2017-18 Toronto Raptors and General NBA Thread

[activeStick]

I'm torn... I loathe Lebron because of how he picks apart the Raptors in the playoffs but I also loathe Golden State because I live in Vancouver and they're the bandwagon team all Vancouverites love because they're good...

[dammage79]

Some of those 3 pointers Curry drained tonight were insane. Double teamed, behind the back dribble fails by hitting his butt, manages to collect the ball and chucks up a prayer in one smooth motion and nothing but net. In-sane. The K-Love fouled three from the corner? wow. And the one where he undresses Nance JR. Beauty.

Back when I cared about the NBA my favorite 3 point guys were Price and Miller. I honestly think Curry is the perfect hybrid of the two.

[Senator Clay Davis]

The thing is the Cavs simply do not have the ability to go on big scoring runs like the Warriors. So once the Warriors got ahead by 10+, the game was basically over since not only do they have the ability to go on big scoring runs, it's a given they're going to have at least one a game. So even though the Cavs can keep it close, they can never get that run they need to put distance between themselves and the Warriors, so they really aren't ever putting pressure on the Warriors to make shots. The pressure on the Cavs to keep making shots meanwhile keeps rising as the game goes on, as you know the inevitable Warriors big run is coming. So not only are the Cavs much worse in terms of skill level outside LeBron, they're playing with a much smaller margin for error. It's too bad the Celtics gagged away game seven, at least they would have offered something different, but as we see unless LeBron averages a minimum slash line of 45/10/10, the Cavs are hopeless. Could easily (and probably will) be a sub-20 win team next year when LeBron leaves.

[Senator Clay Davis]

"You can pinpoint the exact moment when LeBron started contemplating the quality of high schools in Houston and Philadelphia"

https://twitter.com/user/status/1003511894924251136

[Jeff Lebowski]

Durant can score but he’s not good defending nor does he secure the ball. I can’t stand when guys turn the ball over easily. Lack of intensity.

[Jeff Lebowski]

The whole JR Smith play was when Durant didn’t box out on the missed free throw in game 1. He just gets outworked routinely.

[Senator Clay Davis]

Cavs would have taken the Warriors top two scorers being Durant and JaVale McGee every day of the week, and yet they're still losing. The major danger here for the Cavs of course is Steph and Klay can get inferno any time. Durant might not be a great defensive player (although he's better than he's shown most of the postseason), but he is one of the smoothest scorers ever, when he's hot it looks too easy.

[Jeff Lebowski]

lol Durant with 43. He’s good. I know nothing.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

Cavs would have taken the Warriors top two scorers being Durant and JaVale McGee every day of the week, and yet they're still losing. The major danger here for the Cavs of course is Steph and Klay can get inferno any time. Durant might not be a great defensive player (although he's better than he's shown most of the postseason), but he is one of the smoothest scorers ever, when he's hot it looks too easy.

Yep. He’s scorching them

[Senator Clay Davis]

It is too bad he ruined the NBA, because Durant is such an amazing player. He got the kind of help LeBron usually gets tonight, and he carried them to the win. Probably takes the MVP from Curry after that performance.

[You Need a Thneed]

That late Durant 3 pointer. Everyone in the arena knew exactly what was about to happen, and they couldn’t stop it.

[Senator Clay Davis]

https://twitter.com/user/status/1004568909603885056

[JackJack]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

It is too bad he ruined the NBA, because Durant is such an amazing player. He got the kind of help LeBron usually gets tonight, and he carried them to the win. Probably takes the MVP from Curry after that performance.

Point of clarification. Why did KD ruin the NBA?

[dino7c]

NBA is so predictable I'm surprised anyone still watches

[Senator Clay Davis]

Originally Posted by JackJack

Point of clarification. Why did KD ruin the NBA?

Joining the Warriors was his prerogative and they did nothing illegal to get him. But had he stayed in OKC or gone to Boston or something else, the NBA would be a much more competitive league. Instead most fans are now rooting for LeBron to join the Sixers or Rockets just to give a legit threat to the Warriors. Or maybe LeBron joins the Warriors and they trade Klay.

[JackJack]

But isn't that what Lebron did/attempted to do with more limited success? He went to Miami to create a super team and win multiple championships.

Heck, hasn't that been going on for years?

The 2003-2004 Lakers picked up Karl Malone and Gary Payton to go along with Kobe and Shaq. Although they didn't end up winning, did they ruin the NBA?

I'm just wondering why basketball fans consistently ostracize KD for signing with GSW when FA's, teams and other superstars have been doing it for years.

[Senator Clay Davis]

73-9 would be why, fair or not (and it's totally fair). I don't disagree about LeBron doing the superteam thing as well, but it's still quite a bit different. Then there's also the fact that Durant should have probably won the title with OKC against the 73-9 Warriors, and probably could have gone back to OKC and beat them, but then he didn't. And if say LeBron for whatever reason stays in Cleveland, the Warriors will once again have negative odds to be champs next year. A league can't be all that interesting when you can't even get an even money favorite.

[MoneyGuy]

They should just give the Warriors the 2018-19 title now. They're pretty close to unbeatable.

[Jason14h]

Originally Posted by MoneyGuy

They should just give the Warriors the 2018-19 title now. They're pretty close to unbeatable.

I think the only way they can loose is by getting too bored.

They almost look like they arent even having fun anymore. They constantly talk about how their team is fun, but you can see frustration creeping in, and they aren't near as sharp as they have been in the past.


It's almost like they are all realizing part of the fun was beating equal and difficult opponents, and when the outcome is never in doubt, it gets boring fast.


It's like being in a rec league and beating everyone by a large margin. For the first game or 2 it's fun, but it gets old really quick.

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by Jason14h

I think the only way they can loose is by getting too bored.

They almost look like they arent even having fun anymore. They constantly talk about how their team is fun, but you can see frustration creeping in, and they aren't near as sharp as they have been in the past.


It's almost like they are all realizing part of the fun was beating equal and difficult opponents, and when the outcome is never in doubt, it gets boring fast.


It's like being in a rec league and beating everyone by a large margin. For the first game or 2 it's fun, but it gets old really quick.

Egos are starting to play a role too I think.

Now that they aren't getting that much credit for winning, and people still are saying that LBJ is the better player, and potentially deserves Finals MVP I think it's frustrating them.

Think they all thought that just winning and becoming a dynasty would get them more respect when really people are just like "Meh - you were expected to win".

Also the biggest difference between the Lakers, Celtics, Heat, etc superteams and this super team is that this iteration of the Warriors was a 73 win team before they added Durant.

It wasn't just a superstar joining up with other superstars to turn a good team into a great team, it was a top 5 player in the NBA joining the team with the best regular season record ever.