I am still thinking folks here were too harsh on Clint. Sure, he was a liability but I still think he was weakened by those 2 viruses or a bacteria strain, or what it was. I dun blame anyone but I think Harden and CP3 made Clint think he can be someone he is not, or they could turn him into someone he is not. Something that worked in the regular season and against 80% of opponents.
Yeah, it's possible the virus he had limited him, i'm not one of those who wants to dump him or anything, i'm ok if we keep him, i just kinda expected a more by him, assuming he was really healty of course.
Crazy how that actually works right? It’s almost like those are the fundamental principles of basketball ..
A testament to the Raptors owner's commitment to winning. I mean he took a risky trade at the time to acquire Kawhi because he knew DeRozan couldn't get them this far. Even with the impressive play of the Raptors, it's not certain whether Kawhi will commit to stay in Toronto or jet to other teams. If Rocket fans think our future is uncertain, the Raptors is potentially worse. That said, the owner basically committed to going over the luxury tax for an injury riddled potential rental and to further cement his willingness to win on this already big risk, he acquires Gasol before the deadline. He had no idea Cousins or KD would go down these playoffs. He went all in on winning this year anyways. I don't know if Morey could have pulled another trade off that could have put the Rockets over the hump in defeating the Warriors but would mean the Rockets go over the luxury tax and Tillman denied the trade. I just know if the Rockets had Gasol or another serviceable player that was available during the trade deadline, that might very well have been the 3 to 6 point difference between winning 4-2 or losing 2-4.
I don't see how you could think "easily" but he was amazing I agree. The only time we've had a worthy #2 to Harden during his tenure here (although Dwight was our best player in the brief 2014 playoffs). He was the Kyrie to Harden's Lebron in 2018, excellent and almost as good.
just go back to how cp3 put the team on his back that series, especially in the 3 wins. that's how you'll refresh your memory
not much of a testament. you get a chance to get a top 5 elite player you do it. that's just common sense. There's nothing like the recruitment of being on a team for an entire year. he's easily the difference in what they are today
But the defense completely shut down Utah and held up well enough against the warriors (until durant went down)
Length, athleticism, physicality and defensive versatility. Siakam, Kawhi and Green can switch up on any GSW players. And VanFleet is going to wear Curry down in a long series. Rockets need younger, longer 2 way players on starting 5. Guys like Myles Turner, Siakam, Aminu, AG, Taurean Prince. If healthy, would love to get LMAM back on cheap contract. Not young but still relentless on D and can attack basket. Vet min contracts for Noguiera or Nerlens to back up or even replace Clint (not advocating this at all unless return is amazing).
Well, Utah isn't an athletic team either, Gobert is super long, but also super slow and weak for a center, Rubio and Ingles are not exactly explosive, Favors lost a lot of athleticism in his last two years after those back and knee injuries, Mitchell is their only athletic player. As fot the Warriors well, that's what i was saying in my first post on the subject, if there's a weakness they have is that they're kinda short and unathletic as a team, especially without Durant, it's not a coincidence that OKC was able to go up 3-1 against them, they choked the series then, but they kinda showed a way to you can give the Warriors trouble. But regardless, it's not just about the defense, it's about the rebounding and offense too, being longer and more athletic gives you benefits overall, not just on defense.
OMG why can't Moaury win when there's a winning team to see every year? Why 29 teams no all copy champion and all win at same time? Me stupid AF.
Raptors were 17-5 without Kawhi. There are people acting like our roster can go 17-5 without Harden. We wouldn't go 17-5 without Harden if Rudy, Popovic, Phil Jackson and Red Auerbach were co-coaching us. Kawhi gets trapped or tired or hurt or can't get past anyone on the other team, he passes out and has a few guys draining shots. Harden does the same thing and his teammates couldn't hit those same shots. Therefore the logical conclusion is.. Kawhi has something Harden doesn't have? Give me a f'ing break. That's a high school playground argument, we're grown up humans here. This Rockets roster is of a quality that Lebron James and Kevin Durant walked away from when the NBA was doubting their ability to win championships. Kawhi Leonard has never won a title with a lesser roster than Harden has right now and it's not happening right now. Those are 4 excellent/elite defenders on the Raptos. This is the most talented defensive team the Warriors have ever faced. Danny Green has guarded elite scorers in multiple Finals. Lowry is an excellent defender. Siakam and Kawhi are 2 of the top 5 defenders in the NBA. Meanwhile Van Vleet is playing like a prime Chris Paul, Gasol is knocking down 3's and Ibaka is their BACKUP big man. OG Annunoby was their choice to guard Lebron James in last year's Finals, and he is returning for Game 2. We don't have 4 elite anything. Not scorers, not defenders, not rebounders, not passers. Your frustration is ignorantly misplaced. Kawhi's 3.1 turnovers to just 3.9 assists on dramatically less usage than James Harden is NOT going to stop him from contending for a title, and you are just going to act like it doesn't exist. You can win with imperfect players. Like every championship team, you can win with a superstar that has flaws. Your superstar having flaws being the excuse for not winning a championship isn't an acceptable excuse. If you were a GM and said this, you would be fired. If you were coach, you would be fired. If you were an opponent's GM, you would be trying to acquire Harden from out of this toxic stupidity. Ask yourself if you would rather be paying Paul or Siakam $38m right now. Try to understand why 100% of GM's would pick Siakam even if it were a day before the NBA Finals. James Harden walking the ball up faster or cutting his minutes so that he moves off the ball might buy us a few regular season wins. It's not going to cut it in the playoffs. Last night was a game won by "role players" draining kick outs and converting on ISO plays and you still insist on twisting it into a narrative about what James Harden lacks. The Raptors would be where they are with James Harden replacing Kawhi. James Harden has been up 3-2 on Durant's Warriors with a healthy and active Chris Paul. Kawhi is up 1-0 against a Durant-less Warriors. Still, the trigger is too strong for some.
This. Raptors have a ton of talent outside Kawhi. Like you said, Serge Ibaka is coming off their bench. Insane.
