Aldridge: "It's About Winning a le. I Didn't Come to Have a Good Regular Season."

[Chinook]

Except they def did gameplan for kawhi as they were doubling him a lot the first three games of that series.

That's not game-planning. That's an adjustment. And no, it's not semantics. The Clippers clearly didn't go into that series expecting to have to stop Kawhi to win. EVERYONE knew you had to stop LMA to beat Portland.

Were two of the spurs starters not playing injured that series as well?

Splitter being hurt was huge, as was Parker not being 100 percent. That's why the Spurs lost the series. But they had plenty of ammo left, unlike Portland.

Was Danny green a complete no show till game seven?

Nah, he played well in four of the seven games. Thanks for showing you don't remember the series very well. He exploded in Game Seven for sure, but if that was the Green you expected to show up every game, I don't know what to tell you.

Kawhi carried the team hard that first five games and that's seriously revisionist history if you deny that

What does that prove? Green carried the Spurs for five games of the NBA Finals. LMA carried his team to a series win against Houston. The idea that Kawhi was somehow exceptional while the other guys are chokers is absurd. Just complete homerism.

Yea he dropped the ball in game 6 and 7 but so did everyone not named Tim Duncan.

And Green, as you just mentioned. But "dropping the ball" IS choking. It's a simple as that. Kawhi choked down the stretch in three straight games to end that series. It happens to the best players, and it happens more when they are the focus of a defensive game-plan. Kawhi saw for a series what LMA has seen for years.

Of course it will take both of them playing well for them to get back to the finals but if posters here are expecting Lma to step up in the clutch they are going to be let down.

It will take both of them because neither one of them is going to be able to clutch out a series by themselves. Not against a really good team. That's what you fail to realize. They both failed last year as first options, and that's why they're together now. That you keep trying to sub-divide the degrees of failure is what's making you look biased.

It was lillard who clinched the series if he misses that shot they go back to hou for game 7 and LmA maybe never even gets out of the first round.

Look, if you're going to pretend like the Spurs didn't have guys step up in clutch moments who aren't Leonard, I don't think this conversation is going to be able to keep going. Kawhi's had exactly two game-winners in his NBA career. The Spurs have plenty of guys who have done it in clutch moments, both in the regular season and in the playoffs. Now they have one more.

[kaji157]

Except in every offensive stat this year Kawhi is better offensively but. So how is Lma the clearly better offensive player as of now?

Just compare the last time both were focal points of either offenses and let me know.

[HarlemHeat37]

Mnky compared Kawhi to Aldridge, not sure why people are getting angry at other posters..

If you want to live in an imaginary world where Aldridge is a proven playoff performer, that's fine, but comparing him to Kawhi just creates unnecessary hate from Spurs fans on their own players..smh..

[bic50]

Actually had to go back and Mnky did bring kawhi into all this. Smh

[Spurs_619]

Just compare the last time both were focal points of either offenses and let me know.

They are both focal points this year and kawhi is putting up better numbers now ya know.

[Mnky]

Mnky compared Kawhi to Aldridge, not sure why people are getting angry at other posters..

If you want to live in an imaginary world where Aldridge is a proven playoff performer, that's fine, but comparing him to Kawhi just creates unnecessary hate from Spurs fans on their own players..smh..

Compared the way fans view someone like Kawhi as opposed to someone like LMA, which was referenced on the first page by your alts friends. Kawhifans tried to create a situation where Kawhi wins a comparison like they do with every discussion on this board. That fell apart in their face because of their own bad takes.

[Spurs_619]

Compared the way fans view someone like Kawhi as opposed to someone like LMA, which was referenced on the first page by your alts friends. Kawhifans tried to create a situation where Kawhi wins a comparison like they do with every discussion on this board. That fell apart in their face because of their own bad takes.

Not really you haven't backed up any of your claims with any stats to prove them. And your cherrypicking the one stat that favors LMA. I think alot of the Kawhi hate comes from the mass amount of european fans from the big 3 ERA who hate to see black american players succeed for some reason, just look through the board the amount of racist here is disgusting.

[HarlemHeat37]

Compared the way fans view someone like Kawhi as opposed to someone like LMA, which was referenced on the first page by your alts friends. Kawhifans tried to create a situation where Kawhi wins a comparison like they do with every discussion on this board. That fell apart in their face because of their own bad takes.

But you brought it up, bro, Kawhi had nothing to do with this thread or discussion..

I don't even care that you did, but I don't know why other posters are allocating blame where it doesn't belong

[Spurs_619]

Compared the way fans view someone like Kawhi as opposed to someone like LMA, which was referenced on the first page by your alts friends. Kawhifans tried to create a situation where Kawhi wins a comparison like they do with every discussion on this board. That fell apart in their face because of their own bad takes.

Not saying from you. But from a good amount of posters on this board.

[Spurs_619]

That's not game-planning. That's an adjustment. And no, it's not semantics. The Clippers clearly didn't go into that series expecting to have to stop Kawhi to win. EVERYONE knew you had to stop LMA to beat Portland.

Actually shows how well you don't remeber, in the win in L.A. during the reg season doc specifially mentioned in the post game presser that the clips not having a wing to match up with Kawhi was a problem and they needed to figure something out. So obviously they were game planning for him during that series as he was our best player the second half of that season. You sound like a kobe fan with this argumen. But kobe only chucked 6-24 because all the focus was on him

It will take both of them because neither one of them is going to be able to clutch out a series by themselves. Not against a really good team. That's what you fail to realize. They both failed last year as first options, and that's why they're together now. That you keep trying to sub-divide the degrees of failure is what's making you look biased.

No a poster asked why Kawhi gets a perceived pass from the media and fans while aldridge doesn't, because Kawhi has shown up on the biggest stage and LMA hasn't don't know why that's so hard to comprehend.

Look, if you're going to pretend like the Spurs didn't have guys step up in clutch moments who aren't Leonard, I don't think this conversation is going to be able to keep going. Kawhi's had exactly two game-winners in his NBA career. The Spurs have plenty of guys who have done it in clutch moments, both in the regular season and in the playoffs. Now they have one m

The spurs have plenty of clutch players who have had multiple big moments and series Parker, Gino, obviously Duncan, even Diaw and Green have had huge moments in the WCF and the finals. LMA had one memorable series in the first round sorry im not going to depend on him to show up when it matters. If you really want to compare the stats of Kawhi and LMA against contenders this year (OKC,CLE,GS) its going to look horrible for LMA, so not like he has shown otherwise this year either.

[Mnky]

But you brought it up, bro, Kawhi had nothing to do with this thread or discussion..

I don't even care that you did, but I don't know why other posters are allocating blame where it doesn't belong

I didn't bring Kawhi into this discussion. I replied to it.

[wingster]

Man...for a second I thought that Kawhi and Aldridge were competing against other teams not each other.
Silly me.

[bic50]

Man...for a second I thought that Kawhi and Aldridge were competing against other teams not each other.
Silly me.

[BillMc]

Man...for a second I thought that Kawhi and Aldridge were competing against other teams not each other.
Silly me.

[T Park]

stop, bro..

Do you want me to post Aldridge's career playoff performances? He's not a good playoff performer, at all..his only notable playoff series was against one of the worst defensive PFs in the NBA(Terrence Jones)..his series vs. Memphis, last year, was one of the worst you'll ever see for a star player..

Hopefully Aldridge steps up in the playoffs, this year, since he will have much less pressure than he did in Portland, from a load standpoint..as I said earlier, it's good that he is focused on the playoffs, rather than worrying about Lillard's billboards..

Didn't he play with a torn ligament in his right wrist last year that needed surgery?

[Mel_13]

Didn't he play with a torn ligament in his right wrist last year that needed surgery?

Left thumb.

[HarlemHeat37]

Didn't he play with a torn ligament in his right wrist last year that needed surgery?

Maybe..all I've said is that he hasn't been a good playoff performer(fact) and needs to prove himself on the big stage(fact)..

There's nothing mean-spirited or hateful there..it's quite possible that he needed a different coach/situation to get it out of him..Pau Gasol was also viewed as a career loser and choker(most people here called him that when the Lakers acquired him, partly out of fear, though), and transformed into the legitimate Finals MVP of 2010..

[YGWHI]

I defended lma

No, you weren't defending LMA, you said that "Kawhi has much worse stats in playoffs" that's just attacking him for nothing.

And you know that it doesn't true because Kawhi has been more efficient, also, in his first seasons at the same age, Kawhi had better stats.

If you're going to compare a player with other, you have to do it at the same stage of their careers.

That's totally homerism. No one cares what Aldridge did at 23. And no one currently cares what Kawhi will do at 30.

Yep. It's fair to compare 2016 Tim's current stats with Davis' stats.

Most people would think that the best way is to compare Duncan in his 20's/first seasons with Davis...but not you.

"Who cares what he did before" This is the same to say...we just need to compare the 23 year old player in his 4 th season, with 30 year old player in his 8th season because a player with four years more in the league doesn't gain more experience or get better.

[YGWHI]

I didn't bring Kawhi into this discussion. I replied to it.

No. In your first post in the thread you replied to this...

He's only played in 34 playoff games in his career, a whopping six playoff series total ( small sample). Plus, outside of his series vs. SA in 14' and Mem in 15' he's played well in every other series tbh..

Not to mention, Pop has implemented more efficient ways for LMA to score the basketball in the past month or so. Even LMA said, most of his work now is being put in before he gets the basketball -- which is making a huge difference.

Stotts would call his number in ISO's relentlessly and would be content with LMA getting the ball 18 feet out every other time down the floor -- 25-30% of his possessions were taken place as time was winding down (when there was less than 6 seconds on the clock) -- pretty sure he led the league in shots attempted after 5 or 6 seconds on the clock in the NBA last year. The way Stotts used him didn't help his efficiency at all -- especially in the playoffs when defenses can spend a week(s) game-planning.

Saying he isn't a playoff performer is pretty silly considering the low number of playoff games he's played in and for the fact that he's averaged 22 and 9 for his career in the playoffs -- not sure what you expect tbh... It's irrelevant anyway, 34 games isn't enough data to make end all conclusions.

And he never mentioned Kawhi. You are comparing LMA to Kawhi when there is no need to...

[Mnky]

Nope.

[bic50]

...

[YGWHI]

Nope.

Yes. That's exactly what you did here.

[Mnky]

I'll respond, because I'm not sure I did before, you first said I didn't defend lma, then you said I brought up Kawhi when I didn't need too. You can quote my first post, and the first things I say, are defending lma and using Kawhi as an example why people treat him unfairly compare to others.

Quite literally... my first statements are the exact opposite of your claims. I'm not into this forum flirting though. If you don't believe me, that's cool. Have a good one.

[bic50]

I'll respond, because I'm not sure I did before, you first said I didn't defend lma, then you said I brought up Kawhi when I didn't need too. You can quote my first post, and the first things I say, are defending lma and using Kawhi as an example why people treat him unfairly compare to others.

Quite literally... my first statements are the exact opposite of your claims. I'm not into this forum flirting though. If you don't believe me, that's cool. Have a good one.

But why use kawhi as an example? He's only in his 5th season.
And why downplay what he didn't in the 2014 finals but say he choked last season?

[YGWHI]

I'll respond, because I'm not sure I did before, you first said I didn't defend lma, then you said I brought up Kawhi when I didn't need too. You can quote my first post, and the first things I say, are defending lma and using Kawhi as an example why people treat him unfairly compare to others.

Talking about "much worse stats", comparing players when there is no need to...Attacking a player to defend other? Is that your way to defend LMA?