NBA / NCAA Basketball

[jmdirt]

Congrats to GS!

Alpe, I wonder too, when you don't have your #2 and #3 players it makes for a tough go. That's part of the game too though. NFL is just around the bend!

 

[blutto]

....for what its worth, today, Vegas has put Cleveland as the odds on favourite to win the title in 2016...

Cheers

 

[on3m@n@rmy]

Yes, congrats to GS. Though I'd have been happy with either team taking the title. Thought it would go to game 7, but that was before the Cavs lost Kyrie Irving. So if you hear reports claiming LJ said "Cavs ran out of talent", he's not really throwing his team under the bus. He's just saying they were unlucky to lose as many key contributors as they did (also losing Kevin Love and Andy).

 

[gregod]

As a long time fan of the warriors, i am still in shock.

when i was a child i went to a game during their last championship season. it was memorable because the game was delayed about an hour because derek dickey smashed the backboard during the warm up and it took a while to get a replacement. reggie jackson was at the game, too and i got his autograph. i don't remember anything about the game, though. i was pretty young.

 

[red_flanders]

Yes, congrats to GS. Though I'd have been happy with either team taking the title. Thought it would go to game 7, but that was before the Cavs lost Kyrie Irving. So if you hear reports claiming LJ said "Cavs ran out of talent", he's not really throwing his team under the bus. He's just saying they were unlucky to lose as many key contributors as they did (also losing Kevin Love and Andy).

He's saying that and throwing his team under the bus. I know if I was on his team I'd have thought, "you know, there were other ways to get that point across". I don't care for the way the guy handles himself at all.

Hell of a series from him though, he gave it all he had.

I'm less sure than many analysts that Irving and Love would have made the different LeBron is implying they would have made. Defense was statistically way better without them, and LeBron's scoring would have been down. The one plus I'd say is that the other players would have been in better rhythm if there would have been a couple more shooters out there.

Look forward to next year. Hopefully someone in the east steps up and the Cavs don't have such a walk to the Finals. Atlanta was riddled with injury and they opened against a sub-500 team. Don't hear him complaining about that...

 

[Berzin]

There are rumblings that the Cleveland coach is going to get fired, because Lebron simply overrides his authority. It is clear Lebron does not respect him, and that cannot go on.

Then there is J.R. Smith, whom they need to replace. You cannot have a shooting guard you cannot count on in the clutch. After all these years in the NBA, he is not going to improve.

Love doesn't work on this team. He's another one that cannot and will not change his stripes. He will not put up the gaudy numbers he displayed in Minnesota because his game does not blend well with Lebron and Kyrie.

There is no guarantee that Irving will come back from his knee surgery 100%. If he doesn't, we could be looking at another Derrick Rose situation.

They have bench players who did nothing for them, and you cannot have a thin bench and expect to win.

Other than all that, their future looks bright, with Vegas giving them the best odds to win the championship next year.

 

[Billie]

Man that was an awesome finals for Iguodala. Finally got his due

 

[jmdirt]

D Wade is going to Ohio to play with King James!

EDIT: This is my theory, not actual...yet...

 

[Berzin]

jmdirt-you have a link for this? Because from what I've heard Wade opted out of the last year of his contract to sign a three-year deal worth around $15-$16 mil a year with Maimi. No other team out there is going to give him anywhere near this amount. And Cleveland has to sign its own free agents first. There will not be any money left to sign Wade at anywhere near his asking price.

He wants to make up the money he feels he sacrificed during their title run when James was there. It makes sense, seeing as they gave Bosh all that loot, but he is also limited by injuries, and even when he feels good he can only play about 60 or so games a year.

And even that is hard to do given the fact that he has almost no cartilage left in his knees. No amount of Tim Grover-inspired workouts or trips to Germany for blood platelet therapy is going to change the fact that there is a good chance he won't be able to play out a three-year deal.

 

[jmdirt]

Re:

jmdirt-you have a link for this? Because from what I've heard Wade opted out of the last year of his contract to sign a three-year deal worth around $15-$16 mil a year with Maimi. No other team out there is going to give him anywhere near this amount. And Cleveland has to sign its own free agents first. There will not be any money left to sign Wade at anywhere near his asking price.

He wants to make up the money he feels he sacrificed during their title run when James was there. It makes sense, seeing as they gave Bosh all that loot, but he is also limited by injuries, and even when he feels good he can only play about 60 or so games a year.

And even that is hard to do given the fact that he has almost no cartilage left in his knees. No amount of Tim Grover-inspired workouts or trips to Germany for blood platelet therapy is going to change the fact that there is a good chance he won't be able to play out a three-year deal.

That is just my first thought now that he and James are both free agents. James waved, making "room" for Wade negotiations.

 

[jmdirt]

Cleveland put up too much money on Love to work Wade into the equation with James, Irving, Love, and Thompson. Plus, they need some solid depth on the bench.

 

[Happy dude]

I just want a Seattle franchise so I can start supporting a team again

 

[jmdirt]

RIP Moses Malone.

 

[red_flanders]

I really, really enjoyed the beat-down of the Cavs last night.

 

[52520Andrew]

Always fun to watch LeBron lose

 

[jmdirt]

I prefer watching good games.

 

[52520Andrew]

I think our only hope of seeing the Warriors pushed come playoff time is the Spurs. That should be quite a series though.

 

[red_flanders]

Re:

I think our only hope of seeing the Warriors pushed come playoff time is the Spurs. That should be quite a series though.

Warriors by 30 over Spurs last night. At Oracle and Duncan rested, but still, 120 on the best defensive team in the NBA.

Curry drops 37 and sits the entire 4th quarter or it would have been worse. Crazy.

 

[Angliru]

Re: Re:

I think our only hope of seeing the Warriors pushed come playoff time is the Spurs. That should be quite a series though.

Warriors by 30 over Spurs last night. At Oracle and Duncan rested, but still, 120 on the best defensive team in the NBA.

Curry drops 37 and sits the entire 4th quarter or it would have been worse. Crazy.

Finally someone who appreciates basketball! Warriors are on a mission this year. Curry is unlike any player that I've seen in my many years of following the sport. Unfortunately for me, I was laid up sick yesterday and missed it. I was hoping it would be more or a competitive game so that they would be motivated to replay it but I don't think it's going to happen. I still anticipate the Spurs to be the team that gives the Warriors the closest competition overall in the league.

 

[Angliru]

Re:

I really, really enjoyed the beat-down of the Cavs last night.

You too?! On my birthday too! It was a wonderful day watching LeBron on the bench whining to Tyron Lue, his chosen successor to David Blattt. That entire situation stinks though.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

And that's the one thing I don't like about Cleveland. I love their fans, and they deserve a winner, they really do. But the way LeBron has become the GM of the team, and been sneaky about it, it's just bad juju. Trading Wiggans to get Love was a terrible move, and now Blatt getting fired and the team acting like LeBron didn't know. Right. It's like I don't want LeBron to win another championship, more than I do want Cleveland to finally win one.

That game last night, I only saw highlights, but holy smokes! This was supposed to be clash of the Titans, the two best teams in years, and the Warriors just ran them out of the building. Worst loss for the Spurs in nearly three years, and as Red said, it could have been worse. Everyone is talking about the 1996 Bulls, but this Warriors team is deeper without question, probably better coached (yes, I said that), and has maybe the best shooter in the history of the game in Curry. Even when well covered, and at bad angles, he makes every shot look effortless.

I'm not really an NBA fan, and the league still needs work (better parity, playoffs too long) but this is an amazing time folks.

 

[red_flanders]

Re:

I'm not really an NBA fan, and the league still needs work (better parity, playoffs too long) but this is an amazing time folks.

I hear you, I lost interest in the NBA some years ago. Too much isolation basketball, too many stars instead of teams. Too much ego and hype. But this Warriors team (and the Spurs before them) are different. Total team concept and really fun to watch. It's always fun to watch people have fun.

 

[Angliru]

Thing is, Blatt was hired by Cleveland before LeBron decided to make his jump back to the Cavaliers. Maybe Blatt wasn't the man for the job but, the timing was quite tacky. He leads the team to the best record in the Eastern Conference, which means he and his staff would be rewarded with coaching the east all-stars in the all star game, except they fired him with only a couple of games remaining before the break. So now Lue is in line to coach the all stars, although Lue has publicly stated that he would prefer that Blatt coach them, if that is at all possible (not likely). Blatt was in a no win situation once LeBron came aboard. His European credentials were stellar but he had no history in the NBA and the players, especially LeBron, didn't respect him.

What really bothers me is that every opportunity that LeBron has he emphasizes that he is the leader of the team and that the team rises and falls with his play and direction. Now when it comes time to take responsibility for the teams inability to beat any of the big three in the western conference, he is silent. In the blow out versus the Warriors, he seemed completely uninterested and lacking motivation. Not at any time during that game did I see him trying to motivate his teammates. Nor did I see, with all the talent he has, him make an effort to put the team on his shoulders and rally them back. Once the lead reached 15 and then 20, it seemed the only player showing the willingness to light a fire with their play and his attitude, was surprisingly J.R. Smith.

 

[red_flanders]

Re: Re:

I really, really enjoyed the beat-down of the Cavs last night.

You too?! On my birthday too! It was a wonderful day watching LeBron on the bench whining to Tyron Lue, his chosen successor to David Blattt. That entire situation stinks though.

I heard on the radio this morning that Magic got crucified for his role in getting Paul Westhead fired. But that was a different era. A player, and a black man getting the coach removed. Shook some people up.

I don't know. In my line of work I've seen managers get removed if they don't get along with their star individual contributors. It's just a lot more money and a lot more visible in pro sports. Basketball really is about the players more than it is in say football, though some players like star quarterbacks have that kind of clout.

 

[red_flanders]

Re:

What really bothers me is that every opportunity that LeBron has he emphasizes that he is the leader of the team and that the time rises and falls with his play and direction. Now when it comes time to take responsibility for the teams inability to beat any of the big three in the western conference, he is silent.

That's certainly a fair criticism.