Game Thread 2017 NBA Championship - Cavs vs Warriors

[Blazers Roy]

People had no problem with ANDRE IGUODALA as finals MVP, so how can you have a problem with Durant?

Sidenote: do you have to be a SF to win Finals MVP?

Because it's against the rules!

As explicitly written in the NBA rulebook:
"Only a human can be declared as "Most Valuable Player" of the NBA finals. Snakes or any other animal in the class 'Reptilia' cannot serve as Finals MVP."

 

[RipCityDSCPL]

I told you guys to wake me if something interesting happened!

 

[Minstrel]

Because it's against the rules!

As explicitly written in the NBA rulebook:
"Only a human can be declared as "Most Valuable Player" of the NBA finals. Snakes or any other animal in the class 'Reptilia' cannot serve as Finals MVP."

Yeah, Durant dared to choose his own working environment and where he'd be happiest, that makes him a sub-human.

What this really shows is that you don't see any of these athletes as humans. Just toys that teams should own and control. When a "toy" makes his own decisions, you get enraged.

 

[Blazers Roy]

Nobody has an issue with "superteams" put together by GMs. Any impossibly good and talented team is okay as long as the GM drafted or traded for the players. Superteams only draw "purist fan" ire (as opposed to those dirty "casuals") when players make decisions for themselves. That certainly makes it seem like those fans dislike such superteams because players are daring to make decisions for themselves rather than being comforting pawns to be moved around. Nothing to do, really, with competitiveness of the league.

And I still stand by my weirdly controversial assertion that if the Blazers had put together a homegrown powerhouse and someone like Durant had chosen to join as a free agent, no one here would hate Durant or the Blazers.

-People have issues with the anarchy the league allowed for one offseason.
-People have issues with the 2nd best player in the league deciding to join the best team in the league because he lacks competitive spirit and wants to win an easy championship instead of working for it.
-The Blazers or the Bucks or the 76ers and many other teams would never be in position to do these kind of "big moves". If you're not in California,Texas or Miami it will never happen.

 

[illmatic99]

Lebron's greatness won't be fully realized until he retires unfortunately. A 30 pt triple double average on great efficiency and +/- numbers against the best defense in the league?

Ridiculous.

KD is great no doubt, but he faced single coverage and like 0 traps all series. Steph was more tightly guarded. Give Lebron the kind of spacing that KD had, and he wins that series.

 

[illmatic99]

People had no problem with ANDRE IGUODALA as finals MVP, so how can you have a problem with Durant?

Sidenote: do you have to be a SF to win Finals MVP?

I had a huge problem with Iggy winning that MVP. Shoulda been Lebron or Curry in 2015.

 

[Minstrel]

-People have issues with the anarchy the league allowed for one offseason.
-People have issues with the 2nd best player in the league deciding to join the best team in the league because he lacks competitive spirit and wants to win an easy championship instead of working for it.
-The Blazers or the Bucks or the 76ers and many other teams would never be in position to do these kind of "big moves". If you're not in California,Texas or Miami it will never happen.

Yeah, everyone's been pointing to Golden State as one of those glamor markets for many years. Nothing to do with the team that was built there.

Your first two points have nothing to do with the Heatles and yet people were up in arms over that too. They've cooled on it since then, because they've decided that Durant is the greater villain, but that doesn't mean it never happened.

No one pitched a fit over the Celtics putting together a superteam, because no player chose to go there in free agency. It's only when players choose to play with other talented teammates that people hate superteams.

 

[Blazers Roy]

Yeah, Durant dared to choose his own working environment and where he'd be happiest, that makes him a sub-human.

What this really shows is that you don't see any of these athletes as humans. Just toys that teams should own and control. When a "toy" makes his own decisions, you get enraged.

They are not toys, they are entertainers which assemble an entertaining product.
Once the billionaire entertainer ruins the product, he makes himself vulnerable to criticism and satire.

KD made a move to make basketball boring for everybody just so he can get an easy championship and i'm allowed to criticize him for it.

Enough of this PC bullshit, i'm not going to clap and cheer for this Warriors abomination.

 

[Minstrel]

KD made a move to make basketball boring for everybody just so he can get an easy championship and i'm allowed to criticize him for it.

Enough of this PC bullshit, i'm not going to clap and cheer for this Warriors abomination.

You're not "criticizing" him for it, you're calling him a sub-human. Says a whole lot more about you than it does about him, tbh.

 

[Blazers Roy]

Yeah, everyone's been pointing to Golden State as one of those glamor markets for many years. Nothing to do with the team that was built there.

Your first two points have nothing to do with the Heatles and yet people were up in arms over that too. They've cooled on it since then, because they've decided that Durant is the greater villain, but that doesn't mean it never happened.

No one pitched a fit over the Celtics putting together a superteam, because no player chose to go there in free agency. It's only when players choose to play with other talented teammates that people hate superteams.

-Durant certainly saw it as a glamour market. San Fransisco and the valley is a dump now?

-It got everything to do with the team the was built there, that's the whole point lol, he went there to have fun and win an easy championship. That's the criticism.

-Define "people"?? i had no problem with Lebron's Heat. I actually told everyone it's going to happen 5 months early. Cavs fans were angry, but most people outside of Cleveland were only angry at the "decision" and realized the team was formed under the league rules.

-The Celtics made great,fair trades to get a big three under a strict salary cap. Why would anyone be upset about that?? young guys like Al Jefferson and a promising Jeff Green for old grumpy KG and Allen? and those three were surrounded by low tier players? Are you trolling me??

 

[Blazers Roy]

You're not "criticizing" him for it, you're calling him a sub-human. Says a whole lot more about you than it does about him, tbh.

OMG i called him a subhuman!! So we're not suppose to laugh at anything anymore? what about the plethora of nicknames we threw at LMA these past 2 years?

Are you one of those people who sit at a stand-up show and then run off to their blog to write how offensive it was?

 

[Minstrel]

-The Celtics made great,fair trades to get a big three under a strict salary cap. Why would anyone be upset about that?? young guys like Al Jefferson and a promising Jeff Green for old grumpy KG and Allen? and those three were surrounded by low tier players? Are you trolling me??

What? What does "fairness" have to do with anything? The Warriors haven't done anything unfair, nor has Durant. I wasn't comparing fairness. I said that no one gives a shit about superteams when the GM makes all the decisions to put it together (i.e. draftings and trades). They only care when a player dares to change the power structure by making a decision himself.

And I have no idea whether you, personally, were angry when the Miami superteam formed, but you're willfully burying your head in the sand if you're claiming you never heard non-Cavaliers fans complain about these "player-made superteams" and "LeBeta needing to team up with other superstars" etc.

 

[Minstrel]

Are you one of those people who sit at a stand-up show and then run off to their blog to write how offensive it was?

No, of course not. I write letters to express my outrage. I don't hold with these kids today and their blogs, texting and easy rings.

 

[Blazers Roy]

What? What does "fairness" have to do with anything? The Warriors haven't done anything unfair, nor has Durant. I wasn't comparing fairness. I said that no one gives a shit about superteams when the GM makes all the decisions to put it together (i.e. draftings and trades). They only care when a player dares to change the power structure by making a decision himself.

And I have no idea whether you, personally, were angry when the Miami superteam formed, but you're willfully burying your head in the sand if you're claiming you never heard non-Cavaliers fans complain about these "player-made superteams" and "LeBeta needing to team up with other superstars" etc.

But you are talking about an impossible situation.

Could the Warriors trade Andre Iguodala and Livingston for KD? even Klay for KD? The answer is 'no'.
What about the Cavs today? can they trade JR Smith for Kawai?

It's not possible because the cap is a natural "limiter" for how many stars and starters you can have on one team.
We obviously need one more limiter based on player's skill or rank instead of salary alone, but that's a different discussion.

That's why a broken Mike Miller or Rookie Rondo who couldn't shoot were the 4th best players in Miami and Boston respectively while Klay is the 4th best player in GS.
I obviously don't need to compare the "role players" in GS to their counterparts in the Heat and the Celts.

 

[BigGameDamian]

 

[The Professional Fan]

Sheeeeeed

 

[Rastapopoulos]

Now THIS I can get behind:

 

[Rastapopoulos]

Lebron's greatness won't be fully realized until he retires unfortunately. A 30 pt triple double average on great efficiency and +/- numbers against the best defense in the league?

Ridiculous.

KD is great no doubt, but he faced single coverage and like 0 traps all series. Steph was more tightly guarded. Give Lebron the kind of spacing that KD had, and he wins that series.

Agreed on all of this, but who was the last MVP of a losing team? Magic? Jerry West?

 

[HailBlazers]

 

[Blazers Roy]

Sheeeeeed

I bet Sheed didn't know what the hell was Rapaport screaming about, yet decided to join anyway.

 

[Minstrel]

Agreed on all of this, but who was the last MVP of a losing team? Magic? Jerry West?

Jerry West is the only one ever. I believe that award was also the first Finals MVP.

 

[The Professional Fan]

I bet Sheed didn't know what the hell was Rapaport screaming about, yet decided to join anyway.

I'm 100% sure you're correct

 

[KingSpeed]

Rondo was 2nd year player not rookie that year

 

[Rastapopoulos]

 

[Rastapopoulos]

 

[SIeepwalker]

Kemba isn't playing with fucking Mewtwo either.

This is one of the best comparison in the history of comparisons

 

[STOMP]

What? What does "fairness" have to do with anything? The Warriors haven't done anything unfair, nor has Durant.

Of course. The W's drafted 3 All Stars and deftly managed their salary cap to create opportunities to add top tier talents Iguadala and Durants. They've continued to draft really well getting quality minutes in game 5 from a 2nd round pick rookie McCaw & plucked an unwanted JaVale McGee off of Free Agency... McGee's PER this year was 25.2!!!

To Blazer Roy's bitter points, I'm not sure that coveted FA's will ever sign in PDX but nothing prevents them from drafting well and adding awesome unwanted Free Agents. If Neil were to hit a few home runs in this draft creating a dominant team with a real chance to compete, who knows... maybe they will come too?

STOMP

 

[Sarni]

Warriors are a very well run franchise in the recent years, it must be said. Their draft success has been immense, it's not like Curry and Thompson were extremely high picks either - they were both late in the top 10. Actually, their highest pick in the last 10 years, no. 6 overall Ekpe Udoh, failed there.

 

[Minstrel]

Of course. The W's drafted 3 All Stars and deftly managed their salary cap to create opportunities to add top tier talents Iguadala and Durants. They've continued to draft really well getting quality minutes in game 5 from a 2nd round pick rookie McCaw & plucked an unwanted JaVale McGee off of Free Agency... McGee's PER this year was 25.2!!!

To Blazer Roy's bitter points, I'm not sure that coveted FA's will ever sign in PDX but nothing prevents them from drafting well and adding awesome unwanted Free Agents. If Neil were to hit a few home runs in this draft creating a dominant team with a real chance to compete, who knows... maybe they will come too?

I've always thought that the Blazers were so close to a super team of their own, but injuries derailed it. Had Roy and Oden remained healthy, to go with Aldridge and Batum--they would have been the most talented team in the league and none of those players were expensive yet. They even had Travis Outlaw who hadn't yet dropped off a cliff as a trade chip.

I could imagine a good free agent wanting to join that group.

 

[Minstrel]