Yeh, after that first bounce I went completely to “OK, so both teams are dead on their feet but we’re going to OT and someone has to win this, who’s—oh wait, the ball is still bouncing. How is this possible?”

I’ve been vocal in my dislike of Philly’s players lately so just want to give them credit: they played really hard in this series, didn’t take anything for granted, and didn’t fold. I don’t have any jokes about Embiid’s reaction, either; I like that he gives enough of a shit to cry. It makes me think of Durant after…

Yeah. He was still good in the early 00s but his really special years were mostly in the 90s. I remember watching him on Denver a bunch, and he was still fun, but not the force of nature he had been.

Others: Westbrook, Rose, Harden basically played point for a few years in Houston, Iverson, Wall ... none of those guys except Harden can really break into that top five, and Harden doesn’t really count. 

That’d be my list, yeah. Probably in that order, although you could talk me into boosting CP3 all the way up to third. Parker’s an interesting case because he doesn’t have the statistical record that the others have, but he was integral to those amazing Spurs teams and took over more and more of both the scoring and…

I’d agree that Nash was better though you can make the argument that Paul’s defense was better than Nash’s (and the argument that Nash’s second MVP probably should’ve gone to Kobe). But, yeah, I don’t think CP was the best point guard of any era. I do think he was one of the five best point guards of the 21st century…

Wouldn’t Curry be the best PG of the 2010s? He was drafted in 2009 and didn’t really become STEPHEN CURRY until the 2013-14 season. Paul was drafted in 2005, true, so only four years earlier, but he was masterful right out of the gate and had collected six All Star appearances by the time Curry had his first.

I’m not happy about the Harden or George choices. But yes. Each year matters. 35 is younger than 36.

This is a bit late, but ... Infinity War was a better movie than Endgame, right?

Durant’s hurt, so GSW/Houston’s probably going seven. Portland and Denver’s going seven. Philly/Toronto’s going seven. What are your picks for NBA Western Conference and Eastern Conference finals?

Fair enough, but the top PGs in the league shoot, like, six threes a game. Embiid does not.

I actually had originally written “point-forward” instead of “small-ball center” but the problem is that more and more, forwards are expected to stretch guys out to the 3pt line as well, so I rephrased it at the last minute. He does absolutely run their offense, but I think having him do so from the PG spot is a…

I think this is true and I’m legit unsure if that was something Stevens could fix or if it’s just a part of having Kyrie dominating the ball. They looked like a completely different team every time Irving missed a game. Way more ball movement, way less standing around. But it should be on the coach to be like “hey,…

I’m on team Raptors/Bucks. I can’t stand this Sixers team. They’re a bunch of assholes and they’re not particularly fun to watch. Plus Kawhi’s been the best or second-best player in the East in these playoffs and I want to see if he can keep it up.

OK but maybe the Sixers shouldn’t have loudly insisted that he’s a point guard for the past several years? He’s not a point guard. He’s a hyperathletic small-ball center with decent handle and a great passing eye. If they played him as such, he’d be some combination of Draymond and Jokic, and he’d be awesome…

I guess as a GM I feel like I’d be confident enough that I could build a winner around those guys that it’d keep me from fearing they’d bolt. Also presumably they’d only sign the offer if they wanted to be on the team.

I wish Hayward had different political views so I could enjoy him more as a person, but from a basketball standpoint I’m with you. I won’t be surprised if he returns to all star or near-all star form next year. Catastrophic injuries take a long time to get over.

Let’s pretend everyone in the NBA is eligible for a new supermax contract this summer. People I’d give a five-year supermax to without a second thought:

A friend of mine angrily referred to that scene as “when that guy raped that pterodactyl into submission” and I was hard-pressed to disagree with him. You’re not wrong.

Here’s the thing with Stevens: I think he’s an excellent, excellent X’s and O’s coach who can get a TON out of limited lineups. The issue this year, I think, is that he has zero practical experience massaging the egos of guys who are all stars, or think they should be. When you combine that with that fact that Ainge…