I pick Lakers in 5, BUT this could easily be Joker's 2011 Dirk equivalent run. Dirk had the choke history. Beat Kobe. Beat Lebron to his way to earn his respect. Joker could match that with KD/Bron and potentially the MVP or Tatum in the Finals. If it's not the Lakers and Celtics or a combo of them vs someone. The next biggest story is Joker vs MVP Embiid. SHOULD be the biggest marketable storyline. 2x MVP who has been getting hate for lack of playoff success (and unlike Dirk, Joker had injured teams so he's not a choker like Dirk was, but media doesn't like context unless it's to excuse LeBron losing). Was on his way to a 3rd straight MVP until mouth breathing Perk made it about race and Joker got uncomfortable and took his foot off the pedal and let Embiid take it(i fully believe this but Embiid did leave no question after that point). Joker vs Embiid storyline. Former MVP choker Harden chance to win a ring storyline. Doc Rivers getting back to the Finals and overcoming all the in between choke seasons since he won with the Celtics storyline. Denver's first appearance since ABA. Philly first trip since AI. This is the money maker, but the NBA prioritizes LA vs Boston tired storyline.
Has anyone here been to a Laker game in staples center? I’m going to be in LA during the series but I don’t wanna break the bank for a ticket. I’m thinking about sitting at the top…is it like the Toyota center where every seat is a good seat?
Dwayne Wade won a ring before LeBron on his own team. He's a top 4 SG of all time, 3rd in most eyes outside of Houston fans having Harden ahead. Dwyane Wade was the better player for the Heat in the Heat first season together, especially in the Finals with zero help from Lebron. Wade was 30/5/7.5 with elite D in 09, 3 years after winning a ring almost single handedly bringing his team back with one of the greatest individual Finals series of all time. Excluding legacy players from the 50s and 60s etc.. AD is top 5 PF ever talent if. Kyrie is top 5 ever PG talent. Bosh is a top 20 PF ever. Kevin Love WAS headed into top 20 PF ever until he joined with Lebron. Love took the biggest hit to his career and stats. + Countless former all star teammates via buyouts, most notably Ray Allen being the one with the most to offer at the age of many of those past prime players. Wade/Bosh/AD/Kyrie/Love Photo reference of players who were All Star Teammates together. Now, this list is a touch skewed because some lower tier all stars are replacement players for injured players selected by coaches and they have a history of selecting blue collar guys from the top teams. So MJ's list could expand to 3 if he wasn't retired in 94 when BJ and Horace made the All Star game. EXCEPT. BJ made the all star game via fan voting(McDonalds-kids were spam voting the guy with the name BJ as a joke. He didn't get in because of his play AND Horace got in as a substitute. Photo reference of FORMER all star teammates. Some way past their alls tar days, some a year ot 2 removed such as Otis Thrope being an All Star reserve in 92, so technically when people say Hakeem won without any all star help, he won with a former all star a few seasons removed. This references HOF teammates -of course some HOF bound eventually post retirement Toni is in the Hall and never an All Star game.
But the wade that lebron played with is not the wade from 06 or 09, it was the version from 11-14. He was still a good player the first 2 years, then mediocre the last 2. Those heat teams without lebron likely never make the playoffs, or at best fringe 7/8 seeds. A lot of this is greatly overstated, 15 time allstar shaq? Come on. In his 20 seasons, how many of his teams could have made the playoffs had he missed all 82 games? Maybe 2 or 3? And certainly he never played on a team that could win a playoff round
I think it needs to be said that Kyrie hasn't done diddly squat since leaving the Cavs. I don't understand how people love his game, he's not a winning player. Without Lebron , he's nothing.
That’s not totally fair, the 2021 nets had a really good shot at a 16-0 postseason, and worst case would have gone maybe 16-3 or so and easily won the title. Giannis cheap shot took out kyrie but hard to blame him for that, not his fault giannis is how he is
I fear that too. I mean, let's be honest here, Lakers definitely got a favourable whistle against the Warriors. We cannot allow our hatred for the Warriors keep us from acknowledging that.
The truth is that narrative is the result of stars taking a back seat to LeBrons play style. Wade wasn't slowing down until the last season. To say those teams without LeBron barely make the playoffs in that weak conference is ridiculous. The year Lebron left, they almost made the playoffs with Bosh out half the season and Wade only playing 60. All they needed was 38 wins and tie breakers or 39 wins. 82 games of those 2 at that time, and they're a top seed, maybe 4th seed even with that slowed version of Wade. 2011-2014 DWade and Bosh with good role players including Ray Allen and team defense and coaching is still a contender-of course adding a top 5 ever player in his prime makes that a super team. It's a league of mercenaries for hire and LeBron led the way. While i'm not a "you need to play for 1 team forever" type of fan, i value loyalty until they've given their primes to their teams such as KG and Ray Allen before teaming up with Pierce who also led his team for most of his career. Dame would have been cool to team up starting last year in my eyes. When people want to call out Chuck on his Rockets team up-that's' the difference. No one likes to use context in that case as long as it defends LeBron-but not KD. Chuck was in decline. Clyde was in rapid decline. It's teaming up at 25 and in their primes of their lives physically and game that has become a joke. LeBron recruited AD at 25 to join his aging self. DWade was 28 while Bron and Bosh were 25/26. Kyrie 22 and Love 26 while Bron was still at the tail end of his prime at 30. It's cheap and weak, but he paved the way to show it doesn't matter as long as you win and change the narrative-again-unless your KD and in direct competition and in LeBrons way. Then 1 is a snake and the other has his excuse.
LeBron is going to turn it on, and he will get favorable calls from the officials because he's LeBron, but I think the overall talent gap is just too big. Nuggets in 6
I don’t like the way the league is either and I don’t like lebron, but there’s not a chance in hell any team he played on could have ever won a playoff series without him. This isn’t the jordan bulls who won 55 games and went to game 7 of the ecf, or the warriors without kd
A go to LeBron fan narrative to diminish others greatness in order to prop Bron, but not a LeBron fan. The 93 Bulls won only 57 because they coasted for their standards. in 92 they were going for 70 wins and the media became a circus and they exhausted themselves and came a bit short. The end result was still a 3rd straight championship with and nothing without. The 1st of 2 3peats and you see how difficult it is to even get b2b. The 94 Bulls lost MJ, but still had the 3 peat core together and ADDED Kukoc, Harper, Kerr, Longley and more which would be key parts to the 2nd 3 peat-on top of Scottie playing his best season ever. The following year, they barely floated around .500 so it wasn't something that was going to be consistent if MJ stayed retired-though losing Grant to a rival was big loss for them too, but Scottie proved he wasn't an alpha long term with his pouting and poor sportsmanship. Add a seasoned MJ and they got their 70 wins. Followed by 69. Followed by 62 with broke back selfish Pip missing a huge chunk of the season. DWade was a champion before LeBron had to team up with him in his town to get his. LeBron's cap space available to all those teams without him? Yeah, they're winning. Maybe not the whole thing, but they're contending. That's ridiculous, other than the early Cavs teams which were built around LeBron's specific play style and had their cap always crippled with former all star signings because of LeBrons impatience to buy a ring from the jump.
Damn AD dominated the last time these 2 teams met in the WCF in the bubble. Forgot that was a gentleman's sweep. Joker seems more intense and the Nuggets more locked in and seasoned this time around, though.
Denver will definitely have to play 5 on 8 in several of the games. That said, I think they will overcome all that. Nuggets in 6.
