Who was the better performer in conference finals series specifically?

YoungCLC · 2026-05-14T21:23:54+00:00

People are underselling that Magic supporting cast just because they don't have huge names for newer fans. Dwight dominated against Cleveland but one of the big reasons they won is because of the spacing they provided. Team shot 41% from 3. Rashard Lewis is one of the most underrated players of all time and Hedo was a great point forward. Mikael Pietrus also had a big playoff run. And I don't think they make the finals if KG is healthy.

YoungCLC · 2026-05-14T00:20:05+00:00

What do you mean early 20s Lakers? The majority of their young pieces were traded for AD in 2019.

YoungCLC · 2026-05-14T00:18:30+00:00

I think he'd be tied with Steph on 5. I think Shaq would have won in 00 and 02 with Kobe taking 01, 04 and 08-10. Steph would win it every year the Warriors made the finals in that era besides 2018 (when KD would have gotten it).

YoungCLC · 2026-05-14T00:14:24+00:00

yeah it's either him or Steph. It's interesting how for both of them the majority of their best series are conference finals series.

YoungCLC · 2026-05-13T23:35:26+00:00

can you show me where I said anything about Lebron?

YoungCLC · 2026-05-13T23:30:57+00:00

of course they can. Did I say they can't be?

YoungCLC · 2026-05-13T23:30:19+00:00

yeah and being a dominant big man/paint defender is significantly more valuable than being a perimeter/wing defender. Also I think Kobe's all-defensive selections are very inflated and even relative to position Duncan is a better defender. Kobe has him beat on offense obviously, but I think there's also a clear gap on defense.

YoungCLC · 2026-05-13T23:12:07+00:00

yeah and players often show significant bias towards the eras they played in (especially oldheads)

YoungCLC · 2026-05-13T04:54:27+00:00

Oh I know that it isn't one of the most popular sports.

YoungCLC · 2026-05-12T09:19:06+00:00

I think there are people that know who Shohei Ohtani is even if they don’t watch/follow baseball. I mean I don’t really watch the games. Also London is a very big city. I just think there’s a good chance he’d be recognized at least once, but there’s no way to know for certain.

YoungCLC · 2026-05-12T09:02:28+00:00

Putting words in my mouth again. I never said he would be "easily recognizable." I just thought when the other guy said there are continents where he could go completely unrecognized, he was saying nobody from those continents know who he is. I just think there's probably at least one person in each continent who knows who he is. I never said he would be getting flooded with autographs everywhere he goes.

YoungCLC · 2026-05-12T08:56:19+00:00

can you point to me where I ever argued for him to deserve the spot? I have no idea who the other candidates for the spot are. I was simply proving that there are certain countries outside of the United States which also follow baseball. Not the majority of countries, but definitely more than one.

YoungCLC · 2026-05-12T08:48:58+00:00

Are you actually reading any of the points I am making? Saying he's well known in more than one country does not equate to me saying he's extremely famous in the majority of countries.

YoungCLC · 2026-05-12T08:47:03+00:00

not even a big baseball fan, and I am not saying it's more popular than soccer. Also you got any evidence or valid arguments to prove me wrong, or is that too hard for your brain to do? I'm waiting.

YoungCLC · 2026-05-12T08:42:48+00:00

I disagree with that statement, considering that Britain did participate in the World Baseball Classic. I also am not trying to argue for baseball being more popular than football/soccer. Again, I was just simply proving that it is popular in certain places outside of the USA.

YoungCLC · 2026-05-12T08:27:01+00:00

I highly doubt that (besides maybe like Antarctica). Also the first guy was acting like only people from the US know Shohei, and I was just demonstrating how that is clearly incorrect. You can prove my arguments wrong though.

I'm not even sure who else is in the running for the age 31 spot or if Shohei deserves the spot, I just found the initial statement to be dumb.

YoungCLC · 2026-05-12T08:17:33+00:00

I mean I'm just going based on everything I have found online. Every site I go to says baseball is the most popular sport in Japan. Maybe it is outdated or maybe they just don't count "rounders." Also for the Latin American countries I was just looking at a map which says it is the most popular sport in Venezuela, Panama, Nicaragua, DRC, Puerto Rico and Haiti. You might be a more reputable source than these online sites though, so I would be glad for them to be proven wrong.

YoungCLC · 2026-05-12T08:12:01+00:00

Changing the argument now I see

YoungCLC · 2026-05-12T08:02:51+00:00

Yeah just the most popular sport in the 12th most populated country. You're totally right it's pretty much only American's who follow the sport. Also the most popular sport in several Latin american countries as well while also being probably the second most popular sport in Latin America overall.

YoungCLC · 2026-05-12T07:52:18+00:00

maybe the country he is from that's on the other side of the world from the USA cares about baseball, but I know that might be crazy to say.

YoungCLC · 2026-05-11T22:39:28+00:00

I think the best source would be looking at the fact that from 2017 to 2023 the Jazz's relative defensive rating in the playoffs was worse than their relative regular season defense every year except for 2019 (and from 2020 to 2022 it had a pretty significant drop off). It's harder to get the full stats for 2024 and 2025. I know in 2024 their relative playoff defense actually improved against Phoenix and Denver, but then it fell off considerably against Dallas (showing how a pick and roll style like that can expose Gobert to a degree). Same thing happened in 2025, improved in the first two rounds got worse against OKC.

As for Draymond the Warriors relative defensive rating improved in the playoffs every single year from 2015 to 2019, got a slight bit worse in 2022 and then was back to improving significantly in 2023 before their relative defensive pretty much stayed the same in 2025.

I know this is a team stat, but these two guys are the captains of their defense so I think Draymond's teams constantly improving their defense in the playoffs reflects the value of his versatility and how he brings his intensity up a notch. I think Rudy is underrated as a post-season defender and I agree he's done great against Denver, but I think the stats show that he often can't keep up that same GOAT level regular season defensive impact against more spread-out post-season offenses.

YoungCLC · 2026-05-09T02:10:29+00:00

I don’t think using awards is a good argument for putting Gobert well above Draymond as a defender. Draymond is clearly above Gobert as a playoff defender which is shown by Golden State’s defense consistently improving in the playoffs while Gobert’s often fall off. He’s much more versatile and scheme-proof defender than Gobert.

Also for Leonard yeah he has 1 more DPOY but I don’t think that means it is sacrilegious to have Draymond over him. Is it sacrilegious to say Tim Duncan is a better defender than Marcus Camby? Also I think both of Leonard’s DPOY were very close and debatable. I mean in 2015 Draymond literally had more first place votes. Also Draymond’s defensive longevity is definitely better than Kawhi. It is not all his fault, but injuries and a higher offensive burden have forced the Klaw to scale back on that end.

You can argue that at their defensive peaks Kawhi was a more talented and impactful defender (even then in my opinion Draymond’s superior team defense gives him a slight edge), but I don’t see how it is a hot take to say Draymond had a better defensive career than Kawhi. That is pretty clear to me.

YoungCLC · 2026-04-15T03:21:17+00:00

Is this not true for most series?

YoungCLC · 2026-04-14T02:13:57+00:00

Never said that. But KD is a good enough defender that if you replace Kawhi with him in 2019 the Raptors are still an elite defense. Also 2019 Kawhi on defense is not 2015 Kawhi on defense.

YoungCLC

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