Hoops 13-14

[Leferd]

Greek Freak Alert!

 

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/from-selling-sunglasses-on-street-to-nba-player-on-the-rise--greek-freak-living-the-american-dream-214309752.html

 

I am a real big fan of Giannis Antetokounmpo. (Didn't even come close to spelling his name right pre-edit.)

 

For different reasons, I am also a big believer in Damian Lillard. On and off the court, the guy just represents Oakland very well.

Edited March 18, 2014 by Leferd

[Hurlshort]

I did not win a billion dollars.  

[kgambit]

I did not win a billion dollars.  

 

Dayton vs Ohio State? 

[Calax]

My school won Big XII and is slated by most to be in the Final Four!

[Leferd]

I did not win a billion dollars.

Ditto.

[Keyrock]

March Madness is so great.  Duke just got bounced in the 1st round.  This....  This is so great...  I told myself I wouldn't get emotional...

 

/breathes heavily

//wipes away tears of joy

[kgambit]

March Madness is so great.  Duke just got bounced in the 1st round.  This....  This is so great...  I told myself I wouldn't get emotional...

 

/breathes heavily

//wipes away tears of joy

 

I swear I could hear the wailing from Durham all the way to Asheville.  lol

[Keyrock]

After watching a highly entertaining Kansas/Eastern Kentucky game I switched over to OK State/Gonzaga.  Ugh, what a disappointment.  Freakin' Whistle Fest 2014.  This game is nearly unwatchable.

 

Edit:  Switched over to George Washington/Memphis because that OK St/Gonzaga game was just way too brutal to watch.

Edited March 21, 2014 by Keyrock

[kgambit]

OK State/Gonzaga.  Ugh, what a disappointment.  Freakin' Whistle Fest 2014.  This game is nearly unwatchable.

 

 

Gonzaga wins 85-77.   61 fouls and 81 free throws.  Somebody steal the officials whistles and never give them back. 

 

PS:  I simply checked the final box score.  Couldn't bear to watch the end.  Ugly game

[Keyrock]

So when the brackets came out there seemed to be a lot of grumbling with people hating on Wichita State getting a 1 seed.  While all the other 1 seeds so far have won, none of them have done so impressively.  Meanwhile, Wichita State is STRAIGHT MURDERING Cal Poly right now.

[Keyrock]

Great googly moogly this Providence/UNC game is fun!  March Madness is just the best.  Basketball isn't even my favorite sport, but March Madness is far and away the most fun sports watching time of the year, any year.  So ridiculously entertaining.

 

Edit:  Oh man, this Providence/UNC game is giving me such a boner.  So back and forth so freakin' good!  It's clear that UNC is the more physically talented team, but Providence is just so scrappy and playing with so much heart.  This is the best!

Edited March 22, 2014 by Keyrock

[Keyrock]

I switched over to the Thunder/Raptors game just as it went into overtime, and boy am I glad I did.  KD was straight beastin', draining shots, getting rebounds, blocking a shot, and trying to get assists, but no one not named Kevin Durant could hit the broad side of a barn in the 1st OT.  The Thunder should have won it easily in that 1st OT with dudes getting st00pid open shots to ice the game and missing again and again (Fish was missing by so much it was comical).  Lowry made a clutch 3 and the game went to a second OT.  In the second OT the Raptors took over and built a 8 point game with some 45 seconds left.  Game over, right?  Not quite.  The Thunder clawed their way back in with KD making buckets, Fish finally making something, and the Raptors missing free throws.  Then, with the Thunder down by 2 and 1.7 seconds left, KD drained a 3 for the W from about 5 feet beyond the arc with a dude all over him, just straight pure.  KD's final beastly stats:  51 points 12 rebounds 7 assists.  The MVP race ain't over yet, but Durant definitely helped his cause tonight.

 

The bad news:  Westbrook left the game with a "knee sprain" after he collided with Lowry.  I'm hoping it's really only a sprain and he'll be back for the playoffs, but I'm definitely very worried he's just become Derrick Rose 2.0. 

Edited March 22, 2014 by Keyrock

[Leferd]

College Hoops is fun. Bummer about Westbrook though.

[Volourn]

Great game by Durant but still no James. When James had his 61, he shot over 50%. LMAO

 

\Durant is gonna win MVP. It's already been decided. But, it won't, when all is said and done James is still the better player. Period.

 

This is just the way to play 'fairsies'. Can't have a guy win 3 MVPs in a row because it makes the other players look chumps.

[Keyrock]

So, with approximately a dozen games left, Durant is clearly in the lead for the Maurice Podoloff Trophy:

 

Current Stats:

 

                                     PPG        RPG        APG       FG%       FT%        3%      STL      BLK

Kevin Durant                 32.2        7.7           5.6         50.7        86.8        40.9     1.3       0.8

LeBron James              26.8        6.9           6.4         57.1        74.4        38.0     1.6       0.3

 

The stats are in Durant's favor, but not overwhelmingly so.  Durant plays in a much harder conference and the Thunder have had a harder strength of schedule, which plays in Durant's favor.  Both players have had hot streaks, with Durant having a longer and more impressive streak.  LeBron has had the more impressive singular game with his unearthly 61 point performance.  The biggest difference at this point is consistency.  LeBron has had some slumps (by his standards) while Durant hasn't had anything remotely resembling a slump all season long, he's been good, great, or unbelievable all season long.  If the two were to wind up in basically a tie then Durant would likely get the nod because of the "don't want to give LeBron a 3rd straight" and "it's KD's turn" bullcrap, but the fact is that KD has simply been better this season so far.  Long story short, it's KD's MVP to lose at this point.  LeBron would either have to go on a ridiculous tear for the remainder of the season (which is definitely possible) or KD would have to go into a deep slump (which is highly unlikely given how consistent he's been) for LeBron to pass KD down the stretch.

 

I'm not ready to say Durant is a better player than LeBron, because things like that aren't decided in a single season (and LeBron is definitely better over his career and over the last 3 years or so), but it's a conversation now, whereas before LeBron was FAR AND AWAY the best player in the NBA and no one else was in his league.  KD is in the same league as LeBron now.

Edited March 22, 2014 by Keyrock

[Volourn]

There is no conversation. James is better and is the MVP. Stats don't show the whole story. Lebron doesn't hog the ball. hell, in tonight's game, he should  50% (better than Durant) yet ended up with only 15 points. Durant took 32 shots! and  he got 51 points because there was a double OT. that's almost an entire 5th quarter and he likely, obviously, played all 10 minutes.

 

Durant is nowhere near as good as James but the best player doesn't always win. if they did, James would have like 8MVPs in a row and Shaq would have more MVPs than he got.

 

Durant is gonna win MVP but it's undeserved. NOTHING Durant has done this seasonmakes me ebelieve that player vs player that he is better or more more valauable than James. Even, kif OK wins the championship, I woudln't give him that since OK arguably has the better team.

\

\The ONLY thing Durant does better is free throws to a big degree. And, James is 100x the better defensive player which is how MIA win. OKC wins by pure offense. (depsite MIA's 'lacklustre' defernsive rrating this season).

Edited March 22, 2014 by Volourn

[Keyrock]

Durant took 32 shots because he had to, he doesn't have a choice.  Westbrook can't stay on the court and when Durant passes the ball to other guys they miss wide open shots by comical distances and yet KD's assist numbers are rather close to LeBron's.  KD played 50+ minutes tonight because he had to, that's what it took to win the game.  If he didn't play 50+ minutes and shoot 32 times the Thunder would have lost, plain and simple.  It's called doing whatever it takes to win the game and it's exactly what being a MVP is all about.  The object of the game is to win the game.  Unlike the Heat, the Thunder can't afford to lose because they play in a real conference, not in a children's playpen.  If the Heat go on a losing streak they still get a 2 seed.  if the Thunder go on a losing streak they could fall all the way to a 5 seed.

 

LeBron is a better defender, but not by nearly as big a margin as he used to be, KD is much improved.  LeBron is a better passer, but again, the margin has narrowed.  KD is a better rebounder and shotblocker (shockingly).  While LeBron has a higher FG%, LeBron and KD have an identical PPS (points per shot), which is the purest scoring efficiency stat out there IMHO (fun fact, only DeAndre Jordan and Dwight Howard have higher PPS than KD and LeBron).  So KD scores almost 5 1/2 more points per game at the exact same shooting efficiency as LeBron.  KD has straight up been better this season by stats, by the eye test, by whatever fair and reasonable measure you want to use.  If KD wins the MVP this year it won't be a bogus MVP win like when Barkley won over MJ because it was "his turn".  He will certainly have earned it.  But, by all means, go on and live in your fantasy world where LeBron is still 100X better than anyone else (mind you, he is still way better than anyone not named Kevin Durant).  Everybody else lives in the real world where KD has straight up outplayed LeBron this year, though not be a large margin, as LeBron has been great.

Edited March 22, 2014 by Keyrock

[Calax]

Iowa state stands at 81 above NC Central's 63

[Keyrock]

Coastal Carolina made it super exciting and interesting for a half, but ultimately, the dream of a 16 beating a 1 was quickly squashed in the second half.  Oh well.

[Volourn]

 "KD is a better rebounder and shotblocker (shockingly)"

 

They both average less than one block a game. Meaningless.

 

 

"Everybody else lives in the real world where KD has straight up outplayed LeBron this year, though not be a large margin, as LeBron has been great."

 

1. You speak for everyone else now? Not everyone has drank the ';anyone but Lebron kool-aid' yet.

 

2. You ar eposting outside both sides of your key board. You claim he 'straight up out played Lebron' but 'not by a large mmargin'. That is meaningless double speak.

 

 Yeah, he needed 32 shots to score 51 points because he missed more than half of them. That's pathetic.

 

James has outplayed Durant. Period. It's not even close. We all saw how Durant folded like garbage when his buddy became a cripple in the playoffs last year. Let's see him win a full 7 game series without Westbrook against a top team.

 

FACT: MIA has the same if not bigger record vs west than east while OKC does way better vs east than west. Tells, me that MIA relaxes vs weaker teams as MIA knows it is menaingless. MIA/James ultimately won't be judge on RS. They could go 82-0 and they be crapped on if they don't win championship. Durant needs any type of success because he is just not at a championship level... yet.

 

 You ar ejust one of those 'anybody but James' yahoos who have latched onto Durant because he's 2nd best so you will push him to 1st when he isn't there. Also, the fatc you want to pretend that Durant is even close to James defensively is laughable. LMAO

Edited March 22, 2014 by Volourn

[kgambit]

Coastal Carolina made it super exciting and interesting for a half, but ultimately, the dream of a 16 beating a 1 was quickly squashed in the second half.  Oh well.

 

SFA ties the game versus VCU with 3.6 seconds left on a four pointer in regulation (Two thoughts - that is not a misprint and never foul a guy shooting a three) and wins in overtime, 77-75.  Best game of the night!   Another 5 seed bites the dust.  That's 3 five seeds out so far and it would have been 4 in NCSt could shoot free throws worth a crap.  Brackets are getting ravaged!

 

Iowa state stands at 81 above NC Central's 63

 

 

Pyrrhic victory for Iowa State which won 93-75.  Starting forward Georges Niang leaves game with fractured foot. 

[Keyrock]

 "KD is a better rebounder and shotblocker (shockingly)"

 

They both average less than one block a game. Meaningless.

 

 

 

Not meaningless.  Only 30 players in the entire league average at least 1 block per game (not surprisingly almost exclusively centers and power forwards).  Also, Durant averages more than double that of LeBron, a significant margin any way you look at it.

 

"Everybody else lives in the real world where KD has straight up outplayed LeBron this year, though not be a large margin, as LeBron has been great."

 

1. You speak for everyone else now? Not everyone has drank the ';anyone but Lebron kool-aid' yet.

 

You're right, that are definitely some other blindfolded Lebron supporters out there that refuse to acknowledge what has been happening this year.

 

2. You ar eposting outside both sides of your key board. You claim he 'straight up out played Lebron' but 'not by a large mmargin'. That is meaningless double speak.

I'm saying that Durant has been having a better season than LeBron, but not by a huge margin.  Seems straight forward and consistent enough to me.

 

We all saw how Durant folded like garbage when his buddy became a cripple in the playoffs last year. 

Speaking of meaningless arguments, you're arguing about this year's MVP using things that happened last year and in the playoffs, whereas MVP is a regular season award (hence why they have a separate MVP for the finals).  But hey it's not like we ever saw LeBron fold in the playoffs when he was younger, oh wait, we did.  Several times.

 

FACT: MIA has the same if not bigger record vs west than east while OKC does way better vs east than west.

For once, you actually posted something correct:

 

Miami vs. East 28-13 .6829  vs. West 19-7   .7308

OKC   vs. East 22-6   .7857  vs. West 29-12 .7073

 

Tells, me that MIA relaxes vs weaker teams as MIA knows it is menaingless. 

 

Because they can afford to on account of playing in a super weak conference.  Fun fact, the Phoenix Suns would currently not make the playoffs, but if they were in the Eastern Conference, they would be a 3 seed.

 

Also, the fatc you want to pretend that Durant is even close to James defensively is laughable. LMAO

Statistically, Durant has been better than LeBron.  By my own eye test (which is of course quite subjective) Durant has been better by virtue of LeBron taking some nights off (from an effort standpoint) while Durant has played defense hard all year.  Which, again, plays into the fact that Durant has had to play harder all year while LeBron has had the luxury of being able to take nights off due to playing in an easy conference.  When they both try their hardest, I still think LeBron is a better defender, but not by a wide margin.

 

More fun stats:

 

Triple Doubles this season:

Durant  3

LeBron 0

 

Double Doubles this season:

Durant  25

LeBron 10

Edited March 22, 2014 by Keyrock

[kgambit]

Season stat lines should read:

 

Miami vs. East 28-13 .6829  vs. West 19-7    .7308

OKC   vs. East 22-6   .7857  vs. West  29-12 .7073

 

Fun fact, the Phoenix Suns would currently not make the playoffs, but if they were in the Eastern Conference, they would be a 3 seed

 

 

Phoenix currently has three first round draft choices in the upcoming draft (#14, 17 and 29) and they get Minnesota's pick if it isn't in the top 13.  Assuming they don't pull a David Kahn and totally screw up the draft, they could be scary good. 

[Keyrock]

My bad, kgambit, typo on my part.  Fixed now.

[kgambit]

My bad, kgambit, typo on my part.  Fixed now.

 

No big deal.  Actually the stats surprised me.  I figured Miami had been feasting on the pathetic East.