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Celtics struggling to beat the Pacers without Hali. Just give Dallas the le already.
See!?! ambs, the voice of reason & moderation in troubled times.
ambs
Celtics struggling to beat the Pacers without Hali. Just give Dallas the le already.
...I'm down with that sentiment.
I like the miniature Beautiful Game that Indy has going on right now.
The year of the Leprechaun
Celts may well be hanging #18
Let's just fast forward to the Finals tbh.
hes still an excellent paint defender. luka just has an ability to manipulate defenses at a level never seen before. its not like every team is finding a way to do to him what luka does. hes the only one.
and as soon as rudy goes out of the game, kyrie is attacking like crazy. naz reid and kat are both just awful paint defenders.
Carliste with 2 choke jobs, his team could be up 2-1
Even within' the confines of this era and the way the game is played, there's James, Paul, Harden, Jokic, etc.
If Dallas is serious this time and not portending then I should be able to block these s from 18. If it's the same old horse out of Dallas, stumblin'/ bumbolin', whinin' about the officiating, I'm doomed.
It'll be Irving that will turn it, not Don. The problem will be that the Celtics know this and are going to go after him like the last pork chop on the plate.
But Irv has actually done it and has still been cast down since doing it, so, he has a chip on his shoulder, a hatred deep in his soul to do it again. "I'll show these White s."
"Show me."
Anyone but the Mavs
i'm not sure which of these names is more laughable... i would understand if you said ginobili, but those that you mentioned are all A to B players, they impose their will, doncic isn't, he is completely reactive. He gets a screen or two, watches switches, defensive movements and goes from there, he never knows what he is going to do, the "only" time lebron is reactive is when he takes triples and they always suck.
He's mighty cold-blooded though. But he's got to finish a June, and soon. They won't go after him like they did Daddy prior to the century turning there, but they'll still climb his ladder more than gently, him being White and all.
Make it next month's June...
"Prove it." like "Shane" did...-Shane-... '53
It never grows old 70 years on...
lebron does it in a completely different way, mostly focused on his ability to power to the rim. hes arguably the goat, but offensively he is not nearly as skilled/versatile as luka. thats not even a debate. generally, solid defensive bigs has always been one of the keys to beating lebron, because his midrange and deep shot has generally been fairly average. good enough to win, but not elite.
cp3 does it until defenses tighten up in the playoffs. many people resort to calling him a choker. maybe true, but i think its more due to his small size. smaller guys will always have disadvantages at consistently scoring against elite defenses that key in on them. lukas size makes him a whole different animal
harden is the closest stylistically, but he definitely seems to be mentally weak. that, and he has always been too reliant on fouls, which less of are called in the playoffs. inconsistent midrange shot as well.
joker is a center. not the same type of player at all, nor the same way of manipulating defenses. we were talking about making guys like gobert a non-factor. joker doesnt do that, if anything he makes him indispensable.
would love to hear the "etc" players you speak of, since the 4 you named clearly don't do what luka does at the level he does it.
for a guy who likes to shamelessly self promote as some basketball mind, you clearly dont know what you're talking about
for a guy who likes to shamelessly self promote as some basketball mind, you clearly dont know what you're talking about
why is everything about color and race with you?
i actually acknowledged many of the similarities. but noted that there are key differences. and the obvious fact that luka has taken things that they all do, but up to another level. in the playoffs, im not sure ive ever seen a guard who has abused an elite defensive center so badly that he either loses PT, or that the masses are calling for his benching. lukas done it twice to rudy. not to mention he also played zubac and ayton both completely off the floor (zubac lost his starting role bc of luka), and abused draymond to the point golden states only option was to put wiggins on him and send a double/trap every time he started to dribble.
Somehow I didn't see your more detailed explanation. Anyway, no Puka hasn't taken anything James did up another level other than the step back 3-point shooting (more a product of the era they came up in than anything else), which is obviously more Harden like.
i actually acknowledged many of the similarities. but noted that there are key differences. and the obvious fact that luka has taken things that they all do, but up to another level. in the playoffs, im not sure ive ever seen a guard who has abused an elite defensive center so badly that he either loses PT, or that the masses are calling for his benching. lukas done it twice to rudy. not to mention he also played zubac and ayton both completely off the floor (zubac lost his starting role bc of luka), and abused draymond to the point golden states only option was to put wiggins on him and send a double/trap every time he started to dribble.
All relied on physical strength to bully defenders, but only James combined it with superior athleticism obviously. In the end, they all played "target" ball in the p-n-r to aplomb, with the league catering rules to players like them because they were an easier sell to the masses.
Gobert is maybe the biggest punching bag in the league and somehow most people still don't comprehend that there's different areas of defense. His strength or at least greatest one lies in weakside rim protection, deterring/suppressing shots at the rim and disrupting opposing offenses if there's a non ball handling shooter to play off of. Obviously, he doesn't have the greatest lateral quickness or base strength.
Last edited by TD 21; 3 Weeks Ago at 04:48 PM.
luka uses varied pace, floaters, midrange shots, footwork and misdirection to a much higher and better degree than lebron or harden ever did. ive already said harden and luka are most similar, but lebron is not very similar at all, he primarily would suck defenses in by bulling his way to the rim. he started using a slower pace more as he got older, but it wasnt as effective as luka bc he never had a strong midrange game.
yet luka somehow does it better with significantly less athleticism than either of them. why? imo its because hes much more skilled than lebron, and is bigger and has more game sense and skill (particularly footwork and midrange shooting) than harden.
which is what has happened basically the entirety of the league, although im not sure what rules were changed to cater to lebron, harden or luka. the two most significant rule changes (allowing zone defense while limiting blatant hand checking) happened before any of them hit their stride. and sorry but hand checking isnt going to help much on PnR. in fact, allowing zone defenses gives teams far more options to defend it.
.. ok?
The good news is that Dallas has the two best closers left in the field. You pretty much have to blow them out or have a comfortable lead with 4 minutes left. Otherwise that Timberwolf/Celtic a$$ going to get so tight you wouldn't be able to fit a pushpin up that bunghole.
Some of that is not true (varied pace, footwork, misdirection) and in the end it's the same tactic played to equal effect.
Puka doesn't have significantly less athleticism than Harden nor does he have more "game sense" than the latter. This is the epitome of stereotypical, racial bias analysis.
They lessened the contact/physicality even more so that players like them could thrive even more.
I'm saying, Gobert's impact is of course lessened defensively (though not to the extent you or the masses make seem) with someone like Puka because it doesn't play to his strength.
Yep. As long as Dallas plays average this is a wrap tbh.
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