Tag: Cleveland

If the Warriors Sweep the Cavs, Are They the Best Team Ever?

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Real talk: A year after winning 73 games, would the Golden State Warriors be the best team ever if they sweep the Cavs and go 16-0 en route to an NBA championship?

Considering no other NBA team has ever done it, then you can definitely make the case. Sure you can bitch about the level of competition in the league and how we all picked these two teams to make the Finals back in October. But, theres always dominant teams in the NBA and there always will be.

The Cavs and LeBron “I’m not the GM” James had the same opportunities the Warriors had to beat up on a weaker league overall; Golden State just benefitted from drafting the majority of their super team. The Warriors put a team together primarily through the draft that just happened to become incredible and win 73 games. AND THEN THEY GOT BETTER.

I don’t like Durant joining the team that knocked him out of the playoffs anymore than you because its a soft move, but thats a conversation for another day.

The Warriors need 2 more wins to become the first team EVER to go undefeated in the NBA playoffs. All while toppling the best player in the world (Paul Pierce disagrees) in LeBron James as the cherry on top.

Considering Steph, Durant, and Dub Nation have dominated LeBron and the Cavs over the first 2 games, its not hard to imagine GSW completing the sweep. And to bring that back to a Celtics fan perspective for a quick minute, that makes me so fucking sad. The Celtics got absolutely waxed by Cleveland, the Cavs were just on another level, and now that same Cavs team is getting dismantled by the Warriors. Trader Danny would be wise to draft Markelle Fultz and keep it moving because unless Durant opts out and signs with the Celtics this summer, we ain’t winning shit with an asset depleting trade for Jimmy Butler or Paul George.

Anyways, enjoy this while its on because this is some rarefied shit we’re watching. Just elite basketball being played by the Warriors as the Cavs try and figure out a way to stop the pain train.

Celtics Nearly Steal Game 4 to Even Series with Cavs. Enter Kyrie Irving.

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Not really a big silver lining guy, but the Celtics took the Cavaliers to the absolute brink last night. It took a freaking career game from Kyrie Irving, who literally scored a career playoff high 42 points.  On a bum ankle nonetheless. It took all that for the Cavs to hold off the C’s from tying the series, who in the first half played the best basketball they’ve played all year long.

Cleveland wanted NO part of an even series heading back to Boston, Kyrie straight up admitted it in his post-game presser.

“In the back of my mind, I thought, ‘They can’t tie up the series,’” he said. “We can’t go back to Boston tied 2-2. We needed everything tonight.”

If the Celtics hold onto their first half lead and finish the job last night the series is a toss up. LeBron had 4 fouls in the first half for the first time in his career and he looked absolutely RATTLED.

The entire Cavs team looked shook and then Kyrie started taking over. There’s no shame in it, Kyrie is one of the best players in the world and it took everything he had to hold off the outgunned Celtics.

The one thing that will always bug me though is how LeBron had to sit for the last 6 minutes of the first half due to foul trouble and then had to play the entire second half with 4 fouls and we still couldn’t steal a win.

I’m not going to complain too much about the refs because they ate shit on both ends of the court, but LeBron would have had to hit somebody with a fucking metal chair in the second half to have drawn a 5th foul. Or god forbid a 6th and foul out of an NBA playoff game. The league was having none of that. But hey its hard to beat a team that shoots 60% for the game and nearly 80% in the second half.

Also, how can you not LOVE the balls on Jonas Jerebko. The guy is getting in there and is just going bananas, talking shit, picking fights with everyone on the Cavs. Jerebko has seemingly become the Celtics’ energy guy, a spark plug, an instigator, whatever you wanna call it. There’s always a place for a guy like that on my squad.

I’d also be remiss if I didn’t mention the fact that the Celtics covered the 16 point spread. They covered a yuuuge spread for the second game in a row. Sure they still lost by 13, but winning (the spread) is winning. I would have been ready to smash my TV though with the Cavs piling on garbage time points at the end as I bit my fingernails off. But, man money won is always sweeter than money earned.

PS – How many water boys you think LeBron fired last night after the shitshow that was the Cleveland parquet. Jae Crowder legit nearly blew his knee out slipping on the court, LeBron slipped under the hoop, Kevin Love slipped getting up too. It was like the pipes were leaking or something.

Clean that shit up before Game 7, Cleveland.

Now THAT Was a Game 7

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What. A. Game.

Now that was a goddamn Game 7. That my friends is what we in the business call an emotional roller coaster. Isaiah doing Isaiah things, Marcus Smart coming back from the dead to hit a couple 3’s and play his usual ferocious defense, and of course Kelly “Maple Jordan” Olynyk.

Seriously, holy shit, the awkward Canadian 7 footer just carried the Celtics to the Eastern Conference Finals with 26 points off the bench in Game 7. The guy was all awkward euro steps and scoop shots while consistently draining the 3 ball all night.

I have to admit I have given Olynyk my fair share of shit this season so I did not see this coming. I don’t think anyone did. Danny Ainge hoped for it, if only to get a 1-day reprieve of people reminding him he drafted Oynyk over this guy:

Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Greek Freak. But I digress.

Celtics were up, they were down, leading by double digits late in the fourth, only to see the Wizards claw back on the shoulders of Bradley Beal. Seriously Beal is an absolute baller who was putting the fear of God in me down the stretch. That guy can hit from just about anywhere. No thanks to John Wall, who seemingly used up all his turbo power in Game 6 because he ate a dick down the stretch shooting 0-11 over the final 19 minutes.

I laughed.

I cried

I nearly smashed my TV.

But thats what great teams do, they fall down and then they pick themselves back up.

And not to mention WE GET THE NBA DRAFT LOTTERY TONIGHT (Thank you Brooklyn). I feel like a kid with one Jewish parent and one Catholic parent and I get to celebrate BOTH Hanukkah AND Christmas. The best of both worlds. On back to back nights. Unless the Celtics get fisted by the ping pong balls again. Hell, even Markelle Fultz wants it to happen.

See you Wednesday night, Bron Bron.

Is Kelly Olynyk a Dirty Player? Lets Break It Down.

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Had to address this whole “Kelly Olynyk is a dirty player” storyline thats been gaining steam over the last few days. Look has Olynyk been involved in some scuffles the past couple of years? Sure, but most of them are pretty innocuous. It’s not like he’s going out there socking dudes. For Draymond Green of all people to call Olynyk dirty though is just absurd.

The guy who literally goes around kicking dudes in the DICK is calling our very own Maple Jordan a dirty player.

 

Pot meet kettle. Sit the fuck down Draymond. Even Isaiah said as much when asked about it.

And then Draymond, being the dickhead that he is, clapped back on Isaiah.

Hopefully the C’s pull this Wizard series out and LeBron gets mono or something because I would LOVE to see this matchup in the Finals.

But, back to the point at hand. Is Olynyk a great player? No. Is he an awful player? No. Is he wildly frustrating at times? Yup. But do I think of him as a dirty player? Trying to be as objective as possible even as a Celtics fan, but I just don’t see it. Lets go through some of the more memorable incidents from the past couple of years.

The time Olynyk blew out Kevin Love’s shoulder in the playoffs:

I still think this is just a case of two gangly white guys getting tangled up and one of their noodle arms getting stuck. Love definitely didn’t see it that way though as he went on to rip Olynyk as a dirty player, thus starting the movement. My ruling? Not dirty. Drink more milk, Kevin.

Kelly Olynyk setting a pick on Kelly Oubre in Game 3

This play is literally a pick, probably more like one of the illegal moving screens that Kevin Garnett made famous, but a pick nonetheless. One that knocks Oubre on his ass. There’s nothing malicious or dirty here. Looks like a young guy in Oubre overreacting to a physical play before going up and tossing Olynyk, getting himself ejected. My ruling? Not dirty. Toughen up, Oubre.

I do have to give props to the Wizards owner Ted Leonsis though, definition of a ride or die boss.

 

Either way, here’s a FOUR MINUTE highlight video of Draymond Green dirty plays.

 

PS – Dirty or not dirty, this did make me laugh though.

LeBron James Is Crying Because People Like Steph Curry More

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Business Insider – Though Stephen Curry has undergone a somewhat sudden rise to one of the NBA’s most popular players and the league’s first unanimous MVP, he apparently has work to do within the league. According to Marcus Thompson of Bay Area News Group, author of the newly released “Golden: The Miraculous Rise of Steph Curry,” Curry is not all that popular with some of the league’s biggest stars, including LeBron James.

This is some straight up Mean Girls shit. People rag on for LeBron for a lot of things. Some fair, some not so much. But, if this is true and LeBron and other guys around the league are pissy because Steph Curry is getting too much shine? Cry me a river dude. Steph basically reinvented the 3 pointer by draining shots from everywhere on the court. Consistently. Its not like the guy hasn’t ever won a title either. So its no wonder the guy gets a lot of hype.

Steph, you want LeBron and his flunkies to accept you? Well on Fridays they wear pink so shape up.

If you wanna clown on Steph Curry for something, make it the ugly ass shoes he puts out. Twitter engulfs in flames every time Steph drops a shoe now because people can’t wait to meme the latest Dad Bod 7’s.

The NBA is a meritocracy. Simple as that. If you suck then you won’t get the shine. If you are a transcendent player then you will “leapfrog” other guys. Especially aging stars. Pipe down Chris Paul. You’ve had about 85 State Farm commercials over the past few years. You’re not exactly getting put out to pasture.

Plus people like Steph because he’s relatable. He’s not an athletic freak, he’s not a 6’8″ man-child that can play all 5 positions on the court. He’s a pretty unassuming dude who dominates with incredible outside shooting and a great handle. People can relate to that. Everyone loves to watch LeBron, he’s one of the greatest players of all time. But he’s an absolute once in a generation athletic specimen who’s been that way since he was 15. People can’t relate to that.

Fucking Mugatu over here is bullshit because people like Steph more than him. I’VE BEEN TO SIX STRAIGHT FINALS. I INVENTED THE PIANO KEY NECKTIE!

Celtics Can Now Achieve the Rare Feat of Claiming the No. 1 Seed AND the No. 1 Overall Pick in the NBA Draft

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The Celtics have the opportunity to earn one of the more rare accolades in all of sports this week. They could lock up the No. 1 seed in the East with a win on Wednesday (thanks to another Cavs loss Monday night) to go along with the potential No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft.

Now the Celtics are still at the mercy of some goddamn ping pong balls, but thanks to the Nets being an abysmal basketball team, they’ve already locked up the best odds at the No. 1 overall pick of any team this year. So it would be pretty wild to see one of the best teams in the league (at least by record) with the No. 1 overall pick. That never happens. The last time I can remember anything close to that would probably be the Celtics winning the 1985-86 title and then drafting Len Bias No. 2 overall. Hopefully it works out a little better this time around.

Normally you need to hit rock bottom before you can start getting better in the NBA. Or just be the Cavaliers: get three No. 1 overall picks in 4 years and then have the best player in the world come back to town. That also works. But usually you have to absolutely bottom out so you can get a lottery pick and start building around that top talent from the draft. You don’t do yourself any good consistently being a No. 6 seed and then getting a draft pick in the 20’s. Thats how you become the Atlanta Hawks.

Sometimes you’ll see a rare case with a good team having one real down year, luck out with a top pick after a terrible season, then get back on track. Case and point the 1996-97 Spurs who had Tim Duncan fall into their lap. They went 59-23 in the 1995-96 season then fell to 20-62 the next year before taking Duncan No. 1 overall and then jumping back up to 56-26 and starting the run of success they’re STILL on.

But you never see a top team with a top draft pick while they’re CURRENTLY a top team. So for all the shit Trader Danny takes, the fact that he’s been able to maneuver the Celtics into this situation by trading two aging superstars in their late 30’s for multiple Lottery Picks is amazing by itself.

If the Celtics can turn just ONE of those Nets draft picks into a home run, then this is the Herschel Walker trade of the NBA that will be talked about forever. I cannot wait to watch that 30 for 30.

What if I told you a General Manager took an aging roster and turned them into a Lottery ticket? This is the story of how Danny Ainge swindled the suddenly cash happy and attention starved Brooklyn Nets out of a bushel of NBA Lottery picks and got the Celtics back to the promise land with the quickest rebuild in league history. Trader Danny. Directed by Bill Simmons. 

Or they’ll continue to butcher draft picks with players that aren’t good enough to make the roster so they have to stash them in Europe and the Celtics fade back into mediocrity. That is a frighteningly real possibility. But you gotta figure Danny is due to hit on a stud. Maybe that superstar is already here in Jaylen Brown, but it sure as shit won’t hurt for Danny to get 2 more cracks at it. Since the Nets ain’t getting better any time soon and we’ve got their picks both this year and next. Or maybe Danny swings the draft pick for a guy like Paul George. Either way the Celtics are gonna need another superstar to make a real run at another Larry O’Brien trophy.

We’ll see, but as loud as that clock is ticking on this window of opportunity to make something big happen, name one GM in the entire freaking league who wouldn’t sell his soul to be in Ainge’s position right now. Just don’t blow it, Danny.

New Orleans Saints Kicking the Tires on Old Friend Johnny Manziel

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via @ProFootballRumors

ESPN – Sean Payton says his Super Bowl-week meeting with Johnny Manziel was just a get-to-know-you session with the embattled quarterback, who is eyeing an NFL comeback. Payton told the New Orleans Saints’ website Tuesday that it was the first time he met Manziel.

I need Money Manziel back in the NFL like I need air. This guy was one of the most electrifying college players ever then had a really brief up and down career with the Browns before getting hurt and then going on a bender to rival all benders. If the guy can just take a page out of the Gronk playbook and keep it dry during the season then he’s got a shot.

But you know what doesn’t help that? Living in fucking New Orleans.

I’m sure that would go over great when Johnny goes missing for a few days in late February before resurfacing with a shattered iPhone and a bottle of Pepto on Fat Tuesday. But hey at least Mardi Gras is after the Super Bowl so what better way to celebrate than bringing the Saints back to the promise land once Drew Brees calls it a career.

Theres probably no one better for Johnny Manziel to learn under actually than Drew Brees. Sure Tom Brady is the GOAT, Aaron Rodgers is a stud etc. but Brees like Manziel is a fellow short guy. Brees could show Manziel how to take advantage of his height and how to avoid the pitfalls (like getting smoked by linebackers on a scramble).

Sean Payton can say he was “just having breakfast” with Manziel all he wants, but this guy is on the hunt for his next QB. Brees won’t be around forever and he needs to find the next guy because Garret Grayson ain’t that guy and he knows it. Why not kick the tires on a 24 year old former Heisman winner? Comeback SZN indeed.

Make Johnny Manziel Great Again.

Shoutout to @ProFootballRumors for the money photoshop of Johnny Manziel as a Saint

Joe Thomas Nails It On Why Colin Kaepernick is Still a Free Agent

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Joe Thomas is the beacon of truth in the NFL. He is beyond refreshing as a currently active and actually elite player speaking out on all kinds of issues. Obviously him roasting Roger Goodell on the absurdity of Deflategate created a whole new region of fans championing him. All that aside, I encourage every player to speak out, there’s nothing I hate more in sports than the bullshit canned responses from players that answer absolutely nothing. Regardess of how you feel about Colin Kaepernick kneeling for the national anthem doesn’t matter here. Joe Thomas hits the nail on the head as to why the former 49ers QB is unemployed.

Oh right, because he was on TV every single day. Not for highlight reel plays. Not for winning games. For personal reasons. And again whether you’re with Kaep or not isn’t the point here. NFL teams do not want to deal with media scrutiny, questions, protests, backlash etc. ESPECIALLY if you suck. If Tom Brady were drumming up all kinds of shit for, oh I don’t know, say an alleged cheating scandal, the team backs their guy or at the very least deals with it because he’s the GOAT.

Colin Kaepernick wasn’t even the best QB on his team while surrounded by bums like Blaine Gabbert.

So yea, NFL teams don’t want to hear any shit from a borderline starter in the league. But then Joe Thomas brings it home with the one thing that is true of all good teams, none better at it than the New England Patriots.

I think the whole “Patriot Way” thing gets blown out of proportion because of the Patriots level of success and their perceived arrogance. So when they go out and sign a questionable guy, everyone rails against them because apparently the Patriot Way means you only sign choir boys, when in reality it means you Do. Your. Job. The Patriots are a goddamn machine. We had assholes like Corey Dillon. We had bad dudes like Albert Haynesworth. We had media storms like TIM TEBOW. We had an (alleged) MASS MURDERER in Aaron Hernandez. Bill deals with it and moves on. No distractions. Just Do. Your. Job.

Being all over TV for a cause you believe in is admirable, but when you don’t have the leverage (being a good quarterback), then you aren’t going to have the same platform. Thats why Colin Kaepernick doesn’t have a job.

LeBron James Complains Cavaliers Aren’t Spending Enough; Have Actually Spent the Most Money in the NBA

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ESPN – Tension between LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers’ leadership is centered on payroll spending, multiple sources told ESPN. Gilbert paid $82 million in salaries and $7 million in luxury tax in 2014-15, when the Cavs reached the NBA Finals. Last season, when Cleveland won the championship, Gilbert paid $107 million in salaries and $54 million in luxury tax. The Cavs (30-14) are currently committed to $127.5 million in salaries and $27 million in luxury taxes for this season. They have spent more than any other NBA team over the three-year span.

How bout this fuckin guy? Less than a week after throwing all his teammates under the bus, LeBron is now coming after management! Dude is a child. Things aren’t going his way and he is lashing out at everyone else. Windhorst, watch your back.

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But the worst part is he’s subtly ripping the team for not spending enough, when in reality the Cavs have spent THE MOST MONEY IN THE NBA over the past 3 years. Dan Gilbert probably secretly wants this guy dead. Gilbert paid $50 million in luxury taxes last year. Hey Bron Bron, even the guy who owns Quickens Loans is saying pump the brakes on opening the checkbook.

Cavaliers Lose and Surprise LeBron Throws Entire Team Under the Bus

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ESPN – “LeBron James is growing impatient with the direction the defending champion Cleveland Cavaliers appear to be heading and is calling for the franchise to do something about it…We’re a top-heavy team. We have a top-heavy team. We top-heavy as s–t. It’s me, [Kyrie Irving], [Kevin Love]….”We need a f—ing playmaker,” James said.”

Imagine being teammates with this guy? Insufferable. You just lost a tough game and you’ve got your best player/captain/GM complaining to the media about how you and your entire team suck. LeBron is the absolute best at deflecting any blame and throwing his teammates under the bus.

“We have a top-heavy team. We top-heavy as s–t. It’s me, [Kyrie Irving], [Kevin Love]”

People give Kevin Love shit because he was fitting OUT instead of fitting IN, but in reality he’s probably the only normal dude on the roster who hears the shit LeBron says and just tunes him out. Whatever dude, I’ll just go jack some 3’s from the corner while you guys subtweet each other. Just openly campaigning for someone on his current team to lose their job so LeBron can bring in someone he deems more worthy.

“We need a f—ing playmaker,” James said.”

Dude just makes it easy to root against him. But I also have a hard time rooting for AAU Super Teams like the newly constructed Warriors. Too bad there’s only like 4 teams with a chance at winning the title in the NBA. I guess just have to hope Popovich can use some more black magic and will out another title? Or maybe if Isaiah continues to average 40 points a game the Celtics may have a shot. A true dilemma.