NBA 2019-2020 SEASON

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by JaZzPrImE74, Jun 28, 2019.

  1. Janitor

    Janitor Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Apr 28, 2009
    Posts:
    3,124
    News Credits:
    2
    Trophy Points:
    262
    Likes:
    +2,161
    Don’t think I ever officially got to gloat about my Raps winning it all last season, so here I am one year later!!
    4669A9E0-4757-4335-BA19-707859946A34.jpeg

    My oh my, has the world changed since! #stillthechamps
     
    • Like Like x 2
  2. Griff

    Griff NO MA'AM member

    Joined:
    Sep 21, 2012
    Posts:
    177
    Trophy Points:
    107
    Likes:
    +22
    a series I would like to watch again with the Warriors at full strength...such an abrupt end
     
    • Like Like x 1
  3. Janitor

    Janitor Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Apr 28, 2009
    Posts:
    3,124
    News Credits:
    2
    Trophy Points:
    262
    Likes:
    +2,161
    Who else been catching the NBA restart games in the bubble? Two games in and my Raps (still) looking solid: solid Ws over Lakers and Heat this far

    I know for the T-Wolves & Warriors fans who’d frequent this thread, interest is probably minimal though...
     
    • Like Like x 1
  4. ACMagnus

    ACMagnus Phantom Thief

    Joined:
    May 25, 2014
    Posts:
    3,501
    News Credits:
    10
    Trophy Points:
    222
    Location:
    North Dakota
    Likes:
    +7,751
    Facebook:
    Twitter:
    Instagram:
    It seems that the Lakers are underperforming to me. A lot of missed wide open shots and unnecessary turnovers. But to be in the playoffs at all for the first time since Kobe was on the team satisfies me.
     
  5. Razerwire

    Razerwire 99 Problems... Veteran

    Joined:
    Jan 23, 2004
    Posts:
    52,121
    News Credits:
    2
    Trophy Points:
    447
    Likes:
    +2,741
    Suns are going nuts and I'm all for it. LOL
     
    • Like Like x 3
  6. NSJ23

    NSJ23 Not today Chumly, not today.

    Joined:
    Jan 31, 2003
    Posts:
    7,895
    Trophy Points:
    332
    Likes:
    +10,186
    The Clippers are the Clippers no matter who is on the team. :lol  Good Job Denver!
     
    • Like Like x 1
  7. Transmetal

    Transmetal Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 27, 2007
    Posts:
    6,463
    Trophy Points:
    337
    Location:
    Minnesota
    Likes:
    +2,447
    Guess that about sums it up
     
  8. *Deathblade

    *Deathblade Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jul 19, 2003
    Posts:
    1,208
    News Credits:
    2
    Trophy Points:
    287
    Likes:
    +589
    I think doc is gone after that shitshow...balmer looked like he was gonna cry. First time I felt sorry for a billionaire :p 
     
    • Like Like x 1
  9. NSJ23

    NSJ23 Not today Chumly, not today.

    Joined:
    Jan 31, 2003
    Posts:
    7,895
    Trophy Points:
    332
    Likes:
    +10,186
    Laker's make the Final's. As much as i'd like Laker's vs. Celtics, i kinda want the Heat to make it out the east.
     
  10. ACMagnus

    ACMagnus Phantom Thief

    Joined:
    May 25, 2014
    Posts:
    3,501
    News Credits:
    10
    Trophy Points:
    222
    Location:
    North Dakota
    Likes:
    +7,751
    Facebook:
    Twitter:
    Instagram:
    I want Lakers-Heat for a competitive series, but I also wouldn't mind Lakers-Celtics for the culture. Either way, I'm glad the Lakers are in the finals again.
     
  11. NSJ23

    NSJ23 Not today Chumly, not today.

    Joined:
    Jan 31, 2003
    Posts:
    7,895
    Trophy Points:
    332
    Likes:
    +10,186
    i hope it's not, but at the moment. It's looking like a sweep.
     
  12. Janitor

    Janitor Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Apr 28, 2009
    Posts:
    3,124
    News Credits:
    2
    Trophy Points:
    262
    Likes:
    +2,161
    Looks like we got a snoozer of a Finals, yawn.

    Congrats in advance to Lebron and the Lakers
     
    • Like Like x 1
  13. ACMagnus

    ACMagnus Phantom Thief

    Joined:
    May 25, 2014
    Posts:
    3,501
    News Credits:
    10
    Trophy Points:
    222
    Location:
    North Dakota
    Likes:
    +7,751
    Facebook:
    Twitter:
    Instagram:
    Those Mamba jerseys are still as clean as ever. Here's hoping there's one huge restock if the they win it all.
     
  14. NSJ23

    NSJ23 Not today Chumly, not today.

    Joined:
    Jan 31, 2003
    Posts:
    7,895
    Trophy Points:
    332
    Likes:
    +10,186
    x17.jpg :rock :buttrock 
     
    • Like Like x 3
  15. Rodimus74

    Rodimus74 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Apr 26, 2013
    Posts:
    12,255
    Trophy Points:
    307
    Likes:
    +7,203
    Don't know how they can be proud to be champions this year. There's gonna be an asterisk by this one. And LeBron still ain't better than MJ.
     
    • Like Like x 1
  16. Sylent

    Sylent Making Cybertron great again

    Joined:
    Jul 31, 2015
    Posts:
    6,997
    Trophy Points:
    242
    Location:
    Quarantined in CA
    Likes:
    +8,812
    No. If anything, there should be a star next to this championship to signify the most difficult in NBA history. Season stoppage for 3 months, being stuck in the bubble, no homecourt advantage and all during covid? This season was extra tough and I'm shocked that ZERO players were covid positive during the season and playoffs.

    We are in agreement there.
     
    • Like Like x 3
  17. prfctcellrulz

    prfctcellrulz Pokémon Trainer/WWE Champion

    Joined:
    Feb 18, 2009
    Posts:
    19,436
    News Credits:
    41
    Trophy Points:
    387
    Location:
    VIVA LAS VEGAS!!!
    Likes:
    +18,448
    CC7FC598-2EAB-4A4F-8317-68E5FDFF10A5.jpeg
     
    • Like Like x 2
  18. Treadshot 2.0

    Treadshot 2.0 Action Master

    Joined:
    Jul 2, 2002
    Posts:
    5,483
    News Credits:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    337
    Likes:
    +7,372
    ??? Asterisk? If anything this chip was HARDER to get than normal, not easier... away from family for months on end, and no real home games? You really found out who was a great team in the Bubble...

    ...like he said way more eloquently, LOL.

    It's funny seeing exactly how much people hate on LeBron James. There's always a reason why the things he does aren't legitimate, and frankly I think a lot of that comes down to people's reaction to non-basketball stuff, i.e. the labor and community empowerment he represents. People resent the fact he "exceeds his role" as a player by maximizing the influence he has on the constructions of his teams (ignoring the fact that your teammates determine what happens in YOUR career). People resent the fact that he won't just shut up and dribble when he's arguably the greatest philanthropist in the history of the city he came from and continually draws attention to issues that affect people who are NOT rich, famous, and privileged.

    People act like he should be grateful for everything he's received as if he isn't the hardest worker and most relentlessly dedicated player of his generation. Do we act like Jeff Bezos or Bill Gates should be grateful? You tell me, who actually had to put in more work, personally, on developing themselves and their personal skills to get where they are: LeBron James or Jeff Bezos? Bezos is worth like 20x as much as LeBron but somehow LeBron has done more for regular people ON TOP OF actually being mythically great as an athlete.

    This Lakers team was the odds-on favorite to win throughout the season, and they did, even though Kobe Bryant died, even though COVID happened, even though the bubble happened and their starting 2 guard opted out. What asterisk is there? Even at full strength Miami was a heavy underdog. The Clippers choked and Milwaukee was miscoached and failed to make key adjustments. (So did the Clips, honestly). They weren't beaten down by injuries like the Warriors last year (or the Cavs in '15). Granted, Miami was down two of its three best players as well, but unlike the Warriors last year and the Cavs in '15 (who, after all, DID win the next year against the same team when their squad WAS healthy) nobody except Miami themselves thought they were gonna win anyway. Finally, historically nobody actually does the asterisk thing. Does anybody talk about the Spurs' championship in a Lockout-shortened season? Or the Lakers' championship in 02 after the REF WHO WAS CONVICTED OF BEING CROOKED helped them screw the Kings? Of course not. So can we just let that whole "asterisk" narrative die?

    Someday down the line a bunch of people who hated on LeBron are gonna pretend they always liked him. And hey, I know what that's like, because as a Lakers fan in the early 80s I hated on Larry Bird. I robbed myself of actually enjoying one of the baddest men to ever pick up a basketball until well after his career was over and he wasn't a threat anymore. The thing about LeBron is, though, the things he threatens goes way beyond just other team's fandoms. He threatens social and cultural assumptions and expectations surrounding class, fame, and engagement. His nearness to perfection causes us to focus on the (relatively meaningless) imperfections in his professional life, ignoring the fact that his personal life has always been pristine. The hell with whomever is a better player out of LBJ and MJ... James is clearly, clearly a better role model. He's done more to maximize his God-given gifts AND bring along his whole crew, who are now all incredibly successful in their own rights, with less help than anybody else I can think of.

    As far as Bron vs. Jordan as players... my opinion is that MJ reached the highest peak of any player (being the undisputed best defensive offensive AND defensive player in the league at the same time and being better than the next best 2-guard, Kobe, by a considerable margin at pretty much everything except 3-pt shooting), but LeBron has probably the best CAREER of any player and the best overall skillset. People really need to stop excluding Kareem Abdul-Jabbar from these GOAT discussions as well. Everything that people cite as a reason why Mike is better than LeBron actually weigh in favor of Kareem -- also CLEARLY the greatest college player of all time -- being better than Mike as well. My argument for LeBron is that he actually has more responsibility than MJ (he's basically doing the jobs of both Mike and Scottie, both on the court and in the locker room), that his greater durability is a function of his greater dedication to the game (he doesn't wreck his body partying and staying up until 4 AM gambling before playoff games) at least as much as improved sports science, and that he CLEARLY does a better job of maximizing his teammate's talent, having taken how many lottery teams to the Finals the very next year. Also, while Jordan's TEAMS (which also featured the arguable GOAT coach, first-ballot HOFer and DPOY vote mainstay Scottie Pippen, and later on DPOY and HOFer Dennis Rodman) were more dominant -- in an era diluted by the expansion of the NBA from 22 teams at the beginning of Jordan's prime to 28 by the end of his second threepeat -- he never accomplished a feat comparable to coming back down 3-1 in the Finals against a team that had won 73 games.

    Finally, Jordan's success always came with Scottie and Phil Jackson. He had NO postseason success without BOTH of those guys. (Scottie was more successful without Mike, both with and without Phil coaching, than Mike was without him)... to the extent that Mike RETIRED rather than play with another coach. LeBron doesn't care who the coach is; this will be his third coach he's won a FIRST championship for. He doesn't care who the players are... give him ANY team and if he's healthy he will drag them on a deep playoff run.

    Mike was transcendant but also had all the stars align for the peak of his success, which is the part of his career that people choose to focus on (league expansion, Phil Jackson, Scottie Pippen, Jerry Krause who had no people skills but WAS a dope GM... people ignore his repeated failures against the PRE expansion East superteams with multiple HOFers, or the 8 years he lost in the playoffs BEFORE reaching the Finals, or his playoff loss to Orlando DURING his so-called "undefeated run," or his failure to even reach the playoffs in Washington although he was still putting up Kobe numbers at 40). LeBron is transcendant and aligns his own stars, and the proof in the pudding is that he's been successful everywhere he goes, with anyone he plays with. Yes he has more public learning experiences than Mike did... he didn't have a cavalcade of GOAT level coaches working with him before he got to that point, he had to figure that stuff out himself. For that reason I don't hold the 2011 Finals against him... yes, it's a stain on his resume, but their coach was a rookie and didn't make the proper adjustments, and more importantly once that happened, he figured out how to become unbeatable. Literally the only way to beat that guy now is to have a squad that's historically great. Those Warriors teams and that Spurs team could (in the KD-era Warriors, almost certainly would) have beaten the Bulls too!

    Now he's a 17 year old vet and all the talking heads are amazed because, with his skillset and his facility for morphing his game, it's clear that he can still play at a high level for perhaps 5 or even more years, and with AD on his team he's re-opened a championship window that could span the rest of his career. What can anybody say if he's 41, leading the league in assists, still averaging 18 or 19 points and 8 or 9 boards, and still winning championships?

    So you tell me, who's really greater? The one who did it flawlessly when everything was set up just right for that to happen and was always the favorite, or the guy who's always able to figure out a way to get it done no matter what kind of situation they're in, usually as the underdog?
     
    Last edited: Oct 14, 2020
    • Like Like x 3
  19. Transmetal

    Transmetal Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 27, 2007
    Posts:
    6,463
    Trophy Points:
    337
    Location:
    Minnesota
    Likes:
    +2,447
    Competition was weak this year. No Celtics, Bucks, or Clippers to go through. No KD, Steph or Clay either.

    Lebron had all the time in the world to rest and recover (not that he should need any given how soft the league is now anyways) the season was put on hold. He was fresh. I definitely feel like the Clips coulda given the Lakers more of a challenge but they can only play who they end up with I suppose.
     
    Last edited: Oct 13, 2020
  20. NSJ23

    NSJ23 Not today Chumly, not today.

    Joined:
    Jan 31, 2003
    Posts:
    7,895
    Trophy Points:
    332
    Likes:
    +10,186
    They beat, Portland, Houston, and a Denver team that was better than expected. So 2 of the 3 toughest teams in the west that made the playoff's. The Clippers would not have mattered. Can't knock the Lakers or Lebron because the teams you listed didn't do their jobs or have star players hurt so they didn't make the playoff's anyway, they beat the teams that beat those teams. :2c: 
     
    • Like Like x 1