NBA Playoffs 2015-2016

[straightouttabahstun]

I can't wait until there are at least two contenders in the Eastern Conference again. Tired of one half of the bracket serving as a runners up derby / Finals warmup for Bron.

 It'll be in the next few years. Us and Detroit are looking to be very scary if player development goes well/front office makes good moves.

[Celtics18]

I can't wait until there are at least two contenders in the Eastern Conference again. Tired of one half of the bracket serving as a runners up derby / Finals warmup for Bron.

It'd be great if the other Eastern conference contender ends up being the Celtics.

[esel1000]

I can't wait until there are at least two contenders in the Eastern Conference again. Tired of one half of the bracket serving as a runners up derby / Finals warmup for Bron.

It'd be great if the other Eastern conference contender ends up being the Celtics.

That's the problem with a superstar driven league... The top 5 players in the league are Lebron and in the Western Conference.

Hopefully we find a way to land a top player sometime soon..outside of FA I'm not sure how we'd get a legit superstar sooner rather than later. Maybe DA gets crafty with a trade? Used to think Durant was a long shot but there was a chance, now it's basically no longer a possibility.

[SHAQATTACK]

LeBron just upsets the apple cart .....he is in another league by himself ..for now .

Davis Towns etc are super , but LeBron is everything on the court .  He is close to Magic Johnson , he is a one man team .

When LeBron retires the East will be wide open .

MJ, Shaq and LeBron and KG and Kobe to an extent.to an just dominated their era.  Just don't see anybody filling their shoes.

[Endless Paradise]

I will say it is funny how if Golden State loses, it's because Steph's not healthy, but that's not an issue when they win.

Can we just agree that Steph played poorly in OKC, regardless of his health? Westbrook played poorly in Golden State last night; it's okay to acknowledge that Steph had a couple of bad games.

Disagree. Why do people need some proof that he's gonna play poor in some games? He played poor against us when we beat the in Oakland, right?! If I remember correct, in the first half he had more turnovers then points...
If you watched game four and also game five last night, they are switching big guys on him regularly. It's evident that he has no speed in his legs to run past them with ease like he did in regular season. This is crucial for GSW offense and this provides easier job for OKC on defense, which they uses then on offense. If Steph does not play at his high level, the rest of the team does not play at their level either (Green, Barnes, Iggy). Yeah, OKC played well, and they did learn something from this past few years, but they didn't discover hot water either. If they win the series they will win it because Steph's not healthy, just like the Cavs last year wasn't ready...

Bull****. Golden State lost by 20+ in Games 3 and 4, giving up an average of 126 PPG. Steph being completely healthy wasn't fixing their godawful defense in those games, because that's what contributed primarily to those blowouts.

Don't understend whats your point? What I was saying is if Steph is hurt he can't play his style of ball. He just can't be as effective as some pf or c. His game is based on healthy legs constantly moving and changing directions. Yes everybody's hurt in this phase of the playoffs but we're not talking about fifth or fourth best player on the team, we're talking about mvp of the league. If he doesn't play his game it affects the whole team period.
Just like gsw, okc also prefers fast paced style of play so you can't say gsw was giving up 126 pts in games 3 and 4. They lost both games and it was blowouts. You can't just like that containe okc to low 90ies. They like this style of play.

Steph isn't great defender, hes not going to stop Westbrook but he can kill him on offense when healthy which will lead him to his old self shooting 30% from the field and 5-10 turnovers...
Okc matchup's very well against GSW but overall I think the Warriors are much better team when healthy.

My point is your argument that Golden State is losing because Steph's not healthy is nonsense. Steph not being completely healthy isn't what led Golden State to give up 126 PPG. Period.

[PhoSita]

Honestly I think Indiana and Washington are the best bets to challenge Bron anytime soon just because they already have George / Wall.  Not sure if any other East team has somebody who seems capable of leaping into the top 5-10 discussion. Maybe the Bulls with Butler, if they can add another big time player somehow.

[SparzWizard]

What's more impressive... Lebron making the finals 6 straight years with two different teams ... Or golden state winning 73 regular season games and losing in the WCF.

Any team can make the finals 6 straight times if you are a superstar that's playing alongside with two superstars/all-stars in a conference that isolates the skills of a 1st seed from the rest lol.

[RebusRankin]

Lebron is supremely talented no doubt and six straight finals is a heck of an accomplishment.
Lebron is also smart enough to team up with two other talents and picks a team in the weaker conference.

[greece66]

Honestly I think Indiana and Washington are the best bets to challenge Bron anytime soon just because they already have George / Wall.  Not sure if any other East team has somebody who seems capable of leaping into the top 5-10 discussion. Maybe the Bulls with Butler, if they can add another big time player somehow.

I like a lot Indiana's chances next year, esp. if they managed to sing Horford.

Not so sure about Washington tbh. They performed poorly this year. Moreover, Wall is great but not as much of an impact maker as PG IMO.

[PhoSita]

Six straight Finals is an accomplishment. At the same time, what is the best team Bron has overcome in the East during that time? The Pacers? The ancient Celts?

[PhoSita]

Honestly I think Indiana and Washington are the best bets to challenge Bron anytime soon just because they already have George / Wall.  Not sure if any other East team has somebody who seems capable of leaping into the top 5-10 discussion. Maybe the Bulls with Butler, if they can add another big time player somehow.

I like a lot Indiana's chances next year, esp. if they managed to sing Horford.

Not so sure about Washington tbh. They performed poorly this year. Moreover, Wall is great but not as much of an impact maker as PG IMO.

I like Wall a lot.  With the right mix of teammates I think he could be an MVP candidate.

[fairweatherfan]

Six straight Finals is an accomplishment. At the same time, what is the best team Bron has overcome in the East during that time? The Pacers? The ancient Celts?

They swept a 60 win team last year, but they kind of undercut themselves by doing it so thoroughly that no one feels like they were a legit 60 win team.

[GreenFaith1819]

Congrats to CLE - and especially LeBron James AND Kevin Love.

This will be Kevin's FIRST finals trip and I'm happy for him. I've always admired his game and am looking forward to seeing him perform on the Big Stage.

I have a feeling that he won't disappoint. He's hungry enough I'm sure.

If CLE can somehow pull this off it will definitely cement LeBron James as a top-10 all time player IMO. I'll be happy for him. His NBA legacy would've gone full circle once / if he can bring a banner to CLE.

Congrats to TOR as well. They're talking about extending Casey which I think is great. They have a talented core as long as Demar doesn't bolt for Lakers AND they have the number 9 pick to add more talent.

Masai Ujiri has done a GREAT job in Toronto - as he did in Denver.

[PhoSita]

Six straight Finals is an accomplishment. At the same time, what is the best team Bron has overcome in the East during that time? The Pacers? The ancient Celts?

They swept a 60 win team last year, but they kind of undercut themselves by doing it so thoroughly that no one feels like they were a legit 60 win team.

During this run, Bron has overcome a 62 win Bulls team, a 56 win Pacers team, and a 60 win Hawks team.

Looking at the SRS standings during those years, the disparity in the conferences only got really bad in the last few years, when at least three or four  opponents existed in the West superior to any Bron might face in the East.

How seriously should we regard those Bulls, Pacers, and Hawks?  They were excellent regular season teams but even at the time I'm not sure to what extent they were perceived as threats to Lebron.

Rose was very good in 2011, but didn't have a lot of offensive help.  George was still developing into a big time two way player, and also didn't have a lot of offensive help.  The Hawks were an extremely well balanced team, but lacked any strong individual talents.

[RebusRankin]

Just to play the other side, one could argue that Magic Johnson benefited from the West being weaker than the East. I mean Bird has the Erving/Malone 76ers, the Thomas Pistons, an underrated Milwaukee club and the Nique Hawks. So Lebron isn't the only one.