Does anyone seriously think we had a better roster than New Orleans?

...in fact, name a team in the top 9 in the West that DOESN'T have a better roster than ours? Possibly San Antonio without Kawhi, and they're also getting waxed.

 

I say “would” instead of “will” just because the Warriors still officially have one more game vs. the Spurs. Just formality.

 

Things seemed to work out for them a couple of weeks ago.

 

A player that would have helped a lot this year and a suggestion I made early in the season would have been picking up Gerald Green, especially once Crabbe was dealt and we needed a replacement. He has been huge for the Rockets and was dirt cheap.

 

Unless Gentry concocts something amazing to defend the Warriors, you can’t target Durant and Thompson. The Warriors actually know how to move the ball around and have shooters that can knock down shots. The shots that Connaughton, Turner and Collins were clanking will be made by the Warriors.

Jrue Holiday is not going to take Durant out of the series like he did Lillard.

 

That was regular season Warriors that had been locked into the 2nd seed for much of the season playing against a Pelicans team fighting for a playoff spot. Have you seen what the playoff Warriors have been doing to the Spurs?

 

I would put Davis on Durant as he has the length, the strength and the quickness to make it more difficult. Without Curry their shooting ability goes way down as Green is very inconsistent and Livingstone is Turneresque in that he has an extremely limited outside game. The key will be if the Pelicans can continue their hot shooting. If they can, then I think this will be a good series, but GS has looked vulnerable at times this year, especially without Curry.

 

Basically what the Playoff Pelicans did to a better Blazers team?

 

Mainly because he won't be guarding him?

 

We have the better roster. We choked.

 

Before the series 22/22 ESPN “Experts” picked the Blazers (majority expected 6 games or less) presumably because they liked Portland’s roster better than the other guys. NO played a phenomenal series, and committed to the “don’t let Lillard beat us” strategy in a way no one else ever has. We may end up thanking them for exposing our flaws. Last year James Harden played like an MVP, but having to create all the offense wore him out, & SA shut him down in the post season. Even if CP3 hadn’t been available they would have gotten another PG to initiate the offense because it was obvious they needed to. We’ve always known there’s a vulnerability when Dame is being repeatedly trapped & our opponent has a rim protector in the paint. But the way this flaw was exposed can’t be ignored. Something has to change & everyone knows it or else this will be THE blueprint for how to beat the Blazers. If having to stare this truth in the eye forces the organization on a solution than it will be worth it in the long run. If we had lost a 6 or 7 game series in which we were competitive but just ran into a hot team, the search for a fix probably doesn’t happen.

 

Let's see you go down the rosters comparing the players.

 

No.

 

I envision Collins being the PFOTF playing a similar role to Mirotic and Nurkic becoming an All-Star center. Add an elite defending guard and we're contenders.

 

No, it would Playoff Pelicans vs. a Focused Playoff Warriors team that is light years better than what we offered.

 

Outside of AD, who can guard Durant on that roster. You put AD on him and you either get him into foul trouble or you tire him out and render him less effective on offense. You put AD on Durant, that just pulls AD out on the perimeter and you now lose your interior defensive presence that the Warriors would slice up.

 

So who would you put on Durant then?

 

No way we had a better roster than N.O. I said all year that we over achieved during the regular season. They had 3 all stars on the floor. We had one. The fact that 2 were former all stars makes no difference. They still play like one when healthy.

We need more shooters. Even suggested that we trade for Mirotic but was shot down because.... Mirotc plays no defense. His D was not an issue.

I do think that Zach will get a lot better, but as a rookie he was just not ready. But more importantly we need a SF who can shoot, dribble and pass. We have to have 3 shooters and 3 ball handlers on the floor at all times....plus Nurk and Collins.

You guys can pretend that a Dame/CJ back court is the issue, but until you get them a 3rd legitimate threat, you will not know for sure.

Would I trade CJ for Kawhi if I thought he would re-sign? Sure. But more than likely he is going home to LA where he would re-sign. He is much better than Paul George. The Lakers have cap space to absorb the contract and not have to send back a big contract.

 

Figuring that out is above my pay grade. My best bet is to hope that Durant reverts to his OKC iso ball days so the ball sticks and doesn’t move around.

I feel like EVERYONE is forgetting just how good this Warriors team is (even without Curry) because of Houston’s success this season. They had 4 All-Stars this season. Without Curry, that’s still 3 All-Stars. Against New Orleans, they would have 3 of the best 4 players on the court. Add to that, they had the 3rd ranked defense in the league.