[budwiser]

the dallas game is making it clear. You look at what happens when the bench players come in. They got nothing. In today's nba you have to have everything. Bench included.

Sure they got durant and booker. They both do the same thing, shoot outside shots.

They lost bridges, who is on fire in brooklyn. They lost a spot up 3 point shooter to take the heat off of booker and durant-cam johnson.

they got an old man in chris paul.

and yet, they are the clear favorites to win the western conference. so either i'm wrong, or vegas oddsmakers are right.

[budwiser]

Also, when has durant won anything. he won a title off the coattails of the warriors in their prime.

when has chris paul won anything. notorious for winning nothing.

booker, coach, none of the guys have done shot. a bunch of disappointing players in the playoffs.

i hope it continues.

[budwiser]

You look at the guys on the team past booker and durant you just shake your head

[budwiser]

Dallas looks healthier with luka and kyrie and cast, than the suns

[stevenash]

Phoenix's bench isn't that bad.

Cam Payne backs up CP3.
That's his role, and when Payne has started in the past couple of years, he did a nice job of filling in.

Or they'll slide in Booker to run the point if Paul has to miss three or five game.

Ayton's backup is Jack Landale.
That's the weakest link on the bench.
Wainright is pretty much a pivot man, he's the closest thing to a PF on the bench.

Torey Craig, Damian Lee, and Josh Okogie are all swingmen.
When Bridges went to Brooklyn, Okogie won the SF job,
Lee, and Craig both play SG and SF.

Their bench is fine, it's versatile bench, with three capable swing men to mix and match.

[IBetYou]

Shamet/ Ross/ Warren/ Landale -----that's not a weak bench

[budwiser]

Well...okogie 0-8 from 3. I don't see any 3 pt aces on their bench

Dallas doesn't have a physical paint presence

Booker and durant for 73 over half their points imo is unsustainable in the long term. Dallas just doubles both

To win a title you have to have more than 2 players, as good as durant and booker are.

[budwiser]

Shamet/ Ross/ Warren/ Landale -----that's not a weak bench

To win a title that is no doubt a weak cast

Tj warren is washed. Landale is a permanent bench player

[stevenash]

Cut Okogie a break, yeah he was trash today, you fail to mention the game before he was lights out, popped for a 25 burger on 7 for 15 from the field and 5 for 10 from distance.

Okogie is a more that a serviceable SF.
And outside of DeRozan, Butler, or Jaylen Brown, how many other all star caliber SF's are there in the NBA?
You can throw Middleton as one of the better SF's out there.
Wiggy is getting old, in his prime Wiggins was a solid SF too.

I'd rather have Okogie starting as my small forward then that piece of shit in Philly Tobias Harris.

[IBetYou]

Well...okogie 0-8 from 3. I don't see any 3 pt aces on their bench

Dallas doesn't have a physical paint presence

Booker and durant for 73 over half their points imo is unsustainable in the long term. Dallas just doubles both

To win a title you have to have more than 2 players, as good as durant and booker are.

Well then you must be blind! Shamet & Ross are two of the top marksmen in the league. And you don't think Ayton & Paul are good enough to be a 3rd & 4th best player respectively on a championship team... well I don't know what to tell ya lol

[budwiser]

I got a problem with okogie because they were sagging off him westbrick style. Okogie is not a good 3 point shooter. Tell me who on the suns can hit open 3s.

At his size if he's a sf that's sad. If we talk sf kawhi or george take your pick. Celtics, nuggets, bucks, clip, grizz, 6ers, cavs, warriors the list goea on clearly better players past the top 2

Just durant and booker is not enough. One of these guys will get injured it may not be public but they'll be strained. That's why irving is ideal.for luka he takes off the scoring heat. Dallas can focus on getting a physical presencr thus offseason.

Jmo good discussion

[budwiser]

Well then you must be blind! Shamet & Ross are two of the top marksmen in the league. And you don't think Ayton & Paul are good enough to be a 3rd & 4th best player respectively on a championship team... well I don't know what to tell ya lol

they lost 2 of the best marksmen in the league in bridges and johnson. Are you seriously going to gush over ross and shamet. if these guys were so good how come bridges are johnson were the starters and not ross and shamet

Being "good enough" is not "good enough". To win a title you gotta be great. You can't be an old chris paul who gets left alone westbrick style at the 3. paul is at a career low in points and free throw %. he is running out of gas. as for ayton he's a solid player but he is not a top 5 center and he has no solid backup. the whole team doesn't have solid backups.

to win the title you can't be just a good team. you have to be better than everyone else. granted booker and durant can be considered the top 2 pair in the nba, but once you go past that. it's all so what. 5 guys are on the floor, not 2. and those 2 guys gotta rest sometime. they got no time to rest. both guys are going to have to carry the team every game, every time, not a night off.

[budwiser]

Bridges 21 points at the half 9 for 9 shooting. Not a bad defender too

You tell me.

[stevenash]

Bridges 21 points at the half 9 for 9 shooting. Not a bad defender too

You tell me.

I told you about Bridges, he's a quality SF.
Why do you think Brooklyn said there would be no deal for Durant without Bridges in the deal.

[budwiser]

Yeah and they gave up cam johnson too mr open 3

Clippers are going to the finals my man. They have multiple defenders who match up with the suns. And there is nobody on the suns other than durant who can guard kawhi or paul george

My man jay williams said it and he's a former nba player. Most of these analysts are idiots but he has it figured out.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=4XetDFLt98A&si

[budwiser]

Disqualifier is injuries.

If injuries happen and we expect they will that can change everything. It's similar to turnovers in a football game. You can be the better team but if you turn the ball over may not matter.

[budwiser]

As bad as brick is he adds an element to clip

He drives to the basket physically and passes to zubac and plumlee. It helps space the floor for leonard and george. Westbrook is primarily an assist guy and perimeter rebounder now.

The best teams have a mix of players with different strengths and weaknesses

[budwiser]

Grizz shot over 50% from 3, score a record 51 points in the 3q, up 15 going into the 4th q and....

Lost

Clip offensive rebounds 13 to 2. 35 free throws to 15.

Physically manhandled a grizzlies team known for being physical and tough

Incredible

[budwiser]

Picking up westbrick looks like a steal. Clip got him for nothing. He was +9 on the floor. Not a great point guard but clip are desperate for any point guard and brick can fill the one position that clip desperately needed

Clip ended the gane without a center. That's why to win a title you need depth and skill at all positions, to match up best with who you're going against. Zubac -14 on the floor

[budwiser]

Brick is also a talker and a motivator which clip doesn't have. Bot kawhi and george are quiet types. That's why george said they needed a floor general

[stevenash]

I don't hate on Westbrook, but face it, he's a turnover waiting to happen, and that and he can't shoot straight.

What I love about Westbrook and nobody talks about it is his effort and work ethic is over the top.

So...
I see the the empty suits that host the sports talk shows this morning are trying to make a big thing over the Luka/Booker/Ayton 'incident' yesterday.

Incident?
What incident?
Most of the regulars that post here have played sports on a high organized level when they were younger.
I was a catcher in HS and college baseball, I'm not tall enough to play hoops, but believe me when you're behind the plate all game you hear all sorts of trash and shit, tempers are going to flare in the heat of the moment, it's the nature of the beast, that was nothing, but I get it, that's what sports talk shows get paid to do, generate conversation by talking about it.

Speaking of Ayton, we both agree his backup Landale is weak.

But...
Riddle me this?

Including Landale there are thirty backup centers in the NBA.
In your opinion, who is the best backup center in the NBA currently?

Pop quiz, and after reading this you'll see my point.

Answer me these eight following questions.
And you're on the honor system, you can't use Google.

Can you tell me...

Who backs up Bam in Miami?
Who backs up Vucevic in Chicago?
Who backs up Capela in Atlanta?
Who backs up Embid in Philadelphia?
Who backs up Jokic in Denver?
Who backs up Myles Turner in Indiana?
Who backs up Valanciunas is New Orleans?
Who backs up Sabonis in Sacramento?

Answer four out of eight of those questions off the top of your head, win valuable prizes.

[play4win]

Well...okogie 0-8 from 3. I don't see any 3 pt aces on their bench

that okogu has not 2 left hands, he has 2 left feets using as hands. he reminds me of kwame brown. literally cant do anything good on a basketball field. and he is a starter on a championship team. you cant make this shiet up.

[budwiser]

I don't hate on Westbrook, but face it, he's a turnover waiting to happen, and that and he can't shoot straight.

What I love about Westbrook and nobody talks about it is his effort and work ethic is over the top.

So...
I see the the empty suits that host the sports talk shows this morning are trying to make a big thing over the Luka/Booker/Ayton 'incident' yesterday.

Incident?
What incident?
Most of the regulars that post here have played sports on a high organized level when they were younger.
I was a catcher in HS and college baseball, I'm not tall enough to play hoops, but believe me when you're behind the plate all game you hear all sorts of trash and shit, tempers are going to flare in the heat of the moment, it's the nature of the beast, that was nothing, but I get it, that's what sports talk shows get paid to do, generate conversation by talking about it.

Speaking of Ayton, we both agree his backup Landale is weak.

But...
Riddle me this?

Including Landale there are thirty backup centers in the NBA.
In your opinion, who is the best backup center in the NBA currently?

Pop quiz, and after reading this you'll see my point.

Answer me these eight following questions.
And you're on the honor system, you can't use Google.

Can you tell me...

Who backs up Bam in Miami?
Who backs up Vucevic in Chicago?
Who backs up Capela in Atlanta?
Who backs up Embid in Philadelphia?
Who backs up Jokic in Denver?
Who backs up Myles Turner in Indiana?
Who backs up Valanciunas is New Orleans?
Who backs up Sabonis in Sacramento?

Answer four out of eight of those questions off the top of your head, win valuable prizes.

That's easy i don't have to look.

Plumlee back up zubac.

Again....clippers.

[budwiser]

that okogu has not 2 left hands, he has 2 left feets using as hands. he reminds me of kwame brown. literally cant do anything good on a basketball field. and he is a starter on a championship team. you cant make this shiet up.

the guy averages 7 points a game and in his career he shoots 28.6% from 3. and they were leaving him wide open on the side in his current spot. exactly westbrook would you please shoot the ball fool defense

[budwiser]

This season teams were 239-0 when leading by 15+ going into the 4th q.

Make that 239-1. That's the potential of the Clip show.

There's not a lot of teams that can pull that off. Maybe the Celtics, Suns, Warriors. And...Clippers.

[budwiser]

the guy averages 7 points a game and in his career he shoots 28.6% from 3. and they were leaving him wide open on the side in his current spot. exactly westbrook would you please shoot the ball fool defense

just looked it up, brick in his career shoots 30.4 from 3.

so brick is a better 3 pt shooter than okogie.

[budwiser]

as for talking heads, yeah colin cowherd goes off on how westbrook is a cancer to the team.

let me ask you-have you EVER seen westbrook on a bad team? i'm not talking about the individual.

brick was spotted talking to players. talking about how the team needed to stay positive. and george said he used to play with the team and needs a floor general. he doesn't just say that.

i said, again, westbrook is not a good or great point guard. he's an average point guard. but the one spot the clippers needed was at the point guard spot. they were using john wall who got cut by the HOUSTON ROCKETS...and nobody will sing him.

[budwiser]

word on the nba is analytics show you want 3 point shots and layups

for as great as kd is, he isn't top of the league in 3 point shots. he shoots a lot of midrange shots. booker shoots 3 pointers, sure.

so, if the name of the game is 3 point shots and layups, tell me what the suns got for 3s other than booker. for layups other than ayton. and they're not exactly all-nba on defense now. i'm trying to figure out who stops jokic layups and assists and murray, who stops leonard and george. how do they stop irving and luka, curry klay and poole.

there seems to be a hard ceiling on the suns.

in the end, you're right or wrong, and i could be totally wrong like i was with the nets blowing up the team before they had a chance at a title. so, we'll see.

[budwiser]

and people ask...why do you bring this up. the suns are the clear favorite to win the western conference. and if they don't, you can take advantage of it if you pick the right team.

[budwiser]

It's not just me. Even stephen a smith and perkins, along with the blinking token white guy are talking about it on "First Take with the woman cougher". The Suns don't have enough past the big 2.

Perkins especially slams the suns as not having enough.

Stephen A made a good point, the playoffs are more physical. I agree, it's a step up in intensity. And when you are KD and Booker, you are looking for players to help you out.

That said Booker and KD are GREAT players so if anyone can go with a 2 man team, maybe they can do it. But KD is 34 years old this is not some guy who is 23 years old and can take over a game steph curry style. And his point guard is 38 years old so you know the energy is not coming from Chris Paul.

[budwiser]

Bottom line is the Suns owner was new to the team and wanted to prove to the world that he was a big shot. That's the real story. No serious GM makes that trade with what they had. Sure you might get one year at a possible title run, after that you got an old Chris Paul, an older Kevin Durant, and no capital to make a trade for years to come. All the first round picks given up are unprotected

[IBetYou]

I don't hate on Westbrook, but face it, he's a turnover waiting to happen, and that and he can't shoot straight.

What I love about Westbrook and nobody talks about it is his effort and work ethic is over the top.

So...
I see the the empty suits that host the sports talk shows this morning are trying to make a big thing over the Luka/Booker/Ayton 'incident' yesterday.

Incident?
What incident?
Most of the regulars that post here have played sports on a high organized level when they were younger.
I was a catcher in HS and college baseball, I'm not tall enough to play hoops, but believe me when you're behind the plate all game you hear all sorts of trash and shit, tempers are going to flare in the heat of the moment, it's the nature of the beast, that was nothing, but I get it, that's what sports talk shows get paid to do, generate conversation by talking about it.

Speaking of Ayton, we both agree his backup Landale is weak.

But...
Riddle me this?

Including Landale there are thirty backup centers in the NBA.
In your opinion, who is the best backup center in the NBA currently?

Pop quiz, and after reading this you'll see my point.

Answer me these eight following questions.
And you're on the honor system, you can't use Google.

Can you tell me...

Who backs up Bam in Miami?
Who backs up Vucevic in Chicago?
Who backs up Capela in Atlanta?
Who backs up Embid in Philadelphia?
Who backs up Jokic in Denver?
Who backs up Myles Turner in Indiana?
Who backs up Valanciunas is New Orleans?
Who backs up Sabonis in Sacramento?

Answer four out of eight of those questions off the top of your head, win valuable prizes.

Okongwu is the best backup centre in the league and it's not close. Guy's a star.

[stevenash]

Okongwu is the best backup centre in the league and it's not close. Guy's a star.

My top five backup centers, in no particular order.

Plumlee
Okongwu
Gafford
Wiseman
Bryant

You could throw in Eubanks in the mix, I wouldn't argue.

[budwiser]

don't know about wiseman he was a backup for the warriors i think he's starting for the pistons. had a great rookie year and fell off. unusual

bryant is ok but nobody is going to write home about

plumlee okongwu gafford sure

[stevenash]

don't know about wiseman he was a backup for the warriors i think he's starting for the pistons. had a great rookie year and fell off. unusual

bryant is ok but nobody is going to write home about

plumlee okongwu gafford sure

Wiseman is making the starts at center while Jalen Duren is out for a few games with a creaky ankle.

Duren will be the starting center when he's reactivated.

Isiah Stewart plays both pivot spots, PF and C.


I think Detroit has some nice pieces, especially in the front court, the awful record doesn't reflect that, I think ownership is pulling some behind the scenes there and are tanking the season, I can't prove that though, but is sure smells like a tank job to me, that team should have about 24 wins by now, not 15.

Hayes has some game, he's out for a couple of games too, Ivey stepped up big time tonight, 14 points and 14 assists is very nice effort.

Livers too, good young versatile swingman.

Shame, Detroit deserves a contending NBA team, that's a terrific basketball city.