NBA 2015/2016

[Whirly]

The fact GS were already there could be argued as 'tainted' considering Green should have been suspended in that series ...

The team that wanted it most won. Cleveland aren't nearly as talented, and as you say, have serious issues ... Which is why I think LeBron moves on.

As for being a SD fan - I feel for you. Closest they've been was Humphries and Means?

It could be, but I'm personally against suspensions due to accumulation in the playoffs. Unless there's some seriously malicious intent, the league office should never make a decision that influences who does or does not play. The league deliberately keeps these rules vague and vacuous so they have the ability to massage a series if they need to, which is a crazy status quo to me in a sport where individuals are so important.

I think it's BS to say the Cavs wanted it more though. They literally won because Bogut came down the wrong way and the Warriors missed a bunch of wide open shots in a crucial game 7.

I don't know that LeBron has a better situation he can move to though, in the West or otherwise. Especially considering that in the East he could probably sit out the entire regular season and make it into the playoffs.

 

[Whirly]

Means/Humphries was way before my time. Those Chargers teams in the mid 2000's are going to go down as some of the most talented NFL teams to never win a title.

We've had some fun moments over the years though...





I can't find a video of Marlon McCree fumbling away the Chargers season in 06-07 though. But that sucked.

 

[Rosco]

 

[LeTallecWiz]

LeBron's next career move (staying at Cleveland or moving somewhere) will likely see if he can be debated as an equal to Jordan ... What he's done in the last 6 years is incredible.

 

[Rosco]

He can move now can't he ?

And he can have his LA based superstar team with Chris Paul and Carmelo as planned

 

[LeTallecWiz]

He can move now can't he ?

And he can have his LA based superstar team with Chris Paul and Carmelo as planned

I told a friend yesterday he's got 3 options really:

1) Stay in Cleveland (be at home, but struggle to win again unless they gut the team out bar him & Kyrie/Thompson/Shumpert).
2) LA Lakers (don't laugh - two good kids, one more great rook and he can lead them to being great within 2-3 years tops)
3) LA Clips (Chris Paul, DeAndrew Twatordan form a good base, trade Blake for another good player or high draft pick e presto).

 

[Rosco]

The Lakers might be the answer

 

[DHSC]

Trade Kyrie for Chris Paul
Trade Love for Anthony
Convince Wade to take the minimum

Paul-Wade-Anthony-James-Centre

 

[LeTallecWiz]

The Lakers might be the answer

He makes great decisions (bar HOW he left to Miami - it was the right move for him though) - and I think if he can resuscitate a Lakers' franchise, where he leads a group of kids to glory, he'll be in that debate

 

[Modo]

Lebron can as you say opt out of his 2 year contract.
It's been reported that his wife wants to stay and raise the kids in Akron.

I think it's all going to boil down to who he's able to attract to Cleveland, cause he's definitely not gonna stay there with the team as is.
There are persistent rumours that Lebron wants to join up with Mello and Paul and get them a championship.
Lebron is good with JR cause he's a perimeter players but I don't think he'd mind Cleveland trading Kyrie for Paul and Love for Mello.
Personally I wouldn't mind getting rid of Love but trading Kyrie would be criminal. He's the future of the franchise.

 

[peekay]

I am surprised you all think he will leave Cleveland. By staying at Cleveland, he is much pretty much guaranteed Final appearance atleast 2 out of the next 3 years. Until the Celtics mature, I dont see any threat for him in the conference. Once he reaches the finals, there is always the 1 in 2 chance that he can get a ring by pulling off a superhuman performance.

As for his legacy and GOAT position, I dont think he will ever be able to beat Jordan with his 6-0 finals record. But what he has achieved with Cleveland is something really unique, something he can point to which other great players dont have in their record list.

 

[LeTallecWiz]

As for his legacy and GOAT position, I dont think he will ever be able to beat Jordan with his 6-0 finals record. But what he has achieved with Cleveland is something really unique, something he can point to which other great players dont have in their record list.

How many titles did Chicago have before Jordan took them to their 1st?

 

[dmishra]

The Lakers might be the answer

Going to the West is a big risk for him longevity wise. Tougher regular season. Tougher playoffs.

That's bound to take its toll physically. Staying in the East makes sense.

 

[peekay]

How many titles did Chicago have before Jordan took them to their 1st?

Didnt realize that Bulls won their first rings under Jordan. Somehow I thought that the Bulls had some success pre-Jordan also, my mistake.

 

[LeTallecWiz]

Didnt realize that Bulls won their first rings under Jordan. Somehow I thought that the Bulls had some success pre-Jordan also, my mistake.

Tell me about it ... I googled it once you said it! 🙂
Even though I grew up in the 'Jordan era' - I have to say LeBron is coming closer and closer.

 

[peekay]

Tell me about it ... I googled it once you said it! 🙂
Even though I grew up in the 'Jordan era' - I have to say LeBron is coming closer and closer.

I did not follow basketball in the Jordan era. So I cannot comment on the impact of Jordan, the quality of opposition, the relative strength of Bulls without Jordan and relative strength of the Cavs without James. But based on statistics alone, sheer dominance he displayed in the playoffs, Jordan looks a cut above.

I lived in a university town in West Virginia couple of hours from the Ohio border for six years. Met a number of people from the Akron, north east Ohio region. That belt has been experiencing bad news after depressing news for number of years, creating an air of pessimism. Unlike some of the other rust belt towns ( Pittsburgh, Buffalo which are experiencing an economic renaissance), north east Ohio has been slow in rebounding. They are getting better though with some promising news ( still lags behind rest of US in economic indicators) and green shoots of recovery.

The impact of this win is huge. I am not saying this win will spark an economic recovery or anything to that effect. I am highly biased as I have a number of friends who grew up in that area - but it is my impression that this win means more to them than it would have to fans of any other franchise if they had won the NBA. Maybe I am overestimating the significance of this win due to my bias 🙂.

 

[Modo]

The nba was at it's weakest when Jordan won those 6 titles.

He was 29 when he first won it.

Ask yourself what happened in the years before?
I'll tell ya...........he was being pwned by the Pistons.
Before that he had nothing on Magic and Bird.

He took two years off and the fucking Rockets won it, the fucking Rockets....

 

[LeTallecWiz]

The nba was at it's weakest when Jordan won those 6 titles.

He was 29 when he first won it.

Ask yourself what happened in the years before?
I'll tell ya...........he was being pwned by the Pistons.
Before that he had nothing on Magic and Bird.

He took two years off and the fucking Rockets won it, the fucking Rockets....

Revisionist bs.

The Pistons, with Isaiah, Rodman, Dumars, Lambeer etc were a phenomenal defensive team ... They lost in game 7 to the Lakers in the late 80s (you know, the one with Magic, Abdul Jabaar etc), and then the next year ... SWEPT the Lakers to win their championship and then won again the next year, after getting through Jordan in 7 games ...
As for mocking the Rockets ...That team won against the Knicks (with Ewing) and the Magic (with Shaq, Penny and a team that was on the cusp of greatness before falling due to poor FT shooting (Nick Anderson), Injuries (penny) & FA (Shaq)).
The Bulls 1st Championship? Destroyed the Pistons in the conference finals ... and then beat MAGIC'S Lakers in 5 ...

You talk about Magic and Bird beforehand ... Those teams were INCREDIBLE - Magic/Kareem/Worthy ... Bird/Chief/DJ/McHale ... Jordan go into the NBA when they were in their POMP ... It's like slamming Shaq for not winning with the Magic when he was coming up against far more set up teams.

The Bulls were a nothing franchise without Jordan ...They've not come close to winning one since.

 

[Modo]

I'll give you the first title maybe the second. But after that, no team could compete with the Bulls.
Pistons were old, magic and bird retired.
If magic didn't get HIV that season Lakers probably would have won it again.
Nah, Jordan was great but I'm not alone in thinking that the league was weak despite Olajuwon, Barkley, Ewing etc.

 

[Rosco]

I suppose the above shows that Jordan v. Lebron is now a proper conversation.

Jordan obviously has more championships but their career stats averages are such that you could make a case for Lebron as the greatest.

I know Jordan has an excellent reputation as a defender (as well as scorer) but did he ever defend 1-5 in the way Lebron does ?

Watched game 7 last night. Not the finest spectacle but it was gripping.

Steph might have temporarily replaced LeBron as the best in the NBA midseason but i think he reclaimed the crown in the finals.

 

[Modo]

Lebron is in my opinion the best allround player in basketball history.
The stats prove it.
He's basically the Steven Gerrard of basketball.

Those blocks he did on Curry and Iguodala can be compared to Gerrard last ditch tackles, when chases down players.

Those clutch three pointers, Gerrard shots from outside the box.

Versatility, Lebron can play as a guard, power forward, small forward even center if he wants. Gerrard at RB, DM, CM, AM, RM, LM.

Team captains.

Both leading their home town/state teams to glory. Except the league...

 

[peekay]

The nba was at it's weakest when Jordan won those 6 titles.

He was 29 when he first won it.

Ask yourself what happened in the years before?
I'll tell ya...........he was being pwned by the Pistons.
Before that he had nothing on Magic and Bird.

He took two years off and the fucking Rockets won it, the fucking Rockets....

Lot of people here in the US use the same argument for Lebron. The east is at its weakest in years. Lebron does not face any decent challengers until the final. He can afford to relax during regular season and just focus his energies on the playoffs.

By the way initial reports on US TV is that Lebron will be staying in Cleveland.

 

[LeTallecWiz]

I know Jordan has an excellent reputation as a defender (as well as scorer) but did he ever defend 1-5 in the way Lebron does ?

Jordan was a better overall defender, but he had the advantage of that era imo. He did guard 1-5.

Nah, Jordan was great but I'm not alone in thinking that the league was weak despite Olajuwon, Barkley, Ewing etc.

Ok. Your logic wrt Jordan doesn't really allow you to argue that LeBron is the greatest ever ... you do realize that right?
Jordan's Bulls dicked the Lakers non-stop ... Read what Magic says about Jordan during Olympics ...

 

[Modo]

Jordan was a better overall defender, but he had the advantage of that era imo. He did guard 1-5.



Ok. Your logic wrt Jordan doesn't really allow you to argue that LeBron is the greatest ever ... you do realize that right?
Jordan's Bulls dicked the Lakers non-stop ... Read what Magic says about Jordan during Olympics ...

Yeah probably.

 

[DHSC]

Enough with the GOAT discussions.

ITS TRADING AND DRAFTING TIME!

Knicks trade Lopez plus players to Chicago for Rose.

Would be interesting to see if Rose plays well with Carmelo. Also, looks like Knicks will be getting Noah or Gasol as a free agent.

Atlanta trades Teague to Indiana and Indiana trades George Hill to Utah.

Draft tomorrow too. Would be interesting to see what Boston does with its 8(!) picks.

Expecting Simmons and Ingram to go 1-2. Lakers have an easy choice, one or the other. Surely Sixers won't pass on Simmons....

 

[Modo]

Interesting seeing the Knicks making moves. Dunno of Melo and Rose will play well together. Mello has always thought he's the one.
Mello, Rose, Porzingis might give the cavs some trouble in the East.

 

[LeTallecWiz]

Interesting seeing the Knicks making moves. Dunno of Melo and Rose will play well together. Mello has always thought he's the one.
Mello, Rose, Porzingis might give the cavs some trouble in the East.

The key is if they get Noah ... If they get a defensive force int he middle, with the height of Kristaps (not to mention Rose is a pretty solid defender), they can be very very danerous.

 

[Modo]

The key is if they get Noah ... If they get a defensive force int he middle, with the height of Kristaps (not to mention Rose is a pretty solid defender), they can be very very danerous.

Noah has been crap this season. Injured and crap. I'm not sure that he'll be kept in.

 

[LeTallecWiz]

Noah has been crap this season. Injured and crap. I'm not sure that he'll be kept in.

as long as he gives the defense, that's all he needs to do ... and he's a top top defensive center.

I bet they go after dwight howard

 

[Modo]

as long as he gives the defense, that's all he needs to do ... and he's a top top defensive center.

I bet they go after dwight howard

Dwight is looking for a max contract I think. Dunno if they can afford him. Unless they fill their open spots with scrubs and that team won't make any kind of final.
To tell you the truth, what both Lakers and the Knicks need are winners.
The ultimate one would be Lebron.