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

[Raw_Bee808]

 

[gordontrue]

Its all good

More evidence of him not quitting.

The narrative Barkley tried to spin last night is hilarious, especially coming from a guy who put up 19 and 17 in his last two Finals losses to the Bulls. He wasnt the leading scorer on his own team as the Bulls finished them off. I guess he gave up?

 

[Black Adam]

I vote THIS one for WiggityWack's new Av...

 

[tlance]

The Warriors + LBJ easily.

Kobe and AI are not good additions to the Bulls. Too many ball dominant scorers + 1 guy you don't need to guard.

Besides. AI's presence negates the single biggest asset the Bulls have in a matchup with GS:

The ability to use Pippen's length in a matchup with Curry.

 

[ManuForever]

The only likable thing about this Warriors team is that they drafted all their stars except for KD. Literally the only reason I could ever like them.

 

[gordontrue]

You are right.

It defintely enhances his legacy.

But I was highly disappointed in his effort in the second half both offensively and defensively. He played out the string the last few minutes instead of going hard and trying to rally his team. It would have been a futile effort, but one he needed to make.

When you are trying to catch a man whose mythological legend has been enhanced to a ridiculous degree, you can't have that type of effort in any game, let alone an elimination game.

Overall his legacy is enhanced due to his playoff performance. But he deserves criticism in the wake of game 4. And you know I am quick to call others out when they criticize LBJ for petty stuff. This isn't petty.

There's two mindsets for him to choose in that moment.

Go full hero ball mode, start jacking shots, driving to the rim every play, show the world that at least I'm going down swinging.

Or get your shooters going, get on a run, try to manufacture a flurry of 3s to turn the tide of the game and build belief is your teammates.

The first looks better to the outside world and satisfies their expectations. But I would argue that it's much closer to giving up than the 2nd option is. And less likely to lead to a victory against that deficit.

I've seen LeBron do both, and it's hard to say which he should've done last night. It's easy to say now, knowing that Korver and JR and Hood were never going to get it going in that 2nd half.

When LeBron - always a pass first make-the-right-play type of guy - goes down jacking up shots, that's when you really know he's given up on the outcome.... But for some reason everyone feels better about that option.

 

[tlance]

More evidence of him not quitting.

The narrative Barkley tried to spin last night is hilarious, especially coming from a guy who put up 19 and 17 in his last two Finals losses to the Bulls. He wasnt the leading scorer on his own team as the Bulls finished them off. I guess he gave up?

I am not willing to say he gave up, but do you really think he went all out?

I recall a defensive possession where he was guarding Curry and he allowed Steph to get open for 3 on a real simple cut to the wing from the short corner. Sorry, but if you are at all engaged defensively you don't let the best shooter in the world get open that easily.

Offensively he was distributing because the Warriors were double and tripling him. I am mostly OK with that but I do think he could have been more aggressive there too. That doesn't mean he had to shoot 15 times, but he needed to attack more often.

 

[tlance]

There's two mindsets for him to choose in that moment.

Go full hero ball mode, start jacking shots, driving to the rim every play, show the world that at least I'm going down swinging.

Or get your shooters going, get on a run, try to manufacture a flurry of 3s to turn the tide of the game and build belief is your teammates.

The first looks better to the outside world and satisfies their expectations. But I would argue that it's much closer to giving up than the 2nd option is. And less likely to lead to a victory against that deficit.

I've seen LeBron do both, and it's hard to say which he should've done last night. It's easy to say now, knowing that Korver and JR and Hood were never going to get it going in that 2nd half.

When LeBron - always a pass first make-the-right-play type of guy - goes down jacking up shots, that's when you really know he's given up on the outcome.... But for some reason everyone feels better about that option.

I totally agree with this.

It wasn't his decision making for me, it was his energy level and his intensity. I just felt that I have seen much better from him.

 

[gordontrue]

I am not willing to say he gave up, but do you really think he went all out?

I recall a defensive possession where he was guarding Curry and he allowed Steph to get open for 3 on a real simple cut to the wing from the short corner. Sorry, but if you are at all engaged defensively you don't let the best shooter in the world get open that easily.

Offensively he was distributing because the Warriors were double and tripling him. I am mostly OK with that but I do think he could have been more aggressive there too. That doesn't mean he had to shoot 15 times, but he needed to attack more often.

I saw that as a defensive lapse not effort. He is very rarely on Curry for an in bounds play, usually more in a help defender situation. Realized it a second late, gave effort on the closeout.

Im not saying LeBron played his best, or even most engaged game. He wasnt great as he's been more often than not over the course of 104 games this season.

But I saw someone doing everything he could to get his team going against a fucking good team that had finally kicked their great defense up into full gear.

 

[gordontrue]

I totally agree with this.

It wasn't his decision making for me, it was his energy level and his intensity. I just felt that I have seen much better from him.

Yeah I'll agree with that.

 

[Raw_Bee808]

More evidence of him not quitting.

The narrative Barkley tried to spin last night is hilarious, especially coming from a guy who put up 19 and 17 in his last two Finals losses to the Bulls. He wasnt the leading scorer on his own team as the Bulls finished them off. I guess he gave up?

Nah, Barkley didn't give up, he hurt his elbow in game 2 and was having fluid drained from it before games, that's why he's wearing this big ass elbow pad.....

 

[Raw_Bee808]

The Warriors + LBJ easily.

Kobe and AI are not good additions to the Bulls. Too many ball dominant scorers + 1 guy you don't need to guard.

Besides. AI's presence negates the single biggest asset the Bulls have in a matchup with GS:

The ability to use Pippen's length in a matchup with Curry.

I agree, adding AI and Kobe to the Bulls is not a good idea at all.

 

[gordontrue]

And to be clear, LeBron is worthy of criticism for this game, he wasn't at his best when he needed to be.

It just pisses me off to see the TV guys calling it quitting, when it was Kyrie that quit, and Lebron that led an over achieving team back to the same spot.

 

[tlance]

I vote THIS one for WiggityWack's new Av...

Agreed!

This would be a good one.

 

[TurnUpTheHeat]

Agreed!

This would be a good one.

Chances are u wont see it much if at all.
He’ll hibernate

 

[Raw_Bee808]

 

[Raw_Bee808]

 

[Raw_Bee808]

 

[Heatles84]

Alright guys,

Posted this earlier but will try again.

I own Wiggy's avatar for the next 2 weeks and I need some suggestions.

@bksballer89, @Heatles84, @msgkings322, @CitySushi, @Shaqdaddy11

Any and all ideas are welcome

 

[Raw_Bee808]