So is everyone changing their predictions now to Cleveland in 5? lol.
Hebron just flashed us all lol
NSFW
[quote]therajraj wrote:
So is everyone changing their predictions now to Cleveland in 5? lol.
[/quote]
Nope. Warriors in 6. They’ll win the next two games by an average margin of 15 points.
[quote]DBCooper wrote:
[quote]therajraj wrote:
So is everyone changing their predictions now to Cleveland in 5? lol.
[/quote]
Nope. Warriors in 6. They’ll win the next two games by an average margin of 15 points.[/quote]
Only 15? You made it sound as though the warriors would beat the dream team and the 27’ Yankees earlier in the thread.
This will probably go 7, highly unlikely Lebron gets closed out at home, and no clue who wins game 7.
[quote]Aggv wrote:
[quote]DBCooper wrote:
[quote]therajraj wrote:
So is everyone changing their predictions now to Cleveland in 5? lol.
[/quote]
Nope. Warriors in 6. They’ll win the next two games by an average margin of 15 points.[/quote]
Only 15? You made it sound as though the warriors would beat the dream team and the 27’ Yankees earlier in the thread.
This will probably go 7, highly unlikely Lebron gets closed out at home, and no clue who wins game 7. [/quote]
No, I made it sound like the Warriors were clearly the best team in the NBA. Nothing has happened to change that assessment, and anyone who would argue differently hasn’t watched a whole lot of NBA basketball.
And why do you doubt Lebron gets closed out at home? It’s already happened to him twice in the Finals. Why wouldn’t it happen a third time when he’s playing the best road team in basketball and he has the worst supporting cast around him in years? What reason is there to think he WON’T get closed out at home?
[quote]DBCooper wrote:
No, I made it sound like the Warriors were clearly the best team in the NBA. Nothing has happened to change that assessment, and anyone who would argue differently hasn’t watched a whole lot of NBA basketball.[/quote]
GS was clearly the best regular-season team, and that’s as far as it goes.
Back in '89, DET was similarly “gifted” season-ending injuries to two of their opponent’s top-three players… and they went on to win 4-0
Here in '15, same “gifted” setup… and we’ve got a legit dogfight.
Either James is that amazing, or GS is far from great, or a whole lot of both.
[quote]chillain wrote:
[quote]DBCooper wrote:
No, I made it sound like the Warriors were clearly the best team in the NBA. Nothing has happened to change that assessment, and anyone who would argue differently hasn’t watched a whole lot of NBA basketball.[/quote]
GS was clearly the best regular-season team, and that’s as far as it goes.
Back in '89, DET was similarly “gifted” season-ending injuries to two of their opponent’s top-three players… and they went on to win 4-0
Here in '15, same “gifted” setup… and we’ve got a legit dogfight.
Either James is that amazing, or GS is far from great, or a whole lot of both.
[/quote]
^^this. Now imagine if the Cavs had a legit secondary scoring option, how would this series turned out?
Either way LBJ is the MVP.
[quote]chillain wrote:
[quote]DBCooper wrote:
No, I made it sound like the Warriors were clearly the best team in the NBA. Nothing has happened to change that assessment, and anyone who would argue differently hasn’t watched a whole lot of NBA basketball.[/quote]
GS was clearly the best regular-season team, and that’s as far as it goes.
Back in '89, DET was similarly “gifted” season-ending injuries to two of their opponent’s top-three players… and they went on to win 4-0
Here in '15, same “gifted” setup… and we’ve got a legit dogfight.
Either James is that amazing, or GS is far from great, or a whole lot of both.
[/quote]
Golden State is clearly the best team in the NBA, and THAT is as far as it goes. There is no such thing as a “regular season” team when we’re talking about the playoffs. GS is heads and shoulders above every other team in the NBA, regular or postseason.
Whatever the fuck happened back in 1989 is entirely irrelevant to what is happening now. James really IS that good, the Warriors are not the battle-tested team that Detroit was back then, and I never said they were.
All I said was that no one is better than the Warriors this year. They were clearly dominant in the regular season, they’ve been as dominant in the postseason, aside from a hiccup in Game 3 when everything went wrong for them for about 3 quarters. Anyone who would argue that the Warriors aren’t the best team in the NBA today is simply not someone who has watched any basketball this year.
Is there anything you can offer to the contrary? Absolutely not, because that’s as far as it goes.
[quote]DBCooper wrote:
GS is heads and shoulders above every other team in the NBA, regular or postseason.[/quote]
Except that they’re not even head and shoulders above an injury-ravaged CLE team.
It’s a shame that the hoop gods are (more than likely) making CLE pay their Finals dues, as nearly every other team before them has. And yet GS gets a pass.
They’ve been incredibly lucky in the postseason, as well. NO was never gonna test em, but both the Conley and Beverley injuries were absolutely huge given GS’s brilliance at the 1.
Of course “injuries are part of the game,” but most of the Dubs fans I know are completely unaware of the “gifts” their team has enjoyed in every.single.meaningful.round of this year’s run. Or not sophisticated enough to appreciate them.
As far as next year goes, I’d put GS’s chance of a successful title defense at whatever the chances are of all of their opponents’ starting PGs getting hurt again.
(note: not that any of em would’ve shut down Curry; this is also largely about forcing him to expend energy at the other end of the floor. And yes, HC-Kerr would “hide” Curry on defense because that’s just smart basketball, but you see what I’m saying)
-edited-
[quote]therajraj wrote:
Either way LBJ is the MVP. [/quote]
Yeah, we had this discussion at the bar.
Conclusion was that James is certainly deserving and that present-day media is too pussy to do it.
If Irving doesn’t get injured, the Cavs never slow down the pace of play and the series is over in 5. Although the Cavs already played slower than almost all teams anyways, there was a marked difference in the pace of play once Irving went down. Playing slow and emphasizing post play is the one weakness of the Warriors. It just so happens that Irving getting injured forced them into that style of play even more, albeit with less bodies.
Kevin Love is the most overrated fucking player in the NBA. Whatever floor spacing he creates when he’s out there is negated by the Warriors’ superior length and on-ball defense. Plus, they can switch with anyone, and they have matchup problems across the board for Love. Would the series be closer with them? Perhaps, perhaps not.
All I know is that you guys are acting like the Cavs are taking it to the Warriors and that the Warriors are lucky to even be in this thing. The Warriors have won by margins of 8, 19, and 13 and lost their two games by a combined total of 6 points.
I also find it hysterical that the East Coast guys in this thread even feel it’s appropriate for them to comment on the Warriors. You all know damn well you’ve only seen a handful of their games all year. The way you’re talking about them makes it obvious.
And Raj, you can say whatever you want about the Warriors. I’ll be laughing about it all summer as I enjoy the sight of the Warriors’ 2014-2015 Championship DVD sitting next to my 2010, 2012, and 2014 World Series highlight DVD’s.
[quote]chillain wrote:
[quote]DBCooper wrote:
GS is heads and shoulders above every other team in the NBA, regular or postseason.[/quote]
Except that they’re not even head and shoulders above an injury-ravaged CLE team.
It’s a shame that the hoop gods are (more than likely) making CLE pay their Finals dues, as nearly every other team before them has. And yet GS gets a pass.
They’ve been incredibly lucky in the postseason, as well. NO was never gonna test em, but both the Conley and Beverley injuries were absolutely huge given GS’s brilliance at the 1.
Of course “injuries are part of the game,” but most of the Dubs fans I know are completely unaware of the “gifts” their team has enjoyed in every.single.meaningful.round of this year’s run. Or not sophisticated enough to appreciate them.
As far as next year goes, I’d put GS’s chance of a successful title defense at whatever the chances are of all of their opponents’ starting PGs getting hurt again.
(note: not that any of em would’ve shut down Curry; this is also largely about forcing him to expend energy at the other end of the floor. And yes, HC-Kerr would “hide” Curry on defense because that’s just smart basketball, but you see what I’m saying)
-edited-[/quote]
Believe me, Warriors fans are the most sophisticated basketball fans in the country. We fucking LOVE our basketball out here. You don’t consistently sell out games with a team as shitty as the Warriors have been for most of the last 20 years without serious fans galore. You really don’t know anything at all about anything to do with the Warriors if you think us fans are not sophisticated enough to know we’ve caught a few breaks.
Only thing is, Warriors fans don’t see this as a break at all. You’re forgetting the absolute SHIT we have sat through over the years. None of us give one flying fuck about Cleveland coming up with a couple injuries, and NO ONE who knows basketball thinks motherfucking Beverly would have been good for anything other than a couple of closer games against the Warriors. To think that Warriors fans are somehow completely oblivious to the fickle nature of fortune is about the dumbest fucking thing I have ever heard on this site, and I’d expect a lot more from someone like you, chillain.
A successful title defense has been quite the rarity in the NBA the last decade or so. I believe the Heat are the only team to do so in the last 10 years, so you aren’t going out on much of a limb with that “bold” prediction.
Here’s my bold prediction: the Warriors win 60+ games again and successfully defend their title. They have literally ALL of their players coming back except for Mo Speights. They’ve already stated that they have absolutely no qualms about going over the salary cap since the team is fucking loaded with cash (they’re also building their own arena in SF on their own property and with entirely private investments). They also have a coach who clearly knows what the fuck he’s doing, and this is his first year on the bench. Kerr has repeatedly stated that his offense takes at least a couple years to gel. They were already the #2 team in the league in terms of offensive efficiency, and the fact is that their offense still looks sloppy and disorganized for stretches since it’s a complicated, brand new system they run. Next year they’ll be even better on offense, they’ll be bringing back every impact player from the league’s #1 defense, they’re young, Curry and Thompson are locked up for several more years, they’re gaining massively valuable postseason experience, and quite frankly, there is absolutely ZERO reason for a knowledgeable basketball fan to entertain any doubts whatsoever about their chances of at least returning to the Finals.
[quote]chillain wrote:
[quote]DBCooper wrote:
GS is heads and shoulders above every other team in the NBA, regular or postseason.[/quote]
Except that they’re not even head and shoulders above an injury-ravaged CLE team.
It’s a shame that the hoop gods are (more than likely) making CLE pay their Finals dues, as nearly every other team before them has. And yet GS gets a pass.
They’ve been incredibly lucky in the postseason, as well. NO was never gonna test em, but both the Conley and Beverley injuries were absolutely huge given GS’s brilliance at the 1.
Of course “injuries are part of the game,” but most of the Dubs fans I know are completely unaware of the “gifts” their team has enjoyed in every.single.meaningful.round of this year’s run. Or not sophisticated enough to appreciate them.
As far as next year goes, I’d put GS’s chance of a successful title defense at whatever the chances are of all of their opponents’ starting PGs getting hurt again.
(note: not that any of em would’ve shut down Curry; this is also largely about forcing him to expend energy at the other end of the floor. And yes, HC-Kerr would “hide” Curry on defense because that’s just smart basketball, but you see what I’m saying)
-edited-[/quote]
The hoops god comment really is laughable. Did you even stop to think for one fucking second that perhaps this is the hoops gods paying back the Warriors? Are you even remotely fucking aware of what a disaster this franchise was between 1994 and 2012, aside from one season in 2007?
The basketball gods haven’t made the Warriors pay? Are you fucking kidding me? You sound like a goddamned moron who hasn’t ever heard of this franchise before, which, prior to 2007 wouldn’t sound so unreasonable. Paying Finals dues? Get that fucking shit out of here. You’re hysterical, chillain. I almost fell for you overt trolling, but I’m too smart for that.
[quote]DBCooper wrote:
Would the series be closer with them? Perhaps, perhaps not. [/quote]
You are either severely handicapped or trolling.
They can’t even rest Lebron James for more than a couple of minutes per game. HE HAS 163 FGA in 5 GAMES.
If Kyrie hurts the Cavs by speeding up the pace of play, this is all but negated (and then some) by the fact he takes a sizable portion of the scoring load off LBJ.
[quote]DBCooper wrote:
The Warriors have won by margins of 8, 19, and 13 and lost their two games by a combined total of 6 points. [/quote]
The first game they won in OT and game 5 was close up until the last 3min of the game.
This has been very close in all but game 4. Even if the Warriors won by more points in their wins than the Cavs in theirs it’s not reflective of how close this series has been.
[quote]therajraj wrote:
[quote]DBCooper wrote:
Would the series be closer with them? Perhaps, perhaps not. [/quote]
You are either severely handicapped or trolling.
They can’t even rest Lebron James for more than a couple of minutes per game. HE HAS 163 FGA in 5 GAMES.
If Kyrie hurts the Cavs by speeding up the pace of play, this is all but negated (and then some) by the fact he takes a sizable portion of the scoring load off LBJ.
[quote]DBCooper wrote:
The Warriors have won by margins of 8, 19, and 13 and lost their two games by a combined total of 6 points. [/quote]
The first game they won in OT and game 5 was close up until the last 3min of the game.
This has been very close in all but game 4. Even if the Warriors won by more points in their wins than the Cavs in theirs it’s not reflective of how close this series has been.
[/quote]
The Warriors are the best team in the NBA and they are clearly better than the Cavs. That is my argument, and you have done nothing to provide evidence to the contrary.
And you obviously have never seen more than a couple of Warriors’ games this season, so you aren’t really speaking from a well-informed position here, raj. Had you watched the Warriors all season you’d be on here pointing out that the Warriors really only have played well in two games, the last two, and those haven’t even been close. You obviously haven’t watched the Warriors much at all, or else you’d be pointing out that the Warriors haven’t played up to their potential, and they’re still up 3-2. The only two times they played close to the way they did for the entire regular season were in the last two games. And those games were not as close as the score indicates.
So you can keep talking about something you know nothing about all you want, raj. You’ve already filled up the last several MLB threads with your incessant ranting about how Strasburg and Darvish are the second coming of Koufax. (how’s that one working out for you, raj? LOL!) You East Coast fans don’t know shit about anything that happens out here on the West Coast, so I wouldn’t expect you to actually come across as a well-informed basketball fan, since you aren’t.
The entire proposition that the Warriors are somehow lucky that other teams have had injuries and they haven’t is also borne of complete ignorance. Take a look at the minutes per game for all of the Warriors starters. Steph Curry led the team in mpg and he ranked 48th in the league. Klay Thompson was next on the team in mpg and he ranked something like 59th in the league. Draymond Green ranked 64th in the league.
That isn’t by accident. All season, Kerr preached the value of keeping his guys fresh for the playoffs. When the Warriors started out something like 26-2, it was pretty clear they would be in the playoffs, and Kerr began planning accordingly. He said this exact thing repeatedly on his weekly radio show.
Kyrie Irving was coming off a bad knee in the Conference Finals and he plays about 47 minutes in Game 1 before going down. It’s not luck that Kerr is making the right decisions and the rest of their opponents weren’t. It’s also not luck that the Warriors’ roster is constructed with enough depth to allow for large minutes from the bench. It’s not luck that the better team is also fresher and is simply wearing down a decidedly inferior, less well-constructed squad.
So this notion that the Warriors are lucky, somehow haven’t paid any dues to get here, and the fans are completely oblivious to all of this is completely laughable and quite an ignorant stance to take.
So missing 3 starters, 2 of of which are all-stars, and it’s not a lucky break for the warriors? are you high?
Playing the pelicans in the first round dint hurt either…
Game 4 was not close, but every other game has been very competitive, you have to be pretty daft to think this warriors team is anything special.
[quote]Aggv wrote:
So missing 3 starters, 2 of of which are all-stars, and it’s not a lucky break for the warriors? are you high?
Playing the pelicans in the first round dint hurt either…
Game 4 was not close, but every other game has been very competitive, you have to be pretty daft to think this warriors team is anything special. [/quote]
The fact that teams are injury-depleted is only a factor because the Warriors are NOT injury-depleted at all. The fact that they the Warriors are completely healthy isn’t a fluke and it isn’t luck.
Machiavelli once wrote that those with virtu (the qualities and capabilities of a sovereign) had several things in common, perhaps the most important being the ability to prepare against the unpredictable nature of Lady Fortuna. Machiavelli wrote that those who prepared themselves against Fortune’s wild and unpredictable ways would always benefit over those who didn’t. He compared Fortune to a raging river; while preparing dykes and levies is no guarantee that a flood will be without damage, it certainly increases one’s chances of walking away unscathed.
The Warriors have prepared themselves to face Lady Fortuna’s unpredictability in ways that other teams in the NBA haven’t. This is about as simple a concept as there is, and you understand it perfectly well. It’s why you have a savings account, a retirement account, homeowners insurance, etc. You understand that the Warriors’ health isn’t a result of luck, but you refuse to acknowledge this. You also understand as well as anyone on here that injuries are largely the result of fatigue. Take a look at the mpg in the NBA. The Warriors’ last two opponents had four of the top ten players in the league in that category. The leading player on the Warriors is ranked 47th in the league in that category.
Now take those stats, add that to what you know about preparing against Fortune, and come back here and tell me the Warriors are lucky. If you stop and actually think about what you’re saying, you’ll realize just how inaccurate it really is. Only the casual, uninformed fan thinks “luck” really plays that much of a role in anything to do with sports.
edit: as further evidence, I challenge you to look at the scoring totals in the 4th quarter of every game the Warriors have played this postseason. I’d be willing to bet that they outscore their opponents by an average of AT LEAST ten points in the 4th quarter. That’s by design. The Warriors use their depth and superior energy to wear teams down. There has been team after team this postseason who has gone into the 4th with the score being close, only to lose by 15.
[quote]Aggv wrote:
So missing 3 starters, 2 of of which are all-stars, and it’s not a lucky break for the warriors? are you high?
Playing the pelicans in the first round dint hurt either…
Game 4 was not close, but every other game has been very competitive, you have to be pretty daft to think this warriors team is anything special. [/quote]
By special, if this is meant to be synonymous with “the best team in the NBA”, then call me the most daft motherfucker in the world.
[quote]DBCooper wrote:
[quote]Aggv wrote:
So missing 3 starters, 2 of of which are all-stars, and it’s not a lucky break for the warriors? are you high?
Playing the pelicans in the first round dint hurt either…
Game 4 was not close, but every other game has been very competitive, you have to be pretty daft to think this warriors team is anything special. [/quote]
By special, if this is meant to be synonymous with “the best team in the NBA”, then call me the most daft motherfucker in the world.[/quote]
awareness is the first step to recovery
If the warriors were a “great” team this series would have been over last week.