Tag: NBA Finals

LeBron Littlefinger James Continues to Pull the Strings and Gets Cavs GM Fired

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ESPN – The Cleveland Cavaliers have parted ways with general manager David Griffin, the team announced Monday. Griffin’s contract was up at the end of the month, and after extensive talks with owner Dan Gilbert, no agreement on an extension was reached..Cavs star LeBron James, who sources said was not consulted on the decision, tweeted out support of Griffin.

Jesus christ, ya drop 2 out of 3 NBA Finals and all of a sudden Cleveland is turning into a complete shitshow. Canning the GM days before the draft, while the guy is also balls deep into trade discussions just reeks of an impulse decision. Or who knows, maybe Griffin was sick of hearing shit from both ends, getting badgered by ownership and by LeBron, and just said FUCK THIS I’m out.

Either way, this is classic LeBron “I’m not the GM”  James through and through. Griffin built the second best team in the NBA and did just about everything LeBron wanted. He traded Andrew Wiggins for Kevin Love. The No. 1 overall pick and LeBron said send that teenager packing I need the white boy who can hit some 3’s and Griffin did it. He gave a max contract to Tristan fucking Thompson.

LeBron bitched the team didn’t have enough talent so Griffin traded for Andrew Bogut (who actually got hurt) and brought in guys like Kyle Korver and Derron Williams. Then the Cavs just happened to run into an all-time team in the Warriors and it wasn’t good enough. Instead of sitting down and figuring out, okay how the hell are we gonna beat these guys in Golden State, ya know, like a competitor would do – instead LeBron throws a bitch fit and gets the GM fired.

LeBron is basically the Littlefinger of the NBA. GM’s getting ousted, coaches getting fired, nonsensical trades and deals being made. The guy just loves the chaos.

LeBron’s little buddy Brian Windhorst can report all he wants how LeBron was “surprised” by the move:

But everyone knows whats up. Griffin was just LeBron’s latest fall guy. He’s the new Mike Brown. The new David Blatt. I’m not the coach, I’m not the GM, you guys built this shitty team not me so I’m gonna throw a temper tantrum and threaten to leave unless you axe this guy.

And that is why we don’t negotiate with terrorists. You pamper these guys and give them everything they want and then they turn around and throw everyone under the bus for making the exact moves you wanted them to make. Sorry LeBron, the Cavs are literally barren of assets to trade for a guy like Jimmy Butler or Paul George because of all these fucking moves you wanted the Cavs to make over the years.

Welp, godspeed to the next guy who’s got to take that job and get cucked by LeBron every day. Rumors are picking up steam now though that Chauncey Billups may actually take the job, which is probably the best thing for the Cavs despite Chauncey Billups having zero experience in the role. Billups can be the Ty Lue of the front office. Ty Lue, the guy who legit told LeBron to go fuck himself, was the best thing for LeBron. So there’s your blueprint Chauncey, godspeed.

Durant Balled Out to Win MVP, But It’s Hard to Shake the Fact He Joined a 73 Win Team

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As much as I will always hate on Kevin Durant for bailing on OKC and taking the easy way out by jumping on the Warriors band wagon, I do have to give him credit for one thing. He. Balled. Out. Guy scored 30+ in every game and was an absolute monster the entire series. He wasn’t just along for the ride. He wasn’t Steph Curry’s little sidekick. He took over games, made big shots and basically made the Cavs quit.

Now, is it pretty fucking easy to be a lethal scorer when arguably the best player in the league is getting wide open looks because he’s on a super team? Yes, yes it is.

But it wasn’t just his offense, as Jackie Mac notes in her column yesterday — it was his stifling D that made the difference.

“Most observers gushed over the 33 points he scored, but Durant also finished with five blocks, three steals and 11 defensive rebounds. Only one other player since 1984, according to Basketball-Reference.com, has matched those numbers: Hall of Fame shoo-in Tim Duncan, who did it in Game 1 of the 2003 NBA Finals. No Hakeem, no Shaq. Just Duncan, one of the finest defensive players of his generation, and Durant.”

He has the speed to stay with LeBron but also the size to swat Kevin Love shots into the rafters. Not to mention he’s quick enough to close on jump shots from guys like Kyrie. Durant has a 7’5″ wingspan for christ’s sake! The Cavs didn’t really have an answer for the Durantula, which Jalen Rose called the worst nickname ever last night. To which Paul Pierce responded like a goddamn boss, “We can’t all be The Truth.”

Which is what makes it kind of sad because any quote from KD like this will always be followed by a “yea…but”

“Nobody comes in and cares about the game or loves the game as much as I do or works as hard as do,” Durant said. “You can talk about whatever happens on the outside, but inside those lines, I come to bring it every day. I work hard, I believe in myself, I believe in the game, I respect the game, I love the game, and I knew at some point in my life that it will come around for me. So I just tried to stay with those principles and keep grinding.”

So Nike can pump the fucking breaks with this commercial.

“Debate This.” Fuck outta here, Nike. I will debate this. Thoroughly. Because he joined a 73 win team. A team that he was up 3-1 on the previous season with a trip to the Finals on the line.

“Hey, thats not fair — KD earned the right to pick his team in free agency and play wherever he wants!”

All true and fair points. But that doesn’t change the fact that he’s on easy street. This team was on cruise control to a title all year. Durant, again arguably the best player in the league, missed 20 games and the Warriors still won 67 games. Holy hell they might have won 80 if Durant was healthy. Looking ahead to next season, Golden State is already the most heavily favored team to win a title EVER:

“They’re going to be the highest favorite we’ve ever had going into a season, any team in any sport,” Jeff Sherman, NBA oddsmaker at the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook, told ESPN.

So I give Durant credit for being a beast in this series, but it’s gonna be hard for me to ever get over him jumping ship to the team that beat him. Guy must fucking HATE Russell Westbrook.

PS – Durant’s mom and Curry’s mom just GET it. So ride or die. Can’t knock that one bit.

LeBron Paved the Way for Super Teams and is Now Upset He’s Getting Beat by a Super Team

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Yahoo – In a sense, if Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James is frustrated by the 2017 NBA Finals, his search for how the Golden State Warriors became so darn indestructible should really begin within. Unable on his own to topple the late 2000s Boston Celtics — a contender forged by trades for Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen in the summer of 2007 — LeBron left the Cavs in 2010 to replicate a super-team blueprint alongside incumbent Dwyane Wade and fellow newcomer Chris Bosh on the Miami Heat…Though Durant says he did not consider James’ precedent, he readily admits, “He paved the way.”

LeBron must have thrown a fucking fit when he saw this quote from Kevin Durant. Recent quotes from LeBron have made it seem like he’s already resigned to his fate because the Warriors are just more talented. Oh you don’t like stacked teams beating up on you? Well you started the trend homie. Its actually pretty funny when you think about it. As much as I hate the trend of AAU buddies teaming up and building super teams, Durant’s right; LeBron set the precedent.

“You crossed the line first, sir. You squeezed them, you hammered them to the point of desperation. And in their desperation, they turned to a man they didn’t fully understand.”

After reading that story, this Alfred quote from the Dark Knight is the first thing that popped into my head. It’s dead on. Like when Batman took down most of the Gotham underworld he set a new precedent for criminals and they kicked it up another level by bringing in the bat shit crazy Joker. LeBron is basically Batman in this situation with the rest of the league being the Gotham mob bosses, which is a sentence I never thought I’d write.

“You spat in the faces of Gotham’s worse criminals. Didn’t you think there might be some casualties? Things were always going to get worse before they got better.”

The NBA is essentially a copy cat league. If you can’t beat em, join em.

Now Durant is basically saying, “Cry me a fucking river. It’s time for KD to get his shine.” I just really hope this doesn’t become a goddamn blueprint for future superstars. Get drafted, make your team title contenders every year without quite winning one, jump to the path of least resistance to win a ring or two, then come back to your original team to play the savior card. Because that, my friends, will get old reallll fast.

And, yes I realize I make far too many Batman references in my ramblings about sports. Deal with it. The Bat Man is the goat.

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.

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.

The Kevin Durant Watch is Back On for Boston Celtics Fans

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Kevin Durant watch is back on. It definitely would have been better for the Celtics if OKC got trounced in the previous round by San Antonio, which would have made it easier for Durant to say hey it’s not happening here lets try something else. Obviously that didn’t happen. Toppling the all-time regular season wins leader in Golden State with 73 and the back-to-back MVP in Steph Curry en route to another Finals trip would have made it impossible for Durant to leave. So now maybe, just maybe losing a Game 7 heart breaker and letting another series slip away gets Durant to think about making a change. Double edged sword though because do you really want a guy who is saying screw this, it’s too hard I want to play somewhere else and get on an easier path? Not particularly. But I’d take it.

In the end it’s not going to happen. First and foremost he would be leaving a stupid amount of cash on the table. With the salary cap set to go up to from about $70 million this year to approximately $92 million after next season there is so much more money to be had out there. Also being in his 9th season Durant can only receive 30% of a team’s max cap, whereas after 10 seasons he can grab 35%. So 30% of $70 million or 35% from the $92 million cap next year? Not gonna happen. Plus he would get annihilated by the media and the fans for “abandoning” OKC and you know it. I honestly think Durant takes that to heart unlike LeBron James so I think that plays a much larger factor than people give it credit. Most likely scenario is he signs a 2-year deal with OKC with a player opt-out after 1 year and then signs a mega deal with OKC after next season.

But hey a guy can dream right? Durant watch has been reactivated. GET EM ISAIAH!

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Phil Jackson Snaps When Called Out for Shitty Triangle Offense

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ESPN – “The Knicks, though, have struggled the past two seasons, losing a total of 115 games. Some have attributed those struggles to the complexity of the offense; others have pointed to a lack of talent. Asked about the critics of the offense, Jackson said, “Who are these people? Why would they even say that? Do they have 11 championships to show you when they talk about that? They got a lot of excuses. That’s the way it is.”

Pretty legitimate question after losing 115 games in two years if you ask me. Don’t get me wrong no one expected Phil to walk in Year 1 and have the Knicks knocking off the Cavs and going to the NBA Finals. But another year missing the playoffs and the (legitimate) grumblings of Carmelo start becoming more vocal…and I think Phil is starting to feel the heat a little bit. Not in the sense that he actually cares if the NYC media rips him, but the fact that his end all-be all Triangle Offense isn’t getting it done. This is regarded by some as the holy grail of NBA offenses and the fact is that either A. Phil can’t get the right personnel to run it or B. the NBA has just evolved past it. Complicated, confusing, I don’t know, I certainly don’t understand it.

For Jackson to snap on this reporter though with the Big Time response about how many rings he’s won is hilarious. Yea you won a bunch of titles running the Triangle Offense….featuring Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Kobe and Shaq. No shit, you guys were pretty good? I probably could have won a few titles with that crew just standing next to the bench in a cheap suit.