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NFT: LeBron leaves chill mode and lights up the Warriors

dpinzow : 2/27/2015 12:11 am
LeBron's been conserving a bit more energy this year and protecting his body more than with the Heat, but he sent a message to Golden State and the rest of the league with a 42-11-5 line. I think he heard a lot about Curry's MVP candidacy and wanted to remind everyone who the top dog was. It's also the reason why I can't take Atlanta seriously as a title threat because they have to beat LeBron 4 times in a 7 game series, and playoff basketball is a totally different game
It's funny how everyone was  
illmatic : 2/27/2015 12:20 am : link
pooping all over the Cavs a month or two ago. That ended quickly. lol

The Cavs rocky start kind of reminds me of the Heat's first year. I think they hovered around .500 for a while before turning it on.
RE: It's funny how everyone was  
dpinzow : 2/27/2015 12:32 am : link
In comment 12155031 illmatic said:
Quote:
pooping all over the Cavs a month or two ago. That ended quickly. lol

The Cavs rocky start kind of reminds me of the Heat's first year. I think they hovered around .500 for a while before turning it on.


I was one of those pooping on them. At the time the pieces didn't fit but give credit to the Cavs front office for getting Mozgov more than anything. Mozgov is a solid and very underrated player who helps define Love's role as a stretch 4. JR Smith has two duties; hustle on defense and sit on the 3 point line and shoot only when open. Shump adds to Cleveland's perimeter defense significantly, which is necessary because of how horrid a defender Love is.

If the Cavs only had a different Kevin (Garnett instead of Love, even at KGs advanced age) they'd romp to the title
I'm still shocked  
chris r : 2/27/2015 12:46 am : link
how the Cavs got so many solid rotation pieces and gave up hardly anything. It's a bit fishy.
what a fun game.  
PaulBlakeTSU : 2/27/2015 12:46 am : link
I don't know who is making the NBA Finals, but I wouldn't be mad if I had to watch GS/Cleveland.

Also, Lebron showed that he is still the best player on the planet.
RE: I'm still shocked  
MookGiants : 2/27/2015 12:46 am : link
In comment 12155038 chris r said:
Quote:
how the Cavs got so many solid rotation pieces and gave up hardly anything. It's a bit fishy.


They gave up 2 first round picks for Mozgov, and the Knicks were desperate to dump JR Smith's salary
Cavs definitnely gave up pieces  
Osi Osi Osi OyOyOy : 2/27/2015 12:50 am : link
it's not fishy lol.

LeBron's the best player in the world and the Cavs added some depth and defense with those trades.

This was definitely a statement game for them. They've been dominant ever since LeBron came back.
RE: I'm still shocked  
Mason : 2/27/2015 12:52 am : link
In comment 12155038 chris r said:
Quote:
how the Cavs got so many solid rotation pieces and gave up hardly anything. It's a bit fishy.


Phil Jackson is playing zen checkers.
chris r  
MookGiants : 2/27/2015 12:54 am : link
says some ridiculously dumb shit when it comes to anything LeBron related. This was just another one of those times.
RE: Cavs definitnely gave up pieces  
chris r : 2/27/2015 12:58 am : link
In comment 12155043 Osi Osi Osi OyOyOy said:
Quote:
it's not fishy lol.

LeBron's the best player in the world and the Cavs added some depth and defense with those trades.

This was definitely a statement game for them. They've been dominant ever since LeBron came back.


They got a legit starting center for two late first round protected picks. That's a bad trade for Denver.

They got a sixth man of the year candidate, a great rotational defensive guard and a first round pick for a draft bust with a sub 10 PER, two ten day contract caliber players and a 2nd round pick. That's an absolute ridiculously and suspiciously good trade for Cleveland.

Its as bad as Pau to the Lakers way back when.

actually its worse  
chris r : 2/27/2015 1:00 am : link
because its two consecutive absurdly one sided trades.

that's just BS man  
Osi Osi Osi OyOyOy : 2/27/2015 1:00 am : link
I don't even know where to start. How come you weren't saying this when the trades went down? Comparing it to Pau? C'mon dude.
if ever there was a Mom signal  
Osi Osi Osi OyOyOy : 2/27/2015 1:04 am : link
that would be it haha.

Why did Denver make the trade? Nurkic. Simple answer. Made too much sense for them.
Why did the Knicks make the trade? They shopped JR Smith all year and he had piss poor trade value because of the contract/shenanigans and Shump was playing a JAG in his contract year.

You making those moves out to be ridiculously one-sided and unfair is probably the dumbest thing I've ever heard you post on this site.
you can not reason  
MookGiants : 2/27/2015 1:04 am : link
with chris when it comes to LeBron, Osi. Don't even waste your time
those are terribly unbalanced trades  
chris r : 2/27/2015 1:05 am : link
here's what the Cavs gave up to get three pieces that have turned them around: Alex Kirk and Lou Amundson, Dion Waiters, a second round pick and the Grizzlies first round pick.

Outside the Grizzlies pick, that's nothing of value. In return they got three rotation players including a legit 7 foot young starting center. How does that happen?
the Knicks  
MookGiants : 2/27/2015 1:06 am : link
were desperate to get rid of JR Smith and couldn't find someone to take him for free, so they threw in Iman to dump him.

You're the only one on the planet who valued JR Smith when he was traded. No one wanted him.
what does fishy mean though  
Osi Osi Osi OyOyOy : 2/27/2015 1:10 am : link
you think Phil Jackson gave away JR/Shump to Cleveland instead of giving them to the highest bidder?

Why would Phil do that?
Russell Westbrook is an animal though  
Osi Osi Osi OyOyOy : 2/27/2015 1:20 am : link
got damn. He's been on an insane tear lately.
35/13/11 on 10/32 shooting (lol)  
Osi Osi Osi OyOyOy : 2/27/2015 1:23 am : link
at the start of OT.

He's a chucker but his energy levels are insane.
RE: what does fishy mean though  
chris r : 2/27/2015 1:25 am : link
In comment 12155058 Osi Osi Osi OyOyOy said:
Quote:
you think Phil Jackson gave away JR/Shump to Cleveland instead of giving them to the highest bidder?

Why would Phil do that?


Because he's not very good at his job.
yeah  
MookGiants : 2/27/2015 1:29 am : link
all year they were trying to dump JR Smith and found absolutely zero takers.

Do you realize how fucking stupid you sound every time you talk about anything involving LeBron?

RE: you can not reason  
chris r : 2/27/2015 1:35 am : link
In comment 12155051 MookGiants said:
Quote:
with chris when it comes to LeBron, Osi. Don't even waste your time


I don't get why all basketball fans don't hate LeBron. He's horrible for the sport. Like a lot of other great players he's an ego maniac (the decision, calling himself the King, SI piece) but instead of being super competitive and wanting to prove he's the best by taking on the best on the court (MJ, Kobe), he wants to game the system to make it as easy as possible for himself to pick up trophies. In the process he blatantly disrespects his coaches (bumping, tepid public support), his GM (trade demands), his owner (entourage requirements), the opposition (dancing mid game), fans (bailing on teams when things aren't easy) and the league (see previous - terrible precedent set by best player). The sooner he retires the better.
Easy  
MookGiants : 2/27/2015 1:40 am : link
for Michael to stay in Chicago when he had a top 50 player with him. Easy for Kobe to stay in LA when he had Shaq, then ran him out of town, then demanded a trade, then stayed when he got Pau.

The diarrhea that comes out of your mouth when it comes to LeBron is always a hoot.
Put Scottie Pippen  
MookGiants : 2/27/2015 1:40 am : link
in his prime with LeBron in Cleveland and he never leaves.
RE: yeah  
chris r : 2/27/2015 1:42 am : link
In comment 12155063 MookGiants said:
Quote:
all year they were trying to dump JR Smith and found absolutely zero takers.

Do you realize how fucking stupid you sound every time you talk about anything involving LeBron?


Doesn't sound like they were trying too hard. Discussing the idea internally?

Quote:

Ian Begley
‏@IanBegley
Regarding the idea of moving J.R. Smith, the #Knicks have continued to discuss internally their options to deal him. Have done so since July


haha  
Osi Osi Osi OyOyOy : 2/27/2015 1:42 am : link
I know it's a tough time for you because of the Rose thing.

But LeBron is the best player since Jordan and of the great athletes any of us will ever see in our lifetimes. I'm enjoying the hell out of watching him right now and I'll enjoy the hell out of watching him the rest of his career.
you do realize  
MookGiants : 2/27/2015 1:55 am : link
that that tweet hurts your argument rather than helps it.

You think since July they only discussed it internally and never tried to see what his value was before they traded him to cleveland? They were trying to dump him over the summer, they couldn't. The Cavs didn't even want him unless Shumpert got thrown in. They had to use Shumpert to get rid of him.

From a january 2014 article. Fast forward another year and you think teams all of a sudden wanted JR?

Quote:
Now there is talk that the Knicks are trying to find a team interested in taking Smith off their hands in return for a player who might perform better. Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv asked an unnamed executive for a rival NBA team if Smith had any potential prospects.

The executive responded, Is it April Fools Day? They continued, Of course [they want to trade him], but only an idiot would take him. Can Steve Mills trade him to himself?
hell  
MookGiants : 2/27/2015 1:58 am : link
there was talks about the Knicks trying to get Chris Copeland for him but the Pacers turned that down.

He was definitely valued highly around the league!
The way Westbrook has llayed  
hitdog42 : 2/27/2015 6:39 am : link
He may be the best player in the nba right now
I'm rooting hard for the Cavs..  
Sean : 2/27/2015 7:32 am : link
go figure I'm rooting for JR Smith ha
he had 38 in the 3rd  
est1986 : 2/27/2015 8:57 am : link
So 42 is less than I expected
Cleveland  
Metnut : 2/27/2015 9:10 am : link
has some nice pieces but isn't the team way below .500 in games where Lebron sits? They likely aren't a playoff team without Lebron. Miami replaced Lebron with a very solid player (Luol Deng) and was way below .500, even before the Bosh situation. I'm not a Lebron fan and will actively root against him in the playoffs like I always do, but it's hard to deny how good he is.
I am going to rehash  
dep026 : 2/27/2015 9:37 am : link
something I said around the start of 2015. Cleveland is going to the finals, and there is nothing anyone in the east can do about it.

It's been clear as day that Lebron as been in cruise control for the majority of the year, and last night you saw what you are going to see in the playoffs. They got some real nice pieces, especially Mozgov who really solidifies there interior. Love is going to be shooting wide open 3s all postseason. Kyrie has been incredible. And they have some better perimeter defending in Smith and Shump. Atlanta is a nice story, but Cleveland should be able to handle them. Toronto and Washington are nice teams, but I never saw them as contenders. No Rose, no shot for the Bulls.

And right now they are the NBA favorites, and to me its quite a distant 2nd. The way you bat Lebron is that you have someone who can defend him and make things hard for him all game. The reason SA was successful the last two years was because Leonard is one of the few guys who can check him without help. No one in the west aside from SA has that guy to stop him. And SA is playing like crud right now.
You can't deny  
Big Rick in FL : 2/27/2015 9:38 am : link
How good he is. Just look at him when he left Cleveland & Miami. What have they done? Nothing. The Cavs this year I believe only won 1 game without LeBron. He is the best player in the NBA since Jordan and it isn't even close.

John Middlekauf loves Steph Curry and just tweeted last night that LeBron is better then any NBA player by a mile. He doesn't need to put up a ton of points for his team to win like a KD or Carmelo. He is great at every aspect of basketball.
basically every relevant writer that covers  
Enzo : 2/27/2015 10:12 am : link
the NBA was saying for months that JR had negative value. Our best indication of Shump's value was last year's trade deadline when the best offer for him was OKC's crappy first rounder. So in order to clear JR Smith's salary, he needed to be packaged with an asset. Shump was that asset, and Shump by himself wasn't getting much back by himself. As for Mozgov, everyone called that an overpay at the time (compare what the Nuggets got for him compared to the returns for Rondo and Dragic). I'd say he's a legit rotation big, but he's never played big minutes on a good team until now.

Also, if you're going to use PER to disparage Waiters, then why not do the same for Shump (career PER of 10.7) and JR (11.6 with Knicks this season).
look at westbrook this year  
hitdog42 : 2/27/2015 10:15 am : link
and try and convince me he isn't 1 or 2 in MVP voting?
people are so obsessed with Durant and have spent years on a crusade saying trade russ to help Durant... blah blah... that they refuse to compliment Westbrook as much as he deserves. his run is legendary right now... and they are in the playoffs now because of him...and him alone.
RE: look at westbrook this year  
dep026 : 2/27/2015 10:23 am : link
In comment 12155275 hitdog42 said:
Quote:
and try and convince me he isn't 1 or 2 in MVP voting?
people are so obsessed with Durant and have spent years on a crusade saying trade russ to help Durant... blah blah... that they refuse to compliment Westbrook as much as he deserves. his run is legendary right now... and they are in the playoffs now because of him...and him alone.


They are 10-7 when Westbrook plays without Durant. Dont know how they are in the playoffs with him alone?
Last year....  
dep026 : 2/27/2015 10:27 am : link
Durant was 24-11 without Westbrook. Which to me shows, why KD has been and will be more valuable in the forseable future.
It looks  
Metnut : 2/27/2015 10:35 am : link
like the recovery time for Rose is 3-8 weeks. While you wouldn't have lost any money betting the over Rose's recoveries, we've seen Bledsoe and Westbrook have quick turnarounds after having the same surgery.

I think Rose will be back a week or so before the playoffs. I just have zero confidence that he'll be anywhere near all-star level, let alone his MVP year level.
westbrook has taken a huge leap this year  
hitdog42 : 2/27/2015 10:40 am : link
and Durant is injured often now... past is not an indictor of future performance... if you watch them play... which you do... there is not telling me that he is not the most dominant player right now.
ex LeBron not a player I would prefer...
He's an inefficient chucker  
Osi Osi Osi OyOyOy : 2/27/2015 11:50 am : link
He shot 12-38 last night and it was ugly to watch. He constantly took awful pull up jumpers. Kanter had it going last night in the post, but Russ ignored him for the rest of the game. Russ is just a dumb decicision maker compared to pretty much every other elite player.

He still went out and got 38/14/11 because he's a freak athlete who has more energy than anyone I've ever seen. But he's not the best player in the league right now. He can't carry an offense the same way Harden or Curry do because of his inefficiency as a scorer. He's not remotely close to KD as a scorer yet he decides to take more shots than KD.

He's awesome and is absolutely player of the month in February. But I still rank him behind LeBron, Davis, Durant, Curry, and Harden. You could def argue him over Harden/Curry but I would prefer the other 2.
Barkley  
MookGiants : 2/27/2015 11:55 am : link
was ripping Westbrook in the post game, saying things like no one gets better playing around him because he shoots too much and the game is all about him.
his true shooting percentage  
hitdog42 : 2/27/2015 1:02 pm : link
doesn't warrant proper bbi appreciation.
he's the league's best player  
santacruzom : 2/27/2015 1:07 pm : link
surrounded by a few other really good players, so they should obviously be considered a potential championship-caliber team for now.

But I still think their future is bleak, as their future is more in the hands of their Minnie Mouse management staff than LeBron James.
Championship caliber for now?  
David in LA : 2/27/2015 1:09 pm : link
As long as Lebron is there, they're going to be up there regardless of management.
and also  
santacruzom : 2/27/2015 1:10 pm : link
I know this looks an awful lot like the complaining caused by typical fan bias, but the officiating was quite one-sided in last night's game... with LeBron and Kyrie being the primary beneficiaries.

The Warriors seem to have shed a lot of problems from their DNA: bad rebounding, bad defense, bad play in crunch time, too many turnovers. But one thing they've yet to eliminate is the disparity in foul shots between them and their opponent.
RE: if ever there was a Mom signal  
santacruzom : 2/27/2015 1:21 pm : link
In comment 12155050 Osi Osi Osi OyOyOy said:
Quote:
You making those moves out to be ridiculously one-sided and unfair is probably the dumbest thing I've ever heard you post on this site.


Whoa, whoa, ease up on the hyperbole here.
RE: his true shooting percentage  
Osi Osi Osi OyOyOy : 2/27/2015 1:21 pm : link
In comment 12155617 hitdog42 said:
Quote:
doesn't warrant proper bbi appreciation.


Westbrook is the man and I love watching him play. There's no one else like him.

But shot selection and decision making are huge flaws in his game. That's not arguable.
RE: RE: his true shooting percentage  
hitdog42 : 2/27/2015 1:28 pm : link
In comment 12155673 Osi Osi Osi OyOyOy said:
Quote:
In comment 12155617 hitdog42 said:


Quote:


doesn't warrant proper bbi appreciation.



Westbrook is the man and I love watching him play. There's no one else like him.

But shot selection and decision making are huge flaws in his game. That's not arguable.


I agree they are flaws he needs to work on... but I find it undeniable that he is a top 5 nba player right now--- regardless of flaws. and he doesn't get some of the love because people have heavy Durant bias with regards to that team... and everything he does always has to have some Durant factor to it... but the bottom line for me is, last year they lose first round without him... they wont only because of him. and this year hes putting on a show again. the rockets are built for harden... GS built for curry... the thunder are not built for Russ... big difference with that dynamic.
RE: Championship caliber for now?  
santacruzom : 2/27/2015 1:34 pm : link
In comment 12155646 David in LA said:
Quote:
As long as Lebron is there, they're going to be up there regardless of management.


Well, that's mostly true. But we need to remain cognizant of just how bad their management truly can be. The team around LeBron can very quickly become a complete non-factor.
Westbrook should not be taking more shots than Durant  
Osi Osi Osi OyOyOy : 2/27/2015 1:46 pm : link
it's ridiculous that he does and he should absolutely be called out on it. Durant is an all-time great scorer and Westbrook isn't even close to that level. It's a joke that Westbrook still hasn't figured out that Durant should get more shots than him. That's my only issue with Westbrook.

But Westbrook is an undeniable talent. He's averaging 30/10/9 this month!!! I've always said that Westbrook is the guy that reminds me the most of Jordan from a physical standpoint. He's so much fun and is just one of those guys you can't take your eyes off. I call him out on his poor shooting efficiency, but I know he impacts the game in so many different ways that he's still a mega-star.

I consider him the 6th best player in the league but I could see an argument for up to 4th, you say he's Top 5. We're not really that far off hitdog.
Hitdog  
dep026 : 2/27/2015 1:57 pm : link
Yesterday, I said Westbrook was the MVP of the league, as Osi can testify too. I dont know many who think Westbrook is outside the top 5 players in the game.

But when healthy, its pretty clear that Lebron is number 1 and KD is number 2. Thats not a knock on Westbrook.
imo best players  
Osi Osi Osi OyOyOy : 2/27/2015 2:00 pm : link
LeBron
Durant

Davis (still young and needs to stay healthy, but he's the next overlord of the league after LeBron)

Curry/Harden/Westbrook (I'd rank them like this, but all roughly equal for me)
Paul
Lebron's comments after the Knicks game really pissed me off  
Wellington : 2/27/2015 2:01 pm : link
Something to the effect that he is really happy and impressed with JR Smith and Shumpert and that he loves playing with them. Thanks JERK. Could have played with them when you became an FA last time.

Knicks Midwest with Smith/Shump and Mozgov.
RE: imo best players  
dep026 : 2/27/2015 2:04 pm : link
In comment 12155763 Osi Osi Osi OyOyOy said:
Quote:
LeBron
Durant

Davis (still young and needs to stay healthy, but he's the next overlord of the league after LeBron)

Curry/Harden/Westbrook (I'd rank them like this, but all roughly equal for me)
Paul


Serious question. I know you are really high on Harden, but where would you rank Jimmy Butler. Obviously, offensivley he is no Harden. But he is still getting over 20 a game. Rebounds at roughly the same rate, and is the superior defender. You think he has cracked top 15? top 20? Or does he need another year to prove it?
I think the best comp for him is Paul George  
Osi Osi Osi OyOyOy : 2/27/2015 2:14 pm : link
PG'14: 22/7/4 on .424/.364/.864 shooting in 36 MPG
JB'15: 20/6/3 on .460/.350/.840 shooting in 39 MPG

Both elite wing defenders.

I don't really know how to rank 8-25 in this league. So much of where those guys rank has to do with "fit". Love was Top 10 last year, he's not Top 25 this year because of fit.

I think Butler is a very good player. I love two-way players and he's a guy who never takes a play off. NBA tracking data shows that he runs around on the court more than anyone.

He's in that All-Star tier somewhere. Paul George was Top 10 last year playing a similar style. He's a really good player. Sure I'd love to see another year but he's pretty legit in my eyes.
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