It was barnes not ezeli. Jesus earl

6/20/2016 5:08:51 PM

Not a bulls fan. My team is much, much, much worse than the bulls (and they also lost a game 7 at home at their height). I still pull for them, though, even though it would be super convenient to jump on the Step Curry, Klay Thompson, and Dickpunch Green bandwagon.

6/20/2016 5:23:28 PM

They were one of the best regular season teams of all time, but you can't be in the discussion of best overall teams if you don't get it done in the playoffs. And it's not like they ran roughshod through the postseason. They swept a horrible Memphis team that didn't have their best players. They struggled with a Portland team that shouldn't have been a threat. They pulled the OKC series out of their ass. Give credit to them for coming back, but OKC blew it about as much as they won it. Then they got punched in the face by the Cavs.

They were a perfect regular season team. Great shooting, deep as hell, solid defense, interchangeable position players, etc. But when it came to the playoffs, they weren't tough enough (with the exception of maybe Green...who took it a little too far). They couldn't handle hard defense. They didn't have guys that you could count on to get a bucket in crunch time...yeah, they had guys who could hit 25'+ three pointers at any point in the game...but they didn't have someone who could hit a jumper or drive to the basket with a defender draped all over them (Cleveland had two of those guys). On the opposite end, they didn't have the shutdown guys on defense. Iggy did it last year against Lebron, but he was a little banged up this year and they didn't have anyone who could contain Kyrie.

The regular season was fun...but that team had playoff shortcomings all day long. Cleveland, with the exception of the first two games of the series when nobody could buy a shot...was a playoff machine.

6/20/2016 5:25:55 PM

Sure, they didn't seal the deal and it was an epic choke job/collapse. The worst in NBA history. But winning 73 games is nothing to be ashamed of and it's not like people will ever forget they broke the record. I've seen a lot of comparisons with 2007 Pats and I think it's fair. While I'm bummed and pissed they lost, it doesn't completely negate how successful of a regular season they had. And as far as their overall performance in the playoffs is concerned, they came as close as they possibly could to winning the title and lost it during the last few minutes by an incredible Kyrie 25 footer. Instead of trying to completely discredit the Ws people should be talking about what a monumental comeback it was by Lebron and co. They were left for dead and turned it right back around just like the Ws did against OKC. As a basketball fan, I can't be all that mad about the way it ended. CLE couldn't have asked for a better way to get revenge.


[Edited on June 20, 2016 at 5:34 PM. Reason : .]

6/20/2016 5:32:56 PM

Quote :

"But winning 73 games is nothing to be ashamed of and it's not like people will ever forget they broke the record"

They might, actually. Getting the regular season record and then NOT getting the championship is putting the team at risk of entering trivia question territory.

6/20/2016 5:51:27 PM

Quote :

" MJ was a better pure scorer and emotional leader, but LBJ is better at everything else (passing, rebounds, defense, versatility, etc). Plus MJ is an asshole and LBJ seems like a good dude even if he does talk about himself too much."

woah woah woah ...

I mean you can hate MJ all you want ... but he was defensive player of the year and 9 time All-NBA first team defense ...

Lebron has never been defensive player of the year and has only be All-NBA first team defense 5 times ....

6/20/2016 5:54:26 PM

They will be forgotten like the Patriots team who had an undefeated regular season, only to lose in the Super Bowl.

That is to say, they wont.

By the way, who did the Patriots lose to? I seriously don't remember.

6/20/2016 5:55:51 PM

If the dubs rebound and make it back to make multiple finals appearances, then i agree with you. But one championship and then a good season doesn't put them in "greatest team" category, full stop.

6/20/2016 6:05:19 PM

a lot of you guys grew up in the church of jordan and won't ever let go. lebron is much better defensively because he can guard the whole damn court 1-5. he can pick your pocket or pin your easy layup against the top of the backboard. there has never been a defender like him.

6/20/2016 6:10:55 PM

Yeah...I wouldn't say it's a stretch to say that LBJ is a better defender because of his versatility. At the very least, it's a push. Lebron and MJ could both shut down opposing PGs, SGs, and SFs. But Lebron could guard Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, and Draymond Green...MJ could not.

6/20/2016 7:09:36 PM

Yeah, no one remembers the Patriots losing to the Giants...right.

Love that people neglect to point out that how MJ and LeBron stack up at the same age.

At 31: MJ had 3 finals appearances(3 straight), 3 championships(3 straight), and 3 finals MVPs.
At 31: LeBron has 7 finals appearances(6 straight), 3 championships(2 teams), and 3 finals MVPs.

Do people really think Lebron doesn't have a realistic shot at 2-3 more titles?

I think MJ is definitely #1, but to ignore that LeBron is #2 with potential to supplant MJ is just comical.

6/20/2016 7:42:03 PM

^while i agree with your point...LBJ went straight to the NBA, while MJ was in college for 3 years. plus MJ's first retirment. so LBJ did that in 13 seasons, while MJ did it in 9 seasons.

6/20/2016 7:54:06 PM

but LBJ didn't get forced into retirement because of his gambling problem (which got his father murdered).

also MJ was a better shooter than LBJ.

they are both terrible GMs tho.

6/20/2016 8:10:32 PM

Golden State is a Kyrie injury from not having won shit since the 1970s

[Edited on June 20, 2016 at 8:14 PM. Reason : Marc Jackson would've outcoached Tyronn Lue]

6/20/2016 8:13:38 PM

Quote :

" they are both terrible GMs tho. "

i lol'd

6/20/2016 8:33:39 PM

I don't agree that Jordan was a better scorer. If jordan had to play without illegal defense his scoring would have dipped dramatically.

To the point where he wouldn't have even been the best player in the league.

If teams tried to defend lebron 1 on 1 he'd score at will.


Also, if curry doesn't get hurt they clearly win the title. He was just never the same

He'll get the surgery and be back next year

[Edited on June 21, 2016 at 6:02 AM. Reason : A]

6/21/2016 5:59:38 AM

Also, did anyone see this coming?

Like did anyone in this thread pick the cavs to win prior to the playoffs?

Did anyone during the regular season continue to tout the cavs?

Did anyone wager a significant amount on them?

6/21/2016 6:17:11 AM

Quote :

"Like did anyone in this thread pick the cavs to win prior to the playoffs? "

Actually, yes. They were a pretty trendy pick.

6/21/2016 7:00:35 AM

I did not. I thought they'd make the finals pretty easily, but I didn't think they'd win. I've been very much out on Kyrie. I've been quite harsh on him as a ball hog, unaware of how he impacts his team, etc. He seems to have finally gotten it though. He understands much more when the correct time is for him to take over for a stretch and he seems to be cool with letting Lebron dictate the flow of the offense.

I will be very surprised if we get a rematch next year.

6/21/2016 7:02:24 AM

I think golden state should have rested curry longer and tried to beat portland without him.

6/21/2016 8:18:42 AM

Jordan is an airplane. His flying motions in the air and his jump shots are incomparable.

Lebron is a tank. Tank can't fly. Lebron has to attend dunk contest to once again prove himself.

6/21/2016 9:29:25 AM

No one thinks Tyronn Lue, a rookie coach who just took the job several months ago, could lead this team to the championship and outsmarted Kerr. He was once called accidental coach. This is like an AP in college leads his team get a Noble Prize in the first yr of his teaching and researching. Only Nash did that maybe. This is an achievement of a lifetime man. Unbelievable.

Kerr & Curry still have a long way to go to be compared with Phill Jackson & MJ


[Edited on June 21, 2016 at 10:08 AM. Reason : OK. He already became full coach. That's understandable.]

6/21/2016 9:58:41 AM

Quote :

"Jordan is an airplane. His flying motions in the air and his jump shots are incomparable. Lebron is a tank. Tank can't fly. Lebron has to attend dunk contest to once again prove himself."

This is pure poetry, shoot.

6/21/2016 12:16:45 PM

^
Yep, that was beautifur

6/21/2016 12:30:05 PM

Quote :

"I did not. I thought they'd make the finals pretty easily, but I didn't think they'd win. I've been very much out on Kyrie. I've been quite harsh on him as a ball hog, unaware of how he impacts his team, etc. He seems to have finally gotten it though. He understands much more when the correct time is for him to take over for a stretch and he seems to be cool with letting Lebron dictate the flow of the offense. I will be very surprised if we get a rematch next year. "

I still have doubts about Kyrie some too, but he's actually a pretty good compliment to lebron, just a much better mo williams basically, and I think lebron actually prefers to do most of the assists...most important thing being someone just takes some defensive pressure and scoring load off of him

where they go with kevin love I wonder? I admit I haven't been following the trends of the nba as close as others where low post power forward scorers who don't defend that well aren't that preferable for winning teams but he's still a good rebounder that can drain 3s and does give them a scoring option down low, I actually thought he played pretty well game 7 but still got benched for a while

[Edited on June 21, 2016 at 2:03 PM. Reason : k]

6/21/2016 2:00:43 PM

Teague to the Pacers

6/22/2016 2:58:34 PM

At the start of the playoffs I thought the warriors would meet the Cavs in the finals and win in 5. Once the playoffs started it became clear that the Cavs were better than I initially thought and the warriors started to struggle.

By the time the finals happened I actually thought the Cavs would win. Curry was obviously having physical issues, whether just fatigue or due to an accumulation of nagging injuries, and nobody else on the team had really stepped up to compensate.

I don't know what the warriors are going to do. I have a feeling they'll probably end up basically standing pat. I don't think they'll get Durant and I don't think they'll lose Barnes. I think they'll probably sign another center to help/replace Bogut. Speights is probably gone, Varejao is probably gone, Barbosa they will probably try to keep.

Cavs also have an interesting salary situation. They'll be way over the cap again and paying a big luxury tax bill. Obviously the Love trade is out there and they'll probably shop him around a bit, but unless they can get a lot of value back they probably don't do anything truly meaningful. The one guy they really need to re-sign is JR Smith.

6/22/2016 3:44:43 PM

Derrick Rose to the Knicks

6/22/2016 3:45:47 PM

Great trade for the knicks. I hope they get durant, I really think they're on the verge of building a contender. That porzingis pick was so huge for them.

They've been down long enough I'm ready to see them be great again and i think they're well on their way.

The Lakers on the other hand are light years away from building a contender. I think ingram will be okay but he's a solid 4 years away from being any good. Deangelo looks okay but not great. Randle is trash. Nance is very good

6/22/2016 4:25:03 PM

I would not be excited about getting Rose. He's pretty close to being washed up.

He's a non-shooting, shoot first point guard who relied on athleticism that is gone and will never return. He's not far off from just being Deron Williams. He's a ball dominant guard going to a team with a ball dominant scorer.

It's a good move by the Bulls, that is and should be Jimmy Butler's team. They get Jerian Grant, who is a very nice looking player, Jose Calderon (eh, whatever) and Robin Lopez who could be a halfway decent replacement for Noah.

I guess Rose potentially has upside to make this a good move for the Knicks, but I think he's done being a top 15 PG in the league at this point. Knicks with KP, Melo, and Rose could be interesting, but man I don't like Rose as a guy you can count on to stay healthy or rely on to carry a significant part of the scoring.

6/22/2016 5:14:07 PM

It's not about getting rose it's about getting a competent point to guard for free. They didn't lose a lick of cap space and got a major upgrade at the pg position for this year.

That's huge compared to spending $25m/yr on mike Conley...

Now they have the cap space to go after durant or multiple free agents.

Not to mention rose is expiring so his contract is extremely valuable. He could be used in a package for a star player. Or he could be traded to a contender midyear for draft picks or young players. It's just a huge win for the knicks anyway you slice it.

Next year draft Is absolutely loaded at pg so they can address the position cheaply in the draft. Inow the meantime they now have a valid champiinship contending roster to pitch free agents.


Porzingis will be the best smallball center in the league in a few years and Carmelo is still effective at Sf/pf... you slide durant in there at Sf and theyd probably be #2 in the east...


This was a major coup for new york, they are also gonna get looks from traditional centers like Dwight howard.

Rose, SG, Melo, Porzingis, Howard is a contender

6/22/2016 5:52:41 PM

The bulls are in for a world of hurt. Jerian grant will probably be cut after this season he's absolutely dreadful.

Right now they don't have an nba level PG on the roster so they are a definite non playoff team. Now if they add lin or someone they could slide into a low seed but overall this was a disastrous deal for them.

They suffered through rose crippling contract for years and ultimately got zero for his expiring deal that's going to set them back big time. They needed to pull something off for him and they failed

6/22/2016 6:01:14 PM

Quote :

"Rose, SG, Melo, Porzingis, Howard is a contender"

That's a title winning team...in 2011.

Look man, I get that they have some cap space to potentially sign somebody else, but if Rose is anywhere near a top 10 PG next year an/or plays 50+ games I will be absolutely shocked.

I mean, they have cap room, but they also have like 6 guys on their roster right now. They have a lot of needs to address and they just traded a very serviceable center and a good young backup quality PG plus filler (Calderon) for a broken down former star.

If they sign Dwight it's going to be a max or near max deal which would push them up to about 80 million and then they've got to fill out the roster. I guess they could be a "contender" but more likely they'll finish 3rd or 4th in the East.

http://hoopshype.com/salaries/new_york_knicks/

I just don't see the appeal. They've got 1 draft pick for next year, so they damn sure better be willing to address the PG position with it because Rose is done.

Interesting, it looks like our evaluation of this deal hinges on how we view Grant. I think he's got potential to be a rotation player.

[Edited on June 22, 2016 at 6:11 PM. Reason : sdfsdf]

6/22/2016 6:08:51 PM

I was iffy on Durant, but now I say the Ws should go for it. HB sucks and Iggy and Bogut are old. KD has already hinted at wanting to play for GS, so I'm buying this delusion like I bought the Calipari and Rick Barnes rumors back in the day

6/22/2016 9:34:15 PM

face being the anti-face. using the eye test and shit.

[Edited on June 22, 2016 at 10:44 PM. Reason : and Rose is done like Tiger]

6/22/2016 10:44:29 PM

^^^IDK if a 15 year old Porzingis will play well in an NBA game

Does this mean the Knicks are done with the Triangle?

NBA twitter also talked about the benefits of having Lopez locked into a deal thru 2019 being a positive for the Bulls.

Think this trade makes more sense for the Bulls then the Knicks. I think the Knicks both trying to build a team around Porzingis AND create a contender for the remainder of Melo's prime will only create a middling team in the East.

Then again the Knicks haven't won a playoff series since 1999 so maybe that's what they want.

6/23/2016 9:26:30 AM

Grant was miserable this year... not sure he's salvageable he's already old.

It's not about rose being good it's about getting rid of lopez contract so porzingis can be so much more effective at center.

Rose was surprisingly good the 2nd half of the year. But it really doesn't matter what he does he's a rental. They just don't want him to cause problems. He's got motivation with the contract year and the nyk market.

6/23/2016 3:21:57 PM

I like this Ibaka trade for the thunder.


I don't know what's Chicago is doing.

6/24/2016 7:32:15 AM

It's not about rose it's about durant and the salary cap. Or being able to trade rose. They got rid of Lopez so now they can move porzingis to his dominant position

6/24/2016 12:56:32 PM

They can get durant now. They couldn't do that with no point guard. That's why this trade was enormous for them

6/24/2016 2:35:40 PM

Why the hell would Durant leave one of the best teams in the NBA for the Knicks? Is living in Oklahoma THAT BAD?

[Edited on June 24, 2016 at 9:29 PM. Reason : .]

6/24/2016 9:29:23 PM

playing with/around westbrook is that bad

6/24/2016 10:15:24 PM

Carmelo is a slow fat Westbrook

6/25/2016 4:46:09 AM

man, this FA period is gonna be laughable with the bigger cap

6/30/2016 12:21:09 PM

Yup, there's going to be some fucking nutty contracts and moves in about 15 minutes.

6/30/2016 10:52:11 PM

Wade is apparently reaching out to the Spurs and Mavs to put some pressure on the Heat. Too bad the Spurs wouldn't even come close to paying him the money he is looking for from the Heat. The Mavs are pretty desperate so who knows what they would do.

7/1/2016 7:45:04 AM

he should go to cleveland

Quote :

"Grant was miserable this year... not sure he's salvageable he's already old."

You talking about the same guy that was a rookie this year? What is he, 22, maybe?

7/1/2016 7:54:47 AM

Quote :

"Grant was miserable this year... not sure he's salvageable he's already old. It's not about rose being good it's about getting rid of lopez contract so porzingis can be so much more effective at center. Rose was surprisingly good the 2nd half of the year. But it really doesn't matter what he does he's a rental. They just don't want him to cause problems. He's got motivation with the contract year and the nyk market."

The Knicks are so poorly run it's amazing. They got rid of Lopez and are now about to sign Joakim Noah, who may be done as anything more than a rotation player, to a 4 year/72 million deal.

7/1/2016 8:33:56 AM

Mozgov got 4 for $64 million with the Lakers

This free agency period is going to have some STUPID contracts

7/1/2016 8:52:18 AM

lol, that Mozgov deal is terrible

7/1/2016 9:05:37 AM