Series Thread: 1) Toronto Raptors vs 4) Cleveland Cavs

[Shanemansj13]

Your weird man crush with him is pretty concerning.

With who? Lebron? Not weird at all. He is adored by many

 

[Shaqdaddy11]

With who? Lebron? Not weird at all. He is adored by many

Whacky Wiggy

You guys dating?

 

[Mecca of the “B” Team]

@TheKlaw

Did you read Shelbourne's article on Kawhi?

She may not be a Spurs insider.

But, she is a well respected NBA reporter with outstanding journalistic integrity.

She said she spoke with him DIRECTLY.

So, this is not hearsay.

Not surprisingly, once Spurs officials saw he was talking to her, they shut that Shit down immediately.

The uncomfortable silence of Kawhi Leonard

 

[LAD]

@TheKlaw

Did you read Shelbourne's article on Kawhi?

She may not be a Spurs insider.

But, she is a well respected NBA reporter with outstanding journalistic integrity.

She said she spoke with him DIRECTLY.

So, this is not hearsay.

Not surprisingly, once Spurs officials saw he was talking to her, they shut that Shit down immediately.

The uncomfortable silence of Kawhi Leonard

Good read, but very long article.lol

 

[Mecca of the “B” Team]

Good read, but very long article.lol

Yeah, she went over all the crap that has already been reported.

Most of it was a rehashing.

The thing that threw me most was.....

I didn't know that Kawhi's uncle is seen as a mini Lavar.

That article paints him as difficult to work with.

It also shows that mistakes were made on both sides.

I still don't know what to make of this injury.

Sounds like he's damaged goods.

 

[LAD]

Yeah, she went over all the crap that has already been reported.

Most of it was a rehashing.

The thing that threw me most was.....

I didn't know that Kawhi's uncle is seen as a mini Lavar.

That article paints him as difficult to work with.

It also shows that mistakes were made on both sides.

I still don't know what to make of this injury.

Sounds like he's damaged goods.

For me it was kind of obvious that something was wrong - there was tension. Very rarely does a team not know when their franchise player will recover. That just doesn't happen & so when Pop talked about his "group" that was a red flag. Even with "outside" doctors one would tend to think the working relationship would be a good one in that they are on the same page in terms of a timeline.

I find it hard to believe that Pop & the organization were staying tight lipped about it to be devious. That would only create more hysteria around the situation & cause more reporters to probe for details and/or fuel the rumor mill - which is much of what we've seen lately.

It's sad, but sounds like his uncle might be overbearing like Lavar. And with Leonard being such an introvert he's playing right into his hands. Hard to think an organization will want to deal with this kind of tom foolery if he ends up parting ways with SA.

 

[DJ Fieri]

"The Toronto Raptors' hopes of containing LeBron James rest primarily with their 20-year-old non-lottery rookie -- and that could actually be a good thing for Toronto.

OG Anunoby has shown flashes of being a capable defender against the King in the past, and is the logical candidate to match up against James in the Eastern Conference semifinals that kick off Tuesday night in Toronto, as the Raptors -- for the third year in a row -- attempt to get past the Cleveland Cavaliers in the playoffs.

In the regular season, Anunoby -- who tore his ACL playing for Indiana in January of 2017 and slipped to the 23rd pick of the draft as a result -- emerged as Dwane Casey's primary choice to defend James. The former Hoosier matched up against the Cavaliers' star 106 times -- almost double the next-highest amount for any other Raptor. And it's easy to see why: When Anunoby marked James, the Cavaliers scored 1.09 points per possession. That might not sound like a great defensive performance, but that scoring rate is a decent bit below the Cavaliers' season average with James on the court (1.14). And the real key is this: When any other player on the Raptors marked James, the clip the Cavaliers' offense scored at ballooned to 1.38 points per possession.

There's also reason to believe that he actually is a solid choice to try to contain James beyond just that relatively small set of possessions against the Cavs this season. Against the entire league, Anunoby has already proved he is an elite defender against drives. In fact, opponents scored only 0.83 points per direct drive against him in the regular season, which tied for the third-lowest rate among all players who defended at least 200 drives. A direct drive is one in which the ball handler shoots, is fouled, turns the ball over or passes to a teammate who shoots after no more than one dribble."

 

[DJ Fieri]

"Pretty clearly, that's a necessary component to at least slowing down James, who scored the fourth-most points per direct drive (1.19) in the league among those with at least 200 such plays, and was the most efficient among anyone with at least 500 drives.

In a small sample, Anunoby's drive defense did hold up against James, who scored 12 points on 14 direct drives against the rookie. For what it's worth, on 19 total drives, James failed to "blow by" Anunoby a single time. That relates to what seems to be the key for the young Raptor: his positioning, which forces opponents into more difficult shots.

The quantified shot quality (qSQ) of opponents in the paint who took at least three dribbles prior to their shot and were closest to Anunoby this season was 45.6. In other words, given the location of those shot attempts, what type of shots they were and the positions and movements of both the shooters and Anunoby, those shots had an expected effective field goal rate of 45.6 percent, which translates to the 98th percentile for defenders."

 

[TurnUpTheHeat]

I just dont think its that relative.

I think LeBron has been the best player in the league longer than anyone thats every played the game of basketball and that when you are splitting hairs, and talking about all time greats in the rarified air of top 5 of all time- those type of things matter. Magic might have been the best player in the league between 3 and 6 years--- probably 4 years.

Magic:
3 MVPS
3 time Finals MVP
9 time ALL NBA 1st team
1 time ALL NBA Second team
4 time assists leader
2 time steals leader
3 times Finals MVP
7 total finals
probably best player in the league for 4 years
0 all NBA defensive teams
12 time nba all star

LeBron:
4 MVPS
3 time Finals MVP
11 All NBA 1st teams (will add #12 this year)
2 time ALL NBA 2nd team
6 time All NBA Defensive team- 5 times first, 1 time second
13 time all star
8 total Finals (soon to be 9

So

4 mvps vs. 3 mvps
3 Finals mvps vs. 3 Finals Mvps
12 time All NBA 1st team, 9 time All NBA 1st team
2 time All NBA 2nd team vs. 1 time all nba 2nd team
3 time champ vs. 5 time champ
6 time all nba defensive team vs. 0 time all nba defensive team
1 time scoring champion vs. 1 time assists champion
probably the NBA's best player 11 times--- probably the NBA's best player 4 times
13 time all star vs. 12 time all star

I would rank James #2, but I have no issue with those who place him anywhere top 4-5.

 

[Shaqdaddy11]

I would rank James #2, but I have no issue with those who place him anywhere top 4-5.

How about 6th?

 

[TurnUpTheHeat]

Ive won a bunch of bets in a row.
So....I bet $5.00 on the Cavs.

#hopingtolose.

 

[TurnUpTheHeat]

How about 6th?

I’d have to see the list.

 

[DorianRo]

They'll run as far as James can carry them.
Raptors know he's a tough dragon to slay and better be razor sharp from the opening tip tomorrow.

LeBron can't beat the Raptors alone. They other guys will have to play 3x better than how they did in the first round against the lowly Pacers if they have any shot being the Raptors who have HCA

 

[Shaqdaddy11]

I’d have to see the list.

MJ
Magic
Kareem
Wilt
Smush Parker
Lebron

Solid, right?

 

[TurnUpTheHeat]

MJ
Magic
Kareem
Wilt
Smush Parker
Lebron

Solid, right?

I was waiting for Delonte West.

 

[Shaqdaddy11]

I was waiting for Delonte West.

He's firmly between Shaq and Hakeem towards the end of the top 10

 

[Heatles84]

How about 6th?

I dislike Lebron just as much as the next person. But in no way is Lebron #6 on the all-time list.

If he were to retire at this present moment, I'd put him at #4. But my eyes tell me he's #2. At the end, I think that's where he ends up.

People keep throwing out Lebron's gaudy stats - but the offense he plays in is designed around him, it's asked for him. Of course he's a better facilitator and rebounder than Jordan. But the latter's the better scorer and a far better defender - which you can't truly measure.

 

[DJ Fieri]

 

[Black Adam]

With who? Lebron? Not weird at all. He is adored by many

"adored"...?

naw, i ain't askin'...

 

[Black Adam]

1) how does anyone know he's never cheated on his wife...?

2) easy for rich people to be magnanimous...


sorry, not impressed...