Will Lebron leave again if the Cavs lose in the Finals? I really hope not because it would really destroy his legacy
Celtics go into Cleveland and win Game 3???:eek:
When LeBron was out of the game in the late third quarter and the C’s made their run, and then he was weirdly passive for much of the fourth, it was suddenly Really Obvious how the Cavs only ended up as the 2 seed. They’re very, very vulnerable when he’s off the court and/or has an off night. It’s a testament to how great he is that it took 11 games before he had one.
That said, I am NOT jumping out of my seat to spend $300 for a pair of the cheapest seats in the house to see them lose by 40 again in game 5.
Now I regret not watching that game.
ETA: LeBron really is that team. He willed them to the Finals two years ago with Irving and Love out, and just about did it again singlehandedly last year to come back from 3-1. As much as I want to dislike him, and he’s given plenty of reasons, the dude can flat out play.
This separates the Cavs from the warriors now. They were unable to keep pace with the warriors and go up 3-0.
Meh, I wouldn’t read too much into a single loss. It’s a matter of sports psychology: Cleveland had been beating up on the Celtics going back to the end of the regular season and they had cruised through the first 2 rounds of the playoffs. In fact they had just turned in one of the most dominant performances in NBA post-season history and were well on their way to winning again. We’ve seen this happen in all different kinds of sports: a team gets so dominant that it loses its competitive edge and gets caught off guard. I’m not saying Boston didn’t deserve to win or that they are completely incapable of playing Cleveland at their best, but the only likely explanation is that Cleveland mentally got bored - just like they were for much of the season - and got caught napping. I expect different results in game 5.
On a different note, while I don’t think the outcome of the series will change, this was a huge win for Boston going forward. The team showed character and I think it reassures the young nucleus of talent that, regardless of what happens in this series, there’s something to build in the future.
Lebron is definitely the center of the team but he does have a supporting cast that has to be reckoned with. Kyrie Irving is a solid player and a starter on any team. Korver is a great perimeter shooter that has to be guarded. Kevin Love is a great inside presence. Deron Williams can create offense on his own. This Cavs team is reminiscent of the 1990s Bulls and the Miami Heat of a few years ago. There’s no doubt that Lebron’s the centerpiece, but he’s not playing with Verajao and scabs anymore. He’s got a very solid supporting cast. Don’t kid yourselves – Cleveland is a very, very good and deep team.
I’d have to argue that the Cavs are not especially deep. Look what happens when LeBron doesn’t put up 30. Love and Kyrie got theirs, but if LeBron has trouble putting in the hoop, the team struggles to win.
The Cavs’ big 3 are among the best, that’s why they’re as good as they are. Tristan Thompson is an adequate PF. JR Smith would be a role player off the bench for a lot of teams, and the Cavs’ depth issues go on from there.
On the other side, look how much better Boston defends without Isaiah Thomas. Just sayin’. By the way, there is still a 0% chance of them winning this series.
All that, and the Celts without Isaiah Thomas are a very different (not better, just different) team, and the Cavs failed to adjust.
Getting solid postseason minutes out of Jaylen Brown is also a huge win, he’s starting to develop nicely. Percolating, if you will.
Counterpoint: we now have three years of sample size and can say fairly confidently that the Cavs lose to basically everyone when LeBron is the only one missing the game (either because he’s injured or they rested him but played Irving/Love), and they struggle to varying degrees when he’s off the court within games (lots of stats we could pull here, from simple +/- to advanced stats that adjust for the fact that when he’s out the other starters are often out… and they all say the same thing). We also have evidence that when one or both of the other two stars miss a game but LeBron plays, they’re still very, very good.
It’s a much better roster than in the past in that everything fits around LeBron. There’s a much higher ceiling than, say, his first time in CLE, just because everyone around him can actually shoot. When he can play 42 MPG in the playoffs and never have a long term injury, that’s a great recipe for success! I’m sure they would rearrange the system around Love if LeBron were to disappear tomorrow, and they might even have some success that way. But to paraphrase you a bit, don’t kid yourself - the Cavs still hemorrhage points to other teams’ benches, they still lose almost all of the games that LeBron sits, and as he goes, they go.
Oh god, this is so true. I have thoroughly enjoyed the IT experience this year, but I think we have pretty good evidence at this point that the NBA is now smart enough to exploit a short PG over a seven game series, no matter how good they are on offense (IT, the Portland backcourt, even Kyrie to some degree).
Especially since they only won.last night because of a fluke shot
And which shot was that? A wide-open three pointer that got a friendly bounce? Hardly a fluke shot.
Yes that’s the shot. It bounced 3 times before going in the basket.
Eh, I wouldn’t call that a fluke. It took a circuitous route into the basket, but that was a rather high-percentage shot overall. It’s not like it was a half court shot or something.
The Spurs’ season is over and so, apparently, is the career of Manu Ginobili. He says he’ll make a decision in a couple weeks, but the way Pop was talking sounds like the decision is made. I always liked Manu, he was fun to watch.
Well, that was anticlimactic. The standing ovations for Manu Ginobli were nice, but the game just wasn’t…anything. By the time I turned it on, the Warriors were up by 14, and it never even seemed like it was THAT close.
From what I’ve gathered, Klay Thompson has sort of taken a back seat with the arrival of Durant. As much as I love me some Splash Brothers, giving him the chance to sit back and focus on his defense. That will be needed against LeBron and Co.
Not really, if anything he was less affected than Curry who deferred a bit too much early in the season. He averaged 22.1 pts/game last year and 22.3 this year. His minutes per game has also increased slightly from 33.3 to 34.0 as he plays with the “second unit” more often in the staggered schedule they’ve been using.
It’s more that he just has been in a slump throughout the playoffs. As one of the commentators notice last night, he’s getting his shots - the problem is he only converted one of eight in the first half ;). Of all the “All-Star Warriors” he has always been the one who runs the most hot and cold and right now he’s just pretty damn cold.
Welp, I’m glad to be wrong on that. I’ve always known he was a hot or cold shooter, but damn. He really is in a scoring rut. Looking at his per game statistics, he’s almost 10 ppg below last year (which was significantly higher than any other year), and below every other postseason as well.
In my later wanderings, LeBron James is averaging over 32 ppg, 6 more than last year, and the most in a postseason since 2008-9.
Crazily, that’s still less than Jordan AVERAGED in postseason play, though he played fewer postseason games than James has.
The first round was best of 5 when Jordan played.
And for an example of the Cavs’ lack of depth, just look at lasts night’s box score. All players outside of LeBron, Kyrie and Love, scored a total of 19 points. Kyle Korver played 20 minutes and did not even take a shot. And it’s not like they were stuffing the stat sheet with rebounds and assists, either.