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NBA Finals, finally.
galaxy27
Posts: 7,150 ✭✭✭✭✭
I love hoops, but the playoffs have been so odious that I quit watching until the inevitable was ready to commence.
Now I'm pumped.
I like Golden St. to hoist, but if Bron Bron pulls this off his legacy will be etched in granite.
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MJ is still TOP DOG......but James is the best playing right now.
Cavs in six games.
of course all talk starts with Lebron, but Irving, Love and Thompson have all been playing extremely well. talk always gets around to the "East is weak" argument, but I would suggest that Toronto was a better opponent than the Warriors faced in the first two rounds and the Celtics were a better Team than what was left of the
Spurs when Kawhi Leonard was done. looking at things like that, Golden State hasn't been pushed very hard so there first real test will come on Thursday.
it is peculiar --- even after the Cavs did what they did in the last Finals, coming back from down 3-1 against a Team everyone said was the greatest in history, they still get looked at like Rodney Dangerfield.
I'm thoroughly impressed by LeBron and his ability to make sure it's a team win...
I think this should be a great finals. I am not one of those that think the Warriors are the best team ever.....that goes to the BULLS of the 90's.
Dimeman, you can't realistically have it both ways when you rely on records and statistics. if MJ is your all-time best over LbJ and you use stats to support that, then you MUST agree with the stats that support Golden State over the Bulls. arguing otherwise is just stupid and you aren't a stupid person.
a good comparison is looking at the 1972 Miami Dolphins. despite all the arguments to the contrary, they get to claim "Greatest Team Ever" in the modern era simply because they went undefeated. when someone else does that there can be a debate.
The 72 Dolphins aren't even close to the best team ever......not even close.
GS won the title once...then lost the next year. The Bulls won 3 in a row.....then MJ played BB 2 years.....then he came back and the Bulls won another 3 in a row. If MJ doesn't leave for 2 years they would have won 8 in a row. As it is they won 6 out of 8 years. GS isn't even in the same ballpark of doing that.
again, if you are going to use statistics to prove your point you need to let the statistics do that.
the Boston Celtics were in 10 consecutive NBA Finals between 1957 and 1966 which included eight consecutive Championships. thereby, using your line of thought that Team was the greatest of all-time.
It will be good if some of the games are close. LeBron is the man among boys and I expect he will lead the Cavs to.....to.......why don't they have a name for the championship like the World Series or Stanley Cup do??
Yes, the Celtics are right up there with them. I do think the level of play all around the League was higher for the Bulls than Celtics, but that is just my opinion. Maybe others would chime in and give their opinion.
I am not putting the Celtics down at all. They probably hold the record for most Championships and are a great franchise.
The Lakers are another great franchise.
As expected GS and Cleveland will compete for the title. This year both teams are entering the finals with their players healthy (especially with another 6 days of rest before game 1).
Wouldn't it be strange if the outcome of the series is a 4-0 blowout with each game being a 25+ point win with the outcome decided in the first half of each game.
Dimeman, but you should probably go sit in a room with a very large mirror and have an debate with yourself. that way you can say whatever you want without regard to how absurd it is and justify any point you want to make.
Wouldn't it be strange if the outcome of the series is a 4-0 blowout with each game being a 25+ point win with the outcome decided in the first half of each game.
there is too much talent on either Team to allow that to happen, but it won't be surprising to see large margins in the games.
Just what did I say that was so absurb?????
you have a habit of laying out criteria to make your point, done it before and will no doubt do it again. then when it is shown that your criteria actually proves you to be wrong you simply ignore it. things would be much simpler if you just said your opinion is "_____________________" and left it at that.
I understand that you believe the MJ led Chicago Bulls to be a great Team and that you worship Michael Jordan, fair enough, the boat you are in is crowded. please don't use disputable FACTS.
I don't worship MJ, but as of right now he is #1. Not going by my stats...just look at the comparison of the 2 in the pre game show. The first line pretty much tells it all. Record in Finals MJ 6-0....James 3-4. James is a great player....just not better than MJ.....yet.
it is a good thing those two played in the Finals all alone.
I have said it before, you keep using Team stats to compare players. compare player stats to compare players. the two are close enough to say they are equal at this point of their respective careers. by your criteria of Championship Wins by a player there are NINE players better than Michael Jordan.
so sorry to be the bearer of such bad news. now, excuse away.
oh yeah, I should add that Bill Russell played 13 seasons and won 11 Championships. by your criteria MJ couldn't carry his jock strap.
That was just one stat......and who has a better % than 6-0 in the Finals???
you're pathetic.
Ditto!
Kevin Durant.
mark
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
Yes, even Durant is better than James!
3.
GS may finish this postseason undefeated.
Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.
the Cavs played poorly and were out-played by the Warriors even worse, too many turnovers and unfinished drives in the paint. where oh where did Tristan Thompson hide at all night??
questions, so many questions after just one game. will Dimeman ever admit he is wrong on anything?? will he ever acknowledge that as far as NBA Champions are concerned Michael Jordan is not the best?? does he even know who Bill Russell is, what he accomplished in his career/life and how he affected the way the game is played today?? is the sky really blue, Dimeman??
Come on keets. I know all about Bill Russell and the Celtics. We were comparing MJ and James. MJ had to carry the Bulls where as James had great players around him at Miami and now he has great players around him at Cleveland. MJ never had a Center that did anything but take up space. Right now MJ is considered the best by the Basketball world not just me.
And the sky is blue if you want it to be.
Dimeman, you need to be realistic in your "comparison" between MJ and LJ and not counter everything with some sort of side step. that's whay I made references to the Celtics and then to Russell, you want to avoid the clear facts of the two players, where they are/were in their careers with almost identical games played and personal stats. I am just saying that you can't base one ahead of the other because of his Teammates and the competition they faced.
Jordan had a far better Team when he began his run and didn't have to "carry" anyone. in 2007 the Cavs made the Finals with a second year Coach and virtually NOBODY helping Lebron. I well remember one of the games against the much better Detroit Pistons when I think Lebron scored the final 25 points in one of the last games to get them to the Finals. they were swept by San Antonio at a time when the Spurs were just starting their run with Duncan/Parker/Ginobili.
my point is that James made it there his first time with nothing but himself. fast forward to 2015 when he had to play in the Finals without Irving and Love. ask yourself what Jordan would have done without Horace Grant and Scottie Pippen, but I already know the answer.
compare the players if you want to, but don't base that comparison on their Teams. if you do that, then I have to ask why you don't compare those Teams against others when you chirp about Jordans greatness. based on Team play, he isn't better than several others.
finals rigged by NBA in favor of GSW . Said that to myself a week or 2 ago . I was flabbergasted by the concept that the west finals were half over before the east final started .
I confess to being much more of a fan of other sports but it strikes me as insane that half the league can be half a series ahead of the other half. No other sport would do that ,if you finish your series in 4 then you get to rest obviously . You don't get to start the next series until the rest of the league finishes the round
bronco I have felt the same way. And look how long it was before the Finals started after both side were done. I think it is that the games are scheduled for certain days and can't be changed for obvious reasons.
But to say the finals are rigged is over the top.
The NBA has a very real parity problem. Before the season even started, only three teams could realistically win the championship. When Kawhi Leonard went down, that number quickly dropped to 2. And the gap between GSW & Cle and the rest of the pack (sans Leonard) is substantial. Who knows, maybe we'll also be saying there's a mountainous gap between Golden St. and Cleveland after these finals.
Not good for viewership.
keets - first off I didn't say MJ had crap around him. But look at what James had in Miami and has now in Cleveland. But forget that. Let's look at the record of Jordan that James broke a few days ago......playoff points. How many more games did James have?? I think a more accurate comparison between the 2 would be average points per game....we all know who wins that.
Bottom line is that they are both great players, but MJ is still considered the best by the Basketball world. Maybe or maybe not James will continue to play great and pass MJ. That is yet to be seen. If that happens I will have no problem whatsoever with it. Records are meant to be broken as they say.
Have a nice day and this is my last reply to the MJ/James feud.
Friday is hyberbole day.
Seriously though what do you mean the dates can't be changed? There is no way they can plan in advance that the west semi finals would end so much earlier so that means they dates of game one in the west final wasn't fixed. They don't even know the location . If you mean TV is deciding when the game is instead of the league then thats BS.
I watch sports because I like sports , not because TV execs need bonuses or help with their scheduling dilemmas
It's not only TV, but I think it has to do with the cities getting ready and everything.........I'm really not sure.
I get that with something like the superbowl, but the NFL playoffs are easy to time out at 1 week per round . Then again NFL's superbowl is a TV event , no one really cares about the championships of the also ran sports as must see TV.
One thing which will greatly impact this series is the defense of the Warriors. If the Warriors continue to play defense as well as they have in their 13 playoff games to date that will pose a big problem for Cleveland.
Last night Cleveland seemed flat and for whatever reason did not put in much effort on defense. Cleveland will not do the same in Game 2. Cleveland is too good of a team and will give maximum effort in Game 2. Cleveland will protect the paint and rim.
After the opening 3 rounds being snoozefests I hope this series is a dog fight going 7 games.
KD made a BIG difference to an already very good team. GS is going to be very hard to beat 4 times.
The Cleveland series ended last Thursday. The NBA waited a full week to start the finals. That is dumb.
FWIW Cleveland got a HUGE benefit the past two playoffs by polishing teams off early and then resting. Last years grinds in the West (especially the 7 game marathon against OKC) sucked a lot of life out of the Warriors. They played a well rested Cav's in the finals and you saw what happened. Them the breaks
mark
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
Poor Lebron , conceding after one game it must be rough . He was quoted as saying "those guys got Durant , there outta be a law against loading up just to win a ring. "
I wonder if he will have to break out the famous "flop-orama" move to help the cavs over the hump
Anyone who thinks the Dubs will sweep must have been puffin' blunts with LBJ's wife @ the WS.
the Cavs were just outplayed by a better prepared Team who also had the home-court. talk of "rigging" and anything else is just non-sense. both Teams had a week to rest, heal and prepare so there was no excuse for either one to not be ready. I had to agree with the announcers in the first quarter that all the players looked rusty. in the end the difference in the game wasn't Kevin Durant scoring 38 points or Curry hitting three's, it was the Cavs committing 20 turnovers and shooting 35% from the field.
doing that loses games against a bad Team. although the Warriors played good defense that doesn't really account for the shooting, the Cavs missed a lot of good looks.
bronco makes a good point about the starting of each round in the East or West without regard to where the other conference is in the prior round ---- it seems that the dates are scheduled to allow for a seven game series all the way, so the start of each round should be the same. I wonder if the League will look at that and make changes.
I remember the NHL going thru a bunch of permutations in scheduling 7 game series in the 80's before they settled on the current format. The NHL when they first started having 16 teams make the playoffs had the first series at 5 games then 7 games for the rest. That Bruins vs. Minnesota series was epic in 79 or 80 whatever it was , it was one long brawl from start to finish.
On the 7 game series I think they did 2-2-2-1 or 2-3-2 then stopped at 2-2-1-1-1 forever ago and left it . With all that going on they never let round 2 start before 1 ended for everyone or 3 start before 2 ended . With basketball I'm not sure because I tend to watch the celtics only and the finals beyond that regardless of if my team gets there. It seems completely out to lunch to allow that much rest to one team or to have such a gap before the finals.
I don't know what you could do to be fair about starting the Finals sooner. If one side sweeps and the other side takes all 7 you have to give the team that took all 7 some time off,
I didn't know James was crying about GS picking up KD. He has a lot of nerve considering how Miami loaded up with the BIG 3 starting their run.
It's the NBA way . KD could have won where he was but he is soft that way too. OKC was up last year against the dubs and they wet themselves instead of finishing.
I didn't read the referenced quote but don't figure he was whining, probably just reacting as a fan. how many times have you seen a player in any sport do things most others can't do and you say "Man, that just ain't fair!!" or something like that. I noticed those two players talking several times during the game, probably they admire each other in a nice, competitive way.
In all the interviews I have seen with James he always seems to be a nice guy. In a way KD is like James in that he is very hard to stop from scoring.
Lebron has changed over the years. when he first came in and had the bad reputation he was only a teenager. then he hurt his own cause by the way he did the Lottery thing when he went to Miami. he has matured over the years and, though I assume many will disagree, has been humbled a little by returning home. I think he understands how he hurt the area, genuinely appreciates how he is viewed by fans in the Cleveland area and understands the importance of what he helped do last season.
Agree on all points. He is a lot more likeable these days. The Lottery Thing hurt him more then he could have possibly anticipated. I still
haven't let that go and I don't genuinely hold a grudge. Still leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
mark
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
Mark, most anyone in the area that I talk to really hated the way he left, too.
Too many pure shooters on GS. You better pick up Curry at the half line.....the guy is just too good!
The first half was very entertaining. High level offense on display by both teams with stellar performances by players on both teams.
Warriors pulled away in the second half.
Games 3 and 4 in Cleveland coming up next week.
Golden State made some amazing shots tonight, they had a hard time missing. it now seems that a sweep in play.