I agree that they might not get that much more efficient offensively, but getting Durant gives you 3 guys who can take a game over. I think a lot of people forget that Thompson had 37 points in a quarter. So let's say two of the guys are cold, then the third takes over. In comparison to GSW, the Rockets have Harden who creates his own shots. Scary to think how good they can become if everyone sacrifices a couple of points per game... and honestly I think they will do it b/c they're all USA basketball team teammates. Dunno if it had any influence on these guys playing with Coach K but watching the US Men's team play is so enjoyable b/c of their team play. ugh, ridiculous as a rockets fan
Did you see that teams just dared Barnes to shoot and he just bricked shot after open shot. You think teams will dare Durant to shoot like they did Barnes? The floor will be much more wide open for Curry and Thompson. And they can't double both Curry and Durant at the same time. Yes, losing Bogut will weaken their defense. But again, Bogut only played less than 20 mpg, and he was often injured.
Don't think have: Pachulia Igoudala Livingston Barbosa Ian Clark ? Those guys are still gives them an adequate bench.
This is sort of like if following the 1996 season, Shaq had gone to the Bulls instead of the Lakers. I hope they choke it away. You see guys do this in their mid-late 30s all the time, but not during their primes. Unlike LBJ, Durant was already on a super team. He didn't need to go anywhere to win a title.
They have to renounce their rights in order to sign Durant. Ezeli is gone unless he takes a ridiculous discount to stay.
You said : IF you had read this thread you would know that the majority here don't react like that because of the money spent but because now the NBA has NO parity. And call Durant a coward? What's wrong with that and how it is related in any way with the amount of salaries? And how is it related to not having interest in the league anymore? Nope. What people are saying is now the NBA has lost any illusion of parity and has no interest to watch for every other fanbase except for GSW bandwagoners. If there's zero chance for any other team to win then is it even a competition? Are you here claiming that Durant DID NOT take the easy way out btw?
Noted. I thought they could go over the cap to bring him back into the fold after they sign Durant. Thanks for the clarification, gents.
Look, on paper, regardless of the mental math gymnastics... GSW is clearly the best team, perhaps EVER assembled. Are they flawless? No, of course not. The decision to go small ball over big ball when they struggled two series in a row because of athletic bigs, is interesting. More than anything, though, deep playoff runs are about mentality. All of these guys at this point are good. And all these teams, generally, that are close enough to each other, can generate good shots, and have lots of player hit bad shots incredibly. That's how GSW was in the Finals in the first place. Klay going crazy ... and KD and Russ choking. Then the GSW choked. We don't use the word choke to be mean. It's just a word that is representative of the mental fortitude of the team. So if there's a second weakness of the GSW, it's mental fortitude. Yes, they won a ring and went 73-9 ... but the first time, really, in two years that they got tested repeatedly, they ultimately caved. Of course, that was after being super strong mentally and coming back form down 3-1, but against a team that just didn't seem to ever have "it". So if I'm looking at KD and Steph, I see two guys that have struggled in big moments in the playoffs. If I'm looking at Green, I see a guy that has struggled with maturity issues. If I'm looking at Klay, I see a guy that can still be too streaky and was exposed a bit as a defender... BUT, BUT, BUT, BUT, BUT... that is so nitpicky at the edges. Outside of MJ, I can't really think of any player ever who didn't have the occasional mental fortitude problem, or was effectively flawless as a player (and even MJ suffered from jumpshot issues for a while). One thing to look out for, imo, would be home court advantage. I don't see a 73 win season for the GSW. I suspect they come together relatively quickly, as KD is such a perfect fit... but there are always some problems when adding a player like that. I suspect the staff will be more prepared to sacrifice some regular season wins for health. I suspect we'll see more health issues pop up, frankly. And I suspect a lot of that will tie into defensive gameplans which will be pretty obvious. Play BIG BIG BIG BIG BIG against them. So another team with HCA, another team with great great players (SAS, LAC, Cleveland, etc.), and a streak of great player and strong mental fortitude, while Curry and KD have too many games in the series where they choke in the 4th (as both have proven they do regularly), and you could see them lose.
The only way this team fails IMO is chemistry wise. I think a lot of times we see that happen with these super teams. The pressure will be at an all time high quite frankly. To be even more of a historic team, you have two MVPs on the team...in their prime! You better win a championship. If Durant is having a choking game in the playoffs who will they look to and blame? Not only that but Durant signed a one year deal basically. If anything goes wrong and he seems unwilling to really commit to the team well...we know how that plays out here with a guy already looking to bolt for the offseason. The media will also be looking for any story they can find on this team, which isn't good. One thing is certain, Durant is a ISO player. He's not going to be running around the court through screens and picks all game like Curry and Klay. He's 6'9"...it's not really optimal for him to do so. The offense needs to change a little for him to operate. I think teams are best when they are built naturally. The Twolves for example are this. All their guys will grow into their roles naturally. It's what the Thunder had. Okay Durant is lead dog, Westbrook your 2nd in command, Ibaka you control the paint, Harden you come off the bench and lead the bench unit. It works naturally... While I still think Durant is a coward for this move. I think he's scared of betting on himself...if they do win it takes great personal sacrifice. He's basically saying. "No more MVPs for me." unless they are final MVPs. I know people think he'll easily do it, but Wade and Lebron used to clash for a while and those two were best friends before joining. I don't think it'll go so smoothly at first chemistry wise and the big question is if they can get past that with the weight of being the best team ever on their shoulders. Then you have this extra thing of him basically signing a one year deal so if things do go bad they can snowball because Durant starts to think "Well, I'm only here for X more months." like Dwight did and the team starts to think the same thing. But if the Warriors can mesh him into being just another shooter and scorer on the floor, then they win. I think that will be hard. That guy has been THE guy for all of his basketball life.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">14 Warriors season tickets sold on StubHub since KD announced for a total of $104,542. An average of $7,467 each, does not include playoffs.</p>— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) <a href="https://twitter.com/darrenrovell/status/750038455699120128">July 4, 2016</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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If they're able to pull it all together, I think this is what will potentially make this team unbeatable in a seven game series. There's just soooo many angles that they'll be able to attack from. And if Durant makes strides and develops more with his back to the basket, then look out.
Except this time, there will be far more people rooting for them to fail. This is no longer the family-friendly, America's team-type contender that you cannot help but be in awe of their offensive and defensive excellence. This is now an empire that every other NBA market should be rooting to burn in flames... and unless you're a bay-area resident, you're not going to get much satisfaction of them falling into a talent like Durant and doing what they're supposed to do.
1. Their depth will be fine, probably no worse than it was last season. They have 5 of the same top 7 on the depth chart coming back, and now has Durant for Barnes and Pachulia for Bogut. The guys they need to replace are the likes of Barbosa, Rush, Speights, Ezeli and Clark. There are enough ring-chasers, young prospects and even guys who want to take a short deal to increase market value (like Lin last year) out there to replace them. It's already been reported that GSW's GM is fielding a ton of calls from free agents who want to join that team, even knowing that they don't have real $ to offer. 2. I don't think that the "fit" and "chemistry" will be a big issue. LeBron, Wade and Bosh were all ball-dominant guys before they joined in, and had to adjust to playing with each other-- finding ways for great players to be useful even without the ball. Thompson, Curry and Durant are all elite shooters-- probably the 3 most scary guys on offense without the ball. They will have a easier way fitting with each other than Miami did.
You know the problem is, fans want players to be loyal. Yet, the moment they start sucking they're quick to trade or unload them. How loyal are the organizations and fans to underachieving players? So how loyal do you expect players to be loyal to underachieving organizations? It's easy to be self-righteous when things aren't going your way. I don't blame players at all for "looking out for themselves" just you and I would in real life situations. And just like NBA franchises would do what benefits them without even blinking an eye.