While I don't see eye to eye with your logic, I do see where your assertion is coming from. However, I think you have misinterpreted the motives of the great one. I think he would much rather bring as many championships to Cleveland than he would a few here and few there. If LBJ pulls this thing off, the city of Cleveland will be a hot spot for new talent. Players will want to come to Cleveland. LBJ doesn't just want a ring, he wants to create a dynasty. He has done more for Cleveland in the last four years than Cleveland has done for itself in the last forty (other than make little baby James). Watch it happen. The KG Theory proves it all. Players will take talented teams over bigger pay checks. Amare or Bosh in '10. Quote me on it. It's gonna happen.
LeBron will be wearing a NY Knicks jersey come '10. Him and Jay-Z are good friends, plus, he'll make more money than God playing for NY. Lets be realistic. He's clearly already stated interest in moving there.
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LeBron will be wearing a NY Knicks jersey come '10. Him and Jay-Z are good friends, plus, he'll make more money than God playing for NY. Lets be realistic. He's clearly already stated interest in moving there.
Let me understand you. The first point your making here is that LeBron is moving to NY because Jay Z and him are good friends? I don't know if you knew this, but both of those guys are already making more money than God. LeBron makes more from endorsements than he does his salary...it doens't matter where the hell he plays. If Jay Z and LeBron want to be roomies together they can probably just buy Wyoming.
I think the Knicks hold some more interest for LBJ than just money and Jay-Z. I believe they have a top notch coach in Dantoni with a good group of young players to boot. Cleveland would be a very enticing place to go after this season, regardless of winning a championship or not...but then it's been appealing for the last couple years i think...and look how that's worked out. They've added pieces, but nothing along the lines of a superstar. I can't imagine the Cavs coming up with the money to satisfy LBJ AND another superstar the likes of Bosh or Stoudemire.
Either way, I think LBJ could easily wind up staying with the Cavs...i just don't expect to see the Cavs then following up with the addition of some other star power.
Random tangential question: Do any of you find yourselves rooting for the Magic over some-random-team simply because of their name?
*Oh yeah...LBJ has not earned the nickname 'the great one' yet...only The Great One, His Airness, is truly deserving of that at this point. (I'm talking about Michael Jordan...if there was any confusion).
*Also, the Mavs got robbed because of ONE call. That has happened at LEAST once every year since the dawn of basketball. Game four was a circus. It was whistle after whistle after whistle in favor of the Mavs over petty calls. Denver's shooting percentage was ridiculously better than the Mavs. Turnovers and free throws won that game for them. Mind you, I am not a Nugs or Mavs fan. Actually think that series is boring because I care not for any of those players. I am telling you what I saw from an unbiased perspective.
That ONE call happened to be the biggest call of the game, because it would have stopped the clock with just over a second to go, and then Denver would have to try to pull some miracle out of their ass instead of having all that time. That was a huge call, and a huge blown call at that. This wasn't your run of the mill missed traveling call midway through the second quarter. This more than likely literally cost them the game.
Really? The Cavs have played 8 games. They've won in double digits every game. These teams are playing their hearts out and the Cavs have yet to show any perseverance. The Cavs are the hungriest team in the NBA for a championship. I can't believe you would say that.
Yes, the Cavs have won by double digits. They played the terrible Pistons who every analyst said had given up by the middle of game 2 except Stuckey and Bynum. Also, the Pistons are terrible and wouldn't have made the playoffs in the west. The Hawks didn't have Marvin Williams (a starter) and Horford was hurt a significant amount of time (a starter, and one of their few big guys). The Hawks wouldn't have made the playoffs in the west because they aren't good, nor were they full strength to begin with.
I hope you read that and don't disregard it like you did my last post. Cleveland has yet to be tested, and the teams really haven't been playing their heart out against the Cavs. I want to see what the Cavs do against the Lakers (most likely) in the finals. They are going to get a rude awakening when they have to play a team that isn't injury plagued, talented, and has a superstar that is on par with Lebron.
Also, I see Lebron going to New York no matter what happens. He wants to be a billionaire, and he will have a better shot at that by going to New York and getting more exposure there. I think it will eventually boil down to a money thing, which is unfortunate, but I think New York will be his eventual destination.
That ONE call happened to be the biggest call of the game, because it would have stopped the clock with just over a second to go, and then Denver would have to try to pull some miracle out of their ass instead of having all that time. That was a huge call, and a huge blown call at that. This wasn't your run of the mill missed traveling call midway through the second quarter. This more than likely literally cost them the game.
.
Oh I completely flipped when I watched that game. I was so angry that I knew Mavs wouldn't lose the next one.
So mad. That call was clear and the foul was obvious. It wasn't a usualy run of the mill "tug on the shirt" foul it was an aggressive intentional foul. I figure the best we could have hoped for was overtime though. Foul two shots mavs down the line fouled by the other team to stop the clock (but you'd figure Nugs making both foul baskets would prefer overtime to the possibility of losing the game on an errant lucky shot with too much time on the clock....relatively speaking since there wasn't much time left)
That lack of a call was crap. An apology doesn't win the game.
Yeah, I know the importance of that call. And it was one bad call. One. Just one. There is controversy over calls like that every season in the finals, it a lot less of a big deal than having a team [the Mavs] backpack their victory on petty whistles that net them almost 30 points in the fourth quarter. Game 3 was a bad whistle. Game 4 looked rigged. Even if they did get the foul, Denver had a strong chance to tie...Melo is a good free throw shooter.
Anyways. I didn't disregard your analysis of the Cavs not being tested. I've said the same thing, I just didn't feel like repeating myself.
The Cavs had the best record this season. 32-1 at home. They have garnered home court advantage for the rest of the playoffs, which means they will be quiet the threat.
Additionally, Cavs haven't been tested, nor HAVE THEY TESTED ANYONE (they just showed up and won on auto pilot). The Cavs are alot better than the Rockets and they have two wins over the Lakers. Granted, Battier and Artest are arguably some of the best defenders in the league right now, but the Cavaliers are also the best defensive team in the league. It is their strong suit. The whole argument whether they have been tested or not is interpreted like its some kind of weakness. Wait until the Cavs have to step up and test themselves, they will be stronger than Captain Planet and Teen Wolf combined.
The thing about the blown call game 3 against the mavs was that the foul WOULDN'T have sent Melo to the line for two free throws. The Mavs had a foul to give, and the Nuggets would have had to take the bowl out of bounds on the side line, inbound it, take a quick dribble and chuck the ball up there and hope it went in. It wasn't automatic free throws, but it completely disrupts the flow and momentum if the Nuggets had to stop, reset, inbound and make a shot with just over a second.
See, I guess I just disagree on the scenarios between game 3 and 4. I didn't watch game 4 because I had to work, but I could imagine the officiating was terrible. I just think that if you have a whole quarter to operate with, you can take some of it into your own hands by forcing turnovers, making shots on your end and just keep working. There is a whole quarter to work with. But the game blown call was so bad it single handedly lost the game for them, and the NBA had to apologize it was so dreadful. The NBA didn't apologize for game 4's officiating even though I'm sure they needed to. That swung the whole series, as the series could be 2-2 right now, but now the Nuggets will almost undoubtedly close out the series at home, get significant rest time while the Lakers have to finish off the Rockets, and they have more time to scout. It makes a huge difference going forward.
The Cavs don't need to test anyone at this point, honestly. No one needs to test the Pistons or Hawks to see what they are made of. They aren't going to need to test the bi-polar Magic team, or Celtics team who is playing on fumes and missing their best player. They aren't going to have to test anyone until the finals. I would be interested to see Houston play the Cavs in a 7 game series, with a healthy Yao just to see how it went because I'm sure Houston could get at least 2 against the Cavs as well. And yes, the Cavs are a huge threat, I won't deny that, they have Lebron so they are no joke, but its just his supporting cast that worries me because I just don't think they are very good.
Didn't see any of the game 5 that went down last night, but as expected the Nuggets close it out. I hope to see the Lakers do the same thing tonight in Houston...hopefully that game 4 was something of a wake-up call that they cannot coast and expect to win. But then, there have been many potential 'wake-up calls' so far in the playoffs that have had no apparent effect...so why would that change now?
The cavs don't have to test anyone...they were the best in the regular season. bad teams were tested and proven to be bad teams...it's the good ones that need to be put up against a wall to see how they react. The teams with championship aspirations. The Lakers are/were being tested in this Houston series and you can be damn sure they'll be tested against the nuggets. I still hold out hope that the Magic can pull it together and give Cleveland something to worry about, but again...they haven't done it yet, so what cause do i have to be hopeful?
Also...how do you imagine the Lakers would have done so far in the playoffs if they had to face Detroit followed by Atlanta? Especially an injured Atlanta. Given their propensity to just let one go, i could see them being 8-1, but 8-0 is equally as likely...and by double digits each game. Cleveland is currently doing exactly what we expect them to, badly beating teams that have no business being in the playoffs.
Rockets champion the Lakers tonight. I would love to see the Rockets bring the hot fire back in L.A. but I don't know if its going to happen.
I really don't know who wins in the Celtics and Magic. They both are streaky right now and I also don't really care. Actually, I'd like to Boston and Cleveland on second thought.
The "no chance" Rockets taking the Lakers to 7. The Lakers are exposing themselves as frauds, they are one-man gang right now on the road and Kobe isn't even playing his best basketball which is bad news for the Lakers. Home court helps huge for LA but if they play the way they played tonight they are going to lose at home.
Personally I'd love to see both LA and Boston go down and see a Orlando vs Houston matchup just so Tracy McGrady can go cry himself a river. And David Stern too.
...Orlando would still have that obstacle of the Cavs.
I will be pissed if the Lakers don't make it to the Finals. I want an epic Championship this year. I will be good for my arguments against strangers who say Kobe is better than LeBron. I will be able to retort, "Who won the '09 Championship, again?"
It is a cheap point, but none the less aggravating to defend.
If LBJ wins the title this year and the Lakers can't get past the Rockets, there really isn't much of a debate is there?
I can see the Kobe freaks go on about how the West was SOOOOO much better than the East, and blah blah blah. If the Lakers go head to head with the Cavs, and lose, I will probably have an easier time convincing my nay-sayers that Kobe is less of a man than LeBron.
If the Rockets win, the guys I play basketball with (lots of them take Men's League pretty seriously as well as their love for the Lakers) will never hear the end of it from me. I am the biggest **** talker on the court as it is (except I'm the lovably hilarious type, not the tragic and depressing type - most nights at least) and my ability to enrage the other team will be as easy as getting a few point lead and saying [something ironic about the Lakers not winning].
...what an atrocious game. As much as I'm going to continue rooting for LA and defending Kobe...they're not going to even make the Finals playing like that. It's like every time they win a game, everyone but Kobe just tells themselves "ok, that was easy...we got this series in the bag" and then decides not to show up the next game. Of course, what destroyed them last night is the thing they're worst at defending: the pick'n'roll. Phillie needs to instill some discipline in these damn kids, people like Farmar and Vujachic just mailing it in on defense and not defending things consistently...
I have faith we'll win in game 7 though. By the second half of the 3rd quarter and the 4th quarter LA was actually showing a slight semblance of defense and forcing Houston into difficult shots. The Rockets managed to make all of them...but that's neither here nor there, if we can play that level of defense the entire game we'll likely win as Houston probably can't duplicate that nigh-70% shooting on difficult shots.
Also: GO MAGIC! break that 32-0 Celtics streak (never losing a series when up 3-2).
I agree that it should have been rescinded but if that was Luke Walton who was that close to an automatic suspension you know the NBA probably wouldn't even bother looking into the matter ;).
Probably, but don't teams have to actually file a complaint or something as opposed to just letting the league look into it?
Whoa. I got up late to watch Boston-Orlando, and when I turned on the TV it was halfway through the 4th. Knowing the Magic, I tuned in to the last 5-6 minutes, waiting any moment for the choke bug.
It didn't come. Great game played by the Magic. For both them and the Lakers, it's a sigh of relief - one team didn't choke, the other got the good side out of their bipolarity.
So yes, Bipolar LA and Bored Cleveland are still on collision to meet. One last matchup for both. I'd say Lakers in 6 and uh, Cavs in 6...
Great win by the Magic, they dominated all game. I'm saying Cav's sweep, Denver in 6 and Cav's win in 7 over Denver.
Denver has clearly played better all post season, and I really think Nene is going to dominate Bynum, and LA has no one to check Carmello. Kobe is going to get his 30 or so every night, but K-Mart has a good chance of putting Pau down and Bynum has not been good enough to get around Nene.
Between Kobe and Odom I think they will do fine on Melo. Denver has no one to check Kobe, but then again LA doesn't have an answer to Billups who has been the key for them all year. Even though LA has been bipolar much like the magic, I still think they will win.
I hope the Magic win too, but LA and Orlando can't keep playing consistent so we will see.
Can't say i know too much about how specific matchups will work out in the denver/LA series...but i think the Lakers have sufficient players to defend Melo...it's Billups and the inside guys that are troublesome. If Bynum can use this last Game 7 as a stepping stone to getting his game back up...then LA has a great chance of winning. If he goes back to playing like it was game 6 or earlier...LA is in serious trouble.
I wouldn't totally discount Fisher in the point guard matchups. He can play some top tier defense when he needs to.
Even with all that said...as a Lakers fan i'm scared to be playing the Nuggets. They've looked frakkin' unstoppable all post-season...tomorrow night will be interesting.
I am still convinced Cleveland will dominate the Magic. However, I am curious to know how the Nuggets match up against the Lakers. The Nuggets are looking pretty dangerous. I didn't think I'd be considering the Nuggets for the finals, but I think I like them over the Lakers...at least for now. I'll tell you how i feel after game 2.
Well some minor surprises in the NBA world today...
Lakers win a game they really have no place winning as they were outplayed nearly all game except in the final 2 minutes. Obviously that is when you can take over a game but again they have trouble proving they are the "best team in the west without a doubt".
Clippers secure the #1 pick, tough break potentially for Blake Griffin that is a team I would hate to play on. They have a lot of selfish ball players and that team has no chemistry at all. Davis is a wreck and Randolph doesn't know what the word pass means. Hopefully the Clips pull their common let random player walk philosophy though. They didn't even throw up a fuss when Elton Brand left for instance.
LeBron will be wearing a NY Knicks jersey come '10. Him and Jay-Z are good friends, plus, he'll make more money than God playing for NY. Lets be realistic. He's clearly already stated interest in moving there.
Let me understand you. The first point your making here is that LeBron is moving to NY because Jay Z and him are good friends? I don't know if you knew this, but both of those guys are already making more money than God. LeBron makes more from endorsements than he does his salary...it doens't matter where the hell he plays. If Jay Z and LeBron want to be roomies together they can probably just buy Wyoming.
Either way, I think LBJ could easily wind up staying with the Cavs...i just don't expect to see the Cavs then following up with the addition of some other star power.
Random tangential question: Do any of you find yourselves rooting for the Magic over some-random-team simply because of their name?
*Oh yeah...LBJ has not earned the nickname 'the great one' yet...only The Great One, His Airness, is truly deserving of that at this point. (I'm talking about Michael Jordan...if there was any confusion).
Sadly, that is why they are my favorite Eastern Conference team.
That ONE call happened to be the biggest call of the game, because it would have stopped the clock with just over a second to go, and then Denver would have to try to pull some miracle out of their ass instead of having all that time. That was a huge call, and a huge blown call at that. This wasn't your run of the mill missed traveling call midway through the second quarter. This more than likely literally cost them the game.
Yes, the Cavs have won by double digits. They played the terrible Pistons who every analyst said had given up by the middle of game 2 except Stuckey and Bynum. Also, the Pistons are terrible and wouldn't have made the playoffs in the west. The Hawks didn't have Marvin Williams (a starter) and Horford was hurt a significant amount of time (a starter, and one of their few big guys). The Hawks wouldn't have made the playoffs in the west because they aren't good, nor were they full strength to begin with.
I hope you read that and don't disregard it like you did my last post. Cleveland has yet to be tested, and the teams really haven't been playing their heart out against the Cavs. I want to see what the Cavs do against the Lakers (most likely) in the finals. They are going to get a rude awakening when they have to play a team that isn't injury plagued, talented, and has a superstar that is on par with Lebron.
Also, I see Lebron going to New York no matter what happens. He wants to be a billionaire, and he will have a better shot at that by going to New York and getting more exposure there. I think it will eventually boil down to a money thing, which is unfortunate, but I think New York will be his eventual destination.
Oh I completely flipped when I watched that game. I was so angry that I knew Mavs wouldn't lose the next one.
So mad. That call was clear and the foul was obvious. It wasn't a usualy run of the mill "tug on the shirt" foul it was an aggressive intentional foul. I figure the best we could have hoped for was overtime though. Foul two shots mavs down the line fouled by the other team to stop the clock (but you'd figure Nugs making both foul baskets would prefer overtime to the possibility of losing the game on an errant lucky shot with too much time on the clock....relatively speaking since there wasn't much time left)
That lack of a call was crap. An apology doesn't win the game.
Anyways. I didn't disregard your analysis of the Cavs not being tested. I've said the same thing, I just didn't feel like repeating myself.
The Cavs had the best record this season. 32-1 at home. They have garnered home court advantage for the rest of the playoffs, which means they will be quiet the threat.
Additionally, Cavs haven't been tested, nor HAVE THEY TESTED ANYONE (they just showed up and won on auto pilot). The Cavs are alot better than the Rockets and they have two wins over the Lakers. Granted, Battier and Artest are arguably some of the best defenders in the league right now, but the Cavaliers are also the best defensive team in the league. It is their strong suit. The whole argument whether they have been tested or not is interpreted like its some kind of weakness. Wait until the Cavs have to step up and test themselves, they will be stronger than Captain Planet and Teen Wolf combined.
See, I guess I just disagree on the scenarios between game 3 and 4. I didn't watch game 4 because I had to work, but I could imagine the officiating was terrible. I just think that if you have a whole quarter to operate with, you can take some of it into your own hands by forcing turnovers, making shots on your end and just keep working. There is a whole quarter to work with. But the game blown call was so bad it single handedly lost the game for them, and the NBA had to apologize it was so dreadful. The NBA didn't apologize for game 4's officiating even though I'm sure they needed to. That swung the whole series, as the series could be 2-2 right now, but now the Nuggets will almost undoubtedly close out the series at home, get significant rest time while the Lakers have to finish off the Rockets, and they have more time to scout. It makes a huge difference going forward.
The Cavs don't need to test anyone at this point, honestly. No one needs to test the Pistons or Hawks to see what they are made of. They aren't going to need to test the bi-polar Magic team, or Celtics team who is playing on fumes and missing their best player. They aren't going to have to test anyone until the finals. I would be interested to see Houston play the Cavs in a 7 game series, with a healthy Yao just to see how it went because I'm sure Houston could get at least 2 against the Cavs as well. And yes, the Cavs are a huge threat, I won't deny that, they have Lebron so they are no joke, but its just his supporting cast that worries me because I just don't think they are very good.
The cavs don't have to test anyone...they were the best in the regular season. bad teams were tested and proven to be bad teams...it's the good ones that need to be put up against a wall to see how they react. The teams with championship aspirations. The Lakers are/were being tested in this Houston series and you can be damn sure they'll be tested against the nuggets. I still hold out hope that the Magic can pull it together and give Cleveland something to worry about, but again...they haven't done it yet, so what cause do i have to be hopeful?
Also...how do you imagine the Lakers would have done so far in the playoffs if they had to face Detroit followed by Atlanta? Especially an injured Atlanta. Given their propensity to just let one go, i could see them being 8-1, but 8-0 is equally as likely...and by double digits each game. Cleveland is currently doing exactly what we expect them to, badly beating teams that have no business being in the playoffs.
I really don't know who wins in the Celtics and Magic. They both are streaky right now and I also don't really care. Actually, I'd like to Boston and Cleveland on second thought.
...Orlando would still have that obstacle of the Cavs.
I will be pissed if the Lakers don't make it to the Finals. I want an epic Championship this year. I will be good for my arguments against strangers who say Kobe is better than LeBron. I will be able to retort, "Who won the '09 Championship, again?"
It is a cheap point, but none the less aggravating to defend.
I can see the Kobe freaks go on about how the West was SOOOOO much better than the East, and blah blah blah. If the Lakers go head to head with the Cavs, and lose, I will probably have an easier time convincing my nay-sayers that Kobe is less of a man than LeBron.
If the Rockets win, the guys I play basketball with (lots of them take Men's League pretty seriously as well as their love for the Lakers) will never hear the end of it from me. I am the biggest **** talker on the court as it is (except I'm the lovably hilarious type, not the tragic and depressing type - most nights at least) and my ability to enrage the other team will be as easy as getting a few point lead and saying [something ironic about the Lakers not winning].
I have faith we'll win in game 7 though. By the second half of the 3rd quarter and the 4th quarter LA was actually showing a slight semblance of defense and forcing Houston into difficult shots. The Rockets managed to make all of them...but that's neither here nor there, if we can play that level of defense the entire game we'll likely win as Houston probably can't duplicate that nigh-70% shooting on difficult shots.
Also: GO MAGIC! break that 32-0 Celtics streak (never losing a series when up 3-2).
He was one of my favorite players. And he was a good person. And a good musician. I'm sad.
Probably, but don't teams have to actually file a complaint or something as opposed to just letting the league look into it?
Lakers in 5, Cavs in 6. Lakers over Cavs in the Finals, 7 games.
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The Magic.
Whoa. I got up late to watch Boston-Orlando, and when I turned on the TV it was halfway through the 4th. Knowing the Magic, I tuned in to the last 5-6 minutes, waiting any moment for the choke bug.
It didn't come. Great game played by the Magic. For both them and the Lakers, it's a sigh of relief - one team didn't choke, the other got the good side out of their bipolarity.
So yes, Bipolar LA and Bored Cleveland are still on collision to meet. One last matchup for both. I'd say Lakers in 6 and uh, Cavs in 6...
But I want Orlando to beat Cleveland. Seriously.
Denver has clearly played better all post season, and I really think Nene is going to dominate Bynum, and LA has no one to check Carmello. Kobe is going to get his 30 or so every night, but K-Mart has a good chance of putting Pau down and Bynum has not been good enough to get around Nene.
I hope the Magic win too, but LA and Orlando can't keep playing consistent so we will see.
I wouldn't totally discount Fisher in the point guard matchups. He can play some top tier defense when he needs to.
Even with all that said...as a Lakers fan i'm scared to be playing the Nuggets. They've looked frakkin' unstoppable all post-season...tomorrow night will be interesting.
Lakers win a game they really have no place winning as they were outplayed nearly all game except in the final 2 minutes. Obviously that is when you can take over a game but again they have trouble proving they are the "best team in the west without a doubt".
Clippers secure the #1 pick, tough break potentially for Blake Griffin that is a team I would hate to play on. They have a lot of selfish ball players and that team has no chemistry at all. Davis is a wreck and Randolph doesn't know what the word pass means. Hopefully the Clips pull their common let random player walk philosophy though. They didn't even throw up a fuss when Elton Brand left for instance.
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