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

[WiggyRuss]

He plays for rings.
The other stuff you can save for your runner up speach.
James will never utter those words.

everyone plays for rings. 1 team out of 30 wins

Even Michael Jordan did not win a ring more times than he did win a ring in his career.

MAgic Johnson won a ring what? 5 out of 12 years and he had a top 5 player playing with him and another hall of famer or two?

Shaq won what? 4 rings out of how many seasons?

Wilt Chamberlain won how many rings in his career?

Jerry West, the Logo was what? 1 out of 9 in the Finals at one point?

Kevin Durant has 1 ring in what? 10 years?

You can be Michael Jordan or LeBron James or Magic Johnson or Wilt Chamberlain or Tim Duncan and you will NEVER EVER win a ring the majority of the time

unless you are Bill Russell..lol.

 

[TurnUpTheHeat]

Terry Pluto- one of the best writers in sports, let alone the NBA--- wrote that if they lost Irving- they would have never had Hill or Nance- both of who helped win games that if they lost- they would be out.

If the Cavs had Irving and the same thing happened- which is a fairly reasonable assumption since its not like a contact injury hurt kyrie- it was wear and tear from a previous injury- they probably arent in the Finals right now.

I PROBABLY agree with that.

The one thing i would say is that while they would not have gotten someone the caliber of George Hill- they mightve been able to get SOME kind of backup PG.

At this point, were just disagreeing on opinions.
Lets leave it at that.

 

[WiggyRuss]

Im not talking legacy.
Im talking why he still continues to play.
He wants rings.
Its the only reason.

Hed retire tomorrow if he knew he couldnt win any more.

if its the ONLY REASON why would he just not go play with Golden State?

theres more to it then simply winning a ring dude.



LeBron's one ring breaking the drought in his home town and leading the GREATEST COMEBACK IN NBA HISTORY is worth more than any 5 that Durant will win as a cog on a team taht was already great without him.

Not all rings are equal.


the narrative is just as important for LeBron. If he has proved anything he has proved that.

 

[TurnUpTheHeat]

if its the ONLY REASON why would he just not go play with Golden State?

theres more to it then simply winning a ring dude.

Warriors did what they did to beat him.
My bet would be that the 4 Warrior stars would rather stay as is vs be broken up to add LeBron.

If its about the other stuff, then why not just commit long term to Cavs?

 

[WiggyRuss]

does anyone think that, in the history of the league we will EVER see two teams square off against eachother 3 times in a row, let alone 4 times in a row?

I hope everyone appreciates the history that we are witnessing.

 

[WiggyRuss]

Warriors did what they did to beat him.
My bet would be that the 4 Warrior stars would rather stay as is vs be broken up to add LeBron.

If its about the other stuff, then why not just commit long term to Cavs?

if its all about rings why not just take the minimum and go to Golden State?

 

[TurnUpTheHeat]

everyone plays for rings. 1 team out of 30 wins

Even Michael Jordan did not win a ring more times than he did win a ring in his career.

MAgic Johnson won a ring what? 5 out of 12 years and he had a top 5 player playing with him and another hall of famer or two?

Shaq won what? 4 rings out of how many seasons?

Wilt Chamberlain won how many rings in his career?

Jerry West, the Logo was what? 1 out of 9 in the Finals at one point?

Kevin Durant has 1 ring in what? 10 years?

You can be Michael Jordan or LeBron James or Magic Johnson or Wilt Chamberlain or Tim Duncan and you will NEVER EVER win a ring the majority of the time

unless you are Bill Russell..lol.

How many on that list stayed on 1 team?

LeBron has had an opt out almost every season so he can handpick his best chance for a ring.

 

[WiggyRuss]

the answer of course is that there is a balance

that winning rings on your terms is important to a players legacy.

No one is going to respect LeBron and give him as much credit if say him and CP3 take the minimum so George AND LeBron can sign in Houston and win a championship. LeBron would NEVER pass Jordan that way no matter how many titles he won.

LeBron would NEVER pass Jordan in any reasonable "greatest of all time" argument if he went to Golden State and reeled off 4 more titles on a team with 4 other all stars.

Its the narrative. Its HOW its done. We wouldnt be talking about LeBron as the greatest of all time right now if in Miami for his two titles he was pissing down his leg while Wade and Bosh did the heavy lifting. We wouldnt be talking about LeBron as maybe the greatest of all time right now if the Cavs somehow won the lotto the FOLLOWING year and had Anthony Davis in addition to Love and Kyrie was happy as Robin and they reeled off a ton of titles

the HOW is just as important as the number. Paul Pierce and Dirk each won 1 title but no one says Robert Horry is the better player.

 

[TurnUpTheHeat]

if its all about rings why not just take the minimum and go to Golden State?

Players union would crucify him.
Plus, the legacy that we both agree hes established would be destroyed.

 

[WiggyRuss]

How many on that list stayed on 1 team?

LeBron has had an opt out almost every season so he can handpick his best chance for a ring.

and yet he doesnt--- dont tell me that he couldnt of had a better chance going to Houston this year for the min.

the far and away leaders for LeBron this offseason- according to a lot of people- David Griffin as one of them that i trust is LA and Cleveland--- and neither of those teams would give him the ABSOLUTE 100% best chance to win a title.

he went back to Cleveland to win a title for his hometown team and joined a 22 year old and a 26 year old that had NEVER played in one playoff game before. He could have gone else for an EASIER chance to win a title.

but the narrative matters. the circumstances matter--- not just the ring count. If you think just the pure ring count is the most important thing to LeBron you have an extra chromosome.

 

[WiggyRuss]

Players union would crucify him.
Plus, the legacy that we both agree hes established would be destroyed.

exactly- the narrative matters- how he wins matters just as much as - if not more- than a simple number.

KEvin Durant will never break into the top 10 of all time if he rides Currys and Klays and Draymonds dicks to 4-5 titles. Its impossible for him.

Durant could win more championships then LeBron but NO ONE in their right mind would ever in a million years say he was a better player.

 

[TurnUpTheHeat]

and yet he doesnt--- dont tell me that he couldnt of had a better chance going to Houston this year for the min.

the far and away leaders for LeBron this offseason- according to a lot of people- David Griffin as one of them that i trust is LA and Cleveland--- and neither of those teams would give him the ABSOLUTE 100% best chance to win a title.

he went back to Cleveland to win a title for his hometown team and joined a 22 year old and a 26 year old that had NEVER played in one playoff game before. He could have gone else for an EASIER chance to win a title.

but the narrative matters. the circumstances matter--- not just the ring count. If you think just the pure ring count is the most important thing to LeBron you have an extra chromosome.

What I am saying, that you cant grasp, is that if at the end of a season hes not holding the O’Brien trophy, its a lost, wasted season to HIM.
Hes not worried about a buzzer beater vs the Raptors.

 

[WiggyRuss]

Players union would crucify him.
Plus, the legacy that we both agree hes established would be destroyed.

I mean right now LEBron is 4 wins away from being, at the very WORST 1b to Jordans 1a as greatest of all time (if he is not already)--- no one would say that if you switched him and Durant and they won the title.

How many times on this board or on the news in the last few days have you heard--- man- if LeBron can somehow pull THIS off it will be bigger than anything Jordan has ever done?

the narrative and the legacy matter more than pure ring count. if not robert horry would get more credit than paul pierce or dirk.

 

[TurnUpTheHeat]

exactly- the narrative matters- how he wins matters just as much as - if not more- than a simple number.

KEvin Durant will never break into the top 10 of all time if he rides Currys and Klays and Draymonds dicks to 4-5 titles. Its impossible for him.

Durant could win more championships then LeBron but NO ONE in their right mind would ever in a million years say he was a better player.

And in most peoples minds, hes not passing Jordan.
So, whether most have him ranked 2-7? ( I have him 2), whats the difference?
Its not changing.

 

[WiggyRuss]

What I am saying, that you cant grasp, is that if at the end of a season hes not holding the O’Brien trophy, its a lost, wasted season to HIM.
Hes not worried about a buzzer beater vs the Raptors.

what you dont understand is that his legacy is more important to him than his ring count. and that he could never pass michael jordan if he switched spots with Kevin Durant right now no matter how many rings he wins.

 

[WiggyRuss]

And in most peoples minds, hes not passing Jordan.
So, whether most have him ranked 2-7? ( I have him 2), whats the difference?
Its not changing.

if he can pull this off i think plenty of people would put him as the greatest of all time if they have not already. If he won the next 3 titles by switching him with Durant- NO ONE would even try and say he was Michael.

 

[TurnUpTheHeat]

I mean right now LEBron is 4 wins away from being, at the very WORST 1b to Jordans 1a as greatest of all time (if he is not already)--- no one would say that if you switched him and Durant and they won the title.

How many times on this board or on the news in the last few days have you heard--- man- if LeBron can somehow pull THIS off it will be bigger than anything Jordan has ever done?

the narrative and the legacy matter more than pure ring count. if not robert horry would get more credit than paul pierce or dirk.

If he pulls this off, I 100% agree.
Im highly assuming that wont be the case.
To win this, he needs minimum of 2 road wins.
I just dont see it.

 

[WiggyRuss]

If he pulls this off, I 100% agree.
Im highly assuming that wont be the case.
To win this, he needs minimum of 2 road wins.
I just dont see it.

i dont either--- but thats what gives him a chance to best michael

if he won the next 3 switching places with durant and had 6 titles absolutely no one would say he is michael- they would say he was a cog on a super team rather than THE REASON.

Dirk is THE REASON

Duncan is THE REASON

Wade is THE REASON

Pierce is THE REASON

Kobe is THE REASON

Shaq is THE REASON

Olajawon is THE REASON

Durant is a fraud.

 

[TurnUpTheHeat]

what you dont understand is that his legacy is more important to him than his ring count. and that he could never pass michael jordan if he switched spots with Kevin Durant right now no matter how many rings he wins.

So basically you are saying this series will be judge and jury if he can ever catch or surpass MJ?

I would probably agree with that.

If he falls to 3-6, regardless of being the underdog, he’ll always be judged by it.

 

[Black Adam]