The 2017 NBA Finals Thread

[Finito]

Since the Suns sucks, I am just happy for the Warriors. With the exception of green and Zaza, all of their players are very likable guys. Curry and KD are probably the last of Superstars that are not d-bags (along with Leonard). Iggy, Livingston, and West were always some of my favorite players in the league, and West is TJ Warren's mentor if I remember correctly. I also enjoy seeing Kerr do well. Honestly, Warriors give me hope that the Suns can go from a bad team to the best team in a few short years.

Steph Curry is very much a D bag it's the way he looks that gives him a pass. He looks like he's 12. Some of the stuff he does is very disrespectful.

 

[SirStefan32]

Steph Curry is very much a D bag it's the way he looks that gives him a pass. He looks like he's 12. Some of the stuff he does is very disrespectful.

Give us some examples?

 

[Ronin]

@ESPNStatsInfo

LeBron James by Quarter This Series
Points FG Pct
1st 39 70%
2nd 25 71%
3rd 21 40%
4th 11 36%

 

[Finito]

Give us some examples?

Uh acting like he was taking a nap during the 4th quarter of game 2.

 

[Hoop Head]

The gap between Steph and Kyrie is much wider than Durant/KD. Kyrie can basically kill your team if he's not on fire.

And Durant played awful last year in the WCF and helped the Thunder choke away their series lead. He's been much better this year but Lebron is more a complete player. Kyrie hasn't been bad this series, Curry is actually playing like a 2x MVP winner though.

The benches are pretty even? The Cavs have literally no one contributing off the bench and the Warriors have two GREAT bench players with Iggy
And Livingston and another soood bench guy with West.

Add in the ocean sized gulf between Klay and Smith and it's no contest the difference in talent here.

The Cavs bench isn't contributing in this series but that doesn't mean they lack a bench entirely. They have Frye, Deron Williams, Kyle Korver, Iman Shumpert, Richard Jefferson and Derrick Williams. The Warriors do have Iggy but Livingston doesn't produce many points and West has been inconsistent. The Cavs bench is deeper but it's coaching that has kept them from getting in rhythm and contributing.

I said the Warriors have the better roster but the Cavs aren't far behind. I said Zaza & Klay were equal to Tristan Thompson & JR Smith. Klay is better than JR Smith but TT is much better than Zaza.

Poor play in the series doesn't mean they've always been a non-factor.

 

[Dback Jon]

Exactly what happened too. Thankfully, the Dubs overcame the 6th man.

LOL - the refs helped the Warriors greatly, especially in the 4th

 

[Ronin]

Chris Haynes @ChrisBHaynes

Cavaliers opted not to practice today. JR Smith, Iman Shumpert and four other teammates getting shots up prior to a film session.

 

[Ronin]

NBA.com @NBAcom

Warriors joined elite company with Game 3 win

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[chickenhead]

Expansion draft before '18-19 season takes care of 1 of their big 4.

I've actually wondered myself whether KD grabs a few rings in GS and then plays out his last contract or two in 2.0 Seattle. He's professed a continuing fondness for the city, and it would be an interesting narrative/way to pay Sonics fans back.

 

[Matt L]

That was an extremely entertaining game last night. I was hoping the Cavs would make the series competitive but it looks like that won't be the case. Now, I am kind of hoping for the sweep. 16-0 in the playoffs is quite an achievement.

 

[Cheesebeef]

And Durant played awful last year in the WCF and helped the Thunder choke away their series lead. He's been much better this year but Lebron is more a complete player. Kyrie hasn't been bad this series, Curry is actually playing like a 2x MVP winner though.



The Cavs bench isn't contributing in this series but that doesn't mean they lack a bench entirely. They have Frye, Deron Williams, Kyle Korver, Iman Shumpert, Richard Jefferson and Derrick Williams. The Warriors do have Iggy but Livingston doesn't produce many points and West has been inconsistent. The Cavs bench is deeper but it's coaching that has kept them from getting in rhythm and contributing.

The guys you listed for the Cavs are PATHETIC save Korver. Jefferson is so passed anything even resembling a prime, Deron Williams hasn't been even close to mediocre for years and was picked up off the scrap heap, Shumpert is an okay defensive player and complete liability on offense, Frye is completely one-dimensional and can't even get off the bench in this series and... Derrick Williams... REALLY? Just naming the Cavs bench doesn't mean they actually have one.

Iggy alone dwarfs the entirety of the Cavs bench and Livingston is a match-up nightmare. And West provides leadership, rebounding and points. I mean, West is equal to any of the Cavs best players on their bench and Iggy and Livingston are better than anyone else on that bench.

I said the Warriors have the better roster but the Cavs aren't far behind. I said Zaza & Klay were equal to Tristan Thompson & JR Smith. Klay is better than JR Smith but TT is much better than Zaza.

Poor play in the series doesn't mean they've always been a non-factor.

No... just no. They might not "non-factors", but Klay ALONE is better than TT and JR Smith. I mean, if you offered those two in a trade for Klay you'd be laughed out of existence. He's an a 3 Time All-Star and 2 Time ALL-NBA player. To merely say Klay "is better" than JR but then say TT is much better than Zaza is a completely specious argument. Klay is one of the best players in the league... period. JR is an inconsistent head case who's averaged 8.6 ppg on 35% shooting this season.

And it's having Klay, the fourth in a group of the best players in the league that makes the gulf of difference. Throw in a much stronger bench and you've got a talent disparity with literally any team in the league.

 

[AZBALLER]

LOL - the refs helped the Warriors greatly, especially in the 4th

Garbage.
The Cavs had 26 fouls versus the Warriors' 28 fouls, the Warriors had the only technical. And things were way worse until Steve Kerr threw it in the face of the refs.

 

[Chris_Sanders]

This series just shows why you need to be thinking playoffs in 3 years and contend in 4. I love Bledsoe but then he is in his 30s.

 

[Cheesebeef]

This series just shows why you need to be thinking playoffs in 3 years and contend in 4. I love Bledsoe but then he is in his 30s.

Agreed.

 

[Ronin]

Steve Kyler‏Verified account@stevekylerNBA 3m3 minutes ago
Through three games - Warriors/Cavs most watched NBA Finals since 1998. On ABC, the series is averaging 19,507,000.

 

[Chaplin]

Steve Kyler‏Verified account@stevekylerNBA 3m3 minutes ago
Through three games - Warriors/Cavs most watched NBA Finals since 1998. On ABC, the series is averaging 19,507,000.

If true, THIS is why the NBA has deteriorated for die hard fans. If it isn't broke, the NBA isn't going to fix it. Even though we know there is a lot that needs to be fixed in this league.

 

[Mainstreet]

Steve Kyler‏Verified account@stevekylerNBA 3m3 minutes ago
Through three games - Warriors/Cavs most watched NBA Finals since 1998. On ABC, the series is averaging 19,507,000.

It's sad the NBA is content with this viewership. I agree with Chaplin, it needs to be fixed for fans who want to see some new teams. Parity is probably asking too much but this is what needs to happen.

 

[chickenhead]

There's a lot baked into the structure of the game. In the playoffs the top players get crazy minutes, and as a team they've probably already achieved home court for a couple rounds. Hockey has a comparable playoff structure but the top players are on the ice less, meanwhile goals are more like a soccer pace.

If there's anything that's been "wrong" about the NBA in recent years it's the Eastern Conference. It's been LeBron's Cavs and Heat for 6 straight years. He's not the problem, the pretend contenders have been.

 

[Matt L]

If true, THIS is why the NBA has deteriorated for die hard fans. If it isn't broke, the NBA isn't going to fix it. Even though we know there is a lot that needs to be fixed in this league.

What would you change?

 

[Raze]

What would you change?

You HAVE to restrict franchise players from moving to teams that already have franchise players. Lebron should never have been allowed to go to Miami, Durant to GS, or Aldridge to SA.

The most realistic option would be allowing a Franchise Tag (Good luck getting that by the players union). Player X must resign with his current team but gets a drastically higher salary than any other team can offer. Soft cap rules apply.

The players are going to have to come to terms with the inevitable drop off of revenue that comes when 2400 regular season games are meaningless and the playoffs become the atrocity they were this year. At some point it's gonna crumble and advertisers will stop shelling out big bucks for air time. Especially when ratings dip during the regular season, which I guess they did this year. It doesn't help when Prime Time viewers see star players rested.

Here's one thing that's for sure: this season was not competitive. The second GS signed Durant it was over and everyone knew it. Add this: I've never seen this many teams "tank" a season, which is especially concerning when there wasn't a clear stud going #1 (ala Duncan). How many more of these seasons can the NBA endure?

 

[Ronin]

Tom Haberstroh‏Verified account@tomhaberstroh 34s34 seconds ago
Warriors in playoffs with Curry+Draymond+Klay ON court 2016 with HBarnes: 0 in 278 minutes 2017 with KD: +135 in 247 minutes

 

[Rivercard]

Here's one thing that's for sure: this season was not competitive. The second GS signed Durant it was over and everyone knew it.

Yep. The NBA has basically become Women's College Basketball. One dominant team that wins everything. Then a lot of also-rans. Not much reason to watch for now.

 

[JCSunsfan]

It's sad the NBA is content with this viewership. I agree with Chaplin, it needs to be fixed for fans who want to see some new teams. Parity is probably asking too much but this is what needs to happen.

I know what you are saying. But the Cavs and Warriors ARE new teams. Yes, it has been them in the finals for three years in a row. But before that they were not part of the dynasty teams of the league. They are not the Lakers, Spurs, Celtics, Bulls group. So that is a step.

But there does need to be an increase in the level of play at the bottom of the league. The level of play needs to increase for the 3-30 teams.

 

[JCSunsfan]

You HAVE to restrict franchise players from moving to teams that already have franchise players. Lebron should never have been allowed to go to Miami, Durant to GS, or Aldridge to SA.

The most realistic option would be allowing a Franchise Tag (Good luck getting that by the players union). Player X must resign with his current team but gets a drastically higher salary than any other team can offer. Soft cap rules apply.

The players are going to have to come to terms with the inevitable drop off of revenue that comes when 2400 regular season games are meaningless and the playoffs become the atrocity they were this year. At some point it's gonna crumble and advertisers will stop shelling out big bucks for air time. Especially when ratings dip during the regular season, which I guess they did this year. It doesn't help when Prime Time viewers see star players rested.

Here's one thing that's for sure: this season was not competitive. The second GS signed Durant it was over and everyone knew it. Add this: I've never seen this many teams "tank" a season, which is especially concerning when there wasn't a clear stud going #1 (ala Duncan). How many more of these seasons can the NBA endure?

A franchise tag is necessary. Compensatory picks would also help. They could be distributed through the first round AFTER the top 3. This would push the first round picks of better teams down into the 40's etc. which would not be a bad thing. It would be really tough to value the picks based upon the FA's lost but its an idea.

 

[chickenhead]

Before Chicago won in the 90s they were new, too. But I sure got sick of them back then. I'm still happy for longtime Warriors fans, but of course they'll become the dragon to slay.

Anyway, the issue isn't so much these two teams meeting in the finals, but the inconsequential regular season and pre-ordained postseason leading up to it. Hopefully next year will at least be more like last year. But then last year KD was on the Thunder...