2017-18 NBA Thread

[Socnorb11]

Being taken to 7 with that much talent is a bigger choke job than anything Harden did tonight.

True.

[cardsfansince82]

I realize you’re exaggerating but silly to say zero chance.

Vegas has the Warriors at -1000 favorites, largest favorite in at least the last 16 seasons.

[33anda3rd]

Being taken to 7 with that much talent is a bigger choke job than anything Harden did tonight.

I somewhat agree that the Warriors didn't play their best in this series, but I think this underrates how good this Rockets team is. They were a 65-win team with the presumptive MVP, a dynamic young center, one of the top-5 PG in NBA history, and one of the two best 6th Men in the league in Gordon (after Lou.) I wonder why there's no animosity towards CP3, who to use the Durant logic, could have stayed in LA and tried to win with DeAndre and Blake. Instead he orchestrated a trade to form a Super Duo. Why isn't there a peep about him being a bad guy who took the easy route to 65 wins and his first Conference Finals? (That isn't directed at you, but just a general question why people who have that negativity towards KD don't have it toward Paul.)

I just have a little trouble beating up on Harden (who I don't even care for) too much.

The Rockets had one assist in that third quarter where the game got away from them. Harden is the floor general and as an MVP-grade one it is his job to never let that happen. If he were a soccer player we'd bemoan his flopping. He's an artist at looking for a way to tie himself up with an opponent and then pretend that he's actually making an effort at shooting a field goal, and he only went to the line for 8 FT last night with the season on the line. Instead of looking for that contact or driving he went 2-13 from 3P. It's his team and he was abysmal in the 2nd half last night. He deserves a lot of the blame, along with Ariza who couldn't have hit the broad side of a barn with the ball last night.

[expletive] the Warriors and [expletive] this league.

I really enjoyed both the regular season and the playoffs this year. Both conference finals went to 7 games and featured the best teams in both conferences as well as the three best players in the NBA (LeBron, KD, Curry.) The young Bucks took Boston to 7 in the first round and the Pacers did the same with Cleveland. The Pacers traded their franchise guy for Oladipo and he dazzled all year. Your Blazers were a ton of fun to watch and Dame took another big step forward as a star. The Jazz lost their best offensive player and Snyder made them even better. There were great performances by young guys all year--Simmons, Embiid, Mitchell, Tatum, and about two dozen other young guys who make me very optimistic about the future of the NBA. Embiid, Giannis and AD all look like future MVPs. I'm looking forward to the finals and already excited for the offseason and what next year will bring.

[thrill]

We can set the bar at whatever level for Lebron and he clears it. And he’s been meeting or exceeding expectations since he was 16.

His mental consistency is as impressive as his physical gifts and consistency. He's the most total a total package has ever been.

[33anda3rd]

We can set the bar at whatever level for Lebron and he clears it. And he’s been meeting or exceeding expectations since he was 16.

His mental consistency is as impressive as his physical gifts and consistency. He's the most total a total package has ever been.

[BottenFieldofDreams]

For me the NBA is about the Blazers winning a championship so my soul doesn't collapse on itself. I've been through a lot. If I get that, LeBron and Harden and Davis can all join the Warriors too; I'm sure they'd like to. I'll be good. Then someone else can worry about it. I'd probably quit sports altogether.

[Socnorb11]

Chris Paul didn't join a team that was already prohibitive favorites to win the NBA championship. He also wasn't one of the top 2 players in the league when he changed teams. Chris Paul helped the Rockets become an elite team. Durant joined an elite team (his move was pretty much unprecedented). To me, there's a significant difference.

[lukethedrifter]

I think it’s time for an intervention.

[33anda3rd]

Chris Paul didn't join a team that was already prohibitive favorites to win the NBA championship. He also wasn't one of the top 2 players in the league when he changed teams. Chris Paul helped the Rockets become an elite team. Durant joined an elite team (his move was pretty much unprecedented). To me, there's a significant difference.

Ok so then forget the Durant comp and use another more fitting one. What did LeBron do, symbolically or however you want to frame it, when he went from Cleveland to Miami?

He went to a 47-win team and people acted the same about him as they did about KD, with people burning his jerseys in Cleveland and sports fans calling him a "b***h" and using a host of other vocabulary meant to emasculate him.

So then why didn't Chris Paul get the LeBron treatment? Why wasn't it demanded of him, by fans, that he stay in LA and try to win with the team he had there? Paul joined Harden's team, LeBron joined Wade's team, both teams improved significantly, both stars were the Face Of The Franchise They Left.

[Socnorb11]

Chris Paul isn't close to being the player that Durant and Lebron are. Not even on the same stratosphere.

I think Lebron was probably treated a little unfairly when he went to Miami. Part of it was the "spectacle"......... but still, probably unfair.