NBA Games Discussion Thread - Part 3

[queridiculo]

Not sure what the point of that small lineup is if the Warriors keep taking jumpers instead of attacking the rim to exploit their mismatches.

[LyricalRico]

At least the pace is closer to what GSW wants. They seem to be in a better rhythm early compared to the last game.

[Kanyewest]

The small lineup is working REALLY well. It will be interesting to see if players like Iguodala have enough gas down the stretch.

[closg00]

Counter attack

[FAH1223]

The small lineup is working REALLY well. It will be interesting to see if players like Iguodala have enough gas down the stretch.

If Warriors pull this off, Iggy is the Finals MVP

[dobrojim]

Warriors looking soft out there. Cavs are just tougher and grittier. I hate to say they want it more but they really do look like they want it more.

Of course it doesn't hurt that Lebron is from another planet. Holy sh...

Still don't like LeTrav but gotta respect the job he is doing. That said, at the end
of game 3 with like a min left, Bron misses badly off the side of the backboard,
Curry grabs the loose ball, GS down 5, he dribbles downcourt and it looked
to me like he was gang tackled, had his legs taken out (by Bron), ends up on floor and the result
was a TO and game over. Not sure why he wasn't shooting 2 FTs with a chance
to cut it to 3 with ~ 50 sec left. Was that a legit steal?

[tweet]https://twitter.com/KBergCBS/status/609045633559834624[/tweet]

that and last night's result make me feel a little better. After that play, everyone
seemed to be focused on Dela's hustle diving on the floor for the ball and ignoring
what had happened just prior to that.

Bron is unbelievable, no denying it. But again last night they showed him on a postup
(replay) where he clearly switches his pivot foot and the TV guys just say great move.

[dobrojim]

Speaking of bad no-calls, I wish the refs would call LeBron at least once for using his off arm to push off when backing down his opponent or driving to the basket. Dude is big enough where it is hard to stop him...its impossible when he is constantly allowed to basically give a forearm shiver to bull his way to the basket. Shaq did the same thing.

This.

There was one particularly egregious example last night. Right between the FT line and the restricted
area. In that case, Bron ended up passing - not sure why - but it was so obvious as to be farce.

[dobrojim]

That's a hell of a lineup change for the Warriors.

I don't know how the Warriors expect to keep Mozgov and Thompson off the boards, but perhaps it's going to pay off on other end of the court.

I look at it this way. Bogut has stunk. He's not giving Kerr any incentive to play him. Mozgov
has pwned him. And why not just get Iggy in from the get go and put your best matchup on
Bron right away. I think it was smart to also play Lee a lot more. He rebounds decently
and he is much better than the self-check on offense that Bogut has been. Live with
his def deficiencies - how much better is Mozgov gonna play than he already is? - but
at least get a guy in there that can score. Take some scoring pressure off your guards.

[fishercob]

I had the same thought last night that I had about this time last year:

DEPTH MATTERS!!

Great players are important, but having lots of good ones is important too. Basketball is a game of matchups. How huge to be able to get turn to a guy like David Lee -- who had become a complete afterthought -- to help turn this series. He has flaws, yes. But the matchups in this series mitigate them to a degree and his strengths are having a huge impact. Same for Livingston and of course Iguodala. Ezeli has had important moments.

This leads me back to my believe that the Wizards should be aggressive this summer with the MLE and those TPE's. Use our draft picks. FOcus on improving the roster 1-15, as you never know when a matchup or an injury is going to create a need.

The other thing it drives home, is that for all of his limitations, Nene (like Lee) can be a useful player. He's just got be on board. Most of his time should be at backup C, but he can be used as a bully-ball PF against certain teams.

Go Dubs!

[dobrojim]

The small lineup is working REALLY well. It will be interesting to see if players like Iguodala have enough gas down the stretch.

If Warriors pull this off, Iggy is the Finals MVP

I almost think LBJ should get it even if CLE loses. He's clearly the best player playing in the series.
I'm sure there is no precedent for a player from the losing team winning MVP but maybe there
ought to be. I would have no problem with it.

[dobrojim]

I had the same thought last night that I had about this time last year:

DEPTH MATTERS!!

Great players are important, but having lots of good ones is important too. Basketball is a game of matchups. How huge to be able to get turn to a guy like David Lee -- who had become a complete afterthought -- to help turn this series. He has flaws, yes. But the matchups in this series mitigate them to a degree and his strengths are having a huge impact. Same for Livingston and of course Iguodala. Ezeli has had important moments.

This leads me back to my believe that the Wizards should be aggressive this summer with the MLE and those TPE's. Use our draft picks. FOcus on improving the roster 1-15, as you never know when a matchup or an injury is going to create a need.

The other thing it drives home, is that for all of his limitations, Nene (like Lee) can be a useful player. He's just got be on board. Most of his time should be at backup C, but he can be used as a bully-ball PF against certain teams.

Go Dubs!

Right. As much as we criticize Nene for not boarding more, he's the kind of player who could
limit the offensive rebounding of TThomp who has been beasting. In fact, it's hard to see how
having Love out has hurt CLE that much with Thompson grabbing every teammate's miss in sight.

[fishercob]

I had the same thought last night that I had about this time last year:

DEPTH MATTERS!!

Great players are important, but having lots of good ones is important too. Basketball is a game of matchups. How huge to be able to get turn to a guy like David Lee -- who had become a complete afterthought -- to help turn this series. He has flaws, yes. But the matchups in this series mitigate them to a degree and his strengths are having a huge impact. Same for Livingston and of course Iguodala. Ezeli has had important moments.

This leads me back to my believe that the Wizards should be aggressive this summer with the MLE and those TPE's. Use our draft picks. FOcus on improving the roster 1-15, as you never know when a matchup or an injury is going to create a need.

The other thing it drives home, is that for all of his limitations, Nene (like Lee) can be a useful player. He's just got be on board. Most of his time should be at backup C, but he can be used as a bully-ball PF against certain teams.

Go Dubs!

Right. As much as we criticize Nene for not boarding more, he's the kind of player who could
limit the offensive rebounding of TThomp who has been beasting. In fact, it's hard to see how
having Love out has hurt CLE that much with Thompson grabbing every teammate's miss in sight.

Cleveland's ORtg this series would make them the worst offense in the league over the course of a season. Having Love -- and being able to play him alongside either Mozgov or Thompson -- would be huge for Cleveland, and probably a series changer. Love is a great offensive player -- something Cleveland desperately needs right now. If they are healthy next year, they will be absolutely stacked.

[AFM]

What does YODA say about Lebron's dong? Nivek I need your input.

[dobrojim]

Valid point but you're also overlooking the fact that the Warriors are a top shelf defensive team
so it's not entirely unexpected for CLE to struggle offensively. But you're right, Love would
help if only by allowing Mozgov and TT to rest more. CLE definitely looks gassed at the end
of games.

[AFM]

Ye Olde Dong Analysis.

[FAH1223]

The small lineup is working REALLY well. It will be interesting to see if players like Iguodala have enough gas down the stretch.

If Warriors pull this off, Iggy is the Finals MVP

I almost think LBJ should get it even if CLE loses. He's clearly the best player playing in the series.
I'm sure there is no precedent for a player from the losing team winning MVP but maybe there
ought to be. I would have no problem with it.

Jerry West won Finals MVP in a losing effort.

[dobrojim]

Well there you go. Even though I don't like Bron, I would have no problem with his
winning Finals MVP if GS wins the series.

[LyricalRico]

Speaking of bad no-calls, I wish the refs would call LeBron at least once for using his off arm to push off when backing down his opponent or driving to the basket. Dude is big enough where it is hard to stop him...its impossible when he is constantly allowed to basically give a forearm shiver to bull his way to the basket. Shaq did the same thing.

This.

There was one particularly egregious example last night. Right between the FT line and the restricted
area. In that case, Bron ended up passing - not sure why - but it was so obvious as to be farce.

At least he got his comeuppance when he exaggerated the contact from Bogut and dived headfirst into the cameraman. And I think Iggy might have been trying to clown him when he got fouled by LeBron on a similar play and kept reaching for his arm afterwards.

[Kanyewest]

The small lineup is working REALLY well. It will be interesting to see if players like Iguodala have enough gas down the stretch.

If Warriors pull this off, Iggy is the Finals MVP

I almost think LBJ should get it even if CLE loses. He's clearly the best player playing in the series.
I'm sure there is no precedent for a player from the losing team winning MVP but maybe there
ought to be. I would have no problem with it.

LeBron could be better though.

PPG: 35.8
RPG: 12.0
APG: 8.2
PER: 27.8
TS%: .477
MPG: 45.8

The problem of course is that he is playing 45 minutes per game. I feel like Blatt may need to find a way to get LeBron a breather. It has been tough for Cleveland to create offense but if not LeBron is more likely than not to wear out as the game goes on- as he did last night, as he had 0 points off of two attempts in the 4th quarter.

Don't get me wrong, LeBron has been great but if Golden State manages to score over 100 points (in regulation), they should be able to win.

[BigA]

What does YODA say about Lebron's dong? Nivek I need your input.

It's about 93, where 100 is replacement level and Wilt Chamberlain was 180.