2018 NBA playoffs

[penultimatestraw 473]

I think that's more a product of who he has around him more than he's just some Elite distributor of the ball.

 

He's fine. I can appreciate the greatness of his bshooting while still not finding him that interesting to watch. For me I think it's completely unintentionally in his defense what it's doing to a generation of kids. I see it all the time. Kids going to the gym and just start chucking up threes when they have no business doing it. Not everybody can do it. Kind of drives me crazy.

Admittedly I don't follow basketball closely, but can't see how anyone thinks Curry isn't fun to watch. Who do you prefer?

[cyclone24 1,814]

Admittedly I don't follow basketball closely, but can't see how anyone thinks Curry isn't fun to watch. Who do you prefer?

Westbrook, KD, the Unibrow, etc...

 

It's not so much that he's not fun to watch..but I find I enjoy watching what he's doing when he doesn't have the ball as opposed to him shooting. His ability to relocate is off the charts.

[vuduchile 1,941]

Westbrook, KD, the Unibrow, etc...

 

It's not so much that he's not fun to watch..but I find I enjoy watching what he's doing when he doesn't have the ball as opposed to him shooting. His ability to relocate is off the charts.

His range is amazing, as is his quick release.

[cyclone24 1,814]

His range is amazing, as is his quick release.

Absolutely. And i was a 3 point shooter in college so its not that i dont appreciate those things....i just find his off the ball action far more interesting than his shot selection.

[vuduchile 1,941]

Absolutely. And i was a 3 point shooter in college so its not that i dont appreciate those things....i just find his off the ball action far more interesting than his shot selection.

I can see that.

 

Certain teams do a better job of corraling him when hes off the ball.

 

You can really tell when hes fighting hard to get free.

[cyclone24 1,814]

I can see that.

 

Certain teams do a better job of corraling him when hes off the ball.

 

You can really tell when hes fighting hard to get free.

I may also still be a little bit bitter that the Knicks had the draft pick right after he was selected and I was screaming at the television for Golden State don't take Curry don't take Curry....FOOOCCKKK!!

[Strike 3,979]

I may also still be a little bit bitter that the Knicks had the draft pick right after he was selected and I was screaming at the television for Golden State don't take Curry don't take Curry....FOOOCCKKK!!

 

If the Knicks had gotten him they would have focked him up like they do everything nowadays. Thank god that didn't happen.

[cyclone24 1,814]

 

If the Knicks had gotten him they would have focked him up like they do everything nowadays. Thank god that didn't happen.

No disagreement there. They will probably bring Carmelo back this year.

[Reality 2,710]

 

If the Knicks had gotten him they would have focked him up like they do everything nowadays. Thank god that didn't happen.

 

Absolutely, the Warriors knew Curry had ankle issues and handle him accordingly. The Knicks would have completely focked up that situation, a guy like Curry could have been out of the league quickly if forced to play before his ankle issues were resolved.

[cbfalcon 824]

 

 

 

Lebron is the best player in the world and the 2nd greatest player in history, but arguing that he hasn't been supplied with adequate 2nd-3rd-4th scoring options is completely incorrect. He has those guys in spades, but Lebron's style of play doesn't allow for them to become the factors they'd be if they played with a different alpha.

 

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/23684417/kevin-pelton-weekly-mailbag-does-lebron-james-make-teammates-better

 

Kevin Pelton at ESPN dove into this, and it proves my point. .. It's a lot of advanced stats stuff, forecasting players expected performance, etc. And the results are decisive. Lebron has a style of play that hurts his teammates productivity. He starts his article like this:

 

 

 

Let's start by talking about what it means for a player to make his teammates better, and what it doesn't mean. With the exception of the occasional situation in which a player is inspired to improve his game by the example of a star teammate, we don't actually mean that the teammates become better players. What we mean is they perform better because of the playmaking provided by or defensive attention drawn by a star.

 

If a value metric is well-calibrated, that uptick in performance should be credited to the star player through his assist and usage rates. So ideally, we'd never show a player making his teammates better statistically, as any improvement in their efficiency would be offset by a decline in their usage rates and an uptick in assisted field goals.

 

That being said, what do we actually see with newcomers to the Cavaliers? I'm going to compare their performance to what my SCHOENE projection system forecast entering the year. While that's not always a perfect capture of how good midseason acquisitions were on their previous teams -- George Hill, for example, was underperforming his projection with the Sacramento Kings before being traded to Cleveland -- it should be a useful point of comparison on average. And the results aren't pretty.

 

 

 

 

He goes on to compare Lebron's teammates to players that have joined other high usage stars...He goes with players joining Houston, Golden State, and Oklahoma City.

 

Going back to 2014-2015, players joining:

• Golden State get 5.8 percent better.
• Houston get 2.2 percent worse.
• OKC get 4.8 percent worse
• Cleveland get 6.3 percent worse.

But it should be noted that the OKC numbers are skewed in that players performed close to expectation when they joined the team with Durant still on it. Players joining since have seen approximately the same drop in play as players joining Lebron.

 

So the take away there is Lebron and Westbrook are similar in how much they hurt their teammates quality of play.....which is a lot.

[cyclone24 1,814]

 

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/23684417/kevin-pelton-weekly-mailbag-does-lebron-james-make-teammates-better

 

Kevin Pelton at ESPN dove into this, and it proves my point. .. It's a lot of advanced stats stuff, forecasting players expected performance, etc. And the results are decisive. Lebron has a style of play that hurts his teammates productivity. He starts his article like this:

 

 

 

 

He goes on to compare Lebron's teammates to players that have joined other high usage stars...He goes with players joining Houston, Golden State, and Oklahoma City.

 

Going back to 2014-2015, players joining:

• Golden State get 5.8 percent better.
• Houston get 2.2 percent worse.
• OKC get 4.8 percent worse
• Cleveland get 6.3 percent worse.

But it should be noted that the OKC numbers are skewed in that players performed close to expectation when they joined the team with Durant still on it. Players joining since have seen approximately the same drop in play as players joining Lebron.

 

So the take away there is Lebron and Westbrook are similar in how much they hurt their teammates quality of play.....which is a lot.

Interesting. I'll have to dig more into that But some players I would attribute that just to being in different situations where they just get the ball more. Or vice versa...

 

I mean Kevin love is in a better situation in Cleveland, but he's also not performing like he did in Minnesota because he's not the guy.

Trevor ariza originally signed with Houston be more of "the guy"...that hasn't panned out. Is that because of him or because better players came?

Thing with LBJ is he leaves probably 10 points a game on the table every game because he does try to get guys involved.

I dunno... Westbrook and LBJ teams have been pretty good the last 10 years.

[KSB2424 3,083]

Scottie Pippin had career highs in points per game, rebounds and steals in 1994/1995 season. That was the year MJ took a full year off to play baseball.

 

Duh.

 

Kevin Garnett was a 22 and 12 guy in Minnesota as the star. The years in Boston where he played with other players like Allen and Peirce? He was a 16 and 9 guy.

 

Duh.

 

Somebodies trying way to hard to create some sort of hot take. Being a star on a bad team you will rack up stats, opposed to a playing on a really good team with other good players. This is common sense.

 

Golden State may be an anomaly because, well, they have 4 All Stars on their team and score a thousand pints a game mostly due to threes. They are the exception and not the rule.

[cbfalcon 824]

Maybe you guys should read the highly scientific study. Its not based on simple stats like points per game or rebounds. Its based on efficiency rates, assist percentages, square shooting circumferences per foot of airspace, isotopian usage rates, etc, all to create an expected performance level for a player joining a superstar that affects gravity like Lebron or KD or Steph or Harden or Westbrook.

Its science. Highly evolved science. Its proof.

[Strike 3,979]

So does Cleveland make this a series? I put some cash on GS at -4 today so obviously I'm picking them. Does Cleveland rally or is the team fragmented to the point of implosion?

[tanatastic 2,061]

So does Cleveland make this a series? I put some cash on GS at -4 today so obviously I'm picking them. Does Cleveland rally or is the team fragmented to the point of implosion?

 

Tough call, have to remember gm1 went to OT controversially somits not like they can’t win. I’d say warriors take it, they are just too strong.

[cyclone24 1,814]

So does Cleveland make this a series? I put some cash on GS at -4 today so obviously I'm picking them. Does Cleveland rally or is the team fragmented to the point of implosion?

I think GS wins by 7...blows Cleveland out in game 4. Cleveland disintegrates into the Walking Dead...town basically crumbles.

[KSB2424 3,083]

I took Cavs plus 4 and a half. If Cleveland wins a game this series, its gonna be this one

[Reality 2,710]

I took Cavs plus 4 and a half. If Cleveland wins a game this series, its gonna be this one

Agreed.

[Bier Meister 1,514]

I took Cavs plus 4 and a half. If Cleveland wins a game this series, its gonna be this one

generally i would agree with this, but have a hard time seeing them playing better than game 1. not unheard of for the warriors to get cold from downtown.. which can result in big runs the other way.

[KSB2424 3,083]

JR Smith. Lost on very first switch them a foul.

 

Thats one. Im counting.

 

Thats two. McGee dunk.

 

Just watch JR on defense, its laughable.

[cyclone24 1,814]

JR Smith. Lost on very first switch them a foul.

 

Thats one. Im counting.

 

Thats two. McGee dunk.

 

Just watch JR on defense, its laughable.

It is...he's awful.

[KSB2424 3,083]

Forget this series, who you are pulling for anything,

 

Has anyone EVER seen a player yell, show up and berate officials more than Draymond Green?

 

How he doesnt get more Technicals Ill never know.

 

Most all players whine a little but hes next level. Straight up yells in officials faces. Crazy.

[Bier Meister 1,514]

1st 3 pter for gs with 1:45 left in the first

[nobody 2,044]

GS shouldn't be in this game right now.

 

Jr Smith and Tristan playing like they have something to prove (they do)

Cavs getting contributions from their streaky players (Smith and green)

Curry 2 fouls

Warriors made 2 threes in the entire quarter?

[Strike 3,979]

Not good for cleveland

[nobody 2,044]

That dunk from LeBron he threw to himself off the backboard was slick. I mean I think everyone kind of saw what he was doing from the way he threw it up, so it's not getting any love, but it was a sweet play.

[nobody 2,044]

Everytime David west touches the ball, it's a win for Cleveland.

[nobody 2,044]

Every time Larry Nance or Kyle Korver touch the ball it's a win for the warriors.

[KSB2424 3,083]

nobody is funny

[nobody 2,044]

Curry isn't just off. He's really, really off.

[nobody 2,044]

Jordan bell. You play 11 minutes a game, and you're going to play matador defense in the finals and give LeBron James a layup? Interesting choice.

 

He should've put him on the line there with a hard foul.

[KSB2424 3,083]

When will teams learn not to pick up LeBron at half court. Thats when a. Its hard to double and b. He gets a head of steam.

 

Better off letting him dribble up and take to much time or shoot a bad shot.

[nobody 2,044]

Warriors need to start helping off of anyone but Kevin love.

[nobody 2,044]

If the warriors didn't have Durant, they'd be down by 25 right now.

[nobody 2,044]

Cleveland is going to win this game. Refs are playing a makeup game.

[fandandy 3,311]

The officiating is terrible.

[Strike 3,979]

Forget this series, who you are pulling for anything,

 

Has anyone EVER seen a player yell, show up and berate officials more than Draymond Green?

 

How he doesnt get more Technicals Ill never know.

 

Most all players whine a little but hes next level. Straight up yells in officials faces. Crazy.

LeWhine?

[nobody 2,044]

At least ty Lue realizes he should play Rodney hood.

 

Igoudala looks like he's moving in quick sand.

[nobody 2,044]

Lol at that last 3 point play by Durant. That dude is single handedly keeping them in the game.

[Reality 2,710]

The officiating is terrible.

You won't here a peep, it only matters when it's against LeBron.