I would have to agree for the most part, Gets. I think GS has to be the favorite next year, but I think they still have some vulnearability and the league is too fluid to project multiple years out. Consider that Curry is fragile - he's had ankle and knee issues; Durant hasn't exactly been the model of health over the past 5 years; Kerr's status as coach is iffy at best; and I think Klay Thompson will be doing a lot more pouting as his numbers continue to decline. Then throw in that they'll lose Igudola and Livingston this offseason.
I agree, Gets, that the Spurs are on the decline. But as long as they have Popovich, they are a threat. Even though I know you criticize him, Aldridge is still a Top 25 player. If they land Chris Paul to replace Parker, then they could be right back in the thick of things.
I definitely see your points...especially about Klay....teamwork,winning rings,etc is good but a young elite 2 way player in his prime is going to be the hardest guy to keep happy. When a team wins....other teams can generally poach their talent by offering obscene amounts of money and/or chance to showcase your talents fully.
I think Iggy and SL, basically journeymen at this point who've found and perfected their niche roles in the league are gonna be harder to poach. They won't find replacements for those guys if they do leave.They fit the system perfectly.
I think playing together is going to lessen chance of Steph of KD injuring their frail injury prone bodies. They blow people out of the gym early in games so less wear and tear during reg. season.
I have to agree with you about Pop/Spurs....he drafts and develops players as well as anybody in the league. Those young guys on their bench came into games against GSW with NO FEAR, so they are true Spurs. Aldridge is scared of the big moment. He,Carmelo, and Love to an extent are/were stats compilers. They played for years in low pressure situations and scored a lot of points and got lots of boards...but in high stakes moments they fold. Goombah, do you remember on Bron's first go round with Cavs....when they got Antawn Jamison ? That guy was scared in the playoffs and helped Lebron's decision to leave.
LA is gonna get points/boards but even though he's bigger and better than ANY front court player that GSW has...he was a non factor once KL got hurt.
