The Indy Talks To Himself (NBA) Thread.

I never said you brought up LeBron. Read the posts.

 

I did. If you were addressing somebody else, you shoulda replied to their post.
It’d be like me saying this post isn’t addressed to you, while replying to you.

 

Okay, hold on, I'll go grab my spoon...

... You said:

I'm responding to YOU because you're the one making the incorrect claim that MJ supporters "don't need to convince as they already know."

@OneForVol is the person who brought up LeBron. He is in here advocating for MJ as the GOAT. By bringing up LeBron, his posts disprove your claim that "the MJ crowd doesn't need to convince as they already know."

Hope that helps.

 

I was digging up old posts to find my takes on the Luka/Bron/Reaves fit around the time of the trade, and I happened across this gem:

It felt relevant lol

 

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/e7/95/d3/e795d3bfaa35b8843bf27b83e65a111d.gif

 

Anyways, I'm actually here to post about this latest Windhorst video that's making the rounds. You can find it pretty easily with a google search.

Unsurprisingly, people are only focusing on the part that lets them attack LeBron. Reaves + Luke + LeBron has a -7.8 net rating, while Luke + Reaves (no LeBron) has a +17.9 net rating. So, naturally, stupid people say "look, LeBron sucks!"

Credit to Windhorst for mentioning it, though he could have called more attention to it, but LeBron by himself (No Reaves/Luka) is net +8.8. I think I read somewhere that the other two are only +1 when they're by themselves.

What do these numbers really suggest? That the trio just isn't a good fit. If only someone could have seen that coming:

I'd be curious to dive in deeper on the Reaves+Luka minutes. The numbers suggest they fit well together (which would make me wrong in the above posts, to some degree), and Reaves did take a pretty large jump this season, but I wonder how accurate the numbers truly are over a large sample size.

The problem is that they're all too similar (need the ball) offensively, and none of them play solid, consistent defense. Luka and Reaves are total negatives, and while Bron can still defend will in spurts, he ain't doing it consistently during the regular season. They needed a good defensive center and a 3&D wing for the Bron+Luka+Reaves lineups to even have a remote chance of success, and they didn't get either of them because Pelinka sucks at his job. Anyone surprised by the negative net rating of that trio is a moron.

They need Bron to leave (which makes it all the more hilarious that Pelinka is saying stuff about wanting him to retire a Laker) so they can put that cap space elsewhere. They need quality, defensive-minded role players around Luka and Reaves. I still don't think you can win a title with a Luka/Reaves backcourt, but the numbers suggest they're good together. Build the team and let's see how it goes.

 

we don’t need convincing. Reality is anybody who thinks LeBron had better basketball skills and a better basketball player doesn’t know ball. Size and longevity? Sure. One of the best athletes to play. Don’t find many 6’9 260 who can run like him.
You don’t see people clamoring about MJ being the goat and prove them wrong because it’s a waste of time.

 

“The NBA is the best it has ever been.”

The NBA:
https://x.com/joshreynolds24/status/2026677525380825538?s=46

 

That was awesome.

 

I don't care enough to go pull clips from the 80's and 90's, but when I say the NBA is "the best it has ever been," I'm not really talking about stuff like the video you posted.

I'm talking about the size/athleticism combo, efficiency, shot-making, analytics, etc.

The league averaged around 34% on 3's in 1998 on an average of 13 attempts per game. Today? You're looking at 36-37% on 38 or so attempts per game. That's 3x the volume while also shooting a better percentage. For context, Reggie Miller's career 3 pt % was 39.5%. There are 35 guys shooting higher than that percentage this season, a lot of them on double the volume. Hell, there's 12 guys this season shooting Reggie's single season best %.

Look up a list of the best perimeter defenders from the 90's. You'll see Jordan, Pippen, and Rodman, who were all on the same team. But you'll also see guys like Stockton, John Starks, Dumars, Alvin Robertson, Blaylock, etc. None of those guys is taller than 6'5. Stockton was 6'1 and Blaylock was 6'0. We were having discussions a year ago about whether Bronny James was too short to play in the NBA, and he's listed at 6'2. Hell, a lot of people point to Gary Payton shutting down MJ in the 1996 finals. The dude was 6'4 with a 6'8 wingspan.

Now look at the best perimeter defenders of today and recent years (the era where Jordan would average 50, lol). Lu Dort is probably the SMALLEST of the elite guys at 6'4 with a 6'9 wingspan. Kawhi is 6'7 with a 7'3 wingspan. Jaden McDaniels is 6'10 with a 7'0 wingspan. Amen Thompson - 6'7 with a 7'0 wingspan. Jimmy Butler - 6'8 with a 6'8 wingspan. Draymond Green - 6'6 with a 7'1 wingspan. Paul George - 6'8 with a 6'11 wingspan. Iggy - 6'6 with a 6'11 wingspan. The list goes on and on. Guys are just bigger, longer, and more athletic now, by wide margins, than they were in the 90's.

The league is the best it's ever been. Watch a competitive playoff game from the 90's, and then do the same for a game in the 2010's or 2020's. The difference is immediately obvious.

 

-Thunder and pacers were in the finals last year. Detroit, Boston, Portland, Philly and Bulls from that era would have whipped both teams handily, assuming moving picks, dribbling twice down the court and taking 4 steps before a shot aren’t allowed. 80s players didnt know how to play that type of game where basketball rules are broken everytime down the court. Who can’t score better with those rules. I was guarded by Elliot Perry, Orien Watson and Ronald Davis in a Christmas tourney. What I wouldn’t have given to be able to run with the ball while having a couple teammates sets a half dozen moving picks to help me.
-of course teams shoot more 3s and higher %. 80s NBA players didn’t have 3 pt shot in middle school, HS or college.
-the opinion of the league being best it’s ever been is just an opinion and one which millions of basketball fans disagree with. Fans who started watching prior to Steph. Could do your own poll on this site of who watches and likes nba ball and who doesn’t. I’d bet the number is low, or it wouldn’t just be you posting in this thread.

 

Are you at this game @Ssmiff ? A guy a seat over from me claimed a little while ago that MJ would never score 6 in a game. Lmao

Also, LeBron goes out, and the Suns immediately go on a 10-0 run. Funny.

 

I asked, aloud, before the game winning possession “Why isn’t Vando in the game?” The guy next to me replied “I mean, he hasn’t played the entire game,” to which I said “he’s still twice the defender Luka is.”

Pull up a Lakers talk show on the way home - first thing I hear, literally, verbatim, is “You have a timeout. There is literally no excuse for Vando to not be in the game.” Tweets allllllll over Twitter complaining about it.

 

Wouldn’t score 6? Thats what you get when you are in the mentally handicapped section.

 

Of all the egregious travel/carries, that ranks nowhere near the top. That's basically how that guy from Bama last year, Sears?, dribbled every time.

Dude is focusing on how many steps he takes in between dribbles when there's no rule to how many steps you can take per dribble. You just can't 'carry' it (which he technically does, but also way easier to spot when it's slowed down 5x). Really, it just looks like a couple of run-of-the-mill crossovers done at a full sprint.

 

This is embarrassing. Yeah the [uck fay]ing Portland Trail Blazers are beating a near 70-win team because of some dumbass's eye test, absolutely.

 

The very best Sixers team from the late 80s-early 90s won 53 games and lost 4-1 in Round 2. That might be the worst take ever posted here and that's saying something

 

lol like you ever got on a court to know anything about ball.
another mouthy lib…call me a dumbass to my face you [uck fay]ing mask wearing [ussy pay]. Now play victim again. [uck fay]ing clown. Snap you in half in 10 seconds.

 

Disagree with an opinion? Fine. Easy to handle and understand differing opinions.
Come at somebody aggressive with a differing opinion and call them a dumbass, unprovoked..
[uck fay] around and find the [uck fay] out. Mouthy [itch bay]

 

I read the first sentence of it and couldn't believe my eyes. I had to walk away lol

Edit: I honestly just read the rest of it for the first time, and holy shit, it's hard to believe, but it gets worse lmao