AboveLegit

Brandon Roy looks awful, it's difficult to watch.

Kyle Lowry is really, really good.

I'm on the Lillard bandwagon. Was a bit cautious with all the hype coming out of college (can't say I watched Weber state at all...), but I'm fully on board through the summer league, preseason, and 3 games into the regular season. Everything he does is in one fluid motion. He doesn't hold onto the ball, he makes quick decisions, and I love his ball handling and the way he attacks angles... much like Kyrie.

^^Have no idea what you're talking about there... Anyway, pretty awful start to the game. Brad Beal isn't asking for the ball and plays timid (I think it has something to do with Wittman's quick hooks). Also very unimpressed with Wittman's gameplan. You can't keep running Beal off screens, make better use of his skillset. Seraphin is going to be very good. Outplayed KG when he was on the floor, scored on him multiple times in the paint, and played solid defense.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXgFlgKJBes&feature=youtu.be

Since '85, only six players have done what Harden did tonight. Never done by Kobe, Jordan, LeBron, Melo, etc, etc. Kid is scary efficient. http://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/pgl_finder.cgi?request=1&player_id=&match=game&year_min=&year_max=&age_min=0&age_max=99&team_id=&opp_id=&is_playoffs=N&round_is_ec1=Y&round_is_ecs=Y&round_is_ecf=Y&round_is_wc1=Y&round_is_wcs=Y&round_is_wcf=Y&round_is_fin=Y&game_num_type=&game_num_min=&game_num_max=&game_month=&game_location=&game_result=&is_starter=&is_active=&is_hof=&pos_is_g=Y&pos_is_gf=Y&pos_is_f=Y&pos_is_fg=Y&pos_is_fc=Y&pos_is_c=Y&pos_is_cf=Y&c1stat=pts&c1comp=gt&c1val=45&c2stat=fga&c2comp=lt&c2val=19&c3stat=&c3comp=gt&c3val=&c4stat=&c4comp=gt&c4val=&order_by=pts

Boston still struggles at the rim and grabbing rebounds. There was just no sense of urgency tonight, and their forwards really couldn't defend the same pick and roll that was ran about 1000 times tonight.

Been following Kemba since his sophomore season, I still have some faith in him. Mike Dunlap has already made a huge impact on this team. They rotate so well on defense, they press when need be, and they don't give up.

Haven't watched much of this one, but Melo is so much better when he's making quick decisions with the ball.

James Harden isn't a #1 option tho.

http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursnation/files/2012/06/Durant-Westbrook-GIF.gif

Or Ernie Grunfeld. -_-

Ok for the sake of salvaging this discussion, forget about LeBron. What Harden does on offense (pick and roll, drive, spot up) is more than enough for a #1 option. He's already an elite scorer off the pick and roll, and he's already one of the best passers and ball handlers at his position. And what system is that? You do know Scott Brooks has none, right? I still can't believe your argument is centered around his inability to produce in the finals. In case you forgot, it was Harden that closed out the Mavericks in the playoffs this year, scoring 29 points, 15 of those that came in the fourth quarter. Then of course, there was this. Note: Kawhi Leonard is on him, as he was most of the game. He played good in the playoffs and came through in the clutch time and time again for this team.

I don't mind these type of extensions really, because if the players pan out and take the leap, you look like a genius. It's a risk, but players like Jrue, Taj Gibson, and Steph Curry have shown a lot of promise. I'm not sure with Demar though, his shot is so iffy as is his defense, I really can't see him taking the leap that I expect Jrue to.

This is all on the defense tonight. Abysmal. Can't allow the Blazers to score 30+ in 3 straight quarters. As impressive as Dwight was on offense, his rotations were slow once again, he closed in late and allowed deep positioning, which led to some cheap fouls. All the hype Lillard received this offseason is real. I won't be surprised if he has a rookie campaign similar to Kyrie Irving. Displays a lot of maturity on the court, and while he takes some questionable shots at times, most come within the flow of the offense.

But he still needs to make that leap this year, I've been pretty unimpressed with his development thus far.

Will not return, contusion of the lower left leg.

Solid deal, someone was going to overpay for him this offseason.

Scoring comes naturally to him. He's far too efficient for anyone to worry about him creating looks for himself. I don't understand how that has any bearing on the individual... Obviously there's an adjustment period, but him not putting up a gaudy level of assists is no indictment on his talent. Someone has trouble with reading comprehension here. You mentioned that Harden doesn't have much outside of drives to the basket and spot up shots, in which I cited LeBron as a player who does those exact same things. It doesn't take a genius to figure out what I'm aiming at here. This is a player that shot 70% at the rim and 41% from three last year. He draws free throws at the rate of a superstar, and his per minute numbers suggest that he'll be a superstar in this league. That's enough to warrant this contract, especially in this league today. Well no shit he lodged minutes with the second units, he's coming off the bench. But in the fourth quarter, are teams playing their bench players, or are they bringing out their starters? Harden had plenty of time to prove his worth against the leagues' best under pressure situations. I feel like you're hating just for the hell of it.

Lakers defense is HORRENDOUS.

Great deal. Looks more likely that Boozer is let go at the end of this season.

He wasn't getting doubled in the finals, and he was going up against the best perimeter defenders before too. You're talking as if he was playing against bench warmers the past 3 years. He averaged 30 mpg last season, played starters minutes in the fourth quarter, and had the ball in his hands a lot. He had a bad series. Get over it. It doesn't define him. When he needs to? Thunder had the lowest APG average as a team in the entire league. Clearly they needed Westbrook to do more. He simply couldn't, and thus, all of the play making fell into the hands of their best play maker, James Harden. OKC's go to play in the fourth quarter had Harden set up on a pick and roll with Durant stationed on the weakside and Westbrook lurking alongside the baseline. He's not a spot up shooter. He gets to the lane at will, it's almost impossible to stop his drive. His game consists of play making, the pick and roll game, and drives to the basket. He doesn't shoot many pull ups, but aside from that, what else do you want from him? Isn't that what LeBron does? He's not playing against second units the entire game lol, stop with that nonsense. He played every significant minute of every fourth quarter last season, and he blossomed. He closed out plenty of games for them last year.

So, why did Philly boo the hell out of Iguodala?

Yeah, his first Finals, sorry he underperformed against some of the best wing defenders of our generation (Bron, Wade, Battier). Behind a top 3 PG in the league, and the best scorer in the league. That's not saying much. He's 23 years old. Please list those deficiencies that Durant and Westbrook covered, because if anything, Harden was the one covering up Westbrook and Durant's weaknesses (playmaking). He was the most efficient player last season driving to the basket and finishing. You don't think defenses game planned for that? He's raw offensively? You're kidding, right?

um, what? Care to elaborate?