In search of Larry O'Brien: 2015 NBA Playoffs

[OnWis97]

All the other silly stuff aside, I think this has been the most entertaining NBA Finals I've seen in quite a while. LBJ is putting on a performance for the ages.

He really is. As much as we are probably jumping the gun on the Jordan comparisons (when we should just sit back and enjoy and wait until LeBron retires), I will say this. Jordan never had to carry a cast of bums like this. And I think it more than makes up for the weak Eastern conference (when judging LeBron). If Love comes back and he and Irving can stay healthy, they're going to be scary next year.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

Just putting it out there -- I wonder if the Cavs win, whether James contemplates an early retirement. Or at least a break. Five straight Finals is an extra season or two, and getting Cleveland a championship seems like a pretty good cap to a career.

[TheOldRoman]

All the other silly stuff aside, I think this has been the most entertaining NBA Finals I've seen in quite a while. LBJ is putting on a performance for the ages.

He really is. As much as we are probably jumping the gun on the Jordan comparisons (when we should just sit back and enjoy and wait until LeBron retires), I will say this. Jordan never had to carry a cast of bums like this. And I think it more than makes up for the weak Eastern conference (when judging LeBron). If Love comes back and he and Irving can stay healthy, they're going to be scary next year.

I don't think three games makes up for the awful Eastern conference. The Bulls were the only team that could challenge them, and after losing a hearbreaker in game 4, they decided to just call it quits. Cleveland's spot in the Finals was pretty-much ordained, and I don't think they would have gotten to the Finals in a year where the East had some teams form the past decade - the mid-'00s Pistons, the Celtics, the Magic, the Pacers of the last few years. Also, as great as Lebron has played, the Warriors have played like absolute garbage. Some of that is defense, but a lot of it is just the Warriors playing like garbage. And even with as horribly as the Warriors played, it still took Lebron heroics to win those last two games. This might be a discussions if the Cavaliers win the series, because I can almost guarantee that the Warriors are going to play better the rest of the series. Even with the Warriors more-or-less spotting them two wins, if the Cavs win four, they'll earn plenty of credit.

But yes, the Cavs should be scary next year, which makes it all the more infuriating that the Bulls rolled over for them despite having a team that was considerably more talented come playoff time. That was the last good chance the Bulls will have for a title in years.

[TheOldRoman]

Just putting it out there -- I wonder if the Cavs win, whether James contemplates an early retirement. Or at least a break. Five straight Finals is an extra season or two, and getting Cleveland a championship seems like a pretty good cap to a career.

I don't think so. He'd have three titles and be hailed for finally bringing Cleveland a championship. However, it's all about legacy. I think he'll play as long as he can to try to pass Jordan and win at least 7 titles.

[-Akronite-]

All the other silly stuff aside, I think this has been the most entertaining NBA Finals I've seen in quite a while. LBJ is putting on a performance for the ages.

He really is. As much as we are probably jumping the gun on the Jordan comparisons (when we should just sit back and enjoy and wait until LeBron retires), I will say this. Jordan never had to carry a cast of bums like this. And I think it more than makes up for the weak Eastern conference (when judging LeBron). If Love comes back and he and Irving can stay healthy, they're going to be scary next year.

I don't think three games makes up for the awful Eastern conference. The Bulls were the only team that could challenge them, and after losing a hearbreaker in game 4, they decided to just call it quits. Cleveland's spot in the Finals was pretty-much ordained, and I don't think they would have gotten to the Finals in a year where the East had some teams form the past decade - the mid-'00s Pistons, the Celtics, the Magic, the Pacers of the last few years. Also, as great as Lebron has played, the Warriors have played like absolute garbage. Some of that is defense, but a lot of it is just the Warriors playing like garbage. And even with as horribly as the Warriors played, it still took Lebron heroics to win those last two games. This might be a discussions if the Cavaliers win the series, because I can almost guarantee that the Warriors are going to play better the rest of the series. Even with the Warriors more-or-less spotting them two wins, if the Cavs win four, they'll earn plenty of credit.

But yes, the Cavs should be scary next year, which makes it all the more infuriating that the Bulls rolled over for them despite having a team that was considerably more talented come playoff time. That was the last good chance the Bulls will have for a title in years.

Yep, the Cavs are severely undermanned in the NBA Finals and still managed to take a lead in a series where they had no business winning a game... But they also don't deserve any credit and all their opponents rolled over, including the Warriors so far.

Give me a break. The Cavs are maximizing the talent they have and sticking to a winning gameplan. They obviously deserve to be in the Finals, whether it was "ordained" or not. Credit goes to LeBron for playing at a historic level, Blatt and his staff for keeping the pace slow and the role players like Delly and Thompson for continuing to step up as the team gets counted out.

If Love is healthy, the Cavs even had a talent advantage on the Bulls by the way. It wasn't a lack of effort that killed the Bulls, it was the Cavaliers.

[TheOldRoman]

Love wasn't healthy. And neither was Irving. Even with Pau Gasol out, the Bulls were considerably more talented. They blew a few double digit leads with Lebron on the bench in game four. The Bulls handed that game to the Cavs and pretty much gave up.

Yes, the eastern conference was trash. Beating the Celtics and the Hawks (missing a few key players) wasn't an accomplishment. And I didn't say they didn't "deserve" to be in the Finals. They're there and they have a chance to win a championship. Winning a championship will be a huge accomplishment, and I think the next two wins will be much harder to come by than the previous two. If you can look at the last three games and say that the Cavs' depleted defense completely shut down the Warriors like no other teams have been able to, props to you. But I think most people realize that the Warriors have just had awful shooting three games in a row, and it goes farther than Dellavedova apparently turning into Bruce Bowen overnight.

[DS729]

I don't think LeBron retires that early, while the past 5 years of Finals (and the past 2 of carrying corpses on his back) will take a toll at some point, he still has another 2-3 years of good seasons and contending left (barring injury) there is no other Eastern conference team capable of de-throning the Cavs right now, and he will have much more help next season if Kyrie and Kevin Love can stay healthy. But I'm not sure how many years after 35 he'll do, if he can still contend yes, but I feel like his body might fall apart before that.

[-Akronite-]

Love wasn't healthy. And neither was Irving. Even with Pau Gasol out, the Bulls were considerably more talented. They blew a few double digit leads with Lebron on the bench in game four. The Bulls handed that game to the Cavs and pretty much gave up.

Yes, the eastern conference was trash. Beating the Celtics and the Hawks (missing a few key players) wasn't an accomplishment. And I didn't say they didn't "deserve" to be in the Finals. They're there and they have a chance to win a championship. Winning a championship will be a huge accomplishment, and I think the next two wins will be much harder to come by than the previous two. If you can look at the last three games and say that the Cavs' depleted defense completely shut down the Warriors like no other teams have been able to, props to you. But I think most people realize that the Warriors have just had awful shooting three games in a row, and it goes farther than Dellavedova apparently turning into Bruce Bowen overnight.

The Warriors have not scored under 100 three games in a row all season, but all of a sudden it happens against the Cavs. If you don't give Cleveland credit you're the one in denial. They slowed the pace down to a crawl and forced the Warriors to take less and worse shots. They scored 37 in the first half. THIRTY SEVEN. That does not happen to the Warriors just because they got cold at the wrong time. They could get hot again certainly, but give credit where it is due. The Hawks peaked early and I would say the Bulls were the second best team in the conference, but it's disingenuous to say they gave up as if they made it easy for the Cavs. Until their life was sucked out in Game 6, the Bulls gave everything they had against the Cavs. If everyone is healthy, Cavs win in talent. With the depletion on both ends, it's debatable.

I guess my point is to say that while you can claim winning the East is no accomplishment (silly IMO), the fact that they are at least fighting these Warriors without a couple stars shows that they are in fact an accomplished team.

As for Delly turning in Bowen overnight... You clearly haven't been following him. He was a great defender last year as a rookie. These playoffs he's become a star quickly and he's blown up because of his performance against Steph, but you haven't been paying attention if you think Delly being a defensive hound is anything new.

Nice back and forth we got here, fun stuff!

[TheOldRoman]

I don't think LeBron retires that early, while the past 5 years of Finals (and the past 2 of carrying corpses on his back) will take a toll at some point, he still has another 2-3 years of good seasons and contending left (barring injury) there is no other Eastern conference team capable of de-throning the Cavs right now, and he will have much more help next season if Kyrie and Kevin Love can stay healthy. But I'm not sure how many years after 35 he'll do, if he can still contend yes, but I feel like his body might fall apart before that.

I think that was his thinking when he lost weight last offseason. It was 15 or so pounds, but every pound matters when you're talking about running and more importantly jumping for 9 months in practice and games. Physically there's nobody to really compare him to. Scottie Pippen was listed at the same height, and he was a full 50 pounds lighter than James. That size will take its toll on any body over time. Hell, Shaq probably lost 2-3 years of dominance from his career due to the period where he was a stone's throw from 400 pounds circa 2003. But if Irving and Love are healthy next year, James should be able to rest more during the regular season. The Cavs could probably do the Spurs' system of resting him. The Bulls or Hawks might end up with the one seed because of a game here or there the Cavs handed over, but it wouldn't mean anything come playoff time. But barring a serious injury he's got at least four more years of dominance and the East offering very few legitimate challenges.

[CS85]

Warriors fans will all cringe.

[HedleyLamarr]

Well, I believe we can say "case closed" on whether Dellavedova is a dirty player, now. He is. http://ftw.usatoday.com/2015/06/did-matthew-dellavedova-take-a-cheap-shot-at-draymond-greens-knees

When something happens in four different occasions in roughly a 4-5 week span, it's called a trend. If he keeps this up, some player is eventually going to retaliate and slam this pissant to the ground.

[TJKiddsHead]

Well, I believe we can say "case closed" on whether Dellavedova is a dirty player, now. He is. http://ftw.usatoday.com/2015/06/did-matthew-dellavedova-take-a-cheap-shot-at-draymond-greens-knees

When something happens in four different occasions in roughly a 4-5 week span, it's called a trend. If he keeps this up, some player is eventually going to retaliate and slam this pissant to the ground.

he may very well be a dirty player, but he was getting draymond back for that elbow he threw in with that screen.

i feel like his chop blocks on korver and horford were way worse that that clip. and then there's whatever he did to make taj gibson wanna kick him.

i don't think we'll have to "wait" for someone to try and hurt him. horford and gibson both got fed up with him and tried to lay him out. both got kicked out of games for it. if i had to venture a guess, i' say bogut is the likeliest candidate for that happening again in this series.

[Lights Out]

The shame is that if Golden State wins, how will this be remembered for LeBron in 10 years? That he did not get it done. And that's it.

Yeah and that sucks. I blame First Take. We live in Skip Bayless and Stephen A. Smith's world now where either you win it all and you're elite and you're on the Mount Rushmore of ____________ or you're human garbage wasting all of our time. There's no space for appreciating performances like this one from James.

I find it so funny that Skip so often talks about the legacies of certain athletes when he's tarnished his own so beyond repair.

Let's not pretend like Skip actually has a legacy to begin with. Nobody will remember that clown when he retires.

[HedleyLamarr]

The shame is that if Golden State wins, how will this be remembered for LeBron in 10 years? That he did not get it done. And that's it.

Yeah and that sucks. I blame First Take. We live in Skip Bayless and Stephen A. Smith's world now where either you win it all and you're elite and you're on the Mount Rushmore of ____________ or you're human garbage wasting all of our time. There's no space for appreciating performances like this one from James.

I find it so funny that Skip so often talks about the legacies of certain athletes when he's tarnished his own so beyond repair.

Let's not pretend like Skip actually has a legacy to begin with. Nobody will remember that clown when he retires.

Before he became a clown on ESPN, Bayless was actually a pretty damn good journalist and well-respected writer in Dallas. For those of us that knew Bayless before his ESPN days, many are so disappointed at what he's become because of what he was before.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

Well, I believe we can say "case closed" on whether Dellavedova is a dirty player, now. He is. http://ftw.usatoday.com/2015/06/did-matthew-dellavedova-take-a-cheap-shot-at-draymond-greens-knees

When something happens in four different occasions in roughly a 4-5 week span, it's called a trend. If he keeps this up, some player is eventually going to retaliate and slam this pissant to the ground.

The Green thing was tit for tat. Draymond knew he was due too, or else he would have went after him.

[HedleyLamarr]

Well, I believe we can say "case closed" on whether Dellavedova is a dirty player, now. He is. http://ftw.usatoday.com/2015/06/did-matthew-dellavedova-take-a-cheap-shot-at-draymond-greens-knees

When something happens in four different occasions in roughly a 4-5 week span, it's called a trend. If he keeps this up, some player is eventually going to retaliate and slam this pissant to the ground.

The Green thing was tit for tat. Draymond knew he was due too, or else he would have went after him.

Going after the legs is still a dirty move, whether or not it's a retaliatory move.

[Rockstar Matt]

Well, I believe we can say "case closed" on whether Dellavedova is a dirty player, now. He is. http://ftw.usatoday.com/2015/06/did-matthew-dellavedova-take-a-cheap-shot-at-draymond-greens-knees

When something happens in four different occasions in roughly a 4-5 week span, it's called a trend. If he keeps this up, some player is eventually going to retaliate and slam this pissant to the ground.

Please, that wasn't dirty at all. Green flopped.

[See Red]

Well, I believe we can say "case closed" on whether Dellavedova is a dirty player, now. He is. http://ftw.usatoday.com/2015/06/did-matthew-dellavedova-take-a-cheap-shot-at-draymond-greens-knees

When something happens in four different occasions in roughly a 4-5 week span, it's called a trend. If he keeps this up, some player is eventually going to retaliate and slam this pissant to the ground.

The Green thing was tit for tat. Draymond knew he was due too, or else he would have went after him.

Going after the legs is still a dirty move, whether or not it's a retaliatory move.

But the two in the Hawks series weren't. One of them was a hustle play where Korver got hurt because he made a lazy attempt at the ball, the other was Dellavedova being pulled down by Horford and falling into the knee.

This one was probably retaliation for a dirty screen, so why is Della getting all the :censored: for it?

[OnWis97]

As much as I think Horford threw Dellavadova into his own legs, it sure is happening a lot...the more it happens, the harder it is to buy as accidental.

[Lee Noire]

As much as I think Horford threw Dellavadova into his own legs, it sure is happening a lot...the more it happens, the harder it is to buy as accidental.

It's happening a lot because not many players go full superman for those 50/50 balls anymore. I think we have become used to seeing guys half ass it for so long that seeing Delly do this seems abnormal. Like he must be doing something wrong because most others aren't.