Murray played much, much better in the playoffs than he did in the regular season. Many people attributed that to the fact that he was coming back from a major injury and a year off to rehab. But it’s also possible that he just got hot at the right time.
Well, I’m a lawyer, so that’s just the way I write.
It’s because I used proper grammar and complete sentences, I suppose. You aren’t the only person to comment on it. It’s a pity that such writing now makes readers suspicious.
Basketball Reference has a Simple Rating System based on point differential and strength of schedule, not wins and losses. In the East, the biggest discrepancies are the Atlanta Hawks (ranked 9th according to wins and losses but 5th according to SRS), and the Miami Heat (ranked 5th according to wins and losses but 9th according to SRS).
In the West, the biggest discrepancies are the Golden State Warriors (ranked 10th according to wins and losses but 5th according to SRS) and the Dallas Mavericks (ranked 5th according to wins and losses but 10th according to SRS). SRS is usually considered more accurate by bettors, so perhaps the Hawks and Warriors are better than they appear and the Heat and Mavs are worse than they appear.
Chet Holmgren (+6.3) is the best rookie I can remember in ages. And he’s still only 21. And OKC also has Isaiah Joe (+1.2) and Jalen Williams (+1). Plus SGA (+7.6) just missed the cut.
And OKC has stockpiled a huge hoard of draft picks. They literally don’t have enough roster spots for all those picks even if they had just started a rebuild – but right now they are already a playoff team on the rise. What are they going to do with all those picks?
Orlando’s Goga Bitadze was not on my radar despite four full seasons in the NBA, but at age 24 he seems to have made a leap and demands attention. Apparently he’s been filling in for an injured Wendell Carter, Jr., and the Magic haven’t missed a beat. TIL.
Rookie of the Year winners sometimes don’t turn out as expected. Ben Simmons in 2017-18, Malcolm Brogdon in 2016-17, Michael Carter-Williams in 2013-14, Tyreke Evans in 2009-10, Emeka Okafor in 2004-05, and Mike Miller in 2000-01 were all RotY winners, but didn’t live up to the hype.
Simiiliarly, number one draft picks sometimes don’t turn out as expected. Markelle Fultz in 2017, Ben Simmons in 2016, Anthony Bennett in 2013, and Kwame Brown in 2001 were all number one draft picks who, again, didn’t live up to the hype.
According to the oddsmakers, yes, the Celtics are favored. But it’s not by an overwhelming amount. They are only slightly favored over the Bucks and Nuggets.
Box Plus-Minus:
1.Nikola Jokić • DEN 15.2
2.Shai Gilgeous-Alexander • OKC 10.3
…
17.Chet Holmgren • OKC 5.2
https://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/NBA_2024_leaders.html
This comes up more when ranking all time NBA greats — could he do it back when the game was more physical and soft players got trounced? People even ask this about LeBron James, but more often they ask it about Steph Curry.
Cason Wallace is a top rookie as well!
Last season they protected Caruso’s health by limiting his minutes. It was the season before last that Grayson Allen injured him.
Durant is 6’ 11”. Caruso is 6’ 5”, 6 inches shorter.
Andy Reid has the best coaching tree among active coaches. But plenty of all-time great coaches had bad coaching trees.
Box Plus/Minus (BPM):
Value over Replacement Player (VORP):
You’ve left out Kevin Garnett, Jerry West, and Oscar Robertson. I judge those are the top 15 in some order right now, and they will have to be displaced by any new top 15 players.
I agree that Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo are the most likely candidates right now, but even they are far from certain.
LeBron and Butler actually have a lot in common, although LeBron is obviously better. But both of them play a very physical game that doesn’t depend on pure athleticism.
The difference is that LeBron is a tank who seemingly never got injured in his prime, whereas Butler rarely plays a full season and just needs to focus on being healthy in the playoffs. Even in the playoffs, though, Butler has a harder time sustaining that physical style of play.
Look at last season, where Butler was clearly hobbled in the Finals. Look at game five of the 2020 Finals, where Butler matched LeBron and came out the victor — but had nothing left in game six.
Usually everyone is looking at the ball and they run into each other because there are 6 or 8 people going for the same ball, whether to knock it down or to catch it. Some actions that are normally called pass interference may be overlooked if the defender is attempting to catch or bat the ball rather than focusing on the receiver.
I love Michael Jordan, but a lot of players and fans learned the wrong lesson from watching him. He was such a prolific scorer that they also wanted to win scoring titles. Allen Iverson won four scoring titles but was never as efficient as Jordan. Tracy McGrady won two scoring titles but couldn’t duplicate Jordan’s postseason success. Kobe Bryant won scoring titles in years the Lakers struggled as a team.
Before Jordan, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson were great scorers but were just as well known for their passing. They never tried to win scoring titles. When LeBron James came along he arguably modeled his game more on Magic and Bird than on Jordan. And until he started winning championships he was heavily criticized for it.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not criticizing Jordan. I’m just saying a lot of players and fans didn’t respect Jordan’s all around game as much as they respected his scoring. And they didn’t respect his scoring efficiency as much as they respected his scoring volume.
Bet a little bit on everyone else?
Kareem was a long time ago. Very few of today’s fans saw him play for the Bucks or resent his departure to L.A.
Unless they meet in the Finals, which I don’t think they ever have, the Bucks and Lakers only play each other twice a year, because they are in different conferences. It’s really not much of a rivalry. Of course, a lot of fans across the country hate the Lakers just because of their history of success — but a lot of other fans follow them for the same reason.
I don’t see any reason why you can’t be a fan of both teams.