Mr. French
Tremendous Individual
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Warriors fans deserve to be a little jerky, they’ve been some of the best fans in the sport for 30 years, with mostly crap teams, IMO.
So you can't and won't evaluate KD's basketball playing ability fairly because of an off the court decision that conflicts with your definition of competition. I wish KD was still on OKC b/c that would have made for more competitive basketball, yet at the same time I can understand an athlete wanting to leave at best contentious situation for the best situation in the sport. All kinds of athletes in various sports choose the best situation to maximize their skills and earnings, for me leaving a team for a competitor isn't grounds for blacklisting a guy. I can still enjoy watching KD play and appreciate him.Because competition and the competitive spirit is what drives sports. And while both moves:
Taking three stars from different teams and forming a new super-team (Bron)
Joining a dynastic power that just won 73 games with 3 HOFer and a unanimous MVP, who just came back from being down 3-1 on you in conference finals
May be on the same spectrum of actions that betray that competitive spirit, there is substantial distance between them on that spectrum.
https://deadspin.com/watching-the-nba-finals-at-oracle-arena-with-the-overlo-1826500031
Here's something some of us can agree on, Dubs fans are the worst fans in all of sports. The team itself is literally trying to make “Hamptons Five” a thing. They have this strain of “f' you” classism that make me think the Pats aren’t so bad. The team leaving behind its Oakland fans is just like the indicative cherry on top a whole bunch of Silicon Valley vibe classism and pretension.
Warriors fans deserve to be a little jerky, they’ve been some of the best fans in the sport for 30 years, with mostly crap teams, IMO.
For all the trashing KD has taken for being "soft," he was essentially a Spurs-killer, beating two of their better teams in the last decade. He also took a too-young OKC to the Finals. Westbrook was very good and all, but those were KD's teams.
and maybe as 2nd banana Durant decides to go elsewhere next year in a Kyrie Irving kind of way. If he chooses Philly, Boston or Houston then he really is a
If he chose the Cavs and then came back and beat the Warriors in the finals would he be vindicated?!
So you can't and won't evaluate KD's basketball playing ability fairly because of an off the court decision that conflicts with your definition of competition. I wish KD was still on OKC b/c that would have made for more competitive basketball, yet at the same time I can understand an athlete wanting to leave at best contentious situation for the best situation in the sport. All kinds of athletes in various sports choose the best situation to maximize their skills and earnings, for me leaving a team for a competitor isn't grounds for blacklisting a guy. I can still enjoy watching KD play and appreciate him.
But we all have our hot buttons, I rooted against straight from high school NBA players and very few ever broke through that dislike - I wanted them all proven not ready. But if that happened (i.e. Kobe choking early, Kendrick P, Gerald Greene) or they were so great it was obviously the right move (LeBron, KG) then I discarded my personal bias. In this case as great as he is, I think Russ' hero ball has proven that Durant had to get out of there. Assuming that he simply chose the best situation and the fact that it was the team that just beat him was merely happenstance. The fact that the team was already too good is what makes it problematic
But its been bad for basketball. The Warriors are literally worse this year than either of the last two because they are too talented, too much better than the comp and therefore bored. That is a ridiculous state of affairs in the most competitive league in the world and I'm sure it has impacted Durant more than anyone else on the team. Oddly then the best way for Durant to currently fix this is for the Warriors to be more dominant. But I'm kinda rooting for Curry to take the wheel of the team, win finals MVP and maybe as 2nd banana Durant decides to go elsewhere next year in a Kyrie Irving kind of way. If he chooses Philly, Boston or Houston then he really is a
If he chose the Cavs and then came back and beat the Warriors in the finals would he be vindicated?!
Because competition and the competitive spirit is what drives sports. And while both moves:
Taking three stars from different teams and forming a new super-team (Bron)
Joining a dynastic power that just won 73 games with 3 HOFer and a unanimous MVP, who just came back from being down 3-1 on you in conference finals
May be on the same spectrum of actions that betray that competitive spirit, there is substantial distance between them on that spectrum.
I’m from the Hamptons, no one lukes them here, it’s pretty funny.https://deadspin.com/watching-the-nba-finals-at-oracle-arena-with-the-overlo-1826500031
Here's something some of us can agree on, Dubs fans are the worst fans in all of sports. The team itself is literally trying to make “Hamptons Five” a thing. They have this strain of “f' you” classism that make me think the Pats aren’t so bad. The team leaving behind its Oakland fans is just like the indicative cherry on top a whole bunch of Silicon Valley vibe classism and pretension.
No chance. The Warriors offer the perfect system for Durant. Exactly the way he wants to play. He doesn't seem to be the type of guy who needs or wants to be the man.
It's Silicon Valley the largest concentration of young uber-rich. You're going to have a lot of douches but it's not representative of the Warriors fanbase, they always had great fans and that whole region wasn't always rich central, unfortunately the real fans have gotten priced out. Anytime your city changes and gets more new wealth your fans will change some. It's happened in the Bay, NYC, Boston, and Seattle.'Hamptons 5' might be the most obnoxious team nick in history. Be more wankerish. You can't.
Deadspin is such a lame site, but I kinda feel that classism thing. Even with other obnoxious fanbases, you don't get that.
Thing is, this is mostly not those people. Silicone valley jumps on a winner like no other place in the US. Hype train.
I think you’re being a little difficult here. KD made a controversial decision that sorta seemed like cop out, we’re on one side that disagrees with his choice and find it very different from LeBron’sWhat's the worst part of it? Is it joining the team that beat them? Or the already 3 HOFs thing? Or is it only when both combined? Is there a line? What if it were 2 HOFs and eliminated by them? 1 HOF, and 1 perennial All-Star?
Is it because they had the best record in the league previously? They didn't even win the title that year.
Again, I'm going to have to disagree. It's about finding the best fit and chasing championships. Lebron did it, Durant did it, and a whole bunch of other players did it.I think you’re being a little difficult here. KD made a controversial decision that sorta seemed like cop out, we’re on one side that disagrees with his choice and find it very different from LeBron’s
True, but I can see when Steph's star shines the brightest it makes Durant's dimmer. Durant is somehow the 2nd best player in basketball yet the 2nd best guy on his own team on certain nights.No chance. The Warriors offer the perfect system for Durant. Exactly the way he wants to play. He doesn't seem to be the type of guy who needs or wants to be the man.
Yeah but LeBron got such an absurd amount of hate. Durant has too, don’t get me wrong, but his choice was more controversial in my opinion.Again, I'm going to have to disagree. It's about finding the best fit and chasing championships. Lebron did it, Durant did it, and a whole bunch of other players did it.
Yeah but LeBron got such an absurd amount of hate. Durant has too, don’t get me wrong, but his choice was more controversial in my opinion.
I see what you're saying but I think a lot of the hate with Lebron was the circus surrounding the decision and it was the first time fans felt like no other teams in the NBA could compete anymore. The Celtics created a super team just a few years before but Lebron, Wade, and Bosh joining forces in South Beach felt different. As to Durant joining the Warriors I can see how many hate it and soured on him for joining forces but the Warrior hate feels strange. The Warriors did it all the right way, just like the Spurs. They became a super team because of amazing draft picks in Curry, Klay, and Draymond.Yeah but LeBron got such an absurd amount of hate. Durant has too, don’t get me wrong, but his choice was more controversial in my opinion.
And, if you want to be mad at people, be mad at those players on other teams, since they refused (perhaps rightly) to smooth the cap jump, allowing Durant to go there.I see what you're saying but I think a lot of the hate with Lebron was the circus surrounding the decision and it was the first time fans felt like no other teams in the NBA could compete anymore. The Celtics created a super team just a few years before but Lebron, Wade, and Bosh joining forces in South Beach felt different. As to Durant joining the Warriors I can see how many hate it and soured on him for joining forces but the Warrior hate feels strange. The Warriors did it all the right way, just like the Spurs. They became a super team because of amazing draft picks in Curry, Klay, and Draymond.
I see what you're saying but I think a lot of the hate with Lebron was the circus surrounding the decision and it was the first time fans felt like no other teams in the NBA could compete anymore. The Celtics created a super team just a few years before but Lebron, Wade, and Bosh joining forces in South Beach felt different. As to Durant joining the Warriors I can see how many hate it and soured on him for joining forces but the Warrior hate feels strange. The Warriors did it all the right way, just like the Spurs. They became a super team because of amazing draft picks in Curry, Klay, and Draymond.
And not to mention they stand in at least a few degrees of separation from what happens on the courtIt doesn’t help that the Warriors owner is a total as well, especially with his “light years ahead of everyone else” quote during their record setting regular season. Lacob and the other Silicon Valley venture capitalists that own the Warriors credit themselves first and foremost with the success of the team, saying that it’s what venture capitalists do best (“building company after company”) and that it was no accident. It’s a really bad thing to say because it’s so dismissive of other well run organizations, like the Spurs.
Again, I'm going to have to disagree. It's about finding the best fit and chasing championships. Lebron did it, Durant did it, and a whole bunch of other players did it.
I see what you're saying but I think a lot of the hate with Lebron was the circus surrounding the decision and it was the first time fans felt like no other teams in the NBA could compete anymore. The Celtics created a super team just a few years before but Lebron, Wade, and Bosh joining forces in South Beach felt different. As to Durant joining the Warriors I can see how many hate it and soured on him for joining forces but the Warrior hate feels strange. The Warriors did it all the right way, just like the Spurs. They became a super team because of amazing draft picks in Curry, Klay, and Draymond.
Tonight is a really big game. Cavs need it both to have any chance in the series AND to have any chance at retaining LeBron. Not the biggest game in Cavs history since you have the 2016 finals, but outside of games 6 & 7 of that series certainly the biggest.
It seems binary, either the team steps up both offensively & defensively and they win or they don't. Normally I'd think the Warriors would have something to say about this and possibly bring a killer mentality to stomp on Cleveland's throats, but that simply hasn't been in the Warriors nature this season. I guess the 3rd theoretical possibility is LeBron has a mediocre game, but that's just not happening.
Even though I predicted a Warriors sweep and I predict LeBron goes to LA, I acknowledge the possibility that LeBron stays in Cleveland at least one more year and therefore I kind of think he's going to get it done tonight. Maybe that's just what I want to watch.