uPtoWnNY said:

namepeace said:

It took him longer to get there. But that can't be overlooked. While he shouldn't have lsot to Dallas in 2011, and a lot of greats have "bad" Finals (Magic 1984), LeBron's win in 2016 almost counts for 2.

You could say the Pistons had a hand in helping to develop Jordan & the Bulls. As he said, "you had to be mentally and physically tough to beat them". That 1990 eastern conference finals was like a blood feud...that's the NBA I miss.

By the time MJ won his first Finals against Magic's Lakers (a worthy opponent but still quite removed from their peak Showtime years), the nucleus of the team had matured and battled the dominant teams of the 80's. Once they beat the last of the great teams of that era, the Pistons, they knew nobody else had the juice to stop them.

We haven't had good rivalries with teams who battle each other in the playoffs in quite a while.

namepeace said:

uPtoWnNY said:

You could say the Pistons had a hand in helping to develop Jordan & the Bulls. As he said, "you had to be mentally and physically tough to beat them". That 1990 eastern conference finals was like a blood feud...that's the NBA I miss.

By the time MJ won his first Finals against Magic's Lakers (a worthy opponent but still quite removed from their peak Showtime years), the nucleus of the team had matured and battled the dominant teams of the 80's. Once they beat the last of the great teams of that era, the Pistons, they knew nobody else had the juice to stop them.

We haven't had good rivalries with teams who battle each other in the playoffs in quite a while.

The days of those nasty, physical, heated rivalries (Celtics-Sixers, Celtics-Lakers, Celtics-Pistons, Bulls-Pistons, Bulls-Knicks, Bulls-Pacers, Knicks-Pacers, Knicks-Heat) are long gone. I loved those late 90's NY-Miami 82-79 slugfests....THAT was basketball. I hate the lack of post-play & physicality in today's NBA.

I'd say the last great NBA rivalry was Lakers-Kings from the early 00's.

uPtoWnNY said:

namepeace said:

By the time MJ won his first Finals against Magic's Lakers (a worthy opponent but still quite removed from their peak Showtime years), the nucleus of the team had matured and battled the dominant teams of the 80's. Once they beat the last of the great teams of that era, the Pistons, they knew nobody else had the juice to stop them.

We haven't had good rivalries with teams who battle each other in the playoffs in quite a while.

The days of those nasty, physical, heated rivalries (Celtics-Sixers, Celtics-Lakers, Celtics-Pistons, Bulls-Pistons, Bulls-Knicks, Bulls-Pacers, Knicks-Pacers, Knicks-Heat) are long gone. I loved those late 90's NY-Miami 82-79 slugfests....THAT was basketball. I hate the lack of post-play & physicality in today's NBA.

I'd say the last great NBA rivalry was Lakers-Kings from the early 00's.

We can actually look to LeBron for that. He ushered in an era of player mobility that prevents rivalries from marinating between teams. The only rivalry that matters now in the NBA is Lakers-Celtics and it's mainly an historical one.

namepeace said:

uPtoWnNY said:

The days of those nasty, physical, heated rivalries (Celtics-Sixers, Celtics-Lakers, Celtics-Pistons, Bulls-Pistons, Bulls-Knicks, Bulls-Pacers, Knicks-Pacers, Knicks-Heat) are long gone. I loved those late 90's NY-Miami 82-79 slugfests....THAT was basketball. I hate the lack of post-play & physicality in today's NBA.

I'd say the last great NBA rivalry was Lakers-Kings from the early 00's.

We can actually look to LeBron for that. He ushered in an era of player mobility that prevents rivalries from marinating between teams. The only rivalry that matters now in the NBA is Lakers-Celtics and it's mainly an historical one.

But is he responsible for players being so friendly now? I'm pretty sure Larry Bird & Michael Jordan still hate Bill Laimbeer & Isiah Thomas.

uPtoWnNY said:

namepeace said:

We can actually look to LeBron for that. He ushered in an era of player mobility that prevents rivalries from marinating between teams. The only rivalry that matters now in the NBA is Lakers-Celtics and it's mainly an historical one.

But is he responsible for players being so friendly now? I'm pretty sure Larry Bird & Michael Jordan still hate Bill Laimbeer & Isiah Thomas.

No, that part of the game has been baked in. That's the result of the AAU-ization of youth basketball, the early entrances of big stars to the NBA from college, and likely, the money. Those things were in place before Bron's heyday.

I can't believe Philly would entertain trading Ben Simmons for James Harden. Harden & Embiid???? Makes no sense.

uPtoWnNY said:

I can't believe Philly would entertain trading Ben Simmons for James Harden. Harden & Embiid???? Makes no sense.

It kind of does to me. They're missing perimeter players that can create their own shots and maybe create space for Embiid. Simmons has not done much if anything to expand his offensive game.

namepeace said:

uPtoWnNY said:

I can't believe Philly would entertain trading Ben Simmons for James Harden. Harden & Embiid???? Makes no sense.

It kind of does to me. They're missing perimeter players that can create their own shots and maybe create space for Embiid. Simmons has not done much if anything to expand his offensive game.

Nah, Embiid needs to get his out-of-shape ass in the paint and dominate, like Shaq, Barkley & McHale have said many times. Can't do that with Harden hogging the ball and dribbling for 20 seconds trying to draw a cheap foul. Not a fan of his game at all.

uPtoWnNY said:

namepeace said:

It kind of does to me. They're missing perimeter players that can create their own shots and maybe create space for Embiid. Simmons has not done much if anything to expand his offensive game.

Nah, Embiid needs to get his out-of-shape ass in the paint and dominate, like Shaq, Barkley & McHale have said many times. Can't do that with Harden hogging the ball and dribbling for 20 seconds trying to draw a cheap foul. Not a fan of his game at all.

Yeah but Simmons' game doesn't blend well with his because Simmons can distribute drive and defend but can't shoot. So he can't open the floor up for Embiid to post or even pick and roll.

namepeace said:

uPtoWnNY said:

Nah, Embiid needs to get his out-of-shape ass in the paint and dominate, like Shaq, Barkley & McHale have said many times. Can't do that with Harden hogging the ball and dribbling for 20 seconds trying to draw a cheap foul. Not a fan of his game at all.

Yeah but Simmons' game doesn't blend well with his because Simmons can distribute drive and defend but can't shoot. So he can't open the floor up for Embiid to post or even pick and roll.

Simmons needs to be a gym rat like Chris Mullin....stay in the gym and shoot Js morning, noon & night. He doesn't need a 3pt shot....develop a deadly 12-18ft mid-range game like Kawhi Leonard.

uPtoWnNY said:

phunkdaddy said:

uPtoWnNY said:

Nah, Embiid needs to get his out-of-shape ass in the paint and dominate, like Shaq, Barkley & McHale have said many times. Can't do that with Harden hogging the ball and dribbling for 20 seconds trying to draw a cheap foul. Not a fan of his game at all.

I don't like Harden's game either. There seems to be a split among Sixers fans wanting to trade Simmons for Harden. No fucking way. You have a budding young superstar who defends well. Just like you said he has to shoot that medium range jumper in games to keep defenders from cheating on him. He shows the shit in practice and offseason workouts. Simmons just attempt 4 to 6 jumpers a game!

Simmons has no confidence he can hit those during a game.

Sixer offense should revolve around Embiid. It won't happen with Iso-Harden and four guys standing around watching him. Imagine what that'll do for team chemistry.

uPtoWnNY said:

namepeace said:

Yeah but Simmons' game doesn't blend well with his because Simmons can distribute drive and defend but can't shoot. So he can't open the floor up for Embiid to post or even pick and roll.

Simmons needs to be a gym rat like Chris Mullin....stay in the gym and shoot Js morning, noon & night. He doesn't need a 3pt shot....develop a deadly 12-18ft mid-range game like Kawhi Leonard.

He ain't doing that. As far as I can tell and/or based on what the media says.

What do you all think of Westbrook wanting out of Houston?

https://www.theringer.com/nba/2020/11/12/21562885/russell-westbrook-trade-rumors-rockets

uPtoWnNY said:

What do you all think of Westbrook wanting out of Houston?

https://www.theringer.com/nba/2020/11/12/21562885/russell-westbrook-trade-rumors-rockets

Westbrook wants to play the game on his own terms and win big.

He can't do both.

He might as well just go to a non-contending team that will let him max out his usage rate, pad his stats for his HOF resume and sell tickets.

namepeace said:

uPtoWnNY said:

What do you all think of Westbrook wanting out of Houston?

https://www.theringer.com/nba/2020/11/12/21562885/russell-westbrook-trade-rumors-rockets

Westbrook wants to play the game on his own terms and win big.

He can't do both.

He might as well just go to a non-contending team that will let him max out his usage rate, pad his stats for his HOF resume and sell tickets.

Perfect for the sorry-ass Knicks.

CP3 to Phoenix.

https://www.netsdaily.com/2020/11/15/21 ... -superteam

To me, it's an unwise move for Brooklyn. I feel the Nets are good as is with the two stars, and they have depth. Plus, there's not enough balls for Harden, Kyrie & Durant.

uPtoWnNY said:

https://www.netsdaily.com/2020/11/15/21 ... -superteam

To me, it's an unwise move for Brooklyn. I feel the Nets are good as is with the two stars, and they have depth. Plus, there's not enough balls for Harden, Kyrie & Durant.

https://nypost.com/2020/1...-discount/

No way in hell do I want Westbrook. That's the usual dumbass quick-fix Knick move. Heard some young fan say get Westbrook no matter what it takes, because it'll make the Knicks exciting and relevant again. I wanted to slap that fool.

Hold on to the assets, draft smart and continue to develop the young cats.

Agreed. Someone on the Nets' potential superteam is going to have to sacrifice touches. None of those guys want to do that.

Also agreed on NYK. New York fans deserve much better. The problem is Westbrook and Dolan probably deserve each other.

Draft results....Lamelo Ball to Charlotte - can't wait for that meeting between Lavar & Jordan.

https://www.nba.com/news/...picks-1-60

Trades so far;

https://www.cbssports.com...e-holiday/

[Edited 11/18/20 21:04pm]

Klay Thompson ruptured his Achilles. I'm a Laker fan but really like GS' style of play, and that Klay is the son of Mychal Thompson.

Klay is one of the best all-around players of the last decade, and I know I'm not alone in thinking he doesn't get enough shine.