Hoosierhoopster

And Bird later admitted Magic was better. That was a great two - battle though

Kobe was great for sure but I don’t place home top 5. He was knocked out by Nash’s Suns and couldn’t win after Shaq until they brought in a then star level Gasol. His competitiveness and killer instinct is right there with MJ, but I don’t put him at the same level as MJ, LBJ, or Magic. Top 10 or so for me, which has to include Duncan, maybe the best power forward ever. Bird for me is somewhere around top 5. Kareem and Bill Russell have to be in the mix

Haha I was literally just thinking of that Take that for data! press conference

Wherever you come down, I think at this point LeBron is undoubtedly top 5 and really at least top 3. It’s the impossible era debate, just imagine seeing MJ against LeBron, now that would be cool. I’ve seen both live, and Magic, all 3 we’re simply incredible. No one could stop MJ — once he got past the Pistons — but MJ never had to carry a team like the Verajo Cavs to the Finals, MJ never beat a team as good as that GS team in the Finals, back from 3-1 down, but MJ has 6 rings and was unstoppable leading those Bulls’ teams. His killer instinct was second to none,. It’s an impossible debate, and i’m Leaving out a couple of the obvious challengers

I never said he wasn't going to be a quality player, I said he had a bad season. Maybe "bad" is overstated, but he at most underwhelmed. Yes, he was a rookie, no he did not demonstrate anywhere near the level of play that he brought to the Pacers. That's the point, he did much better than anyone expected him to.

That's a completely fair take, I just see it differently -- it ignores that the Thunder lost Roberson. OKC was playing fantastic ball when Roberson went down, they adjusted afterwards, were decent, but dropped from a top 3 or so defensive team to something like top 15, and PG had to shift back to playing extra D on every possession. The P's didn't have those issues. When Vic wasn't on the floor though, they lost - which says a great deal about Vic's contribution, but also reflects that they're no near as good without him.

Not a good way to measure it. Same problem Vic had playing next to Westbrook. Westbrook took what, something like 40 shots in that last loss, and of course the Thunder play in the West. It turned out a good trade both ways, a good thing.

Definitely the way it worked out, which is great considering how bad Sabonid was the prior season. 🤡

EJ was fantastic. lol Draymod way to lose the ball

Yeah funny you say that, after years of Rockets games I had forgotten what real basketball fans sound like - refreshing

Yes I don't mean to say I don't think he'd be really good, or maybe great, wherever, kid has some crazy skills, but if you put him in Atlanta, or on the Knicks (God forbid), I doubt he'd be anywhere near where he is now. Right environment, system, coach makes a big difference. And yeah, must be nice to be a C's fan, lol. Btw, I went to the game against Chicago towards the end of the season, as I was in Boston and my high schooler really wanted to see a game. What a crowd. Playing against the lowly Bulls in a meaningless game, the arena was close to full and loud and supportive the full game.

Kind of cuts against the cutdowns of PG, lol. Kidding aside, those defensive team picks were a joke. Even Gobert -- clearly one of the best defenders in the League, but he played only 50-some games. You should not get an award when you're not on the floor for a big part of the season, just silly. Same clearly goes for Butler (59 games). PG played/started in 79 this season.

Ha! I knew it! And you're right, I didn't remember that, that's pretty encouraging for your team. Amazing that they've developed this quickly to this level.

So argumentative! the timing is the point - these guys are rookies, of course there was hope that they would develop into key pieces down the road, but no one saw this happening immediately and of course they’re going to have to figure this out

Hmm, two guys headlining the C's run to the Finals and then one just goes to the bench. This is a Stevens' team and doubt he'd have trouble making it work, he has all the (well earned) respect of his team, but your thinking is a bit set in stone here, imo. These guys are flat out studs at this point, they are absolutely headliners, moving one to the bench can make that team really, really deep (e.g., Pop's use of Ginobli), but this was not contemplated, no way, not this soon, and doubt you'd find any Celtic front office guy who says it was.

Oh I agree, but Tatum and Brown are now clearly starters and where Hayward fits in long term is now minimally less certain. There is a duplication of positions. No one thought Tatum and Brown would be this good this soon, but now, well, they are. Can't just disregard that, and if Boston's front office has done one thing clearly, it's build on players they like for the long-term going forward, like how they moved Thomas, etc. I just think there are some real questions here that Boston / Ainge are going to be wrestling with. Rozier is almost certain to get traded, for starters. Contract rights of course are going to impact all of this and of course Hayward has his, but this uber development of Tatum and Brown, really forced by Hayward's injury, raises real questions.

Gleas must be sleeping off his post-game celebrations.... Was listening to NBA radio driving in today and they commented that Tatum is 41 points away from becoming the leading rookie scorer, all time, in the playoffs. Of course there are more playoff games now and he's not about to be #1 in average scoring in the playoffs, but it's still really impressive. It's an interesting development in today's NBA, where you have Mitchell in Utah and Tatum and Brown in Boston playing at All Star levels, as rookies, leading their teams into the playoffs and in Tatum and Brown's case possibly (at this point probably) to the Finals. One question I had, is how much of how good Tatum and Brown look is that they're playing for Stevens in his system? This is not to take away from how good these young players are, but I Thomas was in the MVP discussion in Stevens' system, after being a complimentary piece before Boston and now (certainly at least partly due to injury) is an afterthought. Mitchell's a different cat, imo, he is a flat out dominant player as a rookie. But Tatum is freaking good, and Brown is outstanding, I'm just wondering how good they really are. Are we seeing guys who are both going to be 5+ time All Stars and in the discussion for League MVP, are they going to be the face of Boston like a Paul Pierce? I can't tell, if they were playing for the T-Wolves or Phoenix would they be this good? Flip to all this, and this is probably directed to Gleas, where does this put Hayward next year? Might he be traded?

Gleas is waxing eloquent somewhere

Seriously, cheated. Butler? He wasn't even on the floor for multiple weeks. You can look up PG's numbers, but I know you're more interested in tarring him lol

He shoved CP3 and then went over the back. It’s clear on the replay. That said with .5 seconds at the end of a playoff game with the foul being called on the team that took the shot? Riiiight

It was a great call by the home ref crew, if you’re a GS fan....

Hahaha Rockets just shut up GS on the road came back from 12 down in the 4th. let’s hear you flap your mouth now Draymond

I liked how he stretched the floor when Hibbert threw him to the floor.

Agree, I don't think they really have a shot at LBJ, and Simmons would be out in that kind of a deal. Especially given LBJ's age and how patient Philly was in building that team, I don't see it happening. PG though would be perfect, an elite two-way player who can score off ball from the wing, and at 28 has multiple years left.

haha