Well we'll see. Kyrie had a great season, I think you have to consider them being a rookie. Just coming in and showing that they can play on a NBA level and still on most nights be the best player on the floor is a thing that few players do. Only a handful of Rookies do it any year, no kyrie's not a great player but still winning ROY is having a great season in my book. As for the All-NBA things yeah, but once Rose won that MVP he would have locked down an all-NBA spot this season if he had stayed healthy. the injury I can understand, but any player can tear his ACL at any point and seemingly at any time. One thing is for sure that players have shown that they can come back from it and still play on their level, it's a bad injury but players nowadays return from it pretty well. Wes Welker, one of the best WRs in the NFL tore both his ACL and MCL, I'd say he's returned from it pretty well. And the NFL is a sport that heavily relies on athleticism moreso than skill. I mean lowry tore his ACL in college, he looks just fine and B-Diddy did as well and was still just as explosive in the NBA. Nene also had his knee wrecked...and went onto to actually improve and become better... A ACL tear in 2012 is not what it used to be. Sure it's possible he will never be the same but I don't see that. Plus Rose is so skilled up, if he loses 10-15% of his speed and agility he's still going to be a top 5 PG I feel. For Rose if anything i'd be more worried about his back...and the mental issue of just tearing it in the first place.
I really think Durant is going to be critical in doing that. It seems bizarre to talk about KD as an impact defender given how he looked two years ago, but he's gotten very good at using his length to disrupt usual passing lanes. Guys that big shouldn't be as quick and fluid as he is. My gut is telling me OKC in 6 or 7, but it'll be a fantastic series either way.
Nice game. Good comeback by the Thunder. Poor play down the stretch by the Lakers. Lakers have the receipe to beat them but they went away from it. For as good as they are, the Thunder will never win a championship until they get a back-to-the-basket low-post player.
Westbrook isn't better than Chris Paul, as much as I dislike Paul. Westbrook needs to eliminate his mental lapses before he can be considered top 5 in the league. Paul can control a game. Westbrook is just a very good scorer. Another player I dislike but is grossly underrated in the thread because of one bad game is Wade. You guys have to take a bigger sample size to say this player is better than that player.
I don't know if it's the Lakers going away from it so much as the reality of the modern NBA. It's difficult, if not impossible, to feed post players down the stretch, and Rockets fans that went through the Yao era understand this. When it's close and late, especially in the playoffs, officials are (usually) very reluctant to call touch fouls... and even if they do, foul trouble is often irrelevant because the game is almost over. So you can front, grab, dislodge... and that makes it difficult to get Bynum the ball in the positions he needs. In the new-school NBA, I think the Thunder can win a title simply based on their efficiency in the clutch. They have deficiencies, but the Lakers are the team most equipped to take advantage and it doesn't look like they'll do it.
I... never knew about Khelcey Barrs III nor Westbrook's wristband/shoes having KB3. http://espn.go.com/videohub/video/clip?id=7947483&categoryid=2459788
I think the Lakers screwed themselves when they traded Fisher he was the one that Kobe could rely on to hit those clutch open shots in the 4th when Kobe is swarmed now, when Kobe and Byum are double team there's no one to hit those shots Jordan Hill hasn't done **** for them. Pau is just soft and gone M.I.A
This goes against the grain, but I was following the situation in Seattle for years before Bennett bought the team - the city (not the fans) did themselves in. Key Arena (and particularly the lease agreement) was honestly a handicap for the franchise, and the city was in love with its existing sweetheart deal. Mariners - new stadium. Seahawks - new stadium. Seattle - stuck in the same place they'd been in since 1967 and cut out of much of the ancillary revenue. Seattle's officials had zero intent to work with Howard Schultz. They had the Sonics by the balls and that was that. Everyone likes the "stole in the middle of the night" story - but it's horsecrap. Bennett put in his bid weeks after Stern killed his bid to become minority owner of the Hornets and keep them in OKC. Schultz was frustrated but wasn't going to move the team since he's a Seattle guy..but he knew what was going to happen. Stern knew what was going to happen. They all had to do a public show, but it was no real secret Bennett was buying them to relocate. The board of governors have to approve any relocations - an owner couldn't steal a franchise just like that. No one else wanted to have blood on their hands, but they were all on board. Seattle played hardball with Stern, and Stern doesn't bluff. That Seattle is only now exploring plans to replace a 50-yr old arena tells you whether they were ever going to take care of the Sonics. You don't need to be the Buss family to compete in the league, but you can't if your revenues are as measly as they are in Charlotte or Milwaukee.
But Fisher's also a revolving door on defense, and they were desperate for someone to play behind Bynum-Gasol since Odom was traded out. The real problem is Artest is a shell of his former self, Pau has no drive, Sessions is unreliable, and the rest of their bench is a warm turd.
Lakers probably regret trading Odom now, that's if he was still playing like last yr and not Diva-Dallas-Odom.
People often say you cannot win a championship with scoring first point guard, yet the last time a player lead the league in assist and won an NBA title in the same season was Magic Johnson (86-87 Lakers). The last time, a player lead the league in assist and helped his team to the Finals was Jason Kidd (02-03). The last time a top 5 leader in assists (who did not lead the league in that statistic) in a given season, won the NBA Finals . . . 87-88 Magic Johnson (Los Angeles Lakers). Moreover,since the 79-80 season this is a list of all point guards who were amongst top 5 in assist and played on a team that made it to NBA Finals in a given year. 80-81: Nate "Tiny" Archibald (2nd in Assists) - Boston Celtics (won NBA Finals) 81-82: Magic Johnson (2nd in Assists) and Norm Nixon (5th in Assists) - Los Angeles Lakers (won NBA Finals) Maurice Cheeks - Philadelphia 76ers (lost NBA Finals) 82-83: Magic Johnson (1st in Assists) - Los Angeles Lakers (lost NBA Finals) 83-84: Magic Johnson (1st in Assists) - Los Angeles Lakers (lost NBA Finals) 84-85: Magic Johnson (2nd in Assists) - Los Angeles Lakers (won NBA Finals) 86-87: Magic Johnson (1st in Assists) - Los Angeles Lakers (won NBA Finals) 87-88: Magic Johnson (2nd in Assists) - Los Angeles Lakers (won NBA Finals) 88-89: Magic Johnson (2nd in Assists) - Los Angeles Lakers (lost NBA Finals) 90-91: Magic Johnson (2nd in Assists) - Los Angeles Lakers (lost NBA Finals) 96-97: John Stockton (2nd in Assists) - Utah Jazz (lost NBA Finals) 97-98: John Stockton (5th in Assists) - Utah Jazz (lost NBA Finals) 01-02: Jason Kidd (2nd in Assists) - New Jersey Nets (lost NBA Finals) 02-03: Jason Kidd (1st in Assists) - New Jersey Nets (lost NBA Finals) 09-10: Rajon Rondo (4th in Assists) - Boston Celtics (lost in NBA Finals) Only 7 point guards, since the 79-80 season, have finished top 5 in assist and been on a team that reached the NBA Finals. Two things I see, the most important thing does not seem to be if a player is pass first point guard or a shoot first point guard, but whether such a player is actually on a championship caliber roster/team. In reality, your point guard can be a weak-link, mere-role player, stud pass first guard, stud scoring point guard, a versatile point guard (who can pass, shoot, and play defense), or etc. It all depends on the dynamic of the team.
the Lakers simply need to get younger and more athletic. Really in the off-season keep Kobe and possibly Bynum (or trade him for Howard), and go from there. Power forward: 3 types of power forwards that the Lakers should look at: 1) They need either another Gasol type with more intensity and nearly the same versatility (hard to find). 2) An athletic, explosive power forward who can play defense and rebound (Josh Smith, Taj Gibson, Anthony Randolph) 3) A hustle and bruiser type of power forward (Marreese Speights, Kris Humphries, Jason Maxiell) Small Forward: Versatile players, like Nicolas Batum, Gerald Wallace, Andre Igoudala to take the backcourt defensive load off of Kobe. Point Guard: Similar to small forward, it does not have to be a great player. Someone who is a good shooter (maybe score on occasion). Defensively, it can range, as it depends on who the Lakers fit in at other positions. FA Options: Aaron Brooks, George Hill, Trade Options: Jeff Teague, Kyle Lowry, Jose Calderon, Bench: Versatility ... they could keep players, like Hill, Blake, and Sessions (moving him to the bench). Look for younger players who are good defenders, athletic, and with a little scoring ability.
WB is transforming into a top 5 player as we speak. When I made that statement, I'm not saying b/c of just the playoffs. I'm taking the entire reg. season and how he has "elevated" his game in the playoffs this year. If you see how Carlisle and Brown are pulling their hairs out in finding ways to stop WB and still can't, you'll see why. Laker commentators believe if you stop WB, you stop the Thunder period. But yet he keeps coming up big. A game like last night was his coming out party. CP3 at his best is EASILY the best PG in the game. But if you're looking forward, can you really trust his body? He's not really injured, yet he looks slow and out of place v. the Spurs. Can he really last a full season + long playoffs if his team ever goes that far? And his game has peaked, while WB seemingly gets better every year. As far as Wade, you'll see that WB will get more all-nba votes than Wade this year. It's a sign.
With the game evolving nowadays and more athletic scoring PGs coming into the league, it'll soon be the norm nowadays to have at least a "GOOD" PG. It's definitely the PG era as we speak, and it's going to get better. But the recipe for building a champion team remains the same: 1) superstar(s) 2) good offense 3) great defense So you're making that claim I see, after that team beat a team with TWO back-to-the-basket low post players.
Many Rockets fans who went through that in the Yao Ming era still blamed the PG's for not trying to force the ball into the post, which would have resulted in more TO's and griped about the PG's TO's we had during that era many of which were gathered trying to force the ball into the post.
damn, kobe might be having the worst playoff series of his career. he's shooting .385% from the field and .083% from 3
He was way worse last year. 22 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists. He just runs out of gas sooner in the playoffs b/c of the mileage. The Lakers need to monitor his minutes more ala coach Pop.
Russell Westbrook will never get the respect that he deserves, even if OKC wins a title this year. People still remember what he did last year in the playoffs and they refuse to let go of that memory.
