AROUND THE NBA - April/Playoffs (2 Viewers)

[B-Roy]

Yeah, I'd keep two of those three (hopefully Ed being one of them!).

In a vacuum I think Ed is the worst player (or least dynamic) of the three. But I agree, I do like him the best.

 

[BlazerCaravan]

In a vacuum I think Ed is the worst player (or least dynamic) of the three. But I agree, I do like him the best.

In a vacuum maybe, but his PER was the best of the three (he had the second best PER on the team). He's being used the best in our current system.

 

[B-Roy]

In a vacuum maybe, but his PER was the best of the three (he had the second best PER on the team). He's being used the best in our current system.

Least talented would probably be most accurate. Ed is consistent. He gives you the same thing day in and day out, but the upside isn't there, and can get played out against certain players.

 

[B-Roy]

In a vacuum maybe, but his PER was the best of the three (he had the second best PER on the team). He's being used the best in our current system.

Least talented would probably be most accurate. Ed is consistent. He gives you the same thing day in and day out, but the upside isn't there, and can get played out against certain players.

 

[BlazerDuckSeahawkFan94]

Mike D isn't a bad coach. No reason with a decent off season they can't get back to the playoffs.

What would be a decent offseason though? Howard is gone, I doubt Durant or Horford walk through that door either. So who are they going to go after to become better? In all honesty I see them landing Ryan Anderson and going after some Mike D guys like Barbosa and Amare while bringing back Jones and Motiejunas.

Beverley / Barbosa
Harden / Brewer
Ariza / McDaniels / Dekker
Anderson / Jones / Harrell
Capela / Motiejunas / Amare

Your 2016/17 Rockets

 

[Orion Bailey]

What would be a decent offseason though? Howard is gone, I doubt Durant or Horford walk through that door either. So who are they going to go after to become better? In all honesty I see them landing Ryan Anderson and going after some Mike D guys like Barbosa and Amare while bringing back Jones and Motiejunas.

Beverley / Barbosa
Harden / Brewer
Ariza / McDaniels / Dekker
Anderson / Jones / Harrell
Capela / Motiejunas / Amare

Your 2016/17 Rockets

Exactly. That team is spiraling. Is a known cancer to the rest of the league. They will not be able to bring in anyone and it will be the Harden show. He will lead the league in scoring and Houston will be a cellar dwellar.

 

[BlazerDuckSeahawkFan94]

Exactly. That team is spiraling. Is a known cancer to the rest of the league. They will not be able to bring in anyone and it will be the Harden show. He will lead the league in scoring and Houston will be a cellar dwellar.

They're the mid 2000s Sixers right now when AI was putting up 30 burgers left and right but the team was stuck in the mud.

 

[BlazerCaravan]

Least talented would probably be most accurate. Ed is consistent. He gives you the same thing day in and day out, but the upside isn't there, and can get played out against certain players.

Yeah, he's not a starter on a championship team, but he is a perfect 7th man for us.

 

[BlazerDuckSeahawkFan94]

Yeah, he's not a starter on a championship team, but he is a perfect 7th man for us.

Coming to TLC, Brother Husbands.

 

[PDXFonz]

I think the only thing that needs to be said is Harkless > Leonard and since I believe it will come down to 1 of the 2 I'm taking Harkless every time. That's not a slight on Meyers, he has a spot on this team, but I don't think the role he fills is worth the price he will come at.

 

[Strenuus]

What would be a decent offseason though? Howard is gone, I doubt Durant or Horford walk through that door either. So who are they going to go after to become better? In all honesty I see them landing Ryan Anderson and going after some Mike D guys like Barbosa and Amare while bringing back Jones and Motiejunas.

Beverley / Barbosa
Harden / Brewer
Ariza / McDaniels / Dekker
Anderson / Jones / Harrell
Capela / Motiejunas / Amare

Your 2016/17 Rockets

Oh god that team is awful.

 

[Orion Bailey]

They're the mid 2000s Sixers right now when AI was putting up 30 burgers left and right but the team was stuck in the mud.

Exactly!

 

[Rastapopoulos]

I think fans have been somewhat lopsided and bias because they want so much more. Meyers is what he is so far and what he is is still valuable. a 7ft with a 3pt shot. How many are even in the league? 5? 7?

More than you think, they're just not being asked to take them.

And Meyers's 3 is too easily neutralized because it's so low and slow. You run out at him and he's done. His value is if he's pulling a big shotblocker out of the lane, but you can put a smaller guy on him and he can't do jack. He's not like Aldridge or Dirk or other tall shooters who shoot from above their heads and are basically unblockable.

 

[H.C.]

What would be a decent offseason though? Howard is gone, I doubt Durant or Horford walk through that door either. So who are they going to go after to become better? In all honesty I see them landing Ryan Anderson and going after some Mike D guys like Barbosa and Amare while bringing back Jones and Motiejunas.

Beverley / Barbosa
Harden / Brewer
Ariza / McDaniels / Dekker
Anderson / Jones / Harrell
Capela / Motiejunas / Amare

Your 2016/17 Rockets

Now that D'Antoni is the HC, he'll prolly call Nash to be his PG.
Being that Beverley although subpar does try on defense. D'Antoni can't have his pg trying on that side of the floor.
Also Amare would start over Dmo & Capela. He has a height limit for his C position.

 

[selloutking]

Yeah, he's not a starter on a championship team, but he is a perfect 7th man for us.

yup and on a good contract, and likes it here, and wants to put on 15lbs in the off season, gotta let that bake!

 

[BonesJones]

More than you think, they're just not being asked to take them.

And Meyers's 3 is too easily neutralized because it's so low and slow. You run out at him and he's done. His value is if he's pulling a big shotblocker out of the lane, but you can put a smaller guy on him and he can't do jack. He's not like Aldridge or Dirk or other tall shooters who shoot from above their heads and are basically unblockable.

If Aminu plays PF you can't hide the C on him because he'll still have to guard to the 3pt line

 

[PDXFonz]

Bold statment: Paul George is the 3rd best player in the NBA behind Lebron and Durant. Steph curry comes in at #4.

 

[Tunchi]

Bold statment: Paul George is the 3rd best player in the NBA behind Lebron and Durant. Steph curry comes in at #4.

Nah steph curry is better

 

[PDXFonz]

Nah steph curry is better

I disagree because curry has the much better surrounding cast. George played like a G in the playoffs with much less to work with. You put your boy Lowry on the Warriors with George instead of Thompson and I think they are a better team, which is saying something since you overrate the F out of Lowry.

Speaking of, which hurt you worse. Losing Lowry or getting killed by Dame with .9 left?

It's hard for me to tell...

 

[dviss1]

I think fans have been somewhat lopsided and bias because they want so much more. Meyers is what he is so far and what he is is still valuable. a 7ft with a 3pt shot. How many are even in the league? 5? 7?

He has value, but its about his role, how much he thinks he should have vs how much he can actually provide for us as a better team. That will dicate his money. Dont think for a moment that the Blazers are writing him off as a lost cause.

I can't wait until that wasted draft pick is off of our team so you can burn your Meyers Leonard throwback.

 

[PDXFonz]

Darren Collison is a wife beater?

F Darren Collison

 

[Natebishop3]

Darren Collison is a wife beater?

F Darren Collison

No...... G Darren Collison.

 

[UKRAINEFAN]

Any chance of this actually happening? I guess Boston has a lot of cap space and a lot of assets.
http://en.yibada.com/articles/12818...-al-horford-jimmy-butler-kevin-durant-new.htm

 

[JfizzleBlazer]

Any chance of this actually happening? I guess Boston has a lot of cap space and a lot of assets.
http://en.yibada.com/articles/12818...-al-horford-jimmy-butler-kevin-durant-new.htm

Not sure that team would really be much better than okc is right now.

Is a horford, butler, durant trio really much better than a durant, westbrook, ibaka trio?

 

[PtldPlatypus]

Not sure that team would really be much better than okc is right now.

Is a horford, butler, durant trio really much better than a durant, westbrook, ibaka trio?

With Isaiah Thomas there as well, and playing in the East--probably. Horford and Butler are both significantly better than Ibaka and Waiters, and Thomas is only incrementally worse than Westbrook.

 

[JfizzleBlazer]

With Isaiah Thomas there as well, and playing in the East--probably. Horford and Butler are both significantly better than Ibaka and Waiters, and Thomas is only incrementally worse than Westbrook.

I dont know about thomas being incrementally worse than westbrook. Hands down westbrook is the best player amongst any of those being mentioned.

Thomas really came on this year though, but idk. In the east, sure, i just dont see this theoretical team being substantially better.

 

[UKRAINEFAN]

Not sure that team would really be much better than okc is right now.

Is a horford, butler, durant trio really much better than a durant, westbrook, ibaka trio?

Well, they would have the third scorer that Ibaka doesn't really seem to be. Plus they would still have Thomas who is considered by many to be an all-star guard and avery bradley. And their other pieces might be at least as good as OKC's.

 

[Natebishop3]

I betcha we could get Butler if we offered up CJ.

And I imagine Atlanta would jump at the chance to trade Horford if they knew they were losing him anyway. How much would we have to clear to sign both Horford and Durant? 25 million per year for each of them?

I don't see how Boston could even remotely make this work.

Butler is making 16.4 million per year.

Durant's max is 25 million. I'm sure Horford is the same. That's 66.4 million that they would need in cap space. According to RealGM, their max cap space is $53,397,958.

Our max is $39,784,459. So in order to acquire all three, we'd have to renounce our guys and dump another 26 million. Holy crap.

We would have to trade everyone except Dame and renounce all our free agents. Brutal.

Could we put enough talent around a core of

Dame
Butler
Durant
Horford

Maybe convince Gasol to sign for a the minimum?

 

[Boob-No-More]

Not sure that team would really be much better than okc is right now.

Is a horford, butler, durant trio really much better than a durant, westbrook, ibaka trio?

Yes. OKC doesn't have a Big 3. They have a Big 2.

Ibaka is a below average player (PER = 13.9). Although only 26 he peaked 4 years ago. He was once the best weak side shot blocker in the league, but his BLK% has declined five years in a row. When he was leading the league in BLKs, he was regarded as a great defender. Then, along came JaVale McGee and people started to realize there is more to defense than trying to block every shot. Ibaka is a weak low post defender. Bigger power forwards, like LaMarcus Aldridge kill him. Ibaka is so bad at guarding big men in the low post, for years, Scott Brooks would switch and have Kendrik Perkins guard Aldridge so he could hide Ibaka on RoLo or Hickson.

And, as others have pointed out, BOS woudn't have just a Big 3, they'd have a Big 4 with Isaiah Thomas (22.2 pp, PER = 21.5) to go along with Horford, Durant and Butler. If this happened, as described in the article, BOS would have the superior starting 5 and a much better bench than OKC. It's not even close. In the scenario described, BOS loses their starting center (Amir Johnson - replaced by Horford, a huge upgrade) and their 7th man (Marcus Smart - replaced by Butler - also a huge upgrade).

Of course, in the hypothetical New BOS vs. Current OKC scenario, Durant cancels out Durant. The real reason BOS would be better than OKC is they add two great two-way players. Al Horford is significantly better at both ends of the court than any OKC big man, and Jimmy Butler is a 21 ppg scorer that has made 2nd team All Defense each of the last 3 years. Butler averages as many points per hundred possessions as Dion Waiters and Andre Roberson combined. He's a much better, more efficient scorer than Waiters and a better defender than Roberson.

Plus, BOS would still have Avery Bradley, who is 1st team All Defense and widely considered the best perimeter defender in the league And, they also have Jae Crowder, who came in one vote shy of beating out Paul George for 2nd team All Defense. Horford is also one of the best bigs in the league at defending the pick and roll. A line up featuring Bradley, Butler, Crowder and Horford would probably be the best defensive unit in the league, especially in today's guard-centric, 3-point heavy, pick-and-roll era.

BOS would have the option of going big with Horford, Sullinger (or Olynyk), Durant, Butler and Thomas (or Bradley), or small with Horford, Durant, Crowder, Butler and Thomas. That team would crush the current OKC roster, and would also match up very well against GSW. Although they only played twice, because of their perimeter defense, the current BOS line gave GSW fits during the regular season (losing in overtime in Boston and winning in Oakland). They would lose the 6'4" Marcus Smart, but replace him with the 6'7" Butler, who is one of the few SGs in the league that doesn't have a size disadvantage against Klay Thompson.

Throw in Durant's scoring and Horford's solid, all-around play and that hypothetical BOS line-up would be true title contenders.

I dont know about thomas being incrementally worse than westbrook. Hands down westbrook is the best player amongst any of those being mentioned.

For the first three quarters. When it comes to the 4th quarter, I'd take any one of Thomas, Durant, Butler or Horford over Westbrook. There is a reason OKC blew 15 4th quarter leads in the regular season and why they collapsed and lost to the Warriors in the playoffs, and that reason is Russell Westbrook. He's the one with the ball in his hands, committing unforced turnovers and forcing bad shots with the game on the line. Game 6 against GSW, at home with a 4th quarter lead, was classic Westbrook. He missed 5 of his last 6 shots and committed 4 TOVs in the last 1:40 of the game. That summed up OKCs season and Westbrook's career. His brand of hero ball has been failing for years. I would take that theatrical BOS team over Westbrook's individual talent without hesitation. That BOS team is stacked with experienced 2-way players, great scorers and great defenders. OKC is a 2-man "team" whose leader chokes when the game/season is on the line.

BNM

 

[Natebishop3]

Yes. OKC doesn't have a Big 3. They have a Big 2.

Ibaka is a below average player (PER = 13.9). Although only 26 he peaked 4 years ago. He was once the best weak side shot blocker in the league, but his BLK% has declined five years in a row. When he was leading the league in BLKs, he was regarded as a great defender. Then, along came JaVale McGee and people started to realize there is more to defense than trying to block every shot. Ibaka is a weak low post defender. Bigger power forwards, like LaMarcus Aldridge kill him. Ibaka is so bad at guarding big men in the low post, for years, Scott Brooks would switch and have Kendrik Perkins guard Aldridge so he could hide Ibaka on RoLo or Hickson.

And, as others have pointed out, BOS woudn't have just a Big 3, they'd have a Big 4 with Isaiah Thomas (22.2 pp, PER = 21.5) to go along with Horford, Durant and Butler. If this happened, as described in the article, BOS would have the superior starting 5 and a much better bench than OKC. It's not even close. In the scenario described, BOS loses their starting center (Amir Johnson - replaced by Horford, a huge upgrade) and their 7th man (Marcus Smart - replaced by Butler - also a huge upgrade).

Of course, in the hypothetical New BOS vs. Current OKC scenario, Durant cancels out Durant. The real reason BOS would be better than OKC is they add two great two-way players. Al Horford is significantly better at both ends of the court than any OKC big man, and Jimmy Butler is a 21 ppg scorer that has made 2nd team All Defense each of the last 3 years. Butler averages as many points per hundred possessions as Dion Waiters and Andre Roberson combined. He's a much better, more efficient scorer than Waiters and a better defender than Roberson.

Plus, BOS would still have Avery Bradley, who is 1st team All Defense and widely considered the best perimeter defender in the league And, they also have Jae Crowder, who came in one vote shy of beating out Paul George for 2nd team All Defense. Horford is also one of the best bigs in the league at defending the pick and roll. A line up featuring Bradley, Butler, Crowder and Horford would probably be the best defensive unit in the league, especially in today's guard-centric, 3-point heavy, pick-and-roll era.

BOS would have the option of going big with Horford, Sullinger (or Olynyk), Durant, Butler and Thomas (or Bradley), or small with Horford, Durant, Crowder, Butler and Thomas. That team would crush the current OKC roster, and would also match up very well against GSW. Although they only played twice, because of their perimeter defense, the current BOS line gave GSW fits during the regular season (losing in overtime in Boston and winning in Oakland). They would lose the 6'4" Marcus Smart, but replace him with the 6'7" Butler, who is one of the few SGs in the league that doesn't have a size disadvantage against Klay Thompson.

Throw in Durant's scoring and Horford's solid, all-around play and that hypothetical BOS line-up would be true title contenders.



For the first three quarters. When it comes to the 4th quarter, I'd take any one of Thomas, Durant, Butler or Horford over Westbrook. There is a reason OKC blew 15 4th quarter leads in the regular season and why they collapsed and lost to the Warriors in the playoffs, and that reason is Russell Westbrook. He's the one with the ball in his hands, committing unforced turnovers and forcing bad shots with the game on the line. Game 6 against GSW, at home with a 4th quarter lead, was classic Westbrook. He missed 5 of his last 6 shots and committed 4 TOVs in the last 1:40 of the game. That summed up OKCs season and Westbrook's career. His brand of hero ball has been failing for years. I would take that theatrical BOS team over Westbrook's individual talent without hesitation. That BOS team is stacked with experienced 2-way players, great scorers and great defenders. OKC is a 2-man "team" whose leader chokes when the game/season is on the line.

BNM

I would still love for someone to show me how they would do it.

Unless Durant/Horford are taking less money to make it happen, they're both set to make $25 million per year (to start). That eats up all their cap space.

They'd have to renounce Sullinger, Turner, and Zeller. Then they'd have to trade pretty much the entire team to match salaries with Butler because he's making 16.5 or 17 million next year. Marcus Smart is only making like $3.5 million next year. That leaves about $13 million that they'd have to make up.