One of the Grantland crew tweeted that the fat guy in the Curry jersey was towed away to the underground holding cell during the second half. I swear it wasn't me. Here's the Warriors pre-season news thus far: no draft picks. Two games against the Lakers in Asia.
He's a baaaaaaad man, son! Between that, and stuff like this... ...the Heat are gaining haters with every game, it seems. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: This is one of the greatest sports photos ever taken, not just because of what's about to happen (that D Wade can't see but is celebrating ahead of time), but because it illustrates exactly the attitude of the Duke-ish, Belmont-ish, Dairy Queen birthday party-havin' haters is what it is- "They're cocky!!! WAAHHHHHH!!!" Hell, my Lakers swagger when they win. This team ought to do the same.
I can't stop looking at this stat line: Easily the best Game 7 Finals performance since James Worthy's triple double in the '88 finals. And it didn't even feel like James went fully ham.
I don't hate the Heat but I don't exactly like them either. It's not about the swagger, they can display as much of that as they want. I just don't like the idea of superteams. To me, the Heat are the equivalent of the three best kids at basketball or futsal, or any team sport who insist on playing on the same team whenever there is a gym class mini-tournament. It's an arrangement that is no fun for anyone but themselves.
I actually think the Heats next title will be easier, not harder. Unless the deck is significantly reshuffled, I don't see which team in the West can realistically threaten them. Even if the Spurs come back, Timmy and Parker will be one year older, and I wouldn't be surprised if Manu called it quits over the Summer. The rest of the West cannot beat the Heat in their current incarnations. Dwight Howard won't be the man to change that fact, no matter where he goes to. In the East, there are only two teams I take even semi-serious as possible roadblocks to the Heat. The Bulls, with the massive caveat that we have no idea if the old D-Rose is coming back (and the old D-Rose did not beat the Heat). And the Pacers, who probably have the best chance, but didn't get it done this year. Whichever steps they might take by next post-season, I don't see them as being enough to pose a serious challenge to the Heat. The most realistic scenario in which the Heat doesn't add a third straight title next year is if LeBron or Wade gets injured.
From 2007: My honest reaction during The Decision: f*** these three guys for ruining the league. But it's not been the case. They lost the first year. They were underdogs against the Thunder. They were a rimmed out FT and a miracle 3 from losing this year. And Bosh had zero points in Game 7. Zero points! I don't think it'll be easier for the Heat, I think it'll be even tougher. Rose will be back. The Knicks are for real again. Pacers took them to seven with no Danny Granger. Can't wait til next season already.
The Pacers series was a bit of a mirage imho. The Heat took care of business in the games that mattered. I cannot take the Knicks seriously as a threat to the Heat. The Bulls have the best chance but there are so many uncertainties with that team right now...
That's what the NBA is, BG. The 60s Celtics were more loaded than this Heat team. The 80s Lakers were more loaded than this team. The early 00s Lakers were just as loaded (as were the 90s Bulls, if you consider Phil Jackson to be part of the team). The Heat are catching flak because 1) of the way LBJ left Cleveland and 2) the players made it happen themselves and (rightly) saw no reason to be secretive about that. If they'd all quietly told their agents to do a teleconference with the owners and the media announced the trade several hours later, none of this would be happening. None of it. I've never been able to understand what it is about players making decisions about their job location that bothers people. I'm not talking about you, but about those people who still think players ought to just shut up and play where they're told. God bless Curt Flood for freeing all American sports from that attitude, even if he didn't change all of it legally. I disagree with the idea that these are the best three basketball players on Earth, and I don't see any way you can not factor in the fact that they play well together. Duncan, Ginobili and Parker are titlists if DWade and Bosh have any other remaining NBA player in LeBron's position. Durant is arguably a better player than Wade or Bosh, and Derrick Rose, too.
I didn't mean to say that those three guys were literally the best three players in the league at the time of the decision. Though LeBron was the best player in the league and D-Wade was still a top five guy at the time when they teamed up. Bosh was just a very good second banana posing as a franchise player in Toronto. It was more the way they came together that felt like the gym class equivalent.
I have to share this. Sooo Battier. http://www.latimes.com/sports/sportsnow/la-sp-sn-shane-battier-dennys-20130621,0,3609219.story Shane Battier celebrates NBA championship at Denny's
Yeah, I just posted about that. Instead of telling their agents to do this for them (which is what usually happens when players try to bring talent to their teams), they did it themselves. I guess I'm trying to point out that that's no distinction worth having a feeling about one way or the other.
That's like a couple seasons ago where you guys beat and drew Madrid but lost the domestic title because you were getting a draw here and there against everyone else while Madrid was slitting the throats of every Liga club not named Barcelona. The Knicks didn't play well enough against the rest of the league.
Ugh, it pains me to have to correct you but we did lose to Real Madrid, and at home. Ronaldo scored and did the "lower the floor" celebration. Had we won we would have been a point back and still had a chance to atone for all the points we had given away all season and we could be talking about a 5-peat. But anyway... I wonder why the Lakers getting Malone and Payton didn't get this much hate. That's four surefire HOF'ers on one team that went to the Finals as overwhelming favorites. I definitely felt the hate for that team as much if not more than I felt when I heard LeBron say "South Beach." Is it because the Lakers lost that we don't remember this. Couldn't be that because the Heat lost also. So what is it? Is it really the fact that it was the players putting this together and not the GM's? Seems strange to me that that would be the reason.
Sorry, thought it was a win and a draw for Madrid. The Lakers didn't get it because they're the Lakers and they're expected to have big names all the time. Them and the Celtics. They have for damn near 50 years. And because no one left their old team with a big media announcement, and no one arrived in the new city with two other big names and danced and promised multiple titles... Maybe it IS different. But IMO the difference ought to be embraced instead of denigrated like this is lame-ass school ball with crew cuts and black low top Chucks. It made the game interesting off the court, created a villain and gave him a specific bizzarro fanbase in Cleveland. The players have complete control over that decision when they're not under contract anymore. They just send the word to their agents where they'd like to play. The only difference this time is they openly spoke of making the decision themselves- that hasn't happened before, IMO.
I've read LeBatard's rants on soccer. If I saw him lying on the street doing a John Bonham, I'd think about that for a long time before rolling him over.
I love the Heat. Root against them every game to lose, celebrate on those rare occasions when they do, mostly I suffer. It's all great. Wonderful team playing big boy ball. Hope they lose in 2104.