A40:

Of course. This is easy to type in the year of our Lord 2019. Just show us one person that predicted James Harden to be a top 5-10 player in the league within 3 years of joining the league before D'Antoni came on board. Playing Monday Morning Quarterback is very easy

I'm not making your point. Kawhi, Giannis, Steph, Steve Nash came from nowhere and became MVP candidates. Nobody predicted Harden to be an MVP candidate. He was largely blamed for OKC's collapse vs the Heat and was deemed the weak link for that OKC team and expendable

OKC thought so little of him that they still offered him, a bench player a 4 year extension worth over 50m. He was so bereft of favor that another team still traded for him after that and made him their franchise player. Right! By your explanation no one predicts someone to become an MVP caliber player until he actually becomes one, but to suggest that a no.3 pick especially one like Harden who's shown some promise becoming an MVP candidate is out of pocket? LOL!

Stop trying to be dubious. I'm rubbishing the notion that AD was bereft of help. You would be better served highlighting his injury prone nature (which I recall telling you and you were arguing and doing strong head) but to suggest he played with the kind of bums MJ played with is laughable..

The year MJ averaged 37pts the second best player on his team averaged 14pts per game. Come and show me 1 season AD averaged more than 28pts per game and did not have a teammate averaging 15 or more

First of all this isn't the farmers league your "goat" played in. i have never denied ADs injury issues so i dont know what you're talking about. But lets just stop beating around the bush and you should tell me just one season AD should've made the playoffs in the west but didnt. Its simple. Just tell me one playoff team the pelicans could've displaced that year.

KarnBarlow:

Game 1
LeBron 18 16 10
Green 12 1 1

Game 2
LeBron 17 8 7 3 3
Green 17 1 1

Game 3
LeBron 15 11 5 2
Green 27 4 2 2

Outplaying LeBron? I dont even know why i'm entertaining this.

Danny Green was scoring 18ppg from 10 shots and 19/30 from the field

LeNomad was 20/54 which works out at 16ppg from 18 shots but go awfffffffffff

KarnBarlow:

That doesnt change the fact the he still can't shoot and thats the focus of the issue here.

The likes of Steph and Klay could but it didn't stop them from losing. Of course there is always need to work on your weaknesses but it is not the quantum leap you lot are suggesting

KarnBarlow:

You mean the Steph Curry who is currently faking an injury to avoid the as- whooping the league wants to hand to him?

LOL On a serious note, whats good for the goose. I think i was the first person to say now steph knows how lebron feels to show up with an inferior team and get blamed for losing.

That would be your LeNomad who faked an injury wearing an arm cast and revealed it after getting swept, I'm sure it rings a bell

KarnBarlow:


Dallas' game plan was to make bron defer and he did and his numbers suffered because of that. His game wasn't good enough to not defer at that point. Dallas attempted you say, but they didnt do just that, they succeeded.

You can choose to not defer. I can't believe you're excusing LeNomad getting shut down by players past their athletic prime. Their strategy was sound, it still took LeNomad's poor play for it to work

A40:

Danny Green was scoring 18ppg from 10 shots and 19/30 from the field

LeNomad was 20/54 which works out at 16ppg from 18 shots but go awfffffffffff

Assists, rebounds Steals Blocks. What the hell are those right?

The likes of Steph and Klay could but it didn't stop them from losing. Of course there is always need to work on your weaknesses but it is not the quantum leap you lot are suggesting

No one is asking him to turn into steph or klay, just develop a respectable jump shot. He hasn't done that or even shown signs that its going to happen. What we are saying is until he does...

That would be your LeNomad who faked an injury wearing an arm cast and revealed it after getting swept, I'm sure it rings a bell

You can choose to not defer. I can't believe you're excusing LeNomad getting shut down by players past their athletic prime. Their strategy was sound, it still took LeNomad's poor play for it to work

At least he played through the rest of the games and took his beating like a real man before revealing his injury. This one just feigned an injury and bolted LMAO!

Choose not to defer and do what? Chuck up shots and still lose? Hes never been afraid of deferring for the good of the team. He did the only thing he could, like you said his poor play. But its not about choking, its about him just not being good enough to play better than that. Its a lesson, he learned, he improved, he came back and he dominated.

O REI

KarnBarlow:

OKC thought so little of him that they still offered him, a bench player a 4 year extension worth over 50m. He was so bereft of favor that another team still traded for him after that and made him their franchise player. Right! By your explanation no one predicts someone to become an MVP caliber player until he actually becomes one, but to suggest that a no.3 pick especially one like Harden who's shown some promise becoming an MVP candidate is out of pocket? LOL!

He was their 3rd best player and better than your typical bench player. If they saw MVP potential they would not balk on paying him a few more millions even if it meant them entering luxury tax. They lowballed him then gave him a laughably short time to take it or leave it

Anybody claiming they saw James Harden finishing top 2 in MVP voting 4 of the last 5 seasons when he was leaving OKC is lying through their teeth

KarnBarlow:

First of all this isn't the farmers league your "goat" played in. i have never denied ADs injury issues so i dont know what you're talking about. But lets just stop beating around the bush and you should tell me just one season AD should've made the playoffs in the west but didnt. Its simple. Just tell me one playoff team the pelicans could've displaced that year.

Lmaoo the audacity! You mean this soft ass league where fouls get called for having bad breath? Anyways no point arguing. The actual players who played both eras have testified to the softness of today's league which we also see with the nightly injury reports but go awfffffffffff

That is neither here nor there. AD is supposed to be a transcendent talent kwa? So why couldn't he win more games at New Orleans. In 7 seasons he only led New Orleans to more than 40 wins twice!!! Never mind playoffs. We've seen 48 win teams not make playoffs but to not get to even 40 wins?? Lol

A40:

He was their 3rd best player and better than your typical bench player. If they saw MVP potential they would not balk on paying him a few more millions even if it meant them entering luxury tax. They lowballed him then gave him a laughably short time to take it or leave it

Anybody claiming they saw James Harden finishing top 2 in MVP voting 4 of the last 5 seasons when he was leaving OKC is lying through their teeth

More like they couldn't afford him knowing they had other players on that roster they had to pay.

Sure, maybe no one saw that at that point, but for anyone to say its not plausible is also not accurate, We've seen 3rd picks do better. In fact, the third greatest player of all time is a 3rd pick.

Lmaoo the audacity! You mean this soft ass league where fouls get called for having bad breath? Anyways no point arguing. The actual players who played both eras have testified to the softness of today's league which we also see with the nightly injury reports but go awfffffffffff

Physical doesn't mean better. But thats another argument entirely.

That is neither here nor there. AD is supposed to be a transcendent talent kwa? So why couldn't he win more games at New Orleans. In 7 seasons he only led New Orleans to more than 40 wins twice!!! Never mind playoffs. We've seen 48 win teams not make playoffs but to not get to even 40 wins?? Lol

Thats what i've been saying. The team wasnt good enough. MJ has had his fair share of 40 and sub 40 seasons as well. And if you think AD should've done more then tell me which season and with which roster, its that simple.

KarnBarlow:

Assists, rebounds Steals Blocks. What the hell are those right?

That's for you stats nerds to chew on. Not everyone is a stat padder like LeNomad who will get his stats win lose or draw

KarnBarlow:

No one is asking him to turn into steph or klay, just develop a respectable jump shot. He hasn't done that or even shown signs that its going to happen. What we are saying is until he does...

Last season was the first time he swam the deep waters of the playoffs. He averaged 33% from 3 in that Raptors series btw and shot 45% from the field. Better shooters have shot for worse. Dead this argument

KarnBarlow:

At least he played through the rest of the games and took his beating like a real man before revealing his injury. This one just feigned an injury and bolted LMAO!

Let's get a 6'10 260 pound man land awkwardly on your hands and see if it would break or remain the same. At least we actually saw what broke Steph's hands. Unlike your excuse merchant who had prepared customized excuses for his play after getting swept

KarnBarlow:

Choose not to defer and do what? Chuck up shots and still lose? Hes never been afraid of deferring for the good of the team. He did the only thing he could, like you said his poor play. But its not about choking, its about him just not being good enough to play better than that. Its a lesson, he learned, he improved, he came back and he dominated.

LeNomad was the only established star the Mavs held under 20 the entire postseason. You're telling me the acclaimed best player in the world at the time did not have a game good enough to score 20pts per game on Dallas? That's a lie I can never buy. He choked and he will be the first to tell you that.

What you call improvement was merely a change in mentality and awareness of the fact that he is good enough to be unstoppable regardless of the deficiencies in his game

A40:

That's for you stats nerds to chew on. Not everyone is a stat padder like LeNomad who will get his stats win lose or draw

Right, Green doesnt get rebounds assists steals and blocks because hes not a stat padder. Dude, what are we doing here?

Last season was the first time he swam the deep waters of the playoffs. He averaged 33% from 3 in that Raptors series btw and shot 45% from the field. Better shooters have shot for worse. Dead this argument

Dead what argument? was he not neutralized in a series because hes a one edged sword? What has changed?

Let's get a 6'10 260 pound man land awkwardly on your hands and see if it would break or remain the same. At least we actually saw what broke Steph's hands. Unlike your excuse merchant who had prepared customized excuses for his play after getting swept

Please, LeBron broke his hand like a real man, punching a wall. No one would've blamed him for losing, everyone saw the sweep a mile out. Almost singlehandedly won game 1, and then JR happened. I'm surprised he broke it on a wall not on his face like a certain gambler would have.

LeNomad was the only established star the Mavs held under 20 the entire postseason. You're telling me the acclaimed best player in the world at the time did not have a game good enough to score 20pts per game on Dallas? That's a lie I can never buy. He choked and he will be the first to tell you that.

And who are the stars they faced in the post season? good shooters who still struggled against them. They held kobe, the defending champion who shoots for fun to 23 and swept him dude. In the elimination game he scored 17 and shot below 40% from the field.

What you call improvement was merely a change in mentality and awareness of the fact that he is good enough to be unstoppable regardless of the deficiencies in his game

Maybe so, but that came primarily because of improvements in his game as well.

KarnBarlow:

More like they couldn't afford him knowing they had other players on that roster they had to pay.

Who are these other players? You think if Sam Presti knew the future he would let Harden walk and not enter luxury tax if need be?

KarnBarlow:

Sure, maybe no one saw that at that point, but for anyone to say its not plausible is also not accurate, We've seen 3rd picks do better. In fact, the third greatest player of all time is a 3rd pick.

And I have given you 3-4 other players who didn't enter the league with the fanfare of a high draft pick and still delivered at MVP level

KarnBarlow:

Thats what i've been saying. The team wasnt good enough. MJ has had his fair share of 40 and sub 40 seasons as well. And if you think AD should've done more then tell me which season and with which roster, its that simple.

Their 13-14 roster was good enough to get to 40 wins. Even their 15-16 roster and especially 16/17 roster as well. If they were even a .500 team while he played then they would have had to lose every game he didn't play just to not scratch 40

KarnBarlow:

Assists, rebounds Steals Blocks. What the hell are those right?



No one is asking him to turn into steph or klay, just develop a respectable jump shot. He hasn't done that or even shown signs that its going to happen. What we are saying is until he does...



At least he played through the rest of the games and took his beating like a real man before revealing his injury. This one just feigned an injury and bolted LMAO!

Choose not to defer and do what? Chuck up shots and still lose? Hes never been afraid of deferring for the good of the team. He did the only thing he could, like you said his poor play. But its not about choking, its about him just not being good enough to play better than that. Its a lesson, he learned, he improved, he came back and he dominated.

The lad only considers points in a game of basketball

KarnBarlow:

Right, Green doesnt get rebounds assists steals and blocks because hes not a stat padder. Dude, what are we doing here?

Relative to their roles Danny Green was severely outplaying LeNomad and that was why they were 2-1 down, had LeNomad not recovered and Danny Green reverted to mean then all your rebounds, assists and blocks banter would be okoto meoww meoww kutukutu skrrrrrrrr skrr

KarnBarlow:

Dead what argument? was he not neutralized in a series because hes a one edged sword? What has changed?

But we have seen multiple edged swords get neutralized in a series as well?? Was Giannis outplayed by any of his teammates? When Steph was neutralized was it because he was a one edged sword?

KarnBarlow:

Please, LeBron broke his hand like a real man, punching a wall. No one would've blamed him for losing, everyone saw the sweep a mile out. Almost singlehandedly won game 1, and then JR happened. I'm surprised he broke it on a wall not on his face like a certain gambler would have.

Lol punching a wall? Were you there to witness this? So a 260 pound man falling on your hand is a fake man's way to break his hand? Are you hearing yourself at all? Only a fake tough guy will 'break his arm' trying to punch an inanimate object. If you truly believe LeNomad's hand was broken then I have a bridge in Monaco to sell to you

Speaks to his insecurity that he had to reveal his 'injury' in a series no one expected him to win

KarnBarlow:

And who are the stars they faced in the post season? good shooters who still struggled against them. They held kobe, the defending champion who shoots for fun to 23 and swept him dude. In the elimination game he scored 17 and shot below 40% from the field.

Stop making excuses for your LeNomad. Kobe was 33 years old and on his way to decline, LeNomad was at his physical peak and averaged 27pts the previous two series combined but folded to a less talented and significantly older roster. And unlike Kobe he was arguably not even the 2nd best player in his team

KarnBarlow:

Maybe so, but that came primarily because of improvements in his game as well.

This is comme ci comme ça

steady986:

The lad only considers points in a game of basketball

Have you ever seen or watched a basketball game where the team with the fewer points won?

You may want to stop arguing with that guy. It's an exercise in futility.

A40:

Who are these other players? You think if Sam Presti knew the future he would let Harden walk and not enter luxury tax if need be?


And I have given you 3-4 other players who didn't enter the league with the fanfare of a high draft pick and still delivered at MVP level

Their 13-14 roster was good enough to get to 40 wins. Even their 15-16 roster and especially 16/17 roster as well. If they were even a .500 team while he played then they would have had to lose every game he didn't play just to not scratch 40

benji93:
You may want to stop arguing with that guy. It's an exercise in futility.

Thank you. I too believe I can never lose because I always bring the facts.

I still won't forgive you for claiming siakam is better than AD though.

A40:
Have you ever seen or watched a basketball game where the team with the fewer points won?

How do you score without facilitation? How do you get extra possessions to score without rebounding? Add their assists in there and tell me who's been directly involved in more points. If assists and rebounding didn't matter players like Nash Kidd and rodman wouldn't be considered great. Then there's steals and blocks. The Payton's and the mutombos. I mean these are the major statistical categories in basketball, what are you even saying? How about when's the last time a team scored more points after losing out in all these categories? Now they dont matter cause it's LeBron?

A40:

Relative to their roles Danny Green was severely outplaying LeNomad and that was why they were 2-1 down, had LeNomad not recovered and Danny Green reverted to mean then all your rebounds, assists and blocks banter would be okoto meoww meoww kutukutu skrrrrrrrr skrr

Right, because the spurs vs the heats has turned into Lebron vs danny green. If you're playing better than your role then you've outplayed your role (Ersan, 2019). And even then the simple fact is green was still not outplaying lebron. Besides, like you said, Bron still cooked them in the end. Don't know why you are talking about the first 3 games.

But we have seen multiple edged swords get neutralized in a series as well?? Was Giannis outplayed by any of his teammates? When Steph was neutralized was it because he was a one edged sword?

Was Giannis playing with D Wade? I'm not saying giannis choked because just like lebron he has more to add to his game and when he does that and gets neutralized then i can say he choked. But just be consistent!

Lol punching a wall? Were you there to witness this? So a 260 pound man falling on your hand is a fake man's way to break his hand? Are you hearing yourself at all? Only a fake tough guy will 'break his arm' trying to punch an inanimate object. If you truly believe LeNomad's hand was broken then I have a bridge in Monaco to sell to you

Speaks to his insecurity that he had to reveal his 'injury' in a series no one expected him to win

He never said it was broken, it was a fracture. And everyone saw the swollen hand which he still played with BTW. Steph on the other hand...

BTW, You taking the steph thing seriously, i love it!

Stop making excuses for your LeNomad. Kobe was 33 years old and on his way to decline, LeNomad was at his physical peak and averaged 27pts the previous two series combined but folded to a less talented and significantly older roster. And unlike Kobe he was arguably not even the 2nd best player in his team

This is comme ci comme ça

Ohh the same kobe than won the championship the year before and averaged 25 that year after playing in every single game? Even you have to admit how your flip flopping and twisting of narratives is.

A40:

Who are these other players? You think if Sam Presti knew the future he would let Harden walk and not enter luxury tax if need be?

He had KD westbrook and ibaka on his payroll. They knew harden could be good, but then he could've regressed. Was it worth screwing up the cap of a young and talented team at the time? Harden was sixth man averaging 17 at 22 on a team with kd and russ. The man went and immediately became the face of a playoff team in the west and you're telling me him becoming an MVP caliber player is outrageous? LOOOOOOOOOOOOL!

And I have given you 3-4 other players who didn't enter the league with the fanfare of a high draft pick and still delivered at MVP level

None of them a similar case to siakam.

Their 13-14 roster was good enough to get to 40 wins. Even their 15-16 roster and especially 16/17 roster as well. If they were even a .500 team while he played then they would have had to lose every game he didn't play just to not scratch 40

Ahh yes, 13-14, Literally ADs second year in the league where his second best player got injured 22 games in? And then his 3rd best player get injured 33 games in? Whaaat? Just no The other years you mentioned were either injury plagued or the roster sucked so bad. When AD had good teams, he played to standard. Simple! Consistent all star, all nba and all defensive player. What more can he do to propel his team?

KarnBarlow:

Right, because the spurs vs the heats has turned into Lebron vs danny green. If you're playing better than your role then you've outplayed your role (Ersan, 2019). And even then the simple fact is green was still not outplaying lebron. Besides, like you said, Bron still cooked them in the end. Don't know why you are talking about the first 3 games.

Stop being so sensitive. I'm showing you with the Danny Green and LeNomad analogy the degree to which you're overrating the so-called improvement to his game. Up until Game 4 he was being outplayed/outscored by Danny Green. Credit to him for seizing initiative but aside Game 7 where he was 5-10 from 3, his long range shooting was still largely pedestrian. He averaged 29% from 3 the entire playoffs

KarnBarlow:

Was Giannis playing with D Wade? I'm not saying giannis choked because just like lebron he has more to add to his game and when he does that and gets neutralized then i can say he choked. But just be consistent!

Doesn't matter who he was playing with. Replace D.Wade with anyone else. Because no one is comparing abilities, In this context they are both support cast and the support cast can play well enough for you to point fingers at the star man for choking. Nobody watched that series and said Giannis support cast delivered and he was the one that let the team down

This was LeNomad's 8th year in the league and 6th appearance in the playoffs. Giannis was just playing his 5th playoff series. Let that sink in and stop making excuses for LeNomad. Nobody accused him of choking in 2007 when his numbers were even more rubbish than Giannis's.

KarnBarlow:

He never said it was broken, it was a fracture. And everyone saw the swollen hand which he still played with BTW. Steph on the other hand...

BTW, You taking the steph thing seriously, i love it!

Anyway you chose to spell excuses it's still excuses

KarnBarlow:

Ohh the same kobe than won the championship the year before and averaged 25 that year after playing in every single game? Even you have to admit how your flip flopping and twisting of narratives is.

Yes Kobe at 33 averaged 25pts per game then averaged 23 pts in the series.

LeNomad supposedly the best player in the world at 27 went from 27pts per game to 17pts per game. Stop comparing apples to oranges

Just when you thought things couldnt get any worse, Paul George is set to return tomorrow.

A40:

Stop being so sensitive. I'm showing you with the Danny Green and LeNomad analogy the degree to which you're overrating the so-called improvement to his game. Up until Game 4 he was being outplayed/outscored by Danny Green. Credit to him for seizing initiative but aside Game 7 where he was 5-10 from 3, his long range shooting was still largely pedestrian. He averaged 29% from 3 the entire playoffs

No, you said danny green was outplaying him through 3 games. He literally killed this series with a mid ranger. Why could he seize the initiative in this series but not the year before, you think he didnt want to win as bad the year before? the difference is he learned and improved based on what happened the year before.

Doesn't matter who he was playing with. Replace D.Wade with anyone else. Because no one is comparing abilities, In this context they are both support cast and the support cast can play well enough for you to point fingers at the star man for choking. Nobody watched that series and said Giannis support cast delivered and he was the one that let the team down

LOL Literally everyone who watched that series knew that loss was on giannis. Stop with the revisionism.

This was LeNomad's 8th year in the league and 6th appearance in the playoffs. Giannis was just playing his 5th playoff series. Let that sink in and stop making excuses for LeNomad. Nobody accused him of choking in 2007 when his numbers were even more rubbish than Giannis's.

Just like you're making excuses for Giannis yes? This actually doesnt even have anything to do with lebron, but of course with you just have to bring lebron into this because you're obsessed with him.

Anyway you chose to spell excuses it's still excuses

Then stop making excuses for Giannis.

Yes Kobe at 33 averaged 25pts per game then averaged 23 pts in the series.

LeNomad supposedly the best player in the world at 27 went from 27pts per game to 17pts per game. Stop comparing apples to oranges

Maybe you should heed your own advice, Kobe was more seasoned and most importantly he could shoot. He still got swept off the back of a championship. Players who cant shoot or are one dimensional are easier to prepare for in the playoffs. That Dallas team didnt play a game 7 and lost only 5 throughout the playoffs.

KarnBarlow:

He had KD westbrook and ibaka on his payroll. They knew harden could be good, but then he could've regressed. Was it worth screwing up the cap of a young and talented team at the time? Harden was sixth man averaging 17 at 22 on a team with kd and russ. The man went and immediately became the face of a playoff team in the west and you're telling me him becoming an MVP caliber player is outrageous? LOOOOOOOOOOOOL!

What other way to invest than keeping a team with its best players <25 years together that have already being to multiple WCFs and a Final.

Yet no team thought to break the bank and make a Lou Williams, Eric Gordon, Jason Terry, Jamal Crawford the face of their franchise. As if playing with the likes of KD and Brodie does not make life easier for a guy like Harden. Don't come here and try to paint an exception to be the norm. Nobody saw Harden coming

KarnBarlow:

None of them a similar case to siakam.

What is the difference between Kawhi's case and that of Siakam? Neither player was a lottery pick I could go on and on

KarnBarlow:

Ahh yes, 13-14, Literally ADs second year in the league where his second best player got injured 22 games in? And then his 3rd best player get injured 33 games in? Whaaat? Just no The other years you mentioned were either injury plagued or the roster sucked so bad. When AD had good teams, he played to standard. Simple! Consistent all star, all nba and all defensive player. What more can he do to propel his team?

More excuses. Did they miss the entire season?

15/16 season. Ryan Anderson, Eric Gordon, Jrue Holiday played more than half the games. The roster was not bad enough to only muster +40 win seasons twice

He gathered numbers but did he win? No

KarnBarlow:

No, you said danny green was outplaying him through 3 games. He literally killed this series with a mid ranger. Why could he seize the initiative in this series but not the year before, you think he didnt want to win as bad the year before? the difference is he learned and improved based on what happened the year before.

This is also true but again you miss the point.

I'm telling you that the leap was minimal to non existent. He had won a title the previous year and so could handle adversity better. Most of what ailed LeNomad in the previous year was MENTAL

KarnBarlow:

LOL Literally everyone who watched that series knew that loss was on giannis. Stop with the revisionism.

Because he is the reigning MVP not because he choked as woefully as LeNomad did

KarnBarlow:

Just like you're making excuses for Giannis yes? This actually doesnt even have anything to do with lebron, but of course with you just have to bring lebron into this because you're obsessed with him.

Then stop making excuses for Giannis.

You're yarning tales by moonlight. LeNomad on one leg should not average 17pts in a playoffs series getting outplayed by Jason Terry and guarded by Jason Kidd and Shawn Marion. The rest is story

KarnBarlow:

Maybe you should heed your own advice, Kobe was more seasoned and most importantly he could shoot. He still got swept off the back of a championship. Players who cant shoot or are one dimensional are easier to prepare for in the playoffs. That Dallas team didnt play a game 7 and lost only 5 throughout the playoffs.

You're really relentless with the excuses. Kobe was on a steady decline at that point, and yet he did not play as badly as LeNomad.

It's not about shooting. LeNomad did not become multidimensional within one year. The numbers literally don't support that.

LeNomad went from 27 points to 17pts. No amount of bad shooting can make a player produce such poor numbers, even Giannis was not as bad

A40:

What other way to invest than keeping a team with its best players <25 years together that have already being to multiple WCFs and a Final.

Yet no team thought to break the bank and make a Lou Williams, Eric Gordon, Jason Terry, Jamal Crawford the face of their franchise. As if playing with the likes of KD and Brodie does not make life easier for a guy like Harden. Don't come here and try to paint an exception to be the norm. Nobody saw Harden coming

LMAO! Thank you for making my point for me. Harden was young and special, everyone could see that. It was more of a question of "how special?".

What is the difference between Kawhi's case and that of Siakam? Neither player was a lottery pick I could go on and on

More excuses. Did they miss the entire season?

15/16 season. Ryan Anderson, Eric Gordon, Jrue Holiday played more than half the games. The roster was not bad enough to only muster +40 win seasons twice

He gathered numbers but did he win? No

You're talking about a players sophomore season where his second best player played about 20 games and the next best played about 30 and the best you can come up with is "did they miss the entire season?"? LMAO Of course its an excuse, a very credible one at that and if you can't see that thats on you but every sane objective person can.

Also AD is a big, when has a big bar maybe hakeem ever won on his own without a complimentary player? KAJ needed oscar and then magic, shaq had penny and then kobe and then wade, wilt had jerry west. This has always been the case, even more so now in a more guard oriented league. The only full season AD had with a good roster he had a good run. Stop castigating him for the pelicans incompetence. That franchise hadnt won a playoff game since 2008. Ask Chris Paul how conducive he found them to be.

A40:

This is also true but again you miss the point.

I'm telling you that the leap was minimal to non existent. He had won a title the previous year and so could handle adversity better. Most of what ailed LeNomad in the previous year was MENTAL

Right because you're a therapist now. It didnt affect him in 2007 or any of his playoff runs. He didnt choke against chicago or boston in the same year (where he met his waterloo in cleveland) but somehow it did in the finals. LOL! I see...

Because he is the reigning MVP not because he choked as woefully as LeNomad did

Nope, if a player doesnt play up to his standards in the playoffs, you told me its only because he choked. No way around it. Stop with the double standards.

You're yarning tales by moonlight. LeNomad on one leg should not average 17pts in a playoffs series getting outplayed by Jason Terry and guarded by Jason Kidd and Shawn Marion. The rest is story

First he was outplayed by green now he was outplayed by terry and guarded by him and marion. Its clear you didnt watch the 2011 finals or had no idea what you were watching.

You're really relentless with the excuses. Kobe was on a steady decline at that point, and yet he did not play as badly as LeNomad.

The same kobe who averaged 28 and 27ppg the years after that? Man stop it!

It's not about shooting. LeNomad did not become multidimensional within one year. The numbers literally don't support that.

LeNomad went from 27 points to 17pts. No amount of bad shooting can make a player produce such poor numbers, even Giannis was not as bad

Very simple additions to your game can make you very difficult to stop. Giannis too would have averaged less if he had a D wade caliber player he felt he could lean on. LeBron tried to defer to D Wade. D wade got his numbers but it obviously wasnt enough.

Dallas wisely employed a zone defense against the Heat and doubled LeBron James almost any time he brought the ball up the court. That resulted in LeBron passing to open teammates, and it forced the ball out of the hands of one of the Heat’s best scorers. They also did something even more important than double team LeBron: they took away his ability to drive to the hoop, which is his biggest offensive weapon. LeBron has shot over 50% on his field goals the last two seasons, and he’s not doing it on jump shots — it’s mostly layups and dunks. His ability to get to the rack at will is what he does best, and the Mavericks kept him from doing that. They had Tyson Chandler looming in the middle, and his presence along with early double-teams deterred him from driving. LeBron even admitted that was his problem after the game.

When asked what he wasn’t able to do in the Finals, LeBron said “live in the paint.” James also explained what Dallas did defensively on him. “They did a great job every time I drove, they brought an extra defender in front of me. They did a great job defensively, [they’re a] very underrated defensive team. They took me out of a lot of things I’m capable of doing and used to doing. They took us out of a lot of things we’re capable of doing, and that’s getting points in the paint and getting to the free throw line, so much respect to them.”

You could tell that LeBron wanted to take over in the fourth quarter and dominate the game the way fans and media implored him to do. He tried to at times, but sometimes he just had to bring the ball back out or pass it because he had three guys on him. And when he did try to force something, he ended up turning the ball over.

LeBron James did not play well in the Finals. He missed far too many shots late in games and that prevented his team from winning. But most of the credit has to go to the defensive schemes employed by the Dallas Mavericks. I’ve never seen an opposing team shut LeBron James down over an entire series the way they did. They had a masterful gameplan and executed at a virtuoso level.

You know what? This all sounds like too much sense, lets go with our lazy pseudo analysis, LeBron choked! Dallas didnt even have to stop him or make a game plan for him, dallas didnt take anything away from him. He just froze and he wouldnt have done anything if he had a free lane to the rim. You know cause hes a choker. No amount of sense or facts can counter our baseless assumptions.

"I wasn't that good of a player in that series," James said. "I wasn't a complete basketball player. Dwane Casey drew up a game plan against me in that 2011 series in the Finals when I played Dallas to take away things I was very good at and to try and make me do things that I wasn't very good at.

"He's part of the reason why I am who I am today."

- From the horse's mouth.

I honestly considered not responding until you added the last comment. I claimed? I don't normally use this phrase- but please where? In my case I don't have multiple accounts, so it won't be hard to find it. . I hope you aren't still on your hopeless mission of proving yomi96 and benji93 were created by the same person.
But honestly, you be watchman for here. You always dey online. .

KarnBarlow:


Thank you. I too believe I can never lose because I always bring the facts.

I still won't forgive you for claiming siakam is better than AD though.

benji93:
I honestly considered not responding until you added the last comment. I claimed? I don't normally use this phrase- but please where? In my case I don't have multiple accounts, so it won't be hard to find it. . I hope you aren't still on your hopeless mission of proving yomi96 and benji93 were created by the same person.
But honestly, you be watchman for here. You always dey online. .

Are we pretending now?

In order for you to prove that i implied such at any point, you will have to show the connection between both accounts. Since you have been unable to do that, so far, you may want to get yourself out of this embarassing situation while you can. That reminds me , were you not the one that told me some time ago that you are capable of digging information on anyone? If that's the case you may want to put your investigative skills to use. .
Meanwhile, you finally signed out. We are definitely making progress.

KarnBarlow:


Are we pretending now?

Harden stripped the ball from kawhi and alley oop Tyson Chandler to win a game.


Some weird sequence that is, I tell ya.

An alley-oop to Dwight, and he hammers it down!!!

benji93:
In order for you to prove that i implied such at any point, you will have to show the connection between both accounts. Since you have been unable to do that, so far, you may want to get yourself out of this embarassing situation while you can. That reminds me , were you not the one that told me some time ago that you are capable of digging information on anyone? If that's the case you may want to put your investigative skills to use. .
Meanwhile, you finally signed out. We are definitely making progress.

Embarrassing situation? Look at this guy

I'm not the one who claimed siakam is better than AD. You are.