2014 NBA Playoffs thread

I don't know. It's a different time and place. Everyone inks and everyone metros, it seems.

 

The media (for the most part) lived in fear of pissing Jordan off. I don't think that is the case with LeBron (other than Windhorst).

 

How can you say Durant had a better season, but is not a better player? This wasn't a case of his performance being a far departure from his past performances. The increase in assists is a reflection of a great player evolving to become better. The improved defense shows that he's becoming a long, effective defender.

If he were a liftetime 35 percent shooter who all of a sudden has a season where he can't miss, then that's one thing. But in the areas where he bridged a gap between himself and LeBron, there's no reason to think he can't continue to excel in those areas. Especially considering that he's just 25 years old.

Again, you are being a short-sited 'fan boi,' as the kids say. A 25-year-old who has developed his passing and defense had a "career year?" C'mon man. He had a better year playing in a tougher division. He was the best player in basketball this year. Period.

 

Please explain in what way I'm being a fanboi? I'd have to be a fan of the Heat for that to be even be possible.

 

It's not that uncommon a phenomenon.

Westbrook missed 36 games, played fewer than half as many minutes as he did the year before. Somebody had to pick up a chunk of those numbers. Guess who did?

Pippen had his best "seasons" when Jordan was flailing at curveballs. Didn't mean he was a better player those seasons than he was when Jordan was there. He just had to do more.

 

MVP does not always mean best player. I have no issue with Durant winning it, but nobody with an IQ over 10 thinks Durant is a better player than LeBron, the same way nobody thought Barkley or Malone were better than Jordan when they won MVPs while he was still playing.

 

Is Michael Sam a better player than Jadaveon Clowney?

 

MVP is FOR the best player in a single season. Nobody claims otherwise. If you had what the voters thought was the best year, you win. Durant is likely to end his career with fewer MVPs than James, so James might be the "better" player in that regard, but Durant was the best player as determined by whoever votes for the damn award for the 2013-2014 season. This thread is really getting into medieval theology territory.
PS: By the judgment of SEC voters, Michael Sam was a better player than Clowney in 2013. If we go back to the college football threads of that time, we'll see many folks here didn't think Clowney was playing very well. Draft picks, as we all should know, are not based on college performance alone.

 

"Most Valuable" ≠ "Best."

This is a big part of why most individual sports awards are as stupid and pointless as newspaper awards.

 

And, let's be honest, when a player starts to go on a stretch where they're winning the MVP almost every year, voters look for an excuse to vote for someone else.

 

Raise your hand if you think Kawhi Leonard was a "better" player than LeBron James in the NBA Finals.