NBA Playoffs
- Thread starter NovaHoops2002
- Start date
GS likely wins. But a game of Lebron vs the world will be entertaining.
I've always thought if he goes to the post he's unstoppable. No outside jumpers and get it to him down low. If they collapse everyone then Cleveland still has enough shooters on the outside.
I don't think he wins but it should be a good show. Hopefully. Otherwise there's always the Hawks and Bolts
I've always thought if he goes to the post he's unstoppable. No outside jumpers and get it to him down low. If they collapse everyone then Cleveland still has enough shooters on the outside.
I don't think he wins but it should be a good show. Hopefully. Otherwise there's always the Hawks and Bolts
Done with the Israel stuff - passed it off to operations/the team in israel. Things are well - drank and partied way too much when I first moved here but much calmer now. I know i'm posting at 2:30 AM but wasn't even out tonight. Thanks for asking
DMil, i am glad I came here. I think life is more about who you surround you with than where you're at - but there are a lot of great people to surround yourself with here.
As for basketball - I think Lebron made the right decisions in crunch time. Mozgov on the other hand didn't. Hard to blame Lebron for teammates being dumb/trying to do too much. That last shot wasn't good but the spacing and timing wasn't either. Still, a few inches different path on that jumper and we aren't having this convo. Warriors in 5 - i hope people talk about what a great story they are - sort of an offensive version of the 04-05 Pistons with more likable guys - and not do the old "how does lebron stack up" debate over and over.
Cavs are finished. LeBron was fantastic but Golden State is significantly better 2-9. The Cavs roster is awful. GM LeBron was a fool to trade wiggins for love. Style wise wiggins could have made life a lot easier for LeBron. Golden state is very good and Cavs are decimated.
The Cavs roster is not awful. They're just injured. Three starters missing when you factor in Varejao. Guys like Thompson, Mozgov, Shumpert, and Smith (when buying in) are all either starters or contributing bench players in this league. Those were good moves during the season. The Zen Master was taken behind the woodshed on that Smith/Shumpert deal. Can't fault James for wanting to maximize things in the present with the Love deal. Hard to predict injuries. Though, Kyrie is always getting hurt.
Their current line-up is awful. I'm tempted to take Golden State for a sweep at 3-1. Seems like some value. You could take them in 5 at +110 and as long as it doesn't go 6 win some scratch. I just don't see how this Cleveland team has any shot. Their bench was already awful (the reason they lost was not because of Lebron, it was because when he left the floor Golden State's 2nd unit drilled them. Go see beginning of 2nd Q when they ran out to a huge lead etc...).
In the 9 minutes that James was on the bench GS outscored them, 11-6. That's not being drilled. Everyone knew going into the series that GS was deeper. It's one of the reasons they are clearly considered the better team. Also, heading into the series it was understood that CLV starters would be playing more minutes.
With no Irving your projections are probably accurate, but even with him their chances of winning this series weren't great.
With no Irving your projections are probably accurate, but even with him their chances of winning this series weren't great.
Why would you have a 2 game break after Game 1? It seems like these playoffs going on forever. To be honest, I watched alot of rounds 1 and 2, which were very awesome, barely watched the Conference Finals and find it annoying that you have such long breaks in the Finals, on top of that the games start at 9 PM on week night. With Kyrie going down and Golden State pretty much running away with it going to be hard to stay up after midnight for these games.
Burrs, 5 points and that game doesn't hit OT. Their second unit just gets drilled in minimal time. Now without Irving there is no additional scoring. Their current line-up is terrible. Lebron is only thing that kept them within 20.
Dude, there is no second unit. They basically only play 7 guys. No fewer than three, usually four starters out there at all times. They basically just take turns getting a blow. Their depth is shot because of injuries. If fully healthy it's a very good team and James has plenty on help. Criticizing James for the Love trade is wrong. Again, regardless of the inquires GS is the better team.
GS was down 14. They to their bench and whittled ot down. LeBron leaves the floor for a little while and Cavs struggle. Factor in they keep throwing bodies and that's the difference. Cavs are LeBron and 4 guys at any given time. How many minutes can he sit tonight? No Irving, your primary scorer becomes JR Smith. Good luck. Wwe going to see Mike Miller? They have nothing.
Saying that a team struggles when the best player in the world goes to the bench is a shocking revelation. Thanks for sharing.
All I'm saying is this. They don't go to a second unit. They don't have one. Their top 6 players the other night are all good players in some form. They're just not deep enough at this point.
All I'm saying is this. They don't go to a second unit. They don't have one. Their top 6 players the other night are all good players in some form. They're just not deep enough at this point.
Again, thanks for sharing this.
And it's not even 1.5 units. It's one bench guy in the game with 4 starters most of the game.
James went to bench for 52.5 seconds in the 1st QT. The score was 0-0.
Also, I think we should give James' teammates credit for defending pretty well in these playoffs. This counts for something.
You don't wan to give James the credit he deserves, never have. These past two games should give a view into how much better he is than anyone playing today. He's playing with Matthew D, Shumpert, Triston Thompson and Mazlov. He's got those guys believing they can actually win. These guys are stiffs. Seriously, read those names. Those are the guys playing major minutes along with JR Smith and James, I'm old, Jones. Where would those guys be in the Golden State rotation? Lebron/Cavs will wear down because Golden State will keep running bodies at them in the 2nd. Regardless, what he's doing is a marvel given the "talent" around him. And remember how badly they played D the first month of the season.
No, I do give James credit. He's the best player in the world. How much more credit can one get? All I'm saying is that Mozgov, Thompson, Shumpert aren't terrible players. There isn't a NBA analyst that would agree with you. JR Smith has talent, always has. He's just crazy. James is obviously orchestrating it all.
There is a difference than being able to play and being the second scoring option. The starting Cavs backcourt is 1-13 (throw in JR and they are 3-20). Cleveland is up 3. Lebron is 3 board shy of a triple-double with 4 left in the third. He's doing it with nothing.
That pass Lebron just made across the court to JR Smith is the thing he does that no other player has done before. Obviously many have had that kind of vision but to throw it that fast and that accurately is insane
James is playing awesome. He's huge on the offensive end; both scoring and facilitating. But they are winning because GS has 56 points with 2+ left in 3rd QT. it's a team effort on that end. He has plenty of help with that. Also, Mozgov is having a very good game on both ends.
They are winning because the best player in the world has given a rag tag group hope and he's playing out of his mind. Yes, they are playing great team D. However, let's not confuse what's happening here. Lebron has put an entire city on his back. This is ridiculous. It's not like these other guys came out and started burying shots everywhere. They have slowed the game down, made it ugly and Lebron is doing everything offensively, getting shots for others and knocking enough down. He'a also added 14 boards.
What a game. JR Smith killed the Cavs down the stretch with two stupid fouls. That's JR Smith. Anyone give the Cavs a shot in OT? Hopefully I'm wrong. Want to see Lebron get this. He's doing to need someone else to knock down a shot or two. I've got Deledenova as the others have come up very small.
Was hearing earlier how LeBron doest do much in the finals. Amazing.
Seeing something I cannot remember in the NBA. ONE GUY - surrounded by nearly nothing, doing everything to win games against a team they have no business beating in any game. The guy is unreal.
Seeing something I cannot remember in the NBA. ONE GUY - surrounded by nearly nothing, doing everything to win games against a team they have no business beating in any game. The guy is unreal.
The more I see of these games the more you realize Cleveland takes GS to the woodshed with Love and Irving healthy.
I still think GS wins this series by sheer default. Cleveland runs out of gas eventually playing 6.5 guys. Sucks for Lebron. But it's likely to happen. To no fault of his.
All this said I'm more convinced than ever that San Antonio wins another title had they slipped by the Clippers. LA presented the sort of matchup problem up front with their athletic size just enough to sneak past SA. Neither Golden St nor Clev would've presented the same issues up front that DeAndre and Griffin did. Heat couldn't get 1 off SA last yr with Lebron, Wade and Bosh. No chance Lebron was getting 4 off the Spurs this yr with just Lebron and a bunch of bench parts. The Spurs owned the Warriors as well. 3-1 this yr and 23-3 last 26. They just know how to handle that team. Spurs were so so close to winning 2 more titles. Phenomenal franchise.
I still think GS wins this series by sheer default. Cleveland runs out of gas eventually playing 6.5 guys. Sucks for Lebron. But it's likely to happen. To no fault of his.
All this said I'm more convinced than ever that San Antonio wins another title had they slipped by the Clippers. LA presented the sort of matchup problem up front with their athletic size just enough to sneak past SA. Neither Golden St nor Clev would've presented the same issues up front that DeAndre and Griffin did. Heat couldn't get 1 off SA last yr with Lebron, Wade and Bosh. No chance Lebron was getting 4 off the Spurs this yr with just Lebron and a bunch of bench parts. The Spurs owned the Warriors as well. 3-1 this yr and 23-3 last 26. They just know how to handle that team. Spurs were so so close to winning 2 more titles. Phenomenal franchise.
What game did you watch? LeBron didn't get two straight calls in crunch. First the hack by Iggy and then again, as well as the final play in regulation with iggy holding him as he made his move.
Not sure who said Levron didn't do much in the Finals. He does have two rings where he was MVP. I'm pretty sure he did something then. The Dallas series earlier wasn't his finest moment. Put up real nice numbers last year despite team getting waxed in historic proportions. Still, he's obviously done stuff.
I think if you re-read TD's post I think you'll see this is what he's saying. James did walk, probably twice, on baseline play where Iggy slapped him. On the final play in RS he was held out top, but still got thru and was not fouled on shot. You can't call that out front when the entire game was a war and very physical. Good no call there.
Kenny Smith said it best last night, Lebron has done more with less than any player he's ever seen. His greatest gift beyond the obvious is that he makes everyone else on his team better. He does this more than anyone I've ever seen. He's not Jordan's equal in terms of putting the ball in the basket. Who is? However, he's one of the best passer's we've ever seen and one of the smartest players who has that unique ability to lift everyone else on his team beyond their abilities. It's his most underrated skill. Having said all that, Golden State is not going to shoot this way again and the Cavs might not win another game. Golden State has the current MVP and is better at every single position 2-9. Cleveland has no business in this series. If Lebron pulls this off, and I don't see it happening, this elevates Lebron to a new level.
Sure. However, the Cavs didn't get the calls they usually get let alone a favorable whistle. That's just crazy. Even Mark Jackson went as far to say these were season defining calls and he's never seen a superstar player not get two easy consecutive calls in crunch times. His words not mine. At a minimum the whistle was bad against Cleveland. It certainly didn't help them. Stop all the hate.
He makes the right basketball play more than any player I have ever seen. He's somehow managed to gain home ice playing with basically what amounts to the friggin New York Knicks as his teammates. He has a non playoff team in the final, now with home court advantage. It's unreal.
LeBron's shooting % was not good last night but with the lack of options the Cavs have, this is to be expected. James was insanely great last night. He definitely did not get Jordan like calls. I still think he is going to will the Cavs to victory in this series.
Lebron gets his teammates more open looks than John Stockton. He simply needs them to knock down enough. He got Shumpert 5 wide open looks in the last half of the game. He hit one. His shooting percentage won't be good because he's consistently playing against help. His TO/Assist numbers were awesome and could have been twice that if his teammates could shoot wide open jumpers. Again, Golden State won't play this poorly again so this series hinges on the other guys on the Cavs making shots. Lebron is going to get his 40 every game and it all comes down to JR.Smith, Shumpert, James Jones and Matthew D making shots. Lebron is going to get those guys 20+ open looks per game. They knock down 10 open J's and Cavs are in this thing. Curry missed 13 3's last night' That's not going to happen again.
Umm, if you read TomDudes' post he said, "down the stretch the refs did all they could to help GS win."
So, who is saying that CLV got the favorable whistle?
Disregard the refs. They are going to miss calls. For both sides. Physical game from beginning to end.