RIPPA Posted July 12, 2019 Share Posted July 12, 2019 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niners Fan in CT Posted July 12, 2019 Share Posted July 12, 2019 1 hour ago, jaedmc said: I think Fowler is sick of the Pistons being not a contender, but not a re-builder for something like over a decade now. Getting Russ would delay that even longer while probably not giving the team much for a future. But with Blake and Andre they are going to win too many games. They have a team with 35-40 win talent on it. Blake is still pretty good so the only options are to add pieces to what they do have or completely blow it up. If they don't want to add pieces then they should move Blake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaedmc Posted July 12, 2019 Share Posted July 12, 2019 yeah, that's what I'm saying the problem is. They make moves to not suck but not even make the playoffs. They're just stuck in this limbo. Russ doesn't really fix that other than they definitely make the playoffs but probably go out the first round. They would be kicking the rebuild down the road while also losing assets for it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Townsend Posted July 12, 2019 Share Posted July 12, 2019 Watching Harden and Westbrook not pass the ball to each other (or anyone else) is going to be a glorious trainwreck. I'm not a huge NBA fan, but damn if their offseason isn't entertaining. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawful Metal Posted July 12, 2019 Share Posted July 12, 2019 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Fowler Posted July 12, 2019 Share Posted July 12, 2019 Pistons haven't won a playoff game since game 4 of the 2008 ECF, but also haven't picked higher than 8th. Moving Reggie Jackson expiring and some of the younger guys for Russ would keep them in that boat, and push a true rebuild at least one more year in the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodhelmet Posted July 12, 2019 Share Posted July 12, 2019 Man, I have never seen such negativity towards the pairing of 2 superstars in my life. Westbrook and Harden both took home an MVP in 2 of the last 3 years. Maybe it will be a complete trainwreck (I'm hoping) but it could also be the single greatest backcourt in NBA history. I didn't think it could happen but the NBA just got even more interesting. Hell, I may order a league pass this year to watch all the insanity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaedmc Posted July 13, 2019 Share Posted July 13, 2019 5 hours ago, goodhelmet said: Man, I have never seen such negativity towards the pairing of 2 superstars in my life. Westbrook and Harden both took home an MVP in 2 of the last 3 years. Maybe it will be a complete trainwreck (I'm hoping) but it could also be the single greatest backcourt in NBA history. I didn't think it could happen but the NBA just got even more interesting. Hell, I may order a league pass this year to watch all the insanity. I honestly think it'll look a lot like Russ and KD in OKC, where they just took turns with the ball and taking the shot while everyone else watched. That scheme almost beat the Golden State Warriors, so it's not that crazy to think this could go moderately well. But it has it's drawbacks as we've all seen. D'Antoni is going to have to figure something out or he's probably gone at the first sign of trouble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodhelmet Posted July 13, 2019 Share Posted July 13, 2019 How much of OKC's failure do you put on the coach? Just curious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaedmc Posted July 13, 2019 Share Posted July 13, 2019 That's a good question. After Harden left it was KD/Westbrook taking turns and everyone else hangs out. I saw them live and die on that in the fourth every playoff series that I saw them in. Is that on the coach or is that the players taking over from the coach? Not sure. At the time I blamed a lot on Scott Brooks, because I thought he was leaning on the stars to cover his lack of control or creativity. Get someone in there to get this shit in line. When he went to Washington I was interested in what they'd achieve. They went from out of the playoffs to a 4th seed, but that team was on the rise before he got there., and after that season they have steadily gotten worse. Again leaning a lot on Beal and Wall to save the day. So he definitely should get some of the blame on OKC's failure. But he definitely shares it with KD/Russ for consistently moving away from their teammates(even when they were hot) in the fourth so they can "close the game out". So 50/50? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace Posted July 13, 2019 Share Posted July 13, 2019 After LeBron told Davis he could have #23, Nike said no. So LeBron has it one last season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SorceressKnight Posted July 13, 2019 Share Posted July 13, 2019 1 hour ago, goodhelmet said: How much of OKC's failure do you put on the coach? Just curious. I don't think it's much on the failure, and again- it boils down to the same fact: The rise of superteams stuck a dagger in the Heroball era, and the success of teams like the Warriors killed it for good. It also ties to the big problem with this- Westbrook and Harden may be two of the three best players in the league today (depending on where you rank Giannis), but ultimately both guys' big question is the issues the successful superteams handle. Harden and Westbrook looks like the best team in the NBA on paper, today. But there WILL come a day this season...maybe not game 1, maybe not until midseason, maybe not until the playoffs- but there will ALWAYS come a day, when the game is on the line, and both Harden and Westbrook are going to say "Give me the ball. I'll make it.", and you have to choose- right then and there, who the alpha dog is. And with both guys, you know for a fact whichever guy you DON'T choose is going to be DEVASTATED and sulk through the rest of the season (and considering the history for both guys, that's likely a foregone conclusion it WILL happen.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Fowler Posted July 13, 2019 Share Posted July 13, 2019 The other thing about that Thunder team though, that Houston doesn't have, is they were collectively long and athletic to a degree basically never before seen. Two different years they literally just ran the Spurs right out of the gym, including 2012 when the Spurs were looking right up until game 3 of the WCF like one of the greatest teams in NBA history. Houston doesn't have that to nearly the degree they did. I also blamed Brooks for the "your turn, my turn" offense and not staggering Russ and KD more... Right up until Donovan took over and almost nothing changed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Fowler Posted July 13, 2019 Share Posted July 13, 2019 Also, I'm not sure you'd find anyone not related to Westbrook that would argue he's one of the three best players in the NBA today. Top ten, sure, you can make that case. But top three? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawful Metal Posted July 13, 2019 Share Posted July 13, 2019 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawful Metal Posted July 13, 2019 Share Posted July 13, 2019 17 hours ago, SorceressKnight said: But there WILL come a day this season...maybe not game 1, maybe not until midseason, maybe not until the playoffs- but there will ALWAYS come a day, when the game is on the line, and both Harden and Westbrook are going to say "Give me the ball. I'll make it.", and you have to choose- right then and there, who the alpha dog is. And with both guys, you know for a fact whichever guy you DON'T choose is going to be DEVASTATED and sulk through the rest of the season (and considering the history for both guys, that's likely a foregone conclusion it WILL happen.) Uh, Westbrook got traded to Harden's team. Harden's taking that shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Fowler Posted July 13, 2019 Share Posted July 13, 2019 And Harden and Westbrook have been friends since they were playing U16 ball in LA. I think they'll try their hardest to make this work, I'm just far from convinced it can work. At least Paul's deal ends the same year as Blake's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SorceressKnight Posted July 14, 2019 Share Posted July 14, 2019 6 hours ago, Lawful Metal said: Uh, Westbrook got traded to Harden's team. Harden's taking that shot. Lebron signed with D-Wade's team. Lebron still tried to take that shot, and that is one of the many reasons Dallas won in 2011. It wasn't until Wade got injured the next year and lost enough of a step that he was willing to let Lebron be the alpha dog that Miami finally reached its potential. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Fowler Posted July 14, 2019 Share Posted July 14, 2019 D'Antoni is drawing that shot up for Harden, more pointedly. James Harden is the best one on one offensive player in the NBA right now. The big fit question isn't who takes that shot, it's "how much are they willing to take the ball out of the hands of James Fucking Harden in order to run Westbrook/Capela PnRs and Westbrook ISOs?" Although, to be fair, a Westbrook/Capela PnR with Gordon, Tucker and Harden spotting up behind the arc is terrifying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolfan in NYC Posted July 14, 2019 Author Share Posted July 14, 2019 Former Warriors C Ognjen Kuzmic was in a very bad car accident in Serbia. He's currently in a coma. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Fowler Posted July 14, 2019 Share Posted July 14, 2019 6 hours ago, Dolfan in NYC said: Former Warriors C Ognjen Kuzmic was in a very bad car accident in Serbia. He's currently in a coma. That's awful ----------- Six of the fifteen players who made an All-NBA team have changed teams this summer. And that doesn't even include Davis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Fowler Posted July 15, 2019 Share Posted July 15, 2019 Tyson Chandler to Houston Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolfan in NYC Posted July 15, 2019 Author Share Posted July 15, 2019 Expect him to be in purple and gold by midnight tonight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodhelmet Posted July 16, 2019 Share Posted July 16, 2019 Reports say that the Lakers are an unlikely destination for Smith. Just read it on Twitter. I think it was Woj. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Fowler Posted July 16, 2019 Share Posted July 16, 2019 Rockets reportedly are trying to figure out a way to get Igudola. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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