Red Mosquito

verb_to_trust wrote:

lennytheweedwhacker wrote:his totes cute daughter should put him in the conversation

Thank god we havent seen that side show yet this year.

There's always the playoffs.

Its never been more obvious that the coach doesn't really matter if your players are good enough. What team throws Luke Walton a bunch of money next season and ends up shocked they don't start 23-0?

Are the Warriors closing LeBron's championship window right now?

4/5 wrote:Are the Warriors closing LeBron's championship window right now?

Yeah, Cleveland ain't getting a ring any time soon.

Yeah. Winning 4 in a row against a team that rips off 23 straight (and counting) ain't happening.

What storylines are being overlooked this season because of the Warriors' streak? I'd say Paul George's return the form, the Heat, the Eastern Conference looking decent again, and the mediocrity of the Clippers and Rockets. What do you all think?

Monkey_Driven wrote:What storylines are being overlooked this season because of the Warriors' streak? I'd say Paul George's return the form, the Heat, the Eastern Conference looking decent again, and the mediocrity of the Clippers and Rockets. What do you all think?

Is Anthony Davis playing up to his "next LeBron" title?

E.H. Ruddock wrote:

Monkey_Driven wrote:What storylines are being overlooked this season because of the Warriors' streak? I'd say Paul George's return the form, the Heat, the Eastern Conference looking decent again, and the mediocrity of the Clippers and Rockets. What do you all think?

Is Anthony Davis playing up to his "next LeBron" title?

Tough to say. That team has been decimated by injuries for most of the season. Seems like he is settling in a little more in the past few weeks.

Monkey_Driven wrote:What storylines are being overlooked this season because of the Warriors' streak? I'd say Paul George's return the form, the Heat, the Eastern Conference looking decent again, and the mediocrity of the Clippers and Rockets. What do you all think?

These are all good ones. Paul George has been so good I wouldn't even call it a return to form, I'd say he's playing the best ball of his career.

The improvement and competitiveness of the East so far has been great to see. It's a long time coming.

Monkey_Driven wrote:What storylines are being overlooked this season because of the Warriors' streak? I'd say Paul George's return the form, the Heat, the Eastern Conference looking decent again, and the mediocrity of the Clippers and Rockets. What do you all think?

Yeah. I'd agree with all this. I'd probably add Rondo's resurgence and Aldridge's poor play. Rondo's averaging 11 assists a game.

I'm fairly shocked with how bad some of the teams in the West have looked. Honestly, only the Warriors have looked great (obviously). The Spurs should be about a .600 team at this point, but with the West being mediocre and the poor play in the league in general, their record is totally inflated.

And I'm fairly happy that people are starting to appreciate my Westbrook hatred as being legitimate.

turned2black wrote:

Monkey_Driven wrote:What storylines are being overlooked this season because of the Warriors' streak? I'd say Paul George's return the form, the Heat, the Eastern Conference looking decent again, and the mediocrity of the Clippers and Rockets. What do you all think?

Yeah. I'd agree with all this. I'd probably add Rondo's resurgence and Aldridge's poor play. Rondo's averaging 11 assists a game.

I'm fairly shocked with how bad some of the teams in the West have looked. Honestly, only the Warriors have looked great (obviously). The Spurs should be about a .600 team at this point, but with the West being mediocre and the poor play in the league in general, their record is totally inflated.

And I'm fairly happy that people are starting to appreciate my Westbrook hatred as being legitimate.

Yeah, Rondo has looked good. I still haven't watched much of the Spurs but their defense (numbers wise) is very legit.

Admittedly, I haven't been paying too much attention to this season yet (still early), but I was legitimately shocked to see the Spurs' record. I mean, to be sure, they're perennial title contenders. But they're only 4 games out in the loss column behind a team that's 23-0.

Answering my question about LeBron: I wouldn't say his window is closed because obviously he's still great, the team around him is okay, and with injuries you never know. Going into last year I predicted he would win 2 out of the next 3, but that isn't looking very good right now. That window is certainly a lot tighter than it looked like it would be.

I could see LeBron getting to the finals and losing to the Dubs a couple more times. That would greatly harm his case for being a top 2-5 player, but would probably also be due more to rotten luck and bad timing than any real shortcoming on his part. But I fear that for his sake that statement will mostly be written off as excuse-making if he has something like a 2-6 record in the Finals.

I'd argue that the first Spurs series with the Cavs, the second one with the Heat, and last year against the Warriors do not reflect poorly upon him in any way. The two biggest failings in his career that should haunt him are the Mavs Finals and the Cavs-Celtics series.

turned2black wrote: And I'm fairly happy that people are starting to appreciate my Westbrook hatred as being legitimate.

Westbrook is awesome.

4/5 wrote:

turned2black wrote: And I'm fairly happy that people are starting to appreciate my Westbrook hatred as being legitimate.

Westbrook is awesome.

You must love turnovers.

Big game tonight Verb.

4/5 wrote:Answering my question about LeBron: I wouldn't say his window is closed because obviously he's still great, the team around him is okay, and with injuries you never know. Going into last year I predicted he would win 2 out of the next 3, but that isn't looking very good right now. That window is certainly a lot tighter than it looked like it would be.

I could see LeBron getting to the finals and losing to the Dubs a couple more times. That would greatly harm his case for being a top 2-5 player, but would probably also be due more to rotten luck and bad timing than any real shortcoming on his part. But I fear that for his sake that statement will mostly be written off as excuse-making if he has something like a 2-6 record in the Finals.

I'd argue that the first Spurs series with the Cavs, the second one with the Heat, and last year against the Warriors do not reflect poorly upon him in any way. The two biggest failings in his career that should haunt him are the Mavs Finals and the Cavs-Celtics series.

Tough to know what kind of team the Cavs will be until Kyrie is back and in game shape. They bulldozed the league in the second half of last season. They could give the Warriors a fight. You're right though, the window is tight.

I think real NBA fans would still consider him a Top 5-7 player if he made the Finals a couple more times. He's made it to 5 straight Finals. That is absurd in today's league. The Mavs Finals and the Cavs/Celtics series are certainly black eyes in his career, but he bounced back with monster seasons after those two years.

4/5 wrote:I'd argue that the first Spurs series with the Cavs, the second one with the Heat, and last year against the Warriors do not reflect poorly upon him in any way. The two biggest failings in his career that should haunt him are the Mavs Finals and the Cavs-Celtics series.

LeBron was pretty terrible in that first Spurs series. He shot .356 in the series (.200 from 3). Average 6 turnovers a game and bricked a potential game-winning shot in game 3.

turned2black wrote:

4/5 wrote:I'd argue that the first Spurs series with the Cavs, the second one with the Heat, and last year against the Warriors do not reflect poorly upon him in any way. The two biggest failings in his career that should haunt him are the Mavs Finals and the Cavs-Celtics series.

LeBron was pretty terrible in that first Spurs series. He shot .356 in the series (.200 from 3). Average 6 turnovers a game and bricked a potential game-winning shot in game 3.

And also brought back Miami practically by himself in the 4th quarter of game 6 and hit the game clinching jumper in game 7.

Do you mean game 6 about the bricking a game-winning shot? If my memory is right both games 3 and 4 were blowouts, one by each team. It could also have been game 1 I suppose. That one was tight. Stupid Tony Parker hitting a step back three that he hadn't hit a single time all year.

4/5 wrote:

turned2black wrote:

4/5 wrote:I'd argue that the first Spurs series with the Cavs, the second one with the Heat, and last year against the Warriors do not reflect poorly upon him in any way. The two biggest failings in his career that should haunt him are the Mavs Finals and the Cavs-Celtics series.

LeBron was pretty terrible in that first Spurs series. He shot .356 in the series (.200 from 3). Average 6 turnovers a game and bricked a potential game-winning shot in game 3.

And also brought back Miami practically by himself in the 4th quarter of game 6 and hit the game clinching jumper in game 7.

Do you mean game 6 about the bricking a game-winning shot? If my memory is right both games 3 and 4 were blowouts, one by each team. It could also have been game 1 I suppose. That one was tight. Stupid Tony Parker hitting a step back three that he hadn't hit a single time all year.

The first series. With the Cavs.