AROUND THE NBA - April/Playoffs

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I honestly think some teams just don't think they've got a chance at a title even though they made the playoffs and are ready to go on vacation..sooner the better. The Blazers aren't one of those teams though.
 
I think this should be a great one between the raps and pacers... Maybe all of us who want PG (everyone?) should be rooting for the pacers to get bounced, although I'm not sure that would change anything.
 
I've got the Raps winning tonight. Would be kinda sad for those fans if they choke it away.
 
The thing that amazes me about George is that he's as capable a scorer as Durant, but a much more willing play maker. Absolutely a guy who makes his team mates better.
 
The time to hope for Paul George was last off season when the Pacers were terrible. They are back onto something good and it will never happen now.
 
Can't be mad, I remember what it was like being in the arena for the first playoff win in over a decade.
 
Fonzthecpt1 said:
Can't be mad, I remember what it was like being in the arena for the first playoff win in over a decade.
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Although I will say, rip city was much more hyped about it. We really do have the best fans.
 
Paul George a top 3 NBA player?

I wouldn't argue if somebody said that Curry, George, and Durant are the top 3 in the league right now... Maybe Curry, George, Kawhi?
 
PG was a star in the first round. Made an impact all over the court.

Great competitive spirit.

Somewhere in the range of 6-10 overall for me.
 
yuyuza1 said:
People are forgetting about KD a bit. I feel like he's gonna have a massive game tonight.

Also, dude needs to gtfo this summer. That franchise has stagnated and (unlike us), they don't have the front office talent or stability to rebuild on the fly.
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This. They haven't just stagnated, they have slid backwards. I know they've had some injuries. Who hasn't? Its part of the game, but it's their roster moves that have taken them from a true title contender to the hillbilly version of the Clippers - good enough to be a midrange playoff seed, but not good enough to actually be a threat to win it all.

Talent wise, they're top heavy and have no depth. Their top 2 are two of the best players in the league (unfortunately, their number 2 thinks he's THE number 1 in the entire league, but that's another thread...), but since they made the dumbest move ever, by refusing to pay Harden, they haven't had a bench. Hell, they haven't even had a respectable starting 5.

Four years ago, they made it to the finals when all their key core players were 22-23 years old. They were incredibly young and incredibly talented. They were a dynasty in the making, but their cheap ass, lying owners CHOSE to break that up to save a few bucks.

That offseason, they started by giving Ibaka a massive contract. That alone, was not a death knell. Ibaka was just 22, had just lead the league in blocks and made the NBA All-Defensive First Team. However, where they fucked up was they assumed Ibaka was their third best player and they made a conscious decision to choose paying him over paying James Harden.

And, it wasn't even that they couldn't have paid them both. They could have, and stayed under the luxury tax threshold., but that would have meant amnestying Kendrick Perkins - something their cheap ass owners would not even consider. On principal, they refused to pay someone to NOT play for them. So instead, they broke up the core of a 22 - 23-year old potential dynasty to keep Kendrick Perkins.

In retrospect, they could have actually resigned Ibaka and Harden AND kept Perkins and only paid luxury tax for one season (due to the salary cap and luxury tax going up). They didn't just fuck up their roster, but they also sent a message to their current players and any potential free agents - we're not willing to pay you what you're worth on the open market to come play in the middle of fucking nowhere in a place that smells of cow shit. We'd rather save a few bucks than compete for multiple championships.

So, how has that worked out for them? Horribly. They still have Durant, Westbrook and Ibaka, but haven't made it past the second round since that trip to the finals (and they also made the WCF the year before when their core players were all 21 and 22 years old). They are completely lacking in depth. They have no bench and their lack of depth makes any injuries to their top 2 players devastating. The Warriors lose their best player and two time MVP and just keep cruising along. The Blunder lose Durant and they are a lottery team. Something tells me if they still had James Harden, they'd be able to weather those injuries and keep winning games at a decent clip.

But, this all makes me happy. It makes me happy that they blew up a potential dynasty for Kendrick Perkins. I laugh every time I think about their shortsightedness. Durant WILL leave, and Westbrook, too. Durant will leave because he doesn't want to squander his career playing for an organization that will never compete for a championship. They were handed a stacked deck and pissed it away. Westbrook will leave because he craves the spotlight and he'll never get that in a market where the only other celebrities are country and western singers and rodeo riders.

And once those two leave and that team struggles to win 20 games, you can bet the "fans" will abandon them faster than rats fleeing a sinking ship. Good, they deserve it. They lied and stole that franchise. Karma is a bitch - especially when your stupid and cheap.

BNM
 
Reep said:
Always glad to see the girl in the family got the best looks. Fortune was not so kind to Steven Adams sister:
2013+Halberg+Awards+YY4qx-8nS2al.jpg
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Holy shit, is that real? Looks like she's taken steroids.
 
Natebishop3 said:
Come to Papa Olshey, KD!
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If only...

Not happening, but if it did, WOW. That would solve so many of our problems. We need a legit 3rd scorer, Durant would give us a new 1st scorer.

Come July 1, Paul Allen needs to wine and dine the shit out of Durant. He needs to make it VERY clear he fired Kevin Pritchard's ass for choosing Oden over KD - that PA was a Honk Twice guy from the get go, but let Pritchard talk him out of it. I don't care if it's true or not, it NEEDS to become the new reality.

BNM
 
Natebishop3 said:
Come to Papa Olshey, KD!
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As much as I know it won't happen, KD would be stupid NOT to come to Portland.

Yeah, Westbrook is better than Damian (stat wise), but I'm not so sure he's better for the TEAM.

Think about it, the Blazers won 11 fewer games than the Thunder did, and they lost 80% of their starters AND had only 2 players who played major minutes the year before, play on this years team.

The owner of the Blazers is worth 15 billion (or so). The Thunders ownership group ain't worth close to that. They've gone cheap and it's cost them a lot of potential wins. If they had kept Harden, a trio of Harden, Westbrook and Durant would be insane.

I think Damian would make a better teammate for him, because Damian does team first and has shown that he's about loyalty of team, and goes to a player who is streaking.

Westbrook hasn't excelled in that so much. Again, Westbrook is a better shooter, but not significantly, especially from 3 point. And if you take into account his "effective" FG%, it favors Damian.

I think having Damian and CJ as teammates would be a better trio than what the Thunder could have, and make his game easier. (This is assuming they could sign him as a FA outright and not have to sign and trade, of course).


I don't see him leaving OKC though.
 
julius said:
As much as I know it won't happen, KD would be stupid NOT to come to Portland.

Yeah, Westbrook is better than Damian (stat wise), but I'm not so sure he's better for the TEAM.

Think about it, the Blazers won 11 fewer games than the Thunder did, and they lost 80% of their starters AND had only 2 players who played major minutes the year before, play on this years team.

The owner of the Blazers is worth 15 billion (or so). The Thunders ownership group ain't worth close to that. They've gone cheap and it's cost them a lot of potential wins. If they had kept Harden, a trio of Harden, Westbrook and Durant would be insane.

I think Damian would make a better teammate for him, because Damian does team first and has shown that he's about loyalty of team, and goes to a player who is streaking.

Westbrook hasn't excelled in that so much. Again, Westbrook is a better shooter, but not significantly, especially from 3 point. And if you take into account his "effective" FG%, it favors Damian.

I think having Damian and CJ as teammates would be a better trio than what the Thunder could have, and make his game easier. (This is assuming they could sign him as a FA outright and not have to sign and trade, of course).


I don't see him leaving OKC though.
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Logically, it has some merit. KD is less than two years older than Dame. So, coming to a young, up and coming team, he'd still have a wide window to compete for a championship.

Of course, if ALL he wanted was a ring, he'd just sign a below market deal with SAS or GSW. But, I don't think Durant is a coattail rider. I think he wants to EARN a ring - to be THE MAN on a championship team. If he won a ring in Portland, he would be.

I keep hearing about him wanting to go to WAS. WAS is like a lesser version of us - but not by much. Their backcourt drives them and is actually younger than ours. The problem is Beal can't stay healthy. The other problem, is outside of Wall and Beal, the only other young talent they have is Otto Porter, and he plays the same position as Durant. Maybe make him a 6th man. Gortat is decent, but 32. Nene is 33 and rapidly declining. So, overall, our roster is younger and better and we have a ton of cap space. We're improving and WAS is declining. But WAS is his hometown and the hired Scott Brooks specifically to recruit KD.

Paul Allen is insanely rich and a tech guy, He needs to hire the geeks at EA Sports to create a simulation of Durant playing with our current roster running Stotts' offense. Stotts is a much more creative offensive coach that Scott "Roll the Balls out there" Brooks. This should be a major selling point. Durant needs to see what it would be like to play under Stotts - that he will get a TON of open looks and easy scoring opportunities and that his teammates won't starve him out in the 4th quarter of close games. Stotts system relies on ball movement and player movement - not hero ball like OKC played under Brooks.

BNM
 
I don't really want to go through this whole deal with Durant. Even if he suddenly decides to consider the Blazers we're still more likely to run into a scenario with Aldridge and Phoenix last year where he spurns us at the last minute. I'd rather use the time to chase free agents we could actually get. Even Al Horford is a more realistic target if you want to shoot for the moon.

With the RFA period being cut down to 3 days there's even less time to waste getting commitments from UFA. I don't want to run into a scenario where we have to let Crabbe or Harkless walk because Durant is twiddling his thumbs.
 
Boston is prolly where he'll end up if he does end up leaving.

Sidebar, I saw a stat last month that mentioned that Dame is only second behind Curry among NBA players for # of advertisements and visibility on social media(or something... forgot details). Dude grinds, and as a result, reaps the rewards of his work. This perceived small market is just about gone now.
 
I don't see Durant as an insecure baby who needs to have his ego stroked like LaMarshmallow did.

Btw, is Brooks really a good choice for the Wizards thinking he'll help them get Durant? Sure he was their coach, but he wasn't really a smart coach.
 
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/sports/nba/charlotte-hornets/article75132042.html

Batum said throughout the season how much he enjoyed the responsibility and freedom Clifford gave him to be a focal point of the Hornets’ offense.

"When I came here they let me know they wanted me to be one of the (top) two options with Kemba" Walker, Batum said. "I liked that. I like that they trusted me.

"It was a pretty cool year. First time I got to play like I want to in eight years in the NBA."

What is so appealing about this situation?

"I think it’s a little bit of everything – the coaching staff, the organization, the city and the players, too," Batum said.

"We understand what we have to do to be successful and win games. We need to stay together no matter what. On some teams, guys just don’t get along together, particularly when a lot of guys are in their contract year. That can be difficult with guys worrying about their numbers.

"I don’t think we were like that and we had five or six (upcoming free agents). We were great in not thinking like that."

So is he predisposed to remaining a Hornet?

"Why not? I don’t know (what will happen in) a crazy summer for a lot of people. But why not?" Batum said.

"I want to talk to them first, for sure. July 1 will be a crazy day, but will Charlotte be my first call? Yes."


Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/sports/nba/charlotte-hornets/article75132042.html#storylink=cpy
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