The OtherArena

[corrado]

like I said many times, with the addition of Durant, and now Cousins, its hard to pick the MVP out of them. Since on any given night, one or more of the fab 5 will stumble and the others pick them up. heck some of these past few games have had Klay Thompson be the star of them.

Whereas the Rockets rely on and only on Harden. its basically Harden or bust.

Also I have to say, Draymond may be the 5th best warrior atm. Cousins hasn't lost a step in his return. Very dominant.

[corrado]

They won by 32 tonight. Cousins with 22 points in 25 minutes.

[jdw]

They are about to take over the best record in the NBA. They are going to be a lot of fun to watch after the Break if they stay healthy.

[corrado]

Perhaps the most noteworthy trade today was Philly washing their hands clean of their former #1 draft pick, Fultz:

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/25946412/76ers-trade-former-no-1-pick-markelle-fultz-magic

They do get some pretty sweet compensation in the form of two future draft picks. A heist if you will.

[jdw]

Guren: really nice points and clips in here from Lowe on Iggy:

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/26046302/10-things-like-including-warriors-genius

I love me some Iggy. He's like the greatest Robert Horry of all time, if Robert were ever actually an all star level player. It's like Iggy has gone through four phases:

1. Learning the Ropes (2005-2006)

Instant starter on AI's Philly teams, averaging 11-6-3 on .497/.343/.750. AI sucked up most of the shots, and Iggy was young... but there were hints of what was to come.

2. All Star Level (2007-2010)

AI got traded early in 2007, and Iggy's usage shot up. He flashed the all around game, not to Grant Hill levels but extremely nice for a small forward: 19-6-5 on .455/.315/.751. His three point shooting was at a career sustained low, which was a but odd. He wasn't really chucking up a ton. Likely more contested due to AI not being there. On the other hand, he was continuing to shoot FT far better than later was the case. :)

3. Glue Guy Starter (2011-2013)

These were the Doug Collins years in Philly then George Karl's last marvelous team in Denver. Usage down, but all around game you want out of a glue guy SF: 13-6-6 on .450/.345/.632 eating up 36 minutes a game and providing that terrific defense that people don't seem to grasp. This is pretty much what hipped the Warriors into thinking, "We need someone like this RIGHT NOW!"

4. Robert Horry 2.0 (2014-2019)

Started in his first year with the Dubs, then Kerr swapped out Lee and Iggy for Dray and Barnes in the forward slots. Iggy went to being a mutant creative & defensive anchor of the second unit / easy fit with any pieces of starting unit / Death Lineup defensive anchor with Dray. 7-4-3 on .485/.346/.637 in 27 minutes a night doesn't seem like a lot, but Horry is an icon who averaged 7-5-2 in his *career*. In his seven title winning seasons, Horry averaged that same 7-5-2 on .423/.354/.748 in 24 minutes a night. Same general concept of a player:

* smart

* comfortable in playing to his role and skills that he is extremely confident in

* excellent versatile defense

* ability for big moments (though Horry's were more flashy and famous while Iggy's are more subtle though he was the one to win a Finals MVP)

* both were glue guys who often went unnoticed until stepping up big

* winning

The key differences between Horry and Iggy are (i) Horry has the 7 rings, and (ii) Iggy has been the better player at *every* age with the possible exception of when they were 34, where it's close. If you line then up to compare 22 vs 22, 23 vs 23, all the way up to the current 35 vs 35... it's pretty clear that Iggy was better in all of them. In most of them he's much better, with it only getting closer when Iggy moved into the Robert Horry Role with the Dubs.

He's not going to catch Horry's 7 rings, so he's not going to be the iconic role player that Horry will always be. Which is too bad because he is the better player over his career.

Love both of those guys as I love complimentary players who help glue rosters together. I admire Iggy a lot for accepting the transition of his career, which wasn't easy at first buy he's become a flat out master of it.

[corrado]

Rockets just beat the Warriors without Harden. At a time, where Paul George is gaining on him in the MVP race.

[guren]

[corrado]

Celtics have been getting thrashed at times the past week. I think it started to go south once Kyrie blasted the young core of the team. Im starting to think more and more that Kyrie is going to be on a new team next fall. I can see them favoring the young core. even if it means not getting Davis/getting a weaker point guard.

Its funny though Bron and Kyrie have been at odds. And yet they've both criticized the young talent of their teams in the past week.

[corrado]

So there could be a tie in the Rookie of the Year awards this year. And it would involve both Trae Young and Luka Doncic. Trae has averaged 40 points in his last 3 games.

This could be one of those rare trades that helps both teams. Luka with Porzingis etc. And Trae with a lot of decent young talent in Atlanta.

[corrado]

Interesting ending to the Warriors/Timberwolves game:

https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/1111823619104165888/video/1

Yeah I wouldn't blame Warriors personnel for getting fined for speaking out about that one.

[corrado]

I can't see the Rockets making this a 6 or 7 game series. Warriors are just too good. Notwithstanding questionable officiating, I just don't think this Rockets team has the firepower to make this a competitive series. They survived Harden having a rough series at times. They won't with the Warriors being the Warriors.

The final 4 teams in the East are much more competitive this year than the 3 other west teams. Any one of those teams has a good shot at pulling off an improbable upset than the other West teams.

This Warriors team could be like some of these Lebron led teams that made the finals and had the toughest test of the postseason be in the 1st round.

[Steve Yohe]

Houston looking for excuses for losses, before they even happen.

[jdw]

I like Embiid. He's a lot of fun. But people are going a bit nutty about him. Example, some talking head earlier this week (I can't remember who) was talking after his 33-10-3 in Game 3 that if he keeps it up, he'll be the greatest center ever.

WTF?

He's 24.

Jabbar was 24 during his 3rd season.

As a rookie at the age of 22, he put up a 38-23-11 against the World Champion Knicks (the beloved team) in the ECF.

As a second year player at the age of 23, he was the MVP and lead his team to the World Title. He averages 25-17-4 against Wilt as the Bucks beat the Lakers 4-1 in the WCF, then 27-19-3 in the Final beating up Unseld.

At the age of 24, he averaged 35-17-5 for his 2nd MVP. The Bucks got bounced in six games in the WCF by the legendary 1972 World Champion Lakers. Jabbar averaged 34-18-5 against Wilt. He put up 37-25-8 in the elimination game, where Oscar played just 7 minutes before bowing out.

Jabbar was the best player in the NBA from his very first season in the league, which happened to be at the same age that Embiid debuted.

Embiid has been the best player in the NBA... never so far.

I like Embiid. But let's not be freaking stupid people.

[corrado]

That was Mark Jackson who said Embiid could be one of the greatest big men of all time. Jeff Van Gundy's response was hilarious:

https://twitter.com/DimeUPROXX/status/1124139677873786881

The main thing that might prevent him from being one of the greatest big men, could be that he's injury prone. He misses a lot of games, and that could stunt his rapid rise to greatness.


But yes he is a lot of fun. He has a heel quality to him that could rub a lot of players the wrong way. As the Celtics and Nets have learned, the past few weeks. I think he is the best on the mic of all the current players. No one trolls and trash talks like him.

[Steve Yohe]

Joke.