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aggie08

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Posts posted by aggie08

  1. Pretty spot-on analysis from Zach Lowe (redundant) about where the Thunder need to go from here. Nothing too terrible scathing on Westbrook; just a couple little things that he could change that would make a world of difference (though, it may be too late, and those habits could already be locked in).

    I do like the anecdote from a few years back--when Russ and KD were both hurt--how giddy Roberson and co. were from actually getting to touch the ball and share in the success or failure of the offense. That goes a long ways on any team.

    http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/23364202/zach-lowe-russell-westbrook-oklahoma-city-thunder-nba

  2. I agree with that assessment. Every year that OKC managed to stay healthy, they were right in the mix. Had KD stayed, last year's title would have been a competitive-as-hell 4 team race between Golden State, Cleveland, OKC, and SA, with Houston nipping on their heels.

    But yeah, then it comes back to "why the hell would you choose to spend your entire career in Oklahoma City playing 90's basketball for an organization that cheaps out to avoid paying the luxury tax at every opportunity?" (Until KD left, put the fear of god in them, and they overcorrected their spending to entice Russ to re-sign.)

  3. 2 hours ago, Chapo said:

    Because as an NBA fan, I think it would have been a hell of rivalry and it would give the Warriors a real threat. 

    That's a bit of revisionist history. People forget how damn good that years' Spurs team was. That entire season seemed like a foregone conclusion for the Warriors/Spurs WCF, two of the greatest regular season teams ever, meeting for what was expected to be the real Finals. Golden State would have been favored, but it was expected to be a highly competitive series. Then, OKC clicked at the right time, finally lived up to their ridiculous talent--especially defensively--and played spoiler (not to mention always matching up well with SA).

    If KD had gone to SA, they would have been HEAVY favorites to win the title. Arguably the best offensive player in the league (who just showed that he could take over a series defensively as well), the two-time reigning DPOY, All-Star LMA, two Hall of Famers that still seemed to have a few miles left in the tank, and Pop.

    Conversely, Golden State would have had to match Dallas's ridiculous offer on Harrison Barnes while praying that Bogut could have survived another season (he wouldn't have). They would have signed a couple of bigs with the salary spike to back up Bogut and replace Ezeli, but there weren't any great options available. A ring with SA last season would have been almost as "easy" for KD.

  4. 4 hours ago, HookEm said:

    Should be a great series.  If Brown gets healthy I think the Celtics win in 7 games.  They are just too hard nosed for the young sixers. 

    The Sixers are 100 times more talented than Milwaukee and a billion times better coached. I just have no idea how Boston scores enough points on them, even if they play amazing defense (which they will) themselves.

  5. If I'm Golden State, I might sit Steph again on Tuesday. Make New Orleans prove that they can even compete in Oracle before risking it. With two days off between Games 1, 2, and 3, game 3 isn't until Friday. That's exactly 6 weeks from his injury, which is the upper expected recovery time. Even if the docs say he's 100% good to go, why not be extra cautious just to be safe?

    Conversely, if he plays on game 2--even if it's only for 20 minutes--that place is going to be electric, and they'll feed off of it.

    He's going to play, but I'd at least think about it. 2-3 games between games 3-5 is still enough time to get back into rhythm for Houston.

  6. 23 minutes ago, Chapo said:

    I (and many other non-Spurs fan) wouldn't have viewed joining the Spurs the same as the 73 win Warriors.

    Because the Spurs only won a measly, rather pathetic 67 games that season, and were two whole years removed from a title, rather than one?

    • Like 1
  7. 8 minutes ago, BigOrange1 said:

    draymond is great, but he is not the 2nd best player in the league.  come on now.

    The best 2nd best player. (Yeah, sorry, I couldn't figure out how to word that cleaner.) Meaning he can't be the best player on your team if you want to be good, but if he's the 2nd best player on your team, you're probably really, really good.

  8. For those who questioned Draymond's inclusion in SI and ESPN's Top 10 players list to begin the season, or think that he's just a product of Steph, I think tonight makes a pretty valid case. He has a triple-double as the starting center against AD, and has dominated a playoff game without scoring. He's the best, most intelligent, versatile, defensive player in the league, and that intelligence translates to the offensive side of the court as well. 

    I think he's the best 2nd best player in the league (currently on a team where he gets to be 3rd best). Pair him with any of the true superstars--LeBron, KD, Steph, Harden, etc.--and you're going to win a shit ton of games. It hardly matters that he can't hit the broadside of a barn.

    • Like 1
    • Haha 1
  9. 4 minutes ago, Pam Cummings said:

    Not saying it wasn't, I hate Westbrook and the way he plays and the way people just seem to ignore that everyone who leaves him somehow plays way better on the next team. I think he's a shitty teammate. I wish OKC would have traded that idiot and built around Harden/Durant and Kevin could have won his titles there in a respectable manner. 

     

    But they didn't and now we get to watch what is essentially the dream team sweep their way through the playoffs and there's no drama and it's just not any fun. And this is without Curry.

    They're not fucking sweeping the Rockets. These are the New Orleans Pelicans, not the '96 Bulls. Relax.

  10. 13 minutes ago, Wally Pryor said:

    This series has very little chance of going beyond 4 games.

    Yeah, unfortunately people probably got a little prematurely carried away with New Orleans. They'll win a game with AD being a beast. Possibly even 2 (unlikely), but really hard to see the outcome ever feel in doubt. As bad of a matchup as New Orleans was for Portland, the Warriors may be even worse for NO.

    San Antonio (can guard GS as well as anyone, but can't possibly hope to score on them) and New Orleans (absolutely cannot stop even their very vanilla Steph-less offense) were the absolute two best teams for Golden State to draw, especially without Steph. And they got both of them.

    No one except AD can matchup with their length on either side of the ball, and they couldn't care less how fast New Orleans wants to play.

  11. 10 hours ago, Tommy Nobis said:

    The rockets are not a “super team”

    Wut? The Warriors are way more homegrown than Houston is. Not that it matters. Both have exceptional front offices that have no problem taking advantage of other franchises' stupidity whenever possible.

  12. The lesson, as always, never, ever give yourself your own fucking nickname.

    What other great playoff Paul George moments am I forgetting--other than Game 1, Round 1--where he's earned his self-appointed moniker?

  13. It took 87 games, but Donovan FINALLY figured out OKC's secret, unstoppable weapon: bench Melo.

    Try to write a sentence about Melo and his current skillset without including the word "washed". You can't. It's impossible.

  14. Well, he's a man of his word (unless he's angrily denying that he cares about stats or that he steals rebounds the day before he completely coincidentally sets his career high in rebounds to lock in his triple-double average). He said that he was going to shut down Rubio's shooting. Not prevent him from having an impactful game. Not play disciplined, solid team defense. Not to win the game. Baby steps.

    The silver lining is, if this series ends how it's trending to, maybe it'll be easier to simply enjoy Russ for the force of nature that he is. No more Top 5 player talk, no more inclusion in the Best Point Guard debate, no more "the top teams would be scared to face OKC in May" bullshit, and no more triple-double mass hysteria. He got his MVP and is unlikely to ever sniff another. He won. So hopefully the narrative can now shift to a fun, fringe playoff team, beloved by its fans, with one of the greatest one-man shows in the league. Never a dull game. Then we win too.

  15. I'll tell you one thing though, nobody, and I mean nobody wants to see OKC in a playoff series. There's definitely not 82 games worth of data points proving that they're aggressively mediocre.

  16. 56 minutes ago, Artificial Iverson said:

    50 points is a record for the 3rd quarter playoffs and second most in any playoff qtr (51) in nba history. 

    And the Lakers got to 51 in the 4th quarter in extended garbage time. They were down 28 after 3 to the Pistons in '62. Cut the lead to 7.

    50 points in an NBA playoff game in which both teams are trying hard is insanity.

  17. I can at least see the Sixers' players, especially Simmons, being hesitant to the prospect of LeBron. They think they're on the precipice of prolonged greatness (so did Orlando and OKC, for what that's worth), so the idea that they need help to put them over the top probably doesn't sit well.

    "So let me get this straight: Bron comes in, takes over the ball, becomes the face of the franchise, we get heavily diminished credit when/if we win, and almost all of the blame if we don't. Well shit, sign me up!"

    But that's completely irrelevant to management doing everything in their power to make it happen should LeBron show interest. You make the move, and expect smart basketball players to figure it the fuck out. Saying anything otherwise is basically like saying that, had Portland had the chance to sign MJ in '93, they should have passed because they already had Drexler, and "there's only one ball."

    LBJ and Wade made it work just fine, and Wade isn't exactly Klay Thompson out there.

  18. 18 minutes ago, d2o said:

    He should've been gone.    He is nothing more than an extension of Brooks.    The only play I have seen OKC run since he has been there is the one that sets up the backdoor lob for Roberson.   You can say its Russ' fault if  you like but there has never been any sort of offensive structure in OKC.

    It's Russ's " fault." They brought in Donovan specifically for his motion offense principles at UF. I sincerely doubt that he just decided "fuck it" when he arrived. But there's only so much you can do with Russ"s ball dominance and complete unwillingness to move without the ball. You've always got to coach to the strengths of your best players in the NBA. In Donovan's first season, OKC was the 2nd best offense in the league and a hiccup away from the Finals. I wonder how much traction he got in the following training camp assuming he did try to overhaul the system when KD left.

    D'Antoni got absolutely nowhere trying to implement his offense work Kobe, and got made out to look like a bum because of it. And D'Antoni has way more NBA skins on the wall than Donovan.

  19. If you ever want to know how generous the NBA currently is on its assist tallying: Jeff Green got an assist on that play for inbounding to a guy 70 feet from the basket, who then took a dribble.

  20. 20 minutes ago, Machinator said:

    I think aggie08 said it earlier on the thread, but each team has one player that's virtually unguardable and will tear the other defense up. The difference is that GS also has a plethora of long, uber-athletic players who will stress in the Pels in ways that Aminu and Evan Turner (lol) simply can't, though Aminu certainly put in a valiant effort. I think Mirotic will not have the same imprint on the semis that he did against the Blazers.

    This strategy is never quite as easy to implement as it sounds, but I wonder how much the coaches will go with the "let him get his 50, don't let anybody else beat you" gameplan until Steph gets back. Basically, throw a bunch of stiffs at AD (McGee, ZaZa, Looney, Bell) and KD (Moore, Miller, do they even have any more wings??), save your better defenders for everyone else, and see who has better supporting cast. Holiday and Klay cancel out (and they'll probably be guarding each other most of the time anyway). Gentry probably wouldn't hate the odds of Rondo and Mirotic out-producing Green and Iggy.

    Conversely, I'd love to see Gentry decide to go best vs. best, and put AD on KD from time to time. Then, with Steph back, if anyone can effectively guard the Steph/KD PnR, it's AD and Holiday.

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