Exactly. Kawhi, when healthy is a top-5 player and they are not going to beat the Suns without him. The Suns are playing completely relaxed and have looked like they have been having fun this whole playoffs. I never would have thought that they would dominate the West the way that they have but then again they have been the healthiest team in the West, at least in every series that they have played.
And we're not even to the Finals yet? I stopped paying attention to the NBA a long time ago, but why is this NBA season going to extend well into July? Another covid adjustment, I assume. It seems like the NBA is just becoming a year-round sport.
They started later and played less games since last years interrupted season ended so late. However, I wish they’d always start the season later and run the playoffs/finals until late July. It’s great to have NBA deep into the summer.
Meh, I think a team could win with George as their #2…but not when there is such a large gap between George and the #3 and #4 players.
This is the first time in a long time that I don’t have a reason to pull against any of the teams that could win. I’d like to see Atlanta make it, but I think there is a pretty big talent gap between them and the 3 remaining teams.
There definitely is. I'm loving what Mcmillan has done with them. Guys like Huerter and Collins have really stepped up.
The Clippers could definitely win it with George as their #2 especially how the playoffs turned out this year. The Suns are struggling to beat the Clippers with George as the #1. They are two George missed free throws from being in a 2-2 series. Injuries have totally turned this year's playoffs upside down and the Clippers, with a full roster, would be the most talented roster. I would like to see the Suns win it this year. There is no player in the NBA that deserves a ring more than Chris Paul. Plays the right way and injuries have always hit him in the playoffs at the worst time. Giannis and Milwaukee should have other opportunities.
You are correct that the Clippers could win it all this year with a healthy Leonard. A lot has happened to make that possible this season (Lakers injuries, Nets injuries, Warriors injuries), but I suppose that’s the game.
He's no Scottie Pippen, but you can't simply call him a role player either. He's a top 30 defender and getting 26 and 10 in the playoffs. Clutch? That's a different topic.
I don't disagree. He falls somewhere between number 2 guy and role player. He could be somebody's third banana.
I think you are missing my point. I am not saying that Paul George is that good at all. I am saying that the remaining teams have been the beneficiaries of injuries and are flawed to the point that the Clippers could win with George as a #2. I'm not even convinced that the Suns can close out the series tonight with George as a #1.
I think George is individually better than Scottie Pippen. Pippen just had the benefit of being with Jordan. People forget Pippen's disastrous season in Houston. Many, also, forget Portland's meltdown with Pippen leading the way to start the Kobe/Shaq 3 peat. George is a #2. He's just not a Lebron, KD, or Kawhi as a wing and that is no crime. He led a team that went 7 games with Miami in the Eastern Conference Finals. Good Player. Just hasn't proven to be good enough to lead a team as the guy.
What does 95 and Houston have to do with 2021? You can't serious,y be trying to insinuate that these things have ANY connection.
Scottie Pippen is the most overrated player that was named in the NBA’s Top 50 years back. For people to think Scottie Pippen was better than Dominique Wilkins is comical. Pippen is a product of the greatness of Michael Jordan and the genius of Phil Jackson’s Triangle. Ron Harper has six rings in that system too. No one is thinking of Ron Harper as an all-time great. Pippen only averaged over 20 points a game 4 times in 17 seasons and it’s not like he was this big time assist guy. He only averaged 5.2 Assists Per Game for his career. You really saw what Pippen was once you took Jordan and Jackson out of the equation. An above-average player that played great defense and had an inconsistent jump shot. He was part of a supposed Big 3 in Houston (Olajuwon, Drexler, Pippen) and Pippen played so poorly they traded him after one year. I think sometimes the media gets too caught up in giving ancillary players like Pippen credit when they are in championship situations. During Pippen’s career in Chicago, you replace Pippen with 15-20 All-Star level players and the same thing happens.
You're entitled to your opinion. BTW it was Barkley not Drexler. Pippen asked for the trade out of Portland, and he made 1st team All defense that year. He only played 50 games.
What did Pippen do when he didn’t have Jordan to back him up. Pippen is the perfect example of that little brother that no one bothers in the neighborhood because they knew his brother would step in and destroy everyone.
Everyone played a shortened schedule in 1998-99 due to the lockout. However, Pippen was only marginally better in Portland. He was a glue guy that was the 3td to 4th offensive option behind Damon Stoudamire, Steve Smith, Detlef Schempf, and Rasheed Wallace. He actually played more like a wing version of Draymond Green in Portland
Still think PG is a #3 guy? Told you that I had zero confidence in the Suns closing out this series. Yes, Paul George is a B list star, but people have taken this Pandemic P slander too far. It’s like LeBron haters wanting to bring up 2011 all the time after the man owned the decade and won 4 titles. For my money, PG is the second best player left in these playoffs. Devin Booker and Trae Young are on the come, but they are young and have been up and down as well.
There was zero pressure to win tonights game. Let's see what happens next game. I mean, if they lose 4-2, nothing different.
