NBA WinTentireF?!? LeBron, Curry lead All Star Game starters; Russell Westbrook left out
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https://theringer.com/bill-simmons-2017-nba-all-star-ballot-befc84ca1c74#.2lapfqnlh
Western Conference Backcourt
I crossed off the following guards in 0.14 seconds: Lou Williams (wait, what?) … C.J. McCollum (the modern-day Sam Jones, only if Sam occasionally wrote for The Players’ Tribune) … Damian Lillard (I like him 93.7 percent as much as I like McCollum, and they definitely need their own teams, so what about Dame to Minnesota for Kris Dunn, Zach LaVine and a top-four protected pick?) … Eric Gordon (he stole Klay Thompson’s stats) … Klay Thompson (Eric Gordon stole his stats) … and Mike Conley (until he got injured, having the best Conley season ever, hands down).
A scant 0.03 seconds later, I crossed off Chris Paul (out for six to eight weeks because the Clippers are cursed) and Steph Curry (healthy!) — not because they did anything wrong, but because Westbrook and Harden obliterated the field. If you’re wondering, Harden is my no-brainer MVP so far. He and his spirit animal, Mike D’Antoni, basically created a new style of basketball, only it’s not replicable because nobody else has the right mix of shooters and rollers. Oh, and NOBODY ELSE has James Harden. If Seven Seconds or Less was, “Give the ball to Steve Nash with pace,” then Seventeen Seconds or More is, “Spread the floor for James for 17 seconds, he’s a genius, he can get to any spot he wants, he’ll figure this out.” It’s unbelievable.
Here’s what shocked me about those choices. I never considered Steph Curry. You know, the guy who owned the NBA for two straight years? The most popular player since Jordan? The guy who drew thousands of fans just to watch him warm up an hour before games? The league’s best with-the-ball magician since Magic and Maravich? That guy?
Sure, you still flip Harrison Barnes and Andrew Bogut for Kevin Durant 100 times out of 100. And you handle the ensuing regular season exactly how Steve Kerr has handled it — keep experimenting with lineups, highlight different stars from game to game, focus on collective unselfishness over everything else. They’re on pace for 70 wins. Some of their signature numbers (plus-12.6 point differential, 31.3 assists per game, 49.9% FG) vault them in the conversation with the greatest teams already. And they haven’t even ripped off their inevitable 20-game winning streak yet.
And with all of that said …
I can’t remember anything like this happening before. The Warriors belonged to Curry, then Klay, then Draymond in that order. Durant showed up and Curry graciously shared the car keys with him, apparently forgetting that Kevin Durant IS AN AWESOME FUCKING DRIVER. You know what works really well? Anytime Kevin Durant drives the car! If he stays healthy, he’s retiring someday as the fourth-best forward ever. And he’s in his absolute prime. Right now. Any other time this has happened in NBA history, one of the two share-the-keys studs wasn’t in their prime: Moses (prime) and Doc (no); LeBron (prime) and Wade (no); Wade (getting there) and Shaq (no); Kareem (getting there) and Oscar (no); Magic (no) and Kareem (still); then Magic (yes) and Kareem (no).
Battle of the NBA Unicorns
Porzingis, Embiid, and Giannis are once-in-a-generation talents — and they’re still under 23. But whose future is…theringer.com
This time around, it’s Curry (yes) and Durant (yes). Only the 7-foot Durant affects a basketball game in more consistently positive wayson both ends,whereas Curry’s undeniable brilliance hinges on touches and hot streaks more than anything else. That’s what made Golden State’s 73-win season so implausible; they built a Hall of Fame offense around two exceptional shooters who caught fire at inexplicably consistent rates. This year’s Warriors offense is actually better — it just doesn’t feature Curry quite as much.And suddenly,the reigning two-time MVP isn’t even one of the two most impactful guards in his own conference. If Nike sent Durant undercover to Golden State to crash Under Armour’s stock, then congratulations, it worked.
The good news: Curry remains phenomenal. I’d bet anything that Kerr keeps tweaking things until 2017 Curry looks 95 percent like 2016 Curry, with the other 5 percent being sacrificed for good because of KD’s night-to-night brilliance. Right now, we’re at about 75–80 percent. And it’s a little bit of a bummer. I can’t lie. I miss the old Steph C. Straight from the go Steph C. Chop up the soul Steph C. Set on his goals Steph C.
Western Conference Backcourt
I crossed off the following guards in 0.14 seconds: Lou Williams (wait, what?) … C.J. McCollum (the modern-day Sam Jones, only if Sam occasionally wrote for The Players’ Tribune) … Damian Lillard (I like him 93.7 percent as much as I like McCollum, and they definitely need their own teams, so what about Dame to Minnesota for Kris Dunn, Zach LaVine and a top-four protected pick?) … Eric Gordon (he stole Klay Thompson’s stats) … Klay Thompson (Eric Gordon stole his stats) … and Mike Conley (until he got injured, having the best Conley season ever, hands down).
A scant 0.03 seconds later, I crossed off Chris Paul (out for six to eight weeks because the Clippers are cursed) and Steph Curry (healthy!) — not because they did anything wrong, but because Westbrook and Harden obliterated the field. If you’re wondering, Harden is my no-brainer MVP so far. He and his spirit animal, Mike D’Antoni, basically created a new style of basketball, only it’s not replicable because nobody else has the right mix of shooters and rollers. Oh, and NOBODY ELSE has James Harden. If Seven Seconds or Less was, “Give the ball to Steve Nash with pace,” then Seventeen Seconds or More is, “Spread the floor for James for 17 seconds, he’s a genius, he can get to any spot he wants, he’ll figure this out.” It’s unbelievable.
Here’s what shocked me about those choices. I never considered Steph Curry. You know, the guy who owned the NBA for two straight years? The most popular player since Jordan? The guy who drew thousands of fans just to watch him warm up an hour before games? The league’s best with-the-ball magician since Magic and Maravich? That guy?
Sure, you still flip Harrison Barnes and Andrew Bogut for Kevin Durant 100 times out of 100. And you handle the ensuing regular season exactly how Steve Kerr has handled it — keep experimenting with lineups, highlight different stars from game to game, focus on collective unselfishness over everything else. They’re on pace for 70 wins. Some of their signature numbers (plus-12.6 point differential, 31.3 assists per game, 49.9% FG) vault them in the conversation with the greatest teams already. And they haven’t even ripped off their inevitable 20-game winning streak yet.
And with all of that said …
I can’t remember anything like this happening before. The Warriors belonged to Curry, then Klay, then Draymond in that order. Durant showed up and Curry graciously shared the car keys with him, apparently forgetting that Kevin Durant IS AN AWESOME FUCKING DRIVER. You know what works really well? Anytime Kevin Durant drives the car! If he stays healthy, he’s retiring someday as the fourth-best forward ever. And he’s in his absolute prime. Right now. Any other time this has happened in NBA history, one of the two share-the-keys studs wasn’t in their prime: Moses (prime) and Doc (no); LeBron (prime) and Wade (no); Wade (getting there) and Shaq (no); Kareem (getting there) and Oscar (no); Magic (no) and Kareem (still); then Magic (yes) and Kareem (no).
Battle of the NBA Unicorns
Porzingis, Embiid, and Giannis are once-in-a-generation talents — and they’re still under 23. But whose future is…theringer.com
This time around, it’s Curry (yes) and Durant (yes). Only the 7-foot Durant affects a basketball game in more consistently positive wayson both ends,whereas Curry’s undeniable brilliance hinges on touches and hot streaks more than anything else. That’s what made Golden State’s 73-win season so implausible; they built a Hall of Fame offense around two exceptional shooters who caught fire at inexplicably consistent rates. This year’s Warriors offense is actually better — it just doesn’t feature Curry quite as much.And suddenly,the reigning two-time MVP isn’t even one of the two most impactful guards in his own conference. If Nike sent Durant undercover to Golden State to crash Under Armour’s stock, then congratulations, it worked.
The good news: Curry remains phenomenal. I’d bet anything that Kerr keeps tweaking things until 2017 Curry looks 95 percent like 2016 Curry, with the other 5 percent being sacrificed for good because of KD’s night-to-night brilliance. Right now, we’re at about 75–80 percent. And it’s a little bit of a bummer. I can’t lie. I miss the old Steph C. Straight from the go Steph C. Chop up the soul Steph C. Set on his goals Steph C.
https://theringer.com/russell-westbrook-not-an-nba-all-star-starter-198c2b490da3#.k2nw0dxet
The starting lineups for the NBA All-Star Game were released on Thursday and they are as follows: From a loaded Western Conference, the starting five is Golden State Warriors teammates Steph Curry and Kevin Durant, Houston’s James Harden, San Antonio’s Kawhi Leonard, and New Orleans center Anthony Davis. Out of the Eastern Conference, we get Cleveland teammates LeBron James and Kyrie Irving, plus Chicago’s Jimmy Butler, Toronto’s DeMar DeRozan, and Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo. The matchup between Davis and either LeBron or Antetokounmpo in the post means that the two teams will probably score a combined 5,000 points in regulation, so this is great.
It’s also terrible and a travesty and a gross miscarriage of justice.
Why? [Clambers up on top of five stacked soapboxes, adjusts settings on bullhorn.] For one thing, Isaiah Thomas is not starting in the All-Star Game. He has been scooped up from a crop of slippery, indomitable, and shorter-than-average freewheeling guards by Allen Iverson himself to join him in his Reebok-branded cloud castle.
It’s unfortunate, but what’s that extremely astronomically incorrect saying? If you shoot at the moon and miss, at least you’re among the stars? At the very least Thomas is, you know, up here, so that I can forgive.
Kyle Lowry, who is averaging 22.2 points per game (with an effective field goal percentage of 58.9 percent) and 7.1 assists, and is somehow, getting better at 30 years old, is not an All-Star starter.
But Lowry doesn’t compel me to grouse much either, and it was either him or Kyrie Irving, so that, too, I can forgive.
What I cannot forgive, and will forever hold against all of you, is that Russell “Zeus Genes” Westbrook is not an All-Star starter. Yes, the very same guy who has the second-most assists among NBA players this season, who is leading the league in scoring, and who is averaging a triple-double, which, in all NBA history, literally only Oscar Robertson has successfully done. That Russell Westbrook.
This Russell Westbrook.
This is like if Bill Belichick starts Jimmy Garoppolo over Tom Brady when the Patriots eventually reach the Super Bowl. This is like if Mongol laid siege to the earth and the Justice League benched Superman. This is like if Murphy Lee’s verse didn’t make it to the final remix of “Welcome To Atlanta.”
I understand that the All-Star Game is just a glorified exhibition, but Russell Westbrook doesn’t, and if you had anything to do with his exclusion from it, I hope that every soda you drink from henceforth is already shaken up.
The starting lineups for the NBA All-Star Game were released on Thursday and they are as follows: From a loaded Western Conference, the starting five is Golden State Warriors teammates Steph Curry and Kevin Durant, Houston’s James Harden, San Antonio’s Kawhi Leonard, and New Orleans center Anthony Davis. Out of the Eastern Conference, we get Cleveland teammates LeBron James and Kyrie Irving, plus Chicago’s Jimmy Butler, Toronto’s DeMar DeRozan, and Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo. The matchup between Davis and either LeBron or Antetokounmpo in the post means that the two teams will probably score a combined 5,000 points in regulation, so this is great.
It’s also terrible and a travesty and a gross miscarriage of justice.
Why? [Clambers up on top of five stacked soapboxes, adjusts settings on bullhorn.] For one thing, Isaiah Thomas is not starting in the All-Star Game. He has been scooped up from a crop of slippery, indomitable, and shorter-than-average freewheeling guards by Allen Iverson himself to join him in his Reebok-branded cloud castle.
It’s unfortunate, but what’s that extremely astronomically incorrect saying? If you shoot at the moon and miss, at least you’re among the stars? At the very least Thomas is, you know, up here, so that I can forgive.
Kyle Lowry, who is averaging 22.2 points per game (with an effective field goal percentage of 58.9 percent) and 7.1 assists, and is somehow, getting better at 30 years old, is not an All-Star starter.
But Lowry doesn’t compel me to grouse much either, and it was either him or Kyrie Irving, so that, too, I can forgive.
What I cannot forgive, and will forever hold against all of you, is that Russell “Zeus Genes” Westbrook is not an All-Star starter. Yes, the very same guy who has the second-most assists among NBA players this season, who is leading the league in scoring, and who is averaging a triple-double, which, in all NBA history, literally only Oscar Robertson has successfully done. That Russell Westbrook.
This Russell Westbrook.
This is like if Bill Belichick starts Jimmy Garoppolo over Tom Brady when the Patriots eventually reach the Super Bowl. This is like if Mongol laid siege to the earth and the Justice League benched Superman. This is like if Murphy Lee’s verse didn’t make it to the final remix of “Welcome To Atlanta.”
I understand that the All-Star Game is just a glorified exhibition, but Russell Westbrook doesn’t, and if you had anything to do with his exclusion from it, I hope that every soda you drink from henceforth is already shaken up.
The fans dont like his attitude!
He doesnt come off as likeable.
Steph does, they are brands. If we're talking
Basketball skills, id still be hard pressed to
Choose 1. He'll be an allstar, just not the
starter.
He doesnt come off as likeable.
Steph does, they are brands. If we're talking
Basketball skills, id still be hard pressed to
Choose 1. He'll be an allstar, just not the
starter.
why you shaking your head for?ain't no way in hell irving should be starting but he is too ;ain't nobody saying shit about that though
I see what you saying but Irving is a MUCH LESS egregious selection then leaving Furious Styles off.
The fans fucked it up as usual.
Can't even argue about that point. That's an accurate statement I believe.
yeah ...you see this woman here?
She was the kind have me pick her up from work every day
and didn't even have a car.
True story Cousin Jack...
I was young had my little gig and this was my first redbone wanna be model looking chick.
bitch ass niggaz I ran with gassed my head made me think I came up
So I had her on a leach (big mistake) at least I THOUGHT I did...but in reality she had ME running around like a puppy.
I was so shook, I was sitting out front in my car WAITING for her to get her hair did by the Dominicans uptown, bringing her food, got the other girls in there giggling and shit. (and unfortunately it would not be the LAST time I had a woman do that to me)
but she messed my head up because shew was really the FIRST woman I had been with that had an ego and confidence and KNEW she was beautiful...no Facebook Instagram bullshit...she KNEW and she would walk around her crib naked buy special underwear wear costumes slick scarves wanna have sex in public...if men can have multiple orgasms? Then I definitely had it with her. young Playa wasn't ready I kept finding those young freaks or experienced women WAY TO EARLY.
Went to her wedding... she invited me, the whole family know me loves me...joking I messed up.
I had the dance with her...she whispering in my ear do I still love her I laugh...and when I get ready to go she slips me something in my hand
It was her garter...the REAL one (not the prop they throw and it SMELLED like her. she said she wore it all day and saved it for me.
tell the rest another time.
No its not; I Thomas is averaging 28pts per game and 6 assist; hes leading the east in scoring and his team is the 3rd seed; irving is averaging 23 and 5; that is just as bad as curry over russell; dudes just aint saying shit about it; most of it is due to curry hate...
Steve Kerr 'disappointed' players 'made a mockery' of All-Star voting
MIAMI -- Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr called out players who submitted non-serious All-Star selections on their ballots in their first season of having voting influence in the process, saying they "made a mockery" of the system.
The coach was asked whether he altered his own reserve selections based on which All-Star starters made the cut. Warriors teammates Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry both received starting selections, the latter over the protestations of Oklahoma City fans who wanted Russell Westbrook to make it on account of averaging a triple-double. Kerr said, "Sent my vote in yesterday, didn't alter anything" -- before pivoting.
"I am very disappointed in the players, though," said Kerr, who will coach the Western Conference in the game, before the Warriors lost 105-102 at Miami on Monday night. "I mean, they've asked for a vote, and a lot of them just made a mockery of it."
Of the 324 players who voted, 128 did not vote for LeBron James and 154 did not vote for Kevin Durant, two seemingly obvious frontcourt picks. A large group of voters apparently voted for themselves, based on the number of role players who received one vote.
Kerr continued his thoughts on the disappointment. "So I don't know what the point is. So that was too bad, but all in all, these things are always going to be debatable about who's starting and who gets named. There's always going to be worthy players left out of the starting lineup, left out of the roster entirely. It's the same thing every year and I don't know what the perfect answer is."
When asked to elaborate on the specifics of the mockery, Kerr said, "I saw the list. I saw all the guys who got votes, and I don't know. Are you allowed to vote for yourself? So I don't know, are guys voting for themselves? I mean, there were 50 guys on there who had no business getting votes. So although a lot of people wrote in their buddies for the presidential vote as well, so maybe that's just their own way of making a statement. But I just -- I think if you're going to give the players [the vote], I think they should take it seriously. That's my own thought."
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said he called a staff meeting to get input on the ballot he'll send to the league.
"How is Russell Westbrook not in the starting lineup?'' Spoelstra asked. "I know how it's important to players, and especially guys that are giving their heart and soul and emotions into the game and should be rewarded for it. I do have to admit, in some years past, I would just give it to my assistants. Not anymore.''
Spoelstra said he told Heat center Hassan Whiteside, another All-Star reserve hopeful, that to be picked as an All-Star backup wouldn't be a consolation prize but rather would be a sign of respect.
"Players, they're not all voting. Fans, you have no idea where that's coming from,'' Spoelstra said. "But coaches ... they're paid to figure out who helps teams win, and I think that's the ultimate compliment if you get voted in by coaches. So I'm taking that responsibility a lot more seriously than I have in the past.''
https://www.google.com/webhp?hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiU2_6R3NrRAhWCRSYKHcj7BC8QPAgD#hl=en&q=steve+kerr
MIAMI -- Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr called out players who submitted non-serious All-Star selections on their ballots in their first season of having voting influence in the process, saying they "made a mockery" of the system.
The coach was asked whether he altered his own reserve selections based on which All-Star starters made the cut. Warriors teammates Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry both received starting selections, the latter over the protestations of Oklahoma City fans who wanted Russell Westbrook to make it on account of averaging a triple-double. Kerr said, "Sent my vote in yesterday, didn't alter anything" -- before pivoting.
"I am very disappointed in the players, though," said Kerr, who will coach the Western Conference in the game, before the Warriors lost 105-102 at Miami on Monday night. "I mean, they've asked for a vote, and a lot of them just made a mockery of it."
Of the 324 players who voted, 128 did not vote for LeBron James and 154 did not vote for Kevin Durant, two seemingly obvious frontcourt picks. A large group of voters apparently voted for themselves, based on the number of role players who received one vote.
Kerr continued his thoughts on the disappointment. "So I don't know what the point is. So that was too bad, but all in all, these things are always going to be debatable about who's starting and who gets named. There's always going to be worthy players left out of the starting lineup, left out of the roster entirely. It's the same thing every year and I don't know what the perfect answer is."
When asked to elaborate on the specifics of the mockery, Kerr said, "I saw the list. I saw all the guys who got votes, and I don't know. Are you allowed to vote for yourself? So I don't know, are guys voting for themselves? I mean, there were 50 guys on there who had no business getting votes. So although a lot of people wrote in their buddies for the presidential vote as well, so maybe that's just their own way of making a statement. But I just -- I think if you're going to give the players [the vote], I think they should take it seriously. That's my own thought."
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said he called a staff meeting to get input on the ballot he'll send to the league.
"How is Russell Westbrook not in the starting lineup?'' Spoelstra asked. "I know how it's important to players, and especially guys that are giving their heart and soul and emotions into the game and should be rewarded for it. I do have to admit, in some years past, I would just give it to my assistants. Not anymore.''
Spoelstra said he told Heat center Hassan Whiteside, another All-Star reserve hopeful, that to be picked as an All-Star backup wouldn't be a consolation prize but rather would be a sign of respect.
"Players, they're not all voting. Fans, you have no idea where that's coming from,'' Spoelstra said. "But coaches ... they're paid to figure out who helps teams win, and I think that's the ultimate compliment if you get voted in by coaches. So I'm taking that responsibility a lot more seriously than I have in the past.''
https://www.google.com/webhp?hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiU2_6R3NrRAhWCRSYKHcj7BC8QPAgD#hl=en&q=steve+kerr
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