2520 replies to this topic

[Pedro Cerrano]

I still can't believe that LeBron willed this to a 6 game series.  Seriously.  Look at that roster again and just shake your head.

 

He's remarkable.

[bnickle]

You aren't arguing anything! You are babbling a bunch of fucking nonsense.

What is your point? We already know how you had to apologize for being an embarrassment in this thread and you ended up being completely wrong.

So, now that we are past that stupidity, what is your point? What exact discussion are you trying to have?

Lol. And you have the nerve to call me a hypocrite. Look in the mirror.


And BTW I certainly wasn't apologizing to assholes like yourself. You consistently act like an ass that's how people should respond to you. I do apologize to the majority of people here who don't consistently act like a douche.

[bnickle]

I still can't believe that LeBron willed this to a 6 game series. Seriously. Look at that roster again and just shake your head.

He's remarkable.

LeBron was LeBron. He was obviously the best player on the court. The first 3 games had more to do with GS being off. If Cle had been able to win GM 1 they probably win the title.

[SportsGuy]

Lol. And you have the nerve to call me a hypocrite. Look in the mirror.

Way to answer the question.  I guess you just want to be a dbag.  Congeats, you succeeded!

[Cisc-O's]

I don't know PEAK MJ with Tristan and Mozgov I think would make a good run of things.

 

No I am not messing with you.  If the games played out how they were MJ most likely wins the first three with having the last shots.  He drives and scores and gets the foul.  While LBJ does some spot shooting.

[bnickle]

I don't know PEAK MJ with Tristan and Mozgov I think would make a good run of things.

Not sure if serious. Listen, I do think peak MJ would have taken full advantage of how poorly GS played the first 3 games of this series. If he wins all 3, which was certainly possible, I would have bet against GS beating him 4 in a row.

[SammyBirdland]

I heard a clip of a funny interview with a former NBA exec on Colin Cowherd's show.   He said that, with all the injuries, LeBron had to rely on JR Smith as his go-to guy.   He compared JR Smith to when you go to a hotel and forget your toothpaste and toothbrush, so you get the little cheapy brush and toothpaste from the front desk.   You're happy to have it, but as soon as you get home where you have your real toothbrush and toothpaste, you immediately chuck it.

[Pedro Cerrano]

Not sure if serious. Listen, I do think peak MJ would have taken full advantage of how poorly GS played the first 3 games of this series. If he wins all 3, which was certainly possible, I would have bet against GS beating him 4 in a row.

I will say this. MJ has a much better chance of hitting that last second shot in game 1. That keeps Kyrie around and then who knows. If you're saying Kyrie is out the whole time then I'm not sure anyone could have won that series.

[mweb08]

Since Nickle is bringing up MJ and talks about there being no excuses for not winning titles, I have a series of MJ questions for him.

- Are you giving MJ a pass for not winning a title in his first 6 years?

- How do you feel about him retiring in his prime rather than going for a fourth title in a row?

- How should we handle the fact that the year without MJ, the Bulls were still a title contender?

- Do you give him a pass for not winning it all the year he came back?

- What are the best few teams MJ's Bulls teams defeated?

[SammyBirdland]

If I'm comparing LeBron to anyone, it's Wilt Chamberlain.   LeBron and Wilt are/were the biggest, strongest, most dominant players in their era.   Jordan wasn't the biggest or strongest player in his era.

[mweb08]

If I'm comparing LeBron to anyone, it's Wilt Chamberlain.   LeBron and Wilt are/were the biggest, strongest, most dominant players in their era.   Jordan wasn't the biggest or strongest player in his era.

Well compared to players at his position that's true of LeBron and he's a freak athlete, but he's certainly not the biggest or strongest player in the league. MJ was also a freak athlete and had a significant athletic advantage over most of his competition.

[Cisc-O's]

I am not nickle but here are my answers.

Since Nickle is bringing up MJ and talks about there being no excuses for not winning titles, I have a series of MJ questions for him.

- Are you giving MJ a pass for not winning a title in his first 6 years? Yes there were at the time Hall of Fame players/teams waiting in line to win the championship. Once he broke through the Pistons which had the same team that beat him the year prior except Mahorn then yes he did not relinquish it till he retired for the first time.

- How do you feel about him retiring in his prime rather than going for a fourth title in a row? Father died, was a close relationship low blow does not matter in any scheme of things

- How should we handle the fact that the year without MJ, the Bulls were still a title contender? That was the last year that a team had played 8 years together. Everyone knew they had no shot at the title but BJ pulled a lot of threes that year and had a career year but they really weren't a contender and noone thought they were unless you are trying to rewrite history.

- Do you give him a pass for not winning it all the year he came back? Roster re-haul no Grant/Cartwright,William,Paxon and he took a better part of a year and a half and He played in only 17 games that year that is a dumb question

- What are the best few teams MJ's Bulls teams defeated? Detriot Pistons Bad Boys, The freaking Lakers, Jazz, Knicks, and the Magic fit in there with shaq, Anyone of those teams would represent the east the last few years.

[mweb08]

All of those are fair questions to someone who says there are no excuses for LeBron not winning a title this year because at least some put him in the GOAT conversation.

I do think that MJ less Bulls team had a realistic chance at the title and a terrible job by the refs helped eliminate them. They certainly weren't the favorite, but it is amazing that a team missing the GOAT could actually be a really good team regardless of how much of a contender they were.

The freaking Lakers weren't peak Lakers then. And no, not all of those teams would have made it through the East the past few years. Most were not as good as the first few Heat teams.

[bnickle]

Since Nickle is bringing up MJ and talks about there being no excuses for not winning titles, I have a series of MJ questions for him.

- Are you giving MJ a pass for not winning a title in his first 6 years?

- How do you feel about him retiring in his prime rather than going for a fourth title in a row?

- How should we handle the fact that the year without MJ, the Bulls were still a title contender?

- Do you give him a pass for not winning it all the year he came back?

- What are the best few teams MJ's Bulls teams defeated?

Mike I will answer these. Im drunk and tired at the moment

[You Play to Win the Game]

I know that game.

Be honest though Nickle... watcha drinking to tonight? You going to go on a week long bender celebrating LeBron's 4th Finals loss?

[mweb08]

Here's the series stats: http://www.basketbal...s-warriors.html

 

Curry and Iggy are the only two core Warriors who really played well this series, and they still won in 6.

 

Now to the Cavs, Thompson and Mosgov were the only two Cavs that really helped LeBron. The rest sucked overall, even though Delly played solid D (that was overblown early in the series). And despite Mosgov being the 2nd best offensive option for the Cavs, as the series went on, Blatt didn't feel like he could play him much due to him being a defensive liability against the Warriors lineups and offensive style. JR, Delly, and Shump shot under 30% combined despite being setup for some good looks and with the latter two guys not being respected much by the Warriors D. 

 

LeBron contributed in so many ways and carried the team probably more than any player has ever carried a team more in the Finals, plus he faced a great defensive team with one of the best LeBron defenders in the league, but 40% shooting is still disappointing. 

[You Play to Win the Game]

Well, Nickle will probably eat his up... but here's a pretty good, yet scolding piece of LeBron by Marc Stein on how LeBron treated Blatt during the Finals... http://espn.go.com/b...latt-unbecoming

 

I think this presents an interesting debate. Even the all-time greats are mortals in the sense that the one biggest weakness they all have is time. There's only so many years these guys get to write their story. Without LeBron, Blatt's first season in the NBA is a disaster. With him, he's a rookie NBA head coach taking a Finals series to 6 games without a lot of their weapons. I can understand LeBron's urgency. But I still don't think I can get on board with showing up the coach in front of the team like he did routinely.

 

What say you?

[bnickle]

I know that game.

Be honest though Nickle... watcha drinking to tonight? You going to go on a week long bender celebrating LeBron's 4th Finals loss?

Only the best. Miller Lite. That wasnt the reason i was drinking, but it'll be my excuse this weekend.

 

 

 

At this point, all Im doing is making Shack think hes right about me being a drunk. LOL.

[bnickle]

Well, Nickle will probably eat his up... but here's a pretty good, yet scolding piece of LeBron by Marc Stein on how LeBron treated Blatt during the Finals... http://espn.go.com/b...latt-unbecoming

 

I think this presents an interesting debate. Even the all-time greats are mortals in the sense that the one biggest weakness they all have is time. There's only so many years these guys get to write their story. Without LeBron, Blatt's first season in the NBA is a disaster. With him, he's a rookie NBA head coach taking a Finals series to 6 games without a lot of their weapons. I can understand LeBron's urgency. But I still don't think I can get on board with showing up the coach in front of the team like he did routinely.

 

What say you?

Nothing has changed. Brown was the problem the first time in Cle. Spolstra was almost ran out of town after year 1 in Miami. Thankfully, Riley was there to put his foot down. Now, Blatt in Cle again.  All part of the issues people have with LBJ. Pete mentioned the coaching stuff earlier in thread. Tremendous talent, but as I've said a million times, my issue isnt with his talent.

 

 

 

BTW .....Im sure you guys also saw the Winhurst interview where he said, LBJ doesnt respect Blatt but also essentially said he doesn't mind keeping him around as his dog to kick and a scapegoat should things not go well again next year. 

[bnickle]

Since Nickle is bringing up MJ and talks about there being no excuses for not winning titles, I have a series of MJ questions for him.

- Are you giving MJ a pass for not winning a title in his first 6 years?

- How do you feel about him retiring in his prime rather than going for a fourth title in a row?

- How should we handle the fact that the year without MJ, the Bulls were still a title contender?

- Do you give him a pass for not winning it all the year he came back?

- What are the best few teams MJ's Bulls teams defeated?

-MJ had a tougher road than LBJ his first 6 years. It also ultimately took MJ less years in the NBA to win a title. Oh, and complain about the talent around LBJ his first run in Cle, but Jordan's talent around him was arguably worse his first few years in the league.

 

- I don't really have much of a thought on his decision to retire. Im not sure we really know all the reasons why, but yeah he tragically lost his father that year. That had to be extremely tough for him. 

 

 

- They were still very good in '94. They absolutely win it all in '94 if he is there. Relatively easily. 

 

- Basically give him a pass for not winning it all that year. Looking at basketball reference shows me he only played in 17 games that year. The Bulls went 13-4 in those games. They were 47-35 that year. Essentially tells me they were a .500 team without him who turned into a very good team with him. If he plays the whole year, they aren't the 5 seed. Undoubtedly Top 3. Gives them a much better chance at the title. Also, says a lot that they turned that back around quickly and arguably became the two greatest teams ever in '96 and '97. 

 

The Suns were a very good team in '93. 62 wins. Seattle in '96 won 64 games. Both Jazz teams won 64 and 62 respectively. These were all Championship caliber teams. #1 seeds that just happen to run into the Bulls. Also, the Knicks, Magic, and Heat were 60+ win teams that the Bulls destroyed  in the ECF in '93,96,and '97.