OT: NBA Playoffs

[UofCT]

They couldn't run offense the whole game. Would've liked to have seen this series with the Heat at full strength.

Same with the Lakers who didn't have Avery Bradley, their best shut down wing defender.

 

[Dogdeacon]

People talk about the injuries the Heat are suffering; which is far. But those folks seem to forget the Lakers best defensive guard never even entered the Bubble.

I beleive a lot of players would like to have a 28 pt, 12 reb, 9 dimes, on 50% shooting be considered an off night. With all the mileage on his odometer, it is simply amazing. Of course, those numbers would be great if he was 25 years old. At 35 years old, they are insane.

There is a chasm between losing best defensive guard 4 months ago and leading scorer and best defender in the middle of game 1. The Lakers were favored even with Dragic & Bam, without them it unfortunately became a far lesser/non-competitive series played at a much lower level than it would have been. That's the bummer, the basketball level is lower and competition isn't as compelling.

Lakers totally relaxed in game 3, refs helped and Jimmy Butler played one transcendent game with medium stakes. LeBron and AD responded predictably. I'm bummed b/c prior to this the bubble playoffs were very entertaining with tons of moments.

 

[superjohn]

Same with the Lakers who didn't have Avery Bradley, their best shut down wing defender.

This is almost as bad as your Jordan takes.

 

[Scoe]

this isn’t a what if situation. MJ missed the playoffs twice while the East was at its worst.

Who cares, Jordan just dominated Lebron in the 2 series I simulated.

 

[CardiacAndre7]

Is he this dumb or is it just 1000% for clicks, I don’t get it?

 

[the Q]

View attachment 59612
Is he this dumb or is it just 1000% for clicks, I don’t get it?

my guess is he’s gonna say this is Brow’s ring

 

[CardiacAndre7]

my guess is he’s gonna say this is Brow’s ring

Funny cuz Bron has outperformed him across the board other than on the defensive end where AD has been monumental.

 

[superjohn]

Funny cuz Bron has outperformed him across the board other than on the defensive end where AD has been monumental.

AD has been better than Lebron IMO. His defense is like it was at Kentucky, just totally dominant. He's completely taken away anything remotely near the rim, Miami is passing up what look like open layups and throwing it out past the three point line.

 

[CardiacAndre7]

AD has been better than Lebron IMO. His defense is like it was at Kentucky, just totally dominant. He's completely taken away anything remotely near the rim, Miami is passing up what look like open layups and throwing it out past the three point line.

He’s also gone completely silent on the offensive end for extended periods of time. LeBron has been getting hedged and doubled and still been so effective on offense. Also been playing pretty good defense, but obviously nowhere near how well AD has been playing.

 

[the Q]

Funny cuz Bron has outperformed him across the board other than on the defensive end where AD has been monumental.

I’m not saying I agree.

but that’s gonna be the narrative he makes imo.

 

[superjohn]

He’s also gone completely silent on the offensive end for extended periods of time. LeBron has been getting hedged and doubled and still been so effective on offense. Also been playing pretty good defense, but obviously nowhere near how well AD has been playing.

He's averaging 26 ppg on 61% shooting 100% from the line. He's the best defender in the league and is playing some of the best D I can remember.

 

[CardiacAndre7]

He's averaging 26 ppg on 61% shooting 100% from the line. He's the best defender in the league and is playing some of the best D I can remember.

He absolutely is playing some of the best D I can recall, guarding almost every position to an elite degree. I guess the game 3 (sort of) underperformance is still sticking in my mind. Barring a no show from either of them in the remainder of the series I think they should share the FMVP, but i’m not sure if that’s possible.

 

[MilliniumPrince]

"Over the past 100 playoff games of his career, James has a mind-boggling average of 30 points, 9.9 rebounds and 8.4 assists per game. He’s getting those points at an efficient 59% true shooting percentage. There has probably never been a better offensive hub in NBA history, even in comparison to the likes of Larry Bird and Michael Jordan." BSN

 

[husky429]

"Over the past 100 playoff games of his career, James has a mind-boggling average of 30 points, 9.9 rebounds and 8.4 assists per game. He’s getting those points at an efficient 59% true shooting percentage. There has probably never been a better offensive hub in NBA history, even in comparison to the likes of Larry Bird and Michael Jordan." BSN

I am not here to debate the GOAT, because I don't care. But that is absolutely sensational. I think it's fair to say Lebron is the best of his generation, and has bridged the gap between old-school and new-school NBA pretty seamlessly.

 

[husky429]

Hollinger: LeBron vs. MJ? It’s just LeBron vs. history now. On the GOAT debate

John Hollinger looks more closely at the tale of the tape between Michael Jordan and LeBron James as the G.O.A.T. debate rages on.

theathletic.com

I thought this was a pretty interesting read. Basically makes the argument that Jordan and James are head and shoulders above anyone else in the GOAT debate, but Jordan edges Lebron out because the rules of the league favor perimeter players more than in Jordan's day.

 

[Deadrody]

Did you actually watch basketball back then?

Let's go by decade:

60's - There were a handful of teams in the League and the sport was getting the third and fourth tier athletes after football and baseball. There were teams with 6'6 centers. The fact that the Celtics could so completely dominate the sport shows it was not that good.

70's - A drug induced mess of a decade from a basketball standpoint. A small talent pool was further diluted by the ABA. Stars were one way players like George Gervin. The NBA Finals were put on tape delay and shown at 11:30 for a reason. The product sucked.

80's - While Bird and Johnson saved the game, it took Stern about 3-4 years to clean up the drug problem. Some of the 70's stars like Kareem, Moses and Dr. J really shined in the 80's. The problem was that a lot of teams didn't play defense. The Denver Nuggets were one of the best teams in the West in the 80's and they literally played no defense at all. If you can find a Dominique Hawks game on classic sports, I recommend you watch it. Dominique will frequently be walking back on defense. Kelly Tripuka once said he would never try to rebound again after spraining his ankle going up for a board.

90's - Expansion diluted the product, and Knicks' Wrestle Ball was brutal to watch. Teams couldn't shoot back then either. Weird rules like Illegal Defense created an awkward game, and there were some strange teams pre-analytics (Knicks with 3 guards, Rivers, Starks, Anthony, that couldn't shoot). Europeans showed up in force and the quality of play improved as the decade progressed.

With the end of the 90's, basketball started to get really good. Euro ball and zone defenses had a really positive effect on the game. The influx of talented foreigners like Duncan, Parker, Ming and Nowitski raised the overall talent level. Coaching got better overall, and the game improved a lot.

We are in the Golden Age of basketball. Enjoy it.

That nobody is watching because they don't care. And that's being generous

People LITERALLY have no other entertainment options and ratings are down over 60%. Whatever the reason, nobody is watching.

 

[auror]

That nobody is watching because they don't care. And that's being generous

People LITERALLY have no other entertainment options and ratings are down over 60%. Whatever the reason, nobody is watching.

NFL was down 27% this week year over year on average. NHL and MLB were down similarly to NBA. People are often home, but there's a lot of going on between educating kids, the election, 15 streaming bundle services, and drinking enough to blackout on the couch at 9pm.

More sports are competing for the same or less eyeballs than usual

 

[UofCT]

This is almost as bad as your Jordan takes.

you clearly never watch nba

 

[UConn990411]

Impressive choke job by the Heat right now.

 

[UConn990411]

Impressive choke job by the Heat right now.

Dumb post

 

[eebmg]

Butler with 4 clutch FT's (12-12) and a 35 pt triple double. Even with all that, Lakers would have won but choked the final 3pt shot. King James Coronation needs to wait another game.

 

[navery12]

Too many smart people here, but someone somewhere will blame LeBron

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Adebayo can barely lift his arm. He is a shell of what he was in the earlier rounds. The Heat would have won this series in 6 with a healthy Dragic and Adebayo.

Nunn had a great game on both ends tonight.

 

[auror]

Too many smart people here, but someone somewhere will blame LeBron

He's just that good and was especially out of this world tonight, that I do wonder if going 1 on 2 was better than a wide open 3. It's absurd. He made the right read. And yet, still I wonder.

 

[CardiacAndre7]

That charge call on Lebron was absolutely atrocious