All I want from this final is maybe a 6 gamer haha. Think Nuggets will win fairly comfortably! A bit like City, they’re just so well drilled.
NBA 2022-2023
- Thread starter charlton66
- Start date
Well, Charles Barkley thinks its one of the most stupid things he has ever heard (among other superlatives).
https://www.al.com/sports/2023/03/c...disease-calls-racial-insinuation-asinine.html
Kendrick maybe isn't an idiot, but he sure looked like one after the show. Anyway, am done with this topic.
Nash is Canadian, but he was actually born in South Africa.
I always felt Nash winning those MVPs was just off, like it didn't seem right to me. I get it in 2005 based on the turnaround from 29 to 62 wins but much of that was the system used that saw Amare and Johnson progress to star levels though it is true Nash ran that system fluidly and perfectly. Nash's scoring didn't jump significantly from Dallas to Phoenix but his assists did. I felt Shaq deserved it that season while Dirk and Duncan were once again overlooked by more flashier and known names.
The following year the Suns were 8 games worse than the year before and Nash upped his scoring a bit but nothing "spectacular" per say. I think picking one from this list - Dirk, Kobe, LeBron - would not be wrong. Nash winning in 2006 was far more egregious than the year before, IMO.
I think voters fell in love with Nash's hustle and style, stuff I would get pissed at for his turnovers and ridiculous shot selections in the Dallas years. And he couldn't play a lick of defense. In advanced stats Billups was just as good but played for a defensive first system, figure Billups would have ran that Phoenix system quite well.
The following year the Suns were 8 games worse than the year before and Nash upped his scoring a bit but nothing "spectacular" per say. I think picking one from this list - Dirk, Kobe, LeBron - would not be wrong. Nash winning in 2006 was far more egregious than the year before, IMO.
I think voters fell in love with Nash's hustle and style, stuff I would get pissed at for his turnovers and ridiculous shot selections in the Dallas years. And he couldn't play a lick of defense. In advanced stats Billups was just as good but played for a defensive first system, figure Billups would have ran that Phoenix system quite well.
Charles Barkley is not an authority on anything.
My bad. Not European anyway.
Agree with everything you've said but I don't want to turn it into a referendum on him, he was a great player. And in fairness, lots of awards are questionable, that's the nature of awards.
Blasphemy.
Good to see Stephen A Smith is as dumb on NBA takes as he is the NFL.
Except in 2006, Johnson left the team and Amare was basically out the whole season so the fact that the Suns was 8 games off the record the previous year showed that Nash was the real reason we went from lottery team to contenders.
That's a fair point, still don't think Nash should have won the MVP in either season. Had forgot about having Marion both years, another stud, but losing Amare was devastating for sure. I also felt Atlanta way overpaid for Johnson.
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Too easy for JJ in there 
Skip, Stephen A and the rest of that crew built their career yelling at each other for 15 years, so all this advanced stats/data thing is killing them. Or many times just basic knowledge.
Skip, Stephen A and the rest of that crew built their career yelling at each other for 15 years, so all this advanced stats/data thing is killing them. Or many times just basic knowledge.He absolutely shouldn't have, and it led to like a 5 year chain reaction in which culminated in Kobe winning in 2008.... despite well, forget Chris Paul, but also LeBron being vastly superior in everything that usually decides them, but of course "their time will come" - Paul did actually improve the year after, but LeBron went apeshit from then on. Rose shouldn't have won in 2011 either, but voter fatigue... in an alternative world, KD would just have 2 instead, so I don't care here. I loved that 2011 Bulls run.
Kobe should of got it in 2006 for dragging that sorry ass Laker team to 7th and Game 7 with the Suns. If I remember, Nash insanely wasn't even that far off being a 3-time winner, which is just insane when you think he essentially could of done that with Duncan, Garnett, Kobe, Dirk, (Heat)Shaq and young LeBron and Wade.
Beautiful
Stephen A, Nick Wright and Skip Brainless are the dumbest faces on American TV.
Just on the Nash thing. Before that we had a defensive NBA, they changed the rules, the Suns owned the new rules and scored like 30 more points than the previous 5 or so championship teams averaged. They changed the nature of the game and Nash was at the heart of it (making the new version look good).
Bruce Brown in the 4th...
Denver win again in Miami, can’t see Miami coming back from a 3-1 deficit and that’s stating the obvious.
Grind grind grind!!! Jokic rolled an ankle in the first and it did not matter. That moment was scary - I was like in a full panic mode at that moment.
They won despite the referees doing their best to assist Miami
Size finally catch up to Miami. Miami dont have 3rd guy to guard AG. The final question is who's should be final's MVP? Jokic? Murray?
With today's game, it's Jokic easily unless Murray pulls off a 50pt performance in the close out
Such a bs call on Jokic for his 5th foul. This would be infuriating for the Nuggets if the Heat somehow managed to turn it around in that last quarter. All together, the Nuggets are just too big and too good for them, it will end in Denver.
Aaron Gordon along with Jokic and Murray is having a fantastic series. Even if you put aside his offensive contribution, Butler is massively struggling to score unless he gets the switch.
Jokic without a doubt.
Aaron Gordon along with Jokic and Murray is having a fantastic series. Even if you put aside his offensive contribution, Butler is massively struggling to score unless he gets the switch.
Jokic without a doubt.
One guy is averaging 30, 14 and 8. The other is 23, 6 and 11.
No question who should be the MVP, regardless of what Murray does in game 5.
You can't say regardless, Jokic could have a stinker and Murray score 50+ pts, it'd be his, highly unlikely for sure
This is true, one rebound away from beating them in 6, im also pretty adamant they would of got to the finals that year as well, had a winning record vs both the clippers and the Mavs If my memory served me correctly. The team was:
Brown/Bynum
Odom/Turiaf
Walton/Jackson
Bryant/Vujacic
Smush/Mckie
45 games with that roster is mental.
Also glad to see Jokic is going to win one, he is unbelievable.
Heat are just utterly out-matched.
Even with a 50 point Murray shouldn't get it. Jokic was the best player in the first 3 games, and had a better game than Murray in game 4.
That being said, let's not assume Denver have won already. Can't count Miami out right now, Jokic also seemed disrupted by ankle twist in the first so would be interesting to see what happens of that.
Yeah, your sweep prediction won't be that far off in the end. Think this is the first series where even the Heat team/Spoelstra are fully aware that the opponent is just too much for them.
That observation brings an interesting point. Media and fans of eastern teams have largely claimed that the East was better than the West while the reality may be that the west was deeper with a better top seed on top of it.
I said after game 2 that people were overreacting and Denver will win easily
True. Many people kind of thought that the West is wide open and that the favorite in the finals will come from the East. Now, in all craziness it was the Heat who came on top. While I do think the Celtics and the Bucks had some strengths to maybe bother Nuggets a bit more (would still come short), people definitely underestimated the number 1 seed in the West going into the playoffs. And with Warriors, Lakers, Suns, Grizzlies, Clippers, Kings, Wolves you can definitely argue that the West was also much deeper in quality as you say.
Btw. just saw Doris Burke calling Nikola Jokic "the chess master" while talking about the way he plays. Pretty appropriate.
The Jazz and Pelicans deserve a mention, no one was comfortable playing them in the play in tournament both are genuinely good teams. I don't know if it's because I know more about western teams but is it me or there is generally more scrutiny when it comes to these teams, all these teams weaknesses have been documented and emphasized to the point where it gave the impression that these teams had worse seasons than they actually had?
I will just add Thunder to that list as well who has a cracking young core and honestly I can't wait to see how that team is gonna develop.
It is also a case of people downgrading anyone who isn't on the very top which is nonsense. By the look of things and with some player moves, the Mavs coming back, etc.. the West could be even more of a bloodbath next season.
True, I was thinking about the Thunders and somehow didn't list them. And yeah, it's going to be interesting to see how teams handle the offseason because no one can rest of their laurels, not even the Nuggets.
Anyone remember how garbage the East was post-90s Bulls era? Had bang average squads like Nets, Knicks, and Sixers in Finals getting trounced by the West winner.
I didn't say he should,just that he could, as unlikely as it seems
I didn't remember but looking at it, from 98 to 04 the West does dominate easily. Then the Heat and Pistons put the East on top.