Down but not out. In the recent words of Joel “Troel” Embiid, “Thrust The Process!”
NBA 2020-2021
Only Coach Cal could keep Booker from scoring. He played the Harrison twins instead and it cost him a trophy. Hornets could have had Book and Porter. Both young stars. We have the lesser versions of them in Monk and PJ. Just different motors in some guys.
Luckily for the Sixers they could sit Embid the entire Hawks series and still easily win that one.
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The Hornets are another team I enjoyed watching this year. Love their style of play and it seemed to me at least when I saw them they were very unselfish, liked each other and having fun. I had no idea LaMelo Ball would be that good. So many good players in the League and so many good teams. I think the NBA is just getting better and better and no one Team should be able to dominate just too much talent around to the point lots of teams should be in the mix.
it remains to be seen if the NBA and some semblance of parity is a good thing. Let's see how that translates as far a viewership.
not according to Shaq.
right now besides the sixers i find myself rooting for denver and dallas
i don't see a lot of parity in the nba. injuries made it that way this year but if the lakers are healthy they win the west and if the nets are healthy they win the east. there are a lot of "good" teams but not a lot of great teams.
I don't think the Lakers were a great team this year but they did have two great players. Their offense wasn't there this year and they lacked depth and both of those things caught up to them. Sure, it is easy to say that if they were healthy, their offense would have been better this year, but if they are going to bank on AD and an older LeBron staying healthy, they will likely be in the same boat next year. If it didn't catch up to them in the 1st round, I think it still would have before the finals. I didn't necessarily think that they would lose in the first round, but I didn't think that the team would get out of the west this year. I would have picked Denver or Utah to beat the Lakers if they had gotten past the Suns.
I think that people looked at last year and the 21-6 start this year for the Lakers and conceded that they were likely to repeat. Aside from the injury concerns, one of the issues for this Lakers team was who other than AD or LeBron could be counted on to consistently score. That answer, as we witnessed, was no one. I agree with you about next year and the future. Just having AD and LeBron is not a guarantee of success given the other teams in that conference.
we are talking hypotheticals of course but you don't think a healthy lakers team beats phoenix and denver? i would highly disagree with you. as much as i don't like LeBum/LeFlop/LeBitch he is a great player and knows how to turn it on come playoff time...same thing with davis.
there are a lot of "good" teams in the west but no dominate team (except, in my opinion, a healthy lakers). as hard as i was rooting against the lakers i was very surprised to see them go out in the first round. could this be the end of LeBum? i don't think he will have the same pull/draw with players to come play with him for lower contracts. i think those days are over.
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I agree with Shaq. If Embid doesn't play I think the Hawks win. They are pretty evenly matched without him but I think the Hawks are going to outscore the 76ers without Embid.not according to Shaq.
No way we have Superman who has played a surprisingly smart brand of basketball this year. And it helps having Simmons and Thybulle who are both nightmares on the defensive end.
It's not the end of LeBron but I could see a situation where many of the current young stars would have no interest in playing in LA with an aging LeBron. The only players you would be getting to play for "less money" are likely complementary players at best. You wouldn't be getting the players that the Lakers really need, guys who can score points other than catch and shoot 3 pointers.
Bron should have come to Philly 
very curious to see what LeBum does next year. no way he plays second fiddle to some young stud...it is just not in him. he has to be in charge or everything...the coach on the floor. there are a couple of interesting big names that might be available this offseason. can LeBum sway a couple of big name guys to take a smaller contract and play with him? kawahi, paul geroge, deroen, lowry and mike conley all come to mind. i don't think any except maybe lowry would play with him.
i think the sixers beat the hawks with or without embid. i would rest him and go game by game. i am thinking a 4-2 win by the sixers without embid.
I wasn’t disagreeing that your hypothetical of a 100% healthy Lakers and Nets would make the finals. I was talking reality that the Lakers were the #7 seed and not likely to win the West because they banked on the unlikely scenario that their team would stay healthy through the season and playoffs.
I thought it was highly unlikely that AD and LeBron made it 3 rounds of a highly competitive West “healthy” when they couldn’t do it during the regular season. When the playoffs started, I didn’t know if the Suns would win, but I certainly would have taken the field expecting the Lakers not to be healthy when they weren’t even 100% healthy when the playoffs started.
Having gone up to Toronto to catch Raptors games I became a big fan of Kyle Lowry. Seeing him live I saw not only what a great point guard he is, but what a competitor and leader he is as well. He would be a big addition to the Lakers. When there were rumors of him going to Philadelphia I thought he was a perfect fit and would make them a very strong contender. I don't know if talks were ever serious but would have loved to have seen him there this season. We don't have a Team here so the Raptors are as close as we have to a home team. Other than that I am rooting for Phoenix, Utah and Philadelphia because of the guys here. I know its not likely to happen but I would love to see Toronto keep Lowry and bring back Demar Derozan. That would be interesting.
Ugh Kyle Lowry to Philly has been my dream since The Process started bearing fruit. Love his attitude and the way he plays.
A healthy AD and LBJ would have been a very hard series for the Suns. Could they win it...yes. but it would have had to be a slug fest.
A key moment in this series was when the Lakers players mocked the Suns at the end of game 3, that was the death of the Lakers, IMO. It put a fire under the Suns to bury them. Yes the loss of AD was huge. But that changed the way the Suns attacked.
i think to win it all the sixers need a better player then lowry. embid is great, when healthy, but the rest including simmons are not world beaters. harris is a good player but not a star and i don't think you can win it all with simmons as your 2nd best player. i hope i am wrong and the sixers win it this year.
so who do you got in the finals? not your favorite team but who you actually think is going to the big game.
i think:
nets vs utah
i was very impressed with how the suns played but utah is a better team.
i think:
nets vs utah
i was very impressed with how the suns played but utah is a better team.
Suns vs. Jazz