Eastern Conference Finals: (1)Atlanta vs. (2)Cleveland

A lot of that came in their crazy January run.

 

He's been OVERLY criticized for a first year NBA head coach, it's even harder with a superstar.

 

And that has nothing to do with coaching.

 

I understand that teams have come back from 0-2, but this is probably not going to happen for the Hawks

 

if Lebron can take a team like this to the Finals, what does that say about Wade, Bosh, and Spoelstra?

 

jr smith in the finals......... WOW

 

Yeah, but you can't put Popovic on the Lakers and win a championship.

It's about the players AND coaching. To say coaching is irrelevant is going a bit too far now.

 

What does that have to do with anything? The East was spectacularly weak this year. At least before there were the Celtics, Bulls, Pacers, and even a somewhat decent Knicks team. Hawks are a joke.

 

You can replace Blatt with any coach right now and the Cavs would still sit at the same position they are now.

 

how do we know the hawks are a joke? just because they're losing to the cavs?

this is particularly weak year on both sides.

 

They haven't looked good in any series.

On a side note, did you guys catch that LeBron mic'd up? I mean, we all already knew this, but he's the real coach of that team lol... Blatt doesn't do chit.

 

This is only because Lebron is as much as a coach as an actual coach.

Not all superstars are like this. Kobe can't win with any coach for example. You'd need a coach with a plan on the court that he buys into and one to control his ego.

Lebron is a special player, he's as much as a coach. I agree with you there, in this case you can put any coach on that team. That's just because Lebron though, he's coaching and leading that team.

 

Let the LeBron nutriding commence.

 

So why everyone gambled Bulls to throw them out before the series, when it was known that Love is out and Kyrie is injured (+JR suspended and Shump injured)? Do you realize that you're saying this **** retrospectively, after Blatt made all the hard work? Just look at how many projects have failed, just in the last couple of years (Lakers, Brooklyn, Clippers and so on). I bet that if these projects were successful you would say the same, but guess what - they didn't. it happens. it takes work.

Here, i can say it too: You can replace Kerr with any coach right now and the Warriors would still sit at the same position they are now.

it's easy right?

 

He's the best player in basketball and despite legless Kyrie and armless Love he's going back to the finals (most likely).

 

Deep down inside, we all knew it. Some of us just didn't want to admit it.

 

Welcome to the east.

 

Yeah, the East is spectacularly bad this season. Coming into the year, there were basically 2 respectable teams in that conference: the Cavs and the Bulls. The Hawks came out of nowhere to have a great regular season, but I never took them seriously as a title contender. They don't have a superstar player and come playoff time, you have to have that. And yes, I realize the Pistons from a decade ago didn't technically have a superstar on their roster, but Billups, Hamilton, and Wallace were all guys you knew you could go to in crunch time.

So basically, we've already seen the Eastern Conference Finals in the last round. And even in that series, the Bulls really underwhelmed. What's scary is the East could be even worse next season. The Bulls could take a step backwards if Thibs' replacement doesn't do as great a job with that roster. The Hawks could lose either Millsap or Carroll to free agency. The Raptors are in for some big changes. The Wizards could lose Pierce to retirement. And while young teams like the Bucks and Celtics will continue to improve, they won't necessarily be contenders just yet.

 

That is not true.