2016-2017 NBA Season Thread [ARCHIVED] Basketball • Page 405

Brady will never retire. Brady is eternal. Brady is life.

 

Scared? Idk about that.

 

Great minds think alike.

 

I think I disagree with a lot of this. While I do believe there will be 4 to 5 blowouts (or non-close games) this series, I think it'll happen to both teams (similar to last year). Cavs lost Games 1 and 2 last year by a combined 48 points. It didn't matter.

I also think LeBron will be absolutely HELLBENT to win this series because he knows what it would do to his legacy should he win or more importantly, lose. He definitely doesn't want another L marked on his Finals resume and beating this team could finally solidify him as the best ever.

Defensively, the Cavs have had the 3rd best defensive rating in the playoffs. Last year, they had the 9th best defensive rating in the playoffs. Throw out their defensive numbers from the regular season. The regular season is a joke for them and they proved it (23-23 in finals 46 games). When they really want to play defense, this team is very capable of being a very good defensive team.

I'm sure the Warriors would love to have the perfect postseason, but all anyone would ever talk about is how they beat three teams missing starters (and one team missing a top 3 MVP candidate) to get to the finals, so the perfect postseason won't carry much weight. I would be utterly absolutely beyond stunned if the Cavs got swept.

Also, Steph has been pretty bad in the last two finals so I'm hoping that continues. I think Kyrie has a psychological edge on him just as I think LeBron does on Durant.

 

Zach Lowe: How Tristan Thompson became an enormous 'problem' for Cavs opponents
http://es.pn/2sfflPR

 

Cavs in 6 or 7. I think a lot of people are overrating the Warriors.

 

Warriors in 6.

I feel like just like you can't count the Cavs regular season defense against them, you also can't give them 100% credit for their playoff defense when they're competing in the East. The Warriors are a completely different animal than the Celtics and Raptors.

 

I 100% think you can throw away regular season defensive numbers with this Cavs team. LeBron has a history of being able to 'turn it on' when needed unlike any other athlete I've ever seen. He rarely 'turned it on' during the regular season, especially defensively. When this team is focused, they are quite good on defense. They obviously had MAJOR focusing issues during the regular season.

And the Cavs are also a completely different animal than the Blazers, Jazz and a Kawhi-less Spurs.

 

I'm so sick of speculation, I just want them to play. We should be in like game 3 by now.

 

I think this is why I hate a lot of sports coverage, anything before a game is totally useless. The actual game is a concrete thing, who scores more points, one team has to do it. All of the "his mentality seems strong" "they always win on thursdays after 7" "he'll take it to another level" stuff is nonsense. They're gonna play, we'll see who wins, analyze after that

 

Moderators, please close down this thread until after the NBA Finals. Thank you!

 

I have no idea how NBA contracts work and how they're valued, could he really make more than that on the open market?

 

He's basically betting he can command low to mid 20's per on the open market. Given his age, the lack of huge stars on this market, and still being close to the tv deal spike, I think it's an interesting decision. I think his injury history will make some teams really think about it, but his skill set is something that's really desirable right now in the league.

 

It's more about the long term deal, with injury history he didn't want to risk getting hurt and getting a lower value contract

 

I could see the Celtics overpaying for him if they miss out on Hayward and Griffin.

 

Shit we gotta wait one more day for this stupid thing to start

 

Lebron is not gonna be able to play free safety as much as he has all post season and last finals. He's gonna be gassed having to guard KD and run the offense.

 

Blazers Willing To Attach First Round Pick To Dump Salary - RealGM Wiretap

Geee who could have foreseen that signing Evan Turner to a $70 mil contract was a bad idea

 

It's not Evan Turner, he was solid. It's Allen crabbe that's been abysmal but he's been injured, Meyers legend is still the worst.

 

My buddy and I are putting together a list of free agents in a yes or no kind of style and he's on the list. I'd be all about him in green right up until I saw what we paid lol.

 

Ideally if we're going to throw sacks with dollar signs on the side at someone, I'd prefer they were a bit more multi-dimensional. But he'd help with the scoring problem.

 

He's not my first choice, and he's not what we need for the money we'd pay. But if I could get him in green for free i'd do it so quick. I just like big tall shooters lol

 

Ugh.

LeBron James' LA home vandalized with racist graffiti, police say

 

Deconstructing Cavaliers guard J.R. Smith

“I had everything,” said 31-year-old Earl Joseph “J.R.” Smith III, the starting shooting guard for the defending NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers, who begin their quest for a second NBA title on Thursday against the Golden State Warriors. “We had just won the title. I got married, signed my deal. It was everything I ever wanted. I had everything.”

Until he didn’t. He knew that when he and his wife, Shirley Smith, found themselves at Cleveland Clinic Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. On Jan. 2, an emergency surgery was performed to prematurely deliver his third child, Dakota, who arrived in this world five months early weighing 16 ounces and was barely longer than an iPhone.