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You can't beat Golden State by playing their same style which is shooting a bunch of 3's
These two teams play totally different styles. The Rockets play spread pick and roll with either Harden or Paul handling the ball. The Warriors have a few different looks. Their motion offense features a lot of players handling the ball. The have a mid post game with Durant that is pretty triangle-oriented. And they have the Curry pick & roll.
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Originally Posted by _jbub88_
Harden is the worst team player in team sport history. The depths of his selfish play is mind boggling to me, I dont understand how he thinks dribbling the ball at the top of the key for several seconds on each play is helping the team. His play is the basis for my predicted sweep. I have to find the film on OKC when they had Harden and Westbrook on the same team.
Game 7 tonight. If CP3 plays then I give Houston a chance to win. I think their coach has found the perfect mix for Harden and CP3.
I agree with the aforementioned statements that we need a competitive championship series, which means Rockets and Cavs. If CP3 is at 80+% then Rockets win. If Warriors win then we are talking destruction of the Cavs, 4-1 or 4-2 at best.
The Rockets game--all season--was the spread P&R--i.e., Harden dribbling at the top of the 3 point line, getting a screen and making decisions (CP3 doing the same).
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Originally Posted by cjseliga
Teams are the same, but the players are not all the same, especially on the Cavs.
It will be interesting, if the Cavs match their one victory in last year's finals, this year, would that be considered a "moral victory"?
Also depending on what LeBron decides to do this summer, this may be his last NBA Finals ever (?), or for awhile. But regardless, he will always be the greatest 3-time NBA Champion ever......................until Steph gets his third in a couple weeks (j/k) !
Part 4 is new again. On the Warriors side, this has been a season of the on-off switch. When the effort is there, no team can withstand the Warriors' talent. There is also the lingering Iguodala injury--this is the series where Iguodala, a great basketball player, is most important. The Cavs have their own lingering injury concern in Kevin Love. And they have a much more youthful and athletic supporting cast--if Lue trusts them with minutes. The Cavs have had vets using physicality against the Warriors the past 3 years, but those guys are gone now. Can JR and Kyle Korver make the Warriors physically uncomfortable?
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Originally Posted by moneymkt
Not really because CP3 plays the same as Harden. Comes down and dribbles out the shot clock and then is forced to take a bad shot
The Rockets' game is the Rockets' game. Paul, like Harden, can make tough shots.
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Originally Posted by oceangaia
Rockets missed 27 consecutive threes from 2nd to 4th quarter. That is just ungodly. These are guys that could throw up that many with eyes closed facing away from basket and make 4 or 5 of them.
But then, they should have come out in the 2nd half taking it to the hole. If I was coached, I would have demanded they get at least 4 or 5 offensive fouls called.
The Rockets played the 2nd half with the same game plan that has brought them this far. They had a horrific shooting half. Fatigue, defense, and pressure got to them, and that ended their season.
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Originally Posted by Suffolk2010
Did you watch game 5? There is a distinctive difference in both. Paul is the better passer. Makes better decisions and just makes shots. Plus he's the better defender. When Harden isn't hitting shots, he's useless.
Part of the struggle in games 6 and 7 is that when the Warriors made runs, Houston had no one capable of settling their offense on the court. Harden can't do that, but Paul can and had.
I'm not saying they were definitely going to beat GSW. But Paul was their best player during this series and losing him, against the Warriors, was the nail in the coffin.
Harden was their best player in the series. They got great contributions from the supporting cast. And they were within inches.
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Originally Posted by murksiderock
My early take on The Finals:
I like this Cavs team's chances better than last year's. Last year I thought we were overconfident and much too reliant on offense. This year there is no overconfidence, and that alone is beneficial. I think we were humbled last year, we needed to be...
This year we are battle tested and this team has gelled more as the playoffs have gone on. The defense is the 9th-best of this year's 16 playoff contestants, which if extrapolated into the season, would have been #16, which is a marked improvement over their actual #29 ranked defense in the regular season. So this isn't a great defense by any stretch but they have improved each series and have played spurts of great D when they have really needed it...
I also think Lebron finally has guys who believe in, and play for, each other. They believe. I don't think they are afraid of the Warriors and I don't think they buy the media frenzy saying they are going to get rolled. I do think they have a healthy respect for Golden State, which I think was missing last year with the cockiness...
And I've long been a tough critic of Lue, and still don't think he's a great coach, but hos adjustments on the fly have been admirable all postseason long. Sure, he has the luxury of having Lebron--Kerr has the luxury of the three best shooters in the game, it doesn't diminish his coaching acumen. Lue's coaching has been underrated this postseason, and he and Lebron have wanted this rematch this year. They haven't publicized it or taken shots at Golden State (which if you recall, the Cavs did all 2017 season, taking jabs at The Dubs). They didn't this year, which shows they've matured and were humbled, but make no mistake: Lebron and Lue,those two especially but probably other guys, they want this fight...
I won't make a prediction because the Warriors ARE the better team and have more advantages and have more mismatches they can exploit. But you guys know what side I'm on. This is why they play the game, it isn't won on paper...
Go Cavs!
The Warriors are more talented and play better together than we've seen from the Cavs to this point. The Warriors have turned on their defense for the playoffs and have been incredible on that end. The Cavs simply don't have the defensive gears the Warriors do. The Cavs have been a good but not great offense this postseason and they struggled to generate good looks against Boston's defense. The Warriors will put them in a similar position.
The team with less talent usually wants to increase the variance. There are two ways to do it: 1) take a lot of 3s, 2) slow the game way down. The Cavs' personnel makes either of those strategies risky.
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Originally Posted by moneymkt
Well atleast he didn't cry on camera like Capela
Capela played his heart out in a tough series against the best defender of his generation. In the game where he finally got it really rolling, his team lost its offense.
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Originally Posted by Mathguy
I had to get up early so after watching the refs swallow their whistle 2nd and 3rd quarter....I knew who would win and went to bed.
I’m going to take a pass on the finals this year.
That was bad enough that even the commentators were noting the blown calls.
The commentators were hot garbage (I don't understand how Webber has a job as a commentator on national TV--utterly baffling). Curry shot 0 free throws in the last 2 games, in spite of many drives with contact. The refs usually swallow their whistles in the playoffs.
Harden was their best player in the series. They got great contributions from the supporting cast. And they were within inches.
No, he was not. He had the ball in his hands the most, took the most shots, and accumulated the most stats. That team's +/- significantly favored Cp3 when he was the court compared to Harden. And then there is Harden's second half woes throughout the entire series.
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Originally Posted by Suburban_Guy
It's apparent that to some folks on here, any other team BUT the Warriors can claim the injury card.
The Rockets only lost because of not having Paul. So on and so forth.
Yet, if the Warriors had lost, these same people would have mocked anyone that dared mention Iggy being out.
Weird double standards.
So, Iggy = Cp3? Come on.
Houston lost one of their two all stars. The Warriors lost 0 of their 4.
The Warriors have no business losing to any team, including the Rockets who were down 1/2 all stars, with Iggy being out. That is absurd to equate the two.
No. The west has produced legit contenders and Lebron is 3 of 8 against them...possibly 3 out of 9. He’s 9-0 vs the best competition the east provides. See a difference?I see a HUGE difference. You’ve got to ask yourself - does Lebron make 8 straight finals if the Cavs play in the west? That’s a legitimate question.
By 2011-2012, the best years of Boston’s big three were behind them. They were in their mid 30s. This is the only championship team Lebron beat on his way to 8 straight finals. They simply didn’t have enough to beat a prime Wade, Bosh and Lebron. A prime KG, Pierce, Allen from 2008 would’ve been a different story.
Neither version of the Celtics the last 2 years has been championship caliber. That’s silly. Good luck winning a championship with Isaiah Thomas as your best player and Avery Bradley as your 2nd leading scorer. The current Celtics overachieved by even forcing 7 games, but let’s not kid ourselves - they weren’t going to compete against the Warriors or Rockets with the offense being led by young pups like Tatum, Rozier and Brown. That would’ve been a beat down for the ages.
Age 22/23 Paul George and Roy Hibbert were supposed to solid contenders? LMAO. What did they ever accomplish? That team was basically a young potential star in Paul George surrounded by role players like Hill, Stephenson and Hibbert.
Good grief.
Rriiihhhggggtttt...
So what about the contenders in The West this decade beyond the Warriors? Who has been a consistent threat? Because besides Golden State, the only other teams in the 2010s to show consistent contention has been the Spurs and OKC, and Lebron has had victories over both. I guess you can also call Houston a "threat" being one of only twenty teams to ever win 65 games...
We won't even touch the fact that year after year the Warriors have benefited from stellar circumstances and not playing teams at full strength...
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Originally Posted by Natural510
So Lebron never had any legitimate threat in the East, but the Warriors have had a cakewalk the past four years due to Western injuries. Am I following the salted logic correctly? I guess there hasn’t been a legimate champion since Dirk’s one-man-show in 2011.
Exactly...
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Originally Posted by TheCityTheBridge
The Warriors are more talented and play better together than we've seen from the Cavs to this point. The Warriors have turned on their defense for the playoffs and have been incredible on that end. The Cavs simply don't have the defensive gears the Warriors do. The Cavs have been a good but not great offense this postseason and they struggled to generate good looks against Boston's defense. The Warriors will put them in a similar position.
This is why they play the games. We all know why the Warriors are favored and what they can do, so I don't care to continue hearing about it. This is why they play the games...
No, he was not. He had the ball in his hands the most, took the most shots, and accumulated the most stats. That team's +/- significantly favored Cp3 when he was the court compared to Harden. And then there is Harden's second half woes throughout the entire series.
So, Iggy = Cp3? Come on.
Houston lost one of their two all stars. The Warriors lost 0 of their 4.
The Warriors have no business losing to any team, including the Rockets who were down 1/2 all stars, with Iggy being out. That is absurd to equate the two.
You beat me to this...
Sure Iggy is important to the Dubs rotation and what he brings to the court works for them, but it blows my mind how many people are pretending his loss to the Warriors is equal to the loss of Paul to the Rockets. They aren't the same caliber of player and they don't occupy the same role to their team. These guys are funny...
Sure Iggy is important to the Dubs rotation and what he brings to the court works for them, but it blows my mind how many people are pretending his loss to the Warriors is equal to the loss of Paul to the Rockets. They aren't the same caliber of player and they don't occupy the same role to their team. These guys are funny...
Iggy is important to the Warriors so that they can run their "Hampton 5" lineup. That is their best defensive lineup.
I hate this NBA is rigged narrative that a lot of you keep parroting.
The Rockets, at one point, missed 27 consecutive 3 point shots. The refs and the league had nothing to do with the fact that they couldn't hit anything in the second half, again, for the second consecutive game.
You don't think it affects the players game and mental focus when they see the refs ignoring fouls?
4 Harden 3 pointers were fouled and no calls.
Anytime a Rocket player drove in the lane and got contact there were no calls.
It seems like the Rockets stopped driving to the basket because they knew there wouldn't be any fouls called on the Warriors.
I think the 9 missed fowls and just bad or rigged refereeing was obvious in this game. This is the reason I never bet on any games. They are clearly rigged as that was anything but fair refereeing.
No, he was not. He had the ball in his hands the most, took the most shots, and accumulated the most stats. That team's +/- significantly favored Cp3 when he was the court compared to Harden. And then there is Harden's second half woes throughout the entire series.
So, Iggy = Cp3? Come on.
Houston lost one of their two all stars. The Warriors lost 0 of their 4.
The Warriors have no business losing to any team, including the Rockets who were down 1/2 all stars, with Iggy being out. That is absurd to equate the two.
This is why they play the games. We all know why the Warriors are favored and what they can do, so I don't care to continue hearing about it. This is why they play the games...
If you don't want to hear about it, I suggest avoiding message boards that discuss NBA basketball.
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Originally Posted by murksiderock
You beat me to this...
Sure Iggy is important to the Dubs rotation and what he brings to the court works for them, but it blows my mind how many people are pretending his loss to the Warriors is equal to the loss of Paul to the Rockets. They aren't the same caliber of player and they don't occupy the same role to their team. These guys are funny...
Games 4 & 5 were very close contests. It is feasible that Iguodala's presence would have changed the outcome for either or both. "Equal losses" is irrelevant. But those arguing that CP3's presence would have changed the outcome for either game 6 or game 7 are ignoring the possibility that Iguodala's presence may have changed the outcome in game 4 or game 5. Injuries happen in basketball.
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Originally Posted by ma5cmpb
Iggy is important to the Warriors so that they can run their "Hampton 5" lineup. That is their best defensive lineup.
And their best offensive lineup.
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Originally Posted by Matadora
You don't think it affects the players game and mental focus when they see the refs ignoring fouls?
4 Harden 3 pointers were fouled and no calls.
Anytime a Rocket player drove in the lane and got contact there were no calls.
It seems like the Rockets stopped driving to the basket because they knew there wouldn't be any fouls called on the Warriors.
I think the 9 missed fowls and just bad or rigged refereeing was obvious in this game. This is the reason I never bet on any games. They are clearly rigged as that was anything but fair refereeing.
Sad. I'm sure the officials thought the best way to rig the game for the Warriors was to give Klay 3 fouls in the first 3 and a half minutes while calling no shooting fouls for Steph Curry, who had the 3rd highest number of drives in the WCF and only got one set of free throws on a drive. And I'm sure the officials fully expected Houston to miss 27 straight 3s, so they didn't need to make their "rigging" too obvious.
More likely: officials swallow their whistles in the playoffs, especially in a game 7. There were plenty of missed fouls on the other end of the court, too. Ryan Anderson fouled Curry 7 times in 9 minutes and was only called for 1 of them.
And I'm sure the officials fully expected Houston to miss 27 straight 3s, so they didn't need to make their "rigging" too obvious.
Again what do you think it does to a players concentration to be up against one of the best teams in the NBA and then have what could have been a 20 lead stolen from you by the refs bad refereeing in the final game of the series where you don't get a next game? That was a huge momentum shift for the Rockets and the players certainly showed their WTF is going on here look each time a ref ignored blatant calls.
20 point opportunities being taken away from a team creates a momentum shift and is a game changer just as what we observed in this game.
Yep that's pretty sad indeed.
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The current Celtics overachieved by even forcing 7 games, but let’s not kid ourselves - they weren’t going to compete against the Warriors or Rockets with the offense being led by young pups like Tatum, Rozier and Brown. That would’ve been a beat down for the ages. 
