We complain about the NHL a lot but compared to the NBA .......

[Addison Rae]

Warriors couldn't be that good if they blew a 3-1 lead

They blew a 3-1 to a top 3 player of all time having a historically good 3 game stretch, along with the fact Curry was clearly hurt and Draymond was suspended for game 5.

Healthy Cavs win in 2015, healthy Warriors win in 2016 IMO.

 

[golfortennis]

LeBron didn't join a 73 win team (one of the greatest of all-time) that was on the verge of repeating.

If you believe they were the same you shouldn't post on here expecting to be taken seriously.[/]

James orchestrated setting up a super team cause he didn't like the one he was on. If Durant should have stuck it out in OKC, why was it ok for James to bail on Cleveland? And GS' roster is a fair bit different.

I love the irony in how it's ok for a guy to set up his own team somewhere else, but a guy can't decide to play for a team whose management apparently gets it.

 

[golfortennis]

Are you ****ing serious, I explained how they were completely different and you just ignored it and threw a personal attack.

It's not ****ing hard to understand, Lebron left a team whose number 2 option was Mo ****ing Williams, a team that went from winning 60+ games with him to struggling to win 25 with him. Kevin Durant left a team that also had a top 7 player in the league, a team who also lost a key starter in Serge Ibaka yet still won ~50 games without him.

Not only did Kevin Durant leave an excellent team with a very good supporting cast opposed to Lebron leaving a bad team, that's bottom 5 in the league without him. Kevin Durant joined a 73-9 team that won a chip without him, not only that he did that a few months after blowing a 3-1 lead to them.. The fact that you think these two situations are comparable is just mind numbing.

Lebron James joined Miami, a team that finished 3rd our of 5th in their own ****ing division, a team that didn't even have home court in the first round of the playoffs. Miami ****ing lost in 5 games in the first round without Lebron.


In the two years Miami won the chip, Dwayne Wade averaged 20 and 16 points a game while Chris Bosh averaged 14 and 12 points per game. This notion that this team was some "super team" is so out of touch with reality. Lebron James was the clear cut top player on that team, as he averaged 30 and 26 the two years he won the championship.

Miami went from playing in 4 straight finals to not making the playoffs without Lebron, that's ****ing absurd.

The fact that you think these two situations are even remotely close is just ridiculous, and shows your lack of knowledge.

Well you posted some tripe about how you think it's different, but ultimately, in both situations it's a guy deciding to join a team where he feels management gets it. Although, in one case, the guy is setting up his own team.

But you keep convincing yourself Durant is a selfish lout while James does things for the good of the game.

If Durant is a bad guy for bailing on OKC, then James is for bailing on Cleveland. If you think one is ok and the other isn't, then enjoy your fanboydom. It's a business, and these guys do what is best for themselves. Plain and simple.

 

[Addison Rae]

LeBron didn't join a 73 win team (one of the greatest of all-time) that was on the verge of repeating.

If you believe they were the same you shouldn't post on here expecting to be taken seriously.[/]

James orchestrated setting up a super team cause he didn't like the one he was on. If Durant should have stuck it out in OKC, why was it ok for James to bail on Cleveland? And GS' roster is a fair bit different.

I love the irony in how it's ok for a guy to set up his own team somewhere else, but a guy can't decide to play for a team whose management apparently gets it.

Dear lord, for the 3rd time Lebron James left a team who's second option was Mo ****ing Williams a team that struggled to win 25 games without him, how do you not understand the difference? KD left a team that was a blown 3-1 lead away from beating the best regular season team of all ****ing time.

Without KD and Serge Ibaka the Thunder won close to 50 games, without Lebron his team won ~25.

How the **** do you not grasp this simple fact? It's not ****ing rocket science, Durant was on a significantly better team with a significantly better supporting cast.

That's only half of the problem too, Durant chose to go to a team THAT WON 73 ****ING GAMES without him, a team that he was up 3-1 on, he folded like a cheap tent in the final 3 games and left for the team that beat him literally 2 months later.

Lebron James joined a team that finished 3rd in its division, a team that didn't have home court in the first round and lost in 5 games. Sure, they also added Chris Bosh but as I stated in my previous post which you chose to ignore Bosh and Wade put up pretty average numbers in the two years they won the chip. Wade averaged 18 and 20, which are barley all star level numbers and Bosh averaged 12 and 14. Obviously they're both two key players, but this notion that they were a 'super team' is out of touch with actual reality.

Let's just analyze this so called 'super team' before Lebron got there they lost in 5 games in the first round, when he was there they went to 4 straight NBA finals when he left they missed the ****ing playoffs.

Thats not a super team, that's just a once in a generation player proving his excellence when playing with other good players.

What KD was literally the equivalent to Steph Curry deciding to join the Cavs after they blew a 3-1 lead to them.

Your comparison is terrible and you show a complete and utter misunderstanding of the sport of basketball.

 

[Addison Rae]

Well you posted some tripe about how you think it's different, but ultimately, in both situations it's a guy deciding to join a team where he feels management gets it. Although, in one case, the guy is setting up his own team.

But you keep convincing yourself Durant is a selfish lout while James does things for the good of the game.

If Durant is a bad guy for bailing on OKC, then James is for bailing on Cleveland. If you think one is ok and the other isn't, then enjoy your fanboydom. It's a business, and these guys do what is best for themselves. Plain and simple.

I'm sorry but you've shown a complete and utter lack of knowledge on this situation.

The fact that you can't comprehend this is staggering. For the 4th time Lebron James left a team with absolutely no supporting cast, Kevin Durant left a team with a guy who's going to win the MVP award this year a team that also traded away their 3rd best player along with losing Durant to free agency that still managed to nearly win 50 games. These situations are not comparable at all, it's not rocket science.

The Cavs were 19-63 when Lebron James left their team, they went from winning 60+ games to losing 60+ games due to the departure of one ****ing player. He was literally a one man army, how can you not comprehend this.

Again that's only half of the ****ing problem too, if KD decided to go to a team like Washington or Boston I don't think anyone would have much of a problem, the fact that he not only joined the team that he blew a 3-1 lead too but a team that proved they could win without him, a team that broke the NBA record for most wins in a season without it.

The last line is so utterly ridiculous, using your logic here. It would be okay for Lebron, Curry, Durant, Harden and Davis to all team up together because "it's what's best for them".

What Durant did was the gutless and pathetic. Does that mean he isn't a fantastic player? Absolutely not, he's a star and may be the best pure scorer to ever play the game.

 

[leafsfan5]

The one difference is in the NHL the last time we saw the same two teams play in back to back Stanley Cup Finals was Detroit and Pittsburgh in 2008 and 2009. This is the third year in a row where Cleveland and Golden State are meeting in the NBA Finals.

Plus it's LeBron James seventh straight season alone of playing in the NBA Finals. He went to four straight with Miami from 2011-2014 and with Cleveland he's played in three straight from 2015-2017.

Why do people talk about Lebron making seven straight finals like it's a bad thing? Enjoy the greatness you're watching. This is arguably the second greatest player in the history of the game who's on the top stage of basketball every single year putting up other worldly stats. It's like some people wanna watch Boston/Toronto vs Houston/Utah just to see "new teams"

I do agree that the parity in NBA is non-exsistent and we should be happy to have it in the NHL though. The basketball playoffs have been ridiculously boring

 

[Montreal Shadow]

Well you posted some tripe about how you think it's different, but ultimately, in both situations it's a guy deciding to join a team where he feels management gets it. Although, in one case, the guy is setting up his own team.

But you keep convincing yourself Durant is a selfish lout while James does things for the good of the game.

If Durant is a bad guy for bailing on OKC, then James is for bailing on Cleveland. If you think one is ok and the other isn't, then enjoy your fanboydom. It's a business, and these guys do what is best for themselves. Plain and simple.

Can you quit ignoring what he just said? Durant still had a pretty good team. OKC currently has Westbrook, Enes Kanter, Steven Adams and Victor Oladipo. That is a very good team. Add Durant and they're one of the top teams in the West. OKC almost beat GS last year until Durant blew it in game 6.

Durant gets ousted by a team that went 73-9 and joins them the next year. Kid has no freakin pride. Lebron gave two championships to Miami and returned to his hometown to accomplish what he had started. How is it remotely the same? Or are you referring to that time where he left Cleveland that he took to the finals and is widely regarded as one of the worst teams to make it to the finals in the past 50 years?

 

[Edmonton East]

We complain about the NHL a lot but compared to the NBA...

This is the equivalent of saying your girlfriend is hot in comparison to Amy Schumer.

 

[weastern bias]

Knicks are always in the mix

 

[golfortennis]

I'm sorry but you've shown a complete and utter lack of knowledge on this situation.

The fact that you can't comprehend this is staggering. For the 4th time Lebron James left a team with absolutely no supporting cast, Kevin Durant left a team with a guy who's going to win the MVP award this year a team that also traded away their 3rd best player along with losing Durant to free agency that still managed to nearly win 50 games. These situations are not comparable at all, it's not rocket science.

The Cavs were 19-63 when Lebron James left their team, they went from winning 60+ games to losing 60+ games due to the departure of one ****ing player. He was literally a one man army, how can you not comprehend this.

Again that's only half of the ****ing problem too, if KD decided to go to a team like Washington or Boston I don't think anyone would have much of a problem, the fact that he not only joined the team that he blew a 3-1 lead too but a team that proved they could win without him, a team that broke the NBA record for most wins in a season without it.

The last line is so utterly ridiculous, using your logic here. It would be okay for Lebron, Curry, Durant, Harden and Davis to all team up together because "it's what's best for them".

What Durant did was the gutless and pathetic. Does that mean he isn't a fantastic player? Absolutely not, he's a star and may be the best pure scorer to ever play the game.

If Durant, Curry, Harden and James and Davis wanted to do that, and the salary cap worked, a)that's their prerogative, and b) how is that any different from what he did in Miami? He arranged a super team.

It's not Durant's fault Westbrook is a better player than Mo Williams. But it doesn't make Durant leaving any better or worse than James leaving. How many teams pass the ball like GS? Maybe Durant wanted to play on a team where he could pass or shoot as he wanted(notice how good Westbrook is now that he isn't having to pass the ball? Hmmmm). Maybe he doesn't like Westbrook.

If it's ok for James to leave Cleveland because Williams is the best option, it's ok for Durant to leave for whatever reason he wants. The fact he went to the best team is no worse than James setting up his super team like he did.

I'd argue James is the one with no pride, leaving like he did.

 

[Montreal Shadow]

If Durant, Curry, Harden and James and Davis wanted to do that, and the salary cap worked, a)that's their prerogative, and b) how is that any different from what he did in Miami? He arranged a super team.

It's not Durant's fault Westbrook is a better player than Mo Williams. But it doesn't make Durant leaving any better or worse than James leaving. How many teams pass the ball like GS? Maybe Durant wanted to play on a team where he could pass or shoot as he wanted(notice how good Westbrook is now that he isn't having to pass the ball? Hmmmm). Maybe he doesn't like Westbrook.

If it's ok for James to leave Cleveland because Williams is the best option, it's ok for Durant to leave for whatever reason he wants. The fact he went to the best team is no worse than James setting up his super team like he did.

I'd argue James is the one with no pride, leaving like he did.

Lebron built that team. The whole squad was assembled around Lebron.
Durant joined a squad that ousted his team and that had already won.
If you don't understand the difference then there's no helping you.

 

[tony d]

I prefer hockey of course but while the NBA is predictable it's still a fun league to watch.

 

[xxreact9]

God bless hockey and even Gary Bettman. What's going on in the NBA is just sad, entire season is pointless including the playoffs and Final.

Yeah definitely much better to have the national probability league, where an overwhelming favorite has a maximum 60% chance of winning a game.

The is so damaging emotionally and financially to a city and fanbase. To local businesses trying to plan promotions. There is nothing good about having the majority of a result based on coin flip probability in any given situation in the sport. In other sports if you finish 1st place in the league, all of the aforementioned parties can count on a long playoff run. This is what makes sports good, when you finally put together an incredible roster you are rewarded for it. In hockey, you are not.

Vegas odds for Avs vs Capitals in the season may be somewhere around 60-62%. If it was any other sport in the world, it would be at least 80%.

There is NOTHING to be proud of when the result of your sport is dictated by a coin flip instead of who actually plays better.

The best team doesn't always have to win, but the team who PLAYS THE BEST should just about always win. In hockey, that is so far from the truth it isn't even funny.

It's the worst major pro sport for a reason.

Make the ice bigger and maybe we'll see less "corsi style" of hockey where all 30 teams in the league are now just blasting high volumes of low percentage pucks on goal and praying for deflections.

Make the ice bigger and raw execution becomes more important than the bounces themselves.

 

[Flair Hay]

God bless hockey and even Gary Bettman. What's going on in the NBA is just sad, entire season is pointless including the playoffs and Final.

****in rights. That sport has its fans and all the power to them but man. Half the best players live taking the easy road to success. A league full of Marian Hossa's lol

 

[Addison Rae]

If Durant, Curry, Harden and James and Davis wanted to do that, and the salary cap worked, a)that's their prerogative, and b) how is that any different from what he did in Miami? He arranged a super team.

It's not Durant's fault Westbrook is a better player than Mo Williams. But it doesn't make Durant leaving any better or worse than James leaving. How many teams pass the ball like GS? Maybe Durant wanted to play on a team where he could pass or shoot as he wanted(notice how good Westbrook is now that he isn't having to pass the ball? Hmmmm). Maybe he doesn't like Westbrook.

If it's ok for James to leave Cleveland because Williams is the best option, it's ok for Durant to leave for whatever reason he wants. The fact he went to the best team is no worse than James setting up his super team like he did.

I'd argue James is the one with no pride, leaving like he did.

I'd think you know enough about basketball, and you certainly don't know how to comprehend what I'm saying. There's a reason 4 people have sided with me during this argument and none have sided with you.

Again for like the 5th time this notion that Miami was some
sort 'super team' thats even remotely close to Golden State is so flawed. Golden State had the best record in league history without Durant, Kevin Durant was just up 3-1 on Golden State 2 ****ing months ago and folded like a cheap tent. Do you know comprehend this part, as a competitor how do functionally understand this part. Kevin Durant left a fantastic top 3 team in the league, that was up 3-1 on the best regular season team of all time, 2 months later he left his top 3 team and joined the best team in the league, after blowing a lead to them.

Again this is literally the same thing as Steph Curry leaving Golden State for Cleveland and rationalizing it by saying "well lebron is fantastic and driving the ball to the rim and collapsing the defense, thus this is a smart move by curry because he'll have more room to operate his historically good shooting"

Lebron leaving Cleveland is like Demarcus Cousins or Anthony David leaving their teams with no supporting cast, again the Cavs went from winning 60+ games with him to losing 60+ without him. He had a horrible supporting cast, and this notion that Miami was some sort of "big 3" is so out of touch with reality, again let me give an overview of the events thag occurred.

Before Lebron got their Wade as the "guy" lead his team to 3rd in his division, didn't have home court in the playoffs and got bounced in 5 games in the first round. When they added Lebron (and Bosh who averaged 14 and 12 points the two year they won the chip ffs) they went from getting bounced in the first round to going to 4 straight finals, when Lebron and no other member of the "big 3" left they went from doing that, playing in 4 straight finals to missing the playoffs entirely.

I'm sorry, but you are so utterly off base that it's ridiculous.

 

[Bedards Dad]

People do want to see juggernauts, despite online complaints about parity. And so do networks. That's why NBC has NY, LA, Chicago on all the time. The complaints about small market teams were not just trolling, it was for a reason and if you look what what teams NBC broadcasts you can see why. Parity is great until every team is the same, no one can score, and the league is full of tweeners. Which is what the NHL is now.

Surely it couldn't be that they are the 3 largest markets in the USA. Nope, must be a super team thing.

Having teams that are the top of the league is good, as long as the guard changes. Having a small market team never have any success is the worst thing that could happen. Wasted money on a team that will fold.

Being part of the largest fanbase, I still like to see teams like the Preds do well, more so than the Rangers or Pens.

 

[Fugazy]

I prefer hockey of course but while the NBA is predictable it's still a fun league to watch.

NBA has become so predictable. Only a handful of teams are capable of winning the title. It's extremely rare to see a team below a #2 seed win the title.

 

[TheSituation]

NBA has become so predictable. Only a handful of teams are capable of winning the title. It's extremely rare to see a team below a #2 seed win the title.

Why is that an issue??? Teams are #1 seeds for a reason. The "problem" with the NBA is that 1 seed hasn't changed recently.

 

[Suntouchable13]

NBA has become so predictable. Only a handful of teams are capable of winning the title. It's extremely rare to see a team below a #2 seed win the title.

You're being generous with that. This year's NBA playoffs have showed that only 2 teams had a shot to win it all.

 

[1specter]

Underdogs and upsets have always been a fun part of sports but reading this thread I've come to realize how much people hate that apparently. Might as well just sim every season like it's EA Sports game.

 

[stealth1]

One of the things the NBA has right is that very good teams dominate. Which is good for the sport. Parity is all well and good, I just hate how the NHL creates it. Keeping the hard cap is a good way to keep parity. There is no need for the refs to employ game management and the point system is terrible. I don't want to see most games decided by a coin flip. Right the game is the worst I have seen it. The game was at its best in 05-09 when the skill and speed where allowed to be showcased. The best skilled teams in those seasons dominated and it made for great hockey.

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

Underdogs and upsets have always been a fun part of sports but reading this thread I've come to realize how much people hate that apparently. Might as well just sim every season like it's EA Sports game.

the last team to win the stanley cup that either hadn't won one in recent memory or wouldn't soon repeat was boston. that was six years ago; and even that team made the finals again two years later.

not counting GSW, the last NBA team to win that hadn't won one in recent memory or would soon repeat was dallas. that was also six years ago.

 

[1specter]

the last team to win the stanley cup that either hadn't won one in recent memory or wouldn't soon repeat was boston. that was six years ago; and even that team made the finals again two years later.

not counting GSW, the last NBA team to win that hadn't won one in recent memory or would soon repeat was dallas. that was also six years ago.

yes i know, i pointed that out in an earlier response in the thread to the nba fans who were saying there were no 'good' or dominant teams. NBA has actually had more unique champions since '08 than the NHL has.

 

[Viqsi]

Underdogs and upsets have always been a fun part of sports but reading this thread I've come to realize how much people hate that apparently. Might as well just sim every season like it's EA Sports game.

Because in These Uncertain Times too many folks would much rather attach themselves lamprey-like to a Guaranteed Winner so they too can feel like winners, rather than demonstrate loyalty to their own.

And yes, I do think lesser of folks who do that, it is a judgment I make without recourse or exception, and there is not anything anyone can say to me to change that impression. Defend and support your home, not your thinly veiled insecurities.

 

[weastern bias]

The way I enjoy my entertainment products of choice is inherently superior to the manner in which other people choose to spend their leisure time indulging in the same hobby, and I will assume personal superiority for how I happen to spend my time