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Official NBA 2012-13 Season Thread
- Thread starter Byrne
- Start date
What was wrong with it? Green and Leonard are good 3 point shooters, not historic ones, and they don't have anyone drawing defensive attention inside - Bosh and Birdman can guard Duncan down low with reasonable success, and if he scores, better than giving up 3s (The Heat strategically traded 60% 3s for 50% 2s, in essence). Of course they were going to regress to the mean.
Pops is a good coach but he's treated like the Belichick of the NBA when he isn't.
and if you actually watched the series, the Spurs got far and away the most ref love.
i wasnt putting the officiating in question at all, nor did i say that the spurs deserved to win the series after giving away game 6. calling a coach with 4 titles in the last decade and a half and 16 straight playoff appearances with the same core superstar over that time overrated is just ridiculous though. come on man lol. sure, he probably overcoached in the last two games, (ie sitting parker and duncan at the same time throughout several stretches where miami made runs, taking duncan out to try to match up with a smaller lineup, riding manu even through his struggles) but that doesnt warrant being called overrated when you look at the totality of the career.
Should have ran Duncan, Diaw, Kawhi, TMac, Parker for the whole 4th quarter. Would have won by ten. (jk but it would have been 100000x more fun to watch.)
By the end of the third it was clear Miami would win. Hard to beat LeBron when he is hitting his jumper. Absolutely impossible when he is draining threes and Battier is 5/6 from 3 and Wade is playing like pre-old man knee Wade.
By the end of the third it was clear Miami would win. Hard to beat LeBron when he is hitting his jumper. Absolutely impossible when he is draining threes and Battier is 5/6 from 3 and Wade is playing like pre-old man knee Wade.
I was dumbfounded as the Spurs and Heat traded potshots through the second half before James finally put the game out of reach with his relentless jumpshot. He averaged his season FG and 3P%'s in a Finals game seven. I'd say he's really fucking clutch now. He beat San Antonio to death with his old achilles heel
Timothy Theodore Duncan,
Despite being one of the most consistent forces in the NBA for the last 15 years, the league and fans alike still fail to give you the praise you deserve.
You get shit ratings, you rarely make flashy blocks or dunks, and you are rarely seen in the media. People are still surprised to this day when you actually play a solid game.
If there is one thing you have above all others in the game, it is that you let your play speak more than anything else. No trash, no drama, and no flash. Rebound, pass, and score. That’s it. Under Poppovich’s rule, you embraced a five-man philosophy of sharing and making everyone feel involved. When you think of the word “substance” in the NBA, nobody’s name comes before yours. You play the right way and never strayed from it once.
Your fanbase is incredibly small, but definitely more loyal and trusting than any other. The entire Spurs organization is a family at this point, and your trust in that family’s philosophy win or lose; it’s akin to the inseparable allegiance of a samurai to his great master.
You didn’t win a fifth ring.
But you already acquired and accomplished things a hundred times more important than it: the meaning of substance and consistency in sports.
Despite being one of the most consistent forces in the NBA for the last 15 years, the league and fans alike still fail to give you the praise you deserve.
You get shit ratings, you rarely make flashy blocks or dunks, and you are rarely seen in the media. People are still surprised to this day when you actually play a solid game.
If there is one thing you have above all others in the game, it is that you let your play speak more than anything else. No trash, no drama, and no flash. Rebound, pass, and score. That’s it. Under Poppovich’s rule, you embraced a five-man philosophy of sharing and making everyone feel involved. When you think of the word “substance” in the NBA, nobody’s name comes before yours. You play the right way and never strayed from it once.
Your fanbase is incredibly small, but definitely more loyal and trusting than any other. The entire Spurs organization is a family at this point, and your trust in that family’s philosophy win or lose; it’s akin to the inseparable allegiance of a samurai to his great master.
You didn’t win a fifth ring.
But you already acquired and accomplished things a hundred times more important than it: the meaning of substance and consistency in sports.
way too much
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1999_NBA_Finals
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_NBA_Finals
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2005_NBA_Finals
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_NBA_Finals
- 4× NBA champion
- 3× NBA Finals MVP (1999, 2003, 2005)
- 2× NBA Most Valuable Player (2002–2003)
- 14× NBA All-Star (1998, 2000–2011, 2013)
- NBA All-Star Game MVP (2000)
- NBA Rookie of the Year (1998)
- 10× All-NBA First Team (1998–2005, 2007, 2013)
- 3× All-NBA Second Team (2006, 2008–2009)
- All-NBA Third Team (2010)
- 8× All-Defensive First Team (1999–2003, 2005, 2007–2008)
- 6× All-Defensive Second Team (1998, 2004, 2006, 2009–2010, 2013)
- NBA All-Rookie First Team (1998)
- NBA Shooting Stars champion (2008)
- USBWA College Player of the Year (1997)
- Naismith College Player of the Year (1997)
- John Wooden Award (1997)
- Adolph Rupp Trophy (1997)
- Sporting News Player of the Year (1997)
- NABC Player of the Year (1997)
- 2× ACC Player of the Year (1996–1997)
- 3× NABC Defensive Player of the Year (1995–1997)
- 2× Consensus NCAA All-American First Team (1996–1997)
blitzlefan
shake it off!
Gotta give credit to James and Wade. Just excellent. Battier was extremely clutch as well. :) But honestly, what were the Spurs doing??? Awful awful awful turnovers left and right, and why did they keep Ginobili in?
what does that even mean lol
the point guard that comes in the clutch with 3's when needed but can't do a layup to save his life ever. he's either the worst guy or the guy you need the most in a single game. there is no in-between. also he can't guard shit.
You realize that the game has changed over the years and it is insane to even try comparing players across the years through numbers because we don't know what they would be like today. Defenses are tougher today regardless of who got hit in the 80's and the power of the center has been diminished significantly. Kobe's 81 and Love's 30+ rebounds were amazing to do, I'd say even more amazing than Wilt's 100 or Russell's 50+ rebounds. For someone who claims to know more about basketball than anyone in this thread I'd think you know that.
You are out of your mind if you think any of those guys are better than Lebron. I couldn't stand to see the Heat win and will never be a Lebron guy, but he's the best there ever will be.
My heart goes out to the Spurs fans. 30 seconds left of game 6 and somehow they gave the game away. Would have loved to see Duncan and Manu win one more time. I really think this is their last ride though. Took them six years to make it back, I don't see that happening again. Poor Duncan. Dude was heartbroken. Popovich had a lot of questionable coaching decisions this series... Definitely a blemish on his legacy.
Fuck man I didn't want to see broke ass Wade ride Lebron's coattails to another ring.
reading and replying to Gabe posts is suffering
If the center position has been diminished it does not mean very much, (if anything 7' PF > 7' C has been a shift for now, but fuck if Yao Ming never suffers from so many injuries this is probably a different conversation). There have only been two styles of winning basketball and both have held true since the year 1980 - you either play a fairly slow pace with a brutal defense (especially a top 3 D), or you have a HALL OF FAME big man...only exception to this simple set of rules was Lakers in 2009, and they still had Pau Gasol who is an elite big, just no hofer.
Duncan Spurs winning was very close to happening (20 seconds and an incredible blown lead), and it would have even literally been based on a game where the hof big took over on offense all by himself, and Lebron was 3-12 to this point and only had a like 5 minute flash of dominance. No idea how you can even possibly believe the bigs are dead thing besides hype and glibly ignorant media analysis. Who took the Heat to the brink (game 7s or losses) - ONLY DUNCAN, GARNETT, NOWITZKI. Gee what do they have in common, besides being the three best bigs on the planet 1998-on (besides a long retired/diminished Shaq).
Lebron is worse than Duncan, KG, and Nowitzki. After shitting up three straight finals I am pretty confident nothing will ever have to convince me Lebron is better than those guys. He got the luxury of facing all three of these guys when they were old men, on his little precious superteam, and they still all took him to the edge of the cliff time and again. The irony is that he lost to the worst of the three in Nowitzki, and an incisive assumption is that age has absolutely everything to do with it - Nowitzki is over one year younger than both of those guys to begin with, and he faced them 1 & 2 years earlier respectively. Make Lebron play them at an even age, he loses 2/3 or 3/3 of those series. Obviously we cannot make that happen, everyone ages at different times and it helps you luck into and out of titles. That is why titles are really important for analysis, but not the entire damn thing (nobody thinks Rodman is a top 10 player, and he has one of the best multi-team championship credentials in NBA history).
tl;dr you believe what you "see", but do not give it any context, enjoy crowning Lebron's ass with everyone else or whatever. I am going to stick to repping the guys who get it done at any age because size don't lie.
edit: lol just remembered he was in that Spurs-Cavs finals, and of course he fucking sucked
Lebron lifetime finals FG% Heat: 46%
Lebron lifetime finals FG% Cavs: 35%
his defense totally matters, it gets his team places and is special, but it is Kobe defense special, and Kobe defense special is also nowhere near a top 10 player...Lebron James should not be in anybody's top 10 if they are serious, he is no Hakeem or Moses, I am not telling you to put him under your Rick Barrys, but as of now his career is still relatively pretty fucking pathetic
If the center position has been diminished it does not mean very much, (if anything 7' PF > 7' C has been a shift for now, but fuck if Yao Ming never suffers from so many injuries this is probably a different conversation). There have only been two styles of winning basketball and both have held true since the year 1980 - you either play a fairly slow pace with a brutal defense (especially a top 3 D), or you have a HALL OF FAME big man...only exception to this simple set of rules was Lakers in 2009, and they still had Pau Gasol who is an elite big, just no hofer.
Duncan Spurs winning was very close to happening (20 seconds and an incredible blown lead), and it would have even literally been based on a game where the hof big took over on offense all by himself, and Lebron was 3-12 to this point and only had a like 5 minute flash of dominance. No idea how you can even possibly believe the bigs are dead thing besides hype and glibly ignorant media analysis. Who took the Heat to the brink (game 7s or losses) - ONLY DUNCAN, GARNETT, NOWITZKI. Gee what do they have in common, besides being the three best bigs on the planet 1998-on (besides a long retired/diminished Shaq).
Lebron is worse than Duncan, KG, and Nowitzki. After shitting up three straight finals I am pretty confident nothing will ever have to convince me Lebron is better than those guys. He got the luxury of facing all three of these guys when they were old men, on his little precious superteam, and they still all took him to the edge of the cliff time and again. The irony is that he lost to the worst of the three in Nowitzki, and an incisive assumption is that age has absolutely everything to do with it - Nowitzki is over one year younger than both of those guys to begin with, and he faced them 1 & 2 years earlier respectively. Make Lebron play them at an even age, he loses 2/3 or 3/3 of those series. Obviously we cannot make that happen, everyone ages at different times and it helps you luck into and out of titles. That is why titles are really important for analysis, but not the entire damn thing (nobody thinks Rodman is a top 10 player, and he has one of the best multi-team championship credentials in NBA history).
tl;dr you believe what you "see", but do not give it any context, enjoy crowning Lebron's ass with everyone else or whatever. I am going to stick to repping the guys who get it done at any age because size don't lie.
edit: lol just remembered he was in that Spurs-Cavs finals, and of course he fucking sucked
Lebron lifetime finals FG% Heat: 46%
Lebron lifetime finals FG% Cavs: 35%
his defense totally matters, it gets his team places and is special, but it is Kobe defense special, and Kobe defense special is also nowhere near a top 10 player...Lebron James should not be in anybody's top 10 if they are serious, he is no Hakeem or Moses, I am not telling you to put him under your Rick Barrys, but as of now his career is still relatively pretty fucking pathetic