#1 Golden St Warriors vs #4 Houston Rockets | 2019 West Semifinals

[J-ALL-DAY]

31 minutes ago, Pastor Dillon said:

The difference between Lebron and Durant is that Durant is living up to the hype on his super team. 

Miami was suppose to win 3 or 4 straight. Instead they barely got two. 

Individually durant isn’t going to have the MVPs but he’s got things like scoring titles going for him. 

Legacy wise, he just needs to stay in Golden State and take home 4 or 5 rings. 

I hope he leaves though. I feel like the rockets will have a 1 year window if the warriors break up. 

Nah, difference is the Warriors were much greater than the Heat before both superstars got there. 

But years from now, what folks will look at is rings and just the players overall resume. Durant will fall short of LeBron, but he will still finish high in the rankings...Damn sure higher than Havlicek that's for sure. 

By the end of this season if he ends with a ring and finals MVP, he will creep up on most top 15 lists. Put it this way, he will finish as a better player than the likes of Big O/Hakeem/Wade/Malone/etc. Will be right there with Kobe and Bird. 

[J-ALL-DAY]

2 minutes ago, 49er pride said:

Here you go again. You have 4 all stars but you give the rocket fans false hope with statements like this. "Yeah, we have 4 all stars but you guys have Harden, CP3, and Tucker!!!"

You said this all last year....And I was proven right as the Rockets almost won that series and it went 7 games.

Having all these all stars mean what when they are prone to playing lackadaisical basketball and have as many breakdowns as they do? FFS, they blew a 31 point lead to the Clippers!!!

[amac]

9 minutes ago, J-ALL-DAY said:

Nah, difference is the Warriors were much greater than the Heat before both superstars got there. 

But years from now, what folks will look at is rings and just the players overall resume. Durant will fall short of LeBron, but he will still finish high in the rankings...Damn sure higher than Havlicek that's for sure. 

By the end of this season if he ends with a ring and finals MVP, he will creep up on most top 15 lists. Put it this way, he will finish as a better player than the likes of Big O/Hakeem/Wade/Malone/etc. Will be right there with Kobe and Bird. 

I think I agree with this but most will have him behind clearly Kobe and Bird unless he leaves GS and carries another team to a title, which I think is fair

[J-ALL-DAY]

Just now, amac said:

I think I agree with this but most will have him behind clearly Kobe and Bird unless he leaves GS and carries another team to a title, which I think is fair

I mean we shall see, but that's the level he will be at when it is all said and done. He's going to have an insane resume' and his finals numbers are going to be too great to ignore. Winning five rings with like four finals MVPs is next level greatness. And if they get challenged in the finals this year, it will only help him. When LeBron first made the jump to Miami, people were quick to dismiss him saying he took the easy way out. But his road to his two titles were anything but easy which funny enough benefited him. If the Heat from year one just ran past everyone? Then people would say that is nothing special, he was supposed to do that. And I think whoever comes out of the East will challenge the Warriors making the title look better. And as we go on, the titles are going to be harder and harder with the core having so many miles on their body. 

[RandyMossIsBoss]

Years from now people will still look down on KD and what he did. This is the social media era, everybody is more plugged in, and every take is immortalized somewhere. Sure, it's a bit of guess work on my part, but don't act like "nobody thinks about ____ when they look back at ___'s career in the 80s, therefore nobody will think about ring chasing when they look back at Lebron or KD's careers." Different times, I think it will always be held against their legacies (KD more so than Bron, since he joined a super team, Lebron created one).

[J-ALL-DAY]

10 minutes ago, RandyMossIsBoss said:

Years from now people will still look down on KD and what he did. This is the social media era, everybody is more plugged in, and every take is immortalized somewhere. Sure, it's a bit of guess work on my part, but don't act like "nobody thinks about ____ when they look back at ___'s career in the 80s, therefore nobody will think about ring chasing when they look back at Lebron or KD's careers." Different times, I think it will always be held against their legacies (KD more so than Bron, since he joined a super team, Lebron created one).

We shall see. I don't think so but I can be wrong....In fact, he will be more respected 15-20 years from now. Social media or not, as time goes by, people mainly look at the stats and the resume' of the player. A man who in this hypothetical would have 5 titles, 4 finals MVPs, league MVP, 4 scoring titles and insane overall numbers? That's not a guy who will be looked down upon. And if they do win five straight, the Warriors will be damn near the consensus greatest team of all time. Oh yeah, as I mentioned in my prior post, his final stats are next level GREATNESS status. That's a bonafide top 10 player of all time right there if he does that.

[dtait93]

Durant may have made a ***** move, but his legacy will never be stained like Lebran’s after his self proclaimed greatest achievement Finals loss to Dallas in 2011 lmaooooo

[49er pride]

47 minutes ago, J-ALL-DAY said:

You said this all last year....And I was proven right as the Rockets almost won that series and it went 7 games.

Having all these all stars mean what when they are prone to playing lackadaisical basketball and have as many breakdowns as they do? FFS, they blew a 31 point lead to the Clippers!!!

That's because a reverse jinx can only work so much before you speak it into existence 

[J-ALL-DAY]

4 minutes ago, 49er pride said:

That's because a reverse jinx can only work so much before you speak it into existence 

I'm being dead on serious though. No reverse jinx or any of that. This could very well be 2-2 after game 4. There is nothing the Dubs have shown all season that says they won't make it harder on themselves than it needs to be. Losing those games to the Clippers were not no fluke, this team has been that inconsistent at times. Lost like six home games by 20+. Houston has competed well in both games thus far. Curry needs to pick up but if he does, then of course I will be confident in the Dubs handling business this series. 

[49er pride]

3 minutes ago, J-ALL-DAY said:

I'm being dead on serious though. No reverse jinx or any of that. This could very well be 2-2 after game 4. There is nothing the Dubs have shown all season that says they won't make it harder on themselves than it needs to be. Losing those games to the Clippers were not no fluke, this team has been that inconsistent at times. Lost like six home games by 20+. Houston has competed well in both games thus far. Curry needs to pick up but if he does, then of course I will be confident in the Dubs handling business this series. 

Man, that's a great problem to have. Worrying about winning in 6 vs winning in 4. 

[J-ALL-DAY]

Just now, 49er pride said:

Man, that's a great problem to have. Worrying about winning in 6 vs winning in 4. 

Those two games may lead to a broken finger, or sprained ankle or a serious MCL injury!!!!!

[showtime]

What happened to Clint Capela.  Guy blows.

[seminoles1]

7 hours ago, J-ALL-DAY said:

I didn't say GOAT or 2nd best, just he will finish high in the all time rankings. It's okay not being the consensus best player of all time when you played in LeBron's era. Giannis is a monster, but if they match up with the Dubs, I suspect KD will out shine him like he did LeBron. In individual series like that, KD seems to always play his best and takes it personal. Even a baby KD was giving LeBron the business in the finals in 2012.

So if KD wins a ring this season and presumably a finals MVP, he won't be threatening a top 10 ranking of all time? He would absolutely be in that conversation. More likely top 15 than top 10, but in the conversation at least. In terms of perimeter players, MJ and LeBron are on another level and will be extremely difficult to ever catch, but KD can certainly finish with the rest. His numbers are also pretty insane and he's not going to be slowing down anytime soon. 

Winning five consecutive titles with four finals MVPs is going to put him very very high on all time rankings. Will have a chance to be seen as a better player than both Bird and Kobe if he does that. Either way, him going to GS isn't going to be seen as a detriment to his career as it was when he made the decision. When he retires people will talk about how many titles, finals MVPs, MVPs, scoring titles he won, and just his all around stats. His resume is going to be sick and I'd venture to guess he ends up being looked upon as a top 6-9 player of all time. 

What's been Durant's theme since he was drafted?  He hates being 2nd.  Can't stand it.  I'm not talking about being considered the consensus best player of his generation; I'm talking about for a single season.  There hasn't been a single season in his entire career where if you polled NBA media, fans, players, whoever and more than 50% would answer Durant.  I'm not sure he'd ever even end up 1st overall.  He hates that, and he's said than in not so many words.  These next 2-3 years are his last chance to truly put his mark on the NBA and increase his viability of being a true top 5 perimeter player ever.

Not for me.  He'd be in the Dr. J, Jerry, David Robinson group, which is exactly where he is now.

You're underestimating the power of the internet age.  This isn't like players from the 60s and 70s (hell, through the mid-90s) where old stories and context is lost and forgotten.  The NBA is completely global 24/7.  What's been written and how the last 3 years have played out is not going to fade like things used to.

If that's all Durant wants then fine, but staying with Golden State caps his ceiling, which has been my point the entire time since responding to Pastor's statement.  Sure, he risks leaving and never winning again, but he open up so many more opportunities and potential to actually approach the GOAT conversation.  We know he hates being a secondary story when it comes to talking about the best players, and him staying would go against what's driven him and what we know eats at him every year.

[showtime]

1 minute ago, seminoles1 said:

What's been Durant's theme since he was drafted?  He hates being 2nd.  Can't stand it.  I'm not talking about being considered the consensus best player of his generation; I'm talking about for a single season.  There hasn't been a single season in his entire career where if you polled NBA media, fans, players, whoever and more than 50% would answer Durant.  I'm not sure he'd ever even end up 1st overall.  He hates that, and he's said than in not so many words.  These next 2-3 years are his last chance to truly put his mark on the NBA and increase his viability of being a true top 5 perimeter player ever.

Not for me.  He'd be in the Dr. J, Jerry, David Robinson group, which is exactly where he is now.

You're underestimating the power of the internet age.  This isn't like players from the 60s and 70s (hell, through the mid-90s) where old stories and context is lost and forgotten.  The NBA is completely global 24/7.  What's been written and how the last 3 years have played out is not going to fade like things used to.

If that's all Durant wants then fine, but staying with Golden State caps his ceiling, which has been my point the entire time since responding to Pastor's statement.  Sure, he risks leaving and never winning again, but he open up so many more opportunities and potential to actually approach the GOAT conversation.  We know he hates being a secondary story when it comes to talking about the best players, and him staying would go against what's driven him and what we know eats at him every year.

I get what you're saying, but to me Kevin Durant is hands down the best player in the world right now.  This is the first year I would say that, though.  He's better than LeBron, Giannis, Kawhi, Harden, etc.

You make a lot of good points, but there's no question Durant is going to finish as a top 5 perimeter player ever.  It won't even be close.  The only two guys who will go down as better than Durant is Jordan and LeBron.

[seminoles1]

1 hour ago, J-ALL-DAY said:

Durant will fall short of LeBron, but he will still finish high in the rankings...Damn sure higher than Havlicek that's for sure. 

By the end of this season if he ends with a ring and finals MVP, he will creep up on most top 15 lists. Put it this way, he will finish as a better player than the likes of Big O/Hakeem/Wade/Malone/etc. Will be right there with Kobe and Bird. 

Never once did I state or imply or make a point about Havlicek being higher ranked on all-time lists than Durant.  Durant is already ahead of Havlicek for pretty much everyone anyways.

Durant doesn't want to fall short of LeBron.  He's been chasing LeBron his entire career.  Even when he's (read: the Warriors) beaten LeBron (read: the Cavs) head-to-head people still left him behind LeBron going into this season.  Now Giannis is staking his claim.  Staying in Golden State seals his fate of staying behind LeBron, and yet again, that has been my point ever since Pastor said he doesn't see any reason why Durant would/should leave.  I brought up Havlicek because relying on team accomplishments as your trump card caps where people rank you.

Why will he finish higher than Hakeem?