NBA 2018-2019

stepic said:
it doesn't matter, he's contributed more than anyone on the warriors to the titles he's won there.

i agree he took an easy way out, but it's not like he's some ring chasing vet at the end of his career, like Malone to the Lakers. he's their best player. he's clearly and obviously regarded as the best player in the league right now.
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I actually think it's way more excusable for ring chasing vets to do the thing they do. Player like Vince Carter deserves to have a shot at title at 42 for what he has done in the league. If Dirk hadn't won in 2011 I wouldn't blame him for joining Warriors now. You've done your thing, you've been the best player on a team that cannot get there, it's your time to take a backseat now and be a contributor on a great team.

For a top 3, and right now the best, player in the league to run away from competition and join a team that is tipped to win it anyway, there's just no excuse in my eyes. He has ruined good three years of competition in the NBA with that move, the league would have been amazing for the last three years if it hadn't been for that move with the way some of those good teams have improved.
 
Sarni said:
I actually think it's way more excusable for ring chasing vets to do the thing they do. Player like Vince Carter deserves to have a shot at title at 42 for what he has done in the league. If Dirk hadn't won in 2011 I wouldn't blame him for joining Warriors now. You've done your thing, you've been the best player on a team that cannot get there, it's your time to take a backseat now and be a contributor on a great team.

For a top 3, and right now the best, player in the league to run away from competition and join a team that is tipped to win it anyway, there's just no excuse in my eyes. He has ruined good three years of competition in the NBA with that move, the league would have been amazing for the last three years if it hadn't been for that move with the way some of those good teams have improved.
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i agree it was a bad move for the NBA generally, but it's not up to Durant to ensure the competitiveness of the rest of the league. he's looking after himself. why shouldn't be do what's best for him? San Francisco is a great city, they're a great team, was a unique chance to win with the way the salary cap opened up; players literally do this all the time in other sports (joining Barca or Madrid is the 'easy option' too), and now that he's got a few rings under his belt, he's free to do what he wants, and not end up in a Malone/Barkley situation.

at the end of the day LeBron set the tone when he joined his mates and orchestrated that Miami move.
 
Love this thread , it went from Rockets have a good chance against the warriors to Durant is winning it again & leaving in 4 days
 
Durant is a bitch and will never come close to the all time greats for that reason alone. None of these titles mean anything.
 
He's joining the Knicks. It isn't really a discussion of he should do X or anything. It's basically a guarantee at the moment.
 
MJJ said:
Miami were never as stacked the dubs. KD joined the team with a 73-9 record who he had 3-1 down.
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Miami had won a title without LBJ a couple of years before. And while Dubs were a better team, they won the title against LBJ only cause Love and Kyrie got injured, and lost against them the following year. With KD as their best player, they went 8-1 against LBJ.

KD transformed them from a great team who would compete for titles, to one of the greatest ever teams who sweep finals. With him as their best player.
 
Revan said:
Miami had won a title without LBJ a couple of years before. And while Dubs were a better team, they won the title against LBJ only cause Love and Kyrie got injured, and lost against them the following year. With KD as their best player, they went 8-1 against LBJ.

KD transformed them from a great team who would compete for titles, to one of the greatest ever teams who sweep finals. With him as their best player.
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Because kyrie left.

That doesn't change that he joined the best team by far, a team who is based more around curry not even him. Hence the asterisk.
 
MJJ said:
Because kyrie left.

That doesn't change that he joined the best team by far, a team who is based more around curry not even him. Hence the asterisk.
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It was 4-1 with Kyrie. KD was the best player in those finals (maybe LBJ was last year though).

The team is based around Curry...in regular season. When it comes to playoffs, it is Durant's team, as we have seen it repeatedly.
 
Revan said:
It was 4-1 with Kyrie. KD was the best player in those finals (maybe LBJ was last year though).

The team is based around Curry...in regular season. When it comes to playoffs, it is Durant's team, as we have seen it repeatedly.
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It is easy being the best player when the opposition cant plan for you because they have to watch for steph and Klay.
 
MJJ said:
It is easy being the best player when the opposition cant plan for you because they have to watch for steph and Klay.
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But the opposition always put the best defensive player in Durant. Beverly for Clippers, Tucker for Rockets, LBJ was quite a lot on him in the finals too. If Raptors go to finals, whom do you think Kawhi will be guarding? Same for Giannis and Bucks if they reach the finals.

If nothing else, it should be easier for Klay and Steph, with the opposition team concentrating to defend KD.
 
Revan said:
But the opposition always put the best defensive player in Durant. Beverly for Clippers, Tucker for Rockets, LBJ was quite a lot on him in the finals too. If Raptors go to finals, whom do you think Kawhi will be guarding? Same for Giannis and Bucks if they reach the finals.

If nothing else, it should be easier for Klay and Steph, with the opposition team concentrating to defend KD.
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You think KD is significantly better now than when he was at OKC? Of course being in a team with Steph and Klay affords him some slack and space. When he didn't have that at OKC he still held his own against the best defenders at the time, but it was more of a slog for him.
 
adexkola said:
You think KD is significantly better now than when he was at OKC? Of course being in a team with Steph and Klay affords him some slack and space. When he didn't have that at OKC he still held his own against the best defenders at the time, but it was more of a slog for him.
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He is definitely better at passing and defense than when he was in OKC, while his attacking skills are more of less the same. The reason why he is now the best in the league is cause LBJ has regressed. LBJ at his peak was a significantly better player than KD is now (at his peak).

Also, he didn't play with nobodies at OKC anyway. Westbrook was great (though selfish), Harden and Ibaka were good. In the conference finals vs Dubs, Westbrook outplayed Steph in the first four matches. Not sure that he has now more space than before.
 
The reason to stay for KD would be that he could win 4 titles in a row which hasn't really been done in modern NBA history. And now he is clearly becoming the no. 1 player on this team. That vs taking on a new difficult challenge in Knicks where going from this to winning a title might be too much to expect. And he has seen LBJ suffer going to a dysfunctional organization (granted this Knicks are better with better front office and coaching)

Having said that it would be awesome for nba to have KD, Kyrie and Zion/Ja Morant on the Knicks making them instant contenders. That would make for a loaded eastern conference.
 
More needs to be talked about how little Paul has contributed in the two games , people like Capela are getting shat on but Paul on a max contract is an absolute non entity. I go through spells not even realising he is on the floor till he complains to the refs or something
 
Revan said:
But the opposition always put the best defensive player in Durant. Beverly for Clippers, Tucker for Rockets, LBJ was quite a lot on him in the finals too. If Raptors go to finals, whom do you think Kawhi will be guarding? Same for Giannis and Bucks if they reach the finals.

If nothing else, it should be easier for Klay and Steph, with the opposition team concentrating to defend KD.
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They cant double team him or plan specifically to stop him. He is free to iso his way because of the duo threats of curry and klay.
 
Jim Beam said:
Dame with 6, Blazers by 15...

Have to win this one
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We do have to win this one but I see Nuggets cutting this to 5 or less points this quarter. They’ve been on fire.
 
Nah, 14 it is going into final quarter... we can win it.
 
I swear we are going to let them back into this.
 
That was a terrible call. Jokic should have fouled out and sent Kanter to the line to possibly go up by 13 but they don’t call it and it’s down to 9.
 
This doesn’t look great. We have to win this one.
 
Huge win, coming back home with 1-1 is big.
 
I would say other than the GSW this is the most parity among NBA teams in a long time, no? All the other series are 1-1 and I expect them to go to 7 games. Actually think Rockets-GSW to go to 7 too.
 
mav_9me said:
I would say other than the GSW this is the most parity among NBA teams in a long time, no? All the other series are 1-1 and I expect them to go to 7 games. Actually think Rockets-GSW to go to 7 too.
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Gonna be 4-1. It is known.
 
mav_9me said:
I would say other than the GSW this is the most parity among NBA teams in a long time, no? All the other series are 1-1 and I expect them to go to 7 games. Actually think Rockets-GSW to go to 7 too.
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Yep, agree with you (except GSW prediction, think that Clippers gave them a wake up call too early). Every other series could go either way.

This is why Durant has to move this summer. You would have about 6 or 7 legit title contenders at the start of the year.

Great defense by Blazers last night. It helped that Denver couldn't hit anything from the distance though (had 20% from 3PT). They can and will improve on that, but the bad news is that Dame had a really bad night and they still couldn't win.
 
mav_9me said:
I would say other than the GSW this is the most parity among NBA teams in a long time, no? All the other series are 1-1 and I expect them to go to 7 games. Actually think Rockets-GSW to go to 7 too.
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Indeed. You also need to remember that if Durant isn’t on the Warriors, some other teams would make bold moves to catch up. Teams like Utah would probably feel good about competing for the championship with 1-2 big moves.

If Durant moves to Knicks next year, there will be 4-5 contenders in the East (Celtics, Sixers, Bucks, Knicks, maybe a Raptors if Kawhi stays or they replace him adequately) and 4-5 in the West (Warriors, Rockets, Blazers, Clippers if Kawhi joins them, maybe one of Jazz or Thunder if they address their main issues).
 
Sarni said:
Indeed. You also need to remember that if Durant isn’t on the Warriors, some other teams would make bold moves to catch up. Teams like Utah would probably feel good about competing for the championship with 1-2 big moves.

If Durant moves to Knicks next year, there will be 4-5 contenders in the East (Celtics, Sixers, Bucks, Knicks, maybe a Raptors if Kawhi stays or they replace him adequately) and 4-5 in the West (Warriors, Rockets, Blazers, Clippers if Kawhi joins them, maybe one of Jazz or Thunder if they address their main issues).
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I don't have a particular fav team. As such I would love for the Knicks to get KD/Kyrie/ Zion or Ja Morant... Would be awesome for NBA. Also think East west balance would be tilted to the East after a long time.
 
mav_9me said:
I don't have a particular fav team. As such I would love for the Knicks to get KD/Kyrie/ Zion or Ja Morant... Would be awesome for NBA. Also think East west balance would be tilted to the East after a long time.
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I think they will get KD and in a way it’s good that we will finally have a good team in New York but on the other hand it’s a bit frustrating that a poorly run organization is bailed out by their location while well run teams can’t get a single good player out of free agency. Not much the league can do about it though, players will always prefer LA and NY to Salt Lake City, Milwaukee and Portland.

Clippers and Nets are much better run than either Lakers or Knicks. Hope they can their free agents this season. Kawhi to Clippers is what I really, really want. I think Nets could go hard for Butler but I’m not sure if it’s the right move.
 
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