2015 NBA Playoffs

Paully D · 01-06-2015 6:10pm

After a ridiculously damp squib, disappointment of a playoffs, I'm really excited for the Finals now.

I'd prefer if the Warriors won, but who could begrudge the Cavaliers fans a title after all the crap they've had the last few years? LeBron coming back and leading them to a title after everything that happened would be a fantastic sports story too. You can hear the "what if I told you...." opening to the 30 for 30 edition of it already!

Golden State a best priced 10/21, Cavs 2/1. There's not much between them at all according to the bookies. Warriors are a much deeper and well balanced side, but, LeBron.

Your prediction? I'm going to stick to my pre-playoff prediction and go for the Warriors in 6.

D2D · 01-06-2015 6:55pm

Genuinely can't wait for Thursday night for Game 1!

Golden State have the better squad but I think we'll (hopefully) pull it off and finally get that title. Gonna go Cavs in 7 in an all time classic Finals.

Carcharodon · 01-06-2015 9:23pm

I bet my friend a $100 that the warriors will do it in 5, crazy I know but mainly did it to shut hom up. It really could go either way, game 1 should reveal a lot.

padraig_f · 02-06-2015 8:57pm

Watched the Fred Hoiberg press conference, I'm pumped up, he was brilliant.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MK0qRGGZrY

Paully D · 02-06-2015 10:00pm

I really, really hope the Hoiberg hire is not just Forman going from one extreme to the other - i.e, not being able to control Thibs at all but now having his friend in on puppet strings. I'm probably just being far too cynical however.

I don't know a whole lot about him but on paper his record is pretty impressive. The offense-first style will be an interesting change from Thibs' defense-first style too. A young coach who was very popular at Iowa, I'm sure the Bulls players will take to him quickly, mainly due to seeing him as a refreshing change from Thibs.

Hopefully it works out.

BQQ · 02-06-2015 10:18pm

padraig_f wrote: »

Watched the Fred Hoiberg press conference, I'm pumped up, he was brilliant.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MK0qRGGZrY

I'd say the dancing will go down well with D-Rose...........NOT!

padraig_f · 02-06-2015 10:26pm

Paully, they played with the 2nd highest pace in college basketball last year. Rose and Jimmy will be getting out and running. I know the pace was slow under Thibs, just checking it there....21st out of 30 in the league last year. The offense will look a whole lot different. Who knows if it's gonna be ultimately successful, but it's gonna be a lot more fun to watch at least.

He just came across as very intelligent, but likeable at the same time. I think the players are gonna love him.

Said all the right things. Had a great situation at Iowa State that he didn't want to leave, but said the opportunity was too good to pass up. Not just Chicago, and the ties he has there, but said he loved the roster, and said you rarely get a chance to come into such a great situation, talked about contending for a championship right away.

ButtersSuki · 02-06-2015 10:53pm

This break between the conf. finals and the finals themselves is killing me.....

buyer95 · 04-06-2015 1:12am

I have deep dive about to be published on the battle of the point guards coming tomorrow, 2000 words on Curry vs Irving and why it will likely swing the series.

GoldFour4 · 04-06-2015 8:35am

Happy finals day everyone, finally!!

padraig_f · 04-06-2015 1:47pm

It does feel like an age since the last games, particularly with the conference finals being a dud. Still, the break gives everyone the best chance for everyone to get as healthy as possible. I notice Klay Thompson was cleared the other day for his concussion, but you'd wonder if there were any lingering effects from that.

I'm rooting for the Warriors, and think they'll win, in, I'll say 6 games.

However I think they might be most vulnerable in game 1. Basketball is a game of chemistry, and the long break could just do enough to disrupt that. It'll be the same for both teams, but the Warriors are a team that shares the ball more, so would be more prone to disruption from a lack of sharpness & timing. Playing at home, the pressure is on them to win, and they have a group of players who've never played in the finals before. Tonight may be Cleveland's best chance to steal the home court.

The Reservoir Dubs Anchorman · 04-06-2015 7:00pm

Cleveland in 6 for me. As good as Curry is and he is great Lebron is nearly unstoppable. Going to be a good series though hopefully!

NufcNavan · 04-06-2015 7:07pm

If the Cavs lose this series, then Lebron drops to 2-4 in the Finals, which certainly hurts his legacy when comparing him to the very best players in league history. But if he wins then he is 3-3, will have won 3 out of 4 titles, and will have given the tortured fans of Cleveland a title...the place it all started. In other words, this is huge for people who love to debate history and legacies. Hopefully these Finals make up for what has been one of the worst playoff years ever.

04-06-2015 7:17pm

NufcNavan wrote: »

If the Cavs lose this series, then Lebron drops to 2-4 in the Finals, which certainly hurts his legacy when comparing him to the very best players in league history. But if he wins then he is 3-3, will have won 3 out of 4 titles, and will have given the tortured fans of Cleveland a title...the place it all started. In other words, this is huge for people who love to debate history and legacies. Hopefully these Finals make up for what has been one of the worst playoff years ever.

see i disagree with that argument he's still been to 6 finals (2 of which have been with some of the worst finals rosters ever outside him) i dont see how getting to say 3 and winning all of them is better than getting to 6 and winning 2. are you saying he would have been better off getting knocked out earlier because that makes no sense at all

buyer95 · 04-06-2015 7:58pm

I wrote this article on the point guard battle between Curry and Irving, and I also make a prediction on who I believe will win the championship. http://www.punditarena.com/basketball/comahony/nba-finals-warriors-vs-cavs-battle-point-guards/
Would appreciate any feedback anyone on here has, seeing as most of my friends have little to no interest in basketball, I do not have someone that I can bounce ideas off/ask their opinion on a piece. As I post on this thread regularly, and have huge respect for most of the guys who post on here, I would greatly appreciate any feedback.

Langdon Alger · 04-06-2015 8:11pm

NufcNavan · 04-06-2015 8:42pm

Mathew Hissing Wall wrote: »

see i disagree with that argument he's still been to 6 finals (2 of which have been with some of the worst finals rosters ever outside him) i dont see how getting to say 3 and winning all of them is better than getting to 6 and winning 2. are you saying he would have been better off getting knocked out earlier because that makes no sense at all

Like it or not that's the sort of comparisons that will be made if the Cavs lose this series.

And to answer your last question, LOL of course it would have been worse to get knocked out of the East, especially the joke it was this year.

It's just that we've all seen Lebron overcome some damn great teams and players in the past. I don't put a series victory against the Hawks at the top of his achievements. Yeah, I get that they won 60 games, but regular season wins don't mean squat once the playoffs start (see 49 win 2013 Pacers who were a lethal playoff team). Carroll was hobbled and that team doesn't really have any star power. Star power is what wins in the playoffs. The best teams have the best players who can reach a true elite level in the playoffs. The Hawks don't really have that.

Lebron played as great as one could possibly play, but the opponent was not the least bit scary. Now seeing Lebron wear out the 2012 Celtics or 2013 Pacers.....two exhausting 7 games series....those are the Lebron moments that really stick out for me because I think that those teams were much more dangerous NBA playoff teams than Atlanta, even if the regular season records did not reflect that. 2012 Rondo/KG and 2013 PG/Hibbert were head and shoulders superior to the best players on the Hawks. In the playoffs, you can really only go as far as your best players can take you. Atlanta has a bunch of nice players who collectively score a lot of points, but they really don't have a guy who can go out and consistently win playoff games by himself

shamrock55 · 04-06-2015 9:36pm

buyer95 wrote: »

I wrote this article on the point guard battle between Curry and Irving, and I also make a prediction on who I believe will win the championship. http://www.punditarena.com/basketball/comahony/nba-finals-warriors-vs-cavs-battle-point-guards/
Would appreciate any feedback anyone on here has, seeing as most of my friends have little to no interest in basketball, I do not have someone that I can bounce ideas off/ask their opinion on a piece. As I post on this thread regularly, and have huge respect for most of the guys who post on here, I would greatly appreciate any feedback.

Im only a greenhorn when it comes to basketball myself tbh but that was a very good read and makes alot of sense, curry is probably the better of the two but id have a bit of a soft spot for irving myself(im a fan of neither team) btw but i just fancy the cavs to sneak it, but would like gs to win it too, its a no lose situation i just hope its enjoyable;)

04-06-2015 9:41pm

NufcNavan wrote: »

Like it or not that's the sort of comparisons that will be made if the Cavs lose this series.

And to answer your last question, LOL of course it would have been worse to get knocked out of the East, especially the joke it was this year.

It's just that we've all seen Lebron overcome some damn great teams and players in the past. I don't put a series victory against the Hawks at the top of his achievements. Yeah, I get that they won 60 games, but regular season wins don't mean squat once the playoffs start (see 49 win 2013 Pacers who were a lethal playoff team). Carroll was hobbled and that team doesn't really have any star power. Star power is what wins in the playoffs. The best teams have the best players who can reach a true elite level in the playoffs. The Hawks don't really have that.

Lebron played as great as one could possibly play, but the opponent was not the least bit scary. Now seeing Lebron wear out the 2012 Celtics or 2013 Pacers.....two exhausting 7 games series....those are the Lebron moments that really stick out for me because I think that those teams were much more dangerous NBA playoff teams than Atlanta, even if the regular season records did not reflect that. 2012 Rondo/KG and 2013 PG/Hibbert were head and shoulders superior to the best players on the Hawks. In the playoffs, you can really only go as far as your best players can take you. Atlanta has a bunch of nice players who collectively score a lot of points, but they really don't have a guy who can go out and consistently win playoff games by himself

i dont think that matters though you specifically mentioned the fact that he would be 2-4 in finals i accept that people will use it against him but people will always look to find a way to criticise lebron the fact that he has gotten to 6 finals is great in its self. magic for example needs to get more credit for making 9 finals

buyer95 · 04-06-2015 11:10pm

Shane Battier doing a q and a with fans on Twitter. I asked him a question on my Pundit Arena twitter handle and he replied. I asked him what his favourite arena to play in was, and that he couldn't choose a team he played for. As a Knicks fan I was delighted with his answer of the Garden! https://twitter.com/ShaneBattier

buyer95 · 05-06-2015 3:28am

Although The Cavs are winning at the half, I'd be hugely surprised if the Dubs don't win this. The Warriors have scarcely played a worse quarter of basketball than the one they played in the 1st, it wasn't surprising I mean it is all the players first finals appearance. When the Warriors settled in the second, they looked the far better team.

buyer95 · 05-06-2015 4:44am

Warriors lead by 7 in OT, surely have it at this stage. What a game.

Carcharodon · 05-06-2015 5:12am

Well, that was a pretty amazing opening that nearly gave me a heart attack.
Hats off to lebron, what aperformance, bit surprised he stopped being so aggressive in ot, became a passer...very weird.
Amazing win for warriors, they stuck with it and got it done in the end, everyone contributed.
Bogut was a bit disapointing, mosgov killed the warriors.

Cavs would of been happy if not gor the irving injury, nearly stole an away win

buyer95 · 05-06-2015 6:38am

I think I should be declared insane. I was so buzzed after that game I just typed over 1500 words reflecting on it, for an article tomorrow. Couldn't sleep, and with the sun already in the sky I decided to get my thoughts down while they are still fresh. I don't envy whoever will have to edit it tomorrow though. Im off to try and get a few hours kip now. Unreal game, I'll post a link to my thoughts on the game tomorrow. Again any feedback is greatly appreciated.

NufcNavan · 05-06-2015 9:05am

Hate having to miss these games. Work in the mornings mean I can't stay up

Looked a great game. You feel the cavs missed their chance to steal one on the road.

GoldFour4 · 05-06-2015 9:11am

Didn't get to see it live either, looks like a great one though. Will check it out later.

ButtersSuki · 05-06-2015 10:53am

Cavs will regret that one, but too much ISO play late in the game. GSW are too deep to let LeBron beat you on his own. As I predicted they primarily put Iggy on him and strange as it seems he did well on him (despite 44 from LeBron). I reckon Kerr's logic is we'll let LeBron get whatever but we'll make the other guys beat us.

I'm going to bring up the LeBron choking thing again. His potential game winner was an awful shot to take and he had time to take at least one dribble to his left to get a better shot. Poor shot selection. Then in OT, he chose to pass instead of getting to the basket himself. That's really poor game management from a supposed leader. Might return to elaborate more on this later, just up the walls at the mo.

padraig_f · 05-06-2015 1:24pm

Watched it this morning. Hate to be the guy that says it's over early, but thought the Cavs really needed to win that one. And they had a shot at the end to do so, two actually, because they got the offensive rebound (Shumpert's second-chance shot was very close).

- As I guessed might happen, the Warriors came out very rusty and were pretty bad in the first half, but they only found themselves down 3. Was that when JR Smith hit a 3 at the buzzer?

@netw3rk: "JR hits the buzzer shot, runs up-court, and doesn't even glance at Rihanna. Locked in."

The Warriors shook the rust off in the 3rd quarter, but the Cavs got hot offensively at the same time.

- Lebron had a great game, best player on the court last night, if the Cavs won, people would've been talking about this as one of his great games, but it'll get lost in the defeat.

Carcharodon wrote: »

Hats off to lebron, what aperformance, bit surprised he stopped being so aggressive in ot, became a passer...very weird.win

I'd say fatigue. Looking at the stats there, he had 38 field-goal attempts (!). And it wasn't just the number, but the type, most of them he was creating the looks himself. Had to take a physical toll.

- Offensive rebounds are big for the Cavs. Just looking at the stats there, it was 13 OREBs to 11....seemed like more. But even when they don't get the offensive-rebound, they're contesting, and making it difficult for the Warriors to get out on the fast break.

- Irving went off hurt at the end. Body language did not look good. If he's out for any time, the series is definitely over, and probably a sweep.

- It may be over anyway. Hard to see the Warriors playing as weakly again, or Lebron doing more. And where else are you going to get something from Cleveland?

ButtersSuki wrote: »

I'm going to bring up the LeBron choking thing again. His potential game winner was an awful shot to take and he had time to take at least one dribble to his left to get a better shot. Poor shot selection.

It was a really bad look, but I thought the problem was more how they set it up. They had the full 24 to work with, and they let Kyrie just stand there with the ball for 14 seconds before finding Lebron in a bad position out on the wing. I know they're trying to get the last shot, but should've given it to Lebron earlier to let him read the court, and set up the shot better.

Thought that was more on Blatt for the play-call than Lebron.

buyer95 · 05-06-2015 3:13pm

buyer95 wrote: »

I think I should be declared insane. I was so buzzed after that game I just typed over 1500 words reflecting on it, for an article tomorrow. Couldn't sleep, and with the sun already in the sky I decided to get my thoughts down while they are still fresh. I don't envy whoever will have to edit it tomorrow though. Im off to try and get a few hours kip now. Unreal game, I'll post a link to my thoughts on the game tomorrow. Again any feedback is greatly appreciated.

Game 1 breakdown http://www.punditarena.com/basketball/comahony/warriors-win-game-1-talking-points/

The Reservoir Dubs Anchorman · 05-06-2015 4:18pm

Alot will depend on Irving coming back but I still like the Cavs. Lebron is just at the very top of his game, he'll find a way to get the team involved in game two. But even if they lose game two I think the Cavs can get back into this. The finals everyone wanted has certainly lived up to the hype already.

killwill · 05-06-2015 8:25pm

Watched it live last night.
Thought that JR cost the Cavs with his shot selection and I think he went 3/13 from downtown. As much as I like JR I really question if he is consistent enough to be a playoff standard player.
Irving played way too many minutes for someone that was struggling to be even fit for Game 1.

D2D · 05-06-2015 10:44pm

Kyrie's out 3-4 months with a fractured kneecap......................... I'm keeping the faith but as much as I hate to say it, this series might be over already.

Paully D · 06-06-2015 12:45am

Series done with the Kyrie injury update I'm afraid. As good as LeBron is, even he can't beat this Warriors team without 2 of his main teammates.

padraig_f · 06-06-2015 6:17am

That sucks all round about Irving. Sucks for the Cavs obviously. Sucks for the neutral hoping for a competitive series. And I think sucks too for the Warriors, who I was pretty sure were going to win the series anyway after game 1, but now it will may be seen that they got an easy ride.

A lot of injuries in these playoffs, maybe need to take a more serious look at the 82-game thing. Baseball has done a lot of research into how pitch-count leads to injuries (I think 100 is the key number, once you go over 100 pitches in a game, risk of injury goes way up). It must be the same for basketball and number of games/minutes. The playoffs are the main attraction for the NBA, need to have players healthy for that time of the season.

shamrock55 · 06-06-2015 6:53am

Shame about irving,could be a whitewash now

TheGoldenAges · 06-06-2015 12:54pm

Loved this, the Draymond Green tweet killed me

Paully D · 06-06-2015 4:14pm

TheGoldenAges wrote: »

Loved this, the Draymond Green tweet killed me

The DeAndre Jordan one was superb. :pac:

SiMurphy9 · 06-06-2015 10:38pm

Could anyone please tell me what station this is on on sky , cant find it?

killwill · 06-06-2015 11:57pm

SiMurphy9 wrote: »

Could anyone please tell me what station this is on on sky , cant find it?

It's not on Sky. I think it is on BT though.

NufcNavan · 07-06-2015 12:20am

The layup against Indiana was game 1 BTW. Hibbert was inexplicably on the bench for the final play. Hibbert there no layup. Simples. Anyway...

Good post though.

Lebron certainly had every right to go to Miami and the team won fair and square within the rules. But three superstars (including the best player and a guy who was a top 5 player) teaming up like that in the prime of their career was unprecedented. The deck was severely stacked against virtually all of the other teams. The Pacers built a good team over that time period with wise value drafting, smart draft day trades, and a good FA signing in West, but it's pretty hard to compete with a team with three stars scheming together like that. Miami's titles were won fair and square, but when comparing Lebron to the very best players in league history, it cannot be ignored that the teams he won championships with were formed in an unprecedented manner that gave them an absurdly large advantage.

Shaq, for example, made a decision for Shaq alone when he left Orlando for LA in 96. He wasn't scheming with two other superstars to create a Dream Team. He obviously had no way of knowing that the 18 year old kid the Lakers drafted was about to become Michael Jordan Lite.

leggo · 07-06-2015 6:38pm

I'm tempted to back the Cavs for tonight (I just want a second bet to parlay it with to get some value if anyone has any decent shouts).

I think Kyrie's injury rules out a legitimately competitive series, as I think the wear-and-tear of going it alone against the Dubs D will tire LeBron out by the end of the series (like last year against SA). But as a one-off, FU-game where he goes insane trying to prove a point like he did against Boston a few years ago, I think tonight is a good shout with the news of Kyrie fresh in the mind. You could also see Golden State taking their foot off the gas a little assuming it's sewn up, before copping on and getting back to business, ala the Rockets series.

I still think GSW in 6 with LeBron winning another game in Cleveland.

padraig_f · 07-06-2015 8:17pm

Revising my pick to a sweep on the back of Irving's injury. Think the Warriors blow them out tonight.

padraig_f · 07-06-2015 10:11pm

Carcharodon wrote: »

As great as the lebron debate is, I am off to the game, enjoy !!!

I detect a note of sarcasm. Going to a finals game, sweet.

Carcharodon · 07-06-2015 10:53pm

padraig_f wrote: »

I detect a note of sarcasm. Going to a finals game, sweet.

Mucho dinero

GoldFour4 · 07-06-2015 11:46pm

Staying up tonight for this one, hope it's good. My gut says LBJ is gonna go big and that Dellavadova is gonna be surprisingly successful tonight against the MVP.

07-06-2015 11:54pm

dont think lebron compares to jordan but i would certainly say he's comparable to magic. magic also played in a weak conference btw and was also ok with passing on the final shot both are physical freaks that could play any position and both will pass as soon as shoot

ButtersSuki · 07-06-2015 11:56pm

malistheman wrote: »

Staying up tonight for this one, hope it's good. My gut says LBJ is gonna go big and that Dellavadova is gonna be surprisingly successful tonight against the MVP.

Trying hard not to fall out of the fed laughing! Thanks for that Mal!

killwill · 08-06-2015 4:20am

Home court advantage to Cavs!!!
Not the most enjoyable game ever to watch but nice to see Cleveland make a series of it so far.
Lebron with big numbers again, Curry with an off night hitting 2/15 3-pointers

bmcc10 · 08-06-2015 4:23am

malistheman wrote: »

Staying up tonight for this one, hope it's good. My gut says LBJ is gonna go big and that Dellavadova is gonna be surprisingly successful tonight against the MVP.

You called it dellavadova was brilliant I thought

For Forks Sake · 08-06-2015 8:13am

leggo wrote: »

I'm tempted to back the Cavs for tonight (I just want a second bet to parlay it with to get some value if anyone has any decent shouts).

I think Kyrie's injury rules out a legitimately competitive series, as I think the wear-and-tear of going it alone against the Dubs D will tire LeBron out by the end of the series (like last year against SA). But as a one-off, FU-game where he goes insane trying to prove a point like he did against Boston a few years ago, I think tonight is a good shout with the news of Kyrie fresh in the mind. You could also see Golden State taking their foot off the gas a little assuming it's sewn up, before copping on and getting back to business, ala the Rockets series.

I still think GSW in 6 with LeBron winning another game in Cleveland.

This guy knows. Did you place that bet?

2015 NBA Playoffs

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