2014 NBA Playoffs thread

Those Pistons should have won 3 or 4 titles. So disappointing.

 

The 03/04 Pistons?

They're lucky they got one.

 

I think he meant the bad boys, but you're right about that one too.

 

One of these things is clearly not like the others. Dude, don't even try to include "Pistol Pete" in that conversation, it's an insult to the other guys there. Only title Maravich warrants is being BY FAR the most overrated player in NBA history, he's like basketball's version of Joe Namath.

 

As for Lebron, I think he's already better than Jordan ever was, and I remember him well. He could go to any team in the East and they would become the conference favorite.

 

No, I meant the 03/04. Lost in Game 7 of Finals trying to repeat, and they had a young solid core.

 

I think it's the guy named "Stoney" who may be stoned. Or, at least stoned enough over the years to forget his history. The Rockets had a new owner in Charlie Thomas, the economy in Houston was bad and there was no way in hell they were going to keep Malone. In fact, they encouraged him to shop around.

And yes, they did blow it up to rebuild it. After the Sixers offered Malone, they exercised their right to match the offer specifically to leverage a draft pick out of Philly (Caldwell Jones was throw-in). They got the No. 3 pick in 1983 that they used to get Rodney McCray (Thomas was criticized heavily locally for not taking Clyde Drexler with that pick).

Then they tanked again in 1983 to leverage the first pick again. They won the coin flip and got Olajuwon.

So between those two drafts, they got their twin towers and McCray while easing their financial burden to pay for the rebuilding by dumping Malone's enormous salary. They knew if they kept Malone, by the time they had a team around him capable of winning, he'd already be in his 30s. On the other hand, they got Sampson/Olajuwon in their early 20s, got a finals with them, then won two championships with Hakeem.

So yeah, the scenario you painted with dripping sarcasm is EXACTLY what the Rockets did.

And, let me add, that stands in contrast to what happened with James. He left the Cavaliers, who desperately wanted him back and was still pretty darn close to building a team around him capable of winning a championship. They were one shrewd move away.

 

Either that or the first Rockets team was the worst champion I can remember.

 

Griffin, I already know all about Houston's post-Moses draft history, so the little lecture about Olajuwon, Sampson, McCray and the 84 "tanking" was entirely unnecessary.

But what is news to me is this notion that Houston supposedly wanted Malone to leave BEFORE he signed the free agency offer sheet with Philly in 82. Can you provide a link backing that claim? Because I've never heard that before and it don't make sense: they're only a year removed from reaching the finals and have got the the single most desired asset in the entire league--the best player in the world and the reigning league MVP when he's only 26 years old--and they were eager to give him away for pennies on the dollar even BEFORE he signed the free agency offer? Unless you can provide a link, I'm gonna have to stand by by my call of bullshit there.

And, regardless, the underlying point had to do with your suggestion that Moses departure was somehow more noble than Lebron's, and therefore his title "non bought" and Lebron's "bought." Which is nonsense, regardless. As soon as Moses hit restricted free agency he went out and signed a FA offer with a title contender and another superstar in Dr. J to give him the easier title path. Is that not the same thing Lebron did?

 

So you're saying Houston are one of the worst sides you've ever seen win the title?

 

The LeBron vs. Jordan comparison is ridiculous. For an eight-year window, there was not question that Jordan was the best player in the game (I always thought the Pippen argument was just to give us something to talk about...no way Pippen was even in the same conversation as Jordan). And in that stretch, the Bulls won every title.

And the thing we seem to forget now is that there were so many series that the Bulls would win -- whether it be against an aging Magic and the Lakers, Price, Daugherty and the Cavaliers, Ewing and the Knicks Barkley and the 76ers or Suns, Malone and the Jazz, Drexler and the Blazers, Reggie Miller and the Pacers, Shaq and the Magic -- and not only would the Bulls win, but Jordan would clearly emerge as the best player on the floor and a consummate winner relative to the other elite players of his era.

Right now, we're talking about Tim Duncan as the signature player of this era after he beat LeBron. There is legitimate question of whether Durant is better than LeBron.

The point is, during that eight-year stretch, there was never any question who the best player on the planet was and the only thing that beat his team was his brief retirement. LeBron falls short in both of those in his era.

 

I'm not sure Jordan ever even had a "bad game" in the playoffs. Certainly there were some below his standards, but you'd be hard-pressed to find one that he was terrible. Maybe he did, but I can't think of one.

I am positive, however, that he never had a game or a series that he was mentally checked-out as LeBron has had several times.