OT: NBA Finals

[TasteofUConn]

Warriors were the best team this year but they had an incredible draw in the playoffs. OKC already wiped out with injuries from the jump, Conley injured for Game 1, Tony Allen injured after Game 3, didn't have to face either LAC or the Spurs, now Cleveland with no Love and now no Kyrie.

No doubt. They'll win now, it seems certain, but we'll never know how good they were.

 

[TasteofUConn]

How do you fracture your kneecap on a non-contact play? Jeez. Love Irving's game. The guy is the Barishnakov of basketball, but there is something fundamentally wrong with his bone/ligament/tendon composition - the guy is fragile.

 

[Robertelamin]

I was wondering the same thing but it looked like his left knee hit Thompson's right knee. Feel bad for the guy and Cavs management must be terrified that Irving is indeed Mr. Glass.

 

[tzznandrew]

No doubt. They'll win now, it seems certain, but we'll never know how good they were.

Really really good. You don't win 67 games without being awesome, especially in this year's West. They had some injury breaks, sure, but they were the best team start to finish, and beat good teams in the NBA Playoffs.

Put it this way: no one remembers who the 86 Celtics beat along the way, they just consider them one of the greatest teams of all time.

And, by the way, it was: 30 win Bulls, 50 win Hawks, 57 win Bucks, and 51 win Rockets by the way.
Assuming the Warriors win, 45 win Pelicans, 55 win Grizzlies, 56 win Rockets, and 53 win Cavs.

There were injuries, sure, but no one will remember. Nor should they, really.

 

[TasteofUConn]

Really really good.

Sure, but historically good? I don't think anybody is going to put them in the top 10.
Oh, and EVERYBODY who is a basketball fan and has a BRAIN is going to remember that they beat the Cavs without IRVING and LOVE, and, by the way, they SHOULD remember that, because it's, you know, kind of really IMPORTANT.

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

If Lebron wins this one, it'll probably be the single greatest effort in NBA Finals history. I feel bad for the guy, his team has literally crumbled around him.

 

[traitor71]

No doubt. They'll win now, it seems certain, but we'll never know how good they were.

They won 67 games in the Western conference, not much more needs to be said. If their jerseys said Lakers on them, everyone would have handed them the trophy already. It's only because they haven't been good enough for long enough that causes people to doubt them.

 

[traitor71]

Warriors were the best team this year but they had an incredible draw in the playoffs. OKC already wiped out with injuries from the jump, Conley injured for Game 1, Tony Allen injured after Game 3, didn't have to face either LAC or the Spurs, now Cleveland with no Love and now no Kyrie.

I still can't figure this line of thinking out. I know we give the Spurs the benefit of the doubt, but when they lost a must win game on the last day of the season to the Pelicans, you had to figure that they just didn't have it. That loss was pretty much the most "un-spurs" like thing ever and it cost them the second seed in the playoffs.

 

[superjohn]

Warriors were the best team this year but they had an incredible draw in the playoffs. OKC already wiped out with injuries from the jump, Conley injured for Game 1, Tony Allen injured after Game 3, didn't have to face either LAC or the Spurs, now Cleveland with no Love and now no Kyrie.

I agree with you that they were fortunate not having to play Spurs or Clippers, also fortunate with Conley and Allen injuries but I think they figured Grizzlies out and would have won anyways. The Kyrie injury sucks because I think it had the makings of a great series with him, I'm convinced the Cavs are better with Tristan instead of Love, Cavs know this and so does Love, he'll be gone this summer.

 

[superjohn]

I still can't figure this line of thinking out. I know we give the Spurs the benefit of the doubt, but when they lost a must win game on the last day of the season to the Pelicans, you had to figure that they just didn't have it. That loss was pretty much the most "un-spurs" like thing ever and it cost them the second seed in the playoffs.

That loss was a killer for the Spurs, I'm sure Pop and all the players are still pissed at themselves for that. Credit goes to the Pelicans though, Davis willed them the win and they will be a major factor next year.

 

[champs99and04]

I still can't figure this line of thinking out. I know we give the Spurs the benefit of the doubt, but when they lost a must win game on the last day of the season to the Pelicans, you had to figure that they just didn't have it. That loss was pretty much the most "un-spurs" like thing ever and it cost them the second seed in the playoffs.

Losing a road game against a team fighting for their playoff lives, that had Anthony Davis, wasn't exactly a stunner. And wasn't that loss predated by like an eleven game winning streak, including a comfortable win over the Warriors?

I think the Warriors were the best team, so there will be no asterisk next to the trophy in my eyes, but if you think about it, who were there biggest challengers? At the top of the list I place Oklahoma City - they would have been a nightmare with the big three intact. Next you would probably go with the Cavs - obviously, now they will be playing a severely depleted Cavs team. Aside from those two, the Clippers and Spurs would appear to be the two that would pose the biggest threat to them in the west, and they both never got the shot. And if you want to throw Chicago in, or even Portland, they were also skeletons of their full-strength selves.

Tie it all together and basketball fans were most certainly robbed this year.

 

[Gurleyman]

Give it a game or two. If Irving is out or ineffective, which is probably the case, then the GSW may open up a 20 point lead in the remaining games, and, when that happens, I can see the Cavs mailing it in, knowing there is no way they're coming back. LeBron is the GOAT, in my opinion, but here's what you have: GOAT/May be Greatest Shooter in Curry. INJURED Irving, MARGINAL NBA PLAYER Delavedova/Great shooter in Clay. Great Rebounder/Pick next guy, very good. 2 or 3 role players who were picked up at midseason and are decent/2 or 3 role players who are solid. NO BENCH/EXCELLENT BENCH (Lee was a DNP coach's decision - he'd have minutes if he was on the Cavs). QUESTIONABLE COACH/EXCELLENT COACH The fact that the Cavs outplayed the GSWs in regulation and had a shot to win it is incredible by itself, and is a testament to how great LeBron is. Sad part about all of this is that people will use this to discredit LeBron, when the fact that the Cavs are here at all is a testament to how great he is. Jordan lost 3 playoffs in the 1st round. LeBron carries inferior teams deep into the playoffs. All that said, if Irving is out this is going to get ugly, because if you're down 20 on GS at the end of the 3rd, you're not coming back, and so the tendency will be to mail it in. I'm not a Cavs fan. I wasn't a Heat fan. I am, however, a LeBron fan. Guy is the best player I have ever seen, and I saw Bird, Magic, Kobe, and Jordan's entire careers. If LeBron carries this team to a title this year, the debate over greatest ever would be resolved, in my view.

I don't think anyone rational would hold this series against LeBron (granted he has a strange number of irrational detractors). His team is depleted and GSW was the best team in the league this year. If anything, keeping the games close might actually help his standing more than it hurts. But I don't think anyone rational holds it against Jordan that he couldn't beat Bird's Celtics at their peak early in his career either.

 

[James]

I don't think anyone rational would hold this series against LeBron (granted he has a strange number of irrational detractors). His team is depleted and GSW was the best team in the league this year. If anything, keeping the games close might actually help his standing more than it hurts. But I don't think anyone rational holds it against Jordan that he couldn't beat Bird's Celtics at their peak early in his career either.

The health of irving pretty much stopped lebron from accomplishing his greatest feat yet; I believe if somehow the cavs won (vs a historically dominant team) lebron would have further cemented his legacy as damn near G.O.A.T or right below jordan. jordan never carried this kind of cast to a ring. too bad but all credit to gsw and their remarkable season.

 

[James]

Synergy Sports Tech ‏@SynergySST 11m11 minutes ago
Kyrie Irving was one of only a few players over the last decade to post high efficiency marks in all of our playtypes

What a shame. hope he bounces back strong for '16. one of the best scoring guards ive seen in some time, and these synergy numbers back that up

 

[superjohn]

Losing a road game against a team fighting for their playoff lives, that had Anthony Davis, wasn't exactly a stunner. And wasn't that loss predated by like an eleven game winning streak, including a comfortable win over the Warriors?

I think the Warriors were the best team, so there will be no asterisk next to the trophy in my eyes, but if you think about it, who were there biggest challengers? At the top of the list I place Oklahoma City - they would have been a nightmare with the big three intact. Next you would probably go with the Cavs - obviously, now they will be playing a severely depleted Cavs team. Aside from those two, the Clippers and Spurs would appear to be the two that would pose the biggest threat to them in the west, and they both never got the shot. And if you want to throw Chicago in, or even Portland, they were also skeletons of their full-strength selves.

Tie it all together and basketball fans were most certainly robbed this year.

I just don't see it with OKC, Spurs and Clippers were more of a threat to Golden State. Bulls and Blazers are pretenders, after winning the way Warriors did last night I think they would have to have been solid favorites even with Kyrie, too bad we won't see it play out. Sure Warriors were fortunate injury wise but they earned everything they've gotten, best team all year long.

 

[superjohn]

Synergy Sports Tech ‏@SynergySST 11m11 minutes ago
Kyrie Irving was one of only a few players over the last decade to post high efficiency marks in all of our playtypes

What a shame. hope he bounces back strong for '16. one of the best scoring guards ive seen in some time, and these synergy numbers back that up

Unfortunately I think injuries will derail his career and we'll never sees how good he could have been. Players that get injured this often early in their career don't just all of a sudden get healthy for the rest of their career.

 

[aceboon]

I still can't figure this line of thinking out. I know we give the Spurs the benefit of the doubt, but when they lost a must win game on the last day of the season to the Pelicans, you had to figure that they just didn't have it. That loss was pretty much the most "un-spurs" like thing ever and it cost them the second seed in the playoffs.

The team facing a must win situation was the Pelicans, they were in a win or go home situation at home. I was definitely surprised the Spurs had lost, but they had just breezed through the latter portion of their schedule to put themselves in that position to get the 2 seed, I'm not sure how you saw them losing that game against a team in a do or die situation with their crowd going nuts as a sign that they just didn't have it this year.

 

[lange10]

I still won't write off Lebron. Obviously the Warriors should win easily now. However, Lebron cares a ton about his legacy - whether he admits it or not - and if he were to pull this one off, with a now injured Irving, it would go down as one of the best finals performances of all time. I am expecting one heck of a fight from Lebron this series.

 

[superjohn]

The team facing a must win situation was the Pelicans, they were in a win or go home situation at home. I was definitely surprised the Spurs had lost, but they had just breezed through the latter portion of their schedule to put themselves in that position to get the 2 seed, I'm not sure how you saw them losing that game against a team in a do or die situation with their crowd going nuts as a sign that they just didn't have it this year.

It was a must win for Spurs too, playing Clippers as the road team in the first round is beyond brutal.

 

[James]

Unfortunately I think injuries will derail his career and we'll never sees how good he could have been. Players that get injured this often early in their career don't just all of a sudden get healthy for the rest of their career.

really? curry all of a sudden got healthy. the chart of kyrie's injuries @aceboon posted is relevant, but at the same time its not like he's done serious damage other than this kneecap problem ( in the league not the duke injury). past two seasons he's played over 70 games... and lets not forget he was playing on some of the worst teams in the league his first two seasons. I could see being weary about him bouncing back if he tore his acl, or his achilles. just the duke toe injury.

 

[TasteofUConn]

after winning the way Warriors did last night I think they would have to have been solid favorites even with Kyrie

At home, game 1, and the other team had 2 shots to win the game, and the Cavs had a very poor shooting night. What last night showed was that the Cavs, with Irving, were very effective at limiting Curry and defending the GSW. This would have been a great series.

 

[traitor71]

The team facing a must win situation was the Pelicans, they were in a win or go home situation at home. I was definitely surprised the Spurs had lost, but they had just breezed through the latter portion of their schedule to put themselves in that position to get the 2 seed, I'm not sure how you saw them losing that game against a team in a do or die situation with their crowd going nuts as a sign that they just didn't have it this year.

Because everything was laid out for them. They had a chance to steal the second seed after having trailed Houston pretty much all season. Losing that game was just something that couldn't happen, yet it did. That was enough for me to know that they weren't going to beat Golden State. As for the Clippers, they probably would have done the same thing against GS that Houston did, win a game.

 

[Gurleyman]

The health of irving pretty much stopped lebron from accomplishing his greatest feat yet; I believe if somehow the cavs won (vs a historically dominant team) lebron would have further cemented his legacy as damn near G.O.A.T or right below jordan. jordan never carried this kind of cast to a ring. too bad but all credit to gsw and their remarkable season.

I think Jordan has gradually started to lose credit for the sheer will he put into a couple of his titles - particularly the first and last ones - because now people like to point out Pippen is a top 50 player. The first one, Pippen was still pretty young and they were facing an experienced Lakers team. Jordan was immense - averaged 32 points and 12 assists and just beat the proverbial bully into a pulp. The last one, Pippen was toast with a balky back and didn't score in double figures in either G5 or G6. Jordan had 45 of his teams 87 points in the clincher with a team falling apart around him. That title was all Batman, no Robin. But everything blends together now.

I say this as someone who was a Bad Boy Pistons fan and hated Jordan. Rooted against him every damn year he won. But I hated Karl Malone too for the cheap shot he put into Isiah's head once, so the last two I was at least smugly satisfied that Malone didn't get his, which Rip helped make permanent in 2004.

(now I think Isiah probably deserves a couple more)

 

[TasteofUConn]

Because everything was laid out for them. They had a chance to steal the second seed after having trailed Houston pretty much all season. Losing that game was just something that couldn't happen, yet it did. That was enough for me to know that they weren't going to beat Golden State. As for the Clippers, they probably would have done the same thing against GS that Houston did, win a game.

I agree with all of this. GS is a great team. I watched the west series. I was underwhelmed by every other team. Clippers looked fatally flawed. I don't know if they were gassed or what, but they --it the bed in big way at the end, and their center is a substantial liability with the poor FT shooting. Spurs were given credit for past performances, but, the likelihood is, they're done, and their dominance is in the past. Houston just looked pathetic after the first 2 games. OKC was running on past glory. I think the East had some real dogs in it, and was poor, but the West was over hyped.
Now, the interesting question is where Curry can take this. The ceiling is really, really high.
If he can maintain this, and with Kerr appearing to be a great coach, Curry has a chance to put himself in the "one of the greatest ever" conversations in really short order. His shot is just ridiculous. The guy looks like he's throwing up a panic shot he does it so quickly, like a flick, and it's money. Crazy numbers from the corner, and there doesn't appear to be any team in the league, with the exception of the Cavs with a healthy Irving and Love, that can challenge them.
Why the heck was Tristan Thompson in the game on the last play? Bad coaching. Blatt is flawed. Tristan did not need to be guarded, and that created traffic that only served to limit the King's options.

 

[superjohn]

At home, game 1, and the other team had 2 shots to win the game, and the Cavs had a very poor shooting night. What last night showed was that the Cavs, with Irving, were very effective at limiting Curry and defending the GSW. This would have been a great series.

Facepalm, we went over this. Warriors didn't play well, Lebron had his best ever finals game and Kyrie was great. It took an epic performance from Lebron and the Warriors depth just wore them out at the end.