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Saturday, May 04, 2024
Harden’s Concert Tour Starts on Schedule, Ends Clippers’ Season
Kyrie Irving (30 points, six rebounds, four assists, one turnover) and Luka Doncic (28 points, 13 assists, seven rebounds) led the way on Friday night as the Dallas Mavericks beat the L.A. Clippers 114-101 to advance to the second round of the playoffs. My forthcoming preview of the Oklahoma City-Dallas series will discuss in more detail how well Doncic and Irving performed versus the Clippers, but because the Clippers have "gone fishing" (as the TNT crew puts it) and will not be seen again until next fall this article will focus on yet another "team nobody wants to face" that everybody should want to face.
One unavoidable and sad headline for the Clippers is that Kawhi Leonard just cannot get right physically. Since leading the Toronto Raptors to the 2019 NBA championship, Leonard has had one healthy playoff run (during which the Clippers lost to the Denver Nuggets in game seven in 2020, with Leonard shooting just 6-22 from the field). Leonard missed the last six of the Clippers' 19 playoff games in 2021, missed the entire 2022 season due to injury, missed the last three of the Clippers' five playoff games in 2023, and missed four of the Clippers' six playoff games in 2024. He turns 33 next month, but he seems to have 45 year old knees: Leonard has not played at least 70 games in a regular season since 2016-17. There is no logical reason to believe that he will ever be healthy enough to lead a team on an extended playoff run.
The Clippers' second option is Paul "I call myself Playoff P" George. You can count on one thing from Playoff P: in more than half of his playoff series, he has shot .420 or worse from the field. He was his reliably unreliable self in 2024 versus the Mavericks, shooting .411 from the field, including 6-18 (.333) in game six and 4-13 (.308) in game five.
The best thing that happened to minimize the damage to Playoff P's reputation is that the Clippers signed James Harden to be the starting point guard and be the third scoring option.
This year, Harden disappeared in game five versus the Mavericks and he scheduled a 5-16 concert in game six as the Mavericks wrecked the listing Clippers. With Harden running the show, the Clippers shot .415 from the field, including .258 from three point range. The "stat gurus" rave about Harden's efficiency and insist that we should not rely on the "eye test." So--without even describing all of the ways that Harden ruins an offense and destroys team chemistry--we can just look at his individual numbers and his team's numbers and understand that it is very unlikely that he will ever be the best player (or second best player or third best player) on a legit championship contender. This was not an outlier performance, either--this is yet another line added to Harden's pathetic elimination game resume, which also includes nine points and five turnovers for Philadelphia in a 112-88 loss to Boston last year (that one will be hard for even Harden to top, but I believe that he can do it).
When the best player is out, the second best player disappears, and the third best player disappears, it is not surprising that a team loses. No further explanation is needed (but credit should be given to what Dallas did well, and as noted above, I will discuss that in an upcoming article).
However, I can hear the peanut gallery shouting, "But, but, but, what about Russell Westbrook? How can we blame this whole fiasco on him? The Lakers did it, so why can't the Clippers do it, too?
There is no sugarcoating the reality that Westbrook did not post good numbers versus the Mavericks; he averaged playoff career-lows across the board—including 19.0
mpg, barely half his career average. A third of his field goal attempts were three pointers, well above his career norm.
It is worth remembering that in last year's playoffs--his first with the Clippers, after joining the team in midseason in the wake of the Lakers shipping him out and trashing his reputation--Westbrook averaged 23.6 ppg, 7.6 rpg, and 7.4 apg. Then, Westbrook played well at the start of this season before the Clippers traded for Harden. The Clippers slumped after Harden arrived, then played better after Westbrook volunteered to be the sixth man so that Harden could dribble the basketball until it was as flat as a pancake as the starting point guard. Westbrook broke his left (non-shooting) hand on March 1, had surgery, and came back in just three weeks. We regularly hear about LeBron James' ankle and other assorted ailments, and there are always injury alibis provided for Anthony Davis and Joel Embiid--but the fact that Westbrook is playing with a recently broken hand is never mentioned. Broken hand recovery time is typically at least two months, which means that the best case scenario is that Westbrook's hand is just now rounding into form--assuming that his injury was typical and that he did not reinjure it during the past five weeks. Whether due to injury or the design--or lack thereof--of the Clippers' offense, Westbrook spent much of the Dallas series camped out behind the three point line. To put it mildly, that is not a skill set strength for Westbrook, who is at his best on the move to the hoop with the ball in his hands. Of course, with Harden and George taking turns monopolizing the ball and bricking shots, there is not much room for Westbrook to get touches on the move.
Again, there is no denying that Westbrook was not productive versus the Mavericks--but it is burying the lede to focus on the fourth option who is playing with a recently broken hand instead of focusing on the chronically injured first option, and the disappearing acts performed by the second and third options.
Speaking of the invisible men, Playoff P has a player option after being tied for the NBA's seventh highest salary in 2024. Some "experts" suggest that the Philadelphia 76ers should use their salary cap space to bring in Playoff P for $50 million per season--and what team does not need a 34 year old with a long history of playoff underperformance? All the 76ers need after signing Playoff P is to bring in Chris Paul, "the best leader in the NBA." Paul's tremendous leadership was fully evident when the Golden State Warriors finished 10th out of 15 teams in the West before losing in the Play-In Tournament.
Harden was a bargain last season, ranking a mere 28th in salary. He is a free agent, and it will be interesting to see who ponies up $30 million or more per season to get an up close view of the full concert tour.
Doncic Shines, Harden Disappears as Mavericks Rout Clippers 123-93 to Take 3-2 Series Lead
"Lookin' at my Gucci, it's about that time."--Beastie Boys, "Time to Get Ill"
Like clockwork, James Harden looked at his Gucci in a pivotal game five and decided it was time to get ill, producing a "Harden" and a "concert tour" in the same contest: more turnovers (four) than field goals made (two)--the "Harden"--and a field goal percentage that looks like a concert tour date (2-12 for an ice cold winter performance). Harden had a game-worst -25 plus/minus number, and his triple single (seven points, seven assists, four rebounds) sealed the L.A. Clippers' fate at home as the Dallas Mavericks ran, jumped, and dunked to a 123-93 win, the worst margin of defeat in Clippers' playoff history. Paul George scored 15 points on 4-13 field goal shooting, and his game-high 11 rebounds were not nearly enough to make up for his anemic scoring, particularly with Kawhi Leonard out due to injury and Harden invisible due to being Harden.
Luka Doncic dominated for Dallas, scoring a game-high 35 points on 14-26 field goal shooting while also dishing for a game-high 10 assists. He outscored George and Harden combined in game five, which is enormously important because the game five winner in a series tied 2-2 goes on to take the series more than 80% of the time. Doncic scored almost as many second half points (20) as George and Harden scored in the entire game combined (22). Doncic has led the league in playoff scoring in each of the past two
seasons, and even though he is hobbling around with various injuries he
is still averaging 30.2 ppg versus the Clippers.
Maxi Kleber added 15 points off of the bench, while Kyrie Irving and Jaden Hardy scored 14 points each.
The Mavericks' excellence under pressure is the main story--along with the reality that Jason Kidd is an underrated coach--but Harden's horrific play must not be ignored. I've been saying it for a decade, but it seems like no one listens and no one learns: no team with James Harden in a key role is going to win a championship--and if you liked game five Harden, wait until you see elimination game Harden.
It was hilarious to watch people get so excited when Harden played reasonably well earlier in this series. Harden was selected to the NBA's 75th Anniversary Team, so there is a responsibility and an expectation for him to play well during playoff games. Keep in mind that Harden was selected over Chris Bosh, Adrian Dantley, Alex English, Artis Gilmore, Dwight Howard, Bernard King, and Tracy McGrady (among others).
It should surprise no one that with the series on the line Harden fell apart, because he has done this over and over and over again.
Harden looked at his Gucci, and he knew it was about that time.
Harden being Harden should not obscure the fact that the self-proclaimed "Playoff P" entered the chat as well. Paul George might be Harden's long lost cousin, because they have the same playoff DNA: when all the chips are down, they fall down. George shot .420 or worse from the field in nine of his 18 playoff series prior to 2024, and he is hovering just above .420 in this series heading into a win or go home game six. In his three playoff games when his team faced elimination since joining the Clippers, George has shot 6-15 (.400), 5-15 (.333), and 4-16 (.250), so it will be fascinating to watch Harden and George work their game six magic on Friday night in Dallas.
Minnesota can win if…big men Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns dominate the paint while Anthony Edwards rules the perimeter. During the regular season, Minnesota led the league in defensive field goal percentage (.450) and points allowed (106.5 ppg), marked improvements over their rankings in those categories (11th and 18th respectively) in the previous season. This season the Timberwolves also ranked fifth in steals and sixth in blocked shots.
No one should be surprised that Minnesota outscored Phoenix 118.3 ppg to 103.3 ppg in a 4-0 first round sweep. Gobert and Towns are imposing twin towers at both ends of the court, and Edwards has developed into an elite two way player, setting career-highs in regular season scoring (25.9 ppg) and assists (5.1 apg) before averaging 31.0 ppg and 6.3 apg versus Phoenix in the first round. Edwards was clearly the most dominant player in a series that included Suns' future Hall of Famers Kevin Durant and Devin Booker (and it would not be shocking if Bradley Beal also is inducted in the Hall of Fame).
The biggest move--literally and figuratively--made by Minnesota's President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly was trading for Gobert, a transaction that was derided by "stat gurus" who have unbounded faith in "small ball" and jacking up high variance three pointers. Connelly understands that size matters in the NBA at both ends of the court. The Timberwolves ranked just 23rd in the league in three point field goal attempts, so their successful season featuring big players who do not shoot many three pointers must be very puzzling to "stat gurus."
Connelly accomplished addition by subtraction last season when he shipped out D'Angelo Russell in exchange for Mike Conley and Nickeil Alexander-Walker; just getting rid of Russell represented a roster upgrade, but Connelly traded him for two significant rotation players. Conley is a heady leader, great teammate, and still a productive player (11.4 ppg, team-high 5.9 apg this season), while Alexander Walker played all 82 games this season, thriving as a reserve who also started 20 games.
In marked contrast, Russell is a perennial playoff underperformer who shot .426 from the field in the 2023 playoffs, vowed to do better in 2024--and then shot .388 from the field as the Nuggets dispatched Russell's Lakers in five games.
Prior to this season, I was skeptical of the Timberwolves not because of their size and their lack of three point shooting but because of their track record of low-IQ play in crucial situations. Conley, in his first full season with the team, helped a lot in terms of settling the team down and accelerating the maturation process for the team's young players. Edwards' emergence as an MVP-caliber player was also very important.
Coach Chris Finch did a great job providing structure, but it remains to be seen to what extent he will be on the sidelines during this series after tearing his patellar tendon in a freak sideline collision near the end of Minnesota's first round sweep.
Denver will win because…Nikola
Jokic is putting up scoring/rebounding/passing/field goal percentage numbers reminiscent of prime Wilt Chamberlain:
Jokic's numbers are not small sample size theater, either: last season, he averaged 30.0 ppg, 13.5 rpg, 9.5 apg, and .548 FG% in 20 playoff games during Denver's 16-4 championship run, culminating in 30.2 ppg, 14.0 rpg, 7.2 apg, and .583 FG% as the Nuggets cooled off the Miami Heat 4-1 in the NBA Finals. Jokic's statistical profile is similar to prime Chamberlain, but Jokic's game is a hybrid of Larry Bird and Kevin McHale, combining Bird's three point shooting, deft passing, and hard-nosed rebounding with McHale's footwork in the post.
Jamal
Murray did not shoot well from the field overall (.400) during the Nuggets' 4-1 first round win versus the L.A. Lakers, but he drilled the game-winning shots in game two and in game five en route to averaging 23.6 ppg, second on the team to Jokic. Murray also ranked second in assists (7.2 apg) behind Jokic. Murray has yet to be selected as an All-Star but he has outplayed many All-Stars in his playoff career.
Side note: this is the first playoff series that I can remember during which so much noise was made about (1) which team led at halftime and (2) which team led for the most minutes. The only goal in a playoff series is to be the first team to win four games--and the Nuggets needed just five games to accomplish that versus the Lakers, after sweeping the Lakers 4-0 in the 2023 Western Conference Finals. Yet, it seems like many commentators are trying to give LeBron James some kind of award for lifting his team to halftime leads and for having the lead for more minutes than the Nuggets did. By that standard, auto racing records should be rewritten, with championships and trophies being awarded to the drivers who most often had the lead at the halfway point of races and who led the most total laps.
The relevant story in the Denver-L.A. series is that Jokic and his cohesive team outdueled LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and James' hand-picked roster that--just a year ago--James was praising to the sky after throwing first Frank Vogel and then Russell Westbrook under the bus. Listen closely, and you can hear that bus revving up now to run over Darvin Ham.
Back to the Nuggets, who did not chase stars but instead developed a well-balanced team around Jokic.
Michael Porter Jr. led the Nuggets in three point field goals made (20) in the first round while ranking third on the team in scoring (22.8 ppg) and third in rebounding (8.4 rpg). His frontcourt mate Aaron Gordon thrives in the "dunker" spot catching lobs from Jokic and Murray, but he also rebounds (9.8 rpg), defends, and even makes timely passes (4.6 apg).
What distinguishes the Nuggets from other teams--aside from Jokic's greatness--is that the Nuggets do not care who scores or who gets credit; they just want to win the game. Jokic is the leader, and he sets the tone for the team: smart, physical, professional.
Other things to consider: The Nuggets reached the 2020 Western Conference Finals, but then battled injuries during the next two seasons before winning the 2023 NBA title. Their key players--Jokic, Murray, Gordon, and Porter Jr.--are all in their primes, and no doubt take quiet delight in defeating various purported "super teams."
Connelly not only built Minnesota into a contender but he is largely responsible for putting together this Denver team: he drafted Jokic
in the second round of the 2014 NBA Draft (41st selection overall), and
he later drafted Murray and Porter Jr. before trading for Gordon. Note that both teams favor size over small ball and neither team relies on three point shooting, with the Nuggets ranking 30th (last) in the league in three point field goal attempts.
This will be a fun, competitive, old school series featuring two teams attacking the paint. The difference will be Jokic--not just his Wilt-like stats, but the way that he distorts opposing defenses that struggle to deal with his ability to both score efficiently and pass with precision.
Murray's Game-Winner Lifts Nuggets to 4-1 Series Win Over Lakers
After hitting a game-winning buzzer beater to give the Denver Nuggets a 2-0 series lead over the L.A. Lakers, Jamal Murray nailed a game-winning jumper to lift the Nuggets to a 108-106 game five victory that moved the Nuggets into the second round and sent the Lakers home. Murray finished with a game-high 32 points on 13-28 field goal shooting (including 5-10 from three point range), and he averaged 23.6 ppg in the series. Michael Porter Jr. added 26 points on 8-12 field goal shooting, including 5-7 from beyond the arc. Nikola Jokic stuffed the boxscore with 25 points on 12-21 field goal shooting, a game-high 20 rebounds, and nine assists; the only blemish on his stellar performance was that he committed a game-high seven turnovers. Jokic averaged 28.2 ppg, 16.2 rpg, and 9.8 apg in the series while shooting .591 from the field; that combination of scoring, rebounding, passing, and high efficiency shooting is reminiscent of the numbers posted by Wilt Chamberlain when he won three straight regular season MVPs and one NBA title from 1966-68. No other player in pro basketball history has simultaneously checked off all four of those boxes.
LeBron James scored a team-high 30 points on 11-21 field goal shooting, passed for a game-high 11 assists, and grabbed nine rebounds in 44 minutes--a strong stat line for any player, and a remarkable stat line for a 39 year old veteran of 21 NBA seasons. James is still highly productive as an individual, but his stats do not translate into team success. The difference between the Lakers and the Nuggets is that the Nuggets are singularly focused on winning: they don't care who gets the individual stats, or who gets the credit. They are drama-free. In contrast, drama has swirled around the Lakers from the moment that James joined the team: there is always a story brewing about who will be traded, who will be signed, will the coach be fired, will James leave, who will be blamed.
Anthony Davis had 17 points, 15 rebounds, and four assists. As often happens, he suffered an injury that limited his aggressiveness and his effectiveness. This time, it was his shoulder/neck. At some point--and we have surpassed that point--it should be understood that when ranking players like Joel Embiid, Anthony Davis, and Zion Williamson their propensity for being injured during the games that matter most is every bit as relevant as their skill set strengths. Most of the all-time great players either did not get hurt often or else did not miss games often during their prime years, but the opposite is true of Embiid, Davis, and Williamson, and that is why--despite their undeniable talent--they have combined to win just one championship. At this point, it would be surprising if we ever see any of those players advancing past the second round of the playoffs.
The Lakers enjoyed a halftime lead in each of the first four games of this series, and they did not break that streak in game five, outscoring the Nuggets 53-50 in the first 24 minutes. The Lakers led for most of the game, and they led 104-103 with 1:33
remaining in the fourth quarter after James' driving layup but--as
happens almost every time these teams face each other--the Nuggets
executed better down the stretch and won the game.
It is odd how much attention has been paid to the Lakers' halftime leads and total time spent leading. All that matters is who leads at the final buzzer. The Philadelphia 76ers trailed at halftime in each game of the 1983 NBA Finals, but all that anyone remembers--and all that anyone should remember--is that the 76ers swept the Lakers 4-0 to cap off a record-setting 12-1 playoff run. Will the NBA or its media partners develop a new official statistic for "minutes led" or "halftime leads" and then credit LeBron James for setting yet another record?
Instead of focusing on the Lakers' meaningless halftime leads, focus on the fact that the Lakers have won two playoff series in the four years since capturing the 2020 "bubble" championship, though of course no one can forget their epic NBA Cup win
and the ensuing banner-hanging ceremony. Take away their playoff wins
in the "bubble," and the James-Davis Lakers have an 11-16 playoff
record, including 3-11 on the road--which strongly suggests that without the comforts of playing neutral site playoff games in the "bubble" the James-Davis Lakers would not have won a championship.
The historical NBA standard is that star players receive the brunt of the blame when their teams fail to meet expectations. Even the great Magic Johnson was temporarily dubbed "Tragic" Johnson after his Lakers lost to the Celtics in the 1984 NBA Finals. Kobe Bryant was pilloried for not figuring out how to win more when his starting point guard was Smush Parker and his starting center was Kwame Brown (it is a fun exercise picturing how LeBron James would react to having that supporting cast).
However, James has repeatedly been granted a rare hall pass: losses are generally not portrayed to be James' fault, so look for James to either (1) pressure the Lakers to fire Coach Darvin Ham and reshape the roster yet again or (2) jump to a team that he perceives to provide greener pastures. Asked after the game if he plans to return to the Lakers, James smiled and declined to answer the question. James has the option to become a free agent this summer and he has the contractual right to go wherever he wants, but the point is that he has created drama and instability everywhere he goes by always having one eye on the exit as opposed to having two eyes on what is best for his current franchise.
Meanwhile, Jokic dominates with no drama, no team-hopping, and without throwing anyone under the bus--and he dominates without playing alongside a single All-Star, let alone playing alongside a roster that he handpicked that includes a player voted to the NBA's 75th Anniversary Team (Davis) and a player who has made the All-Star team once (D'Angelo Russell).
As the first round progresses, it is interesting that 75th Anniversary Team members LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant, and Stephen Curry combined to win one playoff game this year: Durant's Phoenix Suns got swept by the Minnesota Timberwolves, the James/Davis Lakers managed one win, and Curry's Golden State Warriors lost in the Play-In Tournament. All season long, we heard (1) how strong the Western Conference supposedly is, and (2) how the Lakers, Suns, and Warriors are three teams that no one wants to face in a seven game series. The reality is that the Western Conference was overrated overall, and those three teams specifically were overrated: they are three teams that everyone would (or should) want to face. Throw in the New Orleans Pelicans being swept by the Oklahoma City Thunder, and it is evident that Oklahoma City, Denver, and Minnesota are a class above the rest of the West (with the jury still out regarding the winner of the Dallas-L.A. Clippers series).
Brunson Burner Singes Sixers as Knicks Win 97-92 to Take 3-1 Lead
In the 1980s, the New York Knicks featured the "BK Broiler": Bernard King won the 1985 regular season scoring title--averaging 32.9 ppg to beat Larry Bird and Michael Jordan--after a sensational 1984 playoff run during which he led the league in postseason scoring (34.8 ppg) while scoring at least 40 points in four straight games. During the middle of that 1984 playoff scoring spree, King scored 46 points in back to back games, setting a franchise playoff single game scoring record that stood for 40 years--until Jalen Brunson, who could be dubbed the "Brunson Burner," torched the Philadelphia 76ers for 47 points on Sunday as the Knicks won 97-92 to take a commanding 3-1 series lead. Brunson shot 18-34 from the field, and he also tallied 10 assists while committing only one turnover in 44 minutes. He nearly matched the combined scoring output of Philadelphia's All-Stars Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, who scored 27 points and 23 points respectively.
With the game up for grabs, Brunson scored nine points in a bruising fourth quarter during which the Knicks scored 20 points on 6-21 (.286) field goal shooting while the 76ers scored 16 points on 6-24 (.250) field goal shooting. Brunson's shifty moves, deft ballhandling, and excellent footwork in the post make him very difficult to guard.
Maxey and Cameron Payne led the 76ers with five fourth quarter points each, while Embiid scored just one point and shot 0-5 from the field. Philadelphia coach Nick Nurse is rightly praised for his strategic acumen, but that fourth quarter will not appear on his career highlight reel: the 76ers looked disorganized, and Embiid spent most of the final stanza camped out behind the three point line. Although Embiid can make three pointers, he is most effective when he is operating in the paint, where he commands double teams, draws fouls, and converts high percentage shots.
Overall, Embiid shot just 7-19 from the field, and the dominant themes of his playoff career have not changed: in the postseason, he is often injured/out of shape, which contributes to his playoff numbers not matching his regular season numbers. Embiid's physical talent and basketball skills are undeniable, but there is no reason to believe that he will ever be healthy enough and well-conditioned enough to lead a team on a deep playoff run. As for Maxey, the sample size is small, but he seems to be better suited to the second option role than James Harden, who capped off his horrific elimination game resume with nine points and five turnovers while shooting 3-11 from the field as the Celtics routed the 76ers, 112-88, in the last playoff game of Harden's Philadelphia career. Harden then whined his way out of town and was traded to the L.A. Clippers, which elevated Maxey to the second option role behind Embiid.
While Embiid and his 76ers have been treading water at best for the past several years, Brunson and the Knicks are rising. Brunson had a fantastic 2023-2024 regular season, ranking third in Knicks history in both total points (2212) and points per game (28.7). If he continues to play at his current level, Brunson will rank among the greatest guards in franchise history. The short list now, in chronological order, begins with Richie Guerin, who earned six All-Star selections and three All-NBA Team selections as a Knick. Walt Frazier was a seven-time All-Star, and a seven-time member of the All-Defensive Team who also earned six selections to the All-NBA Team. Frazier played an essential role for both of New York's championship teams (1970, 1973). Earl Monroe earned two of his four All-Star selections as a Knick, and he cemented his place in Knicks' lore when he was the second-leading playoff scorer for New York's 1973 NBA championship-winning squad. After participating in one of the NBA's greatest rivalries as members of the Knicks and Bullets respectively, Frazier and Monroe were dubbed the "Rolls Royce" backcourt after Monroe joined the Knicks in 1971.
My default position is to be skeptical that an undersized player can
be a dominant playoff performer, but Brunson may prove to be the
exception to that generally applicable rule. After averaging just 8.0
ppg in his 2021 playoff debut as a third year player with the Dallas
Mavericks, Brunson scored 21.6 ppg in a 2022 playoff run to the Western
Conference Finals and 27.8 ppg as he led the Knicks to the second round
last year. He is averaging 33.0 ppg in the first four games of the 2024
playoffs, and his 3-3 career playoff series record could improve to 4-3
as early as Tuesday if the Knicks beat the 76ers again. The similarly
sized Damian Lillard--who was selected to the NBA's 75th Anniversary Team--has
posted a 4-8 career playoff series record that will be 4-9 as soon as
the Indiana Pacers finish off his Milwaukee Bucks. Here are the playoff
series records of several other prominent 6-4 and under guards from the
past 40 years:
Isiah Thomas (16-7, with two championships and one Finals MVP)
Joe Dumars (15-8, with two championships and one Finals MVP)
Chauncey Billups (17-11, with one championship and one Finals MVP)
Allen Iverson (6-8, with one NBA Finals appearance)
Tony Parker (30-12, with four championships and one Finals MVP)
Steve Nash (11-12)
Derrick Rose (4-7)
Stephen Curry (23-5, four championships and one Finals MVP)
Russell Westbrook (11-11, with one Finals appearance)
Thomas
and Dumars had great success playing alongside each other with a good
supporting cast, though Thomas was clearly the superior player even
though they each won one Finals MVP. Billups won his lone NBA title
playing alongside four players who made the All-Star team at least once,
plus four-time All-Defensive Team member Tayshaun Prince. Iverson
carried the 76ers to the 2001 NBA Finals but never made it past the
second round in any other season. Parker won four titles playing
alongside Pantheon member Tim Duncan, one of the greatest big men in pro basketball history.
Nash won back to back regular season MVPs in a league featuring
Pantheon members Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, and Tim Duncan, but he
went 0-4 in the Western Conference Finals and just 7-5 in first round
series. Rose led the Chicago Bulls to the 2011 Eastern Conference
Finals, but two years later he suffered a devastating knee injury that
altered his career arc and ended his time as an elite level player,
though he is still active. Curry has won four championships and made six NBA Finals appearances with the Golden State Warriors. Andre Iguodala won the Finals MVP for the first of those four championship teams, and then Kevin Durant won the Finals MVP the next two times Golden State captured the title, with Curry earning his lone Finals MVP in 2022. Westbrook teamed with Kevin Durant to lead
the Oklahoma City Thunder to four Western Conference Finals appearances
and the 2012 NBA Finals.
It will be interesting to revisit the above
list in 10 years and see how Brunson stacks up, particularly if he can
avoid serious injuries.
"A work of art contains its verification in itself: artificial, strained concepts do not withstand the test of being turned into images; they fall to pieces, turn out to be sickly and pale, convince no one. Works which draw on truth and present it to us in live and concentrated form grip us, compellingly involve us, and no one ever, not even ages hence, will come forth to refute them."--Alexander Solzhenitsyn (Nobel Lecture)
"The most 'popular,' the most 'successful' writers among us (for a brief period, at least) are, 99 times out of a hundred, persons of mere effrontery--in a word, busy-bodies, toadies, quacks."--Edgar Allan Poe
"In chess what counts is what you know, not whom you know. It's the way life is supposed to be, democratic and just."--Grandmaster Larry Evans
"It's not nuclear physics. You always remember that. But if you write about sports long enough, you're constantly coming back to the point that something buoys people; something makes you feel better for having been there. Something of value is at work there...Something is hallowed here. I think that something is excellence."--Tom Callahan
