Dee4Three wrote:
And Sauru, I can agree with that. Like I said, it's George and another star that would get him in LA, because as his history has shown, he recruits/jumps on with multiple all stars in the attempt to compete.
Well, there are two ways to sign a contract: looking for that big money or looking for that team that helps you to win. Loyalty is very rare in the NBA. Most of the players resign with mediocre teams to get that uber max contract. All the others jump on board with other All-Stars.
LBJ is polarizing so hard, it's no fun anymore to read anything about him. Some hate him, some love him. It's pretty normal I guess as long as he is in the spot light. Will be interesting to see the perception once he retires. My few cents:
- LeBron underachieved in game 2-4 of the finals. His numbers were solid, but given his huge amount of minutes 30 points is somewhat "normal" for him to achieve.
- when the Cavs decided to play James less ball dominant, their offense got worse. This is interesting to see for all the "LeBron dominates the ball and thus his team mates underachieve" chatter. In my opinion this just is not right. The Cavs have zero playmaking. Starting their offense without Lebron was a disaster.
- this does not mean that all the Cavs were playing as bad as the general discourse claimed. Love played ok in my opinion. I even liked his defense for stretches. George Hill was inconsistent but as good as you would imagine against a high calibre team like the Warriors. Tristan Thompson is a player who generates a lot of second chances, but his defense is horrible. Even some highlight blocks cannot overplay how often he gets caught ball watching. Most of the "undefended" pick & rolls had him involved. JR Smith was really bad, Jeff Green also could not contribute like he did vs the Celtics. Nance was solid, Hood was ready when his numbers were called.
- After rating the players, it is easy to call out Tyrone Lue. He rode the same rotation for way too long, the offensive schemes were bad. Not using Kyle Korver at all was also his fault, you cannot only blame Korver for not showing up when he rarely is used the right way. Warriors defended him well though. Lue is not a good coach. That is my opinion.
- I dont know if LeBron had problems with his hand but it was definitely noticeable that he went more to his left and shot worse from downtown and midrange. I dont know if he really needed to make excuses but he did in a way. I dont blame him though. People expect him to show no weaknesses. This is what all the GOAT discussers also bring up. Jordan showed no weakness. He was hard. He did not fail. His work ethic played a big role. But you have to be at the right place at the right time as well. Circumstances are different and often I think the Bulls teams of Jordans time were underrated. Also opponents are different and in my opinion the Warriors are clearly better than the 96 Sonices 97/98 Jazz. Still, Jordan was more successful and that is easy to prove. I don't know if the comparisons do LeBron a favor. I liked his playoffs performances nevertheless.
- This Warriors team is absolutely brutal. They can compensate off nights from All-Star players. They have (formal) role players that could be (Iggy) or are (Green, Klay) All-Stars. They have a coach who seems to be so reflected and wise that he just knows what to tell the players. I cannot rate his basketball IQ, the sets or schemes he calls and so on. But I know from what he says in interviews, that Stever Kerr is reflected, wise and simply likeable.
- We talk about GOAT etc. and nobody even mentions Durant. Maybe his accolades are still far away from this conversation, but in my opinion he is the deadliest scorer in the league right now and in the last decade. His ability to shoot over defenders is unmatched. It's something only Dirk did as well and Dirk even in his prime did not have Durants guard abilities. I hate his decision to join the Warriors. But dude has proven that he only wants to win. He is not barking on and off the court. He is just playing. And he is playing like one of the best of all time.
- Klay Thompson is in a way overrated. Yes I said it. He is an elite three and D player, but everybody who thinks he could be the number one option on a team: I seriously doubt it.
- you need a super team to win it all. But this is nothing new. Analyzing the champions of the last 15 years you will most likely only find teams with at least two top tier All-Stars (even my 2011 Mavs had a shitload of talent. They were just seens a washed up, which was not right) . Since "the decision" it seems to be very controversial because usually these teams grew together via draft or came together via trades. But as a free agent player who really wants to win these days, you have to find a team with a lot of quality. I respect Westbrooks loyalty and his monicker of being the "lonely warrior" but dude will never win a Championship unless he finds legit help. And it's okay. There is a lot of talent in the league and you only can compete with the Warriors, Rockets, Cavs, Celtics or 76ers when you have the same amount of talent.
Roast me now for everything I wrote.