1) Yes. Lip. 1984. I remember those stats. I looked at that card A LOT. And I still have it somewhere.
2) I get the GSW hate a bit. D. Green is unlikable. But did you guys hate the LeBron James' Miami Heat this much?
I hated the Heat at first because of "The Decision" fiasco, but eventually accepted their greatness.
I think the Golden State hate gets a boost from the Silicon Valley "we're smarter than everyone else" dynamic, as embodied by Joe Lacob, the owner.
Even though Lacob is an idiot... other than that... I don't see how one team gets a pass and the other doesn't. If anything, GSW has a lot more homegrown talent than Miami did (Wade/Haslem).
And, at least none of the Warriors stars have tried to get the coach fired in a fit of petulance yet...
I disliked the Heat squad more than I do the GS one but part of that is getting over being annoyed with the super team stuff. I didn't really dislike any of the Heat players though and I didn't really fault those guys for coming together on a team. It was more fun to cheer for them to fail than hope they succeed.
I'll still cheer against GS to some extent. It I've gotten over Durant making his decision a bit. It seems he picked what he thought was a better situation for him over another good one in OKC but he has to live with what comes with that. His recent interview discussing mostly his relationship with Westbrook made me feel a little sorry for him...except he is getting lots of money and got to choose between for contending franchises which one to play for. What a tough life! Lol
Q12543 wrote:Lip, On the Harden/Westbrook thing, I think the answer is that yes, you can have two of these guys. Look at Miami with Wade and LeBron. Both were "do everything" type wings for their respective teams before coming together. They were still "do everything" kind of guys, but were able to share the burden while adding a nice third musketeer in Bosh and then a bunch of solid role players.
I've been very intrigued at the Wade/Butler/Rondo trio in Chicago. On paper, that feels like a group of guys that are not only ball-dominant, but not great long-range shooters either. Yet things have gone pretty well for them so far.
I watched a chunk of the 2nd quarter of the Celtics Bulls game last night while at work. The Celtics were up well over 10 points when I started watching and then the Bulls went a big run to get right back in it. They were really moving the ball getting easy buckets. Gibson was terrific handling the ball some, scoring passing looking like a fairly multidimensional player. They were actually pretty fun to watch but it was just a few minutes.
The Bulls are an interesting team to watch for Wolves fan.
We can talk about talent. And promise. And stats and more stats. But that Chicago team is very very different than the one we watch religiously.
They have A LOT of experience. Those guys know about the little things that need to be done on/off the court to win basketball games. I think that's something that's gonna plague this team all season.
[Note: And to think... I was one of the biggest "KG is a great mentor" detractors.]
That's a good point Abe.
Also I forgot to mention that Jerian Grant was plenty effective in the minutes I saw him play.
I see Golden State mauled OKC last night. Westbrook looks like he was brought back down to earth. I didn't watch the game, but I have to believe Klay Thompson was guarding him, with Curry assigned to Oladipo.
Q12543 wrote:I see Golden State mauled OKC last night. Westbrook looks like he was brought back down to earth. I didn't watch the game, but I have to believe Klay Thompson was guarding him, with Curry assigned to Oladipo.
I watched it.
I overrated OKC. I don't know if that team wins 20 games without Westbrook. Oladipo might find himself. And Adams does his thing. But there's nothing else there. Nothing.
OKC started well and just imploded. Part of that was Westbrook. Even though he was effective early (forcing Thompson to the bench with 2 quick fouls), his teammates did him no favors in this one. He started off in pass-first mode with 5 or 6 assists early. But then he found those lanes clogged more and more. Golden State was dialed in. Without spacing on the floor for OKC, there were 3 Warriors waiting for him time and time again.
And Durant was unconscious. That team can be special once they all figure out how to play together. Maybe it was only one game... but Pachulia looked much more the part I expected he would be last night.
Q12543 wrote:I see Golden State mauled OKC last night. Westbrook looks like he was brought back down to earth. I didn't watch the game, but I have to believe Klay Thompson was guarding him, with Curry assigned to Oladipo.
2nd game of a back to back. GS was gift-wrapped this one.
