****Official 2017 NBA Playoffs Thread****

[KC_Connection]

The real season begins.

Round 1:

EAST:

#8 Bulls @ #1 Celtics
#7 Pacers @ #2 Cavs
#6 Bucks @ #3 Raptors
#5 Hawks @ #4 Wizards

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

[BigCatDaddy]

Originally Posted by staylor26

I find it very strange how Lebron fans shit on KD for going to the Warriors. How do they not see the hypocrisy?

Someone on ESPN called him out on this after game 1. Lebron was blaming their loss on Durant doing what he started. Hypocrisy at its finest.

[BigCatDaddy]

Originally Posted by PAChiefsGuy

What would be good for his legacy is not getting outplayed by Kevin Durant in the finals.

He did a hatchet job on his legacy the first time he left Cleveland.

[mcaj22]

Originally Posted by staylor26

I find it very strange how Lebron fans shit on KD for going to the Warriors. How do they not see the hypocrisy?

The difference is, and it's the most important difference:

The Warriors were going to the Finals with or WITHOUT Durant, regardless.

The Heat weren't winning anything without Lebron, they weren't going to the finals with just Wade and Bosh. They needed Lebron to make it work

Warriors don't need Durant.

[BigCatDaddy]

Originally Posted by mcaj22

The difference is, and it's the most important difference:

The Warriors were going to the Finals with or WITHOUT Durant, regardless.

The Heat weren't winning anything without Lebron, they weren't going to the finals with just Wade and Bosh. They needed Lebron to make it work

Warriors don't need Durant.

Totally reeruned.. The Heat would have likely been in the finals if they got passed Cleveland. At worst they lose in the ECC. You are splitting hairs here.

[KC_Connection]

Originally Posted by Hammock Parties

The Heat were already a playoff team when LeBron joined them.

A 47 win team that lost in the 1st round of the playoffs for two consecutive years. But sure, I guess that's the same as joining the 73 win, NBA champion Warriors.

[KC_Connection]

Originally Posted by New World Order

He needs to outplay Durant before we can talk about his legacy.

That's no answer. And you'll be talking about his legacy regardless (and even more so if the Warriors do as they should and finish the job this series).

[KC_Connection]

Originally Posted by -King-

I love how regular season records don't matter for the Cavs according to KCC but mentions the warriors winning 73 games as many times as he can.
Posted via Mobile Device

Regular season records mattered to that Warriors team. Them giving a full effort is why they were even able to set that record (and also possibly why they ran out of gas by last June, which is why they didn't expend that same kind of effort this year).

How that applies to LeBron's Cavs teams coasting for months in the regular season, I'm not sure.

[KC_Connection]

Originally Posted by BigCatDaddy

Totally reeruned.. The Heat would have likely been in the finals if they got passed Cleveland. At worst they lose in the ECC. You are splitting hairs here.

Except a Heat team with just Wade/Bosh wouldn't come anywhere close to beating the KG/Pierce/Allen Celtics or that era's LeBron-led Cavs team for that matter.

[New World Order]

Originally Posted by KC_Connection

That's no answer. And you'll be talking about his legacy regardless (and even more so if the Warriors do as they should and finish the job this series).

Put the series on his back, crush Durant, put up 45 and win the series because 28 isn't going to do it.

That's what's best for his legacy.

[BigCatDaddy]

Originally Posted by KC_Connection

Except a Heat team with just Wade/Bosh wouldn't come anywhere close to beating the KG/Pierce/Allen Celtics or that era's LeBron-led Cavs team for that matter.

Not Golden State but they would be knocking on the door of a CT. Not a huge difference, especially factoring in East vs West levels of talent just to make a finals.

[-King-]

Originally Posted by KC_Connection

Regular season records mattered to that Warriors team. Them giving a full effort is why they were even able to set that record (and also possibly why they ran out of gas by last June, which is why they didn't expend that same kind of effort this year).

How that applies to LeBron's Cavs teams coasting for months in the regular season, I'm not sure.

Because it's not true. It's just something you made up to fit your narrative. They've never lost down the stretch like they did this year. A LeBron team has never been that bad the last month or two of the season.

But yeah, it's because they were "coasting", despite never doing that before. Yeah I'm sure it was all part of the plan.
Posted via Mobile Device

[Hammock Parties]

Originally Posted by KC_Connection

A 47 win team that lost in the 1st round of the playoffs for two consecutive years. But sure, I guess that's the same as joining the 73 win, NBA champion Warriors.

It's not. But now add Chris Bosh to that team and you're getting in the same ballpark.

LeBron didn't join some shit team, and he wasn't going there without Bosh coming.

[KC_Connection]

Originally Posted by New World Order

Put the series on his back, crush Durant, put up 45 and win the series because 28 isn't going to do it.

They aren't winning the series no matter what he does. It goes 5 games max as I said at the beginning of the playoffs. The Warriors would not be able to be stopped by any team in history and certainly not one that's lacking defensively in so many areas like the Cavs.

That's what's best for his legacy.

But let's assume that he loses this series and continues to lose for the rest of his career as long as this version of the Warriors exists. Wouldn't going to the Warriors after this season be the better option in that equation?

[KC_Connection]

Originally Posted by Hammock Parties

It's not. But now add Chris Bosh to that team and you're getting in the same ballpark.

LeBron didn't join some shit team, and he wasn't going there without Bosh coming.

A worse/softer version of Kevin Love doesn't quite put that Heat team on the same level as the Warriors, I'm afraid.

[KC_Connection]

Originally Posted by -King-

Because it's not true. It's just something you made up to fit your narrative.

Of course it's true. The fact that the Cavs barely try in the regular season should be obvious to everyone by now. Even Nate Silver a few days ago acknowledged this effect as a primary reason why his ELO Rating system underrated Cleveland:

Reason No. 1: Elo doesn’t account for teams such as Cleveland finding a higher “gear” in the playoffs. We covered this point extensively before the playoffs began, so I won’t go into too much detail here. Our Elo projections — and most other projection systems — essentially treat regular-season basketball as equivalent to playoff basketball. But LeBron’s teams have a long history of performing at a much higher caliber in the playoffs than in the regular season.

Maybe this is because James and his teammates conserve their energy; there aren’t a lot of high-leverage regular-season games in the Eastern Conference, as evidenced by the fact that the Cavs could play so crappily down the stretch run and still stumble into the No. 2 seed. Maybe it’s because LeBron is a terrific half-court player, and there’s a premium on the half-court game in the playoffs as defenses tighten up. In any event, the assumption that playoff basketball equals regular-season basketball seems to be pretty wrong in the case of the Cavs. This is something we plan on re-evaluating as we retune our NBA models this summer.

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features...arriors-again/