2015-16 NBA Thread (feat. the Wives)

[LongTimeListener]

All-time great teams like the Warriors and the Spurs?

Also, I don't rail against every anti-LeBron comment. I think it's ridiculous when people look at his track record in the postseason and think that "disqualifies" him from all-time greatness.

He could never win another playoff game and he'll still be one of the top 5 basketball players who ever lived.

I'm thinking more of years like 2010 (61-win Cavs lose to 50-win Celtics in series including the Quit Game).

2009 technically follows the pattern, although not enough to matter (66 wins vs. 62 for the Celtics).

2011 was an even matchup but one that James disappeared in crunch time.

I get it. Advanced stats have taken over basketball too, and you guys want to look at PER and plus-minus and such and decide who's best. But he has flat-out disappeared for stretches of two series, arguably costing his team two championships. So, when you're talking about best-evers, it's worth considering.

 

[RickStain]

I didn't say anything about advanced stats.

 

[MisterCreosote]

Nor did I.

I wouldn't know what "PER" was if it was sitting on my face.

 

[heyabbott]

Jordan would've willed Kevin Love's shoulder and Kyrie Irving's ankle back together before the Finals last year.

But now that's not an issue. They are healthy. What's the pre-made excuse? GS, SA and OKC are better.

He's one of the 5 or 10 best players ever to play the game. He's in his prime. And no active player is that group (Duncan maybe in the top 10, but he's nowhere near his 10th best season)

The Bron has strategically and publicly discredited his best teammates so he has a built in excuse for not winning. And that is: he is the best player in any game, but the opposing team always has the next best 4 players. If his team wins, it's all James, if they lose, he had no help.

 

[LongTimeListener]

Very well then.

Moving to this year's playoffs ... seeing some physicality here in this Warriors-Rockets series. Oscar Robertson would like it.

 

[HanSenSE]

Bigger shirtshow : Rockets or ABC broadcast?

 

[dirtybird]

I'm thinking more of years like 2010 (61-win Cavs lose to 50-win Celtics in series including the Quit Game).

2009 technically follows the pattern, although not enough to matter (66 wins vs. 62 for the Celtics).

2011 was an even matchup but one that James disappeared in crunch time.

I get it. Advanced stats have taken over basketball too, and you guys want to look at PER and plus-minus and such and decide who's best. But he has flat-out disappeared for stretches of two series, arguably costing his team two championships. So, when you're talking about best-evers, it's worth considering.

It seems it would make sense to boil it down. LeBron's teams lost three times in the playoffs when they were better.
2009 A 66-win Cavs team was upset by a 59-win Orlando team. The series swung on matchup advantages Orlando had. James was as productive as you could ask for. It's also sort of amazing to look back and realize who played real minutes for that team.
2010 A 61-win Cavs team fell to a 50-win Celtics squad. He threw up a mighty dud in Game 5 (and really game 4). His team also lost the series to an opponent who had four of the five best players on the court, and you could argue you'd go another spot or two before a Cav appeared on the list.
2011 A 58-win Heat teal lost to a 57-win Mavs squad. It was technically a seed upset, but only in the vaguest sense (Dallas lost a tie for the 2 seed because they were in the Spurs division). LeBron had a poor series and did not take the bull by the horns as his coach was pantsed by Carlisle.

So we're saying the magnitude to James' failings is three postseasons. Twice he's won titles. The other five times his team lost to a clearly superior team. His team also knocked off better teams three times and pushed a pair of considerably better teams to Game 7s. In all, it's a mixed bag with a few blemishes. Not uncommon outside maybe 2-5 of those players in that rarified air.

In some ways, he'd have been better off not winning 60 games twice when Mo Williams was the team's second-best player, just for the optics.

 

[dirtybird]

Bigger shirtshow : Rockets or ABC broadcast?

Houston. Curry misses half the game and Houston can't make it close enough I'm pissed about missing parts of the broadcast.

 

[HanSenSE]

Houston. Curry misses half the game and Houston can't make it close enough I'm pissed about missing parts of the broadcast.

Agreed on the Rockets. But I wonder what happened to ABC? A bunch of commercials, and back to the studio?

That said, I have never cared for Breen, Van Gundy and Jackson. Breen too vanilla, Van Gundy's analysis medium, and I think Jackson is still wondering why Kerr's Warriors didn't win for him.

 

[Twirling Time]

The Mavs embarassed themselves, their franchise and their city with that steaming turd they left on the floor in OKC.

Dirk came to play. Everyone else looked like they've booked their flight to Cabo next Sunday. Pathetic.

 

[heyabbott]

Is there anything about LeBron James that makes a fan want to root for him, other than he plays for your team?

 

[Stoney]

The Mavs embarassed themselves, their franchise and their city with that steaming turd they left on the floor in OKC.

Disagree. I cut the Mavs slack, because they WAY overachieved in the regular season with the scraggly-ass often-injured lineups they were trotting out all season.

Look at their lineup last night. Their starting shooting guard (JJ Barea) is an under 6-foot (5'10" at best if you've ever seen him in person) over-the-hill white guy in his 30s playing with injuries (which have apparently now knocked him out), their starting center was some unknown stiff (mejri??) nobody's ever heard of, their starting small forward (Matthews) is an undersized 6'5" guard forced to play out of position at forward, starting point guard (Williams) an overweight over-the-hill 30-something dude. And their one and only stud (Dirk) is nearly 38 years old and stumbling to the finish line of his career.

Honestly, I have no clue how that team finished as a winning record playoff team in the ultra-competitive West (credit to Carslisle, I guess). heck of a regular season effort just getting that far. Not surprised at all that they're now getting steamrolled by OKC, they're simply grossly outmatched in the sheer talent (and age) department in this series.