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It just seems odd.

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    Boxtruffles

    The Raptors have out-Warriored the Warriors. This is shaping up to be the end of a dynasty. Kawhi ended the LeBron/Wade/Bosh Heat dynasty (denying them a three-peat) and is on the verge of doing the s

  • DarkandStormy
    DarkandStormy

    It was Danny Green who nearly screwed it up this time.   Hilarious to watch all the GSW fans complain "but injuries!!" without realizing/acknowledging their first title came against a Love a

  • oh geez no -- shocking and sad to hear -- get well soon bronny!  😟         BRONNY JAMESSUFFERS CARDIAC ARREST ...During USC Workout   7/25/2023   LeBron Ja

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10 hours ago, Columbo said:

The Denver Nuggets crashed the LA vs LA western conference final that everyone was anticipating.  The Nugs came back from a 3-1 series deficit (they also came back from a 3-1 deficit against Utah in the previous round).  So all credit to Denver - or did the Clippers just blow it?

 

And our lowly Cavaliers swept the Nuggets during the "regular" season this year.  

  • 2 weeks later...

So the LA vs LA Western Final never materialized.  But the NBA and its broadcasters got something even better for the NBA Final:  Heat vs Lakers ?

 

So many storylines to plumb:

- LeBron's former team vs LeBron's new team

- Riley's former team vs Riley's current team

- The Riley "cowardly betrayal" statement about LeBron

- The superstar duo team vs the team of mostly unknown underdogs

- The Jimmy Butler "so you thought I was the problem" tour continues (Minny, Bulls, Sixers?)

 

And just let this sink in:

 

The only NBA Finals analysis we need:

 

LeBron is just so good.

 

-'07: team of scrubs, age 23, going against an all-time Spurs team (probably better than any Jordan faced in the Finals).  can't hold this against him.

-'11: probably can hold this against him?  he wasn't great in the Finals.  don't know the full story there, but Wade and Bosh also weren't that great and the Mavs played complete team ball.

-'12: W

-'13: W

-'14: The "Heatles" thing had lost steam, that team just looked tired.  And an all-time Spurs team was coming for revenge after blowing Game 6 the prior year.  LeBron actually played pretty well, but not spectacular.

-'15: got to the Finals after losing Love in the 1st round, and lost Kyrie early in the Finals series.  Went completely off - averaged 35.8 points, 13.3 rebounds, and 8.8 assists.  His team was just bad without Kyrie and Love.

-'16: an all-time W.

-'17: Warriors have to go get the #2 player in the world to come back and beat the Cavs.

-'18: Repeat

-'19: new team, injuries, etc.

-'20: 3 Ws away from championship #4

 

Basically the only argument left in the MJ vs LeBron GOAT discussion is the Finals records, but I think LeBron faced far tougher teams than Jordan ever did (notably, Golden State four times - twice as a cheat code, basically - and the Spurs three times...that's 7 better opponents than Jordan ever went up against).  I think Pippen is probably a better teammate than LeBron ever had (of LeBron's best teammates...I guess it's Wade, Bosh, Kyrie, and Davis?  Any of those guys top 50 all-time players?), and Jordan never took a depleted team to the Finals like LeBron did (imagine MJ trying to get to a Game 6 without Pippen and Rodman, for example).  LeBron's teams also crater once he leaves (see: Cavs, or Heat until this season).  That's a bit of a byproduct of today's NBA, but the Bulls were back in the playoffs without Michael when he retired the first time.

 

If LeBron wins it, he'll be 4-6 in the Finals, and really only '11 would I hold against him in the loss column.

 

LeBron is now #1 all-time in NBA history in playoff scoring, steals, FTs made, minutes played, FGs made, and is 3rd in assists.  He's going to end his career, in all likelihood, #1 in points all-time (regular season) and #3 assists.  It's also pretty likely he ends up in the top 25 in rebounds as well, if he averages ~8 rebounds a game for just four more seasons.

 

He's never put it together consistently enough in the Finals (talking about more than just one repeat) - a lot of that is due to the opponents and some injuries to key players - but if he can hold it together in LA instead of things flaming out ~3-4 years into peak contention like all his other previous stops...well, the # of rings could keep climbing.

Edited by DarkandStormy

Very Stable Genius

The Lakers dominated the first two games.  Miami lost two of their top three players in Game One.  It looked like it was going to be a Lakers sweep.  But then Jimmy Butler put the Heat team on his back with extraordinary triple-double of 40 pts, 11 reb, 13 assists to win Game Three on Sunday.  What was so extraordinary about the 40 points he scored was that it was all two-pointers in the paint. No 3's!  The last player to score 40 playoff points w/o any 3's was Shaq in 1992(!)

 

So Game Four is tonight and our favorite expert analyst Papi is back with a revised series outlook:

 

-- The Lakers tie the Celtics with their 17th NBA Championship

-- LeBron wins his fourth NBA title with his third NBA team

-- LeBron wins a fourth NBA Finals MVP

 

And this is how you safely celebrate a championship during the COVID pandemic(!)

 

Our favorite expert NBA analyst Papi is back to say he's sorry/not sorry about the things he said about LeBron and the Lakers.  Also, that 2021 will be the start of a Heat dynasty that will run until 2030.  Book it! ?

 

 

  • 1 month later...

https://www.nba.com/news/nba-2020-21-season-faq

 

The NBA 2020-21 season will begin December 22 and will include Christmas Day games.  They're proposing a 72-game season with an end date TBA - but it's thought that they want to finish before the Tokyo Olympics begin (assuming the 2021 Olympics are held).

 

The 2020 NBA draft will be held Wednesday, November 18.  The draft was originally scheduled to be at Barclays Center in Brooklyn but will now be conducted at ESPN's facilities in Bristol via videoconferencing.


Free agent signings will be permitted starting at 12:01 p.m. ET on Sunday, November 22.

 

 

Sounds good.  I'd be OK with a 72 game season permanently as the regular season has become somewhat meaningless.

  • 3 weeks later...

There's been a ton of free-agent signings and trades in the run-up to the NBA's reformatted 2020-21 season.  You can see all of them over at https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/30162802/2020-nba-free-agency-trades-latest-buzz-news-reports

 

But the biggest trade (so far) was done yesterday, when Houston and Washington agreed to swap Russell Westbrook for John Wall, previously thought to be two "untradeable contracts":  https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/30439266/sources-houston-rockets-washington-wizards-agree-russell-westbrook-john-wall-deal

 

Houston trades 32-year-old Westbrook, who is owed $133 million over three seasons remaining on his contract, to Washington for 30-year-old Wall, who still has three years and $132 million on his contract and hasn't played since Dec. 26, 2018, missing two seasons with injuries to his Achilles tendon and knee(!)  This is Westbrook's third team in three seasons after Houston engineered a summer 2019 trade for him, sending Chris Paul plus two first-round picks and two first-round swaps to OKC(!!)

 

Meanwhile, the defending champion Lakers just locked up their two superstars with new contracts:

48 NBA players have already tested positive for covid.  So...good luck with all that.

Very Stable Genius

  • Author
On 12/3/2020 at 3:22 PM, Columbo said:

There's been a ton of free-agent signings and trades in the run-up to the NBA's reformatted 2020-21 season.  You can see all of them over at https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/30162802/2020-nba-free-agency-trades-latest-buzz-news-reports

 

But the biggest trade (so far) was done yesterday, when Houston and Washington agreed to swap Russell Westbrook for John Wall, previously thought to be two "untradeable contracts":  https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/30439266/sources-houston-rockets-washington-wizards-agree-russell-westbrook-john-wall-deal

 

Houston trades 32-year-old Westbrook, who is owed $133 million over three seasons remaining on his contract, to Washington for 30-year-old Wall, who still has three years and $132 million on his contract and hasn't played since Dec. 26, 2018, missing two seasons with injuries to his Achilles tendon and knee(!)  This is Westbrook's third team in three seasons after Houston engineered a summer 2019 trade for him, sending Chris Paul plus two first-round picks and two first-round swaps to OKC(!!)

 

Meanwhile, the defending champion Lakers just locked up their two superstars with new contracts:

 

 

 i saw something on espn where they said lebron now wants to try to hang on to play againt bronny. there have been father-son nba players, but never at the same time before.

  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Back to the bubble?

  • 3 weeks later...

Blockbuster deal sends Harden from Houston to the Brooklyn Nets.  But it involves four teams, so here are the complex details:

 

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/30706097/sources-houston-rockets-trade-james-harden-brooklyn-nets

 

The Rockets have sent James Harden to the Nets in a blockbuster four-team trade that also involves the Pacers and Cavaliers, completing the unhappy star's exit from Houston and setting up a potential superteam in Brooklyn.

 

The Nets sent Houston a package that includes multiple players plus draft picks and features guard Caris LeVert, who was then traded to the Pacers for Victor Oladipo, sources told ESPN.

 

Center Jarrett Allen and forward Taurean Prince are headed from the Nets to the Cavs in the deal, according to sources, while the Rockets receive Cleveland guard Dante Exum and Brooklyn forward Rodions Kurucs.

 

Houston also receives Brooklyn's three unprotected first-round draft picks (2022, 2024 and 2026) in the deal, plus pick swaps in 2021, 2023, 2025 and 2027, according to sources.  The Rockets also get Cleveland's 2022 first-round pick, via the Milwaukee Bucks.

 

So to it sum up:

 

2 hours ago, Columbo said:

Blockbuster deal sends Harden from Houston to the Brooklyn Nets.  But it involves four teams, so here are the complex details:

 

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/30706097/sources-houston-rockets-trade-james-harden-brooklyn-nets

 

The Rockets have sent James Harden to the Nets in a blockbuster four-team trade that also involves the Pacers and Cavaliers, completing the unhappy star's exit from Houston and setting up a potential superteam in Brooklyn.

 

The Nets sent Houston a package that includes multiple players plus draft picks and features guard Caris LeVert, who was then traded to the Pacers for Victor Oladipo, sources told ESPN.

 

Center Jarrett Allen and forward Taurean Prince are headed from the Nets to the Cavs in the deal, according to sources, while the Rockets receive Cleveland guard Dante Exum and Brooklyn forward Rodions Kurucs.

 

Houston also receives Brooklyn's three unprotected first-round draft picks (2022, 2024 and 2026) in the deal, plus pick swaps in 2021, 2023, 2025 and 2027, according to sources.  The Rockets also get Cleveland's 2022 first-round pick, via the Milwaukee Bucks.

 

So to it sum up:

 

The Nets are shaping up...even as Kyrie is, hopefully, shipping out.

  • Author

do the nets really think durant, harden and kyrie are going to be a bron, wade, bosh miami styled dream team? i cant even remember the last time nutty kyrie played. he's been fined a whopping $800k already for missing games. good luck to them with that.

  • 2 weeks later...
On 1/15/2021 at 12:20 PM, mrnyc said:

do the nets really think durant, harden and kyrie are going to be a bron, wade, bosh miami styled dream team? i cant even remember the last time nutty kyrie played. he's been fined a whopping $800k already for missing games. good luck to them with that.

Right. Remember Kylie wanted to fly solo and lead his own team...why would he stay with LeBron for another ring or 2...so Kyrie is set up to lead the Celtics, a renowned NBA team.  Well, that flopped. Plus weirdo Kyrie didn’t show in CLE during subsequent Celtics@Cavs games.

 

Now this whack job is in Brooklyn and now is surrounded by Durant & Harden..lol. Kyrie won’t last in this Nets set up... even the Knicks passed on him cuz of his unstable behavior. Buys George Floyd’s family a friggin house...supposedly couldn’t play, show up, or even notify Nets management, let alone his coach for 2 weeks, cuz of the Capitol Jan 6 goings on...lol. 
 

you can’t make this stuff up. Where are the adults in this situation to check this emotional 10 year old disguised as a 27 year old man?

  • 3 weeks later...
  • Author

i dk about this, but stephen a. call kyrie the show and says nothing can stop the healthy nets except maybe the lakers with ad back in good health:

 

http://www.espn.com/video/clip?id=30945314

On 9/2/2020 at 2:38 PM, Columbo said:

Interesting essay from Dan LeBatard on how the NBA evolved from a league that four decades ago televised its championship games at midnight on tape delay because it was considered "too black", into a tv ratings powerhouse today that also acts as a leading national force for black causes:

 

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/29772617/from-michael-jordan-lebron-james-how-nba-became-powerful-political-organization

This essay is absurd.  
 

As if 1980-era NBA championship games were tape delayed to play after hours because of black players.  

  • 2 months later...

The NBA is having "play-in games" for the 7/8 finishers and 9/10 finishers in each conference this season.  The winner of the 7/8 game is in the Playoffs.  Then the loser of the 7/8 game plays the winner of the 9/10 game for the final spot in the Playoffs.

 

The Eastern Conference had their first play-in games last night and the Western Conference has their first play-in games tonight.  As luck would have it, the L.A. Lakers are the #7 team playing the #8 Golden State Warriors(!!!)

 

No one expected the Lakers to fall to 7 or the Warriors to be in the 8-spot.  But LeBron and AD missed extended stretches with injuries - while Steph Curry put on a 3-pt shooting show down the stretch to propel the Warriors.

 

Because we're getting this unexpectedly compelling Lakers/Warriors matchup tonight, "whoever came up with this idea, needs to be promoted".  OR, if the banged-up Lakers can't beat Steph's Warriors tonight, and then lose to the 9/10 winner, and then miss the entire Playoffs(!) - THEN...

 

So it looks like whoever came up with that s---/play-in games won't need to be fired(!)

 

The Lakers/Warriors play-in game turned out magnificently for the NBA(and ESPN).  Below is LeBron's game-winning shot.  With one minute left, LeBron hit a long-distance three with the shot clock running out.  The Warriors played some great D and forced a desperation three in this sequence.  But LeBron hit the shot, despite still recovering from having his left eye poked by Draymond Green two plays earlier(!)

 

After the shot, LeBron pointed to his left eye and told Steph Curry "I still can't see out of it".

 

I was actually glad I stayed up for the end!   Great game! 

I know it's two west coast teams, but when a game ends at 1am eastern and is that exciting I couldn't fall asleep until at least 2. Great game and I think the play in idea worked well. Not only was this game entertaining, but teams like the Wizards would've packed it in weeks ago if not for this new setup which helped limit the usual end of the regular season tanking/resting. 

  • 3 weeks later...

They'll be no repeat champion in the NBA this season - the L.A. Lakers got eliminated in the first round by the Phoenix Suns.

 

LeBron's Lakers were looking okay to start the series, taking a 2-1 series lead.  But then AD gets injured in the next game and can't play the rest of the series (he tried in Game 6 last night but only lasted 5 minutes) and the series turned PHX's way.  Veteran PG Chris Paul led youngsters Deandre Ayton and Devin Booker - who had 47 points in the decisive Game 6 for PHX.

 

This is the 1st first-round exit of LeBron's career.  And the future for LeBron and AD in LA looks much less rosy if Davis can't stay healthy enough to assist LeBron - who will be 37 years old next season.

Meanwhile, on the east coast, we have the New York Knickerbockers - keepers of the most delusional fans in the NBA(!)

 

The Knicks had a much better than expected regular season under new HC Tom Thibodeau, and went 41-31, good enough to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 2013(!)

 

The 41-31 record gave the Knicks a #4 seed in the East and home court over the #5 Atlanta Hawks, who also went 41-31.  The first two games were in MSG, and the Knick fans were ready.  The Hawks were led by 22-year-old PG Trae Young.  Game One featured a fan spitting incident directed at Young and MSG chanting "F- Trae Young".  Then Young hit the game-winning shot to win by 2 and put his finger to his lips to shush the crowd(!)

 

Game Two in MSG was won by the Knicks 101-92.  After the game, delusional Knicks fans took to the streets outside MSG, acting like they won the whole series, and chanted "We want the Nets!"

 

Then Atlanta won their two home games and then won Game 5 at MSG 103-89 - with Trae Young hitting a final long-distance three and taking a bow because "that's what they do on Broadway"(!!)

25 minutes ago, Columbo said:

This is the 1st first-round exit of LeBron's career.  And the future for LeBron and AD in LA looks much less rosy if Davis can't stay healthy enough to assist LeBron - who will be 37 years old next season.

LeBron has a lot of miles on his body, playing in the NBA right out of high school and going deep into the playoffs almost every season.  One has to wonder how much longer he can last.

  • 3 weeks later...

We're down to the conference finals now:

 

East:  #3 Milwaukee Bucks vs #5 Atlanta Hawks

West: #2 Phoenix Suns vs #4 L.A. Clippers

 

How each team got there was determined quite a bit by how teams dealt with the injuries that cropped up in these 2021 playoffs.  In the Eastern Conference Semis, the Brooklyn Nets 'big-three' became the 'big-two' after the loss of Harden to hamstring issues - then a 'big-one' after Kyrie's severely sprained ankle.  KD had enough (with the return of a hampered Harden) to force a Game 7 - but the Greek Freak and the Bucks had enough to advance into the Eastern Conference Finals.  Game 1 was last night, and the young upstart Hawks won with 48 points from new star Trae Young.

 

In the Western Conference Semis, the LA Clippers lost Kwahi against Utah.  But 'Playoff P' actually came through in the playoffs this time to advance in 6 over the Jazz.  Meanwhile, the Suns had no injuries to Paul, Booker and Ayton and swept the Nugs.  However, Chris Paul was unable to play Games 1 & 2 (due to covid exposure) in the Western Conference Finals against the Clips - but the Suns still won both games anyway.  Devin Booker had 40 points in the Game 1 win.  And Deandre Ayton won Game 2 on a thunderous game-winning alley-oop dunk off the inbound pass with 0.9 seconds remaining.

 

That game-winning play was so amazing, it made both Michael Wilbon and Stephen A. Smith speechless(!)

 

  • 2 weeks later...

Milwaukee Bucks vs Phoenix Suns in the NBA Finals that starts tonight:

 

In the East, the Bucks eliminated the Atlanta Hawks in six.  This despite losing their star Giannis Antetokounmpo, who badly hyperextended his knee in a Game 4 loss and did not play in the final two Bucks wins.  However, the Hawks lost their star Trae Young to an ankle injury in Game 3.  Young was out for Games 4 & 5, and was held to 14 points in a Game 6 return.

 

In the West, the Suns eliminated the L.A. Clippers in six.  The Suns were without Chris Paul in Games 1 & 2 due to covid exposure, but the Clippers were without Kawhi Leonard for the entire series.  Chris Paul had 41 points in the closeout 130-103 Game 6 win.

 

An MRI revealed no structural damage to Antetokounmpo's knee and he is listed as questionable for tonight's Game 1.  But that was a scary looking injury, so there's no certainty that he can play or how effective he might be.  Which would be huge missed opportunity for Milwaukee, since they've won their division the last two years, reaching the East finals and semifinals, and were seemingly building up for this kind of championship run.  But without Antetokounmpo, the Suns are the odds-on favorite.

 

The Suns haven't been building up for this season's run - they've missed the playoffs for the past ten seasons and had a 19-63 record only two seasons ago(!)  But they added 36-year-old veteran PG Chris Paul to young stars 24-year-old Devin Booker and 22-year-old Deandre Ayton, and went 51-21, finishing 2nd in the West this season.

 

In addition to having two new teams in the Finals this season, no players on either roster have won an NBA championship(!!)

Congrats to the Bucks and Suns.  It is nice to see some different teams in the the finals.   I'm not sure when the Cavaliers will make it to the finals again.  But seeing what the Suns have done in the last few years gives me hope.

  • 2 weeks later...

Milwaukee Bucks are one win away from an NBA championship, which would be Milwaukee’s first in any major professional sport since the 1971 Bucks, led by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. (Although they’re all Packers fans up there, so I’m sure they count those more recent championships.) Anyway, I happen to be headed to Milwaukee this week for work. Game 6 is Tuesday night in MKE - hopefully they can pull it off at home. 

When is the last time I-71 turned a profit?

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/31851979/giannis-antetokounmpo-scores-50-points-game-6-nba-finals-milwaukee-bucks-win-club-1st-nba-title-1971

 

Milwaukee wins in it 6.  PHX won the first two at home and then the Bucks won the next four to sweep away the Suns.  I didn't have a rooting interest here - but you've got the feel good about a Midwest city like Milwaukee winning.  Plus, their best player - Giannis Antetokounmpo - is such a joyful personality with a feel-good immigrant family background story.  Plus, their players and fans like to chant "Let's Go Bucks":

 

Also, how great was Giannis Antetokounmpo in these Finals (after a serious looking leg injury in the Eastern Final) - and how great was he in this final game: 50 points in 42 minutes on 16-25 FG's (only 1-3 from 3PT range, not a surprise) and then 17-19 FT's (big surprise)

 

And how does Giannis celebrate after scoring 50 points in the series-winning game?

 

Happy for the Bucks. But man...that was some really bad basketball. The Cavs-Warriors was definitely way above this.

 

Doesn't matter though, it's 2021 and Suns and Bucks were the last standing and Bucks pulled it out. 

 

Congrats to Milwaukee and Phoenix for the finals. 

 

 

7 hours ago, surfohio said:

Happy for the Bucks. But man...that was some really bad basketball. The Cavs-Warriors was definitely way above this.

 

Doesn't matter though, it's 2021 and Suns and Bucks were the last standing and Bucks pulled it out. 

 

Congrats to Milwaukee and Phoenix for the finals. 

 

 

I was just glad to see two "non-super teams" in the finals.  Hopefully this starts to break up these groupings of aging superstars.  

The 2021 NBA entry draft was tonight - but this was the big news:

 

Sources: Los Angeles Lakers reach deal to acquire Russell Westbrook, sending 3-player package and pick to Washington Wizards

 

"The Los Angeles Lakers have agreed to a deal with the Washington Wizards to acquire Russell Westbrook in exchange for Kyle Kuzma, Montrezl Harrell, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and the No. 22 pick in Thursday night's NBA draft, sources told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski."

  • 4 weeks later...
  • 4 weeks later...

 

NBA preseason begins with media day:

 

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/32293462/vaccinated-nba-staffers-concerned-health-risks-being-exposed-unvaccinated-players-season-approaches

 

Though roughly 90% of NBA players are vaccinated as training camp approaches Tuesday, tension exists between those around the league mandated to be vaccinated and the nearly 40 unvaccinated players, league sources told ESPN.

 

In some instances, vaccinated staffers said they're concerned about the health risks of being exposed to unvaccinated players.  In others, staffers said they're upset that players aren't facing the same vaccine requirements as most team staff and referees.  In still others, there's animosity toward the league itself for not imposing such a mandate.

 

The league has pushed for mandatory vaccinations for players, league sources said, but as ESPN first reported, the National Basketball Players Association has refused to budge on a vaccine mandate for players, referring to it as a "nonstarter" in negotiations between the league and the player's union.

 

Just in the past week, it has surfaced that two NBA stars are unvaccinated in markets that require vaccinations to play.  Golden State Warriors wing Andrew Wiggins has remained unvaccinated.  Wiggins' decision could prevent him from playing in home games this season due to a public health order in San Francisco that requires people to be fully vaccinated to be allowed indoors for entertainment. ... "Wiggins will not be able to play in Warriors home games until he fulfills the city's vaccination requirements," the league said in a statement.

 

Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving also hasn't been vaccinated, and he could miss home games because New York has a similar order.  Irving missed the team's media day on Monday, though he was made available on a Zoom call.

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/32305199/nba-no-pay-unvaccinated-players-play

 

Now the NBA has determined that players who are forced to miss games due to the executive orders governing vaccination requirements in New York and San Francisco will not be paid for any games they miss.

 

So, will the prospect of not only missing games, but missing pay for those games, cause the Kyrie Irving holdouts in the NBA to finally get the covid vaccine?  With all the quasi-regulated stuff they already inject and ingest into their bodies for health, well-being and injury relief, you would think players wouldn't even blink twice over a fully-regulated vaccine that hundreds of millions have taken.

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