2018 NBA Playoffs Thread... (strength, foul, finals, win)
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Yep, LeBron trying to avoid a 6th lost Finals is some hype
Houston-Cavs would be twice as interesting, just because Houston are unproven on the very biggest stage.
Who would guard Paul and Harden? Nobody good enough.
Whereas when LeBron was younger he was good enough to stop such players when required (Derrick Rose late in games).
Who would guard Paul and Harden? Nobody good enough.
Whereas when LeBron was younger he was good enough to stop such players when required (Derrick Rose late in games).
Just think lebron and that Cavs team is good enough to beat Houston. Golden state has too many stars while Houston only has 2
Lebron is playing out of his mind so there is a chance against anyone
But if the Cavs can get continued consistent play from Korver, Love and Smith they can beat anyone
Love has historically been good one night bad the next in the finals. JR Smith has a had a couple good mop up time performance. Korver was mia last year in the finals.
I like the younger bench this year. The job between now and June should be to get Nance, Clarkson and Hood some new found confidence
Boston have no clue how to defend McConnell, he gets to the paint at will!
And his shot selection if flawless.
Its good to have McConnell on court with Simmons, because Simmons can operate from the post like Magic Johnson did in 1991.
McConnell is a legit starting PG so can control the perimeter plus break-down the defense as he did today.
They had a 5 point lead in the 4thQ of Game 4 when they took him out - and ended up losing. I'm still scratching my head at that one - as to why they took him out.
I've actually been pleasantly surprised with the defense recently. Effort, a few injuries and getting new faces integrated hurt them in the regular season
Lebron's regular season was somewhere between the 7th and 8th best Regular Season LeBron we've seen. By his career standards, he was average this year and the team around him was worse, which explains how he fell into the 4th seed for the first time in a decade...
So far during the 2018 Playoffs, through 11 games, this is somewhere between the 2nd and 3rd best Playoff LeBron we've seen. This is unheard of in Year 15, and if he continues to play at this level and receive even more contributions from his supporting cast that he got versus Toronto, the Cavs are viable for the title. They never lost my support, but my confidence in their ability to bring another championship home wavered. That confidence is creeping back up again...
Broussard, one of the most respected basketball minds out there, and someone who is 50 and grew up, so to speak, in the legend of Michael, made another poignant point yesterday (start listening from about 8:30-12:30:
To paraphrase: the narrative of Jordan as the undisputed GOAT was driven by the generation of basketball followers who are all somewhere between 43 and 53 years old now (those people who would have been watching Jordan as teens and young adults (early 20s)), and as they grew to outnumber the generations before then, passed that narrative down to the following generations. I'll be 29 years old next month; growing up the Jordan rhetoric was alive and well in my generation for 95% of us who never saw Jordan play for the Bulls (I started following the game in '99). The generations older than Jordan (would mostly be 55+ years old now) respected his greatness but didn't, don't, never have, regarded him as the unchallenged GOAT; many older NBA stars--and even some of his contemporaries like Isaiah Thomas--dont think he's the GOAT at all...
It's basically those of us that were born, give or take, between 1965-1995 that grew up with this Jordan GOAT thing. Broussard's point, that 10-15 years from now, that "Jordan era" of fandom will give way to media personalities and basketball followers who grew up on Lebron, and/or never saw Jordan play in real time in his heyday...
There's already enough actual evidence that this thing is a real conversation. Last week Broussard mentioned that he's noticed some conversion with other respected basketball minds and fans, towards the Lebron side. The players that played with Lebron are going to say the same things about him, that Jordan's peers spoke/speak of him. People tend to forget that while Lebron was a prodigy, the Jordan talk didn't really hit a constant topic until 5 years ago when the Heat were on their way to Title #2. Within the last 5 years, he's continually built his case...
If the Cavaliers continue to improve the support they get from the "other Cavs" more consistently, they are a threat to either West team...
I've actually been pleasantly surprised with the defense recently. Effort, a few injuries and getting new faces integrated hurt them in the regular season
I've been impressed with the defensive effort, as well. The Cavs have had the #10 defense overall of all 16 playoff teams, but the hustle has been greater, and particularly there has been increased contests at the rim, and challenges on guys driving. Very impressed...
It isnt going to be as good as we'd like because most of our personnel is average to subpar defenders, but if the team defense continues to gel, and there are more consistent strong performances from the "other" Cavs, I like this team's chances, I really do. That's a lot of "ifs" but even the most ardent Cavs fans didn't predict a sweep of Toronto...
I've actually been pleasantly surprised with the defense recently. Effort, a few injuries and getting new faces integrated hurt them in the regular season
The Cavs are not producing defensive results at this point in the playoffs. The sample size remains small, but the Cavs have the 4th worst defense in the playoffs in terms of opponent shooting. They played an Indiana team with high effort but few scoring threats and a Toronto team that turned into a pumpkin again in the playoffs. The only teams worse defensively are a Portland team that got swept in round 1, a Toronto team the Cavs just swept, and a Washington team that lost to the Toronto team the Cavs just swept.
They may still get better. They will have to if they are to win in the Finals.
Quote:
Originally Posted by murksiderock
Lebron's regular season was somewhere between the 7th and 8th best Regular Season LeBron we've seen. By his career standards, he was average this year and the team around him was worse, which explains how he fell into the 4th seed for the first time in a decade...
So far during the 2018 Playoffs, through 11 games, this is somewhere between the 2nd and 3rd best Playoff LeBron we've seen. This is unheard of in Year 15, and if he continues to play at this level and receive even more contributions from his supporting cast that he got versus Toronto, the Cavs are viable for the title. They never lost my support, but my confidence in their ability to bring another championship home wavered. That confidence is creeping back up again...
Broussard, one of the most respected basketball minds out there, and someone who is 50 and grew up, so to speak, in the legend of Michael, made another poignant point yesterday (start listening from about 8:30-12:30:
To paraphrase: the narrative of Jordan as the undisputed GOAT was driven by the generation of basketball followers who are all somewhere between 43 and 53 years old now (those people who would have been watching Jordan as teens and young adults (early 20s)), and as they grew to outnumber the generations before then, passed that narrative down to the following generations. I'll be 29 years old next month; growing up the Jordan rhetoric was alive and well in my generation for 95% of us who never saw Jordan play for the Bulls (I started following the game in '99). The generations older than Jordan (would mostly be 55+ years old now) respected his greatness but didn't, don't, never have, regarded him as the unchallenged GOAT; many older NBA stars--and even some of his contemporaries like Isaiah Thomas--dont think he's the GOAT at all...
It's basically those of us that were born, give or take, between 1965-1995 that grew up with this Jordan GOAT thing. Broussard's point, that 10-15 years from now, that "Jordan era" of fandom will give way to media personalities and basketball followers who grew up on Lebron, and/or never saw Jordan play in real time in his heyday...
There's already enough actual evidence that this thing is a real conversation. Last week Broussard mentioned that he's noticed some conversion with other respected basketball minds and fans, towards the Lebron side. The players that played with Lebron are going to say the same things about him, that Jordan's peers spoke/speak of him. People tend to forget that while Lebron was a prodigy, the Jordan talk didn't really hit a constant topic until 5 years ago when the Heat were on their way to Title #2. Within the last 5 years, he's continually built his case...
If the Cavaliers continue to improve the support they get from the "other Cavs" more consistently, they are a threat to either West team...
The numbers only say so much. LeBron is playing the best basketball of his career. He doesn't have the same athletic advantage he had 5 years ago, but his IQ and decision-making have evolved far beyond where he was then.
As for Jordan, he is unquestionably one of the best ever. LeBron, Magic, Kareem, and Russell lay the same claim. There is a fair argument for any one of the 5--each spent their generation at or among the very best in the league.
Quote:
Originally Posted by murksiderock
I've been impressed with the defensive effort, as well. The Cavs have had the #10 defense overall of all 16 playoff teams, but the hustle has been greater, and particularly there has been increased contests at the rim, and challenges on guys driving. Very impressed...
It isnt going to be as good as we'd like because most of our personnel is average to subpar defenders, but if the team defense continues to gel, and there are more consistent strong performances from the "other" Cavs, I like this team's chances, I really do. That's a lot of "ifs" but even the most ardent Cavs fans didn't predict a sweep of Toronto...
DRtg is not a good measure of defense. Take opponent's shooting and season with the eye test. The Cavs need to get better defensively to contend in the Finals. They might, but they might not.
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