NBA playoffs 2018: Will the Celtics be Raptored?

[Slurktan]

46 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said:

Bonesy

Brent Barry?

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

43 minutes ago, sperry said:

I'm not buying the "they're bored" argument. The Rockets with Paul were clearly a legitimate challenge to them, that's not boredom. This is the NBA finals. They're not bored.

I say they look bored because they are literally the only team I’ve ever seen that can be down by 20 with 5 minutes to go and I feel like they’re still going to win. And they feel the same way.

8 minutes ago, Slurktan said:

Brent Barry?

No!!!!! Lord O’ Bones. He was a prolific poster who was a huge Warriors fan. Sadly he passed away just before the Finals started last year.

[DanteGabriel]

11 hours ago, dmc515 said:

Yeah actually that's worse than Webber.  Not knowing you don't have anymore timeouts < not knowing the fucking score.

I didn't think James was set.

I think it was close enough to go either way, and that's a shitty time to overturn a call.

On the other hand, this works against the narrative that the league legislates refereeing, since it's in their interests to have the Cavs steal one on the road and extend the series...

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

12 minutes ago, DanteGabriel said:

I think it was close enough to go either way, and that's a shitty time to overturn a call.

On the other hand, this works against the narrative that the league legislates refereeing, since it's in their interests to have the Cavs steal one on the road and extend the series...

LeBron’s feet were clearly moving. Apparently this is a rather new rule. In the final two minutes they can review if a player was in the restricted area, but it also allows them to reverse the charge/block call if they got it wrong.  

 

[Jaime L]

10 minutes ago, sperry said:

They're still going to run away with this series. They caught the Cavs best punch, and won. They were lucky to do so, but LeBron can't play any better than that.

The amazing thing about game 1 (and the series), and it's getting lost with the ref/late game blunders shit, is Lebron probably has to be as good as Durant and Curry to win this series which is nuts. And in game 1 he fucking was! To be honest he was better.

He put up 51 points on 32 shots. Curry/Durant combined to put up 55 points on 45 shots. 

It seems like that's the best Lebron can possibly be. But based on how this postseason has gone I'm done putting a ceiling on what he's capable of. Dude is at the peak of his powers and seems like he's capable of exerting his will on a game from start to finish that even other superstars aren't. I keep waiting for him to hit the wall from the cumulative minutes toll or have an off night and he keeps putting up insane numbers night after night. 

It'll help him that there's an extra rest day before game 2. Hope we get this version of Lebron again. 

[IamMe90]

2 hours ago, Tywin et al. said:

LeBron’s feet were clearly moving. Apparently this is a rather new rule. In the final two minutes they can review if a player was in the restricted area, but it also allows them to reverse the charge/block call if they got it wrong.  

 

This was bullshit, though, because LeBron was clearly not in the restricted area. He was like, almost a full two feet behind the line. They just used that as a pretense to review and overturn the call, but the call never should have been reviewed in the first place. I agree that the right call was ultimately made, but I want them to be consistent about when they review calls. 

 

[sperry]

Yeah that was real bad, and why on earth are they allowed to change that call? I agree that it was probably a block, but why in the hell can they review that foul call, but not any other foul? Because ultimately, that's a judgment call, and you shouldn't be able to overturn it on replay.

[DireWolfSpirit]

4 hours ago, sperry said:

If you're rooting for greatness, you're rooting for the Cavs as well.

This is the correct answer PERIOD.

He is simply the best player of any court he steps on and the Wariors are not guaranteed to win this series, to me the outcome is a very open question.

[sperry]

2 minutes ago, DireWolfSpirit said:

This is the correct answer PERIOD.

He is simply the best player of any court he steps on and the Wariors are not guaranteed to win this series, to me the outcome is a very open question.

I agree with the first part, do not agree with the second part.

[Maithanet]

3 minutes ago, DireWolfSpirit said:

He is simply the best player of any court he steps on and the Wariors are not guaranteed to win this series, to me the outcome is a very open question.

Why?  This Cavaliers team is clearly inferior to last year's team since they shipped out Irving, and that team was clearly overmatched.  This year's Warriors have looked a little less sharp than last year's team, but there's no way they lose 4 of the next 6 games.  A lot of the reason Lebron looked so good in game 1 was because the Warriors didn't have Iguodala (Iggy getting injured was a key factor in the Cavs winning in 2016).  I expect Iguodala will be back soon, and even if he's not, the Warriors still have 4 of the 5 best players in the series, so they'll finish it one way or another. 

[briantw]

5 hours ago, sperry said:

Also, the league has got to start doing something about on-court conduct. Guys like Draymond and Marcus Morris behaving how they have been in these playoffs is just not good for the sport. It's funny how both the NFL and the NBA have failed at this for exact opposite reasons. NFL allows zero expression or fun. NBA allows absolutely ridiculous taunting. Both suck, find a happy medium.

I think the main problem with the NBA is how inconsistently they enforce it.  They allow Draymond Green to get away with fucking murder, but then toss out Tristan Thompson for some bullshit at the end of the game?  It's ridiculous.  Some guys are allowed to talk shit all game, but then Dahntay Jones says one word to Durant from the bench and he gets T'd up immediately.  

[briantw]

5 hours ago, Maithanet said:

The greatness of having 4 top 30 players play not terribly well together and still win is really hard to watch.  If this team had a real challenge maybe they'd rise to the occasion, but I actually think they'd just crumble.  I am incredibly unimpressed with this squad. 

They had a challenge in the Western Conference Finals and the refs made sure they didn't crumble in game seven.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

1 hour ago, IamMe90 said:

This was bullshit, though, because LeBron was clearly not in the restricted area. He was like, almost a full two feet behind the line. They just used that as a pretense to review and overturn the call, but the call never should have been reviewed in the first place. I agree that the right call was ultimately made, but I want them to be consistent about when they review calls. 

 

Well that gets to the heart of it, what would you prefer, getting the call right by shady means or getting it wrong? Preferably they would just get it right from the get go, but ultimately they did arrive at the correct call. Now, if you want to argue that they shouldn’t be able to reverse the foul while looking at where James was standing, fine. But the rule exists saying they can, and they did the right thing.

[sperry]

4 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said:

Well that gets to the heart of it, what would you prefer, getting the call right by shady means or getting it wrong? Preferably they would just get it right from the get go, but ultimately they did arrive at the correct call. Now, if you want to argue that they shouldn’t be able to reverse the foul while looking at where James was standing, fine. But the rule exists saying they can, and they did the right thing.

In no sport do I want them reviewing judgment calls. That's a judgment call.

[Red Tiger]

2 hours ago, Maithanet said:

Why?  This Cavaliers team is clearly inferior to last year's team since they shipped out Irving, and that team was clearly overmatched.  This year's Warriors have looked a little less sharp than last year's team, but there's no way they lose 4 of the next 6 games.  A lot of the reason Lebron looked so good in game 1 was because the Warriors didn't have Iguodala (Iggy getting injured was a key factor in the Cavs winning in 2016).  I expect Iguodala will be back soon, and even if he's not, the Warriors still have 4 of the 5 best players in the series, so they'll finish it one way or another. 

I'll do you one better, out of the four Cavs teams the Warriors faced in the finals, this one is the worst, by far.

[Jaime L]

 

 

[briantw]

Also worth pointing out that one of the refs working last night has literally been convicted of felony fraud and somehow still has a job reffing NBA Finals games.  He was also one of the officials who worked the 2006 NBA Finals, another embarrassingly officiated series that basically handed Dwyane Wade the title via constant horrible calls against the Mavs.  I believe this was the same series where Mark Cuban walked onto the court and stared down David Stern in the stands for that very reason.

It's just laughable how bad NBA officiating has been for years and even more laughable that it's the one thing that Silver has done absolutely nothing to address since taking over.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

30 minutes ago, sperry said:

In no sport do I want them reviewing judgment calls. That's a judgment call.

Would you do away with replay in the NFL and MLB?

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

I can’t decide which stat is more amazing: LeBron is the first player ever to score 50 points and lose a Finals game or his man purse seen after the game costs $41,000?

[sperry]

15 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said:

Would you do away with replay in the NFL and MLB?

No, because they review things that aren't judgment calls, like did that player fumble the ball before their knee was down, or did that ball land in bounds. I'm fine with NBA replay checking for things like who touched the ball last before it went out of bounds, or whether the player was in the restricted area. I'm not okay with second guessing the judgment call of charge or no charge. I wouldn't want them reviewing balls and strikes, or whether or not a play was pass interference or holding.