Game Thread The NBA 2020 Finals! Heat vs Lakers

[tlongII]

Btw- can we all agree that LeBron’s candidacy for GOAT is over if he blows this?

No. He’s in the conversation regardless. There are legitimate arguments to call him the GOAT right now.

 

[KSF-ERIC]

Are you gonna agree it isn't if they win tomorrow? I doubt you will get an agreement either way?

LeBron has chance at GOAT if he plays 5 more years, breaks all records and wins 2 more titles. But if he blows 3-1 lead to injured 5 seed, it’s over.

 

[KSF-ERIC]

No. He’s in the conversation regardless. There are legitimate arguments to call him the GOAT right now.

If he blows 3-1 lead to injured 5 seed? Combined with his inability to win with Wade/Bosh in 2011? Sorry. Too many black marks on the record.

 

[tlongII]

If he blows 3-1 lead to injured 5 seed? Combined with his inability to win with Wade/Bosh in 2011? Sorry. Too many black marks on the record.

Not at all. Who else has played at that level for that long?

 

[THE HCP]

Btw- can we all agree that LeBron’s candidacy for GOAT is over if he blows this?

If "HE" blows this? Why on gods green earth would you think that if the Heat come back and win this, it would be HIS fault?
If anything it would be that the supporting cast has played like shit. "HE" wouldn't be the one to blame.

 

[kjironman1]

LeBron has chance at GOAT if he plays 5 more years, breaks all records and wins 2 more titles. But if he blows 3-1 lead to injured 5 seed, it’s over.

Plays 5 more years and brings 2 more titles i would think so for sure. But the "Breaks all records" seems a bit over the top? I mean exactly what player holds "All Records" much less keeps them.
Are you willing to include the title he is pretty sure to get this year? Or are you saying this title and 2 more after that?

 

[Rastapopoulos]

I still can't get over how good Jimmy has been. The only guy who really got to Lebron's level individually in any finals series against him has been KD. Jimmy has played James evenly. Just unbelievable-- we need to rethink our current NBA tiers.

See also Jamal Murray.

 

[Rastapopoulos]

 

[KSF-ERIC]

Not at all. Who else has played at that level for that long?

It’s cool that he makes the Finals a lot but losing often when he gets there has to work against him. And he came very close to losing in 2013 and 2016!

 

[KSF-ERIC]

If "HE" blows this? Why on gods green earth would you think that if the Heat come back and win this, it would be HIS fault?
If anything it would be that the supporting cast has played like shit. "HE" wouldn't be the one to blame.

Bull. Shit. LeBron chose to go to LA. LeBron chose AD, Green, Rondo, Dwight, and Smith. This is HIS team. If he wins, he’s Finals MVP. But if he loses, after being up 3-1 on an injured 5 seed, it is 100% HIS fault.

 

[THE HCP]

Bull. Shit. LeBron chose to go to LA. LeBron chose AD, Green, Rondo, Dwight, and Smith. This is HIS team. If he wins, he’s Finals MVP. But if he loses, after being up 3-1 on an injured 5 seed, it is 100% HIS fault.

So this dude is going to average nearly a triple double and absolutely DOMINATE in the finals and it is "100% HIS fault" for them losing? You don't honestly believe this, right? That's no different than blaming Dame for us not getting past the first round this season. Nonsense son.

 

[handiman]

It’s cool that he makes the Finals a lot but losing often when he gets there has to work against him. And he came very close to losing in 2013 and 2016!

Yeah, forget GOAT, LeBron is the BOAT. Bridesmaid Of All-Time.

 

[THE HCP]

It's like THE HCP on here......they only hate the great ones.

 

[blazerkor]

Btw- can we all agree that LeBron’s candidacy for GOAT is over if he blows this?

I don't think the Lakers are going to lose but how can someone blow a series in which they were the first or second best player and didn't make any major gaffs at the end of close games. Danny Green and Markieff Morris blew last night's game. Danny Green has been blowing it a lot missing way too many open threes and he's getting paid 10 million to play D which he's doing OK at and make open threes. LeBron getting players wide open looks, while scoring a ton and rebounding a ton and playing a ton of solid defense isn't blowing anything. The only time I've ever seen LeBron James come up short in his career as far as the playoffs go, was the Mavs championship series... every other time I've seen him he's been the second greatest playoff performer of all time to Michael Jordan. The teams put around LeBron have never complemented his game the way that Jordan's teams did and definitely not the way that those real superteams the Bill Russell Celtics rolled out complimented each other. @THE HCP was right when he said you talking about LeBron blowing games or series is just like if you said Dame blew it for us this year and every year. Before you talk about a player blowing it you should really think about that player's performance not just the outcome. A player can't blow it putting on an historically great performance in a series unless that player is continuously making game costing mistakes and that's not happening here so I just don't know where this whole thing is coming from.

 

[Buffalo Custard]

Do you guys think the lakers would have closed it out tonight if LeBron wasn't so "OLD"?

Dude - you have beat that horse to death and are now riding the zombie thru NE Portland with a flaming saddle and light saber spurs all the way to a shallow grave on Mt Tabor!

 

[blazerkor]

Bull. Shit. LeBron chose to go to LA. LeBron chose AD, Green, Rondo, Dwight, and Smith. This is HIS team. If he wins, he’s Finals MVP. But if he loses, after being up 3-1 on an injured 5 seed, it is 100% HIS fault.

This one is pretty nuts man. I mean in a team sport can anything be 100% one players fault? I mean forget about your absolutely factually unsupported conspiracy theory that LeBron is the Lakers GM. Forget about the fact that LeBron has constantly said this is AD's team. I know that's not true but if he's giving AD the majority of the credit then how could 100% of the blame of losses be on LeBron? I mean he has another all nba first teamer on the team with him so it can't be a 100% credit for LeBron thing when they win and it wouldn't be 100% his fault in the unlikely scenario that they lose. Oh and I don't think you're even putting it that way. You're putting it out there like you give LeBron 0% credit if they win and that it's 100% LeBron's fault if they lose. It just doesn't work the way you're pretending it works. So you're either dead wrong or have been caught up in ridiculous hyperbole.

 

[KSF-ERIC]

So this dude is going to average nearly a triple double and absolutely DOMINATE in the finals and it is "100% HIS fault" for them losing?

Yep. He chose this situation. He stole AD. He had 3-1 lead against injured 5 seed. Jordan THREEPEATED TWICE. LeBron’s only won 3 titles total. Can’t blame his teammates when he played with Bosh/Wade for 4 Finals and AD for these Finals. It’s all on LeBron. Empty stats for a Finals choke are just that: empty stats. Dame isn’t up for GOAT. LeBron is only behind Jordan but he will stay behind Jordan if he blows this.

 

[KSF-ERIC]

So this dude is going to average nearly a triple double and absolutely DOMINATE in the finals and it is "100% HIS fault" for them losing?

Yep. He chose this situation. He stole AD. He had 3-1 lead against injured 5 seed. Jordan THREEPEATED! TWICE! LeBron’s only won 3 titles total. Can’t blame his teammates when he played with Bosh/Wade for 4 Finals and AD for these Finals. It’s all on LeBron. Empty stats for a Finals choke are just that: empty stats. Dame isn’t up for GOAT. LeBron is only behind Jordan but he will stay behind Jordan if he blows this.

 

[KSF-ERIC]

Check this out:
538's history of Heat chances:

oct 6, 2019: 2% chance of making finals, <1% chance of winning ring
dec 28, 2019: <1% chance of making finals, <1% chance of winning ring
mar 14, 2020: <1% chance of making finals, <1% chance of winning ring

aug 17, 2020: 2% chance of making finals, <1% chance of winning ring

oct 3, 2020: 18% chance of Heat winning ring.
now: 32% chance of Heat winning ring.

 

[lawai'a]

passionate fans or sore losers/gamblers?

 

[blazerkor]

View attachment 34033

passionate fans or sore losers/gamblers?

I would go with option C. fucked up, mentally ill, reprehensible individuals. Who cares what the catalyst was that set them off? Obviously the potential to do something like this was just waiting for any trigger.

 

[THE HCP]

View attachment 34033

passionate fans or sore losers/gamblers?

Thats ridiculous!

 

[THE HCP]

Yep. He chose this situation. He stole AD. He had 3-1 lead against injured 5 seed. Jordan THREEPEATED! TWICE! LeBron’s only won 3 titles total. Can’t blame his teammates when he played with Bosh/Wade for 4 Finals and AD for these Finals. It’s all on LeBron. Empty stats for a Finals choke are just that: empty stats. Dame isn’t up for GOAT. LeBron is only behind Jordan but he will stay behind Jordan if he blows this.

SIGH

 

[blazerkor]

Yep. He chose this situation. He stole AD. He had 3-1 lead against injured 5 seed. Jordan THREEPEATED! TWICE! LeBron’s only won 3 titles total. Can’t blame his teammates when he played with Bosh/Wade for 4 Finals and AD for these Finals. It’s all on LeBron. Empty stats for a Finals choke are just that: empty stats. Dame isn’t up for GOAT. LeBron is only behind Jordan but he will stay behind Jordan if he blows this.

I'm pretty sure I disagree with everything you said except that Dame isn't in the GOAT conversation unless we're talking about Blazers GOAT. I especially don't agree that if the Lakers (not just LeBron as you continue to assert) win or lose this series that it in any way is definitive as to if he is better or worse than Jordan. To me LeBron will still be second best regardless of the outcome but will also still be building that career. What I'm saying is when this season is over I'll still have Jordan as the GOAT but there is nothing that could happen with the exception of a career ending injury to LeBron that would patently eliminate LeBron from the conversation... that's just ludicrous. We don't know how many more years LeBron will play, we don't know how long he will sustain this level of play or how steep his decline will be, we don't know what team he will be surrounded with and how many more championships he'll get. If the Lakers lost this series and then the second best player of all time went on to win the next three straight championships as the best player on the team even though he was playing with a player of AD's caliber... then that second best of all time (LeBron James) would likely be seen as the GOAT. That's just one scenario... when you recognize someone as the second best of all time and have to acknowledge that their career isn't over then how can anything definitively take him out of the conversation to move up one spot and be the best of all time?

I realize that Jordan went 6 for 6 in finals appearances but LeBron made it to the finals in his third year in the league as by far the best player on his team. It took Jordan until his sixth season to get to the finals and he did so with a far superior cast than anything LeBron ever had put around him including pieces that fit Jordan's specific needs and a deep bench... two things LeBron has never had and you can pretend that LeBron built the teams he's played on but that's just patently false. Jordan is the all time leading scorer in ppg in the league but LeBron isn't too far behind on ppg and is ahead in rpg and apg. Jordan was the better position specific defender over his career but LeBron could and still can guard every position 1-5 at a high level whereas Jordan could not. These guys are really hard to compare and that gets compounded with the fact that they played in two different eras. To say that you can factually rule one out is pretty naive but to say that you're going to rule one of them out while their career is still going is lunacy.

 

[Chris Craig]

 

[Hoopguru]

If Miami is hot from three and Bam is decent, should be a great game.

 

[blazerkor]

There's no way that Davis should be suspended for that shot to Crowder's face. I know it's a different league but Malone used to constantly look back at defenders and then just elbow them straight to the face... a lot more obvious intention and damage and he'd get a common foul for it. That's the thing in this situation AD obviously has his head turned in that direction but you can't see his eyes to know for sure that he knew where his flailing arm was going, he wasn't making a fist and he didn't take a second swing to make sure everyone knew he was trying to hit someone like Draymond did... also there was no damage done. So no verifiable intent and no damage. If the NBA would have reviewed it and said it was a weak ass post 2010 flagrant one that was missed then I'd have no problem with that but it's definitely not a punch thrown or any kind of flagrant two in any era.

 

[blazerkor]

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/...d-active-for-game-6-of-nba-finals-per-report/

So it looks like Dragic is going to give it a go tonight. I don't necessarily think that changes the outcome but if I was a Heat fan I'd like and if I was a Lakers fan I wouldn't really care.

 

[Rastapopoulos]

Thus endeth the Heat.

 

[illmatic99]

Still think Kelly or Meyers would have helped Miami. Bam is not doing his usual drive and kick game, and isn't even looking at the basket while open from the foul line.

They need to stretch out that defense.