2016 NBA Playoffs EASTERN Conference Discussion

For the record I've been saying from the start that the Cavs can't stay this hot. I don't know if they lose this series because I don't know if the Raptors can get a game in Cleveland, but I've been consistent in my doubt of their abilities.

 

I don't think they can get a game in Cleveland, but just the fact that its going 6 guaranteed is great. The Cavs won't get 2 weeks of rest now while the Warriors and Thunder battle it out. And yes, Frye>Love right now. Irving I can't figure out, he catches fire at times, but he doesn't appear to have "it" in the big moments, at least yet. The same could probably have been said about Lowry and DeRozan before the past couple games. It only takes one big clutch performance to break through mentally sometimes.

 

I'm surprised LeBron didn't cramp up. He did play 46 mins.

 

The narrative wasn't there. You can guarantee if he did cramp up it's because he's the greatest athlete of all time.

 

I don't know if Kyrie is comfortable being a second star even if that's his most natural position. He certainly didn't do enough. I loved the doubt I saw in their eyes though at the end of the game. LeBron isn't the guy who can typically rally the troops because he has more self doubt than any star I've ever known.

 

It really is. Everytime I expected him to take over at the end he would pass the ball. He's great, unquestionably, but a lot of the time he's only a killer when things aren't physical, or the Cavs are already up big, or the refs are giving him the calls on drives. Reminds me of Shaq saying something about a "front-runner"

 

I don't actively wish injury on anyone (), but this made me laugh hard.

 

Difficult to let go of this smile on my face... My jaw hurts.

 

No... James needs help. He can't do it alone [rolls eyes].

 

James was compared more to Magic Johnson than a Jordan and not like a Bryant either. I think that is a disservice in itself given that I have witnessed Johnson make key baskets when he had to. At his prime, he wasn't even the athlete that James was. My take is that his overall game on offense isn't that dynamic. Spotty outside shot, unrefined post game. James gets his through sheer mass and athleticism but the polish is not there even to this day. Does not impose his will often enough too. In last year's Finals, he showed some moxie but in the end he petered out when tougher, mobile defenders like Iguadala, Green and Barnes forced him to his weaknesses.

 

If [and still a BIG "if"] Toronto makes it to The Finals, I honestly won't care as much who wins the thing... It will be about the draft and Laker training camp from there.