Oso planning to go pro
I read it as "arrogant" which HOW DARE the best pure shooter in NBA history, who routinely hits circus shots against tight defense in huge game moments, act in such a way. He should make such shots and quietly walk back to the bench, but not dare refuse any slaps of five.
I thought it was awesome. Dude can ball. And James Harden is a joke. Plays defense like an old man at the Y.
LeBron was not good last night.Not awful, not the worst I've seen or anything hyperbolic like that, just not good enough, not anywhere near as good as he usually is in such situations. He was careless with the ball, he made poor decisions, he phoned in a few possessions, he willingly took a back seat to the likes of Clarkson and Nance, and he seemed fatigued.I am a huge LeBron fan, and I like to talk about all the great things he does on the court, so I'd better be willing to admit when the opposite is true. It was true last night.I'm not sure if that mediocre Cavs team wins last night even with LeBron playing his A+ game ... but they probably do. The Celtics certainly were beatable.I actually looked up Michael's playoff games over the years, and he definitely had worse games statistically than LeBron had last night. But I couldn't find a worse performance in such a meaningful playoff game - Game 5 of a 2-2 series or later.I like to say LeBron is the second-best player I've seen - which is still true - and that he's "gaining fast." He didn't gain last night.
I've said it before. As mediocre as the Cavs are, they have far more talent than the Celtics. That is why the Cavs have been favored to win every game of this series. Lebron and Love are better than anyone on the Celtics. The Celtics though have a great coach...the Cavs do not.
Aside from LeBron and Love, the Celtics are better up and down the roster. Cleveland has no equivalent of, say, Smart - a tough guy who does everything necessary to win. But yes, LeBron and Love should be enough. And yes, Lue is in over his head.
Respectfully disagree - George Hill is a big PG that can defend (he has been significantly better than Smart his entire career, what happened when he got to the Cavs?), Korver is the #6 3P% shooter of all time in an era where that is placed at a premium for floor spacing, JR Smith has proven capable in big moments, etc.If LeBron is truly the 2nd greatest of all time, with a player by his side that is better than anyone on the opposition, he should be cleaning up against this Celtics team missing Kyrie, just like a Pacers team with Oladipo as the best player never should have taken them to 7. I just really can't stand the "LeBron's teammates suck" trope.
I've said it before. As mediocre as the Cavs are, they have far more talent than the Celtics. That is why the Cavs have been favored to win every game of this series.
They absolutely suck. I would venture to say that not one of them will ever see an all-star game in the future unless they buy a ticket. I would take Tatum, Brown, or Horford before I would take any Cav other than Lebrun.
I really can't figure out what the Warriors have been doing the last couple games. Their offense has just gone to sh*t with a lot of slow down and isolation stuff. For as much as I love the NBA, these conference finals have been hard to watch.
Love, when shooting well from outside, is an All-Star caliber player on the strength of his offense and rebounding. When he has one of his "disappearing act" games, he is a liability.So I'd take "Hot Love" over those players for one game today, but I'd take any of those players over "Disappearing Love." Unfortunately for the Cavs, they never know which Love they'll get.The rest of the team ... even the functional ones are just mid-level (at best) role players - Korver, Smith, Thompson, Nance, Clarkson, Green, Hill, Hood. One could make a very good argument that it's LeBron's "fault" that the Cavs are him, Love and a bunch of role players. But it's still a fact.Having said that, I'm very impressed with Stevens' coaching. The Celtics have some talent, but they are missing their two cornerstones, and they're one win from the Finals.
I'll stick with my opinion on Gold. He'll be in foul trouble within the first eight minutes.
I've never really understood all the love for Stevens. I don't think he's bad, but I don't think he's great either. I realize that he's missing his two superstar players, but out coaching Joe Prunty and Ty Lue isn't exactly noteworthy, and Philly threw away a couple of games, and couldn't close others which isn't at all surprising given their youth. If Bud can get the most out of Giannis, and Brett Brown continues to develop Simmons, Embiid, and/or Fultz, I'd be surprised if anyone other than Milwaukee or Philly comes out of the East for the next 2-3 years. Again, not saying that he's bad, but I would give just as much credit, if not more to Danny Ainge.