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NBA Playoffs Thread

Still not rooting for the Warriors but it’s really cool watching Cook and hearing the announcers praise his play.
Yup, it’s the hardest when he puts up a shot! I always root for it to go in before snapping out of it and remembering that I hate the team he plays for haha
 
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Without question, JJ Redick is my favorite current NBA player
I wish JJ did his fascinating 3 point celebrations when he was at Duke. It would have been amazing to hear the road crowds roar at JJ after he spends 3 seconds fist pumping and dancing down the court after a made 3.

I give JJ an A+ at showboating.
 
I wish JJ did his fascinating 3 point celebrations when he was at Duke. It would have been amazing to hear the road crowds roar at JJ after he spends 3 seconds fist pumping and dancing down the court after a made 3.

I give JJ an A+ at showboating.
If he would have shot the ball better in the tournament, we might have.
 
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I went to several of his games while he was at Duke. I usually brought my friend that's a big tarheel fan. He would just shake his head in warmups and say why can't Carolina find a shooter like JJ.
 
I wish JJ did his fascinating 3 point celebrations when he was at Duke. It would have been amazing to hear the road crowds roar at JJ after he spends 3 seconds fist pumping and dancing down the court after a made 3.

I give JJ an A+ at showboating.

jj_redick.jpg


He did give the “shocker.”
 
I like the Celts and what they’re doing without Kyrie and Gordon has been amazing. Wait until next season. I’m shocked the Bucks aren’t performing better. Totally underachieving with an awesome roster. Especially since it seems like they tanked a bit to get that 7 seed to play the Celtics.

The East has been fun to watch. A lot of almost even teams and one of the first years since the Celtics mini-dynasty that a team not featuring LeBron has a legitimate shot at making the Finals.
 
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The Cavs have one player in double figures while the Pacers have 5. Do you think James prevents players from being able to develop around him?
 
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The Cavs have one player in double figures while the Pacers have 5. Do you think James prevents players from being able to develop around him?
I don’t think he does. LeBron has proven time and time again he is a willing passer. He even has gotten criticized often for passing buzzer beater game tying/winning shots.
 
The Cavs have one player in double figures while the Pacers have 5. Do you think James prevents players from being able to develop around him?

nope, he looks for his team mates and get them wide open looks that they are not knocking down regularly enough imo
 
nope, he looks for his team mates and get them wide open looks that they are not knocking down regularly enough imo

I thought that the first season that happened with James. Then the second and third and fourth. But there seems to be a trend now. Do we asssume he's just the unluckiest player ever? Or does he shoulder some blame?

How many players have developed around him (I can't think of many, but that doesn't mean much)? If none, then I'm just trying to figure out why. Is it his style of play? Is it because he trades most of his bench players after each season? Is it because he has the power to trade players? Or is he just really unlucky?
 
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I thought that the first season that happened with James. Then the second and third and fourth. But there seems to be a trend now. Do we asssume he's just the unluckiest player ever? Or does he shoulder some blame?

How many players have developed around him (I can't think of many, but that doesn't mean much)? If none, then I'm just trying to figure out why. Is it his style of play? Is it because he trades most of his bench players after each season? Is it because he has the power to trade players? Or is he just really unlucky?

those guys are professionals, its on them imo..........he is not a ball hog and chucking shots......he is a willing passer, if you get open, he will get you the ball, again for example the series against the pacers, those guys missed a ton of open shots
 
What is the argument now - that Jordan Clarkson, Jeff Green, et al. aren't magically amazing players because they now play with Lebron?
 
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I thought that the first season that happened with James. Then the second and third and fourth. But there seems to be a trend now. Do we asssume he's just the unluckiest player ever? Or does he shoulder some blame?

How many players have developed around him (I can't think of many, but that doesn't mean much)? If none, then I'm just trying to figure out why. Is it his style of play? Is it because he trades most of his bench players after each season? Is it because he has the power to trade players? Or is he just really unlucky?

I said it in a different thread, but IMO it comes down to this: LBJ wants enough talent around him to win titles, but not so much talent that LBJ isn't universally acknowledged as the overwhelming reason for winning the title.
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It is an incredibly small window to thread, and LBJ isn't great at evaluating talent. There are some incredibly talented shooters that would thrive alongside James, but he hasn't pursued them.
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I feel that LBJ wouldn't like it if some SG or SF shot 48% on 10-11 threes a game. That person would get too much credit, much like Kyrie got too much credit for the lone Cleveland title. LBJ got the most, but people game Kyrie lots of credit as well.
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I think LBJ sees Kevin Love as a perfect teammate. Good, but not too good, and seen as a guy that needs to ride the coattails of superior palyers (ie LBJ).
 
I said it in a different thread, but IMO it comes down to this: LBJ wants enough talent around him to win titles, but not so much talent that LBJ isn't universally acknowledged as the overwhelming reason for winning the title.
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It is an incredibly small window to thread, and LBJ isn't great at evaluating talent. There are some incredibly talented shooters that would thrive alongside James, but he hasn't pursued them.
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I feel that LBJ wouldn't like it if some SG or SF shot 48% on 10-11 threes a game. That person would get too much credit, much like Kyrie got too much credit for the lone Cleveland title. LBJ got the most, but people game Kyrie lots of credit as well.
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I think LBJ sees Kevin Love as a perfect teammate. Good, but not too good, and seen as a guy that needs to ride the coattails of superior palyers (ie LBJ).
Lol come on, this just sounds like a lot of assumptions without anything to base it off of. The argument against Lebron is that he constantly looks for better situations to play in. He was killed for leaving Cleveland to form the super team with Wade and Bosh in Miami. A lot of people think that he went back to Cleveland to not just play in his hometown again, but also because he looked at it as the more attractive situation. The core of Miami's team was aging and had injury issues so why not go back to Cleveland to play with Kyrie, other young pieces, and the number 1 overall draft pick in the upcoming draft? If he didn't want to win with real talent around him, then why did he try to convince Kyrie to stay last summer and the gm to not act on his trade request? Also, this is the reason that there's a good chance he leaves this summer for Philly or Houston to play with better talent around him.
 
Lebron definitely has a phychological edge over the Raptors,but I feel this is the year the Raptors finally beat him,they have a superior bench,and if Lebron is playing 40 plus minutes a night,he's going to wear down as the series goes on,he's the best player on the floor,but I don't think they have the best team this time
 
Lol come on, this just sounds like a lot of assumptions without anything to base it off of. The argument against Lebron is that he constantly looks for better situations to play in. He was killed for leaving Cleveland to form the super team with Wade and Bosh in Miami. A lot of people think that he went back to Cleveland to not just play in his hometown again, but also because he looked at it as the more attractive situation. The core of Miami's team was aging and had injury issues so why not go back to Cleveland to play with Kyrie, other young pieces, and the number 1 overall draft pick in the upcoming draft? If he didn't want to win with real talent around him, then why did he try to convince Kyrie to stay last summer and the gm to not act on his trade request? Also, this is the reason that there's a good chance he leaves this summer for Philly or Houston to play with better talent around him.

With the Kyrie thing, I think he thought that IT would be "enough" of a good player, and that the other pieces could contribute.
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He left Miami because LBJ wanted to meddle in personnel decisions, and Miami told him to pound rocks. They had 2-3 more years of competing at a title winning level.
 
I would say LeBron was the reason Mo Williams became an all-star in LBJ’s early years with the Cavs and he was also the reason guys like Delonte West, Big Z, and Varejo developed well.
 
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I would say LeBron was the reason Mo Williams became an all-star in LBJ’s early years with the Cavs and he was also the reason guys like Delonte West, Big Z, and Varejo developed well.

I'll give you Mo Williams. Completely forgot he was an all-star.

Now, to go back to playing devil's advocate for a minute. Was that a product of the attention James warrants, and therefore, less attention being paid to teammates, or did those players actually get better?
 
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Can the Cavs beat the Raptors?
If James is playing....I would not bet against it. Toronto will get after it though. It’s got to be getting old losing to James so often. I expect them to play with an edge.
 
Looks like Boston will take game 1. Tatum has been impressive.

He's really, really good. There was that brief period when he was a freshman that he looked uncomfortable and out of sorts....that was soon replaced by everything sort of coming together at once. And it took him even less time to find that routine in the NBA. He has potential to be a star.
 
I would say LeBron was the reason Mo Williams became an all-star in LBJ’s early years with the Cavs and he was also the reason guys like Delonte West, Big Z, and Varejo developed well.

Ilgauskas was developing fine and had his career year before James came. West may have played his best basketball in Boston before the Cavs. Mo Williams was the exact same player he was in Milwaukee. Thank the Cleveland/LeBron fans for that All Star appearance. Anderson Varejao played practically his entire career with Cleveland and is the only player on that list you can actually say he helped develop.
 
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Go warriors. Though I think the Jazz are a fun team and I'm glad the beat the Lame thunder.
 
He's really, really good. There was that brief period when he was a freshman that he looked uncomfortable and out of sorts....that was soon replaced by everything sort of coming together at once. And it took him even less time to find that routine in the NBA. He has potential to be a star.

The problem was trying to play 3 SGs, 1 combo F, and 1 undersized, non-rim protecting PF. That was a miserable lineup. It would be hard for any Frosh to excel in that setting.
 
I agree and Boston will regret that trade.

I think this playoff run has cemented Tatum's status in Boston. Beyond that, Kawhi is rumored to prefer LA, NY, and Phillie as his destination. Given that he's a FA after next year, another team is unlikely to trade for a rental, and SAS won't give him away for a handshake. They'll get real assets in return, or they'll force him to walk and leave millions on the table. As such, IDK if he'd be willing to go to Boston. If he were, I'm no longer sure that Boston would carve off one of Tatum or Brown (probably Tatum) to get the deal done.

The guys that need to be worried are Kyrie and Heyward. Brown, and Tatum look like the core of a future dynasty, and they are the type of versatile, capable of defending 3+ positions, good perimeter shooting wings that the NBA covets. Teams are gagging for at least 1, and having 2 under the age of 22 is manna from heaven. If I'm Boston, I'm looking down the road for, say, 2 years, at which point the current Houston team will have aged out, and Cleveland is likely to be imploded or diminished along with LeBron. GSW will be aging, and chemistry might be fraying. The Phillies will be good, but Boston will be right there. And the Phillies future rests entirely on the oft injured body of Embiid.
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Boston shouldn't go ALL IN on winning in the next 1-3 years. Towards the end of that, a near-decade long window of opportunity is likely to open.
 
I agree Patrick Yates in that I think Tatum has cemented his stay with the C's. Danny Ainge is no dummy and he made it a point to trade the #1 pick in the 2017 draft because he was really big on Tatum. In regards to Kyrie and Heyward being worried, I don't think they have anything to worry about. Irving and Heyward are Superstars and will be starters once they return. The players whose time on court reduces are Rozier, Morris, and Ojeleye. I would not be surprised to see teams lacking PG play to make a move for Rozier after the Playoff performances he has put on this season.
 
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