Fixxxer Posted June 16, 2014 Posted June 16, 2014 Great finals the Spurs are a great team, they dominated at times.
Deranged Rhino Posted June 16, 2014 Posted June 16, 2014 Hats off to Pop. Outstanding coach, one of the best there ever has been. But... Duncan has 5 rings. Kobe has 5 rings. Jordan has 6 rings. ... Imagine if Duncan gets 6. What happens to Kobe's legacy then? Should be fun to see next season.
NDBUFFCUSEFAN Posted June 16, 2014 Posted June 16, 2014 Well Duncan was the GOAT PF before this and firmly ahead of Kobe already so nothing has changed.
Deranged Rhino Posted June 16, 2014 Posted June 16, 2014 Well Duncan was the GOAT PF before this and firmly ahead of Kobe already so nothing has changed. No, he really wasn't firmly ahead of Kobe -- not without a fifth ring. Especially when one of his rings came on a strike shortened season. But yes, he is the GOAT PF and I'm a huge Duncan fan. I like Duncan way more than Kobe but Kobe's legacy is already cemented. He's a top 5 all time NBA guy, Duncan is on my second team. (Because it's late and I'm bored, here's my First Team All-NBA -- with the right to change my mind when I sober up... I mean, wake up) Magic (PG) Jordan (wing) Kobe (wing) Lebron (wing) Russell © Man it's hard to leave Kareem off that team and Bird, but in their primes those guys were the best there ever has been. If Duncan can win a 6th next year which, is very possible if he comes back with Pop, then I guess I'd have to consider bumping Kobe from that lineup... ehh. It's definitely a debate.
bbb Posted June 16, 2014 Posted June 16, 2014 Salute to old man Manu, everyone kinda forgot about him. If Green and Parker hit any shots this thing is over. Kawhi is tremendous, so much upside still. So weird how last year Manu was over the hill and done, per everybody watching, and now he does this!
plenzmd1 Posted June 16, 2014 Posted June 16, 2014 Nice to see how Miami acted the the wake of the loss as well. Thought they handled with class. Saw a quote from Spolstra essentially saying saying Spurs were just the better team and played better. No excuses, no whining. I like that.
Beerball Posted June 16, 2014 Posted June 16, 2014 Listening this morning...no player averaged over 30 minutes/game for the season. Great job by Pop in keeping everyone ready to play. The most interesting "angle" that I've seen about the Spurs regards their international flavor. Many/most US star players wouldn't put up with Pop "showing them up" on the court if they did something outside the game plan. Many/most US star players would not stick to Pop's game plan to begin with. It is a thing of beauty to watch but it doesn't suit your "average" US star player. The selfless play begins with Duncan who made somewhere around $10M this season. For me, it will be interesting to see how Leonard handles this going forward. He moved into a new level during the finals and at some point he will form the core of the team's big 2 or 3. Will he continue to play selfless basketball? Will he sacrifice some of his paycheck so that the team around him is better? (I don't begrudge any player for the $$$ they make, but, I do think that those who take less should be recognized [yes, including James]) Congrats to the Spurs for doing it the "right" way.
The Poojer Posted June 16, 2014 Posted June 16, 2014 Spurs play a different brand of basketball than anyone else. Pop is a great coach, Duncan is (not so) quietly one of the greatest to ever play the game. Where the HELL did Manu come up with that driving dunk???? Now on to the draft, looking forward to see how the Sixers do.
26CornerBlitz Posted June 16, 2014 Posted June 16, 2014 Spurs play a different brand of basketball than anyone else. Pop is a great coach, Duncan is (not so) quietly one of the greatest to ever play the game. Where the HELL did Manu come up with that driving dunk???? Now on to the draft, looking forward to see how the Sixers do. Regardless of sport, Coach Popovich is in the Pantheon of all time greats.
Deranged Rhino Posted June 16, 2014 Posted June 16, 2014 Regardless of sport, Coach Popovich is in the Pantheon of all time greats. And he's all class. What I loved most about watching the post game celebration was how Pop stood off to the side, not just to the side of the Commissioner, but off the stage entirely so the focus could be on his players and his players alone. That's why guys love him and want to play for him, he coaches for them not for himself like so many other coaches.
bbb Posted June 16, 2014 Posted June 16, 2014 Listening this morning...no player averaged over 30 minutes/game for the season. Great job by Pop in keeping everyone ready to play. That worked out great in that not only were the old guys fresh for the finals, but wow did that develop depth!
Fingon Posted June 16, 2014 Posted June 16, 2014 Yeah I know it's getting ridiculous, I grew up watching Notre Dame with my Gram and then latched onto Cuse BBall as well. I recently graduated from SDSU so I obviously support them and my favorite conference in college football is the SEC. I'm not a very good college fan apparently. I think you're underestimating the Heat, I think they'd be the two seed and three at worst but maybe I'm wrong. I'm definitely not underestimating the Heat. Dwyane Wade's knees are arthritic and will never get better. Norris Cole/Mario Chalmers were absolutely terrible, and they have no starting big man. Bosh doesn't play in the paint and is more of a catch and shoot from mid-range or three type of player. LeBron is the best player in the world, but the team around him is awful. Miami won 54 games this year, which would make them a 4th or 5th seed in the West. That's only if they can win as many games in the West as they did in the historically bad East.
Deranged Rhino Posted June 16, 2014 Posted June 16, 2014 I'm definitely not underestimating the Heat. Dwyane Wade's knees are arthritic and will never get better. Norris Cole/Mario Chalmers were absolutely terrible, and they have no starting big man. Bosh doesn't play in the paint and is more of a catch and shoot from mid-range or three type of player. LeBron is the best player in the world, but the team around him is awful. Miami won 54 games this year, which would make them a 4th or 5th seed in the West. That's only if they can win as many games in the West as they did in the historically bad East. The Heat had a pretty good record against the West this year. 20-10 isn't something to sneeze at.
Fingon Posted June 16, 2014 Posted June 16, 2014 The Heat had a pretty good record against the West this year. 20-10 isn't something to sneeze at. So are you saying that they would have had a better record against the superior competition? I find that very hard to believe. Regardless, even if they ended up with the same record they would still be a 4 or 5 seed.
Peter Posted June 16, 2014 Posted June 16, 2014 I could not be more impressed with the Spurs and Pop. I am not a huge basketball fan (much prefer football and hockey), but the way the Spurs play as a team and set the egos aside is extremely impressive. It is going to be very interesting to see what LeBron does now. The Big Three is really the lonely one. I actually like Chris Bosh and think that he is a very interesting person as well as player, but he does not even approach the level of LeBron - but who does really. He is a big man that prefers to play outside. He is athletic and when he is hitting his shot, he can very effective. When he is not, not so much. Dwyane Wade probably holds the key to what happens to the Heat next year. Clearly, they need some better players into the team to compete with the likes of the Spurs. Wade has said that he is not going to take a pay cut - whereas Chris Bosh has said that he is willing to do so to make the team better and keep guys together. Wade probably know that he can see the end of his career and wants to hold on to his exorbitant and guarantied contract. If he takes that approach, he may end up by himself playing for the Heat. Even though, I now live in Miami, I think that the most interesting story line is whether LeBron decides (this year or next) to go back to Cleveland. One of the things that I like about LeBron is that he seems to be a thoughtful and intelligent guy. He clearly went about the "Decision" wrong. I do not think that he likes the way people think about him in his home state. Given the young talent that Cleveland seems to be acquiring, I would not be surprised if he decides to go back to Cleveland (unless something changes this year or next in Miami). Just my two cents.
Deranged Rhino Posted June 16, 2014 Posted June 16, 2014 So are you saying that they would have had a better record against the superior competition? I find that very hard to believe. Regardless, even if they ended up with the same record they would still be a 4 or 5 seed. I'm saying that when the heat played the best of the west in the regular season they won far more than they lost. 20 times to 10 in fact. Good enough for a top 3 seed if you extrapolate it out. Spurs would be 1 most likely with OKC /Heat fighting for the 2 and 3 seed. No other western conference teams can compete.
bbb Posted June 16, 2014 Posted June 16, 2014 I could not be more impressed with the Spurs and Pop. I am not a huge basketball fan (much prefer football and hockey), but the way the Spurs play as a team and set the egos aside is extremely impressive. It is going to be very interesting to see what LeBron does now. The Big Three is really the lonely one. I actually like Chris Bosh and think that he is a very interesting person as well as player, but he does not even approach the level of LeBron - but who does really. He is a big man that prefers to play outside. He is athletic and when he is hitting his shot, he can very effective. When he is not, not so much. Dwyane Wade probably holds the key to what happens to the Heat next year. Clearly, they need some better players into the team to compete with the likes of the Spurs. Wade has said that he is not going to take a pay cut - whereas Chris Bosh has said that he is willing to do so to make the team better and keep guys together. Wade probably know that he can see the end of his career and wants to hold on to his exorbitant and guarantied contract. If he takes that approach, he may end up by himself playing for the Heat. Even though, I now live in Miami, I think that the most interesting story line is whether LeBron decides (this year or next) to go back to Cleveland. One of the things that I like about LeBron is that he seems to be a thoughtful and intelligent guy. He clearly went about the "Decision" wrong. I do not think that he likes the way people think about him in his home state. Given the young talent that Cleveland seems to be acquiring, I would not be surprised if he decides to go back to Cleveland (unless something changes this year or next in Miami). Just my two cents. I like Bosh, too - until he celebrates with that open mouth thing he does! I do like him in interviews, etc. though. I'm really interested in Lebron going back to Cleveland, too. If they could somehow get Kevin Love for this year's number one pick, wouldn't the "Big 3" there be better than than MIami's Big Three. Irving, Love and Lebron
Peter Posted June 16, 2014 Posted June 16, 2014 I like Bosh, too - until he celebrates with that open mouth thing he does! I do like him in interviews, etc. though. I'm really interested in Lebron going back to Cleveland, too. If they could somehow get Kevin Love for this year's number one pick, wouldn't the "Big 3" there be better than than MIami's Big Three. Irving, Love and Lebron Yes, and younger.
Maury Ballstein Posted June 16, 2014 Posted June 16, 2014 Irving Love and Lebron would be sick. Melo to Chicago could still beat them all if that falls into place Got my fingers crossed my Mavs snag Carmelo, I'm a huge fan. He gets a bum rap unfairly IMO because the Knicks stink.
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