Going Commando Posted August 15, 2016 Share Posted August 15, 2016 I don't blame CP3 and LeBron for sitting this Olympics out. They've done their time for Team USA and they're at an age when it's a serious burden. LeBron's record is unimpeachable now, he earned a break. I also don't blame Davis and Griffin for backing out because I believe their medical conditions were serious. Neither are essential players at this point. But I do blame Curry, Westbrook, Leonard, and Harden for screwing over the team and backing out. They're healthy and in their prime. They're considered four of the top seven players in the game and enjoy all of the privileges and brand equity that comes from that status. Their franchises get to enjoy all of the perks that come from the power of their individual brands. The least they could do in return is suck it up and play in an international tournament that is like a month long commitment once every four years. Not like they're sleeping in those crappy dorms either, they're staying on a luxury cruise ship in a beautiful Latin American port city. By the same token, I commend Melo, Durant, and especially Paul George for going and carrying this lousy team. This is probably as good as it gets for Melo from here on out, but Durant could have easily used the excuse of his FA to back out. And I wouldn't have blamed George for never playing for Team USA again after what happened in 2014. Good for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momma There Goes That Man Posted August 15, 2016 Share Posted August 15, 2016 Curry just messed up his knee and ankle while getting bullied all postseason. Why would he give up healing and rest time for the olympics? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Sinister Posted August 15, 2016 Share Posted August 15, 2016 1 minute ago, Momma There Goes That Man said: Curry just messed up his knee and ankle while getting bullied all postseason. Why would he give up healing and rest time for the olympics? We're talking about mcqueen here... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRobi21 Posted August 16, 2016 Share Posted August 16, 2016 Hell naww Jaaaaames... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TradeTheBeal! Posted August 16, 2016 Share Posted August 16, 2016 I know I'm a Boy Scout. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Destino Posted August 16, 2016 Share Posted August 16, 2016 Stay hungry James Harden. Work on your craft, believe in yourself, and next year you'll attempt more free throws than ever before. #stayfouled 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Going Commando Posted August 16, 2016 Share Posted August 16, 2016 14 hours ago, Momma There Goes That Man said: Curry just messed up his knee and ankle while getting bullied all postseason. Why would he give up healing and rest time for the olympics? He claimed he was fully healthy during the Portland series. Remember "I'm Back"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Sinister Posted August 16, 2016 Share Posted August 16, 2016 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TradeTheBeal! Posted August 17, 2016 Share Posted August 17, 2016 Durant in terminator mode. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray-Ban Dan Posted August 18, 2016 Share Posted August 18, 2016 On August 15, 2016 at 1:55 PM, Ray-Ban Dan said: What I'm saying is the USA's troubles are mainly on the defensive end. If you recall, they were blowing out teams early in the tournament (and pre-Rio in the qualifiers). Now they are giving up 97 and 91 points to scrub teams like France and Serbia. That just can't happen. When they get serious again about playing D, these conversations will go away. And I say when, not if. Because I think K will eventually get them going on that end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TradeTheBeal! Posted August 21, 2016 Share Posted August 21, 2016 Time to get that gold! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RonArtest15 Posted September 29, 2016 Author Share Posted September 29, 2016 Annnnnd we're back! Training camps are under way and I can't wait for the season to get started in a few weeks. Any predictions going forward? MVP: Russell Westbrook DPOY: Kawhi Leonard ROY: Kris Dunn Sixth Man of the Year: Jamal Crawford Most Improved Player: Kelly Oubre Coach of the Year: Steve Kerr All-NBA 1st Team: G Russell Westbrook G Chris Paul F Lebron James F Kevin Durant C Demarcus Cousins East: 1. Cleveland 2. Boston 3. Detroit 4. Charlotte 5. Toronto 6. Atlanta 7. Indy 8. Washington West: 1. Golden State 2. LA Clippers 3. San Antonio 4. Portland 5. Dallas 6. OKC 7. Memphis 8. Minnesota Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dont Taze Me Bro Posted September 29, 2016 Share Posted September 29, 2016 1 hour ago, RonArtest15 said: Annnnnd we're back! Training camps are under way and I can't wait for the season to get started in a few weeks. Any predictions going forward? East: 1. Cleveland 2. Boston 3. Detroit4. Charlotte 5. Toronto 6. Atlanta 7. Indy 8. Washington As much as I would love to see this happen, no way the Hornets are the #4 seed out of the east. We lost Big Al, Lee and Lin in free agency. I'm thinking my Hornets will be lucky to grab a 7 or 8 seed and if they have any injuries, missing the playoffs all together. I think a lot of it depends on MKG's health because in the six games him and Batum played in together, they were +12.4. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RonArtest15 Posted September 29, 2016 Author Share Posted September 29, 2016 1 minute ago, Dont Taze Me Bro said: As much as I would love to see this happen, no way the Hornets are the #4 seed out of the east. We lost Big Al, Lee and Lin in free agency. I'm thinking my Hornets will be lucky to grab a 7 or 8 seed and if they have any injuries, missing the playoffs all together. I think a lot of it depends on MKG's health because in the six games him and Batum played in together, they were +12.4. You might be right...and probably are LOL. I could put Toronto in that 4 spot, and leave 5-8 for teams like Charlotte, Washington, Indy, and Atlanta. Wouldn't be shocked at any of those teams being in those seeds. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Sinister Posted September 29, 2016 Share Posted September 29, 2016 (edited) Yeah, I predict this year is going to suck.... Maybe we show some dignity and put up a fight for the 8 spot. Maybe we descend into darkness... Least intriguing overall season that I can remember. GS and LeBron will be the two top seeds, and no one else really matters Russell Unchained should be pretty fun. I think he leads the league in scoring. Indy and Boston and Detroit might be able to make LeBron sweat a little, but I doubt they do anything more than that Edited September 29, 2016 by Mr. Sinister Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Going Commando Posted September 29, 2016 Share Posted September 29, 2016 West 1 - Golden State 2 - San Antonio 3 - Clippers 4 - Oklahoma City 5 - Portland 6 - Memphis 7 - Utah 8 - New Orleans East 1 - Cleveland 2 - Boston 3 - Toronto 4 - Atlanta 5 - Chicago 6 - Indy 7 - Washington 8 - New York All NBA 1st Team G - Curry G - Westbrook F - Durant F - LeBron C - Cousins MVP = Westbrook COY = Brad Stevens DPOY = Rudy Gobert MIP = Giannis Antetokounpo ROY = Ben Simmons Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Sinister Posted September 29, 2016 Share Posted September 29, 2016 (edited) Everything I know tells me LAC could finally somehow miraculously get over the jump this year and maybe make a WCF, but whatever supernatural forces that are plaguing them will probably make Chris Paul fall down a flight of stairs and rip his knee in half, and Blake Griffin to punch a wall and break his hand come playoff time. Seriously, they had GS served up on a platter, and couldn't advance. That was probably their one shot. Someone on GS will win mvp. My coach of the year is Brad. You love Brad. Edited September 29, 2016 by Mr. Sinister Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Predicto Posted September 29, 2016 Share Posted September 29, 2016 I think Boston is going to be really good. Al Horford is a huge, huge upgrade on the front line, and their depth is going to wear people out. Seriously, Horford is going to be a monster for them. I don't know if it will be enough to dethrone Lebron, but I think it's going to be a lot closer than most people think. But there is a big drop-off in the east after those two teams. Every other team is basically a one-man show. The West has 3 deep powerhouse teams at the top in GS, SA and LAC. Westbrook is going to fill up the stat sheet, but OKC is going to drop a lot without KD and Ibaka. I expect Portland to fall back a bit. I expect big improvement from Utah and especially Minnesota, and I think Memphis will find a fountain of youth for another year or two. MVP - Westbrook or Karl-Anthony Towns COY - Tom Thibodeau DPOY - Kawhi MIP - Julius Randle ROY - Buddy Hield Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Sinister Posted September 29, 2016 Share Posted September 29, 2016 Towns for mvp is bold. Very bold. Not that I think he won't be that good, but because there are so many teams ahead of Minnesota that will feature great players. I can see them starting slow, adjustinto Thibs style of coaching, but finishing strong in the second half Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Do Itch Big Posted September 29, 2016 Share Posted September 29, 2016 82-0 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Predicto Posted September 29, 2016 Share Posted September 29, 2016 1 hour ago, Mr. Sinister said: Towns for mvp is bold. Very bold. Not that I think he won't be that good, but because there are so many teams ahead of Minnesota that will feature great players. I can see them starting slow, adjustinto Thibs style of coaching, but finishing strong in the second half I picked Towns because Minnesota is going to make a big improvement and Thibo will make Towns the centerpiece. Westbrook might score 40 points a game,but the team is going to win less and he might shoot under 40%. Not enough basketballs to go around for Curry or Durant to get MVP. Lebron was probably the safest pick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Sinister Posted September 29, 2016 Share Posted September 29, 2016 I think he'll be really good, but I just can't see a second year man winning MVP. Not unless he puts up staggering numbers, and they are a top 4 seed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Going Commando Posted September 29, 2016 Share Posted September 29, 2016 I agree with Mr Sinister, I can't see Towns winning MVP either. He'll put up great individual numbers, similar to what Anthony Davis did two years ago, but both he and his team are too young to know how to win yet. If Towns had come into the NBA as a 22 year old senior like David Robinson or Tim Duncan, I'd say it'd be a lot more feasible to win the MVP during his second year. But he's still a baby by NBA standards. Expectations for him and the Timberwolves are unreasonably high this season. People tend to jump the gun when phenoms like him come into the league and then they sour on the player when they hit walls or have setbacks and don't win enough immediately. We're kind of going through that cycle with Anthony Davis right now. I hope people are patient with both Towns and that Minnesota team. They should be really special one day but it's going to take a minute for them to grow into a championship caliber team. I think LeBron and Westbrook are two easy choices for MVP. Westbrook is going to come extremely close to averaging a triple double while leading the league in scoring and cement his legacy as the Oscar Robertson of our time. This is him at his absolute peak, I'm going to enjoy and appreciate his season even though it will happen in the context of playing for a hopeless team. If not Westbrook, it will probably be Kawhi. His team should be second or third in wins and he's the clear cut leader and best player. He does it all too. Zero holes in his game. Incredibly high IQ player. Excels in big games and moments. You certainly can't ding for his defense like you can with Westbrook, Durant, Curry, Harden, etc. I think Blake Griffin and Anthony Davis both have a good shot at winning MVP too. But for Davis to do it, New Orleans is going to have to make a major leap as a team. I also think this is the year that Damian Lillard becomes a dominant offensive player and starts to challenge Steph Curry as an equal. I think he gets overlooked a bit because he plays in Portland. There is so much Curry in his game that I could see him making the incredible leap that Curry did two years ago. He's really cool too. He could be one of the league's most popular and marketable players real soon. Back to Minnesota, I think Andrew Wiggins is a very good candidate for MIP. He was starting to figure it out last season and he's going to be Minny's Jimmy Butler. Perfect fit with Thibs. At first I thought he was going to be Vince Carter 2.0, with all the good and bad that entails. But he is a much more reserved and disciplined player than Vince was and I think he'll thrive with Thibs's hard coaching style. Hmm, agreed with everyone else about Boston. They're a great bet for the one or two seed IMO. Horford was a huge get for them, they're going to win a ton of regular season games. That is a team full of winners. I could see them winning 60+ like Atlanta did two seasons ago. I think Indy could also surprise some people. Paul George is in his prime and I think this is the year he finally puts it all together and plays at an MVP level for the entire season. In fact, I think he might end up finishing third or fourth in MVP voting behind Westbrook, Leonard, and maybe Blake Griffin. The one hesitation I have about predicting LeBron to win the MVP is that I think he is going to enter a Shaq or Tim Duncan-like phase of his career where he spends a lot of the regular season resting and playing restricted minutes. I think his MVP-winning days are behind him. He's played a TON of minutes and it's going to be Cleveland's job to keep him healthy and fresh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Predicto Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 Anthony Davis is great, but Minnesota has a ton more talent than New Orleans does. I don't expect to see them in the Finals, but I do expect to see them in the top 5 or so in the west. Towns will get more credit than Davis because of this alone. Kawhi is a good MVP possibility, you are right. Blake too. Still rolling the dice on Towns. He may have been a rookie last year, but he plays like a seasoned vet already. Indy is a one man team. George is fantastic, but they aren't surprising anyone until he gets more help. And cmon now son. I love Damian Lillard, he's great, he should have been an all-star, but he's not close to equal to Steph. He's the same style player as Steph but Steph is better at every single aspect of the game. Step is a better passer and gets more assists despite not dominating the ball the way Dame does for Portland. Steph is a better rebounder, is a better on-ball defender and he gets more steals. Most importantly, Steph is a significantly, significantly better shooter. Dame can get hot as lava for stretches, but overall he shot .426 for the season (.450 from two point range and .370 from three point range.) Meanwhile, Steph basically obliterated all single season shooting records in existence last year. .566 from two point range and .454 from three point range. Statistically, Steph was the best finisher in the NBA around the rim last year, while at the same time being the best single season outside shooter in NBA history. I don't think Lillard can come close to doing that. Heck, I'm not sure if Curry can come close to doing it ever again. But he still will be a lot better than Lillard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Sinister Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 Wonder what happens with the Lakers. Even if they ride this out and try to develop these guys im still not sure if the end result is anything other than a pretty good, but not contender level team. Westbrook could be in play again in the future, but they are not the destination they used to be, and their management is horrid. Could be awhile before they return (if they ever do) ,to championship quality Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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