OT: Game 7

[RichZ]

Didn't look like he choked. He's a rookie who couldn't do it all on his own in the conference finals. No shame there. Cavs put far more emphasis on him late. And let Marcus, Marcus, and Terry fire away.

He carried them this far through the playoffs, but when it came to crunch time in an elimination game, he found the moment too big for him. He's a rookie, and did far more than anyone could have expected/hoped for. But he's not yet quite ready to be the man in that kind of situation. In two years, he may be the next coming of MJ. But being forced to rely on a 20 year old just a couple years removed from HS to carry you is not a recipe for success. Alcindor and Magic did it as rookies, but both were far more mature and had a better squad around them.
Still, I wonder if the 3 he hit following the dunk over Lebron wasn't immediately answered with a 3 from Green to take the lead back, would he have continued to dominate. He seemed to me to get to too excitied too early, and then have the wind knocked out of his sails when the lead he got them had been reversed in a matter of seconds. I think it was the gut punch to him that he thought he had delivered to Lebron.

Mainly because he forced one defender totally out of the play. You have to stick to him like glue, so it negates double teams, and coming off screens he's tough to switch to. He was the ultimate decoy. That one shot he hit last night from the near the top was other worldly, and key at the time.

The one shot he made was a thing of beauty, for sure. But he missed at least 4 completely wide open ones before that. Maybe he needed to shoot off the spinnig catch with a defender draped on hi more.

 

[champs99and04]

We'll agree to disagree here. They should have beaten the Celtics in 5 or 6.

He played great last night, and is deservedly getting a lot of praise.

That said, he plays in a JV conference and got a Celtics team missing 40% of it's starting lineup. That Love was missing did up the difficulty, but people are going overboard on this one.

I find this hard to reconcile when you were just yesterday emphasizing the loss of Kevin Love. The fact that the Celtics were missing 40% of their lineup was a legitimate disclaimer two months ago when guys were stepping into their new roles for the first time. By last night, they weren't missing anybody. They were the team they were and they had - at least - the three best players on the floor not named LeBron, regardless of whether Boston's players were 28 or 12.

If LeBron played 40 minutes yesterday I would be inclined to agree with you. The fact that he, at 33, played all 48 minutes - not even accounting for the absurd usage that probably made it feel more like 60 - makes this an anomaly of anomalies. The gap was so big between the two teams that the Cavs literally could not risk resting him for a single second. Think about that what means: Cleveland was so much worse than Boston that a sample of four minutes could have swung the outcome. That's inconceivable because of the mere fact that they are both professional basketball teams.

As @MadDogRevival points out, it isn't as if Cleveland lit it up from three. They shot 9 of 35 and still won as an underdog, even though Vegas had already built 48 minutes from the best player in the world into that line. Of the other four players who started for Cleveland last night, not a single one can be undisputedly considered a starting caliber player. And they're going to the finals.

 

[Danzz]

I find this hard to reconcile when you were just yesterday emphasizing the loss of Kevin Love. The fact that the Celtics were missing 40% of their lineup was a legitimate disclaimer two months ago when guys were stepping into their new roles for the first time. By last night, they weren't missing anybody. They were the team they were and they had - at least - the three best players on the floor not named LeBron, regardless of whether Boston's players were 28 or 12.

If LeBron played 40 minutes yesterday I would be inclined to agree with you. The fact that he, at 33, played all 48 minutes - not even accounting for the absurd usage that probably made it feel more like 60 - makes this an anomaly of anomalies. The gap was so big between the two teams that the Cavs literally could not risk resting him for a single second. Think about that what means: Cleveland was so much worse than Boston that a sample of four minutes could have swung the outcome. That's inconceivable because of the mere fact that they are both professional basketball teams.

As @MadDogRevival points out, it isn't as if Cleveland lit it up from three. They shot 9 of 35 and still won as an underdog, even though Vegas had already built 48 minutes from the best player in the world into that line. Of the other four players who started for Cleveland last night, not a single one can be undisputedly considered a starting caliber player. And they're going to the finals.

In the games the C's won they out shot Cleveland. Last night they didn't and that was the difference.
Really have to give LeBron all the credit. As you said he is taking a mediocre team to the finals but that team becomes a contender with LeBron. Also give Cavs credit for doubling Horford who was killing them inside. The C's couldn't hit the open shots that it created.

 

[gtcam]

I don't care what the Cavs shooting percentage was last night, if the C's hit any reasonable amount of their shots, it wouldn't be a game
Rozier and Smart picked the worst time to have their worst offensive games
LeBron is great but not good enough to beat any team by himself unless that team absolutely stinks and that's what the C's did last night - they stunk
The Cavs are not a championship team but there are no team dominant this year
Harding vs LeBron - ugh
The Celtics did not deserve to win last night but they are young and they have a bright future but I'd hate to see Smart, Rozier or Moriss leave but with Hayward and Kyrie back - people won't want to sit - it's a good luxury

 

[champs99and04]

In the games the C's won they out shot Cleveland. Last night they didn't and that was the difference.
Really have to give LeBron all the credit. As you said he is taking a mediocre team to the finals but that team becomes a contender with LeBron. Also give Cavs credit for doubling Horford who was killing them inside. The C's couldn't hit the open shots that it created.

I think it's fair to say we expected Cleveland to shoot poorly whereas we didn't with Boston. No doubt you need a little luck as an underdog in a game seven, even when you do have LeBron. From Boston's standpoint this was one that got away. They missed a lot of shots they normally make; turn that around and perhaps LeBron's miscues are scrutinized a bit more.

I don't think it's a coincidence that Boston's worst shooting performance of the series came in Kevin Love's absence. Cleveland's defense was far more switchable, and while they had some breakdowns that the Celtics didn't take advantage of, Boston's margin for error was far less than it had been in prior games. The difference in Horford's production, in particular, was night and day with Thompson in the game as opposed to Love.