NBA 2013?14 Season

Djay_sl said:

It was always about HOW he left Cleveland more than that he did. I probably would have left too (management and coaching was horrible), but I wouldn't have made it the event he did...unless I was planning on staying.

I really think Wade has always been overhyped, so it's hard for me to say anything nice about him. That said, when I looked at his stats, I think I remember finding his assist and rebound totals to be higher than I thought they'd be. He's a better contributor than I initially gave him credit for. Objectively, I still don't think he's a Top-50 All-Time player. I think if you put his skill set in any other point in NBA history (IE, when they could play tougher man defense), he has a hard time getting minutes as a guard that's such a below-average outside shooter. I think he's dirty and that he gets bailed out by officials on his drives WAY too much.
But you're right that he does take some of the load off of Lebron...you can't really deny they've developed a bit of chemistry after Wade finally took the Robin role, as well. I'd argue Bosh is more important for the Heat than Wade is, though. Obviously, it's best to have all 3, but if I could only have 2? Give me Lebron and Bosh. Chalmers, Allen, Battier, Lebron, Bosh works. I don't think you can make a sustainable lineup without Bosh...unless Oden actually does come back healthy.

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You should peruse Wade's stats again. From 2005 to 2012 he was the best SG in the league and I don't really think he had a whole ton of competition (calm down Laker fans). That's a pretty good run. He's a really good all around player. Decent board and assist numbers, great for steals and on his career he averages a block a game which is something guards just don't do. His biggest strength has always been his shot selection though. He shoots 49% on his career and during his prime was getting to the free throw line 10 times a game. Those are GAUDY numbers from a scoring efficiency standpoint. Combine that with his decent to good other stats and it makes sense why the advanced metrics score pretty much his entire career in the all star level category. Top 50 player? I don't know about that. He'd be on the fringe of that I think.

Otherwise, I agree with you. I don't like him. He's like the John Stockton of this generation for the shit he gets away with. He is really good though.

On paper, I think Bosh and LeBron look like just about the most perfect duo possible, but in practice I really dislike what Spoelstra has relegated Bosh to. He sets screens and floats on the perimeter. Granted, he's a skilled enough player that he finds a way to both make it work and be productive while doing it, but there's a lot more to his game that just doesn't show up in Miami. His shot attempts have gone down this season, but otherwise in Miami he's only taking one less a shot than he was during the prime years in Toronto. So its not like it's a usage issue. But while he's getting points in Miami, he's grabbing 6 boards as opposed to 11 and getting to the line 4 times instead of 9. How about some inside/out game with LeBron? Or let Chris anchor the second unit and pound guys down low. It's not like any backup big in the NBA would be able to stop him down on the block.

MAXPOWERS_sl said:

George played the 2 up until Grangers injury last year. I highly doubt the team plans to move Lance to the bench and will more than likely see Granger in the 6th man role. Nobody is going to trade for Granger because his value is 0, plus the Pacers will be using his cap space this summer to sign Lance to a long term contract. Miami's days are numbered.

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You can't invent minutes for someone to earn wins with. The Pacers are deep. They're the Bulls of two years ago. If this team knocks out Miami it'll be because PG13 keeps up his insane production. Otherwise they just won't be able to deal with Miami's star power.

He's shooting over 50% on non 3 pointers this year. That's very good. Even if his 3 point percentage drops off, if he keeps his 2s at this clip he's going to be really productive. Sad thing is even as well as he's playing, it's nowhere close to LeBron. But it's good enough that he could be the best player on a championship team that's really deep. Lucky for him that's exactly what Indiana is.

I think a Pacers/Heat ECF would be great and very competitive. Still give the edge to the Heat with a healthy Wade though.

Djay_sl said:

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/10...ng-trade-again

Yes, tank away!!! Lowry potentially going to the Knicks. Hardaway and the 2018 1st rounder sounds good to me if we're taking on Felton's salary. Not really interested in Shumpert.

For the record, I like Lowry...probably my 3rd favorite player on the roster, but he's most likely not staying and I'm totally okay with dumping everyone except Valanciunas.

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I love the New York media. Shump is being floated out there like he's the next coming of Kobe AND available for trade but only at a high price. Dude is young and has shown some flashes but hasn't really been producted through three years. Tim Jr has been off to a pretty hot start, but I don't really think he's going to keep shooting so well especially since he never did in college.

Have to like what the Raptors continue to do though. I like Lowry a lot too (I get a pretty big hard on for any PG that can play good defense since it's far and away the hardest defensive man position to play) but he's not going to be part of their future. Might as well get something back.

Djay_sl said:

Wow...I just had the Cleveland-Portland game on in the background for no real reason. Pretty awesome ending there. Cavs came back and tied it only to have Lillard drain a 3 for the win. Ice water in those veins. I think I might take him over Irving right now.

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It's a very interesting comparison. As much hype as Lillard got as a rookie he honestly didn't play very well. Just took a ton of shots. And dumb stats like PPG still dominate the media.

Kyrie is playing like total shit this year, despite two of the best seasons the league has seen in a long time from a kid that young.

I still take Kyrie and here's my reasoning: He's always been an efficient shooter. In high school, in the very small sample size of Duke games and through his first 100+ NBA games. Efficiency extraordinaire. I don't expect him to shoot this bad long. He should hover in the 45-48 range probably his entire career. Which is very, very good for a point guard.

Lilliard is playing productive for one reason: He's shooting 42% on the outrageous 7 attempts a game he's taking behind the arc. Now he's always had a long ball dating back to college and I expect him to always shoot well from there. But above 40% on that many attempts? I just don't know if that's sustainable. And to be completely honest outside of these couple clutch shots there isn't too much else impressive about his game, statistically.