Jrag Posted December 31, 2015 Share Posted December 31, 2015 Also, last night was a pretty good indicator of why I shy away from the "Draymond is a top 10 guy" talk. I love me some Draymond, but dude is used to catching the ball at the top of the key with the defense already broken. Funny how things change without an otherworldly force sucking multiple defenders out past the 3 point line. Although I don't rank Draymond that high, I still think he is a monster who plays the game in a completely unique way. Can't say the same for Klay, though. That dude is pretty much a 3 and D guy who gets REALLY hot sometimes. I can't even imagine the dip in his stats if Curry missed an extended period of time. When people try to argue that Klay is in the top tier of SG's I just do this: Where to rank him though is an interesting conversation. Harden is obviously in a tier of his own, but Klay is nowhere near Jimmy Butler's level either. Is he better than guys who can't shoot as well, but can get their own shot like Derozan or Old Man Wade? Is he better than CJ McCollum? I would lean towards yes because of his defense, but even that might be overrated considering he is rarely guarding the opposing teams best wing. The Warriors switch on EVERYONE though. It's not just Draymond who guards 1-5 on that team. Klay's a huge part of that because of his length. I'll look up his drives and interior numbers later. But it's either Klay or Butler for being the second best SG in the league. There's a huge drop off after that. Klay is really friggin' good. I don't think it's even close between Klay and Butler. Obviously I'm a little biased here, but Klay would never be tasked with guarding Lebron or KD for long stretches. They do switch a lot, but we're talking about a starting lineup featuring Draymond and Bogut with Iggy coming off the bench.. His defensive prowess is so overestimated because of who he plays with. Offensively he takes and makes semi-open spot up 3s at an insanely high clip, but the rest of his game? He can't dribble, drive, create his own shot or pass as well as Butler. Isn't anywhere near Butler on an athletic level. I legit think he might be the most overrated player in the league. I would say the gap between Butler and Klay is bigger than the gap between Klay and 2015 D Wade for instance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodhelmet Posted December 31, 2015 Share Posted December 31, 2015 Props to Ish Smith for getting some play. When the Pelicans beat the Spurs earlier this year, Ish Smith carved us up. Anyway, while the rest of you continue talking about the 76ers, I'll keep bringing the Spurs love with this pass from Manu Ginobili (While sitting on his ass) to Kawhi Leonard. http://sports.yahoo.com/video/assist-night-manu-ginobili-061516473.html 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greggulator Posted December 31, 2015 Share Posted December 31, 2015 Props to Ish Smith for getting some play. When the Pelicans beat the Spurs earlier this year, Ish Smith carved us up. Anyway, while the rest of you continue talking about the 76ers, I'll keep bringing the Spurs love with this pass from Manu Ginobili (While sitting on his ass) to Kawhi Leonard. http://sports.yahoo.com/video/assist-night-manu-ginobili-061516473.html One of my favorite plays of the year. The epitome of a SPURSGASM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomAct Posted December 31, 2015 Share Posted December 31, 2015 Also, last night was a pretty good indicator of why I shy away from the "Draymond is a top 10 guy" talk. I love me some Draymond, but dude is used to catching the ball at the top of the key with the defense already broken. Funny how things change without an otherworldly force sucking multiple defenders out past the 3 point line. Although I don't rank Draymond that high, I still think he is a monster who plays the game in a completely unique way. Can't say the same for Klay, though. That dude is pretty much a 3 and D guy who gets REALLY hot sometimes. I can't even imagine the dip in his stats if Curry missed an extended period of time. When people try to argue that Klay is in the top tier of SG's I just do this: Where to rank him though is an interesting conversation. Harden is obviously in a tier of his own, but Klay is nowhere near Jimmy Butler's level either. Is he better than guys who can't shoot as well, but can get their own shot like Derozan or Old Man Wade? Is he better than CJ McCollum? I would lean towards yes because of his defense, but even that might be overrated considering he is rarely guarding the opposing teams best wing. The Warriors switch on EVERYONE though. It's not just Draymond who guards 1-5 on that team. Klay's a huge part of that because of his length. I'll look up his drives and interior numbers later. But it's either Klay or Butler for being the second best SG in the league. There's a huge drop off after that. Klay is really friggin' good. But Curry really just makes everything in basketball a funhouse mirror. Everything involving his game and team is just a warped distortion of what we thought we knew about basketball. Kinda goes back to what I said last night about GSW being incredibly beatable without Steph. I can't recall the last time I saw a team where missing one player changes the entire makeup of the team. Yeah, Barnes and Festus were out, but their offense would have been just as stagnant if they were in the game. A team like San Antonio can sit 3 stars and still be a threat because they have a system beyond "give our best player the ball and let him work". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodhelmet Posted January 1, 2016 Share Posted January 1, 2016 Happy New Years! Spurs just finished the most efficient month in league history. Sadly, not the best record... http://www.poundingtherock.com/2015/12/31/10697012/spurs-december-was-the-best-month-since Most amazing stat.... Tim Duncan has suffered only one month with a losing record in his entire career... December of last year. Anyway, really interested to see how the Spurs respond to their loss to the Rockets from Xmas and how the Rockets respond with their loss to the Curry-less Warriors from tonight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jrag Posted January 1, 2016 Share Posted January 1, 2016 *Wakes up after spending the early part of yesterday bad mouthing Klay and Dray* *Checks Warriors/Rockets box score* Oh. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Schneider Posted January 1, 2016 Share Posted January 1, 2016 Yeah I was going to jump in and talk some shit about that post. You should watch the game, Green was even more impressive then his box score stats, Rockets made a bit of a late run and he just snuffed a Harden 3 and snatched his heart out of his chest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jiji Posted January 1, 2016 Share Posted January 1, 2016 But making snap judgments about stuff is what us NBA fans do! Both Green and Klay looked excellent last night. Klay was doing a pretty good job on Harden even when in foul trouble from the second quarter on. I will agree that Klay is likely the third best SG in the league behind Harden and Butler, but I wouldn't downplay how good he is too much. There's not a big gap between Butler and Thompson when looking at the numbers. Are the old school guys from the '80s and '90s like Chuck still laughing off the comparisons between this team and the '95-'96 Bulls? Two losses through 32 games. Harrison Barnes hasn't played since November 27th either. He'd be most teams' second option and he's a great defender to boot. This team is deeper than that Bulls team (though I forgot how good Kukoc was for those first few years, damn). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greggulator Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 I think it's the Bulls just because of Jordan being that ruthless. But GSW is the best team since those Bulls. It's really close since the Bulls big men were atrocious and Bogut and especially Draymond would lock the interior down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greggulator Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 I have decided to make the offbeat team to weirdly root for as if they were of my seed Orlando. This is solely because I went to a Magic game in Orlando last week. And Elfrid's hair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Mann Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 Curry is a better dribbler than Jordan was. That's the one nondebatable facet. The shooting part I don't want to get into because they each play/played to what they did best. But Jordan's fadeaway was no less consistent than Curry from 27 feet away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jiji Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 One counts for 3 though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Fowler Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 I feel pretty confident saying Jordan was the better defensive player. And Pippen was better than anyone else on GSW besides Curry. But the depth and the versatility is so insane for the Warriors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Mann Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 One counts for 3 though. If you so much as put a finger on Jordan when he shot it, that play counted for 3, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greggulator Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 Also, those Bulls were pretty much allowed to ignore the illegal defense rules of that era. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomAct Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 Getting murder fucked by Hassan Whiteside and Gerald Green. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Fowler Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 Golden State is now on pace for just under 77 wins. More than a third of the way through the season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jrag Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 Bobby Portis is never coming out of the rotation. He is a ball of energy and has really changed the complexion of this team over the last few weeks. Dude has a little Draymond Green to his game on the offensive end. Big double double for him tonight, but it was the passing that impressed me the most. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jiji Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 From the handful of Arkansas games I saw last season, he always struck me as a really limited guy beyond rebounding/putbacks/scoring inside (and crazy eyes). He's been so much more for the Bulls which is awesome. He runs the court really well, he passes better than I thought, and he can hit the spot up three. Loved his intensity, so I'm all for him becoming a good NBA player. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kuetsar Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 Deadspin says Joey Crawford retiring after the season. . . .(from said websites comment section.....) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jrag Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 Joey Crawford is weirdly one of the best officials. Like, some of these dudes are just flat out horrible at their jobs. Joey isn't one of them. He is also a lunatic. I will miss him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodhelmet Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 Fuck Joey Crawford... 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jiji Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 The thing I always think of when Joey Crawford's name comes up. Good riddance. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JRGoldman Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 I have no doubt in my mind that Joey Crawford thinks he deserves a Kobe-esque retirement tour. I have no doubt in my mind that Joey Crawford is already planning to change the course of at least one playoff game/series for unclear reasons. The headlines locally are "Philly Area Basketball Legend Retires". I could not eye roll big enough. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_MJ_ Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 (edited) I feel I know more about Joey Crawford's personality than I do most players in the league through his on-court antics over the years. I feel as if some of his "look at me" antics have become infamous moments in NBA lore, ejecting Tim Duncan for laughing on the bench and the bizarre way he interrupted players on the free throw line come to mind. I think these infamous moments go passed the usual "look at this silly gif of this ref from a random regular season game that we'll forget about in a week" social media trends we are used to now. And I know none of these are good things to be associated with a good NBA referee. I understand the job isn't easy. It's pretty much thankless from a public perspective. "This ref has been excellent this season!" probably won't be trending on twitter anytime soon, and I don't think we will be voting on "Best NBA ref" for the all star game in the future either. I know Joey admitted to anger management issues and saw a sports psychologist. However, I hope Joey enjoys his retirement. I know I will. Edited January 2, 2016 by _MJ_ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts