General NBA Discussion

[Darkseed]

The biggest drama in Conf Finals was Shaq and Barkley spat and Pop's assessment of Za Za foul on Leonard. That is pretty sad when the games themselves lack drama you turn to nonsense.

I don't think finals will be any different boring domination by one team but I would be fine with a Cavs repeat.

Next year it'll be Ball and his dad being the talk of the league versus games themselves. Likely won't watch many games next year either.

 

[Sweet Rabbit]

I give no fudges about this year

 

[guyver1]

The biggest drama in Conf Finals was Shaq and Barkley spat and Pop's assessment of Za Za foul on Leonard. That is pretty sad when the games themselves lack drama you turn to nonsense.

I don't think finals will be any different boring domination by one team but I would be fine with a Cavs repeat.

Next year it'll be Ball and his dad being the talk of the league versus games themselves. Likely won't watch many games next year either.

Sick of Shaq

And here was another reason why

 

[DinoDB1975]

LeBron has already done what he set out to do, which is to bring a championship to his hometown. Three time NBA Champion, four time league MVP, led his team to be the first in history to come back from a 3-1 deficit in the NBA Finals...his legacy should be set...unfortunately, people will point to his 3-5 record in the NBA Finals (yes, I have to logically think the Dubs win this year...after all, they added arguably the second best player in the NBA) as some sort of stain on his record.

It's too bad that Kyrie and Kevin Love missed pretty much all of their first Finals matchup, but it is what it is.

 

[filip629]

LeBron has already done what he set out to do, which is to bring a championship to his hometown. Three time NBA Champion, four time league MVP, led his team to be the first in history to come back from a 3-1 deficit in the NBA Finals...his legacy should be set...unfortunately, people will point to his 3-5 record in the NBA Finals (yes, I have to logically think the Dubs win this year...after all, they added arguably the second best player in the NBA) as some sort of stain on his record.

It's too bad that Kyrie and Kevin Love missed pretty much all of their first Finals matchup, but it is what it is.

No one gave the Cavs a chance last year when they were down 3-1. They still have to play the games. Anything can happen but with the addition of KD, the Warriors are clearly the favorite to win the Finals.

 

[Shawpaw]

That toe is nightmare fuel

 

[guyver1]

It's hard to say if Lebron is the GOAT in NBA.

Why do they keep mentioning that. I will agree GOAT in this era of the NBA only but it can't be history because the competition is just not there right now

It's also hard to say if Lebron played against Jordan, pippin., Stockton, Malone, Robinson, Byrd, Mchale, Magic, Isiah, Drexler, etc could he have beat them.

Officiating was also not as biased as it is now.

 

[azurepred]

LeBron has already done what he set out to do, which is to bring a championship to his hometown. Three time NBA Champion, four time league MVP, led his team to be the first in history to come back from a 3-1 deficit in the NBA Finals...his legacy should be set...unfortunately, people will point to his 3-5 record in the NBA Finals (yes, I have to logically think the Dubs win this year...after all, they added arguably the second best player in the NBA) as some sort of stain on his record.

It's too bad that Kyrie and Kevin Love missed pretty much all of their first Finals matchup, but it is what it is.

And when you think about it, besides Dallas, the other 7 he's been in he has been the under dog. I think this years team is the best he's ever had, and they are STILL heavy under dogs. That's why that potential 3-5 record means very little to me. When said and done, he may very well have the best individual stats than anyone in playoff or finals history.

It's hard to say if Lebron is the GOAT in NBA.

Why do they keep mentioning that. I will agree GOAT in this era of the NBA only but it can't be history because the competition is just not there right now

It's also hard to say if Lebron played against Jordan, pippin., Stockton, Malone, Robinson, Byrd, Mchale, Magic, Isiah, Drexler, etc could he have beat them.

Officiating was also not as biased as it is now.

He will never be GOAT because almost everyone attributes titles and TEAM dominance as counting more than individual dominance.

You can also ask yourself how hard it would have been for those guys to go against Lebron if he was allowed to play as physical as those guys.

 

[BurningRage]

Need a Shaq foot custom for the Enterbay figure.

 

[filip629]

There's no point in debating the GOAT. LeBron fans will insist he is. Jordan fans will insist he's not. My biggest issue is arguing who's GOAT with peeps who were too young to watch MJ play. MJ's play can't be read about, watched on YouTube clips, or passed on to the younger generation by word of mouth. It had to be seen to be understood. I have less of an issue with someone Insisting LeBron is the GOAT if they have watched MJ play during his career. My stance on this topic has been clear. IMO, LeBron still has to pass Kobe. Kobe didn't jump ship to win rings and played in a more competitive era of basketball against better players. Today's NBA is a joke. It's a 2 team race for 3 years in a row (and will stay that way for the near future), there are no great rivalries, and the game is soft nowadays because of rules changes and bloated players salaries. Today's NBA holds little appeal to me.

 

[filip629]

Not 3 more... I'd say one more (after this year) is a good bet but that's about all. No way can it be 6 in a row.

Really? If all else stays the same and there are no major injuries to the Cavs or Warriors in the next few years...please tell me which team is ready to knock off the Cavs in the East and which team is ready to knock off the Warriors in the West? I'm genuinely interested in which teams you think are close to taking that next step. I just don't see it. Player movement or injuries is the only thing that can derail the Cavs or Warriors the next few years. Hell, Miami would still be the beasts of the East if LeBron didn't jump ship. Unless Bron or Curry are jumping ship and we don't know about it....I expect the song to remain the same for the next few years.

 

[Darkseed]

Super teams not unusual in the league Bird, Parish, McHale: Kareem, Magic, Worthy : Jordan, Pippen, Rodman: Duncan, Ginobli, Parker etc. I've had pleasure of watching them all....Why this group of two teams is sooooooo dominating is beyond belief...

Two thoughts either they are really good or the league sucks. Everyone has their own thoughts but whatever the reason it needs to change. I love Lebron and appreciate how great he is but dammit someone challenge the dude beyond making a super duper team killing the balance in the league. I don't see anything in the next two yrs (at least) changing this beyond injury or unexpected moves.

Maybe Big Baller

 

[Darth Madden]

Really? If all else stays the same and there are no major injuries to the Cavs or Warriors in the next few years...please tell me which team is ready to knock off the Cavs in the East and which team is ready to knock off the Warriors in the West? I'm genuinely interested in which teams you think are close to taking that next step. I just don't see it. Player movement or injuries is the only thing that can derail the Cavs or Warriors the next few years. Hell, Miami would still be the beasts of the East if LeBron didn't jump ship. Unless Bron or Curry are jumping ship and we don't know about it....I expect the song to remain the same for the next few years.

I don't know right now but no way do teams last 6 years. And if it is them two in the finals for 3 more years it will make the NBA the biggest joke in the history of sports.

 

[The Clown Prince of Crime]

So everyone here agrees that Lebron is the real GOAT? Good.

 

[azurepred]

There's no point in debating the GOAT. LeBron fans will insist he is. Jordan fans will insist he's not. My biggest issue is arguing who's GOAT with peeps who were too young to watch MJ play. MJ's play can't be read about, watched on YouTube clips, or passed on to the younger generation by word of mouth. It had to be seen to be understood. I have less of an issue with someone Insisting LeBron is the GOAT if they have watched MJ play during his career. My stance on this topic has been clear. IMO, LeBron still has to pass Kobe. Kobe didn't jump ship to win rings and played in a more competitive era of basketball against better players. Today's NBA is a joke. It's a 2 team race for 3 years in a row (and will stay that way for the near future), there are no great rivalries, and the game is soft nowadays because of rules changes and bloated players salaries. Today's NBA holds little appeal to me.

I think he's passed Kobe already. Kobe may have more titles together, but only has 2 finals MVP trophies.

Super teams not unusual in the league Bird, Parish, McHale: Kareem, Magic, Worthy : Jordan, Pippen, Rodman: Duncan, Ginobli, Parker etc. I've had pleasure of watching them all....Why this group of two teams is sooooooo dominating is beyond belief...

Two thoughts either they are really good or the league sucks. Everyone has their own thoughts but whatever the reason it needs to change. I love Lebron and appreciate how great he is but dammit someone challenge the dude beyond making a super duper team killing the balance in the league. I don't see anything in the next two yrs (at least) changing this beyond injury or unexpected moves.

Maybe Big Baller ��

You don't think adding a Paul George to Bos or a Chris Paul to the Spurs changes anything? Spurs would have no doubt won at least 2 games with Leonard. Some how, some way I think the Spurs will make a FA splash. They need to ditch Gasol and/or LMA though.

 

[The Clown Prince of Crime]

There's no point in debating the GOAT. LeBron fans will insist he is. Jordan fans will insist he's not. My biggest issue is arguing who's GOAT with peeps who were too young to watch MJ play. MJ's play can't be read about, watched on YouTube clips, or passed on to the younger generation by word of mouth. It had to be seen to be understood.

I agree, but I think stats are still important. It shows a player's consistency.

I have less of an issue with someone Insisting LeBron is the GOAT if they have watched MJ play during his career. My stance on this topic has been clear. IMO, LeBron still has to pass Kobe. Kobe didn't jump ship to win rings and played in a more competitive era of basketball against better players.

IMO, Lebron passed Kobe in his rookie year. From the get go Lebron has always been better at everything. He's not just bigger, stronger, and a faster athlete, but statistically he has always been better than Kobe, with more PPG, assists, rebounds, steals, a better FG%, a better 3 point %, and he can defend all positions because of his superior size and athleticism. The only advantage Kobe has over Lebron is a better free throw %, and two championships, but one can argue Kobe was the best player in two finals, while Lebron has been the best in 3 finals.

However, I do believe in career accomplishments, so although I think Lebron is physically superior than any top 10 player in NBA history, he needs to win more titles before I can put him along the GOATs like Jordan, Karem, Magic, and Russell.

Today's NBA is a joke. It's a 2 team race for 3 years in a row (and will stay that way for the near future), there are no great rivalries, and the game is soft nowadays because of rules changes and bloated players salaries. Today's NBA holds little appeal to me.

The whole issue with dominant teams and lack of competition is nothing new. People used to say the same when the Bulls had no competition. Remember this article?

 

[BurningRage]

If the game was on the line and you need to make a shot would you pick Lebron over Kobe? I wouldn't.

 

[The Clown Prince of Crime]

If the game was on the line and you need to make a shot would you pick Lebron over Kobe? I wouldn't.

Fun fact.

With 5 seconds or less in game winning shots during playoff games.

Lebron is 6 out of 12

Jordan is 5 out of 11

Still, right now, if aliens come down and challenge the human race to a game of basketball Space Jam style, and it's up to me to pick ONE player to save us all, I'm picking Jordan. For some reason I think Lebron sometime lacks confidence, whereas Lebron and Kobe, didn't ...even when they had a bad game.

 

[mfoga]

The goat can't be one lucky rebound/shot and suspension from being 1-6 in the finals.

 

[Darkseed]

You don't think adding a Paul George to Bos or a Chris Paul to the Spurs changes anything? Spurs would have no doubt won at least 2 games with Leonard. Some how, some way I think the Spurs will make a FA splash. They need to ditch Gasol and/or LMA though.

Regardless of Boston's record, I don't think their that close. Thomas is a fun story but not gonna win with him as your 1,2 or 3 option. He is a great 6th man and Al is third option at best. My feeling is they are two key pieces away from any serious run. Spurs always in the equation with Pops and Leonard continues they too need another key. I don't know that Paul would get them there....

No one else where they sit today will challenge either East or West coast.... neither division is all that strong yet