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NBA Finals thread

Chris Fitzgerald

Chris Fitzgerald

Student of Life
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Oct 19, 2000
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Louisville, KY
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#1
Came here looking for this thread and didn't find one apart from the bracket thread. I'm not so much into making predictions, or being competitive, but in case there's anyone else who has been watching the playoffs in general and Western conference finals in particular, I thought I'd start one as we head into the finals. :)

In the West: I have to say that the past three years have brought a resurgence of some really beautiful and artful team ball in the playoffs. The conference finals this year featured two of the West's best teams playing some amazing basketball. So nice to see actual skill and strategy becoming more important than just backdowns, one-on-one clearouts, and dunks. The Spurs and Warriors and their great coaches have brought the fun back into the NBA for me, and now I have the same amount of respect for OKC, who are a deadly dangerous team with another great young coach (in NBA terms, anyway) with a great sense of the game.

Next up, the Finals. I don't know what will happen, but it sure will be fun to watch two teams at the tops of their games and at full strength play for all the marbles. I'm obviously pulling for the Dubs, but as with the OKC series, if another team topples them it's still worth watching history being made by a gutsy underdog. Looking forward to it!
 
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#3
You are right: OKC was amazing, and probably should have won the series. The Warriors escaped by the skin of their teeth via a couple of historic MVP performances. I hadn't watched much NBA during the season because of being too busy, but I was very impressed with Adams, Ibaka, and Donovan. Adams in particular is a great big man role player - incredibly active and mobile for a man his size, fights for every rebound, sets great picks, is a great deterrent around the basket, and hustles like an absolute mothershager on every single play on defense, even in transition. The dude is seriously "old school big man", and I respect that immensely.
 
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#4
Lost interest in the NBA (and pro sports in general) over the last decade but what I've seen this year of Golden State and Curry in particular sparks my interest. He seems to be among the greatest to play. I've never seen anyone shoot like him. No off court drama. I may watch the finals...

Then I note game one starts at 9pm on a Thursday...:atoz:
 
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#5
I am mostly a baseball fan but the dubs have forced me to change that. They are a fun team to watch. I think the attitude of the Warriors as a team helped them through this series. When they were down and things looked bad I heard team members saying things like " I need to play better defense" and similar statements.
 
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#7
Klay is a great player and would be the #1 guy on most teams. The fact that he's content to be out of the main spotlight is a rare thing among premiere athletes.
Klay is a bad munnyfunster (thanks @Chris Fitzgerald ) and the Warriors wouldn't have won without him.
 
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#8
kesslari said:
Klay is a great player and would be the #1 guy on most teams. The fact that he's content to be out of the main spotlight is a rare thing among premiere athletes.
Klay is a bad munnyfunster (thanks @Chris Fitzgerald ) and the Warriors wouldn't have won without him.
Click to expand...

11 3's in game 6. All time NBA playoff record. Yeah, he's pretty good. :D
 
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#9
I might be the only person outside of Cleveland rooting for the Cavs, since the Warriors are apparently America's Team now or something.;)

I like seeing a more balanced attack rather than a large number of three-point attempts. And while GSW has been rightly praised for their great passing the past two seasons, I would argue that in the OKC series they relied more on simply chucking it in from the line (particularly in Game 7). Interesting stat: In the conference finals, GSW averaged 22 assists per game, while OKC (rightly criticized for playing hero ball at times) averaged 21--just one assist less per game.

Also: Draymond Green has been a huge jerk lately. I have to admit, I chuckled when his Stockton-like trying-to-be-sneaky takedown of Adams resulted in him bonking his head on the floor. I hope the Cavs wear cups.

Am I biased, just like everyone else? Definitely. I was rooting for Billy Donovan, who put my alma mater's basketball program on the map, to win it all. And while I'm a Miami fan when it comes down to it, I'm not mad at LBJ for going back. I'd like to see him get another ring, and for Cleveland to finally get a title.

As for who's actually going to win: Really tough call. Obviously, the Cavs will have a lot more offensive firepower with Irving and Love back. But they'll lose some defense as well. I'll take the Cavs in 6, but if it goes to a Game 7 at Oracle GSW is a lock.

I hope this series lives up to its excellent potential.:)
 
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#13
Good points all around. I don't care much for Green in the "personality" department, but I could say the same for Smith and Shumpert on the Cavs. Green plays kind of like a cross between Barkley, Rodman, and Rasheed Wallace. While I don't really "like" those guys all that much, the skill sets involved make for interesting basketball theater. :D

I won't complain either way as long as the refs let both teams play ball and don't decide too much - what I always hated about the NBA finals was the strategy of "biggest star on the team drives the lane, flops dramatically, gets the call, and lives at the line". I haven't watched much ball from the East this year, but I haven't seen much of that in the West all year and I hope the finals play out that way.
 
#17
45-10 bench points for GS. They didn't even really need their top 2 players to play well to win this game handily. Cleveland has their "big three" and that's pretty much it, at least in terms of offense. Strength in numbers is about right to describe tonight's game. Smith, Shumpert, Jefferson, Dellavedova, and Frye combined for just 15 points in 85 minutes and a combined +/- of minus 54. Just pitiful. :vomit:
 
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#19
Just a quick shout out for Igoudala. Last years finals MVP played like he wants to repeat both titles this year. He's the best defensive player on either team, probably the toughest guy on the floor at any given time, and the one guy who can always be counted on to do what's best for the team, no matter what that might be. The guy just puts on his hard hat and goes to work. Gotta respect that, even if you are a Cavs fan.
 
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#20
Chris Fitzgerald said:
45-10 bench points for GS. They didn't even really need their top 2 players to play well to win this game handily. Cleveland has their "big three" and that's pretty much it, at least in terms of offense. Strength in numbers is about right to describe tonight's game. Smith, Shumpert, Jefferson, Dellavedova, and Frye combined for just 15 points in 85 minutes and a combined +/- of minus 54. Just pitiful. :vomit:
Click to expand...
More like the "big one" thus far. Pathetic performances from Kyrie and the shooters. Not that James is lighting it up, but it's tough to shoot a good percentage when your teammates (other than Jefferson in flashes) aren't doing jack.

Also, how was the elbow to Love's head not even a common foul, never mind a flagrant one? Ridiculous.
 
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