I'm sure this is the type of parity Adam Silver would have loved to envision for our NBA

[RobToxin]

 

[flyerhawk]

Well known, but not the same thing. Does anyone expect two different teams next year either?

The Warriors could turn out to be the greatest team in the history of basketball. They have 2 of the 5 best players in basketball and 4 of the top 20 players in basketball. They are easily the best shooting team in the history of the league.

IMO, the non-Cavs teams in the East seem like they are waiting to see Lebron diminish before making the big moves to build their teams.

I was certain that we would have a rematch this year. I am not as certain that the Cavs will be back next year. I don't think anything can stop the Warriors if they remain intact.

 

[bksballer89]

By the way, go back and look at this thread.

This was a respectful conversation. I made a comment that you didn't agree with. Instead of coming back with facts, you instead chose to get personal. That is why so many on these boards have a problem with you.

Bottom line, I am 10 years older than you and have proven my knowledge of the game time and again. You approach the NBA like a journalist. You have a lot of surface knowledge because you study it, but I can tell you have never played at a competitive level. It shows in some of your posts and theories.

I don't have a problem with you, but you best take a hard look in the mirror. If you are going to get personal with me, you are going to lose the battle. As long as you keep it respectful, I will do the same.

He needs to realize not every poster is shaqdaddy. You can have respectful debates on here and disagree with others without getting nasty.

 

[HurricaneDij39]

By the way, go back and look at this thread.

This was a respectful conversation. I made a comment that you didn't agree with. Instead of coming back with facts, you instead chose to get personal. That is why so many on these boards have a problem with you.

Bottom line, I am 10 years older than you and have proven my knowledge of the game time and again. You approach the NBA like a journalist. You have a lot of surface knowledge because you study it, but I can tell you have never played at a competitive level. It shows in some of your posts and theories.

I don't have a problem with you, but you best take a hard look in the mirror. If you are going to get personal with me, you are going to lose the battle. As long as you keep it respectful, I will do the same.

Whatever dude but your holier-than-thou attitude gets to be a tired act once in awhile.

If you look closely at those 90's Blazers, Suns, and Jazz teams they all had the elements of championship teams. They had their respective MVP candidates, played good defense, and had a great set of role players. Jordan was literally the only thing that kept them from winning titles.

Here's another stat for you to chew on - During the Bulls first three-peat from 1990-1993, Jordan and the Bulls were 1-5 against Hakeem's Rockets. That's one win and five losses in six regular season contests. Jordan leaving to play baseball those two years was the only thing that saved him from ever losing in the finals. Yet, the 90's never had any parity and Chicago was the only championship-level team that entire decade.

Great call.

 

[HurricaneDij39]

He needs to realize not every poster is shaqdaddy. You can have respectful debates on here and disagree with others without getting nasty.

Believe it or not, Shaqdaddy actually knows some basketball as long as he/she/it doesn't blatantly go out of his/her/its way to troll.

 

[tlance]

Whatever dude but your holier-than-thou attitude gets to be a tired act once in awhile.

If you look closely at those 90's Blazers, Suns, and Jazz teams they all had the elements of championship teams. They had their respective MVP candidates, played good defense, and had a great set of role players. Jordan was literally the only thing that kept them from winning titles.

Here's another stat for you to chew on - During the Bulls first three-peat from 1990-1993, Jordan and the Bulls were 1-5 against Hakeem's Rockets. That's one win and five losses in six regular season contests. Jordan leaving to play baseball those two years was the only thing that saved him from ever losing in the finals. Yet, the 90's never had any parity and Chicago was the only championship-level team that entire decade.

Great call.

Who started the drama here? Not me.

I really don't think the Bulls record vs. the Rockets means anything. First of All, it was regular season. The Bulls swept the Cavs in the regular season this year. It means little.

Second, the Texas triangle that East teams used to have to do every year was brutal. Escaping it with a 2-1 record was really hard to do. 1-2 was more likely, even for the East's best.

How did the Rockets win 2 games in Chicago? I don't know. But again, it was regular season. I don't think the Rockets would have beaten the Bulls in the playoffs aside from '95.

Obviously there were good teams back then, but my entire point is that there was only one great team. And yes, the talent was more spread out. Nobody else had a top tier superstar + 2 All stars, and that isn't even the best team today.

 

[calsnowskier]

The last 10 NBA championships...

Cavs
Warriors
Spurs
Heat
Heat
Mavs
Lakers
Lakers
Celtics
Spurs

That is 7 distinct franchises.

MLB...

Cubs
Royals
Giants
Red Sox
Giants
Cardinals
Giants
Yankees
Phillies
Red Sox

That's 7 distinct champs.

NFL...

Pats
Broncos
Pats
Seahawks
Ravens
Giants
Packers
Saints
Steelers
Giants

8 distinct franchises.

Yea, the NBA has pitiful parity right now. And this is coming from a non-fan of the NBA.

 

[Clayton]

The last 10 NBA championships...

Cavs
Warriors
Spurs
Heat
Heat
Mavs
Lakers
Lakers
Celtics
Spurs

That is 7 distinct franchises.

MLB...

Cubs
Royals
Giants
Red Sox
Giants
Cardinals
Giants
Yankees
Phillies
Red Sox

That's 7 distinct champs.

NFL...

Pats
Broncos
Pats
Seahawks
Ravens
Giants
Packers
Saints
Steelers
Giants

8 distinct franchises.

Yea, the NBA has pitiful parity right now. And this is coming from a non-fan of the NBA.

Thats a really bad way to measure things when the NBA has had the same championship matchup for 3 years and have a good chance of seeing that matchup at least once or twice more.

C'mon man.

Peyton and Brady have had a solid stranglehold on the AFC so thats probably the only concession I'd make. I feel like any team that makes the playoffs in MLB can win it all as long as they're healthy.

 

[calsnowskier]

Thats a really bad way to measure things when the NBA has had the same championship matchup for 3 years and have a good chance of seeing that matchup at least once or twice more.

C'mon man.

Peyton and Brady have had a solid stranglehold on the AFC so thats probably the only concession I'd make. I feel like any team that makes the playoffs in MLB can win it all as long as they're healthy.

But the two teams sitting at the top right now are, historically, two of the more poverty-stricken franchises in sports. That SHOULD be a beacon to the other bottom-feeders that it is possible.

And parity in a single season is totally anecdotal. To get a better sense, you need to have a larger sample size. 10 years, I think, is a fair sample size.

 

[Clayton]

And parity in a single season is totally anecdotal. To get a better sense, you need to have a larger sample size. 10 years, I think, is a fair sample size.

Or more relevant to the topic, you could talk about the same two teams being in the Finals for 3 years and the fact that the best team poached the best player from their conference from last year to get over the hump.

I'll give you the idea that the NFL isnt exactly full of parity but anything can happen in MLB.

 

[calsnowskier]

Or more relevant to the topic, you could talk about the same two teams being in the Finals for 3 years and the fact that the best team poached the best player from their conference from last year to get over the hump.

I'll give you the idea that the NFL isnt exactly full of parity but anything can happen in MLB.

"Poached"??

KD was a FREE agent. He could have stayed in OKC, alongside one if the most selfish players in the game and had zero chance for a title. He could have chased the money and gone to NY or Washington. He could have gone for the glory in LA. Or he could have gone with his friends and a likely ring in GS.

In the past, when players stay in a losing situation, they have been called lazy or lacking drive (Tony Gwynn). When they have gone for money on a losing team, they have been called greedy. Here, KD goes to a good team, and he being called a cupcake and a coward. He made a decision within the rules of the league. And the Warriors built their team eyeing the fact that he was going to be available as a FA , so they were prepared for it.

Sounds like good planning and foresight to me.

 

[Clayton]

"Poached"??

KD was a FREE agent. He could have stayed in OKC, alongside one if the most selfish players in the game and had zero chance for a title. He could have chased the money and gone to NY or Washington. He could have gone for the glory in LA. Or he could have gone with his friends and a likely ring in GS.

In the past, when players stay in a losing situation, they have been called lazy or lacking drive (Tony Gwynn). When they have gone for money on a losing team, they have been called greedy. Here, KD goes to a good team, and he being called a cupcake and a coward. He made a decision within the rules of the league. And the Warriors built their team eyeing the fact that he was going to be available as a FA , so they were prepared for it.

Sounds like good planning and foresight to me.

It was smart for KD. It was the perfect situation for him but he was no Tony Gwynn. KD has been a couple of good games away from titles on multiple occasions.

My overall point is that I have no idea who is going to play in the World Series right now. I think next year's Super Bowl will probably be the Patriots vs somebody. I'm pretty convinced next year's Finals is going to be Warriors vs Cavs for the fourth time.

 

[calsnowskier]

It was smart for KD. It was the perfect situation for him but he was no Tony Gwynn. KD has been a couple of good games away from titles on multiple occasions.

My overall point is that I have no idea who is going to play in the World Series right now. I think next year's Super Bowl will probably be the Patriots vs somebody. I'm pretty convinced next year's Finals is going to be Warriors vs Cavs for the fourth time.

I am not sold on the Cavs moving forward. Minnesota and Boston are coming on fast.

 

[bksballer89]

It was smart for KD. It was the perfect situation for him but he was no Tony Gwynn. KD has been a couple of good games away from titles on multiple occasions.

My overall point is that I have no idea who is going to play in the World Series right now. I think next year's Super Bowl will probably be the Patriots vs somebody. I'm pretty convinced next year's Finals is going to be Warriors vs Cavs for the fourth time.

Yep exactly. I love basketball but the point you made hit the nail on the head. And to go a step further, even though I'm not a Hockey fan, I'm pretty sure hockey fans doesn't have an idea who will be in the 2018 Stanley Cup finals either. The fact that barring some crazy moves this summer, all NBA fans know the 2 teams who will be in the finals is rather disappointing.

 

[bksballer89]

I am not sold on the .Cavs moving forward. Minnesota and Boston are coming on fast.

Boston coming fast where? Unless they trade that pick for George/Butler, they're at least 2 years away from actually standing a chance at beating Cleveland 4 of 7. As for Minnesota, yeah they be a playoffs team next year but that squad is nowhere close to touching the Warriors in a series

 

[trojanfan12]

Whatever dude but your holier-than-thou attitude gets to be a tired act once in awhile.

If you look closely at those 90's Blazers, Suns, and Jazz teams they all had the elements of championship teams. They had their respective MVP candidates, played good defense, and had a great set of role players. Jordan was literally the only thing that kept them from winning titles.

Here's another stat for you to chew on - During the Bulls first three-peat from 1990-1993, Jordan and the Bulls were 1-5 against Hakeem's Rockets. That's one win and five losses in six regular season contests. Jordan leaving to play baseball those two years was the only thing that saved him from ever losing in the finals. Yet, the 90's never had any parity and Chicago was the only championship-level team that entire decade.

Great call.

Remember when you said you weren't going to post as much because you didn't want to slip back into old habits?

Now would be a good time to start.

 

[flyerhawk]

Boston coming fast where? Unless they trade that pick for George/Butler, they're at least 2 years away from actually standing a chance at beating Cleveland 4 of 7. As for Minnesota, yeah they be a playoffs team next year but that squad is nowhere close to touching the Warriors in a series

I dunno. The Celtics have some pieces to work with. They could trade the Nets 1st rounder next year for George/Butler and still get Fulz. If they felt they needed more of a swing player they could trade down this year's pick and get Jackson or Tatum.

A lot depends on whether Ainge thinks he could do it next year or not. If he thinks that a George/Butler takes them to a level of competing with the Cavs he might do it. Or he may pass because they would still need to play the Warriors in the final.

 

[flyerhawk]

BTW, 1st two games of the finals were the highest rated games 1 and 2 since 1998.

 

[HurricaneDij39]

Who started the drama here? Not me.

I really don't think the Bulls record vs. the Rockets means anything. First of All, it was regular season. The Bulls swept the Cavs in the regular season this year. It means little.

Second, the Texas triangle that East teams used to have to do every year was brutal. Escaping it with a 2-1 record was really hard to do. 1-2 was more likely, even for the East's best.

How did the Rockets win 2 games in Chicago? I don't know. But again, it was regular season. I don't think the Rockets would have beaten the Bulls in the playoffs aside from '95.

Obviously there were good teams back then, but my entire point is that there was only one great team. And yes, the talent was more spread out. Nobody else had a top tier superstar + 2 All stars, and that isn't even the best team today.

I still think it's quite degrading to Jordan's legacy to say the league had no parity or competition in the 90's.

So many are enamored with the amount of titles the Lakers and Celtics have that they use that as the starting point to evaluate Jordan's competition, something I consider to be feeble analyzing. The whole notion of "superteams" was never even acknowledged back then. It was several "good" teams going viciously at each other. The 90's were my formative, grade school years and we were never taught that you needed to have "this guy" or "that guy" in order to win as such as kids today are taught.

To me, the 90's NBA had a ton of parity, but Jordan simply outwilled the competition. And like a lot of great players, caught a few breaks as well, most specifically never having to face Houston in the finals who absolutely owned the Bulls in the head-to-head matchup.

 

[tlance]

I still think it's quite degrading to Jordan's legacy to say the league had no parity or competition in the 90's.

So many are enamored with the amount of titles the Lakers and Celtics have that they use that as the starting point to evaluate Jordan's competition, something I consider to be feeble analyzing. The whole notion of "superteams" was never even acknowledged back then. It was several "good" teams going viciously at each other. The 90's were my formative, grade school years and we were never taught that you needed to have "this guy" or "that guy" in order to win as such as kids today are taught.

To me, the 90's NBA had a ton of parity, but Jordan simply outwilled the competition. And like a lot of great players, caught a few breaks as well, most specifically never having to face Houston in the finals who absolutely owned the Bulls in the head-to-head matchup.

The league did have parity in the 90s. There were many good teams and 1 great one that was head and shoulders better. Jordan had a lot to do with that, but he gets too much credit, IMO. This coming from someone who was a huge Jordan an growing up.

Championships are team accomplishments. Talent was far more spread out in the 90s than it was in the 80s or than it is today. 2 prime superstars were able to run roughshod over the league as a result. Superteams were not acknowledged because there really weren't any. The Bulls were the closest thing to it.