Jokic is playing really well. And the Suns could barely stop a Clippers offense that wasn't powered by George or Leonard. I still think the Suns' star power might prove to be the difference but Denver must have a great chance surely.
NBA 2022-2023
- Thread starter charlton66
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Jokic is playing really well. And the Suns could barely stop a Clippers offense that wasn't powered by George or Leonard. I still think the Suns' star power might prove to be the difference but Denver must have a great chance surely.
There's that 'greatest' and 'best' division again. I'm still not sure exactly why you make this distinction or what you mean by it. 'Best' means 'that which is the most excellent or outstanding' and greatest means 'highest in quality, superlative'
So again, what's the distinction in your mind whereby someone can be the best and yet not the greatest? Take this football generation. Messi is the best player of this generation. He is also the greatest. Not sure where the dichotomy is.
Re your question, longevity stats IIRC were never typically given the same juice as the stuff we have been talking about because playing the longest, while very admirable, doesn't necessarily mean you are the best. So that's why I asked which stats you were talking about and if any of them were not longevity stats. I recognise your point that no stat is definitive but I was asking the question becasue I don't know.
Agreed with most of your post but let's be honest here, that 91 Lakers side were not the 80s run-and-gun showtime bunch. They were aging and their depth was not what it had been. They also finished with the second best record in the West.
For sure, but they were still a strong team and walked through the West (Robinson's Spurs, Run TMC, and Drexler/Porter/Robinson). That team has a special place in my hear though as it was only a few months later the Magic AIDS announcement went out. I still remember the exact moment I heard.
I like the sound of that.
Outside of longevity, there isn't a single argument to pick Lebron over Jordan.
But outside of one poster, isn't most of this board in agreement with that.
But outside of one poster, isn't most of this board in agreement with that.
I am in full agreement that Jordan is the GOAT and that Lebron is second only for longevity and total numbers. When it comes to impact in big games I'd take Timmy and Kobe over him.
And every pundit and prominent figure openly talked about how the Lakers would be top much for the Bulls, who hadn't made a single before. Pat Riley was pretty dismissive in Chicago and who could blame him when you look at game 1, where everyone on the Bulls seemed to freeze except for Jordan, who had 36 points, 12 assists, and 8 rebound on excellent efficiency and had a potential game winner rim in and out.
They started game 2 with the Bulls on the ropes having lost home court advantage and Jordan immediately goes into God mode, hitting 15 of 18 shots, each getting progressively more difficult, culminating in that famous handswitch shot.
Game 3 was neck and neck and the Lakers were seconds away from putting another dagger in Chicago, fouling out Pippen and leading with seconds to go, before Jordan ran the length of the court and made a ridiculous shot over Divac to tie the game, before completely taking over overtime to regain homecourt for the Bulls.
Once the Bulls had that belief, Jordan wasn't going to let the Lakers hage a sniff, and the Bulls started game 4 much more aggressively, which wasn't close. Worthy injured himself, which made the impossible task even more impossible. After the game, Magic had a demoralised look on his face and said "you can't feel bad. They're just giving us a butt kicking".
Jordan then finished off the series by blocking Magic in the very last play of game 5, to cap off a sweep of the middle 3 games in the forum. Magic later commented that he didn't pass any torch to Jordan and that Jordan just "came out and snatched it".
That Lakers team was a great one. And was extremely balanced with the firepower of Divac. And that Bulls team (playing in the finals for the first time and expected to be overawed) didn't have an all star besides Michael Jordan. There were those who still didn't want to bet against Jordan (and they were proven right) and many more who reasonably predicted that the Lakers would be too much.
But the man who dominated the 90s, decided he was going to take over.
The Bucks eliminated by Miami and Boston lose game 5 to find themselves on the brink of elimination. Giannis is going to get bombarded with criticism, and Tatum for Boston will if Boston are eliminated and he continues to put up subpar performances.
Jimmy and the Heat did it. Knicks - Heat for the Eastern final.
Bye bye bucks and Golden state with a key road win.
Bucks having a won game torn away from them by Butler again. What a story.
Big big bucket by Wiggins
Celtics are not on the brink of elimination. They are still 3-2 ahead and only need to win 1 of 2.
.....and they said we couldn't win on the road.
Jobs only half done though. Got to close it out.
Woohoo!
Jobs only half done though. Got to close it out.
Woohoo!
Should have added. Kevon Looney, what a beast!
Oh I have it backwards. Thought I read that they trail 3-2. Thanks for the correction.
In other news, Kawhi tore a meniscus in his right knee so all of those who were skeptical when the Clippers said it's a "strained knee" were right. How many injuries can this guy have?
Giannis missing 13 free throws, dayum. Yea moronic people will call into question his win in 2021 as well, especially the tw*ts at ESPN who love to hate on him.
Other than Denver winning, none of the playoff series are going the way I wanted them to. Bucks losing to Miami is devastating, especially losing twice with Giannis in, though how fully fit he was is another question.
There is nothing to call into question about the Bucks 2021 title. Giannis was magnificent. So was Jimmy in this series.
The only one who needs to answer some question now is Bud.
The only one who needs to answer some question now is Bud.
On the other hand, Butler's legacy was enhanced here, however the rest of his career plays out. Not many consider him an elite basketball player (I'm still not sure he is) but upsetting the number 1 seed as the 8th seed, and putting up the 4th highest points total in an nba playoff game is impressive.
Butler is on pace for the greatest playoff run of all time.
Surely his numbers dip a bit?
Wish my Bulls never traded him.
Surely his numbers dip a bit?
Wish my Bulls never traded him.
What's the argument against him being an elite player at this point?
He was arguably the best player in the playoffs last season and just had one of the greatest series of all-time vs a superior Bucks team.
I'm a Bulls fan, but I wouldn't agree with this.
You could in theory argue LeBron is a better floor raiser than Jordan.
It's difficult to argue against his current run. It's better than anything Kobe, McGrady, Pierce, Iverson ever put up, unless I'm missing something.
He isn't just putting up numbers but he's doing everything efficiently while playing top notch defense.
It's Jordan/LeBron-like at the moment with better efficiency than both of them. Just wild what he's doing out there.
Can't help but love Jimmy honestly. Fantastic player. His performance in the finals against us, with Dragic and Bam injured, was LeBron-esque too, gave us an actual series by himself(i thought he was the best player in the series)
Have been wishing for Doncic to end up in Miami for a couple years now to see what he and Jimmy could do together, just think that pairing(plus Bam) could be something spectacular(and win a couple rings in the process)
As expected Lakers didn't close out Memphis and i'm kinda scared they'll lose the series anyways now too...
Warriors win game 5 as expected, honestly until they're out at this point they have to be considered the favourites to win it all
Have been wishing for Doncic to end up in Miami for a couple years now to see what he and Jimmy could do together, just think that pairing(plus Bam) could be something spectacular(and win a couple rings in the process)
As expected Lakers didn't close out Memphis and i'm kinda scared they'll lose the series anyways now too...
Warriors win game 5 as expected, honestly until they're out at this point they have to be considered the favourites to win it all
It's only one series though, would be interesting to see if anyone else has had a better run over 5 games as Jimmy has done. Would be insane for him to keep this up the rest of the playoffs but then again you'd imagine he'd have to for them to have a chance at going into the finals. The argument against him being elite would be that good regular season performances aren't at an elite level, but he does transform into one when the playoffs arrive.
Miami should stuff NY though after having beaten the Bucks.
I think Miami will go hard after Lillard in the offseason if there’s any indication he might be available. Having both him and Butler on the same team would give them a great chance in the next two, maybe three seasons.
Lillard isn't leaving Portland otherwise yeah, that'd be pretty awesome too
I don't think it's likely. As you pointed out, he's playing at a historically great level. I'm not sure it's sustainable.
Whatever happens, it's was a great series and something to remember when discussing Jimmy Butler's career after he retires.
Yes he is… last chance to have a go at the ring and Miami needing him for a great fit.
Well game maybe wasnt weird but its going on this path.
Philly really messed up picking Harris/Simmons over Butler.
Sacked in the morning?
Whom?
Budenholzer. Never thought much of him, might be wrong. The non-used time-outs were also bizarre
Oh feck off
I only said there were arguments to have LeBron over Jordan, you just in your own post agree that there's an argument for LeBron over Jordan.I agree 100% with this take:
I will not fault anyone if they tell me that they have LeBron over Jordan if they have their argument for it - of which longevity obviously would be the biggest one.
There's no way he can stay after that. They had both game 4 and game 5 won and threw them away in a spectacular fashion.
It's probably the best head coach behind Spoelstra and Kerr, sacking him would be surprising. Especially when your best player and only superstar missed 11 out of 20 quarters in that first round.