NBA 2016-2017 Season

[DarthFed]

A little late to start this thread as the season started a week ago. It does figure to be a 2 team league when all is said and done but maybe that's the type of thought that leads to a ton of surprises. I will say that I'd be more surprised if Cleveland doesn't win the East than I would be if Golden State doesn't win the West. San Antonio is still San Antonio but Durant kind of owns them so that could tip things further in the Warriors' favor. I do think on top of early-season chemistry issues the Warriors are going to struggle on defense and rebounding. Bogut was an underrated part of that team.

I think the MVP will be Westbrook as long as OKC finishes top 5 or so in the West and they are off to a strong start so far. He is going to come close to averaging a triple double this year and may even do it.

If not Westbrook it will be Lebron. For some reason I think he may gun for it this year to try to get his 5th MVP even though it'd be wise to coast like he has the past few years. I was very wrong about how much game/athleticism he still has. I knew he was coasting and will always turn it up for the playoffs but his play in the playoffs a couple years ago was much worse than last year and had me thinking he was no longer the best in the league.

It doesn't really look to be one of the more interesting years but I'm sure there will be some surprises.

I think Golden State takes it over Cleveland this year but it figures to be another big time battle.

 

[DarthFed]

No big surprises to start the year aside from maybe the Clippers and Hornets playing way better than expected. The Clippers will flame out because they simply always do. OKC is struggling after their hot start. I think they'll struggle to be a top 5 team, more likely 6-8 in the West. Golden State, LAC, SAS will definitely all be better but then you have Portland, Houston, and maybe Memphis in there as well.

 

[brokenshoelace]

OKC's hot start was largely the result of a pretty easy schedule. They're just not that good. The roster right now around Westbrook is pathetic. If Oladipo starts playing better as he did last night then that will help, but they literally have nobody who can shoot outside of Morrow who never plays, so their floor spacing is awful.

When they're synced in their defense can be extremely good, but some of their best defenders are huge offensive liabilities. Andre Roberson last night was a perfect example of that. He was 1-11 while missing all sorts of layups and open 3's (and missing them badly), but he really played out of his mind guarding Harden on the other end.

Their second unit is garbage and whenever Westbrook is off the floor the team has to try their hardest just to survive.

Presti needs to make some moves. They need a scorer ASAP. Rudy Gay is the name being thrown around and I would really like that move.

On the other hand, Russ' dunk was unreal.

 

[DarthFed]

Giannis keeps coming along nicely. He will be an all star this year and probably a superstar by next year. It's still the Bucks so I have no faith they'll ever be good but the opportunity is there within a couple years and the new stadium being built should help generate a lot more buzz around here. As for this year they'll be somewhere between #7 and #10 in the East. They still have no shooting and their defense is not at the level it was a couple years ago.

 

[Federberg]

this was just ridiculous!

 

[Federberg]

What's the scoop on the Lebron Barkley saga? Is he whining? Seems to me he's getting scared about how strong GSW has become. Thoughts?

 

[DarthFed]

Sir Charles is right, Lebron is being whiny and dramatic. Lebron has always been the GM and head coach of the team since he left Miami, he even was both in Miami to a certain degree. If he badly wanted someone on the team they would do everything possible to appease him. This is the team he put together and they are struggling right now and he is surprisingly overreacting. The team will still post over 55 wins and likely have the #1 seed in the East but he's acting as though they should be able to land more stars and win 70 games or something. The problem for Lebron is that he coasts during the regular season to stay somewhat fresh for the postseason. And the fact that he can put up 26/8/8.5 while coasting is ridiculous but there it is. In the regular season he is not the best player in the league, he's not an MVP candidate this year and I think that bothers him. If he wants to go out and win 60+ games he is going to have to expend a lot more energy and that will damage their chances in the playoffs. When he turns it up a notch in the playoffs he's proven that he is still the best player in the world by a good amount so there is no need to change what has been working for him and his teams. Basically he wants to have his cake and eat it too and he's being a baby about it. The Cavs are farther over the cap than anyone (the owner pays the largest luxury tax in the league) so it's not like they have been cheap when it comes to bringing in players..

 

[Federberg]

^Yes that's exactly what I thought. Can't understand how some people try to say he's as great as MJ

 

[DarthFed]

I honestly don't see too many people saying that. There were a lot more people saying it with Kobe Bryant and that was beyond laughable. Kobe was never really close to the same level as MJ. When all is said and done Lebron is going to be seen as probably the 2nd or 3rd greatest of all time IMO. Some have him there already but that's still too early and a lot of it is that Kareem gets disrespected in these "greatest" lists.

 

[Federberg]

I guess maybe because I'm across the water and I watch youtube streams with the likes of Skip and Stephen A Smith. Glad to hear there's common sense. I watched Chris Broussard saying that Lebron was virtually there already and I just shook my head

 

[Federberg]

First sport I checked on this morning when I woke up was the NBA. Wanted to see how the Warriors fared against the Spurs. Looks like they put the hammer down. They've gone back to last years team. Maybe they should just sit KD down when he gets back. They look lethal

 

[DarthFed]

It was a huge win for them as it practically clinches the #1 seed barring a huge collapse. And SA was at home and they were leading by 22 points and the Warriors didn't have Durant. That's pretty demoralizing. It's true that the Warriors have found themselves again following really bad play after they lost Durant. I don't think sitting him when he gets back is wise, they are still much better with him than without him and they should be because he is the best player on that team. They might get through the West without him (and I say might because SA would be tough in a 7 game series without Durant) but if the Lebron's are in the finals and playing well Golden State would not beat them/him without Durant. It's sometimes easy to forget they lost decent pieces from that team last year (Bogut, Barnes, and even Speights)

 

[Federberg]

True. But clearly it takes time for the to adjust to having him back in the team. They'd better hope that he's back playing before the playoffs start. By that time they would have probably won the West so it wouldn't matter if they lost games while he's fitting back into their play

 

[DarthFed]

I agree that it'd be very ideal that he returns the last week of the regular season and they play him light minutes. I suppose it wouldn't be the end of the world if he comes back during the first round and again they ease him back into it. They definitely wouldn't need him to win the first 2 rounds of the playoffs.

 

[Murat Baslamisli]

I am just amazed that a player (Westbrook) is guaranteed to average a triple double. Oscar Robertson did that in the 60's and I never thought I would see the day again. And yet there is still talk Harden may get the MVP ! I mean , no offense but, really?

 

[DarthFed]

I will start by saying I've never liked Westbrook or Harden but what they've done this year is incredible. I actually do think it should be a Co-MVP and trust me I never have thought that in any sport before. Usually you have a clear winner. Westbrook has the historic stats and he's dragged a very bad team to the playoffs. Harden has phenomenal stats as well, and he has dragged a bad team to a much better record than Westbrook has. It is going to be very close but if I was to guess it goes to Westbrook.