Official NBA 16-17' Season Thread

More people need to talk about how godly Curry has been. He's weirdly underrated this season after being talked about non stop for the last two seasons.
This postseason he's been good. But he wasn't spectacular during the regular season. He had (only) 24 PPG. While that's good on its own, and he didn't have the ball as much, he still had a lot and can't play defense for his life.
 
This postseason he's been good. But he wasn't spectacular during the regular season. He had (only) 24 PPG. While that's good on its own, and he didn't have the ball as much, he still had a lot and can't play defense for his life.
hes a good off ball defender though. Just not good on ball against stars
 

Stallion

Tree Young
is a Tiering Contributoris a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnusis a Three-Time Past WCoP Champion
This postseason he's been good. But he wasn't spectacular during the regular season. He had (only) 24 PPG. While that's good on its own, and he didn't have the ball as much, he still had a lot and can't play defense for his life.
Good is an understatement for his postseason numbers! Also regarding his D, he was top 10 in in the NBA for defensive win shares last season and has been an above average defender for years now, smh people need to stop with the media narratives and do some Googling.
 
Good is an understatement for his postseason numbers! Also regarding his D, he was top 10 in in the NBA for defensive win shares last season and has been an above average defender for years now, smh people need to stop with the media narratives and do some Googling.
I didn't know that...probably because I don't have the time to pay attention to advanced stats.
 
Cavs in 5. Warriors rust will be an issue in game one, they'll recover for game two, LeBron takes care of business at home, then they go back to the Oracle for the title.
 
Durant with the GSW already sexy squad.. how is that fair? lol.

I still believe Warriors are going to absolutely destroy the Cavs. 5 games. 6 games at most if they have an off night.
 
I was saying this to someone else, but I really hope the cavs win because a) fuck the warriors and b) I just want to see where another lebron ring leads in terms of the narrative surrounding his legacy. I'd like to see how far he goes in the discussion of all time greats
 
Being very honest, does anyone really think that Kevin Durant and Harrison Barnes are the same type of basketball player or that they can even contribute in a similar way in NBA Finals to think the result will be the same as last year? If you do so, you are a diehard Warriors hater or you really don't know anything about basketball at all.

Warriors also rested players during the regular season, Curry isn't playing the same way as last year in which he took care the ball loosely in Finals, they have Kevin Durant who is virtually unstoppable against Cavs, they have a better bench than last year and the Warriors' offense are flowing much more naturally and better than last year. Seriously, any guess other than Warriors in 5 ~ 6 games is a demonstration of pure bias or nonsense talking. Anything can happen in the NBA Finals, but we don't analyze the imponderable, but the factual.

 
(1) Golden State Warriors versus (2) Cleveland Cavaliers
“JaVale McGee from Shaqtin' a fool to the NBA Finals. He's the real winner here tonight.” – Steven4998

“I was at Disneyland for the past three days. I saw one guy with a Big Baller Brand shirt on. I felt like it was some rare pokemon that popped up. I actually chased him to get a picture, but he got away. I stood there in disappointing bewilderment while my family just started at me having no idea what I was doing. When I began to explain they just stared, mouths agape. My wife actually scolded me that I went after him with my phone as if it was a poke ball. I felt ashamed.” – Theoddportrait

“The Warriors are now 27-0, including a Finals berth, with Klay Thompson since he signed u/RDollaz's toaster.” – RDollaz

"I'm not only playing for my family but for the 'We Believe' team too. I'm the last one standing... they're vicariously playing through me... when we get this ring it'll be for all of us."- Matt Barnes

“No matter how much money you have, no matter how famous you are, no matter how many people admire you, being black in America is — it’s tough,” James said. “And we got a long way to go for us as a society and for us as African-Americans until we feel equal in America.”- LeBron James

For the first time in history, we have an NBA Finals match-up that has happened three times in a row. I’m not even sure if I’ve ever tried to analyze a series three times in a row. This is surely a first. I suppose this year, it’s best to examine simply what’s different.

Who LeBron will guard has been a large topic of conversation, and it’s incredibly important in deciding where the series starts and ends. Lue has plenty of options here and what he chooses and when will be crucial. He could: 1) Have LeBron guard Durant man-to-man if he believes Durant is the key to Golden State’s offense. This also hides Kevin Love on any non-shooting center/Iguodala in their line-ups.

2) Have LeBron on Klay Thompson like the regular season games and have him roam somewhat as a decent help defender (well, at least in comparison to Durant). Risky, but he hasn’t been shooting well these playoffs.

3) Do what was done last year and have him mostly guard Green. I actually predict this is the path Lue will take. Arguably, Green is the biggest key to the offense especially in transition. Only problem with this though is his three point shooting this year is off the charts. Also, Durant will likely kill any non-LeBron defender out there.

Why does who LeBron guards very important? Because Cleveland’s defense is different from last year.

Cleveland’s defensive strategy this year in the playoffs has been a lot like his old Miami days. They have aggressively double-teamed and forced the balls out of the hands of George, DeRozan, and Thomas and dared non-shooters to, well, shoot. Leave LeBron on the most non-threatening player to rest his body more for offense, and have him roam and defend the paint as a last resort. Of course, this won’t work too consistently with Golden State for obvious reasons. It worked somewhat last year when they still had Harrison Barnes and Iguodala because they couldn’t make their shots. How can they now defend with Durant replacing Barnes? Again, it will come down to Golden State’s line-up and how they also stagger their star’s minutes in comparison to LeBron’s. He will take a different defensive role for example with McGee on the floor in comparison to when Green plays center. If McGee or Zaza are on the floor, they have a place for LeBron or Love to potentially rest/hide. If Green is on the floor at the five, whatever Lue finds best to put LeBron as a help defender will determine if they can challenge the line-up of death similar to last year.

What will determine McGee/Zaza/Green rotation and minutes? That leads me to the next important factor of the series.

Kevin Love has had a great playoff run this year and is pretty much the only shining light in Cleveland’s front line. Offensively skilled enough to space the floor, big enough to beat you on the boards, and has actually improved somewhat as an individual defender since the final play in the finals last year. I still wouldn’t trust his pick-and-roll defense over a series run with Golden State but if he’s producing elsewhere on the boards and in points, he can’t be a minus for Cleveland in the end.

Love simply has to find a reason to be on the floor. Thompson is likely to kill them on the glass like he always has even back in 2015, but Love was the difference maker last year. He can ultimately decide if Golden State will stick more traditional line-ups with a traditional center to prevent Cleveland from getting extra possessions or playing small-ball and wreaking havoc. If Love can force Golden State to Cleveland’s style, it gives them an extra player to take advantage of during those minutes.

The amount of possessions each team gets will ultimately determine who is likely winning the game or not, and their regular season match-ups reflect this. The simple fact is that Golden State will not lose to any team in the world if they have the same amount of possessions. They certainly won’t lose if they have more. Cleveland has been slightly better than Golden State on average with turnovers throughout the playoffs, but on the other end, Golden State has been slightly better at forcing turnovers. Top three in turnovers for both teams happen to mirror their essential big three: Kyrie/Curry, LeBron/Durant, and Love/Green. You could essentially say how effective these three guys are collectively in their match-ups (it may not necessarily be directly but at least on their individual offensive possessions) will determine who wins the game. Another thing that determines who gets more possessions is offensive rebounding, and I already mentioned how important this was for Love to do not too long ago. If Cleveland kills them on the glass enough, it may not even matter how often they turn it over themselves.

See, when we examine just how San Antonio built the only essential lead over Golden State in the entire playoffs, we notice a few things: 1) They ran an efficient enough offense to keep Golden State in the halfcourt. 2) They won the battle of the boards to always have more possessions. 3) Their offensive schemes were essentially reduced to Durant IsoBall.

I’m not entirely sure Cleveland has enough individual defenders on the floor to never have a bad match-up (I believe LeBron and Thompson are their only plus defenders?). Cleveland’s defense still has mostly been inconsistent this playoffs and their schemes up until now would be ineffective against Golden State. They’re basically the only team between these two who will be forced to play significantly different than they have all playoffs. Golden State’s system is switching and using their length. Also, Durant/Green as help defenders roaming away from a player like Thompson can scream trouble for their offensive efficiency (but not if they get offense rebounds.. like I said).

If Cleveland wants to run something efficient against Golden State, it has to involve LeBron or Kyrie taking advantage of the best possible match-up on the floor. Attacking and screening Curry’s man may not be as effective as it was last year. Golden State (or Mike Brown) won’t make the same mistake of playing big for long stretches as they did in Game 7. Kyrie and LeBron are going to have to hit key shots against guys like Durant (who is an improved defender overall from their 2012 Finals match-up), Iguodala, Thompson, and Green. Not that they can’t, but can they at the same rate or better rate than last year?

There’s just.. a lot of what ifs for Cleveland right now. Their less star power may force them to rely on their two stars more in minutes. Their overall aging cast may be more likely to leak defensively in individual match-ups. Their inconsistent defense may finally show its face in the wakes of what is the best offensive team we’ve seen in these playoffs thus far by scoring at an insane rate against the best two defensive teams in the league. Golden State’s intangibles are once again not to be ignored.

I know the pink elephant in the room I have failed to mention is the fact that Durant’s combined statistics against LeBron including the 2012 Finals are an absolute joke. One certain could posit that LeBron has the advantage over Durant individually.

My problem with these arguments though is that it’s unlikely they guard each other the majority of their minutes on the floor. Another thing is that Durant has improved considerably as a defender in the last few years. In fact, he’s had the best defensive years this year and his last year with Oklahoma City. I feel like Durant has at least closed the imagined gap between him and LeBron. Durant has had a couple of beneficial years to step into a prime defensive form, and LeBron has only aged and taken more jumpshots since then. It is simply unlikely LeBron repeats his dominance as he did in 2012 against Durant.

It’s a weird thing to label Cleveland the underdog when they’re a defending champion team, but Golden State really is this much of a behemoth. Golden State is by far the more flexible, versatile team. They’re able to stagger their stars more, have length all over the floor, and seem to be playing with a strong conviction. A stronger conviction than they’ve ever shown, I feel.

Cleveland wins if Iguodala, Livingston, Zaza, and McGee fail to score and allow LeBron to roam defensively until the cows come home, they get killed on the glass, They take care of the ball better, Durant’s isoball ain’t so great as Golden State is stuck in the halfcourt, Mike Brown is still a terrible enough coach to make the best team in history lose, Love continues to play out of his mind on both ends

Golden State wins if Cleveland can’t hide their aging bad defenders, Cleveland’s bench is trash, Kyrie and LeBron’s isoball ain’t so great, Durant simply can’t be stopped by anybody including LeBron, inconsistent defense and transition defense, Green continues to play out of his mind on both ends

Golden State in six
 

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