NBA Finals discussion

[Wally_West]

https://mobile.twitter.com/espn/status/744752899650093057

[Aztec Sunsfan]

Moral of the story, you dont call LeBron James a bitch. Never poke the bear. Good for Cleveland, but I'm of the anyone but Golden State attitude. Screw them and their ridiculous cocky attitude and gross bandwagon fans.

THIS.

GS bought the hype and eventually choked on their own kool aid (Since the OKC series). Sad to watch them become more of a diva bunch as the playoffs progresed, I liked them a lot at first, but after the OKC series, it was picking the least disgusting team between them and the Cleveland Lebrons.

[Ring_Wanted]

LeBron belongs now in the Pantheon. It is not just Michael-Larry-Magic anymore.

[ShelC]

What about Kobe? DWade?

[Ring_Wanted]

Better. Maybe Kobe. More dominant at least. But this finals, against this team, losing 3-1. 27-11-11 and 5 stocks (one of the blocks really clutch)...

[O_Gardino]

yeah, LeBron probably lead all finals players in stocks, too!

[Mori Chu]

So disappointed. The Warriors just didn't play consistently smart basketball. Chucking up 3s from 10 feet behind the line? Behind the back passes out of bounds? That is regular season, we're up by 20 to the Kings, stuff right there. Starting Ezili and putting him back in in the second half? That's your big adjustment? Ugh.

Curry, Klay, and Barnes all could have played so much better. And in a close game, any one of them going off would have gotten the Ws the W.

I am sad that Lebron got a 3rd title; this changes the outlook on the Ws season and on Lebron's career as a whole. Huge comeback victory for them.

[Furlanfufi]

This loss is on Kerr.
The Ezeli time in the 4th led to a 6 point turnaround that could've sealed the game.
He should have trusted Livingston and Barbosa more.

And Harrison Barnes lost more money than he can count.


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[ShelC]

Jumpshots had to stop falling at some point. Ws just ran out of juice and the Cavs' physicality wore them down. Live by the 3, die by the 3.

[Sunsfan4life]

Two observations:

I crushed Tritian Thompson's contract on the off-season. He's a Rich Paul guy so it is easy to crush it. But he was huge in this series. His defense on Steph allowed
Lue to keep him on the floor because he wasn't a liability in P&R's. That was 1 of the main reasons Cleveland won. Because his ability to cover Curry in the perimeter and Ezeil and Vareajos lack of, it forced Kerr to play small ball while Thompson banged the boards or forced him to try and match up which Cleveland exploited. Props to Thompson.

Draymond Green was a beast last night. He showed up in spades for the W's in all phases. I also like the fact that he stuck around after they lost to offer congrats. It's a tough time and some W's players left the court but he wasn't one of them (Steph stuck around too).

Ultimately I'd say the top 5 reasons Cleveland won this series was...

1. Lebron going GOAT the last 3 games
2. Kyrie outplaying Curry in every game/Curry becoming a major liability on D toward the end of the series.
3. The Ability of Thompson to not be a liability when the Warriors went small, thus giving Cleveland an advantage on the glass and forcing Kerr into a bad decision in a crucial time.
4. Steve Kerr's questionable coaching decisions (why not more Livingston? Why force that big man lineup at the end? Stuck with Barnes to long)
5. The Draymond Suspension in Game 5

[Sunsfan4life]

This loss is on Kerr.
The Ezeli time in the 4th led to a 6 point turnaround that could've sealed the game.
He should have trusted Livingston and Barbosa more.

And Harrison Barnes lost more money than he can count.


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I know it downgrades you in size a little bit but He made 2 bad blunders down the stretch by first playing FESTUS then going to a guy in Barnes who the Cavs were just leaving open rather then Livingston. Livingston is a better defender too. He deserved more then 16mins in that game.

I would of probabaly taken a timeout to after Kyrie hit that 3, if not immediately then definitely after Curry dribbled the ball at the top of the key for what seemed like forever.

[Indy]

I have been a hater on LeBron (but that isn't fair, because what I hate is seeing the Cavs org bow down to him again and again), but he just proved he is better than anyone we have seen play basketball in the last 20 years. I can't speak to the Wilt/Russel/West/Kareem eras, but what I saw in this series is as good as any series I've ever seen Jordan, Magic or Bird play. And I would argue it was against greater odds. Congrats to him for winning a ring for his home town. That has to be an amazing feeling for anyone, but for a Cleveland guy, you had +50 years of karma stacked against you.

[JCSunsfan]

Moral of the story, you dont call LeBron James a bitch. Never poke the bear. Good for Cleveland, but I'm of the anyone but Golden State attitude. Screw them and their ridiculous cocky attitude and gross bandwagon fans.

THIS.

GS bought the hype and eventually choked on their own kool aid (Since the OKC series). Sad to watch them become more of a diva bunch as the playoffs progresed, I liked them a lot at first, but after the OKC series, it was picking the least disgusting team between them and the Cleveland Lebrons.

That is really silly. You are in the finals and you need some trash talk to motivate you? The moral of the story is don't consistently take nut shots, get suspended, and potentially cost your injury slowed team a title. Steph was not right, probably still injured. Bogut was out. Iggy wasn't completely healthy. That team needs everyone for it to succeed. They do not have a single player that can put everyone on his back and carry them. Steph is great, but he cannot succeed alone. The Cavs had huge injury issues last year and lost. The W's had some injury issues this year and lost. Dem's da breaks.

[JCSunsfan]

I have been a hater on LeBron (but that isn't fair, because what I hate is seeing the Cavs org bow down to him again and again), but he just proved he is better than anyone we have seen play basketball in the last 20 years. I can't speak to the Russel/West/Kareem eras, but what I saw in this series is as good as any series I've ever seen Jordan, Magic or Bird play. And I would argue it was against greater odds. Congrats to him for winning a ring for his home town. That has to be an amazing feeling for anyone, but for a Cleveland guy, you had +50 years of karma stacked against you.

I have to agree with you. And I do not like the narcissistic LeBron. This series was as good as any I have ever seen by any player. He led all players in this series in scoring, rebounding, assists, steals and blocks--every major category. He hasn't performed as consistently as Jordan, but he would have physically overpowered Jordan. He is definitely a top 5 player all-time. I still think Chamberlain was the best, but that is another discussion.

[Superbone]

The Cavs had huge injury issues last year and lost. The W's had some injury issues this year and lost. Dem's da breaks.

You like apples?...

[Big Jake Little Jake]

I felt like neither team actually ran a play for the last 3 or 4 minutes of the game. It was usually just a pick and pop to get a mismatch, then the ball handler (usually Lebron/Irving or Curry) would just dribble the ball for 10 seconds and everyone would just stand around, then he'd take a long, contested jumper. So weird to watch, especially from the Warriors who have had incredible ball movement all season.

Not sure why this hero ball stuff is so prevalent now in close games. Doesn't anyone remember Michael Jordan PASSING to wide open guys for big shots? (oh yeah, we do...)

I blame Kobe for all of this.

[JustWinBaby]

The NBA needs to come up with a penalty for roughing the PG, when he doesn't have the ball. The NFL protects quarterbacks. Why not protect PG's?

The game always seems to get rougher in the playoffs. What in the rules allows that to happen? Maybe they really do not play by any rules, in the playoffs.

Why is being physical such an important factor? I thought the game was based on skill and agility, not thuggery. The game always changes in the playoffs for all teams. Why?

[Sunsfan4life]

The NBA needs to come up with a penalty for roughing the PG, when he doesn't have the ball. The NFL protects quarterbacks. Why not protect PG's?

The game always seems to get rougher in the playoffs. What in the rules allows that to happen? Maybe they really do not play by any rules, in the playoffs.

Why is being physical such an important factor?

I couldn't disagree more. It's part of the game. The game is already too soft as it is. I loved the mid/early 90's days where you could be more physical. They're already calling Flagrants for guys simply going for pump fakes and landing on other guys.

[Indy]

The NBA needs to come up with a penalty for roughing the PG, when he doesn't have the ball. The NFL protects quarterbacks. Why not protect PG's?

The game always seems to get rougher in the playoffs. What in the rules allows that to happen? Maybe they really do not play by any rules, in the playoffs.

Why is being physical such an important factor?

I couldn't disagree more. It's part of the game. The game is already too soft as it is. I loved the mid/early 90's days where you could be more physical. They're already calling Flagrants for guys simply going for pump fakes and landing on other guys.

I think there is somewhere in between that. I want to see the athletic guys be athletic. I don't want you to call a hand-check penalty in the regular season and not call it in the playoffs. Speed and agility are what make the game fun to watch, not pounding the ball on the block for 10 seconds of every possession. The late 90s were awful to watch.

[In2ition]

I'm happy for the Cavs and Lebron. Never really understood all the hate he got and still gets. I can just appreciate his talent on the court.