The NBA Thread.

“Anyone with an ounce of basketball knowledge knows that Houston only pushed the Warriors to the brink in 6 straight games bc refs”

 

They look better without Durant

 

Island? Opinion? At the time I posted that, it was a bonafide fact that he was performing below his regular season averages while other stars (Durant, Giannis, Kawhi) were all far exceeding their own.

And this isn't the first time that's happened.

Cool? What does that mean for Scottie Pippen? I'm not saying Steph is a bad player. I'm not saying he doesn't crack the top 25 all time. You're arguing against something I've never stated.

What argument is that? I'm REALLY interested to hear this one. There's almost no doubt in my mind that you will completely fabricate a past argument of mine. I'll go ahead and let you know that you're gonna have to do some digging for a past post.

And because of that clip, we should forget that he was shooting 35% from the field and 25% from 3 for more than half the playoffs and had to be carried to this spot by Durant in the first place. Got it. 2 wins over the [uck fay]ing Portland Trailblazers is all it takes to have all sins forgotten. This is what drives me absolutely nuts about Curry worshipers. No other star player is allowed to no show this much or benefits from this much selective memory. LeBron gets entire playoff series wins wiped away in the minds of many because Ray Allen hit 1 shot in a single game of a 7 game series or because Kyrie hit 1 shot in a single game of a 7 game series. Meanwhile, Curry can basically disappear on the court for 75% of the entire playoffs, and everyone just pretends it didn't happen after they finish off an inferior Rockets team and a FAR inferior Blazers team.

And I don't know how many times I have to tell you that I don't give a shit about how many games the Warriors win without Durant in the regular season. I just don't care about regular season stats. Talk to me about the playoffs. They have performed well without Durant these three games, but again, it's the [uck fay]ing Portland Trailblazers. It's not like they're beating juggernauts.

 

By your standards, a [uck fay]ing sweep is a close series as long as every game is won by no more than 6 points. GS was in command of that series throughout, even with Curry's abysmal performance in the first 4 games.

It blows my mind how you all say things like "The Warriors are better without Durant" and think it's some sort of feather in Curry's cap. So Curry is only a monster when he doesn't have the best player in the world on his team? How is his inability to succeed regardless of who's around him positively impact his legacy?

And you also talk about how the series was tied 2-2 with Durant playing as if it's a negative on Durant. Curry shot 19-48 (40%) and 6-23 (26%) from 3 in those 2 losses, but somehow, you've managed to convince yourself that's Durant's fault.

 

Probably more accurate to say that by your standards, no series is a challenge unless it goes 7. Other than that, this was as close as it gets; 2-2 after 4 rather than 3-1, with all 6 games close, and Houston favored by like 7 in G6 before narrowly losing because Curry went nuts.

I’m not saying anything negative about Durant. I think he and Curry are two of the top three players in the world.

 

I think a 6 game series that ends on the losing team's home court with the winning team missing its best player for the last 6 quarters is pretty damn convincing. I don't care that all games were within 6 points. I don't think it matters. It'd be similar if I pointed out that Houston needed OT to win game 3 at home and was extremely close to being down 3-0. Is it a true statement? Sure. Does it really mean much of anything? Not really.

And deny the impact of the refs all you want, but that doesn't make it any less true. Everyone recognized what was happening. Even Kerr made his "Linebackers and Volleyball players" comment. I think the comment was more directed at his team for being soft, but they were only able to be soft because of the change in officiating style once the series moved to Houston.

I don't know how you can make comments like "the Warriors are better without Durant" without it being a negative about Durant, and I think a lot of people are saying that right now. To me, it doesn't make sense to fault Durant for Curry's inability to perform at his standard level of play when Durant is on the floor.

I'd take Durant, LeBron, Giannis, and Kawhi over Steph right now. And I still think they are far and away the best team in the NBA if you replace Curry with someone like Lillard or Kemba (assuming Durant is healthy). Either one of those guys can easily give you what Curry did for the first 10 games of the playoffs before Durant went down.

 

Damian Lillard should be embarrassed of his effort tonight. He isnt even trying.

 

Draymond is the 4th, maybe even 5th (if you count Boogie) best player for the Warriors, and he’s averaging 16, 11, and 8 in the conference finals.

 

Future hall of fame player.

 

Reminder - Steph Curry sucks sucks.

 

Never been said.

 

Just saw a stat that said Steph hasn’t missed a 4th quarter/OT, post-season FT since 2015.

 

Bucks play like shit, can't hit a [dadgum] free throw and the refs [uck fay] Giannis and miss a Leonard double dribble a second layer, but it still took them 2 OTs to beat us.

 

You've certainly tried to push a narrative the he could easily be replaced by a number of other players and Golden State would be just fine.

So while you've never outright said he sucks, you've tried to make him seem like just any other decent to good point guard.

 

Ive never seen a shooter like curry. Having the green light helps. As does his ballhandling skill, moving picks and carrying the ball. Andrew Toney was one of my favorite players growing up. Barkley said he was the best shooter he had ever seen, but there was never a green light to take the shots curry takes.

 

The narrative I've pushed is that Golden State is so good that it doesn't matter if Steph is replaced with another top point guard - They'll still be successful. And while I do think he is the best shooter ever and a top player in the league, I don't think he has the ability to carry a team by himself like a lot of other superstars. I've said over and over and over that he benefits from having top players around him more than any other player in the league. Klay Thompson is a max salary caliber player. Durant is, at worst, the 2nd best player on the planet. Draymond is, as you said, a hall of famer.

And again, the only reason I mention this stuff is because I get tired of people highlighting Steph's titles as if he deserves all the credit for them. In my mind, all but the first have an asterisk next to them.

 

Magic speaking out about why he left the Lakers. Not holding much back.

 

he’s saying he left because he wanted to fire Walton, and they wouldn’t. Then Walton was fired a day or two after he left? That makes sense.

 

He didn't really provide a timeline for when those conversations about firing him took place. If the conversation took place with a number of games left in the season, they could have changed their tune and decided to fire him later on.