Suns -6 tomorrow indicates Giannis isn't playing

wonder if he will be ready for gm 2?


CP/Isiah talk is AIDS, sorry.....Of course Isiah can't do what CP can, he hasn't played in 30 years. He probably can't do what Reggie Jackson can either, is he better than him? Comparing eras has limitations

Haha Lecry trying to recruit dame dolla. Lebrick is goatt greatest of all time tampering

Fellagaga calling someone out for an unnecessary post that lacks insight is quite the plot twist

CP3 is a better GM than Isiah ainec

Finally, a take that all can agree on.

I don't think I see much of a problem with running it back - I look at the Hawks playoff team that played PHI and MIL at about 75% of their potential. So much room to improve for all these players in addition just to get probably their 2nd best player back in Hunter - and the compressed season probably hurt them more than mot teams given their youth and limited practices. Huerter was most improved - he was mostly a spot 3 point shooter last year. He can improve even more, Collins can get a more consistent post-up game, Reddish is off to summer camp, OO has almost no offense beside a rim dive - even Trae could better at 3P%.

If you don't run it back, what would you do?

Sidenote: Only move that seemed a waste was Kris Dunn - never got any minutes and Hawks seem pretty good at wing defense. They need a big body in his spot on the bench.

Colin Cowherd (outrageously) suggested that the Lakers should trade AD for Dame!

Does this trade have any merit for the Lakers? As I imagine Blazers snap accept this offer.

You'd have hoped so, but in fact this is just a commercial product. <Heavy sigh.> https://www.computergear.com/xytshirt.html

It was a joke when Isiah missed and people like Stockton were selected before Stockton had accomplished jack **** up to that point. But we all know MJ hated Zeke and made it happen.

He was also really dominant early in his career before these other players florished. Does Isiahnot get any credit for the team building? I know free agency was different back then, but it was a steady rise for the Pistons and Isiah definitely made statistical sacrifices in later years. He was in decline during championship years which is why TZ is overly critical of him (he's not correctly valued by TZ at all, complete blind spot)

I think Isaiah was a great PG for the era and I can't agree on either Dantley or Aguirre contributing more.

But it's not even disputable: Rodman was the best player (by adv stats and eye-test) on those teams. He was a one-off freak of nature.

This is an awful take. Cherry picking the 1-2 seasons at the end of his career when the Pistons won is very disingenuous when considering career. People like David Robinson don't seem to get much flack for winning late in their career as not the best player on their team anymore.

This. There may literally not be a player who would improve by more in the 80s lol (at least initially).

I think bolded is the key. I think they're good enough with enough potential natural improvement that running it back is fine, they don't *need* to make moves to try to get better. Moving on some older guys while they have value to free up minutes for their up and comers is what they should be looking at.

*Cries in math*

Ugh that sucks (and not just because I have a futures bet on Bucks :P)

I could be wrong, but I think the consensus around here on the Admiral is that he was an all stats no heart playoff choker who didn’t win jack until Duncan walked through that door. Still a top 50 all timer though.

Sounds a lol like what people say about someone we were just discussing in this thread :P

I mean bolded is exactly how I thought of CP3 until he left LAC. His stats were great, even improved in playoffs, but despite a pretty solid team around him he just never seemed to win. And it wasn't just those horrendous ****ups against OKC or the choke job against HOU. His teams were good enough in the regular season he should've been able to better in playoffs, but he never did. So I figured stats must overrate him and he wasn't actually that good at winning playoff basketball.

Then he left LAC (and in particular, lolDoc), was part of a team that took the greatest team of all time to 7 games (and might've won if he didn't miss the last two), and now he's in the finals as the best player at 36. Injuries have helped this run, true, but it's just as true that they'd hurt a lot of his previous runs. Playoffs are a really short sample and variance is a *****.

So back to initial topic I'd say Admiral is probably quite underrated too.

team muttiah here, but I can't be bothered to do deep digs

I was just looking at some of the series markets for like MVP, most points, most assists, etc.

Giannis is 2nd fave for most points at +120. They obviously think he's live to play at least the majority of the series. (Booker was fave -130, Middleton +700 then a few other higher ones, its a pretty juiced market, so maybe they're just being conservative)

Very tough call on this finals match up. It would be tough enough if Giannis wasn't questionable. Of course that moves it to where it is even tougher to make a call. For me, that is. Respect the variation in the frame of reference of handicappers and you are a shrewd, wise mover. There could be an obvious side for some, and that could even be sound and based on a history of efficacy at such things. Anybody know how old, say, Chris Paul is and can provide that key information?

Team Muttiah as well. Isaiah is probably underrated by the CP3>>> crowd a little.

Still, I don't see how anyone with two eyeballs can watch these old highlights and come away with the game being tougher then. Just watch any game today and pay attention to whomever is guarding on the wing. Today's basketball is just so much more complex and demanding both physically and mentally.

Also I think one player who might be better in today's NBA is Rodman. We have a much better understanding of how to use the dunker position and more spacing around one non-shooter, plus maybe he turns into a guy who can make 35% of his corner 3's. Most importantly, perimeter defense who can also protect the rim a little seems to be worth more today.

The gap is less about Isaiah being bad than CP3 being really really good.

Forgetting the "how would they go today/back then" aspect of comparing eras, just relative to the players/league they played in, I'd say Zeke was roughly about as good as someone like Dame is today. Solid fringe top 10 in league, good enough to be a focal point of championship team if it ran deep enough, but a clear tier below the guys fighting for MVPs and stuff.

I think CP3 at his peak was a lot better than that. What he's doing now at 36 is just icing.

Isiah Thomas: 5x All-NBA (3x First Team), 0.317 MVP Award Shares (highest finish 5th)
Damian Lillard: 6x All-NBA (1x First Team), 0.354 MVP Award Shares (highest finish 4th)
Chris Paul: 10x All-NBA (4x First Team), 1.805 MVP Award Shares (highest finish 2nd)

Pretty clear which one of those three is the odd one out