Series Thread: Eastern Conference Finals: 1) Cleveland Cavaliers (57-25) vs. 2) Toronto Raptors (56-26)

[WiggyRuss]

TT is better than Whiteside...right, right?

if i had to choose between Thompson and Whiteside to help my team win a title- EASY choice. Thompson helps your team WIN more than Whiteside...even before Whiteside got hurt- itsn ot like he had anything close to a star levels role on the playoff series....JV was kicking his ass...Jefferson kicked his ass at times....to say this guy is anything CLOSE to a top 5 center i think was smashed as a bad joke this postseason. A top 5 center helps your team a lot more than that malcontent did. No WAY do i give that guy 22 million a year.

id much rather pay tristan about 16 a year to ALWAYS play, ALWAYS play hard, and to keep on helping the team win in ways that are a lot more important than empty shiny box scores.

 

[trojanfan12]

i think they would have a lot more confidence than they showed up with in Game 1 ....but- as the saying goes in baseball- momentum is tomorrow's starting pitcher-----i think in the NBA that could be rephrased as - momentum is who's home court you are on--- USUALLY anyway-

i think for the Raptors especially- they always seem to play better with their backs against the wall too....they never seem to win until they HAVE to...

Not sure I agree. In the first 2 games in Cleveland, the Raptors stayed fairly close early, but when the Cavs made a run, the Raptors responded like a team that didn't think they could win. In game 3, when the Cavs made runs, the Raptors responded with a run of their own and acted like they thought they could win.

If they are able to repeat that tonight, then I think they go into Cleveland with a lot more confidence than you seem to want to give them. I don't know as that it would be enough for them to actually win in Cleveland, but I think it would make for a much closer game, which would give the Raptors a decent shot.

 

[Wamu]

i think they would have a lot more confidence than they showed up with in Game 1 ....but- as the saying goes in baseball- momentum is tomorrow's starting pitcher-----i think in the NBA that could be rephrased as - momentum is who's home court you are on--- USUALLY anyway-

i think for the Raptors especially- they always seem to play better with their backs against the wall too....they never seem to win until they HAVE to...

Can't say I've ever heard the phrase momentum is tomorrow's starting pitcher.

 

[Wamu]

if i had to choose between Thompson and Whiteside to help my team win a title- EASY choice. Thompson helps your team WIN more than Whiteside...even before Whiteside got hurt- itsn ot like he had anything close to a star levels role on the playoff series....JV was kicking his ass...Jefferson kicked his ass at times....to say this guy is anything CLOSE to a top 5 center i think was smashed as a bad joke this postseason. A top 5 center helps your team a lot more than that malcontent did. No WAY do i give that guy 22 million a year.

id much rather pay tristan about 16 a year to ALWAYS play, ALWAYS play hard, and to keep on helping the team win in ways that are a lot more important than empty shiny box scores.

 

[Wamu]

Not sure I agree. In the first 2 games in Cleveland, the Raptors stayed fairly close early, but when the Cavs made a run, the Raptors responded like a team that didn't think they could win. In game 3, when the Cavs made runs, the Raptors responded with a run of their own and acted like they thought they could win.

If they are able to repeat that tonight, then I think they go into Cleveland with a lot more confidence than you seem to want to give them. I don't know as that it would be enough for them to actually win in Cleveland, but I think it would make for a much closer game, which would give the Raptors a decent shot.

Shit if the Raptors win tonight Wiggy's gonna dump the Cavs & jump back on the OKC bandwagon!

 

[Mecca of the “B” Team]

if i had to choose between Thompson and Whiteside to help my team win a title- EASY choice. Thompson helps your team WIN more than Whiteside...even before Whiteside got hurt- itsn ot like he had anything close to a star levels role on the playoff series....JV was kicking his ass...Jefferson kicked his ass at times....to say this guy is anything CLOSE to a top 5 center i think was smashed as a bad joke this postseason. A top 5 center helps your team a lot more than that malcontent did. No WAY do i give that guy 22 million a year.

id much rather pay tristan about 16 a year to ALWAYS play, ALWAYS play hard, and to keep on helping the team win in ways that are a lot more important than empty shiny box scores.

I bet all 30 Teams would disagree.

Injuries aside....I'll take Dikembe for 20 over AC Green at 16.

 

[WiggyRuss]

For the first time since LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love all played in a playoff game together, the Cavs lost, breaking a 14-0 mark.

 

[Mecca of the “B” Team]

Shit if the Raptors win tonight Wiggy's gonna dump the Cavs & jump back on the OKC bandwagon!

On this note, I'm out....

 

[trojanfan12]

I bet all 30 Teams would disagree.

Injuries aside....I'll take Dikembe for 20 over AC Green at 16.

There's a reason no one was making offers to TT last FA and will likely be lining up to sign Whiteside. Agree about Dikembe over AC Green and I was a huge AC Green fan.

 

[WiggyRuss]

if momentum was such a big deal- the Cavs 10 game Eastern Conference winning straek would have counted more

like LBJ said- it doesnt feel like a streak because each playoff game is its own entity.

 

[WiggyRuss]

I bet all 30 Teams would disagree.

Injuries aside....I'll take Dikembe for 20 over AC Green at 16.

well at one point all 30 teams thought that Whiteside was not worthy of a back end bench roster spot. DO i think he has changed that narrative around enough where teams would give him a max contract without huge HUGE reservations? some might- some definitely would not even consider it.

 

[trojanfan12]

if momentum was such a big deal- the Cavs 10 game Eastern Conference winning straek would have counted more

like LBJ said- it doesnt feel like a streak because each playoff game is its own entity.

Yeah, because momentum/streaks never end.

Also, momentum did have something to do with that 10 game streak. There were a couple of games during that streak that if it were the regular season or the Cavs didn't have momentum, they may very well have lost.

Both game 4's vs. the Pistons and Hawks are examples of momentum carrying them. Without that, they may well have lost both.

 

[trojanfan12]

well at one point all 30 teams thought that Whiteside was not worthy of a back end bench roster spot. DO i think he has changed that narrative around enough where teams would give him a max contract without huge HUGE reservations? some might- some definitely would not even consider it.

Whiteside wasn't the player then that he is now. If only 1 team outside of the Heat offers him a big contract, it will still be more teams than offered TT a big contract outside of the Cavs.

 

[WiggyRuss]

I bet all 30 Teams would disagree.

Injuries aside....I'll take Dikembe for 20 over AC Green at 16.

did u watch GoT last night?

what an emotionally taxing episode...unbelievable. Some huge huge reveals- even for book readers.

I watched it late last night...had a RIDICULOUS weekend...helped at my parents house as they were throwing a baby-shower for my cousin on Saturday- which required tons of cleaning and yard work on friday night/saturday morning-- and then my grandpa- who lives 2 doors down from my parents- and just recently got out of the hospital had to be taken back to the hospital at like 1 AM to the Cleveland Clinic downtown...didnt get back till like 5-6 AM on Sunday morning....

actually headed back down to the hospital after work- dinner and change....might miss some of the first half of the game tonight...

 

[WiggyRuss]

Whiteside wasn't the player then that he is now. If only 1 team outside of the Heat offers him a big contract, it will still be more teams than offered TT a big contract outside of the Cavs.

for sure he wasnt the same player.

big differences between being an unrestricted free agent and a restricted free agent as well.

 

[trojanfan12]

did u watch GoT last night?

I'm gonna have to invest some time and start watching that. Everyone I know, including my wife, raves about it. At this point, I think I'm avoiding it just be a contrarian.

 

[WiggyRuss]

I'm gonna have to invest some time and start watching that. Everyone I know, including my wife, raves about it. At this point, I think I'm avoiding it just be a contrarian.

its just too good.

only 10 episodes per season so its not overly difficult to catch up on.

 

[trojanfan12]

for sure he wasnt the same player.

big differences between being an unrestricted free agent and a restricted free agent as well.

True, but if any team actually wanted him, they'd have made an offer and hoped to outbid the Cavs.

 

[WiggyRuss]

True, but if any team actually wanted him, they'd have made an offer and hoped to outbid the Cavs.

they couldnt outbid the CAvs- the Cavs initial offer of 5 years 80 was actually more in total dollars than any other team could offer....what are those teams gonna offer him less to leave the cavs?

 

[trojanfan12]

its just too good.

only 10 episodes per season so its not overly difficult to catch up on.

That's true. I caught up on Banshee pretty quickly because I think they did about the same number of episodes per season.