Any sports fans?

[Extreme Allah]

In a way I'm glad the Spurs won. Maybe now Duncan will retire and I won't have to here his awful, nerdy voice anymore.

Also, I'm watching RWB highlights...most entertaining player in the league, to me.

Edit: no one watching the World Cup?

[thevoid99]

I'm watching the World Cup. It's been pretty good so far. I'm glad the U.S. beat Ghana yesterday as it gives them hope to be Portugal who sucked in their game against Germany.

[Dazza]

Been a great WC so far. Trying to watch as much as I can but not as easy these days.

[Extreme Allah]

You guy(s?) pumped for the new season? Just got League Pass; let's get it on.

(Warriors are looking like a bag of money in the preseason. Hopefully it carries over, and they can find more of an offensive role for Iggy.)

[Dazza]

Season only starts when Durant gets back.

[Extreme Allah]

Not even excited to watch a couple months of Westbrook going bananas? Interested to see what Scotty's plan is with that; I'm assuming it's just, "Russ, you take all KD's shots now," which I'm not even sure is a terrible offensive scheme.

The real shame is that this injury is guarantee that Scotty Brooks won't be fire for a single thing that happens this season.

[Dazza]

So much for that. Perry Jones is going to have to carry the team to the championship!

[Extreme Allah]

It's really depressing. They could both be back in time, though. If not, jump on board with the Warriors for a year.

I was fairly tactful about Kerr, but I didn't believe the hype and was tilted that SVG chose the power over the potential and geography...I'm now pretty happy. I have no idea what Kerr actually does or doesn't know about basketball, but he hires people who know stuff and philosophically seems to support things that work in basketball, and is a great fit for his personnel. People are obviously overreacting to their great start, but part of that is that they are the most fun team to watch right now.

(I tend to underrate white guys and light skinned guys too.)

[Brian]

The west is so brutal, I bet OKC misses the playoffs now, with the hole they're gonna keep digging til they get both stars back. At least Brooks finally took Perkins out of the starting lineup this year - uhhh, derrr, what took you so long, fool!

I'm hoping my Suns can make the playoffs - gonna be a battle all year with them, the Pelicans, and the Kings all trying to break in this year. And the crazy thing is, if any of them were in the east instead, they could challenge for the TOP spot there pfff, a la Indiana last year (even if LeBron's squad is the best, they may not have the best record due to early struggles coming together). It's so crazy how out of balance the league is that way.

My Suns are so deep, it's hard to find the right balance for them to get everyone contributing. The 3 PGs are having trouble finding ways to all get going, but of course, that's why most teams don't fill their roster with 3 excellent PGs heh. With Green having taken a big step last year into being a tremendous scorer from all over the court, one or two of those 4 guards is likely to be largely left out of each game. The only way for all of them to get going would be if they choose to go small and have only one true big out there at times (with SFs Tucker and/or Marcus Morris shifting to PF), but I don't think they'll use that kind of lineup too often, especially since Tucker is the best perimeter defender. Maybe against teams like the Mavs, putting him vs Dirk.

Speaking of the Mavs, they sure look like a title contender this year. Getting Tyson Chandler back is HUGE, just solidifying that D. And Parsons gives em his all around offense. With all the talented PGs in the league, if only they had added a better one, then they'd really be in great shape. Nelson is just mediocre - Harris is perfect in his backup role with his scoring ability. I think Felton would have a bit more potential to consistently contribute than Nelson (if he's in shape), but he's behind him to begin with due to injury. Oh and they got Barea back, so who knows how it'll all shake out by the playoffs.

One thing that is hilarious to see is the state of the Lakers! I feel terrible for my man Nash not even getting to play. But with all the obnoxious Laker fans out there, I don't mind seeing them being the worst team in the west now.

[Brian]

I've still checked in on this forum now and then, but have drifted away from posting at all. Now I expected to see some Dazza and Allah friendly trash talking about these Western conference finals, but nope, nada. Maybe they're private messaging. I know Allah only posts infrequently now anyway, but figured he posted recently enough to come back for NBA talk.

With my Suns in a rebuild, I'm rooting for the beautiful team, the Warriors of course. (sorry, Daz) I'm a basketball purist, so I still have a tough time stomaching the OKC style. They play a little better under Donovan compared to Brooks - I think their after time out plays are much better now, and their defense looks even better, but they still have the same stupid halfcourt offense issues. They didn't install enough movement in their standard offense so it's still so much KD and Russ forcing plays. Which beats most teams cuz they are incredible talents, but the best defenses expose this flaw.

It still amazes me how many NBA observers never quite zero in on the true flaw. The TNT guys are in the right ballpark, but are focusing on "oh KD is shooting too much, he didn't have it going, he needs to pass to the Others" etc. It's "hero ball," not trusting their teammates. People always wanna put the blame on Russ or KD. No, it's coaching. Hopefully Donovan can figure it out for next year, if they lose Game 7 to GS, or to the Cavs in the finals. It's only his first year in the NBA anyway so maybe he'll actually see it, unlike Brooks who had way too many years and chances to improve the team, but failed.

[Dazza]

The last quarter definitely harkened back to the dark days. When we were crushing the warriors it was when we were sharing the ball more and role players were chipping in. I guess it's easier when you have a big lead but when the game is tight the players get tight, less movement, less passing, more reliance on Russ and KD doing Russ and KD things.

[Brian]

Yeah it's the same old story with OKC. It's no surprise they blow plenty of 4th Q leads cuz when it gets to crunch time, and they aren't getting fastbreak chances, their halfcourt offense gets so predictable. They iso Durant or Westbrook and have everyone else stand around too much. If that kind of offense is going to work, they have to have optimal floor spacing. Any bit of crowding there (or weak link on the court, like Adams around the perimeter, or Roberson when he has no confidence like in this last game), and the defense can hedge and be ready to give help to contain Russ and KD. That's when you see Iguodala and Green making great defensive plays, getting strips of Durant, or Klay having a great block while containing Westbrook's forced drive to the hoop. And Curry has stripped KD when he's switched onto him, and he's jumped some passing lanes for steals.

OKC always depends on their defense and drawing plenty of fouls on offense, getting Russ and KD to the line. All the pressure is on the opposing team to run quality offense, getting good open shots, not turning it over. Cuz you let OKC get in transition, and of course those athletes take advantage of having extra court space to score. And on defense, GS had to stay so focused, so disciplined, always being aware of the "crafty" attempts by Russ and KD at drawing fouls. I hate that style too, it's an ugly thing to watch, but when it works for them against a lot of defenders, of course they will keep trying it. I was so happy to see the GS defenders adjust to avoid those bullshit plays, keeping Russ and KD off the line in game 7. Like the play where Russ drives with his defender in catchup mode trailing him, and Russ stops and jumps back into the defender, who gets the foul on him. Russ got that play twice in game 6, then tried to draw it again on Klay in game 7, but Klay was ready for it and made sure to stay away, so Russ missed the shot cuz his focus was on trying to draw the foul.

The Spurs didn't play well enough on offense as it's their first year bringing Aldridge into the mix, so they're lacking a definitive offensive identity. Also, Kawhi struggled adjusting to the length and athleticism of OKC's defenders. Aldridge had a great first game, then wasn't hitting his J consistently enough after that. Working together another year should help them get their offense finetuned to have a better shot at beating OKC next year.

The Warriors were also affected by the great length and athleticism of OKC. Early in the series they were turning it over way too much, and getting plenty of shots blocked at the hoop. It took them some time to adjust, but they got comfortable and executed well the last few games. I believe the early troubles were also due to Curry's knee injury. He didn't have his usual explosiveness (you could see it in his attempts at the rim when he wasn't elevating much), and wasn't in a perfect rhythm after missing a couple weeks, but as the series progressed, he looked to be right near 100% by the end of it. Cuz in game 7, he was elevating better. So if he knows he's finishing effectively again with his usual floaters, his high layups etc., then it gives him total confidence to attack the bigs that switch on him on the perimeter. So he KILLED the bigs in game 7.

And that brings it back to coaching. Kerr clearly outcoached Donovan, who's just getting used to the NBA game. Donovan was too stubborn with his defensive coverage. He stayed with the switching every screen, cuz it had worked well enough earlier in the series, but once Curry got back to his normal MVP self, you should try to mix up your defenses so you bring some indecision and scrambling plays into the mix. If you let Curry dance with Adams to get those awesome 3s, you're going down.

Also, look how Kerr is always tinkering with his fringe players he puts in. You never know which bigs they're gonna use. He wasn't getting a lot from Bogut, a few nice passes here and there, and Ezeli had some lapses. Speights hit a 3 earlier but had some gaffes after that (like the missed layup, heh, he's not an athletic finisher, he's a shooter). So Kerr doesn't just stick with them, he puts Varejao into the game and he ends up making a few excellent plays. He drove and dished nicely. The great coaches will adjust to how the game is going and use their personnel accordingly.

Donovan should've seen that he needed some more offense and given some time to either Foye or Morrow (knockdown 3 pt shooters) over Roberson. Cuz Roberson was not even close on his corner 3s this game. Which isn't a surprise, with a mediocre shooter, on the road, under game 7 pressure. If you're gonna try to space the floor and let KD and Russ operate, put a knockdown 3 pt shooter out there. When Ibaka gets wide open chances, he hits them. Waiters likes to create and then shoot. But Foye and Morrow both catch and shoot very well. They aren't nearly the defenders that Roberson is of course, but Roberson wasn't shutting anyone down either, cuz the Warriors aren't a one on one team - they're gonna screen you to death. And work for the right matchups one on one at times.

Donovan needs to install a real halfcourt offense with man movement next training camp and then OKC can beat anyone (assuming Durant is back obviously). They have a simple play where they set a downscreen from a big for KD to get his midrange J turning towards the middle, and KD hits that one plenty. They even set a screen for him at the 3 pt line in game 7 and KD nailed it (Ezeli was dropped off of the big so in no position to contest KD, and Curry gave Festus a look afterwards heh). They should get KD coming off screens a lot. Imagine Russ setting a screen for him, KD pops out for 3, and Russ dives to the hoop. Have sets like this where you can take advantage of your great talents. Don't put all this pressure on them to create everything from the perimeter off the dribble.

[dwayne99]

I like Nfl football, nhl hockey, mlb baseball, and the NBA basketball. I also like WWE wrestling and TNA wrestling, ROH wresltling.