NBA 2020-2021, Let the Season Begin

[54-46]

How old was Kerr when he was still getting rings and draining 3s?

Allen, Kerr, Korver, Redick, Jason Terry, Nash, etc. Lots of examples.

Older shooters can play even when the rest of their game may decline to varying degrees.

[brutah]

You mean the team that went to the NBA finals?

The 2002-2003 Lakers team with Kobe, Shaq, Malone, Peyton etc lost to the spurs in second round of the playoffs that year. The spurs went on to beat the nets in the finals.

Lakers took the title in 2001 and 2002. Before Malone or Peyton joined the team.

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[brutah]

Blazers......

We have a LOT of guards.

Somebody is getting shipped, me thinks.

Seems like an overall pattern in the NBA at the moment. Bulls, Knicks, etc are loading up on guards. gonna see a lot of small ball and 3 pointers next year.

Definitely didn't realize how young Drummond is. Goes from something like $25 million a year to the vet minimum in the matter of a few years if that doesn't tell you the direction the NBA is going, I don't know what does ....

[BobMc]

The 2002-2003 Lakers team with Kobe, Shaq, Malone, Peyton etc lost to the spurs in second round of the playoffs that year. The spurs went on to beat the nets in the finals.

Lakers took the title in 2001 and 2002. Before Malone or Peyton joined the team.

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Your memory is incorrect.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002%E..._Lakers_season

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003%E..._Lakers_season

[brutah]

i stand corrected. Mixed up my years.

2003-2004 was the year Malone and Peyton were on the Lakers and they did lose to the piston in the finals. I still wouldn't chalk it up as win for the lakers that season with all that aging star power and they wouldn't return to the finals until 2008 where they lost to the celtics with a totally different team minus kobe.

Should have known better since that was the last time your beloved pistons won the championship

I prefer using basketball-reference.com over wikipedia FYI, even though I botched that one

[TahoeJ]

Lakers won three straight titles and could have maybe won more if not for the Shaq / Kobe feud. They were dominant as hell. And a lot younger than LeBron / AD.

As great as Steph is, and he is, he has same issues as Dame when it comes to taking over a close playoff series: they're too small. Their size is a disadvantage on defense and it hurts them when blitzed by two defenders. The size disadvantage only disappears when there's another nearly equal off the ball shooter like Klay or KD.

lol... ok. See, this is why I rolled my eyes at the other comment about Steph being "overrated" and yet people still say shit like this. He's actually kind of underrated in a way.

[MultiVerse]

Roll your eyes all you want but when the regular season ends and defenses tighten up then history shows things play out as I've described. Especially at the end of games. It explains in part why Steph has yet to win a finals MVP.

None this is intended as criticism let alone a "rating", just a description of what's happening. Most of my favorite players like Steph, Dame, Mitchell, or AI are shorter than NBA average but that doesn't change the fact dominance on both ends of the court requires size.

[TahoeJ]

^^ lol... just stop. You're making a fool of yourself. Steph has like top 10 NBA Finals career stats. A bunch of the voters have said they regret picking Iggy over Steph in 2015 and got a little caught up in the narrative game.

[MultiVerse]

Thus proving the point because those stats are alongside Klay and KD. No Steph in the playoffs sucks for basketball. But absent another player like the two mentioned means even when Steph's on fire scoring he commits too many turnovers and is too much of a defensive liability in playoff situations, both due in part to his size.

[teleee]

Rudy Gay and Eric Paschal for the Jazz, and they keep Ingles. I like it, I like It a lot.

I have always thought the way to beat Steph in the playoffs was to beat the shit out of him, he is an amazing player but small and slender. I am so not getting into the Steph debate with TahoeJ though.


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[54-46]

A thought…

It would be fun to have a Zoom and discuss a bunch of NBA/skiing stuff.

All this writing doesn’t allow for tone or doesn’t help increase positive connections.

[Danno]

If anything, Steph is underrated, not overrated, IMO, at least at this point where the narrative of "best player in the league" has passed him over. He still bends defenses in ways that nobody else can. And the notion that he's a liability or can't carry a team in the playoffs is laughable. Yes, he had Klay, but it's more accurate to put it the other way around. And he's bigger than Dame and not a defensive liability either.

[Danno]

I have always thought the way to beat Steph in the playoffs was to beat the shit out of him, he is an amazing player but small and slender. I am so not getting into the Steph debate with TahoeJ though.

That is absolutely the way to attack him; make him fight for everything, put a body on him as much as possible. But that's a bit like saying the way to beat Tom Brady is to put a lot of pressure on him with your front 4. It's true, but it doesn't mean that's a weakness of his or that he's not the GOAT (Steph isn't the GOAT, but the point stands).

[54-46]

Rudy Gay and Eric Paschal for the Jazz, and they keep Ingles. I like it, I like It a lot.

I have always thought the way to beat Steph in the playoffs was to beat the shit out of him, he is an amazing player but small and slender. I am so not getting into the Steph debate with TahoeJ though.


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Paschall can be useful on the right team. Too narrow of a niche on the Dubs. Hope he worked in his game.

[plugboots]

I agree with the zoom meeting concept, I come off stilted in written form typically. Plus I’m really big on sarcasm and cynicism and just plain giving each other shit and laughing, and I hate emoji‘s.

[54-46]

I have a Knicks fan buddy all jazzed about Kemba. Hey - keep hope alive is all I could say…

[teleee]

And you thought I was being myopic over Paschall


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[MultiVerse]

If anything, Steph is underrated, not overrated, IMO, at least at this point where the narrative of "best player in the league" has passed him over. He still bends defenses in ways that nobody else can. And the notion that he's a liability or can't carry a team in the playoffs is laughable.

Since most people are saying he's "great" and since most people say he's the greatest shooter of all time I'd say he's properly rated. Unnecessary turnovers however, in particular Curry's at pivotal times, are the reason why the Warriors didn't make it past the play-in tournament this season. Something similar happened against the Raptors in the 2019 finals. Even when the Warriors were playing as one of the all time best teams ever, when they lost it was mostly because of turnovers. There's nothing laughable, no rating, no assessment, let alone even a hint of malice, apart from literally describing what actually happens in playoff situations when Curry doesn't have an off the ball shooter like Klay or KD.

[54-46]

And you thought I was being myopic over Paschall

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I was? I like Paschall. He’s just limited unless he worked on his game. Seems like decent dude though.

My Knicks fan buddy hated their draft; hated the Nerlens Noel Overpay; hated the “run it back to mid-pack” signings of Burks and Rose, but was jazzed about the oft injured Kemba.

I didn’t wanna be mean to my friend, but mid-pack + Kemba and Fournier still equals mid-pack IMO. Maybe they will make a move or two…

[BmillsSkier]

Lol at people saying LeeeBron is over the hill.

I get that people don’t like him. Hell, I have a complicated relationship as a fan of his, but the dude is still head and shoulders above the vast majority of the league.

No, I’m never gonna root for his Lakers.

[54-46]

Lol at people saying LeeeBron is over the hill.

I get that people don’t like him. Hell, I have a complicated relationship as a fan of his, but the dude is still head and shoulders above the vast majority of the league.

No, I’m never gonna root for his Lakers.

Great player. All timer. Enjoy watching his game on the court (when not playing my team).

Hate his metà and excuses game.

Dude prolly drives an SUV instead of a wagon, so consider that…

[BmillsSkier]

Great player. All timer. Enjoy watching his game on the court (when not playing my team).

Hate his metà and excuses game.

Dude prolly drives an SUV instead of a wagon, so consider that…

If LA was a car it would be a Urus.

[Danno]

Every great player has only succeeded because of off the ball shooters, why should Steph be any different?

[plugboots]

Every great player has only succeeded because of off the ball shooters, why should Steph be any different?

Kind of funny how Steph’s coach was exactly one of those dudes.

[MultiVerse]

How are you defining success? Because we're talking about the making playoffs, right? LeBron, Kobe, Jordon, or even Gianis, etc., the players most consider "dominate" proved they can not only make the playoffs but sometimes make it as far as the Conference Finals surrounded by mediocre talent and mediocre shooters.

If you watched The Last Dance then you how bad the earlier Bulls teams were. Same with Lebron's 2000s era Cavs.

So flip the script, if you're a Warriors fan and prioritize making it back to finals and not wasting Steph's prime is the current strategy the right one? Because the Warriors aren't as bad as people seem to think, they're mostly just younger players next to an older core. So what do you do? Trade some of those younger talented players for a more experienced player knowing that's what Steph needs to succeed or stay with the current strategy?

Unless Klay is 100% I think they need another elite player.