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Hoops 13-14


Leferd

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I was never concerned who as to who was/is the best player in the world. I admired Jordan's game but there were far more entertaining and compelling players in his era: Barkley, Stockton and Malone, Detroit's Bad Boys, Run TMC, Lakers vs Celtics, Muggsy Bogues and Manute Bol.

 

Today, we have Lebron. He's the best. Durant is #2. But then we also have the greatest distance shooter in history in Stephen Curry. We have the machine-like efficiency of Popovich's Spurs. There's Steve Nash. And we have the utterly incomparable J.R. Smith!!

 

No point in getting hung up over who is the best. Just enjoy the game and the players we do have.

 

ps

 

LARRY SANDERS!

"Things are funny...are comedic, because they mix the real with the absurd." - Buzz Aldrin.

"P-O-T-A-T-O-E" - Dan Quayle

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Don't be daft. Whether he is overrated or not, Strve Nash is/was fun to watch and young point guards should study his game. Lols.

Edited by Leferd

"Things are funny...are comedic, because they mix the real with the absurd." - Buzz Aldrin.

"P-O-T-A-T-O-E" - Dan Quayle

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Nope, he's boring. He passes the ball and allows others to do all the work. And, if you think him being a cripple now is 'fun to watch', that's hilarious.

 

P.S. If young guards want to win championships, they'd be best serve not to watch that loser play.

Edited by Volourn
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In any other division the Grizz would be in second place. Seven games over .500 in the southwest is only good enough for 4th. The southwest is just tough this season. The Spurs are no surprise but who would have thought the rockets would be this strong.

"While it is true you learn with age, the down side is what you often learn is what a damn fool you were before"

Thomas Sowell

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"who would have thought the rockets would be this strong"

 

People who know basketball. This is what happens when you have the best center in the game not hindered by injury, scummy teammates, a horrible ignorant, 'fanbase', and a coach who tries his best to destroy your career (like that LA coach is doing with Gasol as well).

 

It's not a coincidecen that both Orlando and the Lakers  are worse teams without Superman than theya re with him. The man dragged the garbage Magic to the Finals just like The King dragged  the crappy Cavaliers to the Finals too. I would not be surprised to see Houston in the Finals. they're not the favorites (OKC is) but they are actual contenders.

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I can't stand Houston. Just hate, HATE the way they play the game. If you want to talk about an Analytics or Bust approach, that'll be the Houston Rockets under Daryl Morey.

 

Offense is precipitated on three things: the three pointer points, in the paint, and free throws. They lead the league in 3pt attempts/g, second in FTA/g, and among the leaders in points in the paint. They are in the bottom quarter in assists/g. They also are by far, on the bottom of the league in mid range FG attempts. All by design. Of course, this makes sens as the Expected Value of a midrange or long two is pretty abysmal when compared to a three point shot or shots from the paint( high fg% or increased free throw likelihood).

 

Essentially, their offense is based on the pick n roll. Ex: Harden/Lin play a two man game w Dwight. This will lead to either a dunk to Howard, a drive by Harden or Lin (or foul shots as a result). No surprise that harden and Howard shoot tons of foul shots a game. If the defense collapses and packs the paint, they'll find Parsons or another shooter waiting for a corner trey. The confounding thing is that for all the volume of threes they shoot, they are not a very good jump shooting team at all, but the percentages say that shooting a three gives you solid EV.

 

Sigh. It's Predictable, boring basketball with lots of stoppages and and not much in the way of aesthetical creativity.

 

Plus Chandler Parsons. There is probably no one in the association that I would enjoy more seeing getting elbowed in the face.

"Things are funny...are comedic, because they mix the real with the absurd." - Buzz Aldrin.

"P-O-T-A-T-O-E" - Dan Quayle

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Houston is very entertaining. And, awesome. And, really good.  They're no more predictable than every other team in the league.

 

Your big complaint is that they focus on using their star/best players. THE HORROR!

DWARVES IN PROJECT ETERNITY = VOLOURN HAS PLEDGED $250.

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Keeping it simple:

 

I enjoy watching a well balanced offensive system predicated on ball movement and flexibility.

 

Houston's offense though effective at times, does not generate ball movement or adaptability. They will have difficulty against good defenses that can take away the paint and guard against the three.

 

I enjoyed the Triangle under Phil Jackson, the Princeton Offense under Rick Adelman, and the Nellieball Warriors. Three different offenses that were adaptable and can counter whatever the defense was showing them.

"Things are funny...are comedic, because they mix the real with the absurd." - Buzz Aldrin.

"P-O-T-A-T-O-E" - Dan Quayle

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The article linked mentions that teams like the Pacers focus heavily on defending those areas that that Grantland article details.

 

 

It is interesting because on a personal level, I can hit a 3 pretty well but that 18 footer just feels soooo natural hahaha.

Edited by alanschu
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The article linked mentions that teams like the Pacers focus heavily on defending those areas that that Grantland article details.

 

 

It is interesting because on a personal level, I can hit a 3 pretty well but that 18 footer just feels soooo natural hahaha.

Yep. Vogel's defensive schemes are outstanding as they essentially force offenses to settle for mid range jumpers.

 

Tom Thibidou's defenses are also becoming very popular in the league. It's primarily an anti pick n roll defense called ICE that denies the middle and forces players towards the baseline or funnels them straight to your shotblocker if beaten.

"Things are funny...are comedic, because they mix the real with the absurd." - Buzz Aldrin.

"P-O-T-A-T-O-E" - Dan Quayle

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That's interesting. I wonder how much of it depends on the player or system they are going up against.

 

I remember hearing a story of college players saying that most of their zones would force baseline to try to trap (which is often a good play), but against Jordan it basically meant giving up a dunk. Though those are college players, but it was the same with the Jordan Rules which was basically "force middle so that you can get as much help as possible as quickly as possible."

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Agreed about Indiana. Barely watchable unless you have a thing for defense pr0n.

 

But tell me about Houston. Why are they fun to watch for you? Do you actually watch their games? They lead the league in three point attempts, except that they have no particularly good three point shooters. They also lead the league in free throw attempts, except that they are next to the bottom in FT%. They are also near the bottom on passes per possession...which is pretty good if you like to watch a lot of Heroball.

 

And their primary backcourt, Harden and Kin can't play together. Both need the ball to be effective and their skillsets are redundant when they play together. Neither are particularly effective jumpshootists; each having to rely on the pick n roll, and both have lousy turnover rates as primary ball handlers.

 

Fun to watch? Please.

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"Things are funny...are comedic, because they mix the real with the absurd." - Buzz Aldrin.

"P-O-T-A-T-O-E" - Dan Quayle

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I actually don't mind watching a solid defensive set.  Though I don't care as much for "defensive" teams that employ clock management to mitigate opponent opportunities (like Cleveland in the mid 1990s.  I found that very boring).

 

 

My rec league played today and while I didn't score a ton (I normally score between 10-20 depending on how well a team can guard inside.  Tonight I think I got 8 ), I did like being able to try out some of the stuff I was watching of the Dream teaching Lebron haha.

 

I haven't played post since Grade 9 (1996....), but I'm the only person with reasonable size on the team that doesn't mind playing post.  Caught a ball on a flash to the elbow, squared up with a sweep, and quickly took one dribble to the middle and split through two defenders on the 2-3 zone.  Definitely a play where I was like "hells yes that was precisely what I meant to do and that felt awesome" hahaha.  My favourite play was still when I ended up double clutching with a left handed reverse layup as I rolled into the key from the low post, last week.  Was an And One too, though as cool as it was for that play to fall I can recognize that it was probably a large degree of luck lol.

Edited by alanschu
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