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2015 NBA Thread: I felt a great disturbance in the trolls, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. (1 Viewer)

I think some Chargers fans will say that the 14-2 team losing to the Patriots in the '06 playoffs was brutal, but let's face it, SD fans have never had their hearts ripped out with gut-punching losses like Buffalo fans did by the Norwood miss in the Super Bowl or the skate in the crease loss to the Stars. 
I'd also factor in the Bills slowly drifting towards Toronto for a few years recently.  It had to be gut-wrenching to be facing the fact that Bills might just leave for Toronto.  How confident are we that the new Bills owner won't move to London?  Buffalo is such a tiny market that it must be tempting.

 
Curry was really exposed the last two rounds. He's a great shooter whose range and release is just insane. He can have a long career overall, but his window of an mvp type player is small imo and may be over if people just abuse him on the other end of the court. 
Do you think teams will play with the type of intensity in the regular season as the Cavs just did in the finals?  Curry's game is build for the regular season.  He needs like half an inch to get up a high percentage shot for himself.

 
Do you think teams will play with the type of intensity in the regular season as the Cavs just did in the finals?  Curry's game is build for the regular season.  He needs like half an inch to get up a high percentage shot for himself.
Agreed.  It's the same year after year, but the NBA refs games differently in the playoffs vs the regular season.  It was insane watching the amount of clutching and grabbing that was allowed on Curry and Thompson off the ball in the playoffs and the Cavs ramped that up to the highest level with rarely a foul called.  They simply don't allow that in the regular season, and right or wrong that difference was IMO the key to the Finals (along with Draymond's stupidity getting suspended).  

With that said, the Warriors played an extremely poor (horribly coached?) Game 7.  When a defense is that focused on not giving up the 3 to where they're extended five feet beyond the line yet you still end up taking half of your shots from deep, then you've played right into their hands. 

 
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I'm not trying to argue NYC as a tortured "city" but if you segment out the fanbases among the multiple teams, it can be really ####ty. Typically fanbases align Yankees/Giants and Mets/Jets so you have a big group of Mets/Jets/Knicks/Rangers who go back to 1994 for a title, or 1986 if they are Islanders fans. It's not tops but when you consider expectations and the amount of money spent, adding in that those fans have had to watch their Yankees/Giants fan friends celebrate 7 titles since then, it ain't very fun. 

 
Curry's problems going forward will start with how he's attacked on the defensive end.  It wasn't always just mismatches in the Finals either, although some might consider Curry defending Kyrie a mismatch.

 
Jayrod said:
So I have watched replays of The Block about 20 times today. 

I am still amazed at it. Every. Single. Time. 

Maybe the greatest defensive play I can ever remember. 
I jumped up and yelled "oh ####" when I watched it live. That's it no vested interest in either team.

 
Ok, I'm getting geeked up for the draft on Thursday.  It feels like there's going to be some action at the top with Philly, Boston, Phoenix, and Minnesota all as logical teams to make deals so that will hopefully add some intrigue at the start. 

Though the Wolves are in desperate need of shooters, I'm more and more on board with Dunn as well.  I do love Rubio, but the thought of Dunn as his successor as a lock down defender with a 6'9" wingspan able to guard two positions makes me drool.  The Wolves have sufficient scoring punch with Towns, Wiggins, and Lavine.   Adding Thibs and Dunn would give this team a much needed mentality change on the defensive end.  But damnit, we need shooters so wishlist is (1) Buddy (2a) Dunn (2b) Murray. 

 
I'd also factor in the Bills slowly drifting towards Toronto for a few years recently.  It had to be gut-wrenching to be facing the fact that Bills might just leave for Toronto.  How confident are we that the new Bills owner won't move to London?  Buffalo is such a tiny market that it must be tempting.
No chance

 
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Curry was really exposed the last two rounds. He's a great shooter whose range and release is just insane. He can have a long career overall, but his window of an mvp type player is small imo and may be over if people just abuse him on the other end of the court. 
Nah. He's going to be a great regular season player for many years to come. Players aren't playing an all-out, playoff intensity defense for 82 games. They don't care if he wants to launch 28 foot jumpers all day. And he's such a great shooter, that he'll rack up three after three after three. This season is going to be Curry's career in a nutshell. Unless he develops another skillset besides launching threes.

 
Nah. He's going to be a great regular season player for many years to come. Players aren't playing an all-out, playoff intensity defense for 82 games. They don't care if he wants to launch 28 foot jumpers all day. And he's such a great shooter, that he'll rack up three after three after three. This season is going to be Curry's career in a nutshell. Unless he develops another skillset besides launching threes.
You mean like being a tremendous finisher at the rim?

 
You mean like being a tremendous finisher at the rim?
I mean a lot of things. He was badly exposed in the post season. He's the league MVP and looked like just another guy in the playoffs. He certainly never looked to be on a Durant, Westbrook, James, Irvin level. And maybe that's what he'll always be. Still great for a skinny kid out of Davison.  But I think we all know now why so many people made comments after he won MVP this year. There are just so many players better than him who can take a game over.

 
I mean a lot of things. He was badly exposed in the post season. He's the league MVP and looked like just another guy in the playoffs. He certainly never looked to be on a Durant, Westbrook, James, Irvin level. And maybe that's what he'll always be. Still great for a skinny kid out of Davison.  But I think we all know now why so many people made comments after he won MVP this year. There are just so many players better than him who can take a game over.
Help me figure out what " Unless he develops another skillset besides launching threes" means then. What skill in particular should he develop?

 
Help me figure out what " Unless he develops another skillset besides launching threes" means then. What skill in particular should he develop?
I'm not a basketball trainer. Any skills that will make him look a good player even when his three pointers aren't falling. He's not getting wide open looks in the playoffs like teams give him for the 82 game regular season. You can't be a one trick pony once it becomes playoff time. Curry looked very ordinary against Cleveland and only slightly better against OKC. You could see who the true superstars of the game were in those two series. I'm sure Curry would like to be in that conversation one day.

 
I'm not a basketball trainer. Any skills that will make him look a good player even when his three pointers aren't falling. He's not getting wide open looks in the playoffs like teams give him for the 82 game regular season. You can't be a one trick pony once it becomes playoff time. Curry looked very ordinary against Cleveland and only slightly better against OKC. You could see who the true superstars of the game were in those two series. I'm sure Curry would like to be in that conversation one day.
So maybe if he become one of the best guards in the league at finishing at the rim? Both based on volume and %? Would that count?

 
Agreed.  It's the same year after year, but the NBA refs games differently in the playoffs vs the regular season.  It was insane watching the amount of clutching and grabbing that was allowed on Curry and Thompson off the ball in the playoffs and the Cavs ramped that up to the highest level with rarely a foul called.  They simply don't allow that in the regular season, and right or wrong that difference was IMO the key to the Finals (along with Draymond's stupidity getting suspended).  

With that said, the Warriors played an extremely poor (horribly coached?) Game 7.  When a defense is that focused on not giving up the 3 to where they're extended five feet beyond the line yet you still end up taking half of your shots from deep, then you've played right into their hands. 
As much as you think the refs didn't call fouls for holding Curry and Thompson, it was much worse to see the Cavs take it to the hoop hard and not get a foul call when getting hammered about 100 times in the series.  The series didn't start to be called evenly until game 4.

 
So maybe if he become one of the best guards in the league at finishing at the rim? Both based on volume and %? Would that count?
It's almost as if last year's title didn't count. I don't put Curry in LeBron's tier as a top all time player, but geez, acting like he sucks now is priceless.

 
Curry's problems going forward will start with how he's attacked on the defensive end.  It wasn't always just mismatches in the Finals either, although some might consider Curry defending Kyrie a mismatch.
I am willing to bet that, prior to this series, Curry wasn't thought of as much of a defender.  I do not think THIS series is going to blow up some light bulb in the head of 28 other coaches all of a sudden.

 
So maybe if he become one of the best guards in the league at finishing at the rim? Both based on volume and %? Would that count?
No. Maybe if he someday plays in a big series and looks like he's even half the player as the stars of the series are, that'll count. Not sure how much more simply I can break it down for you.

 
I'm not a basketball trainer. Any skills that will make him look a good player even when his three pointers aren't falling. He's not getting wide open looks in the playoffs like teams give him for the 82 game regular season. You can't be a one trick pony once it becomes playoff time. Curry looked very ordinary against Cleveland and only slightly better against OKC. You could see who the true superstars of the game were in those two series. I'm sure Curry would like to be in that conversation one day.
Curry had a substandard playoff run which I think was attributable primarily to the change in how the game is reffed in the playoffs and potentially to Curry's knee/shoulder issues. 

That said, it's ridiculous to discredit him as if his season wasn't worthy of being the league MVP.  His season individually was flat out silly, and his team's performance was historic.  To now say that he's not a "superstar" and would like to be one day is just flat moronic.  What's not accounted for in how poorly he played is how much attention and focus he draws and how non-statistically beneficial that is to the effectiveness of his team's offense.  He opens up the floor for his team like no other single player in the NBA does, and draws attention 100% of the time from the point when he crosses halfcourt like no other single player in the NBA does.  The fact that the Warriors didn't adjust to the clutching/grabbing and intense defensive pressure all the way out to 10 feet beyond the three point line is on Kerr just as much as the players IMO.  The simply didn't counter that pressure and figure out ways to effectively attack the rim and get easy looks inside the three point line when the look looks were unavailable beyond it.

 
No. Maybe if he someday plays in a big series and looks like he's even half the player as the stars of the series are, that'll count. Not sure how much more simply I can break it down for you.
Well, you said "Unless he develops another skillset besides launching threes". I'm just wondering what skillset you're talking about. Help me out.

 
I blame Kerr for Curry's struggles much more than I am blaming Curry for this one.  Warrior game plan was to shoot 3s as much as possible while the Cavs game plan was to do nothing but not let them shoot 3s.  The Warriors could have and should have had about 10 more easy 2 point scores per game. 

They never even gave themselves a chance to open things up more on the perimeter by getting some easy scores inside either by driving or posting someone.  Everything inside would have been 1 on 1.

 
It's almost as if last year's title didn't count. I don't put Curry in LeBron's tier as a top all time player, but geez, acting like he sucks now is priceless.
I don't think anyone is suggesting he sucks. In fact, I predicted more regular season MVPs for the guy.  I just think he's been exposed for not being one of the game's elite players. He IS one of the games' all-time great long distance shooters. And that can certainly be a dagger to his opponents. But playoff defense is a whole other level, and your shots become way more contested. And his defense made Kyrie Irvin look like Michael Jordan. He needs to work on that, too.

 
Cliff, let it go, fam. 

Moving forward, I have a real Saboner for Sabonis at #11. I hope he lasts that long. The more I see the more I like and I think he can thrive in today's NBA.

 
I am willing to bet that, prior to this series, Curry wasn't thought of as much of a defender.  I do not think THIS series is going to blow up some light bulb in the head of 28 other coaches all of a sudden.
Most people around here probably labeled him adequate and some probably above average pointing to steal stats or whatever.  

 
Curry had a substandard playoff run which I think was attributable primarily to the change in how the game is reffed in the playoffs and potentially to Curry's knee/shoulder issues. 

That said, it's ridiculous to discredit him as if his season wasn't worthy of being the league MVP.  His season individually was flat out silly, and his team's performance was historic.  To now say that he's not a "superstar" and would like to be one day is just flat moronic.  What's not accounted for in how poorly he played is how much attention and focus he draws and how non-statistically beneficial that is to the effectiveness of his team's offense.  He opens up the floor for his team like no other single player in the NBA does, and draws attention 100% of the time from the point when he crosses halfcourt like no other single player in the NBA does.  The fact that the Warriors didn't adjust to the clutching/grabbing and intense defensive pressure all the way out to 10 feet beyond the three point line is on Kerr just as much as the players IMO.  The simply didn't counter that pressure and figure out ways to effectively attack the rim and get easy looks inside the three point line when the look looks were unavailable beyond it.
He 100% deserved the MVP this year. You'll get no argument from me.

 
I'm not a basketball trainer. Any skills that will make him look a good player even when his three pointers aren't falling. He's not getting wide open looks in the playoffs like teams give him for the 82 game regular season. You can't be a one trick pony once it becomes playoff time. Curry looked very ordinary against Cleveland and only slightly better against OKC. You could see who the true superstars of the game were in those two series. I'm sure Curry would like to be in that conversation one day.
I know you aren't a basketball trainer, but did you miss last year's playoffs or the end of the OKC series? So, who were the true superstars in the OKC series when Curry led the Warriors to 3 straight wins to win the series? Is 33 points, 7.3 rebounds, 7.7 assists and 2.3 steals per game not well rounded enough in those 3 straight wins over the "true" superstars of Durant and Westbrook?

Seriously, we know he isn't LeBron, but he did win it last year and certainly wasn't a one trick pony in the 3 elimination games against OKC.

 
Ok, I'm getting geeked up for the draft on Thursday.  It feels like there's going to be some action at the top with Philly, Boston, Phoenix, and Minnesota all as logical teams to make deals so that will hopefully add some intrigue at the start. 

Though the Wolves are in desperate need of shooters, I'm more and more on board with Dunn as well.  I do love Rubio, but the thought of Dunn as his successor as a lock down defender with a 6'9" wingspan able to guard two positions makes me drool.  The Wolves have sufficient scoring punch with Towns, Wiggins, and Lavine.   Adding Thibs and Dunn would give this team a much needed mentality change on the defensive end.  But damnit, we need shooters so wishlist is (1) Buddy (2a) Dunn (2b) Murray. 
Its Buddy, Murray, then Dunn for me.  I could potentially see Murray ahead of Hield if they like the ball handling more, but they shouldn't overthink this imo.  Get the best possible 3 point shooter you can.

 
No. Maybe if he someday plays in a big series and looks like he's even half the player as the stars of the series are, that'll count. Not sure how much more simply I can break it down for you.
See my post above. You mentioned the true superstars in the OKC series. Did you watch the last 3 games? Pretty sure Curry looked more than half as good as the stars in that series. Curry looked fine in last year's Finals as well. Cleveland played very well on D this series and LeBron is and always was a better all around player. Curry is one of the superstars in the NBA right now, to say he isn't is just silly.

 
Cliff, let it go, fam. 

Moving forward, I have a real Saboner for Sabonis at #11. I hope he lasts that long. The more I see the more I like and I think he can thrive in today's NBA.
Love Sabonis' game.  Would much prefer him to Poeltl or Labissiere.

 
Love the Curry overreactions.  Guy was clearly worn down to the nub, but was a possession or two away from back to back titles.   Since he didn't win it's all OMG HE NEEDS TO CHANGE EVERYTHING OR HE'S GOING TO BE POOP.

 
Its Buddy, Murray, then Dunn for me.  I could potentially see Murray ahead of Hield if they like the ball handling more, but they shouldn't overthink this imo.  Get the best possible 3 point shooter you can.
I'm on board with that.  Was simply expressing that my two player Wolves wish list of Hield/Murray has been expanded to include Dunn, which shows how much I love his D with the Wolves so desperate for shooters.  If we end up with one of those three in thrilled, especially if it's Buddy.  Anything else and I can't imagine not being frustrated.

 
I'm desperately hoping Toronto can trade some package of 9, 27, and a second rounder and move into the top 8....which means it probably doesn't happen.  Pretty frustrating having the 9th pick in an 8-player draft.  But then I remember that instead of the 9th pick would could still have Andrea Bargnani and I get happy again.

 
Buddy shoots and scores well enough already that it seems silly to hold his age against him.  As an aggressive shooting guard he should be able to average 15ppg at least right away, which is kind of where you hope a 19 year old ends up by his 3rd season. 

 

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