Series Thread: 6) Miami Heat vs. 3) Philadelphia 76ers

[Black Adam]

@ChiefsLakers67

Without going into details of spoilers or how I came to see it....

Please go as soon as possible.

Don't let anyone spoil it....

Dear God.

lol, trust me miss Lady. got that part covered...

#CLconeofsilence

 

[Mecca]

lol, trust me miss Lady. got that part covered...

#CLconeofsilence

I had Twitter blocks, Facebook blocks....lol

Beware of links to Forbes.

Some fucking Troll linked massive spoilers to a article on that site.

I cant wait to see it again tomorrow.

 

[TurnUpTheHeat]

that article you quoted

"But a gaggle of gritty role players isn’t equivalent to a superstar—watch any of Ben Simmons’s highlights against any number of Heat players in the series and you’ll quickly be reminded of that. "

@TurnUpTheHeat fails to accept that stars win in the NBA- and as this guy says-- a gaggle of gritty role players isnt equavalent to a superstar.

Stars always have, currently do, and always will, win in the NBA. Either you have them or you are trying to acquire them. Gritty, deep, hardworking teams of role players just dont go anywhere the vast vast majority of the time.

Find 1 post, ever, where I said stars dont win.
Pretty much, it takes multiple stars or a mega star with the right core around him.

Ive said having a star guarantees nothing, often times not even a playoff birth.

What I have said, which you can’t seem to grasp in that Im not a proponent of years of tanking/futility in hopes of maybe getting an elite player in the draft.
Its a crapshoot.
One never knows where the next star or stars will be drafted.
Every draft proves that.

 

[raider bill]

If you ever played pickup ball you've seen where a squad full of older guys play a team full of younger athletic guys. The older team will to dirty up the game by being super physical. Eventually guys are on the verge of a fight. That is what happened in the Sixers-Heat series

 

[trojanfan12]

You keep saying legacy but I'm trying to figure out what you mean by that.

Legacy involves a lot of things that go beyond just wins. For example, how you won is important. MJ's legacy isn't just about having six rings...it's being 6-0 in the finals, never having a series go to game 7. Plus all of the individual accolades, etc., etc.

You seem to be arguing that he won't go to the Sixers(or the Rockets or some other team with a lot of talent) because it will look bad but he WILL go to the Lakers if they bring in another All-NBA player like Paul George or Kawhi. I don't get your logic here.

It's the difference between going to a playoff/50+ win team and going to a team that had an early exit/didn't make the playoffs.

When Lebron went to the Heat he joined a team that was a 1st round playoff exit. When he went back to Cleveland, he was going to a team that was a lottery team the season before. In both cases, he brought at least one other top player with him, but he wasn't leaving a team to join one that was already better than his (i.e. what KD did).

The Sixers, as currently constructed, are already at worst a 2nd round playoff exit and are seen by most as the future of the East, if not the league. If he joins them, it's the same optics as what KD just got killed for. He's very aware of his legacy and I doubt he wants to deal with all of that this late in his career.

For the record, I'm not saying he definitely won't go to Philly. He may see Philly as a guaranteed 2-3 more rings and decide it's worth it despite the optics.

I just don't think he will and if he doesn't, his legacy is probably the reason (although he won't actually ever say it). I actually agree with @WiggyRuss that it's likely going to be the Cavs or the Lakers and it's about 60/40 Cavs. If Wiggy and I actually agree...you know it has to be right. lol

 

[trojanfan12]

If he leaves Cleveland he will get shit no matter where he goes. I don't see how his legacy gets tarnished only in certain situations.

Agree. But he can catch a lot more shit depending on where he goes. If you can't see that, then you haven't been paying attention to what has happened with KD since he joined the Warriors. His legacy/reputation has taken a big hit. The difference between him and Lebron is that he's young enough to recover from it (although he's not helping himself with the fake twitter accounts, etc.), Lebron isn't.

 

[trojanfan12]

Yeah he is gone.

Was just about to post that article but got tied up at work.

3rd time he cried about playing time in less than a month. He must go

I like that he is upset about not playing and wants to be out there. I'd rather have that than him just being happy to sit on the bench and collect a check.

Having said that though, he can't be going to the press with his complaints, especially with Riley as the GM. Riley ain't got time for that.

Maybe he should try going to Spo and saying "I'm not happy that I'm not playing. What do I need to do to be out there more?"

Plus, if he wants to stay on the floor against smaller lineups...then he use his size advantage. From what I've seen and read and some of the stats that have been posted, it doesn't look like he's been doing that.

 

[bksballer89]

I like that he is upset about not playing and wants to be out there. I'd rather have that than him just being happy to sit on the bench and collect a check.

Having said that though, he can't be going to the press with his complaints, especially with Riley as the GM. Riley ain't got time for that.

Maybe he should try going to Spo and saying "I'm not happy that I'm not playing. What do I need to do to be out there more?"

Plus, if he wants to stay on the floor against smaller lineups...then he use his size advantage. From what I've seen and read and some of the stats that have been posted, it doesn't look like he's been doing that.

Yep exactly.

Going to the media 3x in less than a month is a really bad look

 

[trojanfan12]

I could see the Lakers being a potential trade partner in this scenario. I'd rather have Deng who'd be a positive influence in the locker room - this is acknowledging that Deng is nowhere near the value he's being paid.

I don't know.

On the one hand, I could see the Lakers taking him and seeing if they can fit him in a similar role to DeAndre Jordan with the Clips. Rim protector and rebounder.

Imo, he's athletic enough to be able to run the floor like the Lakers want. With Lonzo's passing, I could see him getting lots of alley oops too.

On the other hand, if he's going to be complaining to the media about things he doesn't like, I don't see the Lakers wanting that around their young core.

If they don't land 2 max guys, it might be worth a shot.

 

[trojanfan12]

In regards to the refs, I would like to counter with this :

If both teams were whistled for the most fouls in a playoff game, and then broke that record the very next game, at what point do you change your tactics? I understand you played a certain way in the regular season, but as we are often told, this is playoff basketball. How many games would it take to try something else? When you do something the exact same way, get the same result each time, but are hoping for a different result, we know what that is the definition of.

Every major sport has changed its rules to promote more offense.
Even if we opine that the refs were favoring the Sixers, why keep doing the same thing expecting a different result???

If the choice is play one way and likely get blown out, or play another way and give yourself a fighting chance...you play the way that gives you a fighting chance even if all it means is you didn't get blown out.

The Sixers have a significant talent advantage over the Heat. Their only chance to keep games close enough to have a shot at winning was to play physical basketball, ugly up the game and for lack of a better term...bully the Sixers and hope that the Sixers weren't able to handle it.

Ultimately, it meant a series that was about as close as a 5 game series is likely to be (a couple of breaks here and there and this series maybe goes 7), but that was better than a series of 4 straight blowouts. The Heat strategy gave them a fighting chance, but in the end, they still just didn't have the talent.

 

[trojanfan12]

Wait he eats burgers like that also? I knew he did with pizza.

God I hate him

Pretty sure that both are crimes against humanity.

 

[Sparhawk]

If the choice is play one way and likely get blown out, or play another way and give yourself a fighting chance...you play the way that gives you a fighting chance even if all it means is you didn't get blown out.

The Sixers have a significant talent advantage over the Heat. Their only chance to keep games close enough to have a shot at winning was to play physical basketball, ugly up the game and for lack of a better term...bully the Sixers and hope that the Sixers weren't able to handle it.

Ultimately, it meant a series that was about as close as a 5 game series is likely to be (a couple of breaks here and there and this series maybe goes 7), but that was better than a series of 4 straight blowouts. The Heat strategy gave them a fighting chance, but in the end, they still just didn't have the talent.

That does make a lot of sense.
Nicely stated.

 

[trojanfan12]

I just havent understood what Riley has tried to do the last few years. He sacrificed all his cap space and all his draft picks and really does not have a lot to show for it other than Goran Dragic in his walk year, a solid 3 and D player in Richardson, a 3-D player that has had some injury issues but still has a lot of talent in Winslow, and a solid role player floor spreader in Olynk.

To be fair, the way Lebron went about leaving and Bosh's clotting issues had a good bit to do with this, imo. When Lebron left, he dragged out his FA until there were no other top level FA's for the Heat to replace him with. That left them with next tier level guys. Whether intentional or otherwise, he really kind of screwed them with that.

Even with that, what he was able to do, likely keeps them as at least the 2nd best team in the East at the time had Bosh stayed healthy.

Maybe that was the time to blow it up and start over. But that's hindsight. Even with Lebron leaving, they still had 2 all star caliber players to try to build around which ain't bad at all.

 

[flyerhawk]

If the choice is play one way and likely get blown out, or play another way and give yourself a fighting chance...you play the way that gives you a fighting chance even if all it means is you didn't get blown out.

The Sixers have a significant talent advantage over the Heat. Their only chance to keep games close enough to have a shot at winning was to play physical basketball, ugly up the game and for lack of a better term...bully the Sixers and hope that the Sixers weren't able to handle it.

Ultimately, it meant a series that was about as close as a 5 game series is likely to be (a couple of breaks here and there and this series maybe goes 7), but that was better than a series of 4 straight blowouts. The Heat strategy gave them a fighting chance, but in the end, they still just didn't have the talent.

I completely agree. The Heat did what they had to do. It probably went a little too far in Game 5 but hardly the most egregious example of that sort of thing.

 

[Heatles84]

I don't know.

On the one hand, I could see the Lakers taking him and seeing if they can fit him in a similar role to DeAndre Jordan with the Clips. Rim protector and rebounder.

Imo, he's athletic enough to be able to run the floor like the Lakers want. With Lonzo's passing, I could see him getting lots of alley oops too.

On the other hand, if he's going to be complaining to the media about things he doesn't like, I don't see the Lakers wanting that around their young core.

If they don't land 2 max guys, it might be worth a shot.

I completely agree with your assessment on the situation. I guess it depends on if a team thinks they can modify Whiteside's attitude. Magic *may* think he could be a guy that could reason with him. Just throwing out guesses at this point.

 

[trojanfan12]

I completely agree with your assessment on the situation. I guess it depends on if a team thinks they can modify Whiteside's attitude. Magic *may* think he could be a guy that could reason with him. Just throwing out guesses at this point.

Yeah, I don't know if it's allowed or not and when it would be if it is (don't need anymore tampering fines lol)...

But I think it could be worth the Lakers having a conversation or 2 with Whiteside and his agent to kind of assess where his head is at and see if they think they can make it work with him.

Biggest thing is, you just can't have a guy going off the reservation every time he gets frustrated. Especially with a team as young as the Lakers.

I don't know if they'd even be interested or could do it, but the Spurs might be a good spot for Whiteside. That would move LA to PF. If Pop couldn't figure out how to maximize Whiteside's talent and keep his 'tude in check...no one can.

 

[flyerhawk]

It's the difference between going to a playoff/50+ win team and going to a team that had an early exit/didn't make the playoffs.

When Lebron went to the Heat he joined a team that was a 1st round playoff exit. When he went back to Cleveland, he was going to a team that was a lottery team the season before. In both cases, he brought at least one other top player with him, but he wasn't leaving a team to join one that was already better than his (i.e. what KD did).

The Sixers, as currently constructed, are already at worst a 2nd round playoff exit and are seen by most as the future of the East, if not the league. If he joins them, it's the same optics as what KD just got killed for. He's very aware of his legacy and I doubt he wants to deal with all of that this late in his career.

For the record, I'm not saying he definitely won't go to Philly. He may see Philly as a guaranteed 2-3 more rings and decide it's worth it despite the optics.

I just don't think he will and if he doesn't, his legacy is probably the reason (although he won't actually ever say it). I actually agree with @WiggyRuss that it's likely going to be the Cavs or the Lakers and it's about 60/40 Cavs. If Wiggy and I actually agree...you know it has to be right. lol

The KD situation is similar but not the same. And does anyone think that KD would change his decision if he knew then what he knows now? Lebron already got shit for leaving Cleveland the first time. How much more shit could he possibly get no matter where he goes?

And your argument that his departure to the Heat wasn't the same because they were a 1st round exit is putting far too many angels on that pin.

I honestly have no idea where Lebron is going to go. 90% chance he goes to Cleveland, LA, or the Sixers. But there is a 10% chance he goes somewhere else. I think you can make a good argument for all 3 of those teams. But it all depends on what he cares about the most.

If rings are the most important thing for him then the Sixers make the most sense. But they may not be.

 

[trojanfan12]

The KD situation is similar but not the same. And does anyone think that KD would change his decision if he knew then what he knows now? Lebron already got shit for leaving Cleveland the first time. How much more shit could he possibly get no matter where he goes?

I answered this already.

And your argument that his departure to the Heat wasn't the same because they were a 1st round exit is putting far too many angels on that pin.

It wasn't even close to the same. Also, already answered.

I honestly have no idea where Lebron is going to go.

lol No one does. That's why I've said that trying to predict what Lebron is going to do is like herding cats.

 

[CitySushi]

Lebron is just going to start his own franchise in the off-season. They got an arena already lined up in Seattle.

No expansion draft needed. He'll take 51% equity in the team and sell off the other 49% to other investors for immediate operating costs.

101M Cap.

Lebron takes the vet minimum. Doesn't need to take a huge salary with his equity in the team.

Signings:

Paul George - 4 years 120M. (30m)
DeMarcus Cousins - 4 years 140M (35)
Nerlens Noel - 3 years 21M (7m)
Seth Curry - 2 years 12M (6M)
Dwyane Wade - 1/1 (5m)
Greg Monroe - 2 years 14M (7m)
Lebron - Vet minimum (2.4M)
2 Draft Picks
Fillers.

Everyone is screwed.

 

[Wamu]

lol No one does. That's why I've said that trying to predict what Lebron is going to do is like herding cats.

I know what LeBron will do. He'll be on vacation by the time the Finals get here.