The Indy Talks To Himself (NBA) Thread.

They'll say Kyrie took the shot.

 

Not an unfair point, but the amount of parity and inter-season transformation in the NBA is not insignificant. It's not like the 80's when it was going to be the Lakers and the Celtics every year. I don't know that dynasty presumption is a safe practice. How much do you trust Steph Curry's ankles?

And so while I agree that a CLE/GSW rematch in the finals next season is more likely than any other hypothetical matchup, I think a GM has to make personnel decisions with a view towards holistic improvement and not just a specific matchup. Now could they move Love and become a better team overall as a result? Sure, it's possible. But do you blow up the core of a team that just won the chip?

I guess it depends.

 

The only reason Lebron won those championships with the Heat is because of Mike Miller and Ray Allen.*

*People actually make this claim, and not all of them are trolling.

 

I agree that Detroit used to be cool. And I further agree that it has a few remnants....but only if "a few remnants" is code for "a few cities worth of vacant property."

 

His being unguardable made the space for LeBron and it's absolutely where they went with the ball when they had to stop a run or needed a big bucket.

 

I said it before the series started and throughout. They have s better team for the playoffs. Look at the matchups. Without about 3 shading LeBron, they can't deal with him when they play small, which they do a lot. Rudy had nobody at all to deal with Irving. Two scoring options that the other team has no prayer to guard is a problem for a team relying heavily on the 3 in a lightly officiated finals.

 

Who said that? They won because the heat had the best team and LeBron was the best player.

 

Winning a 7 game series doesn't help? The defense of GS is overrated. They play small and have to try to win with the 3 as games get tight. It's a bad makeup to win it all. I don't think they could have beaten the Spurs either. Seriously, the Warriors shouldn't have won game 1 either.

 

No doubt? In a lineup building title teams from everyone who has played, you take LeBron in the top 3 without doubt?

I think he's one of the best ever, but I don't build title team with him as a top 3 guy. Alcindor is 1 for me and Jordan 2. 3 is hotly debatable. I'd probably take Magic 3rd, but there is still Chamberlain, West, Robertson, Bird, LeBron and Russell to take for that next spot.

 

Last night wasn't one of the finest. He shot about 40%.

That said, looking at the series stats on the whole, he was the MVP. Kyrie turned the series around and his efficiency and Curry's lack thereof was THE difference. LeBron's getting his because he can't be guarded if he's shooting it well.

The triple double silliness is the most overblown crap I've seen. Tossing over to Kyrie who drills a contested 3 is as much of an assist as I made on the play. The rebounds-meh. Love even had 14 last night. Kyrie even defended Curry.

Again, LeBron is the best player on the floor every time he walks on it, period. He might be the best guy on the floor, but shooting 40% isn't one of the finest.

 

Im with Legler. The switches 30 feet from the basket were silly. Kerr's dogmatic switching killed them. LeBron and Kyrie anytime were mismatches on every switch. Sticking to them that far from the basket was silly.

 

82 year old Richard Jefferson retiring after getting a ring.

 

Winner and loser aside. The last 4 mins of the game set organized basketball back to its inception. Outside of Irving finally dropping the big shot it was terrible basketball by both teams.

 

I am no Lebron fan, and in fact, my opinion of him has only vacillated between acute and openly mocking disdain, to a begrudging and half-hearted respect, and that, purely for his athletic skill and physical stature, alone. Such remains, and largely unchanged, but that's on me, and not him.

Stats silliness aside, when every chip was down and lesser players would have long ago folded their tent, Lebron lead that team to a championship on the biggest stage, when it mattered the most. And he not only bucked history by the 3-1 rally, heretofore an impossible feat to everyone who's ever played before, but did so against arguably the game's best player, perhaps the best team in a generation, and by handing three straight losses to a team that had lost only 10 all (regular) season - two of which were in their house.

And in so doing, he renders mute any argument as to his rightful place amongst the very upper echelon of the greatest players to ever play the game, with only the title of GOAT being out of his reach (that's Jordan, and Lebron long ago missed any chance to surpass him, if such was ever possible to begin with).

I still don't like the guy, wouldn't give a shit if he never played another game, or care if I ever saw his face or heard his too-often overblown hype machine again. But you'll play hell in nitpicking or diminishing what he accomplished, and can't fail to give the man the totality of credit that he's clearly earned and which is rightfully due.

 

I don't have anything against Lebron. I wanted his Heat teams to lose for the same reason I wanted the Cavs to win this year. Usually just go against the flow with NBA since I really don't have much rooting interest

 

That's me. He deserved this win. He went back and brought those fans what they believed he was bringing from the day he was drafted. Outcome was fantastic for him and them. I also don't like the 3 ball living that Kerr espouses. It isn't made for titles. It's made for flashy offense and regular season accolades. Playoffs are radically different. I don't like that this thing went back to the holding and mugging that NBA ball evolved to and I think GS has helped move away from it, but the 3 ball under pressure is no way to win it all.

 

I'm right with you except this part. He's still playing. If you're dismissing his chances now, you're biased. I'm not saying he is the best, I'm just saying he's still playing.

 

The difference between Lebron and Jordan in my mind is that once Jordan got the Bulls over the hump you just KNEW they were going to win. It always felt inevitable. Chalk that up to whatever reasons you want. I just haven't gotten that same feeling from Lebron and his teams, though he's proved himself too.

 

Jordan had teams that could win 55 games without him. LeBron had Sasha Pavlovic.

 

I don't think it's biased to say that you think you've seen enough to know he's not the best ever. I have reached that point with Curry for instance. It may make me mistaken. It doesn't mean I'm biased. It's a subjective thing.