The lockdown happened on March 10 so the season was already like 85% done. Our record was 49-14 with Lebron and AD were playing some of their best ball as they had beaten the Clippers and Bucks back to back and had like a 6.5 game lead in the West. It’s not like they were hobbled and struggling to get through the year. They easily could have load managed down the stretch. If anything, the bubble hurt us as we went 3-5 in there initially and looked out of sorts. A lot of people expected Portland to beat us. This notion that the Lakers benefitted from the bubble (the only team to benefit at that) is false. They were the top team all year from start to finish in the west.
Lebron has a history of folding and ducking when the going gets tough. With the hardest and grueling part of the 2020 year yet to come + expectations of playoff success in front of big crowds, there's no guarantee he (& AD also) would have given the same successful returns. There's mounting evidence that the championship level play in the Bubble with no travel, no pressure, no crowds was a giant outlier than it was the norm.
I dont find anything insulting or implying intellectual superiority about that comment. The level of sensitivity around some stuff has definitely changed over the years . But whatever point you thought you made here..without being insulting or being somehow intellectually superior ..kudos
He also played in the weak (L)eastern Conference. There's a reason why his teams got annihilated and swept a few times once he got to the Finals. Western Conference will wear you out.
That's a rough take Rock. I appreciate our chip fully. The East was weak?.Golden State went to 5 straight..does that mean the West was weak? IDK bro..I just hope we get at least one more crack at a chip with James myself .
He also has a history of going into arguably the GOAT mode as he had done in 2012, 2013 and 2016. That year our only real competition was the Bucks and Clippers and when they choked there was no way we were gonna be denied.
Someone compiled a list of the 50+ win teams Lebron had to get through East all those years and it was pretty weak. He beat some monster teams for sure, but most of his journey was cake.
especially those 1st round matchups where his cavs/heat teams would be playing against 7th and 8th seeds under .500
That doesn't diminish the fact that the dude went to the Finals 9 times in 10 years on three different teams. That's a phenomenal run, unmatched by any other player in the history of the game.
I’m not trying to delegitimise our bubble title - I think it gave everyone a level playing field in that particular year - whether it was easier or harder really doesn’t matter because everyone had the absolute same circumstances. So to me it’s undeniable - we were the best team. However, it’s starting to become a trend, Lebron has been injured 3 out of the 4 seasons he has been here and that’s affected him to end the season and the playoffs. For AD it’s 2 out of the last 3. It’s fair to say in my opinion, the time off benefited their health.
I'm glad they are getting some things straightened out for Ham. Picking own assistants, no Rambis in coaches meetings. Vogel had his hands tied so bad he didn't have a chance.
These are the reasons why some wouldn’t mind if either or both were traded. Neither has proven he can consistently be depended upon for an entire season. I’m of the belief that LeGM is done leading teams all the way. It’s extremely difficult beat the good teams when they can easily score on TWO of your starters.
Somehow the part about 9 times in 10 years on three different teams is irrelevant? Lord you come up with A C Bags!!! From the original stacked team era no less.. in order to make a point? Jeesh
Not so sure if Kobe would help. Kobe's mentality was based on an unparallel confidence on himself, which Russ has too. I think that was also what caught Kobe's eye together with the physical ability. But what Kobe had that Russ doesn't, is being a perfectionist. That allowed him to work constantly on his game and never being satisfied with his performance and skill. Russ thinks he's already good enough and that others are the problem when the team doesn't succeed. Not sure Kobe would be able to change that As for the stretch on Russ, not sure it would benefit us. Would it give us any cap space? I think we would still be over the cap no? Better of just sitting him for a year Defense leads offense. If you get stops, you're playing open court and create mismatches every time you at least push the ball. That's the start, every successful team in today's NBA plays good defense. Then to win the chip you do need to combine it with a strong offense. That's why your read on our previous season is wrong imo. It was our defense that allowed us to even be in the playoffs discussion. Without it, we would be straight lottery. So we covered the first criteria for a successful team and proved it by being able to be in the playoffs without both stars being healthy. Then we faced the strongest team in the West at the time. With AD healthy we were winning the series because we combined good defense with good offense. As he got hurt, we lost the offense dimension and naturally fell short to a strong contender. Absolutely agree here. Size is still underrated in the new NBA, especially on wings. That's why I want AD at the 4
yeah, anyone who's been arguing defense wasn't important probably isn't paying attention to the playoffs this year.
When you get into the playoffs everybody is playing good defense. The teams that advance are the ones that have the ability to score on a good defense. That is why defense is not the magic answer. This season, last season and any other one. Somehow this gets turned into defense doesn't matter. The ability to get buckets down the stretch has an effect too, it forces the opposing team to have to score. Guys have a tendency to get tight when faced with the pressure of having to make buckets. You start seeing them missing open shots, a lot of times that gets contagious. I suppose that you can conclude, that it was the other teams great defense, that caused players to miss a bunch of open looks. We missed a ton of open looks against Phoenix, I didn't think it was because of their outstanding defense.
Lebron is the kind of guy who would sneak into a boat before the women and children were on, in a sinking ship. With that, when there aren't issues with the big boat, he performs well. Keeping Westbrook is the iceberg on this team. If he returns, look for LeBron to figure out a way to sneak off.
