While this is true, I think it is also worth mentioning that Davis has been pretty average all season.
NBA 2021-2022
- Thread starter elmo
- Start date
While this is true, I think it is also worth mentioning that Davis has been pretty average all season.
They did lead to wins.
OKC never won a playoff series once KD had gone, heck they never even won their Division in the regular season. The year Russ won his MVP the Thunder were a 6th seed. Yes the triple doubles led to wins but not that many.
The last I saw his win percentage was something like 74% when achieving a triple-double. That's quite good.
However, I agree that there was certainly a pretty clear ceiling on how deep a team based around Westbrook could go in the playoffs. And I think that would be a 2nd round exit. OKC did outscore Houston when Westbrook was on the floor in Russ' MVP year in the first-round. We would have won with a capable back-up point-guard.
Seriously? A team that gives significant minutes to Bradley, Stanley Johnson, Horton-Tucker and Reaves looks ‘great on paper’? Not to mention current version of Westbrook hurts your team. Monk is the only player that actually gives you something every now and again, everyone else is just pure trash and wouldn’t get a minute at any half decent team.
They are terrible, take LeBron out and they wouldn’t win 20 games in a season.
Yeah he’s not been great at all, and was injured for a good while. He’s still a good player and miles ahead of anyone else on that team.
The 2018 draft was a complete anomaly after years upon years of incompetence. Since Cuban is still the one calling the shots I don't think the new FO will change that. Finney-Smith (and Kleber to a lesser extend who was also undrafted) are nice success stories, but DFS is at max a nice role player for a contender, not an important starter.
I still get angry when I remember that Desmond Bane was right there in the draft and really, really wanted to join Dallas... only for the Mavs to draft Green, who barely looked like an NBA player in his first 1 1/2 seasons.
I really, really hate this team sometimes.
Portland have actually been quite good at drafting recently. Since Collins & Swanigan collapse (though they were held back by non-basketball reasons), we have got Trent (excellent pick), Simons (great), Little (very good) and a couple of second round picks who are still with the team and developing. The issue is a) we gave away three first round picks for Covington and Nance, b) we also gave away Trent for Powell and then gave him up for nothing. And we are looking to do yet the same thing with 2022 picks.
"Look great on paper" vs "not as bad as you make out" have quite different meanings last time I looked in my dictionary. I also don't think Westbrook would be anywhere near as poor on a team that fit more with his style of play. Like I said, the pieces just don't fit.
As to the Lakers record without LeBron, they are 6-11 this season when he doesn't play which extrapolates to 29 wins over an 82 game season. Not great, but better than the Pistons, Magic, Rockets, and Thunder will more than likely achieve this year.
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He’s saying the LBJ scoring streak, like Russ’ triple doubles back in the day, look great on paper, not the Lakers
Not sure he is. Without the question mark I would agree with you but it looks to me like he is rhetorically asking the question as to whether "Bradley, Stanley Johnson, Horton-Tucker and Reaves" are good on paper. His answer obviously being "no". I think there may be some sarcasm thrown in for good measure as well. Could be wrong though. Often am.
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By he I mean you. Sarni thought when you said “they look good on paper” you were talking about the Lakers collectivelyNot sure he is. Without the question mark I would agree with you but it looks to me like he is rhetorically asking the question as to whether "Bradley, Stanley Johnson, Horton-Tucker and Reaves" are good on paper. His answer obviously being "no". I think there may be some sarcasm thrown in for good measure as well. Could be wrong though. Often am.
Damn, I think I'm finally getting it. Sarni misunderstood me so it's not my fault.
OK I'm good. The fact I misunderstood you doesn't count, 'cause I'm old. It's a shame we can't just sit down in a bar and hash this out over a few beers. All this typing is for the birds.
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I don't think any team fits his style of play, he is a soloist. Statistically he isn't even that different from previous seasons, the main difference is that he is playing for a team people care about and his abject way of playing Basketball is exposed on national TV.
Russ needs to be the man. As you say he is a "soloist". He's not good enough to win a title in that role but playing with LeBron dilutes what he's best at. IMLTHO he could still be useful to a team that was just happy to make the playoffs. As to his stats this season, they are down tremendously. Over the last five years prior to this one he averaged 26.0/10.2/10.2. This year he averages 18.3/7.8/7.6.
On a usage reduced by 20%( 27.5% vs 34.26% during the period you picked), the stats are close per 36. He is the same player and his stats aren't tremendously down unless you look at fairly crude figures. Seriously he isn't actually different, he is just playing for a franchise that makes the headlines like no other.
Eh, there's a lot of polemics regarding how Westbrook plays, but he's just getting old and his athleticism can't cover for the flaws in his fundamentals anymore. When that wasn't the case he was an outstanding player, a crucial part of a team that made it far in the playoffs in multiple seasons.
Has any coach accused Westbrook of not listening to instructions? Phil Jackson did so with Kobe back in the day.
Adex, your boy was bad then and he is bad now. Fun to watch but that's about it.
Hmmm. What do you think of Iverson?
Iverson dragged the 76ers to an NBA finals while being THE man. You are insulting the great Allen Iverson.
Iverson dragged the 76ers to an NBA finals while being THE man. You are insulting the great Allen Iverson.
Oh I would never
I’m cracking up at this. It’s so brilliantly blunt
Not publicly, but Billy Donovan certainly had moments of frustration about this issue.
this blazers squad simply refuses to tank
Giddey is good.
Yeah he is. I'll be tempted to build around him over Shai if he can keep this up if I were OKC.
So he never wanted to go to Brooklyn?
I seem to remember that his favored destination was Houston, I'm not joking, someone suggested at the time that he didn't think Harden would pick New York due to his lifestyle and taxation. The only destination not named Houston or Dallas was Miami. I'm too lazy to find the source though.
Have Sixers traded it all away for Harden or something... taking a bit of a beating today.
I think that's a possibility, depending on how this draft goes. If OKC fall outside the top 4 picks then they might consider trading SGA to reset the timeline again. Otherwise they might get pulled to the middle where they're not good enough to compete but not bad enough for a high-end pick. But, trading SGA would certainly lead to some backlash from both OKC fans and the league in general.
On the Lebron argument from yesterday, he is obviously playing well. He is 5th on Estimated +/-
https://dunksandthrees.com/epm
I think it is a great deal for the Nets.
Both Drummond and Seth are top-100 (maybe 125) players in the NBA and will give the Nets enough to get them to the playoffs with the rest of the supporting cast, even if Simmons doesn’t play, and Kyrie and KD are missing large parts of the regular season.
https://dunksandthrees.com/epm
I think it is a great deal for the Nets.
Both Drummond and Seth are top-100 (maybe 125) players in the NBA and will give the Nets enough to get them to the playoffs with the rest of the supporting cast, even if Simmons doesn’t play, and Kyrie and KD are missing large parts of the regular season.
It's a good deal for both teams, I'd say. The Nets can field one of the nuttiest teams of all time - on paper - when everyone is fit or, well, not a complete moron.
The Sixers turned Simmons, who flatout refused to play, Drummond and Seth Curry into Harden. Yeah, the picks hurt, but this is still a massive net positive and might be the only move that could get prime Embiid a championship. I'll be rooting for them in the east.
Boston are really picking up the pace in what's turning into a great run in in the East.
Who really are the favorites in the East right now? Despite a great regular season so far, I don't think the Bulls or Cavs have what it takes for a proper playoff run. Neither does the Heat, imo.
Who really are the favorites in the East right now? Despite a great regular season so far, I don't think the Bulls or Cavs have what it takes for a proper playoff run. Neither does the Heat, imo.
Well, the Bucks, obviously(for me). Seems like the bookies have the Bucks, Nets and Sixers more or less tied together though, but that's clearly based on fully fit teams come the playoffs, or well, fully fit superstars - Giannis is the least questionable in that regard. If Embiid is fit and Harden integrates well... I'd say them come the start of the playoffs.
Why he should not play?
I assume their lineup in the playoffs is gonna be: Curry/Mills, Irving, Simmons, Durant and Aldridge, right? With Harris potentially being out for the rest of the season. Their bench now is pretty decent with Curry/Mills, Drummond, Griffin and Brown.
If Irving wasn't such a moron, I think they would be by far the biggest favorites.
Is there an other player like Edwards in the NBA or someone that was like that in the past? He seems so different, during the pre draft period some journalists did say that he was perpetually happy and upbeat but this is something else.
Why not the Heat? I've considered them a dark horse for some time now as they have been top 10 in both offense and defense rating. The reason their record isn't better is because they have had a lot of injuries.
I don't really have any well thought out arguments to why not. Call it a gut feeling. Their team is very well balanced, but perhaps too balanced? Their superstars (if we can even call them superstars) aren't really super enough. Jimmy and Bam are two stars who can't shoot (relatively speaking obviously), and I think you'll need that against some of the opposition they'll face.
To be fair, most (if not all) teams in the playoff picture in the east have missed significant personell for many games this season. That said, Bam and Butler have been injured a lot for sure. Will they (as well as a 36/37 years old PJ and 35/36 year old Lowry) stay healthy for the playoffs? Actually getting on the floor when the playoffs start is a significant factor. Right now I'm not confident they'll be abe to field their best team for most of the time.