Dubs smash Rockets tonight, take Cavs in 5. Spot on about the (Y)eastern conference. Although that doesn't take away from Bron's freak athleticism, excellent self-maintenance and basketball smarts.
NBA 2017 - 2018 Westworld
- Thread starter gblews
- Start date
The Celtics had an amazing run, but they missed an opportunity losing Game 7 at home. I’m not convinced Ainge won’t make more moves this summer, as they clearly need to get better regardless of whether Irving and Hayward are healthy next season.
In the space of two days this playoffs got 80% less exciting.
Ainge will try to make a move this season but he won't pull the trigger unless he gets a really great offer. Kings still looking to be terrible next season so that draft pick could open up some possibilities.
I'm hoping that Lebron goes to a team in the West that with him will be good enough to undo the boring and actually beat the Warriors.
Playoffs were exciting two years ago with the other West teams competitive enough to actually threaten the Warriors and Cavs strong enough to beat them, the Durant move has made the league so boring for the last two years. Hopefully whatever happens in the offseason we end up in a state where the Warriors have actual competition, so we can all stay awake during the finals.
Ainge will try to make a move this season but he won't pull the trigger unless he gets a really great offer. Kings still looking to be terrible next season so that draft pick could open up some possibilities.
I'm hoping that Lebron goes to a team in the West that with him will be good enough to undo the boring and actually beat the Warriors.
Playoffs were exciting two years ago with the other West teams competitive enough to actually threaten the Warriors and Cavs strong enough to beat them, the Durant move has made the league so boring for the last two years. Hopefully whatever happens in the offseason we end up in a state where the Warriors have actual competition, so we can all stay awake during the finals.
Last edited:
I'm one of those who believes that the league functions best when there is a dominant team that everyone is striving to beat. Unlike the NFL, the NBA doesn't work as well with rampant parity. No one wants to watch a San Antonio battle a Detroit in the Finals. In the NBA, stars, as opposed to teams (like in the NFL), are the draw.
The rest of the league will either have to catch up quick or wait till the Dubs' run is over.
I think game 7 proves that the Celts would be foolish to trade Kyrie Irving. He was the exact kind of player they needed in that game, someone who is capable of taking over a game.
But I think Kyrie and Hayward are enough to get the Cs into the Finals, but not enough to beat a healthy Dubs or Rox team, so I agree, Ainge has more work to do, as does the rest of the league.
Brown and Rozier have shown that they’re hard workers, so I expect them to learn from their Game 7 struggles. They’ll be better players next season, though it wouldn’t surprise me if one or both were wearing a different uniform when October rolls around. A lot of teams would love to a player with Brown’s upside, as he looks like a future All Star, and Rozier, while clearly not ready to start, would be an excellent backup. The C’s clearly need players who can create their own shot and defend LeBron/KD effectively. Kawhi Leonard fits both criteria; if he’s healthy, I think Ainge tries to grab him to keep him away from Philly. San Antonio would almost certainly want Tatum or Brown (plus picks) in return, and I think Boston parts with Brown faster than they do Tatum.
This story is spreading, so I thought I'd post it here. The Ringer has an article about Sixers GM Bryan Colangelo, who is suspected of having secret twitter accounts where he would take shots at players and the former GM, and revealed secret medical information about his players.
I read a story a few weeks ago about one of the Philly execs making an insensitive remark about Markelle Fultz. The remark had to do with Fultz' injury and I don't think it was Colanngelo although I'm going by memory here. Fultz responded on Twitter something to affect that 'you don't know who to trust' these days.
Sixers doing a bang up job of "developing" their young players.
But seriously, if this is true and Colangelo was the one who posted those tweets, he is as good as gone.
^Definitely. It’s one thing to make a negative comment about a player in front of the media. It’s another thing entirely to do it while using “burner” social media accounts. What I don’t understsnd is why he was doing it in the first place, especially in the case of Fultz, whom he drafted.
I believe the burner accounts explicitly questioned whether Fultz was really injured. Other than that, there was a lot of rumbling behind the scenes but I don't think anyone went on record.
One of the leading theories I'm starting to think more plausible is that it's his wife's accounts. There's pretty good evidence that it at least used her phone number to make the accounts.
^I just saw Twitter posts by Sarah Spain and Zach Lowe with more evidence supporting this theory. Why in gawd’s name would a family member do something like this?
Kawhi going to Philly would make an extremely competitive Eastern finals if everyone stays healthy. More exciting but at the expense of my team.
Brown is a solid player, I think in his career he's going to be a solid 3 or 4 guy who complements superstars. He's good at both ends and can play multiple positions. Tatum is a potential superstar. Obviously Brown or Tatum for Kawhi would be a trade you have no choice to make but the problem there is the small matter of the contract gap, 15 million the first year and more like 25 million if they keep him more than one. It would make resigning Smart out of the question. Then they ride high a year because they have cheap solid benchers like Theis and Rozier, and Kyrie comes up with a player option for which he can almost certainly get more. Keeping their core for more than one or two years becomes prohibitively expensive unless there's a major cap hike coming up. Brown and Tatum on the other hand are cheap for two and three more years respectively.
This might be the first year since Bourque was on the Avalanche that I'm more excited by the NHL finals than the NBA finals. But if the Cavs somehow pull off the ridiculous upset it might be the best upset of all time.
I guess, if Cavs can have a couple games where they trick the bell curve on hitting threes, they can make a respectable run.
Brown is a solid player, I think in his career he's going to be a solid 3 or 4 guy who complements superstars. He's good at both ends and can play multiple positions. Tatum is a potential superstar. Obviously Brown or Tatum for Kawhi would be a trade you have no choice to make but the problem there is the small matter of the contract gap, 15 million the first year and more like 25 million if they keep him more than one. It would make resigning Smart out of the question. Then they ride high a year because they have cheap solid benchers like Theis and Rozier, and Kyrie comes up with a player option for which he can almost certainly get more. Keeping their core for more than one or two years becomes prohibitively expensive unless there's a major cap hike coming up. Brown and Tatum on the other hand are cheap for two and three more years respectively.
This might be the first year since Bourque was on the Avalanche that I'm more excited by the NHL finals than the NBA finals. But if the Cavs somehow pull off the ridiculous upset it might be the best upset of all time.
I guess, if Cavs can have a couple games where they trick the bell curve on hitting threes, they can make a respectable run.
Bron and Love playing 2 on 9. That charge reversal and JR brainfart killed them. No Iggy made this a must win.
The charge reversal was legit.
As for JR, Hill is an 80% free throw shooter, he could have made that shot and this wouldn't be an issue. The Cavs also went super cold in OT and the Warriors blew up.
Its a long series, and I see this going 7 games. The Cavs played their heart out and managed to hold off the Warriors 3rd quarter charge...I can see them winning this thing.
First game of a 7 game series is not that important, generally. The bigger issue is that the Cavs may have let a game slip away that they should have won. My experience is that teams that do this in the Finals, in particular, usually don't win the series regardless of when the "giveaway" occurs, and regardless of the reasons. It is especially bad when you're the team without HCA and the underdog.
Chances are real good now that the Cavs will fall into a 0-2 hole from which I do not see them crawling out of.
Chances are real good now that the Cavs will fall into a 0-2 hole from which I do not see them crawling out of.
Basketball has a Bill Buckner now.
Need to start meming the hell out of Lebron's reaction.
Yeah, for a heavy underdog the difference between 1-0 and 0-1 is about the difference between a 30% shot and a 10% shot. Now they have no room for error in their home games and need to find another game to steal in Golden State.
Need to start meming the hell out of Lebron's reaction.
Yeah, for a heavy underdog the difference between 1-0 and 0-1 is about the difference between a 30% shot and a 10% shot. Now they have no room for error in their home games and need to find another game to steal in Golden State.
The reason for review was not.
Well after game 3, looks like the only question is, might Lebron become the first the first player since Jerry West (became the first), to win Finals MVP on a losing team. He might still have a chance if he turns in a gargantuan game 4, or if by some miracle, the Cavs come back to tie the series up. Barring any of the aforementioned, it's got to be KD. The Dubs are now his team and that's saying something because Steph is almost a sure HOF'er.
Last season the Dubs lost game 4 in Cle, this time I think they are experienced enough, meaning KD, to actually close it out in game 4. I think the Cavs are done. At some point on Friday, the Dubs will challenge them for the chance to party on their floor and I think the Cavs will fold.
As great a player as Lebron is, he is still overrated by the media and some fans. In a NY Post article on game 3, KD's 43 pointe were referred to as his "game high 43". Lebron's 33 points were referred to as "monstrous".
I think the season will end Friday.
Last season the Dubs lost game 4 in Cle, this time I think they are experienced enough, meaning KD, to actually close it out in game 4. I think the Cavs are done. At some point on Friday, the Dubs will challenge them for the chance to party on their floor and I think the Cavs will fold.
As great a player as Lebron is, he is still overrated by the media and some fans. In a NY Post article on game 3, KD's 43 pointe were referred to as his "game high 43". Lebron's 33 points were referred to as "monstrous".
I think the season will end Friday.
Brian Colangelo's firing by th Sixers certainly is no surprise. Even though his wife ran the burner accounts, that's still too close to the team. In addition, Colangelo is suspected of supplying info to his wife which she used on Twitter. He may not have known what she was doing, but he should never have discussed team inside info with her.
An ESPN reporter reported during the regular season, that Brett Brown stated in a production meeting that Markelle Fultz' injury may be psychological. Fultz heard about this and was upset. Even though the statement was second hand, and Brown denied making the statement, it is still "messy" and doesn't cast the Sixers organization in a very good light with their own players and around the league.
I still think the Sixers have management problems. This is the story I was referring to in my quote above.
An ESPN reporter reported during the regular season, that Brett Brown stated in a production meeting that Markelle Fultz' injury may be psychological. Fultz heard about this and was upset. Even though the statement was second hand, and Brown denied making the statement, it is still "messy" and doesn't cast the Sixers organization in a very good light with their own players and around the league.
An interesting note I heard commented upon is that the Cav's team without Lebron are given 500 to 1 odds of winning.
Lebron is carrying his team.
Sigh.
Obviously I want Celtics to win but I’ll be happy if anything happens in the off-season to make next season NOT SEEM LIKE AN INEVITABILITY.
If Cavs lose Lebron they will be one of the teams fighting for the 7th or 8th seed.
Obviously I want Celtics to win but I’ll be happy if anything happens in the off-season to make next season NOT SEEM LIKE AN INEVITABILITY.
If Cavs lose Lebron they will be one of the teams fighting for the 7th or 8th seed.
Similar threads
