HC NBA Ballers

[purk]

I was rooting for the Warriors but I have to hand it to LBJ and Irving.  The Carvs were super clutch down the stretch while the Warriors were living and dying by the 3 toward the very end!  Hate to admit but I'm starting to be LBJ fan.  His defense was superb through out the series.

[MexicanDragon]

Sorry @TMoney, I had a biscuit today for Father's Day. I didn't choose it, it was chosen for me. I try to only use my powers towards Chris, but doesn't always work out.

**BRENT**

[n3rdling]

Great game, lebron is ridiculous.

[jvlgato]

Sorry for the golden state folks, but a MASSIVE congrat to Dr John (jvlgato) on getting to see a team he's a fan of win for the first time in his entire life! (And that's any sport)

I've had it good in Chicago. Gotta feel great for Cleveland. 

Thanks, Bryan! It's true, this is the first Cleveland championship in my LIFETIME! And I'm 51 years old!

My Dad bought season tickets for the Cavs' first, expansion year season. I have a picture of me as a kid in a promotional pic sitting with Austin Carr. I'm guessing no one here knows who that is.

I haven't posted much here, because I know how intense and completely personally I take things and how unreasonable I am when it comes to Cleveland sports. It's an illness we all have from years of heartbreak. It's been well documented the many and horrible ways we have been denied a championship. I was on my second date ever with Anne, now my wife, when we watched the Indians lose game 7 of the '97 World Series when Jose Mesa blew the save and couldn't hold a 2-1 lead in the 9th. The Shot, The Shot 2, The Drive, The Drive 2, The Interception, The Fumble ... Any Cleveland sports fan knows all this stuff by heart. Eh, I can go on and on, but only a Clevelander would know what I'm talking about.

Anyway, great comeback! Great series, great game 7. The typical game for us to lose in heartbreaking fashion. Incredible we finally won one! [emoji3]

Kudos to GS for a classy press conference after the game. And a great year - hopefully a great rivalry for years to come. Draymond in particular, I just hate him, but one of those guys you hate when he's on the other team, but wish you had a guy like that on your own team. Underrated, as all you hear about is the Splash Brothers, but he's the one I feared more than anyone.

[Dreadhead]

On topic: Congrats to Cleveland.

Off topic:

8 hours ago, MexicanDragon said:

Sorry @TMoney, I had a biscuit today for Father's Day. I didn't choose it, it was chosen for me. I try to only use my powers towards Chris, but doesn't always work out.

**BRENT**

You'll be happy to know that I didn't catch any fish yesterday morning so it still worked.

[guzziguy]

Congrats to John and all Cleveland sports fans!  It was a long dry spell.  Glad for you that it's over.

 

2 hours ago, jvlgato said:

Thanks, Bryan! It's true, this is the first Cleveland championship in my LIFETIME! And I'm 51 years old!

My Dad bought season tickets for the Cavs' first, expansion year season. I have a picture of me as a kid in a promotional pic sitting with Austin Carr. I'm guessing no one here knows who that is. ...

I remember Austin Carr.  Played for Notre Dame and pretty much personally ended a long UCLA winning streak.

[Wmcmanus]

I remember Austin Carr (Mr. Cavalier) quite well. My dad was a big Notre Dame fan, so we watched all of the games. He played with a guy named Gary Novak, who was from LaSalle, IL (just a 5 minute drive, across the Illinois River from Oglesby, IL where I grew up).  These are small towns, so for someone to be a 3 year starter for ND, it was a big deal. Novak (now a doctor) was a really smart player. Kind of a role guy, shooting forward, great defender and rebounder. He might have averaged 10 points, but it was really all about Carr. He was just an amazing, prolific scorer. Lots of 50+ points games. He was the best of the best in Notre Dame history. 

[jvlgato]

So cool that you both remember Austin Carr! Should've been the next great guard ... Michael Jordan before there was a Michael Jordan. Maybe Isaiah Thomas is more accurate. He was never quite the same after he blew out his knee...  Still, a very good player for us, and as mentioned, is Mr. Cavalier.

[ironbut]

Congrats to the Cavs and Cleveland!

Coming back from 1-3 is a feat in any sport and must be a mind bending stress on the brain of everyone on the team.

Tough to see our Warriors be the ones on the short end of the "one for the ages" championship but IMHO in this day of deep analysis of every player you go up against, it is very tough to repeat championships anymore.

LB played an amazing game 7 and as they say, left it all on the court!

[TMoney]

17 hours ago, MexicanDragon said:

Sorry @TMoney, I had a biscuit today for Father's Day. I didn't choose it, it was chosen for me. I try to only use my powers towards Chris, but doesn't always work out.

**BRENT**

How could you!?

[TMoney]

Holy shit!

KD!!!

[VPI]

Congrats to the west coast guys.  Warriors will be pretty scary.  Amazing that they were able to pull it off.

[n3rdling]

It'll be interesting to see how people take this

Durant has been pampered by the media his entire career, westbrook has always been the fall guy. If people turn on him, I don’t think he’ll take it well. He has super thin skin.

This is 10x worse than what people got mad at LeBron about. You just joined the best regular season team of all time AND it’s the team that just took you out of the playoffs in heartbreaking fashion. A large part of the reason that even happened is because Durant played like crap. I feel bad for OKC fans.

This would be like Karl leaving my Jazz in his prime to join the Bulls after the 97 finals. An MVP joining the best team in the league after losing to them.

I’ve always said that it’s the players’ right to join any team they want, this is just kinda sad imo.

[robm321]

Warriors need a top tier non choker, so this is huge. 

[Wmcmanus]

16 minutes ago, n3rdling said:

I’ve always said that it’s the players’ right to join any team they want, this is just kinda sad imo.

I agree. I mean, I think they'll be a lot of fun to watch, and it's all within the player rights as well as teams rights, so I'm not crying about anything at all. Just kind of sad in a way because of what it will mean in terms of the competitiveness of the league. But it was the same thing in the LeBron Miami years. Just because you get to the Finals doesn't mean you're going to win. Anything can happen in a 7 game series. So from that perspective, the building of "super teams" can be a net positive, and maybe the Cavs will try to take the same approach by adding a Jimmy Butler type or a maybe top of the line center... next year.

[Aura]

Sigh. I get KD's frustration though. 

[mypasswordis]

22 hours ago, Wmcmanus said:

I agree. I mean, I think they'll be a lot of fun to watch, and it's all within the player rights as well as teams rights, so I'm not crying about anything at all. Just kind of sad in a way because of what it will mean in terms of the competitiveness of the league. But it was the same thing in the LeBron Miami years. Just because you get to the Finals doesn't mean you're going to win. Anything can happen in a 7 game series. So from that perspective, the building of "super teams" can be a net positive, and maybe the Cavs will try to take the same approach by adding a Jimmy Butler type or a maybe top of the line center... next year.

There's a lot of basketball that happens before the finals. And now it's been rendered pretty much pointless to watch. I'm still down for DWade teaming back up with Lebron to give Cavs a fighting chance next year.

[purk]

Sad to see that KD is heading to the Warriors.  I sure wish that he sticks it out with the the team and win a big one next year.  

[TMoney]

It had to be hard being the face of your franchise, and, lets face it, the entire state of Oklahoma. I don't blame the guy for ducking away from that. KD has always seemed a little more shy and introverted than some of the other faces of the sport like an LBJ or Kobe. I also don't doubt the reports that Russ's ultra-intense, alpha, ball-dominant style didn't sit that well with KD.

--

On a similar note, Curry takes a lot of shit from some in the media for not being a Type-A Alpha-Male like Kobe or LBJ, but it sure seems like his low-key, inclusive, fun-loving style was a major draw for KD. In the Warriors he goes to a team where the stars truly don't care who gets the credit.

--

Gotta hand it to the Warriors. In one move they both gutted their biggest rival in the west and solidified themselves as title contenders for the next 3-5 years.

Edited July 5, 2016 by TMoney

[purk]

On 7/5/2016 at 6:41 PM, TMoney said:

It had to be hard being the face of your franchise, and, lets face it, the entire state of Oklahoma. I don't blame the guy for ducking away from that. KD has always seemed a little more shy and introverted than some of the other faces of the sport like an LBJ or Kobe. I also don't doubt the reports that Russ's ultra-intense, alpha, ball-dominant style didn't sit that well with KD.

--

On a similar note, Curry takes a lot of shit from some in the media for not being a Type-A Alpha-Male like Kobe or LBJ, but it sure seems like his low-key, inclusive, fun-loving style was a major draw for KD. In the Warriors he goes to a team where the stars truly don't care who gets the credit.

--

Gotta hand it to the Warriors. In one move they both gutted their biggest rival in the west and solidified themselves as title contenders for the next 3-5 years.

I wonder who will be the alpha dog on the Warriors now.  I bet KD will be it.  I can't think how they will not win a Championship next year beside injury god has his hand in it.  I'm glad that Wade decided to abandon the Heat.  For them to reward Bosh and shortchanging Wade for all he has done is beyond me.  The Heat is basically a history now.

Edited July 7, 2016 by purk

[dsavitsk]

19 minutes ago, purk said:

I honestly don't think how they will not win a Championship next year

Only one player can score at a time. KD's shooting percentage is lower than that of the player he is replacing.

[TMoney]

I'm actually probably more excited to have him for his defense.

Did you see that series he had vs. GSW? His shot wasn't falling but holy moly, he was a monster out there. In particular at the rim.

Also, while his shooting percentage might be lower than Barnes, his usage was through the roof. Usage and efficiency are normally inversely related. To hit that % at that volume is insane.

--

EDIT: I also think D. Wade did Miami a favor by leaving for Chicago. Look at how detrimental the two year Kobe Bryant retirement tour was for the Lakers. D. Wade just saved Miami the trouble.

I'd bet a dollar that Chicago misses the playoffs even with Wade. He is still a nice player, but I'm thankful my team isn't paying him.

Edited July 7, 2016 by TMoney

[VPI]

Because KD has taken dramatically more contested shots, being an alpha on a team without great outside shooting presence.  So many shots taken by lesser Warriors are wide freaking open, because of intense defense on the shooters.  Now, with a pick and roll in which both participants can shoot lights out and even number 3 and 4 shooters must be guarded, this could be a type of basketball that we have not seen before.  The Heat back in the days did not have this shooter line-up, it would appear this team will require massive effort on defense from competitors not to just get steamrolled.  I guess everything has to play out on the court, but I do not remember a team with such a spread of weapons in their prime, in any sport.

[dsavitsk]

Historically, the single biggest predictor of basketball success is the quality of a team's 3rd best player.

At least in recent times, Boston seems to have utilized that model.

Here, you can see the shape of the team compared to season wins (red is better.)

[mypasswordis]

In order to have a third best player, you need to have a best and a second best player, which are tautologically better than the third player. You also need to define metrics as to judge "best" by, because everyone has their own defined role in the team. Simply basing it on PPG or TS% doesn't tell anywhere near the whole story. Salary doesn't correlate with skill, either, which was made very apparent in this off season.