Another fight in the NBA 2nite. [emoji4] Nemanja Bjelica vs Aaron Affalo. NB should have put him to sleep right in the middle of the court
Man, CP is really trying to burn his former house down. Look, I get it, the Clippers couldn't compete with the Warriors and you picked a different option. Fine. But don't be a dick about it. Don't try to reason why you left, it doesn't matter. Have a little class, instead of shitting in every interview. The Clippers offered him the max and he's the one who chose to leave. He's acting like a guy, who's ex is doing better without him. Sore loser much? And as if, he was the one carrying this team. Steph had his number since day one. It's not like he was the only one contributing. Yet when called upon to seal the deal against OKC... The funny thing is, he'll likely get knocked out again.
The Lakers go from a moderately fun and competitive below-average team to total trash when Lonzo is out. It's very upsetting.
Well, not like this is any news to us now anymore right? Parade of new faces: what's the skinny on G Payton II and Nigel Hayes? Defensive Player of Year: Corey B. j/k Does Brewer give up more points than anyone on team? Lately he's a joke. Watching him agst Melo Anthony was laughable.
No, but it's still unwatchable basketball. Every time I watch or follow a Lakers game on the ticker without Ball before yesterday I immediately have an existential crisis of confidence as a fan and think "I have better things to do with my time than watch Tyler Ennis attempt to play something resembling competent basketball". As I understand it, Gary Payton II is pretty much trash. Can't shoot, and his understanding of defence equates to gambling for steals all day. Hayes is interesting because he can supposedly play a bit of defence and he shot the three well in the G-league. Wouldn't mind seeing him get minutes. I will say this for Brewer; he gives 100% every game, can run fast, and once every month or so he has a good game. Other than that, he's basically useless. If Hayes can make some kind of case that he deserves to play minutes in the NBA, Brewer's spot in the rotation should evaporate.
Wow, the Cavs look HORRIBLE! I think this is the beginning of the end. This team is so bad defensively, which makes me think that there is no way back for them as far as being a true championship threat.
I feel like we have this conversation every regular season, and every year LeBron/Kyrie goes turbo in the playoffs and the Cavs shape up enough to make the finals. LeBron alone this year will probably put the Cavs on his back, get the Cavs past the Celtics, and then get wrecked by the Warriors in the finals.
Not a conversation you've had with me, certainly. They have always been a stone-cold lock to make the Finals, in my book. That's why this is so shocking to me. The defense is so porous that there are multiple teams that could beat them in the Eastern Conference. Too small, too old and no chemistry.
Sorry, I meant "we" as in we the NBA peanut gallery. I think the Cavs, LeBron in particular, are in a half-jog right now. Get back to me in the playoffs.
No reason to apologize. I understood you meant the global "we" in this instance. I was just making the point that IF that was a conversation that was had, I was not a part of that group which was wrong year to year. In the past the Cavs, even when struggling, were a competent defensive team. This year, the defense is absolutely abysmal. Defensively now, LeBron isnt good. Thompson isnt good. Love isnt good. JR Smith isnt good. And oh my word, IT cant guard ME! I have never in my life seen a real contender that is this bad, top to bottom, defensively. Honestly, I haven't looked up the stats, but they have to be bottom 5 in the league in 3 point defense. You simply cant win big like that.
There' no doubt in my mind that this is the worst Cleveland team since LeBron came back. Thomas is simply not providing the offensive punch they badly need to mitigate Kyrie's loss. But man, my only hesitation is when LeBron is in playoff mode, it's difficult to overstate how big of an impact he has. If the Lakers moved to the East and LeBron alone was transferred to the Lakers, I think they can make it out of the East.
OKC’s big four take 68 of their 100 shots. LBJ leads both teams with 38 mins played. He’s still the baddest - even when they lose.
"Shape up enough" is an understatement. The Cavs have only lost 5 games in 6 playoff series in the East-half of the bracket since LeBron returned there! That's a powerful turbo button considering the team loses an average of 28 regular season games while playing against weaker opposition in those same seasons. I'm certainly not falling for their regular season mediocrity again. Fully expect another GS - Cavs final.
You are missing 3 playoff series. The Cavs had played 9 since LeBron got back (3 seasons, 3 series per season to get to the Finals). I have no idea which ones you are not counting though, as I am too lazy to look. But there is no Kyrie this year. And the team has aged ... badly. With Kyrie last year, they lost 2 games to the Boston Celtics. Without Kyrie (and him in fact being on the Celtics), I think those results get flipped this year. Again, they look different to me this year, defensively. But I will let it go now. We will see in another 2 and a half months.
It's funny how the narative has changed on Kyrie (for some people). He's gone from not being able to pull a team on his own, to being a complete game changer. I would absolutely love to see Lebron on the Pelicans. Just for fun. Three probably of the most dominant players on one team. Make it happen.
Still think Stevens and Horford are the MVPs of the Celtics. And I don't think anyone's disputing his loss was a game-changer for the Cavs, either now or then. Pelicans have zero cap space and very few assets with which they can package their awful contracts to clear room. They're not in contention for James.