Lebron's got this. Everything is falling into place for him and his team.
NBA 2019-2020
- Thread starter altodevil
- Start date
I find myself rooting for the Heat. I can't believe that I'm saying that as a Mavericks fan. What a weird, weird year it has been.
Yes, this.
Houston has kinda allowed Vogel to stumble into his best lineups.
That's an easy choice tbf. feck Celtics and Smart
Thanks for jumping to a conclusion.
Also feck the Lakers and especially the Clippers.
feck Bayern Munich.
Hopefully Nuggets beat the Clippers tmrw night. Lakers v. Celtics would be dream scenario for the NBA.
Agreed. Would prefer Miami in the final because I really like that organization and admire the way they build their teams around a set culture, but Boston would have some great storylines. I also think Boston would provide the hardest matchup for the Lakers - Jaylen can guard LeBron and the Lakers don't really have anyone who can properly shut down Tatum, meanwhile AD would destroy Theis on the inside.
hope denver shut up these noisy neighbors.If we make it there I want the Celtics in the final. Lebron and AD have great records against them and it would be sweet to beat them to a title again.
Wait Taytum can guard Lebron but we don’t have anyone who can guard Taytum?
What have you got against the Clippers?
Generally I would agree, but Lakers winning it (after such a long time) as a tribute to Kobe would be nice.
That is not what I said, though I don't hold the mistake against you seeing as how Boston's stars are so similarly named. I said Jaylen (Brown) can guard LeBron (he's done so in the past successfully and has only gotten better on that end), while I don't believe the Lakers have anyone who can really shut down Tatum offensively. LeBron would put in a real shift on him, but I'm being realistic - this isn't Miami Heat LeBron, I don't believe he'll be able to expend so much energy shutting Tatum down and have enough in the tank on the offensive end of the floor and Vogel can't afford to not have LeBron in terminator mode on offense. Danny Green might slow Tatum down but he's not a stopper anymore. Rondo is feisty as hell but the size difference would play to Tatum's strengths.
I don’t really think either East team will be much of an issue for Lakers in the Finals. In one off game maybe but over 7 game series they should do all right. Clippers can stop Lakers but they’d have to improve very significantly, way beyond what they’ve shown so far in the playoffs which has been super sloppy.
LeBron can stop Tatum way easier than Brown will find it to stop him.
LeBron can stop Tatum way easier than Brown will find it to stop him.
Not really, Vogel has known what his best lineups were all season long, it was just a matter of protecting AD's body until we needed those lineups
Apologies for misreading Jalen and Taytum. But I disagree. Lebron has been putting in a shift on both ends of the floor. If he decides to shut down Taytum he will. Same with Kobe even if his last couple of years. Secondly having Rondo on the floor, especially on the offensive end is a huge help cause the offense runs through him. That greatly helps James and gives him a bit of rest on the offensive side. Defensively I think Lakers have been the best since the playoffs started and that is without prolly our best perimeter defender in Avery Bradley.
What's this stuff about Giannis to Dallas? And legitimacy/possibility?
No worries at all - as I said, they have remarkably similar first names and it's caused many more people than just you to slip up.
I respect your differing opinion and hope you're right. I would love for LeBron to win another chip, and for it to come this year for the Lakers would be incredibly fitting. I just feel that Boston is uniquely suited to playoff basketball in that they have multiple dudes who can create their own shot and you would feel good about taking the final shot of the game, and they have a bunch of knockdown 3 point shooters to boot. It would be a great series if both teams get there.
No idea. But an European super team would be kind of cool. Think he’d be a great fit there. Not just as a player, but also as a person. I think the culture there suits him very well.
I keep hearing he wants to move to Portland. He really likes the team and Dame.
I think it's all bogus. There is a slim chance that he might sign for Dallas in 2021, but I think it's much more likely that he'll go to the Lakers or stay at the Bucks.
I'm ordering a Jokic jersey if they beat the Clippers tonight. No excuses for the Lakers not to win it all if the Nuggets advance.
Expecting a huge game from Kawhi though. He's not one to go out like that.
Expecting a huge game from Kawhi though. He's not one to go out like that.
Kawhi has dropped 13, 15, 19 and 41(on 39 shots) in his previous Game 7's. He might have a huge game but it's not what his history suggests.
Wow, thanks for that, surprising to me to be honest. The 41 was with his game-winner against Philly last season? Maybe he wasn't asked to do as much when he was with the Spurs back in the days? All eyes will be on him tonight imo.
Excited for game 7 tonight, hoping Nuggets can cause an upset. The only thing I don’t like about this possibility is that Lakers will likely have it quite easy against them as AD can guard Jokic and Murray won’t have a field day against Lakers defense either. Nuggets also lack defenders to guard LeBron. Clippers would be more of a threat which would make for a better series.
Good. He has been a critical piece of the Raptors organisation in the past few years. Hopefully he can get us through a transition period next season.
Who on Earth can guard AD for the Clippers?
You can look at it both ways.
May the best team win tonight.
Nobody. Neither team can guard AD at all. But at least on perimeter they’d be able to guard those guys.
Surely the best center in the NBA can ?
Not sure I understand the logic where AD can guard Jokic but Jokic cannot guard AD.
Jokic is not a good defender at all (at best he’s a passable team defender in their system), AD is one of the best defenders in the league. You can be a great player and a top 5 center in the league while not necessarily being a good defender.
Nuggets are a good story but a matchup against Lakers would really be a bad one as they have no way of neutralizing their strengths, on the contrary they are actually set up to struggle a lot against them. For example Porter should not be on the floor while LeBron is there, which basically makes him available for maybe 10 minutes a game at best. Davis can slow down Jokic, and they can throw one of the big guys on him too to wear him down. It’s a really really tough matchup and Lakers won’t drop the ball like Clippers have done multiple times in these playoffs.
Top 5 center in the league
The discussion is whether Jokic is a top 5 NBA player, all positions. Quite sure he would do a better job at guarding AD than Zubac or Montrezl Harrell.
Of course he isn’t a top 5 NBA player. There’s three better players on LA teams alone.Top 5 center in the league
The discussion is whether Jokic is a top 5 NBA player, all positions. Quite sure he would do a better job at guarding AD than Zubac or Montrezl Harrell.
Depending on how you classify Davis (I like him as a center) it’s between Jokic, Embiid and Davis for the best center, with Gobert, Towns coming behind (Adebayo is now moving nearer top 5 too). Personally I’d have Davis first, Jokic slightly second (largely depends on what your team needs are, if you already have a good playmaker then it’s AD by a distance, if you don’t then it’s probably Jokic) and Embiid firmly behind until he shows he can deliver on the big stage. So basically 2 of 5 top centers are either average or bad defensively.
Zubac is a good/decent defender. Harrell is a dreadful defender, Davis would annihilate him and they can’t both be on the floor at the same time. To be fair the way he’s been playing Harrell should already be out of lineup against Denver. Going small with Morris at center won’t work against Lakers either.
Of all teams left Miami are the only ones who are equipped to deal with both LeBron and AD. They’d be a pretty terrible matchup against Clippers though.
Last edited:
Those trades that Rockets made over last 12 months (it is probably already more since Westbrook trade) will have really screwed them up for good. I don’t even know where do they go from here, quite clearly they can’t win with this team, Tucker is on his last legs and so crucial to how they play, they got zero flexibility and so many contracts that run until 2022-23 and are very heavy financially. They also cannot trade picks until 2026 or so, and pretty much their only tradeable assets of value are Harden and Covington. Unless they can fool a team into going for Westbrook first/second round exits are going to be the norm.
I like Covington but first round pick + Capela for him was an overpay, and obviously trading two first rounders (which may now be quite good) to swap Paul for Westbrook was just a nightmare. A straight swap would have been closer to fair and probably already acceptable for OKC, who will now in turn probably get some more assets for Paul. Won’t be surprised if Bucks give them Bledsoe, some decent young players and two picks for him in all honesty. Seems like postseason is shaping up for that Bledsoe, Ilyasova, filler, Indiana pick and future pick for Paul trade. OKC will own like 12 picks soon at that rate, but they didn’t manage to keep theirs for this season because Muscala couldn’t miss that one freaking shot he was supposed to miss.
I like Covington but first round pick + Capela for him was an overpay, and obviously trading two first rounders (which may now be quite good) to swap Paul for Westbrook was just a nightmare. A straight swap would have been closer to fair and probably already acceptable for OKC, who will now in turn probably get some more assets for Paul. Won’t be surprised if Bucks give them Bledsoe, some decent young players and two picks for him in all honesty. Seems like postseason is shaping up for that Bledsoe, Ilyasova, filler, Indiana pick and future pick for Paul trade. OKC will own like 12 picks soon at that rate, but they didn’t manage to keep theirs for this season because Muscala couldn’t miss that one freaking shot he was supposed to miss.
Shit final possession by the Celtics.
Jokic is slow. AD is fast. Jokic is sieve defending the pick&roll, and a poor defender in general. AD is one of the best offensive players in the league and a pick&roll monster
Jokic is at most a passable post defender. He's not at all a passable team defender in their system, even in a system designed to protect him the nuggets defence is a sieve with him on the floor
All of that is true of the Clippers as well. Ultimately, Jokic is a monster and will get his, no matter who he's facing. And Murray can go nuclear. And the nuggets don't beat themselves
Zubac is a MUCH better defender than Joker and even Harrell who is a poor defender and undersized on top brings a level of physicality that AD has sometimes struggled with, though in truth, much like with Jokic it's a moot point. AD will get his no matter who guards him. There is nobody in the league who can actually defend him, at most there's Giannis who might make his life harder
Celtics-Heat in overtime, this series will be another banger
I don't really agree with this. I'd be interested to get other people's thoughts though. He's OK to Good offensively IMO. But there are a lot better than him.