Re: 2016 Playoff Thread

[bobheckler]

bob


.

[dbrown4]

Very funny, BobH!!

[Ram]

Draymond is an assclown

[cowens/oldschool]

Lebron being called out by Stephen A for his shortcomings in last 5 minutes of game, Cavs had 2 point lead with 5 minutes left, James only attempts one shot rest of game, does nothing in crucial last game stretch. Forget get about Bird, hes not even close to Pierce as a game closer, look at all the last second shots Bird and Pierce have on you tube. On Lebron you can't find any.....

[bobheckler]

Lebron being called out by Stephen A for his shortcomings in last 5 minutes of game, Cavs had 2 point lead with 5 minutes left, James only attempts one shot rest of game, does nothing in crucial last game stretch. Forget get about Bird, hes not even close to Pierce as a game closer, look at all the last second shots Bird and Pierce have on you tube. On Lebron you can't find any.....

Cow,

Stephen A(sshole) Smith calling LeBron out must sound like an echo chamber reverberating throughout LeBron's body as the sound travels the length of his torso to his head.


bob


.

[steve3344]

Lebron being called out by Stephen A for his shortcomings in last 5 minutes of game, Cavs had 2 point lead with 5 minutes left, James only attempts one shot rest of game, does nothing in crucial last game stretch. Forget get about Bird, hes not even close to Pierce as a game closer, look at all the last second shots Bird and Pierce have on you tube. On Lebron you can't find any.....

Cavs started out making their first 11 shots in the fourth quarter. Then then missed nine of their last ten. Talk about a turnaround. From 11-11 to 1-10. Absolutely unbelievable.

[cowens/oldschool]

Thunder too big and exploiting the MVP's defense, he can't cover Westbrook and Thunders 2 wings go 6'11" and 6'7" in Durant and Roberson....so whoever he is on is gonna get the ball.

[bobheckler]

If Danny is thinking of signing Ezeli I hope takes his horrendous frito shooting into account.

[bobheckler]

Don't want Barnes neither.

[steve3344]

All you need to know about tonight's game: Stephen Curry scored two points more than Andre Roberson.

[cowens/oldschool]

For a young guy in his prime, its been a really bad series for the MVP, he sure is no 2 way stud, just like Steve Nash, he can/is be exposed on defense and attack him and make him hustle hard on defense and he turns cold from all the hard playing and can't keep up or hit a shot. He can't hit any shots or dictate an effective offense, god I miss seeing the Bird Celtics out running this team, don't forget when Larry was young they ran a great break and passing the ball like a clinic and getting easy shot after easy shot. Bird is gonna kill Draymond Green and score inside, outside, set people up....then when he can't handle Larry, once hes on McHale he'll get killed even more. Our frontline is gonna go so off, they're so small, were from the real big era, our team made Dr J and Marques Johnson switch to the backcourt because the game got so big. Our SF is 6'9", GS's starting dirty asshole DG is 6'7", hows he gonna feel getting facials over him all night from Bird, then McHale. McHale is 6'11" with freakish arms, ofcourse we have a 7 foot rim protecting center and hes just a perennial all star.

No way would Draymond Green ever get a sniff of all defensive in the 80's, this league is so watered down. We would own the boards, so they hit a few 3's, we can hit 3's and they take some real bad ones, that lead to fast breaks. They can get away with it cause most of the league sucks, but with a guy really dogging him, Curry can't get off on Westbrook and Roberson. We would play harder than them, we dig in on defense, we'd kill them on the boards. Birds midrange game would set up so much more other offense, I see a bunch of triple doubles by Bird. I am so confident, our old post up and midrange and fastbreak game would not be stopped. They also miss alot of shots and 3's and throw the ball away alot, but again, the league is so bad, they get away with it. They wouldn't get away with much against us, thats for sure.

[bobheckler]

For a young guy in his prime, its been a really bad series for the MVP, he sure is no 2 way stud, just like Steve Nash, he can/is be exposed on defense and attack him and make him hustle hard on defense and he turns cold from all the hard playing and can't keep up or hit a shot. He can't hit any shots or dictate an effective offense, god I miss seeing the Bird Celtics out running this team, don't forget when Larry was young they ran a great break and passing the ball like a clinic and getting easy shot after easy shot. Bird is gonna kill Draymond Green and score inside, outside, set people up....then when he can't handle Larry, once hes on McHale he'll get killed even more. Our frontline is gonna go so off, they're so small, were from the real big era, our team made Dr J and Marques Johnson switch to the backcourt because the game got so big. Our SF is 6'9", GS's starting dirty asshole DG is 6'7", hows he gonna feel getting facials over him all night from Bird, then McHale. McHale is 6'11" with freakish arms, ofcourse we have a 7 foot rim protecting center and hes just a perennial all star.

No way would Draymond Green ever get a sniff of all defensive in the 80's, this league is so watered down. We would own the boards, so they hit a few 3's, we can hit 3's and they take some real bad ones, that lead to fast breaks. They can get away with it cause most of the league sucks, but with a guy really dogging him, Curry can't get off on Westbrook and Roberson. We would play harder than them, we dig in on defense, we'd kill them on the boards. Birds midrange game would set up so much more other offense, I see a bunch of triple doubles by Bird. I am so confident, our old post up and midrange and fastbreak game would not be stopped. They also miss alot of shots and 3's and throw the ball away alot, but again, the league is so bad, they get away with it. They wouldn't get away with much against us, thats for sure.

Cow,

Steve Nash was a "2-way stud"? Huh? Are you kidding me? He was constantly exposed on defense and, when he got older and couldn't run fast breaks anymore he really lost it.


bob


.

[cowens/oldschool]

bob reread please, I said he is NO 2 way stud just like Nash.

[bobheckler]

bob reread please, I said he is NO 2 way stud just like Nash.

Ah. Got it.  Sorry.

Nevertheless, Nash was 2x MVP and is going into the HOF.  Your vision is SO focused on only one side of the ball, you discount his HOF value.

Speaking for myself, if IT became another Steve Nash, defensive warts and all, I would be ecstatic.  That sneaky little Canadian made offenses coherent and the league is being skewed, by rule changes and referreeing, towards offense.  Who were Phoenix's bigs?  Amar'e, and that's about it.  It's one thing to be "guard-centric", it's another to only have ONE big.  And that was back in the day before "The Shift" towards the perimeter.  Look at the bigs coming out this year:  Bender, 7'1", 225#; Labissiere, 7', 216#; Poetl, 7'1", 239#; Maker, 7'1", 215#.  The only big that I see that has true mastodon mass is your man-crush, AJ Hammons.  Those players are rare and, as seen by Hammons' universally low draft projections, not highly coveted.


bob


.

[cowens/oldschool]

bob guys like Biyambo and Adams have been huge to their teams victories with many key plays, every winning play is NOT a 3!!!!! are you even watching the games? Guys like Kevin Love and even Steph Curry have been somewhat exposed, Russell Westbrook can't shoot 3's at a percentage like Curry, but he has been dismantling him, by just going right at him....

[cowens/oldschool]

when the player opposite your position goes for 36 11 11, I'd say you got your ass kicked pretty good.....

Westbrook is proving right now other than 3 point shooting, hes the alpha male in this match up and can dominate Curry in all other phases of the game.

[cowens/oldschool]

Curry's HoF value whatever that is ain't doing shit right now? it sure didn't stop Thunder from scoring 72 points in the first half last 2 games.....let me know when the HoF value kicks in.

[worcester]

Cow, Steph will be HoF based on his shooting and stealing, but you're right. Westbrook kicked his ass and exposed his weaknesses. It is also important to have strength and length up front like the Thunder have. Defense still counts in the NBA. You're also right that the '86 Celts would have demolished the 2016 Warriors, Thunder, Cavs, Raptors and whomever else this new NBA wants to throw down against our dream team. Of course there are no Wayback machines to make that happen. Where are you when we really need you, Mr. Peabody?

http://www.srossi.net/2011/01/mr-peabody.jpg

[bobheckler]

Curry's HoF value whatever that is ain't doing shit right now? it sure didn't stop Thunder from scoring 72 points in the first half last 2 games.....let me know when the HoF value kicks in.

Cow,

1.  Curry has 2 MVPs, and he earned them.  Westbrook has zero.
2.  Curry has a Championship ring.  Westbrook has zero.
3.  Curry wasn't guarded by Westbrook, so it isn't man-a-mano.
4.  OKC scored 72 points in the first half.  And that's Curry's fault?
5.  Final numbers from the line were 19-29 for 65.5% for GSW and 31-40 for 77.5% for OKC.  That's 12 points.
6.  Final numbers, GSW a measly 80 fgas, OKC 90.  WE could beat most teams if we get 10 fgas more than them and we are not a good shooting team.
7.  16 steals for OKC, 21 TOs for GSW.  GSW was VERY careless with the ball.


My points?

GSW was sloppy and paid the price.  They were throwing risky passes, for one thing.
Curry has already won a championship.  Winning back-to-backs is one of the hardest things in sports. Dissing him because he isn't have a great series vs OKC is ridiculous. He had great series against Houston and Memphis and I didn't hear boo then.
They lost at the line, both in % and in ftas, in sloppiness and in fgas.  fg% was close, 41.3% vs 43.3%.  So, defensively, they were closer than the final score indicates.

Since you're so down on Curry, since you think he's so weak on defense, I take it you wouldn't be willing to trade Marcus Smart for him, right?


bob


.

[Outside]

Cow, you are way over the top in your criticism of Curry. Guess what -- no one player can stop Westbrook, not Curry, not Kawhi, not Avery Bradley or Marcus Smart, no one. Westbrook has off-the-charts athleticism and a burst that can get him past any defender. It takes team defense to minimize his impact.

There are two things going on here -- the Thunder are peaking and gelling at the perfect time, playing the best they have EVER played, and the Warriors are playing at significantly less than their best.

For the majority of the season, the Thunder were offensively great when Durant and Westbrook were on the floor, bad when they weren't, and mediocre defensively the majority of the time. Their rookie coach seemed over his head. Now, they are a defensive juggernaut with exceptional length and effort to disrupt what the other team is doing, Donovan figured out to never sit both Durant and Westbrook at the same time, and secondary players like Dion Waiters and Andre Roberson are feeding off of the team's momentum and playing over their heads.

The Warriors, meanwhile, are picking a bad time to get into a rut. They won a championship last year and posted the best record ever this year in part because they had the confidence, talent, and poise to finish games, but after playing great for the first half of game 1, they lost it in the second half and didn't finish as they had done so many times before. After blowing out OKC in game 2, games 3 and 4 have been a disaster, with none of them playing well in game 3 and only Thompson playing well in game 4. With guys like Curry, Green, and Iguodala not playing well, secondary guys like Barnes and Livingston that normally feed off of those guys have sagged as well.

The Thunder deserve a lot of credit for that, but I've watched the Warriors a ton, and they've continually taken the other team's best shot all year, as the defending champs and then as the team going for the most wins to start the season or the overall record. Many, many times, I've seen the other team give a superhuman effort and the Warriors stay the course and come through in the end to win the game. For whatever reason, they're not doing it now.

I've also seen Curry do unbelievable things game after game. He has the occasional off game or couple of games, but there are so many times I've seen him personally win games with exceptional outside shooting, scoring at the rim, ballhandling, and passing. Throwing Curry in the dumpster because of these past two games is the lamest of knee-jerk reactions.

The dude is also a very good defender, and not just because of steals. He plays good position defense, gets in front of his man, and often harasses his man into a tough shot or poor decision. He plays far better defense than Nash ever did. This "Curry can't play defense" trope is a myth that is not based on reality. He can't stay in front of Russell Westbrook on the fast break? Name me someone who can.

If they lose to the Thunder, the saddest part is all these haters coming out to unjustly drag down the Warriors in general and Curry in particular. They are a great team, and Curry is a great player.

[worcester]

Draymon Green deserves much more criticism than Steph, although Steph was way too careless with his passes which resulted in 5 TO's. Draymon was lazy at times, didn't hustle back on D, wasn't aggressive inside.

[swish]

cow
Why the need to denigrate the Warriors, Curry in particular ? Should OKC go on to win the series it would not be the first time a number one seed has been upset. As a longtime nba fan I'm sure that you have seen your share of upsets. Perhaps your bias towards the Celtics of the 1980's and what you consider to be the decade of the best teams of all time enters into the picture. Is this series, for you, really all about the Celtics vs the Warriors ?


swish

[dbrown4]

If anyone should be criticized on the Warriors if they bow out over the next couple of days, it's going to be Steve Kerr.  

Let's face it.  Any of us on this site could have coached the Warriors as currently built TO THIS POINT.  And this is no offense to assistant coach Luke Walton while Kerr was out but it really surprised me LAL hired him mostly based upon his 39-4 run this season.

And no, I have never coached a day in my life, but I've seen enough of them and their results given all talent levels to at least talk about it and put in the proverbial 2 cents.

Some teams are stacked with so much talent like an NBA All Star game that as a coach you really don't have a lot to do.  Here's the ball, put it in the basket.  There's going to be no defense to stop you.  

The Warriors are/were constructed all the way back to Mark Jackson with a "small ball" concept.  It has worked extremely well to this point.  As does every new wrinkle thrown into the NBA basket over the years...until the rest of the league figures it out.  

OKC is on the verge of figuring it out and blowing the whole small ball model back into the Stone Age.  

Steve Kerr is acting like a later stage Phil Jackson without having gone through the arduous trenches.  When Phil was in his stride, he never looked like he did anything as a coach.  Very relaxed on the bench, legs stretched out, casual conversation, arms crossed, etc.  You can do that when you've got Michael on your team.  

And don't get me wrong.  I like Steve Kerr.  I'm for GSW all the way here in the playoffs.  I just don't think he is ahead enough on the curve at this stage of his coaching career to coach his team out of this mess.

But this year's finals is going to be filled with inexperience tenured coaches regardless of who wins the Conference finals.  So if inexperienced coaches are going to be dominating these finals, the talent has to be overabundant.  And that's what you've got this year.  

Sorry, CLE fans.  Your coach is going to draw the short straw.  Donovan and Kerr have you beat with equal or considerably better teams.  You're the babe in the woods and will be eaten alive.  

db

[cowens/oldschool]

Curry's HoF value whatever that is ain't doing shit right now? it sure didn't stop Thunder from scoring 72 points in the first half last 2 games.....let me know when the HoF value kicks in.

Cow,

1.  Curry has 2 MVPs, and he earned them.  Westbrook has zero.
2.  Curry has a Championship ring.  Westbrook has zero.
3.  Curry wasn't guarded by Westbrook, so it isn't man-a-mano.
4.  OKC scored 72 points in the first half.  And that's Curry's fault?
5.  Final numbers from the line were 19-29 for 65.5% for GSW and 31-40 for 77.5% for OKC.  That's 12 points.
6.  Final numbers, GSW a measly 80 fgas, OKC 90.  WE could beat most teams if we get 10 fgas more than them and we are not a good shooting team.
7.  16 steals for OKC, 21 TOs for GSW.  GSW was VERY careless with the ball.


My points?

GSW was sloppy and paid the price.  They were throwing risky passes, for one thing.
Curry has already won a championship.  Winning back-to-backs is one of the hardest things in sports.  Dissing him because he isn't have a great series vs OKC is ridiculous.  He had great series against Houston and Memphis and I didn't hear boo then.  
They lost at the line, both in % and in ftas, in sloppiness and in fgas.  fg% was close, 41.3% vs 43.3%.  So, defensively, they were closer than the final score indicates.

Since you're so down on Curry, since you think he's so weak on defense, I take it you wouldn't be willing to trade Marcus Smart for him, right?


bob


.

I'm not so down on Curry, he been protected all year in match ups, you could say the same thing about Larry Bird, that his teammates covered alot of his defensive shortcomings too, so hes a one way stud, like opposite of Marcus Smart....and the whole season his teams plan/strategy worked, well going at a team with possibly the most athletic pitbull pg ever and a 6'11" wing and 6'7" wing, well guess you can't hide him? Styles make fights, same in basketball....I don't think I'm being negative saying hes getting his ass kicked, look at the boxscore.

[cowens/oldschool]

Cow, you are way over the top in your criticism of Curry. Guess what -- no one player can stop Westbrook, not Curry, not Kawhi, not Avery Bradley or Marcus Smart, no one. Westbrook has off-the-charts athleticism and a burst that can get him past any defender. It takes team defense to minimize his impact.

There are two things going on here -- the Thunder are peaking and gelling at the perfect time, playing the best they have EVER played, and the Warriors are playing at significantly less than their best.

For the majority of the season, the Thunder were offensively great when Durant and Westbrook were on the floor, bad when they weren't, and mediocre defensively the majority of the time. Their rookie coach seemed over his head. Now, they are a defensive juggernaut with exceptional length and effort to disrupt what the other team is doing, Donovan figured out to never sit both Durant and Westbrook at the same time, and secondary players like Dion Waiters and Andre Roberson are feeding off of the team's momentum and playing over their heads.

The Warriors, meanwhile, are picking a bad time to get into a rut. They won a championship last year and posted the best record ever this year in part because they had the confidence, talent, and poise to finish games, but after playing great for the first half of game 1, they lost it in the second half and didn't finish as they had done so many times before. After blowing out OKC in game 2, games 3 and 4 have been a disaster, with none of them playing well in game 3 and only Thompson playing well in game 4. With guys like Curry, Green, and Iguodala not playing well, secondary guys like Barnes and Livingston that normally feed off of those guys have sagged as well.

The Thunder deserve a lot of credit for that, but I've watched the Warriors a ton, and they've continually taken the other team's best shot all year, as the defending champs and then as the team going for the most wins to start the season or the overall record. Many, many times, I've seen the other team give a superhuman effort and the Warriors stay the course and come through in the end to win the game. For whatever reason, they're not doing it now.

I've also seen Curry do unbelievable things game after game. He has the occasional off game or couple of games, but there are so many times I've seen him personally win games with exceptional outside shooting, scoring at the rim, ballhandling, and passing. Throwing Curry in the dumpster because of these past two games is the lamest of knee-jerk reactions.

The dude is also a very good defender, and not just because of steals. He plays good position defense, gets in front of his man, and often harasses his man into a tough shot or poor decision. He plays far better defense than Nash ever did. This "Curry can't play defense" trope is a myth that is not based on reality. He can't stay in front of Russell Westbrook on the fast break? Name me someone who can.

If they lose to the Thunder, the saddest part is all these haters coming out to unjustly drag down the Warriors in general and Curry in particular. They are a great team, and Curry is a great player.

I don't think I'm over the top on Curry, I actually hate Draymond Green, hes a dirty loud mouth who should shut the fock up. I was just pointing out how hes been getting abused by Westbrook, great for the game that this 3 ball era's greatest star, a unanimous MVP for the first time ever is not even best player at his position in the playoffs, good for the game that there are other great players. I'm just calling it the way I see it, he is not a great 2 way player, 1 way yes, they are attacking him defensively, that is a fact, if you watch the games they are really taking it to him.

I do agree with you, his defense is better than Nash's.

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