NBA and College Basketball Thread

[Rokumonsen]

Originally Posted by moodie

The difference with KD and Lebron is that Lebron didnt go into a play off team. He went with the heats and built around great players. What KD did was lose to the same team he will now play for. And even so Warriors had the highest winning ratio of the year. Lebron didnt just go to an already playoff ready team. Regardless of how big and powerful the big 3 was, Miami wasnt like what Warriors are.

This is why KD deserves far more "heat." Also why the hell did they block the CP3 from going to the Lakers but allow this. The NBA is going to become like soccer where theres only 2 big teams smh. Competition is good.

In fairness to football, super teams on paper doesn't always guarantee a championship.

[Kakurin]

Originally Posted by moodie

Also why the hell did they block the CP3 from going to the Lakers but allow this.

Completely different situation. David Stern vetoed the trade because at that time the NBA owned the Hornets franchise. It's no different to all the other times an owner stops a trade the GM made. And frankly, the NBA didn't stop the trade for competitive reasons. The Paul trade wouldn't have made the Lakers unstoppable. The NBA had good reasons to veto the Paul trade since it was terrible for the Hornets. It would have kept them in the grey area of a mid lottery pick and an 8th seed for one or two years before dropping to the bottom of the conference with nothing to show for. The trade package from the Clippers was much more attractive.

[frivolity]

Originally Posted by frivolity

I think Durant might stay at OKC for 1+1 years (2 year contract with the second year as a player option). This will get him the most money overall.

Rockets drafted Zhou Qi, who's a very intriguing prospect. The guy has the height of a C but the speed of a PF/SF. Very undersized though.

Right on the contract, wrong on the team.

Durant did what he needed to do in order to take advantage of the system and get the best of both worlds - money and championships. It is very rare for both of these objectives to coincide.

Ordinarily, OKC could offer him the most money since they can sign him for 5 years, but that isn't true in this particular year because the salary cap will be raised in 2 years' time. It just so happens that a 2-year contract makes the most sense money-wise this time, and GSW is in position to offer him the max while having a great team.

Melo has been lambasted for taking money instead of going for championships, while Lebron was criticised for taking less money to get a championship. Durant simply is in a position to not have to make that choice since he can get the best of both worlds.

He made a good decision.

[Rokumonsen]

And thus, the Wade Era of Miami Heat has come to an end.

Wade goes back to his hometown, Chicago.

[frivolity]

Isiah Thomas and Reggie Miller are right on the money.

The one list that no superstar wants to be on is the list of "Top 10 players to never win a championship." No one wants to be lumped with the Barkley's, Malone's, and Miller's on that list.

[BPD Renegade]

Tim Duncan retired!! Source.

Knew it was going to happen, and soon, but it's still sad to see him go. May not have been flashy, but that just made me respect him more, as a player and a person. Once Popovich retires as well, I wonder if the Spurs will be able to maintain the consistent, steady style they've had these past couple decades.

God, I feel old.

[Rokumonsen]

Well, an era in San Antonio has ended.

In other news, Draymond Green got arrested.

[frivolity]

A very Tim-Duncan-style retirement. No need for a season-long nationwide tour with 82 exhibition games while taking up 1/3 of the team's cap space, just a simple announcement and maybe a low-profile press conference. No need for the last game to involve scoring 60 points on 50 shots against a bad team in an irrelevant regular season game after failing to qualify for the playoffs, just a fundamental game that involved battling to take the team to the WCF.

Players on the Spurs have often been knocked, fairly or unfairly, for benefitting from the system. This does not apply to Duncan because he is the system. If I'm building the foundation of a new team and I had my pick of any player in history as a rookie, I would choose Duncan as my first pick, not because he had the most skill (obviously skilled but I wouldn't rate him number 1 in terms of raw skill), but because of his versatility, longevity, and the team-first culture that he brings. Unlike another well-known superstar, Duncan is not averse to being the second, third, or even fourth option on the team if necessary.

Imo, the true hallmark of a truly great player is the ability to make his team-mates better, and nobody exemplifies it more than Tim Duncan.

Farewell, Big Fundamental.

[BPD Renegade]

Originally Posted by frivolity

A very Tim-Duncan-style retirement. No need for a season-long nationwide tour with 82 exhibition games while taking up 1/3 of the team's cap space, just a simple announcement and maybe a low-profile press conference. No need for the last game to involve scoring 60 points on 50 shots against a bad team in an irrelevant regular season game after failing to qualify for the playoffs, just a fundamental game that involved battling to take the team to the WCF.

Players on the Spurs have often been knocked, fairly or unfairly, for benefitting from the system. This does not apply to Duncan because he is the system. If I'm building the foundation of a new team and I had my pick of any player in history as a rookie, I would choose Duncan as my first pick, not because he had the most skill (obviously skilled but I wouldn't rate him number 1 in terms of raw skill), but because of his versatility, longevity, and the team-first culture that he brings. Unlike another well-known superstar, Duncan is not averse to being the second, third, or even fourth option on the team if necessary.

Imo, the true hallmark of a truly great player is the ability to make his team-mates better, and nobody exemplifies it more than Tim Duncan.

Farewell, Big Fundamental.

I wholeheartedly agree with your thoughts on Duncan. But those Kobe digs. I'm always pleased to find a fellow Kobe hater critic.


Lately I've been thinking about who I would want on my team if I could assemble one from any point in basketball history. Duncan and Kareem, as forward and center, were the two players who made it onto my list uncontested, along with Coach Wooden at the helm. The other positions haven't been as easy to figure out.

Thoughts on who you guys would pick as your five starters/coach/team if you could choose from any era or league?

[Last Sinner]

Kudos to Tim Duncan. When sport can be filled with some of the biggest egos and narcissists, he was humble and let his play on the court do the talking. One of the best #1 picks ever and surely one of the best 50 of all time if an updated list was done.


My five.....

Point guard: Magic Johnson
Shooting guard: Michael Jordan
Small forward: Lebron James
Power forward: Tim Duncan
Centre: Hakeem Olajuwon

Coach: Phil Jackson

[X102reddragon]

Farewell to the greatest PF of all time. I remember going to a game as a kid in San Antonio and watching him. At 1st I just liked him because I had the same name he did. But as I grew older I began to realize what he really meant to us in S.A the Spurs and the NBA over all. I remember watching him dominate when he was in his prime..he was pretty much ungardable. And as he grew older he changed his game in order to still stay relevant. He cared not for the fame or the bright lights. At the end of the day he was just a wonderful person who loved to play basketball. Probably the best teammate and friend you could ask for and a class act. The Spurs are as respected as they are because of Tim Duncan. He IS the Spurs and that mentality won't change for awhile even when he's gone. A true legend and one of the top 10 best players ever. Thank you Tim Duncan for teaching me how to love basketball.

[JagdPanther]

Unfortunately, this is the best quality that there is on YouTube for this video. When I heard Duncan retired, I immediately began looking for this. Such a great video (two years old) about Duncan's career.

Really no one else like him. In a sport that, perhaps more than any other, produces singular superstars who get so much attention, he was a rare superstar who got close to no attention, nor did he want it (and not in a curmudgeonly way).

Farewell to the Big Fundamental.

[monir]

With all the formalities out of the way, the so called playoff.... it begins. Warriors thrash the Cavs in a blowout. I'm sure Cavs will make some adjustment in Game 2 to not leave Durant so ridiculously open. The question remains, however, to what end...

If we go by what we saw in Game 1, Warriors should breeze through this. Then again, they were breezing through last year as well until Green had something else in mind. But the Warriors didn't have Durant the last time either.... so I'm not sure what kind of adjustment the Cavs can make to turn things around to make this series a competition.

[The 48th Ronin]

Cavs bench needed to step up.

This means JR laying the pipe, TT playing better, Korver making threes, and Deron Williams remembering he was once rivals with CP3.

[monir]

Cavs stepped up. They played much better and the result is another blowout in the end. I guess we can expect to see where the Warriors stand when they go to Cleveland for game 3. As of this moment, the two home-game shows they are on another level compared to the Cavs.

[The 48th Ronin]

Kyrie was silent this game. Hats off to Klay's excellent defense.

If the Cavs loses this series, they need to make big moves this offseason. They need to get someone like Paul George or Jimmy Butler.

[Ultragunner]

*sign*.....the Cavs used too much iso plays, to the point that is predictable even to me, let alone the 2nd best defensive team (aka the Warriors)

It's quite sad to be honest, Lebron can still do his things, but this is looking more and more like (or even worse) than the 2014 Finals where you could see that Lebron's team stood no chance against the other team

[monir]

Originally Posted by Ultragunner

*sign*.....the Cavs used too much iso plays, to the point that is predictable even to me, let alone the 2nd best defensive team (aka the Warriors)

Speaking of defense if the Warriors shut out either Kyrie or Love, there isn't much the Cavs will be able to do to stay on par with Warriors flowing offense. The scoring might be a bit more competitive with home court advantage, but without someone else stepping in offense and a significant improvement in their defense, I don't see them winning even one game let alone four. I still think Warriors haven't played their best yet with Curry turning the ball so many times and with Clay's vast potential in scoring yet to come. In couple of the interviews of Curry and Klay I saw after game 2, they are talking about how they have yet to "get to the next level." I thought both of them played pretty good in Game 2, and they are saying they have yet to get to that "next level."

[The 48th Ronin]

Wow. I never thought KD was that clutch. Really heartbreaking for the Cavs.

[Ultragunner]

yeah, who is this guy??? Where was he in last WCF??

this is really gonna sting, darn it

then again, I feel like KD was just strolling around until the last few minutes.

And why the helll did Kyrie pull a 3 pointer when the lane look open inside? What a shame, he was playing so well attacking the basket