2020-21 NBA Season Discussion

[RSCD3_]

Brooklyn clicking is a scary sight to behold. They could put up a dozen in 2 minutes vs anyone

[Goudelock]

Robert Williams III is putting up some hypothetical Wilt Chamberlain block numbers tonight.

[Dupp]

Casual fans see Pandemic P

I see Kawhi Leonard NOT leading his team like a Kobe-esque superstar by not playmaking or making his teammates or co-star better, not defending the best player on the other team and getting normal regular season stats that only moderately impact the game

Kawhi is not a leader, this is nothing new.

I assume rondo was brought in not only to fill the play making void but also the lack of leadership on that team.

[Colbinii]

Casual fans see Pandemic P

I see Kawhi Leonard NOT leading his team like a Kobe-esque superstar by not playmaking or making his teammates or co-star better, not defending the best player on the other team and getting normal regular season stats that only moderately impact the game

Kawhi has never been a leader--this is nothing new and will never change considering his track record.

What he needs to do is join Utah Next offseason, lead them to a championship and then people will claim him as "The best in the NBA" once again.

[eminence]

Casual fans see Pandemic P

I see Kawhi Leonard NOT leading his team like a Kobe-esque superstar by not playmaking or making his teammates or co-star better, not defending the best player on the other team and getting normal regular season stats that only moderately impact the game

Kawhi has never been a leader--this is nothing new and will never change considering his track record.

What he needs to do is join Utah Next offseason, lead them to a championship and then people will claim him as "The best in the NBA" once again.

I mean, I'd be fine with it, lol.

[falcolombardi]

Casual fans see Pandemic P

I see Kawhi Leonard NOT leading his team like a Kobe-esque superstar by not playmaking or making his teammates or co-star better, not defending the best player on the other team and getting normal regular season stats that only moderately impact the game

Kawhi has never been a leader--this is nothing new and will never change considering his track record.

What he needs to do is join Utah Next offseason, lead them to a championship and then people will claim him as "The best in the NBA" once again.

that would be pretty awesome lol

[ShotCreator]

Clippers-Mavs and Bucks-Heat rematches will be crazy.

I love the Heat and really want to root for them, but I also really want to see Brooklyn-Milwaukee. Alas

I’d be shocked if either series goes past 5. The playoffs don’t start until the second round most likely.

I'd be more surprised the Heat lost in 5 than the Bucks. Not that I expect the Bucks to lose in 5, but I'd be stunned if the Heat went out with a whimper.

I also think we are going to get some terrific first round series. A year like this with the compact schedules and the impacts of COVID on a number of teams means the best teams definitely aren't all found in the top 4 seeds this year. Usually there might be one team, maybe 2 with lower seeds who are much better than that, but this year we have any number of dangerous lower seeded teams.

so far you seem to be right.

But I’m really disappointed in the Clippers so far. Though to be fair it seems Kawhi has really been affected by injuries.


I also feel the Bucks being in a dogfight with Miami is underwhelming on their part.

[Colbinii]

Great round of games today.

RE DEN VS POR: I wish Gordon would "stay in his lane" and allow guys like Campazzo to fill in. The team is extremely weak offensively after Joker/Porter Jr but Gordon basically playing his Orlando offensive role is not a recipe for success in the post-season.

We could see a "2001 Game 1, NBA Finals of Allen Iverson" from Russell Westbrook tomorrow. I expect the Suns to get the best of the Lakers tomorrow, Hawks and Knicks I have no idea what to think and can Ja Morant keep playing like what "Kings fans think DeAaron Fox is?"

[Dutchball97]

Casual fans see Pandemic P

I see Kawhi Leonard NOT leading his team like a Kobe-esque superstar by not playmaking or making his teammates or co-star better, not defending the best player on the other team and getting normal regular season stats that only moderately impact the game

Kawhi has never been a leader--this is nothing new and will never change considering his track record.

What he needs to do is join Utah Next offseason, lead them to a championship and then people will claim him as "The best in the NBA" once again.

You can be the best player in the league without being a leader. Shaq was a terrible leader, same for Wilt for most of his career, Barkley was even a lousy leader by his own word, KD might be less of a leader than Kawhi.

I'm not sure who else you'd have as the best player of the 2019 season other than Kawhi tbh. There are guys like Curry, Harden, Giannis and Jokic you could make an argument for but it's a hard sell.

[Colbinii]

Casual fans see Pandemic P

I see Kawhi Leonard NOT leading his team like a Kobe-esque superstar by not playmaking or making his teammates or co-star better, not defending the best player on the other team and getting normal regular season stats that only moderately impact the game

Kawhi has never been a leader--this is nothing new and will never change considering his track record.

What he needs to do is join Utah Next offseason, lead them to a championship and then people will claim him as "The best in the NBA" once again.

You can be the best player in the league without being a leader. Shaq was a terrible leader, same for Wilt for most of his career, Barkley was even a lousy leader by his own word, KD might be less of a leader than Kawhi.

I'm not sure who else you'd have as the best player of the 2019 season other than Kawhi tbh. There are guys like Curry, Harden, Giannis and Jokic you could make an argument for but it's a hard sell.

First I do want to apologize for my post earlier regarding your "top 5" and the Curry admission/exclusion.

You are right, a player who is merely top 3 now could easily be jumped and pushed down outside the top 5--that may even be true for me.

Players can of-course not be good or great leaders and be the best player in the league. Jordan wasn't a very good leader and in 2011 LeBron James wasn't a "leader" and in the running for best player.

RE 2019 POY: On this forum, Giannis received 4 votes, Harden 3 votes and Kawhi 7 votes.

Small sample size obviously but all 3 had strong cases. I didn't vote--dont remember why.

[penbeast0]

Casual fans see Pandemic P

I see Kawhi Leonard NOT leading his team like a Kobe-esque superstar by not playmaking or making his teammates or co-star better, not defending the best player on the other team and getting normal regular season stats that only moderately impact the game

Kawhi has never been a leader--this is nothing new and will never change considering his track record.

What he needs to do is join Utah Next offseason, lead them to a championship and then people will claim him as "The best in the NBA" once again.

No no no, the Jazz have been good for awhile and it still might be credited to Gobert. He needs to join the Wizards, the T-Wolves, or the Kings and lead them to a championship. THEN he will be truly a player for the ages!

[Colbinii]

Casual fans see Pandemic P

I see Kawhi Leonard NOT leading his team like a Kobe-esque superstar by not playmaking or making his teammates or co-star better, not defending the best player on the other team and getting normal regular season stats that only moderately impact the game

Kawhi has never been a leader--this is nothing new and will never change considering his track record.

What he needs to do is join Utah Next offseason, lead them to a championship and then people will claim him as "The best in the NBA" once again.

No no no, the Jazz have been good for awhile and it still might be credited to Gobert. He needs to join the Wizards, the T-Wolves, or the Kings and lead them to a championship. THEN he will be truly a player for the ages!

Kawhi would be a perfect fit in Minnesota.

Wouldn't he be a 3rd option in Washington?

[penbeast0]

Kawhi has never been a leader--this is nothing new and will never change considering his track record.

What he needs to do is join Utah Next offseason, lead them to a championship and then people will claim him as "The best in the NBA" once again.

No no no, the Jazz have been good for awhile and it still might be credited to Gobert. He needs to join the Wizards, the T-Wolves, or the Kings and lead them to a championship. THEN he will be truly a player for the ages!

Kawhi would be a perfect fit in Minnesota.

Wouldn't he be a 3rd option in Washington?

He could go back to playing DPOY level defense with the offensive pressure gone! And Minny has more offensive weapons (and even less defense!) than Washington.

Actually, truth be told, he should go to the Knicks both for the defensive culture that TT has put in and for the greater chance for offensive primacy but I hate seeing New York teams win anything, especially with a bought and paid for free agent star. Brings back those nasty Steinbrenner memories.

[Colbinii]

No no no, the Jazz have been good for awhile and it still might be credited to Gobert. He needs to join the Wizards, the T-Wolves, or the Kings and lead them to a championship. THEN he will be truly a player for the ages!

Kawhi would be a perfect fit in Minnesota.

Wouldn't he be a 3rd option in Washington?

He could go back to playing DPOY level defense with the offensive pressure gone! And Minny has more offensive weapons (and even less defense!) than Washington.

Actually, truth be told, he should go to the Knicks both for the defensive culture that TT has put in and for the greater chance for offensive primacy but I hate seeing New York teams win anything, especially with a bought and paid for free agent star. Brings back those nasty Steinbrenner memories.

Oh, as a twins fans, I hate the Yankees.

I went to one of the playoff games here in Minneapolis when I was 13 or 14 against the Yankees. Man was that experience and environment amazing. I remember some guy behind my mother and I shouting "Derek Jeter has no Peter".

[Dutchball97]

Kawhi has never been a leader--this is nothing new and will never change considering his track record.

What he needs to do is join Utah Next offseason, lead them to a championship and then people will claim him as "The best in the NBA" once again.

You can be the best player in the league without being a leader. Shaq was a terrible leader, same for Wilt for most of his career, Barkley was even a lousy leader by his own word, KD might be less of a leader than Kawhi.

I'm not sure who else you'd have as the best player of the 2019 season other than Kawhi tbh. There are guys like Curry, Harden, Giannis and Jokic you could make an argument for but it's a hard sell.

First I do want to apologize for my post earlier regarding your "top 5" and the Curry admission/exclusion.

You are right, a player who is merely top 3 now could easily be jumped and pushed down outside the top 5--that may even be true for me.

Players can of-course not be good or great leaders and be the best player in the league. Jordan wasn't a very good leader and in 2011 LeBron James wasn't a "leader" and in the running for best player.

RE 2019 POY: On this forum, Giannis received 4 votes, Harden 3 votes and Kawhi 7 votes.

Small sample size obviously but all 3 had strong cases. I didn't vote--dont remember why.

No worries. I should've worded it a bit more nuanced. While I don't think it is likely Curry will be top 5, there is of course still a chance.

Realistically Jokic, Giannis and Embiid are either already ahead or close enough that even a first round exit could still see them pass Curry. If the Nuggets, Bucks and 76ers knock out as many teams as possible Curry probably has the best chance. Clippers - Mavs is bittersweet for Curry fans. Both Luka and Kawhi already got back end of the top 5 consideration in the regular season and at least one of them is guaranteed to at the very least make it to the second round but on the brightside one of the two is also guaranteed to not make it out of the first round. I think Luka would have a better shot of ending up ahead of Curry than Kawhi does in the case of a first round exit so rooting for the Mavs over the Clippers might be the plan for Curry fans. LeBron losing in the first round would also help Curry's case a lot, LeBron still has some ground to cover but once he gets rolling it'll be difficult to stop him.

[HeartBreakKid]

damn, the sixer-wizard game just started and marv messed up like 7 names already

[Fadeaway_J]

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/31497818/nba-hopes-restart-talks-teams-players-union-midseason-tournament-sources-say

Can someone please explain to me why this idea refuses to go away?

[Colbinii]

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/31497818/nba-hopes-restart-talks-teams-players-union-midseason-tournament-sources-say

Can someone please explain to me why this idea refuses to go away?

Well if you step back from the fandom of the actual sport and realize sports are simply a form of advertising, a mid-season tournament increases the revenue of this advertising business.

Its why IPhone releases a new phone every year.

[MyUniBroDavis]

The fact that clippers tickets are 50 bucks and lakers tickets are 400 is really funny lmao

Watching games in the stadium hits different, I know Kawhi didn’t have a great game but goddamn it felt like he did watching live, although I was eating chicken tenders when he went on a cold streak

[Homer38]

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/31497818/nba-hopes-restart-talks-teams-players-union-midseason-tournament-sources-say

Can someone please explain to me why this idea refuses to go away?

I hope that the players will reject that,no matter what....Silver want that the NBA look like the soccer