NBA Finals!

[CenTexDave]

It's over. Cavs and Warriors in the finals.
Thoughts?

[fchafey]

Win or lose Oakland will be a mess after the last game. The fans in that area make Philly fans seem classy.

[CenTexDave]

Cavs in 6.
If Kyrie Irving is at 100%, might be less. :)

[Night Owl]

Golden State in 4, I hope.:) Actually I don't care. Haven't watched a NBA game in years.

[mac]

Golden State in 4, I hope.:) Actually I don't care. Haven't watched a NBA game in years.

not even the spurs? not even when they play the mavs? i'm not as big nba guy either but i sure do enjoy watching the spurs......mac

[fchafey]

I love the Spurs....especially when they make the playoffs.

5557

[Night Owl]

Not the Spurs, not the mavs, none of them. I watch college and high school, what there is, because they play basketball. The NBA doesn't play basketball. The only semblance to basketball at the nba level is the floor, goals and ball. Once you get pass that the game they play is some made up bs. They carry the ball, the walk, they foul on every play. There is a rule book but the nba doesn't follow it. It's worse when star players are involved in the play.

[mac]

Not the Spurs, not the mavs, none of them. I watch college and high school, what there is, because they play basketball. The NBA doesn't play basketball. The only semblance to basketball at the nba level is the floor, goals and ball. Once you get pass that the game they play is some made up bs. They carry the ball, the walk, they foul on every play. There is a rule book but the nba doesn't follow it. It's worse when star players are involved in the play.

i'm just the opposite.....I wouldn't watch a school or college basket ball game for all the tea in china.....but I do love a good nba game. there was a time when I felt the way you did though.....but the 3 pointer kind of fixed that for me.....I seem to enjoy all baseball, softball and rodeos though, whether they're pros (Rangers) or students......mac

[CenTexDave]

That was a great game last night which the Warriors won in OT. LeBron had 44, but the Cavs are dead meat if Kyrie Irving, who twisted his knee in OT, is out for the rest of the series.

[fchafey]

Agree, the Warriors will let Lebron go nuts and shu the rest of the team down. A great quote from many years ago was from Larry Bird when MJ had a 61 point game on them. His reply was something to the effect that Micheal's 61 was hard to stop, so we kept the rest of the team under 20.

[CenTexDave]

No team, even Bird's Celtics or Jordan's Bulls, could afford to have 3 starters out due to injuries. So unless Irving is ok, the Cavs are toast. As much as I would like to see the Cavs win this, Warriors will win. I even like their brand of basketball.

[mac]

That was a great game last night which the Warriors won in OT. LeBron had 44, but the Cavs are dead meat if Kyrie Irving, who twisted his knee in OT, is out for the rest of the series.

well.....it seems to me that the Cavs are out of it anyway, even if Irving is still good to go.....but, your right, that was one hell of a game and the rest will prob'ly be just as good. Like someone else on here said, maybe you, GS just plain plays great ball...the kind of basket ball I enjoy............have you ever seen curry take his shot, turn around and head back to the other end before the ball even gets to the net?.....seems like he just knows when it leaves his hand when it's good....mac

[CenTexDave]

I don't know if they're out of it even if Irving plays. It really all came down to one final shot in regulation.

[CenTexDave]

Fractured kneecap. Irving is done and so are the Cavs.

[Rick]

We'll see. Everyone thought they were done when Love got hurt. Someone will step up again.

[CenTexDave]

Thompson has filled in very well for Love. Not as good offensively, but is a real beast defensively. But this is a different opponent. Playing the team with the best record in basketball.

[CenTexDave]

Everyone may have written off Cleveland too early. LeBron has just shown who the true MVP is - played all 50 minutes last night.
Now back to Cleveland for the next 3 games.
GO CAVS!!!!!!!!!!!

[CenTexDave]

Cavs take the 3rd game. Not many of the great teams in history could survive with 3 of their starters out due to injuries.
Game 4 on Thursday. Time for Cleveland to finally win a championship.

[fchafey]

That would be nice for the city of Cleveland with pro football season just around the corner.

[CenTexDave]

I read Delly, the PG, was taken to the hospital by ambulance after the game due to severe cramping. IV's in the training room didn't help.
This has been a very rough, physical series. The officiating absolutely is terrible.

[fchafey]

The officiating on both sides is terrible. It is absolutely controlling the pace of the game.

[CenTexDave]

Last night's game showed how worn out the Cav starters are. Their bench didn't help at all (7 popints), but I question their coach's decision not to use Mike Miller more. Back to Oakland for game 5.

[CenTexDave]

This is as good as over.
Despite LeBron's triple double with 40 points, the Cavs got little else except from Thompson, who is starting in place of Kevin Love.
The coach's decision to park his center on the bench for 90% of the game is gonna come back and haunt him. I understand his desire to go with a faster lineup, but the subs he has to
call on are over the hill players who are past retirement.
If Anderson Varejoa, Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving were not injured and playing this would have been the Cavs' year.

[cnjbond]

I'm not a big LeBron fan but my hats off to him. I don't know what more he can do to help this team win except make every shot because he is getting absolutely NOTHING from his supporting staff!!

[CenTexDave]

Another LeBron hater?

[cnjbond]

I was a fan up until he left Cleveland...not so much that he left but the way he left.

[CenTexDave]

Wow. He wanted to play with Wade and win a championship. Can't blame him for that. The Cavs surrounded him with aging, below average players.
Although I agree I didn't like the media circus where he announced he was leaving.

[fchafey]

And what is he surrounded with now? a perosn that drops 40 15, and 10 and looks around and there is no help. They will speak of Lebron's play like that of Kobe's one day. Lebron's is a role model and is doing things right. Kobe...well at least his wife got a real nice diamond out of the deal and his lawyer is very comfortable now.

[CenTexDave]

Unfortunately for him, and the Cavs, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love got injured and are gone. Their bench plugged those two holes fairly nicely, but the rest of their bench sucks.

[CenTexDave]

Pretty much ended the way we all expected.
Cavs need to find new subs. Hope they keep Thompson (he's a free agent now). Let Love walk to save huge $$$. Never thought he was that great anyway.
Find a shooting guard.

[cnjbond]

Pretty much ended the way we all expected.
Cavs need to find new subs. Hope they keep Thompson (he's a free agent now). Let Love walk to save huge $$$. Never thought he was that great anyway.
Find a shooting guard.

They have a shooting guard, he got injured playing in an overtime game that shouldn't have gone to overtime! I think the series would've had a different outcome if LeBron could've gotten consistent production out of just ONE of his teammates along with a healthy Irving.

Their bench was absolutely horrendous!!! Some of those guys didn't even look like they belonged in the NBA.

[CenTexDave]

Kyrie Irving is a point guard, not the shooting guard. Although he scores more than the other two "shooting" guards they have. :))
That bench was a bunch of also-rans who hooked themselves to LeBron's coattails in hopes of winning a championship. I imagine we have seen the last of Mike Miller, Shawn Marion, etc.

[cnjbond]

Kyrie Irving is a point guard, not the shooting guard. Although he scores more than the other two "shooting" guards they have. :))
That bench was a bunch of also-rans who hooked themselves to LeBron's coattails in hopes of winning a championship. I imagine we have seen the last of Mike Miller, Shawn Marion, etc.

He scores a heckuva lot more than the shooting guards!

[CenTexDave]

Sure does. I just wonder now if his knee will respond to treatment and can he return to the same form?
Their center, Anderson Varejoa, is always injured. When healthy the guy is a defensive beast, but he's pretty much been injured for the entire past 3 years.

[cnjbond]

I imagine it's tough to be a Cav fan knowing that the championship was theirs for the taking if just ONE person between Love and Irving had remained healthy.

[Night Owl]

How long has it been since Cleveland has won a championship in any professional sport? Decades?

[mac]

How long has it been since Cleveland has won a championship in any professional sport? Decades?

decades times 4!......mac

[CenTexDave]

How long has it been since Cleveland has won a championship in any professional sport? Decades?

51 years!!!! Last one was the Browns - 1964 NFL Championship against the Baltimore Colt, 27-0.

[Night Owl]

Wow, you were a teen then. That's a long time to wait.

[CenTexDave]

I was at the 1964 Championship Game. Baltimore was heavily favored - they had Unitas. Cleveland had Jim Brown. Neither were a factor as the Browns' QB, Dr. Frank Ryan (PhD in Math and a professor at Rice) found WR Gary Collins for a couple of TD's and Lou Groza kicked a couple FGs. Matter of fact, the "old Toe" missed a FG late in the game and nobody gave a damn.
Next year they lost at Green Bay, but for the next few years were always in the mix. Since then it's been one mess after another - red Right 88, The Drive, The Fumble, and then The Move to Baltimore. :-s
The Tribe had their chances - AL pennants in 95 and 97. Had the damn series won against Florida in 97 (remember those games in Cleveland played in sub-freezing temps?). Had a 2-1 lead going into the top of the 9th. Matt Williams (3d baseman) comes up and launches a line drive into left center. He stands there, watches it, then goes into his home run trot. Ball hits the top of the high concrete wall and bounces back into play, and Williams is held to a single. Next guy up laces a single. If Williams had run that hit ball out he would have at least been on second base. Then the Tribe putters and leaves two on. No problem, right. Closer Jose Mesa will come on and finish it - had the record for closes. Mesa screws up and they score. Tied game. Finally Florida wins it in the bottom of the 15th or so when the Tribe ends up sending out worn out starters to pitch. Really sucked.

[fchafey]

I watched that series in 97. Just got back from a 15 month tour in Korea. Yes 15 months as the whole 6th CAV left Texas and all of us SFC's got 15 months. Anyway, the Tribe was so close, Jim thome, Orel Hershieser, and David justice, thought they would get it done.

[CenTexDave]

You were in 6th Cav Bde?
Next you'll tell me you were Tommy Lee Jones' or Nicholas Cage's sidekick in The Firebirds!! :))

[fchafey]

You had to mention that. They used our aircraft, 4/6 CAV supported that. Tommy Lee Jones, Nicholas Cage and Sean young treated all of us great. Got them to wear the 6th CAv unit crests on thier A's. I was a buck sergeant then, lots of fun and they fed us well while working weekends and staying in the field to support the flying scenes. They had a young PFC that was going to hand the log book to them before flying and be in the movie. It was his aircraft 449. Well they spotted the only minority crew cheif we had at the time, an Island kid, threw out the white kid and put him in. He got busted for shop lifting while doing the movie but "they" wouldnt let him be replaced. He can be seen in the movie twice, once as a SGT and again as a SPC. That was really funny to us, that and Sean Young getting in the wrong side of the 58 to fly it by herself.

[CenTexDave]

My old unit, and was sad to hear of the problems they went through and then getting shipped off to the Land of the Morning Calm.

[fchafey]

Funny in a way, rumor had it we were lying about the OR Rate and couldnt go fight in 90. About 5 years later, I was in a position to learn the real reason we didnt go and it had more to do with Konitzer, then anything else. Anyway, We had 2 squadrons of A model Apaches. 36 total. 1st cav took 10 of ours in 1-6 and Fort Bragg got 9-10 of the ones in 3-6. We got some real junk in return. Having seen what was passed out for Grenada, we were all scared that we wouldnt get promoted, not having a bronze star or a combat patch. so they let us go to college during the day. The classes were wide open with everyone gone. It worked out.

[CenTexDave]

Yeah, that lineup in 97 was something else - Justice, Manny Ramirez, both Alomars, Thome, Travis Fryman at third. Unfortunately they traded Lofton for Justice - think that was a piss poor trade.