NBA Basketball

2seaoat wrote:I think he gets what he wants from the coach, and 9 out of 10 times most NBA coaches would do just the opposite.  He has contributed to his own failings by being the coach also.......what could he had done if POP was his coach and told him to sit his asz down and take a breather.  Yes, like a heroin addict, the withdrawal for a team is painful, but when you get to the championship, you cannot have one of your three key players go awol on defense because he is either exhausted, or no longer able to guard quicker players.   Either way a team can only be beat by another team, playing team ball.   Terrible formula on minutes and as Bosh said.....it is hard.   The Goat discussion is over.  He will never pass Kobe, Magic, Russell, Kareem and Michael, and I personally think he has made the second team temporarily, but with Durant and Curry still playing, there is a high probability they will pass James.   I think his legacy will go beyond the goat list.  Few stars in any sport have conducted themselves with the class and poise which he has lived his life.   He has nothing to prove to anyone.

Come on Seaoat....just say it. James IS the coach.

Kerr called it correctly...he rested his two finishers (a little longer than I nervously thought) and it was the perfect strategy. They were rested and went to work. The Cavs were worn out.

Pop, Phil Jackson, Doc Rivers, Kerr....would be like oil and water if they coached LaBron. He is a great player but he is not coachable.

He has such a high basketball IQ, that probably to date he has not been coached. He was so good and so smart at an early age, he developed horrible habits and is often perceived as a prima donna. I just think a strong basketball coach could have made a world of difference, especially making some defensive changes the last five years when he clearly has not played consistent good defense. He has his moments, but they are over shadowed by his deficiencies. In any regard, the goat discussion is over, and now it starts anew. Just like it was Kobe five years ago, James the last five years, and now we enter the Durant hype zone......but the difference is, but for Russel Wesbrook having a melt down in hero ball, OK beat the warriors last year, and would have demolished the Cavs......Durant in my opinion is the only one in the discussion to move up the list because he plays defense, he rebounds, and his shot is hard to defend. Also, he will get the rings with his team play. If there are no major injuries, it is pretty much a done deal. The Cavs will have a hard time getting out of the east if the Celtics get the number one and steal a free agent. James is done.

2seaoat wrote:He has such a high basketball IQ, that probably to date he has not been coached.  He was so good and so smart at an early age, he developed horrible habits and is often perceived as a prima donna.  I just think a strong basketball coach could have made a world of difference, especially making some defensive changes the last five years when he clearly has not played consistent good defense.  He has his moments, but they are over shadowed by his deficiencies.  In any regard, the goat discussion is over, and now it starts anew.   Just like it was Kobe five years ago, James the last five years, and now we enter the Durant hype zone......but the difference is, but for Russel Wesbrook having a melt down in hero ball, OK beat the warriors last year, and would have demolished the Cavs......Durant in my opinion is the only one in the discussion to move up the list because he plays defense, he rebounds, and his shot is hard to defend.  Also, he will get the rings with his team play.  If there are no major injuries, it is pretty much a done deal.  The Cavs will have a hard time getting out of the east if the Celtics get the number one and steal a free agent.   James is done.

Durant is awesome. Easy going, laid back, hard working team player.

Best tv ratings for a NBA championship in twenty years. The Warriors like the Bulls are a special team which the public clearly appreciates.

I am so pumped up for tonight's game. I missed most of game 3, and I did get to see some tape to see what an incredible game Irving had. He is not the best defensive player, but he can finesse the drive and get around bigs as good as any point guard in the NBA. History could be made tonight. Yea, the Cavs are a horrible championship team and probably in the last twenty years the worst defensive team to make the finals, but the East has been so weak for so long, mediocrity has been the norm for ten years. The last good team to come out of the East who could actually play defense was the Boston Championship teams of Rondo and crew. Ten years of a wasteland, but that is changing with the Bucks and Celtics getting an infusion of young players who can play defense and are long and athletic. Sadly, I cannot figure how the Bulls will figure into this.

In the West, there are all kinds of free agent migration which could make some super teams. There is talk of James and George going to the Lakers. There is talk of James going to the Clippers because of his home in LA. Anthony is walking from the Knicks and where he lands with the right offense and coach, could be fantastic for a franchise. I am an Anthony fan because of his international play. He is a special player. Rose is diminished, but in the right combination he could make a difference. Wade can make a difference as a sixth man, and he and rondo did a great job with the Bulls working with the young guns. It will be an exciting off season, but the Warriors are a special team, and I am so happy to see another team like the Bulls who simply were brilliant. There is no limit what Durant can do if he stays healthy, and playing with the Warriors is like a bunch of kids playing for the pure joy of the game. It is inspiring for young kids to see team play, tenacious defense, and modesty.

It does not get better.

I always thought LaBron's mom and wife mother wanted to move back ro Cleveland....now it has been reported they did not want to move. So, do you think LaBron is going to move again, searching for a better team?

He has to move. He is a basketball purist and the joy in his game when he is playing team ball has always been evident. He was unhappy with the Cavs in March, and they were scrambling to get some help with Kover and Williams, but he has such a high Basketball IQ, that he knows his defense has diminished greatly and that he has to move down low as his career tapers off, and there is simply no room on the Cavs with Thompson and Love. I see him in a Clippers uniform, but all sports radio is talking about LA with George coming over. I think James kept his promise. He brought a title to Cleveland. I really have always admired James, but having seen some of the best basketball players in history live, he just has no chance of making my top six players, but if he could rebuild a team in LA, I think Wade would join him in a diminished role. Hell, the endorsements from the west coast would make up any salary loss. I think these rumors have merit. The Cavs were a team constructed by James of the best Players in the NBA, but they NEVER could play defense, and James simply has to be coached and play down low the balance of his career. I like Walton as a coach, and I love Doc Rivers, so I think these rumors are real.

2seaoat wrote:He has to move.  He is a basketball purist and the joy in his game when he is playing team ball has always been evident.  He was unhappy with the Cavs in March, and they were scrambling to get some help with Kover and Williams, but he has such a high Basketball IQ, that he knows his defense has diminished greatly and that he has to move down low as his career tapers off, and there is simply no room on the Cavs with Thompson and Love.  I see him in a Clippers uniform, but all sports radio is talking about LA with George coming over.  I think James kept his promise.  He brought a title to Cleveland.  I really have always admired James, but having seen some of the best basketball players in history live, he just has no chance of making my top six players, but if he could rebuild a team in LA, I think Wade would join him in a diminished role.  Hell, the endorsements from the west coast would make up any salary loss.  I think these rumors have merit.  The Cavs were a team constructed by James of the best Players in the NBA, but they NEVER could play defense, and James simply has to be coached and play down low the balance of his career.  I like Walton as a coach, and I love Doc Rivers, so I think these rumors are real.

I see the Lakers. Not sure he and Doc Rivers would be a good match.

Ouch.....the pregame show they came right out and spoke the truth about James which is exactly what I have been saying for five years. It was unanimous. They pretty much acknowledged that Durant has owned James. As I have been saying, the Goat conversation which was silly to start with is over. To be swept in the prime of his career with a healthy team which he constructed, they are simply saying what every sports radio knowledgeable NBA person has been saying for years. KD's humility and the fun that all these players are having is contagious.

Amen!

It looks like there will be a 5th game. The refs and the NBA have intervened. I think in the long run it takes away from the game. I have seen 3 consecutive fouls which were wrong and against the Warriors. Heck, I personally like watching this, and I do not care if they play to July.

Horrible ref calls. This is too good of a series for these fools to mess up the beauty of this game. Irving loses the ball and Klay is a foot away and they call it off the Warriors. They need to be a little more subtle on this fifth game stuff.

The refs are making the sponsors and owner happy.....terrible cslls. 10 fouls in the first quarter?

That was a miracle half... and i bet gs still makes it a game.

The refs are horrible. It is a shame they have mucked the beauty of this game all up.

Mrs. Seaoat said it best....it is about the revenue.

Yes it is! With all the reviews and arguments....they were able to squeeze in 22 more commercials

When you call 2 fouls on each of the key Warrior defenders minutes into the first quarter, it was obvious the intent. I heard that they injected a newbie ref for his first NBA championship game......he was obviously the NBA messenger. I still loved the offensive displays on both teams, but it had the feel of an all star game where the refs had neutralized anybody playing defense. As the Cavs play terrible defense to begin with, it only impacted one team. The NBA is as popular as it has been in twenty years, but they need to be careful to maintain the integrity of the game, or people will turn it off. I guess the Bulls legacy is safe for another year, but the Warriors will be back in championship games for half a decade. What a joy for a basketball fan.

It'll be nice to cinch it in Oakland. They love their team... they've been filling their stadium to watch the Cleveland games on the big screens. It'll be a great ending unless the refs start ejecting players.

You are right Seaoat. Ten fouls in the first quarter, offering a lead to the Cavs and putting the Warriors in foul trouble, set the tone.

Worst referring ever....the fiasco with the technical foul on Green then recanting in the 4th.

That LeBron pass to himself off of the backboard was pretty cool though.

In some way that was symbolic... lol.

PkrBum wrote:That LeBron pass to himself off of the backboard was pretty cool though.

In some way that was symbolic... lol.

Lol...it was. Irving had a great game.

I played with a deaf guy thirty years ago who perfected that off the backboard move. He could not shoot very well, but was a leaper, and he would routinely fire it high on the board and step by his defender and bury a lay up which he did pretty well. The interesting debate on that move is how do you score it. A missed shot and a rebound, or not missed shot or rebound as the intent was clear. The whole technical foul situation was absolute fear that the NBA changed the series last year with the ejection of green, and to eject him on what he has done all regular season, and is NOT a technical, would expose the NBA plan, as if fans are too stupid based on the slant on calls and absolutely one of the worse ref showing in a championship game that I have ever seen. No big deal. I get to watch more basketball and it does not change a thing. It would have been historic for a sweep, but those big tv contracts are paying those big salaries. I just wish they could be a little more subtle because this was so obvious that even unknowing folks like my wife can pick up on what is going on with the revenue issues.

If Draymond's protestation were a technical then so is every foul LeBron commits and no-calls against him.

Joanimaroni wrote:

PkrBum wrote:That LeBron pass to himself off of the backboard was pretty cool though.

In some way that was symbolic... lol.

Lol...it was. Irving had a great game.

I wonder how you chart that one in stats? A missed shot... rebound... score? An assist to himself?

Lol... i wasn't even sure it was legal. Awesome nonetheless... i watched a loop of it for a few minutes.

I think he was going to kick out... then maybe short pass inside... finally just improvised. All in 1 sec.