NBA: *** Official 2014 NBA Playoffs Thread ***

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Tre4ISU

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Skip Bayless is a ******* moron who shouldn't be allowed to write, let alone be on TV. He is constantly wrong, has little backing for any of his opinions and to top it off, he uses those little nicknames that he thinks are clever but are really just sophomoric jabs for someone who has no debating ability whatsoever. He's ESPNs Joffrey.
 
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Cyclonesince78

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Mar 8, 2012
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Skip Bayless is a ******* moron who should be allowed to write, let alone be on TV. He is constantly wrong, has little backing for any of his opinions and to top it off, he uses those little nicknames that he thinks are clever but are really just sophomoric jabs for someone who has no debating ability whatsoever. He's ESPNs Joffrey.

Even though I agree with everything you just said, I still get a kick out of him sometimes and enjoy watching when I can, because he's so over the top. I'm not a fan of either him or Stephen A Smith, they're both tools. But the show is funny.
 

SerenityNow

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Dec 4, 2009
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I rarely watch any NBA, and really only watch during the finals. Not a fan of any team, but I was rooting for the Spurs. Sounds like during timeouts, the people who run the music were having a little fun with the no AC - a lot of the songs had something to do with heat/hot.

Not a big fan of LeBron, but I have to admit, he's easily the most dominant player in the league today. However, I think it's too hard to compare to past greats like Jordan. Different era, different style of play, etc. Kinda like comparing Hank to Babe in baseball as the best home run hitter.
 

Cyclonesince78

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I rarely watch any NBA, and really only watch during the finals. Not a fan of any team, but I was rooting for the Spurs. Sounds like during timeouts, the people who run the music were having a little fun with the no AC - a lot of the songs had something to do with heat/hot.

Not a big fan of LeBron, but I have to admit, he's easily the most dominant player in the league today. However, I think it's too hard to compare to past greats like Jordan. Different era, different style of play, etc. Kinda like comparing Hank to Babe in baseball as the best home run hitter.

And different rules too. I'd like to see how lebron fares against hand checking and arm bars.
 

Clark

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And different rules too. I'd like to see how lebron fares against hand checking and arm bars.

there were also rules against zone defenses that freed up driving lanes to the hoop. I think he'd fare pretty well as it would allow him to use his size to an even bigger advantage.
 

CyJack13

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May 21, 2010
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If he grew up playing like that and could do it himself? You wouldn't be able to score on him. You just wouldn't.

Yeah it always cracks me up when people think the hand checking rules would negatively affect the guy who's 6'8" 260 lbs and a freak athlete. He's got an inch and 50 lbs on Dennis Rodman who was one of the best defensive players ever. LeBron would probably have been the greatest defender ever with those rules.
 

Cyclonesince78

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Yeah it always cracks me up when people think the hand checking rules would negatively affect the guy who's 6'8" 260 lbs and a freak athlete. He's got an inch and 50 lbs on Dennis Rodman who was one of the best defensive players ever. LeBron would probably have been the greatest defender ever with those rules.

You do realize that Rodman shut down Shaq in his prime, right? I don't think I need to look up the weight difference on that one. Rodman vs Lebron would have been awesome to watch.
 

Cyclonesince78

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Mar 8, 2012
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Yeah it always cracks me up when people think the hand checking rules would negatively affect the guy who's 6'8" 260 lbs and a freak athlete. He's got an inch and 50 lbs on Dennis Rodman who was one of the best defensive players ever. LeBron would probably have been the greatest defender ever with those rules.

It's not even debatable that the hand checking rules and arm bars would have affected Lebron. The way the rules are set up now, it's impossible to guard Lebron straight up without fouling him.
 

CyJack13

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May 21, 2010
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It's not even debatable that the hand checking rules and arm bars would have affected Lebron. The way the rules are set up now, it's impossible to guard Lebron straight up without fouling him.

I'm not debating it, it would have made him probably the greatest defender ever. Look at some of the guys Jordan dealt with, Gerald Wilkins (6'6" 195), Craig Ehlo (6'6" 181), John Starks (6'3" 190). There weren't wing guys even remotely near LeBron's size, he would have destroyed teams defensively.
 

CyJack13

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Also remember there was no "Mark Jackson" rule back then, LeBron could have just backed down any defender for as long as he wanted. An arm bar isn't going to be able to stop that.
 

Cyclonesince78

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there were also rules against zone defenses that freed up driving lanes to the hoop. I think he'd fare pretty well as it would allow him to use his size to an even bigger advantage.

How often do you see zone defense in the NBA? Not too often. Non-factor.
 

Cyclonesince78

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Mar 8, 2012
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I'm not debating it, it would have made him probably the greatest defender ever. Look at some of the guys Jordan dealt with, Gerald Wilkins (6'6" 195), Craig Ehlo (6'6" 181), John Starks (6'3" 190). There weren't wing guys even remotely near LeBron's size, he would have destroyed teams defensively.

Sure it would have made him a better defender, but his offense is what I am referring to.
 

CyJack13

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How often do you see zone defense in the NBA? Not too often. Non-factor.

Well the only team that has beat LeBron in a playoff series in the last four years did it with a defense using lots of zone concepts that would have been illegal back in Jordan's playing days.
 

Cyclonesince78

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Well the only team that has beat LeBron in a playoff series in the last four years did it with a defense using lots of zone concepts that would have been illegal back in Jordan's playing days.

Jordan would have preferred the zone compared to the constant double and triple teams that he faced. Jordan never was single covered.
 

CyHawk7

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Yeah it always cracks me up when people think the hand checking rules would negatively affect the guy who's 6'8" 260 lbs and a freak athlete. He's got an inch and 50 lbs on Dennis Rodman who was one of the best defensive players ever. LeBron would probably have been the greatest defender ever with those rules.

While he definitely has the physical attributes I really don't think he is mentally aggressive enough to really excerpt himself with that rule. I don't care what his weight and size is I'll take Jordan every time if it's a one on one situation between the two. A prime example would be in the all star game a couple years ago when Kobe (similar size to Jordan) single handedly shut down LeBron when the game got competitive in the fourth quarter including a couple "return to senders".

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6XxsN8jITds
 

Clark

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Jordan would have preferred the zone compared to the constant double and triple teams that he faced. Jordan never was single covered.

it was illegal to double off the ball in Jordan's day. Lebron doesn't face many true zone defenses but he faces zone-like defenses every single game. The days of true man to man defense have been dead for years. That's why guys who can't shoot kill offenses more now than they did in Jordan's prime. Now that guys defender can sag close to the paint to cut off driving lanes.
 

Cyclonesince78

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We can go back and forth about differences between each era, but the bottom line undisputed fact is that it was much more difficult to score in the 80's and 90's because of the rules. Ask any analyst or nba expert and all of them will agree with that. Phil Jackson said Jordan would average like 50 points a game in today's nba. Lebron fans can try to manufacture this into a debate, but there is no debate.