The Official 2016 NBA Playoffs Thread

[Vince, Pt. II]

Originally Posted by TroyF

Paul is everything I love about basketball and everything I hate about basketball wrapped into one.

Positives: The guy plays hard, he plays smart, he's freaking talented and a joy to watch.

Negatives: One of the cheaper players you will ever see off the ball. Watch this guy off the ball sometime if you hate me for saying this. Cheap and dirty shoves and slaps. . . and then he will constantly whine about getting calls. I mean constantly. It's horrible.

This, a million times. Chris Pail was my favorite basketball player until I watched him play.

[Arles]

Originally Posted by nol

Yeah, good thing those undervalued pieces were kind enough to team up with a scrub like Damian Lillard and carry him to the playoffs.

But this is the point, you don't know how great young players are until you surround them with NBA-level players. After Portland lost/traded both Aldridge and Batum - most NBA people felt they should tank and rebuild. But, instead they found undervalued guys and setup a team that could compete. Lillard isn't on the level of a Curry/Lebron/Kawhi/Durrant "superstar" - so it seemed farfetched that Portland could be a playoff contender with just him and castoffs. Now, had Paul and Blake been healthy, they probably lose in the first round. But, because of these injuries and the Curry injury, they have a puncher's chance at making round 2 (and a small chance at the WCF) because they made smart additions in FA.

They even maximized their value by magically causing the key players on a bunch of other teams to be injured while staying healthy themselves!

And this is why you don't tank if you can field a competitive team. If Portland and Boston make it to round 2, they will have a very appealing team to FAs, a ton of cap space and a bunch of assets heading into the offseason. Given injuries do happen (George, Love, Irving, Paul, Blake, Curry, Durrant and others in just the past two seasons), I would much rather be a 3-6 seed with a chance if injuries happen than pull a Philly and be dreadful with no chance. Boston didn't draft an elite talent and Portland was down to one legit NBA player (Lillard) and some unknowns (McCollum and Crabbe) going into the offseason. Yet, both are extremely competitive and could pull upsets in this playoff. That might be enough to get an A-list guy to come over in FA and then it's a whole new scenario.

[nol]

Originally Posted by Arles

But this is the point, you don't know how great young players are until you surround them with NBA-level players.

No, a lot of people knew that players like Aminu, Davis, Plumlee, etc. were decent and the team ended up being decent. They won 44 games, and the last time 44 games was enough to make the playoffs in the West was 2007. They were 15-25 at one point this year, and without the rash of injuries in the West to better teams that leaves you so far behind the pack there's nothing to play for. Now they look poised to beat the Clippers in round 1, which about 20 other teams would be able to do given the Clippers' injuries (seriously, teams like Milwaukee, Minnesota, Denver, Orlando would be able to pull this off).

Given injuries do happen (George, Love, Irving, Paul, Blake, Curry, Durrant and others in just the past two seasons), I would much rather be a 3-6 seed with a chance if injuries happen than pull a Philly and be dreadful with no chance.

Injuries do happen, and you don't get much say over whether they happen to your team or to the other team. If Damian Lillard got injured, the team is at the bottom of the league. Hell, if CJ McCollum had missed significant time that would have been enough to keep the Blazers out of the playoffs this year. If one fewer guy on the Clippers had been injured, this series is not particularly competitive (the game was tied in the 3rd quarter when Chris Paul went out, and this is with Redick and Griffin at 50-60%). If one fewer guy on Memphis or Utah had been hurt, the Blazers are already on vacation after being destroyed by the Thunder or Spurs.

Here's an interesting boxscore. Portland beat Memphis in overtime. Memphis was 30-21 and Portland was 25-27 at the time, and it was the game Marc Gasol played 10 minutes before suffering his season-ending injury. Give Memphis that game and the teams end up with the same regular season record, with the tiebreaker going to Memphis.

[Arles]

I'm not really disputing anything you are saying. My point is simply that a marginal team like Portland added a few key pieces in the offseason and became a playoff contender. Then, injuries to Paul, Griffin, Curry, Gasol and other western conf players gives them a realistic path to the Western Semis and an outside chance at the Western finals. There's nothing that special about Portland outside of finding some nice pieces on the cheap and cultivating a nice player who isn't a top 15 guy. Boston has followed a similar path. This path seems to be the best way to put yourself in a position for success (esp in injuries or other breaks go your way). Completely bottoming out and tanking not only kills your fan base interest, but it doesn't have you in a position like Portland or Boston to pounce on an FA or available star via trade if the situation arises. You are completely reliant on A) winning the lottery and B) having a franchise player in that lottery (that you identify). It's just too hard to rely only on the lottery when building a team (and keeping your fans).

If anything, this NBA season has shown that just being close (and healthy) can put you in position to make a decent playoff run.

[vex]

Blake Griffin is now out for the rest of the playoffs as well.

[Arles]

Just brutal for the Clips. For the first time in years they catch a bit of a break with Curry and then their team falls apart.

[nol]

Originally Posted by Arles

There's nothing that special about Portland outside of finding some nice pieces on the cheap and cultivating a nice player who isn't a top 15 guy.

What are you basing this off of? I hope it's not all-star appearances or something. Damian Lillard is good enough that his presence ensures a "competitive" team no matter who else is around him, especially for someone like you who considers 25 or so wins to be enough to make a team competitive. Lillard has been on All-NBA teams before and is at absolute worst the first guard off this year (which still would make him better than a couple of the centers who will end up chosen).

Boston has followed a similar path. This path seems to be the best way to put yourself in a position for success (esp in injuries or other breaks go your way).

Chicago has a nice player or two. Washington has a nice player or two. The Knicks have a nice player. The Bucks have a nice player or two. All these teams were in position for 'success' if Paul George, Andre Drummond, Paul Millsap, Al Horford, Kyle Lowry, Demar Derozan, Kemba Walker, and Nic Batum had all gotten injured. There's four mediocre lottery teams that apparently put themselves in the best position for success but just got a wee bit unlucky by not having every single team around them get wrecked by injuries.

Completely bottoming out and tanking not only kills your fan base interest

Concern troll alert. Philadelphia's attendance and TV ratings were up from last year. Both were not last in the league despite being the worst team in the league for once. I don't really care that much about why other people would choose to watch or not watch some random basketball team, so I don't feel the need to make up definitive statements that are just flat-out wrong.

Originally Posted by Arles

Just brutal for the Clips. For the first time in years they catch a bit of a break with Curry and then their team falls apart.

A few years ago Westbrook tore his meniscus in the first round, then Griffin got hurt a few days later and the Clippers lost the next two games to Memphis, who then beat Oklahoma City the next round. But that was at least a 56-win Memphis team they could have lost to anyways (especially with Vinny del Negro coaching at the time).

[wustin]

Looks like Paul is out for at least a month/4 weeks

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

[Arles]

Originally Posted by nol

What are you basing this off of? I hope it's not all-star appearances or something. Damian Lillard is good enough that his presence ensures a "competitive" team no matter who else is around him, especially for someone like you who considers 25 or so wins to be enough to make a team competitive. Lillard has been on All-NBA teams before and is at absolute worst the first guard off this year (which still would make him better than a couple of the centers who will end up chosen).

Lillard is a good player, but he's not a Lebron/Curry/Durant/Paul level player who makes a team a top 4 playoff team. He had the 6th best record in the West last year with Aldridge (a better player). But my point is that you don't even need a top player for this to work. Boston, Toronto and Portland have all put themselves in a decent position without tanking. Simply tanking for top picks just doesn't work - and you end up with an unwatchable product.

Concern troll alert. Philadelphia's attendance and TV ratings were up from last year. Both were not last in the league despite being the worst team in the league for once. I don't really care that much about why other people would choose to watch or not watch some random basketball team, so I don't feel the need to make up definitive statements that are just flat-out wrong.

Talk about lacking context. The Sixers averaged a 2.4 rating in 2012 - a year before "the Process" started. That rating dipped to 0.68 in the 2014-15 season, after their impressive back-to-back 19 win seasons. Now, it did "rise up" to 0.93 this year - but that rating is still pathetic (5th worst in the league). So, yes, after falling a staggering 72% after the first two years of the process - the ratings regained 15% of that 72% last year.

[nol]

Originally Posted by Arles

Talk about lacking context. The Sixers averaged a 2.4 rating in 2012 - a year before "the Process" started. That rating dipped to 0.68 in the 2014-15 season, after their impressive back-to-back 19 win seasons. Now, it did "rise up" to 0.93 this year - but that rating is still pathetic (5th worst in the league). So, yes, after falling a staggering 72% after the first two years of the process - the ratings regained 15% of that 72% last year.

Oh, the glory days of 2012 when the 76ers were 2nd-to-last in attendance. You still didn't answer why their ratings increased after a worse season this year; by your flawless logic, there should be a pretty strong correlation between TV ratings, attendance, and W-L record. There should probably be more concern trolling over what the Nuggets, Nets, Hornets, and Wizards did to really kill their fan bases because all those teams were "competitive" and couldn't get people to tune in, huh? What did the Hawks do to kill their fan base to only get a 1.2 in their 9th straight year of making the playoffs?

Maybe, just maybe, every team fluctuates around that 1-2 range unless they are really good for a prolonged stretch of time and/or have a superstar player (hmm, wonder how a team could possibly pull that off?), and chasing that rating in circles from year to year is a pretty idiotic way of judging how satisfied a team's fan base is.

Lillard is a good player, but he's not a Lebron/Curry/Durant/Paul level player who makes a team a top 4 playoff team.

No shit, there aren't too many players like that around. Lillard made them the 5th-best only because a bunch of players on better teams got injured. Paul George is a good player, and he made his team a top 7 playoff team because there weren't other teams getting injured around him.

He had the 6th best record in the West last year with Aldridge (a better player).

Are you trying to make this seem like the Blazers got better this year because they went from 6th to 5th place? Are you just pretending that they won more games than last year and it wasn't dependent on other teams getting injured (also the team was on pace for 56 wins before Wes Matthews got hurt last March). Good use of context there.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Arles

Now, it did "rise up" to 0.93 this year - but that rating is still pathetic (5th worst in the league).

And what does that say about the other four?

Yikes.

[nol]

Wow, this 3rd quarter has probably been enough to make it look like Atlanta's shooters have been hitting a decent percentage of their wide-open shots over the course of the series.

[nol]

I am at this Clippers game right now, and once I left I thought about how screwed they were, but then having that thought made me realize they were probably going to play really well.

[Groundhog]

Having Dwight play so many minutes down the stretch in a blowout loss seems like the basketball equivalent of 'don't let the door hit your ass on the way out'.

[Izulde]

Walton hired as Lakers coach. Yay!

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Izulde

Walton hired as Lakers coach. Yay!

Now if he can just figure out how to sneak Ceph Scurry & Tray Klompson into his luggage ....

[whomario]

Walton seems to be highly regarded by almost everyone. If he is anything as a coach as he was as a player, you´ll know he is hard working, open to ideas and being a good blend of personality and willingness to learn. I get why people don´t regard his success as the Wariors coach as his doing, but he seems to know his stuff and is very likely a better bet than some of the old coaches available that seem to have lost touch with how the game is going. I chuckle everytime Jeff Van Gundy is "being interviewed for the head coaching job". I liked him as the Rockets coach (despite his flaws), but besides the fact that i doubt he really wants to be a head coach anymore (he must have an awesome agent to do this dance for 5 years now, keep his name out there just in case without ever really trying), does anybody really think he´d work out ?

Just imagine any profession where you can just take off 9 years and return.

Meanwhile, the Spurs absolutely blitzed the Thunder in game 1, with Aldridge basically doing whatever the hell he wanted out there.

[stevew]

I feel like Walton has just committed career suicide. Surely he could have gotten a job with a much better team in a less robust media market and had a chance for success. Now he's looking at the distinct possibility of coaching a team that might not have a first round pick this year and might win something like 24 games next year.

[jbergey22]

Originally Posted by stevew

I feel like Walton has just committed career suicide. Surely he could have gotten a job with a much better team in a less robust media market and had a chance for success. Now he's looking at the distinct possibility of coaching a team that might not have a first round pick this year and might win something like 24 games next year.

He has his work cut out for him, no doubt. Step 1 is repairing that locker room chemistry. Swaggy just needs to go. He adds little if no value to the team yet brings a lot of negativity. Walton will need to use his recruiting skills to bring in some top free agent talent.

[whomario]

Originally Posted by stevew

I feel like Walton has just committed career suicide. Surely he could have gotten a job with a much better team in a less robust media market and had a chance for success. Now he's looking at the distinct possibility of coaching a team that might not have a first round pick this year and might win something like 24 games next year.

On the other hand he gets to be in the city he called home for years coaching "his" franchise and the bare cupboard (and no Kobe anymore) means relatively low expectations. If there ever was a time for a rookie coach to get a fair shake in LA, it´s probably now. Plus you don´t get many jobs where you both have few entrenched players and have a willing spender behind you (of course with the growing Cap and Tax numbers becomes a tad less crucial) while being at least potentially attractive to Free Agents (at least more than comparably crappy teams)

And i doubt if things go badly that other teams will suddenly see him as damaged goods considering they probably have a good idea of just how much trouble that organisation is in.

And hey, at least it´s not the Knicks

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by jbergey22

He has his work cut out for him, no doubt. Step 1 is repairing that locker room chemistry. Swaggy just needs to go. He adds little if no value to the team yet brings a lot of negativity. Walton will need to use his recruiting skills to bring in some top free agent talent.

Not sure a Swaggy dump repairs the chemistry there considering the mental midget kid created the latest locker room drama. I know that winning has a way of curing a lot of ills but I'm not sure how anybody on the roster this season ever really entirely gets past Russell's stunt.

Is he actually someone you can trust enough -- emotionally / mentally -- to build around?

[Brian Swartz]

As awesome as that first game was against OKC, I feel bad for Thunder fans, and it really makes me wonder about Donovan. They'll play a lot better going forward, but it didn't look they even knew what they were trying to do especially on defense. At least some of that's gotta be on the coach in my mind. Body language from the start was just bad, didn't look like they were ready. I expect at least Westbrook and probably the whole team to be in full rage mode for game 2.

[Groundhog]

If I were Walton, I'd have held out for a more appealing job. Regardless of how big a part he has personally played, the success of the Warriors would probably put him in a position to pull a 'Steve Kerr' in a couple more years and step into a team that's ready to compete. All it takes to rub the shine off a promising 'young' coach is 2-3 years of 20 win basketball.

Having said that, I'm not Walton and don't have the LA ties that he does... It was probably a no-brainer from his perspective.

[Groundhog]

Crazy ending to Spurs-Thunder tonight. Thunder inbounding with 13 seconds left up by 1, and Ibaka gets called for an offensive foul as the inbounder, as he shoved Manu (defending the inbound) to get some room. Spurs go on to miss the last shot and lose their 2nd home game of the season, but I don't think I've ever seen an offensive foul happen before on the inbounder, at any level.

[digamma]

He didn't get called for a foul. The Spurs just stole the ball.

[hoopsguy]

How in the world is Waiters in game at that spot to make the hideous in-bounds? Both the (non) foul, but also taking all that time before having to push the inbounds defender.

I'm not sure if that is bigger condemnation of Donovan or the front office to not have better options than that guy. -15 in 25 minutes tonight. 71% from foul line doesn't seem like a ticket to end game minutes for a guy who makes everything around him worse. I guess you could suggest Payne was even worse tonight than Waiters, but I don't think I'm exaggerating in saying I would rather have Singler in the game ice cold in that spot. Heck, knowing how much I think this guy sucks I would rather have Rumble the Bison inbounding the ball but I don't want to be totally irrational here ...

[Groundhog]

OK, that's what I get for relying on Twitter and vines while at work. Can someone summarise wtf happened at the end there? No call on the elbow?

[cartman]

I think Ginobili's reputation as a flopper didn't help him there.

[Groundhog]

OK, seen the clip now. Manu seems to have stepped on the line, but that's usually a warning if the ref hasn't already warned a player. Waiters' elbow happened directly next to the ref who I can only imagine was entirely focused on the count more than anything else. Looked like the refs basically swallowed their whistles on that entire possession, and there seemed to be a bit of contact going on all over the court.

[wustin]

Foot on the line by the player guarding the in-bounder has always been incredibly lenient depending how deep your foot is past the line. People trying to justify that with an elbow to the chest to create space to inbound the ball are ridiculous.

Though that entire sequence looked like the refs didn't want to dictate the outcome and whichever team wanted it the most would get it.

[Brian Swartz]

Oklahoma City definitely deserved to win the game. Spurs need to execute better if they are going to win this series. Game 3 should be ... interesting. Huge win for the Thunder obviously.

Originally Posted by wustin

Though that entire sequence looked like the refs didn't want to dictate the outcome and whichever team wanted it the most would get it.

I agree, and the fact that refs do this aggravates me to no end. By handling things this way(it happens a lot) they are still dictating the outcome, just doing it in a different way. The whole 'let the players decide' is just manifestly absurd -- if it's a foul on the second possession of the game, it has to be a foul on the last possession. Something is either a foul or it isn't. On that last possession there were at least three fouls that should have been called: Ginobili, Durant, and Aldridge all got fouled. Basketball shouldn't cease to be basketball just because it's the last play. The rules still apply.

/rant.

[Groundhog]

Vogel out in Indiana. A little unexpected, to put it lightly.

[stevew]

Wtf is Bird doing. Vogel will be unemployed for about a minute or two. Vogel to the Kings maybe?

[Groundhog]

Yep, there aren't a whole heap of other coaches in the league that I'd pick above him if I were picking a head coach: (not necessarily in order) Pop, Stevens, Carlisle, maybe Clifford, maybe Thibs, maybe Joerger (but probably not)... I'm not even sure about Kerr because we've never seen him without the most talented roster in the league.

[nol]

Originally Posted by Groundhog

Yep, there aren't a whole heap of other coaches in the league that I'd pick above him if I were picking a head coach: (not necessarily in order) Pop, Stevens, Carlisle, maybe Clifford, maybe Thibs, maybe Joerger (but probably not)... I'm not even sure about Kerr because we've never seen him without the most talented roster in the league.

Everybody who's a maybe is definitely better. Stan Van Gundy, Stotts, Budenholzer, and Doc Rivers are definitely better as well. Could probably name others but that already puts Vogel around the middle of the pack. He's good defensively and bad offensively, and the current Pacers team is not going to contend for anything that way. There are plenty of mid-tier players who will also have to find new teams in free agency this summer; that's how the world works.

[Groundhog]

Thanks for imparting upon me your knowledge of all things basketball, oh great sage of the hardwood

[nol]

Originally Posted by Groundhog

Thanks for imparting upon me your knowledge of all things basketball, oh great sage of the hardwood

You're welcome. Saw the comparison to Steve Kerr (you know, the guy who took over a roster that won 51 games and got eliminated in the first round and won 67 games and the NBA title the following season - don't think you'd see many people claiming the Warriors had the most talented roster in the league back in October 2014) and just assumed you hadn't seen game 5 of Raptors-Pacers. Or Game 7. Or any other past playoff series where the Pacers scored 70-80 points. Otherwise, that's a pretty comical lack of knowledge. Make sure to watch those games and possibly take notes as well.

It's chic to say that it's a travesty every time the coach of any team with more than 20 wins gets fired, but the reality is that downgrading from Vogel to a coach who is below average but at least not Byron Scott/Sam Mitchell levels of bad has less of an impact on Indiana's record next year than something like Solomon Hill leaving because the Pacers didn't pick up his option (which made playing the roster card while only looking in one direction interesting since it's much less of a leap to question whether Vogel is better than someone like Mike Malone, Quin Snyder or even the recently-fired Jeff Hornacek or Lionel Hollins than whether Steve Kerr is better than Vogel). Here we are in May and the Cavs have managed to not self-destruct after firing David Blatt.

Hopefully Vogel lands on his feet somewhere with a better roster fit (which could very well mean sitting things out this summer if only the Kings job is available), but it speaks to Jeff Van Gundy's constant advocacy for coaches that not bringing back a guy whose contract was up is viewed as such an injustice when something like Jason Thompson getting waived so the Warriors could see whether Anderson Varejao would be a marginal improvement as a 5-10 minute per game big man (he hasn't been) or Mario Chalmers getting waived after tearing his Achilles is just accepted as part of the business.

[Logan]

Originally Posted by nol

You're welcome. Saw the comparison to Steve Kerr (you know, the guy who took over a roster that won 51 games and got eliminated in the first round and won 67 games and the NBA title the following season - don't think you'd see many people claiming the Warriors had the most talented roster in the league back in October 2014) and just assumed you hadn't seen game 5 of Raptors-Pacers. Or Game 7. Or any other past playoff series where the Pacers scored 70-80 points. Otherwise, that's a pretty comical lack of knowledge. Make sure to watch those games and possibly take notes as well.

It's chic to say that it's a travesty every time the coach of any team with more than 20 wins gets fired, but the reality is that downgrading from Vogel to a coach who is below average but at least not Byron Scott/Sam Mitchell levels of bad has less of an impact on Indiana's record next year than something like Solomon Hill leaving because the Pacers didn't pick up his option.

Hopefully Vogel lands on his feet somewhere with a better roster fit (which could very well mean sitting things out this summer if only the Kings job is available), but it speaks to Jeff Van Gundy's constant advocacy for coaches that not bringing back a guy whose contract was up is viewed as such an injustice when something like Jason Thompson getting waived so the Warriors could see whether Anderson Varejao would be a marginal improvement as a 5-10 minute per game big man (he hasn't been) is just accepted as part of the business.

I'd like to know why you chose to copy your original post, delete it, and paste into a new post instead of just using the edit feature.

[Groundhog]

Originally Posted by nol

You're welcome.

Not sure why you are wasting your talents posting these gems to a message board - clearly you're cut out for the big time.

Saw the comparison to Steve Kerr (you know, the guy who took over a roster that won 51 games and got eliminated in the first round and won 67 games and the NBA title the following season - don't think you'd see many people claiming the Warriors had the most talented roster in the league back in October 2014)

I vaguely remember that - I think that was the same team that beat my team in the NBA finals? Pretty much the same squad that Luke Walton led to a 39-4 if I remember correctly. Lakers looking good next year, Walton is an offensive genius.

and just assumed you hadn't seen game 5 of Raptors-Pacers. Or Game 7. Or any other past playoff series where the Pacers scored 70-80 points. Otherwise, that's a pretty comical lack of knowledge. Make sure to watch those games and possibly take notes as well.

Believe it or not, I didn't watch a single Pacers-Raptors game, but thanks for pointing that out - I'm definitely going to fire that game up right now and make some notes so I can post them here, I can't imagine a better way to spend a Saturday morning. Really interested in particular to make note of all those missed jumpers from Vogel down the stretch. He's just so bad at offense.

[Groundhog]

I wish I'd put money down on Frye as top scorer in game 3 of Cavs-Hawks.

[Groundhog]

Spurs basketball is just so damn beautiful at times.

[Groundhog]

Pretty infuriating how poor Westbrook is at getting back on D after a miss, especially times he thinks he was fouled. For one of the most electric offensive players in the league, that's a real team-hurting weak spot and Parker has about 7 points tonight off of Westbrook's lack of effort by my count.

[Brian Swartz]

And now Joerger's out in Memphis. Maybe he and Vogel should switch places and then we can see who really is the better coach.

[murrayyyyy]

Originally Posted by Brian Swartz

And now Joerger's out in Memphis. Maybe he and Vogel should switch places and then we can see who really is the better coach.

As a Grizzlies fan I can only hope Vogel contacted them and asked abut the job. Joerger never got along with ownership and has been looking for a job for 3 years.

[stevew]

Hassan Whiteside getting hurt really sucks for him and I hope it isn't serious. After turning himself into a top notch player after bouncing around, it would really be disappointing if he doesn't get his big payday this summer.

[Vince, Pt. II]

Hat tip to Portland, they played a hell of a game. The Warriors had Draymond, Klay, and pretty much nobody else tonight. But every time they pushed, the Blazers pushed right back.

I still think you hold Curry out on Monday as well.

[Brian Swartz]

I'd say hold him out until the doctors say he's not going to be at risk for further injury. Based on what the Warriors have said I don't know when that is, but hard to imagine him missing more than one more game.

[Groundhog]

Might be a long wait for the Cavs while Heat-Raptors tear each other apart. I'd definitely prefer Toronto (especially minus Valanciunas) than Miami, given all the non-basketball factors that surround that match-up.

[Brian Swartz]

Heck of a game by Durant. Normally he's a less effective post-season player but he was amazing tonight. San Antonio has been the better team overall but not by much and they are in a real fight now. Expecting the intensity both ways to be even higher in Game 5.

[Groundhog]

The scary thing about the Thunder is that they can beat any team in the league on any given night because they have two of the best players in the league. Warriors, Spurs, anyone.

But I think the law of averages tends to catch up with them, because they do a lot of bad basketball things throughout a game, and for every step back three that Westbrook hits with 14+ seconds on the shot clock there's a handful of possession where he pounds the ball, doesn't run a play, leaves Durant standing around with his hands on his hips outside the arc, and takes rushed shots or doesn't hustle back on D. Over the length of a game, especially in the post season, those little things add up and will often be the difference between a win and a loss against a good, disciplined team.

I'm picking on Westbrook, but that's just because his are most visible with how much he handles the ball, and I'm too impartial to comment on Waiters....