NBA Playoffs 2016

NufcNavan

The Dragon Reborn wrote: »

Who will step up though, Heat could do it if Wade took a minimum which would allow them to sign a superstar this year and next and then allow him to get a massive contract next season, but would take a lot of trust on his part

Boston and all of their assets have to turn into something at some point. They're really the only hope right now.

Barring a mega trade of some sort, I don't see another team in the East that is anywhere close to being able to compete with GS in a finals matchup. That could potentially be the case on a smaller scale with the Spurs and OKC as well.

Every other team just screams mediocre right now in the grand scheme of things.

ButtersSuki

The Dragon Reborn wrote: »

Who will step up though, Heat could do it if Wade took a minimum which would allow them to sign a superstar this year and next and then allow him to get a massive contract next season, but would take a lot of trust on his part

Wafe's too old and he's not the same guy he was physically, not a great starting point.

A good place to start would be somewhere with a legit young superstar, but even that's a 3-4 year programme. Davis in NO would be the ideal foundation piece but he's only been to the playoffs once and they took a big step backwards this year.

Bar a super blockbuster trade involving multiple teams to really shake things up its going to be the same again next year in the east.

I despair for the east (and I say that as a Boston fan). The 3 best teams in the league by far are in the west.

Unless things change in the east personnel wise it'll be the Cavs for the next few years until LeJon breaks down.

NufcNavan

Lebron seems quite happy making the finals and passive aggressively hogging the ball so it appears that he has no teammates...

It's always Lebron's achievement when his team makes the finals, and always his team that gets blamed when they don't win it.

Lebron's supporting cast gives him no help. He needs better players around him. The narrative hasn't changed.

Paully D

NufcNavan wrote: »

It's all so predictable and stale at this point.

It's impossible not to see Cleveland sleep-walking to the Finals next year again either. It's so pointless going through 82 regular season games and 3 playoff series' when there's a 99.99% chance LeBron will win the East yet again.

nerd69

NufcNavan wrote: »

Boston and all of their assets have to turn into something at some point. They're really the only hope right now.

easier said than done unfortunately rumours of a trade for jimmy butler in order to try and convince durant to come but i dont think thats likely

realistically bosons best hope is brooklyn being terrible next year and getting a high pick in what looks like the best draft in a long time apparently.

philly could become a serious team over the next few years if they can get a few good vets in possibly the most likely to start contending but even thats down the line a bit lebron will likely make the next 2-3 finals baring a blockbuster trade but not sure what that could be (perhaps boogie to boston but who knows if that will ever happen )

ButtersSuki

NufcNavan wrote: »

Lebron seems quite happy making the finals and passive aggressively hogging the ball so it appears that he has no teammates...

It's always Lebron's achievement when his team makes the finals, and always his team that gets blamed when they don't win it.

Lebron's supporting cast gives him no help. He needs better players around him. The narrative hasn't changed.

As succinct a statement as you'll ever see on LeJon Brames.

ButtersSuki

Some team (or teams) in the east need to make moves to get not one but 2 superstars onto their roster for things to change in that conference. Not one superstar and a next level guy, but two legit all star level players (and I'm excluding Melo from that ranking btw) to go with an existing solid support crew. Dropping Durant alone for example into Boston probably doesn't see them beating Cleveland with LeJon. Sad but true.

Paully D

ButtersSuki wrote: »

Some team (or teams) in the east need to make moves to get not one but 2 superstars onto their roster for things to change in that conference. Not one superstar and a next level guy, but two legit all star level players (and I'm excluding Melo from that ranking btw) to go with an existing solid support crew. Dropping Durant alone for example into Boston probably doesn't see them beating Cleveland with LeJon. Sad but true.

You'd think the East would be an attractive proposition for a superstar too, considering if the supporting cast is even halfway decent you'd realistically only have one team to beat in a challenging series to make it to the Finals.

SantryRed

ButtersSuki wrote: »

As succinct a statement as you'll ever see on LeJon Brames.

What's with the Lejon thing? I don't get it...

Bonniedog

Came across quote from 2003 piece which refers to LBJ: ".... magazines and big time networks making this kid larger than life, only to chisel away at him when he began to act like the entitled smack-ass monster they had of course created"!

In fairness, I think he has matured since then, but others might disagree!

limerickfc

Any draft thread going up this year lads.?

ButtersSuki

SantryRed wrote: »

What's with the Lejon thing? I don't get it...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3ytF7xoL-I

From the US Office in case you're wondering what it's from.

rushfan

SantryRed wrote:

What's with the Lejon thing? I don't get it...

Yeah, don't understand it. Time to build a bridge, etc. Move on.

ButtersSuki

rushfan wrote: »

Yeah, don't understand it. Time to build a bridge, etc. Move on.

It's
A
Joke......

rushfan

ButtersSuki wrote:

It's A Joke......

Yeah, I'm crackin up laughing here.

ButtersSuki

rushfan wrote: »

Yeah, I'm crackin up laughing here.

Oh well I apologise then. Profusely. I didn't know we couldn't refer to players as to anything but their full and correct names. How's that for sarcasm? On a par with your own?

Humour is subjective. I find it funny. If you don't, that's cool too. But I won't stop saying it just because you don't like it.

There are many, many names for LeJon far worse than that out there. Heaven forbid I were to use any of those:

http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2016/3/24/11292028/lebron-james-idiot-derogatory-nickname-glossary-ledumb-lebum-lebooger-lefart-lepenis

ButtersSuki

rushfan wrote: »

Yeah, I'm crackin up laughing here.

84 posts in almost 5 years and you choose to use one to comment on that? :rolleyes:

rushfan

ButtersSuki wrote:

84 posts in almost 5 years and you choose to use one to comment on that?

Boards Stalker? ?? Scary.

ButtersSuki

rushfan wrote: »

Boards Stalker? ?? Scary.

Yup. I'm a stalker if your definition of stalker means reading the information that's in front of me.

Good comeback though. :rolleyes:

GoldFour4

Chill the beans lads

ButtersSuki

ButtersSuki wrote: »

http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2016/3/24/11292028/lebron-james-idiot-derogatory-nickname-glossary-ledumb-lebum-lebooger-lefart-lepenis

That's worth a look btw.

ButtersSuki

Warriors' Green suspended for Game 5

Breaking News: Green Suspended

After Draymond Green tangled up with LeBron James in game 4 of The Finals, Green's foul was upgraded to a flagrant 1 resulting in a one-game suspension. Tyronn Lue was fined $25,000 for his comments on the officiating.

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Golden State star Draymond Green was suspended for Monday's Game 5 of the NBA Finals after the league assessed a Flagrant 1 foul from his scuffle with Cleveland's LeBron James.

The NBA announced the retroactive decision Sunday, issuing James a technical on the play late in Golden State's 108-97 victory Friday. A statement announcing the discipline said that Green "made unnecessary contact with a retaliatory swipe of his hand to the groin" of James.

"There's no way you can say this is an acceptable act," Kiki VanDeWeghe, the NBA's executive vice president of basketball operations, told The Associated Press in a phone interview.

Green has been on the cusp of trouble for much of the postseason. This is his fourth flagrant foul point, which resulted in the automatic suspension. He also has five technical fouls and was fined $25,000 for kicking Oklahoma City's Steven Adams in the groin during the Western Conference finals.

The Warriors lead the series 3-1 with a chance to clinch their second straight championship at home in Oracle Arena, but now they'll have to do it without one of their most important players.

Things Get Testy In Cleveland

Draymond Green and LeBron James exchange words with one another after getting tangled up.

"You have to do what you think is right for the play," VanDeWeghe said, "and unfortunately Draymond put himself in this position."

Warriors coach Steve Kerr spoke to Green earlier in the postseason about keeping his emotions in check. Kerr declined to respond in specifics to the decision Sunday, saying that it's "irrelevant what any of us think - we have to accept the decision and move on."

His players were upset.

"There's no rhyme or reason to it," center Andrew Bogut said. "I've been in the same situation. I've been suspended before. I think it's like a lottery decision, like the draft. They just pull out a ping-pong ball and make a decision."

Green is averaging 15.3 points this postseason - third-most on the team behind Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson - and a team-leading 9.6 rebounds along with nearly six assists.

GameTime: Vandeweghe On Green's Suspension

NBA Vice President of Basketball Operations Kiki Vandeweghe joins GameTime to speak on Draymond Green's suspension for game 5 of The Finals.

While the NBA said the suspension was the result of the contact, there were also hard feelings among the players that lingered Sunday about what Green said to James during the scuffle. Thompson mentioned James' feelings might have been hurt by trash talk from Green, to which the four-time MVP James later laughed and said, "Ahh, my goodness," noting, "It's so hard to take the high road," and he wouldn't address those remarks further.

"I felt at that point in time it was a little outside of basketball," James said.

Green called Friday's incident "stuff that's said on the court." Yet James considered it all inappropriate and said he and his teammates reviewed the sequence on video.

"Draymond just said something that I don't agree with," James said. "I'm all cool with the competition. I'm all fine with that, but some of the words that came out of his mouth were a little bit overboard, and being a guy with pride, a guy with three kids and a family, things of that nature, some things just go overboard."

As his teammates went through shooting drills near the end of Sunday's workout, Green could be seen off to the side speaking to Warriors general manager Bob Myers before returning to practice.

The Warriors learned of the suspension late in the session, and Green wasn't made available to the media.

"He's not happy, no," Curry said. "But anybody in that situation, you can't expect them to be OK with the decision. I know he's going to give us positive energy. He's going to support us as a team the best way he can, even though he's not going to be on the floor, and we have to go out and get a win for him."


So the NBA continue to do everything in their power to hand LeJon another ring. Joke of a decision IMO. If you're going to ban Green, ban LeJon too. He provoked it by stepping over Green the way he did. That was no accident on his part. He was making a statement there by doing that. If you watched the episode of Inside NBA after the game Barkley commented on this specifically. LeJon is a coward.

And WTF is this BS - "(Brames) considered it all inappropriate and said he and his teammates reviewed the sequence on video". Can you imagine that session? LeJon holding court in the video session and all the Cavs players sitting there like fans, "look what he did to me?"; and all the players probably too scared to say anything like "well you did walk over him on purpose?". To think they actually reviewed that play after a loss in the finals? FFS. Get some perspective on the real issues that matter in the game. He really hasn't got a clue on how to manage PR situations sometimes. He's a cry baby.

A really spoilt child.

ButtersSuki

At the rate he's going even Dwight Howard will be more popular player and teammate than LeJon by 2018.

For Forks Sake

ButtersSuki wrote: »

Things Get Testy In Cleveland

Clear Hearts

ButtersSuki wrote: »

At the rate he's going even Dwight Howard will be more popular player and teammate than LeJon by 2018.

I think he might already be

Bonniedog

Green will be a big loss.

Steph and Klay will need to wake up for this one.

Would have a few issues with the way some games have been officiated but Green has looked like maniac at times! not complete surprise that they hit him with a suspension.

Would be a pity if this sort of thing colours the last game. Yes, the LAST game!

ButtersSuki

I still think (despite no Draymond) that GS wins tonight. Only question for me then is dies Draymond go full on John Terry non-playing full kit wanker as they get the trophy?!

It's hard to call an MVP as no one has really stood out. Prob Curry on his game 4 performance if he can babk that up again tonight.

Bonniedog

Warriors are a betting proposition tonight because Green is out.

Time for the splash brothers to leave their mark on the finals.

I'd imagine Green could be pretty obnoxious character, and he has back story like some others that can be wheeled out to excuse any sort of bullsh1t.

Others don't need that.

killwill

Bonniedog wrote: »

Green will be a big loss.

Steph and Klay will need to wake up for this one.

Would have a few issues with the way some games have been officiated but Green has looked like maniac at times! not complete surprise that they hit him with a suspension.

Would be a pity if this sort of thing colours the last game. Yes, the LAST game!

If Green was punished earlier as he should have been, like against OKC, this would have been a non issue.
But there is only so far you can go.
LeBron was wrong for stepping over him.
Green was even more wrong for the little dig at LeBron's crown jewels.
Either way Warriors still win this series.

Paully D

Disappointed Green is suspended but I suspected he would be. Fact is if it had been the other way around, LeBron would never have got suspended. Sad. Hopefully it will be irrelevant come the end of the series.

The Warriors are 5.5 point favourites and generally 4/9 to win tonight so the bookmakers don't think Green's absence will make too much of a difference. I disagree.