NBA thread

[ProggyMan]

Originally Posted by dac

I do give him credit for instilling great defensive ideals on the whole team, including LeBron, but sometimes he's just a deer in the headlights. I mean hell, they barely put Dwight at the line. You have fouls, USE THEM.



I think it was Joe Smith, but yeah. At the same time, Dwight Howard was pushing off A LOT, which never got called.


I look for the Cavs to win big next game though... You know LeBron won't let a game slide away like that again.

Oh well the stars getting calls is a given, I'm not going to complain when Lebron, Howard or anyone else of their stature gets a bogus call.

[ProggyMan]

Here's why I don't see Orlando as a threat:

Turk is their clutch guy and is awful in the clutch. I'll give he and Lewis credit for hitting huge shots last night, but that won't happen again based on their history as players.

True, Lewis won't be as hot a last night the whole series, but neither will LBJ. The only reason he was unstoppable was because he was hot from mid range. When he's not hitting he'll to go through Howard to get to the rim.

Also Howard is a match-up problem (for everyone), but he can't beat Lebron on his own and isn't even their go-to-guy down the stretch.

He's going to destroy the Cavs every game in this series. Sure he can't do it all, but it should be enough for the Magic to win 2 more games.

The match-ups do favor Orlando, but Lebron counters all of that.

This is true against Orlando, but not against the Lakers.

Why Lebron is way better then everyone:

Best Offensive player in the NBA, best defensive player in the NBA (finished second in the voting) and fastest player in the NBA. His clutch stats are unparalleled, he is the most unique and dominant physical player of any era excluding Wilt and Shaq and he's a guard.

Did you not see Alston blow by him? If he wasn't intimidated so much he could have done that all night when they had Lebron on him. He's nowhere near as quick as the likes of Parker, Paul, Wade etc. He is not the best defensive player, I'd take Battier, Artest, Howard, Bryant, and arguably Wade over him.

When his jumper is on he is unstoppable. When it's not, you better hope his team mates aren't hitting or the refs aren't calling it close.

Agreed.

Every Cavs players except James was below their splits in game one, Howard, Turk and Lewis were all above theirs, that won't happen again.

You could the same about the Magic, Ilgauskas and Lebron had big game, Howard and Lewis had big games. Both teams played like **** for a half. And I guarantee you Howard gets at least 2 blocks each game the rest of the series.

Cleveland wins game two by double figures and the series in five, maybe six but I doubt it.

It'll go to 7.

Of course I could be wrong, but i really doubt it this year.

The Lakers are the only team that can beat the Lakers. Lebron will be the best player in the series, but 4 of the top 5 (Maybe 5 of the top 6, depends on Bynum) players will be on the Lakers. Don't say that Lebron will just will the Cavs to victory, Kobe is capable of the same thing, and his supporting cast just blows away Lebrons.

[Son of JayJamJah]

The problem Howard will have is if he is guarding Z he can't hang near the rim or Z will hit 4 outta 5 from 20 feet and in. So Howard can't stop James from getting to the rim because the Magic have no one to contain him from the perimeter. Also James hits from mid-range way more then not nowadays.

I don't care what anyone says, no one is faster then James, maybe they look quicker because they are smaller, but no one gets to the rim with the ease James does. As I mentioned Paul anointed the fastest player he's ever seen and Barkley said he's the quickest to and above the rim ever. Rafer is not intimidated by anything, he simply couldn't get around James until he starting cramping up.

Finally no, Illgauskas had his average game, he hit the shots he normally hits and struggled otherwise. Whereas Howard, Lewis and Turk all way outperformed their average stats in most of the major categories. James can get whatever he wants whenever he wants as far as 49 points; that doesn;t help Cleveland, that means the team struggled and he had to do it all on his own. Lebron's best games are when he goes for 25+ 9+ rebounds and 9+ assists. The team is 89-3 (82games.com) the past three seasons when that is the case.

The Lakers are the better team man for man, but Lebron is so much better a player and leader then Kobe that I don't think the Lakers can beat them. Bryant is the second best player in the league now that KG and Duncan have surpassed the 1,000 games mark, but he got punked by Paul Pierce in the finals because he was stronger and his teammates were more mentally tough then Bryant's. This is not coincidence. KG and Lebrons team mates respect and trust them, Kobe's team mates simply know he is better and defer to him.

[ProggyMan]

The problem Howard will have is if he is guarding Z he can't hang near the rim or Z will hit 4 outta 5 from 20 feet and in. So Howard can't stop James from getting to the rim because the Magic have no one to contain him from the perimeter. Also James hits from mid-range way more then not nowadays.

That's probably why he was guarding Varejo most of the time, it was the fouls that stopped him from contesting. LBJ is still streaky from midrange.

I don't care what anyone says, no one is faster then James, maybe they look quicker because they are smaller, but no one gets to the rim with the ease James does. As I mentioned Paul anointed the fastest player he's ever seen and Barkley said he's the quickest to and above the rim ever. Rafer is not intimidated by anything, he simply couldn't get around James until he starting cramping up.

What, Alston was going by James all game. The reason he gets to the rim is because he's 6 foot 9 inches and 265, or something almost as crazy.

Finally no, Illgauskas had his average game, he hit the shots he normally hits and struggled otherwise. Whereas Howard, Lewis and Turk all way outperformed their average stats in most of the major categories. James can get whatever he wants whenever he wants as far as 49 points; that doesn;t help Cleveland, that means the team struggled and he had to do it all on his own. Lebron's best games are when he goes for 25+ 9+ rebounds and 9+ assists. The team is 89-3 (82games.com) the past three seasons when that is the case.

Turk had was ice cold in the first half red hot in the second, same with Cleveland except the other way around. Big Z had what, 9 boards in the first half?

The Lakers are the better team man for man, but Lebron is so much better a player and leader then Kobe that I don't think the Lakers can beat them. Bryant is the second best player in the league now that KG and Duncan have surpassed the 1,000 games mark, but he got punked by Paul Pierce in the finals because he was stronger and his teammates were more mentally tough then Bryant's. This is not coincidence. KG and Lebrons team mates respect and trust them, Kobe's team mates simply know he is better and defer to him.

You can say that all you want, but ultimately the Cavs just aren't as good as the Lakers. Length, athleticism, size, skill, everything. Maybe if the gap between the two supporting casts was smaller I'd give Lebron the edge, but it's not. The Lakers annihilated the Cavs during the regular season and it wasn't a fluke. They create matchup problems at 3 of the 5 positions on the court when the starters are in, and at 4 of the 5 when the second unit is in, sometimes 5 if Bynum feels like playing. Lebron offsets this a little bit because he can take over a game at any given time, but the Lakers have the size and length to bother him, meaning he can go off for 35 whenever he feels like, instead of 40,and Kobe has the same ability to take over on offense that Lebron does. Not quite as potent, but it's there if the Lakers need it, which I'm predicting they won't.

More thoughts on Magic-Cavs: You know how Cleveland was just standing around waiting for Lebron to create in the second half? That's not a one time thing, it's exactly what happened during the regular season.

[Son of JayJamJah]

A few major issues

Lebron is not streaky from mid-range he was in the top 5 in contested FG% inside the arc and outside the paint, so that's just wrong.

If the Cavs aren't as good, how come they've played better all season? The Cav's had a better winning percentage against the West too, so don't give me any weak conference stuff. Plus a better average margin of victory and way better 4th quarter numbers.

The Lakers have more talent and a better coach, but they do not have Lebron and he is on another level now.

The 1990's Bulls never had the best team, but they had MJ and thus they never lost once he reached that level.

The Salary cap prevents you from having great "teams" like the Lakers, Pistons and Celtics of the 1980's, you need the best player more often then not.

Off course something strange could happen, heck I thought the Lakers were shoe-ins last season against the Celtics, but Kobe no showed and his team mates couldn't pick up the slack, The Cavs of '09 are way better then the Celts of '08, so what makes you think the Lakers can beat them?

Here's some evidence to support my theory

Years Best Player in NBA Titles for his team
2003-2007 Tim Duncan 3 of 5 ('06 likely fixed by officials)
2000-2002 Shaquille O'Neal 3 of 3
1999 Season Lockout Spurs win title w\Duncan& Admiral
1996-1998 Michael Jordan 3 of 3
1994-1995 Hakeem Olajuwon 2 of 2
1991-1993 Michael Jordan 3 of 3
1989-1990 Transitional Period Bad Boy Pistons win back-to-back
1980-1988 Magic and Bird 8 of 9 (Dr.J and 76ers win in '83)


Odds are in my favor is all I am saying

[ProggyMan]

Originally Posted by JayJamJah

A few major issues

Lebron is not streaky from mid-range he was in the top 5 in contested FG% inside the arc and outside the paint, so that's just wrong.

If the Cavs aren't as good, how come they've played better all season? The Cav's had a better winning percentage against the West too, so don't give me any weak conference stuff. Plus a better average margin of victory and way better 4th quarter numbers.

The Lakers have more talent and a better coach, but they do not have Lebron and he is on another level now.

The 1990's Bulls never had the best team, but they had MJ and thus they never lost once he reached that level.

The Salary cap prevents you from having great "teams" like the Lakers, Pistons and Celtics of the 1980's, you need the best player more often then not.

Off course something strange could happen, heck I thought the Lakers were shoe-ins last season against the Celtics, but Kobe no showed and his team mates couldn't pick up the slack, The Cavs of '09 are way better then the Celts of '08, so what makes you think the Lakers can beat them?

Here's some evidence to support my theory

Years Best Player in NBA Titles for his team
2003-2007 Tim Duncan 3 of 5 ('06 likely fixed by officials)
2000-2002 Shaquille O'Neal 3 of 3
1999 Season Lockout Spurs win title w\Duncan& Admiral
1996-1998 Michael Jordan 3 of 3
1994-1995 Hakeem Olajuwon 2 of 2
1991-1993 Michael Jordan 3 of 3
1989-1990 Transitional Period Bad Boy Pistons win back-to-back
1980-1988 Magic and Bird 8 of 9 (Dr.J and 76ers win in '83)


Odds are in my favor is all I am saying

You're right actually, the team with the best player usually wins. Difference is, the team with the best player typically has another superstar. Difference is, the team with the better player didn't get destroyed by their most likely opponent in the finals during the regular season. You have history on your side, but history doesn't account for any reasoned, objective comparing of the Lakers and Cavs gives the Lakers the edge in both matchups and talent.
Edit: Ok, I guess you're right about LBJs jumpshooting, I was just going on what I've seen personally.

[ProggyMan]

God, that last jump ball was disgraceful, three blown calls in 0.1 seconds.

[dac]

Originally Posted by ProggyMan

And I guarantee you Howard gets at least 2 blocks each game the rest of the series.

And at least two goaltends a game with the way he goes after shots.

[ProggyMan]

Maybe, but so what? Better than being passive and unathletic like Ilgauskas.

[dac]

Wow.

Just... Wow.