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[troza]

MJ demanded respect, LBJ is begging for respect.

MJ just went to get the respect... shut down critics improving the game and overcoming challenges. He didn't beg or demand, he just made everyone respect him.


About the Heat... it will depend on who they will get. Surely their fans can have more confidence than we did in the past that they will make the right moves but they can still fail. And the rookies need to improve and keep the focus. It won't be easy because this was a crazy playoffs and usually the players have now more reputation, more ego and they won't surprise anyone again. If the east was a bit stronger, I would say that they won't repeat this success if they don't get anyone.

[StunnerKO]

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[Southpaw]

Seems like I'm in the minority here, but I thoroughly enjoyed the bubble experience. Didn't really know what to expect before it started and the first impression, the game between a depleted Nuggets team with no guards and a Washington team that shouldn't have been in the bubble in the first place, was really rough (the presentation of that game was BRUTAL too). But that feels like forever ago and it's been so much better since, at least for me. We had fun pre-playoff games, that 8-0 Suns run for example, some great playoff performances, the Clippers upset...all while not having a single COVID case. Hopefully NBA games in front of fans come back soon, but the bubble was a huge success from my perspective.

Not much of a Lakers fan, but the at the end of the day the best team won and I'm not mad.

I'm with you. We had some amazing moments this bubble playoffs. TJ Warren's scoring run, the comeback kids in the Nuggets, Murray and Mitchell's duel, OG's buzzer beater, Lillard's hot streak, Tatum's underrated Game 7 against the Raps, CP3 and the Thunder almost sending the Rockets home, Harden's series winning block, Jokic's game 7 against the Clips, Herro and Robinson's coming out party, Luka's game winner, AD's game winner and of course Jimmy's Finals masterpiece. It was fun that I kinda hope the league can somewhat replicate the bubble playoffs but with fans instead. Maybe they can play on a neutral site so that player don't have to travel or something.

[Ice Man]

If the east was a bit stronger, I would say that they won't repeat this success if they don't get anyone.

The Heat definitely need to upgrade. They were at best the 3rd most talented team in the East, behind Milwaukee and Boston, and one can argue that Toronto and a healthy Philly are better too. It all came together for Miami the bubble but expecting another semi-miracle run is expecting too much.

[otwok]

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This is just a show. AD is staying in LA. There was never a doubt.

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk

[TheSuzerain]

Yeah the bubble was a good time. Level of play was usually very high, likely due to the lack of travel.

Clippers kind of spoiled what should have been a great WCF.

LeBron vs Giannis also would have been a fun time but can't deny the Miami run was an unexpected and entertaining alternative. I enjoy seeing team's that play great team basketball being rewarded.

[TheStig]

I hate Lebron as much as the next guy, and I even think he originated the "bandwagon culture" that is prevalent today when he joined the Heatles but he has my respect. Same with Kobe. I guess I just appreciate greatness.

Lebron definitely has my respect. I think he's #2 all time. But if he's expecting to be #1, it's not going to happen. MJ was a different beast. He was better at his best, he struck fear into guys and he beat everyone during his prime. Bron couldn't win till he joined up with other stars, he jumps from one super team to the rest once their talent is bled dry, his contemporaries have beat him in the finals or on the way and guys don't seem to scared of him. The legend of MJ is just better. The goat can't be 4-6 in the finals.

I also think Bron has greatly benefited from today's game with rest and nutrition. Back in MJ's days, there weren't guys built like that driving the rim all day for that long and holding up. I think the sports science has really helped with his longevity. I don't know if he'd have been able to take the beating and have his knees hold up back then.

100% agree. To me Jordan is still the undisputed GOAT tho I understand people who think Lebron or Kareem is GOAT. Jordan is just on a different level and. Lebron biggest strike on his resume imo is his 2011 Finals performance. You can't claim to be the GOAT and perform that way on the biggest stage.

It's also hard with as much as he moves around. Bron is not the greatest Heat or Laker of all time. He is the greatest Cav of all time. Same with Kareem. Kareem is a 6x champion but only 2x finals MVP. It's hard to be the Goat when people are winning the finals MVP over you. Is he the greatest Laker? I think Magic is the greatest Laker.

[TheStig]

Yeah the bubble was a good time. Level of play was usually very high, likely due to the lack of travel.

Clippers kind of spoiled what should have been a great WCF.

LeBron vs Giannis also would have been a fun time but can't deny the Miami run was an unexpected and entertaining alternative. I enjoy seeing team's that play great team basketball being rewarded.

Clips just just choked. They anointed themselves the champion and had people in and out of the bubble. And then traded the farm for PG choke job. I think that will end up coming back to bite them in the ass. It'll also be interesting because they've got Morris and Harrell who will look to get paid.

[Andi Obst]

Clips just just choked. They anointed themselves the champion and had people in and out of the bubble. And then traded the farm for PG choke job. I think that will end up coming back to bite them in the ass. It'll also be interesting because they've got Morris and Harrell who will look to get paid.

The PG trade was bad in a vacuum, but they had to do it to get Kawhi. And I think the Clippers will be fine. They will probably re-sign Morris and Harrell, although I could see a case for a sign and trade with him, and just go again next season. No reason to believe they won't be better in next years playoffs IMO.

[Grodoboldo]

It's actually not that hard to stop super teams.
Hard cap + no max salaries. Done. If any superstar wants to be buddy buddy with another, well, put your money where your mouth is and leave cash on the table.
But it'll never happen. NBPA and big markets (real big markets, not big markets who act like small ones) would never allow it.

[TheSuzerain]

NBPA wouldn't care if a star left money on the table.

People have a fundamental misunderstanding of what happens when a player signs their contract. They aren't extracting more money from the collective NBA ownership.

[MrSparkle]

In the end, while I love Jimmy's run and think he's legitimately a top-10 player (top-5 as far as the bubble goes), I will say, he's good for a huge 30+ pt game just once in a while, so I knew MIA didn't really have a shot at taking this to game 7 unless Herro showed up. Dragic obviously was in no shape to play. Hate him as we will, but Lebron (and Davis) each are basically nightly 30/10 threats, whereas Jimmy's scoring average of ~20 ppg is representative of how he can give you 12 points one game, and 40 another night.

Here are my All-NBA Bubble Teams:

1st team:

Murray
Butler
Leonard
James
Davis

2nd:

Mitchell
Harden
Doncic
Tatum
Jokic

Seems about right? I think Luka's 1st round was pretty epic. He was the lone-star on that Mavs team and gave a way more stacked Clippers team 4 really tough games. The last 2 games were blowouts, but he was hurt.

Anyway, I don't like it, but Lakers were the best team in the bubble. I do think DEN had a better shot with less referee intrusion, and MIA of course had a legit shot with a healthy Dragic and Bam, but Vogel and the Lakers got those 3-8 parts all working in top shape.

As Bulls fans, we saw Rondo at his worst, but we also saw him at his best (2 Celtics games). He turned back the clock last night; you couldn't tell the difference between 2008 and 2020. He was breaking good defenders off-the-dribble, scoring at the basket and basically massacring the Heat in his secondary role. He was the x-factor IMO that totally tilted the series in LA's favor. With the injuries and Herro's disappearance, I'm surprised but impressed Jimmy forced G6.

[Ice Man]

It's actually not that hard to stop super teams.
Hard cap + no max salaries. Done. If any superstar wants to be buddy buddy with another, well, put your money where your mouth is and leave cash on the table.

I've been lusting after that solution since forever. But the Players Union won't have it, because the ideal team with such an approach would be $50 million each for two superstars, then $20 million total for all the other players. The median wage would go down, so the median player won't support that measure.

[TheStig]

Clips just just choked. They anointed themselves the champion and had people in and out of the bubble. And then traded the farm for PG choke job. I think that will end up coming back to bite them in the ass. It'll also be interesting because they've got Morris and Harrell who will look to get paid.

The PG trade was bad in a vacuum, but they had to do it to get Kawhi. And I think the Clippers will be fine. They will probably re-sign Morris and Harrell, although I could see a case for a sign and trade with him, and just go again next season. No reason to believe they won't be better in next years playoffs IMO.

I know they had to do it to get Kawhi. I just wished they picked a better 2nd star.

[otwok]

Bubble overall was okay. The biggest winner was Adam Silver to prove that he could do it. Good for him and the NBA. But I think what we saw was the result of how important travel/crowds are to quality and presentation of the game and how it can actually affect results.

In a normal post season, I don't see Miami getting past Milwaukee, and I also see the Lakers losing a few more Western Conference games (they may still win the championship). Playing in the playoffs in loud environments is hard for young and role players. Think about playing on the road in Denver with the altitude against a young team. Tough. Not to mention with Anthony Davis and his injury history, I actually think the lack of travel and no 82 game season helped. This is really the first time in his career he was able to finish out a season. He played a total of 83 games including the playoffs this year, and towards the end was really wincing at any contact.

[Southpaw]

Lebron definitely has my respect. I think he's #2 all time. But if he's expecting to be #1, it's not going to happen. MJ was a different beast. He was better at his best, he struck fear into guys and he beat everyone during his prime. Bron couldn't win till he joined up with other stars, he jumps from one super team to the rest once their talent is bled dry, his contemporaries have beat him in the finals or on the way and guys don't seem to scared of him. The legend of MJ is just better. The goat can't be 4-6 in the finals.

I also think Bron has greatly benefited from today's game with rest and nutrition. Back in MJ's days, there weren't guys built like that driving the rim all day for that long and holding up. I think the sports science has really helped with his longevity. I don't know if he'd have been able to take the beating and have his knees hold up back then.

100% agree. To me Jordan is still the undisputed GOAT tho I understand people who think Lebron or Kareem is GOAT. Jordan is just on a different level and. Lebron biggest strike on his resume imo is his 2011 Finals performance. You can't claim to be the GOAT and perform that way on the biggest stage.

It's also hard with as much as he moves around. Bron is not the greatest Heat or Laker of all time. He is the greatest Cav of all time. Same with Kareem. Kareem is a 6x champion but only 2x finals MVP. It's hard to be the Goat when people are winning the finals MVP over you. Is he the greatest Laker? I think Magic is the greatest Laker.

Yeah, I think Wade is the greatest Heat followed by Lebron while it's Magic then Kobe for the Lakers. I hate that stars nowadays jump ship from team to team to try and win a ring instead of sticking to one team and building a legacy there but that's the product of shorter contracts anf the media/fans pressure on players to win or be clowned.

[kodo]

1st team:

Murray
Butler
Leonard
James
Davis

2nd:

Mitchell
Harden
Doncic
Tatum
Jokic

I can't argue these, but I wish there was room for Booker & Lillard.

Lillard: 37.6 ppg, 50%/44%/89% shooting, 9.6 apg in the bubble seeding games. They lost in round 1, but it was to the champions.
Booker: 31 ppg, 8-0 record.

[Ice Man]

Yeah, I think Wade is the greatest Heat followed by Lebron while it's Magic then Kobe for the Lakers. I hate that stars nowadays jump ship from team to team to try and win a ring instead of sticking to one team and building a legacy there but that's the product of shorter contracts anf the media/fans pressure on players to win or be clowned.

Said it before and will say it again -- the fans share in the blame. I can't tell you how many times I read on realgm about how some guy is a winner because his team advanced in the playoffs and another guy is a loser because he can't get out of the first round. Then the players form superteams and the guy who used to be a loser (say, AD) now becomes regarded as a winner. Take KD. If he stays in OKC he might never have made the Finals. People pretended to be angry when he joined the Warriors, but now those same people talk about how great he is, in a way that they would not have had he stayed in OKC.

We have the arrangement that we, the fans, reward.

[Michael Jackson]

Clips just just choked. They anointed themselves the champion and had people in and out of the bubble. And then traded the farm for PG choke job. I think that will end up coming back to bite them in the ass. It'll also be interesting because they've got Morris and Harrell who will look to get paid.

The PG trade was bad in a vacuum, but they had to do it to get Kawhi. And I think the Clippers will be fine. They will probably re-sign Morris and Harrell, although I could see a case for a sign and trade with him, and just go again next season. No reason to believe they won't be better in next years playoffs IMO.

I know they had to do it to get Kawhi. I just wished they picked a better 2nd star.

Like Jimmy Butler. I bet Philly would have taken SGA gladly.

[TheStig]

The PG trade was bad in a vacuum, but they had to do it to get Kawhi. And I think the Clippers will be fine. They will probably re-sign Morris and Harrell, although I could see a case for a sign and trade with him, and just go again next season. No reason to believe they won't be better in next years playoffs IMO.

I know they had to do it to get Kawhi. I just wished they picked a better 2nd star.

Like Jimmy Butler. I bet Philly would have taken SGA gladly.

Or they could have just signed Jimmy and kept SGA and all those picks. And possibly used those assets for a big.