NBA Playoffs

[Cusefan0307]

I bet KD leaves.

I don't necessarily think he should leave, but I think he will.

This year? I can see next year, but he can make a lot more money next year if he takes a one year deal.

 

[Melancer46]

I'd be absolutely shocked if he leaves this year, and I don't expect him to leave next year either.

 

[Tom K.]

Betcha Billy Donovan gets fired lol. Teams love to overreact.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

So here's the question you have to ask - can you envision a scenario where the Warriors lose as many games in the playoffs as they did in the regular season?

If you can, you believe the Cavs can win. If you can't, the Warriors are destined to repeat.

 

[MSOrange]

This adds nothing to the discussion but cracked me up

 

[Knicks411]

So here's the question you have to ask - can you envision a scenario where the Warriors lose as many games in the playoffs as they did in the regular season?

If you can, you believe the Cavs can win. If you can't, the Warriors are destined to repeat.

Ha that's a crazy way to think about it.

I think it's Warriors in like 5. Wouldn't mind being wrong here, I'm probably rooting for Cleveland plus I want a long series

 

[Tom K.]

Warriors over the Cavs in 3 and a 1/2, as a seldom used and oft forgotten mercy rule is discovered on the books to end the season for the Cavs with a small degree of honor.

How can you be so quick to hand them the title? I think they'll beat the Cavs and repeat but, come on, the Cavs took 2 games from them last year without 2/3rds of their trio. I'll be surprised if this is anything less than 6 games.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

How can you be so quick to hand them the title? I think they'll beat the Cavs and repeat but, come on, the Cavs took 2 games from them last year without 2/3rds of their trio. I'll be surprised if this is anything less than 6 games.

Because when it comes to Lebron and the Cavs, I #hatehard.

 

[jordoo]

The Warriors are just too deadly when Steph and Clay have it going. They are also so much fun to watch as is GST when they are moving the ball around. Greene had a crappy series, they didn't get much out of their bigs and they still beat the Thunder.

Watching Greene and Westbrook's antics does get old in a 7 game series. How you can take either seriously whenever they hit the floor or ask for a foul is beyond me. Greene is a good all around player who wound up in the best possible situation for him in GST but he's not good enough IMO to carry a squad. He gives you great flexibility on both ends and is basically the perfect 3rd wheel who can do a bit of everything. Westbrook has got to be one of the most physically gifted guys on the planet. He plays at a speed that most cannot and he's fearless. That said his constant flopping, flailing and trying to draw fouls is on a Harden level and for all his talents when he's going bad he kills his team. Of the top players in the league his play is the most bipolar and the problem with that is he's a PG.

 

[Alsacs]

Cleveland isn't as bad a matchup for Golden Statte as OKC was.
Iguadola can start on Lebron. Lebron himself probably has to guard Curry. That means Thompson will have Kyrie.

Kyrie is a terrible defender he will be the guy to decide this series. Golden State can play their death small ball lineup against Cleveland they couldn't against OKC because OKC got so many offensive rebounds with their bigger lineup.

 

[jordoo]

As far as the finals I don't see the Cavs winning more than 2 games. I don't think their bigs are going to do better than OKC's did as far as scoring and boarding against GST. Clay and Steph are really clicking, Greene is due to break out, I don't think Cleveland plays as physically as OKC and I expect the finals to be called a little tighter than the WCF were. We'll see though as Cleveland really played well this year and seems to have found some balance Irving/Love/James but still they lost two games to the Raptor's and that was mainly because they had trouble defending Lowry and Derozan . . . . . . . . . . I expect Steph and Thompson to have a huge series.

 

[jordoo]

Cleveland isn't as bad a matchup for Golden Statte as OKC was.
Iguadola can start on Lebron. Lebron himself probably has to guard Curry. That means Thompson will have Kyrie.

Kyrie is a terrible defender he will be the guy to decide this series. Golden State can play their death small ball lineup against Cleveland they couldn't against OKC because OKC got so many offensive rebounds with their bigger lineup.

Yep and if James doesn't guard Greene Cleveland doesn't really have anyone who matches up well with him so he may get back to his usual form. Irving and Del will get torched in this series IMO. If you put James and JR on Steph and Clay then who guards Iggy/Banres and Greene? I don't see love doing great on any of them and Irving will just get pounded by them.

 

[Knicks411]

Because when it comes to Lebron and the Cavs, I #hatehard.

Also once the Warriors went small last year Cleveland had no chance. I know they have Kyrie and Love now, but also, they're probably going to get Love involved in a million pick and rolls.

 

[jordoo]

Also once the Warriors went small last year Cleveland had no chance. I know they have Kyrie and Love now, but also, they're probably going to get Love involved in a million pick and rolls.

Who Irving and Love are guarding is going to be a constant issue for the Cav's. I agree that the Cavs will have a hard time defending GST especially when GST goes small because GST's ball handling and passing is going to easily exploit the bad matchups.

 

[Cusefan0307]

I don't see how Love and Frye can play defense in this series, and I don't see how Cleveland can play Tristan and get enough offense. Cleveland is going to want to play Frye/Tristan, Love, Lebron, JR and Irving a lot in this series as that is their best offensive lineup, but that lineup will get torched.

 

[NineOneSeven]

Who can make more 3s and limit transition buckets?

 

[Cusefan0307]

How can you be so quick to hand them the title? I think they'll beat the Cavs and repeat but, come on, the Cavs took 2 games from them last year without 2/3rds of their trio. I'll be surprised if this is anything less than 6 games.

Yeah i Know they have Love and Irving but, Curry, Klay, and Draymond are all better than they were last year...

I think OKC is a lot better than Cleveland, especially defensively.

 

[MikeSU02]

This year? I can see next year, but he can make a lot more money next year if he takes a one year deal.

He can leave and still do a one year deal.

 

[MikeSU02]

Cleveland took two games, didn't have Love and Kyrie (for most of the series) and David Lee was the change that sparked the tide turning... but no one thinks Cleveland can win this thing?

The two biggest issues that GSW has is when they have to guard potent guards and giving up offensive rebounds.

I think this series will be way closer than people here are predicting.

 

[Knicks411]

He can leave and still do a one year deal.

I think there are reasons why he makes more money doing the one year route and staying in OKC but I could be off on that. And since Lebron just did exactly what you're proposing I'm probably definitely wrong.

On the Love thing; take it for what it's worth, but Lowe has reported there were Warriors coaches who were disappointed that Love wasn't playing last year because they thought they could take advantage of him defensively.

A month or so ago I would have said Cleveland has no chance. I'm revising that now but I still think it's GS.

 

[Alsacs]

He can leave and still do a one year deal.

Durant really can't go anywhere right now or looks bad.
If he goes to Golden State he will get killed a la Lebron James without the Decision heat.
If he goes to the Spurs he is going to a team he just beat.
I doubt he wants to go Los Angeles unless the Clippers traded Blake for him.
Washington,New York, Boston have no chance.

Durant is likely going to take a 1 year deal and have his contract run out with Westbrook's next year.

 

[Fireball Jr.]

So here's the question you have to ask - can you envision a scenario where the Warriors lose as many games in the playoffs as they did in the regular season.

Easy scenario to envision, and that's not the LeBron/Cavs fan in me speaking.

The regular season is a succession of one-offs ... game here, 2 days off, game there, lotta teams not as challenging as others.

The season that matters most -- the one we're seeing now -- has no more one-offs, no patsies. Now, instead of one-offs, you have extended runs, culminating with a possible 7-game run against the same team, the best of the rest. No more '76ers on a Monday night in January.

At the very worst, from a Cavs fan's perspective, GS loses two. I expect the Warriors to lose at least 3, most likely 4. I'd feel a little more confident the Cavs would win in 6 (or less) if they had lucked out and gotten OKC...and home-court advantage.

But, to your initial question, yes, I envisioned from the get-go GS possibly losing as many games in the playoffs as they did in the regular season, which, the Cavs (and particularly LeBron) seem to have viewed as the 82-game "exhibition season," the Grapefruit League. The regular season has a lotta great, great moments, but it's for the elite in the league, it's about getting ready for the playoffs, staying healthy, tweaking things (for Cavs, new coach, key late-season pickup in Frye, Mozgov goes from regular to end of bench), being prepared for this: Ali-Frazier II.

Let's get ready to r-u-m-b-l-e!

 

[MikeSU02]

I think there are reasons why he makes more money doing the one year route and staying in OKC but I could be off on that. And since Lebron just did exactly what you're proposing I'm probably definitely wrong.

I think there are a few things that probably override the incremental financial advantage from staying in OKC:

1) He has his monster Nike deal. $300MM.
2) The better he does in terms of winning titles, the more money he'll earn in endorsements, especially in certain foreign countries. I don't know if he sees that happening in OKC.
3) He has never played for an elite coach/president/etc. I think he has sit downs with SAS and Miami, at the least, just to see what is out there.

The other thing - I don't know if Russ 1) wants to stay in OKC or 2) wants to be on a team where he isn't the alpha. I think Russ wants his own team. And if that's the case, then KD could be pushed to go.

 

[MikeSU02]

Durant really can't go anywhere right now or looks bad.
If he goes to Golden State he will get killed a la Lebron James without the Decision heat.
If he goes to the Spurs he is going to a team he just beat.
I doubt he wants to go Los Angeles unless the Clippers traded Blake for him.
Washington,New York, Boston have no chance.

Durant is likely going to take a 1 year deal and have his contract run out with Westbrook's next year.

He already looks bad. He choked in game six. He and Russ can't figure out who the alpha is. Looking bad temporarily is way, way better than leaving and winning titles.

Bron's decision to go to the Heat was fantastic. He won back to back titles, got to four finals and then came back to Cleveland as a god. Then he signed a billion dollar lifetime deal with Nike.

 

[Knicks411]

I think unless they win a title next year, Russ is gone after his contract is up