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2021-22 NBA Thread


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30 minutes ago, CDCLT said:

Yeah. They won a lot and people generally don't like it when one team wins a lot and it's not their team. The hate definitely peaked during the Durant years.

Not only did they win a lot but when they had two down years they  pretty much openly tanked and got lottery picks.

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52 minutes ago, oldschoolvikings said:

Um... Okay?

 

I guess I kinda got it when Kevin Durant was there, and it seemed unfair when the best player joined the best team. I get why that would make someone dislike them.  But that does seem to be how the NBA works now. Everybody just seems to try to recruit a super team and take their shot. It's pretty much what the Lakers did when they won the exhibition covid tournament championship. At least the Warriors actually drafted their superstars. 

 

That's the entire answer? They won a lot?

 

People always contort themselves into building sports villains but I think "they won a lot" is almost always the answer. The Warriors definitely get that less because, at first, they were such a breath of fresh air and built "the right way," but now people are tired of them as they are any other dynasty. Or, maybe "love to hate 'em" is more accurate.

 

Even their "tanking" only came about when they got wrecked by injuries, so there was plausible deniability there. And they got Durant as a result of that weird, one-year cap spike. They've done everything right but also got so hilariously lucky, and in both cases I don't know where there is to do besides shake your head.

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"they won a lot" isn't the full thing and you all know it.

 

1. The gentrification of the Bay Area and the traditional Warriors fanbase sucks. The people who cheered then during the down years weren't able to go when they got good. And then they abandoned Oakland. Not unique to that area but still sucks.

 

2. They beat KD in 2016 after being down 3-1 and then KD signed with them the next season. It destroyed the competitive balance of the league for three years and they only didn't win a third title with KD because he and Klay got injured in the 2019 playoffs. It would have been as if Charles Barkley joined the Bulls in 1993. Or Karl Malone in 1997. Or Bird joining the Lakers in the 80s. It sucked on every possible level. 

 

3. They play dirty. Draymond is dirty, Bogut was dirty, and Zaza Pachulia may have fundamentally altered Kawhi's career forever. They mastered moving screens (they admit to this) and Dray gets away with more than basically any player ever.

 

4. For a while, every team copying the Warriors (but not as well) led to boring chuck a 3 basketball. The Warriors were always more sophisticated than that, but the copycats they spawned were as boring as were the Riley copycats in the 90s.

 

5. They win a lot and they beat a team I rooted for a lot and I'm jealous and petty. 

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1 hour ago, ShutUpLutz! said:

and the drunken doodoobags jumping off the tops of SUV's/vans/RV's onto tables because, oh yeah, they are drunken drug abusing doodoobags

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1 hour ago, DG_ThenNowForever said:

"they won a lot" isn't the full thing and you all know it.

 

1. The gentrification of the Bay Area and the traditional Warriors fanbase sucks. The people who cheered then during the down years weren't able to go when they got good. And then they abandoned Oakland. Not unique to that area but still sucks.

 

2. They beat KD in 2016 after being down 3-1 and then KD signed with them the next season. It destroyed the competitive balance of the league for three years and they only didn't win a third title with KD because he and Klay got injured in the 2019 playoffs. It would have been as if Charles Barkley joined the Bulls in 1993. Or Karl Malone in 1997. Or Bird joining the Lakers in the 80s. It sucked on every possible level. 

 

3. They play dirty. Draymond is dirty, Bogut was dirty, and Zaza Pachulia may have fundamentally altered Kawhi's career forever. They mastered moving screens (they admit to this) and Dray gets away with more than basically any player ever.

 

4. For a while, every team copying the Warriors (but not as well) led to boring chuck a 3 basketball. The Warriors were always more sophisticated than that, but the copycats they spawned were as boring as were the Riley copycats in the 90s.

 

5. They win a lot and they beat a team I rooted for a lot and I'm jealous and petty. 

 

1.  If you say so. But honestly this sounds like something you could say about half the teams across all sports.

 

2.  Yeah, it would be like Anthony Davis joining up with Lebron James, right?

 

3.  Dirty?  I was a fan of the late 80's Pistons. I remember the finals series when the Celtics just decided it would be best if the Lakers just didn't get to make layups, by any means necessary.  I try to remain aware that I generally consider it dirty when done to my team, and hard nosed when done by my team.

 

4. This one I get, kind of. The reason I stopped watching basketball by the late 90's was the boring isolation game which turned everything into a glorified one-on-one game to my less-than-expert eyes.  I liked 80's basketball, which was physical, which was about teams, not individual players.  Where someone was always just about to get knocked on their ass. And teams hated each other. I realize that's never coming back, but the Warriors style of play at least made it look a bit more like a team sport again. And a guy suddenly pulling up from a fast break and passing on an easy layup to drop in a three pointer from 45 feet is both ridiculous and amazing to watch.

 

5.  Now.  There you go.

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23 hours ago, Red Wolf said:

If Memphis wins the title you will never see me here again because I will have literally died.

 

I don't wish death on nobody...but if Memphis does win it all, dig a plot next to yours big enough for me AND the Big Black Peterbilt*. 

 

Spoiler

*Registered trademark of the poster formerly known and may once again become known as Buc. 

 

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*Disclaimer: I am not an authoritative expert on stuff...I just do a lot of reading and research and keep in close connect with a bunch of people who are authoritative experts on stuff. 😁

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Draymond and Zaza are total villains, yeah, though even Draymond turns on just enough charm off-the-court that people like the guy. Anyway, those are canceled out by Klay being universally liked, Steph being a nice guy who went to DAVIDSON of all places only to change the game forever, and of course Steve Kerr being the archetypal Thoughtfully Spoken White Man who always have the highest Q scores in the modern NBA. Plus the Warriors were still coasting on that "best fanbase" reputation when the dynasty started, and their move conveniently timed with their down years and the pandemic, so that too is something they went and got away with. (Plus what percentage of casuals really have passionate takes on gentrification and the racial dynamics of the Bay Area? 5%?)

 

re their contributions to the modern game's aesthetic, I'd argue that the Warriors had it figured out and they shouldn't be at fault for everyone trying to be them and mostly failing at it. And anyway, I find Steph/Klay to be much more fun to watch than, say, James Harden, who is the dark side version of the style.

 

Anyway, the way this Grizz/Dubs series is going, the baton of "dirty play villains" has been passed, which is a shame as it does take away from the excellent Grizzlies season and Ja-mania.

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For the record, I don't disagree with anything positive anyone says about the way the Warriors play, Steph and Klay's individual brilliance, and Steve Kerr being a masterful coach. They're like the Patriots of the NBA, but they play with joy.

 

Just to say it again because it feels like people like to pretend I don't say the things I say, the Warriors are a consistent, well-run franchise who did a great job drafting their core, playing to strengths, and re-imagining basketball for the modern era.

 

I can believe all of those things to be true while still being salty about things along the way, like the Kawhi injury, the cap bump that led to KD and three years of darkness, and -- totally myopically, I know -- concerns about gentrification of sports fandom. And if you read my posts in the NHL thread, you know that I'm not only targeting the Warriors for pricing out long-time fans; I think they're especially egregious about it but definitely not alone.

 

The Warriors losing two seasons to injury have made them lovable again. Just not to me and that's a hill I'm totally willing to die on.

 

So instead I'll be rooting for the Grizz and bonafide dirty play superstar CP3.

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1 hour ago, ShutUpLutz! said:

and the drunken doodoobags jumping off the tops of SUV's/vans/RV's onto tables because, oh yeah, they are drunken drug abusing doodoobags

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22 hours ago, oldschoolvikings said:

4. This one I get, kind of. The reason I stopped watching basketball by the late 90's was the boring isolation game which turned everything into a glorified one-on-one game to my less-than-expert eyes.  I liked 80's basketball, which was physical, which was about teams, not individual players.  Where someone was always just about to get knocked on their ass. And teams hated each other. I realize that's never coming back, but the Warriors style of play at least made it look a bit more like a team sport again. And a guy suddenly pulling up from a fast break and passing on an easy layup to drop in a three pointer from 45 feet is both ridiculous and amazing to watch.

 

I'm completely with you on this point. I've long missed the old NBA where the dislike among teams was palpable. I also missed the era of the post-up game mastered by powerful centers who battled it out every night in the paint. 

 

But I think the Warriors -- fairly or not -- have become somewhat symbolic representations of the root causes of those lost elements of the game that I loved.  As others mentioned, the league-wide attempt to replicate the Warriors' three-point-focused game made the league too one-dimensional. The old man in me doesn't want to see Karl Anthony-Towns firing up three pointers -- I want to see him mastering elegant post moves the way Olajuwon and Ewing did back in the day.  Is that the Warriors' fault? Certainly not; they found a winning formula and the rest of the league tried to match it. But I still identify them with that shift. 

 

And while Lebron's buddy-fest in Miami should really be the source of my ire for the superteam era, KD's move to Golden State was the one that left me legitimately disgusted at the league. Admittedly, the issue is less about Golden State as it is KD. I admired that earlier era where Bird, Jordan, Magic, Isaiah, etc., would fight their way to championships with the teams that drafted them. I had hoped KD, after coming so close with OKC, would follow a similar path. I don't mean to judge someone for making a move for personal reasons, but I've come to view KD as someone who favored the easy path to a ring rather than carrying the burden himself. 

 

So if I have any animosity toward the Warriors, it's for these reasons. But they've earned the reputation and the success they've enjoyed, especially this current crop of mostly home-grown players.  

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On 5/5/2022 at 4:50 PM, gosioux76 said:

I had hoped KD, after coming so close with OKC, would follow a similar path. I don't mean to judge someone for making a move for personal reasons, but I've come to view KD as someone who favored the easy path to a ring rather than carrying the burden himself. 

That you, Chuck?🤣

The bus is ready whenever, man 🚌

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A strong mind gets high off success, a weak mind gets high off bull🤬

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On 5/4/2022 at 2:57 PM, oldschoolvikings said:

Um... Okay?

 

I guess I kinda got it when Kevin Durant was there, and it seemed unfair when the best player joined the best team. I get why that would make someone dislike them.  But that does seem to be how the NBA works now. Everybody just seems to try to recruit a super team and take their shot. It's pretty much what the Lakers did when they won the exhibition covid tournament championship. At least the Warriors actually drafted their superstars. 

 

That's the entire answer? They won a lot?


Sort of. Durant leaving OKC, who had just lost a tough WCF to Golden State, specifically to sign with Golden State just straight up melted some people’s brains with rage. They felt it was disrespectful. It’s the one NBA moment that I think people felt was even more off putting than “The Decision”, which was also looked at as disrespectful, but for totally different, weird NBA fan reasons. 
 

NBA fans as a whole are a really fascinating bunch. They latch onto things so strongly, and have SO much passion for things. Including what they hate. The reaction is a big part of what makes the league so interesting IMO. 

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On 11/19/2012 at 7:23 PM, oldschoolvikings said:
She’s still half convinced “Chris Creamer” is a porn site.)
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The Grizzlies were great this year, but they just aren't there yet. They might need an additional piece or two, but I think a little more experience would help them.

 

Still, I can't believe how much of a contributor Morant is; New Orleans really missed out in the draft.

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2 hours ago, Dynasty said:

The Grizzlies were great this year, but they just aren't there yet. They might need an additional piece or two, but I think a little more experience would help them.

 

Still, I can't believe how much of a contributor Morant is; New Orleans really missed out in the draft.

 

He's a lot better than the Grizzlies' previous #2 pick of Hasheem Thabeet. That dude had so little chance of being a success that even I knew he was doomed the moment he was drafted and I'm not an expert in anything.

 

I am worried that I'm going to survive the summer. That's too bad, I guess.

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On 5/8/2022 at 1:01 AM, Discrim said:

That you, Chuck?🤣

The bus is ready whenever, man 🚌

Ha! Yeah, I find myself in agreement with Barkley a lot more often than I'm not. As a T-Wolves fan, I was a little unsettled by his harsh criticism of Karl-Anthony Towns in the playoffs, but by the end of that Grizzlies series I'd come around to agreeing with him. 

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One thing I know, Al Horford is the kind of player you'd love to have if he's on your team...and is annoying as hell if he's on the other side.  Dude's got that Andre Miller style old man game down.

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2016cubscreamsig.png

A strong mind gets high off success, a weak mind gets high off bull🤬

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2 hours ago, Discrim said:

One thing I know, Al Horford is the kind of player you'd love to have if he's on your team...and is annoying as hell if he's on the other side.  Dude's got that Andre Miller style old man game down.

I've alway been a big Horford fan, he's been my #2 favorite behind Tatum. He's always been such an anchor for the Celtics (in the best way). They're just a better team when he's playing. Last year proved that. 

He's playing out of his goddamn mind at 35 years old and I love it! He's tired of waiting & wants that damn ring. 

 

I don't get how he looked so bad with the 76ers? 

 

This Celtics -Bucks series is shaping up to be a classic.  

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