NBA thread

[knickslions2]

Cavs much better when love got hurt

[RHT2004]

Originally Posted by knickslions2

Cavs much better when love got hurt

And Irving to be honest, kinda scary to think what they could be though if those 2 buy into playing D and sharing the ball. Imagine Thompsons 15 rebounds and Delly's D and energy off the bench. I think the series is tonight. Cavs win its over GS wins, they take home court back and they are back to heavy chalks.

[TheSpyder]

Hope the games better than this Usher opening...

What is going on in the stands anyway

[TheSpyder]

Well Morty would be mortified if he saw how little attention being made to the CAVS.

[horseofcourse]

Originally Posted by knickslions2

Cavs much better when love got hurt

This was easy to buy into when they kept winning in playoffs and even I might have a bit, but it was so untrue. In the end they won "despite" the Love and Irving injuries not "because" of them which became a cool narrative. I do think they missed what Irving can do more than what Love can do in the finals. But they missed both of them in the end. A lot. They went 34-9 to finish the regular season with Love and Irving. They played great because JR Smith was their 4th scoring option, not their 2nd.

It's much easier playing a bit of a banged up Bulls and Hawks teams rather than a healthy golden state to think they are better without Love. Playing out the finals was clear indication that "no, they are not much better". There's every chance they may have lost the finals with a healthy Irving and Love, but I'm not sure. I am sure they lost the finals without both of them.

[knickslions2]

Originally Posted by horseofcourse

This was easy to buy into when they kept winning in playoffs and even I might have a bit, but it was so untrue. In the end they won "despite" the Love and Irving injuries not "because" of them which became a cool narrative. I do think they missed what Irving can do more than what Love can do in the finals. But they missed both of them in the end. A lot. They went 34-9 to finish the regular season with Love and Irving. They played great because JR Smith was their 4th scoring option, not their 2nd.

It's much easier playing a bit of a banged up Bulls and Hawks teams rather than a healthy golden state to think they are better without Love. Playing out the finals was clear indication that "no, they are not much better". There's every chance they may have lost the finals with a healthy Irving and Love, but I'm not sure. I am sure they lost the finals without both of them.

Totally agree with Irving. They were lost without him and needed another ball handler. Don't agree on Love. Thompson played fantastic on both sides of the court. His rebounding and aggressiveness gave Cleveland multiple opportunities and he was great on defense. I thought besides Lebron he was reason the were able to win any games.

[RHT2004]

People also forget AV he was a starter. Imagine Thompson with all that energy off the bench? If Golden St lost Bogut early for the year, then lost Green and Thompson where would they be? What Lebron did this year is amazing and will never truly be appreciated.

[horseofcourse]

Originally Posted by knickslions2

Totally agree with Irving. They were lost without him and needed another ball handler. Don't agree on Love. Thompson played fantastic on both sides of the court. His rebounding and aggressiveness gave Cleveland multiple opportunities and he was great on defense. I thought besides Lebron he was reason the were able to win any games.

Love was beneficial mainly early in the game. The team's pattern in regular season was normally in close games Thompson was in in the 4th rather than Love due to the defense, but those 15 to 20 points by Love came in handy!! Love's 7 to 9 defensive boards a game also relieved LeBron of that duty which he picked up in the playoffs. LeBron had his lowest rebounding average of his career this season, but averaged over 11 in the playoffs mainly due to Love's injury....he had to pick up that slack. Thompson did average over 26 minutes per game in regular season. I think both him and LeBron wore down in the 4th quarter of games in the Golden State series due to over use. They were both playing 8 to 10 minutes more than normal per game due to the injuries. I don't think they definitely win the series without the injuries as many Cleveland fans are saying, but the chances certainly would have been better. Love had a good year. He averaged about 17 and 10 and shot the 3 well....37 percent. I honestly don't know why so many were down on him all season.

[Pants II]

All off-season decisions go through LeBronCorp.