**2014 Official NBA Playoffs Thread**

[-King-]

Round 1:

EAST:

#8 Hawks @ #1 Pacers
#7 Bobcats @ #2 Heat
#6 Nets @ #3 Raptors
#5 Wizards @ #4 Bulls

WEST:
#8 Mavericks @ #1 Spurs
#7 Grizzlies @ #2 Thunder
#6 Warriors @ #3 Clippers
#5 Blazers @ #4 Rockets

[dirk digler]

Originally Posted by KC_Connection

You're even denying Wade's decline to fit your narrative? If your memory doesn't go back that far, go watch a game from 2-3 years ago with Wade and compare it to anything this series. He's fallen far and fallen fast.

There is no doubt Wade is a declining player but if you watched him in the playoffs prior to the Finals he actually was playing well. He was averaging 18.5 pts/game and shooting above 50%. As I said he averaged 20 pts and shot 55% against supposedly the best defense in the NBA. I don't know what happened to him in Finals but he didn't show up and he wasn't the only one.

[notorious]

This thread has AIDS.

[Tribal Warfare]

Originally Posted by GloucesterChief

Bird might also be a better trash talker then Lebron. According to players during his era it was apparently pretty epic.

Ohh shit yeah, Larry could hold is own with anyone when it came to talking smack.

[KevB]

Originally Posted by Tribal Warfare

How so? Considering Bird himself in clutch situations was up there with Jordan and is a shitload better passer/facilitator , and if James leaves the Heat he's just whoring himself out to get Championships. The only thing he's got on Larry is he's more athletic, but al ot of NBA players were that compared to Bird also.

Take a peak

Larry vs. LeBron

Bird as a better pass/facilitator is ridiculous. Larry was a great passer, but LeBron has basically played point guard for much of his career offensively. Larry played with several other Hall of Famers in a different era when you could keep those guys on the roster for the long term....why would he have left?

[Tribal Warfare]

Originally Posted by KevB

Take a peak

Larry vs. LeBron

Bird as a better pass/facilitator is ridiculous. Larry was a great passer, but LeBron has basically played point guard for much of his career offensively. Larry played with several other Hall of Famers in a different era when you could keep those guys on the roster for the long term....why would he have left?

LOL, yeah Larry made them HOFers outside of Walton they wouldn't be nearly as good if Larry wasn't there. Different eras too with the 80's being more competitive as I stated multiple times. Lebron wouldn't be putting up the same stats with how the team game was in the 80's. He's a great player, but not an all-time great.

[KC_Connection]

Originally Posted by dirk digler

There is no doubt Wade is a declining player but if you watched him in the playoffs prior to the Finals he actually was playing well. He was averaging 18.5 pts/game and shooting above 50%. As I said he averaged 20 pts and shot 55% against supposedly the best defense in the NBA. I don't know what happened to him in Finals but he didn't show up and he wasn't the only one.

Before the Spurs, the Heat were playing a bunch of bad teams that they didn't even need to give a full effort against. Wade was still nothing like his former self even then. And apart from a few games in last year's playoffs (Game 7 against Indiana, Game 4 against the Spurs), he was also quite bad then too.

His decline began years ago. Really, the last time he was anything close to his past elite self was the 2011-2012 season. He's fallen off massively since in every way possible.

[KC_Connection]

Originally Posted by Tribal Warfare

Lebron wouldn't be putting up the same stats with how the team game was in the 80's. He's a great player, but not an all-time great.

This makes no sense at all.

[Tribal Warfare]

Originally Posted by KC_Connection

This makes no sense at all.

If you are so Lebron bias it must not

[OldSchool]

Originally Posted by KevB

To Connection's point about the fact that there's a lot of the story yet to be told for LeBron :




Now I don't personally think LeBron ever gets to MJ status, but he could have another 7 to 8 great to good years left, so who knows what might happen.

Funny thing about that age comparison chart. All it does is shows me that Jordan was able to win his championships in less time in the NBA than it took Lebron to do it.

Jordan - 7 years to win one and he didn't have to run away to another city and another star to do it. Ended up 3-peating in an era full of FHOF players and teams that are better than the teams today.

James - 9 years in the NBA to win one and he had to run to another star in order to do it. Couldn't accomplish the feat in his own city and with his own influence/strength. Only 2-peated in an era that has little basketball talent compared to what was there in Jordan's years.

[KC_Connection]

Originally Posted by Tribal Warfare

Putting him in the realm of MJ, Magic, and Bird he doesn't even touch him them dude when it comes to clutch. They were and are setting him up to fail.

If we're talking clutch, LeBron has been provided more value per 48 minutes in the playoffs than every player in the history of basketball but MJ and Mikan.

Also:

What can’t LeBron James do?

Score 30 points? Check.

Triple-double? No problem.

Game winner at the buzzer? Sure.

LeBron is the first player in NBA postseason history with a triple-double and a buzzer-beater game winner in the same game.

Magic never did it. Jordan never did it. Bird never did it. Not even Oscar or Wilt. Only LeBron.

Not too long ago, the discussion was about how LeBron wasn’t clutch. That no longer seems to be a discussion.

Since LeBron came into the league in 2003-04, nobody in the NBA has made more game-tying and go-ahead shots in the final 24 seconds of playoff games than LeBron, who is 7-of-16 on those shots. His 43.8 field goal percentage on those clutch shots ranks the best in the NBA since his rookie season among players with at least 10 attempts. The league average is 28.3 percent on those shots.

http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/pos...ch-think-again

[ChiefsCountry]

Originally Posted by OldSchool

Funny thing about that age comparison chart. All it does is shows me that Jordan was able to win his championships in less time in the NBA than it took Lebron to do it.

Jordan - 7 years to win one and he didn't have to run away to another city and another star to do it. Ended up 3-peating in an era full of FHOF players and teams that are better than the teams today.

James - 9 years in the NBA to win one and he had to run to another star in order to do it. Couldn't accomplish the feat in his own city and with his own influence/strength. Only 2-peated in an era that has little basketball talent compared to what was there in Jordan's years.

Look at the dumbass.

[KC_Connection]

Originally Posted by Tribal Warfare

If you are so Lebron bias it must not

It's biased. And no, I'm just not a hater in denial without any understanding of LeBron's style, game or talent level.

[OldSchool]

Originally Posted by ChiefsCountry

Look at the dumbass.

Sorry, but the facts are there and clear as day.

You should probably compare Lebron's success to Kobe Bryant as well. It would be a more apt comparison since Bryant played in an era closer to James and also started out in the NBA straight out of high school.

FYI, Bryant 3-peated within 6 years in the league; won his first championship after 3 years in the league.

Again, it took James 7 years, a different city, and playing under a different star before he could even win 1.

[Tribal Warfare]

Originally Posted by KC_Connection

It's biased. And no, I'm just not a hater in denial without any understanding of LeBron's style, game or talent level.

I'm not a "hater" at all, in fact I understood why he originally left the Cavs and thought he could be in that rarefied air of greats. Then the "Big 3" era began, and he started wilting in big games which at the same time it didn't help that the NBA's marketing machine was pushing the all-time great talk simultaneously with the intro of how many championships that Lebron will when in his own words.

[KC_Connection]

Originally Posted by OldSchool

Funny thing about that age comparison chart. All it does is shows me that Jordan was able to win his championships in less time in the NBA than it took Lebron to do it.

It's too bad LeBron didn't quit the sport last year on top of the game to go ridiculously play minor league baseball. Would have made it more fair and he might have more fans that way.