EL PRESIDENTE
Username Retired in Honor of Lanny.
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K-LOVE.
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You eliminated the best players....so I'll go with Olshey's choice and be different here..Kanter would be the missing scoring in the paint we've all wantedThe OP said Durant is off-limits.
He would make our shitty p&r D worse. This playoffs has been a revalation... even his coach realizes this and is benching him as a result.K-LOVE.
Come on, man. I dislike Klay, but did you just compare Klay's shooting explosion to the one quarter in Marty's 8 yr career where he wasn't garbage?Heck - Martell Webster exploded like that!
Klay doesn't seem to be any better than CJ - only bigger. Obviously, size still matters in the NBA so you can't discount Klay with his size advantage. But skill-wise I think he and CJ are pretty equal. CJ has a slight advantage with his dribbling, Klay has maybe a bigger advantage with his size/strength. I suspect that Klay shoots a better percentage, but I think some of that is due to his size...and the moving screens GSW sets. So is he really a better shooter than CJ? When he went for 19 straight points last night it was impressive - but I thought CJ is just as capable of exploding like that. Heck - Martell Webster exploded like that! And on the defensive end I think much of Klay's advantage is due to size. People knock CJ for his defense, but when I watch him in isolation I can't find much to fault - he gives a lot of effort to stay with his man, rarely does anything stupid, and rarely gets lost. CJ's two biggest defensive deficiencies are (1) his size*, and (2) the system he's playing in. Klay will always have the defensive advantage over CJ due purely to something neither player can control. Basically I'm saying the only reason Klay is better than CJ is because he's bigger/stronger, not more skilled.
Aside from height I don't see much difference between Dame and KD. And given the difference in height there should be a HUGE difference between Dame and KD.Um what? KD has been AWESOME this playoffs. He's drawing so much defensive attention. And he's played all defensive team type D. There was a play when he contested Draymond at the rim, made him miss, and blocked the shit out of Livingston on the other side of the rim when the ball bounced over there like within a second. Just an absolute beast.
For Godsakes, he's averaging 28/7/3 with a steal and a block. His 3pt shot has been off a bit this year, but I'm not sure what games you're seeing. Russell's play shouldn't take away from KD's perceived dominance.
I guess I'm saying that I don't think CJ is as bad a defender as people make him out to be. It appears that he gets torched mostly because of the defensive system he's playing in. I don't think he has the frame for it, but if he could bulk up I think the gap between Klay's defense and CJ's defense would shrink - not to zero, but enough. Klay is the better defender, and probably always will be. Partly due to size, but also partially to skill. But overall I just don't think Klay is head-and-shoulders better than CJ.The big difference between Klay and C.J. is not on the offensive end, it's on defense. Yeah again, Klay benefits from his size advantage, but he's a very good perimeter defender.
BNM
The more I watch guys like Klay and Durant the more I wonder why people think they're so great. Obviously they are two of the better players in the league, but I always come away thinking they don't live up to their billing. I guess this is related to what I'm talking about in the Is GSW Overrated thread. I'm not going to bother with stats, only what I've been seeing as I watch the games. Perhaps the stats are so significant as to render what I'm about to type moot, but here goes.
Klay doesn't seem to be any better than CJ - only bigger. Obviously, size still matters in the NBA so you can't discount Klay with his size advantage. But skill-wise I think he and CJ are pretty equal. CJ has a slight advantage with his dribbling, Klay has maybe a bigger advantage with his size/strength. I suspect that Klay shoots a better percentage, but I think some of that is due to his size...and the moving screens GSW sets. So is he really a better shooter than CJ? When he went for 19 straight points last night it was impressive - but I thought CJ is just as capable of exploding like that. Heck - Martell Webster exploded like that! And on the defensive end I think much of Klay's advantage is due to size. People knock CJ for his defense, but when I watch him in isolation I can't find much to fault - he gives a lot of effort to stay with his man, rarely does anything stupid, and rarely gets lost. CJ's two biggest defensive deficiencies are (1) his size*, and (2) the system he's playing in. Klay will always have the defensive advantage over CJ due purely to something neither player can control. Basically I'm saying the only reason Klay is better than CJ is because he's bigger/stronger, not more skilled.
Durant. I don't know how many times I've watched him play, but I've never come away feeling like he's imposed his will on a game. At his size, with his shooting touch, AND his ability to handle the ball he should be absolutely dominating. But he rarely does. People like to blame Westbrook for this, saying that Westbrook should defer to Durant. But I don't buy it - Westbrook is the better player. Westbrook imposes his will on the game. Westbrook's main fault is trying to do too much in the 4th quarter (something we see from Dame from time to time) - which, IMO, is a coaching issue. If you have a coach who'll hold Westbrook accountable and change his 4th quarter habits there'd be no discussion as to who the better player is. For as good as Durant is I always come away thinking that McGrady was better. But all too often he reminds me more of LMA - content to float through the games, picking his spots. Now I will say that during this series I've been impressed by his defense...but again, the guy is an agile 7-footer - he should be damned good at defense!
*Is CJ as small as his reputation suggests? Throughout the later part of the season and the POs I kept noticing that CJ seemed to be about as tall as other SGs. Specifically I recall seeing him next to Iggy and thinking that he really wasn't much shorter. Definitely more slender, but not much - if any - shorter. Maybe it was a trick of the camera angles, but I recall thinking this on more than one occasion.
Um what? KD has been AWESOME this playoffs. He's drawing so much defensive attention. And he's played all defensive team type D. There was a play when he contested Draymond at the rim, made him miss, and blocked the shit out of Livingston on the other side of the rim when the ball bounced over there like within a second. Just an absolute beast.
For Godsakes, he's averaging 28/7/3 with a steal and a block. His 3pt shot has been off a bit this year, but I'm not sure what games you're seeing. Russell's play shouldn't take away from KD's perceived dominance.
Klay Thompson
