Series Thread: Golden State Warriors vs. Cleveland Cavaliers NBA Finals Thread

[Tai Chi≈Surfing]

NBA WORLD CHAMPION

 

[Tai Chi≈Surfing]

GOLDEN STATE

 

[Tai Chi≈Surfing]

WARRIORS!!!!!

 

[Tai Chi≈Surfing]

 

[WiggyRuss]

We can deal with hypotheticals all you want. Golden St. won. You said you're not making excuses, but you keep bringing up injuries. We told you this would happen with Irving. It happens EVERY. SINGLE. YEAR.

First off - this year Kyrie played in 75 games- and thats with just plain rest the last week or so of the season for 2 games. He also was top 5 in the NBA in Minutes played. Id say he did a pretty damn good job of being on the court this season- unfortunately he got hurt at the worst time possible.


As evidenced by many of my posts on here- I am pretty far from being a Heat fan- to put it mildly- but I would in no way shape or form say that if the team was fully healthy for the season that they would have still gone from the Finals to the lottery.

You can say the same thing about Steph Curry- and in fact- Currys issues were actually more serious than anything Kyrie has ever had- but Curry grew out of them- and I realize you are not one to grasp nuance and listen to reason- but Kyrie sat out a LOT of games he could have played in because the Cavs were holding him out AS much as they could in order to get a better spot in the lotto in a few of those years- so much so that i remember at one point the team commenting on a kyrie injury and the reporter asking kyrie about it and kyrie saying "what is it this time?".

The Cavs were under no circumstances going to let Kyrie Irving play and risk the future of the franchise - especially if the result was going to be a couple extra wins in a lost season that could end up being the difference between picking in the top 3- or picking near the end of the top 10. -however- its obvious nuance and logical arguments are just bullshit to you.

Luckily- knock on wood- Kyrie has not sustained an injury that would lead to a chronic condition that would repeatedly manifest itself or cost him some of his explosiveness once its healed. Again- just to use Wade as an example- he got some bad advice early in his career- and in order to come back earlier- he had his meniscus removed instead of letting it heal (which was a longer process) on its own- which caused permenent irreversible damage.

Kyrie has never sustianed an injury like that. He has had some injuries that are just plain bad luck like punching a wall like an idiot and breaking his wrist, or getting kneed in the head by Dwade and getting a concussion- but never anything acute or chronic.

 

[Hambombs]

It's what separated them from the rest of the pack this season. The sad thing is, it's hard for me to find out what type of players they can add to be better. Probably just get better as a team, that's about it. They're two deep at every position.

They need another shooter IMO. A wing shooter is on my wish list. Danny green is my guy. Another big too would be nice

 

[WiggyRuss]

Throw Livingston in there. I enjoyed watching this lineup in the regular season. Small ball was a joy to watch. As much as I like Bogut (who btw is excellent as a passer for a C) but our offense moved at a slow pace with him there. Hes great as a rim protector but is a nightmare to have when theres a big that can shoot.

Before the series, TTs rebounds scared me more than anything tbh (this was with me knowing that Bron AND Kyrie would get multiple chances on the offensive end)

Livingston is just devastating playing in a small lineup since he can guard a PG who is quick, but can also post hi mup.

 

[WiggyRuss]

GOLDEN STATE

Congrats! It was the Warriors year and they finished it like true Champs

 

[WiggyRuss]

Im out guys.

what a season. Congrats to Golden State. Im glad my Cavs played in the last game of the season. what a ride. I cant wait to see the squad that is saddled up and ready to comeback to the Finals next year.

they NEED to bring back Thompson- and I would really really like them to bring back Love.

 

[Heatles84]

First off - this year Kyrie played in 75 games- and thats with just plain rest the last week or so of the season for 2 games. He also was top 5 in the NBA in Minutes played. Id say he did a pretty damn good job of being on the court this season- unfortunately he got hurt at the worst time possible.


As evidenced by many of my posts on here- I am pretty far from being a Heat fan- to put it mildly- but I would in no way shape or form say that if the team was fully healthy for the season that they would have still gone from the Finals to the lottery.

You can say the same thing about Steph Curry- and in fact- Currys issues were actually more serious than anything Kyrie has ever had- but Curry grew out of them- and I realize you are not one to grasp nuance and listen to reason- but Kyrie sat out a LOT of games he could have played in because the Cavs were holding him out AS much as they could in order to get a better spot in the lotto in a few of those years- so much so that i remember at one point the team commenting on a kyrie injury and the reporter asking kyrie about it and kyrie saying "what is it this time?".

The Cavs were under no circumstances going to let Kyrie Irving play and risk the future of the franchise - especially if the result was going to be a couple extra wins in a lost season that could end up being the difference between picking in the top 3- or picking near the end of the top 10. -however- its obvious nuance and logical arguments are just bullshit to you.

Luckily- knock on wood- Kyrie has not sustained an injury that would lead to a chronic condition that would repeatedly manifest itself or cost him some of his explosiveness once its healed. Again- just to use Wade as an example- he got some bad advice early in his career- and in order to come back earlier- he had his meniscus removed instead of letting it heal (which was a longer process) on its own- which caused permenent irreversible damage.

Kyrie has never sustianed an injury like that. He has had some injuries that are just plain bad luck like punching a wall like an idiot and breaking his wrist, or getting kneed in the head by Dwade and getting a concussion- but never anything acute or chronic.

LOL, Irving was practically born injured. Dude played 3 games his senior year of high school, and 10 games for his one year at Duke. Throughout all of your ramblings, you pretty much acknowledged that Irving eventually was injured, which is what everyone called, but you.

 

[fredmccallyRTR]

Why are the Warriors from Golden State and not Oakland? | For The Win

With the opening of the Oakland Coliseum Arena in 1966, the team started playing some home games across the Bay, but kept its San Francisco name. It wasn’t until the team officially moved to Oakland in 1971 that the Golden State nickname was adopted.

Why? The team used some mumbo-jumbo about wanting to belong to “all of California,” but only apparently after leaving San Francisco. But that piece of trivia is almost completely ignored by the Warriors today. This season’s media guide is 385 pages and contains thousands of meaningless stats and blurbs like this one about the 1992-93 team — “Mullin, Hardaway, Marciulionis and Owens were on the court at the same time for a total of two minutes and 37 seconds (second quarter vs. Atlanta on Jan. 12)” — but says nothing about the reason for the name change, which is easily the biggest off-court moment in franchise history (and one of the biggest moments in any situation). Shoot, there are six pages on the franchise’s D-league team and nothing substantial on why the change from San Francisco to Golden State.

So, there’s an easy inference to make: For whatever reason, the team just didn’t want to have Oakland in its name. (Even the team’s awesome, new logo shows the Bay Bridge, which basically says “we’d rather be in San Francisco.”) And though the team would certainly deny it, that inference is supported by the following fact: With the Warriors scheduled to move out of Oakland in 2018 and back to San Francisco, there have been discussions about going back to the original name: the San Francisco Warriors. So, playing in Oakland led to no thoughts about being named after the Bay Area’s lesser city, but moving back across the water, to the swankier San Francisco, does?

It’d be a mistake to switch now, of course. San Francisco has the Giants and the 49ers. Every other of the 121 teams in major professional sports has the basic name of the region in which they play. Golden State is special for that reason. And now the team is special for winnin its first title in 40 years. It’s impossible to imagine they’d ever mess with karma and go back to the San Francisco moniker now.

random trivia

 

[Tai Chi≈Surfing]

Im out guys.

what a season. Congrats to Golden State. Im glad my Cavs played in the last game of the season. what a ride. I cant wait to see the squad that is saddled up and ready to comeback to the Finals next year.

they NEED to bring back Thompson- and I would really really like them to bring back Love.

Tristan is a no brainer....but who knows where K-love ends up...I don't think it'll be the cavs.

 

[Robotech]

They need another shooter IMO. A wing shooter is on my wish list. Danny green is my guy. Another big too would be nice

LOL, I didn't think that I would be thinking about the offseason already, but your post and Heatles' post got me wondering what the Dubs will do this offseason. Re-sign Draymond for sure. Do we keep Barbosa?

 

[fredmccallyRTR]

The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in Oakland, California. They are a member of thePacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The team was first established in 1946 as the Philadelphia Warriors and was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It won the championship in the inaugural season of theBasketball Association of America (BAA), the league that would eventually become the NBA after a merger with the National Basketball League (NBL) took place prior to the 1949–50 season.

The Warriors are the current NBA champions, defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers in six games in the 2015 Finals.

In 1962, the franchise relocated to San Francisco, California, and was renamed as the San Francisco Warriors. In 1971, the team moved across the Bay Area to Oakland, and changed its geographic name to Golden State to symbolize the team as representative of the entire state of California.[3] The geographic moniker Golden State is the official state nickname for California.[4] Since 1966, the team has played home games in the building currently known as the Oracle Arena and exclusively since 1972, with the exception of a one-year hiatus during which it played in San Jose, California, while the Oracle Arena was being remodeled. Along with their inaugural championship win in the 1946–47 season and the 2015 championship, the Warriors have won two others in the team's history, including another in Philadelphia after the 1955–56 season, and one as Golden State after the 1974–75 season, leaving them fifth overall in the NBA in number of championships.

 

[OutlawImmortal]

They need another shooter IMO. A wing shooter is on my wish list. Danny green is my guy. Another big too would be nice

You add Danny Green to that list of 2-way players the Warriors have and you guys will be back in the Finals next year for sure.

 

[Robotech]

Livingston is just devastating playing in a small lineup since he can guard a PG who is quick, but can also post hi mup.

It seemed like Livingston had more dunks than our forwards and centers.

 

[fredmccallyRTR]

Stepien raised eyebrows when he introduced a scantily clad (by the NBA's then standards) dance team known as "The Teddy Bears". On the court, Stepien installed Bill Musselman as the team's head coach. Musselman, who coached the University of Minnesota to the 1972 Big Ten championship, the school's first in 53 years, compiled a 25–46 record with the Cavs before Stepien fired him.

Stepien thought he could quickly assemble a competitive team, however, he proved to be a poor judge of basketball talent. He spent the then lavish sum of $2 million on salaries for Scott Wedman, James Edwards and Bobby Wilkerson. While satisfactory role players (Wedman had been an All-Star but was injured and on the downside of his career), none were the stars Stepien envisioned them to be.

In an interview in December 1980, Stepien said, "No team should be all white and no team should be all black, either. That's what bothers me about the NBA: You've got a situation here where blacks represent little more than 5 percent of the market, yet most teams are at least 75 percent black and the New York Knicks are 100 percent black. Teams with that kind of makeup can't possibly draw from a suitable cross section of fans." He also said that "blacks don't buy many tickets and they don't buy many of the products advertised on TV. Let's face it, running an NBA team is like running any other business and those kind of factors have to be considered." He described his Cavaliers at that time — consisting of six whites and five blacks — as "a balanced team racially, and that's a good reflection on our society because it's balanced too." He described himself as "really big on desegregation" and "for a totally integrated society."[2]

In the last days of the 1980–81 season, Stepien made headlines by firing popular team play by play announcer Joe Tait, replacing him with Paul Porter. Stepien claimed that "announcers were a dime a dozen", but it is widely believed that Tait was fired due to his on-air criticism of Stepien's ownership. This was also believed to be the reason that Stepien moved the Cavaliers games from WWWE (3WE) 1100AM (featuring Stepien critic Pete Franklin) to WBBG 1260AM.

By this time, Stepien's popularity in Cleveland was at an all-time low.[3] The team was referred to locally at this time as the "Cleveland Cadavers". For the final home game of the 1981 season, the largest Cavaliers crowd in two years showed up to honor Tait and heap abuse on the Cavs' now-despised owner. The angry crowd used the occasion to not only show support for the broadcaster Stepien was running out of town, but also voice their discontent over the fact that Stepien was staying behind to run the team.[4]

Over the course of the 1981–82 season alone, Stepien fired three head coaches and hired four: Don Delaney, who had taken over for Musselman with 11 games remaining in the 1980–81 season; assistant coach Bob Kloppenburg, who filled in for a game after Stepien relieved Delaney of his duties; Chuck Daly, who left the Philadelphia 76ers where he had been an assistant to take over as head coach of the Cavs, who went 9–32 with him at the helm; and Bill Musselman, who returned to the bench after serving as the team's director of player personnel since being fired the previous season.

According to a March 27, 1982 story in The Sporting News, Stepien said he brought back Musselman after having time to reflect on the job he did the previous season. "Bill won 25 games with a team of Mike Bratz, Roger Phegley, Mike Mitchell, Bill Laimbeer and really, no bench."

Stepien, who was an All-City basketball and football player at Schenley High School in Pittsburgh, infamously made multiple questionable transactions with his teams, such as trading away several future high draft picks for mediocre players. One of the picks whom Stepien traded away turned out to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 1982 NBA Draft,James Worthy, for the Los Angeles Lakers.

In fact, all of these questionable moves led the NBA to institute what is commonly known as the "Stepien Rule," which states that a team (usually) cannot trade its first-round pick in consecutive years.[5] After Stepien dealt away several 1st round draft picks to the Dallas Mavericks, who were a newly formed expansion team, the NBA froze Cleveland's trading rights to prevent him from giving up the team's picks for the rest of the 1980's and 1990's; while the freeze was officially ended after the 1981-82 season, Stepien never traded away another 1st-round pick afterwards before he sold the team.

In a December 6, 1982 New York Times article by Ira Berkow, Musselman explained that Stepien "wanted a playoff team right away, and that's what he kept talking about." In the same article, Stepien is quoted as saying: "We made mistakes, and I take the responsibility."

During his ownership, attendance at Cavaliers games began to sharply fall due to the team's poor play and questionable moves. Stepien thought about renaming the team the "Ohio Cavaliers" and playing portions of its home schedule in nearby non-NBA cities such as Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, and Toronto to increase the fan base. He had also threatened to move the team to Toronto and rename them the Toronto Towers, but ultimately Stepien decided to sell the team to Cleveland businessmen George and Gordon Gund prior to the 1983–84 season for $20 million. During his tenure as Cavaliers owner, the Cavaliers went 66–180, had five different coaches, and had losses of $15 million.[6]

Cheer up, Cavs. It aint 1980 bad.

 

[Across The Field]

Your a Cavs fan...what was your opinion on "The Decision" ?

Wasn't thrilled with how he did it but wasn't shocked or mad at him leaving. I'd of done the same thing.

 

[ckhokie]

 

[DJ Fieri]

@Hambombs & the rest of GS fans, congrats. Especially, Hambombs.