2015-16 NBA Eastern Conference OFFICIAL THREAD

[Mecca of the “B” Team]

youd have better luck with pluto or livingston lemme tell ya---- especially pluto....livingston is a little bit of a blow hard but hes been around forever--- both are really really great basketball reporters---- thoug pluto is a darn good baseball reporter too----- pluto is one of th ebest in the business....

To be honest, I don't read the Plain Dealer.

I only saw that article because it has been picked up on some of the other sites....

Hoopshype, bleacher report, realgm etc

 

[WiggyRuss]

To be honest, I don't read the Plain Dealer.

I only saw that article because it has been picked up on some of the other sites....

Hoopshype, bleacher report, realgm etc

Terry Pluto is a one of the best sports writers around....

his book on the ABA - "Loose Balls" is very highly rated--- his LBJ book "Making of an MVP" was pretty good....

the Browns book "False Start"- on how they got HOSEd because of how well JVille and Carolina did right off the bat was really interesting..

 

[WiggyRuss]

that was a good game to rest LeBron too.....

Cavs get the W...are able to rest LeBron so he is fresh for Friday/Saturday in Florida....he gets 3 days off.....


and as i said a few days ago

Kyrie has been AMAZING in February and March- basically going for like 25 pts, 5 assists, on beter than 50% shooting.....its certainly huge to get him going and back where he was

but the most important thing is how Lebron is doing.

last year- i dont know how many times i would see him leak out and get a pass on the break and just LAY IT UP...i ahd to do double takes--- like what is this guy doing? this is LEBRON!!!??!!?! layup in an unguarded fast break? Like 2 chase down blocks the entire year?

This year- TOTALLY different story. He has said how much better he feels this year- and it shows....

whoever watches the Cavs AT ALL has noticed in a big way- LeBron looks - PHYSICALLY at least- HEad and shoulders above what he was last year. He looks freaking EXPLOSIVE....i wonder if there is a site taht tracks those chase down blocks he has...

but- to sum up--- teams should be SCARED with the physical condition LEBron is in, the depth the Cavs have- and that they are FINALLY one of the healthier teams in the league- at least right now.

 

[bksballer89]

that was a good game to rest LeBron too.....

Cavs get the W...are able to rest LeBron so he is fresh for Friday/Saturday in Florida....he gets 3 days off.....


and as i said a few days ago

Kyrie has been AMAZING in February and March- basically going for like 25 pts, 5 assists, on beter than 50% shooting.....its certainly huge to get him going and back where he was

but the most important thing is how Lebron is doing.

last year- i dont know how many times i would see him leak out and get a pass on the break and just LAY IT UP...i ahd to do double takes--- like what is this guy doing? this is LEBRON!!!??!!?! layup in an unguarded fast break? Like 2 chase down blocks the entire year?

This year- TOTALLY different story. He has said how much better he feels this year- and it shows....

whoever watches the Cavs AT ALL has noticed in a big way- LeBron looks - PHYSICALLY at least- HEad and shoulders above what he was last year. He looks freaking EXPLOSIVE....i wonder if there is a site taht tracks those chase down blocks he has...

but- to sum up--- teams should be SCARED with the physical condition LEBron is in, the depth the Cavs have- and that they are FINALLY one of the healthier teams in the league- at least right now.

As I said a few weeks ago on another thread here. These are all grown men. To think that they would be scared of any player or team is hilarious

 

[WiggyRuss]

pretty pretty PLEASE--- a 2nd round matchup vs. the HEat!!! let Bosh be healthy too....hopefully Whiteside is healthy as well....

I want to see a game 5 in Cleveland so bad where Thompson just punishes Whiteside on the offensive glass- where Whiteside cant figure out how to guard Love....and then loses his mind...im telling you ITS COMING....



honestly- that would be SUCH A FUN series.....I would love it......Dan Gilbert would too ...lol.....lets hope we get it and the HEat dont choke again.

 

[WiggyRuss]

Its just kind of funny cause Kyrie actually had a great game. 33 points on good - not great - shooting. 5 boards and a game winning steal.

He and Kevin both stepped up for once in the absence of LeBron. There were ugly stretches and great stretches and ultimately they won.

you think the haters would have been more impressed by a loss but Irving getting 10 assists? lol

who knows....i wouldnt put it passed them though.

 

[bksballer89]

you think the haters would have been more impressed by a loss but Irving getting 10 assists? lol

who knows....i wouldnt put it passed them though.

We're haters because we posted articles from NBA writers? LMAO

 

[bksballer89]

pretty pretty PLEASE--- a 2nd round matchup vs. the HEat!!! let Bosh be healthy too....hopefully Whiteside is healthy as well....

I want to see a game 5 in Cleveland so bad where Thompson just punishes Whiteside on the offensive glass- where Whiteside cant figure out how to guard Love....and then loses his mind...im telling you ITS COMING....



honestly- that would be SUCH A FUN series.....I would love it......Dan Gilbert would too ...lol.....lets hope we get it and the HEat dont choke again.

1) When did the Heat first choke?

2) Considering there are only 3 better players who rebound better than Whiteside, highly doubt Thompson will ever "punish" Hassan on the glass.

3) Considering the way Cleveland use love when Lebron is playing, Love is not difficult to guard. He's basically a spot up shooter.

4) There is more of a chance of JR Smith losing his mind than Whiteside.

 

[trojanfan12]

Funny lol. Go to the Cavs section of the Plain Dealer and all you see is articles by Haynes and 2 other beat writers. Hard to believe you actually read the Plain Dealer and don't know who he is considering he's been the beat writer for about 2 basketball seasons now

at Wiggy trying to shoot the messenger. I'll bet if he wrote a piece praising Kyrie, Wiggy would know exactly who he is.

 

[ChrisGar15]

supposedly- Kyrie had 8 "assist opportunities last night"- and the team missed 7 wide open shots. Love made 1 of them......in comparison- Steph Curry has 6 "assist opportunities" last night.

Interesting stat. When I was watching the game -- the Cavs missed a ton of wide open 3s. I thought it was averaging out compared to how they shot vs. Clippers.

I do think Irving over dribbled on a few possessions. But I don't remember when he took a stupid shot with other players wide open.

Love had a nice balanced game. I was surprised he shot 6 3s ... I only remember 2 ... and he spent most of his time in the paint or within 15 feet. He was exposed a couple of time on defense on pick-and-roll where miscommunication gave the Mavs dunks/layups in the 4th quarter. (Pachulia)

The Cavs both have to improve offense without Lebron on the court ... plus help defense.

Wes Marthews is a shell of what he was with the Blazers. Odd.

 

[WiggyRuss]

1) When did the Heat first choke?

2) Considering there are only 3 better players who rebound better than Whiteside, highly doubt Thompson will ever "punish" Hassan on the glass.

3) Considering the way Cleveland use love when Lebron is playing, Love is not difficult to guard. He's basically a spot up shooter.

4) There is more of a chance of JR Smith losing his mind than Whiteside.

1.) they choked when last year they crapped the bed and took 10th in the East after being in playoff position with less than 6 weeks to go

2.) Cleveland is just a great rebounding TEAM...Whiteside gets a lot of boards- especially since the other guys on the Heat are pretty BAD rebounders for the most part--- While Whiteside is 4th in the NBA- Love and Thompson are 10th and 15th....the only teammates that are both in the top 15-- there is no pair of teammates close--next closest is UTAh with Favors and Gobert who are 7th and 23rd ....after that? Brookln with Thad Young and Lopez at 17 and 27....next closest HEat player is Bosh at 38.--- LeBron ? 36th in rebouding.....pretty crazy to have teh 10th, 15th and 36th leading rebounders in the NBa on the same team- NOT EASY to do...in fact- thats practically impssoble.

3.) I would THOROUGHLY enjoy Whiteside trying to guard Love and running around down-screens and out to the 3 pt. line--- or even Love in the post....would be hilarious to watch.

4.) As I seem to remember Whiteside has lost his mind and been ejected 3 times in the last calendar year- all on icndients he started.....at least Smith is just protecting his teammates instead of being a goon.

 

[WiggyRuss]

Interesting stat. When I was watching the game -- the Cavs missed a ton of wide open 3s. I thought it was averaging out compared to how they shot vs. Clippers.

I do think Irving over dribbled on a few possessions. But I don't remember when he took a stupid shot with other players wide open.

Love had a nice balanced game. I was surprised he shot 6 3s ... I only remember 2 ... and he spent most of his time in the paint or within 15 feet. He was exposed a couple of time on defense on pick-and-roll where miscommunication gave the Mavs dunks/layups in the 4th quarter. (Pachulia)

The Cavs both have to improve offense without Lebron on the court ... plus help defense.

Wes Marthews is a shell of what he was with the Blazers. Odd.

oh he definitely over dribbled at times--- but the missed open shots was definitely an issue

im not surprised the Cavs won considering how Kyrie took over and had a game high 33--- I am surprised that despite shooting under 30% from 3- that they still won.

I would think a combo of no LeBron and a poor shooting night from outside is usually doom---- unless you have 2 guys like Ki and Love who can combine for near 60.

 

[WiggyRuss]

Cavs offense has been amazing since Lue took over-- only GSW's has been more efficient....

Cavs went from 101 pts per 100 possessions to 108- thats a HUGE freaking jump--- especially when you consider they have upped the pace over the last week or two in a substantial way as well.

 

[ChrisGar15]

1.) ... next closest is UTAh with Favors and Gobert who are 7th and 23rd ....

I love the combination of Favors & Gobert. But in this new NBA -- rarely does a team play 2 bigs together who have limited range.

 

[Mecca of the “B” Team]

Wes Marthews is a shell of what he was with the Blazers. Odd.

His contract is abysmal.

Maybe he needs another year to work himself back into form?

Dirk has been holding his own at Center.

 

[Mecca of the “B” Team]

you think the haters would have been more impressed by a loss but Irving getting 10 assists? lol

who knows....i wouldnt put it passed them though.

Damn, why I gotta be a hater

Didn't you post something similar about Draymond the other day?

 

[trojanfan12]

Cavs offense has been amazing since Lue took over-- only GSW's has been more efficient....

Cavs went from 101 pts per 100 possessions to 108- thats a HUGE freaking jump--- especially when you consider they have upped the pace over the last week or two in a substantial way as well.

And yet they just went 3-2 in a 5 game stretch, all against teams they are supposed to beat.

 

[bksballer89]

1.) they choked when last year they crapped the bed and took 10th in the East after being in playoff position with less than 6 weeks to go

2.) Cleveland is just a great rebounding TEAM...Whiteside gets a lot of boards- especially since the other guys on the Heat are pretty BAD rebounders for the most part--- While Whiteside is 4th in the NBA- Love and Thompson are 10th and 15th....the only teammates that are both in the top 15-- there is no pair of teammates close--next closest is UTAh with Favors and Gobert who are 7th and 23rd ....after that? Brookln with Thad Young and Lopez at 17 and 27....next closest HEat player is Bosh at 38.--- LeBron ? 36th in rebouding.....pretty crazy to have teh 10th, 15th and 36th leading rebounders in the NBa on the same team- NOT EASY to do...in fact- thats practically impssoble.

3.) I would THOROUGHLY enjoy Whiteside trying to guard Love and running around down-screens and out to the 3 pt. line--- or even Love in the post....would be hilarious to watch.

4.) As I seem to remember Whiteside has lost his mind and been ejected 3 times in the last calendar year- all on icndients he started.....at least Smith is just protecting his teammates instead of being a goon.

1) That's what you call crapping the bed lol. It's called not having your best player for the final 6 weeks in addition to a shitty roster. On top of that how the hell was it a choke job if they enter the AS break in 8th place only 1 game up and 1.5 games up on the 2 teams who eventually passed them. Are you now saying any team who can't hold a game or 1.5 games lead in the final 6 weeks of the season should be considered a choke job?

2) So that's why Whiteside is a great rebounder lol. My god anything to take credit away from that man you will do it. Before I know it, you will come up with a lame excuse to discredit his shot blocking ability as well. BTW Cleveland avg 44.8 RPG and Miami avg 44.3 RPG. Miami is far from a bad rebounding team. Also since moving Deng to the 4 after the AS break, he is now avg 9.1 RPG which is better than what BOTH Tristan and Kevin is doing for the Cavs since the AS break. Hassan is avg 14.4 RPG since the break so the combination of Deng/Whiteside been clearly the better rebounding tandem since the AS break. There is no debate here

3) He did just fine guarding Draymond a few weeks ago. Last thing the Heat is concerned about when playing Cleveland will be Kevin Love and his 38% shooting from the field and 22% shooting from 3 since the AS break.

4) Yes continue to make excuses for JR. Shocking lol.

 

[WiggyRuss]

Damn, why I gotta be a hater

Didn't you post something similar about Draymond the other day?

I just said what i had heard on Draymond- that he has been unhappy and stirring up stuff in the locker room.....I have nothing personal to base that on other than the reporters reporting it.

Brian Windhorst with Hooley and Dino

Listen up..interesting..only 10 minutes...and only like 3-4 is on draymond.....if u hate Kyrie listen to Hooley- he is NOT a fan lemme tell ya...Hooley got run from columbus for bad mouthing the Vest...thats a big no-no in the Buckeye State.

AT least us Ohioans didnt embarrass ourselves like the Floridians did on Tuesday....

 

[TurnUpTheHeat]

Cavs offense has been amazing since Lue took over-- only GSW's has been more efficient....

Cavs went from 101 pts per 100 possessions to 108- thats a HUGE freaking jump--- especially when you consider they have upped the pace over the last week or two in a substantial way as well.

Anyone know how Heats numbers look since the ASB for that same stat?