CS's Top 10 Centers for the upcoming NBA Season

[tlance]

worst

post

ever

lol....

Kyrie Irving equals Bruce Bown???LOL -- you start the boozing a lil early this weekend?

Kyrie is EASILY and UNDISPUTEDLY a top 20 guy.[/QUOTE

worst

post

ever

lol....

Kyrie Irving equals Bruce Bown???LOL -- you start the boozing a lil early this weekend?

Kyrie is EASILY and UNDISPUTEDLY a top 20 guy.

I could rate every one of your posts about Cleveland BS, but I don't.

You can worship your boy all you want, but I KI had a bad shooting game, he hurts his team because he only impacts the game one way. A great player finds ways to inpact the game positively even when things are not going his way. KI can't do that. That is why you are way off on your evaluation.

I won't argue that he is a top 20 player, just understand that there are many guys in the league outside the top 20 who have similar impact for their team.

You know, people tend to fall in love with flash and scoring, but fail to realize there is a lot more to the game. Your own words. Kyrie is the definition of a flashy scorer who lacks substance to help his team in other facets. Doesn't mean he isn't valuable, but he ain't nearly as good as you think.

 

[WiggyRuss]

what you just totally fail to realize is that Kyrie does things that few others can do- and that REALLY helps the team.

How many guys demand the attention on offense that Kyrie does? How many guys can get to the rim and open up shots for teammates like Kyrie? How many guys spread the floor for their teammates like Kyrie? to act like Kyrie Irving is little different than Brandon Knight is insane.

IN the NBA when you do something well- you have value- no matter who you are.

Kyrie is an elite shooter. Kyrie has an elite handle- probably the best in the league, his finishing ability at the rim is among the very best in the league. The guy can effect the game a multitude of ways because he must be accounted for or he will gut you.

How many guys in the league can go for 50+ on a given night? How many of those same guys have the all-time OLYMPIC record for assists in a game? and this totally does not even take into account that if you were done 1 with 5 seconds to go there are not 5 guys in the league you would rather have with the ball.

You need to modernize. Kyrie Irving- and those like him- are the future of the league. Ill trust LeBron James' opinion that NOT only is Kyrie an All-Star caliber player, but can one day contend for League MVP honors. I know you know more about basketball than LeBron- but i will defer to him on this one.....lol....him or Coach K.

LEBRON:
"He's special. He's that special, man. Hes much better than an All-Star. Much better than an All-Star," James said at the time.

"I mean, there would never be a question if Kyrie Irving is the MVP, as long as he's on the floor and he's healthy."

Coming from a four-time MVP in James, the significance of the statement was not lost on Irving.

COACH K:
Kyrie was born in Australia. [After he arrived at Duke] he was asked to play in Australia for an 18- or 19-and-under team, and he was asked to play for a U.S. team. Once you make a decision as to the country you play for, you can't change that five or six years later. I said, You'd be a great player for them. I [also] said, One day you could be the [U.S.] Olympic starting guard. I really believed it then.

When he accepted [an invitation to play for the Olympic team], I called him and said, Do you remember [our conversation]?

He said, Of course I do.

I said, Isn't it crazy that this is going to happen? And I love it 'cause I've known him since he was 17. To see him develop into really as good a guard as there is in the world, that's where he's at right now. . . . You know, if we win this thing, that will be a pretty darn good story.

KOBE/SIMMONS ARTICLE:
When Jalen Rose and I taped The Grantland Basketball Hour with Kobe last month, we were killing time during one of the commercial breaks and I asked Kobe if he had any “new” favorite players. You know how great chefs always identify the other up-and-coming great chefs? Kobe fancies himself as that guy for the NBA alpha dog/badass/overcompetitive mf’er corner. Knows it when he sees it. Even brags about being able to see it. He sniffed it out early with Westbrook (his favorite current star) in 2012 and — to my surprise — he’s sniffing it with Kyrie now and said as much. He loves Kyrie. So that was a game changer for me. When Chef Kobe blessed Chef Kyrie, I knew it was time to wipe my Kyrie Opinion Hard Drive and start over....

At the same time, Jalen has raved about Kyrie’s ceiling for three years and learned to discount MY unenthusiastic opinion; Jalen knew that I wasn’t totally seeing what he saw. I wanted Kyrie to be something that he could never be: basically, late-’80s Isiah or Right Now Chris Paul, the point guard who spends 42 minutes making everyone better before taking over in the final six minutes. Jalen maintained that Kyrie wasn’t that guy. I maintained that, until anyone proved they could win with him, I was out on him. We were in no-man’s-land.

And then … the Cavs started winning … and Chef Kobe blessed Chef Kyrie’s overcompetitiveness/alpha/badass side … and I happily waved the white flag. There IS something special here, as we witnessed during his epic destruction of San Antonio last night. I always thought Kevin Johnson had the best first step of any point guard I’d ever seen; he had a downhill dribble, if that makes sense. Opponents were petrified of him. They would start backpedaling even before he made a move. That’s how the poor Spurs looked last night. They were just moving backward, almost like a defensive line getting pounded. Throw in his crazy finishes and his Curry-like 3s, and … I mean, JESUS. Has anyone ever eviscerated the Duncan-Pop Spurs quite like that? He threw up 57 and it felt like 75.

Former Coach Byron Scott:
Bryant isn't the only one on the Lakers side in awe of Irving's gifts. Head coach Byron Scott, who quickly put the offense in Irving's hands when coaching him during his rookie season, still gets mesmerized by his former pupil.

"To this day, I say he's probably the most talented point guard I've had," Scott said of Irving.

TLANCE:
.
People assume the Cavs would have had a better shot to beat GS with Irving last year, but think about the matchups for a second. As uneven as Delly was offensively, he did as well guarding Curry as any player I have seen. Who is Irving going to match up with? I promise you he is not shutting Curry down.

Time will tell if this core is good enough to win a title, but my guess is no. Kyrie is the main reason why.

 

[WiggyRuss]

just to summaraize-

Coach K- As good a guard as there is in the world.

LeBron- Not only an All Star-a future MVP candidate

Kobe- singled out as the leagues next great player

Scott- a guy who has had Kidd, and Paul saying Kyrie is the most talented PG he has ever had.

TLance- Cavs wont win the title and the reason will be Kyrie. They would be better off trading him for a package of players.

.....one of these isn't like the other.

 

[CitySushi]

just to summaraize-

Coach K- As good a guard as there is in the world.

LeBron- Not only an All Star-a future MVP candidate

Kobe- singled out as the leagues next great player

Scott- a guy who has had Kidd, and Paul saying Kyrie is the most talented PG he has ever had.

TLance- Cavs wont win the title and the reason will be Kyrie. They would be better off trading him for a package of players.

.....one of these isn't like the other.

Scott's comments were clearly shade at J-Kidd, whom he hated. They have had a long on-going feud back to their days with the Nets.

Coach K and Lebron are too close to the situation to really tell and of course they're going to support their own guy.

BUT

Kobe's opinion honestly is who's should be valued the most above everyone else out there. He see's a player's ability and work ethic, which is what generally impresses Kobe the most. If Kobe is impressed with you, then generally you've got something special going on.

 

[tlance]

just to summaraize-

Coach K- As good a guard as there is in the world.

LeBron- Not only an All Star-a future MVP candidate

Kobe- singled out as the leagues next great player

Scott- a guy who has had Kidd, and Paul saying Kyrie is the most talented PG he has ever had.

TLance- Cavs wont win the title and the reason will be Kyrie. They would be better off trading him for a package of players.

.....one of these isn't like the other.

I said I thought Cleveland wouldn't win because of Kyrie. I did not say they were better with Delly over Kyrie. They improved more than I thought they would, Kyrie played better than I thought he could, and they still barely beat a hobbled Warrior squad.

I also do firmly believe there are many players across the league that would make Cleveland better today than Kyrie does. The problem is that Kyrie is on a good contract and the Cavs will not ever consider trading him.

LeBron has already proven he is not the best judge of talent, and it is no surprise Kobe would love Kyrie. He is an elite scorer, just like Kobe was. Still does not mean he isn't overrated.

This is not a conversation worth having with you, so I am done.

 

[trojanfan12]

Why the fuck are we discussing Kyrie Irving in a thread about centers?

Unless he's had a growth spurt over the summer, his name doesn't belong in here.

 

[Rockinkuwait]

they still barely beat a hobbled Warrior squad.

You say that like it's a bad thing. Portland couldn't come close to a Warriors team without Steph for most of the series, and OKC couldn't beat them with Steph fresh off his injured knee and looking much more hobbled.

And injuries happen. Kevin Love was 17-13 in that series before his concussion that cost him 1.5 games and a start.

Anyways back to centers, only one I think is a bit high is Steven Adams... Kinda reminds me of those guys who make their mark on a series where they hit the perfect situation (in his case, somewhat athletic and playing vs. a limited Curry).

Kinda think it's a lesser version of Hibbert going boss against the heat in the ECF a few years ago. Everyone off that series was calling him a top 5 center for the following year, then he wasn't anything close. I want to see more from Adams myself to say he's definitely above say a Nicola Jokic.

 

[tlance]

You say that like it's a bad thing. Portland couldn't come close to a Warriors team without Steph for most of the series, and OKC couldn't beat them with Steph fresh off his injured knee and looking much more hobbled.

And injuries happen. Kevin Love was 17-13 in that series before his concussion that cost him 1.5 games and a start.

Anyways back to centers, only one I think is a bit high is Steven Adams... Kinda reminds me of those guys who make their mark on a series where they hit the perfect situation (in his case, somewhat athletic and playing vs. a limited Curry).

Kinda think it's a lesser version of Hibbert going boss against the heat in the ECF a few years ago. Everyone off that series was calling him a top 5 center for the following year, then he wasn't anything close. I want to see more from Adams myself to say he's definitely above say a Nicola Jokic.

Sure, a hobbled Warrior squad is still exceptionally good. I only make these points because Cavs homers swear that they were the best team in the NBA last year, when that clearly wasn't true to anyone watching objectively. They were better than what GS trotted out in games 6 and 7, but by then irreparable damage had been done to GS. Yes, injuries happen, but before the Green suspension, and the Bogut and Iggy injuries, GS was still significantly better even with their MVP limited.

Trust me, if those guys were not so annoying, I wouldn't be posting this. But, they try to make every thread about how great the Cavs are.

 

[Rockinkuwait]

Sure, a hobbled Warrior squad is still exceptionally good. I only make these points because Cavs homers swear that they were the best team in the NBA last year, when that clearly wasn't true to anyone watching objectively. They were better than what GS trotted out in games 6 and 7, but by then irreparable damage had been done to GS. Yes, injuries happen, but before the Green suspension, and the Bogut and Iggy injuries, GS was still significantly better even with their MVP limited.

Trust me, if those guys were not so annoying, I wouldn't be posting this. But, they try to make every thread about how great the Cavs are.

GSW was the best team in the NBA last year, until they lost to the Cavs in the playoffs. Just like San Antonio was the 2nd best until they lost to OKC. If not who? Sure wasn't the spurs with how they played OKC. Sure wasn't OKC when curry was a LOT more hurt and beat them. Clips without their stars... nope. Maybe Toronto then? Atlanta maybe? Cle was 8-2 vs. those teams..


And that's what happens at the end of the season. Kinda funny that's pretty much the exact injuries Seattle had in the finals years ago but much worse for them. Gary Payton, the star PG limited with his leg injury. Center misses half the finals games with his knee injury. Best bench energy guy (Nate McMillian) out a couple games hurt. No one sitting there denouncing in any way the bulls championship for beating a team with those injuries saying they got lucky they didn't have to face the best team...



That's part of the game. When Cunningham went down in 1991 in the NFL, my Eagles ended up with 5th string QB's playing. Lost our leading rusher and passer, and league MVP. Had the only defense that could beat up the Hogs that year and even split with Washington in the regular season. Went from the #1 run game/top 5 pass game to a dead last run game/bottom 5 pass game due to injuries. I hated that year. But sorry your Redskins were the best team of that season and have a SB to prove it.

And I think Cavs fans have every right to own this off-season of threads lol. They are the only team that won. Honestly trying to say "well you guys weren't really the best team" is devaluing the importance of playing smart (not getting kicked out of games), sustaining excellent performance, working hard on keeping your body healthy, and being an amazingly talented roster. They were the best team of last year and I don't mind their fans not agreeing with someone that says otherwise.

 

[tlance]

GSW was the best team in the NBA last year, until they lost to the Cavs in the playoffs. Just like San Antonio was the 2nd best until they lost to OKC. If not who? Sure wasn't the spurs with how they played OKC. Sure wasn't OKC when curry was a LOT more hurt and beat them. Clips without their stars... nope. Maybe Toronto then? Atlanta maybe? Cle was 8-2 vs. those teams..


And that's what happens at the end of the season. Kinda funny that's pretty much the exact injuries Seattle had in the finals years ago but much worse for them. Gary Payton, the star PG limited with his leg injury. Center misses half the finals games with his knee injury. Best bench energy guy (Nate McMillian) out a couple games hurt. No one sitting there denouncing in any way the bulls championship for beating a team with those injuries saying they got lucky they didn't have to face the best team...



That's part of the game. When Cunningham went down in 1991 in the NFL, my Eagles ended up with 5th string QB's playing. Lost our leading rusher and passer, and league MVP. Had the only defense that could beat up the Hogs that year and even split with Washington in the regular season. Went from the #1 run game/top 5 pass game to a dead last run game/bottom 5 pass game due to injuries. I hated that year. But sorry your Redskins were the best team of that season and have a SB to prove it.

And I think Cavs fans have every right to own this off-season of threads lol. They are the only team that won. Honestly trying to say "well you guys weren't really the best team" is devaluing the importance of playing smart (not getting kicked out of games), sustaining excellent performance, working hard on keeping your body healthy, and being an amazingly talented roster. They were the best team of last year and I don't mind their fans not agreeing with someone that says otherwise.

In every sport, championships are what matters. The Cavs earned it last year. I have said that multiple times. Still, the best team does not always win the title.

You may lack context here, but all these conversations began because 2 notorious Cavs posters kept claiming that the Warriors were lucky last year, but that the Cavs beat the Dubs straight up this season. 1 even claimed Kyrie is a better player than Steph. If they wouldn't post that type of drivel, then I wouldn't feel the need to knock them down a peg or two.

 

[lebron23james]

In every sport, championships are what matters. The Cavs earned it last year. I have said that multiple times. Still, the best team does not always win the title.

You may lack context here, but all these conversations began because 2 notorious Cavs posters kept claiming that the Warriors were lucky last year, but that the Cavs beat the Dubs straight up this season. 1 even claimed Kyrie is a better player than Steph. If they wouldn't post that type of drivel, then I wouldn't feel the need to knock them down a peg or two.

Gs wasn't as hurt as you are trying to make it out tho...And i don't remember you making excuses for the cavs missing their players, not playing hurt actually out for the entire series in 2015 finals...

We were told that was an excuse, so which is it now?

 

[lebron23james]

GSW was the best team in the NBA last year, until they lost to the Cavs in the playoffs. Just like San Antonio was the 2nd best until they lost to OKC. If not who? Sure wasn't the spurs with how they played OKC. Sure wasn't OKC when curry was a LOT more hurt and beat them. Clips without their stars... nope. Maybe Toronto then? Atlanta maybe? Cle was 8-2 vs. those teams..


And that's what happens at the end of the season. Kinda funny that's pretty much the exact injuries Seattle had in the finals years ago but much worse for them. Gary Payton, the star PG limited with his leg injury. Center misses half the finals games with his knee injury. Best bench energy guy (Nate McMillian) out a couple games hurt. No one sitting there denouncing in any way the bulls championship for beating a team with those injuries saying they got lucky they didn't have to face the best team...



That's part of the game. When Cunningham went down in 1991 in the NFL, my Eagles ended up with 5th string QB's playing. Lost our leading rusher and passer, and league MVP. Had the only defense that could beat up the Hogs that year and even split with Washington in the regular season. Went from the #1 run game/top 5 pass game to a dead last run game/bottom 5 pass game due to injuries. I hated that year. But sorry your Redskins were the best team of that season and have a SB to prove it.

And I think Cavs fans have every right to own this off-season of threads lol. They are the only team that won. Honestly trying to say "well you guys weren't really the best team" is devaluing the importance of playing smart (not getting kicked out of games), sustaining excellent performance, working hard on keeping your body healthy, and being an amazingly talented roster. They were the best team of last year and I don't mind their fans not agreeing with someone that says otherwise.

Couldn't agree more

Just like he thinks we weren't the "best team to win", which can't be proved, I think that the warriors weren't the "best team" to win in 2015...I think they would have lost in 2015 with Irving and Love playing....and i think if GS had equivalent injuries like not having Green and Thompson for an entire series they would have been swept...

But that is the game

 

[tlance]

Gs wasn't as hurt as you are trying to make it out tho...And i don't remember you making excuses for the cavs missing their players, not playing hurt actually out for the entire series in 2015 finals...

We were told that was an excuse, so which is it now?

See that is just it.

Either injuries were a valid excuse for Cleveland last year and also for GS this year, or They were an invalid excuse for both. You can't have it both ways.

I respect Rock's opinion because he is saying no excuses for either one. I am perfectly fine with that.

 

[lebron23james]

See that is just it.

Either injuries were a valid excuse for Cleveland last year and also for GS this year, or They were an invalid excuse for both. You can't have it both ways.

I respect Rock's opinion because he is saying no excuses for either one. I am perfectly fine with that.

I don't consider a player injured if he plays in every game...you can't compare players playing hurt to players not playing at all there is a difference

 

[Shaqdaddy11]

Why the fuck are we discussing Kyrie Irving in a thread about centers?.

Because the homers are having a slow day.

 

[lebron23james]

Uh, you're missing TinaFey Mozgov.

The year before mozgod got hurt he was pretty damn good...too bad he got hurt last year, i would hate to use that as an excuse, but we won anyways lol

 

[Rockinkuwait]

In every sport, championships are what matters. The Cavs earned it last year. I have said that multiple times. Still, the best team does not always win the title.

You may lack context here, but all these conversations began because 2 notorious Cavs posters kept claiming that the Warriors were lucky last year, but that the Cavs beat the Dubs straight up this season. 1 even claimed Kyrie is a better player than Steph. If they wouldn't post that type of drivel, then I wouldn't feel the need to knock them down a peg or two.

Ok, well yeah that's taking it too far.

But so is saying Cavs weren't on their level in the post-season when the year before they made it the toughest series GS had that year without 3 of their starting 5 (and 2 of their best 3 players). I mean that is somewhat lucky.

 

[lebron23james]

Ok, well yeah that's taking it too far.

But so is saying Cavs weren't on their level in the post-season when the year before they made it the toughest series GS had that year without 3 of their starting 5 (and 2 of their best 3 players). I mean that is somewhat lucky.

Yeah as lucky as you can get...lol

I don't recall to many nba finals were the 2nd and 3rd option were both out and yet it was and it was still a long series

 

[Rockinkuwait]

See that is just it.

Either injuries were a valid excuse for Cleveland last year and also for GS this year, or They were an invalid excuse for both. You can't have it both ways.

I respect Rock's opinion because he is saying no excuses for either one. I am perfectly fine with that.

Well it's not like all injuries are the same either. Losing the center giving you 4 points and 3 boards in his previous 2 games isn't the same as losing Love for the concussion.

And when I say they were lucky to play the Cavs that way, well luck is part of the game. Not an excuse, Cavs lost it. Had they been built less top heavy with better depth maybe they would have done better.

But yeah, I see it as Warriors best team 2 years ago, Cavs best team last year. Their carrying the trophy, they were the ones that put their best foot forward when it mattered the most.

 

[trojanfan12]

The year before mozgod got hurt he was pretty damn good...too bad he got hurt last year, i would hate to use that as an excuse, but we won anyways lol

Yeah, I think the criticism the Lakers got for signing him was pretty overblown. From what I've read and heard, part of the problem last year was that he came back too soon from his injury and was never 100%, but is healthy now. Hopefully, that's the case and he'll play more like he did the previous season.

I'd have preferred a shorter contract or at least a team option on the last year of the deal, but at this point, beggars can't be choosers. I also don't think the Lakers would have signed him if Luke didn't think he could use him.

End of the day, if he does a good job mentoring Zubac, I'll be happy with him.