Bourgeois Zee (01-16-2021),M2 (01-16-2021)
We'll never know, of course, but yeah. Of course. If that's the defensive alignment you're putting up against the Cavs, I'm even more sure of it.
Harden, at that point in his career, was completely uninterested in playing defense. Replace Durant with him, and there's nobody to guard Love or LeBron. Too, on offense, what more could he provide? Durant was, in the playoffs, a superior offensive force inside and out. Harden has stretches of brutal shooting and is so ball-dominant that he stops offensive movement cold. It was worse then than now. He's also turnover prone. In the finals, those turnovers matter more. (Because teams slow down, possessions are more precious.)
The Cavs would have slowed the game to a crawl and driven to the hoop at every opportunity. Or posted whomever guarded Love or LeBron incessantly. A pick and roll between those two would leave either Iguodala on Love (major mismatch on a post) or Green on LeBron (same outside-- and inside).
You fail to recognize how dominant Durant is. He's a 7'0" elite shooter who's also elite defensively. (Or was at this point in his career.) He was unselfish enough to be a willing passer and secondary option on offense too. I'm nearly positive neither Harden nor Westbrook are able to do that consistently. (Or at least they weren't at that point in their careers.)
With a healthy Kawhi, the Spurs might have been.
In this hypothetical, NOLA might have been able to pull that upset too.
They matched up well with the Dubs, who were all shooting rocks. Except Durant.
Durant's defense against AD was incredible, and he was the only guy on his team who could score without turning the ball over. (My recurring memory of that series was Rondo stripping the ball from Curry multiple times. So much that, by the last game, Kerr had Durant and Green bring the ball up the floor and initiate the offense.)
In this alternative earth, after the upset and as a team on the rise, perhaps NOLA is able to interest Chris Paul into re-joining the franchise. Or JJ Redick. Or Paul George. Or, gulp, LeBron. (Who we know liked AD.)
Andre Drummond went for 30 and 20 last night. The Cavs also traded for Jarrett Allen.
Drummond's in the last year of his contract and will be a free agent next season.
He's owed just under $29M.
What team can afford him, has contracts of that value, and has need of a beefy big guy who gobbles up rebounds?
“The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane.”― Marcus Aurelius
I'm not a system player. I am a system.
Yeesh...
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/...s-found-kidneyIndiana Pacers wing Caris LeVert is out indefinitely after an MRI revealed a small mass on his left kidney, the team announced Saturday.
The mass was found during a physical prior to the Pacers finalizing the trade to acquire LeVert. He will undergo further tests.
I'm not a big Lavert fan, but I sure will be as far as his wellbeing goes. Hope whatever it is gets taken care of and he gets back healthy.
"The problem with strikeouts isn't that they hurt your team, it's that they hurt your feelings..." --Rob Neyer
"The single most important thing for a hitter is to get a good pitch to hit. A good hitter can hit a pitch that’s over the plate three times better than a great hitter with a ball in a tough spot.”
--Ted Williams
Harden puts up a triple double in his Nets debut....32 Points, 12 Rebounds and 14 Assists. He added 4 steals just to really piss off Rockets fans. He almost pulled off the quadruple double with 9 Turnovers. The bad news is they still barely beat the Orlando Magic with Durant adding 42 Points.
“The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane.”― Marcus Aurelius
“The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane.”― Marcus Aurelius
Does Rotoworld know something the rest of us don't know?
From Rotoworld w/ Rotoworld comments:
Hassan Whiteside (left hip) has been upgraded to questionable for Sunday after missing the Blazer's last game. Whiteside doesn't have any fantasy value through the first month of the season but if Marvin Bagley (left wrist) can't play on Sunday, he could get some burn behind Richaun Holmes. That's not us saying pick him up but rather just letting you know he might step onto the court. He's only played 10 minutes in each of the Kings last two games, totaling just 15 points and four rebounds.
SOURCE: NBA Injury Report
"One problem with people who have no vices is that they're pretty sure to have some annoying virtues."
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