You’re right. Whether the Cavs would have been better off with Wiggins over Love is the hottest of takes. How dare I suggest such a thing?

Ok buddy. I don’t think hot take means what you think it means, but whatever. You are clearly right and anyone who deigns to disagree with you is just offering hot takes.

Is every opinion that you don’t agree with a hot take? Because I’m pretty sure that wondering whether the Cavs would have been better with Wiggins over Love is the opposite of a hot take. As in, just about every basketball writer and fan has wondered that at some point. It’s a valid question. It’s certainly not dumb…

Man, you really hate Wiggins.

I don’t live anywhere near Minnesota, so there aren’t many chances to see Wiggins play. Maybe you’re right, but he’d be a massive upgrade over Love, and he’s still only 21. It usually takes players a few years to learn to play NBA defense. Also, did you watch the Thunder in the playoffs? Dion Waiters played some…

Yes. It seems like whatever benefit Love gives on the offensive end, gets taken away on the defensive end. Wiggins would be a huge improvement over Love on defense. On the other hands, Wiggins is a bad shooter, so that would take away spacing on offense. I have also read that Lebron doesn’t love playing the 4, so I’m…

Yeah. I don’t get it. Also, it looks like Mozgov actually tries to pull his leg out of the way at the last second, not stick out. I have no idea what Klay is talking about not setting screens in the paint. Is that an unwritten rule that I’ve never heard about in 20+ years of playing/watching basketball?

I don’t care how good of an athlete Irving is, there is no way he can guard Barnes or Livingston. He’s just not big enough.

I don’t think Kyrie is quite Harden bad. Harden actually has the physical tools to be a good defender. He just doesn’t try hard enough. Kyrie tries, sometimes. And he was actually decent against Curry last night. He just can’t match up against Livingston and Barnes. Both of those guys have six inches on him.

Came to post something like this, but you, and every other deadspinner, beat me to it. Speights is a national treasure and should be at the very top of this list. It is clear that Drew does not watch the Warriors very much. Speights might be their funnest player.

For the first time, Curry looked defeated in his post-game presser. Usually, when they lose, he talks about the things they did wrong and how they just needed to play better. Last night, he kept talking about how they needed to “figure it out.” It was a definite change in tone.

Is there a team that doesn’t set moving screens? I though this was just accepted now, like travels.

I think the body contact would be ok if he was jumping straight up and down, but the arm contact is a foul.

Yeah. Some articles will throw in a paragraph or two giving him credit, but he is making some major game-to-game adjustments, and they all seem to be working. And that doesn’t even get into the job he has done with Waiters. That guy was a joke, and now he is playing some of the best perimiter D in the playoffs and is…

I want to see someone write an article about how awesome Donovan has been in these playoffs. First the Adams-Kanter combo that killed the Spurs. Then, last night, he went small first, subbing Waiters for Adams. That unit jumped out to a big lead, the Warriors bench climbed back into it after the Thunder went back to…

They might have been more physical in the 80's and 90's, but I think defenses are actually much better now than they were then.

OKC is definitely playing the best they’ve played all year, but I don’t think they’ve peaked yet. Durant and Westbrook actually haven’t been shooting the ball great this postseason, so I would expect them to start shooting a little better at some point. But the role players (mostly Adams, but also Waiters and Kanter)…

Agreed. People reciting the “Kanter can’t play defense” line haven’t been watching the postseason carefully enough. He’s by no means an elite defender, but he’s doing ok.

Westbook is getting all the attention after this game, and he certainly filled up the box score. But to me the story is Adams, Kanter and Waiters. Adams and Kanter killed the Spurs on the offensive glass. And Waiters actually had the highest +/- for the game at +18. (Westbrook was -4.)

I think Donovan deserves some credit. I haven’t watched the Thunder much this year, but does he usually play Kanter over Ibaka down the stretch? Adams and Kanter were unstoppable on the glass. And what has happened to Waiters. He is making good decisions with the ball and playing inspired defense.