The Cavs are pretty stacked. I'm not sure shitty would be the right word to use to describe the team. In the first half, the refs were calling it Toronto's way but it didn't matter, they can't keep up with the shooters.Toronto getting the NBA treatment in the fourth.. I have no desire to see the C's play this shitty Cleveland team... you have to play a perfect game to beat them because you can't play D on Lebron and they're allowed to play a very physical D. At some point you can't keep up.
Edit: or I could be wrong..
Fair enough.. I'm just tired of watching the LeBron show I guess. And I don't really see Cleveland as stacked I suppose, but I probably don't understand the current NBA landscape. I get LeBron, Irving, maybe Love.. but after that it's players like Smith, Shumpert, Corver, Thompson... is this stacked? Who would those players compare to in past NBA eras? Is that like saying Horace Grant, Paxson and Cartwright?The Cavs are pretty stacked. I'm not sure shitty would be the right word to use to describe the team. In the first half, the refs were calling it Toronto's way but it didn't matter, they can't keep up with the shooters.
It's not going to work against GS, but nothing would from any team, assuming their big 4 stays healthy.I have no evidence to back this up but I feel like SA rolling out three guys (Gasol, Lee and Aldridge) that can score with their backs to the basket throws teams through a loop. No other team in the NBA is going to roll out a unit like that so teams have little experience dealing with it.
Yup. Spurs might be able to take them to 6 if they play well. Houston would lose to GS in 4 or 5. On the other side, neither the Celtics nor Wizards would pose much of a threat to Cleveland. Celtics would have homecourt but just aren't playing good enough basketball although there's still time for that to change.It's not going to work against GS, but nothing would from any team, assuming their big 4 stays healthy.
We need some pairups of the young superstar big men and the superstar guards, not sure how that will happen but I hope that it does.Those Warriors/LeBron matchups are fun but I'm ready for someone new to emerge.
Yup. I feel like there is a lot of wasted talent not being displayed due to Anthony Davis, Cousins, and Towns playing in NBA purgatory.We need some pairups of the young superstar big men and the superstar guards, not sure how that will happen but I hope that it does.
Great article, thanks for posting. It's hard to imagine what some of these guys go through even while reading it. I bet he ends up in broadcasting.Not playoff game specific but wanted to make sure I shared this playoff oriented piece penned by Dion Waiters for the Players Tribune. I love Waiters but I know others don't like him. This may change your opinion of the guy,
I still can't believe they basically maxed himThe basketball Rorschach Test that is Demar Derozan is now sporting a career playoff eFG% of .407, which is last among all players with at least 700 FG attempts since 1979'-80. For his play-off career, he's at -15.8 points per 100 possessions for his raw on/off numbers, with a -2.4 BPM.
Dave McMenaminESPN Staff Writer
The Cavs will become the first team in NBA history to record six sweeps in seven-game series over a three-year span if they beat the Raptors on Sunday, according to ESPN Stats & Info. The Lakers had six playoff sweeps from 1987-89, but three of those sweeps were five-game series.
The East needs another "Big 3" so bad. LeBron has been amazing but he has benefitted from his Miami peak coming at the tail end of the original Big 3 era and there hasn't been anyone since. You can only play your schedule so can't knock him for it but kind of sucks that we have to wait until the NBA Finals every year to see him get challenged.Saw this on ESPN.
Fultz hasn't even turned 19. He wouldn't make a big impact next year, at least with respect to knocking off Cleveland. Hopefully the Celtics can land one of the Hayward/Butler/George trio. Agree on Milwaukee if Parker can come back healthy. I don't think anyone else is even remotely close.The C's should be close if they land Fultz and if Milwaukee ever gets fully healthy, they'll be dangerous.
True, I meant more in 18/19.Fultz hasn't even turned 19. He wouldn't make a big impact next year, at least with respect to knocking off Cleveland. Hopefully the Celtics can land one of the Hayward/Butler/George trio. Agree on Milwaukee if Parker can come back healthy. I don't think anyone else is even remotely close.
They are awful. Not one mention of Oubre's contact with the ref. What a bunch of disingenuous pricks.Jackson and Van Gundy trying to claim Durant's flagrant was the same as Oubre's.
It's unbelievable that ESPNs "A" team is the top announce team in all of basketball. Also, how the fuck is Mike Breen ahead of Marv Albert and Kevin Harlan? I think there are a lot of good NBA teams on the air and somehow the ESPN A team is the worst one.I played this back three times to make sure I got it right, preserved for posterity:
“You got to sprint back collectively, it’s tough to have Rodney Hood be the lone defender against Kevin Durant with a full steam of headm."-Mark Jackson
(It wouldn't have been so funny if he had just transposed 'head' and 'steam', but after he said 'head' he knew something was missing, so he said 'headm' (pronounced heddum) on national TV and I'm pretty sure no one called him on it.)
Significantly less fun. Instead of Houston, San Antonio, and Okla City all having a chance, all three have absolutely no chance. This season, the NBA was a blast. There are some incredible things happening on the court. And some incredible and amazing players.The only thing that bothered about Durant moving to GS is that it was a move that made a majority of the NBA less fun.
I think Cleveland sweeps the east, but GSW will lose one or two against SA if they advance. If Houston advances, I think they get swept. I don't think the finals will be very good either - it will be crazy if Cleveland sweeps the east...then gets swept themselves in the finals.Who loses first this postseason, GS or Cleveland? And when? Game 3 of the conference finals? Game 1 of the Finals?
I'd tend to agree with this. By my count there have been 56 playoff games so far and 32 of them have been decided by 10 or more points. No idea how that compares to past years but seems like a high percentage.Significantly less fun. Instead of Houston, San Antonio, and Okla City all having a chance, all three have absolutely no chance. This season, the NBA was a blast. There are some incredible things happening on the court. And some incredible and amazing players.
But these playoffs have been astoundingly bad. It's not even remotely dramatic. The games have been bad, in general, and the series' have been worse. It kind of sucks.
I'd argue that this has been fully clear all season long, and it's definitely impacted my interest level all year.it's become clear that we are headed for a third CLE vs GS Finals, which is great if you are a fan of one of those two teams, kind of lame if you are a fan of any other team.
It's really rare that both finalists are this locked in all season long, even last year when GS had the best record ever, they had a genuine challenge from OKC in the playoffs. You might have to go back to some of the Celtic/Laker Magic/Bird years to find cases where both finalists seem this definite from day 1.How is this obvious outcome any different than the entire history of the league? The 2-3 elite players of that generation dominate for a 10-15 year period, with occasional 'one hit wonder' teams.
Exactly. The only difference is that some eras only have one dominant team while this one like many others have two.How is this obvious outcome any different than the entire history of the league? The 2-3 elite players of that generation dominate for a 10-15 year period, with occasional 'one hit wonder' teams.
I don't think we should be conceding the finals to the Cavs just yet. The odds are in their favor, but the Celtics are capable of bearing them in a 7 game series just like OKC was capable of doing so to GSW last year.It's really rare that both finalists are this locked in all season long, even last year when GS had the best record ever, they had a genuine challenge from OKC in the playoffs. You might have to go back to some of the Celtic/Laker Magic/Bird years to find cases where both finalists seem this definite from day 1.
OKC was capable of beating GS because they had two top 5 players in Durant and Westbrook along with a solid supporting cast. The Celtics don't have that.I don't think we should be conceding the finals to the Cavs just yet. The odds are in their favor, but the Celtics are capable of bearing them in a 7 game series just like OKC was capable of doing so to GSW last year.
The Celts just don't match up with the Cavs in any way. OKC had Westbrook and KD. Two generational talents. It's not a good comp.I don't think we should be conceding the finals to the Cavs just yet. The odds are in their favor, but the Celtics are capable of bearing them in a 7 game series just like OKC was capable of doing so to GSW last year.