**2016 Official NBA Playoffs Thread**

[KC_Connection]

Round 1:

EAST:

#8 Pistons @ #1 Cavs
#7 Pacers @ #2 Raptors
#6 Hornets @ #3 Heat
#5 Celtics @ #4 Hawks

WEST:
#8 Rockets @ #1 Warriors
#7 Grizzlies @ #2 Spurs
#6 Mavericks @ #3 Thunder
#5 Blazers @ #4 Clippers

[saphojunkie]

Originally Posted by Smellway

There will always be hate for jump shooters from "basketball purists" or whatever the **** these people self identify as.

If you're not bringing the rock to the hoop you're not playing real basketball hurr durr. It was the same when Nowitzki won a championship. No respect.

Meanwhile you can probably count the number of jumpers LeBron hit in the ECF on one hand. Sickening lack of ability for a guy who has had 10+ years to develop his game. And he won't do shit to stop Curry for the 2nd year in a row.

You're a ****ing moron.

[KC_Connection]

Did somebody seriously just say LeBron lacks ability and hasn't developed his game in 10+ years?

[Hammock Parties]

Originally Posted by KC_Connection

Did somebody seriously just say LeBron lacks ability and hasn't developed his game in 10+ years?

As a jump shooter he's utterly pathetic.

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by dirk digler

You know I respect your opinion but you are kind of all over the place. You say you don't like all the 3's and then just a few posts down say you like when JR does it.

Regardless Curry is an elite talent and he just don't stand back there and "chuck" 3's all day. Here is a great article that shows how he is dominating in the paint among both guards and big men.

http://thesportsquotient.com/nba/201...ates-the-paint

Or maybe you would like these stats

1) In the lane: Curry wasn't just an elite shooter from 3 this season. He somehow led the league in field goal percentage on layups this season at 68.7 percent (minimum 150 attempts).

2) In the corners: Curry's effective FG% on corner 3s was an eye-popping 71.9 percent, tops among all point guards and third-best in the NBA, behind J.J. Redick (82.5 percent) and Kyle Korver (72.1 percent).

3) From way downtown: Curry made 51.6 percent of shots between 28 feet and the half-court line (47 feet) in 2015-16. The rest of the NBA hit 20.8 percent. Curry made more deep 3s than 10 NBA teams combined.
Better efficiency than making 100% of your 2s

4) #1 in pts off pick and roll

I didn't say I like when JR does it. I said of course as a Cavs fan, I'll get excited when he hits those shots. Just as a golden state fan would get excited when steph hits his. But Jr hits a ton of garbage shots. I know that.

And to the second part, like I said, I know steph is an elite offensive player and most dangerous in the game. No need to explain that to me. I don't blame him when he does iso 3 pt ball because he's one of the only players in the league who can do it. But let's also be real that his game is built off of chucking threes, which opens up lanes for him to do everything else.

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by OldSchool

Because Golden State is full of guys who don't pass the ball around and just play Iso all of the time.

And they're also not the team that led the league in Assists this season.

Get outta here, lol. If anything, Curry should be more of a ball-hog/Iso player. He's just that good and consistent.

Jfc with the hyperboles.

I never said steph was a ballhog
I never said golden state doesn't move the ball
I never said steph was a bad player. Ive said he's the most dangerous offensive player in the game

But yeah, when I'm watching a game, I don't get inspired by a guy who is extraordinarily good at hitting prayer shots, which is a big part of stephs superstardom. That's all. I get it takes skill to do that and he has an all around game unlike a pure prayer ball guy like Jr Smith but it's a very big part of what he does (just as for Jr Smith, it is pretty much the only thing Jr does)

[-King-]

Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501

I didn't say I like when JR does it. I said of course as a Cavs fan, I'll get excited when he hits those shots. Just as a golden state fan would get excited when steph hits his. But Jr hits a ton of garbage shots. I know that.

And to the second part, like I said, I know steph is an elite offensive player and most dangerous in the game. No need to explain that to me. I don't blame him when he does iso 3 pt ball because he's one of the only players in the league who can do it. But let's also be real that his game is built off of chucking threes, which opens up lanes for him to do everything else.

It's not chucking when you're making those threes at an extremely high clip. He's not just throwing random shots up. He's shooting shots that he can make and does make on a nightly basis. If a player can consistently make a 3 even when he only has the smallest clearance, why shouldn't he? Should he pass up on a high percentage (for him) 3 just because it's a low percentage shot for other players? I don't get your complaint.

[-King-]

Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501

Jfc with the hyperboles.

I never said steph was a ballhog
I never said golden state doesn't move the ball
I never said steph was a bad player. Ive said he's the most dangerous offensive player in the game

But yeah, when I'm watching a game, I don't get inspired by a guy who is extraordinarily good at hitting prayer shots, which is a big part of stephs superstardom. That's all. I get it takes skill to do that and he has an all around game unlike a pure prayer ball guy like Jr Smith but it's a very big part of what he does (just as for Jr Smith, it is pretty much the only thing Jr does)

How the hell are they prayer shots? Because they're farther that other players' shots? Or because he needs less players than other players to get his shots off?

[dirk digler]

Originally Posted by -King-

It's not chucking when you're making those threes at an extremely high clip. He's not just throwing random shots up. He's shooting shots that he can make and does make on a nightly basis. If a player can consistently make a 3 even when he only has the smallest clearance, why shouldn't he? Should he pass up on a high percentage (for him) 3 just because it's a low percentage shot for other players? I don't get your complaint.

Yup. I take great offense to the word chucking. That implies that Curry is a shitty shooter and just going out there and throwing up shots with no expectation that they will go in. I wouldn't even say JR Smith chucks 3's that is his skill set just like it is Curry's.

The stats don't lie this year he shot 52% beyond 28-ft and that was a better efficiency than shooting 2's.

And it is not like he started doing that in the NBA here he is at Davidson doing the exact same thing. Even Lebron was impressed.

[KC_Connection]

Originally Posted by Smellway

As a jump shooter he's utterly pathetic.

He's no Curry, but he's more than fine in his career (34% from 3). Fortunately his other incredible skills are more than enough to make up for any deficiency in that regard.

[Hammock Parties]

Originally Posted by KC_Connection

He's no Curry, but he's more than fine in his career (34% from 3). Fortunately his other incredible skills are more than enough to make up for any deficiency in that regard.

Not in the Finals.

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by -King-

It's not chucking when you're making those threes at an extremely high clip. He's not just throwing random shots up. He's shooting shots that he can make and does make on a nightly basis. If a player can consistently make a 3 even when he only has the smallest clearance, why shouldn't he? Should he pass up on a high percentage (for him) 3 just because it's a low percentage shot for other players? I don't get your complaint.

Did I say he should stop taking those shots? I just said I don't think it's enjoyable basketball to watch.

[KC_Connection]

Originally Posted by Smellway

Not in the Finals.

Dumb.

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by dirk digler

Yup. I take great offense to the word chucking. That implies that Curry is a shitty shooter and just going out there and throwing up shots with no expectation that they will go in. I wouldn't even say JR Smith chucks 3's that is his skill set just like it is Curry's.

The stats don't lie this year he shot 52% beyond 28-ft and that was a better efficiency than shooting 2's.

And it is not like he started doing that in the NBA here he is at Davidson doing the exact same thing. Even Lebron was impressed.

A big part of his game is chucking up a lot of crazy shots only he can hit. He can do it very consistently which is extremely unusual.

But let's not blow his game up to more than what it is. A lot of his game is built off of iso dribble and a lot of ball movement is generated from him being surrounded by defenders and having ballhandling skills to dribble his way out and find wide open teammates. We've seen some of that story fall apart some when draymond looks like shit and Iguodala or Barnes don't hit their open shots. He plays with a supporting cast that is playoff caliber even without him. On defense, he plays excellent within his role, but he is not a good man defender. His supporting defense is so good that he can play a specialized role on defense.

So yeah, I think his all around game is a bit overrated. But he is still an elite player in my book and the most dangerous offensive player in my book. I know kc connections laughing because I've done this same harsh critique on LeBron when I felt he was also getting overhyped. I wouldn't feel quite this way about Curry if he wasnt elevated to indefensible God status

[KC_Connection]

http://www.sports-reference.com/blog...shares-leader/

We hope everyone had a pleasant Memorial Day weekend. We just wanted to quickly mention something before it gets lost in the shuffle with the NBA Finals starting in two days. In the Cavaliers' Game 6 win over Toronto, LeBron James passed Michael Jordan to become the all-time leader in career postseason Win Shares. LeBron has, however, played more career postseason games and minutes than Jordan, so His Airness remains the all-time postseason leader in Win Shares Per 48 minutes.

Earlier this season, James passed Jordan to become the NBA's All-Time VORP leader (calculated since 1973-74).

Here's how the advanced statistics stack up for James and Jordan in their postseason careers (through the 2016 Eastern Conference Finals):

Player PER TS% TRB% AST% TOV% USG% OWS DWS WS WS/48 OBPM DBPM BPM VORP
LeBron James 27.5 .567 12.5 33.4 12.4 31.9 26.7 13.4 40.1 .238 7.3 3.2 10.5 25.6
Michael Jordan* 28.6 .568 9.3 28.2 9.4 35.6 27.3 12.4 39.8 .255 8.3 1.8 10.1 22.8

Curry will have to keep this level of production up for a decade if he wants to even come close to either of these two and even then it probably wouldn't be enough due to his weak defense. He's already 28.

[RealSNR]

Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501

Did I say he should stop taking those shots? I just said I don't think it's enjoyable basketball to watch.

I'm with you on Curry, but I recommend not talking to these guys anymore. You can heap all the praise on Curry that he deserves, but if you say you just don't like the guy, you're the worst person on earth.

It's like giving good reasons for not liking a movie. These guys don't understand context. All they perceive is that you're shitting on Curry, and you must be stopped!