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N.B.A. thread
- Thread starter Syxz_ML
- Start date
Shorthand for the phonetic pronunciation of the first syllable of "W".
Ah. As in Molly Ivins' "the Shrub," her term for Dubya.
Great game tonight. Lebron was terrific, but didn't have enough help. Curry looked more like the MVP in the 4th with some absolutely ridiculous shots. The Warriors are simply the more balanced team, and a handy 2-0 since Bigfoot was removed from the lineup. Personally, I love watching the small ball play out. No one can stop James, but there's so much more motion and strategy when there are so many options on the floor. Really enjoying this series.
James had pretty much zero help in the 4th, especially on defense. And despite Smith's hot start, he, Shumpert, and Dellavedova went a combined 10-for-33 (slightly better than their 7-for-35 in Game 4, but still crappy). If that trio could shoot 50% for a game, the Cavs would probably win. Small ball did not work for the Cavs, no one replaced Mozgov's scoring.
Credit again to GS, though. Curry was nuts in the fourth, Green had a solid game despite his epic whining, and again that team is deep and healthy enough that someone always steps up off the bench--tonight it was Barbosa (!).
Warriors seem to have found their groove again. Lebron still keeps playing ridiculous but 1 man cant do it all. Theyll have the home crowd tuesday, maybe thatll be enough to spark some production from the "others"
Exactly. Who could have known that the Antediluvian Blur would bring it like that? How do you prepare for that?
Rose and Collins had a great take on it at the end: GS has a number of players who can create offense. As they currently stand, Cleveland has only James and a bunch of role players. Good as those role players are at what they do, there's no Scottie Pippen or Kevin McHale or James Worthy on the team to fall back on, and James has to create everything. He had a hand in what, over 70 of their total points? That's just too much to ask.
Somebody needs to tell Shumpert to shoot the ball when he's around the basket. How many times is he going to give it someone else before a coach says enough?
A great example was the fast break where he was heading towards an uncontested layup and he dishes it off to Thompson who has two defenders on him and gets fouled before he can get his shot off.
Cleveland is going to need some incredible performances for the next two games to pull this off. It could happen, but it's unlikely.
A great example was the fast break where he was heading towards an uncontested layup and he dishes it off to Thompson who has two defenders on him and gets fouled before he can get his shot off.
Cleveland is going to need some incredible performances for the next two games to pull this off. It could happen, but it's unlikely.
even if the Cavs get blown out in the next game, it is still a great story for them and Labron. i think most ppl would have to agree they were formidable opposition in their weakened state. a healthy Erving & Love would've been the X-factor, imo!
definitely a great series, regardless!
definitely a great series, regardless!
Even if the Cavs lose, I would give the series MVP to LeBron. I don't see anybody on GS as valuable to their team as LeBron is to his.
That almost qualifies as "Damning With Faint Praise"!
I don't disagree that James is certainly deserving of Finals MVP when you look at his stat line, but A) his "value" to the Cavs seems to have a lot more to do with the lack of reliable production from everyone else on the team; and B) if you look past the stats and watch how he's playing ball -- especially in terms of decision-making, and confidence, and shooting percentage versus time remaining -- I think the argument could be made that giving James the Finals MVP sends the wrong message. Shouldn't it go to the guy who was instrumental in helping achieve the team goal, rather than the guy who just kept the team afloat?
Of course, I wanted Popovitch to get Finals MVP last year, so I'm probably way too idealistic for the NBA to take seriously.
LeBron not playing team ball? Hes averaging the most assists out of any player this series. He's hit past double digits twice. And as has been said his supporting cast is showing hardly any support. Imagine how many assists he'd have if his wings would hit some shots when he gets them wide open looks. I agree he's dominating possessions but what other choice does he have. But even then he's still playing a team game as much as he couldThat almost qualifies as "Damning With Faint Praise"!
I don't disagree that James is certainly deserving of Finals MVP when you look at his stat line, but A) his "value" to the Cavs seems to have a lot more to do with the lack of reliable production from everyone else on the team; and B) if you look past the stats and watch how he's playing ball -- especially in terms of decision-making, and confidence, and shooting percentage versus time remaining -- I think the argument could be made that giving James the Finals MVP sends the wrong message. Shouldn't it go to the guy who was instrumental in helping achieve the team goal, rather than the guy who just kept the team afloat?
Of course, I wanted Popovitch to get Finals MVP last year, so I'm probably way too idealistic for the NBA to take seriously.
- Dec 21, 2007
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As a Bay Area guy, I'm really enjoying GS's playing, and the fact that they are winning and getting contributions from pretty much the entire team.
And with that said, I'm blown away by what LeBron is doing, and how he is playing, and that he is singlehandedly making this a series and not a blowout. Every game has been worth watching.
I really think that James v. Curry is the closest thing to Magic v. Bird that this generation of basketball has seen.
And I hope that we see a lot more of it in the next few years.
And with that said, I'm blown away by what LeBron is doing, and how he is playing, and that he is singlehandedly making this a series and not a blowout. Every game has been worth watching.
I really think that James v. Curry is the closest thing to Magic v. Bird that this generation of basketball has seen.
And I hope that we see a lot more of it in the next few years.
Some of those late game moves that Curry put on Dellavedova should be illegal (in the best sense). Just sick how good Curry is with just a minute window to operate in. Small ball is proving to be the Achilles heel for Cleveland. For some reason the Cavs responded by going bigger (unless I've been seeing it wrong).
It's been a fantastic series. Win lose or draw no one should hang their heads. It's been entertaining from the first game. For the first time in a long time the games have lived up to the hype. Color me thrilled so far. I can't wait for the next game.
It's been a fantastic series. Win lose or draw no one should hang their heads. It's been entertaining from the first game. For the first time in a long time the games have lived up to the hype. Color me thrilled so far. I can't wait for the next game.
See, and to me it seems like he's not dominating enough. It's like the years of criticism when people said he needed to stop trying to single-handedly score on every possession and share the ball more, that worked...except now he's sharing the ball with guys who can't hit their shots in the clutch. Maybe I'm just projecting, but it looks to me like -- especially in the 4th quarter of these last two games -- there's a hesitancy, and I can just imagine that hesitancy is coming from a little voice in the back of his head telling him "Your teammates are letting you down, you should just do this on your own."
I think it's good for the sport in general (and for Lebron's success over a hopefully lengthy career) that he had that selfish tendency beaten out of him by the years of criticism, and I sincerely doubt the Cavs would have made it this far if he'd been playing selfish ball all season. But I can't help but think he could've dominated more these past two games if he'd decided he was going to go 1-on-5 for the last 12 minutes.
Really wish I'd paid more attention when Irving and Love were healthy.
Wasn't the knock on LeBron early in his career that he was passing too much and not being selfish enough with the ball? "You'll never be as good as Jordan (or Kobe, for that matter) because you're not selfish enough!"
Tonight is a serious money game, and will show much about the character of all concerned. Looking forward to it in a big way.
I shake my head at the callers on talk shows. The Lebron fans think that any time he steps on the court, his team will automatically win. No question, he will make it happen. They're idiots, but it's interesting they have such faith in him.
OTOH, the Lebron haters think that he's a jerk and nothing good can happen to the team he plays on. Evidently they're still hating him either for being so excellent that they're jealous, or for having left Cleveland to win some championships.
The Golden State fans seem relatively coherent and logical by comparison, although that doesn't mean their arguments make sense in many cases.
Myself, I think that one man can't win this championship and that Cleveland simply doesn't have the depth to win. Human endurance is a finite thing, and their team has simply had to put too much energy into these games to hold up for seven. I expect it to end tonight, but if they get past tonight, I can't see Cleveland coming back to win the last game.
My position is simple: I'm rooting for Klay Thompson, my fellow Washington State Cougar. I don't care about the NBA, but I root for Cougs any and all times they're engaged in athletic competition. That means I also pull for the Spurs, who have Cougar Aaron Baynes as a backup center.
That makes sports simple.
Coug = good.
Non-Coug = who cares?
To semi-quote Forrest Gump: "Homer is as homer does, sir."
OTOH, the Lebron haters think that he's a jerk and nothing good can happen to the team he plays on. Evidently they're still hating him either for being so excellent that they're jealous, or for having left Cleveland to win some championships.
The Golden State fans seem relatively coherent and logical by comparison, although that doesn't mean their arguments make sense in many cases.
Myself, I think that one man can't win this championship and that Cleveland simply doesn't have the depth to win. Human endurance is a finite thing, and their team has simply had to put too much energy into these games to hold up for seven. I expect it to end tonight, but if they get past tonight, I can't see Cleveland coming back to win the last game.
My position is simple: I'm rooting for Klay Thompson, my fellow Washington State Cougar. I don't care about the NBA, but I root for Cougs any and all times they're engaged in athletic competition. That means I also pull for the Spurs, who have Cougar Aaron Baynes as a backup center.
That makes sports simple.
Coug = good.
Non-Coug = who cares?
To semi-quote Forrest Gump: "Homer is as homer does, sir."
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Well, congrats to the Warriors. They got it done.
It was interesting to watch Curry's body language in the final 2-3 minutes. You would never know he was on the verge of his first NBA championship. Until the final 10 seconds, then he finally broke out.
The announcers tagged LeBron as being exhausted in the waning minutes of the game. Really? I think he was being his usual pouty self when the reality was sinking in. He did it in his first Finals against the Spurs. He did it in his final game as a Cavalier.
I'm not a LeBron hater. I think he put on quite a display of talent in this series. But in the final 4-5 minutes of the game, it was like he had given up. Yeah, he was trying to make plays, but my impression was that his heart wasn't in it anymore.
With the season on the line, it seemed like he just folded. If there is one knock on "The best player on the planet", he doesn't seem to have that "battle to the end" mentality like other great players (of any sport) had/have.
And one more thing, he needs to show better sportsmanship. I know he lost another Finals, but the appearance of sportsmanship, by shaking Curry's hand and Kerr's hand before the end of the game, was only that, an appearance. Watched closely, he didn't say a word. And, he left the court immediately after the buzzer, while his teammates stayed on the court and congratulated the winners.
When The Heat came back and beat the Spurs in 2013, what many would describe as a crushing defeat, did you see Tim Duncan and the rest of Spurs leave the court? No, they were all there congratulating the winners. And not just shaking hands, but exchanging words. They were showing grace and class at a low moment in their careers. Not LeBron. No, he did the handshake for the cameras, but a closer look reveals a lack of class at a similar moment in his career.
It was interesting to watch Curry's body language in the final 2-3 minutes. You would never know he was on the verge of his first NBA championship. Until the final 10 seconds, then he finally broke out.
The announcers tagged LeBron as being exhausted in the waning minutes of the game. Really? I think he was being his usual pouty self when the reality was sinking in. He did it in his first Finals against the Spurs. He did it in his final game as a Cavalier.
I'm not a LeBron hater. I think he put on quite a display of talent in this series. But in the final 4-5 minutes of the game, it was like he had given up. Yeah, he was trying to make plays, but my impression was that his heart wasn't in it anymore.
With the season on the line, it seemed like he just folded. If there is one knock on "The best player on the planet", he doesn't seem to have that "battle to the end" mentality like other great players (of any sport) had/have.
And one more thing, he needs to show better sportsmanship. I know he lost another Finals, but the appearance of sportsmanship, by shaking Curry's hand and Kerr's hand before the end of the game, was only that, an appearance. Watched closely, he didn't say a word. And, he left the court immediately after the buzzer, while his teammates stayed on the court and congratulated the winners.
When The Heat came back and beat the Spurs in 2013, what many would describe as a crushing defeat, did you see Tim Duncan and the rest of Spurs leave the court? No, they were all there congratulating the winners. And not just shaking hands, but exchanging words. They were showing grace and class at a low moment in their careers. Not LeBron. No, he did the handshake for the cameras, but a closer look reveals a lack of class at a similar moment in his career.
