Kyrie, Kevin Love, and LeBron
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Rastapopoulos
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Who can blame the Warriors if they are helpless before this?
Orion Bailey
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It will be epic when the greatest regular season team in NBA history adds the Previous years MVP and still loses.
The world chants...
LBJ
LBJ
LBJ
I hope it makes Durant sign somewhere else and break that shit up.
With any hope, he heads east (Not to CLeveland) and evens this NBA shit out. Durant to Boston?
What would a Washington Wizards team with Durant look like?
Durant and Whiteside together?
Fuck I hope he leaves the west....
The world chants...
LBJ
LBJ
LBJ
I hope it makes Durant sign somewhere else and break that shit up.
With any hope, he heads east (Not to CLeveland) and evens this NBA shit out. Durant to Boston?
What would a Washington Wizards team with Durant look like?
Durant and Whiteside together?
Fuck I hope he leaves the west....
KeepOnRollin
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Barring health, I think GS is better positioned to beat CLE this year than last. That doesn't mean they will win of course but at least one of the two main reasons they lost last year has been addressed.
I personally want CLE to kill GS but I could see it going either way.
I personally want CLE to kill GS but I could see it going either way.
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theprunetang
Shaedon "Deadly Nightshade" Sharpe is HIM
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I just hope for a good series at least. The playoffs have been largely unwatchable.
e_blazer
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This.
I can't remember a season that was less competitive in the early rounds. Too many injuries to players who might have at least made some of the match-ups interesting.
e_blazer
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I've yet to see a major series where Kevin Love didn't disappear either via injury or just failing to show up and make a significant contribution. Kyrie has been known to vanish as well.
Rastapopoulos
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Orion Bailey
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I don't think Cleveland is gonna win, I didn't think so last season either. I want them to though, badly. Their style of play is fun to watch.
Charcoal Filtered
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Worst conference finals ever?
ripcityboy
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I know that the GS/Spurs matchup has all the excitement of a bake sale. Seriously, the ESPN anchors look about as interested as undertakers. Anybody who says they liked these CF matchups is being programmed.
Boob-No-More
Why you no hire big man coach?
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Let's do a little math...
LeBron > Durant
LeBron + Kyrie = Durant + Curry
LeBron + Kyrie + Love < Durant + Curry + Draymond
LeBron + Kyrie + Love + J.R. Smith <<< Durant + Currry + Draymond + KlayKlay
The only reason CLE won last year was because Bogut got injured and Kerr played too much small ball. That turned the last three games of the series into a layup drill for LeBron and company. Not going to happen this year. GSW is now two deep at center and they added Kevin Fucking Durant in place of Harrison The Invisible Man Barnes. LeBron is actually going to have to guard somebody this year.
BNM
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H.C.
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IDK about your last one.
Thompson has been doing his best Harrison Barnes impression in these playoffs.
Boob-No-More
Why you no hire big man coach?
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He's averaging 14.6 ppg in the playoffs. J.R. Smith is averaging 6.2 ppg. Thompson is averaging more points per game in the playoffs than J.R. Smith and Kyle Korver combined.
BNM
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I would have liked the Western Conference Finals--if Leonard wasn't injured. Arguably Parker, too, though Parker would have had a tough time against the Warriors.
The ECF I knew was going to be an evisceration.
H.C.
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That's true.
But it's not like he's blowing out Korver + Smith in terms of combined points like this post makes it sound.
Korver and Smith are averaging 13.5 ppg combined. Korver(5.2) + Smith(4.6) are averaging a point less combined on nearly 5 less shots per game.
(they are also shooting a way higher % than Harrison Barn.. Ooops I mean Klay Thompson)
Thompson is taking 13.9 spg to get to his 14.6 ppg. 38% from the field, 36% from three.
While Smith is averaging 4.6 spg to get to his 6.2 ppg. 47% from the field, 44% from three.
Thompson averaged 22 ppg during the season, on 17 spg.
Smith averaged(while coming back from injury or surgery whatever he had) 8 ppg during the 40+ games he played on 8 spg.
I'd say it's about time for the warriors to put an amber alert out for Thompson.(his
Simply put based on role alone, Smith or Korver perform theirs better than Thompson is doing so far these playoffs.
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Thompson also plays much better defense than Smith or Korver.
That's what I feel gets lost in this "both teams have stars narratives." Yes, both teams have stars. Both teams have amazing offenses. One team has an amazing defense, too.
Last year would have been a walk-over if Curry hadn't been playing at 60% effectiveness. It still almost was, until Green got suspended and Bogut and Iguodala got hurt and the Warriors ran out of steam after pushing hard during the regular season.
Anything is possible--I would never say the Warriors are guaranteed to win. They're not. But they're certainly the better team on paper. They'll go in as justifiably the huge favorites.
That's what I feel gets lost in this "both teams have stars narratives." Yes, both teams have stars. Both teams have amazing offenses. One team has an amazing defense, too.
Last year would have been a walk-over if Curry hadn't been playing at 60% effectiveness. It still almost was, until Green got suspended and Bogut and Iguodala got hurt and the Warriors ran out of steam after pushing hard during the regular season.
Anything is possible--I would never say the Warriors are guaranteed to win. They're not. But they're certainly the better team on paper. They'll go in as justifiably the huge favorites.
KingSpeed
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Then you haven't been watching this year.
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FTFY
e_blazer
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I don't consider these early series against soft Eastern teams to be major competition. Let's see what he produces against the Warriors.
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As long as LeBron is alive, it probably won't matter as much what Love or Kyrie do.
tlongII
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Wrong. It's about one man. And that man is LeBron.
SIeepwalker
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Man I hated Lebron 2 years ago, then I started to like him when he defeated those cocky warriors fuckers
If he beat them again this year he will be my god
How quick things change
If he beat them again this year he will be my god
How quick things change
Boob-No-More
Why you no hire big man coach?
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The NBA still plays 5-on-5. They play the finals to determine the best team,. not the best player. Was LeBron not also the best player on the planet in 2011, 2014 and 2015 (and probably several other years , as well)? He didn't win the championship in those years, either and you could argue he had better teammates in those three years than he has this year.
GSW beat him without Durant in 2015 and the addition of a 4-time scoring champion and former MVP makes GSW so much more formidable this year than they were two years ago.
Don't let CLE's current cakewalk over BOS fool you. BOS doesn't have a Big 4, a Big 3, or even a Big 1. Their best player is a midget who plays zero defense, when healthy, and he's hurt. BOS was the only team to make the playoffs that didn't have at least two players score 1000 points during the regular season. Without a second dominant scorer, even when Thomas was healthy, it's just too easy to shut down an offense that relies so much on one player, especially when that player is 5'9". BOS wouldn't have even gotten out of the first round if Rondo hadn't gotten injured.
Since March 14, GSW is 26-1 and CLE is 18-9. Yes, LeBron sat out 3 of those games, and they were all losses. But, Durant missed 15 of those games, including two in the playoffs, and GSW went 15-0 without him. That is how deep GSW is. They don't need their best player to have a great game to win. Hell, they don't even need him to play and they are still capable of dominating teams without him.
Yes, both teams are undefeated in the post season. GSW's margin of victory is 16.5 ppg, CLE's is 13.8. GSW is beating better teams and they are beating them by more.
GSW is simply the better team. Barring injuries, they will win the championship.
BNM
Boob-No-More
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Maybe not against BOS, but it will matter against GSW. Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't GSW beat LeBron in 2015 without Durant? Didn't they go up 3-1 on him last year before Bogut got injured and Draymond suspended?
In the last two years, GSW is 7-6 against CLE in the playoffs, and that was without Kevin Durant. This year, they have Durant.
BNM
Boob-No-More
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I should have been more clear. My original point is CLE doesn't have a dominant 4th scorer. Yeah, Klay is not having a good post season, but he did average 22.3 ppg during the regular season, and is capable of going off for 20 points (or 37) in a quarter at any time - especially if you leave him wide open to help out on Durant of Curry.
The point about Thompson scoring more points per game in the playoffs than Smith in Korver was not that he's playing better than those two combined, it was just to illustrate that CLE doesn't have a serious 4th option. Of course, you can only play 5 players at a time, so it's not like you can play both Smith and Korver against Thompson. If you do that, you should also add in Ian Clark's 7.1 ppg.
The fact remains that GSW has more quality depth than CLE. They have a legitimate Big 4 to CLE's Big 3. I mentioned it in anther post, but without Durant, GSW is 7-6 versus the Cavs in the playoffs over the last two years, and now they've added Durant. They don't NEED Klay Thompson to play great to beat CLE. It will just make it easier for them if he does.
BNM
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Yeah, LeBron had 11 scrubs. Love was out and his replacement was crap. Kryie was out (after game 1 I think).
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