NBA Thread

[Jon]

If you want to use nothing but stats to compare the players then yes, Lillard and Irving are on the same level.  They both averaged 20 points and 6 assists.

A healthy Rondo is great.  Sure, he can't shoot, but his court vision is is top 3, he is not only the best defensive point guard, but one of the best defenders in the league.  He is the best overall passer and can get to the basket at will.  Rondo is the ultimate game and team manager, which is what you need and want out of a point guard.

I'm not using stats, I'm using what I see when I watch these players play. The stats speak for themselves.

Rondo is a fine PG, a few years ago he was easily in the Top 5, but he lost his passion for playing and has a shit attitude. When he wants to play, he is really fun to watch. But BTW, I think Paul is a better defender/passer than him, but that's just me.

But he turns the ball over a lot as well. That is what I'm getting at. Your sole reason for leaving Curry, who is IMO, far better than Rondo, off your list is because he turns the ball over. I mean you put LILLARD and PARKER over Curry... thats just crazy talk.

My Top 10 PG's in the NBA
1. Chris Paul
2. Derek Rose
3. Stephen Curry
4. John Wall
5. Kyrie Irving
6. Russell Westbrook
7. Rajon Rondo
8. Kyle Lowry
9. Damian Lillard
10. Tony Parker   

[Justin]

Chris Paul a better defender than Rondo?  Come on, Jon.  Rondo is a top 7 defender in the league before the ACL injury.  Once he gets this offseason under him to get back fully healthy he will be back to his normal self.

If I was going off of just scoring, yes Curry would easily be better than Rondo.  But Curry isn't as smart with the ball as Rondo is, not even the same league as a defender, passer, or rebounder.

[The TeeJ of Philly]

1. Paul (Not a question)
2. Westbrook
3. Parker
4. Curry
5. Rondo

Sorry, not putting a guy who hasn't played in two years in my top five, regardless of how good he could be. Westbrook is just as good as Rondo at rebounding, each get around 10% of the rebounds available to them when they're on the floor, Westbrook is just as good if not better at defense while Rondo has teh edge in passing, but I'll take Wesbrook (and as well as Parker and Curry) before rondo simply because they can pass AND score. Rondo has never averaged more than 14 points per game.

[Jon]

Chris Paul a better defender than Rondo?  Come on, Jon.  Rondo is a top 7 defender in the league before the ACL injury.  Once he gets this offseason under him to get back fully healthy he will be back to his normal self.

If I was going off of just scoring, yes Curry would easily be better than Rondo.  But Curry isn't as smart with the ball as Rondo is, not even the same league as a defender, passer, or rebounder.

But you had Lillard in your top 5. We are not arguing Rondo per say ( because thats an entirely different argument)  ... you had Lillard over Curry. I see no justification in that at all.

Lillard is a back end of the top 10 in PG's. You said list 5... I list 8 better than him right now. And you could argue him over 1 or 2 of those guys... but he is def not a Top 5 right now.

[GM Franchise]

1. Paul
2. Curry
3. Westbrook
4. Wall
5. Irving
6. Lowry
7. Lillard
8. Rondo
9. Parker
10. Lawson

Put Lawson on the list since his stats are comparable to Lowry and Lillard. Rondo and Parker I had lower due to injuries. Rest I think is pretty accurate.

[Justin]

But you had Lillard in your top 5. We are not arguing Rondo per say ( because thats an entirely different argument)  ... you had Lillard over Curry. I see no justification in that at all.

Lillard is a back end of the top 10 in PG's. You said list 5... I list 8 better than him right now. And you could argue him over 1 or 2 of those guys... but he is def not a Top 5 right now.

Curry is the better scorer, hands down.  But Curry still turns the ball over too much and is not as smart with the ball as Lillard.  I'd argue that Lillard is the better defender, but honestly they both don't play that great of defense.

[Jon]

Curry is the better scorer, hands down.  But Curry still turns the ball over too much and is not as smart with the ball as Lillard.  I'd argue that Lillard is the better defender, but honestly they both don't play that great of defense.

Curry is the better scorer, shooter, passer, rebounder, plays better defense.

The only thing Lillard does better is protect the basketball, but the Blazers don't play the same uptempo game the Warriors do. 

To only have Lillard ahead of Curry for that only reason is crazy talk bro.

You wouldn't get ONE NBA expert to agree with you.

[Cory]

Refs have been complete garbage in this Raps/Nets game.

[¿PapaPancho?]

Lillard and Irving are the same exact player. Swap them both for their teams and is their that big of a difference?

[GM Franchise]

Clips, Warriors argue after game

http://espn.go.com/nba/playoffs/2014/story/_/id/10881720/2014-nba-playoffs-security-called-los-angeles-clippers-golden-state-warriors-shouting-match

LOS ANGELES -- Apparently not even a Game 7 was enough to end the bitter rivalry between the Clippers and Golden State Warriors this season.

Shortly after the Clippers defeated the Warriors, 126-121, to advance to the Western Conference semifinals, the two teams continued their feud in the tunnel connecting both the home and visitor's locker room at Staples Center.

Multiple sources who were present for the altercation indicate the incident began when Warriors players heard someone they believed to be a Clippers assistant coach loudly saying how quiet it was in the Warriors' locker room. When Warriors players came out, there were no coaches present but a shouting match between players from both teams soon ensued in the tunnel. It never got physical but it was heated enough that police and security had to be called to calm the situation, sources told ESPN.

"I was sitting in my office with the family," Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. "I heard about it. From from I've heard it was much to do about nothing. Unfortunately the way the arena is built, from our training room, the door opens and their locker room is through that and I guess they can hear guys being excited so that was about it. From there I guess there were guys chirping in the hallway in between the two locker rooms.

"You can't see that from the hallway [the media] goes through but no one came to [blows]. I found out about it after the fact. Besides people talking loud at each other, nothing happened."

One source described it as a "pretty serious" shouting match. The Clippers had to call in extra security to keep a Warriors' player from entering their locker room, the source told ESPN.

Warriors center Marreese Speights was said to be among main participants in the incident, according to sources, while Stephen Curry, Steve Blake and Clippers forward Glen Davis were also involved.

The rivalry between the Clippers and Warriors heated up this season when the Clippers refused to have chapel service with the Warriors before their home opener this season. The two engaged in a physical game on Christmas Day which included a couple of fights and two ejections. And after their last game of the regular season, Golden State's Jermaine O'Neal confronted Blake Griffin in the hallway.

"Both teams don't care much for each other," Chris Paul said earlier this season. "It is what it is."

ESPN.com's Ramona Shelburne contributed to this report.

[J-Reb]

According to PER ratings, the best PG's this season were:

Paul
Westbrook
Curry
Isaiah Thomas
(Derrick Rose would fit somewhere here, according to his career PER)
Lowry
Irving
Conley
Bledsoe
Wall
Lawson

[GM Franchise]

Mark Jackson fired by Warriors

http://espn.go.com/nba/playoffs/2014/story/_/id/10892128/mark-jackson-coach-golden-state-warriors

The Golden State Warriors have fired coach Mark Jackson, the team announced Tuesday.

The move comes after the Warriors were eliminated in the opening round of the playoffs, falling to the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 7 on Saturday night.

The Warriors were 121-109 during Jackson's three-year tenure.

"It's never easy to make a decision of this nature," general manager Bob Myers said in a statement. "Mark has accomplished many good things during his three years with the organization, including his role in helping elevate this team into a better position than it was when he arrived nearly 36 months ago. We're appreciative of his dedication and commitment since his arrival and are extremely grateful for his contributions. However, as an organization, we simply feel it's best to move in a different direction at this time."

Added CEO Joe Lacob: "Mark Jackson has had a big impact on the improvement of our team and the success that we've had over the last couple of years. Nonetheless, we must make some difficult decisions in our day-to-day operations of the club and this would certainly qualify as one of those examples. We wish Mark the best of luck in his future endeavors and thank him for his contributions over the last three years."

[¿PapaPancho?]

Is Jack Hondo running the Warriors?

[GM Franchise]

Kevin Durant wins first MVP award



http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/10890597/kevin-durant-oklahoma-city-thunder-wins-mvp-award-first

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Kevin Durant has plenty of scoring titles. Now he has an MVP trophy to go with them.

The Oklahoma City Thunder star won the NBA's top individual honor Tuesday, grabbing 119 first-place votes. Miami's LeBron James, who'd won the last two MVP awards and four of the previous five, finished a distant second with six first-place votes.


2014 NBA MVP Voting
Kevin Durant won his first NBA MVP Award in a landslide Tuesday, garnering 113 more first-place votes than LeBron James, who finished a distant second.

Player 1sts Points
Kevin Durant, OKC 119 1,232
LeBron James, MIA 6 891
Blake Griffin, LAC 0 434
Joakim Noah, CHI 0 322
Others receiving votes: James Harden, HOU, 85; Stephen Curry, GSW, 66; Chris Paul, LAC, 45; Al Jefferson, CHA, 34; Paul George, IND, 33; LaMarcus Aldridge, POR, 26; Kevin Love, MIN, 25; Tim Duncan, SAS, 21; Tony Parker, SAS, 21; Dirk Nowitzki, DAL, 7; Carmelo Anthony, NYK, 4; Goran Dragic, PHO, 3; Mike Conley, MEM, 1

Blake Griffin was third, and Joakim Noah and James Harden rounded out the top five.

Durant, a 6-foot-9 forward, won his fourth scoring crown in five years this season by averaging 32 points per game. He helped the Thunder finish the regular season with a 59-23 record, second best in the league, despite playing much of the season without three-time All-Star Russell Westbrook by his side because of a nagging knee injury.

Durant becomes the first player to win both the scoring title and the MVP award in the same season since Allen Iverson did it in 2000-01.

"He's been the most consistent guy all season long," Westbrook said at the end of the regular season. "He's done a great job of leading us to where we are now. He's basically put himself in front of everybody else in the league and shown that he's the best player in the world."

James agreed, saying Monday: "Much respect to him and he deserves it. He had a big-time MVP season."

With Tuesday's voting results, Durant and James set an NBA mark, finishing in the top two in MVP voting for the fourth time, surpassing Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson, who were in the top two on three occasions.

Durant's run of 41 consecutive games this season with at least 25 points was the third-longest streak in NBA history. In all, he scored at least 40 points 14 times. He also averaged 7.4 rebounds and a career-high 5.5 assists while shooting 50 percent from the field.

"He does everything," New Orleans coach Monty Williams said. "You just can't recall a guy that long who can do what he does every single night. Shooting from 30 feet on the floor with confidence and driving to the basket and dunking on guys, and then go post up, and on top of it, a great teammate and good kid."

Durant moved to the front of the pack while Westbrook was out following his most recent knee surgery. Durant averaged 35 points and 6.3 assists during that stretch as the Thunder went 20-7 and remained among the league's elite.

Westbrook's injury gave Durant an opportunity to use his improving skills as a playmaker.

"I've always been a player that was excited for my teammates' success," Durant said. "Not just mine, but my teammates' as well. Wanting to see them do well translates to my game, which is wanting to pass the ball and seeing my teammates reap the benefits."

Teammates and opponents say Durant became a more complete player this season. They praised him for improving his court vision, consistently making the extra pass and moving more efficiently without the ball.

"What he does is tough to do," teammate Nick Collison said. "I think we take it for granted. To be able to stay on for long periods of time -- have to cut hard, catch the ball in the right spot and defend on the other end -- is tough to do. To be able to show that shows that he has an edge to him. He doesn't take a night off."

Durant's slight build could be considered one of his few weaknesses, but he has especially improved in dealing with opponents who try to push him around.

"People have been trying to do that since he's been in the league, and obviously, he's just gotten better every season, so I don't really think that matters with him," Westbrook said. "He just takes on the challenge. When people try to be physical, he takes on the challenge and becomes more aggressive."

Though Durant's consistency stood out this season, he had several exceptional games. He scored 48 points on Jan. 4 at Minnesota, then scored 48 again two games later at Utah. He scored a career-high 54 points in a home win against Golden State on Jan. 17 and two games later scored 46 at home in a win against Portland. Two games after that, he had a triple-double -- 32 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists -- in a win at Philadelphia, and he followed that with 41 points in a win over Atlanta. He scored 51 points at Toronto on March 21 in a staggering 53 minutes and hit the game-winning 3-pointer with 1.7 seconds left in double-overtime.

He capped it off in the season finale by scoring 21 of his 42 points in the fourth quarter against Detroit and winning the game with a dunk with 16.5 seconds left. The Thunder overcame a 10-point deficit in the quarter to clinch the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference playoffs.

Information from ESPN.com's Marc Stein, ESPN Stats & Information and The Associated Press was used in this report.

[Cory]

Chris Paul was INSANE last night.