« Judis vs. Kirckick | Main | Nice Work » The Finals03 Jun 2007 12:11 pm
So my prediction of a boringly easy Detroit victory over Cleveland wasn't exactly born out. It seems that we are all witnesses to the brilliance of Daniel Gibson (or something). Since I picked the Cavs to get blown about by the Pistons, I suppose my prediction that the Cavs are going to get blown out by San Antonio may not carry a ton of credibility, but the fact still remains that this is going to be a Finals reminiscent of the Spurs-Nets matchup of yore. Comments (42)
With the Spurs/Nets you were watching the Nets reach the peak of their abilities. The Cavs still should lose, but you're watching the future of the NBA, and perhaps the greatest 22 year old ever to play. 
Heh, or not.
If the Cavs had beat the Pistons any other way but the way they did, I'd say Spurs in a walk. The level of play that James is operating at right now, though, really makes me want to throw out all rational thought on this one. If his next 4-7 games are anything like his last 2, anything could happen.
the Spurs-Nets matchup of yore Otherwise known as the Best Finals Ever. I too picked the Pistons, based on their reputation, I guess. I think I didn't understand prior to this series just how bad Flip Saunders is as a coach. Wow.
Hey, I'm the only one here who picked the Cavs to make the Finals. I made the picks after the 1st round, but still, not bad. I think the Spurs will win, but I see Cleveland winning a game or two, or even three. LeBron's that good.
I predict somebody gets called for a technical foul for flopping.
"I predict somebody gets called for a technical foul for flopping." If Anderson Varajao didn't get one last night, no one's ever going to get one.
The Cavs big problem will be finding someone to guard Duncan. And Ginoblil. Oh, and Parker. Lebron is amazing, but I have to say his take on the Cavs sucess is a bit off-putting. It is really egocentric I think. That Gibson kid was great, and I think I kind of heard Lebron taking credit for that somehow.
It would be the first technical foul for flopping ever, as far as I know. Referees are not in the habit of calling new fouls in the Finals. I think I didn't understand prior to this series just how bad Flip Saunders is as a coach. Wow. Terrible. Absolutely terrible. On the other hand, Mike Brown is also pretty rotten, which is probably the Cavs' most glaring weakness heading in. Popovich is a hell of a lot better than Saunders and will absolutely coach rings around Brown.
The Spurs should wipe the floor with the Cavs. The NBA determined the winner, when it suspended that ref for standing up to Duncan and the Spurs constant moving screens and dirty tactics and then fixing the conference finals by punishing the Suns for the Spurs intentional mugging of Nash. They will get what they deserve: non-existent tv ratings. Now, as one really really upset Lakers fan, I am happy to see that LeBron is soon to eclipse Kobe. Maybe Kobe will wake up and see that the near and distant future is LeBron and that Kobe is being passed by. Kobe should quit the whining and figure out that by making Odom and Bynum forces to be reckoned with down low and with mismatches for Odom, the Lakers would pose an aweful lot of problems for many many teams. We saw that in the first month and half of the season when the Lakers were healthy. Kobe has to shut up and play. Magic learned that lesson when he tanked that series against Houston in his second season when he chose to hog the ball at the end and not give it up to Kareem. Kobe has not realized that Phil assembled the Bulls so that Jordan made them better and they allowed him to isolate whenever they needed to but that his dominance also allowed them to shine because they could take advantage of their opportunities when they presented themselves (Paxon, Hodges, Kerr and a healthy dose of Pippen in transition). Kobe is playing like Jordan did before Phil took over the Bulls. The Lakers stand around and watch him. Although it's killing me to say this, I say welcome to LeBron: slayer of Kobe.
I have no fucking idea. I assume the Spurs will win in a walk, but only because that would cause me the most pain. I thought, Hughes and Jones signings aside, the Cavs had built the team pretty well. But no one else seems to think that, Marshall has not proved the suave shooter I remember, and Snow is remarkably...old. Also, I had thought the Lakers were built better than even I can now maintain. So...Spurs in five.
"borne" out. sorry, cdnt help it.
The lifelong, die-hard, and currently overjoyed Cavs fan that I am, I'm saying Spurs in 6. San Antonio is bigger, faster, and generally better. Gibson played great, but he'll have his work cut out for him against Tony Parker. Ilgauskus is a solid big man, but putting him or Gooden against Tim Duncan is simply picking your poison. I think this is a decent match-up for Cleveland, who beat San Antonio twice during the regular season, but if San Antonio can slowdown the Suns, they can overpower the Cavs. What's with these Mike Brown dismissals people possess? It's often overlooked that he's Greg Popovich's protege and is 3-1 against the Spurs as Cleveland's head coach. He's also 19-10 in the playoffs and won 50 games in each of his first two seasons, making the NBA Finals his second year with a young team against a tough, experienced Detroit team.
Wrong URL on that last post. I'm an idiot. But I haven't updated that crummy blogspot in a while, so please don't take this as a shameful blog pimp.
suspended that ref for standing up to Duncan ...punishing the Suns for the Spurs intentional mugging of Nash. Suns out of playoffs because of ham-handed NBA rule: bad. But Joe Crawford out of basketball: good (his contretemps with Duncan was only the last of numerous instances of personalizing/escalating disagreements with players). I had somewhat resolved to ignore the rest of the playoffs this year after the Spurs-Suns series was decided by rules of deportment rather than the abilities of the teams. But now I suppose I'll have to watch the bloody finals, even though the Spurs are sure to romp. There's too much chance of a Jordan-Ehlo moment, that people will look back to and say, that's where it all started.
Well, at least you had the right prediction (#2 seed in the East should be the EC favorite), just the wrong team (da Bulls). Saunders and the Pistons just don't get it. 36+ mpg for Chauncey, Rip and Tay Prince again this season! These guys have played more playoff games than anyone the last 5 seasons and some of them play on the national team as well. They need a freaking rest and Detroit needed to develop Johnson, Delfino, Blalock and Maxiell. Maxiell even looked great in game 2, but then could barely get on the court the rest of this series. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Dumars has done a great job, but now the Pistons are looking awful old and they just don't know what they got with the kids since they never play...
I made a bit of an ass of myself on the last Lebron thread, so should probably stay out of this one, but... 1) Lebron did have a lot to do with Gibson's success. Where do you think the open 3s were coming from? Everything that happens on every Cavs offensive possession revolves around Lebron, even when he is not taking the shot. Usually he either gets the assist or makes the pass that leads to the assist. 2) In this game, the Pistons did everything the naysayers were telling them to do after the last game, which they lost by 2. They trapped Lebron as soon as he passed the half court, foul him every time he got even close to the lane, double and triple him constantly -- and they lost by 16. It's no coincidence. They changed their game, Lebron changed his. 3) Mike Brown is a lousy offensive coach, but he is a very good defensive one. The Cavs have an ugly offensive game, but they are a legitimately excellent defense and rebounding team. That can do a lot to keep you close. This team rarely gets blown out. 4) The Cavs tend to win ugly, and be inconsistent, but the combination of size, defense, and Lebron gives them a chance to win against anybody. Obviously the Spurs have to be favored, but there's a reason the Cavs beat them both times they played them this year.
In this game, the Pistons did everything the naysayers were telling them to do after the last game, which they lost by 2. The mark of a bad coach is Maginot Line thinking: always fighting the last war. They should have trapped LeBron in the overtimes of Game 5 when no one else could score. Doesn't mean they should necessarily play that way in Game 6. But I didn't watch Game 6 so don't listen to me.
Is that Del Harris to the right of Lebron?
" I think I didn't understand prior to this series just how bad Flip Saunders is as a coach. Wow." 3 times out of the past 4 years, Flip Saunders has had the conference #1 seed and failed to win the conference.
Is that Del Harris to the right of Lebron? Sure looks like him.
Also, I just saw a promo for some awards show on ABC prime time Tuesday night. Guess who the host is? Eva Longoria. Anyone still think Disney didn't strongly prefer to have the Spurs in the Finals over every single other Western conference team?
Anyone still think Disney didn't strongly prefer to have the Spurs in the Finals over every single other Western conference team? Here's hoping one of the ladies from Grey's Anatomy hooks up with Smush Parker...
"Is that Del Harris to the right of Lebron?" Oddly, LeBron has had a recurring fantasy of being on the Mavs. And LeBron is now a good enough basketball player that fans can see the workings of his inner mind as clearly as he can. I watched a Cleveland/Philly game earlier this year where LeBron was imagining that The Great Gazoo was perched on Sam Dalembert's shoulder. The TV commentators spent the first quarter marveling about how everyone could see it, but then ignored it for the rest of the game.
The Cavs do have some good match-ups. Pavlovic and Larry Hughes should do reasonably well defending Ginobli, not shut him down but be in his jock. Varajao and Gooden should get a few O rebounds. The Spurs have no one to impede James, Bowen is too small to really slow LBJ down much.
the cavs are solid. they should have swept the pistons. this reminds me of 2004 when no one thought the pistons could beat the Lakers. and I like the way the cavs are built. they are a large, physically imposing team. they wore down the petite prince, hamilton, and billups. Ginobli and parker don't exactly have imposing size either.
The idea that Mike Brown is a crappy coach is absurd. For one, he is the second youngest coach in the league behind the Nets' Frank. Give him some time. You'd think his 100-64 regular season record and four playoff series wins would buy him some small amount of time with the haters out there. Second, he did come highly recommended by Gregg Popovich. I suppose a genius mentor's endorsement ought to count for something. Third, and most important to me, is that few coaches are considered masters of either side of the ball as far as I'm aware, and Brown is quickly developing into a defensive guru. The offense can and will come but, for now, I'm happy with Popovich-approved, tough-as-nails defense oriented, second year second-youngest coach in the league as my team's head coach. There's really only one trajectory for the Cavaliers players and their coach: up.
2003 is "yore?"
There's really only one trajectory for the Cavaliers players and their coach: up. I'm sorry, but that just isn't true. There have been far, far too many talented, promising young teams to never win a championship to make a statement like that. Anything can happen.
What's funny about what Carl says is that people usually say that the only place to go is up is when they're talking about being in a really bad situation. I'd argue that they're in that situation with Mike Brown. It's not just that he's not good on offense, it's that he lacks basic game management skills; this was perfectly on display at the end of game 5.
This one's tough to call. The Lebron James who showed up for the last four games can put the Cavs on his back and carry them to the title. If the Lebron who choked Games 1 and 2 in Detroit returns, Cleveland could easily get swept. But the odds are that both Lebrons will show up during the course of the series. So my money says Spurs in 6.
"If the Lebron who choked Games 1 and 2 in Detroit returns..." I thought LeBron had excellent games in games 1 and 2 in Detroit. ----- This is obviously going to come down to matchups. Who can the Cavs throw at Timmy to avoid doubling? Who can the Spurs throw at LeBron to avoid doubling? Can the Spurs pay extra attention to LeBron without leaving the Cavs shooters too open? Can the Cavs keep Manu in check? I'd obviously pick the Spurs at even money odds. The question is how likely a Cavs upset really is. The 4 - 1 odds being offered strike me as too dismissive of Cleveland's chances.
The fact that this Cavs team is so undeveloped as yet and has so much potential (well, mostly Lebron has potential, but whatever) is what makes this series much, much more interesting than the Nets/Spurs or Nets/Lakers battles of old. The Cavs will surprise some people, I think. I predict Spurs in 6, but a more competitive series than people think now.
I think the tempo will be key to the series. These are two of the best teams in the league in playing lockdown halfcourt defense. Cleveland's answer to the Spurs halfcourt defense is that they have an offensive weapon sometimes more sublime than whatever defense is being thrown at them. The Spurs answer to Cleveland's defense will be a combination of precise execution combined with keeping everyone in a position where they can score. I think this is largely a wash, and as people have mentioned, leads to a competitive series. But the reason the Spurs will have the advantage in my estimation is they will have more possessions in which they get good shots before the defense is locked in. The Spurs have a maniacal commitment to stopping the other team from running, and the Cavs don't run much anyway. I am looking forward to the series. It will be a fun two weeks of hoops.
The Cavs match well with the Spurs. Explains why the Cavs beat the Spurs twice in the regular season (out of two games). Cavs are better than people gave them credit for (and Detroit is a bit 'older' than people thought--looked pretty tired throughout the series). Ilgauskas is the key. If he matches Duncan, and scores double digits in games, Cavs win in 6. If not, Spurs in 6.
Henin in three. Ya gotta love the underdog.
If Ilgauskus matches Duncan... ooh boy. It's more like, if Lebron makes this happen, it happens. The only way the Cavs beat the Spurs is if LeBron beats them, plain and simple. Larry Hughes make a shitty reverse Scottie Pippen to Lebron's muscly Jordan, but oh well. It's LBJ's series to win.
"It's more like, if Lebron makes this happen, it happens." Nope. LeBron can win a game or two by himself, but if they actually want to win the series, they're going to have to matchup with the Spurs. Can Gibson defend Parker? Who defends Manu? These are types of question to answer, not the degree of LeBron's magicalness.
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Comments closed June 17, 2007. |
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Heads in the Sand
I doubt Greg Popovich will do something as stupid as, say, leaving Chauncey Billups one-on-one to guard an absolutely on fire Lebron James on the winning basket of a pivotal game 5.
Posted by Freddie | June 3, 2007 12:34 PM