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What would you guys say about this seasons Finals? I'm of the opinion that this years version is just as bad, if not worse than the 2002 Finals.
4th straight meeting between the same two teams? Check.
One team looking much more superior than the other? Check.
Sweep? Check.
Blowout in the last game? Check.
Runner up hardly putting in any effort to win a do-or-die game? Check.
At least in that 2002 Finals, we had new blood in the NJ Nets. But everyone knew they would be no match for the Lakers.
But I guess to be fair to this years Finals, JR Smiths blunder will forever be remembered. I don't remember anything at all about the 2002 Finals other than that was the last year NBC had the NBA on their network.
So which Finals was worse, 2002 or 2018? Or is there another one that should contend for this 'title'? I think the 1994 Finals was the first one I remember so if any of you remember a bad one from the 70's or 80's, talk about it here.
Any time there's a sweep, it's not a good Finals. However, Cleveland had Game 1 in their hands until the last 30 seconds or so of regulation--and honestly Game 1 '18 is one of the better Finals games of recent memory--and they were also competitive until the last two minutes of Game 3. So because it wasn't a wire-to-wire four game domination, I hesitate to call '18 Finals the worst ever...
My memory goes back to '99, so its first easier for me to recall All-Time Finals. 2016, 2013, 2010 are the only three Finals I can say I've seen that were legendary series. Pistons/Spurs went 7 in '05 but was a snoozer...
2017 was probably worse than this one. '09 Magic/Lakers was a snoozefest. '07 Cavs/Spurs was noncompetitive. '02, '01, '99, those Finals were barely watchable as well...
I would agree that the '09 and '07 Finals weren't very good. Everyone knew the Magic stood no chance against the Lakers. That team was far better as they were assembled than they ever were apart. Those guys were awful, except for Howard (who still regressed), once that team disbanded.
I dont think this was the worst ever, but I defnitely knew the result before the first tip (Granted, JR had a lot to do with that). I didnt expect the Cavs to win a game, and they didnt.
It's just too bad that we didn't get the Rockets and Celtics this time around. That would have been more of a marquee matchup, and the two teams do have a history. Long overdue.
People are just tired of the Warriors and Cavs. Time for something new.
Not the worst, not best. I only have 8 years to go off of, though.
I will say, I didn't even watch game 4. I had plans, so I recorded it, but didn't bother.
LeBron James has an issue of leading his team to the finals, then not winning enough championships. He is good. He is just not on the level of Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, Tim Duncan, Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabar, Kobe Bryant, and Shaquille O'Neal..
It's just too bad that we didn't get the Rockets and Celtics this time around. That would have been more of a marquee matchup, and the two teams do have a history. Long overdue.
People are just tired of the Warriors and Cavs. Time for something new.
Problem is, the nba doesn't see it that way. They still see people watching and discussing it on social media. The take away I had from an article I read was don't complain about it. Instead, ignore it. Don't watch, don't discuss.
LeBron James has an issue of leading his team to the finals, then not winning enough championships. He is good. He is just not on the level of Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, Tim Duncan, Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabar, Kobe Bryant, and Shaquille O'Neal..
This is blasphemous...
Pippen and Rodman never LED a team to anything as #1's...
Kobe and Shaq had each other for 8 years and won three together. Lebron only had Wade for half that time, who was obviously on the decline by Year 3, and Lebron had Kyrie for even less time (three years). If Lebron had a prime Wade or Kyrie, or a combination of both in their primes, for 8 years, he has more than 3 rings. He won 3 as it is with both missing substantial time during his 7 year run with those two.....not to mention Kobe only led two championship rosters as the #1, and falls short of Lebron in virtually all basketball metrics. Big fail...
Kareem had Magic for 5 of his 6 rings; Magic had Kareem for all 5 of his rings. That was 10 years together. Same counter as above; Lebron hasn't had an elite wingman for anywhere near a decade, period...
Duncan was gift wrapped into a system and a Top 5 All-Time coach and front office. He was absolutely legendary, but there is no telling what his career would have looked like had he not had the Spurs; would an alternate reality prove he was just a system player, albeit an absolutely GREAT one? There's a case to be made that for at least certain years or stretches of his prime, Dirk or Garnett were better---->coincidentally, two players who didn't play for an elite coach/organization, yet excelled anyway...but don't have the 5 rings because they could only make the best of what they had. Comparing Duncan to Lebron is illogical, as Lebron is the best prep-to-pro baller who never had a Pop guiding him, nor was he drafted by a team with a David Robinson. He's showed he didn't need a system to excel, and yet, if he was drafted by the Spurs in '03, what's the over/under on championships by Year 15? Unquestionably more than three...
Jordan had Pippen for 9.5 seasons and Jackson for 7.5 years (half!) of his career. Jordan before Phil Jackson had eye popping statistics but was a perennial 1st Rd exit; he was a better version of Russell Westbrook. Again, this isnt an apples-to-apples comparison. The evidence is in that without elite coaching for half his career, Jordan couldn't take anybody near The Finals. Lebron has been absent of elite coaching his entire career, and yet has taken 9 trips to The Finals, a few times with rosters that would struggle to win 30 games without him...even if you count Spo as an elite coach, Lebron only had him for four years and won 2 championships. If he's in a competent organization like the Heat for 7.5 years, he has more than 3 rings, no question....
.........
This isnt to say that Lebron's losses aren't a blemish, because they are, but your argument lacks depth or clarity. Not a single other All-Timer (Top 25) has ever shouldered the responsibility Lebron has, for as long, because either they didn't have to (Magic, Duncan etc entered The League on winners and won their entire careers); or when these other All-Timers were in circumstances with poor rosters or bad management, they proved that they could not excel with a bad roster (Jordan before Jackson, Kobe after Shaq before Phil's return, etc). Lebron's Finals record is worse than everybody's but as a basketball player, hes either better than everyone, or very close (Top 2-3 All-Time)...
LeBron James has an issue of leading his team to the finals, then not winning enough championships. He is good. He is just not on the level of Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, Tim Duncan, Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabar, Kobe Bryant, and Shaquille O'Neal..
I nearly choked on my breakfast when I got to to "Pippen". Then I stopped reading after "Rodman".
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