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That second GS/CLE series really made for good revisionist history of the first one that's for sure. I was convinced that Cleveland wasn't much better in a playoff series with Love and Irving. Back then Love hadn't learned how to play defense (he got a LOT better in his 3rd year in Cleveland and onward) and Irving wasn't known for that either. That Cleveland team in year 1 had an identity of hardcore defense plus Lebron. Dellevedova hounded Curry all series, Thompson gave Green a hard time

 

But seeing the way Kyrie rose to the occasion in year 2.....it really does make you think what would have happened

 

Houston last year i have no sympathy for, when you go 0-58 on 3-pters in a deciding game you're not winning it

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Good thing! Because Andrew Wiggins is like 5/97 this month. I think yesterday he tried to pour cereal into a bowl and missed it entirely

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So, Luka.

 

I'm a Euro (though as far from Slovenia as you can get), so genuinely interested in how he gets on in the NBA. Despite there having been a number of decent Euros (hell, Dirk is at the Mavs) I get the vibe that not coming through the college system gets him a few dirty looks. Is this a thing? Is there a hint of Ryder Cup stylee condescension when it comes to Euros?

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I think the european guys just haven't played that well as a whole. You have guys like dirk who are phenomenal but also a ton of international prospects who have done very poorly in NBA.

 

Not sure anyone holds that against doncic, definitely not after seeing him play. dude is legit and already one of better players in league, I think people are very impressed

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GS has had quite a bit of luck on their journey of dominance. their perception would probably be a bit different if love and kyrie don't get hurt the first year and if chris paul is healthy last year.

 

If Kyrie and Love played in that first matchup I seriously doubt you would’ve seen the gritty defensive slug fest a lot of those games turned into at times. Golden state wasnt 100% healthy during the 2nd matchup, either. Also it’s not “if” cp3 is hurt, more like “when” based off of the last couple of seasons and if iguodala wasn’t hurt, that series could’ve been over in 5.

 

The “what if” game is a fascinating one for fans to play out in order to justify or defend what they wish there teams actually did. Most championship runs do have a little luck involved though, I’ll give you that

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I'm actually surprised there isn't more hype around a guy going for 20-7 on good shooting and who has improved and offense the way he has, as a primary option, at 19

 

Especially considering the year he had in Euroleague and EuroBasket at 18. He fell to 3rd in the draft LoL. I mean realistically isn't he one of the best prospects in recent history?

 

Ive seen 20 stories about Zion Williamson for Pete's sake!

 

 

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It didn't really take long for this to become a question.....which is why i always wonder why teams take players like Ayton at #1.

 

https://www.theringer.com/nba/2018/11/30/18118743/deandre-ayton-defense-wendell-carter-jaren-jackson

 

I mean teams are aware of how the league works now. There were questions about Ayton's defense in college too. None of this should be surprising but it's like , take him at #1 anyway when there are potential elite wings (the league 100% always needs creative players on the wing) or 2-way bigs available (some draft analysts were saying Jaren Jackson should be taken 1st ahead of Ayton's for these reasons)

 

I just never got Ayton at #1 even with his skillset. If his defense doesn't improve his ceiling on a winner is what , a better Jonas Valenciunas?

 

The bigs dominating the NBA are guys like Embiid, Gasol or Davis who can anchor a defense. If you can't get those teams seem more content with rim running defenders like Capela or Steven Adams

 

I'm curious to see how Ayton fits into the league

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It didn't really take long for this to become a question.....which is why i always wonder why teams take players like Ayton at #1.

 

https://www.theringe...r-jaren-jackson

 

I mean teams are aware of how the league works now. There were questions about Ayton's defense in college too. None of this should be surprising but it's like , take him at #1 anyway when there are potential elite wings (the league 100% always needs creative players on the wing) or 2-way bigs available (some draft analysts were saying Jaren Jackson should be taken 1st ahead of Ayton's for these reasons)

 

I just never got Ayton at #1 even with his skillset. If his defense doesn't improve his ceiling on a winner is what , a better Jonas Valenciunas?

 

The bigs dominating the NBA are guys like Embiid, Gasol or Davis who can anchor a defense. If you can't get those teams seem more content with rim running defenders like Capela or Steven Adams

 

I'm curious to see how Ayton fits into the league

 

Ayton will be a great player in this league. Hes got a nice jumper and more offensive ability than say Andre Drummond, who isnt much of a defender but still a very good player. He will be able to space the floor, run p&r and p&p, and run the floor... Defense isnt as important in the NBA anymore(obviously), and its something that can be improved over time by effort, understanding, etc...He is still very raw, like Embiid was. Will he be Olajuwon? Doubtful. All star? probable.

 

That being said, I am on record as saying i would have taken Doncic at #1, so i didnt see him as the #1 either.

Callaway

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It didn't really take long for this to become a question.....which is why i always wonder why teams take players like Ayton at #1.

 

https://www.theringe...r-jaren-jackson

 

I mean teams are aware of how the league works now. There were questions about Ayton's defense in college too. None of this should be surprising but it's like , take him at #1 anyway when there are potential elite wings (the league 100% always needs creative players on the wing) or 2-way bigs available (some draft analysts were saying Jaren Jackson should be taken 1st ahead of Ayton's for these reasons)

 

I just never got Ayton at #1 even with his skillset. If his defense doesn't improve his ceiling on a winner is what , a better Jonas Valenciunas?

 

The bigs dominating the NBA are guys like Embiid, Gasol or Davis who can anchor a defense. If you can't get those teams seem more content with rim running defenders like Capela or Steven Adams

 

I'm curious to see how Ayton fits into the league

 

Ayton will be a great player in this league. Hes got a nice jumper and more offensive ability than say Andre Drummond, who isnt much of a defender but still a very good player. He will be able to space the floor, run p&r and p&p, and run the floor... Defense isnt as important in the NBA anymore(obviously), and its something that can be improved over time by effort, understanding, etc...He is still very raw, like Embiid was. Will he be Olajuwon? Doubtful. All star? probable.

 

That being said, I am on record as saying i would have taken Doncic at #1, so i didnt see him as the #1 either.

 

Basketball is just moving away from the post i feel and i don't even necessarily agree with it, everyone is in love with taking 3's and working outside in. Even in Philly when they got Jimmy Butler they reduced Embiid's post touches and he is literally the best post player in the league and an MVP candidate. He recently complained about this

 

I actually am a believer that a good post-up big man has a lot of value if a team actually tries to use him, because no one can defend them anymore. Embiid just rolls over guys and dunks on them when he has it going. Even Jonas Valenciunas (i have owned a time share on Valenciunas island for several years now) is a very high percentage post player and has been for years because he has good touch with both hands and is 7' and 250+ pounds, he eve hits 3's now

 

The difference is JV can't defend in space. Right now Ayton can't either. It will be interesting if he doesn't get better there but it's very early. Right now the only big man in the league who plays big minutes for a good team and isn't a great defender is Nikola Jokic. If Ayton becomes an average defender and a team uses him right , I think he could be very effective too

 

But i'm with you, i think Doncic was the surer thing for the current NBA

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Hey they can both be really good. LoL

 

I like both guys a lot.

 

Something special with Doncic. His teams seem to win, he seems to make everyone better, and he's super talented

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I know i'm a Westbrook apologist and have been for years. He's my favorite player

 

But it's fairly ridiculous how underrated he's become. The backlash against him for winning the MVP, and then becoming Rudy Gay 2.0 in terms of the stats nerds all turning on him and deciding he's bad, is a bit OTT...

 

I get that the 3pters are terrible shots. But he's averaging 23-10-10 on 46% shooting for a really good team and The Ringer had him 25th best player in the NBA behind guys like Khris Middleton and Nick Vucevic

 

I mean, really guys? . A possible triple double for 3 seasons on playoff teams in the west. I mean id probably take him over Khris Middleton

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This year it's interesting, his scoring is down and he's averaging 2 less shots than last season, and 5 less shots than his preposterous 2016 season. If he doesn't go into his old habits I think he's a really good player. He just needs to trust teammates at crunch time more

 

There's a few guys that I don't think can win titles in this current state of the league. Jimmy Butler is another I was discussing recently, a guy that wants a lot of touches but isn't a great floor spacer. Victor Oladipo another, DeMar DeRozan... These are top 15-20 players but it's tough to envision them on a title winning team because they become less effective when playing with other stars. And youre not beating the Warriors unless you have a 65 win caliber team.

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This year it's interesting, his scoring is down and he's averaging 2 less shots than last season, and 5 less shots than his preposterous 2016 season. If he doesn't go into his old habits I think he's a really good player. He just needs to trust teammates at crunch time more

 

There's a few guys that I don't think can win titles in this current state of the league. Jimmy Butler is another I was discussing recently, a guy that wants a lot of touches but isn't a great floor spacer. Victor Oladipo another, DeMar DeRozan... These are top 15-20 players but it's tough to envision them on a title winning team because they become less effective when playing with other stars. And youre not beating the Warriors unless you have a 65 win caliber team.

 

Westbrook is a top 5 talented player in the NBA, but he's been put in a position where it limits his effective impact on the game. He has demanded to play the point, but that's not what he's good at. This year I think he's had a more positive impact b/c he's been playing offensively off the ball more - and not just the type of play where he totally disengages when he doesn't get to dribble the ball.

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At best the Thunder will make the WCF. I am an unbiased fan and I would expect the Lakers to beat them prior to that. Westbrook is a top 10 player in the league though... He just didn't want to Beta to Durant because Durant is such a snowflake. Russ would be #2 to another great with a different mentality than Durant if it have him the best chance to win, Russ is one of the best competitors in the league and winning will always drive him.

 

On a side note the Lakers tribute to Dwade was pure class.

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The thing OKC has going for them is their defense is ridiculous. It's like 2pts better per 100 than anyone in the league which is a statistical outlier. If they keep that up they'll be a tough out

 

But part of me expects to see Russ shoot 9 for 37 in an elimination game while Paul George is 7 for 9 and they'll lose by 3

 

I hope not, he seems to be better so far this year

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