Dion's in a Good Place

[HOFCeluck]

I Don't think Irving played much more per game their first two years together. But for whatever reason Irving shot better and of course has asignificantly better PER.

 

[Dave85]

sometimes in the short run, you can make a person into something they aren't. in the long run, they will usually become what they were. in dion's case, that is a chucker that dribbles alot and plays no defense.

I don't think it's as complicated as this. Basketball is a team sport in my opinion. Everyone should be taking care of everyone else. Maybe there's a better team culture in OKC than in CLE. I like CBB for this very reason. The NBA is a bunch of debutantes making plays for the highlight reel.

 

[HOFCeluck]

I don't think it's as complicated as this. Basketball is a team sport in my opinion. Everyone should be taking care of everyone else. Maybe there's a better team culture in OKC than in CLE. I like CBB for this very reason. The NBA is a bunch of debutantes making plays for the highlight reel.

I hear they don't play any defense in the NBA either.

 

[Dave85]

I hear they don't play any defense in the NBA either.

They don't unless it's the playoffs.

 

[Dave85]

I hear they don't play any defense in the NBA either.

This game turned me off to the NBA:


"This upcoming NBA season marks the 10 year anniversary of the greatest tragedy in sports history. 10 years ago, the Sacramento Kings were cheated from what would have been their first and only NBA title. Game 6, May 31st, 2002. The Kings would've won this game and won the series 4-2, but the refs stepped in."

After I watched this game I did not watch another NBA game for 10 years. As some point justice and fairness have to be take into account. This game was the greatest exhibition of everything that is wrong with our society.

 

[KingOnuaku]

Dion will continue to rain buckets in pick and roll so long as he continues to get possessions. OKC looks like a perfect spot with a chance to grow into a starting role and become the third option behind Durant and Westbrook.

 

[orangefan13]

I don't get the whole lebron with kyrie and love thing. Love is a low post monster who sits right in the middle of the low post, while Lebron is a slasher who you open the paint for. Love is barely even allowed to do that in cleveland because lebron needs to be in every play.
And kyrie is great on offense but awfull on defense it just doesn't fit lebrons style all that well at all. Dion fit in decently but was more of a roll the dice fg% wise to take blame for.

Its like when Melo was offered chicago all those hard working defenders around him, you can guess he would have played harder. :bang:

 

[skurey]

Love is an exposed fraud who can stat pad on bad teams. People were hoping Kyrie would improve his D but that doesn't seem to be the case yet.

 

[HOFCeluck]

This game turned me off to the NBA:


"This upcoming NBA season marks the 10 year anniversary of the greatest tragedy in sports history. 10 years ago, the Sacramento Kings were cheated from what would have been their first and only NBA title. Game 6, May 31st, 2002. The Kings would've won this game and won the series 4-2, but the refs stepped in."

After I watched this game I did not watch another NBA game for 10 years. As some point justice and fairness have to be take into account. This game was the greatest exhibition of everything that is wrong with our society.

To be fair i didn't like the NBA in 2002 either.

 

[OrangeDW]

This game turned me off to the NBA:


"This upcoming NBA season marks the 10 year anniversary of the greatest tragedy in sports history. 10 years ago, the Sacramento Kings were cheated from what would have been their first and only NBA title. Game 6, May 31st, 2002. The Kings would've won this game and won the series 4-2, but the refs stepped in."

After I watched this game I did not watch another NBA game for 10 years. As some point justice and fairness have to be take into account. This game was the greatest exhibition of everything that is wrong with our society.

I can think of quite a few college bball games that are reffed just as poorly every year. We can start with our Villanova game this year.

 

[kirbivore]

Love is an exposed fraud who can stat pad on bad teams. People were hoping Kyrie would improve his D but that doesn't seem to be the case yet.

Love is this generation's version of Shareef Abdur-Rahim

 

[KingOnuaku]

Love is this generation's version of Shareef Abdur-Rahim

You best not be talking smack about Shareef up in here. One of my favorites.

 

[Dave85]

I can think of quite a few college bball games that are reffed just as poorly every year. We can start with our Villanova game this year.

But not the Laker/King game. It was a completely new level of wrong.

 

[moqui]

Two things:

First, when Dion entered the draft, I posted that I did not think it was in his best interests to be a lottery pick, that it would be better for him to be drafted at the end of the first round and go to a winning team. His supporters on the board scoffed at that suggestion.

Second, Dion usually starts out well, but remember this key fact: The next time he spends three seasons with the same team will be the first time he spends three seasons with the same team. Four different high schools, a fiery 2 seasons at Syracuse, a difficult 2 plus years in Cleveland . . . draw your own conclusions.

 

[jncuse]

This game turned me off to the NBA:


"This upcoming NBA season marks the 10 year anniversary of the greatest tragedy in sports history. 10 years ago, the Sacramento Kings were cheated from what would have been their first and only NBA title. Game 6, May 31st, 2002. The Kings would've won this game and won the series 4-2, but the refs stepped in."

After I watched this game I did not watch another NBA game for 10 years. As some point justice and fairness have to be take into account. This game was the greatest exhibition of everything that is wrong with our society.

Seems like a typical Duke home game.

 

[HOFCeluck]

Oh FWIW he had 16 on 7/9 shooting in aa blowout of Orlando Sunday.

 

[Fireball Jr.]

Anybody catch any OKC games lately? Durant and Westbrook have completely taken him under his wing and his last 3 games are 21, 16, and 15 points. Click here http://stats.nba.com/player/#!/203079/gamelogs/ and look at his field goals in tonight's game against Golden State.

After every basket Durant and Westbrook are showing him love. It just goes to show that Cleveland has no idea how to nurture talent, and what happens when a guy goes from a toxic environment to a solid team-first environment with supportive leaders. Also shows that for everything great that Lebron is, leader and mentor is not one of those things.

You're right. LeBron's no leader. He's a docile, reserved sheep. a follower. http://nypost.com/2015/01/20/j-r-smith-lebron-a-more-hands-on-leader-than-carmelo/

 

[samspann1]

If J.R. Smith says it, it must be true :rolling:

 

[Fireball Jr.]

If J.R. Smith says it, it must be true :rolling:

I posted that article, and quote, because it's fresh, ran today in the NY Post. And, for all his eccentricity and all, I'd dare say JR Smith knows more about the NBA than some hoops fans on an Internet board.

How's Chris Bosh as an authoritative voice? "(LeBron's) a great leader," Chris Bosh says following practice, "Guys follow him easily." http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/...heat-winderman-chris-bosh-s102714-column.html

 

[samspann1]

Personally, I think you posted it because it was critical of Melo.

 

[OrangeDW]

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on...r-they-give-me-the-ball-like-i-touch-the-ball

Waiters doesn't hesitate to disclose the difference between his experience in Cleveland and Oklahoma City. After a 16-point performance Sunday at Orlando in which he made seven of nine shots, Waiters was asked what he's learned so far about where his shots will come from and how he fit into the offense.
He chuckled.
“Listen,” he said, “they give me the ball. Like, I touch the ball. Like, I actually, like, you know, touch the ball.”
It was the second time in less than a week that Waiters trumpeted the freedom the Thunder has given him.
“I'm able to feel the game out, knowing when to take the shot, when not to,” Waiters said. “Like I said, we got a great group of guys on this team who's very unselfish and they want you to be successful. So I think I came into a great situation.”

 

[OrangeDW]

Saw this tweet about Waiters the other day, I thought it was pretty good...

netw3rk‏@netw3rk Jan 16
Dion Waiters is that dude who fires bullets into a clearly dead body in an action movie
0 replies 182 retweets 314 favorites

 

[Fireball Jr.]

Personally, I think you posted it because it was critical of Melo.

I posted it because someone in this thread said LeBron's not a leader, I Googled "LeBron leadership" and first hit was the article I posted. Now you know the rest of the story.

 

[Fireball Jr.]

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on...r-they-give-me-the-ball-like-i-touch-the-ball

Waiters doesn't hesitate to disclose the difference between his experience in Cleveland and Oklahoma City. After a 16-point performance Sunday at Orlando in which he made seven of nine shots, Waiters was asked what he's learned so far about where his shots will come from and how he fit into the offense.
He chuckled.
“Listen,” he said, “they give me the ball. Like, I touch the ball. Like, I actually, like, you know, touch the ball.”
It was the second time in less than a week that Waiters trumpeted the freedom the Thunder has given him.
“I'm able to feel the game out, knowing when to take the shot, when not to,” Waiters said. “Like I said, we got a great group of guys on this team who's very unselfish and they want you to be successful. So I think I came into a great situation.”

If Dion says it, it must be true.

Of course, Dion's talking out of his tush ... the stats don't support what he claims.

"Interestingly enough, while Waiters clearly seems to feel more freedom in Brooks' offense, the numbers don't necessarily back up his claim. Through 32 games in Cleveland this season, Waiters was averaging 35.6 total touches and 31.6 front-court touches in 23.7 minutes per game, according to the NBA's SportVU player tracking data. Through five games in Oklahoma City, he's seen more court time (27.6 minutes per contest) but a bit less of the ball, averaging 34 total touches and 30.4 front-court touches a night.

"His total time of possession has dropped slightly (1.8 minutes per game in Cleveland, 1.7 in OKC) despite the extra four minutes of nightly playing time, too. And while he's tended to get the ball closer to the basket a bit more often through a handful of games with the Thunder than he did with the Cavs this season — he's averaging 0.8 "close touches" (defined as opportunities starting within 12 feet of the rim) per game in OKC, up from 0.5 in Cleveland — it's not a massive difference in terms of the shift in his offensive profile.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-b...like--you-know--touch-the-ball-200356522.html

 

[triplethrea]

I can see it with my own eyes on the court. It really doesn't matter what JR Smith or Chris Bosh say to the MEDIA, who can't handle the truth no matter how you put it.

Lebron tried mentoring Kyrie and Dion for a month or so and then gave up and now wants out. You know that week off he took in Miami to "rehab", I have friends who saw him on a yacht in Fort Lauderdale (I live in Miami). That dude gave up the second the going got tough in Cleveland. He took all the props for going back, talked about how tough he needs to work, shoots a couple motivational commercials and then quits the moment things don't go his way. That's no leader. That sounds like a guy who likes to think of himself as a leader but doesn't want to put in the work.

Besides Melo does not and has never tried playing the mentor role. He keeps to himself. He's not a phony and a flake. Miami rubbed off on Lebron's personality.