffs. :(
Kyle Lowry vs Dwyane Wade tn was incredible to watch. Refs were completely garbage in the heat's favor tn as well. And people think the heat are the favorites? I'm sorry but the heat are pretty garbage without bosh and whiteside is playing hurt. They're lucky Valanciunas got injured in the third or this woulda been a blowout. Hoping JV can come back in game 4, he's been huge for us so far in the playoffs.
http://espn.go.com/nba/playoffs/2016...sprained-ankle
Unfortunate.
I thought the Heat would win going in due to how Toronto struggled with Indiana but yeah, it's not like the Heat are anything special. Don't much think this series matters though, as I don't see Cleveland losing before the NBA finals.
Heat gave Cavs a problem in the regular season. If they were healthy they could take it to 6 against the Cavs. Unfortunately their best 2 big men are now out. No chance now. Probably won't get through the Raps now. Though DWade against the Hornets. Dayum. I love watching that guy play basketball. Lol.
The recent stuff with Bosh is pretty fucked up/weird.
Ya, a lot of people think he's going to be forced to retire.
Also, to what AFO said, the raps were 3-1 against the cavs in the season I believe. A lot of people had the heat in this series, but the raps are proving to be the superior team.
That being said, I think all things being equal and if both teams played to full potential, the heat would probably win in 5.
Raps have incredible depth and a lot of chemistry on our bench, but Whiteside is a rich man's biyombo and the raps would have to rely a lot on sinking mid range jumpers.
I'm pumped to see what the raptors can do in free agency / trade this year. Really hope they let Derozan walk, as much as I love the guy, he's not THE GUY on a championship team.
Our Core:
PG: Lowry = top 5 pg in league, Cory Joseph = Solid backup PG who completely dominates in certain matchups and can guard Dwade
SG = Norm Powell: Derozan 2.0 with better defense and a better shot, can't wait to see what this kid can do next year in a bigger role, Terrence Ross: Inconsistent, heat check player off the bench, plays + defense sometimes and is trash at other times.
SF = Demarre Caroll: JYD 2.0. Love this dudes game, always a net positive on the court even when the shot isn't going.
PF = 2pat: Small power forward who can cover big SFs, tweener good enough to stick due to high IQ and 35% 3point shot.
C = Valanciunas: Slowly but surely becoming one of the best big men in the league. He's finally adding a jump shot and pass to his game and playing much better defence, Biyombo: Matchup nightmare for some and perfect big man in a small lineup. Would be awesome to see him learn how to catch a ball on offence
I think if the raps want to be better next year they need to let Powell take Derozan's starting job and they need to go after either a mobile PF or another wing player.
Im lookin at Al horford, Marvin Williams, Nic Batum, Courtney Lee, Jared Dudley, Terrence Jones, Ersan Ilyasova, Dwight Powell, Joe Johnson, David West. Some combination of a couple of those players, I think, would fill Derozan's shoes and if Norm can take a step forward offensively (which I think he can), we could be looking at a team in contention with the cavs for #1 in the conference.
I think I'm pretty much set on Nic Batum as our starting SF next year.
PG: Lowry, Joseph, Wright
SG: Powell, Ross
SF: Batum, Carroll
PF: West, 2Pat, Caboclo
C: JV, Biyombo, BeBe
+ whatever we get from the draft / sign and trade of derozan.
I mean. The Miami Heat's staff is incompetent. Unless Bosh has some freaky clotting disorder that we don't know about, they should be preventing him from developing DVTs without the use of blood thinners. The only thing I can think of is the pooling due to sitting too much on planes or something. I doubt he has peripheral vascular disease. They should have been working on his calves and circulation immediately after his last bout with them. Shit... pay me a million bucks a year and I'll make sure he doesn't get clots in his calves. Lol.
What do you think is going on?
@Spence: Derozen made a huge leap in his game this year, didn't he? If he could get a consistent 3, he'd be a dominant 2 guard. If he works on that in the off season I could see him in the top 20. Lowry doesn't have as much potential IMO. He's good at everything, but I don't think he has the athleticism to take it to the next level. No one seems to agree with me on that. Watching Derozen destroy people though... He's got a great first step, speed, quickness, power. Just have to get that 3 down and defenses are going to be on their heels the whole game.
@Spence Lowry is a legit PG, but not top 5....Off top of my head 1) Curry 2) Westbrook 3) CP3 4) Lillard 5) Wall then I may even put Irving ahead of him. Once Teague is out of ATL or Schroder goes to the Sixers (one can dream ATL pulls the trigger) then Schroder is going to rise quickly too, but obviously he's not anywhere near the level of these guys yet.
From what I can tell, Derozan can't handle the playoffs. He's upped his game every single year he's been a raptor (regular season) and is an amazing person/hard worker, but I think his skill is pretty capped and predictable. He gets shut down in the playoffs due to the refs swallowing the wistle and defensive intensity goes up. Even if the 3 point jumper comes, his basketball IQ is extremely questionable (probably the most iso heavy player in the league and definitely isn't kobe), and his defense is worse then James Harden. As for Lowry, u kinda hit the nail on the head, he's the perfect complementary player at PG. He can score, he can dish, he plays elite defense for his position, he has an extremely high basketball IQ, he makes so many hustle plays, he's big in the clutch and I can't tell u how many times he's killed other teams runs by putting the team on his back and making a big play on either end of the court. I'd rather have lowry as a second option scorer then almost anyone in the league honestly. I have to agree with u Lowry lacks the athleticism and shooting to be a superstar/#1 option, but in terms of everything he brings as a 2nd option.. let's just say if I were Durant, I'd rather play on the raptors then OKC. Westbrook is basically the kobe to durant's jordan and it's an imperfect match. Lowry + CO would be better suited to get durant a ring imo.
That being said, if I were Durant, I'd probably look at the Celtics over any team. They have everything ready for a superstar like Durant to come in and push them over top. On top of that, they have a ton of trade chips in hand to add even more then just durant.
Could u imagine a team like this?
PG: Smart, IsiahThomas (still the 6th man)
SG: Avery Bradley, SG/SF Draft pick
SF: Durant, Crowder
PF: Amir Johnson, Kelly Olynyk
C: Boogie Cousins, Jared Sullinger
PF is a bit of a weakness, but Amir Johnson and Olynyk are both big enough to play center/switch with boogie anytime and both crowder and durant are big enough to play PF and switch with eachother if the team wants to play small. Bradley and smart are elite defenders at PG or SG and Isiah Thomas comin in to bail out smart or avery when they struggle offensively is crucial. It's pretty cool that this is even possible, certainly still wouldn't compete with the cavs offensively (I think the cavs are showing in the playoffs the potential of that lineup) but defensively it would rival the spurs. Brad Stevens would be in heaven with all the potential lineups and matchups and I'm a big Brad Stevens supporter.
Im not as die hard a raptors fan as I am a basketball fan so I'd be pretty stoked if the celts pull something like that off. It's gonna be a HUGE offseason for the celts or Raps or both.
Unfortunately, I think the raps won't mess with the status quo and will keep Derozan around. Nothin wrong with that, I just think the raps need more then Derozan to compete with the cavs next year and I definitely don't see Durant coming. If the raps manage to take down the heat this year, I also don't think they stand much of a chance against the cavs. Batum+ a solid PF, IMO would make this team (Ranked 11th in defensive efficiency with Scola at PF and Derozan at SG) would be a powerhouse defensively and probably would still be at least a top 10 offense with some potential to be better then that pending some ball movement improvements.
Also this: Is the Cavs offense on par or better then the GSW offense? I think it's starting to become a conversation.
Nope. Golden State's offense is better.
Curry is ridiculous. Seriously, what do you even say at this point? The guy is fucking incredible.
17 points in the OT period? Most in NBA history, regular season or playoffs. Incredible.
You'd have to be a serious hater to be unable to appreciate his talents and work ethic.
I think Lillard is debateable, but at this point I'd definitely take lowry over Wall and Irving.
My argument is this: Do you believe Lillard, Wall or Irving can carry a team to a championship? If not then Lowry is your guy. Lillard probably could be the #1 option on a championship team, but it's close, and his defense is so bad that he needs to be hidden completely. Wall needs a jumpshot and some better players around him (to me he's a pg who needs better players around him to shine, reminds me of Rondo in his prime, but probably better offensively) before I give him a nod, and irving is lillard light.
In terms of raw talent, Lowry probably isn't top 10, but Lowry is easily the most reliable and solid pg of the bunch behind CP3. It's a damn shame he's been so bad in the playoffs consistently, because he's the main reason the raps won 56 games this year. Granted, the last two years the raps have been good because of the weak east, but this year Kyle was one of the best players in the entire NBA (not saying he is in terms of talent, but he was one statistically)
Think about it like this.
Here's our roster:
SG= Derozan: breakout season for him offensively, can't shoot threes and was one of the worse defensive players in the entire league
SF= James Johnson/terrence ross/Norm Powell: Carroll was out for most of the season injured and casey just played the matchups at this position. James Johnson is barely a player in this league, Terrence Ross is so inconsistent it hurts and Norm Powell played like 15 games at the end of the season because he was in the D league
PF= Luis fucking Scola? Learned how to shoot 3s, but was terrible both offensively and defensively.
C= Jonas Valanciunas: Started season looking like a beast, kobe broke his hand, came back and didn't look the same until way late and then completely broke out in the playoffs. Offensively and Defensively for most of the season JV was probably middle of the pack in terms of big men
6th man= Cory Joseph: Played SG beside kyle lowry for the most part in small ball lineups because derozan is so bad on defence. Defensively and offensively he was avg.
Backup PF= 2pat: Draymond Green SUPER light. Defensively, probably our best option at PF, but struggles to get rebounds. He had a down year offensively.
Backup C= Biyombo: Defensively a monster, gets rebounds. Offensively complete train wreck.
What about that entire roster tells u that it's a 56 win team? Kyle Lowry was brilliant and is underrated. Is there a reason we had a top 5 offense beyond kyle lowry? No. Same thing with the defense. How does a roster with derozan + ross on the wing (Train wreck defenders most nights) and Luis Scola/JV starting become a top 10 defense? Kyle lowry.
Kyle Lowry > Everything
Of course not if we're talking dynasty. This year tho, Lowry was probably the #4 or 5 pg.
Next year, I'd probably take lowry as well unless Lillard can take another step forward. A healthy Lowry should be able to replicate what he did this year. If this playoff lowry is the new lowry moving forward you obviously have to pick Lillard.
Long term, I think Wall is the best of the bunch. Only thing missing from Wall's game is a reliable jump shot and a remotely decent squad around him. That Wizards team is fucking terrible and Wall is obviously a play maker. Can't really make his teammates better if they consistently miss the open shots he gives them lol. I hope he reaches his potential, but I don't know if he will. He looked distraught at times this year and Paul Pierce didn't like him (Paul Pierce's opinion is pretty much gospel to me).
Man such a joke loss by the raptors. Their shot selection is retarted, always the deep 2 man. Jv bailed them out before but now they're fucked. And derozans so inconsistent
For this year I'd have taken any of the guys I listed over Lowry. I've follow Lowry since his time at Nova (local guy for me), but while he's solid he doesn't have potential to take over a game like the other guys I listed do. Wall absolutely has ability to be top player on a contending team. Look at last year for proof. Wizards were beat up this year.
Lowry takes over games almost all the time lol. He took over vs the cavs and warriors in the regular season multiple times. In terms of scoring potential, I don't think Wall has a higher ceiling then lowry with his shot. They're both 22 ppg players in my mind. In terms of defence and vision, Wall could be a complete monster with the right players. Lillard and irving have the highest scoring potential obviously (25-28 ppg players?), but they're both poor man versions of steph and neither plays on a team that can hide the absolute trash defense they play. I'm sorry but ur totally wrong with that statement.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENKFJGDCp6w
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-p6ycwE_OiE
What happened to the Spurs? So sad... They're just too slow/old or something.
Westbrook and ibaka weren't trash in this series. Okc is clicking. I kinda wanna take back what I said about durant on the Celtics now, Okc may have issues as a team but Westbrook was amazing in that spurs series. The issue I've always ha with him is he takes away from durant, but they played really well together all series. Looked lik the corner three completely kill the spurs, good Okc coaching and unselfish play
Sad sad day :(
It's not like SA got blown out though, aside from Game 6. They had 4 4th quarter leads and led most of the series. the ironic thing, OKC's weakness in the regular season (bench and crunch time execution) ended up being their strengths. Hell, Dion Waiters looked more than competent this series while Patty Mills looked like a dumpster fire.
Edit: Fuck the refs as well. Tuuurrrrrriiibbbbbblllleeeeeee
This was San Antonios series to lose and they did. I'm pretty sure they also generated more uncontested shots for the series that they just missed. Make or miss league and even though they were open, they missed.
As such, I don't believe OKC will even scare Golden State. They don't have enough perimeter shooting, and they don't even have the advantage in point guard that they did against SA, which is critical to their success. While they will rebound a lot in the series, I don't see the bigs for OKC being as important this series since they have to deal with a lot more PnR than they did against SA.
For OKC to have a chance, Kevin Durant will literally have to average 40/game. It's possible, just highly unlikely. Golden State in 5.
He did average 36/12/6 against them this season though. Not too unlikely.It's gonna come down to ball security a lot, i think. The Thunder are gonna out rebound GS it's basically a given. We can't afford to turn it over at the same rate we did against SA because GS will convert that into way more points than SA.
Westbrook vs Steph is gonna be really interesting.
Probably right.
OKC has always been a terrible match up for San Antonio since they just overwhelm them with athleticism. Eventually becomes too much, and they can do that to most teams,
Only problem is that they rely almost exclusively on said athleticism...and when they meet a team not bothered by it, they have a lot of trouble. That's why LeBron has always dominated them, and now the Warriors are too. OKC doesn't have great shooters, never have really. So when they can't attack the paint or generate easy points off turnovers, their offense goes to mush.
Same thing the other way. All of Miami/Cleveland/golden State have done a great job of creating turnovers and creating easy basket opportunities.
Lex, do you think OKC prefers a fast pace or slower paced game against GS?
probably fast pace, gs's only weakness imo has been turnovers. I dont think okc can play the slow paced game period. they need to stick to there game and hope durant/westbrook can overcome gs. only chance is see for okc is if gsw has a poor shooting night.