The enemy of the Lakers is my friend. The NBA finals thread.

Nator

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Welp, here we go. I can only assume that Herro and Robinson will now fall back to Earth and shoot a combined 7% from three for the series while ABC points out how hot they were against the Celtics. I also expect Bam to pick up two quick fouls on the Lakers initial two possessions every game but...go Heat?
 

teddykgb

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I’ll certainly root for the Heat. I only developed hate for Dragic who is a flooper but that Heat team was really likable and just executed super well.
having said that I probably won’t watch a minute of it because the NBA is an unwatchable product of referee shenanigans and replay which only gets cranked to 11 when Lebron is involved
 

Kliq

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I've probably never in my life been less interested in an NBA Finals matchup. I don't like either franchise, I don't like many of the players involved, and I've been worn down by the obnoxious culture surrounding the NBA on social media. I'm planning on watching very little of it.
 

OurF'ingCity

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I’ll certainly root for the Heat. I only developed hate for Dragic who is a flooper but that Heat team was really likable and just executed super well.
having said that I probably won’t watch a minute of it because the NBA is an unwatchable product of referee shenanigans and replay which only gets cranked to 11 when Lebron is involved
That, plus the announcer ballwashing of the Lakers/defense of the refs every time they make an indefensible call is going to be absolutely brutal. I will be rooting from the Heat from a distance.

Agree that when you don't have a major rooting interest the NBA product isn't particularly appealing in its current iteration.
 

OurF'ingCity

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538 is giving Miami a 74% chance to win it. Their player based RAPTOR forecaster is seriously flawed.
Somebody should ask Nate Silver and/or whoever created or works on that system to start putting $1,000 on the team in each series RAPTOR says is going to win, and if they say they won't do that then it raises the question of why they even bother publishing a system they don't have confidence in.
 

deconstruction

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I'm taking an extremely petty and unpopular stance: fuck the Heat, I want the Lakers to absolutely destroy them.

I don't care that they were the "best team in the bubble"; I want people to leave this series questioning their future and ability. I want Bam and Herro to be thoroughly humbled, their status taken down several notches from where people are putting them right now.

Unrealistic and petty, whatever. Fuck the Heat.
 

bankshot1

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A couple of game threaders posted "BEAT LA" in the last couple of minutes.

I thought the Heat were a relatively likeable under-dog type team for a team that just crushed my hopes and dreams.

They play the game right way and I could not get worked up and get pissed at them. They played with heart and balls and beat the Celts in crunch time.

it will be easy to root for them against the fucking Lakers, the team of entitlement and attitude and the league's favored showcase team.

So Fuck the Lakers
GO HEAT

but fuck Pat Riley for oldtime sake.
 

RG33

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I mean, I would be surprised if the Lakers don’t sweep. They will dramatically out-physical Herro/Robinson/Dragic, and I just don’t see where Miami will be able to do much to stop LBJ and AD.

Sadly, i don’t think this will be close, but I do look forward to mocking Laker fans who think it is #17 for the Los Angeles Lakers.
 

EvilEmpire

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I don't think the Heat have much of a chance, but I'll be rooting for them. Bam is fun to watch and I've been a fan of Butler for a long time. And of course the Lakers are so very easy to hate. Fuck those guys.
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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Seeing Butler, Dragic, Olynyk or Crowder earn a ring against the Lakers would be great.

Miami is an extremely well prepared basketball team so even though the Lakers have far superior top end talent, if anyone can figure out how to slow them - and to be clear, I don't expect that outcome - its the Heat. I think this series has a chance to be fascinating match up and it will have lot of off the court narratives too with the LeBron-Miami and Riley-Laker history.

Finally, I will watch because I am never taking sports and specifically basketball for granted again. It has been nothing short of a gift to have these games regularly these past few months.
 

BigSoxFan

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Seeing Butler, Dragic, Olynyk or Crowder earn a ring against the Lakers would be great.

Miami is an extremely well prepared basketball team so even though the Lakers have far superior top end talent, if anyone can figure out how to slow them - and to be clear, I don't expect that outcome - its the Heat. I think this series has a chance to be fascinating match up and it will have lot of off the court narratives too with the LeBron-Miami and Riley-Laker history.

Finally, I will watch because I am never taking sports and specifically basketball for granted again. It has been nothing short of a gift to have these games regularly these past few months.
I also think this is a fascinating series for Jimmy Butler’s legacy. He’s always been known as a top 10-20 player any given year but it would be quite the renaissance for him if he takes his 4th team to a title out of nowhere.
 

teddykgb

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I mean, I would be surprised if the Lakers don’t sweep. They will dramatically out-physical Herro/Robinson/Dragic, and I just don’t see where Miami will be able to do much to stop LBJ and AD.

Sadly, i don’t think this will be close, but I do look forward to mocking Laker fans who think it is #17 for the Los Angeles Lakers.
This was basically the same logic against Boston and Spolestra just hid his weaker guys in the bottom of a zone and we couldn’t play them off the court.

LA has more size but if they keep zoning Rondo could really struggle. Probably ADs shooting is enough to break a zone. Chances are Lebron will get 829 foul calls our Jays didn’t when driving it as well. I guess in the end I agree with you
 

Euclis20

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Looking back over the last 30 years there are only a handful of teams that have had 2 players make 1st team all NBA, unless I missed someone:

Nash and Stoudemire (2007)
Shaq and Kobe (2002-2004)
Jordan and Pippen (1995)
Stockton and Malone (1994)
Bird and McHale (1987)
Kareem and Magic (1984, 1986)
Erving and Malone (1983)

These are some special groups, and lots of titles (although not all in the years listed above). If the Heat somehow won this year I have to imagine it would be seen as at least the greatest upset since the 2004 Pistons.
 

InstaFace

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It’s so easy for me to root for Miami over the Lakers it isn’t even funny.
Yep. Dragic tried to pull some bullshit here and there, but if any of us are honest it's not half of what Smart usually tries. If it weren't for Pat Riley, we'd have almost nothing bad to say about the Heat right now. It's not their fault they got some very favorable whistles at times.

They're a very likable team that plays really well together, keeps up focus and intensity, and is tremendously well coached. Held the Celtics to well under their season averages in Steals, 3P%, blocks, and probably a bunch of other esoteric things I can't readily scrounge from nba.com while half in the bag. Among Lebron Finals opponents, there's probably more similarities to the 2014 Spurs than to the 2012 Thunder.
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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I also think this is a fascinating series for Jimmy Butler’s legacy. He’s always been known as a top 10-20 player any given year but it would be quite the renaissance for him if he takes his 4th team to a title out of nowhere.
I completely agree and that is why the hole in my heart is now being filled, if only partly, by the thought of Jimmy coming back from last year's horrific loss to win his ring.
 

OurF'ingCity

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Looking back over the last 30 years there are only a handful of teams that have had 2 players make 1st team all NBA, unless I missed someone:

Nash and Stoudemire (2007)
Shaq and Kobe (2002-2004)
Jordan and Pippen (1995)
Stockton and Malone (1994)
Bird and McHale (1987)
Kareem and Magic (1984, 1986)
Erving and Malone (1983)

These are some special groups, and lots of titles (although not all in the years listed above). If the Heat somehow won this year I have to imagine it would be seen as at least the greatest upset since the 2004 Pistons.
One of these things is not like the others. Kind of amazing when put in that context that the 2007-8 Suns didn't even make the conference finals (at minimum, it's a reminder of how good those mid-2000s Spurs teams were).
 

djbayko

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I will have no problem rooting for the Heat. They beat us, but they played a respectable game and were not assholes or cheaters. Meanwhile: (a) it’s the Lakers, and (b) I can’t stand a single player on that team other than Rondo.
 
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jon abbey

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One of these things is not like the others. Kind of amazing when put in that context that the 2007-8 Suns didn't even make the conference finals (at minimum, it's a reminder of how good those mid-2000s Spurs teams were).
The 2006-2007 Suns would have won the title IMO if Stoudemire hadn’t been suspended for barely leaving the bench at the end of game 4. 2-2 series and he was suspended for game 5 in Phoenix which they barely lost at the end without him.
 

ElUno20

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I quit watching nba the second my clipps were eliminated. This is beyond a cakewalk for the lakers. Lebron ballwashing + kobe tributes galore. Why in the f would anyone who isnt a lakers fan put themselves through this?

Be smart. Just follow HRB's picks and at least make a few bucks while not watching this garbage.

God i phucking hate the NBA.
 

lexrageorge

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I will tip my hat to Jimmy Butler, who toiled for flawed teams for several seasons before finding the perfect fit down in South Beach. He sort of flew under the radar this season, but has been the best crunch time player on the floor during the entirety of the Heat's playoff run.

He'll be the 3rd best during crunch time in this series, but sometimes things happen, and Miami's eclectic mix of vets and youth could make this a more interesting series than the ESPN pundits would have you believe. Miami simply cannot afford to get 14 and 17 points down against the Lakers.
 

kfoss99

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I'm looking forward to Playoff Rondo, but not so much to watch much when tip off will be 9:30 east coast time. But, I do love that surly bastard.

The Butler v Lebron match could be interesting.
 

timelysarcasm

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It's aggravating living in LA and watching the Lakers completely fumble their rebuild, only to be bailed out by Lebron and then AD basically forcing his way to LA.

I'm already hearing the "tied championships" stuff and it's nauseating. Rooting hard for the Heat, but I will be surprised if they can do it.
 

jaytftwofive

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The Lakers winning and tying the Celtics is way worse then the Stankees winning their 28th WS. Nobody is catching them.They tie the Celts with 17 NBA titles that's a nightmare!!!!!! On a hate meter the Stankees are 1A and the Lakers are 1B but right now it's all hate on the Lakers and let's go Heat! Please win!!! I think this is the first time I ever rooted for the Heat but it can't come at a better time. (Oh my pick is Lakers in 6 but of course I have never wanted to be more wrong in my life and I mean that)Anybody think they have a shot?? I think they have to play flawless and the Lakers have to shoot poorly or well under their average. This would be better then the Diamondbacks beating the Stankees in 01WS
 

jaytftwofive

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I will tip my hat to Jimmy Butler, who toiled for flawed teams for several seasons before finding the perfect fit down in South Beach. He sort of flew under the radar this season, but has been the best crunch time player on the floor during the entirety of the Heat's playoff run.

He'll be the 3rd best during crunch time in this series, but sometimes things happen, and Miami's eclectic mix of vets and youth could make this a more interesting series than the ESPN pundits would have you believe. Miami simply cannot afford to get 14 and 17 points down against the Lakers.
Was he on the team when Derek Rose got hurt at least once maybe twice? They could have beaten the Heat in 2011, or 12 I think he was on one or some of those teams. I'll look it up.
 

johnmd20

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Yes, I feel like I am still catching up on the sports drought that was March through August.
Two weekends ago was the catch up of the century. You had NHL Stanley Cup games, NBA semi final playoff games, a moderate college football slate, millions of baseball games with some teams fighting for playoff spots, a full NFL weekend schedule, and the golf US Open.

It was ridiculous. Unlike any sports weekend in history.

And this past weekend had all of the above, except for the US Open, but you did have the French Open going on and, obviously, the SEC college schedule started too, which was a completely different sports Saturday than what we've already gotten so far in 2020. This Saturday, the college football was fun.

Two straight weekends with everything. Hopefully it will never happen again, but it was pretty crazy.
 

Dim13

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Imagine watching this series with a real rooting interest and having to endure all the calls that LeBron and Davis get in the "win it for Kobe" season.
 

johnmd20

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By the way, the bitching about the refs (in games that literally haven't been played yet) is reaching WEEI proportions. It's beneath this website.