OT: NBA Playoffs

[Rocktheworld]

I'd put Wilt Chamberlain as a better player than him. If I even have any clue what I am talking about.

You don’t

HTH

 

[Lefty2one]

Can we wait until the offseason to engage UofCT2009 in his terrible historical NBA takes?

If I'm Miami I'm packing the paint and making LAL beat me with threes. Denver didn't stand a chance against LAL because they couldn't keep them out of the paint often enough. Some games were veritable layup lines. The other key if I'm Spo is that I'm keenly aware of the whistles LeBron and AD get--keeping Bam out of foul trouble is a top priority. I don't want to fan out to the perimeter and run guys off the line to create easy attacking angles for LeBron, Rondo, etc that will lead to paint possessions and ultimately more fouls.

AD needs to rise to the occasion and dominate Bam. I love watching Bam and can't wait to see how he performs against AD throughout a full series.

I think we'll get a close and fun series with some good chess moves. Ultimately, LA has LeBron and Miami doesn't. LAL in six.

 

[Mr. French]

Who is the worst coach to win a Finals over the last 20 years? Rick Carlisle?

Rick Carlisle is a really, really good coach.

 

[Rocktheworld]

Rick Carlisle is a really, really good coach.

We agree

So who is it, Spo? Lue? Or is it Larry Brown? That’s all you have left besides Riley, Phil, and Pop.

This is a diacritic, by the way; not an interrogation.

 

[superjohn]

We agree

So who is it, Spo? Lue? Or is it Larry Brown? That’s all you have left besides Riley, Phil, and Pop.

This is a diacritic, by the way; not an interrogation.

All really good coaches.

 

[Dogdeacon]

Can we wait until the offseason to engage UofCT2009 in his terrible historical NBA takes?

If I'm Miami I'm packing the paint and making LAL beat me with threes. Denver didn't stand a chance against LAL because they couldn't keep them out of the paint often enough. Some games were veritable layup lines. The other key if I'm Spo is that I'm keenly aware of the whistles LeBron and AD get--keeping Bam out of foul trouble is a top priority. I don't want to fan out to the perimeter and run guys off the line to create easy attacking angles for LeBron, Rondo, etc that will lead to paint possessions and ultimately more fouls.

AD needs to rise to the occasion and dominate Bam. I love watching Bam and can't wait to see how he performs against AD throughout a full series.

I think we'll get a close and fun series with some good chess moves. Ultimately, LA has LeBron and Miami doesn't. LAL in six.

I see a lot of Miami bench that was ineffective against the Celtics due to the C's plethora of wings coming into play in this series. Olenik will have at least one game with buckets, Kendrik Nunn & Derrick Jones Jr are as good as the various B-listers the Lakers roll out (Morris, washed Danny Green etc) and their bench will likely be a factor. If the Heat guards can score versus Marcus Smart they can certainly expose Rondo and announcer fave Caruso. Iggy came out of nowhere to make a serious mark on the Celtics series and I think he's money in the finals. Big edge of course to AD over BAM, but BAM might win that battle a game or two. So then could come down to who is hungrier and healthier between Butler and LeBron. Butler is really good and really poised to make a statement, but LeBron knows this is likely his last stand as a league top guy. I wouldn't bet against LeBron, but if the refs don't overly favor the Lakers again I think it'll be very closely contested. Lakers in 7 and then we can resume the ridiculous GOAT banter.

 

[Rocktheworld]

All really good coaches.

So nobody wants to answer directly because they know where that question is leading. Good for you all.

The real point is that coaching in the playoffs and Finals means more. Pure talent gets you by in the regular season when everyone is playing 3-4 nights a week and constantly traveling, never playing their division opponents more than 4 times. But when you’re in a two-week series of seven consecutive games and days off between, coaching and scheming becomes paramount.

So after we appreciate that, besides it being apples and oranges, coaching matters more than surrounding talent (Golden State with Durant being an outlier). And you cannot deny that the gulf between relative surrounding talent and coaching aptitude is so clearly massive in MJ’s advantage with Phil. And oh yeah he had three years of Dean Smith. Ty Lue was in his first year ever as head coach in 2016.

This is why LBJ is stated as having the greatest BB IQ of all time: he has been a coach in himself for the better part of a decade.

 

[Mr. French]

We agree

So who is it, Spo? Lue? Or is it Larry Brown? That’s all you have left besides Riley, Phil, and Pop.

This is a diacritic, by the way; not an interrogation.

Honestly, it might be Doc Rivers, lol.

 

[Rocktheworld]

Honestly, it might be Doc Rivers, lol.

LMAOOOO you might’ve got me with that!

Man how much does Paul Pierce wish he had Phil instead of Doc.

 

[MilliniumPrince]

He's played with guys who combined for 17 all-star appearances while playing with him and he's played with a handful or so hall of famers.

And that addresses coaching in what way?

Not to mention a lot of those guys were All-Stars because of Lebron. Many never sniffed an appearance after parting ways with him. Not that All-Star is a great barometer in the NBA.

It is a silky debate between the two. I am happy I was able to see both of them. I think Lebron is better, but the opposing opinion isn't crazy.

 

[Mr. French]

So nobody wants to answer directly because they know where that question is leading. Good for you all.

The real point is that coaching in the playoffs and Finals means more. Pure talent gets you by in the regular season when everyone is playing 3-4 nights a week and constantly traveling, never playing their division opponents more than 4 times. But when you’re in a two-week series of seven consecutive games and days off between, coaching and scheming becomes paramount.

So after we appreciate that, besides it being apples and oranges, coaching matters more than surrounding talent (Golden State with Durant being an outlier). And you cannot deny that the gulf between relative surrounding talent and coaching aptitude is so clearly massive in MJ’s advantage with Phil. And oh yeah he had three years of Dean Smith. Ty Lue was in his first year ever as head coach in 2016.

This is why LBJ is stated as having the greatest BB IQ of all time: he has been a coach in himself for the better part of a decade.

I dno, I think it's clearly important to have a good/great coach ... but I also think in the NBA the most important thing is having great players. Not one of these great coaches won the title without an all-time great player, EXCEPT Larry Brown. They all had pretty incredible rosters and are part of pretty great organizations that built teams properly.

To me, coaching in college is more important. Sure, the NBA you have rotations and subs and obviously some play designs, but no one is totally out-scheming others in the NBA. It's a make or miss league, a players league. If you have the horses, chances are you will go far.

 

[Rocktheworld]

I dno, I think it's clearly important to have a good/great coach ... but I also think in the NBA the most important thing is having great players. Not one of these great coaches won the title without an all-time great player, EXCEPT Larry Brown. They all had pretty incredible rosters and are part of pretty great organizations that built teams properly.

Well yeah you have to have great players. Everyone in the last two rounds has great players. That’s a given. Then, when it really matters, coaching makes the difference. Sometimes, coaching beats talent even earlier; it happened twice this year with the Clippers and Bucks.

Ive really started this whole side discussion over what has become a comparison of LBJ’s alleged advantage in surrounding help, which itself is astonishing when you consider what he’s had to try to accomplish with legendary sidekicks like Ilgauskas and Dellavedova; and MJ’s massive coaching advantage.

 

[UofCT]

Can we wait until the offseason to engage UofCT2009 in his terrible historical NBA takes?

If I'm Miami I'm packing the paint and making LAL beat me with threes. Denver didn't stand a chance against LAL because they couldn't keep them out of the paint often enough. Some games were veritable layup lines. The other key if I'm Spo is that I'm keenly aware of the whistles LeBron and AD get--keeping Bam out of foul trouble is a top priority. I don't want to fan out to the perimeter and run guys off the line to create easy attacking angles for LeBron, Rondo, etc that will lead to paint possessions and ultimately more fouls.

AD needs to rise to the occasion and dominate Bam. I love watching Bam and can't wait to see how he performs against AD throughout a full series.

I think we'll get a close and fun series with some good chess moves. Ultimately, LA has LeBron and Miami doesn't. LAL in six.

Easy Lefty!

 

[MilliniumPrince]

If the Lakers win Game 1, Lakers in 4

If Miami wins game 1, Lakers in 6

If Miami wins games 1 and 2, Miami in 5

 

[Kenny11]

Are we all Heat fans tonight?

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

He's played with guys who combined for 17 all-star appearances while playing with him and he's played with a handful or so hall of famers.

hasn't he been in the league for 17 years? that's a pretty meaningless statistic. he dragged some terrible lineups deep into the playoffs.

 

[gtcam]

You don’t

HTH

Wilt was the most dominant player of his day and would be if he played now

 

[Mr. French]

hasn't he been in the league for 17 years? that's a pretty meaningless statistic. he dragged some terrible lineups deep into the playoffs.

Yeah that 17 number has to be off, or being interpreted wrong ... AD, Kyrie, Wade and Bosh should be close to that ... no one else has ever made an All-star team as his teammate?

He has played with at least one elite player since he left CLE the first time, so it's not like he's had terrible teammates... but his first run in CLE was all him, for the most part.

The guy is incredible, anyone saying otherwise is ridiculous. But I'd still take Jordan as the greatest ever, Lebron is my #2.

 

[donyell34]

Are we all Heat fans tonight?

ahh!!! No.

 

[Rocktheworld]

Yeah that 17 number has to be off, or being interpreted wrong ... AD, Kyrie, Wade and Bosh should be close to that ... no one else has ever
He has played with at least one elite player since he left CLE the first time, so it's not like he's had terrible teammates... but his first run in CLE was all him, for the most part.

He went for 36/13/9 in that 2015 finals and took it to six games with Delly as his best team mate.

 

[JakeTheDog]

This thread:

 

[UofCT]

This is why LBJ is stated as having the greatest BB IQ of all time: he has been a coach in himself for the better part of a decade.

Don't tell that to @Lefty2one. He might call you out!

 

[UofCT]

Yeah that 17 number has to be off, or being interpreted wrong ... AD, Kyrie, Wade and Bosh should be close to that ... no one else has ever made an All-star team as his teammate?

He has played with at least one elite player since he left CLE the first time, so it's not like he's had terrible teammates... but his first run in CLE was all him, for the most part.

The guy is incredible, anyone saying otherwise is ridiculous. But I'd still take Jordan as the greatest ever, Lebron is my #2.

MJ couldn't even lead the Wizards to the playoffs. Do you just pretend like that never happened?

 

[navery12]

Yeah that 17 number has to be off, or being interpreted wrong ... AD, Kyrie, Wade and Bosh should be close to that ... no one else has ever made an All-star team as his teammate?

He has played with at least one elite player since he left CLE the first time, so it's not like he's had terrible teammates... but his first run in CLE was all him, for the most part.

The guy is incredible, anyone saying otherwise is ridiculous. But I'd still take Jordan as the greatest ever, Lebron is my #2.

I'm apparently missing 2 but can't figure out who, could only come up with 15

Dwyane Wade x4: 2011-14
Chris Bosh x4: 2011-14
Kyrie Irving x2: 2015, 2017
Kevin Love x2: 2015, 2018
Mo Williams x1: 2009
Zydrunas Ilgauskas x1: 2005
Anthony Davis x1: 2020

 

[Kemba'sYogurt]

MJ couldn't even lead the Wizards to the playoffs. Do you just pretend like that never happened?

You mean when he was 38 and 39, after not playing for 3 years?