don't get the 1 seed without Thomas, but they are so, SO much better defensivlely without him, ESPECIALLY against the Cavs.
The Cavs have the physical player in Crowder to slow down and body LeBron-- similar to the way Kawhi and Iguodala can at least contain him enough to make him work.
But the Cavs love to use the PnR with Kyrie and to make defenses switch to find mismatches and when IT is on the floor, they just attack that weak link to exhaustion.
But the Celtics have great defensive guards in Bradley, Smart, and Rozier to frustrate the Cavs motion offense.
And well, we see how trash the Cavs defense is.
People overestimate how bad Bostons offense is without
IT. They move the ball pretty efficiently. Bradley isn't a playmaker but he can shake defenders and cause rotations. Horford moves the ball very well. And if smarts hitting 3s everything is on the table.
Boston's defense is so much freaking better without Thomas.
On the flipside, Cleveland's defense leaves a lot to be desired. That's why I think Warriors are clear favorites if Cleveland advances, which I still expect.
You knew he was going to shoot that trey, too - he made it obvious. But when he steps back 3 feet behind the line to take it, there's nothing you can do.
Kyrie and KLove are going to have to keep playing this way for CLE to have a chance against GS. That's not a team LeBron can beat by himself even if he's at his best.
with a missed dunk, Love had another jaw-dropping full-court outlet pass. I wasn't old enough to see Wes Unseld, but man, I've never seen anyone make that pass like Love does
deserves a ton of credit for his offensive explosion while LeBron got into foul trouble. Kyrie's game is limited in that he's all offense, but when he gets going, oh boy. I have to think back to Allen Iverson to the last time I can remember a small guard who could get to the rim so astonishingly like Kyrie. His handles and finishing ability are as cool as it gets.
But while Kyrie was an offensive freak, Love deserves a lot of credit for being active in different facets of the game. The outlet passes and his 17/17 night really gave the team a lot of extra chances.
And as to LeBron, despite picking up 4 fouls in 15 minutes and the Cavs offense looking questionable, he still ended up with an awesome night.
34/5/6 on 15-27 shooting while having to play knowing he was in foul trouble.
with a missed dunk, Love had another jaw-dropping full-court outlet pass. I wasn't old enough to see Wes Unseld, but man, I've never seen anyone make that pass like Love does
LeBron makes them look just as easy.
Yeah LeBron is awesome when playing with two All-stars
Curry is up there too but I prefer Kyrie's tight ball-handling to Curry's loose style and nobody plays the glass better. I'm too young to have seen Gervin play, and I know Duncan was the king of the bank shot. But Kyrie plays the glass better than anybody I've seen. Just a natural scorer who has proven he has the clutch gene.
The Cavs Big 3 is peaking at the perfect moment right now. If they play like this and JR/Korver/etc. hit their 3s, they have a puncher's chance against GS.
LeBron went 34/5/6 on 56% shooting while playing with 4 fouls for most of the game. H ewasn't perfect as he had 5 TOs and struggled to hit his shots early and picked up early fouls which stagnated the offense. So, Kyrie and Love picked up the slack and elevated their games to higher levels than you usually expect from them. Kyrie was marvelously efficient and was a scoring machine to bring the Cavs back into the game, and Love had his best postseason rebounding game to give the offense extra chances. Plus, what more can you say about his outlet passes? Teams that want to win championships must rely on more than one player.
Even still, people aren't really talking about LeBron's performance, a performance that ended up being a fantastic stat line, because even that was his second worst performance of the playoffs, which is insane. LeBron was the closer in the 4th. To say that people are only talking about LeBron is stupid and intentionally ignorant.
Also, as to the play that looked like a LeBron double dribble, it appears taht Jaylen Brown got his hand on the ball, knocking it loose, which is what allowed LeBron to keep dribbling.
I've heard claims that LeBron stepped out of bounds. If he did, then the refs missed it. I don't have a shot of it, though.
Kyrie and KLove are going to have to keep playing this way for CLE to have a chance against GS. That's not a team LeBron can beat by himself even if he's at his best.
I know how this is gonna sound, but let me preface this by saying I'm kind of joking in case it isn't obvious enough.
Cleveland will have a chance, primarily because of LeBron but also because on average, Cleveland will benefit more from fouls than the Warriors will. Or put another way, on average, the Warriors will be more affected by fouls than the Cavs. I fully expect, for example, that Green and/or Durant will be in early foul trouble a few games just when trying to get a rebound, but Tristan Thompson's ability to toss people aside to get rebounds likely won't be impeded. LeBron drives will trigger such vociferous whistling you'll think the refs are carrying vuvuzelas.
The x factor is Durant, who can still get calls on account of refs reacting out of habit from his Thunder days.
people aren't giving LeBron enough credit for being the closer in the 4th.
Kyrie's explosion was magnificent. His hot streak kept them alive and got them the lead, but the game was far from over at the time.
It was just a 4pt Cavs lead with 10:55 left in the game. LeBron outscored Kyrie 15-3 in the 4th quarter. When the score was 103-97 with 4 mins left in the game, LeBron scored the next 7 pts to ice the game at 110-97 with 2 mins left.
LeBron had a relatively awful 6 quarters of basketball there and it took Kyrie's explosion to get him back on track, but to say LeBron is getting too much credit for last night when everyone is talking about Kyrie makes no sense. His 4th quarter dominance is actually being overlooked as everyone is (understandably) focusing on what Kyrie did.
said in the post game that he thought LeBron was sick in Games 3 and 4 with some sort of bug. Deron Williams missed shoot around with a bug and thinks LeBron had the same thing which was why he seemed so lethargic of late.
I've had a bug the last week and my energy levels have been sapped from me so I can understand it happening.
It's worth noting that LeBron made no such comment about it.
said in the post game that he thought LeBron was sick in Games 3 and 4 with some sort of bug. Deron Williams missed shoot around with a bug and thinks LeBron had the same thing which was why he seemed so lethargic of late.
I've had a bug the last week and my energy levels have been sapped from me so I can understand it happening.
It's worth noting that LeBron made no such comment about it.
lebron got too much credit for "the block" last year vs. "the shot" that Kyrie hit that actually won them the title
That's simply because the block set the stage for the shot. Would the shot or its equivalent have occurred if Iggy's layup fell through the net? Sure, it's possible, but the environment would have been dramatically different. The Arena would have had an entirely different character had that shot fallen -- I think eardrums may have exploded. If you're someone who believes in such thing as momentum and a crowd influencing a game, you have to acknowledge that the block was incredibly meaningful in that situation and was possibly the foundation for all that followed.
lebron got too much credit for "the block" last year vs. "the shot" that Kyrie hit that actually won them the title
That's simply because the block set the stage for the shot. Would the shot or its equivalent have occurred if Iggy's layup fell through the net? Sure, it's possible, but the environment would have been dramatically different. The Arena would have had an entirely different character had that shot fallen -- I think eardrums may have exploded. If you're someone who believes in such thing as momentum and a crowd influencing a game, you have to acknowledge that the block was incredibly meaningful in that situation and was possibly the foundation for all that followed.
not saying it didnt... but if kyrie blocked the shot and lebron made the 3.... nobody would know there was even a shot blocked.
lebron got too much credit for "the block" last year vs. "the shot" that Kyrie hit that actually won them the title
That's simply because the block set the stage for the shot. Would the shot or its equivalent have occurred if Iggy's layup fell through the net? Sure, it's possible, but the environment would have been dramatically different. The Arena would have had an entirely different character had that shot fallen -- I think eardrums may have exploded. If you're someone who believes in such thing as momentum and a crowd influencing a game, you have to acknowledge that the block was incredibly meaningful in that situation and was possibly the foundation for all that followed.
not saying it didnt... but if kyrie blocked the shot and lebron made the 3.... nobody would know there was even a shot blocked.
Maybe, but... that's hinging a lot on a very unlikely hypothetical. Has Kyrie ever blocked a transition layup like that?
is that we've seen game-winning shots before, and we've seen players hit big shots in big moments all the time. I'm not minimizing its importance, but that happens all the time by players of all levels.
But the chase-down block is rarer and something that always gets people on their feet-- and a chase-down block in such a critical moment? How often do we see that? Plus, it felt like an action that only a few players in the league could pull off.
The Cavs have the physical player in Crowder to slow down and body LeBron-- similar to the way Kawhi and Iguodala can at least contain him enough to make him work.
But the Cavs love to use the PnR with Kyrie and to make defenses switch to find mismatches and when IT is on the floor, they just attack that weak link to exhaustion.
But the Celtics have great defensive guards in Bradley, Smart, and Rozier to frustrate the Cavs motion offense.
And well, we see how trash the Cavs defense is.
On the flipside, Cleveland's defense leaves a lot to be desired. That's why I think Warriors are clear favorites if Cleveland advances, which I still expect.
Kyrie...
Ridiculous.
Thats what I was thinking.
Jaylen Brown looked like he wanted to argue and then made a face that pretty much said well I guess I'm a rookie and that's Lebron.
But while Kyrie was an offensive freak, Love deserves a lot of credit for being active in different facets of the game. The outlet passes and his 17/17 night really gave the team a lot of extra chances.
And as to LeBron, despite picking up 4 fouls in 15 minutes and the Cavs offense looking questionable, he still ended up with an awesome night.
34/5/6 on 15-27 shooting while having to play knowing he was in foul trouble.
LeBron makes them look just as easy.
Where is the story LeBron?
Most people are talking about Kyrie's explosion and Love's passing.
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Irving goes off for 42. Love scores 17 and pulls down 17 rebounds and the story is LeBron.
Where is the story LeBron?
Most people are talking about Kyrie's explosion and Love's passing.
Leave him alone. Old man can only take so much Lebron defending per day.
The Cavs Big 3 is peaking at the perfect moment right now. If they play like this and JR/Korver/etc. hit their 3s, they have a puncher's chance against GS.
Even still, people aren't really talking about LeBron's performance, a performance that ended up being a fantastic stat line, because even that was his second worst performance of the playoffs, which is insane. LeBron was the closer in the 4th. To say that people are only talking about LeBron is stupid and intentionally ignorant.
Also, as to the play that looked like a LeBron double dribble, it appears taht Jaylen Brown got his hand on the ball, knocking it loose, which is what allowed LeBron to keep dribbling.
I've heard claims that LeBron stepped out of bounds. If he did, then the refs missed it. I don't have a shot of it, though.
I know how this is gonna sound, but let me preface this by saying I'm kind of joking in case it isn't obvious enough.
Cleveland will have a chance, primarily because of LeBron but also because on average, Cleveland will benefit more from fouls than the Warriors will. Or put another way, on average, the Warriors will be more affected by fouls than the Cavs. I fully expect, for example, that Green and/or Durant will be in early foul trouble a few games just when trying to get a rebound, but Tristan Thompson's ability to toss people aside to get rebounds likely won't be impeded. LeBron drives will trigger such vociferous whistling you'll think the refs are carrying vuvuzelas.
The x factor is Durant, who can still get calls on account of refs reacting out of habit from his Thunder days.
Kyrie's explosion was magnificent. His hot streak kept them alive and got them the lead, but the game was far from over at the time.
It was just a 4pt Cavs lead with 10:55 left in the game. LeBron outscored Kyrie 15-3 in the 4th quarter. When the score was 103-97 with 4 mins left in the game, LeBron scored the next 7 pts to ice the game at 110-97 with 2 mins left.
LeBron had a relatively awful 6 quarters of basketball there and it took Kyrie's explosion to get him back on track, but to say LeBron is getting too much credit for last night when everyone is talking about Kyrie makes no sense. His 4th quarter dominance is actually being overlooked as everyone is (understandably) focusing on what Kyrie did.
regardless... you know you are a stud when you play 6 bad quarters and it gets a ton of attention
I've had a bug the last week and my energy levels have been sapped from me so I can understand it happening.
It's worth noting that LeBron made no such comment about it.
I've had a bug the last week and my energy levels have been sapped from me so I can understand it happening.
It's worth noting that LeBron made no such comment about it.
Taking the opposite approach of Roethlisberger.
That's simply because the block set the stage for the shot. Would the shot or its equivalent have occurred if Iggy's layup fell through the net? Sure, it's possible, but the environment would have been dramatically different. The Arena would have had an entirely different character had that shot fallen -- I think eardrums may have exploded. If you're someone who believes in such thing as momentum and a crowd influencing a game, you have to acknowledge that the block was incredibly meaningful in that situation and was possibly the foundation for all that followed.
Quote:
lebron got too much credit for "the block" last year vs. "the shot" that Kyrie hit that actually won them the title
That's simply because the block set the stage for the shot. Would the shot or its equivalent have occurred if Iggy's layup fell through the net? Sure, it's possible, but the environment would have been dramatically different. The Arena would have had an entirely different character had that shot fallen -- I think eardrums may have exploded. If you're someone who believes in such thing as momentum and a crowd influencing a game, you have to acknowledge that the block was incredibly meaningful in that situation and was possibly the foundation for all that followed.
not saying it didnt... but if kyrie blocked the shot and lebron made the 3.... nobody would know there was even a shot blocked.
Quote:
In comment 13480744 hitdog42 said:
Quote:
lebron got too much credit for "the block" last year vs. "the shot" that Kyrie hit that actually won them the title
That's simply because the block set the stage for the shot. Would the shot or its equivalent have occurred if Iggy's layup fell through the net? Sure, it's possible, but the environment would have been dramatically different. The Arena would have had an entirely different character had that shot fallen -- I think eardrums may have exploded. If you're someone who believes in such thing as momentum and a crowd influencing a game, you have to acknowledge that the block was incredibly meaningful in that situation and was possibly the foundation for all that followed.
not saying it didnt... but if kyrie blocked the shot and lebron made the 3.... nobody would know there was even a shot blocked.
Maybe, but... that's hinging a lot on a very unlikely hypothetical. Has Kyrie ever blocked a transition layup like that?
But the chase-down block is rarer and something that always gets people on their feet-- and a chase-down block in such a critical moment? How often do we see that? Plus, it felt like an action that only a few players in the league could pull off.
I don't really care if everyone considers the Warriors to be massive favorites. I will always be nervous in a series against another upper-tier team.