Arena The NBA Thread

ftfy

 

In all seriousness, I get that there will be a next superstar that captivates our attention when LBJ leaves. The league went through a rut post-MJ for a few reasons, but - obviously - has come back.

But, I'm also serious that I might be done with basketball when LBJ retires.

it goes beyond seeing that once-in-a-generation talent. It goes beyond LBJ's ability to transform a game, and entertain in every which way possible. It even goes beyond The 3-1 comeback, the Block, and the Ring.

It's LeBron. And Northeast Ohio. The Land. There's a connection many of us Cleveland fans feel to LeBron. Many of us (not me) took to the streets to celebrate when we won the Draft Lottery to take LeBron. Because before he was on the cover of Sports Illustrated, he was our guy. He broke our hearts, but he grew up, made amends, and gave us something that 99% of us had never experienced. He speaks about the culture of the city in a way that only someone who truly "gets" the culture does. The connection between Cleveland fans and LeBron James is something I've not seen anywhere else. I live in Denver, and the Broncos fans here don't have that connection to John Elway. I lived in Columbus, and the fans there don't have that connection to any Buckeye great. I talk to Bulls fans and they don't have that same connection with MJ. And that can go on and on and on.

I honestly thought about walking away from sports forever after the Cavs championship. Nothing is likely to top that moment. Falling to my knees in tears and disbelief because my team finally won a championship. And they did it because one of our own - LeBron James, just a kid from Akron - took us to the promised land. I would have walked away if the Tribe had won the World Series that year. That would have been a mic drop moment for a fan.

So, yeah. The NBA will be fine. Another generation will rise. Twenty years from now, we'll be talking about that generation's MJ/Kareem/LeBron.

But there's a good chance I won't. And many of my fellow Cleveland fans won't as well.

LeBron means that much to us.

 

it would be a shame if a bunch of Cavs fans stopped supporting their team because LeBron retired. no one player is bigger than the team. Jordan may not have the same affinity with the city of Chicago like LeBron does with Cleveland (even though he's likely to leave for a second time at season end but aaaanyway) but there will always be an affinity between him and the Bulls.

strikes me that LeBron still cares more about LeBron more than the city of Cleveland tbh. which is perfectly fine I should add. that's what makes him great.

 

yeah, i can't relate to inty at all on this one. my love for basketball survived my entire team being stolen and moved to oklahoma. there were a few rough years there, but ultimately i just love basketball. no player or even team is bigger than the game for me. i watch probably 95% of the warriors' games, but i find almost as much joy watching the wizards and celtics playing a competitive game, or getting my first look at a ben simmons or a donovan mitchell. i understand having a great affinity for a player, but i can't understand that affinity being greater than one's affinity for the game as a whole.

 

@DarthIntegral I would certainly understand there being less of a life & death feeling/pressure, etc, in rooting for the Cavs post-championship (the same with the Spiders, should they get there), how nothing achieved after would be quite the same... but so? Doesn't mean there can't be value in future accomplishments, new players, etc, to look forward to in the future. I get the unique bond LeBron has with the city, the fans, but as epic mentioned, no player -no matter how great, how special they are-, is above the franchise.



You represent the Cleveland-area so well through (but not exclusively) the teams; it's been one of the real great benefits of being a part of this community. It would be jarring if you gave it up.

 

LeBron retiring also isn’t like he’s dying! He’ll prob stick around the sport in a meaningful way for a long time. Obviously buying the Cavs is the dream, but even without that I see him having way more of a presence than MJ post-career (helps that he’s a bit less…prickly).

And I’m with tom re: bball as a spectator in general— some of my fav moments were following those Spurs teams (obvs in opposition to LeBron but still). It also has the best commissioner in like any major sport. It isn’t killing its players’ brains, it encourages their social activism. And lbr it’s the ****ing coolest, no one is rocking non-performance Mike Trout or TB12 clothing (well, no one cool).

Agree we’ll likely never see another hometown connection like it— the Curse, the hype and #1 pick, the Decision, the Return…it’s mythology come to life. Another athletic freak might (will) come along, maybe in our lifetimes, but that was really the perfect storm.

What I’ll personally miss most as LeBron gets old & retires is my own youth. He’s a little older than me and as he hits aging milestones, so do I. As his athleticism starts to fade, so does mine. As his high school and early career accomplishments seem grainier and more distant, so do mine. As he starts to focus on his kids playing, I’m like @xblackout we need to make a little softball player. It’s the same reason I bawled like a little baby when The Undertaker “retired” at Wrestlemania— LeBron retiring is saying goodbye to a part of my own life.

But Inty if I can survive @Shaq leaving, you can survive this!

EDIT: I tagged Shaq in this instead of Inty and I'm not changing it

 

phewwwwww

 

for all the people crying last year that the Warriors would win 10 straight

because that's how it works right

 

people always overreact like that. it was the same when lebron went to the heat, and if it wasn't for a pretty miraculous three by ray allen they would have been one for four.

 

Ben Simmons <3

Dropping triple doubles like they’re nothing

 

Sixers have gotten better, they do seem more legit. Their two problems are youth problems; they turn the ball over and foul too much. Those really hurt in the playoffs. Well, they've gotten better at both. They still do it too much, but not so much that I'm confident that they'll self-destruct. They look dangerous.

I have no idea why Milwaukee is so mediocre defensively, they have so much length and athleticism. When they made the playoffs in Kidd's first year, they were really good defensively and with all that length I thought they'd end up as the best defensive team in the league by now. I thought they could be one of the great defensive teams. They lost MCW and Sanders, and those are two really good defenders to lose, but they still have a ton of defensive potential. They need a better coach, or something. There's just no excuse.

Maybe if Portland runs into a banged up Warriors team they can finally get past them. They, especially Lillard, always raise their game against GS, even if they haven't always been able to hang with them for a full four quarters.

All these injuries make things seem more competitive, but not in a way I gain any satisfaction from. It sucks having teams in the playoffs not at full strength.

 

Me too, Kevin. Me too.

 

scrolling through the Sixers box score to see if Simmons got another triple double (him failing to get another one because of a lack of points and not rebounds or assists is such a Simmons thing to do) and....... wtf Fultz played?!?

and sounds like he did alright too besides an air ball

 

Getting Dwight turned out well. Dwight only has one year left on his contract, looks like Willy might end up as his (much cheaper) replacement.

 

Man, Steph Curry is reportedly out for the rest of the season and supposedly for the first round of the playoffs.

If that's the case, I don't want the Warriors to be matched with OKC for sure in the first round. Probably want to avoid Utah, Portland and New Orleans as well in the first round. Probably best first round match up for the Dubs would be Minnesota should Steph miss the first round.

Some good news yesterday was that KD, Klay and Draymond were practicing and working out, so they should be returning to the starting line up soon.

 

Really nice seeing Fultz out there. Its the way he's gonna fix whatever is wrong with him. Its all in his mind right now. Even if the shoulder starts to hurt again, I bet its all mental. You work it out on the court.

 

it was weird how kerr said, "no way he plays in the first round" and all the news outlets picked it up and ran a story that was basically "curry officially out for first round", but then steph was like, "hopefully i can prove coach wrong". anyway, their record with and without curry shows that he's the one all-star they miss the most if he's not out there. i'm really hopeful that he can rejoin the team at least part way through the first round. without him i don't think even minnesota is an easy out if they get butler back. but the wolves might not even be in the playoffs if they keep doing things like lose to the grizzlies.

 

I don't understand why commentators and sports writers keep saying the Warriors are still by far the favorite. With Houston and Portland dominating? I was impressed OKC kept up with Portland the other night. That was a really good game. There is no easy out in the West and the Wizards might be the easiest out in the East. The playoffs are going to be so fun to watch.

 

Because the Dubs have playoff experience and a proven track record. Harden and CP3 don't have great track records in the playoffs. Moreover, the Warriors have 4 All-Stars, two of them were league MVPs and one of the four is the reining defensive player of the year.

 

Yeah, if it weren't for all the injuries, I'd have GS a big favorite. They have four big stars. Houston has two. Portland has two. Easy math. Plus, GS has a great supporting cast of role players, their roster is ridiculously deep.

The injuries have brought my expectations down, though.

Oh, and Portland. They got knocked out in 2016 by GS, 4-1. GS has added Durant since then, Portland has not made any comparable roster improvements. Last year GS swept Portland.

I'd take Houston more seriously if I could shake the possibility of CP3 going down with an injury in the playoffs, because it happened two years in a row in LA, and he's had a bunch of injuries this year.

 

portland's big addition is nurkic. he's been inconsistent, but he is the guy they need to step up if they're going to hang with the warriors. he was hurt last year when they got swept. aminu and harkless have also really stepped up their game during their recent hot streak. the main thing i think portland is benefiting from now is having their basic core together for a few years. they really play well as a team and everyone embraces their role. so i guess i think they've improved by not making any major roster changes, if that makes sense.

i feel differently about the rockets than i have in recent years. they have two elite offensive players with gordon being the third guy who can both shoot and create off the dribble. it allows them to play three defensive specialists at any given time and makes them better at that end of the floor than they have been or than you would expect from a d'antoni team. but i am still taking a sort of "i'll believe it when i see it" attitude. like you i'm mostly concerned about harden's playoff history and paul's injury history.

that said, i think the warriors are rightly still the favorites. they shouldn't be "huge" favorites with all the injuries, but they are still the champs and they have a chance to be full strength by the second round. i do think the thunder or jazz could give them trouble if they catch them before curry returns.