monsterpile wrote:Today on the local sports radio show they were having a conversation about who the top player in the league was and it was back and forth between the two hosts of Curry and Lebron with both saying they had their guy but really there is no wrong answer. They mentioned how they weren't sure if Durant can get back up there like he was a couple years ago. They said even if he had a big series and won the Finals that wouldn't be enough because he has Westbrook. The more I thought about it the more ridiculous that sounded it's not like Lebron and Curry don't have some pretty talented sidekicks. Lol If Durant wins the championship this year he would would have gone through The Spurs Warriors and Cavs. That's the top 3 teams in the entire league by a significant margin. On top of that it would be going through 2 of the top players isn't he game and Leonard who is for sure top 5. It would be an insane accomplishment. Durant and OKC has a legit shot to do it. I think people also forget when considering Durant's resume that international tourney Durant led an underdog USA team to Gold.
I think the caveat is that the distinction between Durant and Westbrook as the team's best player has grown smaller and smaller. I don't think it's still the consensus that Durant is obviously the more valuable player...
Having great teammates vs. Having a teammate "as awesome" can make a difference.
I've heard plenty of conversations of people saying they think Westbrook is the better player of the two. Right now for me it's a tough call especially since I don't watch those guys many games a year. It just seems weird that both guys wouldn't get their due when their next best player is... and GS third best player is I guess Klay and the Cavs Love or Kyrie. OKC has talent though and are deeper than people give them credit for. I suppose it really comes down to people not buying into Durant and Westbrook because that team really didn't give them (and myself) reason to buy into them during the regular season. The playoffs seem to be a different story.
What's fun is that we are basically assured of having another rookie head coach in the finals in Ty Lue and on the WC side GS would have a 2 year HC that didn't coach a chunk of games early on or another rookie HC in Donovan. I can only come to a conclusion coaching doesn't matter or that Thibs will take this team to the Finals next season.
monsterpile wrote:What's fun is that we are basically assured of having another rookie head coach in the finals in Ty Lue and on the WC side GS would have a 2 year HC that didn't coach a chunk of games early on or another rookie HC in Donovan. I can only come to a conclusion coaching doesn't matter or that Thibs will take this team to the Finals next season.
lipoli390 wrote:Earlier in this threat I said that the Cavs were the only team that could knock off the Warriors in the playoffs this year. I might turn out to be wrong about that given how well the Thunder are playing. But I was certainly right about the Cavs. I voted for the Warriors to win the championship.
After watching Cleveland through the playoffs thus far, I'd revise my vote and pick the Cavs. They are peaking at the just right time. As I mentioned in my earlier post, the Cavs almost knocked off the Warriors last year without Love and Irving. LeBron seems to be at the top of his game now. LeBron plus a healthy Love and Irving along with the other pieces, they'll be tough to beat.
Cleveland is a front-running team. And it's picking up crazy confidence right now. The less adversity they face... the more dangerous/dominant they are.
Here's an interesting stat that might illustrate the difference in conferences...
LeBron James has lost in the Finals 3 times...
He's 36 - 9 in the East playoffs...
And 4 - 12 vs. the West once he's there.
He's 68 - 19 in the Eastern Conference playoffs since 2011.
Sure wish a team or two would emerge in the East as competitors to the Cavs. There is no team in the East other than the Cavs with any chance of making it to the finals. That will be the case for as long as LeBron, Love and Kyrie are on the team and relatively healthy unless free agency reallocates talent in a big way to create another super team in the East.
In contrast, this past season began with at least four teams in the West having a legitimate shot on paper to make the finals -- the Warriors, Spurs, Thunder and Clippers. The Wolves will have to leap over all four teams plus a talented Portland team to contend for a championship.
lipoli390 wrote:Earlier in this threat I said that the Cavs were the only team that could knock off the Warriors in the playoffs this year. I might turn out to be wrong about that given how well the Thunder are playing. But I was certainly right about the Cavs. I voted for the Warriors to win the championship.
After watching Cleveland through the playoffs thus far, I'd revise my vote and pick the Cavs. They are peaking at the just right time. As I mentioned in my earlier post, the Cavs almost knocked off the Warriors last year without Love and Irving. LeBron seems to be at the top of his game now. LeBron plus a healthy Love and Irving along with the other pieces, they'll be tough to beat.
Cleveland is a front-running team. And it's picking up crazy confidence right now. The less adversity they face... the more dangerous/dominant they are.
Here's an interesting stat that might illustrate the difference in conferences...
LeBron James has lost in the Finals 3 times...
He's 36 - 9 in the East playoffs...
And 4 - 12 vs. the West once he's there.
He's 68 - 19 in the Eastern Conference playoffs since 2011.
Sure wish a team or two would emerge in the East as competitors to the Cavs. There is no team in the East other than the Cavs with any chance of making it to the finals. That will be the case for as long as LeBron, Love and Kyrie are on the team and relatively healthy unless free agency reallocates talent in a big way to create another super team in the East.
In contrast, this past season began with at least four teams in the West having a legitimate shot on paper to make the finals -- the Warriors, Spurs, Thunder and Clippers. The Wolves will have to leap over all four teams plus a talented Portland team to contend for a championship.
Legacies are about talent. Obviously. And luck. Obviously.
I saw something about Magic Johnson that was similar. Magic's Lakers were 103 - 33 in the Western Conference playoffs. 24 - 27 in the Finals. Granted, you'd expect a team to struggle more at that stage...
But winning 77%/78% of your playoff games doesn't give much credence to a difficult road in the playoffs. Think of it this way... both Magic and LeBron win in the playoffs at a clip that would give them a 64 - 18 regular season record. WHAT? And that's against the "best" teams in their conferences.
Meanwhile, you have teams like SAS getting bounced in the 1st round last year to the LA Clippers, led by Chris Paul and Blake Griffin in a very well-played series.
monsterpile wrote:What's fun is that we are basically assured of having another rookie head coach in the finals in Ty Lue and on the WC side GS would have a 2 year HC that didn't coach a chunk of games early on or another rookie HC in Donovan. I can only come to a conclusion coaching doesn't matter or that Thibs will take this team to the Finals next season.
Star players
Coaching
Rotation big man off bench
12th man on team
Abe is a true innovator on this board. I see he is introducing a space and pace style.
OKC has definitely impressed me. And the key isn't Westbrook and Durant, as they are doing as they've always done for the most part. They are high-usage superstars who will remain the focus of opposing defenses and therefore make AND miss the majority of shots for the Thunder. But you can't beat the likes of San Antonio with two superstars and a bunch of mediocrity.
The key is that their supporting cast has stepped up and gelled in a big-time fashion. Adams is playing 30+ minutes per game and helping on both sides of the ball. Kanter is playing the best ball of his career. Ibaka has come out of his funk. And to me the biggest wild card has been Dion Waiters, who was a total bust during the regular season. He's now playing positive basketball and providing some really valuable minutes for a team that is really thin at guard.
OKC also shows that it's about getting your 5 best players on the floor, regardless of size and position for the most part. In their case, it happens to look like a really big lineup. In other teams' cases, it's a small lineup. So far, big has beat small when it comes to OKC vs. Golden State, but it's still early.
Q12543 wrote:OKC has definitely impressed me. And the key isn't Westbrook and Durant, as they are doing as they've always done for the most part. They are high-usage superstars who will remain the focus of opposing defenses and therefore make AND miss the majority of shots for the Thunder. But you can't beat the likes of San Antonio with two superstars and a bunch of mediocrity.
The key is that their supporting cast has stepped up and gelled in a big-time fashion. Adams is playing 30+ minutes per game and helping on both sides of the ball. Kanter is playing the best ball of his career. Ibaka has come out of his funk. And to me the biggest wild card has been Dion Waiters, who was a total bust during the regular season. He's now playing positive basketball and providing some really valuable minutes for a team that is really thin at guard.
OKC also shows that it's about getting your 5 best players on the floor, regardless of size and position for the most part. In their case, it happens to look like a really big lineup. In other teams' cases, it's a small lineup. So far, big has beat small when it comes to OKC vs. Golden State, but it's still early.
Q12543 wrote:OKC has definitely impressed me. And the key isn't Westbrook and Durant, as they are doing as they've always done for the most part. They are high-usage superstars who will remain the focus of opposing defenses and therefore make AND miss the majority of shots for the Thunder. But you can't beat the likes of San Antonio with two superstars and a bunch of mediocrity.
The key is that their supporting cast has stepped up and gelled in a big-time fashion. Adams is playing 30+ minutes per game and helping on both sides of the ball. Kanter is playing the best ball of his career. Ibaka has come out of his funk. And to me the biggest wild card has been Dion Waiters, who was a total bust during the regular season. He's now playing positive basketball and providing some really valuable minutes for a team that is really thin at guard.
OKC also shows that it's about getting your 5 best players on the floor, regardless of size and position for the most part. In their case, it happens to look like a really big lineup. In other teams' cases, it's a small lineup. So far, big has beat small when it comes to OKC vs. Golden State, but it's still early.
As I hinted at... Dion Waiters has a chance to inexplicably be a key player on a championship team. I never thought I'd see the day.
Antoine Walker getting the 2nd most minutes for that 2006 Heat squad remains my all time "How the fuck did that just happen" moment. The crazier thing is that he edged out his own teammate for the award. A nearly washed-up Jason Williams was 4th on the team in minutes played in the Finals.
Q12543 wrote:OKC has definitely impressed me. And the key isn't Westbrook and Durant, as they are doing as they've always done for the most part. They are high-usage superstars who will remain the focus of opposing defenses and therefore make AND miss the majority of shots for the Thunder. But you can't beat the likes of San Antonio with two superstars and a bunch of mediocrity.
The key is that their supporting cast has stepped up and gelled in a big-time fashion. Adams is playing 30+ minutes per game and helping on both sides of the ball. Kanter is playing the best ball of his career. Ibaka has come out of his funk. And to me the biggest wild card has been Dion Waiters, who was a total bust during the regular season. He's now playing positive basketball and providing some really valuable minutes for a team that is really thin at guard.
OKC also shows that it's about getting your 5 best players on the floor, regardless of size and position for the most part. In their case, it happens to look like a really big lineup. In other teams' cases, it's a small lineup. So far, big has beat small when it comes to OKC vs. Golden State, but it's still early.
As I hinted at... Dion Waiters has a chance to inexplicably be a key player on a championship team. I never thought I'd see the day.
Antoine Walker getting the 2nd most minutes for that 2006 Heat squad remains my all time "How the fuck did that just happen" moment. The crazier thing is that he edged out his own teammate for the award. A nearly washed-up Jason Williams was 4th on the team in minutes played in the Finals.
"Thank you, David Stern!"
I think what JR Smith is doing for the Cavs is worth mentioning. I think many people years ago could have bought into him being a part of a contender as a hot cold bench scorer but he seems to have been pretty damn solid for the Cavs which is sorta weird to say for him.
