2025 NBA Season

[carlisle1]

[...] Look at Stephen Curry, if he is not good at 3-point shooting, he will not become a great player, [...]

It seems you forget that Steph has great talents aside from shooting. He has great handles, can drive to the basket, and is a great facilitator. True that his shooting range is what makes him unique but that is not the only reason why he is successful. It is the combination of all his skills including his basketball IQ, handles, and great shooting range.

I agree with this a lot. Stephen Curry shouldn't be seen just like a player who is very good at three-pointers only. He is nearly like an all-around player actually. He contributes to Warriors by nearly every kind of statistics. In my opinion, Warriors are the luckiest team to have maybe even the best player who is playing professional basketball actively now. When he is out of a game we can clearly see how it affects the team. I know that there are really good talents like Poole who can carry the team in Curry's absence. But Curry is just something else. 

Steph is a total complete package, but I admire his IQ a lot. He's a good shooter, but it didn't end there. He can attack the basket

and he can also pass the ball to the open man. His killing edge might be his 3 point shooting skills, but aside from that, we all witness

how good he was in adjusting from each type of defense that being designed for him. He's there to take the challenge, and he's really

successful doing all the best that he has.

[Japinat]

90's basketball is very physical, now it has evolved because a team who have great 3-point shooters will likely win the championship.

That is because the game is evolving each year and with each decade that has passed the coaches and players are adapting to it. Also, if the players nowadays play like in the 80s or 90s era, I reckon they won't be that effective anymore because the coaches and players these days already knows how to counter the plays in that era.

[Reid]

90's basketball is very physical, now it has evolved because a team who have great 3-point shooters will likely win the championship.

That is because the game is evolving each year and with each decade that has passed the coaches and players are adapting to it. Also, if the players nowadays play like in the 80s or 90s era, I reckon they won't be that effective anymore because the coaches and players these days already knows how to counter the plays in that era.

Yeah, it has to be something unique. That small ball line-up was one of the plays that was inserted in the game and was used frequently to dominate a team that relies on a big man like Utah Jazz with Rudy Gobert. As I searched, it was used in the 80's by Doug Moe, coach of the Denver Nuggets.
Mike D'Antoni though stretched the play farther by using small ball and added run and gun style.

At GSW, Steve Kerr's small ball lineup was called Death Lineup coined by Vincent Goodwill.

It was not until months after it was deployed in the Finals that the Warriors small lineup was referred to as the Death Lineup,[13][14][23] a phrase originated by Vincent Goodwill, then of The Detroit News.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_Lineup

[gagux123]

90's basketball is very physical, now it has evolved because a team who have great 3-point shooters will likely win the championship. Look at Stephen Curry, if he is not good at 3-point shooting, he will not become a great player, and also now, big men are already shooting 3's, we have good 3-point shooters like Jokic which is a good example.

Yes, and I believe this is the trend! It's normal for players' styles to change over time, just look at what basketball was like 40, 50 or 60 years ago.
Nowadays, an important attribute is the 3-point shot, most players can shoot the 3-point shot (of course, some have a greater difficulty and others not so much).

There are also unicorn players, who are basically big players (maybe over 6"-11' (211cm) or 7" (213cm), they are fast, versatile, have good ball handling, can shot short range, medium and long shots. distance, and who currently play as SF, PF or rarely as SG.
Some of these examples are Durant, Antetokounmpo (even Kristaps Porzingis and Jokic I imagine could fit in that category)

One player who has just been drafted to the NBA (OKC) and who I see has great promise and is also a unicorn is Chet Holmgren! I even imagine he could be an improved version of Durant, let's see how he will performs in the NBA.

[wheelz1200]

90's basketball is very physical, now it has evolved because a team who have great 3-point shooters will likely win the championship. Look at Stephen Curry, if he is not good at 3-point shooting, he will not become a great player, and also now, big men are already shooting 3's, we have good 3-point shooters like Jokic which is a good example.

Yes, and I believe this is the trend! It's normal for players' styles to change over time, just look at what basketball was like 40, 50 or 60 years ago.
Nowadays, an important attribute is the 3-point shot, most players can shoot the 3-point shot (of course, some have a greater difficulty and others not so much).

There are also unicorn players, who are basically big players (maybe over 6"-11' (211cm) or 7" (213cm), they are fast, versatile, have good ball handling, can shot short range, medium and long shots. distance, and who currently play as SF, PF or rarely as SG.
Some of these examples are Durant, Antetokounmpo (even Kristaps Porzingis and Jokic I imagine could fit in that category)

One player who has just been drafted to the NBA (OKC) and who I see has great promise and is also a unicorn is Chet Holmgren! I even imagine he could be an improved version of Durant, let's see how he will performs in the NBA.

Durant is arguably one of the best players in the league when he is healthy.  Chet hasn't stepped one foot in the NBA for a regular game.  An improved version of possibly the best player in the game is a reach.  I'd like to see how chet deals with big bodies in a thin frame, not many can pull it off.

[Baofeng]

90's basketball is very physical, now it has evolved because a team who have great 3-point shooters will likely win the championship.

That is because the game is evolving each year and with each decade that has passed the coaches and players are adapting to it. Also, if the players nowadays play like in the 80s or 90s era, I reckon they won't be that effective anymore because the coaches and players these days already knows how to counter the plays in that era.

Not just basketball, every sports has only evolved since that time. That's why he is really hard to compare era's because it is very different. That's why you can here former players criticizing the way the game is being played right now. But they have to accept that as players like Steph Curry has revolutionized it, (love it or hate it). He has unlimited range, breaks Ray Allen's 3 point record to become NBA's all-time leader in 3-pointers made.

As for Chet, if I'm not mistaken, several pages back we also discussed his potential and his similarities with Durant or even Dirk. And we also said that he needs to at least gain some muscles so that he won't be bullied inside.

[gagux123]

Durant is arguably one of the best players in the league when he is healthy.  Chet hasn't stepped one foot in the NBA for a regular game.  An improved version of possibly the best player in the game is a reach.  I'd like to see how chet deals with big bodies in a thin frame, not many can pull it off.

Yes, this is indeed unquestionable. But I see the potential that Chet Holmgren has, what I said is just expectations, several variables need to be analyzed, how will his behavior in the league, how will be his development, adaptation among other things.
Holmgren just turned 20, he's young, he's already tall, he has great ball handling, but first, we we need to see how he performs in the NBA and I'm very curious and looking forward to seeing him play

[FanEagle]

It seems you forget that Steph has great talents aside from shooting. He has great handles, can drive to the basket, and is a great facilitator. True that his shooting range is what makes him unique but that is not the only reason why he is successful. It is the combination of all his skills including his basketball IQ, handles, and great shooting range.

I agree with this a lot. Stephen Curry shouldn't be seen just like a player who is very good at three-pointers only. He is nearly like an all-around player actually. He contributes to Warriors by nearly every kind of statistics. In my opinion, Warriors are the luckiest team to have maybe even the best player who is playing professional basketball actively now. When he is out of a game we can clearly see how it affects the team. I know that there are really good talents like Poole who can carry the team in Curry's absence. But Curry is just something else.  

He is "seen" as a three point player only because other things he does can be done by other people as well, but nothing he does in the three point area could be done by anyone else. Wanna talk about passing? CP3 is much better, and so was Rondo, we have seen Stockton, we know what passing is about and he is not the best ever about that. You want defense?

People literally switch on him when they can, because that is better than Klay guarding them. Whatever statistic or talent you want to talk about, he is not the best ever at that. But, when we are talking about shooting? That's something insane, he was always good about it and he just became the best ever at shooting threes ever.

[Yogee]

He definitely took long-range or deep shooting to another level. We may as well put into consideration what made a player difficult to guard when taking all those quick three points. I think the game officials allowed players to set up what would be called illegal screens in the earlier eras and that helped him flourish. It's not just the game itself that's evolving but the rules. 

[wheelz1200]

Durant is arguably one of the best players in the league when he is healthy.  Chet hasn't stepped one foot in the NBA for a regular game.  An improved version of possibly the best player in the game is a reach.  I'd like to see how chet deals with big bodies in a thin frame, not many can pull it off.

Yes, this is indeed unquestionable. But I see the potential that Chet Holmgren has, what I said is just expectations, several variables need to be analyzed, how will his behavior in the league, how will be his development, adaptation among other things.
Holmgren just turned 20, he's young, he's already tall, he has great ball handling, but first, we we need to see how he performs in the NBA and I'm very curious and looking forward to seeing him play

Gotcha, yeah he has college level skills but against top college talent he shrieked a little.  I'm on the side that chet will be a bust for the NBA but the future will be very telling.  Will wait until I see him in a few games before I completely pass judgement.

[ChiBitCTy]

90's basketball is very physical, now it has evolved because a team who have great 3-point shooters will likely win the championship. Look at Stephen Curry, if he is not good at 3-point shooting, he will not become a great player, and also now, big men are already shooting 3's, we have good 3-point shooters like Jokic which is a good example.

Yes, and I believe this is the trend! It's normal for players' styles to change over time, just look at what basketball was like 40, 50 or 60 years ago.
Nowadays, an important attribute is the 3-point shot, most players can shoot the 3-point shot (of course, some have a greater difficulty and others not so much).

There are also unicorn players, who are basically big players (maybe over 6"-11' (211cm) or 7" (213cm), they are fast, versatile, have good ball handling, can shot short range, medium and long shots. distance, and who currently play as SF, PF or rarely as SG.
Some of these examples are Durant, Antetokounmpo (even Kristaps Porzingis and Jokic I imagine could fit in that category)

One player who has just been drafted to the NBA (OKC) and who I see has great promise and is also a unicorn is Chet Holmgren! I even imagine he could be an improved version of Durant, let's see how he will performs in the NBA.

Durant is arguably one of the best players in the league when he is healthy.  Chet hasn't stepped one foot in the NBA for a regular game.  An improved version of possibly the best player in the game is a reach.  I'd like to see how chet deals with big bodies in a thin frame, not many can pull it off.

Lol yeah calling anyone who’s entering in the league to be an improved version of Kevin Durant is praise that would likely put that person as the best thing to come in to the NBA since Lebron James. There is no question that Durant is still one of the very best players on the planet. When healthy I would put him in that top three right now.

[LogitechMouse]

90's basketball is very physical, now it has evolved because a team who have great 3-point shooters will likely win the championship. Look at Stephen Curry, if he is not good at 3-point shooting, he will not become a great player, and also now, big men are already shooting 3's, we have good 3-point shooters like Jokic which is a good example.

Yes, and I believe this is the trend! It's normal for players' styles to change over time, just look at what basketball was like 40, 50 or 60 years ago.
Nowadays, an important attribute is the 3-point shot, most players can shoot the 3-point shot (of course, some have a greater difficulty and others not so much).

There are also unicorn players, who are basically big players (maybe over 6"-11' (211cm) or 7" (213cm), they are fast, versatile, have good ball handling, can shot short range, medium and long shots. distance, and who currently play as SF, PF or rarely as SG.
Some of these examples are Durant, Antetokounmpo (even Kristaps Porzingis and Jokic I imagine could fit in that category)

One player who has just been drafted to the NBA (OKC) and who I see has great promise and is also a unicorn is Chet Holmgren! I even imagine he could be an improved version of Durant, let's see how he will performs in the NBA.

Durant is arguably one of the best players in the league when he is healthy.  Chet hasn't stepped one foot in the NBA for a regular game.  An improved version of possibly the best player in the game is a reach.  I'd like to see how chet deals with big bodies in a thin frame, not many can pull it off.

How Chet played in the Summer League will not be the same in the regular NBA season. Yes he is an athletic big and a good defender with his 7 feet height but like you said, his thin frame will be his weakness. How he will defend other bigs in the NBA like Giannis or Bam. I mean they are all-star player but there will be a time that he will defend these 2 and some other bigs out there. I hope that the Thunder management will address one or at least let him gain some weight because I'm afraid other players just bulldozed him in the paint and score.

Overall, the Thunder roster is very young (I think one of the youngest players if not the youngest) and promising as well. Giddey, Shai and now Chet (an improved one) might carry the team to the playoffs if they develop more skills.

[Questat]

At GSW, Steve Kerr's small ball lineup was called Death Lineup coined by Vincent Goodwill.

It was not until months after it was deployed in the Finals that the Warriors small lineup was referred to as the Death Lineup,[13][14][23] a phrase originated by Vincent Goodwill, then of The Detroit News.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_Lineup

They were able to make that small lineup a success because that brings them another championship. yes, they suffer on the defense but they are moving the ball very well so their offense is exceptional. Only the Celtics were able to exploit them but the Warriors adjustment well and beat the Celtics successively to win the NBA championship.

I don't know if there's a team that could beat their style.

[gagux123]

Gotcha, yeah he has college level skills but against top college talent he shrieked a little.  I'm on the side that chet will be a bust for the NBA but the future will be very telling.  Will wait until I see him in a few games before I completely pass judgement.

Well, I believe I expressed myself badly in my last comment. But the point of this comparison is that if Holmgren continues with this amazing performance he had in the NCAA and gets an extremely high raise, if that actually happens, Holmgren could even be compared to Durant.

But it is clear, the levels of NBA players are very high compared to NCAA players, I have no doubt that in the beginning he will have a little difficulty adapting.

By the way, in the dimensions of the NBA court is much larger than the NCAA?

[YuginKadoya]

[...] Look at Stephen Curry, if he is not good at 3-point shooting, he will not become a great player, [...]

It seems you forget that Steph has great talents aside from shooting. He has great handles, can drive to the basket, and is a great facilitator. True that his shooting range is what makes him unique but that is not the only reason why he is successful. It is the combination of all his skills including his basketball IQ, handles, and great shooting range.

I agree, I really enjoy watching Stephen Curry while he is playing and handling the ball while making a great play with his other teammates, you will never guess what his going to do next with that kind of gameplay and chemistry with his teammates he can surely penetrate any defense,

But the bad news about the Golden State Warriors in four of its players needs extension and that is Draymond Green, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, and Jordan Poole, they can not keep all 4 players and there might be a trade that may happen, either it will be Andrew Wiggins or Jordan Poole, and Klay Thompson or Draymond Green, because Green is searching for a max contract and the Golden State Warriors will likely to let Green for trade and Klay Thompson will be the one that is left because Klay Thompson would like cost less than Green, this could surely end the trio play that Draymond Green to Klay Thompson or Stephen Curry tandem,

90's basketball is very physical, now it has evolved because a team who have great 3-point shooters will likely win the championship.

That is because the game is evolving each year and with each decade that has passed the coaches and players are adapting to it. Also, if the players nowadays play like in the 80s or 90s era, I reckon they won't be that effective anymore because the coaches and players these days already knows how to counter the plays in that era.

Yup! we can not compare the gameplay back then to the plays today, and I think as we see the games back then it is really outdated, and players now will likely know what they will do to that kind of play, but judging by the kinds of play back then, that we can really compare we can not compare the skills and technique of certain players because we can not versus up those players to back then we can all just speculate about it but we can not say the results,

[Reid]

At GSW, Steve Kerr's small ball lineup was called Death Lineup coined by Vincent Goodwill.

It was not until months after it was deployed in the Finals that the Warriors small lineup was referred to as the Death Lineup,[13][14][23] a phrase originated by Vincent Goodwill, then of The Detroit News.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_Lineup

They were able to make that small lineup a success because that brings them another championship. yes, they suffer on the defense but they are moving the ball very well so their offense is exceptional. Only the Celtics were able to exploit them but the Warriors adjustment well and beat the Celtics successively to win the NBA championship.

I don't know if there's a team that could beat their style.

They relied with adjustments too. Somehow the Boston Celtics found a way to break that play even if they are using big men like Horford and Williams III.
But, the same was done by Warriors with adjustments that is way better than what Boston did. I must say this, Steve Kerr is a hell of a coach, he must've focused on what Phil Jackson was doing way back he was a Bulls player and then some added wisdom from Coach Pop while he stayed with the Spurs.
He is a product of successful and intelligent coaches although he is a bench player, I guess that's what made him better because he see everything in a wider perspective.

[Questat]

At GSW, Steve Kerr's small ball lineup was called Death Lineup coined by Vincent Goodwill.

It was not until months after it was deployed in the Finals that the Warriors small lineup was referred to as the Death Lineup,[13][14][23] a phrase originated by Vincent Goodwill, then of The Detroit News.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_Lineup

They were able to make that small lineup a success because that brings them another championship. yes, they suffer on the defense but they are moving the ball very well so their offense is exceptional. Only the Celtics were able to exploit them but the Warriors adjustment well and beat the Celtics successively to win the NBA championship.

I don't know if there's a team that could beat their style.

They relied with adjustments too. Somehow the Boston Celtics found a way to break that play even if they are using big men like Horford and Williams III.
But, the same was done by Warriors with adjustments that is way better than what Boston did. I must say this, Steve Kerr is a hell of a coach, he must've focused on what Phil Jackson was doing way back he was a Bulls player and then some added wisdom from Coach Pop while he stayed with the Spurs.
He is a product of successful and intelligent coaches although he is a bench player, I guess that's what made him better because he see everything in a wider perspective.

Agree with you that, the Warriors will not become a good team if Steve Kerr was not hired to coach this team. He is also a great 3-point shooter so he was able to help Curry improve his talent and slowly Curry has become a good defensive player as well.  Kerr deserves to win a coach of the year again.

[ultrloa]

At GSW, Steve Kerr's small ball lineup was called Death Lineup coined by Vincent Goodwill.

It was not until months after it was deployed in the Finals that the Warriors small lineup was referred to as the Death Lineup,[13][14][23] a phrase originated by Vincent Goodwill, then of The Detroit News.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_Lineup

They were able to make that small lineup a success because that brings them another championship. yes, they suffer on the defense but they are moving the ball very well so their offense is exceptional. Only the Celtics were able to exploit them but the Warriors adjustment well and beat the Celtics successively to win the NBA championship.

I don't know if there's a team that could beat their style.

They relied with adjustments too. Somehow the Boston Celtics found a way to break that play even if they are using big men like Horford and Williams III.
But, the same was done by Warriors with adjustments that is way better than what Boston did. I must say this, Steve Kerr is a hell of a coach, he must've focused on what Phil Jackson was doing way back he was a Bulls player and then some added wisdom from Coach Pop while he stayed with the Spurs.
He is a product of successful and intelligent coaches although he is a bench player, I guess that's what made him better because he see everything in a wider perspective.

Agree with you that, the Warriors will not become a good team if Steve Kerr was not hired to coach this team. He is also a great 3-point shooter so he was able to help Curry improve his talent and slowly Curry has become a good defensive player as well.  Kerr deserves to win a coach of the year again.

Its not only with Kerr but the whole coaching staff or shall we say the whole organization because they really help the careers of each warriors player goes to their team. Plus their scouts which really can spot a high quality player coming off from unexpected picks. But for talking about being a coach of the year well its no doubt that Kerr totally deserve this since he won multiple championships on this team.

[carlisle1]

They relied with adjustments too. Somehow the Boston Celtics found a way to break that play even if they are using big men like Horford and Williams III.
But, the same was done by Warriors with adjustments that is way better than what Boston did. I must say this, Steve Kerr is a hell of a coach, he must've focused on what Phil Jackson was doing way back he was a Bulls player and then some added wisdom from Coach Pop while he stayed with the Spurs.
He is a product of successful and intelligent coaches although he is a bench player, I guess that's what made him better because he see everything in a wider perspective.

Observing how the two top coaches in this league give him enough idea on how to execute those plays. He just keep improving

how the triangle works and how players will move and rotate to see the openings, a kind of adjustments that each player needs to

work on their own. Nothing to question about how good and tough coach Kerr and how he handles the entire Warriors Squad, the core

and all those role players from the first champion that he had as a coach up to last season.

[danherbias07]

East power rankings.
https://www.nba.com/news/offseason-power-rankings-east-2022
1. Boston Celtics - Eastern Conference Champion
2. Milwaukee Bucks
3. Philadelphia 76ers
4. Miami Heat
I'll stop there, and yes the hype made by the Brooklyn Nets calmed down and I think that's also because of the recent trade talks.
Miami Heat on the other hand have no movements made yet except for letting PJ Tucker go.

Bam Adebayo shot 60.3% in the paint and had an effective field goal percentage of just 34.1% on shots from outside the paint. That was the fourth biggest differential among 258 players with at least 100 field goal attempts both in and outside the paint.

This is what I want to see. Bam keeps on improving on his shots in and out of the paint. A chance they will be on top again when all are healthy.
I just wish they won't make any big trades as their chemistry as a team is just Heat-ing up.