All the greats have had a consistent mid-range. MJ, Kobe, Tony Parker....
If you're averaging all the 6'8" and over guys taking awkward fade-away or contested mid-range shots than yea, i can totally see that stat being very low. Otherwise, from my observation, you need the mid-range to win games.
Im not saying that no one should ever take another mid-range jumper. Just those bad, contested ones in the middle of the shot clock. eg: dribble, dribble, dribble (all in the same spot while teamates die of boredom) to fade-away jump-shot. ugh.
Btw, Kobe is the leading culprit in taking these bad, contested jump shots. Probably due to the fact that he doesnt trust his team-mates to score.
Big_Stacks"I don't worry about hittin' power, cause I don't give 'em nuttin' to hit." 4,670 Posts
yuichi said:
Big_Stacks said:
Hey Batmon,
Last night's Cavs vs Spurs game shows how key pysche is to winning games. All Leonard had to do is make one of the free throws, game over. Otherwise, SAS played a great game. Will and skills are necessary and Irving showed both last night. K. Love is an abysmal defender and it's going to hurt the Cavs in the playoffs if the don't address (perhaps with double-team schemes).
Peace,
Big Stacks from Kakalak
Kevin Love is obviously the odd man out. Same thing they said with Pau Gasol or Chris Bosh. "Soft", "inconsistent", "Not what they were with their previous team". You don't need another star player already loaded with superstars. Both Gasol and Bosh saved their star's asses on many nights.
Hey Yuichi,
My comments weren't about what Love did at Minnesota. Instead, I was concerned with how he will handle some of the tough 4s in the East at playoff time (e.g., Millsap, Noah, Nene, etc.). If opponent's coaches are smart, they'll exploit his match-up, so I think the Cavs need to plan for it (e.g., double-team schemes). Since you brought it up, I'll say his issues this year come with having to learn how to play with an alpha dog (LeBron). I think he should be able to find his role offensively given his versatility (can score with the jumper, back to the basket, and facing up). He should get on the block more to up his free throw attempts, which will help come playoff time. To me, that could be his niche since the Cavs don't really have a consistent post-up guy (e.g., Lebron and/or Mosgov on occasion). This could be really helpful when the game slows down (as happens deeper in the playoffs) and they need an easy bucket.
Like Bosh, they keep them on the three-point line to let lebron operate.
Small ball
This is exactly it. And the same frustrations that were voiced by Gasol and Bosh early on, when THEY were the ones being criticized for the system changes.
Lebron and Kyrie's games are about penetrating into the paint to be effective. and you can't have both a dominant big man and dominant wing man...(Lakers kinda had that with Shaq). Right now the Cavs are playing this hot potato shit that looks like they are sharing the ball, but it ultimately runs through the two star players, at which time they are able to sink a three, or go on some two-man game which works (for now). It ain't that pretty.
I remember with Miami, it was like that. They were trying to force chemistry between Wade and Lebron (throwing oops to each other) early on. Shit was kinda working. But what ultimately won them the titles was Bosh being patient with his opportunities, sinking the baseline or elbow 15-footers with consistency and their solid defense.
and yes, Lebron is a control freak. And Kyrie ain't no Tony Parker. And yes it is a shame, Kevin Love can't operate in the block.
Also, Love isn't as athletic as Bosh, and doesn't have the court-vision and consistent freethrow line J like Gasol. So it will be most difficult for him to make the adjustments.
I think it's a toss-up between Steph Curry and James Harden. Lebron obviously has turned around the Cavs, but he's won it before, so probably won't win it.
About 12 games left in the regular. No clear favorites.
East is pretty easy, it's either ATL or CLE that comes out.
West is a crap shoot.
GSW/OKC and HOU/SAS are gonna be good if they end up that way.
Bonus: Jahlil Okafor will be the best Okafor that the NBA has ever seen. True throwback, Tim Duncan style. Don't think I've seen a college player double-teamed as often as him.
I think it's a toss-up between Steph Curry and James Harden. Lebron obviously has turned around the Cavs, but he's won it before, so probably won't win it.
Steph has Klay.
LeBron has Kyrie.
[strong]Harden[/strong] has no one.
I think it's a toss-up between Steph Curry and James Harden. Lebron obviously has turned around the Cavs, but he's won it before, so probably won't win it.
Steph has Klay.
LeBron has Kyrie.
[strong]Harden[/strong] has no one.
Overall though, Steph does a little more in terms of distributing the ball to teammates.
Slight edge for Curry for me.
I think it's a toss-up between Steph Curry and James Harden. Lebron obviously has turned around the Cavs, but he's won it before, so probably won't win it.
Steph has Klay.
LeBron has Kyrie.
[strong]Harden[/strong] has no one.
Overall though, Steph does a little more in terms of distributing the ball to teammates.
Slight edge for Curry for me.
Take Klay away from that team does GSW have the same wins?
I think it's a toss-up between Steph Curry and James Harden. Lebron obviously has turned around the Cavs, but he's won it before, so probably won't win it.
Steph has Klay.
LeBron has Kyrie.
[strong]Harden[/strong] has no one.
Overall though, Steph does a little more in terms of distributing the ball to teammates.
Slight edge for Curry for me.
Take Klay away from that team does GSW have the same wins?
Harden gets more points and rebounds and doesnt have an All-Star playing w/ him?
This is all semantics at this point, but Steph makes his teammates better. ala Nash.
Harden is basically doing what Kobe was doing when he won his only regular-season MVP.
Houston is inconsistent, and have a very mediocre conference play record.
Whatever your preference is. Sometimes they give it to a legit MVP like Nash or Lebron.
Other times, they'll give it to someone that puts up a lot of buckets like Kobe or Durant.
Having an mvp season with role players is more impressive to me than a dude on a loaded team.
considering kevin love's "contributions" to this year cleveland squad, what would you consider has changed about this team's make up other than lebron james? removal of waiters and the addition of timofey mozgov and jr smith?
harden and curry are a good story, sure.... and maybe i dont really care for how whiny and floppy and flakey he can be, but lebron is, and will continue to be the mvp in my eyes until he decides he doesn't want to be.
Having an mvp season with role players is more impressive to me than a dude on a loaded team.
considering kevin love's "contributions" to this year cleveland squad, what would you consider has changed about this team's make up other than lebron james? removal of waiters and the addition of timofey mozgov and jr smith?
harden and curry are a good story, sure.... and maybe i dont really care for how whiny and floppy and flakey he can be, but lebron is, and will continue to be the mvp in my eyes until he decides he doesn't want to be.
Dude .....
Mike Brown was coaching last year. They added mike miller kendrick perkins iman slumpert and shawn marion. And theyre in the East.
Both GS and Houston have bettter records and both their mvps have played more games.
Blazers have 3 starters and their back up center out.
Did a great job making it a game.
I think they have now lost 5 in a row and SAS will soon be ahead of them in the West.
Comments
If you're averaging all the 6'8" and over guys taking awkward fade-away or contested mid-range shots than yea, i can totally see that stat being very low. Otherwise, from my observation, you need the mid-range to win games.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304049904579515883764199014
Btw, Kobe is the leading culprit in taking these bad, contested jump shots. Probably due to the fact that he doesnt trust his team-mates to score.
Hey Yuichi,
My comments weren't about what Love did at Minnesota. Instead, I was concerned with how he will handle some of the tough 4s in the East at playoff time (e.g., Millsap, Noah, Nene, etc.). If opponent's coaches are smart, they'll exploit his match-up, so I think the Cavs need to plan for it (e.g., double-team schemes). Since you brought it up, I'll say his issues this year come with having to learn how to play with an alpha dog (LeBron). I think he should be able to find his role offensively given his versatility (can score with the jumper, back to the basket, and facing up). He should get on the block more to up his free throw attempts, which will help come playoff time. To me, that could be his niche since the Cavs don't really have a consistent post-up guy (e.g., Lebron and/or Mosgov on occasion). This could be really helpful when the game slows down (as happens deeper in the playoffs) and they need an easy bucket.
Peace,
Big Stacks from Kakalak
Wow!!! Then, the Cavs are really underutilizing him. Offensively, he can offer far more than that.
Peace,
Big Stacks from Kakalak
Small ball
Hey Batmon,
Wouldn't a strong inside-outside game also open up things for LeBron? Forcing double-teams inside could work (I think).
Peace,
Big Stacks from Kakalak
This is exactly it. And the same frustrations that were voiced by Gasol and Bosh early on, when THEY were the ones being criticized for the system changes.
Lebron and Kyrie's games are about penetrating into the paint to be effective. and you can't have both a dominant big man and dominant wing man...(Lakers kinda had that with Shaq). Right now the Cavs are playing this hot potato shit that looks like they are sharing the ball, but it ultimately runs through the two star players, at which time they are able to sink a three, or go on some two-man game which works (for now). It ain't that pretty.
I remember with Miami, it was like that. They were trying to force chemistry between Wade and Lebron (throwing oops to each other) early on. Shit was kinda working. But what ultimately won them the titles was Bosh being patient with his opportunities, sinking the baseline or elbow 15-footers with consistency and their solid defense.
and yes, Lebron is a control freak. And Kyrie ain't no Tony Parker. And yes it is a shame, Kevin Love can't operate in the block.
I think it's a toss-up between Steph Curry and James Harden. Lebron obviously has turned around the Cavs, but he's won it before, so probably won't win it.
About 12 games left in the regular. No clear favorites.
East is pretty easy, it's either ATL or CLE that comes out.
West is a crap shoot.
GSW/OKC and HOU/SAS are gonna be good if they end up that way.
Bonus: Jahlil Okafor will be the best Okafor that the NBA has ever seen. True throwback, Tim Duncan style. Don't think I've seen a college player double-teamed as often as him.
Steph has Klay.
LeBron has Kyrie.
[strong]Harden[/strong] has no one.
Overall though, Steph does a little more in terms of distributing the ball to teammates.
Slight edge for Curry for me.
Take Klay away from that team does GSW have the same wins?
Hadren gets 7.0 assists per.
Curry gets 7.9 assists per.
That not that big a difference in distribution.
Harden gets more points and rebounds and doesnt have an All-Star playing w/ him?
This is all semantics at this point, but Steph makes his teammates better. ala Nash.
Harden is basically doing what Kobe was doing when he won his only regular-season MVP.
Houston is inconsistent, and have a very mediocre conference play record.
Whatever your preference is. Sometimes they give it to a legit MVP like Nash or Lebron.
Other times, they'll give it to someone that puts up a lot of buckets like Kobe or Durant.
Of course not. But they'd still make the playoffs with Steph and co.
Harden has some legit role players in Ariza, Beverly, and let's not forget, JOSH SMITH.
Harden is doing more with less help.
Kyrie is an All-Star
Should MJ NOT have won those MVPs? Should Shaq not have won? Since when did playing with/without an Allstar-caliber sidekick matter in the award?
Shit is as subjective as it gets.
kyrie BEEN an all-star. however.....
considering kevin love's "contributions" to this year cleveland squad, what would you consider has changed about this team's make up other than lebron james? removal of waiters and the addition of timofey mozgov and jr smith?
harden and curry are a good story, sure.... and maybe i dont really care for how whiny and floppy and flakey he can be, but lebron is, and will continue to be the mvp in my eyes until he decides he doesn't want to be.
Dude .....
Mike Brown was coaching last year. They added mike miller kendrick perkins iman slumpert and shawn marion. And theyre in the East.
Both GS and Houston have bettter records and both their mvps have played more games.
Please spend this time actually watching the 2014-2015 NBA season.
From Your Boss
Did a great job making it a game.
I think they have now lost 5 in a row and SAS will soon be ahead of them in the West.
Good qualification for MVP
Labron has been heroic in the Cavs turn around. If they finish 1st in the East good shot at MVP.
Harden puts up big numbers. The rest of his team is very good, no slouches.
Not enough to make him a More Valuable Player than Curry or Labron.
Don't get me started on Durant.