The 2017 NBA Finals Thread

[JCSunsfan]

The big gripe is free agency and really good players running to really good teams in order to create a super team and win it all.

With LeBron and Miami, it was collusion (not against the rules but still collusion) by players to manipulate the league.

In Durant's case, its just taking the easy path. I have respect for Durant because he is the best player right now on the best team. But I do not respect his championship accomplishment. He joined the best team already.

LeBron's championship last year was something to respect. He went home to a bad team and they put together a championship roster. Yes, they had good picks, but building from the draft through trades is still an accomplishment.

 

[Ronin]

Michael Grange @michaelgrange

Cavs came into Finals shooting 43% from 3, are 29.9 in 3 games. Dubs led NBA in Opp. 3pt % (32.4) ...

 

[Dback Jon]

What would you change?

Hard Salary Cap like the NFL.

 

[Covert Rain]

Hard Salary Cap like the NFL.

Yep. These super teams are ruining the NBA for me. However, it will not solve the scenario where a Superstar takes a crap salary just to help create said super team.

 

[Dback Jon]

Yep. These super teams are ruining the NBA for me. However, it will not solve the scenario where a Superstar takes a crap salary just to help create said super team.

Just like it doesn't stop Tom Brady from taking a below market salary - but it helps, because those players are few and far between.

 

[Matt L]

Hard Salary Cap like the NFL.

I would be against this. If they only introduced a hard salary cap, teams would be crippled by the guaranteed contracts. I don't think the players would give up the guaranteed contracts (nor do i think they should give that up). The group who most benefits from a hard salary cap is the owners.

How many super-duper stars are there that have actually taken a below market salary? I believe Seth Curry's current deal was signed before he became a MVP.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Hard Salary Cap like the NFL.

I agree. Hard cap. The only problem with that is that the present Lux tax redistributes wealth allowing smaller market teams to survive. A hard cap just puts money in the pockets of big market owners.

Also a franchise player tag. Maybe allow one per team roster. Once it is used, it cannot be used again while that player is on your roster (or for the duration of that contract). So OKC would have had to decide whether to use in on Westbrook or Durant. I suppose the threat to use it would be enough.

There should be a cash bonus that ONLY a FPT player can get. It would become a badge of honor.

 

[Hoop Head]

The big gripe is free agency and really good players running to really good teams in order to create a super team and win it all.

With LeBron and Miami, it was collusion (not against the rules but still collusion) by players to manipulate the league.

In Durant's case, its just taking the easy path. I have respect for Durant because he is the best player right now on the best team. But I do not respect his championship accomplishment. He joined the best team already.

LeBron's championship last year was something to respect. He went home to a bad team and they put together a championship roster. Yes, they had good picks, but building from the draft through trades is still an accomplishment.

I think Lebron put Cleveland in position to get those 3 #1 picks after he left though. He turned them into a bad team that got high lotto picks that had unreal luck with how the ping pong balls bounced and then he went back and dictated moves to build him a competitive roster.

 

[Phrazbit]

The talent gap is significant. Despite that I think the gap between LeBron and Durant is much larger than is currently being made out to be, the rest of Golden State's roster is miles better. Kyrie Irving has great games but he is inconsistent and a putrid defender, Curry blows him out of the water, a better player in every respect. Love is a great offensive player and an awful defender, Green's a very good offensive player (seriously, his offense is underrated, probably the best passing big in the NBA) and one of the best defenders in the league. After those comparisons it gets ugly. Golden State's 4th best player is Klay Thompson, an all-star, probably the best "3 and D" player in the NBA, Cleveland's is... Thompson I guess? A guy with almost no offensive game besides "open dunk!" and some solid rebounding stats, then probably Channing Frye, not much needs to be said there, now you get down to JR Smith, who is flat out awful.

David West would arguably be the Cavs 4th or 5th best player and he barely cracks the Warriors rotation.

But, back to Durant vs LeBron. It is insane to me that talking heads are asking if Durant is the best player in the league, that is a freaking joke. Love him, tolerate him or hate him; LeBron is a force that is almost impossible to measure, you put him on any roster in the NBA and that team is an instant contender. At the end of his 1st Cleveland run he was hauling a team to 60 wins and deep playoff runs that showed itself to literally be the worst team in the NBA the instant he left. LeBron is the best 2 way player in the NBA, a top 3 player on both ends of the court who can defend 4 positions and play those same positions on offense at elite levels. Durant is a great player, no question but, outside of 3 point shooting, LeBron is a significantly superior player in every regard.

 

[Ronin]

https://mobile.twitter.com/ESPNStatsInfo

ESPN Stats & Info @ESPNStatsInfo

The Warriors are 1 win away from becoming 6th team in the last 30 seasons to win the NBA championship a season after losing in the Finals.

 

[SirStefan32]

The talent gap is significant. Despite that I think the gap between LeBron and Durant is much larger than is currently being made out to be, the rest of Golden State's roster is miles better. Kyrie Irving has great games but he is inconsistent and a putrid defender, Curry blows him out of the water, a better player in every respect. Love is a great offensive player and an awful defender, Green's a very good offensive player (seriously, his offense is underrated, probably the best passing big in the NBA) and one of the best defenders in the league. After those comparisons it gets ugly. Golden State's 4th best player is Klay Thompson, an all-star, probably the best "3 and D" player in the NBA, Cleveland's is... Thompson I guess? A guy with almost no offensive game besides "open dunk!" and some solid rebounding stats, then probably Channing Frye, not much needs to be said there, now you get down to JR Smith, who is flat out awful.

David West would arguably be the Cavs 4th or 5th best player and he barely cracks the Warriors rotation.

But, back to Durant vs LeBron. It is insane to me that talking heads are asking if Durant is the best player in the league, that is a freaking joke. Love him, tolerate him or hate him; LeBron is a force that is almost impossible to measure, you put him on any roster in the NBA and that team is an instant contender. At the end of his 1st Cleveland run he was hauling a team to 60 wins and deep playoff runs that showed itself to literally be the worst team in the NBA the instant he left. LeBron is the best 2 way player in the NBA, a top 3 player on both ends of the court who can defend 4 positions and play those same positions on offense at elite levels. Durant is a great player, no question but, outside of 3 point shooting, LeBron is a significantly superior player in every regard.

I think age factors into that equation. There is no doubt James is a unique player. That said, he is getting up there in age and he has a lot of mileage. TODAY, I'd probably build a team around Lebron, but if I am building something long-term, it's between KD and Leonard. I did not watch game 3, but it was painfully obvious that James is exhausted after the second quarter and has nothing left in the fourth. That's not a knock on James- Father Time is undefeated.

 

[Cheesebeef]

I think age factors into that equation. There is no doubt James is a unique player. That said, he is getting up there in age and he has a lot of mileage. TODAY, I'd probably build a team around Lebron, but if I am building something long-term, it's between KD and Leonard. I did not watch game 3, but it was painfully obvious that James is exhausted after the second quarter and has nothing left in the fourth. That's not a knock on James- Father Time is undefeated.

it definitely looked like he was beat (exhausted) in the fourth.

it's kinda looked like that in all that games. He was a bull in a china shop in each of the three first halves but didn't have that explosion in the 2nd. Probably because a) he has to do almost everything himself and has to play KD on D and b) because he's 32 years old. This ain't super-prime LeBron anymore. Don't get me wrong... I still think he's the best player in the league and if he had as much talent on his team that the Warriors do he'd be able to finish games easily the way Durant does, but age/carrying the team is a little too much, especially against what's probably the 1st or 2nd most talented team of all time.

 

[Cheesebeef]

The talent gap is significant. Despite that I think the gap between LeBron and Durant is much larger than is currently being made out to be, the rest of Golden State's roster is miles better. Kyrie Irving has great games but he is inconsistent and a putrid defender, Curry blows him out of the water, a better player in every respect. Love is a great offensive player and an awful defender, Green's a very good offensive player (seriously, his offense is underrated, probably the best passing big in the NBA) and one of the best defenders in the league. After those comparisons it gets ugly. Golden State's 4th best player is Klay Thompson, an all-star, probably the best "3 and D" player in the NBA, Cleveland's is... Thompson I guess? A guy with almost no offensive game besides "open dunk!" and some solid rebounding stats, then probably Channing Frye, not much needs to be said there, now you get down to JR Smith, who is flat out awful.

David West would arguably be the Cavs 4th or 5th best player and he barely cracks the Warriors rotation.

But, back to Durant vs LeBron. It is insane to me that talking heads are asking if Durant is the best player in the league, that is a freaking joke. Love him, tolerate him or hate him; LeBron is a force that is almost impossible to measure, you put him on any roster in the NBA and that team is an instant contender. At the end of his 1st Cleveland run he was hauling a team to 60 wins and deep playoff runs that showed itself to literally be the worst team in the NBA the instant he left. LeBron is the best 2 way player in the NBA, a top 3 player on both ends of the court who can defend 4 positions and play those same positions on offense at elite levels. Durant is a great player, no question but, outside of 3 point shooting, LeBron is a significantly superior player in every regard.

agree with all of this.

 

[Ronin]

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[Ronin]

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[Ronin]

Michael Grange @michaelgrange

Steve Kerr said Warriors key for G4: 'Turnovers' -- they have 38 in their past two games.

 

[Ronin]

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[TheBook1]

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That's awesome

 

[mojorizen7]

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.

I wouldn't call that a step in the right direction.
It's the same predictability, just with fewer teams having a legitimate shot. IMO it's a step back.

This is where the NFL...despite it's current problems, is still a superior league where so many teams' fans feel like there's a chance their team may turn that corner and contend any given year.

 

[AZBALLER]

Wow. Good job league. 22 free throws in a quarter is pretty obvious

 

[Finito]

So the Cavs have a historic first. Quarter. Klay hits a 3 Durant with the and 1 and it's an 11 point game

GS wins this by 14 I think that's how it's going

 

[AZBALLER]

Golden St , is getting screwed by the league. They don't have much of a chance

 

[Dback Jon]

I don't see the screw. If anything GS got away with somethings

 

[AZBALLER]

GS i has been getting held like crazy, yet 22 free throws for the Cavs in a quarter? An obvious over/back not called, I mean how much clearer could it be.

 

[AZBALLER]

If anything, I guess we'll get another game before the season is over. The refs don't need to put a team 22 times again ever on the line in a quarter, unless it's hack a Shaq