Didnt lamarcus photobomb interviews before? Im almost sure he did. Thats a really odd thing to say hes ready for the big stage.
I wasn't going to mention it Stren ....a good antidote would be to go outside, dig a hole, scream in it, fill it back up and then try again!
Why should that matter? If the team has become good enough to be a conference finals contender, then it shouldn't really matter what seed they get. If they're not, however, then we're better off with the worse record and the better pick.
We aren't a conference finals contender haha I wish though. I just wish it would've been possible to do the Nurk trade before the season, even though it wasn't realistic at the time for either team.
But why would it matter? How would our overall situation going forward be any better now if the Nurkic trade had happened in October instead of February?
More time with the team so our defense would've been a lot better. He was in shape to start the season, but who knows if he would've had the chip he has now.
I think you're missing my point, so I'll ask the question differently. If we had had Nurkic at the beginning of the year, do you think the team would be playing any better today than they are now?
...all I know is the Blazers are now the hottest team in the NBA and I'm sure nobody will look forward to facing them in the first round -- Nurkic is the light!
and even another bonus is that it appears Vonleh has caught a deadly form of Nurk fever and appears to be breakin out as well - just WTF is goin on here? LOL
I will answer this. Yes. In what area? Mentally. Once we get to the playoffs, which aren't that many games away, we will enter pressure situations on the big stage. Would have been nice to have more time to endure ups and downs and solidify a strong conference that young players often don't have. Plus we would have a better record with a better seed. This team may very well be finals contenders in 1-3 years.
If LeVert is past his leg issues he will be a franchise player or very close to being one (much much higher ceiling than CJ). No way the Nets give him to bring Vonleh and Young. They have stated many times they view him as a key piece for their future. This trade is not even close to realistic.
Yes we are better. Definitely in terms of quality and I believe we show the same hunger for wins too. The problem is that with KD the Warriors are better too, so not sure if we can expect anything more than a 4-1 again if we make the playoffs.
So we're better, and getting better-er. How much better-er can we get over the final 13 games? Can we be playing our better-est by the time we reach the playoffs (assuming we make them)?
No. We were relatively fresh last year, and our defense was so much better at this stage of the season. We were comfortably in the playoffs and worried about seeding. I think people are forgetting how awesome that lineup was with Mo in place of Noah. Net rating was right behind GS' death lineup last year, and better than our lineup with Nurk now. This season, Dame is literally killing himself to drag this sorry ass team to the playoffs. The addition of Nurk has helped immensely, but we are still pitiful on the defensive end. And our bench production is incredibly inconsistent. Even if we do make the playoffs, Dame is going to be so burned out that we won't make any noise.
