[2017] The Finals

Who ya got?


  • Total voters
    26
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Mr. S£im Citrus

Doryphore of KingsFans.com
Staff member
1. A skilled big man is the key to exposing their weakness, i.e. you may win with a big but he has to be skilled
2. Demarcus is such a skilled big man, and probably the best of them
3. Having demarcus as a subset rather than focal point would be deadly

It's not that much of a logical jump to conclude that if you can only win with a skilled big, and one who is not the focal point, that you can't win with a big as the focal point. If this was not the case there would be no need to qualify the bit about being a subset rather than focal point.
It might not be "much of a logical jump" (and frankly, mileage varies on that), but that doesn't change the fact that it's not what he said and, more importantly, I'm pretty sure that it's not what he meant, either.
 

Mr. S£im Citrus

Doryphore of KingsFans.com
Staff member
You haters might call him a ring chaser. You might say he joined a pre made championship team. That the warriors would have won without him. You think he's less of a player for what he did. But you know what, he doesn't care cuz he a champion now. Congratulations David West! :p
I'm almost more annoyed by West that I am by Durant. West shamelessly signed with San Antonio last year, chasing a ring, and then as soon as they lost, he jumped ship to the team that he thought gave him a better chance.

At least, had the Warriors lost, Durant probably would have stayed at least one more season; West probably would have ended up in Cleveland. :rolleyes:
 
You say this cuz it's not your team. If this happened to the kings and we won a title, there would be a statue of KD in front of the golden1 center.
Just to clarify, I am fine with a team as powerful as Golden State is right now, as long as it was the result of good drafting and development, not the result of having a superstar sign on the team. I don't blame Golden State for doing what's best for itself. I don't blame KD either, although I think this move says something about his personality. I blame the system for not putting checks on this type of signing.
 
Kevin Durant is a wuss for going to Golden State. He thinks he will be remembered as a champion but his legacy is now coattail rider. This is the first nba finals and playoffs where I can only say I didn't watch a single game all the way through. So boring.
 
Now that he's not "ours" anymore, I would really enjoy Boogie annihilating the Warriors with King James.
Well, a player of that caliber being added to the Cavs roster would likely tip the scales back the other way. I mean, both teams were fairly even last year considering the series came down to essentially 1 or 2 plays that could have gone either way. Then the losing team adds a top 5 scorer in the entire league, which of course tips the scales.

However, despite getting blown out the first 2 games of the series, the Cavs were a Kyle Korver corner 3 away from a 2-2 series going into tonight and played the Warriors tough again in GM5. If they added a top 10-15 level player next season, I could easily see them flipping the tables on the Warriors again.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not advocating for that to happen. But, in a way, I almost want to see it happen just so GSW doesn't corner the market the next few seasons. They took this teaming up fad to an all new level so there's no going back now. All the other contenders have to do something to counter.

Just to clarify, I am fine with a team as powerful as Golden State is right now, as long as it was the result of good drafting and development, not the result of having a superstar sign on the team. I don't blame Golden State for doing what's best for itself. I don't blame KD either, although I think this move says something about his personality. I blame the system for not putting checks on this type of signing.
I don't blame GSW either. A team would be ridiculously stupid not to try to improve their roster. That's the name of the game and what the front office gets paid to do.

KD, on the other hand, ran from the challenge of climbing to the top of the mountain on his own. People can make all the excuses they want for him not getting along or wanting to play with Russell Westbrook, but joining an already proven title winner wasn't the only option. Far from it. He took the shortcut of all shortcuts. If he truly feels like a winner joining a team that was the odds on favorite well before he set foot in their building, then more power to him. But I personally don't understand how anybody can feel like they were the missing piece under that scenario. I'd say the exact same thing had Boogie jumped ship to GSW this season instead of Durant. It's unbecoming of a player of that caliber in the prime of their career. I'm betting Carmelo Anthony could have performed similarly if placed into the same situation, but he'd still be the same player he was previously. Durant didn't prove anything, IMO. All he did was openly admit that he couldn't get it done unless he was on the most talented team in the league.

I'd feel differently if he had joined his hometown Wizards and helped that team accomplish something they haven't been able to do w/o him.
 
Kevin Durant is a wuss for going to Golden State. He thinks he will be remembered as a champion but his legacy is now coattail rider. This is the first nba finals and playoffs where I can only say I didn't watch a single game all the way through. So boring.
You know, I really had no desire to watch either but I did watch and I have to admit it was extremely entertaining. Really was some pretty amazing play by both teams. I actually thought the Cavs played great this series. They were just outmatched by too much talent.
 

Tetsujin

The Game Thread Dude
No chance James and the Cavs would take him on. Also, with as heated as these NBA Finals were, do you really think he could maintain his composure out there?
Considering we just witnessed a series where Zaza punched a guy in a balls and Dray was Dray, how is this an argument? Is Boogie any less composed than Draymond "Constantly-on-the-verge-of-ruining-everything-for-his-team" Green?
 

Tetsujin

The Game Thread Dude
Well, a player of that caliber being added to the Cavs roster would likely tip the scales back the other way. I mean, both teams were fairly even last year considering the series came down to essentially 1 or 2 plays that could have gone either way. Then the losing team adds a top 5 scorer in the entire league, which of course tips the scales.

However, despite getting blown out the first 2 games of the series, the Cavs were a Kyle Korver corner 3 away from a 2-2 series going into tonight and played the Warriors tough again in GM5. If they added a top 10-15 level player next season, I could easily see them flipping the tables on the Warriors again.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not advocating for that to happen. But, in a way, I almost want to see it happen just so GSW doesn't corner the market the next few seasons. They took this teaming up fad to an all new level so there's no going back now. All the other contenders have to do something to counter.
Cavs still need one more good wing defender and a backup PG that isn't Zombie Deron. I could see Collison getting their MLE over the summer, which would be a HUGE boost for them or, hell, image playoffs-supernova Rondo as their backup PG in the finals next season. If they don't go backup PG, a defender like PJ Tucker would be a huge help for them against Kevin Durant. And hell, Z-Bo's a free agent so let's get him ring chasing with the Cavs. And, oh my god, I'd love this, Tony Allen is a free agent too. Someone get him on that roster.

Tristan/Bogut/Channing Frye/Taveres
Love/Z-Bo
Lebron/Richard Jefferson
JR Smith/Shumpert/Tony Allen
Kyrie/Collison/Felder

Now the Cavs are up against it cap wise so this is dependent on the non-MLE dudes taking a minimum contract but this is possibly the best the Cavs can do in terms of putting together a roster to counter the Warriors.

Also would not be shocked if D-Wade somehow wound up on the Cavs next year. (Which would probably at least make things a bit of a fairer fight)
 
These super teams set such a bad precedent for the league. "Normal" teams have zero chance of beating them. It's essentially a monopoly on basketball.

I didn't like the Warriors but I respected them a lot more last year when their team was built through the draft.
 

Tetsujin

The Game Thread Dude
These super teams set such a bad precedent for the league. "Normal" teams have zero chance of beating them. It's essentially a monopoly on basketball.

I didn't like the Warriors but I respected them a lot more last year when their team was built through the draft.
Even then, the big move that propelled them to the next level was signing several time All-Star Andre Iguodala
 
Even then, the big move that propelled them to the next level was signing several time All-Star Andre Iguodala
Perhaps not so oddly, the two several time All-Stars that they've signed via free agency have both been named Finals MVP.

That's why I believe the same thing could/would have been achieved had they acquired say Carmelo Anthony or a majority of the top 20-25 players in the league. With Steph, Klay and Draymond already there, any legit talent you add to that mix is going to flourish. Hell, they went 1-1 in Finals with Harrison Barnes who I don't feel is a top 20 player.
 

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
You haters might call him a ring chaser. You might say he joined a pre made championship team. That the warriors would have won without him. You think he's less of a player for what he did. But you know what, he doesn't care cuz he a champion now. Congratulations David West! :p
And, in all honesty, there are those of us who are glad it's over so we don't have to talk about the effing Warriors any more. :p