NBA Playoffs Thread

Because they are not humble about anything they do, especially LeBron.

Also because Massengill just signed each of them to $2.4 million deals.

 

I wonder what this Warriors fan thinks tonight.

When Shaq joined the Lakers, Kobe was a kid who was just drafted out of high school. That was a solid Lakers team, which had an almost complete roster turnover before it finally won a title.

I do wonder why the Celtics' little Kevin McHale-aided little teamup seldom gets mentioned. Same with Kobe's trade demands of 2007, and Jordan's "my supporting cast" blasts.

The piling on by the Jordans and Magics on LeBron was stupid. "I would never have done that! I would have wanted to kick his ass!" Oh? What's wrong with LeBron and Wade saying "Hey, let's get together, and kick everyone else's asses!"

Besides the fact it didn't succeed this year.

 

Churches!

Lead! Lead!

(oh, man, so great)

 

She turned me into a newt!

 

Exactly - the only difference is they won.

And Magic is full of shit for this reason -- he didn't have to go to a different team because he played with a cast of stars.


I'm sure if he faced the prospect of a career with the stiffs lebron james had around him in cleveland his tune would change

 

On the other hand, Kidd doesn't call himself King or the Chosen One and basically hasn't been a major figure in the NBA for about three years, although he does deserve credit for rising from the dead because he was a corpse against the Hornets three years ago..

I think we have to accept, if it hasn't been obvious for 110 years, that when it comes to sports, people aren't always rational and are occasionally hypocritical when it comes to who they pull for or cheer against. People had a thousand reasons for disliking the Heat and they've been discussed 10,000 times. Some of the reasons were rational, many were not.

Maybe the supposed collusion bothered some. Maybe the preseason bash and the talk of five, six, seven titles bothered some. Maybe people got tired of hearing LeBron called, without question, no doubt, and if you think otherwise you're an anti-PER person who doesn't understand stats or basketball, the best player in basketball, even though it was obvious that there are still plenty of flaws in his game, whether you're talking post-up game or midrange game. Maybe they got sick of the media attention - the Heat Index, for example. Maybe they were sick of the preseason talk of 72 wins. Maybe they got tired of reading and hearing Dan LeBatard say that "Talent wins, give me talent" and that LeBron and Wade might be the two best players in the game and of course they'll probably win because they have the most talent, only to read him chastise people who point out the Heat might not be living up to the hype or potential. Maybe Pat Riley's hair bothers them. Maybe the smirk Wade wears after an and-one bothers them. Maybe they hate Juwan Howard or the black socks the Fab Five wore.

I don't know. No one watches a sporting contest and goes down the rosters counting good guys and bad guys and says, "Okay, we're going to cheer for these guys because they only have two arrests." The Mavs have arrogant guys too. They have a guy who had sex with a 14-year-old. They have a guy who hit his wife.

But unless you become a team that has so many legal issues - current ones - that you get your nickname changed to Jail instead of Trail, sports fans - and media - look over a lot of that. They just do. If we went through the Heat roster, we could probably find arrests and some sexual misconduct along the way. Would that make it all right to cheer against them?

For whatever reason, the way the Heat came together - the Decision, the crowning of LeBron and the team, the hype - turned people against them. It's okay. LeBron and Wade can handle it. And if they lose a few more times, they'll become lovable and the whole country will pull for them to win one before they retire.

My reasons?

I hate Mike Bibby.

 

"You're not a newt!"

"I got better."

 

I think the Heat start tomorrow on an offseason program with J D V.

 

As for Dirk leaving, saw a story where he said he was getting emotional and was starting to cry and didn't want to be seen doing that.

 

Because that's the way he's always done it when he's played his last game of the year....Oh, we won? That means we get to hang out? My bad...

 

Undeserved arrogance is the biggest sin a professional athlete can commit.

To put it more blue-colliary, if you shoot off your mouth and get your ass kicked, it's human nature for others to revel in it. You know, those of us who have to return to our problem-filled lives tomorrow. We eat that shit up.

 

As for the Heat going forward, of course they'll be a title contender for years to come. But as Piotr said in the other thread, Wade's going to be 30 and seems like he could break down in a few years. Their supporting cast was shit a lot of the time and got blame, but really how much better of a cast can you get? Chalmers, Bibby, Miller, Haslem, those guys did an all right job of knocking down open jumpers, getting boards, etc. Are some other role players going to make a lot higher percentage or grab a lot more rebounds? Especially with the salary cap changing, who are these big upgrades they're going to get? If you're a really good player, are you going to go to Miami to get six shots a game? So they're always, I think, going to end up with the role players who are maybe too old or too young but know they're going to get scraps. Ultimately it will come down to the Big Three and as we saw that doesn't guarantee success.

And since 1989, two teams have lost in the Finals and come back to win the next year. The '89 Pistons (*) and the 2009 Lakers. It's hard failing at that point in the season and doing it all over again and getting back, much less then taking the final step.

*Scott got injured, then Magic in Game 2. Lakers win if even Magic stays healthy, as they had fourth-quarter leads in the final three games. I think Magic and Scott fare better than David Rivers and Tony Campbell.