Winning > Tanking... All day..

[ericerau]

I can't believe some people consider this winning. Relax, just because the team won three in a row doesn't mean they are closing in on the playoffs. Enjoy the wins, we deserve them. The players deserve them. We had to endure a bunch of awful basketball over the last couple years.

We have a 2nd year player in an all star game and one of the worst records in basketball. Grant secured enough picks to give us a hopeful future. How much better do you want it to get? Would you rather be like the wizards, few years after getting Wall they still look like shit? Or maybe the Bulls, you hit a homerun draft pick in Rosé but never get to see a legitimate playoff run? if a few wins today destroys this teams future, then we were in trouble yesterday.

 

[AussieKyrie]

I can't believe some people consider this winning. Relax, just because the team won three in a row doesn't mean they are closing in on the playoffs. Enjoy the wins, we deserve them. The players deserve them. We had to endure a bunch of awful basketball over the last couple years.

We have a 2nd year player in an all star game and one of the worst records in basketball. Grant secured enough picks to give us a hopeful future. How much better do you want it to get? Would you rather be like the wizards, few years after getting Wall they still look like shit? Or maybe the Bulls, you hit a homerun draft pick in Rosé but never get to see a legitimate playoff run? if a few wins today destroys this teams future, then we were in trouble yesterday.

dude that is so deep

agree with what your saying though. I just hope we dont get too carried away with ' pointless ' wins to finish the season. But kyrie draining clutch buzzer beaters is alright with me

 

[1B4IGO]

dude that is so deep

agree with what your saying though. I just hope we dont get too carried away with ' pointless ' wins to finish the season. But kyrie draining clutch buzzer beaters is alright with me

I'm sorry but are there really pointless wins? How long did it take LeBron to hit a game winner like that? I'd rather see this team learn to win than dwell in failure. As a player I can attest that losing weighs heavy on players, it breeds low level energy and hopelessness.

Enjoy the wins, I bet the players are enjoying this much more.

 

[petes999]

Remember, OKC went from 20-62, 23-59 to 50-32 in three year. These guys know how to win. The key is attitude which Grant drafts for. Teams like Sac have head cases that keep them fom jelling and ever winning seriously. There is a difference in telling a team to loss versus telling a team to play to become better by using this season to learn to come together as a team, if they know playoffs are not a reality.

Hey, I love Irving to hit that winning shot. However, I love it just as much if he threw away 5 passes to Waiters until they figure out instinctively where the other will be for that key play. Because in Game 7, OKC/Miami will cover Irving better than Toronto or Milwaukee ever could, unless they take the Irving/Waiters connection as a serious threat and not peel off Wade/Martin or Bosh/Ibaka to double/triple team Irving. You dont want that one man show another time around.

 

[KI4MVP]

Remember, OKC went from 20-62, 23-59 to 50-32 in three year. These guys know how to win. The key is attitude which Grant drafts for. Teams like Sac have head cases that keep them fom jelling and ever winning seriously. There is a difference in telling a team to loss versus telling a team to play to become better by using this season to learn to come together as a team, if they know playoffs are not a reality.

Hey, I love Irving to hit that winning shot. However, I love it just as much if he threw away 5 passes to Waiters until they figure out instinctively where the other will be for that key play. Because in Game 7, OKC/Miami will cover Irving better than Toronto or Milwaukee ever could, unless they take the Irving/Waiters connection as a serious threat and not peel off Wade/Martin or Bosh/Ibaka to double/triple team Irving. You dont want that one man show another time around.

the last one man show's fatal flaw was being too willing to let someone else decide who wins the game. While he was here he too often passed to inferior teammates. Remember the time he made Eric Snow take the game winning jumper attempt, which he had absolutely no chance to make? To this day he still disappears in key situations. See the Boston game sunday. Both overtimes he doesn't even try to get the ball in the final 5 seconds with the game on the line.

 

[Jack Brickman]

the last one man show's fatal flaw was being too willing to let someone else decide who wins the game. While he was here he too often passed to inferior teammates. Remember the time he made Eric Snow take the game winning jumper attempt, which he had absolutely no chance to make? To this day he still disappears in key situations. See the Boston game sunday. Both overtimes he doesn't even try to get the ball in the final 5 seconds with the game on the line.

The best memory I have of Eric Snow was at a game I was at the Q for. He made a jumper from around the free throw line and the crowd went nuts. It was hilarious.

 

[KI4MVP]

The best memory I have of Eric Snow was at a game I was at the Q for. He made a jumper from around the free throw line and the crowd went nuts. It was hilarious.

That was the game after our big trade where he was forced to play on his bad knee because we had to sign I think 3 D-League players to have a minimum 8 man roster, yet we impossibly won over the Wizards. Snow hadn't played in over a week and never played again.

 

[Jon]

But the mocks don't mean shit because they're not reality. Reality is what teams actually would have taken.

And in that case the only thing we know for sure is that the Cavs would have taken Dion #4 because they did. Anything else from any other club could have just been a smokescreen before the draft, and after the draft GMs are all acting like the guy they took is the guy they wanted all along.

So, unless you've got access to each teams final draft chart, it's going to be less biased to go back to talent rankings (aka early mock drafts).

 

[Jon]

the last one man show's fatal flaw was being too willing to let someone else decide who wins the game.

The fatal flaw was that he was a one man show.... remember when the Heat and the Lakers didn't have a lot of talent? We'd send double teams at Kobe or Wade and caused no end of havoc. Teams did the same to Jordan back in the day and the Bulls didn't start winning championships until Jordan started giving up the ball. Of course James has talent around him in Miami and his struggles are different, but this isn't the LeBron thread .. this is about Kyrie.

And both viewpoints are right. Kyrie does need to learn how to close games so his game winners are fantastic for his and the team's confidence ... but by doing so he will also gain the respect/fear of opponents, and they will overplay him, and force him to find the open man - perhaps even deny him the ball.

There's no reason to be force-feeding Tristan or Dion to see if they can close games for us, but it would be a mistake to not explore that in the future as they get more comfortable with what they can do on the floor.

 

[petes999]

the last one man show's fatal flaw was being too willing to let someone else decide who wins the game. While he was here he too often passed to inferior teammates. Remember the time he made Eric Snow take the game winning jumper attempt, which he had absolutely no chance to make? To this day he still disappears in key situations. See the Boston game sunday. Both overtimes he doesn't even try to get the ball in the final 5 seconds with the game on the line.

So is what you're saying is you either have the desire to put the game on your shoulder or don't and can do it or you don't? For me, Irving has shown he can do both; I don't need to see that to prove it anymore. What I want to see is if Waiters can be hundred times better than Snow. I rather find that out this year than next. If he is like Snow and losses 5 games for us let it be now so we can try for MacLemore or Mohammad to pair up with Irving so he isn't tripled teamed come Game 7 when it counts.

 

[KI4MVP]

The fatal flaw was that he was a one man show.... remember when the Heat and the Lakers didn't have a lot of talent? We'd send double teams at Kobe or Wade and caused no end of havoc. Teams did the same to Jordan back in the day and the Bulls didn't start winning championships until Jordan started giving up the ball. Of course James has talent around him in Miami and his struggles are different, but this isn't the LeBron thread .. this is about Kyrie.

And both viewpoints are right. Kyrie does need to learn how to close games so his game winners are fantastic for his and the team's confidence ... but by doing so he will also gain the respect/fear of opponents, and they will overplay him, and force him to find the open man - perhaps even deny him the ball.

There's no reason to be force-feeding Tristan or Dion to see if they can close games for us, but it would be a mistake to not explore that in the future as they get more comfortable with what they can do on the floor.

Jordan didn't start winning championships the year before because scottie Pippen had migraines in game 7 vs the Pistons. The bit shots were always Jordan's. The pass he made to win the series against Utah was so memorable because Jordan had never passed in that situation in the finals. LeBron didn't win until he stopped letting teammates decide the fate of the team.

Cetaintly there are times to make the pass, but when your contested shot is higher percentage than your teammates wide open shot, the correct decision is to shoot.

 

[KI4MVP]

So is what you're saying is you either have the desire to put the game on your shoulder or don't and can do it or you don't? For me, Irving has shown he can do both; I don't need to see that to prove it anymore. What I want to see is if Waiters can be hundred times better than Snow. I rather find that out this year than next. If he is like Snow and losses 5 games for us let it be now so we can try for MacLemore or Mohammad to pair up with Irving so he isn't tripled teamed come Game 7 when it counts.

Kyrie is a good enough passer to make that pass. When Waiters is a good enough shooter to make that shot, he'll get the pass. I'm not sure repeatedly setting Waiters up to fail before he's ready to succeed is really going to help. When the game is on the line, I want the ball in the hand of the player who will always make the play that gives us the best chance to win.

 

[gregdawg]

i'm not as worried about getting a top pick this year, because if we end up winning too many games to get a top 5 pick, Grant has enough assets at this point to trade for a proven SF. it's a good thing that Grant has acquired so many assets that we have options either way. if we suck enough to get a top 5 pick, we draft our guy...if not, we trade for him. the drawback to trading for a guy is that he'll probably be a bit older, and not in his early 20's like a draft pick would be. either way works, though. we have enough trading assets now (picks and players) that getting a top draft pick isn't as crucial as it was the past 2 seasons.

 

[MoFlo]

dude that is so deep

agree with what your saying though. I just hope we dont get too carried away with ' pointless ' wins to finish the season. But kyrie draining clutch buzzer beaters is alright with me

Having Antawn Jamison go off & lead this team to a win was a pointless win. Lester Hudson coming out of nowhere to greatly contribute to a win was a pointless win.

Having Kyrie, Dion, Tristan, and the rest of our young guys who have a legit shot of having a future with us, step up & lead us to wins is not a bad thing and has nothing 'pointless' about it. It's a step in the right direction.

Just because we've seen they're learning to hold leads, close out games, and sustain opposing teams' runs, does not mean they're going to win every close game and it doesn't even mean they'll start to win more games.

There's no veteran or D-League guy getting hot and leading us to wins. This is our young talent showing their talent.

 

[bigfoot5415]

That Eric Snow shot celebration wasnt so much because of the injury. In fact it was because he hadnt made a jumpshot in weeks, dare I say even a month or so.

My best Eric Snow memory was a preseason game against the Pistons I believe. He was sitting under the basket on crutches (probably the medical exemption year), we were in the lower bowlhalf way up. We yelled "Snow, Snow, Snow" a million times. He finally looked and waved, then we shouted back...."No, get Ira". He laughed his ass off for a good 20 sec. Minutes later a season ticket holder told him to get out of their seat.