Roar Guru
Joined January 2023
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Ahhh fair enough, I read it as you were only pointing to PPG.
I’m still confused how you use “” on “good” though. Is your Embiid hate that strong that you can’t admit he’s genuinely good not just “good”. The man is a back to back scoring champ, at a certain point that stands for something.
The playoff capitulations are indefensible so don’t worry I won’t have to try.
The day the process died: Where do 76ers go from here?
It’s not just PPG (although that is very important), look to the Nash MVPs for example.
You’re right that Jokic didn’t have to go hard at the end of the season because of their lead in the conference but that should still be taken into account when discussing the regular (whole of it) season award. Jokic has been the best player with Jimmy Butler in the playoffs, but he wasn’t at the same level of intensity that Embiid had during the regular season. Embiid’s close to the season cemented the award as he took out some big teams whilst Jokic sat out.
The day the process died: Where do 76ers go from here?
I agree with a lot of this but the Embiid not deserving MVP is incorrect. We have to remind ourselves about the scope of these awards. MVP is strictly regular season and he was more dominant with a better overall record than Jokic. The issue is when Jokic plays like he has in the playoffs that people start to think he deserved MVP. Well maybe he does, but only in regards to a Conference Finals or Finals MVP, he wasn’t better than Embiid in the regular season, especially closing out the year.
The day the process died: Where do 76ers go from here?
HUGE what if!! Still would’ve had to get by the Bucks and Warriors but I agree, they were definitely in contention.
The day the process died: Where do 76ers go from here?
Lillard is very interesting but do the Bucks have the correct assets to bait a rebuilding team?
I’m always a bit unsure about Beal, scoring averages go up everywhere league wide and he’s one of the only “stars” to decline in scoring average?
Bucks' off-season will shape next few years of the NBA
I think in regards to depth they gave up Bridges who has been great and an iron man in regards to how often he is available, as well as cam Johnson who just came back from injury and a player who hadn’t touched the floor for them all season. In return getting a top 15 player all time, so I’m not too worried about the depth. They’ll get the rotation down to 8-9 guys come playoff time.
I’m with you on the CP3 comment, it’s been worrying but at the end of the day he’s so experienced and savvy that he’s only going to help the team rather than hurt it.
If anyone can slot into a team in around 20 odd games it’s KD, the man is a savonte and as I said in the article, he’ll adapt to whatever the team needs.
Again you’re right about the West being fairly open this year. Who knows how CP3 looks next year, do they replace him and if so who with? I think this could be their best shot at a title, but that’s said in the moment without knowing what the future has in store I suppose.
How the mid-range Mafia could win in a three-point League
Thomas do you think that we can automatically call this trade a win, despite not knowing where this Suns team will end up? Let’s say that due to injuries or plain bad luck (touch wood) they can’t make it out of the 2nd round during KD’s tenure, then he would’ve only reached as far as he did in Brooklyn. I guess what I’m saying is that are we judging success by his escape of Brooklyn or what the basketball world now expects from Phoenix?
Kevin Durant lost the battle, but may have won the war
Would be so interesting to see what Lebron would look like as a role-player considering it’s been two decades of him being the star of the show. Getting to Brady’s age and still playing in a sport that demands more physicality considering their respective positions would be an unbelievable achievement. I do worry that he’s become a lot more injury prone over the last few years so who knows if this keeps happening and if that limits his future playing time.
NBA Double Dribble: LeBron could easily outdo Brady by playing well beyond 45th birthday
Love the piece. In my opinion, Holiday should’ve won DPOY over Smart last year. He’s one of the most complete guards (maybe any position) in terms of skill set. Love to see when he gets recognition!
Don’t sleep on Holiday, the Bucks' second-most important player
Awesome piece Thomas! Do you think if the we have a Finals Rematch between the Warriors and Celtics we’ll see this improved version of Tatum or do the Warriors hold the key to getting in his head and making the game a lot harder for him?
Is it finally Tatum time?
Yeah you make a great points Astro. The skill sets they have match the game today rather than those skills required 10+ years ago, 100%. The younger generation mimicking the 2010s style of play undoubtedly has increased their ability to play that style of ball, so current and future draft classes are already coming into the league with the skillset required to survive in the league. I hope at some point there is a defensive shift that the league office tries to promote in the product and people have been asking for more defensive help in the rule changes but we’re yet to see a significant change. A question I can’t figure out right now is can there ever be a reversal or even a better balancing, or has the 3 point shot irrevocably changed the league?
What’s behind the NBA scoring boom?
Thanks for the kind words Mackenzie, I really appreciate it!
I think the current iteration of the game is the best for showcasing it star talent and bringing in or entertaining a newer audience. For those who have watched the game change over the years I am sure that this style of basketball could be frustrating when compared to past decades but that is more of a subjective stylistic opinion. We see huge offensive numbers and think that defence is diminished and to an extent it is, but there are still incredible players that are generational defenders, look at what Jaren Jackson Jr. is doing this year for the Grizzlies in the minutes he’s out there! He’s one of many incredible defenders in the league.
Come playoff time, defence really ratchets up a couple levels, so for those fans who might not like the current defensive identity of the league I’d say that they can really enjoy those playoff games and watch the defence that they want to see.
My overall answer is that I think that the league has a couple changes to make to further help defences and help level the playing field for audiences to enjoy defence more.
Where do you stand on this?
What’s behind the NBA scoring boom?
I think reaching around the quarter mark of a season usually means that we’re underway to be honest Brett. Adjustments will come sure, but with a team that plays this fast it’s not easy to make systematic changes to slow them down as they’ll push the ball at all opportunities to disrupt a defence’s set up.
They may only be young, but this is already the most exciting Indiana Pacers team of all time