****Official 2017 NBA Playoffs Thread****

[KC_Connection]

The real season begins.

Round 1:

EAST:

#8 Bulls @ #1 Celtics
#7 Pacers @ #2 Cavs
#6 Bucks @ #3 Raptors
#5 Hawks @ #4 Wizards

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

[Nirvana58]

Originally Posted by Rudy won the toss

I'll give you 13-14, but not 12-13. 45 wins with that crew is more impressive.

I will be honest and say I don't know to much about the 12-13 rockets team. I really like Harden as a player and thought the Thunder was morons for letting him go. I do remember Jeremy Lin being pretty good and Parsons hasn't had a horrible offensive career. Harden is definitely a top 5 player in the league.

Personally think Westbrook gets a bad rap when he has the most will to win of all 3. I love the passion he brings to the game and how much he wants to win. He isn't shooting all these shots because of the stats. He is doing it because his team is garbage and there best chance to win is that he has the ball the entire game. If Durant had half of Westbrook fire the Thunder would of won 3-4 championships while he was there.

Bottom line if I am building a team and those 3 are on the board. Westbrook is my first pick. What he has done this season is simply amazing.

[mcaj22]

yea with 3 other teammates about to make 20 million plus

while Harden does it with guys making 3, 6, 7 million

[Nirvana58]

Originally Posted by mcaj22

yea with 3 other teammates about to make 20 million plus

while Harden does it with guys making 3, 6, 7 million

Who on the Thunder do you want for the Rockets? Starter for starter if you could swap their position with Houston's counterpart.

[dls6501]

Originally Posted by mcaj22

yea with 3 other teammates about to make 20 million plus

while Harden does it with guys making 3, 6, 7 million

There isnt a basketball fan/analyst/whoever that would take Oladipo, Kanter and Adams over the three guys making 3, 6 and 7 million.

Using salaries to try to place value on players is absolutely idiotic.

[Pitt Gorilla]

Originally Posted by mcaj22

The Rockets were not projected to be good this year. They weren't projected to be close to this. They are one of the biggest surprises of the year and thats in part to Harden and D'Antoni. (Yes the same D'Antoni that was a failure on the Lakers and started this current crapfest downfall the New York Knicks are on)

Rockets took spare parts, literally a broken down Nene and platooned him with a guy named Clint Capela. They signed Eric Gordon to what clearly is now a very good looking deal for them so far, under market value. They paid probably top dollar for Ryan Anderson and were laughed at.

Basically took the spare parts from NO that Anthony Davis couldn't win with that were labeled injury prone players and have given them more open looks than they have seen in their entire careers.

Now you're saying they are better than the Thunder because you saw what the team can do this year, yo guess what the THUNDER HAVE 4 MAX CONTRACTS ON THEIR TEAM THE ROCKETS HAVE NOTHING CLOSE TO THAT.

You can say its because of bad GMing all you want, but the Thunder are paying way more for their talent and they are getting way less out of it, scheme, coaching whatever. But if you want to say James Harden is only better than Westbrook because Eric Gordon is better than Oladipo (who is making almost 10 million more than Eric Gordon) then I'm going to laugh at you and call you an idiot.

Still don't understand why Presti wouldn't give Harden a max deal. I mean there is stupid, and then there is incompetently stupid. OKC Fan was killing me for hating the Harden trade and bagging on Presti. Now, many of them are beginning to agree.

[dls6501]

Originally Posted by Pitt Gorilla

Still don't understand why Presti wouldn't give Harden a max deal. I mean there is stupid, and then there is incompetently stupid. OKC Fan was killing me for hating the Harden trade and bagging on Presti. Now, many of them are beginning to agree.

The fact that OKc decided to get rid of Harden in favor of being able to keep Kendrick Perkins in retrospect is one of the worst decisions in basketball history.

[mcaj22]

Originally Posted by dls6501

There isnt a basketball fan/analyst/whoever that would take Oladipo, Kanter and Adams over the three guys making 3, 6 and 7 million.

Using salaries to try to place value on players is absolutely idiotic.

LOL what. Any GM, analytics nerd, or basketball fan would take the 24 year old combo guard with room to grow over the 30 year old journeymen guard.

You Westbrook homers are just mad because that Rockets scheme worked when nobody expected it to. James Harden is elevating the play of a bunch of 30 year old journeyman and you're only counter is "well those guys are more talented than what Westbrook has to work with"

It's really a joke. Like nobody building a roster in their right mind would take 31 year old Trevor Ariza over the 23 year old 7 foot center Steven Adams.

You're just reaching at that point and you don't want to admit that James Harden's efficiency and floor spacing scheme with a bunch of spare parts is beating the Thunder and their younger talent, 3 of which are on maxed contracts.

[Pitt Gorilla]

Originally Posted by dls6501

The fact that OKc decided to get rid of Harden in favor of being able to keep Kendrick Perkins in retrospect is one of the worst decisions in basketball history.

Resigning Perkins by itself is one of the worst decisions in basketball history. In the bigger picture, you'd also have to work a young Jeff Green into the calculus as well.

[mcaj22]

Nene - Veteran with no knees, can't even be played full time platooned with a younger guy to play the 5. 100 years old
Clint Capela - breakout season, didn't real do anything great until playing in this scheme where he's the only guy in the paint. 22 years old
Ryan Anderson - nice stretch big for today's era, only guy on the roster make any big money besides Harden. 2nd highest paid player (LOL). This is only the second time in his career he's started every game in a season he's played in. He was a 6th man in NO. 28 years old
Eric Gordon - 6th man relegated to 7th man by mid season, never played more than 64 games in a season. 28 years old
Trevor Ariza - been in the league about 20 years. 31 years old
Patrick Beverly - Harden's Delly, scrappy hustle guy 28 years old
Lou Williams - 30. journeymen. great season.
Dekkear - young 22 nice season.

Steven Adams - 23, 7 footer
Jerami Grant - 23, blocks shots, working on 3 ball
Enes Kanter - 24, offensive spark, useless liability in todays game
Taj Gibson - 31, saavy tradition veteran PF
Doug McBuckets - 25, shooter
Oladipo - 24 combo guard
Roberson - 25 plays defense
Singler - 28 sucks
Abrines - 23, shooter



So what are you mad at, that Harden is beating the younger more athletic team with a bunch of older spare parts shooters? Like you're telling me you'd rather Eric Gordon or Lou Williams over Oladipo?

so because Ryan Anderson is a matchup nightmare and is making Enes Kanter useless everybody else just sucks?


If Harden was on the Thunder he would make McBuckets, Roberson, Abrines, etc just as good as he does Lou, Gordon, Ariza. He plays a different more efficient game. He would actually have the younger more athletic versions of what he currently has so he might even be better.

[dls6501]

Originally Posted by mcaj22

LOL what. Any GM, analytics nerd, or basketball fan would take the 24 year old combo guard with room to grow over the 30 year old journeymen guard.

You Westbrook homers are just mad because that Rockets scheme worked when nobody expected it to. James Harden is elevating the play of a bunch of 30 year old journeyman and you're only counter is "well those guys are more talented than what Westbrook has to work with"

It's really a joke. Like nobody building a roster in their right mind would take 31 year old Trevor Ariza over the 23 year old 7 foot center Steven Adams.

You're just reaching at that point and you don't want to admit that James Harden's efficiency and floor spacing scheme with a bunch of spare parts is beating the Thunder and their younger talent, 3 of which are on maxed contracts.

Who's play is being elevated though really?

Gordon? Nope. Statistically, he is not having even close to his best year. Percentages are all down.

Ariza? Nope. Same thing. His percentages are not at the top of his career.

Beverley? Nope. His shooting percentages this year are not better than other years of his career.

Lou Williams? All of his percentages were substantially better when he was a Laker.

Ryan Anderson? Nope While his eFG% is better than the last couple of years, his FG% is down this year, and his 3P% is below some of his other seasons.

Bottom line is, people saying Harden is making these guys what they are currently, are talking out of their ass. The Rockets simply have better players around Harden than what Russ has around him. The idea that Harden is making these players is not based on anything. If that was really the case, these guys would all be having career years. They arent.

Meanwhile, Victor Oladipo, who isnt a very good player, is having a career year in FG%, 3P%, and eFG%.

But Russ doesnt make the players around him better and Harden does.

[mcaj22]

you just called all those guys shitty around Harden then say in the next sentence they are better than what Russ has around him

It can't be both. Russ can't have the worse players and then Harden also has worse players he's not making better.

Someone between the two is elevating the talent around them either by talent or scheme, that's how this game works.

[dls6501]

Wow. THAT is your interpretation of what I wrote? SMH. Reading comprehension skills are severely lacking, if that is what you think I meant.

In spite of your claims, I never called those guys shitty. Not once. All I said was that the idea that Harden is making these guys better than they have been in years past is categorically false. You are right that it cant be both. And I never once said it was both.

And then you continue to say that Harden is elevating their play. Care to show me how? Because the 5 players I mentioned are not playing better than they played in years past. Its simply a narrative that you and others are choosing to run with because the Rockets record is so good.

[-King-]

If you had to pick a supporting cast for one year, no one is picking the Thunder's over the rockets.
Posted via Mobile Device

[Rudy tossed tigger's salad]

LeBron to sit 2nd half?

[dirk digler]

Lol the Cavs D is shit