Going Commando Posted March 13, 2015 Share Posted March 13, 2015 Indy is 9-1 in their last 10 games. If Paul George comes back in time for the playoffs, that's a team I wouldn't want to mess with. They'd be the only postseason tested team in the East. Big picture though, this was the perfect opportunity for them to tank for a season and then bounce back better next year. A winning team with an extant star in Paul George. No major needs, but they could use upgrades at both guard spots and a long term solution at PF or C. They could have been the perfect team for Deangelo Russell IMO. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterMP Posted March 13, 2015 Share Posted March 13, 2015 (edited) If he stays healthy, Noel is going to be a better player than Camby. He is going to be able to legitimately guard 1-5 many nights in a manner that Camby never could. Even given that, unless offense drastically improves he's going to have to find just the right fit to reach his maximum value and if Embiid is healthy that isn't likely the Sixers. I wouldn't be shocked if he gets traded (and that goes from up to the draft this year through to up to next years draft). Beyond making his shot what sets Noah apart is his ability to pass. Noah is more than a willing passer, he's a gifted passer. Over the last several seasons, he's making like 20% of his teams assists with a 2:1 assists:TO ratio. Camby didn't have that type of ability, and I doubt Noel will. Whoever were Noel's coaches growing up and even in high school should be banned from coaching kids. They did him a real disservice. It isn't even he's a blank slate. It is worse than that. If there's a bad thing you can do in terms of having the ball in your hand as an offensive player, he does it. **EDIT** The upside for Noel is he's still young, and he at least appears to be willing to work hard. I'd not be shocked if he puts together a useful NBA offensive repertoire. Edited March 13, 2015 by PeterMP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Do Itch Big Posted March 13, 2015 Share Posted March 13, 2015 Kyrie with 57 tonight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRAVEONTHEWARPATH93 Posted March 13, 2015 Share Posted March 13, 2015 Kyrie vs Wall. I've always been team Wall but damn...Kyrie is making me think Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skin'emAlive Posted March 13, 2015 Share Posted March 13, 2015 Kyrie vs Wall. I've always been team Wall but damn...Kyrie is making me think Dude gets an easy pass. Hes out there playing with the best in the world, and Kevin Love. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Going Commando Posted March 13, 2015 Share Posted March 13, 2015 Second best in the world. But yeah, the Wall vs Kyrie argument died when Kyrie got two new All NBA players on his team. His chance to lead them from the dumpster to the playoffs like Wall did ended there. Maybe if Durant ends up in D.C. you can renew the comparison based on who is the better sidekick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcsluggo Posted March 13, 2015 Share Posted March 13, 2015 (edited) Second best in the world. But yeah, the Wall vs Kyrie argument died when Kyrie got two new All NBA players on his team. His chance to lead them from the dumpster to the playoffs like Wall did ended there. Maybe if Durant ends up in D.C. you can renew the comparison based on who is the better sidekick. that is the worst argument ever ---- edit: i take it back... SECOND worst argument ever. The worst argument ever is " so-and-so is great...because his team keeps on winning" (while ignoring the players around him, that are also winning) --- OR, the corollary ----: " so-and-so is the suck...because his team keeps on not-winning" (while ignoring the players around him, that are also not-winning) but this argument : "so-and-so CAN'T be any good, because he has good players all around him screeches in at a close second (note --- this objection is levied WITHOUT any actual claim that Kyrie is any good ) Edited March 13, 2015 by mcsluggo 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skin'emAlive Posted March 13, 2015 Share Posted March 13, 2015 Second best in the world. Nah, Lebron is and has been the best for arguably the last decade. Seriously, i like Durant and others. But only one man can play the power point in the league. Its just a skill set that no one else has. On top of that, hes a really smart player who enjoys passing as much as he enjoys shooting. I cant stand him, but theres no denying him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Going Commando Posted March 13, 2015 Share Posted March 13, 2015 Nah, Lebron is and has been the best for arguably the last decade. Seriously, i like Durant and others. But only one man can play the power point in the league. Its just a skill set that no one else has. On top of that, hes a really smart player who enjoys passing as much as he enjoys shooting. I cant stand him, but theres no denying him. Durant passed him last season. He's been hurt all year so he didn't have a lot of time to settle into his throne. But when he gets back and healthy again, I think it'll become pretty clear he's still the best player in the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Sinister Posted March 13, 2015 Share Posted March 13, 2015 Durant passed him last season. He's been hurt all year so he didn't have a lot of time to settle into his throne. But when he gets back and healthy again, I think it'll become pretty clear he's still the best player in the world. Lol. Im done. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Going Commando Posted March 13, 2015 Share Posted March 13, 2015 that is the worst argument ever ---- edit: i take it back... SECOND worst argument ever. The worst argument ever is " so-and-so is great...because his team keeps on winning" (while ignoring the players around him, that are also winning) --- OR, the corollary ----: " so-and-so is the suck...because his team keeps on not-winning" (while ignoring the players around him, that are also not-winning) but this argument : "so-and-so CAN'T be any good, because he has good players all around him screeches in at a close second (note --- this objection is levied WITHOUT any actual claim that Kyrie is any good ) OK, I'll make my claims more explicit: Kyrie's teams were trash and he was a stagnating, one dimensional player and piss poor leader before LeBron James showed up and saved his career in Cleveland, plus they also happened to get an All NBA power forward too. Wall, OTOH, carried the Wizards from the dumpster to the playoffs on his back. He's got one of the worst coaches in the league and a team full of role players who are either years away from being legitimate All Star caliber sidekicks, or years past it. In terms of leadership and all around level of play, it's not close between Kyrie and Wall. And Kyrie lost his chance to prove he can do what Wall does when he became LeBron's sidekick. Lol. Im done. True or false, Durant was better than LeBron last year? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skin'emAlive Posted March 13, 2015 Share Posted March 13, 2015 False. Lebron was in the midst of a 3 peat, while also playing the Olympics. Dude was worn out from the billion games he played. Durant had a great stretch of offense last year, deserving of the MVP. But he is not the best, and wont be until Lebron loses a step or retires. But by then, Ant might possibly surpass him though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcsluggo Posted March 13, 2015 Share Posted March 13, 2015 True or false, Durant was better than LeBron last year? true or false... you would take Tony Delk over EITHER of them on January 2, 2001 ? http://www.nba.com/video/channels/originals/2012/08/22/50pt_game_tony_delk.nba/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Going Commando Posted March 13, 2015 Share Posted March 13, 2015 False. Lebron was in the midst of a 3 peat, while also playing the Olympics. Dude was worn out from the billion games he played. Durant had a great stretch of offense last year, deserving of the MVP. But he is not the best, and wont be until Lebron loses a step or retires. But by then, Ant might possibly surpass him though. LeBron has lost a step already. He lost it last year when he went from being one of the best defensive players in the game to just a guy. He's also not nearly the threat to attack the rim he used to be and all of his shooting percentages have fallen off this season. Durant was better than LeBron in just about every way last season: shooting and scoring, rebounding, defense. And for all of the credit LeBron deservedly gets as a playmaking forward, Durant still had almost as many assists as him despite the fact he isn't a regular point forward. Now maybe you are right on the basis that Durant doesn't ever really come back from his foot injury. But I don't expect that. The Durant of last year is better than the current LeBron and there is no reason to expect that dynamic to change against because Durant is entering his prime and LeBron is exiting his. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrypticVillain Posted March 13, 2015 Share Posted March 13, 2015 I think Lebron is a casualty of his own greatness. He went for 31 and 7 last night, and he made it look easy. He was the best last year, he's still the best this year. I love KD, that's my dude. But he was never better than Lebron as far as an overall player. Here it is March 13th, and I have no idea who is my favorites for the NBA title. Do I really think the Warriors and Hawks are the best teams in the league? I don't know. Is the Spurs playing in neutral with the rest of the league playing in drive? I don't know. Will KD come back in time to make OKC a serious threat? Don't know. Not knowing is a good thing. We're going to be in for a ride this playoffs. Even when there is a heavy favorite, the NBA has the best playoffs (Maybe a tie with NHL), but I can imagine how insane it's going to be with no clear cut favorite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Going Commando Posted March 13, 2015 Share Posted March 13, 2015 I'm sorry to be a dick, but this isn't really a debate. Anyone who thinks LeBron was better than Durant last season has either forgotten the details of last season or wasn't really paying attention. LeBron is not the player he was from 2010-2013. He wasn't that player last season and he really isn't that player this season. He's still probably the second best overall player in the league, but the gap between him and the next group of Russell Westbrook, Steph Curry, Chris Paul, Anthony Davis, and James Harden isn't very big where two years ago it was an ocean. Curry, Harden, Davis, and Westbrook have actually been outperforming him this season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skin'emAlive Posted March 13, 2015 Share Posted March 13, 2015 LeBron has lost a step already. He lost it last year when he went from being one of the best defensive players in the game to just a guy. He's also not nearly the threat to attack the rim he used to be and all of his shooting percentages have fallen off this season. Durant was better than LeBron in just about every way last season: shooting and scoring, rebounding, defense. And for all of the credit LeBron deservedly gets as a playmaking forward, Durant still had almost as many assists as him despite the fact he isn't a regular point forward. Now maybe you are right on the basis that Durant doesn't ever really come back from his foot injury. But I don't expect that. The Durant of last year is better than the current LeBron and there is no reason to expect that dynamic to change against because Durant is entering his prime and LeBron is exiting his. His shooting percentages were absolutely ridiculous the years prior in Miami. Spoelstra is a top tier coach who increased Lebron's game so much that he had 4 straight finals appearances. Thats significant. Even if they fell off a bit, its still pretty great. Even with his "falling off" he is still 1 point off the leage lead for ppg at 26.1, and hes getting better every game. Look, i hate talking positively about Lebron. But he's the best around. Everyone else is just trying to catch up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Going Commando Posted March 13, 2015 Share Posted March 13, 2015 (edited) I think one thing that's surprised people is that LeBron's lost a step faster than people expected him too. Two years ago, I remember people claiming he was a cyborg who'd be in his mid 30s before he started declining athletically. Nevermind that that hairline said different... JK, but I do think LeBron's prime was majorly shortened by playing way too many minutes too early in his career. I think the same happened to both Dwight and CP3, who wasn't ever quite the same after his meniscus injury. Dwight's never been Orlando Dwight again either after his back injury. And I think the same will happen to Kevin Durant, though I think his shooting ability and his height will let him last a little longer than LeBron, Dwight, and CP3. The schedule hasn't changed in forever. Travel has gotten much more comfortable than it used to be. Medical science has become a great deal more advanced. Even the floors they run and train on are so much better for your body. By those factors, shouldn't your star NBA player's athletic prime be lasting a lot longer? But we're not really seeing that. Only the high skill guys like Dirk, Kobe, Pierce, and Duncan have aged very well deep into their 30s. The minutes that young star players get are shortening their careers. Karl Malone was a 22 year old rookie when he played 2500 NBA minutes for the first time. LeBron was a 19 year old and played 3,100 minutes and the next year led the league with an absurd 3,400 minutes. His third season he logged another 3,400 regular season minutes plus another 600 in the playoffs. By the time LeBron was the age that Karl Malone was his rookie year, he'd already played almost 11,000 minutes in the NBA. That's like five full seasons as a regular starter. That's absurd and I think it ruined his longevity. Edited March 13, 2015 by stevemcqueen1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EvilMonkeyBoy Posted March 13, 2015 Share Posted March 13, 2015 Still laughing at anyone who said the LeBrontourage was going to have Blatt fired by the time March rolled around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Going Commando Posted March 13, 2015 Share Posted March 13, 2015 Derrick Rose is another one who played over 10,000 minutes in his first three seasons. Came into the league as a 20 year old too. NBA players don't get their man strength until they get closer to their mid 20s. Even a tank like LeBron. I think it's a major detriment for a player who isn't as physically mature as a lot of his teammates and opponents to be banging around for 3,000 minutes every season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RonArtest15 Posted March 13, 2015 Author Share Posted March 13, 2015 Still laughing at anyone who said the LeBrontourage was going to have Blatt fired by the time March rolled around. It was dicey for a minute. Don't kid yourself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EvilMonkeyBoy Posted March 13, 2015 Share Posted March 13, 2015 It really wasn't though. Unless you actively want to ignore everything every person in that organization had been saying since the offseason and instead go with a narrative that was constructed from parsing a single post-game quote. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcsluggo Posted March 15, 2015 Share Posted March 15, 2015 http://www.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on-basketball/25107903/charles-oakley-nba-has-more-bad-games-than-good-games this is hilarious to me .. from a guy from the absolute most un-watchable era of the NBA.. and a player on the team that single highhandedly tried to kill the league and turn it into butt soup. those Miami v NY games were an affront against the basketball gods. he, and all his team-mates should be struck down by lightening bolts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Going Commando Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 Anthony Davis dropped 36 & 14 with 7 assists and 9 blocks. In a double OT loss no less, talk about demoralizing. He's a PER machine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StillUnknown Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 Anthony Davis dropped 36 & 14 with 7 assists and 9 blocks. In a double OT loss no less, talk about demoralizing. He's a PER machine. He's not from our planet. He's a walking basketball experimentation formed by a higher power. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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