NBA 2017-2018

[ArseHat]

IMO the biggest factor will be mental and physical fatigue for the Warriors since no team can match them talent wise. They’ve been to three straight finals, and even Jordan’s Bulls and Kobe/Shaq Lakers never made it to four straight finals. LeBron did with the Heat, but went 2-2, and they played in a weaker conference.

They need to pace themselves this season, which is why some of the bizarre losses they’ve had isn’t a big deal imo. Shaq used to say to judge in the playoffs when the Lakers were criticized for seemingly taking games off in the early 2000s. Barring injuries, I still have them to win it all, and it will be a big upset if they fail.

 

[Keeps It tidy]

Igoudala so far this season looks like he might have lost a step and their bench does not look as strong as they were the last 3 seasons. Those reasons are why I am starting to wonder if they repeat this season.

 

[charlton66]

Igoudala so far this season looks like he might have lost a step and their bench does not look as strong as they were the last 3 seasons. Those reasons are why I am starting to wonder if they repeat this season.

Iggy certainly didn't start the season well but I think he realizes that his legs are not what they were and only steps up when needed. This has happened the last week or so when the big 4 have struggled at times. In the past you could almost guarantee the Dubs would start off well, Curry would then sit, the other team would get back into it in the second quarter and then the Dubs would run away with it in the third with everybody sitting in the fourth. Since mid January their first quarters have mostly been terrible and if they've managed to get back into the game at all it's because the second unit (the three wise men - Sean Livingston, Iggy and David West) have started to play some defense and shut the other team down. That's exactly what happened against the Spurs (and the previous game against the Mavs for that matter). If the second unit doesn't get it together they've generally gone further behind and then just got blown out altogether (OKC and the Jazz for instance). I actually think the bench is much better this year than in previous years.

But imo, the deciding factor will be the bench. The second unit of Warriors usually kill the teams.

The James Michael McAdoo's, Anderson Varejao's and Brandon Rush's are no more.

 

[Sarni]

What the hell has got into Jazz, they are the best team in the league now.

 

[Sarni]

IMO the biggest factor will be mental and physical fatigue for the Warriors since no team can match them talent wise. They’ve been to three straight finals, and even Jordan’s Bulls and Kobe/Shaq Lakers never made it to four straight finals. LeBron did with the Heat, but went 2-2, and they played in a weaker conference.

They need to pace themselves this season, which is why some of the bizarre losses they’ve had isn’t a big deal imo. Shaq used to say to judge in the playoffs when the Lakers were criticized for seemingly taking games off in the early 2000s. Barring injuries, I still have them to win it all, and it will be a big upset if they fail.

They have already learned the importance of not going over the top with regular season performances in 2016, the 73-9 did them no good in the playoffs.

They will win championship this year comfortably. Worst case scenario when it comes to the playoffs, if they find themselves struggling against the Rockets they will send Zaza to injure Paul or Harden and it will be series done anyway.

 

[charlton66]

Don't like that Steve Kerr is letting the players coach the team tonight. The Warriors are better than the Suns, everybody knows this so there's no need to rub it in. At times the Dubs (coach included) have behaved like a bunch of jerks this year. IMLTHO, this does not help matters and is just more of the same.

A bit disappointed in them to be honest.

 

[Keeps It tidy]

Don't like that Steve Kerr is letting the players coach the team tonight. The Warriors are better than the Suns, everybody knows this so there's no need to rub it in. At times the Dubs (coach included) have behaved like a bunch of jerks this year. IMLTHO, this does not help matters and is just more of the same.

A bit disappointed in them to be honest.

They are just trying to keep players engaged. Finding a way to break up the monotony.

 

[charlton66]

They are just trying to keep players engaged. Finding a way to break up the monotony.

That might be so, but when everybody thinks you've been behaving like arseholes the entire season with all the pissing and moaning towards the refs and technicals right and left, I don't think this is a good look whatever the reasoning.

 

[Sarni]

Utah Jazz.

 

[ZDwyr]

I can see both sides of the Warriors argument. I actually think it's a pretty good coaching move by Kerr to give the players that responsibility. No way he does it against an elite team though. So it could be seen as disrespectful to the Suns.

Was impressed with the Jazz winning but saw that Aldridge was also out for the Spurs. Impressed they even got that close.

 

[Sarni]

I can see both sides of the Warriors argument. I actually think it's a pretty good coaching move by Kerr to give the players that responsibility. No way he does it against an elite team though. So it could be seen as disrespectful to the Suns.

Was impressed with the Jazz winning but saw that Aldridge was also out for the Spurs. Impressed they even got that close.

Spurs are always good regardless of who plays. Jazz were on back to back and it was their 10th win on the trot which has climbed them up above .500.

29-28 now and looking at their calendar between now and the end of year I can easily see them ending around 45-37 or 46-36 which would be astonishing for a team that was 19-28 just three weeks ago.

 

[charlton66]

Spurs are always good regardless of who plays. Jazz were on back to back and it was their 10th win on the trot which has climbed them up above .500.

29-28 now and looking at their calendar between now and the end of year I can easily see them ending around 45-37 or 46-36 which would be astonishing for a team that was 19-28 just three weeks ago.

(After the Warriors)...the Philadelphia 76ers have the second-easiest remaining schedule (opponents averaging a minus-1.5 rSRS), putting them in prime position to improve on their current status as the No. 8 seed in the East. After that we have the Charlotte Hornets (minus-1.1 rSRS), Dallas Mavericks (minus-0.7 rSRS) and Utah Jazz (minus-0.5 rSRS).

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...ad-the-wizards-do-not/?utm_term=.2ec0d0b81ff9

 

[Sarni]

(After the Warriors)...the Philadelphia 76ers have the second-easiest remaining schedule (opponents averaging a minus-1.5 rSRS), putting them in prime position to improve on their current status as the No. 8 seed in the East. After that we have the Charlotte Hornets (minus-1.1 rSRS), Dallas Mavericks (minus-0.7 rSRS) and Utah Jazz (minus-0.5 rSRS).

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...ad-the-wizards-do-not/?utm_term=.2ec0d0b81ff9

I think Sixers will end up with around 44-46 wins. I would have them even better than that but they still sort of lack experience.

Utah I have at around 43-45. They have just slightly tougher schedule but more experience and better form. They are playing Suns at home twice, Grizzlies, Mavericks, Magic at home, and a lot of other easy games.

I don't see how Pistons are going to crawl back into playoffs and even if they do, it definitely won't be at the expense of 76ers. I think Sixers will be 5th or 6th seed and I won't be surprised at all if they climb to 4th and get homecourt advantage. Belinelli's addition is going to be huge for them.

On the other hand I think Blazers could miss out on the playffs. We will battle it out with Pelicans and Clippers for the 8th seed and honestly I don't even know if I want it, it will just mean additional blowout loss to the Warriors in the playoffs which we could do without. Let Clippers or Pelicans have it and get a better pick in the draft instead.

 

[RDCR07]

It's honestly all about the playoffs, they've learned from Bron and the Cavs. I'm thankful James and Chris have both spent time away injured, otherwise I'd worry about burn out.

As to your previous comments about the bench, if the Joe Johnson deal goes through, then I think our bench is massively better than yours. But, your starters definitely make the balance on your side. Think Kerr needs to break out the death lineup from minute one and bench Zaza/West because if they play 40 minutes combined a game I will take my chances.

As weird as it might sound, I think Capela makes the biggest difference if/when we get matched up in the playoffs. If he can handle Draymond and then being switched onto KD/Steph, I think we could possibly win. Otherwise I'm very nervous.

You can play who ever you want where ever you want on the floor. You aint beating that team 4 times out of 7. No one is this year. End of story.

 

[RDCR07]

One game James goes off, one game cp3 goes off, then all you need is two other games of just raining 3s. Which when we have 7-8 shooters, doesn’t sound that impossible.

And they have no one who can go off the same way? They can have two of their four all stars not have a good game and still win. You NEED Harden to go off all four games to even have a chance.

 

[RDCR07]

I've been underwhelmed by Klay this year from a playmaking perspective, but he will be a difficult matchup, although I think Eric will do a decent enough job of replicating him that they'll cancel each other out. If I were an NBA coach, I'd give Draymond the Andre Roberson treatment and let him brick catch and shoot jumpers all day. It comes down to Steph and KD vs. Harden and CP.

KD is a fecking god amongst mortals, and I'm sure he'll average 40, but Harden ain't no chump on the offensive end.
CP stats v. Steph stats lifetime against each other respectively:
22.1 PPG 9.1 APG 4.6 RPG on 49% FG shooting and 35% from 3
20.6 PPG 6.1 APG 4 RPG on 47% FG shooting and 45% from 3
They're basically dead even.

The difference this is year, as compared to other years, is that we just have more quality depth and spacing and that is why I think we can win 4 games. Once JJ signs, our bench is way, way better. I disagree with your point that Harden needs to go off. Obviously the playoffs are a different animal, but every game this year against playoff teams we've had at least 5 guys in double figures. Even our last win against GS proves my point. Harden had 22, CP had 33, Capela 18. We beat Minny by 20 and Harden had 10 points.

Still, we're far from guaranteed, and I wouldn't even be surprised for Dubs to open the series as -400 favorites and might even place a bet on them if it's lower than that. They deserve it and they've earned the respect.

It aint that easy man. You cant just take people out of the game like that. Firstly Klay is capable of getting 30-40 any day of the week. In terms of pure shooting, I think he is in the top 5 of all time with his teammate being another one of the 5. Gordon is good but he will never that good.

And regular season games dont count for shit. How many teams have beaten the Cavs during the regular season? But come playoffs, no team in the East stood a chance in the previous years. So lets not even compare the Wolves and Golden State. Its not even a competition.

 

[Eboue]

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[ZDwyr]

I actually don't think that was that impressive. Maybe I'm alone on that though. LeBron had a better one in the first quarter. He was insane today. When he's hitting his jump shot he is still unstoppable.

 

[Revan]

Can't see Rockets win more than once against Dubs when playoff comes. Harden and Paul are probably playing at their best, while KD and Curry are playing nowhere near as good as they can. We saw the same thing last season, when KD in the finals matched (if not bettered James) and Curry was the third best player in the series. But on regular seasons, they weren't even in top 5, cause they weren't giving it all. Klay and Green are better than anyone bar big two in Rockets team. And people are underestimating Dubs bench. West, Iggy, and Young are very good players. If Klay's shooting is off, you can bet than Young will be there to compensate.

Honestly, the only team I could have seen stopping this Dubs team is Spurs if Leonard was injury free. Not because of talent, but because they have arguably the greatest coach in the history of the game. But that ain't happening this year. So, I guess it will be 4-0 against any team which isn't Rockets and Cavs, and 4-1 against them.

NB: I was kind of right last season, when I predicted a sweep in every series, and missed it by one.

 

[ZDwyr]

Nick Young is not a 'very good' player. If Klay's shooting is off he will still play because of his defence. You think the Warriors want Nick Young guarding Harden or Paul?

 

[Revan]

Nick Young is not a 'very good' player. If Klay's shooting is off he will still play because of his defence. You think the Warriors want Nick Young guarding Harden or Paul?

He can play 5 minutes and score a couple (or more) three pointers though. Of course, he isn't starting material, but he score if Dubs shooters are having problems.

 

[Ayush_reddevil]

Young has been really disappointing so far , gets his numbers from easy games and done very little in tight games

 

[Jagga7]

Rockets looking incredible, looking like a legitimate threat to the Warriors. A WCF between these 2 could be epic.

 

[adexkola]

Spurs are always good regardless of who plays. Jazz were on back to back and it was their 10th win on the trot which has climbed them up above .500.

29-28 now and looking at their calendar between now and the end of year I can easily see them ending around 45-37 or 46-36 which would be astonishing for a team that was 19-28 just three weeks ago.

Quin Snyder is a really underrated coach. His story is very fascinating too.

 

[elmo]

Quin Snyder is a really underrated coach. His story is very fascinating too.

Pop, Spo and Carlise are the only ones better than him right now.

 

[charlton66]

Pop, Spo and Carlise are the only ones better than him right now.

With the exception of Pop, I'd take Steve Kerr over all of them. The guy just gets no credit. All you ever hear is that he's got the best players, he should win blah, blah, blah..... He took over a 50 win team that was decent, not great. Good defense, stagnant offense. He turned them into world beaters. A couple of days ago he became the fastest ever to 250 wins, not just in the NBA but in all of American sports. It took him 302 games. The next best is Phil Jackson at 346. Jackson is credited as being one of the best coaches of all time even though he inherited MJ, Shaq and Kobe. Kerr has done it by turning Stephen Curry, plus a bunch of relative no names and kids just out of college into one of the best teams of all time. Kerr is up there with the best but somehow people just don't seem to see it.

 

[Sarni]

Pop, Spo and Carlise are the only ones better than him right now.

Brad Stevens belongs in the same conversation IMO.

 

[Sarni]

With the exception of Pop, I'd take Steve Kerr over all of them. The guy just gets no credit. All you ever hear is that he's got the best players, he should win blah, blah, blah..... He took over a 50 win team that was decent, not great. Good defense, stagnant offense. He turned them into world beaters. A couple of days ago he became the fastest ever to 250 wins, not just in the NBA but in all of American sports. It took him 302 games. The next best is Phil Jackson at 346. Jackson is credited as being one of the best coaches of all time even though he inherited MJ, Shaq and Kobe. Kerr has done it by turning Stephen Curry, plus a bunch of relative no names and kids just out of college into one of the best teams of all time. Kerr is up there with the best but somehow people just don't seem to see it.

He took over a very good team, did very well with them and then added a top 3 player because NBA was stupid enough to allow teams to spend $20M additional cap in one go. He's a very good coach but it's unfair to have him over Spoelstra or Snyder who have managed struggling teams and have proven to be able to get them out of the slump, while using a pretty average roster.

Look at who Spoelstra has had for the last two seasons at Miami and how well he has done under the circumstances. Snyder lost his best player and the team has recovered brilliantly too. Kerr has not worked under such circumstances.

 

[Sarni]

BTW I read today that Jazz projected record for this season is 46-36 and they have 82% chance to make the playoffs according to study conducted by one of the stations. Pretty remarkable if they really pull this off.

Blazers have 60% chance and are supposed to end up 43-39. Purgatory.

 

[elmo]

With the exception of Pop, I'd take Steve Kerr over all of them. The guy just gets no credit. All you ever hear is that he's got the best players, he should win blah, blah, blah..... He took over a 50 win team that was decent, not great. Good defense, stagnant offense. He turned them into world beaters. A couple of days ago he became the fastest ever to 250 wins, not just in the NBA but in all of American sports. It took him 302 games. The next best is Phil Jackson at 346. Jackson is credited as being one of the best coaches of all time even though he inherited MJ, Shaq and Kobe. Kerr has done it by turning Stephen Curry, plus a bunch of relative no names and kids just out of college into one of the best teams of all time. Kerr is up there with the best but somehow people just don't seem to see it.

Klay, Bogut, David Lee and Igoudola aren't no names...

Most important thing Kerr did was to unleash the Warriors offense by making them play ball instead of the isolation shit Mark Jackson was making them play. I want Kerr to prove what he can do when he faces an injury crisis before I'm ready to proclaim him above Spo and Carlise too.

 

[elmo]

Brad Stevens belongs in the same conversation IMO.

Same tier as Synder and Kerr in my opinion. They've all proven that they're great with what they've shown so far, but need to show a bit more before I'm ready to say they're up there with the likes of Pop and Spo.

Major difference in their achievements has been all down to luck with their roster and the sheer difference in team quality.

Kerr literally has no major injury crisis for us to see what he can do when the Warriors are short-handed.

Synder proven that he can handle injuries in his team well, but really need to see him prove himself in the playoffs when he actually has a healthy roster.

Stevens need to prove that the Celtics are a proper contender and not just another checkoff for LeBron's route to the Finals.

 

[elmo]

He took over a very good team, did very well with them and then added a top 3 player because NBA was stupid enough to allow teams to spend $20M additional cap in one go. He's a very good coach but it's unfair to have him over Spoelstra or Snyder who have managed struggling teams and have proven to be able to get them out of the slump, while using a pretty average roster.

Look at who Spoelstra has had for the last two seasons at Miami and how well he has done under the circumstances. Snyder lost his best player and the team has recovered brilliantly too. Kerr has not worked under such circumstances.

I honestly feel like Spo gets way too little credit. The Heats team is basically a bunch of G league players with Whiteside and Dragic. How they're even in playoff contention is amazing, let alone how Spo gets them on incredible winning streaks like last season.

 

[RDCR07]

Same tier as Synder and Kerr in my opinion. They've all proven that they're great with what they've shown so far, but need to show a bit more before I'm ready to say they're up there with the likes of Pop and Spo.

Major difference in their achievements has been all down to luck with their roster and the sheer difference in team quality.

Kerr literally has no major injury crisis for us to see what he can do when the Warriors are short-handed.

Synder proven that he can handle injuries in his team well, but really need to see him prove himself in the playoffs when he actually has a healthy roster.

Stevens need to prove that the Celtics are a proper contender and not just another checkoff for LeBron's route to the Finals.

Wait but Spoelstra hasnt exactly proven to be a contender either. Stevens actually has by making the semis of the playoffs last year.

 

[charlton66]

Klay, Bogut, David Lee and Igoudola aren't no names...

Most important thing Kerr did was to unleash the Warriors offense by making them play ball instead of the isolation shit Mark Jackson was making them play. I want Kerr to prove what he can do when he faces an injury crisis before I'm ready to proclaim him above Spo and Carlise too.

Klay was 24 when Kerr took over as was Draymond. Klay was a starter, Draymond was not. As to Bogut, Iggy and David Lee, they have 3 all star appearances between them (2 for Lee and 1 for Iggy) and one 3rd team all NBA for Lee. Maybe it is an exaggeration to say these guys were no names but they were certainly not stars either. In addition, since David Lee had injury problems that first year and only actually started 4 games playing less than 20 mpg in those he did play in, the team was down to Iggy's 1 all star appearance for the most part as far as actual performance awards are concerned, (even Steph only had 1 all star appearance when Kerr took over). Now that the Dubs are winning right and left history has suddenly taken a bit of a rewrite and somehow everyone was a star. When he took over there was no way anybody could have predicted what would happen in the next 3 1/2 years. Like I said, Steve Kerr is up there with the best but people just fail to see it.

Coaching talent is hard (ask LeBron). Coaching mediocrity is easy because nobody holds you accountable.

 

[Revan]

With the exception of Pop, I'd take Steve Kerr over all of them. The guy just gets no credit. All you ever hear is that he's got the best players, he should win blah, blah, blah..... He took over a 50 win team that was decent, not great. Good defense, stagnant offense. He turned them into world beaters. A couple of days ago he became the fastest ever to 250 wins, not just in the NBA but in all of American sports. It took him 302 games. The next best is Phil Jackson at 346. Jackson is credited as being one of the best coaches of all time even though he inherited MJ, Shaq and Kobe. Kerr has done it by turning Stephen Curry, plus a bunch of relative no names and kids just out of college into one of the best teams of all time. Kerr is up there with the best but somehow people just don't seem to see it.

He gets a lot of credit in US, which is all that matters. I think that only Pop is rated higher than him.

Kerr is essentially Pep Guardiola of basketball. Totally revolutionized the game, and built arguably the greatest ever team. Haters gonna hate though, and who cares about that.

 

[Sarni]

I honestly feel like Spo gets way too little credit. The Heats team is basically a bunch of G league players with Whiteside and Dragic. How they're even in playoff contention is amazing, let alone how Spo gets them on incredible winning streaks like last season.

Whiteside was a G League player not that long ago too.

 

[ZDwyr]

He gets a lot of credit in US, which is all that matters. I think that only Pop is rated higher than him.

Kerr is essentially Pep Guardiola of basketball. Totally revolutionized the game, and built arguably the greatest ever team. Haters gonna hate though, and who cares about that.

How did Kerr revolutionize the game? His offensive system is pretty similar to the San Antonio one (where his coaching background is). They move the ball a lot and set a lot of off-ball screens. It is crazy effective because he has crazily effective offensive stars. He didn't really 'build' the team either. Three of the stars were already there, he just transformed Mark Jackson's trash offense into something that suited them better. Then got KD handed to him on a platter. Not to mention how lucky the Warriors got with Steph's contract.

For sure he seems like a good coach and he deserves a lot of praise for how he made the Warriors offense work, but there's a lot of hyperbole in your post IMO.

 

[Revan]

How did Kerr revolutionize the game? His offensive system is pretty similar to the San Antonio one (where his coaching background is). They move the ball a lot and set a lot of off-ball screens. It is crazy effective because he has crazily effective offensive stars. He didn't really 'build' the team either. Three of the stars were already there, he just transformed Mark Jackson's trash offense into something that suited them better. Then got KD handed to him on a platter. Not to mention how lucky the Warriors got with Steph's contract.

For sure he seems like a good coach and he deserves a lot of praise for how he made the Warriors offense work, but there's a lot of hyperbole in your post IMO.

The entire game moving toward three pointers should be accredited to Kerr, same as how keeping the ball forever is accredited to Pep (he wasn't the first coach ever to play possession football). The way they did it, and the domination they did, actually forced the other coaches to implement similar ideas.

Green wasn't even a starter when Kerr joined Dubs, Steph was having injury problems, Klay was still a young player who hadn't done much, and Dubs offense wasn't clicking.

 

[Moby]

Steve Kerr created small ball. Who knew.

 

[charlton66]

Steve Kerr created small ball. Who knew.

Well the style was first credited to the Dean of Warrior head coaches - Don "Nellie" Nelson with his "Nellie ball".

Nellie Ball is an unconventional offensive strategy in basketball developed by NBA head coach Don "Nellie" Nelson. It is a fast-paced run-and-gun offense relying on smaller, more athletic players who can create mismatches by outrunning their opponents. A true center is usually not needed to run this type of offense.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nellie_Ball

Run TMC - woohoo!!!