NBA '17

[forgetful]

The Collison T is a good example of the absurdity of NBA officiating.  If that is a technical, then Lebron should have about 10 T's a game.

[GGGG]

The Collison T is a good example of the absurdity of NBA officiating.  If that is a technical, then Lebron should have about 10 T's a game.

I agree...unless he said something over the line.  (But I don't think he did.)

[forgetful]

I agree...unless he said something over the line.  (But I don't think he did.)

Awesome game though so far; and in the big picture that play means nothing, but it just distracts from the game. 

And gives people like me that dislike refs more ammo.

[MU82]

A tiny piece of me is wondering if David Blair might be worth giving a chance to. Seeing that LBJ wanted Spoelstra out and we now see Spoelstra is clearly a very good NBA coach, the fact that LBJ forced Blatt out of Cleveland despite leading the Cavs to a Finals loss to the Warriors and then being in first place in the East when he was fired maybe Blatt is also a good coach. It’s clear LBJ’s hand picked Ty Lue is a horrendous coach.

Not only did LeBron and Riley deny that LeBron ever tried to have Spoelstra fired, but so does the guy who was quoted as supposedly saying LeBron tried to have Spoelstra fired.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2612073-pat-riley-responds-to-claims-lebron-james-wanted-erik-spoelstra-fired

None of us really knows what's true, I guess. That includes you (and me). But if it helps you try to paint LeBron in a negative light, go ahead and think whatever fits your narrative.

All I know is that LeBron came through huge again when his team needed him most - 45-9-7 (and 4 steals) in Game 7. He is surrounded by some pretty serious garbage this season, and he keeps demonstrating why he is the best player on the planet.

Look at the players drafted in the "legendary" draft of 2003: LeBron, Darko, Carmelo, Bosh, Wade, Kaman, Hinrich, Ford, Sweetney, Hayes, Pietrus, Nick Collison, Banks, Ridnour, Gaines, Bell, Zarko, David West, Pavlovic, Dahntay Jones, Diaw, Planinic, Outlaw, Cook, Delfino, Ebi, Perkins, Barbosa, Josh Howard.

All of them are either long gone from the league or are on the serious downsides of their careers ... and then there is the guy playing his best basketball EVER. It's really quite amazing.

BTW, Mo Williams and Korver were second-round draft choices that season.

[wadesworld]

Not only did LeBron and Riley deny that LeBron ever tried to have Spoelstra fired, but so does the guy who was quoted as supposedly saying LeBron tried to have Spoelstra fired.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2612073-pat-riley-responds-to-claims-lebron-james-wanted-erik-spoelstra-fired

None of us really knows what's true, I guess. That includes you (and me). But if it helps you try to paint LeBron in a negative light, go ahead and think whatever fits your narrative.

All I know is that LeBron came through huge again when his team needed him most - 45-9-7 (and 4 steals) in Game 7. He is surrounded by some pretty serious garbage this season, and he keeps demonstrating why he is the best player on the planet.

Look at the players drafted in the "legendary" draft of 2003: LeBron, Darko, Carmelo, Bosh, Wade, Kaman, Hinrich, Ford, Sweetney, Hayes, Pietrus, Nick Collison, Banks, Ridnour, Gaines, Bell, Zarko, David West, Pavlovic, Dahntay Jones, Diaw, Planinic, Outlaw, Cook, Delfino, Ebi, Perkins, Barbosa, Josh Howard.

All of them are either long gone from the league or are on the serious downsides of their careers ... and then there is the guy playing his best basketball EVER. It's really quite amazing.

BTW, Mo Williams and Korver were second-round draft choices that season.

Cool.  I'm not sure who said LBJ wasn't great, but glad you're setting whoever it was straight.  LBJ is a great basketball player, and also the biggest phony in all of sports.

LBJ left Miami because he wanted to do things his way.  He wanted to fly to and from roadtrips on his own schedule and Pat Riley said that's not how things are done in Miami so LBJ took his ball and went home.  There's something to be said about humility and LBJ has none.

But hey I'm so glad that LBJ has matured so much from this moment:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTeCc8jy7FI

So mature that this year he posted a congratulations to himself for reaching 30,000 points in his career before he actually reached 30,000 points so that he could be the first person to congratulate himself.  How awesome.  I'm glad people responded the only way they should:

https://ftw.usatoday.com/2018/01/lebron-lebron-james-instagram-photo-self-congratulatory-30000-points-meme-reaction-cavs

But hey I'm just glad the guy was able to get up from such a brutal blow to the head in the first quarter from Lance Stevenson.  Such a great performance from him, and it almost all came after he was dang near knocked dead!  I just hope he can pass concussion protocol before the Raptors series starts up!  Also can you believe Bogdonovic turned a 6'8" 250 lb professional athlete into a rag doll in the third quarter?  I can hardly throw a baseball as far as Bogdonovic threw  LBJ!

Also, you can't possibly bow to LBJ for "carrying" the "serious garbage" he has to play with this season (interestingly enough the game turned when LBJ went out with cramps and the Cavs pushed a 2 point game to a double digit lead in the 4th quarter) and then turn a blind eye to the fact that LBJ pretty much constructed this roster himself.  LBJ demanded JR and Tristian Thompson get paid out the a$$ and so of course they did.  LBJ demanded the Cavs trade Wiggins for Love and of course they did.  LBJ was such a pain in the a$$ to play with that Kyrie demanded a trade of his own, and then LBJ couldn't find a way to get along with the return the Cavs got in the trade so they ended up with Jordan Clarkson, George Hill, Rodney Hood, Larry Nance, and Ante Zizic for Kyrie Irving.  OOPS!

[GGGG]

wades is to Lebron like Ners is to Wojo.

[Plaque Lives Matter!]

wades is to Lebron like Ners is to Wojo.

Where’s the Lebron roids connection

[MU82]

Cool.  I'm not sure who said LBJ wasn't great, but glad you're setting whoever it was straight.  LBJ is a great basketball player, and also the biggest phony in all of sports.

LBJ left Miami because he wanted to do things his way.  He wanted to fly to and from roadtrips on his own schedule and Pat Riley said that's not how things are done in Miami so LBJ took his ball and went home.  There's something to be said about humility and LBJ has none.

But hey I'm so glad that LBJ has matured so much from this moment:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTeCc8jy7FI

So mature that this year he posted a congratulations to himself for reaching 30,000 points in his career before he actually reached 30,000 points so that he could be the first person to congratulate himself.  How awesome.  I'm glad people responded the only way they should:

https://ftw.usatoday.com/2018/01/lebron-lebron-james-instagram-photo-self-congratulatory-30000-points-meme-reaction-cavs

But hey I'm just glad the guy was able to get up from such a brutal blow to the head in the first quarter from Lance Stevenson.  Such a great performance from him, and it almost all came after he was dang near knocked dead!  I just hope he can pass concussion protocol before the Raptors series starts up!  Also can you believe Bogdonovic turned a 6'8" 250 lb professional athlete into a rag doll in the third quarter?  I can hardly throw a baseball as far as Bogdonovic threw  LBJ!

Also, you can't possibly bow to LBJ for "carrying" the "serious garbage" he has to play with this season (interestingly enough the game turned when LBJ went out with cramps and the Cavs pushed a 2 point game to a double digit lead in the 4th quarter) and then turn a blind eye to the fact that LBJ pretty much constructed this roster himself.  LBJ demanded JR and Tristian Thompson get paid out the a$$ and so of course they did.  LBJ demanded the Cavs trade Wiggins for Love and of course they did.  LBJ was such a pain in the a$$ to play with that Kyrie demanded a trade of his own, and then LBJ couldn't find a way to get along with the return the Cavs got in the trade so they ended up with Jordan Clarkson, George Hill, Rodney Hood, Larry Nance, and Ante Zizic for Kyrie Irving.  OOPS!

Okey dokey. You hate LeBron, we get it. Although some of your gripes are based on speculation, some are true. This just in: LeBron is a flawed human being. Who wasn't/isn't? Michael? Russell? Wilt? Kareem? Bird? Kobe?

Kyrie wanted his own team. Nothing LeBron could have said or done could have prevented him from wanting to be The Man on his own team. That's the way it often happens in the NBA. And sometimes the guy who wanted to be The Man gets a rude awakening. I hope Kyrie heals completely from his injury and he and Hayward are fully healthy next season. We'll see then if Kyrie can be The Man for a multiple NBA championship team. One thing we all can be pretty certain of is that he wouldn't have even sniffed his one NBA title had LeBron stayed in Miami.

Wade, Bosh and Allen seem to like LeBron just fine. But what do they know? They never ascended to the heights of Kyrie Irving.

If LeBron indeed engineered the trade for Love, it helped the Cavs win an NBA title and get to the Finals 2 other times. Interesting how cavalierly some can dismiss winning championships. Stockton, Malone, Barkley, Baylor, Ewing, Dominique, Harden, Gervin and many other all-time greats would have killed for the success of the LeBron-Love pairing of 2015-17. We'll see how many times the Timberwolves get there with Wiggins.

This is all fun, wades. I'm pretty sure that if LeBron had gone into the tank in this game, you would have crowed about it. But instead, he proved again that he is the best player in the world.

As a basketball fan, I happen to think he is amazing to watch. I am thrilled that the Cavs won because I sure as heck would rather watch LeBron than Lance Stephenson. I do expect the Raptors to beat the Cavs, though, as they are a much better team. Then again, the Pacers were a better team than the Cavs, too, as were the 2016 Warriors.

[Goose]

4ever

Spot on across the board on the Bucks. I would be quite disappointed if they gave up on Jabari this quickly. I think he is worth the risk of holding onto for three more years. The team has a lot of holes and needs a top tier coach big time. The Bucks had my attention going into the season, and they lost it by News Years Day. The amount of poor effort losses at home was terrible. They are much further away from being elite than they sold us last off season. I am hoping for wholesale changes. Hope you right on the ownership possibly be shaken up. Two many cooks in the kitchen.

[GGGG]

4ever

Spot on across the board on the Bucks. I would be quite disappointed if they gave up on Jabari this quickly. I think he is worth the risk of holding onto for three more years. The team has a lot of holes and needs a top tier coach big time. The Bucks had my attention going into the season, and they lost it by News Years Day. The amount of poor effort losses at home was terrible. They are much further away from being elite than they sold us last off season. I am hoping for wholesale changes. Hope you right on the ownership possibly be shaken up. Two many cooks in the kitchen.

Just depends on what some other team wants to pay him. I personally think he isn’t anything special. Good offense, decent athlete and needs improvement on defense. Very wary of overpaying a guy like that.

[GB Warrior]

Just depends on what some other team wants to pay him. I personally think he isn’t anything special. Good offense, decent athlete and needs improvement on defense. Very wary of overpaying a guy like that.

If healthy, he is capable of being every bit as good as Carmelo Anthony and of being the critical piece in as many NBA Championships as Carmelo has been.

[4everwarriors]

'Bron puttin' on a clinic while spankin' da Raptors, hey?

[MUBurrow]

Spot on across the board on the Bucks. I would be quite disappointed if they gave up on Jabari this quickly. I think he is worth the risk of holding onto for three more years.

I agree that I wouldn't want them to bail on Jabari if he had more time on his rookie deal, but the biggest problem with buying additional shares of Jabari is the opportunity cost of not being able to pair another star with Giannis.

Jabari made $6.8M this year, the last year of his rookie deal.  He was seeking a max contract going into this year, which for him would be about $25M/year. Now that's probably a pipe dream, and I'm far from an expert in predicting this type of thing, but I imagine he'll be able to find a bite in restricted free agency for between $15-20M/year over 4.

Looking at the Bucks cap sheet for 2019-2020 (Giannis's second to last year under contract) the Bucks have $68.5MM committed to Giannis, Middleton (player option), Snell, Henson and Delly.  Plus Tele, Hawes and Sanders represent $7.5M in dead space that year. Add another $17.5M for Jabari, and you've already got $93.5M.  With a projected cap of $115MM that year, there already wouldn't be room for another max-type player without paying significant luxury tax, and you still need to fill another 9 roster spots.

[GGGG]

I agree that I wouldn't want them to bail on Jabari if he had more time on his rookie deal, but the biggest problem with buying additional shares of Jabari is the opportunity cost of not being able to pair another star with Giannis.

Jabari made $6.8M this year, the last year of his rookie deal.  He was seeking a max contract going into this year, which for him would be about $25M/year. Now that's probably a pipe dream, and I'm far from an expert in predicting this type of thing, but I imagine he'll be able to find a bite in restricted free agency for between $15-20M/year over 4.

Looking at the Bucks cap sheet for 2019-2020 (Giannis's second to last year under contract) the Bucks have $68.5MM committed to Giannis, Middleton (player option), Snell, Henson and Delly.  Plus Tele, Hawes and Sanders represent $7.5M in dead space that year. Add another $17.5M for Jabari, and you've already got $93.5M.  With a projected cap of $115MM that year, there already wouldn't be room for another max-type player without paying significant luxury tax, and you still need to fill another 9 roster spots.

Not to mention, you wouldn't really have a point guard.  If you re-up Bledsoe, you aren't in further trouble luxury tax wise. 

That is why I ultimately come to the conclusion that Jabari isn't going to be worth to the Bucks what he might be to another team.

[GGGG]

The last Eastern Conference team to defeat a Lebron team in a playoff series had Michael Finley on the active roster.

[MerrittsMustache]

The last Eastern Conference team to defeat a Lebron team in a playoff series had Michael Finley on the active roster.

And Rasheed Wallace!

[cheebs09]

The last Eastern Conference team to defeat a Lebron team in a playoff series had Michael Finley on the active roster.

I believe that was the last time UW was relevant in the NBA.

Other than this of course.

[4everwarriors]

Dis is absolutely pee yo sans-a-belt, roll in da aisle hilarius 'til ya realize, in spite of bein' a klutz, Dekkers' fookin' Olivia Harlan, hey?

[lawdog77]

What is the rule about throwing an inbounds pass off.of the rim?

[GB Warrior]

Woj reporting that the Bucks are interviewing Becky Hammon. She should be on their shortlist.

[MU82]

I believe that was the last time UW was relevant in the NBA.

Other than this of course.

I like Sam Hauser's chances of going in for that layup without dribbling the ball off his face.

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

Pels in 6

[🏀]

I like Sam Hauser's chances of going in for that layup without dribbling the ball off his face.

Come on guys, Dekker is actually one of the good ones. He had no reason being at UW and he knew it. Thanks, Brent.

[JWags85]

Come on guys, Dekker is actually one of the good ones. He had no reason being at UW and he knew it. Thanks, Brent.

I have no idea what this means at all.  I dont mind Dekker, think he seems like a pretty solid dude, but I was always under the impression he wanted to be a Badger since he was a little kid, regardless of MU status or style of play.

[🏀]

I have no idea what this means at all.  I dont mind Dekker, think he seems like a pretty solid dude, but I was always under the impression he wanted to be a Badger since he was a little kid, regardless of MU status or style of play.

Sam had interest in MU. Buzz told Sam he wasn't athletic enough. IWB has said on his board that Dekker preferred MU's style of play over UW, all Buzz needed to do was offer.