NBA Finals thread

[OrlandNole]

Haven't seen one so I'll get it started.

Quite an impressive performance by LeBron. Yes, Curry is off his game, but James willed his team to win.

I've always scoffed at the notion of LeBron challenging MJ for best of all time, but if the Cavs win the Finals (big IF), I think he's in the conversation.

 

[LesClaypool]

I'll take the other side of that...

LeBron shot 33% from the floor and missed 16 of his last 20 shots, while blowing an 11-point lead w/3 minutes to go.

His ball-hogging almost cost them the game. If Steph Curry doesn't have the worst shooting night in his career, the Cavs are down 2-0.

I still like GS to win the series.

 

[dmm5157]

While Lebron was certainly impressive in last night's win, they don't win that game without Dellavedova stepping up with:

1. Huge rebounds
2. Clutch free throws to take the lead
3. Great tenacious defense on Curry

The guy has had a huge impact of the playoffs and has shown he's getting into people's heads. Look at Taj Gibson, Kyle Korver, Al Horford, and now potentially Steph Curry.

Lot of people like to say Lebron carries the team on his back single handedly. While he may do that for most of the game, the past 4 years have shown that he often relies on his team mates to make plays down the stretch and big shots when they are most needed (*cough*Ray Allen*cough*).

As good as Lebron has been in his career, he also has an odd tendency to make sloppy plays down the stretch, like dribbling off his leg near the end of the game last night (that's a Blake Griffin move there).


Certainly greatest player right now, but also certainly not without his flaws.

 

[Rhino_nole]

I'll take the other side of that...

LeBron shot 33% from the floor and missed 16 of his last 20 shots, while blowing an 11-point lead w/3 minutes to go.

His ball-hogging almost cost them the game. If Steph Curry doesn't have the worst shooting night in his career, the Cavs are down 2-0.

I still like GS to win the series.

This is an awful hot take.

Of course he has to do it all for this Cavs team, it's full of scrubs. They've lost 2 of their top 3 scorers, assist leaders and rebounders. This is the first time since Shaq that one player led ALL players in scoring, rebounding and assist. He's literally carrying the team around him.

Deli was fantastic and shut down the MVP.

I find it funny that had some no name bum shut down Lebron, he'd be getting murdered but b/c it's baby faced Steph, everyone is giving him a pass.

 

[LesClaypool]

LeBron was pure garbage when the game was on the line. It's just a fact. Don't shoot the messenger. I'm not saying he isn't the best player in the game...he clearly is. I'm just commenting on how awful he was at the end of last night's game, and in the 4th quarter in general last night.

 

[Rhino_nole]

LeBron was pure garbage when the game was on the line. It's just a fact. Don't shoot the messenger. I'm not saying he isn't the best player in the game...he clearly is. I'm just commenting on how awful he was at the end of last night's game, and in the 4th quarter in general last night.

Who else is out there to score and create their own points? It's not like Love and Irving are out there, it's a roster full of defensive players and spot up shooters now. You have 2 bigs who clog the lanes and bodies all in the paint. Lebron has assisted or scored on 65% or more of all of the Cavs points in the 4th quarter and over time. So he's not "scoring" but he's creating plays to get guys the ball. He's "garbage when the game is on the line" but he's the reason why their even in the place to begin with and there's no one else who's going to step up. Deli made a hustle play but he didn't break a guy down off the dribble and get to the rim, he iced his FTs and the team won. He was 2-2 from the 3 point line, shot 6 FTs and assisted or hockey assisted on all of the points the Cavs scored to build the lead (about the 3-6 minute mark left in the game).

Again, what more does he need to do w/ a team full of roll players?

 

[LesClaypool]

He should've dished more. I don't know if he had any assists in the 4th quarter. He may have had some but I doubt it.

I do know that he shot brick after brick after brick and squandered an 11-point lead b/c of all of his missed shots.

Again, I'm not saying he isn't great or even that he shouldn't have the ball in his hands...just that he was awful when it mattered most last night, which he was.

 

[Rhino_nole]

He should've dished more. I don't know if he had any assists in the 4th quarter. He may have had some but I doubt it.

I do know that he shot brick after brick after brick and squandered an 11-point lead b/c of all of his missed shots.

Again, I'm not saying he isn't great or even that he shouldn't have the ball in his hands...just that he was awful when it mattered most last night, which he was.

I just told you. He assisted on a Shumpert 3 (in OT), a Deli 3 off of a high pick and roll, a hockey assist to Shumpert who threw it to JR Smith and he made 2 3 pointers - that's 12 points (not counting the JRS 3) that he was directly involved in the last 5 minutes and OT.

Of course he's taking bad shots (his awful fade away jumpers) but he's the only one out there who's capable of taking shots. He gets into the paint and he's either taking the shot or looking for an open man. Sometimes, you take the shot.

 

[BelemNole]

The thing I noticed about the 4th quarter is that they stopped calling fouls when Lebron was driving. First three quarters he would drive, get hit, and a foul would be called. That last quarter, he'd drive, get mugged, and no call. But someone would go up for the rebound, light contact and a whistle. Crazy. Guy had ANOTHER triple double. Got to be tired by the 4th carring that many guys around on your back every game. Had they blown the whistle on any of the obvious fouls while he was driving there was no overtime.

 

[kooterridesagain]

I think Lebron had 10 pts and 3 assists in the 4th.
Anyone who doesn't get how impressive last night was, must be part of society who think Lebron would lose to MJ today, 1 on 1.

 

[sconole]

This is an awful hot take.

Of course he has to do it all for this Cavs team, it's full of scrubs. They've lost 2 of their top 3 scorers, assist leaders and rebounders. This is the first time since Shaq that one player led ALL players in scoring, rebounding and assist. He's literally carrying the team around him.

Deli was fantastic and shut down the MVP.

I find it funny that had some no name bum shut down Lebron, he'd be getting murdered but b/c it's baby faced Steph, everyone is giving him a pass.

you complain about a hot take to start and then finish with a hot take of your own.

Curry had an off game and missed a lot of shots he usually makes. I would bet he doesn't have another game close to this bad for the rest of the series...unless Delladova takes his legs out

 

[OriginalSwami]

LeBron is the most physically gifted player to ever play the game and he's finally showing in these playoffs the one thing that I thought separated him from MJ. That unbeatable will. When MJ set foot on the floor in the Finals, you just didn't get the sense that they were gonna lose. This is the third straight team these guys have faced that are better than them on paper. They've been served up on a platter for some team to knock them off, but Lebron isn't letting it happen. All that being said, MJ and Magic are the best I've ever seen, but that's another discussion.

 

[BelemNole]

One last word on officiating...I was shocked to see the same ref that blew the call when Isaiah Thomas blocked Lebron's inbound pass from behind a few weeks back calling last night's game. Guy shouldn't be anywhere near a championship series.

 

[seminole97]

Curry had an off game and missed a lot of shots he usually makes. I would bet he doesn't have another game close to this bad for the rest of the series...unless Delladova takes his legs out

Heard something on the radio at lunch. Listening to Cowherd's show and he quoted someone saying that after getting flipped onto his heard Curry is something like 35% FG shooting and 27% shooting 3s...

 

[Rhino_nole]

you complain about a hot take to start and then finish with a hot take of your own.

Curry had an off game and missed a lot of shots he usually makes. I would bet he doesn't have another game close to this bad for the rest of the series...unless Delladova takes his legs out

What hot take? The Steph vs Lebron? I just find it funny that one is held to a ridiculous standard while the other can flop around on the court and was deemed the MVP.

 

[kooterridesagain]

I didn't realize that was the same ref unreal.

On curry shooting, the rest of Warriors were great where as the cavs only hit 32%, which usually is a loss every time. Curry might improve but cavs are due for breakout offensive games too. Lots of missed shots in the paint and open from 3.

 

[Spearchucker87]

LeBron is the most physically gifted player to ever play the game and he's finally showing in these playoffs the one thing that I thought separated him from MJ. That unbeatable will. When MJ set foot on the floor in the Finals, you just didn't get the sense that they were gonna lose.

LJ has more of that than he used to. Here's part of a column that said he still doesn't have enough:

"LeBron James was sensational, scoring 39 points, grabbing 16 boards, handing out 11 assists and pretty much filling in for Kyrie Irving at the point.

It was a master class in versatility and basketball intelligence. Yet we couldn't help but think about what he didn't do. When the comparisons to Michael Jordan come up next time and people tell you that James is better, you should remember those.

............the late jump ball with Draymond Green. James protested that Green grabbed his shoulder, and he was absolutely correct. But here's the key thing: Green wasn't afraid of what James would do.

If anyone had done that to Michael Jordan, he would have punished them on the spot and then made them pay for years. No one in his right mind would have provoked Jordan. Yet Green felt totally comfortable disrespecting James in that manner. Look, there's no question that James is one of the greats. He's been to Five straight NBA Finals, something no one outside of Boston has ever done. And he's done an amazing job leading this team, not least of all with Irving and Love out.

But what separated Jordan - and before him Bill Russell - is will.

No one in basketball has come close to that standard since Jordan left. For that matter, we're not sure anyone in sports right now is close to that standard. Muhammad Ali was, Joe Montana was, maybe Reggie Jackson back in the day.

As great as James is, his inability to take over the game in clutch time puts him in the Top Ten or fifteen players of all time. Still pretty remarkable, but Jordan and Russell stand apart."

 

[Spearchucker87]

If anyone had done that to Michael Jordan, he would have punished them on the spot and then made them pay for years. No one in his right mind would have provoked Jordan.

I remember FSU's Mitchell Wiggans saying that you didn't dare trash talk Jordan if you happened to make a good play on him, as that's when he would light you up and score 50 on you (I didn't talk to him myself, but when he came back home after his rookie year he had a few NBA stories that were relayed to me. Another how he absolutely hated having to guard Larry Bird, that he'd have rather had the duty of guarding 3 men than Bird. The other thing was that Bird was constantly in his ear with stuff, "You can't guard me rookie", 'what happened', 'you don't know the play'?

 

[dmm5157]

I didn't realize that was the same ref unreal.

On curry shooting, the rest of Warriors were great where as the cavs only hit 32%, which usually is a loss every time. Curry might improve but cavs are due for breakout offensive games too. Lots of missed shots in the paint and open from 3.

Not sure you can really say the rest of the Warriors were great last night. Excluding Curry's 2-15 from 3 display, the team went 6 of 20 (30%). Recall, regular season avg for Warriors was 40%. Cavs were 37%. Cavs weren't far off from their season average from behind the arc (33%).

The big difference in the game IMO came down to free throws. Looking at the lines, Cavs shot 15 more and made 9 more (most of that being Lebron). Both Lebron and Mozgov shot more than 10 free throws. Curry lead the Cavs with 8.. That's pretty big in a game that was decided by 1 pt in Overtime.

 

[Noleguy06]

I just told you. He assisted on a Shumpert 3 (in OT), a Deli 3 off of a high pick and roll, a hockey assist to Shumpert who threw it to JR Smith and he made 2 3 pointers - that's 12 points (not counting the JRS 3) that he was directly involved in the last 5 minutes and OT.

Of course he's taking bad shots (his awful fade away jumpers) but he's the only one out there who's capable of taking shots. He gets into the paint and he's either taking the shot or looking for an open man. Sometimes, you take the shot.

Correct reponse. Only way Cavs have a shot is Lebron is going to have to be a high volume and most likely inefficent scorer. IE Westbrook. They don't have many other options to create their own shot.

LJ has more of that than he used to. Here's part of a column that said he still doesn't have enough:
As great as James is, his inability to take over the game in clutch time puts him in the Top Ten or fifteen players of all time. Still pretty remarkable, but Jordan and Russell stand apart."

I'm far from a Lebron support but I can recognize master class when I see it. He's definitely going to be the greatest player this generation and when it's all said and done, he'll go down as one of the top five players ever. No matter what he does, there will always be people above who trash the guy instead of recognizing how great a player he is.

 

[Noleguy06]

LJ has more of that than he used to. Here's part of a column that said he still doesn't have enough:

As great as James is, his inability to take over the game in clutch time puts him in the Top Ten or fifteen players of all time. Still pretty remarkable, but Jordan and Russell stand apart."

http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/lebron-may-be-the-most-clutch-playoff-shooter-of-his-generation/

 

[dmm5157]

http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/lebron-may-be-the-most-clutch-playoff-shooter-of-his-generation/

Call me crazy, but read that article twice and went through the math and references and that whole table looks like voodoo math to me.

"Relative to the league-wide average, James generated 4.8 more total points than expected on his go-ahead shots, which translates to about one entire playoff win beyond what an average shooter would have contributed from the same field-goal distances. And those numbers become magnified when you consider that James’s average go-ahead shot came in a playoff game with championship implications 34 percent greater than the typical postseason contest. After we weight by the leverage of his specific game-winning shot attempts, James generated the equivalent3 of 8.5 more points than expected, or roughly two playoff wins above average, with his clutch end-of-game shooting alone."

What does that paragraph actually even mean?

I love sports statistics as much as the next person, maybe more, but that table is a bit much.

Also interesting in that table is another fun analysis of the data: Leaves out taking a shot to tie the game as well. just an observation, not to trivialize the data.

 

[Rhino_nole]

Call me crazy, but read that article twice and went through the math and references and that whole table looks like voodoo math to me.

"Relative to the league-wide average, James generated 4.8 more total points than expected on his go-ahead shots, which translates to about one entire playoff win beyond what an average shooter would have contributed from the same field-goal distances. And those numbers become magnified when you consider that James’s average go-ahead shot came in a playoff game with championship implications 34 percent greater than the typical postseason contest. After we weight by the leverage of his specific game-winning shot attempts, James generated the equivalent3 of 8.5 more points than expected, or roughly two playoff wins above average, with his clutch end-of-game shooting alone."

What does that paragraph actually even mean?

I love sports statistics as much as the next person, maybe more, but that table is a bit much.

Also interesting in that table is another fun analysis of the data: Leaves out taking a shot to tie the game as well. just an observation, not to trivialize the data.

Cowherd was pumping this stat a few days ago. All I know is, if I had to choose who took the last shot of a game to win it or tie it and who had the ball in their hand - 3 guys to choose - Jordan, Kobe or Lebron, I'm taking Jordan and then probably Kobe just b/c their jump shots are more pure than Lebron's (I loath his incessant need to fade away on every jumper he takes).

 

[dmm5157]

Cowherd was pumping this stat a few days ago. All I know is, if I had to choose who took the last shot of a game to win it or tie it and who had the ball in their hand - 3 guys to choose - Jordan, Kobe or Lebron, I'm taking Jordan and then probably Kobe just b/c their jump shots are more pure than Lebron's (I loath his incessant need to fade away on every jumper he takes).

I agree. Going for ice-cold killer, I'd take Jordan every day of the week without question or hesitation. Beyond that, I am having trouble recalling all of Kobe's game winners. He's had plenty, but none jump out at me like Jordan's or even Lebron's. Just been a few years since he's been relevant, starting to slip from my mind.

As for Lebron, end of regulation in Game 1 is a good example.

Tie game, can take the final shot to end the game and he killed the clock and took a long distance shot for the game winner. It was a low percentage shot for his game, and it eliminates the likelihood of a foul on the play. Lebron is good and could have made that shot, but he just as easily could have taken it hard to the hoop for a higher percentage shot. That's precisely what he did in Game 2, however, he did not get the call on the fouls. That wouldn't likely be the case, however, in Cleveland.

 

[Zeek99]

I don't want to take away from Dellavedova's performance because he has really been a big reason why the Cavs are in a position to possibly win a championship, but Curry hasnt been the same since he landed on his head in the Rockets series.

 

[Spearchucker87]

I'm far from a Lebron support but I can recognize master class when I see it. He's definitely going to be the greatest player this generation and when it's all said and done, he'll go down as one of the top five players ever. No matter what he does, there will always be people above who trash the guy instead of recognizing how great a player he is.

That column was from the editor of Duke Basketball Report. He doesn't trash LJ nor fail to recognize his greatness, just puts it at a slightly less lofty spot than others are want to. I think he's right about 2 points:

--Part of what Jordan used mentally to motivate himself was a sense of being wronged or some kind of person affront. All the way back to his claiming that he was wronged by a HS coach who cut him prematurely. Another thing was his sense of personal competition vs other stars. After his 1992 championship series he talked about how he'd seen it at some level as a personal competition to prove he was better than Clyde Drexler. When Clyde heard this he said that he hadn't looked at it that way, but that maybe he should have. I don't think that LJ operates off of the PARTICULAR kinds of killer instinct that MJ did. Everybody's makeup is different. It doesn't mean he's any less competitive. But if what gets your juices running as a fan is the persona that Jordan had, you probably see LJ as lacking something at the end of games. It was obviously most glaring in his first title series playing alongside Wade. Shrinking like he did then is just something that I don't think would have happened with MJ. It's going to take a lot for LJ to overcome that image in some people's minds. He'll go down as the best player of the current times. He'll have to win more titles to be in the all-time top 5. If he doesn't win more titles, the passage of time will lower him down the list as it has with Julius Erving.

 

[Rhino_nole]

I agree. Going for ice-cold killer, I'd take Jordan every day of the week without question or hesitation. Beyond that, I am having trouble recalling all of Kobe's game winners. He's had plenty, but none jump out at me like Jordan's or even Lebron's. Just been a few years since he's been relevant, starting to slip from my mind.

As for Lebron, end of regulation in Game 1 is a good example.

Tie game, can take the final shot to end the game and he killed the clock and took a long distance shot for the game winner. It was a low percentage shot for his game, and it eliminates the likelihood of a foul on the play. Lebron is good and could have made that shot, but he just as easily could have taken it hard to the hoop for a higher percentage shot. That's precisely what he did in Game 2, however, he did not get the call on the fouls. That wouldn't likely be the case, however, in Cleveland.

Kobe's had a few but they weren't in big games and they were some time ago. If you told me Kobe vs Lebron and Lebron would drive to the rim every time (like he did against the Wizards several years ago) to win the game, I'd take Lebron all day over Kobe. He's either going to get fouled, make the shot, have such a heavy rotation toward him that there's an easy tip in or offensive rebound. He legit should never shoot a jumper to win the game unless it's similar to the Magic game or the Bulls game.

It's funny how Lebron says he blocks every thing from the media and outside out during the playoffs but the play you mentioned above, people were screaming how he should take it to the rim. Guess what he did in the next game in the same situation......takes it to the rim. He listens.

 

[dmm5157]

Kobe's had a few but they weren't in big games and they were some time ago. If you told me Kobe vs Lebron and Lebron would drive to the rim every time (like he did against the Wizards several years ago) to win the game, I'd take Lebron all day over Kobe. He's either going to get fouled, make the shot, have such a heavy rotation toward him that there's an easy tip in or offensive rebound. He legit should never shoot a jumper to win the game unless it's similar to the Magic game or the Bulls game.

It's funny how Lebron says he blocks every thing from the media and outside out during the playoffs but the play you mentioned above, people were screaming how he should take it to the rim. Guess what he did in the next game in the same situation......takes it to the rim. He listens.

Lebron definitely listens to what the media says. It's one of the reasons why he is so prone to have bounce-back games (see the playoffs the past 5 years pretty much). It's darn hard to beat whatever team Lebron is on 2 games in a row. Up until the Spurs did it in the finals last year, it hadn't happened since before the Big 3 set up camp down in Miami.

I've always thought that Lebron probably listened to the media a bit too much. I will say that he tends to use it as motivation, but sometimes it also shows his insecurities and vulnerabilities: The mental game.

Further evidence of Lebron's listening to the media: He went back home to Cleveland after winning 2 titles in Miami. Sure, you could argue Cleveland was a much more desirable team situation, having the #1 pick and a slew of young talent compared to the aging team in Miami. Still, he could have gone anywhere and won. Can't help but think he listened to all the media criticism of his leaving and how him going back to Cleveland would right the ship and cement his legacy.

 

[Spearchucker87]

..............he could have gone anywhere and won. Can't help but think he listened to all the media criticism of his leaving and how him going back to Cleveland would right the ship and cement his legacy.

He pays attention to media. But on this point I think the primary driver was his sincere loyalty to his home stomping grounds. He's gained a lot of goodwill in going back, including from me. But it wasn't apparent that that would happen before he did it. His statement won a lot of people over. I think more of him now, but it's a case of having paid attention to how he talks, carries himself and leads. Before when he was with Dwayne Wade, there was a different kind of shadow over him based on the way Wade behaved and some childish things they got involved in.

 

[sconole]

What hot take? The Steph vs Lebron? I just find it funny that one is held to a ridiculous standard while the other can flop around on the court and was deemed the MVP.

no player receives more praise from the media than lebron which is fine because he is the best player, but i'm not sure what it would take for people to stop this mantra that lebron is somehow hated by the national sports media. They actually love him

you're hot take on curry is what i was referring to. The guy is a hell of a player and you act like he is entirely a product of ESPN. He had an off night...it happens with shooters.

 

[Rhino_nole]

no player receives more praise from the media than lebron which is fine because he is the best player, but i'm not sure what it would take for people to stop this mantra that lebron is somehow hated by the national sports media. They actually love him

you're hot take on curry is what i was referring to. The guy is a hell of a player and you act like he is entirely a product of ESPN. He had an off night...it happens with shooters.

Lebron was crushed like no other in moderns sports due to the climate of social media, hot takes, quick sound bites, easy listeners......he changed the way sports media does their business (after his Heat move). It's why ESPN did their nonsense w/ Tebow (rating spike bonanza), Johnny Manzeil and Jameis Winsont. The national sports media created click bait mostly b/c Lebron hate drove ratings.

Yeah, that's not what I said nor implied about Curry. I'm fully aware of who Steph Curry is, I'm probably one of the few people on Warchant that's been to a Warriors game (back during the Chris Mullin era).

Curry is the greatest shooter I've seen play the game but let's not pretend he's getting killed for having an "off night". My point is, Lebron's off nights in his past games he was murdered in social media and the news. Curry is getting a free pass much like Kevin Durant does. Maybe it's because they're both newbies to the Finals.

 

[dmm5157]

Lebron was crushed like no other in moderns sports due to the climate of social media, hot takes, quick sound bites, easy listeners......he changed the way sports media does their business (after his Heat move). It's why ESPN did their nonsense w/ Tebow (rating spike bonanza), Johnny Manzeil and Jameis Winsont. The national sports media created click bait mostly b/c Lebron hate drove ratings.

Yeah, that's not what I said nor implied about Curry. I'm fully aware of who Steph Curry is, I'm probably one of the few people on Warchant that's been to a Warriors game (back during the Chris Mullin era).

Curry is the greatest shooter I've seen play the game but let's not pretend he's getting killed for having an "off night". My point is, Lebron's off nights in his past games he was murdered in social media and the news. Curry is getting a free pass much like Kevin Durant does. Maybe it's because they're both newbies to the Finals.

While all that may be true, some of that is a result of market saturation. Lebron is on no less than 5 commercials that get regular air time (Kia, Samsung, Beats Audio, McDonald's, Sprite, among others), not even including all the official NBA commercials he's on. That is considerable more national exposure on a daily basis than Steph Curry, to the average viewer (NBA fan or not).

With all the face time comes vocality on social media. These days, Social Media drives what other media covers, with the whole "trending" phenomenon. And with that additional coverage comes even more comments via social media for/against the sports media coverage. It's a never-ending cycle of one driving the other and vice versa. That's just the world we live in.

Steph Curry is on one commercial that gets national play right now: All State insurance, along with Chris Paul and other past basketball players (NBA and WNBA).

Kevin Durant has a few more commercials (namely Sprint) but is still nowhere near Lebron for media exposure. With that lack of exposure comes lack of comments in social media.


That doesn't even take into consideration the fact that we live in a very negative climate right now when it comes to sports. Very few teams (SF Giants? SA Spurs?) seem to escape over-criticism. Look at the recent Patriots team receiving a harsh cycle of scandals, relatively minor in nature but still. FSU faced a similar fate. People just generally love to hate on social media. It drives people more than anything else.

 

[Rhino_nole]

While all that may be true, some of that is a result of market saturation. Lebron is on no less than 5 commercials that get regular air time (Kia, Samsung, Beats Audio, McDonald's, Sprite, among others), not even including all the official NBA commercials he's on. That is considerable more national exposure on a daily basis than Steph Curry, to the average viewer (NBA fan or not).

With all the face time comes vocality on social media. These days, Social Media drives what other media covers, with the whole "trending" phenomenon. And with that additional coverage comes even more comments via social media for/against the sports media coverage. It's a never-ending cycle of one driving the other and vice versa. That's just the world we live in.

Steph Curry is on one commercial that gets national play right now: All State insurance, along with Chris Paul and other past basketball players (NBA and WNBA).

Kevin Durant has a few more commercials (namely Sprint) but is still nowhere near Lebron for media exposure. With that lack of exposure comes lack of comments in social media.


That doesn't even take into consideration the fact that we live in a very negative climate right now when it comes to sports. Very few teams (SF Giants? SA Spurs?) seem to escape over-criticism. Look at the recent Patriots team receiving a harsh cycle of scandals, relatively minor in nature but still. FSU faced a similar fate. People just generally love to hate on social media. It drives people more than anything else.

I don't recall every Lebron James' commercial but I don't recall him being in a ton during his last few years with the Cavs and his first year w/ the Miami Heat. I think that's when the perceived hatred emanated from. Him quitting against Boston and not shaking hands, the decision, the not 1....2....3....4.....5.......6.....7......at the pep rally. It escalated to the 9th degree when they lost to the Mavs.

I'm not talking about now, he seems to be beloved (more so than before, maybe 1st and 2nd year Lebron type of love) now but back in that time frame where the hatred was ratcheted up to a dumb level.

 

[seminole97]

These days, Social Media drives what other media covers, with the whole "trending" phenomenon.

I don't see 'social media' as the driving force, it simply reflects the participating public.
In the same vein, I can hardly be frustrated with the pablum that is CNN because they're getting better feedback than ever about what people want to actually see (they know what stories people click on, etc.), and now I know what other people want to see is usually crap...

 

[dmm5157]

I don't see 'social media' as the driving force, it simply reflects the participating public.
In the same vein, I can hardly be frustrated with the pablum that is CNN because they're getting better feedback than ever about what people want to actually see (they know what stories people click on, etc.), and now I know what other people want to see is usually crap...

With social media, other media outlets get to see who wants to see what. They're tailoring their coverage and even slants (cough*jameis*cough) based on popularity. Unfortunately, as I stated above, negative posts far outweigh positive. People are much more likely to post negative comments than positive. It's one of the reasons Facebook never implemented a "dislike" buton: they dried to discourage negativity as much as possible.

The "click bait" mentality has moved into every facet of life and seems to have taken over social media, particularly Twitter and Facebook. So much of social media these days seems to be weeding through to get to the stuff that really matters, rather than the "hot take of the day" that is so readily available.

 

[dmm5157]

I don't recall every Lebron James' commercial but I don't recall him being in a ton during his last few years with the Cavs and his first year w/ the Miami Heat. I think that's when the perceived hatred emanated from. Him quitting against Boston and not shaking hands, the decision, the not 1....2....3....4.....5.......6.....7......at the pep rally. It escalated to the 9th degree when they lost to the Mavs.

I'm not talking about now, he seems to be beloved (more so than before, maybe 1st and 2nd year Lebron type of love) now but back in that time frame where the hatred was ratcheted up to a dumb level.

Ah, I thought we were speaking about now regarding Lebron criticisms. Lebron was in a ton of commercials back then, but not as many as he is now.

Social Media was no where near what it is now back when Lebron did his pep rally and decision thing. Almost hard to believe that was 5 years ago. Had he done the pep rally thing now, the internet would probably break.

I lost a lost of respect for him back then, as did a lot of the greats like Bird, Magic, and Jordan. Everyone had something to say about it, most of it was not positive except for Lebron and Heat fans.

 

[Fijimn]

I think that it is fair to say that the NBA and, by extension, NBC, et al, protected MJ, Bird and Magic. In fact, there was a rumor that the networks/NBA had very little sound from the floor because they didn't want to the general public to know how bad the language and trash talking was on the floor....it was bad. But with the competition from so many sport/entertainment channels and there just seems to be a huge number of reporters and pseudo-journalists these days trying to make it big, that "gotcha" or "hater" news is the norm. Somewhat like the old beat writers in baseball, the ones that worked for the AP/independent wrote sensationalism while the old beat guys protected their golden geese.

FYI, watched Clutch City documentary on NBA tv last night. It was very good for anyone interested in NBA history. I had completely forgotten that Vernon Maxwell quite on the Rockets during the playoffs and was sent home....imagine if that happened today.

 

[squiffynole]

The second game was very sloppy, champions from years past would trounce these teams.

 

[QuaZ2002]

The second game was very sloppy, champions from years past would trounce these teams.

Totally disagree. People don't want to acknowledge how good the Cavs are defensively with Delly and Thompson in the starting lineup. Not saying the Warriors didn't miss more shots than usual, but Delly flustering Curry and Thompson having the versatility to switch onto a guard makes them really tough. LeBron and Shumpert are also very very good defenders in their own right.

 

[KelloggNole]

The second game was very sloppy, champions from years past would trounce these teams.

When it's Lebron and the back bench, disrupting the flow of the game is a good strategy. The Cavs don't have to beat Champions from years past, just the Warriors in 3 out of the next 5 games.