Series Thread: 2) San Antonio Spurs vs 7) Memphis Grizzlies

[trojanfan12]

LeBron is better than this guy.

Agree, but it's real close. It's safe to say that he has passed KD as the 2nd best player in the game and he's closing fast on Lebron. Imo, by the end of next season, Kawhi will have at least tied Lebron as best in the game, if not passed him.

 

[tlance]

Yea not enough supporting help to make it to the finals. They can't get past GS (maybe not even Memphis) with Leonard having to do everything

To be fair, I don't think anybody can get past Golden State.

I still think SA would take Cleveland in a 7 game series. Also, I am not convinced LeBron has more help that Kawhi. Bigger names? Yes. The Spurs have great depth and a fantastic system. They just got beat on an off night by a Memphis team that played out of their minds. Spurs will still take this series in 6.

Let's not act like Kawhi is playing by himself because he single handedly brought them back tonight. Also, I do believe Kawhi is the second best player in the league. Keep in mind though, the Grizzlies are trying to check him with 40 year old Vince Carter and guys like Ennis.

Leonard is great, but this performance does not vault him ahead of LeBron. Last I checked that dude was doing some pretty amazing things too.

 

[Hornsstampede2.0]

Old Man Lebron is still better than Kawahi, but not by much.
Kawahi improves his game and adds something new each season.

I am not sure we have ever had an elite level MVP player constantly adding new things in his 7th season and beyond. I imagine he will add some surprising new part to his game for next year as well.

He keeps to himself. I dont think he has any friends, women, or knows how to speak to friends/women.
He just goes into a gym for all 4 summer months and adds something new by practicing it 10 hours a day.
Tim Duncan claims he said like 4 total words his first two seasons, and just was a basketball robot.

If the NBA were to hold a dispersal draft for the future of any team, Leonard would be the #1 pick.
He is 2 or 3 years younger than guys like Durant, Harden, Westbrook, and Curry.

 

[trojanfan12]

I am not sure we have ever had an elite level MVP player constantly adding new things in his 7th season and beyond.

MJ, Kobe, Magic and Lebron (among others) all say Hi.

 

[DorianRo]

Lebron isn't better because he's a much more defensive Liability than Kawhi at this point in time. Leonard can get it done on both ends of the court. Lebron is a liability on defense and not as clutch dagger as Kawhi.

Kawhi also plays out west in a conference with MUCH better playoff competition and with less help. Could you imagine if Kawhi got to play with Prime Irving and Love?


Put Leonard in the East on a stacked team and see what happens.

 

[tlance]

MJ, Kobe, Magic and Lebron (among others) all say Hi.

I have never seen a player progress like Kawhi. Those guys were all pretty darn good when they entered the league.

The fact that it could be conceivable that Kawhi even be mentioned in the same sentence as any player on that list is a huge testament to his work ethic and his ability.

 

[tlance]

Lebron isn't better because he's a much more defensive Liability than Kawhi at this point in time. Leonard can get it done on both ends of the court. Lebron is a liability on defense and not as clutch dagger as Kawhi.

Stop it.

LeBron is not a defensive liability. He just isn't an all league defender anymore.

LeBron impacts the game in many ways Leonard cannot.

 

[trojanfan12]

Lebron isn't better because he's a much more defensive Liability than Kawhi at this point in time. Leonard can get it done on both ends of the court. Lebron is a liability on defense and not as clutch dagger as Kawhi.

I dislike Lebron as much as anyone and I agree that he has declined a bit defensively. But to call him a defensive liability is a stretch to say the least.

Defensively speaking, he reminds me of Kobe at right about the same age. Kobe was still an elite defender, but he couldn't defend at an elite level or guard the other teams best player for entire games anymore, so his defending the opponents best player and defending at an elite level became situational (ends of the half, end of the game, when the guy was going off, etc.).

That's where Lebron is now. He can still be an elite defender when needed and he can still make game changing defensive plays, just not for 48 minutes anymore.

He's still better than Kawhi, but the gap is very, very narrow.

 

[trojanfan12]

I have never seen a player progress like Kawhi. Those guys were all pretty darn good when they entered the league.

The fact that it could be conceivable that Kawhi even be mentioned in the same sentence as any player on that list is a huge testament to his work ethic and his ability.

So was Kawhi. I've been watching Kawhi since he was in high school (King high school was just around the corner from where I used to work) and he was an obvious NBA player back then. What wasn't obvious was that he would be this good and still trending up.

The difference between Kawhi and those other guys on the list is that he is so low key and quiet. Dude has never sought the spotlight and went to a team that is known for avoiding the spotlight.

Overall point is that all of those guys have/had tremendous work ethics and always added new things to their games every off-season. They were just louder about it than Kawhi. lol

 

[WiggyRuss]

what a disapointment.

I thought this team could actually put a scare into the Warriors.

Looks like they are once again a fraud.

 

[bksballer89]

This series is playing out just like their season series. Nobody who follow these 2 teams should be shocked that it is 2-2 through 4 games. I said from jump that it may be a boring series but it will be a long series. I'm guessing the spurs finally end the home court trend in game 6.

 

[Wamu]

So was Kawhi. I've been watching Kawhi since he was in high school (King high school was just around the corner from where I used to work) and he was an obvious NBA player back then. What wasn't obvious was that he would be this good and still trending up.

The difference between Kawhi and those other guys on the list is that he is so low key and quiet. Dude has never sought the spotlight and went to a team that is known for avoiding the spotlight.

Overall point is that all of those guys have/had tremendous work ethics and always added new things to their games every off-season. They were just louder about it than Kawhi. lol

Kawhi's my favorite NBAer. Watched him live each time his Aztecs were playing in Vegas. Against the Runnin' Rebels & the MWC tourney.

 

[tlance]

So was Kawhi. I've been watching Kawhi since he was in high school (King high school was just around the corner from where I used to work) and he was an obvious NBA player back then. What wasn't obvious was that he would be this good and still trending up.

The difference between Kawhi and those other guys on the list is that he is so low key and quiet. Dude has never sought the spotlight and went to a team that is known for avoiding the spotlight.

Overall point is that all of those guys have/had tremendous work ethics and always added new things to their games every off-season. They were just louder about it than Kawhi. lol

Good, sure.

Those guys all had many projecting them as future superstars. Nobody made that claim about Kawhi.

 

[trojanfan12]

Good, sure.

Those guys all had many projecting them as future superstars. Nobody made that claim about Kawhi.

Again, that's because he is so low key and quiet. Dude chose to not even go to a big name school even though he could have. He was offered by Arizona, UCLA, USC and Washington. He chose San Diego St.

I think that if he had chosen a big name school and was more outgoing (or had even gone to a "glamour franchise" in the NBA), he would have been projected as a superstar as well.

I do agree that we haven't seen anything like him from the standpoint of a guy being a superstar level player and being so quiet about it. Part of why he's one of my favorite players.

 

[WiggyRuss]

So was Kawhi. I've been watching Kawhi since he was in high school (King high school was just around the corner from where I used to work) and he was an obvious NBA player back then. What wasn't obvious was that he would be this good and still trending up.

The difference between Kawhi and those other guys on the list is that he is so low key and quiet. Dude has never sought the spotlight and went to a team that is known for avoiding the spotlight.

Overall point is that all of those guys have/had tremendous work ethics and always added new things to their games every off-season. They were just louder about it than Kawhi. lol

oh yah..."obvious" NBA players go to San Diego state all the time.

Kawhi Leonard figures to be quite a find

Don't bother looking for him in the Pacific 10 Conference or scouring the rosters of the usual suspects from the Atlantic Coast, Big 12, Big Ten or Southeastern conferences to see if that's where he ended up.

He'll be at San Diego State.

The Aztecs aren't exactly Austin Peay or Lipscomb on the obscurity meter, but they're also not usually a destination for high-end prospects.

"We felt he was good enough to be recruited by anybody," San Diego State Coach Steve Fisher said. "We feel we got a really good player."

King Coach Tim Sweeney Jr. said the major conference schools that passed on Leonard should hope for one thing while he's with the Aztecs.

"They better hope they don't play him," Sweeney said.

The coach quickly dismissed all the usual notions as to why schools including UCLA, USC, Arizona State and California displayed only mild interest in a player whom he labeled the best in his 28 years in coaching.

Bad grades? Not an issue.

Bad kid? No way.

The only negatives Sweeney heard were some vague rumblings about a poor work ethic. But the coach noted that often after practice, Leonard goes to a local gym to hone his shooting touch.

"That's the kind of kid he is," Sweeney said.

Greg Hicks, a West Coast recruiting analyst for Scout.com, said some schools viewed Leonard as an undersized power forward and had reservations about whether a so-called 'tweener could play the four at the college level.

"Those guys who are in between the three and four are where you see a lot of mistakes because the positions are so different," Hicks said. "Either you can or can't guard the four at that level."

Sweeney insisted that Leonard plays bigger than his size.

"Inside with his reach, he's much like a 6-9, 6-10, 6-11 player," Sweeney said. "You see very few 6-7 guys who can get rebounds and just go right up and dunk on you."

Hicks said Leonard might have been able to secure a spot at a basketball power by waiting until the end of a senior season in which he is averaging 20.5 points, 12.1 rebounds and shooting 60% from the field to make his college choice.

 

[WiggyRuss]

Kawhi Leonard - Basketball Recruiting - Player Profiles - ESPN

i dont see where anyone else made him an offer...

SCHOOL LIST

SCHOOL STATUS OFFER VISIT

San Diego State Signed

Alabama State

Arizona

UCLA

USC

Washington

Undervalued as High Schoolers, Now Playing for a Title

awhi Leonard is another classic “late bloomer,” but never lacked in work ethic or talent.

In his freshman year of high school, Leonard missed basketball tryouts, and, instead, focused on playing football. He then shot up five inches and did not make the same mistake his sophomore year. That didn’t net him much in the way of scholarship offers, only attracting the interest of UC Davis and other Big West Conference schools.

He transferred high schools heading into his junior year, and, landed on San Diego State’s radar later that season. He would eventually grow to 6 feet 7 inches tall, but still didn’t get any attention from the major Pac-10 schools

http://www.slamonline.com/nba/slam-top-50/kawhi-leonard-

This is a kid who’s certainly used to people sleeping on him and having to prove critics wrong. He wasn’t even offered a scholarship by any of the major collegiate programs, ultimately settling for San Diego State. He was never considered to have All-American potential. Labeled a four-star prospect by the recruiting analysts, Leonard’s story is one you naturally find yourself rooting for.
Read more at Kawhi Leonard, no. 22 #SLAMTop50

 

[TJL]

This series is playing out just like their season series. Nobody who follow these 2 teams should be shocked that it is 2-2 through 4 games. I said from jump that it may be a boring series but it will be a long series. I'm guessing the spurs finally end the home court trend in game 6.

Regular season series usually doesn't correlate to playoff series

And that game 4 was the most exciting game of the yoffs so far

 

[Mecca]

Parker is the reason Spurs won't beat GS. They need to go younger on that PG spot. The old guard from SA needs to hit the road. Time for Leonard/Aldridge/Superstar PG

He's cooked as a starting pg.

I would love to see CP3 to there.

I know he doesn't fit the criteria of young.

But, he'd be awesome.

Aldridge lost this game with his disappearing act.

Kawhi was a monster.

 

[Mecca]

ROLFMAO!!! You can't tell me Lebron is better than this guy now. Gimme a break.

If Leonard had Lebron's supporting help, Spurs would win the next 4 championships

Uh.....I am team Leonard.

But, Bron is still a better all around player.

By the skin of his nose......

Offense is a wash.

Defense is Kawhi because he plays it every possession.

But, Play making ability is what gives Lebron the edge.

 

[Hambombs]

If you have to play David Lee 33 minutes you're usually in trouble