Around the NBA - April 2017

I don't get why they didn't play him much, ya he's bad a defense but god knows OKC needed SOMETHING offensively other than Westbrook.

 

Worth a shot I suppose but he is really bad on D. Not sure how he got so bad. He seemed average in Utah. Their system makes everyone look good I guess.

 

Yeah, dreaming of the second round.

Oh wait, that's not a dream, it's reality.

Happy summer, Russ.

BNM

 

Couldn't even swallow his pride long enough to congratulate his opponents. F that clown

 

People have been on the "Blazers suck" bandwagon pretty hard here the last few days. I challenge them to watch the Clippers. Now there is a team with no real promise for the future. At least we have guys who could improve in the offseason, the role players for LAC are who they are at this point in their careers.

 

Coach Russ probably benched him, like he did last year when they had a 3-1 lead over the Warriors. Kanter can't really score if Russ won't give him the ball.

Too bad, they could really use Kanter's offensive rebounding with all the shots Russ misses.

For some reason, Westbrook just doesn't like to give his bigs the ball in the playoffs, even though they are all far more efficient scorers than he is. For the entire five game series, Steven Adams got a total of 28 shots (made 18, FG% = .643) and Taj Gibson got 35 shots (made 21, FG% = .600). That's 5.6 and 7.0 FGA per game for two guys who shot =>.600 for the series, compared to one guy who took 152 shots and missed 93 of them (59 - 152 = .388 FG%)

But why should we expect any different? Westbrook also froze out Kevin Durant and James Harden, also two much more efficient scorers, in the 4th quarter of playoff games. If he wouldn't share the ball with those two, what would make him share it with the likes of Enes Kanter, Steven Adams and Taj Gibson?

But hey, triple doubles, MVP, blah, blah, blah, slurp, slurp...

BNM

 

It just come down he not a team player and pretty soon OKC will have hard time to get FA come and play there due to him.

 

Add in the fact that their top three scores could all be free agents seeking HUGE paydays this summer AND they have been over the luxury tax threshold the past three seasons (every year that Doc Rivers has been GM) and they are REALLY fucked. They are already repeat tax offenders and unless they blow it up, things are going to get even worse going forward.

They could have easily been under the luxury tax threshold this season if Doc would have given his kid a slightly smaller deal. Doc's getting paid $10 million a year drive a team that can't get past the first round into luxury tax hell.

BNM

 

They already lost Durant to free agency because of Westbrook.

But, it's a moot point. With Steven Adams' and Victor Oladipo's extensions kicking in, they are already $8 million over the cap with only 9 players under guaranteed contract for 2017-18 (that doesn't include Taj Gibson, who will be a free agent, or the qualifying offer for Andre Roberson, or the team option for Jerami Grant - three key rotation player they will have to either pay, or replace).

BNM

 

I'm wondering if Utah will have a chance against the Warriors. I think the defense they play and the wing defenders can give the Warriors fits.

 

No, they could win one if they get lucky. Warriors are just too good, the only people who can beat the Warriors this year are Draymond, Curry, Thompson, and Durant.

 

I was more impressed with last years team. I don't think they're invincible.

 

Chris Paul or Deron Williams???

Remember when that was a choice that was too tough to choose?

 

This game very analogous to the Clippers team as a whole - False hope.

 

I thought it was funny hearing Hayward (A subway spokesperson in Utah) say that his food poisoning came from "A sandwich from a place", and that he was never going to eat there again (As someone who has had Food Poisoning I fully understand this). I could have told you that shit was no good a long time ago Gordy!

 

This man may have a say in things...

 

It always drove me crazy that people thought they were identically good. Williams was legitimately a star, but Paul killed him in advanced metrics and was always a far better defender.

 

Man, did you see how pissed Steve Balmer looked? He paid $2 billion for that team and has paid luxury tax three years running and they are about to get bounced in the first round again. Yeah, injuries and all that, but they have so much money locked up in CP3, Blake, DeAndre Jordan and Jamal Crawford that they can't even afford a decent 5th starter, let alone a decent bench. Luxury tax three years in a row and no depth.

BNM