Around the NBA, 2016-17 Season thread

Post #901 » by **NyCeEvO** » Sat May 27, 2017 3:06 am

Obviously, I could be very wrong but I can't shake this feeling that KD is going to choke hard this Finals.

Papi_swav · Post #902 » by **Papi_swav** » Sat May 27, 2017 3:17 am

NyCeEvO wrote:Obviously, I could be very wrong but I can't shake this feeling that KD is going to choke hard this Finals.

I hope so, would be hilarious if that happens, trying to take the easy way out. I guess this is going toe the finals every year for the next 3 years, blahhhhhh :banghead:

MrDollarBills · Post #903 » by **MrDollarBills** » Sat May 27, 2017 3:36 am

I hope not. I hope KD averages 32 a game and wins finals MVP.

Warriors need to take out the trash

Hello Brooklyn · Post #904 » by **Hello Brooklyn** » Sat May 27, 2017 6:21 am

NyCeEvO wrote:Obviously, I could be very wrong but I can't shake this feeling that KD is going to choke hard this Finals.

KD already making excuses before the Finals even start.

Guess were gonna have to rely on the Splash Brothers to get it done.

Nothing will piss me off, than that dog Deron Williams with a ring.

Post #905 » by **NyCeEvO** » Sat May 27, 2017 11:27 am

Hello Brooklyn wrote:
NyCeEvO wrote:Obviously, I could be very wrong but I can't shake this feeling that KD is going to choke hard this Finals.

KD already making excuses before the Finals even start.

Guess were gonna have to rely on the Splash Brothers to get it done.

Nothing will piss me off, than that dog Deron Williams with a ring.

It's alarming how naively transparent he can be at times.

We know that there are plenty of guys who only like the money that comes with being an NBA star. We also know that some players are consumed with being the best. Yet even LBJ, who is chasing the ghost of MJ, has talked about you can only lay it all out there and live with the results. Basketball isn't so great an idol to any player that they are willing to destroy themselves over what happens. You can't control everything that happens on the court but people will respect you for trying.

How is it that the week before the Finals KD is already talking about how losing wouldn't be that bad because there is much more to life than that? Well, yes of course there is. But there's a big difference between giving your all and being satisfied with the results regardless of the outcome, and talking about how things (like your job) don't really matter.

I don't think KD went to GSW because he wants an easy title. I think he went to GSW because he wants the easiest and best life overall. Notice that he actually referred to winning a championship as mainly a 2-week high. That's what he wants to experience more so than winning itself.

He is a great basketball player but he needs a shrink of some sort. None of this is a good look at all.

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Hello Brooklyn · Post #906 » by **Hello Brooklyn** » Sat May 27, 2017 5:54 pm

Yeah man I agree. Durant doesn't seem to have the desire to be the greatest.

Winning a Championship isn't that important to him. This is why he will never be one of the greatest of all time.

Remember how devastated LeBron and Curry were when they lost in the Finals?

Durant just doesn't have that.

Post #907 » by **NyCeEvO** » Sat May 27, 2017 6:13 pm

Hello Brooklyn wrote:Yeah man I agree. Durant doesn't seem to have the desire to be the greatest.

Winning a Championship isn't that important to him. This is why he will never be one of the greatest of all time.

Remember how devastated LeBron and Curry were when they lost in the Finals?

Durant just doesn't have that.

TBF, when OKC lost against LBJ in the Finals, I'm pretty sure I remember seeing a view from the tunnel right after the game. KD went straight to his mom and started bawling.

Found it here:

MrDollarBills · Post #908 » by **MrDollarBills** » Sat May 27, 2017 6:44 pm

Durant tends to lose aggression when the heat turns on.

Paradise · Post #909 » by **Paradise** » Thu Jun 1, 2017 1:54 am

Hello Brooklyn wrote:I hate Deron Williams so much.

That reason alone, is enough for me to wear Warriors pom poms for the whole Finals.

Good god, that season was a disaster.

Asked if he and Williams kept in touch after that year, Livingston turned somber and a bit clipped.

“Nah,” he said. “Some guys do, some guys don’t. There’s nothing to that. If I see him, it’s, `What’s up, you healthy, your family good?’ But then you just kind of keep it moving.”

Only moments later, however, Livingston said he still keeps in regular contact with several players from that Nets team, including Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Joe Johnson, and the man who coached them, Jason Kidd. Williams? Nah.

It wasn’t necessarily what they signed up for,” Livingston said. “In the back of their mind, when it was all said and done, they kind of felt like it was a short end of the stick. We weren’t happy the way it ended. I was grateful for the season I had, but I wanted to continue to play. too. We felt like we had a chance to beat the Heat. We beat them every time during the season, but it didn’t work out that way.”

As for Williams, when asked if it’ll feel strange playing head-to-head against Livingston, he didn’t exactly respond like he was going to battle against a close chum.

“Why would it be weird going against Shaun?” he said. “I play against old teammates all the time, pretty much every game I play. It’s nothing.”

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kamaze · Post #910 » by **kamaze** » Thu Jun 1, 2017 4:33 am

Sdot is going to embarass him on the big stage. :lol:

Post #911 » by **NyCeEvO** » Thu Jun 1, 2017 8:21 am

Eat his lunch Shaun! Backup vs. starter turned demoted backup

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MrDollarBills · Post #912 » by **MrDollarBills** » Thu Jun 1, 2017 1:37 pm

Paradise wrote:
Hello Brooklyn wrote:I hate Deron Williams so much.

That reason alone, is enough for me to wear Warriors pom poms for the whole Finals.

Good god, that season was a disaster.

Asked if he and Williams kept in touch after that year, Livingston turned somber and a bit clipped.

“Nah,” he said. “Some guys do, some guys don’t. There’s nothing to that. If I see him, it’s, `What’s up, you healthy, your family good?’ But then you just kind of keep it moving.”

Only moments later, however, Livingston said he still keeps in regular contact with several players from that Nets team, including Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Joe Johnson, and the man who coached them, Jason Kidd. Williams? Nah.

It wasn’t necessarily what they signed up for,” Livingston said. “In the back of their mind, when it was all said and done, they kind of felt like it was a short end of the stick. We weren’t happy the way it ended. I was grateful for the season I had, but I wanted to continue to play. too. We felt like we had a chance to beat the Heat. We beat them every time during the season, but it didn’t work out that way.”

As for Williams, when asked if it’ll feel strange playing head-to-head against Livingston, he didn’t exactly respond like he was going to battle against a close chum.

“Why would it be weird going against Shaun?” he said. “I play against old teammates all the time, pretty much every game I play. It’s nothing.”

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oh god, i hope Livingston sees him and eats his **** ing lunch. **** HIM!!!

Post #913 » by **CalamityX12** » Thu Jun 1, 2017 2:16 pm

I guess we truly know who's the beast of a competitor between KD n Westbrook.

shakendfries · Post #914 » by **shakendfries** » Thu Jun 1, 2017 5:01 pm

CalamityX12 wrote:I guess we truly know who's the beast of a competitor between KD n Westbrook.

And what're you gonna say about Blake when he leaves LA this summer to squad up with Russ, or in 2 years when Westbrook leaves OKC to win a chip elsewhere?

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Post #915 » by **CalamityX12** » Thu Jun 1, 2017 5:30 pm

shakendfries wrote:
CalamityX12 wrote:I guess we truly know who's the beast of a competitor between KD n Westbrook.

And what're you gonna say about Blake when he leaves LA this summer to squad up with Russ, or in 2 years when Westbrook leaves OKC to win a chip elsewhere?

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I don't get it... lol

Russell has shown more of that competitive bite or desire to be a winner. I'm going off KD's comments saying that losing in the finals isn't a big deal... Russell would never say that

shakendfries · Post #916 » by **shakendfries** » Thu Jun 1, 2017 5:45 pm

CalamityX12 wrote:
shakendfries wrote:
CalamityX12 wrote:I guess we truly know who's the beast of a competitor between KD n Westbrook.

And what're you gonna say about Blake when he leaves LA this summer to squad up with Russ, or in 2 years when Westbrook leaves OKC to win a chip elsewhere?

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I don't get it... lol

Russell has shown more of that competitive bite or desire to be a winner. I'm going off KD's comments saying that losing in the finals isn't a big deal... Russell would never say that

Who cares what KD says? The dude damn near averages 40 in the playoffs each season. If that's nbd to him I'll live with it. Bron plays things down to the media similarly, all that matters is the effort the player shows on the court.

dwill was worthless in the playoffs and always gave lip service to the media saying he thought the Nets had a chance the whole time

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Post #917 » by **CalamityX12** » Thu Jun 1, 2017 6:01 pm

shakendfries wrote:
CalamityX12 wrote:
shakendfries wrote:
And what're you gonna say about Blake when he leaves LA this summer to squad up with Russ, or in 2 years when Westbrook leaves OKC to win a chip elsewhere?

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I don't get it... lol

Russell has shown more of that competitive bite or desire to be a winner. I'm going off KD's comments saying that losing in the finals isn't a big deal... Russell would never say that

Who cares what KD says? The dude damn near averages 40 in the playoffs each season. If that's nbd to him I'll live with it. Bron plays things down to the media similarly, all that matters is the effort the player shows on the court.

dwill was worthless in the playoffs and always gave lip service to the media saying he thought the Nets had a chance the whole time

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We care, or else they wouldn't do pressers with athletes. Basketball ref says he avg 28.4 per game in playoffs. A bit shy of 40 lol...

Agreed, its the effort that shows but Bron has shown the effort while KD has been questionable. Bron didn't join a 73 win team, KD did. KD went to play behind Steph.

shakendfries · Post #918 » by **shakendfries** » Thu Jun 1, 2017 7:42 pm

CalamityX12 wrote:
shakendfries wrote:
CalamityX12 wrote:I don't get it... lol

Russell has shown more of that competitive bite or desire to be a winner. I'm going off KD's comments saying that losing in the finals isn't a big deal... Russell would never say that

Who cares what KD says? The dude damn near averages 40 in the playoffs each season. If that's nbd to him I'll live with it. Bron plays things down to the media similarly, all that matters is the effort the player shows on the court.

dwill was worthless in the playoffs and always gave lip service to the media saying he thought the Nets had a chance the whole time

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We care, or else they wouldn't do pressers with athletes. Basketball ref says he avg 28.4 per game in playoffs. A bit shy of 40 lol...

Agreed, its the effort that shows but Bron has shown the effort while KD has been questionable. Bron didn't join a 73 win team, KD did. KD went to play behind Steph.

If we're talking finals, let's talk about the fact that this is the first finals matchup where LeBron is guarding someone who plays his position and is also in their prime.

The previous finals MVPs besides Bron have always been the player defending him.

When age is taken into account you could argue this is the best talent matchup LeBron has ever faced.

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Roy Tarpley · Post #919 » by **Roy Tarpley** » Thu Jun 1, 2017 8:46 pm

I don't understand the criticism of KD.

Lebron couldn't win in CLE initially because the management/owners didn't give him the talent he needed to win. Lebron knew he needed 2 other stars with him so he took matters into his own hands and created his own super team. And then CLE looked like it had stars in Irving and Wiggins, he went back to CLE.

Westbrook may appear to have all this competitive fire, but he's either (a) dumb enough to think that he can win on his own OR (b) he knows he can't win on his own but doesn't care because he doesn't care about winning (i.e., not competitive). Durant got sick of OKC and Westbrook's balhogging and went to a team that will give him a great shot to win the title and the sunny Bay Area. That sounds smart AND competitive to me.

Post #920 » by **NyCeEvO** » Thu Jun 1, 2017 9:42 pm

Roy Tarpley wrote:I don't understand the criticism of KD.

Lebron couldn't win in CLE initially because the management/owners didn't give him the talent he needed to win. Lebron knew he needed 2 other stars with him so he took matters into his own hands and created his own super team. And then CLE looked like it had stars in Irving and Wiggins, he went back to CLE.

Westbrook may appear to have all this competitive fire, but he's either (a) dumb enough to think that he can win on his own OR (b) he knows he can't win on his own but doesn't care because he doesn't care about winning (i.e., not competitive). Durant got sick of OKC and Westbrook's balhogging and went to a team that will give him a great shot to win the title and the sunny Bay Area. That sounds smart AND competitive to me.

No one is saying that he doesn't care about winning. In fact, it's the opposite. He cares about winning so much that he sought to take his superstar talents to a team that was a play away from winning the title (and IMO would've won in 5 had Green not been suspended).

It's smart. But I don't know in what way it can be considered competitive.

I hated LBJ's decision in 2010. I didn't care if he left Cleveland, but his purpose for joining the Heat was to win and win easily.

He wasn't just placating to MIA fans when he talked about the number of championships they were going to win, he believed and hoped that this move would secure "not 1, not 2, not 3...etc.," championships. LBJ wanted to play with the Wade, who arguably was the 2nd best player in the league at the time, and Bosh, a top 3 big man. His move was intentionally done so that he would win walking the path of least resistance.

KD's decision was done in the same manner. A top 3 player & 2014 MVP sought to join a top 3 player & 2015-2016 MVP, who comprises half of the best backcourt in the league, Additionally, he has a perennial DPOY candidate helping them on defense.