valid point... another example of another cornerstone of the franchise not having the right mindset being devoted to winning a championship... All while I watched the run of the Harden era... it just felt like we were trying to 'get away with something' - rather than making the commitment to winning a championship... whether it was Tilman trying to do it on the cheap... DM trading for lottery busts that amounted to nothing (instead of going and finding guys like PBev)... hardball with House that was a waste... causing distractions with tweets or comments... Getting away with poor defensive efforts at times... cause he had to 'carry such a load on offense...' Trying to skew the #s by chucking the 3 ball to the nth degree... 'Hanging out' at half court... get engaged or sit down! Trying to get away with being lazy... Stat chasing for reg season glory - resulting in improper load mgmt rather than developing players... and of course... trying to get away without a center or any real size to speak of... working the refs for free throws - 'hook and pull defender' move... flopping.... WB b****ed about Harden not showing up for film time on time and practices were dependent on his extracurricular activites . 'cornerstones and roleplayers' vs building a team mindset... there are tons of examples... and yeh, such things exist in all organizations... but those that win championships typically keep such concerns to a minimum....
More and more we will see that this criteria falls under empty stats in modern era of NBA. Once upon a time, that was a good stat to forecast postseason potency.
We shall see, we do understand that not all the games will be played in Brooklyn? Role players play better at home, not so good on the road. I don't expect the Bucks to shoot so poorly from 3 at home. I do expect us to have this playoff conversation throughout the playoffs. You pick the Nets, I pick the Jazz/76ers. I think Embiid/Tobias/D12/Simmons are too strong and quicker than Durant/Blake/D Jordan/Claxton/Bruce Brown.....can they contain them?
We really will see. The Bucks, Lakers and Knicks defenses are not anomalies. 6ers struggled vs. Hawks, and Nets are offensively on another level. And Gobert led Jazz have always been fierce defensively in regular season, see Gobert's THREE DPOY. But Harden and the less talented Rockets have crushed their souls every time they meet in postseason. So much so that Jazz (and Nuggets) have lost games to avoid seeing the Rockets in 1st round.
Jazz have been a one man show with just Mitchell. Conely was been hurt for years of the seasons you mention. Clarkson (6th man of the year) has found his groove more now than last season, Bogdanovic who I liked as a Pacer and King now allows another sharp shooter in Ingles to take a lesser role but still important in allowing spacing. Gobert with Favors providing that muscle I've spoken about lately near the rim. Lakers list AD. I said AD allowed the 4th best 3pt DFG% Lakers perimeter players to stay near their assignments. When AD struggled it allowed the Sun's to kill it from 3. Bucks: you know I grilled Tucker as a Rocket this season. I said his potential fell of the cliff this year. Putting him on Durant is a complete disaster. Not just because Tucker is facing Durant; Tucker numbers have been garbage since joining the Bucks. Those who said wait until the playoffs.....Tucker will be good! No.........just No!. I've seen the Rockets miss a ton of 3's and the opposition turn those misses into fast breaks. Killing the Rockets by 20 or 30 points. Middleton, Holiday, Teague, Portis (highest 3P% for centers, one of the highest 3P% all positions this season), Forbes (killed the Heat from 3) should shoot better in Milwaukee. I told you the 2nd and 3rd rounds will be tougher than the first. I expected Tucker, Giannis, Middleton, Portis, Holiday, Brook Lopez to rough up Durant and Kyrie. I expected Durant and/or Kyrie to be hurt.....not Harden. Kyrie/Durant have struggled thru injuries for the last 2 years. They are made of glass.....Bucks have been too nice. I'm not saying close line Durant and Kyrie; but reach across their body and make a play on the ball every once and a while. Force them to get knocked around and off balance once in a while. I expect Conley to be injured as I do CP3.......still time for Durant and/or Kyrie. I'm not asking for it; but the old school rule is no layups in the playoffs. Just think the Bucks are rolling out the red carpet too much. Hawks: I told you Trae Young can pull up from 40 feet and shoot over any great defense. But Simmons defended him well last game. You drool over Thybulle and now forget about is defense? Danny Green can still ball. Embiid will be an unstoppable force against the Nets. I saw the 245 pound Capela get knocked off the block......Claxton at 215 pounds is going to be roadkill vs Embiid. Much like Evan Mobley would be. I give you the last word for now.
I think you got that backwards. The only time Harden made it anywhere was when Dwight and Paul carried him. Cant go wrong with facts.
I will be pulling for CP3, and would love for him to beat Harden, but there is no shame in rooting for a guy who gave his all to this franchise. You are in for a pretty awful decade of not watching any competitive basketball if you convince yourself that the Rockets are the only team you should enjoy watching. Being able to appreciate other teams and players makes us better fans and more knowledgeable, otherwise we would be no different than Laker fans who show up to the playoffs and have no idea what is going on. Knick fans were notorious for cheering on the opposing team's superstar in their own house as they appreciated good basketball and understood their franchise was garbage, but still showed up to games and supported them until a blowout was immanent. I would much rather be a knowledgeable fan like the Knicks have than a clueless Lakers homer there for the nachos and celebrities.
cont'd from post #65 @D-rock Lakers with AD in games 1-4: Suns shot 32.2% (3P% as a team) Lakers without AD gms 5 & 6 (5 mins gm 6) combined: Suns 41.6% (3P% team) Lakers without AD game 6 (5 mins played): Suns shot 51.4% (3P% as a team) One solid rim protector that needs less help from perimeter defenders makes a big difference in today's B-Ball as many teams have multiple 3-pt shooters that can bleed you dry.
One finals mvp from harden makes him the definitive best guard of this era when people look back in 25 years. He will have more mvp seasons than curry and a finals mvp. That’s the only reason why I’m rooting for harden as I happen to like both cp3 and harden
AD is a modern 5 so he fits my argument more while the muscle centers like Gasol and Drummond were run off the court. Lakers lost because their muscle 5's like DJ with Nets have been unplayable. The postseason is just a different animal than regular season.
AD is a hybrid between the two. I know I can't get you to understand. Out with the current big Bigs, but others are taking their place and coming up the ranks......shooting 3's. Claxton without the muscle guys probably has the Nets and big 3 not making the playoffs.
I’m rooting for CP3 aka da real mvp. I can’t wait to see Nets get destroyed in the playoffs. We traded away the wrong guy. Should have kept CP3 and traded Harden for Booker and the suns young guns.
Yeah if Harden and Paul meet in the finals I’ll be rooting for the Suns. Honestly since the Lake Show, and Golden State are not a factor I’ll probably root for any western conference team that faces Brooklyn in the finals. Yes, even the Jazz; I know. But I hate super teams and I’m still mad at Harden.
https://www.theonion.com/missing-something-james-cackles-rockets-gm-holding-1847064975 Pretty brutal Onion article...haha
