New Rumors and News Thread

[Parliament10]

"subtraction by addition", yeah, nails it

You disagree?

[celticfan42487]

"subtraction by addition", yeah, nails it

You disagree?

Are you questioning losing Harrison Barnes for Kevin Durant making the Warriors better?

If so, then yeah I'd say any logical human would disagree.

[Parliament10]

"subtraction by addition", yeah, nails it

You disagree?

Are you questioning losing Harrison Barnes for Kevin Durant making the Warriors better?

If so, then yeah I'd say any logical human would disagree.

I'm saying, that this is NOT going to turn out the way that they wanted.
Many times when they build these Superteams, they don't do well right away.

I don't think that they will.
They were already returning Champions, up 3-1 in the Finals, with a 73-9 Record. -- You can't tweak it better than that.

I adamantly state, that they will Not win it this year. -- I'm doubtful, that they even make it to the Finals.
They got too greedy and Added too much, and they're going to end up with less. -- Subtraction by Addition.

[rmal8852]

You disagree?

Are you questioning losing Harrison Barnes for Kevin Durant making the Warriors better?

If so, then yeah I'd say any logical human would disagree.

I'm saying, that this is NOT going to turn out the way that they wanted.
Many times when they build these Superteams, they don't do well right away.

I don't think that they will.
They were already returning Champions, up 3-1 in the Finals, with a 73-9 Record. -- You can't tweak it better than that.

I adamantly state, that they will Not win it this year. -- I'm doubtful, that they even make it to the Finals.
They got too greedy and Added too much, and they're going to end up with less. -- Subtraction by Addition.

From your mouth to the basketball god's ears!!!

The only thing that I would enjoy more than that this year would be our Cs making a deep, deep run.

[Andrew McCeltic]

You disagree?

Are you questioning losing Harrison Barnes for Kevin Durant making the Warriors better?

If so, then yeah I'd say any logical human would disagree.

I'm saying, that this is NOT going to turn out the way that they wanted.
Many times when they build these Superteams, they don't do well right away.

I don't think that they will.
They were already returning Champions, up 3-1 in the Finals, with a 73-9 Record. -- You can't tweak it better than that.

I adamantly state, that they will Not win it this year. -- I'm doubtful, that they even make it to the Finals.
They got too greedy and Added too much, and they're going to end up with less. -- Subtraction by Addition.

No, sorry, I mean I'm agreeing with you, and that's the best way to describe the risk the W's are taking, "subtraction by addition." You get surplus talent (like Kevin Love in Cleveland) and it can cause problems- not because of egos, even, or because guys can't be selfless, but because having surplus talent standing around causes tension, because everyone knows it exists and isn't being used.

It's possible they'll roll through the league and be even better- but there are only so many shots to take, and they also completely gutted their front court (Ezeli's gone, Bogut's gone, and Barnes, who was strong enough to guard 4's, is gone) to add Durant.

[Andrew McCeltic]

It's like, IDK, having a bullpen with four great closers and no middle relief guys. Too many stars, not enough planets to orbit them.

[Captain_Caveman]

It's like, IDK, having a bullpen with four great closers and no middle relief guys. Too many stars, not enough planets to orbit them.

Why do people always make this terrible argument? League history shows pretty conclusively that nothing trumps having the most elite talent. Could be all perimeter guys, could be all frontcourt guys, can be a mix of the two.

Warriors probably have a twice as good a chance for a title this year than the rest of the field combined, which is a pretty claim to be able to utter before a long 100-game season even starts. They won 73 games last year, have been to back-to-back Finals and have now essentially traded a broken down Bogut and Barnes -- who is a poor man's Jeff Green and not even top 20 at his position -- for a guy who might be one of the top 10-15 players ever.

In addition to the two most recent MVPs, they have two other top 15 players, who both excel at both ends of the floor without needing to have the ball inn their hands, and an elite 6th man who is also an elite defender. In addition to potentially/likely being the best offense of all time, with the most floor spacing the game has ever seen, they may also be a top 2-3 defensive team this year with the DPOY and two other guys who have a very legitimate shot at making All-Defensive teams.

Oh, and they play completely unselfishly and likely have the 2nd best coach in the league behind Popovich.

Sure, there are any number of injuries that could derail them, but come on, already.

[celtxman]

Read on Twitter

It would be too cruel to laugh, I hate injuries for any players, but anyone should have seen this one coming down the road.

It is where Sullinger is unfortunately for him. Frankly his falling apart in the playoffs made things easier on the Celtics in letting him go and moving in a better direction

[Andrew McCeltic]

It's like, IDK, having a bullpen with four great closers and no middle relief guys. Too many stars, not enough planets to orbit them.

Why do people always make this terrible argument? League history shows pretty conclusively that nothing trumps having the most elite talent. Could be all perimeter guys, could be all frontcourt guys, can be a mix of the two.

Warriors probably have a twice as good a chance for a title this year than the rest of the field combined, which is a pretty claim to be able to utter before a long 100-game season even starts. They won 73 games last year, have been to back-to-back Finals and have now essentially traded a broken down Bogut and Barnes -- who is a poor man's Jeff Green and not even top 20 at his position -- for a guy who might be one of the top 10-15 players ever.

In addition to the two most recent MVPs, they have two other top 15 players, who both excel at both ends of the floor without needing to have the ball inn their hands, and an elite 6th man who is also an elite defender. In addition to potentially/likely being the best offense of all time, with the most floor spacing the game has ever seen, they may also be a top 2-3 defensive team this year with the DPOY and two other guys who have a very legitimate shot at making All-Defensive teams.

Oh, and they play completely unselfishly and likely have the 2nd best coach in the league behind Popovich.

Sure, there are any number of injuries that could derail them, but come on, already.

Because basketball is a team sport, 5 guys play in a system, with one ball they have to share. You can't just load up your line-up with heavy hitters, like in baseball, and know it will work.

They're going to be very very good- they could win again. But it's not a terrible argument to say that team dynamics are very, very delicate. That's why Steve Kerr was able to take Mark Jackson's Warriors and take them to the Finals with minimal changes.

And there are cases in league history where superstar team-ups don't work. We won a couple with the Big Three, Miami won some. But there are lots of teams- the Jail Blazers, the Mavs teams that had Nash, Nowitzki, Walker, Jamison etc., where just piling talent on top doesn't work. Cleveland lost their first year, Love has been in trade rumors since he got there.. I remember the Rockets had a year or two with Hakeem, Drexler..Barkley? Pippen, too?

Pachulia is probably an upgrade over Bogut. Durant is an upgrade over Barnes. But we're already seeing gossip leaking out about Dray Green being difficult, about Klay being unhappy. It's integrating new players, distributing shots, and dealing with egos. Not clear it will work.

[celticfan42487]

You disagree?

Are you questioning losing Harrison Barnes for Kevin Durant making the Warriors better?

If so, then yeah I'd say any logical human would disagree.

I'm saying, that this is NOT going to turn out the way that they wanted.
Many times when they build these Superteams, they don't do well right away.

I don't think that they will.
They were already returning Champions, up 3-1 in the Finals, with a 73-9 Record. -- You can't tweak it better than that.

I adamantly state, that they will Not win it this year. -- I'm doubtful, that they even make it to the Finals.
They got too greedy and Added too much, and they're going to end up with less. -- Subtraction by Addition.

So is your bar for their season a 70 win regular season and championship as "how they wanted"?

Because if so that would be a top 3 season of all time. So sure, I'll take the under on that.

But if it's just 60+ wins and winning the WCF, then I'll take that bet.

Because so far, you said they're going to end up with less than last year by not winning it all, and they might not make it to the Finals. Which last year they went to the Finals and didn't win it.

To be worse than last year they'd just have to lose in the WCF. I doubt they get close to the all-time regular season record this year too, but that's just on odds alone. They could have kept the exact same team and not gotten close again. Regular season records are just that though, meaningless.

[Captain_Caveman]

It's like, IDK, having a bullpen with four great closers and no middle relief guys. Too many stars, not enough planets to orbit them.

Why do people always make this terrible argument? League history shows pretty conclusively that nothing trumps having the most elite talent. Could be all perimeter guys, could be all frontcourt guys, can be a mix of the two.

Warriors probably have a twice as good a chance for a title this year than the rest of the field combined, which is a pretty claim to be able to utter before a long 100-game season even starts. They won 73 games last year, have been to back-to-back Finals and have now essentially traded a broken down Bogut and Barnes -- who is a poor man's Jeff Green and not even top 20 at his position -- for a guy who might be one of the top 10-15 players ever.

In addition to the two most recent MVPs, they have two other top 15 players, who both excel at both ends of the floor without needing to have the ball inn their hands, and an elite 6th man who is also an elite defender. In addition to potentially/likely being the best offense of all time, with the most floor spacing the game has ever seen, they may also be a top 2-3 defensive team this year with the DPOY and two other guys who have a very legitimate shot at making All-Defensive teams.

Oh, and they play completely unselfishly and likely have the 2nd best coach in the league behind Popovich.

Sure, there are any number of injuries that could derail them, but come on, already.

Because basketball is a team sport, 5 guys play in a system, with one ball they have to share. You can't just load up your line-up with heavy hitters, like in baseball, and know it will work.

They're going to be very very good- they could win again. But it's not a terrible argument to say that team dynamics are very, very delicate. That's why Steve Kerr was able to take Mark Jackson's Warriors and take them to the Finals with minimal changes.

And there are cases in league history where superstar team-ups don't work. We won a couple with the Big Three, Miami won some. But there are lots of teams- the Jail Blazers, the Mavs teams that had Nash, Nowitzki, Walker, Jamison etc., where just piling talent on top doesn't work. Cleveland lost their first year, Love has been in trade rumors since he got there.. I remember the Rockets had a year or two with Hakeem, Drexler..Barkley? Pippen, too?

Pachulia is probably an upgrade over Bogut. Durant is an upgrade over Barnes. But we're already seeing gossip leaking out about Dray Green being difficult, about Klay being unhappy. It's integrating new players, distributing shots, and dealing with egos. Not clear it will work.

You are trying way too hard. It would be like us trading Jeff Green and Tyler Zeller for Larry Bird. Or perhaps trading Ainge and Walton for Jordan in 1986. It's literally that impactful for them.

Moreover, your examples prove my point, not yours. We went from 25 wins to a title by adding KG and Ray. The Heat made the Finals in all four years that the had their big 3, winning titles in half of them. The Cavs have made the Finals in back-to-back seasons with LeBron, who could easily have had 5 rings in the last 6 seasons with healthier teammates in the Finals (rather than just 3 of them).

The Jail Blazers were pretty talented, but not overly so, and also very dependent on some very old players in Pippen and Sabonis. Still came a blown 14-pt 4th quarter away from an almost certain ring. The Dirk and Nash Mavs actually did perfectly fine until they lost to even more stacked and talented Spurs and Kings teams four years in a row. The old ass Rockets team you are referring was also built around 36yo Hakeem, 35yo Barkley and 33yo Pippen.

As to this year's Warriors, that ESPN article had nothing to do with this year's team. It was trying to hash up issues from last year's team. You should also know that Draymond was the guy who recruited KD to come there in place of Barnes and Bogut, a move which had the full support of Curry, Klay, Iggy and the rest.

Again, injuries might get them, but you are trying to make a chemistry or X and O thing out of this, and that's just nuts. This might be the 2nd best basketball team ever behind the original Dream Team.

[Smitty731]

I had a source tell me today that Sullinger could be out a significant amount of time. Between the 1st of the year and the Trade Deadline type of time. And there is a fear that his foot will never really heal correctly. And yes, the weight is a major concern for the long term health of his feet. Supposedly his knees and back are showing a good deal of damage as well.

The case that was quoted to me was Big Baby. He couldn't control the weight and his back, knees and feet all started to go on him. Just sad that these guys can't get it under control.

[Ed Pinkney]

Just as a side note, without his ridiculous game against the Celtics in the Conference Finals and two of the biggest collapses in Finals history (Spurs in '13, Warriors last season), James could still be sitting on either one or possibly no titles.

[Andrew McCeltic]

Why do people always make this terrible argument? League history shows pretty conclusively that nothing trumps having the most elite talent. Could be all perimeter guys, could be all frontcourt guys, can be a mix of the two.

Warriors probably have a twice as good a chance for a title this year than the rest of the field combined, which is a pretty claim to be able to utter before a long 100-game season even starts. They won 73 games last year, have been to back-to-back Finals and have now essentially traded a broken down Bogut and Barnes -- who is a poor man's Jeff Green and not even top 20 at his position -- for a guy who might be one of the top 10-15 players ever.

In addition to the two most recent MVPs, they have two other top 15 players, who both excel at both ends of the floor without needing to have the ball inn their hands, and an elite 6th man who is also an elite defender. In addition to potentially/likely being the best offense of all time, with the most floor spacing the game has ever seen, they may also be a top 2-3 defensive team this year with the DPOY and two other guys who have a very legitimate shot at making All-Defensive teams.

Oh, and they play completely unselfishly and likely have the 2nd best coach in the league behind Popovich.

Sure, there are any number of injuries that could derail them, but come on, already.

Because basketball is a team sport, 5 guys play in a system, with one ball they have to share. You can't just load up your line-up with heavy hitters, like in baseball, and know it will work.

They're going to be very very good- they could win again. But it's not a terrible argument to say that team dynamics are very, very delicate. That's why Steve Kerr was able to take Mark Jackson's Warriors and take them to the Finals with minimal changes.

And there are cases in league history where superstar team-ups don't work. We won a couple with the Big Three, Miami won some. But there are lots of teams- the Jail Blazers, the Mavs teams that had Nash, Nowitzki, Walker, Jamison etc., where just piling talent on top doesn't work. Cleveland lost their first year, Love has been in trade rumors since he got there.. I remember the Rockets had a year or two with Hakeem, Drexler..Barkley? Pippen, too?

Pachulia is probably an upgrade over Bogut. Durant is an upgrade over Barnes. But we're already seeing gossip leaking out about Dray Green being difficult, about Klay being unhappy. It's integrating new players, distributing shots, and dealing with egos. Not clear it will work.

You are trying way too hard. It would be like us trading Jeff Green and Tyler Zeller for Larry Bird. Or perhaps trading Ainge and Walton for Jordan in 1986. It's literally that impactful for them.

Moreover, your examples prove my point, not yours. We went from 25 wins to a title by adding KG and Ray. The Heat made the Finals in all four years that the had their big 3, winning titles in half of them. The Cavs have made the Finals in back-to-back seasons with LeBron, who could easily have had 5 rings in the last 6 seasons with healthier teammates in the Finals (rather than just 3 of them).

The Jail Blazers were pretty talented, but not overly so, and also very dependent on some very old players in Pippen and Sabonis. Still came a blown 14-pt 4th quarter away from an almost certain ring. The Dirk and Nash Mavs actually did perfectly fine until they lost to even more stacked and talented Spurs and Kings teams four years in a row. The old ass Rockets team you are referring was also built around 36yo Hakeem, 35yo Barkley and 33yo Pippen.

As to this year's Warriors, that ESPN article had nothing to do with this year's team. It was trying to hash up issues from last year's team. You should also know that Draymond was the guy who recruited KD to come there in place of Barnes and Bogut, a move which had the full support of Curry, Klay, Iggy and the rest.

Again, injuries might get them, but you are trying to make a chemistry or X and O thing out of this, and that's just nuts. This might be the 2nd best basketball team ever behind the original Dream Team.

We'll see. They going to win 74 this year?

I think you're exaggerating any skepticism of the W's to make it into caricature. No one thinks they're going to be a lotto team. Just that making their championship rings this week is premature.

And my examples prove my point, too. The Warriors already won a title without Durant, and went back to the Finals and lost. We won 1 title with our group, and struggled sometimes with chemistry (that first-round series against Atlanta). The Heat won 2 years out of 4. The Cavs with Lebron/Love won 1 year out of 2.

The last team to integrate this many different pieces was the Bulls under Phil Jackson. Jordan, Pippen, Rodman, Kukoc, Ron Harper, role-playing guards, filler bigs. So if the Warriors do that, great. But pointing out realistic questions about the construction of their roster is totally fair.

The ESPN article may have been about last year's team, but it was also about Green's personality and clashes with Kerr. I think it's all over-hyped. But keeping Klay happy is a different issue.

Btw, if we trade Bradley and BKN 17 for Klay it'll be a disaster - he's gone from underrated to overrated.

[165bows]

Why do people always make this terrible argument? League history shows pretty conclusively that nothing trumps having the most elite talent. Could be all perimeter guys, could be all frontcourt guys, can be a mix of the two.

Warriors probably have a twice as good a chance for a title this year than the rest of the field combined, which is a pretty claim to be able to utter before a long 100-game season even starts. They won 73 games last year, have been to back-to-back Finals and have now essentially traded a broken down Bogut and Barnes -- who is a poor man's Jeff Green and not even top 20 at his position -- for a guy who might be one of the top 10-15 players ever.

In addition to the two most recent MVPs, they have two other top 15 players, who both excel at both ends of the floor without needing to have the ball inn their hands, and an elite 6th man who is also an elite defender. In addition to potentially/likely being the best offense of all time, with the most floor spacing the game has ever seen, they may also be a top 2-3 defensive team this year with the DPOY and two other guys who have a very legitimate shot at making All-Defensive teams.

Oh, and they play completely unselfishly and likely have the 2nd best coach in the league behind Popovich.

Sure, there are any number of injuries that could derail them, but come on, already.

Because basketball is a team sport, 5 guys play in a system, with one ball they have to share. You can't just load up your line-up with heavy hitters, like in baseball, and know it will work.

They're going to be very very good- they could win again. But it's not a terrible argument to say that team dynamics are very, very delicate. That's why Steve Kerr was able to take Mark Jackson's Warriors and take them to the Finals with minimal changes.

And there are cases in league history where superstar team-ups don't work. We won a couple with the Big Three, Miami won some. But there are lots of teams- the Jail Blazers, the Mavs teams that had Nash, Nowitzki, Walker, Jamison etc., where just piling talent on top doesn't work. Cleveland lost their first year, Love has been in trade rumors since he got there.. I remember the Rockets had a year or two with Hakeem, Drexler..Barkley? Pippen, too?

Pachulia is probably an upgrade over Bogut. Durant is an upgrade over Barnes. But we're already seeing gossip leaking out about Dray Green being difficult, about Klay being unhappy. It's integrating new players, distributing shots, and dealing with egos. Not clear it will work.

You are trying way too hard. It would be like us trading Jeff Green and Tyler Zeller for Larry Bird. Or perhaps trading Ainge and Walton for Jordan in 1986. It's literally that impactful for them.

Moreover, your examples prove my point, not yours. We went from 25 wins to a title by adding KG and Ray. The Heat made the Finals in all four years that the had their big 3, winning titles in half of them. The Cavs have made the Finals in back-to-back seasons with LeBron, who could easily have had 5 rings in the last 6 seasons with healthier teammates in the Finals (rather than just 3 of them).

The Jail Blazers were pretty talented, but not overly so, and also very dependent on some very old players in Pippen and Sabonis. Still came a blown 14-pt 4th quarter away from an almost certain ring. The Dirk and Nash Mavs actually did perfectly fine until they lost to even more stacked and talented Spurs and Kings teams four years in a row. The old ass Rockets team you are referring was also built around 36yo Hakeem, 35yo Barkley and 33yo Pippen.

As to this year's Warriors, that ESPN article had nothing to do with this year's team. It was trying to hash up issues from last year's team. You should also know that Draymond was the guy who recruited KD to come there in place of Barnes and Bogut, a move which had the full support of Curry, Klay, Iggy and the rest.

Again, injuries might get them, but you are trying to make a chemistry or X and O thing out of this, and that's just nuts. This might be the 2nd best basketball team ever behind the original Dream Team.

That's probably an accurate assessment. I disagree with the idea I've seen out there a few times about Klay Thompson being over rated, I'd actually go in the other direction.

No doubt they are an absolute beast of a team, though I do think they can be one of the best teams ever while at the same time possibly cutting almost their entire front court mid-season. Premium Pachulia is exactly what they need, but he did fall apart last year and lost his starting gig to David Lee and Salah Mejri at one point. So to me the story line is can their guys that broke down last year (Iguodala, Pachulia) make it to the finish line or will they have to invent a new bench on the fly? Is true though without injuries everyone else
Is playing for second place which sucks. Like I said though owners asked for it by pushing through a cap smoothing process.

How's Iguodala supposed to look, did he bounce back from his case of
Larry Bird low back or no?

[Writebloc]

Read on Twitter

Better start calling him A. Sherrod Breakly...

[sully00]

It's like, IDK, having a bullpen with four great closers and no middle relief guys. Too many stars, not enough planets to orbit them.

Why do people always make this terrible argument? League history shows pretty conclusively that nothing trumps having the most elite talent. Could be all perimeter guys, could be all frontcourt guys, can be a mix of the two.

Warriors probably have a twice as good a chance for a title this year than the rest of the field combined, which is a pretty claim to be able to utter before a long 100-game season even starts. They won 73 games last year, have been to back-to-back Finals and have now essentially traded a broken down Bogut and Barnes -- who is a poor man's Jeff Green and not even top 20 at his position -- for a guy who might be one of the top 10-15 players ever.

In addition to the two most recent MVPs, they have two other top 15 players, who both excel at both ends of the floor without needing to have the ball inn their hands, and an elite 6th man who is also an elite defender. In addition to potentially/likely being the best offense of all time, with the most floor spacing the game has ever seen, they may also be a top 2-3 defensive team this year with the DPOY and two other guys who have a very legitimate shot at making All-Defensive teams.

Oh, and they play completely unselfishly and likely have the 2nd best coach in the league behind Popovich.
ca
Sure, there are any number of injuries that could derail them, but come on, already.

Actually most of the time it doesn't work in year 1. The '08 Celtics are the exception not the rule. If they stay together chances are they pull through like Miami did but in general putting high usage super stars together is growing pain situation. That said the Warriors were damn good without Durant. It think the hardest thing is going to figure it out how they are going to approach the half dozen real games they play this season.

There is still only one ball. Ironically the Warriors would probably be better off having added a guy like Horford they don't exactly struggle scoring the ball. Nobody is going to turn away one of the best scorers in the game but it isn't like the Warriors can win more regular season games Curry, Durant, and Thompson are all going to watch their scoring avgs drop significantly so they can win 1 more game against the Cavs in June. Bottom line it is the most important thing but its about stopping Lebron James not scoring more points.

I don't know how they lost last year but I would not be shocked if Durant's stay in GS is short.

[sully00]

Just as a side note, without his ridiculous game against the Celtics in the Conference Finals and two of the biggest collapses in Finals history (Spurs in '13, Warriors last season), James could still be sitting on either one or possibly no titles.

That is what being great is all about. I am no fan and have killed him in the past for coming up small in big moments but he is carving out a legacy.

Kevin Durant has assumed that mantle. Lebron's legacy is intact.

[Ed Pinkney]

Just as a side note, without his ridiculous game against the Celtics in the Conference Finals and two of the biggest collapses in Finals history (Spurs in '13, Warriors last season), James could still be sitting on either one or possibly no titles.

That is what being great is all about. I am no fan and have killed him in the past for coming up small in big moments but he is carving out a legacy.

Kevin Durant has assumed that mantle. Lebron's legacy is intact.

I sort of agree with you but it hurts a little to see it happen as I find him so unlikable. But without a Pop coaching error and one of the most ridiculous shots in Finals history from Ray Allen, plus Draymond Greens propensity for touching genitals, maybe he is in the Karl Malone, Charles Barkley conversation.

He had some comment the other about finding it humorous that teams are being put together to beat him. Ummm... what? Sort of how he has done twice now?

[SMTBSI]

It's like, IDK, having a bullpen with four great closers and no middle relief guys. Too many stars, not enough planets to orbit them.

Why do people always make this terrible argument? League history shows pretty conclusively that nothing trumps having the most elite talent. Could be all perimeter guys, could be all frontcourt guys, can be a mix of the two.

Warriors probably have a twice as good a chance for a title this year than the rest of the field combined, which is a pretty claim to be able to utter before a long 100-game season even starts. They won 73 games last year, have been to back-to-back Finals and have now essentially traded a broken down Bogut and Barnes -- who is a poor man's Jeff Green and not even top 20 at his position -- for a guy who might be one of the top 10-15 players ever.

In addition to the two most recent MVPs, they have two other top 15 players, who both excel at both ends of the floor without needing to have the ball inn their hands, and an elite 6th man who is also an elite defender. In addition to potentially/likely being the best offense of all time, with the most floor spacing the game has ever seen, they may also be a top 2-3 defensive team this year with the DPOY and two other guys who have a very legitimate shot at making All-Defensive teams.

Oh, and they play completely unselfishly and likely have the 2nd best coach in the league behind Popovich.

Sure, there are any number of injuries that could derail them, but come on, already.

Agreed. I love ya Parl, but there are two things that stop the Warriors from winning it all this year:

1.) Injuries. Massive, crippling injuries.

2.) Lebron somehow, someway, impossibly, finding yet another level.


That team has so much talent that they'll cruise through the regular season and win plenty of games while working out all of their kinks.

It's like that gif (which I can't find now), of Arenas et al saying, about our big three, that a championship team cannot be built in one year, which ends with a shot of the big three smoking cigars, captioned "Y'all were sayin'?"

Only worse.