2018 NBA Finals
- Thread starter gedman211
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Did they make it interesting last year when they had Kyrie Irving?
Cleveland has absolutely no chance to win this series. Zero. The only small chance is if someone rolls Curry or Durant’s ankles or something.
I mean, he clearly knows that a win this series really heats up the LeBron vs. MJ stuff, which he obviously cares about. But he has no shot with this supporting cast.
Iggy being hurt helps on the margins but you have an awful defensive team trying to contain Curry/Durant/Thompson. If Cavs take it to 6, they should get a parade.
This is why I’m (mostly) over last night. Celtics are better positioned than anyone else to take on this juggernaut. The Rockets now have to rely on a 34 year-old CP3 next spring and we know how that’ll go. Nobody is taking that Anderson contract off their hands and Capela is due a max contract soon. Their window hasn’t closed but it’s definitely shrinking.
Meanwhile, the Celtics have 2 young studs and a couple potentially valuable draft picks in their arsenal. Danny did the hard work last summer.
I think the Cavs can win a game or two; Cleveland's supporting cast came together over the last two games of the series; with Hill and Green coming alive and Nance, Thompson, Korver and JR doing a solid job in their roles. Throughout the Houston series (and during the regular season) GS had stretches of just playing bad basketball and a lesser team could certainly catch them on a few nights.
I can see a game at home in 3 or 4. I can’t see two. Who the hell is creating offense for Cleveland outside of LeBron? That was the issue with Houston once Paul went out. The Warriors will pass the ball around to the open guy while LeBron will be exerting max energy. I think this series will be 2-0 before you can blink. Maybe Cleveland can rise up and win 2 at home to extend it a bit but my guess is Warriors, Warriors, Cavs, Warriors, Warriors.
The NBA hates non hardcore fans like me. Almost as much as I hate Draymond Green.
Speaking of Green, is there an uglier jump shot in the league? My 7 year old shoots better, and he goes granny style half the time.
Speaking of Green, is there an uglier jump shot in the league? My 7 year old shoots better, and he goes granny style half the time.
You and most of America. Cavs and Warriors fans and a few hardcore NBAers. That's it.
Wake me up if there's a game 7.
The only thing that’s clear after three rounds of playoffs is that these have been the least watchable basketball games ever. The quality of play is atrocious winners are basically determined by three point efficiency. Rockets 7-44 last night. Who wants that?
The hockey game last night was 10x more exciting and high quality. And I don’t like hockey. But I couldn’t take watching iso pick and roll three ball anymore
The hockey game last night was 10x more exciting and high quality. And I don’t like hockey. But I couldn’t take watching iso pick and roll three ball anymore
Couldn’t agree more, the NBA has pretty much always been my favorite sport but this is just exhausted basketball, really hard to watch for the most part. Honestly they should cut 6 or 8 teams and two months off the season which would drastically improve the product but of course they will do neither.
So Warriors in 3?
The Cavs should have lost to the Celtics.
The Warriors are a much better shooting version of the Celtics, so why should Cleveland be expected to win even one game beyond "Sweeping a team is hard"?
The Cavs should have lost to the Celtics.
The Warriors are a much better shooting version of the Celtics, so why should Cleveland be expected to win even one game beyond "Sweeping a team is hard"?
I won't watch, but I really hope Lebron skull fucks these clowns, and I hope Kevin Durant's leg explodes into dust because fuck him anyways. Fast forward me to the conference finals next year so we can see the Celtics complete their ascension.
I think the Warriors win in, at most, five games. Lebron can't carry these schlubs against a veteran team. He had a hard enough time against a team with a star that can't even order a drink at the bar yet.
I think the Warriors win in, at most, five games. Lebron can't carry these schlubs against a veteran team. He had a hard enough time against a team with a star that can't even order a drink at the bar yet.
All you folks that won't watch. WTF is wrong? The best basketball team (ever?) going against the best player (ever?). I am excited to watch these games and see what Lebron can or cannot do against GSW
That won't stop the 3 point craze. A lot of games in the NBA are now decided by who is hitting their 3s and who isn't. I know a few people who just hate the 3 point shot and don't care about the math behind it.
If the Cavs win two games, it will be impressive. Their only chance is Durant's leg turning into dust, as wished for above, or Curry hurting his ankle. If one of those things happen, the Cavs maybe will have a chance. Without that, there is no chance, GS is an incredible team and the Cavs are most certainly not, outside of Lebron.
Once again the Cavs shouldn’t have even beaten the Celtics ..why should I care how things go in the finals? LeBron is a product of this generation where the east has been incredibly weak or a major injury has happened to the strongest team right before or during the playoffs (ie Wade taking out Rondo or Perkins getting hurt) and everything being catered to him so you can’t play defense on him while he throws his body around on offense and defense. My friend told me that him getting a fourth foul was bad because they’d never let him foul out.. and of course he didn’t get another foul called on him while getting very ticky tack fouls called against his defender.. I’m not interested in watching more of the same.. I find it infuriating. Similar to how Durant got away with a ton of contact last night.. I know it’s a stars league but I don’t have to support it.
Seriously. Last year they lost in 5 games WITH Kyrie Irving. Now they have George Hill instead of Kyrie and a groggy Love. Iggy is hurt so that will help Cleveland a little.
This is sports so crazy things happen but I think this will be another methodical takedown of LeBron, similar to 2007, 2014, 2015, and 2017.
The Cavs basically need to hope for a major injury or an Ariza/Rozier meltdown by the best shooting team in the league.
I'm pulling for a sweep & free tacos but I don't need to watch one second of this series. Been there, done that.
Another injury to the Warriors is the only way that the Cavs can make this a series. LeBron could average 50+ and his teammates would not be able to score enough to keep up with the Warriors. After all, the Cavs barely beat a team that the experts said they would dominate. If the Celtics hadn't become brick layers, the Cavs would be watching on TV.
Yea, the only reason Lebron has been to so many finals is because of injuries to other teams players. Sure.
You’re not reading what I wrote. It’s been an incredibly weak eastern conference and major injuries to very key players.. LeBron is amazing but he has also benefited from basically only having to play one tough series before the finals per year.
You’re saying that if Kyrie is out there this year the Cavs win?
Golden State and Lebron are the two biggest draws the league has. If the games are competitive the ratings will be historically good. If they aren't, the ratings will be average.
Insane stat o' the day...
Warriors plus/minus by quarter this season (regular season and playoffs)
First quarter: -3
Second quarter: +130
Third quarter: +501
Fourth quarter: +6
Statistically, that doesn't even seem possible. Can't we bottle just a little bit of that 3rd Q mojo for the other quarters?
Series prediction: Warriors in 5-6 if Iguodala is out or badly diminished; Warriors in 4 if he's okay. Beyond the aggregate talent edge, I just think the Warriors match up a lot better with the Cavs than they did with the Rockets. Their solid three-headed big (JaVale, West, Zaza) that was MIA v. Houston's smallball attack suddenly becomes playable v. the more traditional Cavs, which expands their playable rotation from 8-9 guys to 11-12. And where a lot of teams have maybe a player or two who can credibly tag-team LeBron, the Warriors have as many as seven: KD, Draymond, Andre, Klay and Shaun (all of whom have the length and skill to bother him a bit, and years of experience doing so), plus now Looney and Bell, who have the right physical profile and played key minutes v. Houston.
The GOAT will be ground down and defeated, and silly talking heads will act like that somehow tarnishes his legacy.
Warriors plus/minus by quarter this season (regular season and playoffs)
First quarter: -3
Second quarter: +130
Third quarter: +501
Fourth quarter: +6
Statistically, that doesn't even seem possible. Can't we bottle just a little bit of that 3rd Q mojo for the other quarters?
Series prediction: Warriors in 5-6 if Iguodala is out or badly diminished; Warriors in 4 if he's okay. Beyond the aggregate talent edge, I just think the Warriors match up a lot better with the Cavs than they did with the Rockets. Their solid three-headed big (JaVale, West, Zaza) that was MIA v. Houston's smallball attack suddenly becomes playable v. the more traditional Cavs, which expands their playable rotation from 8-9 guys to 11-12. And where a lot of teams have maybe a player or two who can credibly tag-team LeBron, the Warriors have as many as seven: KD, Draymond, Andre, Klay and Shaun (all of whom have the length and skill to bother him a bit, and years of experience doing so), plus now Looney and Bell, who have the right physical profile and played key minutes v. Houston.
The GOAT will be ground down and defeated, and silly talking heads will act like that somehow tarnishes his legacy.
Yes..but are you saying the entire EC of the NFL has been weak over their entire run? I know the Bills, Jets, and Dolphins have been weak, but I'm talking about the playoffs.. and you don't get a bye in the NBA like the NFL.. you have to play three series before the finals.. I see what you're trying to say, but the two aren't exactly comparable. The Pats have had to play some very tough teams in the two-three games they've had to play in the playoffs. (Of course a seven game series is also entirely different).
2018 - Kyrie hurt
2017 - IT finds out his sister died right before the playoffs start, and doesn't play most of the ECF because of an injury (lost to GS 4-1)
2016 - Detroit (4-0), Atlanta (4-0), Toronto (4-2) (beat Golden State 4-3, Green suspended one game)
2015 - Boston (4-0), Chicago (4-2), Atlanta (4-0) (lost to GS 4-2)
2014 - Charlotte (4-0), Brooklyn(4-1), Indiana(4-2) (lost to San Antonio 4-1)
2013 - Milwaukee(4-0), Chicago(4-1), Indiana(4-3), (beat SA 4-3)
2012 - New York (4-1), Indiana (4-2), Boston (4-3) (beat OKC 4-1) This is the year Miami won game 1 at home and then won game 2 with Rondo scoring 44 points... Miami shot 47 free throws and the Celts still took it to OT. Celts won the next three games.. and LeBron had his great game 6.
2011 - Philadelphia (4-1), Boston (4-1), Chicago (4-1), (lost to Dallas 4-2) Rajon Rondo is injured by Wade and plays with a dislocated elbow.
For most of those years the two - four other top teams have been in the WC. Teams like GS, OKC, San Antonio, LA Clippers (at times), Houston... all of these teams have had to play each other before the finals. Cleveland and Miami have had very weak opponents on most of their runs..nothing close to what WC teams have had to go through..and in a few cases they've had to play the other team without key players.
Yes, LeBron has also factored into this of course as one of the most dominant players of all time, but when he's gotten to the finals and had to play just one WC team he's failed more often than not... I'd like to see what his run would have looked like if he'd been in the WC all these years. Partially just for interest but also because I'm admittedly a Celts homer and I'm sick of watching him beat the Celtics. So yes I know I'm diminishing his impact I know, but also I don't think you can look at the EC over the last ten years and tell me there have been even two really strong opponents to the Heat and Cavs. Hawks and Raptors have been flawed teams the entire time.. closest thing they've had to a rival really is Boston early and Indiana over the past few years. I count the last two Boston trips as weak teams as well since the major injuries.. even with that Cavs needed Kyrie to carry the team a lot in the ECF last year and the C's took him to game 7 this year without two of their best players and two crucial role players (especially with those first two out, Larkin is very much a role player, but he would've been a huge help this finals simply to take some of the ball handling pressure off of Rozier and not require Smart to dribble up as much.)
I'll watch, but it will be really hard to do so knowing if the Celtics just shot merely poorly they'd be in it.
If the Rockets and Celtics had both just shot merely poorly, it'd be 1986 Finals redux.
People are gonna, say "GS v LeBron, duh!" but I think Zach Lowe put it beautifully in his Western Conference Game 7 preview: any result "is not evidence of its own inevitability." Boston and Houston both had clear kill shots that easily might have hit in any number of alt. universes. But as Omar once said: "you come at the king, you best not miss..."
Omar is dead.
I love when LeBron goes God-mode vs any non-Celtics team. It's going to be very enjoyable to watch LeBron carry the other four clowns to wins.
This is LeBrons TB12 vs the Falcons Superbowl. It he beats this Golden State team, he is officially THE GOAT.
This is LeBrons TB12 vs the Falcons Superbowl. It he beats this Golden State team, he is officially THE GOAT.
I'm with you. But the flip side is that if Cleveland shot normally and not poorly they make 13 threes instead if 9, and they blow the Celtics out of the building in game 7.
It is a good breakdown. Much like the Lakers in the 80s had a bye to the finals most years.
Not these finals! This is a problem for the NBA that the other leagues do not share - getting the same teams/matchups over and over in the finals - I guess since there is only 5 guys on the court it is easier to build a dominant team in the NBA (if you can find 5 great/very good players) than any of the other major sports....
Not a good way to build broad viewership outside of the very small handful of competitive cities/teams.