NBA Games Discussion Thread - Part 4

I_Like_Dirt · Post #421 » by **I_Like_Dirt** » Wed Jun 14, 2017 7:00 pm

If that's the standard, though, then everyone gets "exposed" on defense by having to go up against Curry, Durant and Thompson. Who knew those guys could score?

I've been saying it all year, but the Warriors were playing possum in the regular season just as much as the Cavs were, only nobody noticed because they won so much anyway. They really only ramped things up after getting a scare in game 1 against the Spurs and just dominated after that point.

Kanyewest · Post #422 » by **Kanyewest** » Wed Jun 14, 2017 8:15 pm

I_Like_Dirt wrote:If that's the standard, though, then everyone gets "exposed" on defense by having to go up against Curry, Durant and Thompson. Who knew those guys could score?

I've been saying it all year, but the Warriors were playing possum in the regular season just as much as the Cavs were, only nobody noticed because they won so much anyway. They really only ramped things up after getting a scare in game 1 against the Spurs and just dominated after that point.

Their point differential was better than their 73 win season. Plus the Warriors closed out the regular season 15-1.

Also the Cavs weren't really good defensively against the Pacers and somehow manage to lose to the Celtics without IT.

I_Like_Dirt · Post #423 » by **I_Like_Dirt** » Thu Jun 15, 2017 3:47 am

Losing one game to the Celtics where it felt as though they took their foot off the pedal in the 2nd half doesn't really make me think less of the Cavs. The Cavs knew what they were doing. Unfortunately for them, so did the Warriors.

Kanyewest · Post #424 » by **Kanyewest** » Thu Jun 15, 2017 2:26 pm

I_Like_Dirt wrote:Losing one game to the Celtics where it felt as though they took their foot off the pedal in the 2nd half doesn't really make me think less of the Cavs. The Cavs knew what they were doing. Unfortunately for them, so did the Warriors.

I'm also impressed with what the Cavs did in the finals and what they did in Boston.

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FAH1223 · Post #425 » by **FAH1223** » Thu Jun 15, 2017 4:40 pm

nate33 wrote:
FAH1223 wrote:
Rafael122 wrote:Going to be very interesting what happens to Cleveland and Golden State the next 3-4 years.

Cleveland: Lebron is getting older, their books are absolute crap. They have no draft picks and not much in the way of trade assets unless they move Kevin Love.

Golden State: Unless the owners are willing to pay the tax, there's no way they will keep this team together over the next 5 years. Sure, there are players who would ring chase, but Livingston is gone. Iggy is 33 and you're giving him MLE money at the down swing of his career. They're the team to beat obviously, but depth is going to be an issue sooner or later and quite frankly, I think Klay leaves in 2 years.

LeBron's decline is evident with his defense. I know he played big minutes but he was consistently flat footed and not rotating.

I also think Klay is the most likely to leave in 2019. He'll be 29 and still in his prime, he can go to a team and be the guy...

I don't think Lebron's inconsistent defense was due to age-related decline. It was merely fatigue and him pacing himself. If you play 46 minutes as the team's primary offensive threat, you are going to have to sacrifice some at the other end of the floor. Overall, I feel that Lebron is as good as he has ever been. This may have been his most dominating postseason ever.

That may be true. But the eye test didn't cut it for me.

I think in 2014 when the Spurs were massacring the Heat, I could buy that. But throughout the season, I've seen LeBron's defense slip down a bit. He isn't as quick IMO.

Kanyewest · Post #426 » by **Kanyewest** » Thu Jun 15, 2017 5:09 pm

This LeBron James hater made a video of all the bad defensive plays, some of which weren't LeBron's fault, but it does look like LeBron has lost a step defensively.

Watch on YouTube

closg00 · Post #427 » by **closg00** » Mon Oct 16, 2017 5:57 pm

Totally pumped to see the Celts vs Cavs tomorrow night,the kid Tatum is being thrown-in as a starter.

queridiculo · Post #428 » by **queridiculo** » Tue Oct 17, 2017 1:52 pm

Kanyewest wrote:This LeBron James hater made a video of all the bad defensive plays, some of which weren't LeBron's fault, but it does look like LeBron has lost a step defensively.

I see a handful of bad plays but most of it is simply a function of who he's matched up with.

Soon to be 33 year old Lebron isn't going to stay in front of Durant and he certainly isn't going to stand in front of Curry.

So yeah, he's probably lost a step but I wouldn't got as far as to call him an overrated defender. The Warriors spread offense and the amount of moving screeners are getting away with are basically dooming defenders as soon as they find themselves in one on one matchups.

James may not be willing to admit it publicly, but I think his days as a small forward in this league are over and the sooner he moves to the four the better for him and the Cavs.

There's a good chance we'll see Crowder paired up with Lebron which will probably find him matched up with power forwards quite a bit more than he's been used to in the past.

dlts20 · Post #429 » by **dlts20** » Tue Oct 17, 2017 4:20 pm

No game thread yet? Smh

closg00 · Post #430 » by **closg00** » Wed Oct 18, 2017 12:40 am

What happened to Hayward? Toronto and Wizards to challenge for the East now.

keynote · Post #431 » by **keynote** » Wed Oct 18, 2017 12:41 am

Hayward's gotta be out for the year. Oof, that was gruesome. :-(

JWizmentality · Post #432 » by **JWizmentality** » Wed Oct 18, 2017 12:45 am

Wow, that might be a career ender. Hoping for the best.

Post #433 » by **montestewart** » Wed Oct 18, 2017 1:30 am

keynote wrote:Hayward's gotta be out for the year. Oof, that was gruesome.

Up there with the most extreme I've seen. Can't erase it from my mind.

WallToWall · Post #434 » by **WallToWall** » Wed Oct 18, 2017 1:33 am

Never want to see an injury like that. I think Hayward will come back in a year. Wish him a speedy recovery. Remember Bernard King....yes, I am dating myself... but he had a knee injury, ACL, and a broken leg. He was out for over a year. They didnt think he would ever come back from it, but he ended up being very good for the Bullets after we took a chance on him. Yes, he lost a step, and there were things he couldnt do anymore. But still, he had a very good career after the injury.
Edit: forgot to mention...when I saw Hayward go up for that block, I instantly thought of Bernard King going for the block and getting injured almost the same kind of way.

queridiculo · Post #435 » by **queridiculo** » Wed Oct 18, 2017 1:53 am

If Morris wasn't missing time to start the season I'd be pretty confident about the Wizards making an early push for the best conference record.

The Cavs have Lebron but there's an awful lot of pieces that don't really fit together over there.

Chocolate City Jordanaire · Post #436 » by **Chocolate City Jordanaire** » Wed Oct 18, 2017 2:12 am

The Cavs are not a good defensive team.

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CobraCommander · Post #437 » by **CobraCommander** » Wed Oct 18, 2017 2:14 am

WallToWall wrote:Never want to see an injury like that. I think Hayward will come back in a year. Wish him a speedy recovery. Remember Bernard King....yes, I am dating myself... but he had a knee injury, ACL, and a broken leg. He was out for over a year. They didnt think he would ever come back from it, but he ended up being very good for the Bullets after we took a chance on him. Yes, he lost a step, and there were things he couldnt do anymore. But still, he had a very good career after the injury.
Edit: forgot to mention...when I saw Hayward go up for that block, I instantly thought of Bernard King going for the block and getting injured almost the same kind of way.

It was one of the most unfortunate injuries ever. If the Celtics win this game it will be interesting to see if the Celtics can still be an elite team.

long suffrin' boulez fan · Post #438 » by **long suffrin' boulez fan** » Wed Oct 18, 2017 2:24 am

This Cavs Celts game has turned really good. Man, the Celts have sooo much young talent.

Wiz are light years behind both of these squads.

closg00 · Post #439 » by **closg00** » Wed Oct 18, 2017 2:24 am

Celts in the game w/o their starting SF...interesting.

long suffrin' boulez fan · Post #440 » by **long suffrin' boulez fan** » Wed Oct 18, 2017 2:28 am

Before too long Tatum will be better than Hayward ever was.

Not knocking Hayward because I really like him, but Tatum's got unreal talent, size, atleticism