Lombardi's_kid_brother Posted June 6, 2016 Share Posted June 6, 2016 I think people are sleeping on how good the Blazers became the 2nd half of the seson. I think that's a 50 win team there next year...injuries willing. They are basically GSW Jr right now. It's not people; it's McQueen. If GSW had lost Game 6, he would have declared them the biggest fraud in history. When they win this series, he'll declare them the best team ever and write a 24 point treatise on how the Wizards are really just one player away from equating their success. After the Wizards start 2-3, he'll declare them a total disaster and demand that everyone but Wall be traded. When they improve to 7-4, he'll explain how they are the one team that Cleveland fears in the East. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Evil Genius Posted June 6, 2016 Share Posted June 6, 2016 It doesnt help that the Warriors faced clearly superior guards to Kyrie in the last 2 rounds, either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bozo the kKklown Posted June 6, 2016 Share Posted June 6, 2016 (edited) It's not people; it's McQueen. If GSW had lost Game 6, he would have declared them the biggest fraud in history. When they win this series, he'll declare them the best team ever and write a 24 point treatise on how the Wizards are really just one player away from equating their success. After the Wizards start 2-3, he'll declare them a total disaster and demand that everyone but Wall be traded. When they improve to 7-4, he'll explain how they are the one team that Cleveland fears in the East. this is all pretty accurate LMAO Edited June 6, 2016 by BenningRoadSkin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lombardi's_kid_brother Posted June 6, 2016 Share Posted June 6, 2016 Irving is a bigger defensive problem than Love is. Love gets caught in bad PnR situations, but at least he provides muscle down low and elite defensive rebounding. Irving provides nothing on defense, and the Warriors are taking advantage of him even more than Love. Irving is not the superstar that people make him out to be. I really don't understand why Irving is this bad on defense. He's not undersized. He's a good athlete. You would assume an All Star who went to Duke would have some kind of basketball IQ. Harden's defensive woes, I can explain. He coasts on D because he carries such a burden on offense. Irving has no excuse. He has to be making a conscientious decision to not do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Evil Genius Posted June 6, 2016 Share Posted June 6, 2016 He played 11 total games for Duke. Not sure how much you can learn in a year..especially one in which you are injured for most of the season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterMP Posted June 6, 2016 Share Posted June 6, 2016 Irving is a bigger defensive problem than Love is. Love gets caught in bad PnR situations, but at least he provides muscle down low and elite defensive rebounding. Irving provides nothing on defense, and the Warriors are taking advantage of him even more than Love. Irving is not the superstar that people make him out to be. I saw this headline in the USA today after game 1: The Warriors' game plan is simple: Find Kyrie Irving and score on him http://ftw.usatoday.com/2016/06/warriors-cavaliers-game-1-kyrie-irving I don't know what they can do with Kyrie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Going Commando Posted June 6, 2016 Share Posted June 6, 2016 It's not people; it's McQueen. If GSW had lost Game 6, he would have declared them the biggest fraud in history. When they win this series, he'll declare them the best team ever and write a 24 point treatise on how the Wizards are really just one player away from equating their success. After the Wizards start 2-3, he'll declare them a total disaster and demand that everyone but Wall be traded. When they improve to 7-4, he'll explain how they are the one team that Cleveland fears in the East. You keep pushing this narrative that I'm particularly knee-jerk, as if you and everyone else in this thread doesn't change their minds on a dime based on whatever happened the night before. And yet I'm not the one saying LeBron's shot is broken, the Cavs can't defend, Love is hopeless, Irving can't do anything if his shot's not falling, etc. I wasn't one (of the many) who said Golden State was finished after they went down last series. I wasn't one who thought they were finished after Curry got hurt in the first round. TEG hyping Portland to excuse Golden State's sorry play in that series is absurd. That was a team of regular season overachievers that would have been pounded by the Clippers in the first round if Griffin and Paul hadn't gotten knocked out. They hung with Golden State in the second round only because Golden State played like ass--a slump that continued through the first four games of the WCF. Curry was injured and the Warriors took the first half of each game off. Portland has some good foundation blocks, but they benefited from the bottom falling out on the second tier of WC teams--Houston collapsed, Everyone on Memphis got hurt, Dallas is painfully old and in need of a rebuild, and New Orleans had a nightmare season. They probably would have been a lottery team if they were in the East. Cleveland would have pounded them just like they did Detroit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lombardi's_kid_brother Posted June 6, 2016 Share Posted June 6, 2016 You keep pushing this narrative that I'm particularly knee-jerk, as if you and everyone else in this thread doesn't change their minds on a dime based on whatever happened the night before. Me? The biggest Russell Westbrook fan in the world who will defend him when he shoots 3-36 in a conference finals game? I'm knee-jerk? Check the record, friend. I actually predicted the Warriors comeback against OKC the day after Game 4. And you really aren't as knee-jerk here as you are in the Wizards thread. But you are still all over the place. And that's fun. I like it. Don't change. (By the way, Lebron's jumper has legitimately gone to hell. His 3 point percentage this year was the second lowest of his career. His rookie year was the worst. And his 2 point percentage is starting to get a little shaky - by his standards of course. The guy had become a locked in shooter in Miami. I don't know what has happened here. But as I have said repeatedly, since I'm not knee-jerk, the Warriors are just better than the Cavs and I don't think there's a hell of a lot the Cavs can do about it. As constituted, they could make the finals at least two more times. Maybe one year, they'll run into a team that the match up better with or a team filled with injuries). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Going Commando Posted June 6, 2016 Share Posted June 6, 2016 I really don't understand why Irving is this bad on defense. He's not undersized. He's a good athlete. You would assume an All Star who went to Duke would have some kind of basketball IQ. Harden's defensive woes, I can explain. He coasts on D because he carries such a burden on offense. Irving has no excuse. He has to be making a conscientious decision to not do it. I'm enjoying all of this ****ting on Kyrie Irving. I've been banging this drum since his rookie year. I've also been killing James Harden and Kevin Love since 2012 for being limited, overrated players who were super-specialists with some loser intangible qualities, not superstars. Those were lonely takes back then. But I've also seen Irving play very good defense when he's locked in and giving a ****. He just doesn't play with that kind of consistency and intensity often. I think it's clear he's not a hyper-competitive self starter that can facilitate a culture change for a team. He has no leadership qualities. But I also think it's clear that he could be a better and more complete player if Cleveland didn't have serious organizational culture issues. There is a bit of hopelessness and lack of accountability in Cleveland that is keeping them from truly achieving their potential. They were a bad organization before LeBron rescued them from the dumpster. And their organizational culture hasn't benefited from LeBron swooping in and castrating everyone in the FO and on the coaching staff. They desperately need strong figures at GM and HC, and they just don't have that. Moreover, LeBron has seized so much control of the franchise that I'm not sure they could hire a Phil Jackson or Greg Popovich or Pat Riley to right the ship and restore the balance of power within the organization, even if they had the opportunity to do so. BTW I think Harden's problems in Houston go far beyond conserving energy for offense. He went from the next Manu Ginobli, to Steph Curry's rival, to the Shaqtin a Fool MVP, all by the age of 26. That kind of meteoric career arc can only be because he's depressed and given up hope of winning anything in Houston. Houston's culture is ****ing terrible, Daryl Morey has always been something of a fraud, and Harden has abandoned any pretense of giving a **** about doing anything that isn't fun for him. As for Duke products, Coach K hasn't been teaching his players how to play defense for a minute now. He's figured out that if you get a bunch of the best offensive players in high school every summer, then you don't have to play good defense to compete for championships. Tyus Jones, Jabari Parker, Austin Rivers, Kyle Singler, Ryan Kelly, Nolan Smith, Rodney Hood, Jahlil Okafor--all hopeless defensive players in their young NBA careers too. The only good defensive players that have come out of Duke in the last six years or so were the two Plumlees and Justise Winslow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Sinister Posted June 6, 2016 Share Posted June 6, 2016 FTFY Not gonna lie, Mama Curry is one fine lass... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FanboyOf91 Posted June 6, 2016 Share Posted June 6, 2016 Lebron, are you sure Tyronn Lue is better than David Blatt? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DM72 Posted June 6, 2016 Share Posted June 6, 2016 (edited) As soon as OKC blew that 3-1 lead against GS, the Cavs chances for a title went straight out the window. I wonder what all those old heads are gonna say about GS now. I see the excuses are already starting to trickle in. Edited June 6, 2016 by DM72 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Do Itch Big Posted June 6, 2016 Share Posted June 6, 2016 I really don't understand why Irving is this bad on defense. He's not undersized. He's a good athlete. You would assume an All Star who went to Duke would have some kind of basketball IQ. Harden's defensive woes, I can explain. He coasts on D because he carries such a burden on offense. Irving has no excuse. He has to be making a conscientious decision to not do it. Effort?Side point Westbrook is overrated on defense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRobi21 Posted June 6, 2016 Share Posted June 6, 2016 @MikeAndMike - Shaun Livingston and Leandro Barbosa have combined to make as many FGs as Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving this series (21) - on 34 fewer shots! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Predicto Posted June 6, 2016 Share Posted June 6, 2016 I saw this headline in the USA today after game 1: The Warriors' game plan is simple: Find Kyrie Irving and score on him http://ftw.usatoday.com/2016/06/warriors-cavaliers-game-1-kyrie-irving I don't know what they can do with Kyrie. Start Delladova, put Kyrie on the bench, and bring him in for an offensive spark when the Warriors' second unit is in. TEG hyping Portland to excuse Golden State's sorry play in that series is absurd. That was a team of regular season overachievers that would have been pounded by the Clippers in the first round if Griffin and Paul hadn't gotten knocked out. They hung with Golden State in the second round only because Golden State played like ass Portland also matches up well against the Warriors, and was one of the handful of teams to beat them in the regular season. Obliterated them, in fact - the worst loss of the season. Effort? Side point Westbrook is overrated on defense. He's not all NBA, but he's above average. And the other stuff he provides is exceptional. If someone could convince Russell that he should never ever take another deep jumper under any circumstances, he would dominate the league. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Going Commando Posted June 6, 2016 Share Posted June 6, 2016 Move Irving to SG and play Delly and LeBron at PG. Stagger Irving's minutes with LeBron's. He should be playing 38 minutes a game in the series, at least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterMP Posted June 7, 2016 Share Posted June 7, 2016 (edited) I really don't understand why Irving is this bad on defense. He's not undersized. He's a good athlete. You would assume an All Star who went to Duke would have some kind of basketball IQ. Harden's defensive woes, I can explain. He coasts on D because he carries such a burden on offense. Irving has no excuse. He has to be making a conscientious decision to not do it. Part of it has to be coaching. JVG was talking about Shumpert ding up Thompson and was making the point that Shumpert was over playing him to the left, which left his right side (his dominant side) to attack off the dribble with and Green on his right to pass to. You're asking to get beat off the dribble by playing the weak hand, and then the help is coming off of a 3 pt. shooter where Thompson can make the easy pass with his strong hand. I'm not sure if JVG is completely right where the answer is to force Thompson to his left. A very basic basketball axiom is to force the man to the middle because you have more help and Shumpert did that. I can see, even at the NBA level, keeping that very basic axiom, but if you are going to force somebody to go to his strong hand into the middle with a 3 pt shooter on that side for him to pass to, you have to have a plan that is more than help off that 3 pt shooter. There has to okay then what part of the plan. Where is the help coming from to defend that 3 pt. shooter? The Warriors look like they are actually executing a defense based on Cleveland's offense, their players, and actual plays. The Cavs look like they showed up at a pick up a game with no idea of who they are playing, how their opponent is going to execute their offense, or how to execute a team defense. Edited June 7, 2016 by PeterMP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Destino Posted June 7, 2016 Share Posted June 7, 2016 Effort? Side point Westbrook is overrated on defense. Wildly over rated. When he and Durant were laughing about Curry being under rated as a defender I was shaking my head at both of those fools. Both should be elite defenders and neither of them are. I think people look at Westbrook and think he's a better defender because an athlete of his caliber should be. That's another reason why Chris Paul stands out and one of the many reasons why he's known as the Point God. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Predicto Posted June 7, 2016 Share Posted June 7, 2016 (edited) That's another reason why Chris Paul stands out and one of the many reasons why he's known as the Point God. I hate that little flopping whining **** but yes, he absolutely is. Edited June 7, 2016 by Predicto Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Destino Posted June 7, 2016 Share Posted June 7, 2016 In case anyone is interested in a more tehcnical breakdown of the Cavs defensive struggles here is a video that compares how the OKC defense to the Cavs. The length and agility of the OKC defenders doesn't explain all of it but it certainly is a big part of it. The Cavs are also getting lost on defense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momma There Goes That Man Posted June 8, 2016 Share Posted June 8, 2016 A summary of the NBA finals as shown in Home Alone 2 https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1737743916491925&id=1545950102337975&_rdr Another summary of the NBA finals as shown by Stone Cold https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10153061424906006&id=7331091005&_rdr 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRobi21 Posted June 8, 2016 Share Posted June 8, 2016 Marc Stein @ESPNSteinLine 27m27 minutes ago Kevin Love has been informed that he will not be medically cleared to play in Wednesday night's Game 3, ESPN has learned Marc Stein @ESPNSteinLine 25m25 minutes ago ESPN sources say Love has been lobbying hard for clearance to play Game 3 but has been told Friday's Game 4 is the soonest he'll be cleared 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Sinister Posted June 8, 2016 Share Posted June 8, 2016 Get out the swiffer. This ones finished Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TradeTheBeal! Posted June 8, 2016 Share Posted June 8, 2016 I kinda like Clevelands chances tonight...especially if Love doesn't play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chew Posted June 8, 2016 Share Posted June 8, 2016 Get out the swiffer. This ones finished "Steph is just lucky Lebron was without Love for two games" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now