NBA thread 2017-18 v. I dub thee champions

[King Postwhore]

Oops. *makes derogitory joke about smelly fish*

I tried.  Just wasn't my cup of tea.

[KevShmev]

LeBron can be an arrogant prick, but you make him out to be the most unlikable athlete that ever lived.

Off the top of my head, I can think of quite a few guys who are more insufferable. For whatever reason, I get most annoyed by the guys who are straight-up rude to reporters. I totally understand that it must be annoying to get asked the same questions over and over, but Popovich and Westbrook are consistently a-holes.

Aside from The Decision (the way he did it, not leaving itself), James has almost always done things the right way.  He is a model citizen off the court and is a rare unselfish superstar in a sport that has more selfish stars than you can shake a stick at. 

That said, he is severely lacking in charisma, which is why he will never be as universally beloved as Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan, both of whom just oozed with charisma. 

[King Postwhore]

Well, tweeting to himself when hitting 30,000 points as well. 

[bosk1]

Wow, I've heard of looking at your idols through rose-colored glasses, but that is borderline delusional.

[King Postwhore]

Check it out.

[jingle.boy]

Wow, I've heard of looking at your idols through rose-colored glasses, but that is borderline delusional.

Hey now... you didn't like it when I said that about you and the 9rs!!   

[Azyiu]

It's too bad Mitchell has to suffer from a knee injury to end his sensational rookie season. Still, I thought the Jazz played well enough in Game 5, and I tip my hat to them.

Can't believe this is CP3's first career conference finals

[KevShmev]

Well, tweeting to himself when hitting 30,000 points as well.

That is why I said “almost” always.

[King Postwhore]

Almost.  Lol

[Destiny Of Chaos]

I'm sure MJ would have put some crazier stuff on social media if it were a thing during his playing days.

[TheOutlawXanadu]

It's too bad Mitchell has to suffer from a knee injury to end his sensational rookie season. Still, I thought the Jazz played well enough in Game 5, and I tip my hat to them.

Can't believe this is CP3's first career conference finals

He has been such a wonderful player his whole career. I know it's more entertaining to tear guys apart and call them "chokers" when their team doesn't win, but usually that's just because the other guys were better. Unfortunately for Paul, he has run into a lot of better teams (as well as injuries). Nice to see him breaking through.

[bosk1]

Warriors/Celtics finals? 

That Warriors game was not perfect, but man what a win!  Those two 3rd quarter fast breaks with Curry epitomize this team.  First one, Curry has a layup and makes one of the nastiest fakes ever to let Durant take the slam instead.  On the next one, Thompson has a pretty sure layup and instead passes it outside to Curry for an open 3.  Nobody does that.  Nobody. 

[Samsara]

So, Warriors vs. Rockets is pretty much the NBA finals. Should be/hope it will be an epic series that goes down to the last shot in game 7. As much as I don't like the Rockets (and yes, I am bitter regarding the Wolves), and I can't stand Harden (do your research on what this guy has allegedly done off the court...the nba has tried hard to bury it), I do want to see the Rockets win, just so I don't have to see the damn Warriors again in the finals. 

But I know the Warriors will likely win. My guess is, Warriors-Cavs again. Yawn. But I really hope it is Rockets-Celtics. No way Boston loses this series against the Sixers.

[Azyiu]

Game 1 of the ECF starts this Sunday, fine... but the WCF won't begin until NEXT Monday?! WTF?! 

[Lonk]

They have a schedule they follow. Usually each round goes for 2 weeks, even if all series are sweeps.

With that saiid, I don’t think Boston will beat The Cavs. I see the Cavs winning in 6. Out west is another story as it could go either way. My heart wants Houston to win, but my brain tells me GSW in 6.

For the Finals, if it’s GSW-Cavs, GSW win in 5-6. If it is the Rockets-Cavs I think Cavs take it in 6. If the Celtics make it they lose in 4-5 to either team from West.

[KevShmev]

I will say Cleveland in 6 and GS in 5. 

Brad Stevens is too great of a coach for them not to have a great chance to win this series, but the Cavs role players are playing better now and James just doesn't lose playoff series to teams lacking a true superstar.

The Rockets wanted the Warriors, but be careful of what you wish for.  I suspect the Warriors have been laughing to themselves about it and will bring their A game.  It could be ugly.

[King Postwhore]

Agreed from a C's fan.   I hope we are wrong.

[Azyiu]

I will say Cleveland in 6 and GS in 5. 

Brad Stevens is too great of a coach for them not to have a great chance to win this series, but the Cavs role players are playing better now and James just doesn't lose playoff series to teams lacking a true superstar.

The Rockets wanted the Warriors, but be careful of what you wish for.  I suspect the Warriors have been laughing to themselves about it and will bring their A game.  It could be ugly.

Like you have mentioned, Brad Stevens is such a great coach; and he'd already found ways to neutralize Antetokounmpo, Embiid and Simmons, I am certain he will find ways to do the same to LBJ. Or, , maybe they will "let" LBJ to go off... as long as no other Cavs can become effective. The Celtics fought them hard last year in the ECF even without IT, so despite not having Kyrie this year; I expect an even tighter series. I give the C's a slight edge over the Cavs, though I must admit LBJ hasn't lost to an eastern team since 2010...

As for the WCF, I just know it will be a FUN series... a ton of scoring and even a fight or two along the way.... but at the end of the day, I think the Dubs have an edge over the Rockets (more fire power, better coaching, slightly deeper bench etc.), and I cannot stand Harden's way of selling fouls to say the least. And, both the Warriors and the Rockets are great 3rd qtr teams... it will be interesting to see how they play each other coming out of half time, especially if the scores are tight.

[King Postwhore]

LBJ will score at will.  It's shutting down the other players that's the key.  Let him get 50.

[bosk1]

In the east, I refuse to predict a winner.  Unless it's the Warriors playing him, I can't bet against LeBron.  If there is a way to win, he is the best there is at finding it.  But one thing I cannot discount is that the rest of the team have been playing above their ability for these past two series, AND LeBron has been playing just about flawless.  AND things have just been falling their way.  Can they sustain that for another series?  I'm not so sure.  I will not be surprised no matter who wins the east.

In the west, I think Capella is going to be the X factor for the Rockets.  If they manage to win (and I don't think they will), I think he will be the tipping point.  Harden is going to be Harden.  But he has been a bit out of sync.  And, honestly, I think the Warriors are inside his head, which will have an impact if things don't go his way early.  As for CP3, although he has been playing out of his mind, the Warriors are BIG TIME in his head. 

[jingle.boy]

In the east, I refuse to predict a winner.  Unless it's the Warriors playing him, I can't bet against LeBron.  If there is a way to win, he is the best there is at finding it.  But one thing I cannot discount is that the rest of the team have been playing above their ability for these past two series, AND LeBron has been playing just about flawless.  AND things have just been falling their way.  Can they sustain that for another series?  I'm not so sure.  I will not be surprised no matter who wins the east.

I disagree on the bolded.  Love was a disaster against Indiana, and Hill (maybe it was Green??) was ineffective from back spasms (or so I heard).  They all brought it together against the Raps - though Love was a mess in Game 1 (-13 thru Game 1 vs Raps; +72 in the three games after that).  After the Raptors snatched defeat from the jaws of victory, I think the Cavs were in their head - hence the blowout wins in games 2 and 4.

I think Boston can and will pose a challenge to them.

[King Postwhore]

Challenge yes.  But in the end LeBron is too much I think.  I predict 4-2 Cavs but a hard fought series.

[Nekov]

LBJ will score at will.  It's shutting down the other players that's the key.  Let him get 50.

That won't work, the same way it didn't work with MJ.

The advantage the Celtics have over other teams is that they can throw between 4 and 5 different players at Lebron which means fresh legs to deal with him. Lebron will score, but it will take a higher toll on him than it did in previous series. And, the Celtics can shut down the rest of the Cavs while doing that. I think the C's have a great chance of making it to the finals.

[King Postwhore]

The one player that can truly guard him (Jaylen Brown) has been dealing with a hamstring pull.  That will make it tough.  No one else on the C's can really guard LeBron.

[Nekov]

The one player that can truly guard him (Jaylen Brown) has been dealing with a hamstring pull.  That will make it tough.  No one else on the C's can really guard LeBron.

Again, I'm not saying they can stop him, but they can slow him down. You put Brown on him first, then when he gets a bit tired you go to Tatum, they you can put Morris there and even Horford for a bit. Lebron will still score, but he will get tired a lot faster having to deal with different players all the time. Indiana did something similar during the first round and for the most part it worked. Their problem was that they didn't take the chances they had. You should have more faith in Stevens.

[King Postwhore]

Plus he has been playing 44 minutes a game in the playoffs.  That's a ton of minutes for his age.

[Destiny Of Chaos]

And the Raptors fire their head coach.

Yeah.... it was his fault....

[bosk1]

Pretty LONG article, but an excellent analysis of what the Warriors do that makes them so lethal:  https://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/23453684/nba-secret-warriors-dominance

This is probably the best overall summary I have seen of what this team is about and why it works.

[Nekov]

We get it Bosk, you're a warriors fan, they're best team...

[bosk1]

  Well, I've made no bones about the fact that I am a "bandwagon" fan.  I'm a fan of this Warriors team because they are SO fun to watch.  I am, at best, a casual basketball fan whose interest waxes and wanes depending on whether there are players I want to watch on any given team any given season.  But them being so fun to watch is at the crux of that article, which is why I posted it.  I think it is a great balance of analytics and just basic, common sense stuff that puts into words what a lot of people find so intriguing about what they do and how.

[TheOutlawXanadu]

In my opinion, they were most fun to watch during the first championship season. They took a giant leap from the prior year and started the season on fire. If memory serves, they were the top-rated defense and offense in the league, which they didn't even replicate during the 73-win season. And they played so fast. Everyone else looked like they were trudging through molasses. Plus, they had so much joy.

They are still amazing - probably better than a few years ago - but they don't play quite the same style because of Durant. And the wear and tear of four consecutive playoff runs has reduced the "joy factor". Plus, I'm just tired of them whipping everyone.

[King Postwhore]

Since I follow the Patriots I have no comment.

[bosk1]

Yeah, I hear you.  I think Playoffs Dubs still exude that joy.  During the regular season, not so much.  But yeah, they are a different team with Durant for sure.  He integrated well into the system, and in many ways, helped preserve it.  But they also tweaked it and made it different with his arrival.

One of the things I thought was fascinating was the discussion of the Steph "dagger," and the subtle cues his teammates pick up on when it is about to happen.  Stuff like that really helps break down, to me as a fan, the "basketball IQ" of these guys.  It isn't just about going out and physically playing as hard as you can for these guys, but there's also a huge mental game going on, and that article gave a good window into some of that.

[Destiny Of Chaos]

Current order of want:

Boston
Cleveland
Houston



GS

[jingle.boy]

And the Raptors fire their head coach.

Yeah.... it was his fault....

I'm not sure this was the right move.  Time will tell, but my worry is that there sure-as-shit isn't anyone demonstrably better - unless Masai has something already mapped out, or he thinks Rex or some other assistant is ready to step up.  Not a lot of positive comments in the basketball community from what I can tell.

Two of the games were highly win-able.  The other two, I firmly believe it was a combination of A) Raps playing 10-20% below their regular season capacity and Cavs playing 10-20% above their regular season pace; B) The Raps as a whole had the 'yips' when it came to LeBron and the Cavs... and C) Lowry was inconsistent; DDR was a virtual no-show, Ibaka was a no-show - some good D, but a wreck offensively.

Sucks for Casey to be the scapegoat, and I just don't have confidence there is anyone out there that is tangibly better.