2018-19 NBA Thread

Kobe beat the three-headed Celtics monster with Pau Gasol, Metta World Peace and Lamar Odom as his teammates.

 

Yes, he did. No one would argue he wasn't a great player. The NBA has had lots of great players, which is why it has lots of fans.

 

"Teams win. Great players, no matter how great, can't beat better teams."

Is there a word in there I misunderstood?

 

Paul Gasol and Metta were high quality NBA players. It wasn't just Kobe. In 2008, he died like a dog against those same Celtics in the Finals. You can have a wonderful team and if the star goes south, you're fucked. You can have a megastar, one of the 5-10 best ever, and if the other star or stars on the team go south, you're fucked. See when Pippen had the migraine against the Pistons in Game 7.

 

And Gilmore.

Artis is in a subgroup with Ewing, Willis Reed and Nate Thurmond.

Then you get into centers/not centers like Unseld, Hayes, Cowens. Chris Webber and Bosh from newer vintage.

 

I agree. Moses was an unbelievable force. The rest of that Rockets team he took to the Finals in 1981 were at best, forgettable. Without him, Sixers don't beat the Lakers.

 

Metta was no longer a quality NBA player by 2009-10.

 

To return to the present, the Raptors and Bucks are playing a super entertaining game which convinces me neither has a hoot in hell against the Warriors.

 

I think the Bucks can hang with the Warriors. We'll see soon enough.

 

Chris Webber can't stop bashing Malcolm Brogdon. "You can't let him beat you," Webber said..
Hmm.
Rookie of the Year.
All he's done in the closing minutes tonight is drive past a dude for a game-tying layup, drive past a dude for an assist for another game-tying field goal and make a runner to keep his team's hopes alive.

 

Exactly. It's why I cringe when I see some who expect/expected Kobe or James (2016 Finals excepted) to do it all themselves. And why I marvel that two of the biggest baskets during the Bulls' title run were made by bit players such as John Paxson and Steve Kerr.

 

I could easily be wrong, but neither team tonight has shown much, shall we say, smooth offense.