Around the NBA- 2020/2021 Edition

[RookieStar]

Defense, leadership, and intangibles rank very low for Rookiestar

A lot of those guys are solely offense.

Sadly, this is what the league has come to nowadays. Its all.about offense. In fact i have a sneaking suspicion ( yes yes tinfoil hat) that the league actually discourages players/team from being a good grind down defense ala pistons back in the day by punishing or makong the rules favor offense

Let me ask you this. One on one, LeBron vs Harden. Who wins?

Different scenarios :
one on one half court? Il go with either because
1. you cant stop one another because you cant play defense anymore.
2. both are foul-baiting cry babies who can get the refs to call for them
3. both are and can flop as their defensive skills ( which both are actually good at doing )


team setting? Il go with Harden cuz he can just pass to KD.

[thelead]

Sadly, this is what the league has come to nowadays. Its all.about offense. In fact i have a sneaking suspicion ( yes yes tinfoil hat) that the league actually discourages players/team from being a good grind down defense ala pistons back in the day by punishing or makong the rules favor offense

Let me ask you this. One on one, LeBron vs Harden. Who wins?

Different scenarios :
one on one half court? Il go with either because
1. you cant stop one another because you cant play defense anymore.
2. both are foul-baiting cry babies who can get the refs to call for them
3. both are and can flop as their defensive skills ( which both are actually good at doing )


team setting? Il go with Harden cuz he can just pass to KD.

Team setting, I trust Lebron to make the right play. We're not talking about teammates, we're talking top 10 players. I don't trust Harden in important games who has failed multiple times in the playoffs.

[RookieStar]

Let me ask you this. One on one, LeBron vs Harden. Who wins?

Different scenarios :
one on one half court? Il go with either because
1. you cant stop one another because you cant play defense anymore.
2. both are foul-baiting cry babies who can get the refs to call for them
3. both are and can flop as their defensive skills ( which both are actually good at doing )


team setting? Il go with Harden cuz he can just pass to KD.

Team setting, I trust Lebron to make the right play. We're not talking about teammates, we're talking top 10 players. I don't trust Harden in important games who has failed multiple times in the playoffs.

oh no doubt. History has shown lbj can make thr clutch play whether it be scoring or makin the correct play/pass.

But if we are talking about this incoming season, then Harden with the fact that he has 1 hofer and another great players to pass it too ( both are still at their peak)... well we will just see. Ill be glad to be proven wrong when I can see this season melo and dwight turn.back the clock and RW still continue his tripdubs all because of LBJ

But also, its not fair though because true Harden failed a couple of times but its cuz he was also saddled with PO chokers who failed multiple times like cp3. Great HOFer but always comes up short in the endgame.

[thelead]

at the end of the day, LeBron is still top 5 to me. This may be the season he fall out of the top 5 but he's still there for me, for now.

[SOUL]

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[GelbeWand09]

Seeing how the Knicks & Bulls max out future 1st round exit teams, while giving up 1 rounders to do so, i'm really happy we at least never mortgaged our future in the Vuc, AG & Evan era. Sending out 3 first round picks for 30+ Vuc & DeRozan

[Sammyzc+1]

If the Lakers fall apart and fall on their arrogant arses, I for one, will be almost as happy as if my team won the chip....that is all

[IllMagic04]

Im hope the Lakers thing works out. Im a big fan of Lebron obviously but Im also a big Rus and Melo fan and Id like to see them compete for a chip. Plus prior to these moves nobody stood a chance vs a healthy Nets team. At least we now have a super team on the other side that on paper can compete with them. So Im rooting for the Lakers to make it work.

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[Xatticus]

Defense, leadership, and intangibles rank very low for Rookiestar

A lot of those guys are solely offense.

I don't think defense and intangibles are really his strengths at this point. I believe LeBron has been overrated for quite some time. I thought Durant and Kawhi passed him up a long time ago. Giannis and AD are clearly better players at this point as well. I would also take Curry over him. It gets muddier after that.

LeBron had a really good year this year, but despite LeBron's Finals MVP award last year, AD was clearly the best player on that team. The year before? LeBron failed to elevate a 35-win Lakers team in his first year there. Aside from that season, LeBron has had really strong supporting casts going all the way back to when he joined Miami. He hasn't really had to carry a team since his first run in Cleveland.

I think Embiid and Jokic are knocking on the door of having passed up LeBron in on-court value if they haven't already. I think there is a strong argument for Chris Paul as well. His lack of a championship hurts his cause, but his teams have always outperformed relative to roster strength. I could also buy an argument for Gobert. He hasn't had the supporting cast to help him in the playoffs, but his regular season impact numbers are as good as anyone's. Paul George, James Harden, and Luka Doncic are all in the mix at this point as well.

So yeah... I can buy an argument that LeBron isn't a top-10 player at this point. Again though, he just had a really good season despite his injuries, so he is certainly in the conversation.

[pepe1991]

Can AD cover so many poor defenders? No.
This is like Howard, Kobe, Gasol, Nash roster. Simply too old

[Sammyzc+1]

Can AD cover so many poor defenders? No.
This is like Howard, Kobe, Gasol, Nash roster. Simply too old

+1

[Ralof]

Im hope the Lakers thing works out. Im a big fan of Lebron obviously but Im also a big Rus and Melo fan and Id like to see them compete for a chip. Plus prior to these moves nobody stood a chance vs a healthy Nets team. At least we now have a super team on the other side that on paper can compete with them. So Im rooting for the Lakers to make it work.
[/url]

yeah a super team built with no merit to beat another one built with even less merit,if not"being LA/NY and get free agents by default"

EDIT:sorry for the tone of the response, but the competitive advantage of those two big markets makes me sick every time

[HayKee]

Man, I have said it before and I’ll say it again. I do not understand the fascination with Zion outside of a highlight real. Sure he is a matchup problem and he sells tickets but if winning meaningful games is important to you, how can you rank him above Kawhi, Lebron and others? This is insane.

While I certainly agree with you that anyone who ranks Zion over Kawhi and LeBron can't be taken seriously, I do think Zion is in the 10-15 range. Point Zion was an incredible force last year and I don't think it's a stretch to say with spacing around him he could lead one of the best offenses in the league. His defense remains a problem to be sure but I think writing him off as a highlights only guy is pretty unfair.

[cedric76]

Man, I have said it before and I’ll say it again. I do not understand the fascination with Zion outside of a highlight real. Sure he is a matchup problem and he sells tickets but if winning meaningful games is important to you, how can you rank him above Kawhi, Lebron and others? This is insane.

While I certainly agree with you that anyone who ranks Zion over Kawhi and LeBron can't be taken seriously, I do think Zion is in the 10-15 range. Point Zion was an incredible force last year and I don't think it's a stretch to say with spacing around him he could lead one of the best offenses in the league. His defense remains a problem to be sure but I think writing him off as a highlights only guy is pretty unfair.

10-15 range of what? within the best 15 players in the NBA?

[IllMagic04]

Im hope the Lakers thing works out. Im a big fan of Lebron obviously but Im also a big Rus and Melo fan and Id like to see them compete for a chip. Plus prior to these moves nobody stood a chance vs a healthy Nets team. At least we now have a super team on the other side that on paper can compete with them. So Im rooting for the Lakers to make it work.
[/url]

yeah a super team built with no merit to beat another one built with even less merit,if not"being LA/NY and get free agents by default"

EDIT:sorry for the tone of the response, but the competitive advantage of those two big markets makes me sick every time

Lol all good. I feel what your saying. Im just saying it beats the alternative of one team that is the overwelming favorite. Now we have two. At least if healthy it projects to be a juicy NBA finals

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[MagicFan101]

Man, I have said it before and I’ll say it again. I do not understand the fascination with Zion outside of a highlight real. Sure he is a matchup problem and he sells tickets but if winning meaningful games is important to you, how can you rank him above Kawhi, Lebron and others? This is insane.

While I certainly agree with you that anyone who ranks Zion over Kawhi and LeBron can't be taken seriously, I do think Zion is in the 10-15 range. Point Zion was an incredible force last year and I don't think it's a stretch to say with spacing around him he could lead one of the best offenses in the league. His defense remains a problem to be sure but I think writing him off as a highlights only guy is pretty unfair.

How long until the serious injuries start piling up? He doesn’t appear to take care of himself the way elite athletes do and his relies so much on being more athletic than everyone else as opposed to being better. It’s going to catch up to him and some team is going to be left holding the bag.

[tiderulz]

Man, I have said it before and I’ll say it again. I do not understand the fascination with Zion outside of a highlight real. Sure he is a matchup problem and he sells tickets but if winning meaningful games is important to you, how can you rank him above Kawhi, Lebron and others? This is insane.

While I certainly agree with you that anyone who ranks Zion over Kawhi and LeBron can't be taken seriously, I do think Zion is in the 10-15 range. Point Zion was an incredible force last year and I don't think it's a stretch to say with spacing around him he could lead one of the best offenses in the league. His defense remains a problem to be sure but I think writing him off as a highlights only guy is pretty unfair.

How long until the serious injuries start piling up? He doesn’t appear to take care of himself the way elite athletes do and his relies so much on being more athletic than everyone else as opposed to being better. It’s going to catch up to him and some team is going to be left holding the bag.

the kid just turned 21. it sometimes takes a little bit before these kids wise up and take better care of themselves.

[HayKee]

Man, I have said it before and I’ll say it again. I do not understand the fascination with Zion outside of a highlight real. Sure he is a matchup problem and he sells tickets but if winning meaningful games is important to you, how can you rank him above Kawhi, Lebron and others? This is insane.

While I certainly agree with you that anyone who ranks Zion over Kawhi and LeBron can't be taken seriously, I do think Zion is in the 10-15 range. Point Zion was an incredible force last year and I don't think it's a stretch to say with spacing around him he could lead one of the best offenses in the league. His defense remains a problem to be sure but I think writing him off as a highlights only guy is pretty unfair.

10-15 range of what? within the best 15 players in the NBA?

Yessire.

[thelead]

Defense, leadership, and intangibles rank very low for Rookiestar

A lot of those guys are solely offense.

I don't think defense and intangibles are really his strengths at this point. I believe LeBron has been overrated for quite some time. I thought Durant and Kawhi passed him up a long time ago. Giannis and AD are clearly better players at this point as well. I would also take Curry over him. It gets muddier after that.

LeBron had a really good year this year, but despite LeBron's Finals MVP award last year, AD was clearly the best player on that team. The year before? LeBron failed to elevate a 35-win Lakers team in his first year there. Aside from that season, LeBron has had really strong supporting casts going all the way back to when he joined Miami. He hasn't really had to carry a team since his first run in Cleveland.

I think Embiid and Jokic are knocking on the door of having passed up LeBron in on-court value if they haven't already. I think there is a strong argument for Chris Paul as well. His lack of a championship hurts his cause, but his teams have always outperformed relative to roster strength. I could also buy an argument for Gobert. He hasn't had the supporting cast to help him in the playoffs, but his regular season impact numbers are as good as anyone's. Paul George, James Harden, and Luka Doncic are all in the mix at this point as well.

So yeah... I can buy an argument that LeBron isn't a top-10 player at this point. Again though, he just had a really good season despite his injuries, so he is certainly in the conversation.

During the regular season, LeBron no longer cares about defense but if we're talking about a do-or-die game 7 playoff game, LeBron still has to be in the top 10. I feel gross for defending LeBron

[RookieStar]

BTW... is it just me but are there more and more players signing 1yr deals this FA season? Or maybe I wasnt paying much attention to past FA seasons?