The Playoffs

[AbeVigodaLive]

Extremely disappointed in Atlanta. They looked less than stellar throughout the playoffs. But the way they played vs. the Cavs? I don't know if they beat out Brooklyn for that 8th spot. They played awful.

That being said, let's give credit to Cleveland for some of that. They came in with a good defensive scheme and forced Atlanta into playing a different style than they were used to. Atlanta just doesn't have the star power or skilled players to take advantage of it. Millsap was especially awful. Horford didn't impose his will. You need your best players to force the action sometimes.

As noted, James is the league's best player. One of the very best ever. So, all he needed was a collective effort defensively and some timely shooting from teammates to make it out of the East... with role players excelling at what they do.

Thompson is an energy double-double guy who can score on putbacks. JR Smith can get hot from behind the arc. Delladova and Shumpert bring defense... and surprisingly good three point shooting in a couple of games from Shumpert. Mozgov is a presence inside.

All that is good enough in the East. Golden State is super good. They are better. In fact, I think they are much better. But... this is the NBA. And in one series, anything can happen IF your team has the best player on the floor. Cleveland will have that in the Finals.


[Note: I might break my television the next time I see James Jones shoot a three pointer. HOW/WHY is he so wide open all the time? I know James is an ungodly good passer and draws attention, but I literally cannot remember James Jones dribbling a basketball in a decade. I'm not smarter than NBA teams.... at least I hope not. Make him do ANYTHING but shoot for chrissakes.

Speaking of which... for all this talk about Budenholzer being a genius, I was disappointed by his inability to get more from his team and making adjustments to counter what Cleveland was doing to them.]

[AbeVigodaLive]

monsterpile - I agree on Shaq. They made rules just to try and stop him. Amazing talent.

Q - I like your team with Rodman. He could cover anyone. Even Shaq in the day. I would probably go with Shaq and Stockon to fill out 1/5 for me. Shaq just couldn't be left alone and I just think Stockon could be the shooter and play better defense then Nash.

Rodman might be the greatest role player in the history of the game. He is the ultimate example of someone that can significantly impact a game without ever scoring a single point. He averaged 19 rebounds a game at the age of 30. Think about that. The next closest guy that year was Kevin Willis at 15.5.

True. But Rodman became a liability on offense as his career progressed. That's why I usually include Kevin Garnett on those mythical all-time best teams. He can play defense. He can pass. And he can score.

But he thrived in a complementary role and didn't always need to get a certain number of touches. The tragedy in Garnett's career was that McHale seemed to realize Garnett was the NBA's all-time best "second fiddle" after everybody else already knew that. (see Danny Ainge)

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

But... but... Steph Curry's on the same level as LeBron James!

[Probably an unnecessary comment, but what started as a debate between me and khans turned into a debate between me and a few Twitter followers when I asked them about it. It's silly.]

[Monster]

monsterpile - I agree on Shaq. They made rules just to try and stop him. Amazing talent.

Q - I like your team with Rodman. He could cover anyone. Even Shaq in the day. I would probably go with Shaq and Stockon to fill out 1/5 for me. Shaq just couldn't be left alone and I just think Stockon could be the shooter and play better defense then Nash.

Rodman might be the greatest role player in the history of the game. He is the ultimate example of someone that can significantly impact a game without ever scoring a single point. He averaged 19 rebounds a game at the age of 30. Think about that. The next closest guy that year was Kevin Willis at 15.5.

True. But Rodman became a liability on offense as his career progressed. That's why I usually include Kevin Garnett on those mythical all-time best teams. He can play defense. He can pass. And he can score.

But he thrived in a complementary role and didn't always need to get a certain number of touches. The tragedy in Garnett's career was that McHale seemed to realize Garnett was the NBA's all-time best "second fiddle" after everybody else already knew that. (see Danny Ainge)

Wallace and Rodman didn't score but they were not quite liabilities on offense imo because of their ability to set screens and move to spots to get easy buckets. You still had to guard those guys. Rodman was a very good passer. Of course that all worked because they both played on teams with plenty of scoring especially Rodman. Rodman actually could have scored he actively chose not to score partly because it was somewhat smart basketball and partly because he was a super odd duck. Rodman's basketball IQ was as high as anyone I have ever seen. Tough to argue taking KG over Rodman though.

[Coolbreeze44]

I can't believe anybody would take Garnett over Duncan on an all time team. He did everything Garnett could do and more. I wonder what a Spurs message board would think reading some of this.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

I can't believe anybody would take Garnett over Duncan on an all time team. He did everything Garnett could do and more. I wonder what a Spurs message board would think reading some of this.

Considering mine was built around defensive versatility and freak athletes... It makes sense.

I'm 100% in the camp that Duncan's the best PF of all-time, though (and he's a top-seven player in my list of greats mainly due to his unbelievable longevity).

[thedoper]

I can't believe anybody would take Garnett over Duncan on an all time team. He did everything Garnett could do and more. I wonder what a Spurs message board would think reading some of this.

There were a couple of years where it seemed like a worthwhile debate for us delusional wolves fans but it is clear now that their careers are winding down that it is no contest. Garnett was a unique, gifted, all around player, but Duncan is the best 4 of all time. It is not even worth thinking about.

[AbeVigodaLive]

I can't believe anybody would take Garnett over Duncan on an all time team. He did everything Garnett could do and more. I wonder what a Spurs message board would think reading some of this.

There were a couple of years where it seemed like a worthwhile debate for us delusional wolves fans but it is clear now that their careers are winding down that it is no contest. Garnett was a unique, gifted, all around player, but Duncan is the best 4 of all time. It is not even worth thinking about.

I'm not sure anybody here has made a claim that Garnett is better than Duncan.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

My all-time lineup would be Magic, MJ, Bron, Garnett, Hakeem. Oh, and we'd probably do a ton of switching on defense.

I assume KG is there mostly to mentor the other four guys?

[Coolbreeze44]

My all-time lineup would be Magic, MJ, Bron, Garnett, Hakeem. Oh, and we'd probably do a ton of switching on defense.

I assume KG is there mostly to mentor the other four guys?

Outstanding LST.