We talked at length a while ago (maybe even 2 nba threads ago) that even though Durant was ultra skinny to the point where he couldn’t bench 185lbs, putting weight on him would be detrimental to his game as could mess up his shot form and general explosiveness.
Lebron has looked pretty shitty. Maybe leaning up, going paleo over the summer has negatively impacted his game?
[quote]therajraj wrote:
We talked at length a while ago (maybe even 2 nba threads ago) that even though Durant was ultra skinny to the point where he couldn’t bench 185lbs, putting weight on him would be detrimental to his game as could mess up his shot form and general explosiveness.
Lebron has looked pretty shitty. Maybe leaning up, going paleo over the summer has negatively impacted his game?
[/quote]
Yea, he did like a low carb/keto diet? Think it’s pretty much proven that low fat while good for losing fat/weight is detrimental to performance, especially high intensity performance. Kevin Love doesn’t look like he’s doing anything too.
Yea, i think demarcus has alot of potential though. He’s pretty big, strong, runs the floor well, can dribble, has a decent mid range, has good footwork. He’s def one of the best big men right now. Hopefully in a year or two he can be an absolute beast.
Sorry, but hoping Cousins will be as dominant as a prime Barkley was is insane. Aside from the fact they play different positions, Barkley kicked ass in a much more physical league full of dominant bigs. Cousins puts up good numbers in a soft league with zero dominant bigs. Not sure how someone could even make the comparison.
[quote]WhiteFlash wrote:
Sorry, but hoping Cousins will be as dominant as a prime Barkley was is insane. Aside from the fact they play different positions, Barkley kicked ass in a much more physical league full of dominant bigs. Cousins puts up good numbers in a soft league with zero dominant bigs. Not sure how someone could even make the comparison. [/quote]
0 dominant bigs? You gotta be kidding me. Are you even watching the NBA? We got bigs like big baby davis, kendrick perkins, larry sanders and you’re telling me there are no dominant bigs.
kidding. Yea you’re right. I forgot that barkely was up against the likes of Ewing, Olajawan, Robinson, Malone, Rodman etc. 
[quote]LTKO wrote:
[quote]WhiteFlash wrote:
Sorry, but hoping Cousins will be as dominant as a prime Barkley was is insane. Aside from the fact they play different positions, Barkley kicked ass in a much more physical league full of dominant bigs. Cousins puts up good numbers in a soft league with zero dominant bigs. Not sure how someone could even make the comparison. [/quote]
0 dominant bigs? You gotta be kidding me. Are you even watching the NBA? We got bigs like big baby davis, kendrick perkins, larry sanders and you’re telling me there are no dominant bigs.
kidding. Yea you’re right. I forgot that barkely was up against the likes of Ewing, Olajawan, Robinson, Malone, Rodman etc. [/quote]
Haha, all good bud. Cousins can play, but he’s not even in the same ballpark as Barkley.
What’s an adequate sample of games before I can say the Raptors are legit contenders to win the East?
25?
Prob depends on whether you meant win the East in the regular season (ie. be the #1 seed) or win the Eastern Conf Finals.
For the latter, teams have traditionally needed to “pay their dues” before finally breaking through.
[quote]chillain wrote:
Prob depends on whether you meant win the East in the regular season (ie. be the #1 seed) or win the Eastern Conf Finals.
For the latter, teams have traditionally needed to “pay their dues” before finally breaking through.
[/quote]
I meant the latter.
That’s true but there’s really no one good in the East. Other than Chicago, no team has really paid their dues.
[quote]therajraj wrote:
[quote]chillain wrote:
Prob depends on whether you meant win the East in the regular season (ie. be the #1 seed) or win the Eastern Conf Finals.
For the latter, teams have traditionally needed to “pay their dues” before finally breaking through.
[/quote]
I meant the latter.
That’s true but there’s really no one good in the East. Other than Chicago, no team has really paid their dues.
[/quote]
True enough.
I just have a hard time seeing a team win three straight best-of-sevens without a few series wins already under their belt.
So I’d still prob favor CHI, WAS and CLE (which obv assumes that CLE gets their team defense together by May)
[quote]chillain wrote:
[quote]therajraj wrote:
[quote]chillain wrote:
Prob depends on whether you meant win the East in the regular season (ie. be the #1 seed) or win the Eastern Conf Finals.
For the latter, teams have traditionally needed to “pay their dues” before finally breaking through.
[/quote]
I meant the latter.
That’s true but there’s really no one good in the East. Other than Chicago, no team has really paid their dues.
[/quote]
True enough.
I just have a hard time seeing a team win three straight best-of-sevens without a few series wins already under their belt.
So I’d still prob favor CHI, WAS and CLE (which obv assumes that CLE gets their team defense together by May)
[/quote]
Did you watch the Raps - LAL game?
Kobe loves coming out for Raptors games
Meanwhile out West…
GSW looks to be taking the next step.
On the flip side, LAC does not.
[quote]therajraj wrote:
Did you watch the Raps - LAL game?
Kobe loves coming out for Raptors games
[/quote]
Not yet but I prob should.
And true.
Obvious statement, but has there ever been this many bad teams in one conference before?
Philadelphia 2-18
Detroit 3-18
New York 4-18
Charlotte 5-15
So is this thread dead?
Rondo to Mavs?
LAL beats GSW?
How crazy a first round matchup will there be if OKC sneaks into the playoffs and we have a GSW vs OKC series?
Also when WhiteFlash told me I should be excited about Kyle Lowry coming to Toronto, I was a little reluctant especially after he said the same thing about Jerryd Bayless.
But damn, thus far he’s been arguably the best player in the East
Cavs need to do something with Kevin Love, and Dion Waiters.
Love is not good. He gets his shot blocked anytime he is near the rim, and cant jump over a phone book. His 3pt shot is not falling, and seriously why does the league have such a hard on for a stretch 4?
I hope they let him walk next season, and then have dan gilbert back up a brinks truck to Marc Gasol’s house.
Dion is just a street player. He never passes, does not know the game other than scoring, and he does just not fit.
Hopefully im wrong, I think Dion has crazy Dwade like talent, but he needs to figure out.
[quote]therajraj wrote:
Also when WhiteFlash told me I should be excited about Kyle Lowry coming to Toronto, I was a little reluctant especially after he said the same thing about Jerryd Bayless.
But damn, thus far he’s been arguably the best player in the East[/quote]
Haha, think I actually said that when given minutes Bayless puts up big numbers. He also has one of the best first steps in the league. There’s a ton of talented dude’s out there. The consistency, focus and obviously ability are the things that separate the individual classes.
Glad Lowrey and the Raps are doing well. Hopefully Derozan can get back on track soon. He reminds me of a young Drexler.
[quote]therajraj wrote:
How crazy a first round matchup will there be if OKC sneaks into the playoffs and we have a GSW vs OKC series?[/quote]
Would be insane.
[quote]therajraj wrote:
I was a little reluctant especially after he said the same thing about Jerryd Bayless.
[/quote]
Hilarious. I also had sky-high expectations of Bayless.
[quote]Aggv wrote:
Love is not good. He gets his shot blocked anytime he is near the rim, and cant jump over a phone book. His 3pt shot is not falling, and seriously why does the league have such a hard on for a stretch 4?
I hope they let him walk next season, and then have dan gilbert back up a brinks truck to Marc Gasol’s house. [/quote]
Give em more time to gel offensively before writing off Love. Remember, they were saying the same thing about CB4 down in MIA, basically the entire time James was there.
This era of stretch 4’s is a consequence of the 2004 rule changes. Since you cannot stop dribble penetration with the handcheck, you need your 4 to keep his man out of the lane, out of position to help. But that only works if your 4 is a legit perimeter threat.
I always think of Rashard Lewis as starting the trend (and never deserving the monster contracts he got) but notice how even Ibaka has developed a reliable perimeter shot.
[quote]Aggv wrote:
I hope they let him walk next season, and then have dan gilbert back up a brinks truck to Marc Gasol’s house. [/quote]
I actually think MEM can win it all, as is.
Time will tell if M Gasol also sees it that way.
I agree that Rashard Lewis started the trend by killing the cavs in the ECF that year, but you can find anyone off the street that can hit corner 3s.
At this point KLove is a glorified matt bonner. I’d rather have bonner since he commands less money. You had to make the wiggens for love trade, but they said the same thing about the Hershel walker trade back in the day…