MVP Race...do not waste your money betting on LBJ

BB, as i've said many times, you're the only psuedo-Warrior fan i've heard that doesn't like Durant. The only one that isn't happy he's a Warrior. And i'm gonna be honest, I doubt your fandom. I don't doubt it's duration. I believe that you've been a fan for many years. I just doubt the level of fandom. I just don't think your were really into it much over the last 20 or 30 years. I don't think you were attending the games that I was. Cheering for losers. Cheering for free Chalupas, as if that was consolation for a losing team. All those years we were the doormat of the NBA. All the years when, even when we were decent (Run TMC, We Believe), we weren't really THAT good. I don't think you were living and dying with them. Dragging your azz to deep east Oakland to go to games. Maybe you were rooting for the Giants. I think the team got good and all of a sudden, "I've been a Warriors fan for X years!" And it's probably technically true.

Anybody who accuses someone as being nouveau riche is a pretentious azzhole who has never had to go without a meal. As Jay-Z once said, "If you grew up with holes in your zapatos, you would celebrate the minute you was havin' dough."

Ive heard stupid fans talk about how kd is going to ruin things when we first signed the guy. It just shows me that theres a lot of people who watch sports but theres not many that know sports. Harrison barnes was 5-32 in games 5,6,7 and all the shots were wide open... did you want us to replace barnes with another shitty player with a crazy contract ? It takes a while for an all time great like durant to get incorporated into an offense like this. 

Kerr will do different things this year with durant after being with him for 2 years now and people will see an even better level to durant. Any warriors fan thats mad about this team can go talk to their dog cuz thats the only thing that cares about your moronic opinion. Dude can win 4–5 titles here and you are complaining. As for the mvp i thought steph would get it but durant ended the series in game 3. Steph could have won jt because his off ball work and passing helps everyone. Hes the best decoy ever.

Haters wanted it all to fail. They used to say things like, "The chemistry will be thrown off." "There's not enough shots." "Klay's gonna feel left out." Blah, blah, blah. Two years in and he's been a great player, a great teammate, and haters are still barking. BB, you're a sneak hater on your own team. Or the team you claim to be a fan of. I've never heard a fan of any team say the things you say. If Durant would have joined the Cavs after they beat us, do you think any of them cats in Cleveland would be talking that shyt? H3ll naw! They'd be gassed. Just like we were in Oakland. The media wouldn't gave gave him such a hard time either. The West Coast gets,hated on. The Bay gets hated on. And you say you're from here and you contribute to it. It's always backhanded though. Sneak dissing. "I love this team but...." There ain't no buts in this shyt, BB. If you were a fan like i'm a fan, like EastOakland is a fan, and you supported this team year after losing year, you would not be mad about Durant. You're one of these "renewed" fans from the West Bay. All of a sudden when they put cable cars back on the jerseys and started winning out you came. That's why you say things like "KD is gonna mess up a good thing." You've only really been paying attention since it's been a good thing. The sad thing is the team now caters to fans like you. It covets them even though us real ride or fans went through the shyt with this team. For us it was like, "We're getting rid of Barnes and we might get KD instead? We just got KD? H3ll yea!" That's called securing the bag.

Stu, that is certainly one point of view (about me, and the warriors) and I won't argue with it. I am not a lifelong warrior fan like you. But I am a lifelong basketball fan, since I was 5, watching old replays of Celtics games (from the 60's and early 70's) while living in Iran. That is all we had back then. So I grew up being a fan of the Celtics and when I moved to the states I got the thrill of rooting for one of the greatest teams of all time (the 80's Celtics). Yeah, that team made some tweaks/trades as did the Fakers:) but those teams were teams that grew up together and died together. And that was beautiful to watch. Just like OKC with KD and Durant were, in their dysfunctional way, fun to watch. As were the Pippen/Jordan Bulls, and there were two versions of those teams because Jordan retired. The Pistons were also great, and I put the Warriors (pre-Durant) right up with those teams. And you know what, I'll even give the 80's Sixers a pass because they just could  not make it over the hump with an aging Dr. J, so they got Moses Malone, and that is alright by me.

Funny enough, it was the Celtics big 3 that started this who ring-chasing thing, and though I don't blame them that much, because KG, Allen and Pierce were nearing the end of their primes (they were all in their 30's) and had no ring, they are to blame for the phenomenon (at least at the level it has gotten to). Then LBJ took it to another level when he moved his talents (in his prime) to Miami. Don't get me wrong, if KD had been 34, like Paul, maybe I could forgive him for pussying out and denying real basketball fans (and not guys like you who just root for laundry) the pleasure of watching some of the greatest ballers on the planet go at it for the next 3-5 years, instead of watching this iteration of the Warriors: a team that is often bored by its own success because the rest of the league is such a joke. Sorry, but as a basketball fan first, and a warrior fan second, that does not work for me. At least that is my view. Hopefully you can accept it as a legit viewpoint (like I accepted yours) even if you disagree with it.

I think OKC sucks. As a city, as a team. The ownership seems decent but the management, the coaching, the style of play, ect. He knew nothing except OKC minus a year in Seattle and a year in Austin (UTA). I'm not gonna knock the man for wanting something different and as a fan, i'm glad he chose the Warriors. Call it ring chasing but I judging by what I can read of his personality, I think there's a lot more to it than that.

At the end of it all, at the close of the season, I do respect your opinion though. You're not a shyt starter like most on this site and you're pretty respectful of everyone. I never knew that you came from Iran. It's cool to learn something about our covers brethren and I appreciate the story. I understand where you're coming from as a fan of basketball as a whole and I hope you understand where i'm coming from as a guy who went to his first Warriors game when he was 4. A guy born and raised in Oakland who has watched his team go from the Washington Generals to the Harlem Globetrotters.

Its so great we got durant becausetheres no one else i would want. I would rather have kd than lebron. I think lebron is great but to me kd fits this team. People were quick to turn him in rockets series. That team never played a tough series last year and houston was really good. The chemistry should be much better next year which means another title and more mad people. Even if james goes to houston i would rather have this warriors team over that super team. 

i saw a lot of players in their feelings too its not just fans. Lot of players are so sad and to that klay says get used to it.

Its Curry's team...He should have won the MVP...He makes the team go not KD.  Sure KD played great but I don't think he can do it when the going gets tough.  Its easier to play great when you have Curry to back you up.  

Tough? You mean like in a game 3 on the road against a player some call a GOAT, a game where Steph and Klay all but disappearded offensively? They were still playing hard and making plays, don't get me wrong. And Bell and Looney played well. And Draymond was Draymond but the KD won that game like the Slim Reaper that he is. He took the Cav's collective soul.

Stu, gotta go with davemsh on this one. You are looking at game 3 in isolation. But if you look at it in the context of the warriors team dynamics, it looks different. Let me explain. I watch warrior games with lifelong warrior fans, and even they admit that KD is the greatest front-runner there is is, but he is not the guy who will give you the big lead or create the cushion you need to win a game. That supernova is called Curry. In the warrior universe, that is the guy who gives you the cushion, the separation (usually in the 3rd quarter)  which then allows guys like KD to play the role of closer. You gottal look at Game 3 like the 4th quarter of the series, meaning it was Curry's brilliant game 2 which gave Durant the breathing space he needed (a two game cushion) to finally unlieash. Otherwise, where the hell was he before? He sucked in game 6 of the Rockets series, and in game 7, it was Curry who brought them back, which then allowed Durant to do what he does: finish. If you wanna argue about who is more valuable, to me it is the guy who goes supernova and scores 6-9 straight points to give you a cushion in a tight game and not the guy who finishes. Durant has a lot more chock jobs on his resume then Curry. Game 6 and 7 against the Warriors. The finals with OKC against LBJ. And who can forget the night this guy had against the Grizz in game 4 of the 2013-14 playoffs with the Thunder down 2-1. He was awful (5-21), and Reggie Jackson had to bail them out! Come on, man. Who are you kidding here?! KD could not win a damn thing without Curry, but Curry can sure as hell win without him!

I'm not looking at Game 3 under a microscope. I'm speaking to what KD has brought to the table since day 1. And i'm not comparing him to Curry, even though we Warriors fans look at Curry with rose colored glasses. And righfully so. This is Steph's team. Sidenote: I find it funny that for every Warrior's fan that loves Steph, half questioned his drafting. The other half questioned giving him the keys to the castle, trading Monta away for an injured Bogut who couldn't even immediately get on the floor. None would admit it now. I digress. All i'm speaking to is a value KD brought to the team from day 1 and what makes him clutch.

When an offense goes cold, you need a guy that can go out and get a high percentage shot. A guy that can stop the bleeding. Let's look at the teams I mentioned.

Replace Curry with KD on that 2015 team and Dubs do not win it. They do not get close to 73 wins in 2016.  KD is not an alpha..The guy is oozing with talent and is un-guardable but not sure he can lead a team.  Reason why his nick name is cupcake.

Dave, you can't even make a statement like that. It's pure conjecture. There's no way of knowing. What we do know is that 73-9 team lost. The fell apart. And in game 7, not one of them could get a bucket when they needed it. Obviously the ownership thought they needed help because they went out to get KD. He's a better defender than Steph. Steph is a better shootet, KD is a better scorer. He's not an alpha but that's why it works. This is Steph's team but KD is the best player. As a fan, I didn't need KD. Honestly, I didn't need another title after the first. I rooted for this team for years and they were the worst team in the league. As a fan though, if you said to me, "We're getting rid of Barnes. He disappeared on us. We're gonna go after KD." I'm gonna say, "Sign me up!" Two more titles? I'll take it. Since you like what ifs and statements that can't be proven, I can just as easily say that we don't win these last two titles without KD.

Stu, you are way off here, again! Of course the warriors are better with Durant. Of course he has the ability to take over games. But to say that the warriors needed him is pure, utter horse-crap! That 73 win team was one curry injury (against the rockets) or green suspension, or Bogut injury, or one god damn harrison barnes jumper away from winning it all. Did you just read that sentence. 4-5 things had to go wrong for the warriors to lose that title! Not one, not two, not three, but for or five! Signing Durant was a massive overreaction by ownership! Do I blame them? No. Because Barnes was so god awful in that series. Who would sign him for max money? But if you gave me a choice, I would rather have won that title with Barnes making a couple of shots than getting KD on this team and making a mockery of the league, the game I love ,and breaking up the homegrown team I fell in love it.

Oh, and let's not forget the juices spilling out of Kerr's spine into his brain that caused him top put Ezeli on LBJ in the 4th with the Warriors up 7, when the King knocked down two 3s right in Ezeli's face. Soon after the game, on that damn day, Kerr would fly to see his doctors. That is how bad the guys head was hurting! Any of those things don't happen, and the Warriors win that title. And you think it is cause they did not have Durant? Come on, man!

Curry spreads the floor unlike no other player... He’s probably the main reason for their success offensively...Take Curry out and add KD in and it’s like any other offense in the league.. late in the regular season when Curry was out... GS was awful...Curry is by far the most important piece on the team.

Exactly. The man changes the geometry of the basketball court! He is a bigger game changer than Shaq ever was or could be! Think about that for a minute. And yet, the writers, in their "wisdom," give the MVP to Durant. What a bunch of no-nothings! Complete fools! Idiots!

KD is basically a more athletic, better defensive but much less clutch version of Dirk. No more. No less. If you put KD on that Mavs team that beat the heat, they probably never get to the finals, and even if they do they get swept.

I love Steph Curry to but you guys are crazy. More of a game changer than Shaq? You guys are like those parents that always thinks their baby should be in the game. That their baby is better than what he really is. It's pointless to argue with you guy's if you can't be objective. You clearly don't like Durant and love Curry and so you're talking crazy. You know you can't argue numbers so you talk about thinks like being "clutch". It's the same thing haters used to do to Lebron. He's not "clutch". Then some statisticians started going inside the numbers and proved he's one of the most clutch players of all time.

Steph will ultimately go down as the leagues best shooter ever, and quite possibly the best finisher at the rim in the history of the game...let the rest of his career play out and see just how ridiculous his career shooting stats will be as his game and team evolves...Curry is great for the game, as was Shaq...different game different era...Steph wouldnt be Steph if he played in Shaqs peak years because of how players were allowed to hand check and defend, and Shaq wouldnt be Shaq if he played today because of how the game has evolved away from Centers...Shaq would likely foul out of every game by the end of the 3rd Q in todays game, or wouldnt be able to play as many minutes as he did back then due to lack of overall conditioning with todays game pace.

The entire discussion is pure poker table banter...who really cares...they are both great players in their own right and if i was a GM id want both of them on my team if i had to pick 5 players to put on the court.

Stu, now it is you talking with your heart and not your head. The 73 win warrior team, with a healthy curry and Bogut would have beaten the Shaq and Kobe Lakers in 4 or 5 games max! It is simple math, my friend. 3 counts more than 2. You cannot argue against math! You simply can't. It is pure foolishness and stupidity. That is why Curry is a bigger difference maker than Shaq. Kerr would just put Shaq on the free throw line every time and then take his chances on offense. They would smoke the Lakers. And you know it. Shaq is a dinosaur of a bygone era, my friend. 3 beats 2 on any given day on any court in the world under any set of rules.

BTW, Stu. This is what happens when you the fan of a team and not the sport. Or a fan of the team first and the sport second. You have no historical perspective on the game, and therefore cannot see/ appreciate Curry's true greatness or how he has changed the game of basketball as we know it. You only see him for his greatness as a warrior and bringing a title to your team. Gotta wake up, man, and see the big picture. This guy might not be better than Magic, Bird, Shaq if you go by pure numbers/stats, but his impact on the game (and how it is played) is much much bigger.