NBA 2010

[Chimpy]

I watched most of tonight's game because ABC is one of the 2 channels I get over the air.

I used to enjoy watching basketball on occasion when I was younger, but the game now just really does nothing for me. I think it is because seeing guys take 54 fucking steps from the 3 point line all the way to a layup at the basket and not having a travel called just seems  . Why do they even bother making people dribble the ball at all anymore?

That being said, while I loathe rooting for Dallas because Mark Cuban has always rubbed me the wrong way when I see him interviewed etc., I was glad to see Dallas beat Miami simply because the stupid assed LeBron James bullshit last summer annoyed me more. Plus, seeing a guy who played for local small town high school rival (Brian Cardinal) when I was in high school win a title would be kind of cool.

[caladein]

The Jet and The Matrix......what a couple of stupid nicknames. 

Was going through an ESPN article and I noticed that JET was in all capitals.  It's from his initials, Jason Terry's middle name Eugene .

[ghost]

I guess JET is acceptable then.   

I'm still not sold on the Matrix. 

[Threash]

I feel bad for Wade, the guy is playing like a champion but he can't do it alone in the fourth.  Championship teams don't collapse at the end of every single game.

[Paelos]

I'm going to pick at that again, but the Heat aren't collapsing at the end. They are getting beat by a better team.

How many times does it have to happen before people realize that?

[ghost]

How many times does it have to happen before people realize that?

Apparently 4.   

[WayAbvPar]

I would like to invite LeBron and his buddies to eat a dick, and I hope Dallas wins games 6 and Mark Cuban moons the Miami crowd. Cuban is a douche, but LeBron is on a whole different planet of douchedom.

[01101010]

I'm going to pick at that again, but the Heat aren't collapsing at the end. They are getting beat by a better team.

How many times does it have to happen before people realize that?

LeBron's 4th quarter stats say differently. It's apparently very similar to the idea of a prevent defense and playing not to lose in the NFL.

[Paelos]

Dear Lebron,

I cordially invite you and your associates to join me for an evening of entertainment and revelry. We will be celebrating the NBA title arriving in Dallas for the first time. Mark Cuban will be there to provide a special viewing of his posterior. Phallus will be served at 11PM sharp. Please RSVP by Sunday.

Yours in Christ,
WayAbvPar

[caladein]

I'm going to pick at that again, but the Heat aren't collapsing at the end. They are getting beat by a better team.

How many times does it have to happen before people realize that?

Dallas is clearly winning games, especially this last one.  A .692 True Shooting % is a big time performance.

What Dallas isn't doing is making LBJ disappear for quarters or entire games at time (G1/4 are his two lowest playoff usage rates) and chuck up long-shot jumpers with half the shot clock instead of doing anything that can be called "attacking".  Or, less number-y:

Deshawn Stevenson did not hold Lebron to 8 points, nobody but Lebron did that.

[ghost]

Series over, baby!  Lebron James's Heat are at -23 when he's on the court. 

But the Heat lost the series, right?  There's no way the Mavericks actually won it. 

[Paelos]

How many times does it have to happen before people realize that?

Apparently 4.   

Guess what? 

[Mosesandstick]

Good series, glad to see the Mavs win. Hopefully this will allow us to truly appreciate Dirk and Kidd.

[ghost]

And it completely exposed Lebron James yet again.  He may go down as the most overrated player to every play the game. 

[Paelos]

Jason Terry should be MVP.

[Surlyboi]

Lebr0wned.

[Rasix]

And it completely exposed Lebron James yet again.  He may go down as the most overrated player to every play the game. 

It's a little early for that.  But yah, if he doesn't make good in a final, he'll never shake it.   

Better team won.  Terry should get the MVP as well.  When he came through, they won. 

[ghost]

Jason Terry should be MVP.

He was a critical reason they won, but I disagree.  He didn't bring it every night like Nowitzki did.  Dirk deserves it more.  

And it completely exposed Lebron James yet again.  He may go down as the most overrated player to every play the game. 

It's a little early for that.  But yah, if he doesn't make good in a final, he'll never shake it.   

Don't get me wrong, James is damned good.  But all this talk comparing him to MJ just has to stop.  The guy's nowhere close. 

[Paelos]

Dirk was gonna get it anyway, but I love Marion and Terry, as I said earlier 

[Strazos]

I don't normally care about the basketball, but...

YAY! 

[Threash]

As big as Jason Terry was on offense Marion and Kidd defending Wade and Lebron were a much bigger factor for their win, they all pale compared to Dirk though.

[Paelos]

Gotta love Terry calling out Lebron saying that the superstar couldn't guard him, and then put up 27.

The city of Cleveland should send JET some gift baskets.

[caladein]

Series over, baby!  Lebron James's Heat are at -23 when he's on the court.  

But the Heat lost the series, right?  There's no way the Mavericks actually won it.  

I'm a nerd so I'll point out that individual +/- is a pretty shitty stat.  It's basically the ERA of basketball.

That said, the Mavs totally closed this series out with two big shooting performances, especially tonight where Dirk really wasn't in his rhythm and the rest of the team came through.

LeBron though... it's telling that Spoelstra kept hitting on "mental stability" in the second half.  Usually how "clutch" a guy is is a load of bullshit, but LBJ is one of those dudes that has a boat-load of talent but just doesn't have it when it counts.  It's different from Kobe who is ultra-confident when everything's on the line but isn't actually better then he is normally (I'm saying that as a Lakers fan).  LBJ though has been worse both in his production and his assertiveness the past two losing series.

Maybe he'll figure it out down the line but this is something he has to fix, we can now be pretty sure that last season's series against the Celtics was clearly not some freak blip.

Still though, Dallas won close games early and then just shot the lights out to bring it home.  Grats to them and their fans on their first!

Edit: Celtics/Cavs last year was the second round, not the third.

[Montague]

Jason Terry should be MVP.

He was a critical reason they won, but I disagree.  He didn't bring it every night like Nowitzki did.  Dirk deserves it more.  

And it completely exposed Lebron James yet again.  He may go down as the most overrated player to every play the game. 

It's a little early for that.  But yah, if he doesn't make good in a final, he'll never shake it.   

Don't get me wrong, James is damned good.  But all this talk comparing him to MJ just has to stop.  The guy's nowhere close. 

He shouldn't even be in the same breath. Jordan made himself from a player with freakish athleticism but limited skills into probably the greatest all around player the game has ever seen. I hated the hype while it was going on but Jordan was a fucking assassin with 2 minutes left in the game. You just knew he was getting the ball in the last two minutes and you knew it was going in. Fucking fadeaway jumper with two guys in his face every single fucking time.

Meanwhile everybody laughs at Lebron.

[Ingmar]

I think his upside is more Magic than Michael, but he's a ways from fulfilling it either way.

[Threash]

Jason Terry should be MVP.

He was a critical reason they won, but I disagree.  He didn't bring it every night like Nowitzki did.  Dirk deserves it more.  

And it completely exposed Lebron James yet again.  He may go down as the most overrated player to every play the game. 

It's a little early for that.  But yah, if he doesn't make good in a final, he'll never shake it.   

Don't get me wrong, James is damned good.  But all this talk comparing him to MJ just has to stop.  The guy's nowhere close. 

He shouldn't even be in the same breath. Jordan made himself from a player with freakish athleticism but limited skills into probably the greatest all around player the game has ever seen. I hated the hype while it was going on but Jordan was a fucking assassin with 2 minutes left in the game. You just knew he was getting the ball in the last two minutes and you knew it was going in. Fucking fadeaway jumper with two guys in his face every single fucking time.

Meanwhile everybody laughs at Lebron.

Everyone said Lebron went to Miami because he wanted to be Pippen and not Jordan, at this point he isn't even measuring up to Pippen.

[Azuredream]

You just knew he was getting the ball in the last two minutes and you knew it was going in. Fucking fadeaway jumper with two guys in his face every single fucking time.

Just as an aside here, we tend to have a pretty selective memory of Jordan. From http://www.basketball-reference.com/blog/?p=9665 comments;

There's more to the narrative than just the success too. It's the way he was so dramatically crucial to all that success. He not only won, but he did it in such a way that it was clearly his play that decided the outcome - which puts a strange pressure on modern players to not just win, but to win in spectacular fashion, something Bryant seemed to get caught up in at times with his shoot first and find an opening later style. Take a trip down memory lane at the story of Jordan's titles:

1991 - Defeats the best player of the last decade (Magic Johnson), has maybe the best statistical Finals ever (according to SPM it is), does the switch hand move to cap off the most ridiculous string of made field goals anybody could remember in game 2, hits a buzzer-beater in game 3 to go to OT and then dominates for the series turning win. Finishes off LA with passes to open teammates (averaged 11 assists to 3 turnovers on the series) while winning all three road games, and the lasting image is him holding the Finals trophy crying.

1992 - 6 treys and 35 points in 1st half of game 1, domination of rival Clyde Drexler, caps 15 point game 6 comeback with go-ahead steal and dunk sequence. Lasting image is the shrug.

1993 - Sets Finals record by averaging 41+ points per game. Dramatic 55 point performance in game 4 (5?) with game winning make over Barkley. Scores 9 of Chicago's 12 4th quarter points in clinching game 6 and draws the double team in the back court that frees up Paxson for the series winner. Lasting image is him whispering something in Chuck's ear after proving he was better than the MVP.

1996 - Has what might be his worst playoff series ever and still manages to have the best game of any player in the series in game 3, where he scored 35 or so and put his team up 3-0. Kerr told Simmons in one of their podcasts that he thought the team lost focus and gave up the next two, but the crucial point is that the only road game either team won was the one Jordan took in hand. Other than that it was ugly. Lasting image is Jordan on the floor with the game ball balling on Father's Day two years after his dad passed.

1997 & 1998 - In 8 Bulls wins over Utah Jordan hit 3 game winners (game 1 '97, flu game, and game 6 '98) and had a game winning assist (game 6 '97). He also closed both series with a game winning pass and a game winning assist. He basically redefined the notion of clutch and made everyone believe that even if Shaq, Robinson, and Malone had better numbers than him all year long, he was indisputably the best of the best at ages 34 and 35.

This is why his shoe company slogan is "Become legendary". The man created his own mythos on the court. And here's what's lost: he had some bad games. He missed some big shots. But nobody remembers those, and so the players cast in his role in today's games aren't given the slack at the time.

[Cyrrex]

MJ was amazing for more than just his numbers, and probably even more than how clutch he appeared to be.  It was the manner in which he did things, and his confidence in doing so.  He didn't just throw up 35 points on you, he threw up 35 fucking amazing points on you.  He didn't just dunk the ball on you, he fucking soared over you with the grace of a gazelle and the power of a lion and stabbed you in the face with his cock on the way to the rim.  He did things with the ball that you never dreamed of, and couldn't possibly imitate.  He defied gravity.  He made his teammates look amazing and his opponents look utterly stupid.

Lebron does one or two of these things some of the time.  MJ did it all the time.  For all his talent, Lebron isn't even the best player on his own team.

[WayAbvPar]

NBA and David Stern can still go jump up their own assholes, but knowing LBJ lost definitely warms the cockles of my cold dead black heart.

[Merusk]

I hate basketball and Jordan was one of the only players I've ever enjoyed watching.   That kind of showmanship is what made him legendary.

LeBron not only looks awkward, but it seems like he chokes when he's needed the most.

[Paelos]

I don't hate Lebron. I think he's going to win a ring in the next 3 years. I think he needs to learn how to be humble. I think he needs to learn how to be cold in the clutch, and have the media off his back.

Now that he's lost. Now that he's been humbled on the biggest stage. I think the media will ease off of him a bit. Not a ton, but enough.

[Cyrrex]

I actually think it'll get even worse for him now.  And he kinda deserves it...not for losing, but for being a giant douche.

[Paelos]

I think Colin Cowherd had it right. Guys with good fathers in their lives make the best superstars in the NBA. Guys that didn't have that always seem to lack the maturity necessary to get to that pinnacle.

Lebron lacks a lot of the maturity he needs, even his is post-game interviews, to be a "cold-iron" player.

[01101010]

I don't hate Lebron. I think he's going to win a ring in the next 3 years. I think he needs to learn how to be humble. I think he needs to learn how to be cold in the clutch, and have the media off his back.

Now that he's lost, AGAIN. Now that he's been humbled on the biggest stage AGAIN. I think the media will ease off of him a bit. Not a ton, but enough.

I see this a lot lately. People seem to assume his years in Cleveland were done in some black hole, minor league. He was perennially in the playoffs and got swept in the only finals with the Cavs by an insanely good Spurs team. Say what you will about the Cleveland teams he played for, but he didn't play alone and didn't have the seasons they had by being completely alone. Granted, he didn't have Wade or Bosch to lean on while in Cleveland, but the results with his own game are eerily similar.

[naum]

A man is in a bar drinking and LeBron James walks in. The man walks up to him and asks LeBron if he has change for a dollar. LeBron hands the man 75 cents back. The man looks at LeBron puzzled until LeBron says "Sorry about that, I always forget about the fourth quarter"…