Nets wont win a title with the garbage they have at center

[Harry Garris]

Has OP been in a coma since 2003 or something? Having an elite center is not a requirement for winning in the modern NBA at all. Ideally you want a guy who can match up against Embiid, but if all 3 Nets superstars are healthy come playoff time they could play anyone with a pulse at center and win the title. Who cares if their rim protection is just okay, they're going to score 140 points a game.

[CIN-C-STAR]

Like I said. That's real cute of you. I mean, it's your prerogative to throw your basketball credibility in the furnace with ridiculous statements like that, but it's entertaining at least.

Kevin Durant is the best player in the world.

And you are?

Exactly. We don't know. Unknowns on RealGM won't change objective fact with silly narratives and agendas like these.

Durant is so obviously the best player on the team, and his body of work speaks for itself, regular season and post season.

What are you basing this conclusion on? I'd love to see your "objective facts" that show KD is the "best player in the world".
Harden has finished above him in MVP shares for 4 straight seasons. He's had the higher VORP for 5 straight seasons. Better win shares per 48 for 3 straight seasons. So in the regular season at least, the "objective facts" indicate Harden is the better player.
KD's had more impressive playoff runs recently, but he was also flanked by Steph & Klay with Draymond to cover for everyone on defense. I wonder what Harden would like with Steph & Klay to spread the floor for him?
An historic 30+ & 10 assists season wouldn't be out of the question at all. Any star would benefit from having the greatest floor spacing guard tandem of all time playing next to them, and that's not too far above what Harden has already been averaging.
Personally I'd take KD > Harden, but it's close, and you are wayyyy overselling your case. And I don't really see the "objective" case for KD being the best player in the world at all, especially post achilles tear. He's still great don't get me wrong, but definitely not "objectively the best player on the planet" great.
I think we might have found another KD burner account here tbh

Stopped reading when this poorly formatted, illogical rambling started with a defense of having Harden over KD.

It's an asinine premise for an incredibly absurd argument.

Even this season, Durant leads the Nets in his productivity and impact numbers relative to the other stars on the team.

http://www.82games.com/2021/2021BKN.HTM

All the rest of that drivel you quoted me with is nothing more than the usual nonsensical narratives that get peddled around here by probable LeBron fans who are still bitter about KD destroying any chance he had at being a realistic GOAT of the sport.

But anyway, there isn't a GM on the planet that would take Harden over KD. Hold a gun to their head and 100% would choose KD, as long as both players are healthy.

One is the greatest Finals performer of his generation, objectively, and has been the best player on the best team in the NBA Finals three years (not counting 2019 for obvious reasons). The other has yet to prove himself in the postseason.

The "GREAT TEAMMATES!" argument is specious at best. Harden had a great teammate. His name was Kevin Durant. KD showed up and put up 31 PPG on nearly 70% TS.

Harden vanished and cost the Thunder that series.

By the way, the impact stats favor Durant in Golden State too, his first year there.

http://www.82games.com/1617/1617GSW.HTM

Instead of throwing numbers at me and failing to contextualize them, like every other Durant hater here, maybe you can make an actual argument next time.

It's laughable to even remotely suggest Harden is in KD's class. KD is already a top 20 player of all time, and if this becomes a dynasty, he's top 10. He's outplayed LeBron in 2 out of 3 Finals and was more efficient in the only one he lost.

When healthy, Durant is the best player on the planet, and it isn't even particularly close.

In 2019, he was playing at a level IN THE PLAYOFFS we've never seen Harden remotely approach.

How quickly people forget.

If not for an achilles tear, Durant would've finished the only postseason with averages of 30 PPG on 50/40/90 shooting ever in route to a three-peat and third straight Finals MVP.

It doesn't surprise me, with your astounding wit, that you thought it was best to conclude your rambling with the same tired "LOL KD'S BURNER ACCOUNT" shitpost that stopped being funny years ago.

I'll end with something relevant.

Read on Twitter

?s=20

The amount of spacing Durant received is so overstated. It helped obviously, but he's a transcendent scorer the likes of which the game has never seen. He will get his buckets regardless. He won 4 scoring titles, league MVP and put up a 50/40/90 season before he ever put on a Golden State uniform.

Read on Twitter

?s=20

And when it matters most, he's otherworldly.

Harden isn't on this level. Or at least he hasn't shown it yet.

KD burner account confirmed

[Hello Brooklyn]

How exactly is playing Claxton going to get Drummond off the floor? The Lakers aren’t going to switch, they will hedge until the ball Defender can recover. This is basic defense when you have a non offensive big on the floor like Claxton.

To play Drummond off the floor you’d need to run KD, or at least Green, at the 5.

Put him in pick and rolls and target him with KD and Kyrie. he will have no choice.

Similar to what the Warriors did with Gobert.

You realize that Andre Drummond isn’t an incompetent basketball player right? You aren’t going to play him off the court by using a big man who can do just one thing offensively.

But as stated earlier by another poster...please build your game plan against the Lakers around Drummond. That would be great.

Andre Drummond is not a high iq or competent basketball player. Never been on a good team in his life. Theres a reason you got him for nothing in his prime.

I would gladly target him in a playoff series, and put him in switches on Kyrie and Harden constantly.

We will see who comes out on top in that strategy.

You guys had to stop playing Dwight vs the Rockets last year for the same reason. And hes better than Drummond tbh.

[Hello Brooklyn]

Think like he can actually move his feet. It's Gasol you can play off the court by spamming pick and rolls and screen action. The problem with playing either off the court is it forces AD to play the 5, which well yikes as he's an even better 5 than either and unlocks the paint for Lebron and makes the defense full switchable.

Yeah obviously we don't want AD at the 5 but have to take advantage of Drummond while hes on the floor.

Hes a defensive liability on switches and at the FT line.

Nets can also play KD at the 5 for maximum spacing if need be. Harden/Kyrie/Harris/Green/KD

That works great for the Lakers. Now you have no rim
Protection against LeBron and AD. That’s the type of game the Lakers want to play against the Nets, who honestly have no defenders on the floor with that lineup.

What "rim protection" did the Warriors ever have in their death lineup?

[DarkAzcura]

If Aldridge, Howard, and Jordan aren't enough at center for a team with 3 top 15 players....I mean come on. You aren't supposed to have an all star at every position, lol.

The center being their weakest position doesn't mean it is going to be a weakness overall. That's flawed analysis.

[ILOVEIT]

Look at the Warriors roster when they won 2 of theirs....
Zaza...? McGee...?
I think it's the opposite - if your best player is a center...you are not going to win anything.

[phanman]

Crazy that this thread lasted 6 pages. Aldridge, DJ, Claxton, KD, Griffin are all viable options at the 5 depending on matchups. They've got big bodies to throw around at the elite 5's in the league and its not like one guy is making a huge difference on them regardless of who they are anyways.

They'll manage. If you want to talk about having garbage at center look no further than the Raptors trotting out Aaron Baynes, a 150lb Boucher or a 6'9 Pascal...

[SF_Warriors]

AD is an insanely tough matchup for any center in the playoffs, especially with attention being paid to lebron as well. Unless they couldve gotten embiid or giannis, they are about as well stocked at center that any team with their type of talent on the perimeter can reasonably expect. If they got drummond for example, I dont think that would really move the needle compared to having aldridge. AD would still be causing them issues. DJ, Aldridge, Clax, BG are more than fine at the center position if we are talking about playing alongside an KD/harden/KI/harris core.

[kuclas]

We will see if kyrie can take on the sixers himself. It will be a momental win if Kyrie can beat a healthy sixers team in Philadelphia who haven’t lost a home game when all 5 starters have played since December 2019.

Scheduling sucks. Should be a prime game and nets due to Minnesota game being delayed. On back to backs and load management KD

[hoosierdaddy34]

Put him in pick and rolls and target him with KD and Kyrie. he will have no choice.

Similar to what the Warriors did with Gobert.

You realize that Andre Drummond isn’t an incompetent basketball player right? You aren’t going to play him off the court by using a big man who can do just one thing offensively.

But as stated earlier by another poster...please build your game plan against the Lakers around Drummond. That would be great.

Andre Drummond is not a high iq or competent basketball player. Never been on a good team in his life. Theres a reason you got him for nothing in his prime.

I would gladly target him in a playoff series, and put him in switches on Kyrie and Harden constantly.

We will see who comes out on top in that strategy.

You guys had to stop playing Dwight vs the Rockets last year for the same reason. And hes better than Drummond tbh.

You really don’t see the difference between how the Rockets played small versus keeping Claxton on the floor

[hoosierdaddy34]

Yeah obviously we don't want AD at the 5 but have to take advantage of Drummond while hes on the floor.

Hes a defensive liability on switches and at the FT line.

Nets can also play KD at the 5 for maximum spacing if need be. Harden/Kyrie/Harris/Green/KD

That works great for the Lakers. Now you have no rim
Protection against LeBron and AD. That’s the type of game the Lakers want to play against the Nets, who honestly have no defenders on the floor with that lineup.

What "rim protection" did the Warriors ever have in their death lineup?

The Warriors were a top defensive team, the Nets aren’t. You had 3 all defensive team type performers in that lineup with Draymond, Iggy and Klay. The Nets have no great defenders when they go small. Even KD isn’t the same level defender as he was on those Warriors teams. That’s pretty funny you can’t tell the difference in those two scenarios.

[hoosierdaddy34]

Update - Heat Centers combine for 31 points and 25 rebounds yesterday. Heat grab 16 offensive rebounds and enjoy a 15 rebound advantage for the game.

[_qubik]

You realize that Andre Drummond isn’t an incompetent basketball player right? You aren’t going to play him off the court by using a big man who can do just one thing offensively.

But as stated earlier by another poster...please build your game plan against the Lakers around Drummond. That would be great.

Andre Drummond is not a high iq or competent basketball player. Never been on a good team in his life. Theres a reason you got him for nothing in his prime.

I would gladly target him in a playoff series, and put him in switches on Kyrie and Harden constantly.

We will see who comes out on top in that strategy.

You guys had to stop playing Dwight vs the Rockets last year for the same reason. And hes better than Drummond tbh.

You really don’t see the difference between how the Rockets played small versus keeping Claxton on the floor

People talking like AD doesnt exist, Drummond is just ensurance, great one, he will rebound, roll, get you something, if he is too exploitable in switches and defending the perimeter the Lakers have a lot of other defensive stoppers plus FREAKING ANTHONY DAVIS, I'm pretty sure he can shut KD down in a playoff series, while there is Caruso, KCP, THT, the body of Weslley Matthews to throw at Harden and Kyrie, all while they have no freaking answer to AD on offense. Bam isnt the most aggressive center on offense, and his stats on the last games were 21/15/5. Imagine what AD can do to that center rotation

[Hello Brooklyn]

Andre Drummond is not a high iq or competent basketball player. Never been on a good team in his life. Theres a reason you got him for nothing in his prime.

I would gladly target him in a playoff series, and put him in switches on Kyrie and Harden constantly.

We will see who comes out on top in that strategy.

You guys had to stop playing Dwight vs the Rockets last year for the same reason. And hes better than Drummond tbh.

You really don’t see the difference between how the Rockets played small versus keeping Claxton on the floor

People talking like AD doesnt exist, Drummond is just ensurance, great one, he will rebound, roll, get you something, if he is too exploitable in switches and defending the perimeter the Lakers have a lot of other defensive stoppers plus FREAKING ANTHONY DAVIS, I'm pretty sure he can shut KD down in a playoff series, while there is Caruso, KCP, THT, the body of Weslley Matthews to throw at Harden and Kyrie, all while they have no freaking answer to AD on offense. Bam isnt the most aggressive center on offense, and his stats on the last games were 21/15/5. Imagine what AD can do to that center rotation

You're delusional if you think anyone can shut down Kevin Durant.

Anthony Davis could do nothing to stop Jimmy Butler and hes somehow going to shut down Kevin Durant

Alex Caruso and KCP on Harden AND Kyrie? Please stop.

[_qubik]

You really don’t see the difference between how the Rockets played small versus keeping Claxton on the floor

People talking like AD doesnt exist, Drummond is just ensurance, great one, he will rebound, roll, get you something, if he is too exploitable in switches and defending the perimeter the Lakers have a lot of other defensive stoppers plus FREAKING ANTHONY DAVIS, I'm pretty sure he can shut KD down in a playoff series, while there is Caruso, KCP, THT, the body of Weslley Matthews to throw at Harden and Kyrie, all while they have no freaking answer to AD on offense. Bam isnt the most aggressive center on offense, and his stats on the last games were 21/15/5. Imagine what AD can do to that center rotation

You're delusional if you think anyone can shut down Kevin Durant.

Anthony Davis could do nothing to stop Jimmy Butler and hes somehow going to shut down Kevin Durant

Alex Caruso and KCP on Harden AND Kyrie? Please stop.

Yeah, by shutting down I'm not meaning KD will average 15 on dysmal efficiency, but of course AD can bother him a lot, KD isnt overly explosive, AD is bigger, stronger, smart and nimble for his size, at least he will be able to bother him a lot. And as role players go, I'm pretty happy to throw KCP and Caruso on your stars, they have size and speed to at least be in condition to bother them. The Lakers can throw good level players without wearing their man defendind the Nets trio. Yeah, I'm pretty sure no one has the power to score more than this nets, but for sure the Lakers is the team that can bother the offense more than any other. They are the best defense in the league, number wise, eye test, and they dont have some dicey situation as the Gobert fit in a great defense that can adapt to play the nets Hydra.

On the other side the Nets have absolutely zero answer for Lebron and AD, adding that to their defense I dont think its unfair to assume the Lakers are the most balanced team, for me this balance is enough to overcome the talent gap. And if talent weighs so much, having the best player in the series, Lebron, will help a lot.

But all of that will only matter if those 5 guys can get to the finals and healthy

[kamaze]

We can use another center bc DJ barely moves on defense and I rather play Green at power forward than center. They tried that yesterday on Bam and it didn't work.

[Hello Brooklyn]

People talking like AD doesnt exist, Drummond is just ensurance, great one, he will rebound, roll, get you something, if he is too exploitable in switches and defending the perimeter the Lakers have a lot of other defensive stoppers plus FREAKING ANTHONY DAVIS, I'm pretty sure he can shut KD down in a playoff series, while there is Caruso, KCP, THT, the body of Weslley Matthews to throw at Harden and Kyrie, all while they have no freaking answer to AD on offense. Bam isnt the most aggressive center on offense, and his stats on the last games were 21/15/5. Imagine what AD can do to that center rotation

You're delusional if you think anyone can shut down Kevin Durant.

Anthony Davis could do nothing to stop Jimmy Butler and hes somehow going to shut down Kevin Durant

Alex Caruso and KCP on Harden AND Kyrie? Please stop.

Yeah, by shutting down I'm not meaning KD will average 15 on dysmal efficiency, but of course AD can bother him a lot, KD isnt overly explosive, AD is bigger, stronger, smart and nimble for his size, at least he will be able to bother him a lot. And as role players go, I'm pretty happy to throw KCP and Caruso on your stars, they have size and speed to at least be in condition to bother them. The Lakers can throw good level players without wearing their man defendind the Nets trio. Yeah, I'm pretty sure no one has the power to score more than this nets, but for sure the Lakers is the team that can bother the offense more than any other. They are the best defense in the league, number wise, eye test, and they dont have some dicey situation as the Gobert fit in a great defense that can adapt to play the nets Hydra.

On the other side the Nets have absolutely zero answer for Lebron and AD, adding that to their defense I dont think its unfair to assume the Lakers are the most balanced team, for me this balance is enough to overcome the talent gap. And if talent weighs so much, having the best player in the series, Lebron, will help a lot.

But all of that will only matter if those 5 guys can get to the finals and healthy

AD can certainly help on KD.

But putting KCP or Caruso on Harden is a death sentence. Hes taller and stronger than both of them.

Saying we have "zero answer" for the Lakers is also not true. We can certainly put Jeff Green and KD on LeBron. And Claxton is not a bad match for AD either.

The Lakers also have no shooting which is a huge concern. Last year Rondo and Dany Green made some huge 3s for them. Lets see if Schroeder and Wes Matthews can do the same thing.

I have my doubts.

[ItsDanger]

Nets remind me of a fantasy league team.

[DoItALL9]

If Aldridge never came to Brooklyn i wonder if they would've been able to sign Drummond.

Sent from my LG-H872 using RealGM mobile app

[lecola]

You're delusional if you think anyone can shut down Kevin Durant.

Anthony Davis could do nothing to stop Jimmy Butler and hes somehow going to shut down Kevin Durant

Alex Caruso and KCP on Harden AND Kyrie? Please stop.

Yeah, by shutting down I'm not meaning KD will average 15 on dysmal efficiency, but of course AD can bother him a lot, KD isnt overly explosive, AD is bigger, stronger, smart and nimble for his size, at least he will be able to bother him a lot. And as role players go, I'm pretty happy to throw KCP and Caruso on your stars, they have size and speed to at least be in condition to bother them. The Lakers can throw good level players without wearing their man defendind the Nets trio. Yeah, I'm pretty sure no one has the power to score more than this nets, but for sure the Lakers is the team that can bother the offense more than any other. They are the best defense in the league, number wise, eye test, and they dont have some dicey situation as the Gobert fit in a great defense that can adapt to play the nets Hydra.

On the other side the Nets have absolutely zero answer for Lebron and AD, adding that to their defense I dont think its unfair to assume the Lakers are the most balanced team, for me this balance is enough to overcome the talent gap. And if talent weighs so much, having the best player in the series, Lebron, will help a lot.

But all of that will only matter if those 5 guys can get to the finals and healthy

AD can certainly help on KD.

But putting KCP or Caruso on Harden is a death sentence. Hes taller and stronger than both of them.

Saying we have "zero answer" for the Lakers is also not true. We can certainly put Jeff Green and KD on LeBron. And Claxton is not a bad match for AD either.

The Lakers also have no shooting which is a huge concern. Last year Rondo and Dany Green made some huge 3s for them. Lets see if Schroeder and Wes Matthews can do the same thing.

I have my doubts.

You seem to totally forget about Mclemore dude. When the guy is hot, he shoots lights out and unstoppable. He needs Lebron to further get used to the team and the system. He is an underrated addition and we will see it throughout the playoffs.

Also overall everybody other than Drummond can shoot threes in an OK fashion. Lebron, AD, Kuzma, Caruso, Gasol, THT, Morris and even Mckinnie can all shoot over %40 throughout the streches. Lakers team is not a very good shooting team but they have the personnel and they can get hot at the correct time.