*** Official 2015-16 NBA Playoff Thread ***
- Thread starter CycloneRulzzz
- Start date
It would be a shame to see his career come to an end, but he definitely looks finished. There have been several times where he's rolled to the rim after setting a high screen and there's just nothing - no lift, no explosion. He's just hoping to get the shot up and draw contact. Maybe it's just fatigue from having to tangle with OKC's bigs all series long, but right now he looks like a shell of the player he was even two or three years ago.
I do wonder what's next for him after his playing career. Coaching, maybe?
Read on espn.com this morning that Pop is 2-10 all time when facing elimination in a road game. Not a great sign for the Spurs.
The Spurs' defense has created a lot of turnovers helping them to grab easy transition points but even with the advantage they have to limit the Thunder's boards if they want a shot at a Game 7.
The move to a spaced offense in Game 2 gave the Thunder more room to work with. However, they've still got to stay focused on protecting the ball and spreading out the Spurs to not only buy more looks and points but to snag more boards. There's still too many missed opportunities where they'll collapse to the paint and force a bad look. It also doesn't help when Roberson isn't keeping them honest beyond the arc.
It's completely nuts that he played four years in college, talk about your bygone eras.
Yeah at the end of the Clippers series last year, Duncan was one of the best players on the floor, hitting some huge shots down the stretch in Game 7. This year, the Spurs are probably better off with him off the floor. To be so consistently good for so long is amazing, but age catches up with everyone eventually. And Duncan walking away with no notice to avoid all the retirement fanfare that Kobe had this year seems like something he would do.
To be fair, you could say they're better with him off not because of his play (which is still somewhat respectable given his age) but because of those next in line. The Spurs are so well built and coached that it's not a shock that their performance is still top-tier even with the 3 hitting the retirement age range.
Fun fact from Darren Rovell:
Steph Curry is the 65th highest paid player in the league and the fifth highest paid on the Warriors.
Steph Curry is the 65th highest paid player in the league and the fifth highest paid on the Warriors.
But I don't think that's it, I think his play isn't good enough to keep him on the floor this series. Which is probably the first time in his career you could say that.
Which is why as much as Joe Lacob wants to talk about the Warriors being great because they are so much smarter than the rest of the league, it really comes down to a lot of luck. You lock Steph up at a point where there's major questions about his durability, and he becomes unbelievably good. You get a steal in Draymond Green early in the second round and he becomes a 1st Team All NBA type. You luck out to lose a game between two tanking teams four years ago to keep your draft pick and land Harrison Barnes. They've made some smart moves but had a lot of luck too.
So much of their recent success is due to Parker, Ginobili, and Duncan all putting their egos aside to let Leonard and the other young guys develop. That's the difference between the end of Kobe's career and Duncan's career. Kobe wanted to be The Man right up to the end, and it was one of the things that hurt his team's ability to extend his career and keep the Lakers competitive. Duncan willingly became a high functioning role player, and it allowed him to stick around well past his prime on a team that is a year in/year out contender.
Just heard Tracy McGrady's thoughts on Steph's unanimous MVP:
http://mweb.cbssports.com/nba/eye-o...rrys-unanimous-mvp-proves-nba-is-watered-down
That's a bold statement to make coming from a superstar like himself. Not sure I buy the vote as meaning the league is soft.
http://mweb.cbssports.com/nba/eye-o...rrys-unanimous-mvp-proves-nba-is-watered-down
That's a bold statement to make coming from a superstar like himself. Not sure I buy the vote as meaning the league is soft.
If by bold statement you mean stupid. There were plenty of great players in the NBA this season (Russell Westbrook was two rpg away from averaging a triple double and finished 4th). Steph had a historic season on a historically dominant team.
Yeah, those are my thoughts as well. I think maybe he's subconsciously suggesting that the league was tougher when he played. I don't see how any voter could have legitimately thought to themselves that someone else was the MVP this year.
Granted, it's all subjective but just because everyone appeared to have a similar perception of his play and the award this year shouldn't take away from the talent and play from others in the league. Talk about a slap in the face for not only Steph but all of the other superstars in the league.
"The league isn't as tough or as good as it was back in my day."
- Every retired NBA player
Someday an old Steph Curry will be discounting the play of some kid who averages ten made threes per game, because if he'd been able to teleport to away games in his day instead of having to travel by charter flights he'd have made fifteen threes a game with his eyes closed.
DeMarre (for the game) and DeMar and both out with hand injuries and Miami has cut the lead to 7. Crazy comeback from being 20 down earlier.
