NBA: The Torch Finally Passes \ stacker news ~Stacker

500 sats \ 12 comments \ @Undisciplined 20 May Stacker_Sports

After a thrilling 2nd round, we have our final 4: Boston, Indiana, Dallas, and Minnesota.

One remarkable thing about this is that the best player on each of these teams is 25 or younger. Normally, elite players don't lead their teams to a title until they're at least 27, so one of these guys will join a rare class of young players who led a title team.

Another remarkable thing is that it's not like the league is bereft of talent.

Who's Missing?

The past 3 MVP's

Jokic
Giannis
Embiid

The All-Time Greats

Lebron
Steph
KD
Kawhi
Butler

My hat's off to these legends for holding on so long, but I think we need to accept that their time has passed. The league now belongs to the younger generation, although I expect Jokic to be in the mix for the foreseeable future.

What do you all think?

Can the 30+ generation of players still lead a title contender or do they need to get in where they fit in?

I'll have a series of post mortems for most of these teams where we can really get into what direction they should be going.

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52 sats \ 8 replies \ @gnilma 20 May freebie

I think Joker, Giannis, Embiid are still very relevant. Two of them were hurt this year, and the Joker got beat on a very close game 7 where the supporting cast did not play well at all. You look at the scoring in that game, Joker and Murray had 34, 35 respectively, then everyone else had low single digits. That is not going to win you a close out game.

I think the all time greats however, are past their window and are unlikely to win another championship, unless they form super teams like Undisciplined suggested. I don't think these guys can win next year with their current roster.

21 sats \ 7 replies \ @Undisciplined OP 20 May

Do you think any of the older guys will be willing to take on lesser roles to compete for a title?

I think Jimmy would happily take on a role where he's primarily playing defense and providing secondary playmaking.

69 sats \ 6 replies \ @gnilma 20 May freebie

It's really hard to say, because it comes down to a man and his ego, which some can let go of with ease while others refuses to let go of no matter the reality. Especially with these top athletes, you would imagine the size of their ego is probably proportional to the size of their talent.

I think it also comes down to how eager the person wants to win a ring / another ring. Jimmy is the only one on your list without a ring, so he might be willing to sacrifice his role in order to get that ring. As well, he seems to be the type of guy that is willing to do whatever it takes to win, even if it means he take on a lesser role. I agree with you that he would probably be happy just playing defense to lock up the other team's top dog and don't need to be the first option in terms of offense.

But the other guys on your all time greats list all have multiple rings and one or more finals MVP. So when it comes to accepting a lesser role on a team and no longer be the "bus driver" or "the man", they might not embrace it as easily.

Time will tell, but this off season should be an interesting one. I foresee big moves for some veteran teams and also some young teams.

0 sats \ 5 replies \ @Undisciplined OP 20 May

I hadn't even made that connection with Butler being the only one without a ring yet. You could add PG-13, Harden, and Westbrook to this conversation then. All three have shown a willingness to play more restricted roles as they've gotten older.

Are there any particular moves you're expecting to see?

69 sats \ 4 replies \ @gnilma 21 May

I expect the Lakers to make moves, or else LeBron might request for an out. He has a track record to quitting if it doesn't work for a few seasons, and if he doesn't see changes that he likes he will probably call it quits.

I also expect Atlanta to make some moves. They really don't need to keep both Murray and Trae. Also with the number 1 pick, they have a lot of optionality.

I also expect Spurs to trade for a good point guard if they don't get one with good potential from the draft. I haven't look closely at this year's draft, but I've heard that it's in general underwhelming?

Cleveland needs to decide if they want to keep Mitchell or Garland, I don't think they can keep both.

Then there's the Bulls shit show that needs to be sorted out. They probably want to stick with White and get rid of LaVine and/or DeRozan.

Warriors might make moves to take advantage of that rapidly closing Steph window. But I don't know what they will do. I like the idea of breaking up the Klay, Draymond combo, but I also don't know what will work instead.

Suns big 3 will probably blow up, given the horrible results.

Heat might get rid of Jimmy based on Pat Riley's comments on Jimmy.

What do you think? Am I wrong in the above predictions? Maybe you can add more?

21 sats \ 3 replies \ @Undisciplined OP 21 May

I'm going to dive into these in separate team-by-team posts.

I think I agree with all of the points you made.

Another one I've been thinking about is that OKC needs to overpay for whoever they think is an ideal fit next to Chet and in their locker room. Someone mentioned Lauri Markenen for that spot.

I'm also expecting Trae to be on that Lakers team next year.

69 sats \ 2 replies \ @gnilma 21 May

I agree with your view that they need a big to play next to Chet. Also, they desperately need rebounding. If you look at their stats during the regular season, they get out rebounded a lot. Also, in the last 2 losses to the Mavs, they got completely destroyed on the boards. Chet is tall and all, but it seems he doesn't box out well enough and/or simply can't get those boards. Markenen seems like a good option, as he averaged over 8 rebounds last season and can shoot the 3 (almost 40% 3 pt shot). He is also young, so will probably have the legs to run the floor and play at a fast pace along OKC's young roster.

21 sats \ 1 reply \ @Undisciplined OP 21 May

Chet's not even 200 lbs. It would be preposterous to think he can box out an NBA center.

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42 sats \ 2 replies \ @grayruby 20 May

I think maybe Steph still could but not the way the Warriors are constructed. If he has a hot shooting playoffs he could definitely still win games/series. But for the most part I agree the torch is being passed to the next group of superstars. I wonder if the idea of super teams has passed or if a couple of the current young stars will try to get together in the future to take a run at multiple championships.

50 sats \ 1 reply \ @Undisciplined OP 20 May

I don't think the old guys are done with super teams. Don't be surprised if two or three of the guys on that list are teammates next year.

I've been hearing speculation about Lebron to Philly and KD back in GS.

I also feel like Steph is still capable of leading a title team, as well as Lebron, but I don't know if either are in situations that will allow it.

42 sats \ 0 replies \ @grayruby 20 May

Philly needs to get a superstar that can actually win in the playoffs. Sounds about right.