SimWorld NBA: The Chronicle

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May 5th, 2018

Stephen A. Smith on OKC's ceiling: "Max i'ma say this one time and one time only. The Thunder are the DARK HORSE to win an NBA championship this year!The San Antonio Spurs took down he defending champs albeit DISABLED... but still the defending champs and NOW... look at what the Thunder are doing to them! The East is lookin weaka then eva! And if the Toronto Raptors are the best that the East have to offer?... Are you kidding me?! Look at what's happening ova there in that series. I know i'm leaving out Houston but it's no forgone conclusion that they get outta their series and FURTHERFORE... OKC FINALLY seems to finding their stride and have the firepower to take down a D'Antoni-led team."

David Aldridge on Kawhi Leonard's future in San Antonio:"I'm not confirming anything here but my sources are telling me that the Celtics had been in contact with the Spurs all season in regard to Kawhi Leonard. I am even being told that packages cenetered around Jason Tatum and picks were offered to San Antonio back at the deadline. Kawhi, Pop & the Spurs have declined comment and have sad that they are focused on their series against OKC.

Joel Embiid on 4th quarter explosion in Game 4: "I mean we came out and did what we've been doing all season. Guys don't think that we are true contender and that's cool. We just come out and do what we do. We move the ball. We defend & everybody on this team plays hard. We just go out and play our game that Coach Brown tells us to play and we come back with wins."

Baron Davis on what to expect from the Warriors now: "What is there to say? they got swept. They played bad and there was locker room issues throughout the end of the year. And I don't wanna hear all that noise about them battling injuries cause they had more than enough firepower to get it done at least in the 1st round. They stunk up the joint and Draymond let his team down. Unless he can put his team before his emotions I see him as the odd man out next season."

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May 7th, 2018

Tony Parker on Kawhi Leonard rumors: "It definitely is a little bit of a distraction. We are professionals and we know that we have a job to do but all of the information that's floating around and how you guys are all over the place stirring the pot is definitely distracting."

Jalen Rose on all of the Spurs controversy: "I've said it before and I'll say it again... the San Antonio Spurs have had the best culture in the NBA over the past 20 years. With that being said; we have a new breed a player now in the NBA & that new breed of player is seeing how this whole Kawhi Leonard situation has played out. I highly doubt we see Kawhi re-sign with the Spurs this offseason & the Spurs best bet is to keep winning in this year's playoffs to keep him in a San Antonio jersey."

Michael Wilbon on Carmelo Anthony's playoff performance: "Carmelo Anthony's $26 million contract has been a lost expense of epic proportions for the Oklahoma City Thunder. If OKC loses this series Tony, I don't put the blame on Billy Donovan or Russell Westbrook. I put it squarely on Carmelo Anthony. 6 points last night! 8 in Game 1?! only getting 15+ in three of theses games for $26 million. I don't wanna hear that [Westbrook makes him a spot-up shooter mess either]. Melo fashions himself a superstar. It's time he plays like one."

Blake Griffin twitter comments on Rockets/Jazz series: "My man Spida is a much better player than @cp3 and he's showing it in this series #TakeNote"

Zach Lowe: "Sources are telling me that Kevin Love wants to sign a long term extension in Cleveland and that the brass is very much so on board as they expect Lebron to move on from the team."

Charley Rosen on Cleveland's chances tonight: "I expect the Cavs to come out fired up but Jonas Valanciunas has been extremely effective when utilized in this series and coach Casey has assured me that Jonas will get [plenty] of touches. Defensively Casey has said taht he won't do anything differently defensively on Kevin Love as he doesn't want to stretch his defense out too much. We could see Siakam get many more minutes over Ibaka for defensive purposes but no difference in philosophy."

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[ayyitskev]

May 7th, 2018

By: Adrian Wojnarowski

Cleveland Cavaliers Have Toronto On Ropes

In perhaps the most shocking story of this postseason thus far, a LeBron-less Cavaliers have the number-one seeded Toronto Raptors down 3-1. It really hasn't even been close, with Game 4 being a complete domination in favor of Cleveland, 135-106. Kevin Love has stepped up becoming the star the Cavs needed in this series, dropping 33 points. Kyle Korver and JR Smith combined for 44 points in Game 4 as well. Toronto's only way of coming back from a 3-1 deficit is to have whole team contribute. Serge Ibaka cannot have only six points on 14 shots. Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan cannot combine for 10 turnovers. Key bench players OG Anunoby, Pascal Siakam, Delon Wright and Jakob Poetl cannot combine for 13 points. Head coach Dwane Casey has been a steady presence for Toronto the past couple of years, however when the games count, he is not the coach Toronto needs at the helm. Bottom line, every game is now a must-win for Toronto, and Cleveland is one game away from the finishing blow. Cleveland has found their groove without their superstar, and it's scary.