Sports Talk 2018: Lebron to Brady and Everything in Between

Town Heretic

Out of Order
Hall of Fame
Thought it wouldn't hurt to have a general sports talk thread, though I'm not sure how many are left who care about it.

I'll start with the NBA, just wrapping up its season.

I didn't watch a single game of the NBA finals this year for the first time in memory. And I'm about as indifferent to the NBA as I've ever been. I didn't watch because the Cavs couldn't play defense and I knew that all it would take was them running into a healthy GS to end the run, most likely with a broom. Without KD the Warriors were compelling. With him it felt largely like a Globetrotters game. GS felt it too, giving up on a few games during the season and taking too long to take Houston seriously, lucky to escape that series via injury to Paul. The Cavs got a similar break facing a hobbled Boston.

So a healthy Warriors got a wake up call and there was nothing in Cleveland that was going to surprise or upset them. I know it looked like it might have been a series, at least a five or six game series, without knuckle headed moves by the Browns, I mean Cavs resident knuckle head, but that would have at best delayed the inevitable. There are two teams in the east positioning themselves to give GS a match and neither of those is from Ohio.

Here's hoping James goes to Philly or Houston. Otherwise, I'm thinking next year might be the first time I miss an entire season. . . well, not exactly miss it. :plain:
 

Stripe

Teenage Adaptive Ninja Turtle
LIFETIME MEMBER
Hall of Fame
The All Blacks take on France in about an hour.

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Town Heretic

Out of Order
Hall of Fame
Meanwhile, I was watching a YT video where a lot of the best NBA players past and present were talking about their all time starters. More often than not my favorite player, Larry Bird, made the list. But one thing irked me, the familiar "But Bird was a defensive liability," was a caveat for a couple, including Kevin Garnett, who used that as why he wasn't the small forward choice.

That's why KG gave his spot to Kevin Durant. Another guy in the comments section said that KD could already do everything else better than Larry at this point, so forget the Larry/LeBron bit, move James to forward and Durant to small forward.

But Larry, before the back injury, actually was a good defender. How good? He was a 3 time all defense team member, something Durant hasn't managed. And Bird was neck and neck with Durant on blocks and steals, splitting the marginal difference between them. He was a better rebounder, much better at assists, and their shooting percentages were close across the board, with Larry winning the marginal numbers game 2-1.

Now if you take him in his prime and weed out a few years where he was still playing great, but the back impacted degree, then Bird pulls away a bit more. LeBron's numbers are similar to Durant, except James is much weaker as a FT shooter. He's only 1 assist behind Larry though, so better as a distributor than Durant.

My starting 5 using the modern system:

One guard - Magic, with Stockton as his backup
Two guard - Michael, with Oscar as his backup
Three guard - LeBron, with Larry as his backup
Four guard - Duncan, with Malone as his backup
Five - Olajuwon, with Jabar as his backup

The only reason I take LeBron over Bird is athleticism. Most of my starters are athletic enough to play other positions and to be completely nonplussed by the man across from them. Very hard to make a pick matter with this group. But if I'm starting a team with anyone I begin with Bird, who made his teammates better than almost anyone else on the list.
 

The Berean

Well-known member
As a Warriors fan I am happy to see another NBA title but this Finals was kind of boring. I didn't want to see the Cavs yet again. I was hoping for the Celtics to reach the Finals given the Celtics glorious Finals history plus I wanted payback for the Celtics beating the Warriors in the Finals in 1964 and 1967! Perhaps the Warriors and Celtics will meet in the 2019 Finals! :banana:
 

Stripe

Teenage Adaptive Ninja Turtle
LIFETIME MEMBER
Hall of Fame
Apparently a yellow card turned what had been a contest into a route in the second half, with a final score of 52 - 11. That's a beatdown.
Not even close. The yellow card was in all likelihood an insignificant factor in the scoreline. The ABs switched on in the second 40 and their attack led to the infringement that put the player off for 10 minutes.

France had been touted as having the best defense among the Six Nations sides, but — whether it was the loss of a few players, or travel, or tiredness — the Blackness rolled over them like a Waikato fog.

Test 2 is this Saturday.

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Stripe

Teenage Adaptive Ninja Turtle
LIFETIME MEMBER
Hall of Fame
People are talking about basketball. Is that a sport?

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Mr. 5020

New member
Here's hoping James goes to Philly or Houston. Otherwise, I'm thinking next year might be the first time I miss an entire season. . . well, not exactly miss it. :plain:
It doesn't appear to be in James's nature to take difficult paths, and the Western Conference is a difficult path. I don't think we'll see him in Houston (or LA, for that matter) for that very reason.

My money, if I was a betting man, would be on Philly.
 

Town Heretic

Out of Order
Hall of Fame
It doesn't appear to be in James's nature to take difficult paths, and the Western Conference is a difficult path. I don't think we'll see him in Houston (or LA, for that matter) for that very reason.

My money, if I was a betting man, would be on Philly.
Philly might even be the better team in terms of his natural contributions. I think Houston doesn't need him. They were undone by an injury and could get better in the offseason. GS won't be getting better.
 

Town Heretic

Out of Order
Hall of Fame
So I'm listening to Kevin Garnett put together his best starting five, all-time. And he manages to find spots for a few Celtics, but doesn't even mention Larry at the small forward. At the end he speaks to that, saying he knew some were wondering, but everyone on his team had to play defense and Larry didn't play defense.

This is part and parcel of the white men can't mentality that irks me. He's wrong. And there's no excuse for his not knowing that Bird, before his back went south, was on three all defensive NBA teams. And even when the back slowed him defensively he still managed more steals and only a marginally less effective blocking game than Kevin Durant has right now. :mmph: But he's considered slow and not particularly athletic by a lot of misguided players and that's purely the same sort of nonsensical, race rooted mythology that had was used to disparage black qbs in the NFL once. Assume the context and go from there. Sheesh.
 

Town Heretic

Out of Order
Hall of Fame
A great day to be a Laker fan, as James is heading to LA for what appears to be the last leg of his career. The real question now, with only a certain Spur in the mix as far as top free agents are concerned, is whether he's traded one non-contender made contender by the sweat of his brow with another.
 

The Berean

Well-known member
As a Warrior fan I'm glad LeBron went to the Lakers. Now instead of losing to the Warriors in the NBA Finals Lebron will now lose in the 2nd round of the playoffs. LeBron will never appear in another NBA Finals again.
 

Idolater

"Foundation of the World" Dispensationalist χρ
As a Warrior fan I'm glad LeBron went to the Lakers. Now instead of losing the Warriors in the NBA Finals Lebron will now lose in the 2nd round of the playoffs. LeBron will never appear in another NBA Finals again.
lol.

I'm wondering if David Price against NY, is like how Pedro struggled against the Yankees in 2003 and 2004. He still pitched great against everybody else, the Yankees just had his number, like how they seem to have Price's number now. The Sox still pulled it off finally in '04---in spite of Pedro being futile against the Bombers.

We'll see how NE plays this season. This feels like, for a variety of reasons, the first in a possibly multiyear story arc which is roughly 'how will Brady wind things down.' It's more important than GOAT arguments and SB rings, neither of which are worth getting into compared with how many more seasons Brady'll play, and how will he play during them??? Inquiring minds want to know. Patriots and Red Sox Nations.
 

Town Heretic

Out of Order
Hall of Fame
As a Warrior fan I'm glad LeBron went to the Lakers. Now instead of losing to the Warriors in the NBA Finals Lebron will now lose in the 2nd round of the playoffs. LeBron will never appear in another NBA Finals again.
You have enough to worry about with Houston on your plate.
 

Idolater

"Foundation of the World" Dispensationalist χρ
Boogie Cousins says hello. :wave2:

I'm more worried about the Celtics. They can be powerhouse if everyone is healthy. I soooo want to see a Warriors/Celtics NBA Finals!
Oh come off it. :) Boston even with Hayward and Irving at 100% each (and neither of those are gimmes, let alone both of them), Brown solid again and Tatum better---Golden State still wins, and I doubt it goes seven. :)
 

Stripe

Teenage Adaptive Ninja Turtle
LIFETIME MEMBER
Hall of Fame
BTW, the ABs won the third Test 45-14 with no sending offs. Played some sublime football, too.

Puts paid to the notion that the red card in the second Test was a factor.

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Town Heretic

Out of Order
Hall of Fame
Terrell Owens held his own, separate HOF induction ceremony today, ending forever the enshrinement delaying argument by many sports writers that the talented, mercurial wide-receiver had been a cancerous source of division among his teammates.




 
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