2016-17 season

First topic message reminder :

Opening night results:

Cleveland Cavaliers 117-88 New York Knicks
Portland Trail Blazers 113-104 Utah Jazz
Golden State Warriors 100-129 San Antonio Spurs

The Warriors 'Super team' lacked cohesion as the Spurs ripped them apart. Kevin Durrant scored 27 on debut, but Kawhi Leonard silenced the Oracle Arena with a career best 35 point game.

Pr4wn wrote:Ha, listen to this. It's not over until it's over. Look at the 16-0 Patriots or even the Eagles "Dream Team" recently.

All it takes is an injury or two or a few freak results.

C'mon on buddy we Warriors fans waited 40 years to be relevant again...let us have our time in the spotlight

Spurs have already had their cycle

Major blow for the Warriors as KD suffered a severe knee injury during last nights loss. Hyperextended knee which according to sources could end his debut season in Oakland. LeBron's luck has no limit

Matt Barnes signed to try help fill the breach

The Warriors also lost last night to the Wizards.

Good stuff.

Pr4wn wrote:The Warriors also lost last night to the Wizards.

Good stuff.

Think we're gonna fall out Mr San Antonio

Grade 2 MCL strain for KD sidelined for a minimum of 4 weeks.

Pr4wn's witchcraft is so fuc.king strong oh my god.

If KD is back for the western conference finals and is 100% healthy I still can't see them losing. Zaza Pachulia is coming along really good and combined with Javale McGee who Is probably the best athletic talent on the Warriors (pity he's not very bright tho), I can't see anyone but the Spurs beating them in the West. Even then it would be close because you'd think Stephen Curry will gear up, which scary considering the guy is averaging 25 points and 6 assists in fourth gear. They don't beat a fit Cavs without Durant though.

Matt Barnes though... WTF

I actually quite like Matt Barnes as a player. I always enjoy watching someone that plays with an edge.

I liked Matt Barnes five years ago. He was trash for the Lakers and even worse for the Grizzlies. He'll obviously get more looks with Curry and Thompson being 1st and 2nd option, but it's a huge come down however you spin it.

The Cavs should get Bogut and Deron Williams, but I don't think they'll do much. Bogut has been injury prone and when available he's been trash. Deron Williams is a little better, but he doesn't add more than a JR Smith so i think it's a lateral move.

Well of course it's a downgrade, you're replacing Kevin Durant. He certainly won't offer the scoring that KD did, but he's not a bad defender at all.

Naturally we are missing the role players from the Durant trade, but there's still 3 all stars on the roster that went 73-9 so Curry, Thompson and Green should be able to share the load.

Another day another L for the Bay. If Curry or Klay don't warm up, they are gonna lose that #1 seed quick

I hear Kerr broke another clipboard

Cleveland lost to Boston, who are chasing hard to steal top spot in the East.

As for Golden State, for most of the season Klay had been the third wheel. Now KD is not available no one can expect him to go back to the Klay from 2014-15 & 2015-16. The way the team plays now if different to the Splash brothers team

I've been off as little lately. Can't believe no one mentioned the hiding my Miami Heat gave the Cavs yesterday. We line up really well against them, to the degree that I'd say if Lebron gets a little nick or isn't 100% in a potential match up, I'd back us to beat them out. Unfortunately, Lebron doesn't get nicked.

The Dubs got back to winning ways with a reasonably convincing win over the Knicks. Their second unit is a mess though. Can't win a title with such a trash second unit if KD doesn't play

Warriors won again last night.

Andrew Bogut broke his leg less than a minute into his Cavs debut. Brutal. And they lost.

The Spurs won a thriller against Houston after being 16 points down. Leonard hit the go-ahead three with thirty seconds left and then swatted Harden at the other end. He's the real MVP. Not quite the same offensive numbers as Harden and Westbrook but the guy actually plays D.

Tell you who is also possibly sneaking into MVP discussions...
Stephen Curry. Followed his 31 point performance two nights ago in New York with a 24pt nine assist performance today. 27.5pt 8.5 assists last two games. He keeps that up, I think he's got a shot.

It's Harden's to lose, though.

Steph doesn't need another MVP award, he needs another championship ring

Problem is, Steph's defense is no good.

It bugs me how MVP has basically become and Offensive Player of the Year award.

Pr4wn wrote:Problem is, Steph's defense is no good.

It bugs me how MVP has basically become and Offensive Player of the Year award.

It's really no worse than Harden's. In fact Steph is a steal machine, so he's actually better than Harden who is essentially a turnstile.
As for your second line.. .well offensive talent wins games. Defense wins titles, but even then, if Steph doesn't shoot 37 in game five of the finals in 2015, then I don't care how well they were defending, the Warriors were gonna lose the finals then.

Harden's D has been MUCH better this season.

And while Steph gets his fair share of steals, he's so slight that opponents wither blow by him or blow through him regularly. There's a reason Kerr takes him out of the lineup for key defensive plays.

Pr4wn wrote:Harden's D has been MUCH better this season.

And while Steph gets his fair share of steals, he's so slight that opponents wither blow by him or blow through him regularly. There's a reason Kerr takes him out of the lineup for key defensive plays.

Youre going from a pretty low basis point though. Look they swing Curry, off the 1-Guard, let him float, and then put Klay onto the 1-guard. Yes he stays off for key plays but that's by the by. his actual 1 on 1 stats aren't any worse than most point guards.

Finally, Curry leads the league in plus minus, and the Warriors are -20 when he's off the field the last two games. That's value. That's serious value

I'd give it to Harden though. Kawhi has come strong and definitely usurped Westbrook at #2. Westbrook takes too many ill-advised plays. And you cant even say its because KD is gone because he's ALWAYS taken stupid plays

kingraf wrote:

Pr4wn wrote:Harden's D has been MUCH better this season.

And while Steph gets his fair share of steals, he's so slight that opponents wither blow by him or blow through him regularly. There's a reason Kerr takes him out of the lineup for key defensive plays.

Youre going from a pretty low basis point though. Look they swing Curry, off the 1-Guard, let him float, and then put Klay onto the 1-guard. Yes he stays off for key plays but that's by the by. his actual 1 on 1 stats aren't any worse than most point guards.

Finally, Curry leads the league in plus minus, and the Warriors are -20 when he's off the field the last two games. That's value. That's serious value

It's value for sure but he's not been anywhere near consistent enough to get MVP. No way. It's a pure homer pick by you.

When Durant was in the team, he was the MVP candidate.

Warriors took another L. That is all

Spurs chalked up another W. Without Leonard or Aldridge.

Warriors now looking over their shoulders.

I don't think that home court makes too big a difference for the Warrios-Spurs series. The better team will win regardless. But #1 seed gets at the moment Utah in the semi finals. #2 seed gets the Rockets. I know who I'd rather be facing.

The Warriors need a third scorer badly. Curry and Klay can't put up nearly 50 points together and the team doesn't even cross 90 points. Like WTF

But they were 6/30 from downtown. The Warriors' over-reliance on the 3 ball is being exposed.

Pr4wn wrote:But they were 6/30 from downtown. The Warriors' over-reliance on the 3 ball is being exposed.

Quit with the trash talk Mr San Antonio. It's no secret that the bench strength was compromised with the acquisition of Durant. Now he's not available it's naturally going to add pressure on the Splash brothers.

We'll beat the Spurs in the play off. That's a promise

Haha but I love the trash talk!

Pr4wn wrote:But they were 6/30 from downtown. The Warriors' over-reliance on the 3 ball is being exposed.

6/30 from downtown and they were still leading heading into the final quarter where the Celtics pulled away AND Kerr got his rotation horribly wrong. They are a three point team, but they aren't reliant on it. 30 isn't even that much. Bench depth is a way bigger problem than threes not falling in. Won't matter as much in the post season though with KD back and rotations being much smaller, but it could be a serious problem. Steph went 5/5 in the first three quarters from inside the arc, and KD also scores inside and out. I don't think it's that big a deal.

In other news though, the Heat are half a game away from getting into a playoff spot. If we get eight seed that pits us against the Cavs... or the Celtics. We can beat the Celtics. don't know if we can beat the Cavs, but we can definitely give it a go. Match up very well against then

I'd actually watch that series for sure. I like what the Heat are doing this year.

Pr4wn wrote:I'd actually watch that series for sure. I like what the Heat are doing this year.

Dion Waiters is second half of the season MVP for sure. The win in Cleveland was probably aided by the Cavs losing Bogut and Lue being sick or whatever, but it was as emphatic as eight point wins go, and you know the Cavs weren't just going through the motions due to the drama that surrounded them being blown to bits in Miami. They came to play 1005 and came up woefuly short. they've obviously got more gears, while we were nearly at 100%, but even with their changes, it's basically LeBron, Kyrie, and then some upper mid level, and mid level guys (assuming Love isn't the 20-10 machine he normally is when he comes back, initially anyway). Make Lebron take contested shots and he's a 50% shooter who will pass, so then you ask his teammates to play above themselves (Shumpert, Smith, Thompson aren't gonna make all star in 500 years) and then you've got a chance (obviously this blueprint is for teams that don't have Popovich or four all stars in their team). Hassan Whiteside is gonna ask Lebron to make some tough shots, which is why I am hopeful.

kingraf wrote:

Pr4wn wrote:But they were 6/30 from downtown. The Warriors' over-reliance on the 3 ball is being exposed.

6/30 from downtown and they were still leading heading into the final quarter where the Celtics pulled away AND Kerr got his rotation horribly wrong. They are a three point team, but they aren't reliant on it. 30 isn't even that much. Bench depth is a way bigger problem than threes not falling in. Won't matter as much in the post season though with KD back and rotations being much smaller, but it could be a serious problem. Steph went 5/5 in the first three quarters from inside the arc, and KD also scores inside and out. I don't think it's that big a deal.

In other news though, the Heat are half a game away from getting into a playoff spot. If we get eight seed that pits us against the Cavs... or the Celtics. We can beat the Celtics. don't know if we can beat the Cavs, but we can definitely give it a go. Match up very well against then  

James has skipped two visits to Miami this season if he does so in the post season, Miami will be laughing

Pr4wn wrote:Haha but I love the trash talk!

kingraf wrote:

Pr4wn wrote:I'd actually watch that series for sure. I like what the Heat are doing this year.

Dion Waiters is second half of the season MVP for sure. The win in Cleveland was probably aided by the Cavs losing Bogut and Lue being sick or whatever, but it was as emphatic as eight point wins go, and you know the Cavs weren't just going through the motions due to the drama that surrounded them being blown to bits in Miami. They came to play 1005 and came up woefuly short. they've obviously got more gears, while we were nearly at 100%, but even with their changes, it's basically LeBron, Kyrie, and then some upper mid level, and mid level guys (assuming Love isn't the 20-10 machine he normally is when he comes back, initially anyway). Make Lebron take contested shots and he's a 50% shooter who will pass, so then you ask his teammates to play above themselves (Shumpert, Smith, Thompson aren't gonna make all star in 500 years) and then you've got a chance (obviously this blueprint is for teams that don't have Popovich or four all stars in their team). Hassan Whiteside is gonna ask Lebron to make some tough shots, which is why I am hopeful.

Don't forget that Love will be coming back in a couple of weeks. While he's not the player he once was, he makes that Cavs side so much better.

Pr4wn wrote:

kingraf wrote:

Pr4wn wrote:I'd actually watch that series for sure. I like what the Heat are doing this year.

Dion Waiters is second half of the season MVP for sure. The win in Cleveland was probably aided by the Cavs losing Bogut and Lue being sick or whatever, but it was as emphatic as eight point wins go, and you know the Cavs weren't just going through the motions due to the drama that surrounded them being blown to bits in Miami. They came to play 1005 and came up woefuly short. they've obviously got more gears, while we were nearly at 100%, but even with their changes, it's basically LeBron, Kyrie, and then some upper mid level, and mid level guys (assuming Love isn't the 20-10 machine he normally is when he comes back, initially anyway). Make Lebron take contested shots and he's a 50% shooter who will pass, so then you ask his teammates to play above themselves (Shumpert, Smith, Thompson aren't gonna make all star in 500 years) and then you've got a chance (obviously this blueprint is for teams that don't have Popovich or four all stars in their team). Hassan Whiteside is gonna ask Lebron to make some tough shots, which is why I am hopeful.

Don't forget that Love will be coming back in a couple of weeks. While he's not the player he once was, he makes that Cavs side so much better.

trust me I haven't forgotten. I'm just working on the assumption (more hope really) that he doesn't come back averaging 20-10 off the bat

Cavs lost again last night as they came and unstuck against the Pistons. LeBron 'resting' again. One man struggling it he gets a KD type injury...

The Spurs 9 game win streak was snapped by OKC

LeBron wasn't resting, he had a triple double and the Cavs still lost.

Westbrook had an unreal game against the Spurs last night, well played.

Pr4wn wrote:LeBron wasn't resting, he had a triple double and the Cavs still lost.

Westbrook had an unreal game against the Spurs last night, well played.

Serves me right for reading the score on Twitter

LeBron hate is extreme on there...even worst than what the Dubs say about him

Westbrook was unreal last night. One of his best games all season.

It was also the reason why I wouldn't vote him MVP.
AS per ESPN, in Westbrook's six highest scoring games, the Thunder have a 1-5 losing record. Not good. In games where Westbrook shoots 30 or more times, theyre 4-8, but in games where he shoots 20-24 times, they are 16-6. This media peddled idea that Westbrook needs to do it all alone is trash, and in fact, when he tries to pass the ball and not be a ball hog (to some degree... the guy is jacking up 24 shots a game) the team wins more.

Another night another defeat for the Warriors...getting silly now.

Spurs outclassed the warriors on Friday night. Warriors really struggling 2-5 in last 7 matches. Having also lost back to back matches twice in that spell.

The race in the east is also hotting up. Cleveland lost to the Rockets. Washington and Boston closing in.

Spurs might struggle in the coming weeks. Aldridge out indefinitely with a heart problem, as is Dejounte Murray and Tony Parker.

Don't care how good Pop is, he isn't getting results with those guys missing. The Warriors just look like they don't give a f**k anymore. Andre Iguodala was giving awkward interviews. Resting key players for a big game. Very unWarriors like.

Anyway, the Cavs lost. They're basically one notch above being a tanking team since they lost Love. They aren't beating whoever comes out of the West in this form. They might not even make it out the East

Some tough games coming up for the Spurs too in the Hawks and Blazers. Here's hoping that Aldridge is ok, heart problems are never a good thing.

Warriors have a shocking lack of depth, it's not surprising that Kerr chose to sit his starters.

The Warriors battled back from a double digit deficit to beat the 76ers. Fired by Stephen Curry going 4-6 from the field in the fourth, and Draymond having a phenomenal defensive effort, as well putting up 20. IF Curry fires from three, this is still a team you can't touch. Won't touch. Absolutlely torched the 76ers in the fourth

The Miami heat beat the Pelicans last night. If we had beaten the Pacers (lost by four) we'd be the sixth seed, instead we are behind the Pistons by a tie breaker. Think we should get the sixth seed from here

The Spurs annihilated the Cavaliers last night 103-74. Cavaliers lost the top spot in the East