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2015 NBA Finals |OT| the deli is closed
- Thread starter UnObtainium17
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Lol, seriously. The game of basketball is designed for the offensive player, there are only so many things a single player can do when guarding without bringing a sledgehammer onto the court. Out of a hundred games, Curry plays like he did in Game 2, maybe 2-3 times. Cavs keep the Warriors at or below 100 each game, they have a huge shot at winning.
jfoul
Member
Mike Tomlin is looking good these days.
dream
Member
Zach Lowe has a great article that summarizes everything I told NBA-GAF 3 years ago about All Star Kevin Love. The guy is a selfish, shitty player who only gets attention because people need a great white hope.
cubicle47b
Member
That's what you took out of the article?
BadAss2961
Member
Let's not forget how this guy's been scissoring legs and diving after knees, injuring people and getting away with it because he plays for LeBron. If he gets the embarrassment of his life tonight, he'll deserve it. He needs to be hockey checked.
cubicle47b
Member
From Grantland (includes spoilers from the last episode of Game of Thrones): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gpxZSSPvxk
Ah yes it all goes back to Lebron.
I'm sure Dwight wasn't suspended cause Lebron called it in to the league office.
Multiple things are true here. Curry will end up as the greatest shooter ever when he's done, only a massive injury will derail that, but he isn't quite the singular force that Lebron is. I'm not sure anyone's ever argued that Lebron isn't still the best player on the planet.
BadAss2961
Member
Dwight's a star. Dellavedova is Dellavedova. And unlike Dwight, not only did he get away with it, but he got his victims ejected -- and he shot the free throws for the cherry on top.
I'm not sure how you could read that article and come to that conclusion.
I also was much lower on Kevin Love than seemingly most people here and other places. There were plenty of people calling him one of the best 5 players in the NBA, which I thought was silly for a guy who never made the playoffs. I didn't want the Celts to unload a boatload of assets for him, and I wouldn't have given up Klay or Wiggins for him.
But to call him a 'selfish, shitty player' is absurd, the article doesn't come to that conclusion, and I have no idea what you're getting at with the great white hope stuff.
Ahhh that article doesn't say that at all. In fact almost the opposite.
Lowe concludes that Love may not be the top 8 player some thought but he is still a top 15 type guy and in the right system can and would look like a star again. Quite a far cry from concluding he is a shitty, selfish player that white people cling too.
BadAss2961
Member
Love is confirmed soft, but he could still be a good player. He just got Chris Bosh'd this year. LeBron makes his teammates better, yeah, tell it to those two guys. lol
Lebron is an unconventional point guard in that sense. He makes certain types of players better, mostly catch and shoot guys and your secondary star who gets less attention. Whereas a true PG like Chris Paul really does make everyone else better.
BadAss2961
Member
Well said. I mean it's obvious, but you never hear it.
MetalFearSolid
Banned
He's super dirty, but a very good sneak about it. He needs like a Chris Paul to throw some back at him, or a just a big dude to just bowl over him. He got fucking AL Horford ejected for god's sake. Seriously an all-time playoffs for Dellavedova.
cubicle47b
Member
It will be interesting to see what happens with him in Cleveland next season (assuming he stays). The offense installed in training camp and used during pre-season and for a short time in the regular season was completely thrown out. The team was basically reformed in early January and he never really looked comfortable before or after until (maybe) late in the season. He had visible back problems for much of the year. Then he got his first taste of the post-season, saw what it took to win and what it's like to be in the finals, and saw Tristan Thompson taking the glory that should be his. How much trust did Blatt build with Lebron this post-season to be able to make offensive changes and just how motivated is Love when he comes back?
The point is that he still has the credentials to draw the same criticism.
Lesser players than LeBron that have accomplished way more than Curry probably ever will (Kobe) have been fucking killed in the media for putting up shit tier games in the playoffs/finals. Ex: Kobe shooting 6-24 in game 7 of the finals despite still leading his team to the win. Harden got absolutely crucified for shitting it up in the elimination game against the Warriors. The only difference between Harden's performance and Steph Curry's is that Curry actually has a team that can carry him if need be so that the Warriors can remain in the game; see Klay Thompson getting red hot in game 2.
Curry has been lackluster as hell so far in the finals but unless the Warriors pull off the all-time level joke job and actually lose this series you will never hear a peep about it. Probably just more garbage about how Curry is so pure and wholesome and how "omg Riley Curry is so cute" shit. Meanwhile LeBron will average 40 a game and play all but 5 minutes in the series and be destroyed for being "2-4" in the finals.
Well the expectations are different. Lebron gets compared to Jordan and is routinely discussed with the all-time greats. Curry was on a 20 win team a few years ago. Just different situations.
I doubt Curry will get a free pass if the Warriors lose, though. I mean I was watching PTI yesterday and one of the first topics was how bad Curry was.
If Curry continues to be middling and the dubs lose this series he'll likely start getting the James Harden/Chris Paul treatment in short order. It won't be the least bit fair of course but what can you do?
If they win the series then, well, a Finals victory covers a lot of ills.
If they win the series then, well, a Finals victory covers a lot of ills.
All mostly true but Lebron is just as guilty(if not more so) as the media for building up these unrealistic expectations. He relished in the hype and the caricature of King James, fed the hype machine with his decisions, championship proclamations and some of the drama he clearly plays up. He set the tone ultimately by how the public was going to measure him. You roll and embrace being crowned the king and you are going to get compared to the previous kings(Kobe and MJ). You make championship proclamations and act like your presence will bring 7 rings and people are going to measure how well you lived up to the spirit of that.
Curry has been smart to just keep his mouth shut and keep the cocky to a much lower decibel. Praise the team and his teammates. And his career trajectory has been one of a slow rise riddled with turmoil so he is going to not have the same expectations. But I do think he will be chastised greatly if he doesn't turn around his performance.
Harden got crucified because it has become a running theme of his career and unfortunately doesn't have the supporting cast to carry him.
Bam Bam Baklava
Member
Stop embarrassing yourself dude. YNB is athletically gifted enough to play pretty good defense when he focuses. Why are you focusing on this playoffs? Curry has been in the league for years and played in the playoffs before. Did curry just fall from the sky in mid April of this year? So laughable.
LeBron and Curry are on different tiers.
So of course when Curry chokes/disappears/has bad games, the disappointment and criticism isn't going to be as hot as it is when LeBron does it.
The way it is right now is that LeBron is a living legend. Curry's a pretty good player who has potential to be great. He's had one great season to LeBron's many. So in a way I'm not surprised he's getting a free pass initially. It's as it should be.
If Curry continues to have a bad series though, I think the voices of criticism will grow louder and louder.
So of course when Curry chokes/disappears/has bad games, the disappointment and criticism isn't going to be as hot as it is when LeBron does it.
The way it is right now is that LeBron is a living legend. Curry's a pretty good player who has potential to be great. He's had one great season to LeBron's many. So in a way I'm not surprised he's getting a free pass initially. It's as it should be.
If Curry continues to have a bad series though, I think the voices of criticism will grow louder and louder.
It's cute that you completely ignored the first half of my post that addressed the differing expectations.
Parmadillo Marshmallow
Member
Who is YNB?
Freedom = $1.05
Banned
Curry might not be playing well so far but i'll never forgive Lebron scoring 8 points against the Mavs. Blew the last completely healthy season that wade had when he up and disappeared in those finals.
Gully State
Member
I think Curry should be criticized for having a poor game 2 (choking away the last possession and going cold in OT sucks- but he did tie the game up on his own). It's hard to paint Curry as a choke artist though because he's been hitting big shots throughout his basketball career.
A whole year later and its changed the landscape? Jackie is usually decent, but this is an ESPN hyperbole article. Spurs got jobbed by the time keeper and ref, and would still be in it if that didnt happen.
Parmadillo Marshmallow
Member
Hmm, don't get it, but whatever.
Curry and Klay both playing like they're still concussed. Injuries are the name of the game this season.
friskykillface
Banned
Warriors will be down 10+ after the first quarter
if they were shook at home, imagine tonight
lol delly
if they were shook at home, imagine tonight
lol delly
WesternHeretic
Member
Freedom = $1.05
Banned
if last game was Klay still recovering from a concussion then he needs to give curry whatever he's using to get over it because the guy was playing lights out for most of the night
Nah the Finals is what really decides if a player is a choke artist or not
Problem for Curry is that he's the shortest person on the court, if the defenses are keyed in then he's going need help to get separation
KINGofCRA5H
Member
DUBS @ HOME
100.6 ppg (8th)
45.4 FG% (8th)
103.5 off rating (9th)
DUBS ON ROAD
108.6 ppg (1st)
45.9 FG% (2nd)
110.4 off rating (1st)
ok.
Perfect Blue
Banned
Reading through this thread it feels like a giant Poe's Law social experiment. I can't tell who is trolling or serious anymore lol
Can't wait for tonight
Can't wait for tonight
I guess I'm just not really sure what you're trying to say. Kobe is kind of like Lebron in that there isn't really a comparison to Curry. He had 3 rings by his 6th year in the league so his expectations have been way higher than Curry's for over a decade.
Harden's elimination game performance was emphasized because some people saw it as an extension of his finals performance a few years ago (and it was an elimination game). Also, he had the most turnovers in NBA playoff history. Like it was literally a historically bad game. If Curry turns in a performance like that when the Warriors are facing elimination I doubt he would get a pass.
All that being said, I don't even disagree that people are easier on Curry. He was the small Davidson kid with paper ankles and now he's the MVP. Think it's been obvious for a while now that people (and some of the media) enjoy his story and the differences between his rise and Lebron's are numerous and pretty clear. I mean this was Lebron in high school:
This was Curry:
Klay needs to play the majority of the first quarter without going out early with 2 fouls. That's been a major issue.
This is interesting and weird at the same time. Interesting because I've been thinking for a while that the Dubs ridiculously hyped home crowd somehow works against them at times, particularly when they're mounting any kind of run and the crowd is progressively getting louder. You'll see Draymond Green in particular start going for spectacular passes or "killer" threes that aren't really good plays except that if they work they would blow the roof off the place.
At the same time it's weird because the Dubs have been almost invincible at home... doesn't really compute with their record.
Uno Venova
Banned
Just a silly nickname for westbrook
Totally agree lol. They've had a great home record, but they also seem to play to the crowd a bit sometimes and do dumb stuff at home. Sounds kind crazy, but it really seems that way sometimes.
thehypocrite
Member
Show me the bullshit stats that you like to flaunt around for everything or hold your L. What defensive metrics has YNB as a good defender? Also which quality defender has Curry faced so far that was healthy?
I will ignore you weak attempt of trying to compare the regular season defense with the playoffs.
Freedom = $1.05
Banned
thehypocrite, do you believe in math as a thing or did numbers ruin your childhood? I've never seen someone so openly dismissive of statistics as you are in these NBA threads.
They would've had to have gotten out of the first round do that, though.
Battersea Power Station
Member
The Spurs lost in the first round. They didn't make it to the second or further.
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