Yeah

Unless lebron goes there he’ll want some slap ass coach that lets him do whatever he wants

You mean minus the title Wade had already won with the Heat before Lebron got there against . . . . . you guessed it, the Dallas Mavericks. The team that Lebron and his homies/buddies lost to. Ironic, isn’t it?

They could’ve easily won the East without Lebron in the picture. Wade and Bosh would’ve been the best duo in the conference.

Besides, now you are changing the argument. What you and RunKC are saying is MJ’s teams were vastly surperior. That’s clearly not the case.

I never once said they were vastly superior. They were damn good though and lebrons heat teams weren’t as much better as you guys are making it out to be.

And I don’t think they’d have easily won the east at that point with wade beginning to break down a bit. They could have but not easily as you suggest.

True

But that early heat team was a bit different than the one that beat the thunder and spurs

Yeah. It had Shaq

ROFL true

By “easily” I meant they would be the favorites on paper. Partly because of a weak conference, but they would’ve been an above average playoff team regardless.

I never said the Heat were that much better. It seemed like were trying to say MJ had much more help. We can put that to rest I guess.

Oh, yeah. Post-Michael nba was terribad.

They both had to have great players around them to win championships. It’s not gonna happen by themselves carrying a team.

Mj didn’t hit his highest peaks as a player until he had dudes around him, same with lebron

Maybe.

But a Wade led Heat squad beat a Nowitski centered Mavs team. Fast forward to 2011. A Lebron led Heat squad were embarrassed by a Nowitski centered Mavs team.

Something worth considering, at least . . . . .

I thought the Raptors had a good d? They look like shit and are going to get swept

Go look at the 98 Finals

I don’t disagree with any of that.

Even the two best players ever needed great players around them to win multiple championships.

By the way, that’s why Dirk’s championship is probably my favorite as a fan outside of MJ and the Bulls. He definitely had some very good players around him, but he never had that Pippen/Wade/Kyrie caliber guy.

It would’ve been interesting to see MJ and Lebron fight their way to however many capionships they could’ve won alone.

Or the 2015

Remember Lebron and Wade mocking Dirk before he pushed their shit in?

LMAO

Great times

Dirk had guys playing well though.

The Iverson years were always more impressive for me when he got them to the finals

That was a good discussion at half on how to guard Lebron and I side with Shaq. Lebron is going to get his just make sure the other scrubs don’t

Raptors are done

Trying to think about what’s gonna have to happen to beat the warriors as constructed going forward.

If the Celtics could swing an Anthony Davis that would be interesting. I don’t think lebron in Philly does much unless embiid takes the next step.

Lebron in Houston maybe but I dunno bout that either.

That's actually been the plan for the entire series for the Raptors. They just have a bunch of low IQ players like DeRozan, Ibaka, JV and Miles who have no idea how to play defense and lose their men routinely.

if they fire Casey right now before the game is over they can get a jump on Stack before the Pistons do

The idiot coach benched all their good defensive players (Wright, Poeltl, Siakam) for most of this series. Other than the end of game 3 when the Raptors went on that run and played their best basketball of the series, he's stuck with the great DeRozan.

Casey will be fired on the plane ride home tonight

They were done after Demar choked game 1 away when LeBron wasn't even trying. Can't beat a team/player if you don't even have the belief to win that game.

Add Lowery to that after losing Love on the back door. I think the Raptors have quit

Who would have thought that putting players in a position of strength would lead them to success? No one could have thought Love would do better as a versatile post up player rather than a spot up shooter. No one at all.
Posted via Mobile Device

Lowry is actually a good defender normally, but he's given up. No idea why they aren't playing the young guys right now, they're the ones who actually carried the team this year anyway.

59 wins and great season stats for this playoff showing. Basically like watching the Chiefs

There is no reason why Lebron should still be in the game.

Or if lebron went to Boston

Wow Demar ejected with a flagrant 2

Another 4th quarter where Demar won't play in.

The 2006-08 Mavs fired their coach for a reason

Different team by 2011

The NBA was so weak in 2006

Needs to add to his numbers so the MJ backers can't say he only went for a 25 point triple double tonight.

Cavs up by 28 and Lebron comes back in after sitting for a minute. Lue is an idiot

Too bad he didn't get himself suspended in the Wizards series.

He's not going to Boston as long as Kyrie is there.

The Eastern conference was a giant cuck fest back then. Still not that great but it was much worse.

Western Conference sucked ass in the 80s, nobody mentions that when the Lakers won it 8 of the 10 years.

Good thing.

He needs those numbers since his legacy of winning doesn’t stack up to Jordan’s.

Shouldn't Bill Russell be considered the GOAT if winning titles is the only thing that matters?

Can’t we just all take a break from the MJ vs Lebron debate? I don’t want Arrow to show up to kill this thread with his stupid Kobe takes

If we are going that route, then let’s throw Sam Jones into the discussion . . . . .

The next series will be even easier for Lebron he's going to sweep the Boston Role Players in blowout fashion.

LeCoach won't make the same mistake the stupid Sixers did leaving their lumbering forwards in for 3 games trying to guard Rozier. LeCoach will stick George Hill on Rozier making Rozier useless like Hill did DeRozan and Lebron will put a body on Tatum and tire him out to the point where it will be exhausting way more energy to get that 20 points a game. He will make the Celtics try and win with Marcus Morris long 2 point jumpers and Stevens will waste all his timeouts to try and stop him from taking them.

<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/BigDPndARLr/" data-instgrm-version="8" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:8px;"> <div style=" background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:50.0% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;"> <div style=" background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAABGdBTUEAALGPC/xhBQAAAAFzUkdCAK7OHOkAAAAMUExURczMzPf399fX1+bm5mzY9AMAAADiSURBVDjLvZXbEsMgCES5/P8/t9FuRVCRmU73JWlzosgSIIZURCjo/ad+EQJJB4Hv8BFt+IDpQoCx1wjOSBFhh2XssxEIYn3ulI/6MNReE07UIWJEv8UEOWDS88LY97kqyTliJKKtuYBbruAyVh5wOHiXmpi5we58Ek028czwyuQdLKPG1Bkb4NnM+VeAnfHqn1k4+GP T6uGQcvu2h2OVuIf/gWUFyy8OWEpdyZSa3aVCqpVoVvzZZ2VTnn2wU8qzVjDDetO90GSy9mVLqtgYSy231MxrY6I2gGqjrTY0L8fxCxfCBbhWrsYYAAAA AElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;"></div></div> <p style=" margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BigDPndARLr/" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">LeBron James, King in the North. 👑</a></p> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/nbaontnt/" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px;" target="_blank"> NBA on TNT</a> (@nbaontnt) on <time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2018-05-08T03:11:41+00:00">May 7, 2018 at 8:11pm PDT</time></p></div></blockquote> <script async defer src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script>

Go Pacers, happy to see they took Lebron to 7. Much better than T.O.

Excuse me? Are you serious? ROFL

The guy that Wilt Chamberlain himself said was the greatest player ever? Nah, why discuss him at all? Not like he won 14 championships in 15 years to become the winningest team sport athlete in any team sport ever or anything.

(2 NCAA Championships, 1 Olympic Gold, and 11 championships in 13 years with the Celtics)

I will also point out that pretty much the entire team changed over during the course of Russell's Celtics career. I think KC Jones may have played his entire career with Russell, but he'd be the only one. Much like Tom Brady, you can change the cast of characters around him, and he elevated everyone and brought winning and championships home through his own excellence and focus on winning.

But hey, different era, none of us watched him play, and his offensive stats don't excite anyone, so I understand -- forgetaboutit.

One last point, because I'm a huge Russell fan (can you tell?):

The 1961-62 NBA season was an amazing one. Young Wilt Chamberlain AVERAGED 50.4 points per game that year, and had one game where he scored 100 points -- the first and last time that ever happened. Oscar Robertson AVERAGED a triple double for the entire season, which nobody ever did again until Westbrook a couple years ago.

Who won the player-voted MVP award that year?

William Fenton Russell.

Russell was 210 pounds

Played in 11 series-deciding games (10 game 7s and one game 5). Record: 11-0.

Averaged 18 points and 29.5 rebounds those games.

Yeah, but how many white Americans were playing back then?

:shrug: Obviously, everything was different then. Just like any other sport, you can't compare apples to apples when the two eras are 50 years apart.

This is not to denigrate MJ in any way, but I think a lot of people forget that Jordan didn't win anything before '91 when they first started legislating some of the physicality out of the game. The Detroit Bad Boys used to smack him (and everyone else) tf around every single time he drove, and they would get away with it. Then suddenly if a defender breathed on MJ the wrong way it was a foul. People talk about the calls guys get in today's game like LeBron and Harden and others. MJ was getting those calls in the mid 90s. In general the game was more physical in the 90s no doubt, but much less physical in the back half of Jordan's career than the first half. I think that contributed to MJs ability to maintain such a high scoring average as his body began to break down with age.

LeBron is 6'8", 260 lbs.. He's built like a Defensive end. Guys were big back then too, yeah, but many were not as built as today's athletes. LeBron is more built than most dudes were back then. All things equal, what makes people think he would not have just lowered his head and plowed right thru defenses like a freight train if they were gonna try and bash him? Sports medicine and science are so much different now, athletes are bigger stronger faster. Thats why its hard to compare players over eras. Why can't people just appreciate the greatness of both?

So we are finally here - Rockets vs Warriors. Let's hope for a good series...

Having said that (Fingers Crossed) , GO ROCKETS!

Indeed. But it’s going to be Warriors in 5.

You may be right, but I'm hoping the Rockets find a way to win the thing, or at the very least, make it a competitive series.

Especially with it pretty much being the NBA Finals this year

Over/Under on combined PPG? 240?

Yep and it was nice to see them each lose to a medicore team so the LBj ballwashers wont celebrate to much when the Cavs steal 1.

I've never seen a more pathetic stretch of basketball than this final 90 seconds by the Sixers.

Losers

Smart just won Boston this game.

what a game. Embiid chokes on a layup

what a shot by JJ

Too bad he completely short armed the one that actually mattered a few minutes ago.

damn Celtics got lucky there. Now on to the ECF to get killed by Lebron

Never had a chance. I was completely disgusted by that.

How do you not throw that pass to the massive 7 footer on the court?

Anyway, I'm going to enjoy LeBron bringing this Boston fanbase down to earth yet again.

abysmal entertainment value in round 2. The only chance of a good series the rest of the way is Boston/Cleveland. **** the Warriors for ruining the NBA

I really wish Kyrie was healthy so the ECF could have some drama.

What? Your team vs GS is going to be epic.

Yep. Exactly what the NBA needed. Both CFs would have been fun.

Cavs in 5. Warriors in 5.

Warriors over Cavs in 4.

Yawn.

I would be shocked. Would gladly eat my words.

That's what the NBA and their media partners want you to think, but the Warriors outclass that team in every way imaginable. If they decide they want to sweep the Rockets, they probably will.

Honestly, even the Jordan Bulls teams felt beatable in a 7 game series in their prime.

These Warriors don’t feel beatable in a series in this NBA without some sort of surprise injury/injuries.

The Rockets are the only team that can score with GS. I think this is easily a 6 game series, probably 7.

Well no other team in history had the #2 and #3 players in the NBA plus two other future HOFers. If Durant had just beaten the Warriors two years ago instead of choking massively, we wouldn't be in this mess.

Nailed it.

One of the worst chokes ever led to one of the worst moves ever which created the worst competitive climate ever.

I’m just ready for their run to be over. I’m a fan of the league with no team in my town. It’s hard to watch from a neutral perspective.

I don’t remember actually disliking any of the other dynasties. Lakers, Spurs, Bulls, Heat...I always enjoyed watching them. Never found myself cheering against any of them specifically.