₦airaland Forum

birdman:
Tmac is better than Luka will ever dream of lol. With today's rules, Tmac go dey drop 40 nightly. Not to mention with his wingspan he was a naturally good defender. What part of the game will you say Luka is better than tmac other than shooting higher clip at the 3 pt line

Which kind cap be this now.
Abeg let's stop all this nostalgia sickness.
If it were possible to average 40 point in today's game, at least there should at least be one outlier generational talent that's has done it in the last 10 years.
T Mac wasn't even a generational talent. Abegi.
And oh, I am not a gen z , I started following the NBA as far as early 2000s

steady986:
Lol. Stephen A is more tamed on the Stephen A smith show than on First Take. That's all I got to say

Actually it's the opposite, he has more leeway on the Stephen A Smith show.
I dare you to post one video where Stephen a unfairly spoke about Bronny.
Trust me you won't find one.
LeBron is just being sensitive.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elXb_8x_dX4?si=63kMw4WrEINoxBr-

This is exactly what Stephen A said. How is this disrespectful. I love LeBron but some LeBron fans just want to ride his dick on any matter even when he's in the wrong.

steady986:
Thats exactly the point. How many of these players has Stephen A talked about? He's targeting Bronny only because he's LeBron's son, not because he thinks he can't play. That's why LeBron stepped up to him. I get you have to talk about whatever relates to LeBron because that's what drives traffic, but when you have to go as far as targeting a 55th pick who I can assure you has done better this season than a few guys in his draft class, it calls for some cautioning.

1. The parents of those other players aren't Lebron

2. Their parents didn't come to international media to float that he's better than lots of players in the league and that he can definitely help the lakers win right now

3. Those players didn't tell other teams not to sign them except the lakers.

4. The parents of those players didn't strong arm a NBA franchise to sign them or they join another team.

So why are we ignoring all this context?

If LeBron has let Bronny find his way, go to an Indiana or Detroit and let him earn his way into the NBA, the scrutiny will be lesser.

When Lavar ball ran his mouth , his son's play were scrutinized to see if they matched up to the expectations.

And most importantly STEPHEN A HAS NEVER CRITICIZED BRONNY, INSTEAD IT WAS HOW LEBRON HANDLED THE MATTER THAT HE CRITIC

As much as I love LeBron, I can't wait till he retires so we can stop being forced fed LeBron related content everyday.

liveLongNprospa:
Lmao.. A father does what any father will do.
Hype up his son.
You then spend a considerable amount of time criticising the boy, oya spend the same amount of time praising the boy when he does well.

Atleast to balance the scale. It's not like bronny is a bum who can't play.

You don't have to glaze LeBron on every issue. On this matter LeBron F,ed up.

Stephen A has never criticised Bronny, in fact his criticism has always being directed towards LeBron for rushing him into the league and placing Bronny under unnecessary scrutiny.

Roland17:
Ajala, you single handedly brought this upon Bronny and there is no other way to spin it. Those of us who watched Bronny in High School and College knew he wasn't a 1st Round pick or even NBA ready but you told the world "He could play for us right now. Easy,". Now you want us to not talk about him and the fact that he isn't what you think he is?

I am happy Stephen A Smith did not back down this morning, if anything, he doubled down on his take that Bronny isn't NBA ready and that is the fact!

Straight facts.
Bronny would have benefited from an extra year in college, he was rushed into the NBA, manipulated the lakers to draft it, ran your mouth to say he's better than many players in the league and could help the lakers right now.
Then you're angry that the media talked about him.
Then just when the media has moved on from this issue , you publicly tackled stephen smith which invariably means the media will revisit the matter.

If the hierarchy in Boston is Tatum, Brown, Jrue, Derrick white , Porzingis and Pritchard. Then, the Celtics 4th and 6th best player both dropped 40 + in a game.
This is a super team hiding in plain sight.

I don't understand the faux humility of Lakers fan. You're one game out of 2nd place in the western conference that guarantees home court advantage till the conference finals and you're claiming you're not a contender?

Question for the house

A40:
This Wemby 3pt spamming is going to hinder him from greatness. On the offensive end at least and that will just be a damn shame.

If you're not making your 3's at 38-40% clip you really shouldn't be taking more than 3 or 4.

It's a mystery to me. You don't play perimeter defense so why are you spamming 3s on offense

I think Wemby will do well to pattern his game after Dirk Nowitzki. Similar body build with a flair for perimeter shooting but mix it up with a good midrange jumper.
I don't think Wemby will ever morph into a paint bruiser like shaq. He doesn't have that physique or dog in him.

That reminds me.

Dirk Vs Durant
If Durant was to retire today.
Who do your rank higher all time in terms of having a better career .

A40:
Ol boy AD is cooking oh.

Is Nico Harrison crazy or was he crazy like a fox

And just like that he sustained a non contact injury

The mavs traded so many assets to get Kyrie and Pj Washington and now they are stuck with Injury prone Kyrie and Anthony Davis in their 30s... yikes win now my foot.

birdman:
How did he do in said finals? anyhow, we will find out by end of this season one way or the other

How is Luka getting the blame for the loss against the Celtics. This was after the first two games compared to the heroics of Steph against the Celtics 3 years ago.

etidy:
Luka showed up , Pj Washington did what a third wheel should do, but the reason Dallas is down 2-0 is Kyrie.

Your so called superstar number 2 option can't be playing this badly especially when they prematurely crowned the mavs backcourt as the best offensive version in history.

This series again puts into perspective the greatness of curry in that 2022 run.

He was carrying so much offensive load while playing very good defense.
The Celtics thought he will be a prey in that series but he clamped down the opposition guards.

Lastly if I am the mavs GM, I will low key try to get Wiggins, he's still an elite wing defender and he will eat as a lob and spot up shooting threat for the mavs.

Birdman I posted this when MAVs was down 2-0. And Injured Luka was average 31points per game while freeloading Kyrie was averaging 14 points per game on terrible shooting splits but Luka is getting the blame.

birdman:
I actually dont like Luka, for the fact that he will always underperform. I think Mavs could have gotten more, but Luka is mostly hype imo. If you wont discipline yourself to play, all that talent is a waste of time.

Baba you Dy cap.

He's taken the mavs to a conference finals and the NBA finals in the last three seasons.
He was injured last playoffs, yet he was the mavs best player by a mile. Kyrie only showed up for one series.

Not only that Luka has a consistent record of raising his game in the playoffs. Apart from the conference and NBA finals, his other playoff losses were to a stacked Clippers team whom he utter decimated.
If we they cry, make we Dy see.
There is nothing that's over hyped about Luka. He will clock 26yrs this season and his Injury record is nowhere as sketchy as Anthony Davis who is turning 32 yrs soon.
Unless Luka's knees is totally busted which there is no sign of such, this trade is ass for the MAVs , they should have gotten AD and at least two unprotected first round picks.

No Meehn , LeBron and Clutch Dy do jazz. What kind of robbery is this

Who better to teach Luka the discipline needed to be a consistent winner other than LeBron?
They even got two solid front court pieces in the deal .....haaa

If I am LeBron I am taking a pay cut and planning till 45 yrs to stack three more rings

what! The mav's could have gotten 6 first round picks for luka . This is so suspect.

The Lakers didn't even have to waste so much pick and their future is set for the next decade.
Luka + Lakers will bring sure free agents.

Roland17:
Last night was a contest of who spam pass. I was watching the game and got irritated, especially in the 3rd. We are not exactly executing any unique type of offense. For a team with dynamic players like JT, JB, Porz and Holiday, one would expect a more expansive offense than we are playing. I have always maintained that a balanced team, particularly one with great defense will punish us and push us in the playoffs.

On J. Butler, i think you are underrating P. Riley. This is a man that has dealt with the best of best and even traded the best player in the history of the franchise to Chicago. When Riley told Butler to shut up after he was making noise about beating my Celtics if he was healthy na when anybody suppose know say Riley is done. Will Butler break into the top 5 All-Time players for the franchise? that is quite debatable. Riley is showing he doesn't mind benching him or keeping him away from the team for as long as he wants. He doesn't look like he is caving to Butler.

I think Pat Riley is also drinking too much of his kool aid.

You have won titles and you're a legend but that's in the past.
Since he traded for butler who basically fell on his lap for cheap, who has he brought in to strengthen the squad?

All this macho man nonsense only work with old generation. The current crop of players are empowered and you have to pander to them a bit otherwise you won't land the stars.

Calling out Jimmy butler in the off-season was totally unnecessary, how can you be going into a new season and you are publicly calling out your best player for saying your team could have won against Boston if they were healthy.

Butler has walked the talk ever since he got to miami. He may have not won the title but the guy has done herculean carry jobs in the playoffs against far better equipped teams season after season while pat Riley did nothing to improve the team.

Respect they say is reciprocal, Pat Riley should have shown more respect to Jimmy.

Sure, Jimmy's antics have been childish and this seems like a pattern now, but Pat Riley could have gotten a better deal if he had chosen to trade Jimmy as soon it became clear that they were not on the same page.

Jimmy will eventually leave but other star players are watching and when free agency comes along, these things sway decisions.

A40:
Looks like the Nuggets have a match up problem vs the Timberwolves. That come from behind loss they've not recovered and it's showing any time they face the Timberwolves


Also we are going to have to have an uncomfortable conversation about Steph. 0pts in a half in today's NBA?? Zero??

I think Steph is mentally checked out for the season, same for draymond. These guys are not fighting for anything meaningful this season.

etidy:
The curry disrespect ehn, Lillard does a good curry imitation and all of a sudden the media is saying he's a better shooter.

There is this subtle bias against curry because of his skin color and build.

I have always known that lillard was a fraud. Hiding at Portland for several years kept him away from scrutiny while he was demanding to be respected like Steph.

I have never seen a modern star get more passes than lillard. Harden and Westbrook will be slaughtered if they had similar performances like lillard.

The bucks will do well to trade him and finesse a desperate team like the Lakers while he still has some value.

Roland17:
For some reason, I am still not sold on the Warriors as a contender or strong competition. I will wait until mid-season to see if this run continues. Right now, they are playing selfless basketball and can play at any pace they want. Make I dey observe.

The warriors have the ingredients that can make a very dangerous team.
Depth , Experience and most importantly Defence.
What they lack is a consistent number 2 option behind Steph that can guarantee 20 points per game. If they can trade for a player who ticks that box and also doesn't weaken their defense or offensive chemistry they will be legit contenders.
The problem is that such players are scarce and they come at a premium.

Roland17:
I get it and he has earned it but the Celtics were showing the wrong switch and that made it easier for an already great shooter. White/ Holiday can fight through the screen. Both can also guard bigs so we are not sending out bigs after the switch.

The warriors need a trade for a number 2 man to be a contender and it's going to be more difficult for them now that people know they have a killerbench.
Most teams will want to gut their roster in any trade

etidy:
I swear na only curry they ever get this kind disrespect because he's not the prototypical hip or flashy black basketball player with tattoos who chooses to pound the ball for 20secs before making a low iq, low efficiency attempt and he doesn't do the highlight dunk.

Imagine still doubting Steph curry in 2024

Skrrrrrrr no bother yourself, I don give you the guy diagnosis already, some people's prototypical star player is an athletic hip black nigga, who huffs and cuffs with the ball before taking a low iq, low efficient shot.
They can't comprehend a 6ft 3, light skin, baby face guy dominating from the backcourt like shaq purely based on his threat to make any type of shot.

greypencils:
At the end of the day, the pundits and fans dont know better than the coaches. Jaylen Brown has been sitting on the fence these last 2 seasons, you wouldnt know if he was a guard or a forward. The first team is easily Curry, Booker, Durant, Bron and Embiid with the substitutes. Holiday, Edwards, Bam, Tatum and A.D. Which of these 10 people would brown be replacing? and in what capacity? I daresay these are the best guards and forwards in the US. Final MVP or no Final MVP, If Brown had been on this roster, he would have warmed his arse on the bench.

For those yapping at me about Curry, you people are only reiterating what I have said all along. Curry needs the ball in his hands to gain momentum. Curry in the last two games played the most minutes in the 4th quarter and the ball was in hands the longest so he could build his confidence and keep launching. In the first and second quarter in the finals, babyface kept throwing bricks the same way he threw bricks an entire half last two seasons and started cooking in the third unlike Edwards who was cooking from Q1. Curry is lethal no doubt about that, everyone knows that but he needs the ball in his hands and the patience of his coach to cook. He was not given such time in his first three games hence his low scoring.

By the way, this is one of the coolest pictures on the internet.

Ogbeni just accept you goofed on that Steph statement. Now you're dribbling backwards.

A40:
Nothing you can do when the younger guys couldn't take the game and run with it. I will also blame the league for it's really poor job of marketing the talent.

Anyway they might have to endure a lull like post MJ era. That weird time on and off between 99-07 when basketball was in a bit of a purgatory

This Olympics came threw away all the new faces of the league talk that dominated last season. It demonstrated that there are levels to this stardom business. There are many all stars, some superstars but the circle of megastars is very small.

All stars are good players having a good season or two. Superstars are perennial all stars who have won titles , MVPs or have been close to winning a title. But the megastars have had so many years of excellence and charisma that they have transcended basketball, they are cultural icons who have shifted the game that even casuals know them. Players like Lebron and Steph come into your gym and turn it into theirs, your home fans turn to their fans , even the french fans started cheering after the barrage at the end.

Giannis, Jokic, Tatum, Jaleyn Brown Doncic and Embiid are still just Superstars

chic2pimp:
Roland17

The Guards on the US Women's team were woeful today. I can see why some folks were demanding for the inclusion of Caitlin Clark. Not only do they need to change the Guard Roster, the coach also needs to be left in paris.

Them for hear am if they lost today , God save them

The NBA has work to do, losing Lebron, Steph and Durant will cause a systemic shock to the league.
These guys are still the faces of the game.

Imagine doubting steph that person whey mention brunson, kyrie and demar may God forgive you.

A part of me wants either the lakers or warriors to break the bank and give us Steph and Lebron on the same team

steady986:
One good game in 5 and you don run comot. I know what you are

My point is that, it doesn't really matter.

There is nothing players like Lebron, Steph and to a lesser extent KD can do again to remove from their legacy, they can only add to it.

Those guys are set.

I know you're a big Lebron fan. Imagine someone shitting on Lebron's offensive prowess and comparing him to Paul George because he has a few bad shooting games at this stage of his career, no be colos be that

The only acceptable debate out there is Lebron vs Jordan for who is the GOAT.

Likewise, you can't be mentioning Steph and Brunson, Kyrie, Derozan in the same debate.

greypencils:
That is what happens when they don't develop a midrange jumper. The hype of a 3 going in is louder than a regular jumper so they play to the gallery. Here in the real world, FIBA, the Olympics, there are no crowds to hype. You have to go grind out results. This is what stands KD out. He has a consistent midrange. This is where guys like Jalen Brunson, Kyrie Iverson and DeMar DeRozan would have thrived instead of Curry.

You can make your argument for KD against Steph even though their overall body of work puts Steph ahead of him.

But imagine mentioning names like Brunson, Kyrie, Iverson and Demar Derozan
It's obvious you never watched prime Steph.

Skrrrrrrr:
Smh
Curry don suffer sha.
The disrespect.

I swear na only curry they ever get this kind disrespect because he's not the prototypical hip or flashy black basketball player with tattoos who chooses to pound the ball for 20secs before making a low iq, low efficiency attempt and he doesn't do the highlight dunk.

Imagine still doubting Steph curry in 2024

Some folks here wanted to drag the legacy of a 2 time MVP, 1 time Finals MVP, 4 Time NBA champion, scoring title winner, because he had a few bad shooting games while he was playing well overall.

Comparing him to jalen fucking brunson.

Oh wrong now..
Questioning the offense of the greatest 6 ft 3 inch and below player in nba history.

Imagine thinking the greatest shooter ever and only unanimous mvp winner doesn't have an offensive bag.
Player that was cooking even under Mark jackson's poverty offensive schemes.

Khanben:
Genuine question, is an offense based on setting screens not part of the game?.
Its like having a striker like van nisteroy and saying you know he won't be effective if his team does not have good crossers of the ball.

Their definition of great basketball player is a 1 v 1 iso merchant like iverson. They have forgotten it's 5 V 5.