-Cleveland big 1.5

-Blatt can't coach

-Least talented team since the last time in Cleveland

-No love (who they didn't want during the regular season)

-Not enough help

I am sure they will have more and if he loses they will come up with new ways for him to be the GOAT even if he fails again. They will be lucky if it is GS VS CLE finals because they have the automatic out of GS was the best team in B-ball all year or they win and they get King crushed The City. It will be interesting to see the spin if he fails to win again.

They're trying to move that 'underdog' narrative while riding the "only sure fire way to a contender is to have Lebron". Pathetic.

I wouldn't call them an underdog (of the teams potentially left, none of them can make that claim

but they are down two PFs and Kyrie is hurt.

is your second point not true? put LeBron on any team in the league and it's a contender

www.engadgethd.com - the other stuff i'm looking at

He is not the *only* way to win a title, but he is the only *surefire* way t compete for one.

I mean, is that even a question? This will be his fifth straight Finals. That is something Wilt, Magic, Cap, Bird, Jordan, et al never accomplished, but beyond that it's pretty much proof about his impact on a team, especially considering that he kept not ready for primetime players in the mix (including a finals appearance) prior to that.

This year I think you have to look at a team built as a Big 3 with one of its big 3 available as being at a slight disadvantage against the Western champ. Is that not reasonable? Obviously we will have to see how the other team enters the series, too, but as it is, yes, I think you'd have to consider the Cavs slight underdogs against at least Golden State if not all three remaining teams.

>yes, I think you'd have
>to consider the Cavs slight underdogs

i know i know - you've set a low bar, but still....

I'm proud of you Charlie.



-->

-->

A one trick pony talking about low bars. Lmao.

youve become a parody of a caricature of a satire of yourself

http://www.tubechop.com/watch/5965732

-->

but of course I'd expect you to hate on it, that's what you do best.


-->

You aren't an underdog. Hence the Bulls and now the Hawks.

Warriors or Clippers in the finals...okay sure, play the underdog. All I'm saying is you can't have both. Bron is a phenomal player. Transcendent. But you can't have both.

They have the best player on the floor. We have seen teams with that lose plenty of times. Again, obviously we don't know how the two finalists will enter the finals but *right today* there would be a favorite and an underdog. Golden State, with home court and all its players healthy, would be the favorite.

Against the Bulls and the Hawks they're the favorite.

I thought the OP was talking about the championship, not the conference finals. Who is trying to cop pleas preemptively for a potential loss to Atlanta. Pfffft. That would be ridiculous. The Hawks are an average team masquerading as a 1 seed. But the OP is talking about the Finals, clearly, he mentions Golden State.

that series since last Friday night's Rose buzzer-bank W.

There's not another player in the league capable of pulling that off under the same circumstances, all while really only having one top-shelf game.

Isn't that what you asked about?

Cavs still gonna win, of course.

But it's fun being the #UnderGawds.

It's even more fun watching the amount of froth manufactured from the #HurtLocker contingent.


-->

And yet...underdogs? Lol. K.

http://www.tubechop.com/watch/5965732

#UnderGawds

-->

Cavs are 2/5 to win the series, Hawks are 2/1. That sets the Cavs as clear favorites.

The conversation could end there, but then literally any expert not just trying to be on some Charles Barkley "THE NETS WILL WIN THE FINALS!" shit is picking the Cavs.

The Cavs are the favorite, by any measure.

I didn't really take that too seriously.

I'll take Lebron tho and you can have the Warriors for a hundo.

I don't even get what you're trying to do here.

I don't get this reply.

>I don't get this reply.

except for the fact that it got the minister of information for lebronon in here disseminating pamphlets and shit, but that was inevitable.

-Andy V out
-Love out
-Kyrie nowhere near 100% and badly needs rest; getting by on sheer skill and shooting ability
-Bron maxing out on mileage and carrying the cross so that role players can stunt on IG
-Blatt learning how to win playoff games on the fly as a rookie coach and having unfathomably disastrous mental breakdowns in the process.

Such a drastic contrast to the criminally hated on Miami teams that could do no right to #HurtLocker fans despite the fact that they reeled in historic, all-time achievements in just 4 years together.

Cleveland wins this year - it's the UnderGawd feel-good story of the year in all of sports - and nobody would expect it or predict them to win it all (name one analyst who is picking Cleveland to win the title....GO.) but if CLE wins? Obama invites the Cavs & Cav Nots to the White House to lecture the nation on 'perseverance', the value of always knowing where you come from no matter how far you venture away, and how we can learn from the rugby grit of Yung Dova aka John Leg-Locke.

-cues tired ass 'i'm coming home' video montage and spams it in the email inbox of all laker, knicks, bulls, and celtic fans-

BIG 1.5 FTW. Will be fun to see if we can steal the ECF from the home-court advantaged Hawks.

Won't it?


-->

Vex really has become like a bizarro world Case with this shit

and nobody would expect it or
>predict them to win it all (name one analyst who is picking
>Cleveland to win the title....GO.)

Kelly Dwyer picked the Cavs over the Spurs in 6 games for the title. Five of the six analysts at Yahoo Sports had the Cavs in the finals and Dwyer is the only one who picked the Cavs to win it all.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ball-dont-lie/2015-nba-playoff-predictions-073126534.html

>Kelly Dwyer picked the Cavs over the Spurs in 6 games for the
>title. Five of the six analysts at Yahoo Sports had the Cavs
>in the finals and Dwyer is the only one who picked the Cavs to
>win it all.
>
>http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ball-dont-lie/2015-nba-playoff-predictions-073126534.html

So we've got 1. Cool.


-->

>
>>Kelly Dwyer picked the Cavs over the Spurs in 6 games for
>the
>>title. Five of the six analysts at Yahoo Sports had the Cavs
>>in the finals and Dwyer is the only one who picked the Cavs
>to
>>win it all.
>>
>>http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ball-dont-lie/2015-nba-playoff-predictions-073126534.html
>
>So we've got 1. Cool.


You asked for "one". I gave you "one". Here's "one" more. Jason McIntyre picked the Cavs over the Warriors in 7 games.

http://thebiglead.com/2015/04/17/the-big-lead-nba-playoff-prediction-for-2015/

^^^All five have the Cavs playing in the Finals. Jason McIntyre and Stephen (sorry no last name is given, possible typo but I cannot say for certain), are the only ones saying the Cavs will win the title.


Vincent Ellis of the Detroit Free Press has the Cavs winning the title.

http://www.freep.com/story/sports/nba/pistons/2015/04/17/lebron-james-nba-playoff-predictions/25966393/



Over at SI, http://www.si.com/nba/2015/04/17/nba-playoff-predictions-finals-title-spurs-warriors-cavaliers , all five predicted the Cavs in the Finals, though none have the Cavs winning the title.



^^^All this was done with a simple google search. So, it would be disingenuous on your part to keep claiming the Cavs as the underdog and that absolutely no one is picking the Cavs to come out of the East. If you want to claim the Cavs as the underdog for the finals, then that makes sense since most analysts are picking another team other than the Cavs.

Particularly when you make this logical reach:

So, it would
>be disingenuous on your part to keep claiming the Cavs as the
>underdog

So 1.2334% of analysts are picking the Cavs to win the title - congrats.

>underdog for the finals, then that makes sense since most
>analysts are picking another team other than the Cavs.

that's what we're talking about here. "Nobody has been expecting the cavs to win it all this year."

I'll fix it for you.

"Nobody except Kelly and a few bloggers have been expecting the cavs to win it all this year."

there.

#GoUnderGawds




-->

Those predictions were before the playoffs started, before Love went down, and before Kryie was badly banged up.

So - now that we're in the conference finals, is there anybody out there picking Cleveland to win the title?

They are the underdogs to win the title. Period.

-->

>-cues tired ass 'i'm coming home' video montage and spams it
>in the email inbox of all laker, knicks, bulls, and celtic
>fans-

then u might want to update the spam filter for truebullsfan23@newhampshireprep.edu

That's how things work around here.

And since you're obsessed with the bio, let's get a few things corrected:

-I moved to NH when i was 16, and went to public school.

I appreciate your interest though, lil irish boy.

-->

>-I moved to NH when i was 16, and went to public school.

Cool story, ox.

>I appreciate your interest though, lil irish boy.

Ah, obsessed with the bio I see. Awesome.

i'm in.

that should be clear to anyone.

>that should be clear to anyone.

Seriously.

Explain that to me, as they play Houston in a Game 7 they choked their way into today.

And I don't put much stock in Houston taking it to 7 (if the Clippers indeed win). It's not like Houston sucks, and the 08 celtics let the first two rounds go to 7 and they were fine.

You could count on one hand the NBA playoff series that have ever actually swung based off a coaching matchup.

The Clippers start Matt Barnes and JJ Reddick, have no players who have won anything ever and don't have Lebron James.

They would not be favored in that series.

in a seven game series.

Note: I am not a citizen of LeBronon, LeBron James just plays for my favorite team and is its best player historically and presently.

I think the Cavs will survive Atlanta, it will be a 6 game endurance for them.

Only because I saw how they struggled against the Wizards (and Paul Pierce was fucking robbed).

I don't see a team like the Warriors having the struggles offensively that Chicago did, and they have 3 pretty consistent players, plus a strong bench.

After their performance against Chicago with no JR for 2 games, no Kyrie for at least 2 games, no Love for the rest of the season, and LeBron shooting like absolute dogshit for 2 of those games, including the series clincher.... I have more confidence in the Cavs than ever, if they can keep up the bench intensity. If LeBron has multiple "salts" games I feel better about them than I ever did the first time he was in Cleveland.

But against the Warriors and that Curry/Thompson/Green trio Cavs are gonna need lots of salts, and they will need Kyrie to stand a chance.

>Note: I am not a citizen of LeBronon,

So, whether you are a "citizen of LeBronon" or not, he's the only reason the Cavs got past Chicago, and he's the only reason that the Cavs will be party to his 5th straight Finals appearance.

This banged up, inexperienced, profoundly average coached team wouldn't stand a chance at a title if Bron isn't defying convention and producing multiplicity performances on both ends of the floor.

-->

I know it's one of your built-in pleas (as coaching always is for the basic agenda whores) but it's patently false.

Granted - it's true that he got thrown into an unpredictable, challenging situation. He was brought to Cleveland to coach the Cavs prior to The Return materializing. Asking a rookie coach with no NBA experience to manage this team is a tall order, so it's expected that he would mistakes - and he's made plenty of mistakes. My main issue with him is that he doesn't seem to understand that he's a rookie coach, perhaps a bit too proud. Yes, he's got great experience abroad, but it's not the same as the NBA game. I'm not sure he really thinks that he has a lot to learn.

Unfortunately, the Cavs are in win-now mode, so that can't really wait for Blatt to get the experience he needs to shine in the biggest moments against elite coaches.

-->

Too proud? LMFAO

-->

It's been a few days and I am still laughing at the notion that a head coach could be "too proud."

with all the injuries, and while I don't put TOO much stock in the rumor mill, there has been a bit of incongruity between what LeBron wants to do and what Blatt wants to do as coach. For the most part, a LeBron return was a pipe dream (no JR) the Cavs didn't exactly plan for, and they had chosen Blatt well before the pipe dream came true.

it's created a situation where everyone except Blatt gets credit if they do well, and he gets all the blame when they lose. Which is just some BS. I mean, I was mad at the last 40 seconds of Game 4 against the Bulls like everyone else, but he does deserve credit for what has gone well. LeBron gives a LOT to any team he's on, but can't do everything; this was the lesson (I hope) the Cavs have learned from the last time he was with the team.

We saw this with the Heat/Spoelstra. Just let it play out, is what I say.

He's a rookie coach - so you can't expect a ton from him, but people in here claiming he out-coached Thibs and that he's a great coach are reaching heavily. He hasn't proven any of that yet.

As stated, it's a tall, tall order to coach this team in year one, particularly when you were brought in to lead an entire different ship.

That said, I expect Blatt to be more than serviceable - and he has a lot to improve upon, but that's as expected for any rookie coach attempting to win a title.

-->

this was about LeBron and claim for "GOAT"

I think that if anyone, it was a swipe at Jordan

I mean I don't consider Lebron the GOAT myself and I'm a Celtics fan but there's a select group of folk in here doing what's expected like it's 2008 lol.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oU95v8nRRKI

you typed facts

they just beat a better CHI roster to advance to the ECF

and you're talking plea cops

FOH!

>you typed facts

Dude (and many other hurt fans) are up here like "OH WE CAN HEAR IT NOW - ALL THE PLEA COPS AND TWISTED NARRATIVES OF:
-Love being out
-Kyrie being hurt
-Blatt being a rookie coach making some horrible decisions
-inexperienced team

WAIT FOR THE LIES TO POUR IN!"

meanwhile, those are just facts, family.

>they just beat a better CHI roster to advance to the ECF
>
>and you're talking plea cops
>
>FOH!

Nah, let 'em lament. I love it.


-->

meanwhile building in excuses for it to end short of an NBA title. Fact of the matter is he is sub 500 in NBA title appearances and y'all are already ready to excuse him if he fails again and still claim him as the GOAT.

nobody in their right mind thinks Kobe is ranked higher than Lebron all-time.

Only people making that claim are those waving the flag of Kobestan - after a half-decade of lathering in off-season lamentation and failure.

-->

pause homie

Bron has a chance to get that #1 spot

Kobe doesn't.

but as far as surpassed

nah, not yet

>Bron has a chance to get that #1 spot

-->

if you project his career

he has a chance at

#1 Pts

top 10 Assists

top 20 Rebounds

All-Time

http://www.basketball-reference.com/leaders/pts_career.html

w/o 6 rings, 2 3peats, etc...

he's still doing thins that MJ didn't

i.e., taking 2 franchises to the finals

4 straight finals

etc...

when you consider where Bron is today

and then project his career

Yes, he has a chance at getting that #1 spot.

https://scontent-ort2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/fr/cp0/e15/q65/23517486_1576854392410936_7182746876648296457_n.jpg?efg=eyJpIjoidCJ9&oh=e8d0fe1c13248f05557d9763ba2327fd&oe=5A95890D

Of course he'll never go 6 for 6...but damn if isn't making an argument for himself anyway!

let's not act like chicago is anything special, especially with noah limping around and gasol in and out. they lost their advantage in the series. backcourt was potentially good but not totally bankable. reserve big guys showed why they were reserves. diminishing marginal return on their minutes, big time.

to me lebron's earlier runs (e.g. 2007) showed how good he was more than the current one, which highlights that in some part but more highlights how pitiful the east remains in terms of producing real contenders.

>let's not act like chicago is anything special, especially
>with noah limping around and gasol in and out. they lost their
>advantage in the series. backcourt was potentially good but
>not totally bankable. reserve big guys showed why they were
>reserves. diminishing marginal return on their minutes, big
>time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yONNHqQjd4


-->

i wish lebron well but really didnt care. just calling it how i saw it. that series was not a thing of beauty.

I didn't particularly love him as a poster


but he was better than the current iteration


jesus

Lol

That's for sure

.

He also knows that I would fuck him up on the court, while wearing nothing
but dunks and fitted calvin klein boxer briefs, cut up while a model jawn
watches me light his dadbod ass up until he goes back home and writes
more hate poasts on okp, trolling throughout the archives to look at my old
modeling photos.

I mean I love it. Entertained.

-->

.

LeBron is the non-center to get this treatment, usually it's some Goliath thing reserved for the Wilts and Shaqs of the world.

"Getting by the Bulls afforded the cavs a 6-day break before their series with the hawks - which is a welcome rest for Lebron's back, Tristan Thompson's shoulder, Shumpert's left groin, and Kyrie Irving's whole body. Irving sat out Saturday's practice and visited team doctors after re-aggravating his foot injury. When asked of Irving's status, Cavs can't say with certainty that he will play game one on Wednesday. The Cavs have gone through so much adversity in the first two rounds that they are getting a crash-course on playoff experience before even reaching the conference finals."

But right - this is just PLEA COPPAGE!



-->

every other part is basic common knowledge

It was not a spectacular triumph. bulls seemed equally as banged up. Shrump injury didn't seem to effect him minus a quarter or so. Kyrie's injury seemed to come into play after a couple bad games when it was first mentioned. Fact of the matter is Cleveland has beaten two teams they should have. Nothing Lebron has done these playoffs is of historic proportion like lenbron stansare trying to make it out to be and they are starting to build in the same tired ezxcuses in case their "King" fails to get a crown again. Actually Lebron did get another historic individual achievement with tying Jordan at one record can't remember which one.

>It was not a spectacular triumph. bulls seemed equally as
>banged up.

Wrong. Andy V missed the whole series. Kevin Love missed the whole series. J.R. missed 2 games. Kyrie badly banged up and couldn't play game 6. Shump? banged up. Bron? playing on a bad ankle.

Bulls? Gasol missed 2 games.

Interesting math re: 'equally banged up.'

I mean i love it, but it's beyond silly. Everybody acknowledges (even bulls fans) that this was the opportunity for them to beat a seriously depleted Bron team.

Fact of the
>matter is Cleveland has beaten two teams they should have.
>Nothing Lebron has done these playoffs is of historic
>proportion

How many players in the league history have led their team to 5 straight Conference Finals?

Actually Lebron
>did get another historic individual achievement with tying
>Jordan at one record can't remember which one.

Most playoff games with 30+ points, 5+ rebounds, and 5+ assists.

Historic.


-->

Are you actually claiming Andy V has any impact? Lol. He has not played most of the season and at no point has been a cog in this Cavs team. JR got his dumbass suspended and it could actually be said the first two games improved the team as Shump got into a rhythm and was a much more valuable player in the Chi series than JR was in the Boston series. Blatt who you have already shitted on multiple times these playoffs made a hell of an adjustment and changed his starting lineup, because he saw how well Shump played starting. Shump missed like a quarter with an injury but pretty much played lights out as a starter. The Shump JR switch in the starting lineup probably was one of the biggest factors in the Chi series. Kyrie's injury didn't get revealed until after 2 or 3 shitty games, and he looked pretty explosive game 5 before injuring himself game 6. Lol and Bron's ankle turn sure looked like it limited him.

5 straight conference finals in a historically bad conference that sees several sub 500 teams make the playoffs does not impress me. The 2-5 finals is what sticks out to me. For all this "makes his teammates better" BS it seems to wear off on the leagues biggest stage and he comes up short. I'm not even a Kobe fan and people saying he surpassed him is in no way definitive and all the traits people roast Kobe for have yielded more success on the league's biggest stage. Fuck conference finals in the east in the last decade, when he gets to "not 3, not 4, not 5" than he can be in some conversations. Until then great individual player but miss me with all this "King" BS while he fails to win the crown. He's the fucking Joffrey of the NBA. But y'all are already worried this season is gonna yield another non-title for him so you are getting your rationale ready to still claim him as the ultimate team player and makes guys better until he can no longer carry him when it all matters.

The record from Jordan is impressive, rings would be more impressive.

no doubt a great player, but on the biggest stage he is sub 500.

>Fact of the
>>matter is Cleveland has beaten two teams they should have.
>>Nothing Lebron has done these playoffs is of historic
>>proportion
>
>How many players in the league history have led their team to
>5 straight Conference Finals?

Historic!

>>Fact of the
>>>matter is Cleveland has beaten two teams they should have.
>>>Nothing Lebron has done these playoffs is of historic
>>>proportion
>>
>>How many players in the league history have led their team
>to
>>5 straight Conference Finals?
>
>Historic!
>

should we make a separate post?

weak East

western finals opponent was out of gas after running the gauntlet in the WC playoffs

needed help

the betting odds had the Cavs as favorites

etc...

smh

no need to get emotional.

nobody needed to save a dude that makes the finals half the time he's in the league.

>nobody needed to save a dude that makes the finals half the
>time he's in the league.

No? So Ray misses that shot does Bron still win that ring or nah?

are we taking rings away from Jorn
Timmay
Kobe

no, we're not

can you see how irrational Bron hate is yet?

not only does he get ridiculed for EVERY thing possible

but now, you're saying

not only can't he have good team mates

but said team mates are NOT allowed to perform

c'mon, you can't be serious

IRT his legacy

it will be #s, stats, efficiency, etc...

Jorn won 6 straight, which I think is safe to say at this point in his career, Bron won't

so even if he won 6 or 7, MFers like you would be on some, but but Jorn never lost...

so those littel snot nose millenials that have Brons on their christmas list today

will be able to make a case for Bron being the GOAT at the end of his career based on #s

he will retire the Babe Ruth/Dan Marino of the NBA

i.e., Bron will be the trivia answer to every NBA record question.

Ray's was.

>are we taking rings away from Jorn
>Timmay
>Kobe
>
>no, we're not

Missing those shots wouldn't have taken rings away from those guys. Ray missing would have cost Bron a ring.


>but now, you're saying
>
>not only can't he have good team mates
>
>but said team mates are NOT allowed to perform

I didn't say any of that. I simply stated a fact. You're making that stuff up because you can't deal with that fact.


>will be able to make a case for Bron being the GOAT at the end
>of his career based on #s
>
>he will retire the Babe Ruth/Dan Marino of the NBA

Peyton broke/surpassed almost every record/number of Marino's AND won a ring, so why are you mad I said Bron would be the Peyton of the NBA when you're saying he'd be the Marino? (And Ruth won 7 rings soon he won't be that.)


>i.e., Bron will be the trivia answer to every NBA record
>question.

Which record, exactly?

"none of those were 'miss and you lose a ring' shots"

based on your own illogical logic, neither was Ray's

there was still 5.2 seconds left AND an overtime

I do recall Bron hitting a big shot in the previous possession

and playing D on T5T for the final possession

but I'll let you tell it.

you want to play a game of hypotheticals

but can't deny that any of the shots I listed were ring clinchers.

so hold onto that RayRay shot real tight

cuddle up with it at night

because they can never take that away from you

just like Bron's rings

"Which record, exactly?"

^^^ doesn't watch basketball

http://www.basketball-reference.com/leaders/

pick one.

you had a full 24 hours and that was the best reply you could come up with

so disappointed.

>"none of those were 'miss and you lose a ring' shots"
>
>based on your own illogical logic, neither was Ray's
>
>there was still 5.2 seconds left AND an overtime

There was only an overtime because Ray hit the shot with them down by 3 that sent it to OT. Nice illogical logic you have going there.


>you want to play a game of hypotheticals
>
>but can't deny that any of the shots I listed were ring
>clinchers.

Um, Horry/Parker/fisher never made ring clinchers, so yeah. But I never denied that other players have made ring clinchers, so not sure why you keep making shit up that I never said.


>"Which record, exactly?"
>
>^^^ doesn't watch basketball

Clever!


>
>http://www.basketball-reference.com/leaders/
>
>pick one.

I asked you to pick one, which you appear to be incapable of doing.

But ok, let's pick rebounds: what rebounding record is Bron gonna retire with?


>you had a full 24 hours and that was the best reply you could
>come up with
>
>so disappointed.

You've had 5 days and still can't come up with a rational point. I'd say I was disappointed but I had low expectations going in.

(I agree, BTW)

but we off that now. #WhoHealedYou is the movement.

-->

was NOT LeBron related. else I would have been gone June 2013 rather than Jan 2014.

more facts - or excuse me.... "PLEA COPPAGE"

-->

if he wins this year it will be most impressive

Blatt should just a figurehead at this point, the Kevin Pollak role in Casino

I ain't the time to frequent the boards much. But really??

is if somewhere down the line he pulls a "2010 Celtics series" or "2011 NBA Finals" anywhere in the remainder of the playoffs

I really do think that that Bulls series energized him on some "NOPE!"

now if the Cavs had lost to the Bulls?

OR some shit went down to have them go in out of the top 4 seeds, with the team he assembled being all dysfunctional and shit...

then there would be a party.

Chill Mode and the Miami siesta was the closest he got to "LeQuil" this whole season

I think "LeMagic" is what we're going to start getting here on out. the days of "LeBulldoze" are dwindling.

And that's gonna be actually cool to see