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NBA continued- Replacement players and the flat earther Road Warrior


DireWolfSpirit

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7 hours ago, briantw said:

The Warriors also got really lucky in that they signed Curry to a very team friendly deal before he became one of the best players in the game, so his contract became a massive value that I don’t think the team could have possibly anticipated. 

Not if you listen to Joe Lacob.  In his mind the Warriors' success is all about the Silicon Valley mindset and superior expertise.

Although how designing and manufacturing semiconductors somehow results in winning basketball is a little Black Box for me - I feel like maybe there are some missing ingredients or steps in the process, like the team-friendly deal you mention.

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While I don't disagree with the luck part, which every team that has won probably had their fair share of, the phrasing "team friendly" puts me off a bit. There's no question that Curry massively outperformed his contract, but to me team friendly implies that it was discounted when a player signs the contract or a team trades for a player. There's a slight difference in nuance. I'd think that everyone including Curry thought that the contract was fair given his injury history at that point in time.

I suppose if GSW management wants credit, they can claim it from trading for Ellis for Bogut? Not sure where Klay fits in the timeline but they might have been another version of Lillard/McCollum.

That said, as much value as they got from Draymond/Klay/Curry, they were also paying Bogut and David Lee max contracts at that point. Not the best use of cap space although I think Bogut did put in solid minutes when he wasn't injured. 

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A Raptors fan over on another basketball forum said he was at the Heat game, and that Lowry had been mercilessly chirping at that ref for several minutes prior. So the only slightly harder than necessary pass looked incredibly minor, but was seen as the final slight against the ref to earn a second technical.

Just read that your Wolves have something like a +50 point differential with their current starters of choice (Bev/Ant/KAT/Russel/that other guy) and are 9-2 if those five are the starters. Positivity in the Twin Cities!

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16 hours ago, Tywin et al. said:

I'd say it was mostly luck. Lacob has always come off to me as the guy playing craps who roles five straight sevens and thinks it happened because of him. 

The real question is, if Durant doesn't go there, do they win more than one title?

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7 hours ago, Argonath Diver said:

A Raptors fan over on another basketball forum said he was at the Heat game, and that Lowry had been mercilessly chirping at that ref for several minutes prior. So the only slightly harder than necessary pass looked incredibly minor, but was seen as the final slight against the ref to earn a second technical.

Still seems harsh. He tossed the ball to the ref imo just like any other player would do, and it's not like Lowry is some guy with a history. 

Quote

Just read that your Wolves have something like a +50 point differential with their current starters of choice (Bev/Ant/KAT/Russel/that other guy) and are 9-2 if those five are the starters. Positivity in the Twin Cities!

The other guy can be one of five guys, they just need that core four and they play really well (they have several interchangeable defensive role players). Ant is going to be a star and Kat seems like he's bought in on winning, not stat hunting. The weirdest thing though is Russel. He's gone from a bad defender to their defensive leader, per Thinking Basketball (the videos @Wilbur first started posting here).

3 hours ago, briantw said:

The real question is, if Durant doesn't go there, do they win more than one title?

I think so, but the Cavs also probably win one more. If they didn't get KD you know they were going to find another all-star to either add or replace Barnes with.

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5 hours ago, briantw said:

The real question is, if Durant doesn't go there, do they win more than one title?

They would still be the favourites at the beginning of each season. A step down from practically guaranteed, but they did win 73 games and were up 3-1 without him and crushed most of their opposition in the playoffs with him.

I'd take the Thunder (with Durant) and Rockets over the Cavs though. Maybe the Spurs if Kawhi didn't get injured, although that is 90% based on faith in pre-injury Kawhi over the rest of the team.

Also, who knows what teams would have looked like if other teams thought that they had more of a chance in the short term and went all in at that point instead of punting for the long term. 

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3 hours ago, Proudfeet said:

They would still be the favourites at the beginning of each season. A step down from practically guaranteed, but they did win 73 games and were up 3-1 without him and crushed most of their opposition in the playoffs with him.

No doubt they had the talent to win another title, but that 2016 loss was such a gut punch that I have to think it hurt them mentally.  Hell, if I recall correctly Draymond was calling up Durant that night and trying to talk him into coming there.  

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16 minutes ago, briantw said:

No doubt they had the talent to win another title, but that 2016 loss was such a gut punch that I have to think it hurt them mentally.  Hell, if I recall correctly Draymond was calling up Durant that night and trying to talk him into coming there.  

Perhaps. Its hard to tell how people will react. Putting that aside, the more immediate impact was that it also effectively eliminated the Thunder who were themselves up 3-1 against the Warriors that year.

No idea what an alternate Warriors team would look like either. Would they have kept Barnes and given him a max contract? Would David West have signed with them without Durant? Would they have signed Zaza and ruined the Spurs?

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Klay is back at just the right time, Curry looks like he has hit a wall. Hope it works out for him, sucky couple of years and by all accounts he is a pretty chill bloke. 

If anyone's game was designed to have minimal drop off, its someone who can drop 60 points while touching the ball for about 20 seconds total. His defence which was definitely improving and approaching elite level will be the biggest worry.

But that is a strong roster that can help him manage his minutes and build up to most of what he was before hopefully. 

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11 hours ago, Wilbur said:

I think that Darius Garland could be the next Tiny Archibald.  He isn't Ja Morant, but as a part of a potential championship team, Garland could be very special indeed.  His handle is just exquisite.

 

 

 

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On 1/5/2022 at 9:09 PM, Tywin et al. said:

It's been nearly two months now since Markieff Morris got rocked by Jokic and he's still yet to play a game. Safe to say he wasn't faking it. 

In any case, Morris totally had it coming, I approve of the Joker's move ( and I suspect he doesnt regret it one bit regardless of what he has to say publically)

On 1/9/2022 at 5:59 AM, Wilbur said:

I think that Darius Garland could be the next Tiny Archibald.  He isn't Ja Morant, but as a part of a potential championship team, Garland could be very special indeed.  His handle is just exquisite.

 

Really great plaer.

On 1/9/2022 at 11:27 AM, BigFatCoward said:

Klay is back at just the right time, Curry looks like he has hit a wall. Hope it works out for him, sucky couple of years and by all accounts he is a pretty chill bloke. 

 

This is why I dont love the Curry for MVP narrative. I get that given how well GSW is doing he should be in the conversation and obviously does many good things for the team. But Durant's just been better and deserves it more and should be the winner based on what we have seen so far.

Other contenders? Yes, Giannis. Jokic? The Nuggets arent good enough without both Murray and Porter but he's having a superb season carrying this undermanned team. Embiid? Yes, very good. When will Philly finally trade Simmons so this team becomes a real contender? LeBron could even come up in this discussion if he keeps this up. S0 6 guys in contention I think.

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3 hours ago, Calibandar said:

In any case, Morris totally had it coming, I approve of the Joker's move ( and I suspect he doesnt regret it one bit regardless of what he has to say publically)

I can't think of anything he's done to justify him suffering what sounds like a fairly serious spinal injury. Unless I'm missing something terrible off the court the Morris twins' negative reputation seems outsized considering what they've actually done.

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They do have a bad reputation yeah, probably for various " smaller" incidents that we fans dont notice since we only see bits of all the games being played. Morris is quite well known for being a rather dirty player. But for me, regardless of that, that he is missing extended time now is a shame but what Jokic did in return to him was certainly acceptable. Jokic is also not someone who is likely to lash out normally and people know that.

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53 minutes ago, Calibandar said:

They do have a bad reputation yeah, probably for various " smaller" incidents that we fans dont notice since we only see bits of all the games being played. Morris is quite well known for being a rather dirty player. But for me, regardless of that, that he is missing extended time now is a shame but what Jokic did in return to him was certainly acceptable. Jokic is also not someone who is likely to lash out normally and people know that.

But that's just the thing, they're mostly minor things, like what sparked Jokic, and the one instance I can recall that was legitimately a bad look was committed by his brother. IIRC most of their reputation stems from college shit, not the pros, and I think they're the textbook example of guys you hate when they're on the other team and like when they're on yours. 

And no, clearly what Jokic did is not acceptable because his overreacting is costing a guy literally months of games played. 

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