NFT: Russell Westbrook is awesome

as the athlete I loathe the most in the NBA. His act became old and tiresome very, very fast.

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which is very likely never to happen. Westbrook will be a frequent 1 and done in the playoffs. His triple double chasing, no playing defense wont work in the playoffs.

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and yet I don't know if I consider either to be a top 5 player in general.

LeBron
Curry/Durant

And then you have CP3, Kawhi, Butler, Giannis, and Davis with strong arguments over Russ/Harden because of their two-way impact.

Warriors vs. Cavs is unfortunately a mortal lock which sucks, but the talent level of the elite individuals in this league hasn't been this high in a long long time.

LeBron
Durant
Curry
Westbrook
Harden

In comment 13332275 Osi Osi Osi OyOyOy said:

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and yet I don't know if I consider either to be a top 5 player in general. LeBron Curry/Durant And then you have CP3, Kawhi, Butler, Giannis, and Davis with strong arguments over Russ/Harden because of their two-way impact. Warriors vs. Cavs is unfortunately a mortal lock which sucks, but the talent level of the elite individuals in this league hasn't been this high in a long long time.

CP3 is eliminated.
Butler and Davis teams' suck.

Lebron and KD have been the 2 best players in the NBA this year. But Harden is the MVP because of what the Rockets are doing.

First team NBA is going to be crowded in the front court this year. Lebron, KD, Leonard, Butler, Giannis, Davis, Cousins. 4 of those wont make the 1st team. 1 one of them wont even make 2nd team!

but I dont think Curry has been a top 10 player in the league this year. He is a top 10 player, but there are players who are putting up some monster years too.

had a "down" year but he's still the best offensive player in the league.

In comment 13332322 Osi Osi Osi OyOyOy said:

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had a "down" year but he's still the best offensive player in the league.

Ill still take KD. What he is doing this year is really going unnoticed by the average fan. Leader in points, boards, and blocks. Shooting near 55% from the floor. Over 40% from 3. Getting 26 points on 17 shots is silly.

atleast he's embracing being a villain. I don't even have an interest in the NBA anymore but Westbrook being a grade A asshole is great. It would make me tune into an OCK/GS playoff matchup.

primarily because of his defensive impact.

Offensively, his ability to get to the line is a big edge on Curry. But Curry's ball-handling/shooting combination is still comically unfair and makes him the better offensive player overall imo.

Curry is awesome but I don't think he's a true PG. His breakout year was the year draymond broke out as well. Curry may be the best off ball player in league history.

for Westbrook, please? Trade OKC everything....bridges...tunnels....statue of liberty even though that that kind of lives in Jersey..

I wish he was a Knick. Badly.

In comment 13332356 giantsfan44ab said:

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Curry is awesome but I don't think he's a true PG. His breakout year was the year draymond broke out as well. Curry may be the best off ball player in league history.

Man you and I cant agree on anything. haha. Give me Curry everyday and 5x on sunday before RW.

In comment 13332332 dep026 said:

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In comment 13332322 Osi Osi Osi OyOyOy said: Quote: had a "down" year but he's still the best offensive player in the league. Ill still take KD. What he is doing this year is really going unnoticed by the average fan. Leader in points, boards, and blocks. Shooting near 55% from the floor. Over 40% from 3. Getting 26 points on 17 shots is silly.

Wow leading a team with Zaza starting at center and a SF at PF in blocks in rebounds?!

the crazy thing about Curry is that his shooting efficiency doesnt decline as he takes more shots. That just doesnt happen. But with Durant there, he doesnt need to shoot as much.

I also think Curry is saving himself for the playoffs a bit.

In comment 13332361 chris r said:

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In comment 13332332 dep026 said: Quote: In comment 13332322 Osi Osi Osi OyOyOy said: Quote: had a "down" year but he's still the best offensive player in the league. Ill still take KD. What he is doing this year is really going unnoticed by the average fan. Leader in points, boards, and blocks. Shooting near 55% from the floor. Over 40% from 3. Getting 26 points on 17 shots is silly. Wow leading a team with Zaza starting at center and a SF at PF in blocks in rebounds?!

yeah fucknuts. It is very impressive. Draymond Green is a SF? You are as dumb as you are worthless.

In comment 13332345 UConn4523 said:

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atleast he's embracing being a villain. I don't even have an interest in the NBA anymore but Westbrook being a grade A asshole is great. It would make me tune into an OCK/GS playoff matchup.

Exactly my thinking! haha

but it's not for slack of ability. He's carrying that offense. I was thinking they should've traded for Rudy gay (don't even like him) to ease the load but it just looks like he tore is ACL. Obviously the thunder won't go very far in the playoffs but you can't exploit Russ in the PnR like the Cavs completely exposed Curry in the finals.

That said Harden is my MVP. And I think Morey should win GM of the year even though the Warriors GM will probably get it.

Every single player Morey has touched has turned into a useful and good, if not great, player. Ariza, Beverley, Gordon, Capella, Anderson, Harrell, Dekker. All are having great seasons and compliment Harden perfectly.

I should say.

Perhaps telling, that when Westbrook got knocked down by Zaza last night, none of his teammates really came to defend him (Maybe Adams would have if he was playing). I wonder how he's perceived on that team.

Especially at the start of the season, it seems like Curry was deferring a bit to try and integrate Durant onto the team, and he still does that sometimes (like last night) when other players are hot. But he's been more assertive offensively lately and I think it has showed.

Westbrook is a better rebounder, and probably a better defender than Curry, but offensively and as a leader I think Curry still has an edge.

who probably wouldn't be too fun to play with, but I don't really find him hateable.

In comment 13332433 jdf said:

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Westbrook is a better rebounder, and probably a better defender than Curry

Zach Lowe and Jeff Van Gundy recently had an interesting discussion about Westbrook vs Curry defensively. They say Curry is actually consistently better than Westbrook defensively, at least as far as awareness and discipline are concerned, but some particular matchups and situations could make Westbrook the better defender in some games or series. Westbrook switching onto LeBron is better than Curry switching onto LeBron, for example.

weren't on speaking terms until yesterday.

acting like he was in love with him.....

In comment 13332766 santacruzom said:

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In comment 13332433 jdf said: Quote: Westbrook is a better rebounder, and probably a better defender than Curry Zach Lowe and Jeff Van Gundy recently had an interesting discussion about Westbrook vs Curry defensively. They say Curry is actually consistently better than Westbrook defensively, at least as far as awareness and discipline are concerned, but some particular matchups and situations could make Westbrook the better defender in some games or series. Westbrook switching onto LeBron is better than Curry switching onto LeBron, for example.

That's because Curry has 3 other guys to shoulder the offensive load. Westbrook takes a lot of dumb shots but he needs to be taking well over 2 shots a game given his teammates.

I love when players and teams genuinely dislike each other in professional sports. I hate this buddy-buddy, let's all go hug and hang out after the game thing that rival teams do these days.

I love Odell but him smiling when Antonio Brown scored a TD made me wince. Why is your buddy from another team's TD more important than your own team losing in the game?

Love the attitude. Makes the game more fun.

though....

about the all star game. I bet he would also rather not win a title then join a team with 3 superstars already on it.

The NBA fucking sucks as currently constructed. None of the players will say it because they make a fortune but if one did I bet it would be Westbrook.

In comment 13333245 UConn4523 said:

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about the all star game. I bet he would also rather not win a title then join a team with 3 superstars already on it. The NBA fucking sucks as currently constructed. None of the players will say it because they make a fortune but if one did I bet it would be Westbrook.

Yep. Strange how bad parity is.

In comment 13333245 UConn4523 said:

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about the all star game. I bet he would also rather not win a title then join a team with 3 superstars already on it. The NBA fucking sucks as currently constructed. None of the players will say it because they make a fortune but if one did I bet it would be Westbrook.

The new CBA is aiming to fight that and make it a league based on how well you draft and how smart you are when it comes to paying your middle of the road players. It's a more anti-capitalism approach which would irk some who would prefer it that way, but there's speculation on whether KD would've left $70M on the table to join the warriors (he might've, money certianly isn't an issue, but would say, a John wall type do the same?).

Another draw back is that it may (but not certainly) encourage tanking as that may be the only true way to reliably get stars. It may not as many teams aren't willing to sacrifice revenue by putting a poor product on the floor. It does put teams like the Heat in a bind. They have 2 max contract players and lead the league in losses.

My speculation is in the future (whenever the warriors and Cavs are done dominating the league), you'll see teams with a couple of good stars but not good role players (Like the bulls) and teams with a bunch of good players but no top tier players (like the Jazz) battle it out. At least that's my hope and what I seem to understand from the CBA.

Cap space will certainly become an asset again, average players won't make $20M a year anymore (e.g. Mozgov, mahinimi, Noah), and 1st round picks will be safer guarded (at least by smart teams). As a result I pray there is more parity among the top teams rather than parity among the middle class of the league.

watching the Steph Curry of the last few years.

The NBA is less interesting to me this season with Durant on the Warriors. I understood why Durant went to Golden State and don't fault him for it (I have no interest in debating that here).

But as a fan, Durant on the Warriors means less activity from Curry and nothing was more exciting the last few years than getting a text from someone to the extent of "turn on the Warriors... Steph Curry." I loved watching Curry at a high volume.

Not only that, but Durant is less interesting on the Warriors. He is incredible and he makes the game look easy this season. The Warriors are a perfect fit for his offense because they have so many shooters that it spaces the floor like crazy and he can get to the basket at will. The Warriors also allow him to show off his defensive abilities more. But it's too easy and it's not as interesting as when he had to work a little harder to get his baskets on the Thunder.

Also, I thought Iguodala had the easiest job in the world the last few years on offense just waiting for the hockey assist open 3, but this season he gets more open looks from 3 than Josh Smith.

Bit of a rant but my essential point was that Steph Curry was the most "stop what you're doing and turn on the game" player int the league the last few years but with Durant now there, there's less of a need for him to to play such a big role. It's unfortunate as a Curry fan.

There's a school of thought at least worth listening to that running to a ring is a little bit bitchy, and building towards one is a little more legit. For those who concur, Westbrook is your dude.

Maybe he's not top 5. But this whack bullshit like he's not absolutely balling is lame.

Yeah I hear you. What's unfortunate is that KD going to GS only helps the league from a bottom line standpoint. In addition to all the little kids going out buying steph curry jerseys and shoes they can now combine them with all the latest KD gear. Bandwagons are looked down upon from a fan perspective but it's hard to see why sports leagues would do so from a financial standpoint.

I used to like the NBA and NFL about equally. The NFL is becoming a drag with so much down time and commercials and stuff but it's now a clear step up from the NBA IMO. I used to turn on random close games on league pass but now I'm like what's the point? We're just going to see the Cavs Warriors at the end of the day. Even early playoff rounds have become boring for me.

It sucks because I think I enjoy the sport of basketball a lot more. It's something you can play a few times a week with friends/peopleat local courts/leagues unlike football. I love college basketball but my God is the level of play a lot worse than the NBA. So now I'm stuck trying to get excited about up and coming teams/players but that only goes so far in terms of entertainment value.

Is the new in thing

And it's massively off base

In comment 13333276 PaulBlakeTSU said:

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watching the Steph Curry of the last few years. The NBA is less interesting to me this season with Durant on the Warriors. I understood why Durant went to Golden State and don't fault him for it (I have no interest in debating that here).

You know what? Even as a Warriors fan, I agree. I mostly see sports as entertainment, and in my opinion they're less entertaining now than they were last year simply because I preferred the Curry-going-off element.

What Durant did was lame. I can obviously understand why he went there, it's his life and career. But it's just flat out lame. I'm sorry

It's really too bad too, because it could have been a fantastic season with him in OKC. 4 or 5 teams in the West with a shot at making the Finals. Instead, the finals matchup is pretty much a lock. The league has more talent and incredible players in it than ever. But I've never been less interested in watching. At least until the conference finals. It's too bad