Tapology Talks: Basketball

I've seen a Tapology Talks for everything else so wth.

 

With the playoffs approaching lets talk some basketball.

Some news from recently:

- Heat get 18th win straight over Indiana.

- Lakers beat Chicago to take 8th seed in the West.

- Durants 23 pts and 10 rebs get the Thunder their 5th win in a row against the Cetics.

- Raptors beat Cavs, Kyrie Irving injures shoulder.

- Magic gave the 76ers their 5th straight loss.

- Suns beat Rockets even though Harden gets 38 pts.

* Edited at 03.11.2013, 12:11 AM ET *

I think Bennett is scared to post up. He used to be the biggest guy on the floor, now he's facing guys much bigger. It's a confidence thing. A lot of guards have that problem driving cuz they see the big bodies. If they can just get Bennett to post up and take some hard fouls, just get used to the contact, he should be fine.

Yeah, because just chilling around the arc shooting .24% from 3 doesn't really help anybody.

Actually chilling around the arc shooting .24% from 3 helps half the people on the court.  It's just not the team you're on that it helps.

@yossgold I just don't like Kyrie Irving because I feel as though he is ridiculously overrated. He's an excellent shooter and he's got excellent handles but I don't like his passing game, I really don't like his defense and I don't believe that he has the intangibles needed to lead a team to success in the NBA. I'd take Damian Lillard over Kyrie Irving every time.

Anthony Bennett is looking awesome, I really can't wait to see how he looks the next NBA season. He's always been quick in the post and I think he should focus on that, he's very athletic for his size. His jumper is questionable right now but remember the quality of shots he took last season...they were not good. I have a feeling he'll figure it out soon.

I guess I can see where you're coming from on Kyrie ... I actually do think he's got leadership qualities and the passing game was kinda hard to fully develop on the team he had with the system they had ... I guess time will tell ...

I actually see more upside on Kyrie than on Lillard. I'd say they're about the same level now. Maybe Lillard is a little more mature, but Kyrie is more of a playmaker than Lillard, so I can see him becoming more rounded than Lillard.

It's kind of like comparing Westbrook and Paul. Westbrook is the better scorer, but I don't think many people will take Westbrook over Paul (of course I'd take Lillard over Westbrook in a ****** heartbeat)

Really? I'd take Westbrook over Lillard actually, mostly because I think that Westbrook is just too psychologically ****** up to pass on.

Like honestly, Westbrook is in the same league as Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan in the way they just want to destroy their opponents without conceding anything whatsoever. I'd trust him to do more with a team than I would Lillard, though I do believe that Lillard is an amazing guard.

He does have that same mentality, but he doesn't have the same skill as those 2. Or the mental fortitude. He's also doesn't have a very high basketball IQ. Some of those shots he takes are just like "why???". He's young though, so the maturation process affect his game positively in the near future.


Too selfish for a PG and his assist numbers are inflated because most of his "assists" are dump offs to Durant. At this point, I don't think he could run a complex offensive system, which is great for OKC because they don't have any offensive plays other than "get the ball to Kevin". 

You know what? I've always said, OKC would benefit if they replaced Westbrook with a pass first PG, but after I wrote that, I realized maybe he's exactly what they need.

I think Westbrook's just passed qualifying for the "he's young" bye ... he's 25 and has been in the league for 6 seasons. He's no longer young (not old, but definitely not young), he's dumb.

He's very, very, very good at this basketball thing, great scorer, good rebounder, good defender, but will always have the *** moment just waiting to happen. He be stooopid.

I would take Kyrie, Lillard and Chris Paul over him without blinking.

* Edited at 07.31.2014, 11:19 AM ET *

@yoss. Bball players always mature with experience. Rasheed Wallace did it when he went to Detroit. Still had those techs, but not like in Portland. So I still think he has plenty of growing to do. I'm 25 and I'm still a dumbass. Most players start maturing in their late 20s, so I think he still has hope.

But I definitely agree with your last part. PGs I would take over Westbrook if starting my own team:

Parker, Curry, Paul, Uncle Drew, Lillard, Rondo, Lowry, Deron Williams (healthy), Rose (healthy). I would even consider Kemba Walker and Mike Conley. 

Gotta throw a (healthy) by Rondo too. He's only played like 65 games in the last 2 seasons combined. This is a tough call, because when Russ is on, there really aren't many PG's in the league that can top what he can do. But, it's definitely a trade off, because he's NOT always on and he makes 1 or 2 *** plays per game. I'm also excited to see what this "new" crop of young guards will bring to the table. MCW showed last year that he can definitely play at this level. I'd like to see Trey Burke have a full season in his starter (healthy) role. Exum looks like he's got talent, Payton looks like an exciting 2-way player that could be a solid player too. 

Yeah, I realized that after I hit submit and I was too lazy to correct it. Lol.

I'm excited for both those guys as well. Especially MCW. Everyone's saying he's not gonna get much better, but I don't believe that. Trey Burke is another good one, as is Marcus Smart. I really hope he does well. 

This one is kind of a long shot, but I really want to see how Dinwiddie on the Pistons turns out. He was supposed to be a first rounder, I heard possible lottery pick before he got hurt. If he can overcome injuries, that's a steal. Zach Levine is another one to keep an eye on, I feel he's gonna be hit or miss.

As a Pistons fan I can tell you that the greatest thing I heard about Dinwiddie after the draft is that his is the anti-Brandon Jennings.

Worst comes to worse, at least you guys picked up DJ Augustin. He showed flashes during the playoffs for a Bulls team that had very little offense...which is kind of what the Pistons are going through...don't forget Jodie Meeks, who's a great 3 point shooter. If KCP can shake off those first year jitters and SVG can whip the team into shape, who knows what could happen.

Not gonna lie, that's a lot of if's. I hope they do well though, I've always liked the Pistons. 

TBH, the only player on the Pistons that really matters is Drummond.  It's nice that SVG seems to have a plan, but that team goes where Dre takes them.

Pretty much. And hard to believe he can't even drink yet (legally). I think a lot of people sleep on Greg Monroe though. He's 24, and is a solid 15 pts 10 reb guy. Think the reason people don't bring him up is because he hasn't really improved. He does need that breakout year. 

But like I said, only 24. He has 3-4 years before he's deemed a lost cause, and even then, who's gonna say no to a big man who can put up 15 and 10 a night and has yet to miss a significant time due to injury (according to basketball reference, he's played 309 games out of a possible 312)

* Edited at 08.01.2014, 12:31 AM ET *

Monroe has quite a bit of trade value, I'm actually surprised they haven't tried moving him. 

I'd keep him around. He's a bigger offensive threat than Drummond. Trade Josh Smith. Let him chuck 3's somewhere else. Word on the rumor mills is their looking to send him to Sacramento for Derrick Williams. Love that trade for the Pistons. Williams put up some great games after Minnesota traded him to Sactown.

josh smith plays like an idiot but man he has some skills wish he had higher basketball iq