Playoff Recap: Cavs 109, Raptors 102 (or, “If we had LeBron on our team, too, we would have won…”)
2017-05-08For the record… I was originally going in a different direction with this recap. Then, DeMar DeRozan hit the postgame podium with his daughter and uttered the quote in the subtitle of this piece. It was at the same time both an oversimplification of the difference between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Raptors (or any other team in the NBA for that matter), and the purest statement of fact to summarize yet another playoff series sweep (the 11th in LBJ’s storied career). Though it’s undeniable that the dude also known as The King certainly had some help from his terrifically talented supporting cast in this game, this series and throughout his multitude of deep playoff runs, there’s also no denying how superlative he’s become.
Somewhere I read a comment tonight that LeBron is the basketball equivalent of a nuclear warhead right now, which is a vivid yet fitting metaphor. No matter the opponent, he is absolutely raining down destruction and leveling their chances… not only the minuscule ones to win a series, but even a solitary game. With this latest sweep of the surprisingly hapless Raptors, he may have also triggered the extinction of this current collection of dinos. His Game 4 line (35 points on 50% shooting, with nine boards, six assists and a block in 46 minutes) was in line with his ridiculous series averages (36 points on 57.3% shooting, 48% from downtown, to go with eight boards, five assists and a block in 42 minutes per game). In fact, LeBron became the first player in NBA playoff history with 35+ points in every game of a four game sweep, and he did it in his 31st playoff series win, passing Michael Jordan.
There are so many records LeBron is breaking or setting, in fact, that it’s almost impossible to keep up with his greatness as he has defied logic and reason in reaching yet another pinnacle of play in now his 14th season. Most importantly, however, is that he is the ultimate catalyst and trump card for whichever franchise he suits up. Fortunately, for all of us, the name on the front of his jersey is Cleveland. And, thanks in large part to him, the Cavs have now won 11 straight playoff games dating back to last year’s Finals.
The fact that the Cavs won the game to complete the sweep (their sixth playoff sweep in the last three years), wasn’t so much of an afterthought as it was nearly a foregone conclusion. Toronto was once again without their all star PG, Kyle Lowry (ankle sprain), and the Cavs have shown themselves to be deadly when leading a series 3-0 in closeout games. And, though the Raptors played perhaps their best and scrappiest game of the series, even taking a late lead for a few moments, it all added up to Cleveland’s 32nd win in 36 Eastern Conference Playoff games since 2015.
Yep, we have LeBron James… and you don’t. Sorry about that. Thanks for playing. Better luck next year.
The Game
Unlike the previous three games in the series, the Cavs got off to a relatively slow start. In fact, neither team scored for the first few minutes as they traded missed shots and turnovers. Then, the Raptors actually started making some perimeter shots (something they hadn’t done much early in previous games), and actually forged their biggest margin of the series of 11 points. With P.J. Tucker (in his first start of the series), Serge Ibaka and Norman Powell all hitting threes, it seemed like Toronto might finally give themselves a chance to avoid the sweep. They were up 26-15 with 2:38 remaining in the first… which was all the time the Cavs needed to go on a 13-2 run to tie it at 28 at the end of the period. The final three points came on a LeBron transition bucket after a Kyrie Irving steal, where Bron was wearing Ibaka like a shirt for the and one.
Got the lay-in, the foul, and the hug pic.twitter.com/llW8MTkifx
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) May 7, 2017
In the second quarter, much to their detriment, the Raptors forgot why they were supposed to deny Kyle Korver from ever getting a clean millisecond to catch and shoot the ball. La Flama Blanca ignited, torching the Raps for 16 of his 18 points in the period. The Cavs extended their lead to 14 at one point, as they kept finding the white hot fire that surrounded Korver while he streaked for the corners. It was hard to tell if he was waving his hand on this one to show he was open, or to avoid third degree burns…
Kyle Korver is on 🔥🔥🔥🔥 … 16 points on 4-for-5 from deep@cavs lead @Raptors 61-49 at half of Game 4#DefendTheLand pic.twitter.com/UjdSdX3ikm
— NBA.com (@NBAcom) May 7, 2017
To be somewhat fair, the inferno got going in earnest after Toronto’s one remaining star, DeRozan, got Shumped in the groinal region and had to sit out for a few minutes. He would return, but unfortunately for the Raptors, too late to prevent the Cavs from notching a 33-21 scoring advantage in the quarter.
Things got tighter in the third quarter, as the Raptors hit four threes, and DeMar DeRozan got going for 10 of his 22 points. Serge Ibaka and P.J. Tucker each hit timely shots, and Cory Joseph dished the ball well in Kyle Lowry’s absence. Still, LeBron hit a couple threes of his own and set up Channing Frye for another to keep the Cavs in front by five going into the final frame.
Toronto continued their hot shooting to kick off the fourth, as Tucker and seldom used rookie, Fred VanVleet, knocked down threes to chip away at the lead. LeBron continued to counter with another three and a couple of trips to the line, yet it was clear that he was getting gassed. After playing all but two minutes of the first half, LBJ played the entire 24 minutes of the second half, and the weariness caught up to him as he had three of his six turnovers in the quarter. In general, the Cavs went through a stretch where they seemed content to jack up long threes. They missed four in a row at one point, including two on one possession by LeBron, and an ill-advised pull up 27 footer from Kyrie in transition. Ibaka then hit a three point play on an and one over Love, and suddenly the Raps had their first fourth quarter lead of the series, 93-92 with 6:37 to play.
At this point, it would have been an opportune time for the MFQ to show up and help save the day. But, Kyrie was just 7-20 from the floor, 1-5 from three, for 16 points. He also hadn’t really transformed into the MFQ persona in recent games, having shot just 35% for the series. So, of course, when the team needed it… the MFQ did not disappoint. Kyrie immediately regained the lead with a jab step back three (reminiscent of his shot over Steph Curry in The Finals), and proceeded to go on his own personal 11-0 run… while putting poor Cory Joseph in a blender.
Kyrie Irving scored 11 straight in the fourth quarter and came up clutch once again. https://t.co/yUx6eGSmkM
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 8, 2017
When the smoke cleared, the MFQ had turned the one point deficit into an eight point lead. All that remained was the obligatory King James step back dagger three to effectively put the game out of reach…
— ESPN (@espn) May 7, 2017
Game. Series. Sweep.
The Evil
What is there really to complain about when this team that was 12-15 after the All Star Break has managed to turn everything around and go 8-0 so far in the postseason?
If there’s even a nit to pick with LeBron’s performance, it might be the game high six turnovers… however, half of those came in the fourth quarter after he’d played 18 straight minutes. Part of the price to be paid when your superstar plays all but two minutes of a game is an increase in turnovers.
Though the Cavs still held the Raptors to 102 points, they did finally allow them to shoot the ball fairly well from the perimeter. Toronto made 10 threes on the game (on 35% shooting) and also shot 47% from the field. Cory Joseph (8-11, 20 points and 12 assists), Serge Ibaka (10-18 for 23 points) and P.J. Tucker (5-11, 4-7 from three for 14 points) all shot particularly well.
Kevin Love (2-7, 1-4 from downtown) and J.R. Smith (1-6, all from deep) had forgettable games shooting the ball, although they did both help contribute defensively. Love was +13 for the game, mainly because he was off the floor when the Raptors made their run towards the end of the third and start of the fourth.
Love (five boards) and Tristan Thompson (seven) also were a little less dominant on the glass than they had been in previous games in the series. The Cavs did get edged out 38-36 on the boards, as Tucker was pretty active, pulling down a dozen.
The Cavs did allow the Raptors to climb back into the game in that late third/early fourth quarter stretch with some lazy defense and offense. They were able to overcome the malaise with the return of the MFQ.
I’m sorry if you like either of them, but I plan to get a Kickstarter going to send Hubie Brown and Tony Brothers on an all expenses paid, one-way retirement cruise…
The Genius
Not sure what more I can say about LeBron James… so, I’m just gonna leave this here…
Playoff LeBron 🔥 pic.twitter.com/KY4dtNrVxZ
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 7, 2017
After another mostly dismal night of shooting the ball, Kyrie Irving found his MFQ mojo with his 11-0 run to put an end to the Toronto uprising. Even before that, however, he was doing things to help the team win. He came just shy of another double digit dime game with nine, and teamed with LBJ to continue feeding the white hot Kyle Korver in the second quarter. Kyrie also pulled down five boards, pilfered four steals, had a block and only turned the ball over once. He finished with 27 points, and was a team high +14 for the game. After the game, Ty Lue talked about his approach with having Kyrie attack.
“In that fourth quarter, I just went to iso at the elbow for Kyrie. Getting it to him. Clearing out. Bringing Kyle [Korver] off the double. And they’d give Kyrie a live dribble at the elbow, which he’s virtually unstoppable. We went to the iso, one-on-one game for Kyrie at the elbow, and he produced for us.”
If he can continue averaging 22 points, 8.5 assists and two steals a game, the Cavs will be hard to beat.
Kyle Korver has been increasingly awesome with each passing playoff game. Even when his shooting isn’t there, or the defense has kept him from getting the ball in space, he’s stepped up with hustle, smart play and surprising defensive positioning. Tonight, La Flama Blanca was finally unleashed in the second quarter, so much so that I was sent scrambling for new Kenny Powers pics to post. LFB torched the twine for 6-8 (4-6 from deep) and 18 points in 29 minutes. He even pulled down five boards and had yet another block. Now that Kyle seems fully healed from his foot issues, he’s resembling the devastating weapon he was during that stretch in Feburary. Hard to believe Griff got him here so cheaply…
https://twitter.com/DavidKerka/status/861314215889567748
The bench in general came up big for the Cavs in Game 4. Channing Frye scored 10 points in just 12 minutes and only missed one shot (4-5, 2-3 from three). Deron Williams also chipped in five points and some terrific passing with four assists and two steals. And, even though Iman Shumpert didn’t score, he still played some stout defense on DeMar DeRozan… even resorting to doing his best Draymond kick in the second quarter. Overall, the Cavs bench outscored the Raps bench 33-15 for the game.
The Cavs managed to shoot 47.6% from the field, 39% from three and an incredible 94% from the line! LeBron went 8-9, making good on his promise to shoot over 80% in the playoffs. He went 45-54 from the line for the series… good for 83%.
Ty Lue had the perfect game plan for handling the Raptors, never wavering from pressuring the ball out of DeMar DeRozan’s hands… especially with Kyle Lowry out. In both series, he’s been able to devise a strategy to neutralize the opposition’s best players and force complementary players to have to step up. He’s also $100 richer after winning his bet with J.R. Smith. Lue now has at least another week to devise a plan for stopping either Isaiah Thomas or John Wall in the next round.
Parting Shot
Again, not to oversimplify, but DeMar DeRozan has a point. LeBron James was, is and will continue to be the difference between the Cavs and the rest of the teams in the East. The Cavs are the “haves” and everyone else are the “have nots.” Yes, he’s got probably the best collection of talent around him than he’s ever had before, but he’s also playing at a level he’s never reached before… and doing it in his 14th season… at 32 years old. The defense has improved because LeBron has flipped the switch and locked in for the post-season, and the rest of the team has followed his lead. He just shot 57% from the field and 48% from three against a pretty good defensive team… 48%!! I mean, he hit 13 triples to lead the team in this series! He is otherworldly good at this particular moment in history… and, as Nate said in his piece last week, we need to understand just how fortunate we are to witness his unparalleled greatness. The only real drag at this point is that we’ll have to wait 7-10 days to behold it once again.
8 Down… 8 To Go…
I think it’s extremely unlikely the Spurs find a way to win their series against the Rockets…but either way the warriors get to face a team that is either depleted or severely depleted. And the Cavs will face either a Celtics team or a Wizards team that they should crush, but who can compete with either elite team if they’re firing on all cylinders. Kinda. Let’s face it both the Cavs and the warriors are not just on a collision course because they’re better than the rest of the league this year…they are, regular seasons not withstanding, two of the… Read more »
WARRIORS FAN DON’T TAKE A BREAK YOUR OPINION / VIEWPOINTS ARE ( MOST OF THE TIME ) WELL THOUGHT OUT / PROVACATIVE IDEAS THAT ADD TO THE BEST BLOG AROUND ——–AM ROOTING FOR THE CELTS ( REGARDLESS OF HOME CTADVANTAGE ) DON’T THINK THEY ALLOW ANOTHER WIZARDS 26-0 RUN ESPECIALLY ON THEIR HOME CT
Marcus Smart is just the worst. Can we get a Gofundme set up to send him to China?
I will take a break. I will come back few weeks after warriors win championship, 4-1 against Cavs :-) Good luck guys.
Don’t take a break. We are enjoying making fun of you for being in Cols mode. Probably 4 – 1 would be a good bet. (Anyone know what Vegas has right now?). But there is a reason why they play the games. It turns out that Lue really did have a new defense up his sleeve, somewhat surprising to everyone not named Cols. Maybe he has some more tricks? One thing for sure, the Cavs have LeBron, and the dubs don’t. Last year might be considered the best playoffs ever. If this year’s come close, the three year set will… Read more »
After last year I am in total denial that the Cavs can lose to anyone. There is so much evidence that Lebron has an extra gear above the rest of the league that if the rest of the team plays slightly above average, he can seemingly control the outcome of games. I am fully aware this is delusion…but i just think the Cavs locker room has so much more will in it than any other one. Cavs will take the Finals in 6 or I’ll eat my shorts.
Gotta apologize, guys. We were supposed to have a pod up today, but due to technical difficulties we won’t be able to publish it. Fresh content coming soon though.
Seems we are content to just babble amongst ourselves on this thread arguing with WF until we are all blue in the face, haha. Take your time.
lol. All in good fun, I hope.
I’ve broken 5 keyboards… /s
I do gotta say, you WF are a good sports and a solid fan. I wouldn’t be able to deal with Cols like you have lol. Now that I think about it, where’s Cols?
Maui
For reaz or are you just bs’ing?
If serious, how was it? My wife and I have been talking about maybe going there next year.
The pressure not only gets to Curry and Durant (causing them to choke), but is now getting to our pal Warriors Fan. After a couple years of mostly excellent analysis and remarks, all the sudden WF has gone crazier than Cols.
lol.
I know how much this place hates Dray, I should have sit out that conversation. Lesson learned.
@warriors fan — the western conference has 3 elite teams, and the East has 1. I agree with that. Other than that, your comparisons across conferences are weak at best. The Ws have not played tough teams in the first two rounds of the playoffs in any of the last three years. The one elite team they played in the playoffs in the last years that was actually healthy was OKC, and they nearly lost. And it looks like this year you will get Spurs without Parker. Additionally, the idea that the Spurs or Rockets are as good as the… Read more »
In 2014-15 season, Warriors were down 1-2 against Memphis team, a tough playoff team before prevailing. Also, all games against New Orleans in 1st round went to last minute even if warriors won 4-0. They had to come back from 1-3 down to win against OKC last year. So, they played some tough series. About Cavs, I always see any team with Lebron as a dangerous team. That said, I think so far they are winning with dominating offense. When I say that I think Cavs are not tested yet and will not be tested until finals. Warriors have to… Read more »
“In 2014-15 season, Warriors were down 1-2 against Memphis team, a tough playoff team before prevailing.” You seem to forget to mention that Conley was out that first game with a broken face. After the first game, Conley was playing through that very same BROKEN FACE! THEN in game three or four Tony Allen went down to injury. No one is ever saying that the Warriors AREN’T a good team. But for you to agree with Draymond you are basically ignoring the following: 2015 Rd 1 NOP, Jrue Holiday goes down. Rd 2 MEM Conley and Allen main casualties. Rd… Read more »
JMAY said it better than I could. GSW is awesome, but I don’t get the whole narrative about how the Cavs/LBJ have an easy road. W’s have been incredibly fortunate.
Tony Allen was fine and he pretty much shut down Klay. Then Kerr made an adjustment where he had Bogut guard Tony Allen, basically dare him to shoot. Yes, Conley was hurt but I have to check, warriors actually won the game he played. Same with Kyrie, warriors won the game Kyrie played.
I mean, Tony Allen wasn’t hurting the Warriors on offense. He was locking them down on defense. As for winning the games, sure, they won game one but the Cavs stood a pretty good chance at winning that series all together if they just had more legs and bodies capable of playing. The wheels fell off because they had nothing left in the tank.
The Warriors won the game Kyrie played…in Oakland…in overtime…with no Love…after Kyrie was lost early in the OT. That doesn’t really undercut JMay’s argument.
The Warriors managed to go 3-2 against the Cavs with Love and Irving out of the lineup.
I need to start answering questions at work the way Popovich answers questions from the media. Always looking to turn the question on its head and embarrass the other person. His listening skills are remarkable.
Just watched the Spurs game. Wow, Harden is not only a terrible human, but also a professional choke artist. Amazing play by Manu, great game. Read through the comments about Braymonds comments. Ignore him, he is trolling, kinda like Kyrie with the flat world comments, but more obnoxious and less funny. Classic Trumpian distraction technique, but it fools nobody here; the Warriors are trouncing everyone and making a mockery of the playoffs, Cavs are doing the same. Too bad, so sad, doesn’t change the fact that outside of 2-4 teams the rest of the league is hot garbage. Warriors won… Read more »
Lose/I hate not having an edit button
Agree with it being crazy that people hold Finals losses like 2015 against LeBron. Not only were Love and Kyrie out for the series, Shump had a bad shoulder, Delly was hospitalized after playing 40 minutes and JR was abysmal shooting the basketball. LeBron’s performance was still arguably the best of all time throughout that series (he was averaging absurd numbers through 3 games). The same can be said about getting swept by the Spurs. He dragged the worst supporting cast probably in Finals history through the playoffs and then was greeted by Duncan, Parker and Ginobili arguably all in… Read more »
Agree. AND, in the Spurs/Cavs series, the Cavs got better every game. They might have won the last game if, in the last 10 seconds, Andy V would have passed back to LeBron instead of taking a wild shot.
Durant is nowhere near an heir to LeBron. He is like Harden and Westbrook: Excellent scorers that otherwise don’t contribute much to their team winning. Kawhi Leonard is the only current player remotely in a class with LeBron. Some of the younger guys might reach that level in a couple of years.
So now Kawhi is injured. This may be an easier road than even 2015 for the Warriors.
Wow, Ginobli…what a mensch…
Spurs game is completely nuts, and no Kawhi in OT…gut check time…
Spurs playing music during play with score tied and 11 seconds left. Wtf? Such a terrible arena experience.
How was that the Spurs last play of regulation? Terrible
I hope LeBron destroys the warriors, and as they’re being swept off the court KD slips on his own baby tears and falls in to Draymond’s tiny balls.
Side benefit would be the warriors put together a blog for their fans to post on. You’d th
ink Silicon Valley would have the blogging tech by now
???
I’m actually surprised the Celtics took the high road in their interviews. Not one of them mentioned nuts, balls, nether region, kicking…good on ya Boston. Now go take this series to a game 7!
Now Green is saying the Cavs are not facing competition after they took the only player who made the West challenging for them! This guy is a world class dickhead
He needs to look at his own backyard. They have had it pretty easy themselves.
I absolutely hate that idiot. Running his mouth without realizing he makes no sense.
The Pacers and Raptors, if healthy, are just as good or better than Portland and Utah.
Freaking moron…
Really? The Jazz lost their starting PG (G. Hill), the Spurs lost Parker and the Rockets may have lost Nene too and they say the Cavs are having it easy? lol.
Kevin, Dray is right. Dray is one of the smartest guys in the NBA, he remembers every play after the game. Teams are not even competing against Cavs. If you have watched Jazz, while over matched, you could see them compete and get back into games, they played really hard. Two other teams, Spurs and Rockets may be as good or better than Cavs. What Cavs have going for them is Lebron who proved anything is possible, but Cavs would find it extremely difficult to beat spurs, rockets or warriors. Two teams that Warriors beat Portland and Jazz(along with Memphis… Read more »
The Spurs and rockets are not anywhere near the Cavs level, first of all. Second, playing slow and playing “good basketball” are not the same thing. Utah was a solid regular season team that shouldn’t have gotten past the Clippers, except the Clippers are the Clippers and lost an all star. Memphis, btw, won 1 more game than the Pacers this year. The Spurs are consistently great during the regular season, and consistently inconsistent during the playoffs when you need real talent to win. They have real talent, but don’t tell me any of that talent is on par with… Read more »
Warriors Fan you neglected to address the other main point: The Warriors stacked the deck in their favor by pilfering Durant from OKC. How is that competitive balance, which totally made a mockery of their Strength in Numbers slogan? Also, if Green was so smart he would keep his mouth shut on Kelly O of Boston. Both Curry and Thomson have looked very average a few games this playoffs as they did last year. Without Durant, I think the Cavs could have handled the Warriors and with James they always have a chance against anyone. What can make the Warriors… Read more »
MikeP, ha, I should have stayed away from warriors talk. Draymond wouldn’t keep his mouth shut and why should he ? He is free to express his opinion without insulting greatness. Lot went in finals at the heat of the moment and players themselves made peace and showed respect to each other. There are incidents by either sides that neither should be proud of. About Cavs beating either the spurs or rockets over a seven game series, I can see that. I said those two teams or better or equal to Cavs, so I could see Cavs beat them. I… Read more »
BTW, if you expected warriors to not get Durant when they have opportunity for Harrison Barnes as a charity to NBA, it doesn’t work like that. Would Cavs not like Butler or Hayward join Cavs for JR Smith ?
The equivalency would be if the Cavs lose this trip and then go out and get Kawhi Leonard. Neither Butler nor Hayward are on par with KD.
Would Cavs say no for that opportunity ? That is my point, can’t blame either of Cavs or Kawahi if that happens.
Nobody is saying that the Warriors should have told KD to beat it. But people 1) don’t like KD for choosing THAT easy of a route and 2) kind of feel like whenever the Warriors brag it’s like a high schooler bragging for destroying middle schoolers.
Do you think the Cavs’s stars will call an intense recruiting meeting for Butler? The Dubs were already assumed to have assembled the best team ever. Too bad they got outplayed by the best player ever. Then, rather than try again, they found a way to stack the team beyond any historical precedent.
Personally, I think this is fine. All the better chance for the Cavs to pull the greatest upset in history.
If you could fit another all star under the cap rules, they would have. Lebron was not shy of wanting more talent in the team.
Sorry bro but you lost me with this – “Teams are not even competing against Cavs. If you have watched Jazz, while over matched, you could see them compete and get back into games.” Weren’t the Cavs down by 25pts against the Pacers on game 3? Didn’t the Raptors own a lead in the fourth quarter of their final game? It’s the same thing man. The level of talent on the Cavs and Warriors is greater than any of their competitors so far. Not denying it and not trying to make it seem as if the Warriors have it harder.… Read more »
JRL, we have to agree to disagree, IMO, Grizz and Jazz are much better playoff teams than any teams not named Cavs in the east. There is no one in east that equals their D.
Disagree on Green too, I don’t like his whining on the court either, but his comments off the court are spot on, mostly.
Since we won’t really know what the playoffs competition would be between those four teams, we can only look at the regular (Meaningless?) season games in which the Pacers/Raps were a combined 5-3 against Mem/Utah. Does it mean much? Who knows… But it’s all we got to go on. The Raptors won both games against Utah and the others were all splits. So although the Jazz’s D was good, apparently it wasn’t enough to stop the Raps, which the Cavs dominated even before Lowry went out. Yes, style makes fights(games) but it’s my opinion that those four teams could had… Read more »
Exactly !
It’s not like the Warriors have to go through both the Rockets and the Spurs. They faced the Blazers and the Jazz. Neither of them are any scarier than the Pacers or Raptors. Give me a break.
You may have case for Blazers(though McCollum+Lillard+Nurkic probably enough for #2 in east), Jazz is the 3rd best defensive team in the league.
They didn’t have to play Nurkic. You guys have played every playoff series in the last three years against a team missing a starter or more. How is that good competition?
Dray might be smart, he has certainly figured out how to bend the rules on dirty play and attempting to injure opponents. Then he calls out Olinik, who is a Dray wannabe! He is also a pretentious dick head.
The Dubs are one of the most hated teams since the Detroit Thugs a few decades ago. Klay Thompson is the only remotely likable guy on the team. LeBron will be everyone outside of the Bay Area’s hero when the Finals start.
“The Dubs are one of the most hated teams”
That is just the perception here in Cavs land, I think. Check below
From April 2017
Top 15 Most Popular NBA Jerseys:
Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
Kevin Durant, Golden State Warriors
Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder
Kyrie Irving, Cleveland Cavaliers
2017 NBA all star fan votes:
#1 James, LeBron Eastern Frontcourt 1,893,751
#2 Curry, Stephen Western Guard 1,848,121
Jersey sales don’t necessarily reflect the fact that a team is or isn’t hated. When Lebron played for the Heat his jersey was a top seller but the Heat was the most hated team. So you can’t use jersey selling as a metric for a team getting hated or not.
The hatred is media creation. I will trust where people put their money. Even if you don’t agree with jersey sales notion then there is fan votes. Why would fan vote someone they hate to watch.
I tell you who hates warriors and Curry, ex NBA players who can’t understand how Curry gets open for 3s and according to them warriors don’t play D.
Same thing fans voted for LeBron a lot when he was playing with the Heat but still LBJ and the Heat were the most hated team at the time. We can just agree to disagree. I will leave it at that. About Curry, I don’t hate on him or even on Draymond but both of them are a little bit over rated IMO. When any of those 2 take a team by themselves to the playoffs or even more to the finals like Lebron has done then they will get my total respect. Curry and Draymond need each other, Curry… Read more »
What’s really funny is that the Warriors right after losing to the Cavs in the finals ran after KD’s a** to recruit him and Green is talking about competition ??? when he already had a 73-9 team but couldn’t handle LeBron so they had to recruit KD to rescue them and their “unanimous MVP” and at the same time weaken their toughest competition in the West. Really???? ???
?????
MENTIONED YETERDAY—–DURING THIS “DOWN TIME “……WOULD BE A GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY FOR UNCLE DAN TO SIGN GRIFF—-JUST ADD MORE ENERGY / POSITIVE VIBES ” IN THE LAND ” !!!
This is beyond hilarious…
http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/19338242/kelly-olynyk-boston-celtics-dirty-player
LOL
LOL Draymond… delusional and disrespectful. Would expect nothing less.
This is pretty funny, but I don’t think Bray is so much dirty (unless you call his Rockettes kicks dirty), he just fouls all the time. He gets away with it now, because he’s a ‘name’ player now, and he wasn’t when he used to foul out a lot, and he’s also on the glamour team of the day… I wouldn’t even call Olynyk ‘dirty’, in the truly dirty Laimbeer sense. I do think he’s on the chippy side, like a lot of the Celtic players, apparently the kind of player President Stevens wants. And I do think his play… Read more »
If watched Draymond’s tapes from before, that is how he always used to play with unintentional kick. But, he corrected that this year. I get why Cavs fans hate him, but he is not a dirty player, he prides himself too much as a basketball player to intentionally foul etc..
He kicked a field goal through the uprights with Steven Adams’ balls.
Draymond has kicked in the air when no player around him until last year. This year he controlled it, he has changed his natural instincts to kick the foot out.
Blake Griffin & Phoenix Suns disagree
If he thinks Delly is a dirty player, then Draymond’s a dirty player. Period. Also laughable that he’s now controlling his “unintentional kicks.” That would make those “unintentional kicks” INTENTIONAL by definition… since ya know he CAN control them.
Are you on drugs? How do you call that an “unintentional” kick? You can’t kick like that by accident.
Lol at Donkey McNutKicks.
I’ll actually agree with him somewhat. At least Dray has some skill. Aside from the nut kicking (right?) Dray’s fouls are usually more of the hard screen, hold, and hit you on the arm variety. I don’t remember him taking anyone out of the air, screening them in the head, or yanking on their arm. Olynyk does this crap all the time and worse, gets away with it.
“Aside from the nut kicking…” Well, when you put it like that, sure!
I agree that Olynyk is dirtier. I thought he deserved a flagrant-1 for the pick on Oubre, because he popped him with his shoulder; he didn’t just brace himself.
But Green has the all-around annoying game, with the constant fouling, obnoxious talking and the most uncalled T’s in the league, to go along with the occasional throwdown, stray kick or nut punch.
I’m sorry if you’ve heard this one before, but I hadn’t and I loved it:
Lebron is so good these days that he doesn’t have a stat line, he has a stat paragraph.
Made me lol.
Haha. He’s just unbelievable in every facet of the game!
It’s amazing to me that R.J., who was a huge part of last year’s finals, can’t even get off the pine right now. That’s how good this team is.
I think they’re saving RJ for the Finals to use against Livingston and West…
I am not so sure EG. His shot seemed completely broken this season, although as Klay can tell you his hops are all there. As for defending Livingston, Korver is long and smart enough to adequately defend his turnaround jumpers. West is not going to see a lot of daylight in the Finals I think.
RJ’s 3 pt shot improved after the ASG/wrist issue. Still poor (33%) yet it did go up late.
It is not about the percentages per se. RJ has zero gravity now. Korver could make zero shots for the rest of the playoffs and he would be a big plus offensively, solely due to the attention he commands.
We need every inch of spacing to be elite offensively against GS.
RJ did a nice job on him last year in The Finals defensively… but sure, Korver’s length should help
I actually agree… saving his legs. Also, if you get down in a series and need to do something different, RJ’s a helluva option to use since he’s a champion, smart, and still has some athleticism.
Kev did a lot of things that didn’t show up in the box score: Screens on that left wing p/r with LeBron (that set up the entire offense in the second quarter), defense on valanciunas, hockey passes, and boxing out. There’s a reason he was No. 2 in plus/minus that game.
True, although Ibaka was a tougher matchup for him and pulled him away from the hoop a bit on boards I think…
Love should have an easier time with Morris or whomever the Cs play at PF.
I think so too… Morris is more physical, but I seem to remember Love getting the better of him in their regular season matchups this year…
LOOK OUT WARRIORS FAN I THINK COLS IS ABOUT READY TO GIVE YOU A HUG —HA-HA !!
lol. nah, he will call me fraud, he is not a better person that that.
GREAT RECAP TO ANOTHER GREAT SERIES BY LEBRON / CAVS ——–YES AGREE WITH LEBRON —-WE CAN GET BETTER —-CURTAIL THE T.O’S / PLAY UPTEMPO MORE CONSITENTLY —-BALL MOVEMENT ——HOPING LOVE / J.R. FIND A MORE CONSISTENT 3 PT SHOT—- ( IS THERE ANY CONCERN OUT THERE BY ANYONE ELSE THAN KEV IS FINDING IT MORE CHALLENGING DURING PLAYOFFS / MORE CONSITENT AGGRESSIVE DEFENSE ARE MAKING HIM STRUGGLE —-TO PERFORM UP TO HIS REGULAR SEASON PERFORMANCES —-JUST A SMALL CONCERN ON MY PART —HE LOOKED FRISTRATED IN POST GAME INTERVIEW )——WOULD PREFER THE CELTS / EVEN THOUGH THEY HAVE HOME CT… Read more »
Like Tom said, I’d like to see Love play more in the paint, but that obviously wasn’t Lue’s plan for the Raptors. I thought he hit some nice shots in the first half, a couple of moving and contested bank shots. If we were more dependent on him, I might be concerned – but there are a lot of guys stepping up to score right now…
I think Wizards on their home court are more challenging for the Cavs than Boston, absolutely.
BTW if you have not seen the Channing Frye postgame presser, do yourself a favour. Absolutely hilarious.
We are witnessing a legend, once in a generation player in Lebron. When did his peak start any way? I remember he dominated playoff series when he was like 24 against Orlando in a loss in conf finals, he averaged a freaking 38, 8, 8. He just has too many weapons in his arsenal but recognition of when to use them to lift his teammates is what probably separates him from early 20s Lebron. fo and fo series have a feeling of pre season, can’t wait to see warriors and cavs show down, real test awaits for Lebron and Cavs.… Read more »
Thanks for recognizing LeBron’s work. I agree with most of what you said other than the Spurs testing the Warriors, they won’t or wouldn’t. They are too slow with their bigs to contest a team with as many shooters as the Warriors. Come to think of it nobody can really contest that many weapons. Cavs have a shot in that they can score with anyone, but I’d put their odds of beating the Warriors at 20% or less.
+1
Tim, Cavs does have shot as we had known now from last year’s finals:-) I mean, who thought except for some rabid cavs fans that a 73 win team can lose from 3-1 lead.
Yesterday’s game against Jazz without Durant would have been a loss for dub, so we think we got Cavs covered this time, but an injury here and there, you never know.
True, by all logic the Cavs had no shot down 3-1, you never know what will happen until the games are played. But, in a vacuum, just looking at the known factors, the Warriors look unstoppable. I’ve said it before, Durant off the Thunder made the West much more top heavy in the playoffs. The fact that he went to the Warriors is downright makes them downright ridiculous. I can’t even really think of a weakness they have to be exploited other than LeBron possibly being actually superhuman. Time will tell
Always been my fave writer on here EG (no disrespect to the rest of the CtB crew), this recap is yet another reason why. Thank you.
It’s probably just because I’m half Australian, Simmo… ;)
Great stuff. Bow I want Washington and Boston to beat themselves up for another week.
Agreed. I would also rather have Boston get through. There’s no way we take any more than 5 games to finish them off – and it would almost certainly be a sweep. Get another week of rest till the real challenge. I trust LeBron to be ready for the Warriors irrespective of previous opponents.
Thanks Nate, I think Boston would be the slightly easier series, but I think I hate the Celtics and their fans more than the Wiz and their fans…
Good summary as always. I have never seen that picture of LeBron on the violin. He indeed has been the maestro on the court to the extent that has rarely been seen. Toronto may be another franchise that LeBron has wrecked. A trail of demoralized franchises.
Yeah, there was another one from an old State Farm commercial where he’s playing the world’s smallest violin that I almost used, but the resolution wasn’t great…
Nice recap, EG. Glad MFQ showed up, we needed him this game
Thanks Tom! Agree, it was great to see Kyrie go off like that in his old MFQ role