08-08-2021, 12:17 PM
(This post was last modified: 08-08-2021, 12:31 PM by KillerLeft.)
(08-07-2021, 06:45 PM)DanSchwartzgan Wrote: Where I depart from a lot of people is that I think we were closer than most here perceive. “Closer” is a nebulous term. People often retort that I’m nuts if I think we are a “Contender”…another nebulous term (I really like when people add “True” in front of “Contender” like that makes it more clear).
I loved the whole of this post, and honestly, I love most of your posts. But, the above snippet seems to go out of its way to be pointedly snarky. I don't know that it's aimed at me, obviously, but I know I've used that term and qualifier for the term before.
Be honest. Do you not agree that there are almost always 2-5 teams that stand out from the rest of the league pretty much right at the beginning of the season, and sometimes even before the season starts? Do you not agree that the winner almost always comes from that group? Are you meaning to poke fun at people who think that way, suggesting that any playoff team has a chance? Because that has not really been my experience with the NBA over the years, personally.
Now, if your point is "well, tough - you've got to try! Just keep getting better and see what happens!" that's another story. I can totally get behind that message. But, I think many of us believe that the gap between playoff team and "true contender", which, sorry, I think is abundantly clear, is even wider than the the gap between making the playoffs or landing in the 10th-11th seed most years.
I agree that "closer" is nebulous, but "contender" is pretty clear, imo. Example: "The Mavs' new additions, THJ, Bullock and SBrown, move them closer to contention, but I wouldn't say they're true contenders yet." To me, this is quite clear in meaning and almost axiomatic. Had I known there were people rubbed the wrong way by this I might have expressed quite a few thoughts differently over the years.