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NBA 2021


DireWolfSpirit

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7 minutes ago, DireWolfSpirit said:

I don't think I could confidently predict who wins the championship this year.

The Nets, Sixers, Bucks out of the East

And in the West you have Lakers, Jazz, or maybe Clippers get hot?

It's very much in question who prevails imo.

It's a very open year., which is fun.  Definitely some luck of the draw wrt matchups that is pretty interesting.  I think that the 1 seed in the East is very valuable, since the dropoff after the Nets/Sixers/Bucks is pretty steep.  In the West I feel like there are four real teams in Denver, Utah, LAC and LAL, so the seeds are less crucial (although if the Suns stick around that could complicate the math). 

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30 minutes ago, DireWolfSpirit said:

Phoenix like that dark horse that could throw the wrench in the works.

Bring on the 2nd half.

Hard to imagine the Suns winning a playoff series, but if they could hold on to a top 3 seed, they could definitely screw things up for someone.  Like if the Top 5 were:  Utah, LAC, PHO, DEN, LAL, then you have Denver vs LAL in the first round, and three of the top four on the same side of the bracket, with LAC sitting pretty with a clear path to the conference finals. 

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Next up, Durant:

Finally after this we get the Curry video. I can't think too many more will be coming after that (Giannis, Harden Kawhi and Westbrook seem like obvious candidates, but after that I'm not sure there's much left to mine unless they go back and look at players they may have skipped over).

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47 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said:

Finally after this we get the Curry video. I can't think too many more will be coming after that (Giannis, Harden Kawhi and Westbrook seem like obvious candidates, but after that I'm not sure there's much left to mine unless they go back and look at players they may have skipped over).

I am curious what element of their games would prompt Ben to include a video on Harden, Leonard, or Westbrook.  Giannis seems the most likely to me of these four, given that he forces opponents to utterly alter their game plan to contain him.  Westbrook's Triple-Double season was a triumph of counting stats, but I suspect that the advanced metrics are not as high on those other three.

The discussion of Durant seems to me to be summarized as, "He has the perfect build for a basketball player, and furthermore he has maximized his skills and potential."  While Ben doesn't necessarily talk about intangibles, for some reason the Durant video left me feeling like he doesn't think KD has the competitive mentality or leadership of some of the other featured Peak Players.  The video seemed narrowly focused on Durant's technical performances.

On the other hand, the pun game was strong in this one, and I liked "The Slim Reaper" and "Durantula" as nicknames.

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28 minutes ago, Wilbur said:

I am curious what element of their games would prompt Ben to include a video on Harden, Leonard, or Westbrook.  Giannis seems the most likely to me of these four, given that he forces opponents to utterly alter their game plan to contain him.  Westbrook's Triple-Double season was a triumph of counting stats, but I suspect that the advanced metrics are not as high on those other three.

Harden might actually be the most interesting of the four to do a video on. Not exactly sure how he'd approach Kawhi. I was just throwing out a few names though because there's not a lot more to examine if this is a linear series.

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The discussion of Durant seems to me to be summarized as, "He has the perfect build for a basketball player, and furthermore he has maximized his skills and potential."  While Ben doesn't necessarily talk about intangibles, for some reason the Durant video left me feeling like he doesn't think KD has the competitive mentality or leadership of some of the other featured Peak Players.  The video seemed narrowly focused on Durant's technical performances.

I think you may just be applying a common narrative to him because the video doesn't shoot it down. The better and more accurate critique the video raised is that he needs a primary facilitator, which most stars do TBF. 

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On the other hand, the pun game was strong in this one, and I liked "The Slim Reaper" and "Durantula" as nicknames.

Never liked that he rejected The Slim Reaper as a nickname. I forget the stupid name he tried to give himself, so I'm glad that never stuck.

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34 minutes ago, Rhom said:

They are good!  Can’t really tell them from Fruit Loops! :lol: 

:lol: 

Thanks. Guess its just the packaging then.

 

I'm really down on the Clippers. They are a good team on paper, but it feels like when the going gets tough, the team stops functioning and it becomes five individuals on the court, often ending with Kawhi or PG forcing things. Maybe its just that one game I watched, but Kawhi had something like five assists in the first quarter and zero in the second half. It wasn't because of his teammates not making shots. He just stopped passing entirely. Putting that together with the Nuggets series last year makes me sour on the team.

Lakers are doing horribly without AD. When is he getting back?

Nuggets and Jazz will get slaughtered by the referees. They need to crush the opposition or they're not winning anything.

The East is interesting. Its the Bucks/Sixers/Nets, but the underperforming Raptors/Heat/Celtics might make a comeback. They seemed to be hit harder by injuries and Covid so things might change as they recover.

I think its worrying that the Bucks are following the trajectory of Budenholzer's Hawks in the regular season. Granted they still have Giannis and they had people out of the lineup, but its hard not to wonder if there are parallels between the two teams, especially given their post season failures.

Durant or Harden can probably carry a team by themselves. Its just a matter of diminishing returns vs how much they can refine their offense with Harden. Its good for them that Kyrie has deferred to Harden I suppose. Not sure how washed Griffin is or isn't. I think Cousins is available as well, but it might be awkward after the spat with Harden in Houston.

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2 hours ago, Tywin et al. said:

Never liked that he rejected The Slim Reaper as a nickname. I forget the stupid name he tried to give himself, so I'm glad that never stuck.

"The Servant"

Also: 

 

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