For one Rockets are playing very well, but there are a few other reasons why their sets aren't working.

1) No big. Give McGee/ZaZa/West all the **** you want, but they set some great screens and McGee creates space with his roll to the basket. West is also a great passer. Obviously you can't play them against the Rockets because they are a liability at the other end.
2) 40+ minutes is an issue for a motion offense.
3) Iggy being out
4) Mental pressure
5) Livingston mid range jump shot has deserted him. Livingston isolation is a great "rest" play that the Warriors run to rest the other players on the court. But, he can't make one to save his life.

Why aren't the bigs playing at all? Just a matchup thing? Kerr being dumb?

ya so? I am saying with one of their best and most integral players out then the cavs are decent dogs to win but have a shot. and the celts are slight favorites.

not really sure what your issue is.

Match-up. They would both be toast against Harden and Paul.

Looney has actually been fantastic for a "big".

and it looks like I massively overestimated their chance of winning a game vs the warriors given they are 10 pt dogs tomorrow.

Houston without CP3 (he'd actually probably only miss the first few games), with home court advantage against a team that is 1 and 5 on the road and missing two All Star quality players should be (and would be) comfortable favorites.

It absolutely amazes me that in the history of team sports LeBron is the only player that the media and fans are constantly saying"He needs help!!!!!" Why did no one ever say that about Dirk? He did the most with the least around him. He didn't run to a team with better players, he played the hand he was dealt and eventually won a championship. No one cried for Marino "get him more help. Waaaaah he can't win by himself!!!!".

It's nauseating all the excuses people make for Lebron. Magic, Jordan, Bird, Duncan all built dynasties on the team they were drafted. Too much to ask of the Queen. His legacy will always be LeBron "I need help" James

You obviously realize that Dirk had plenty of help.

Also, he only won a chip because of a LeBron choke. I mean, you still need to win it, but if LeBron only half turns up and Dirk has zero chips.

It's because since LeBron was essentially a child people have been manipulated by Nike/Media/NBA to think he's the next GOAT and the guy they should worship.

So when it didn't pan out they couldn't risk losing on their investment so just continue to pump out massive PR campaigns trying to trick people into believing it. Tens of millions a year and countless man hours is nothing in the grand scheme compared to the billions the great lie has generated.

No one would beleieve the size and scope of the LeBron PR campaign. Literally thousands of people invovled, people whose full time job it is to troll the internet calling him the GOAT.


It's actually hard to blame some of you for being fooled/duped by it. I pity you mostly.

I would bet, with absolute certainty, if there were a way to prove it, that there have been posts in 2p2 made by someone who was receiving financial incentive to call LeBron the GOAT. Like multiple times throughout the years.

Like I'm as sure of it as I am that grass is green.

lol

The most help he had was Jason Terry.

Chandler was DPOY level and perfect fit w/Dirk.
Probably a top ten player in Dirk’s title year.

Its a great example of how the bar constantly gets lowered for Lebron. Cleveland is such a city full of losers that people act like Lebron bringing one title to them is the greatest accomplishment ever. Meanwhile MJ stayed with the team that drafted him his entire career and brought 6 titles to the Bulls franchise who have never even been to the finals before or after MJ and has only even been to the conference finals once in their entire history without MJ (DRose in '11). But I guess since Lebron is the only successful person who ever lived in Cleveland that somehow makes his 1 title in 11 years with the team that drafted him a more impressive feat Duncan/MJ winning 5/6 titles with the teams that drafted them.

the people who constantly dwell on lebron "needing help" are his detractors.

yea pretty much it is more impressive.

also, lebron doesnt, and never has, lived in cleveland.

Wouldn’t surprise me at all actually!
They did it on Facebook with fake news to elect trump ...

Well stop blaming his teammates when lebron lose when it ain’t always the case .

Focused on his accomplishments instead of trying to find excuses for his failure .

Pretty sure MJ needed help it's why he was considerably less successful in the 80s than the 90s. But is that forgotten too?

Pretty sure Shaq couldn't win till Kobe got good. Kobe also couldn't win till they sniped Pau and got Odom.

Pretty sure Robinson couldn't win till Duncan was there.

Detroit needed Sheed to get over the edge.

Duncan likely wouldn't win much if his team didn't draft Parker or Manu or Kawhi or if he didn't have Pop.

Hell Hakeem won a title and they got him Drexler and then won another and they got him Barkley.

Pretty sure GSW isn't winning without their big 3 or big 4 which added Durant.

Dirk might be the only guy to not "win with any help" but he's the only guy other than Hakeem to do it without much.

It's amazing how little one side actually follows the NBA or realizes that in order to win in the NBA if you're the GOAT or just a great player, you likely need 2+ other HOFers or all-star level players to win especially multiple titles. Lebron needs help just like every other great had help. Magic had 1 super HOFer and Worthy. Bird had McHale and Parish.

But Lebron needs to win with **** to prove he's great when most other greats haven't. Another silly and stupid point. If Lebron's teams were to have gotten other greats (in their primes) let's say through the draft or FA, especially during his first tenure there maybe he would have stayed. Additionally, you guys are comparing eras where great players never moved through FA to other teams to ones where it's pretty common. All players need help. Even Dirk didn't have great help, he still have old ass Kidd, Terry, Chandler and Marion, Deshawn. Chandler and Terry were really great during the finals.

Guys MJ lead 6 really good title teams when it came to regular season SRS, Orat and Drat--he led insanely good teams when it comes to the era and across eras. If you think he didn't have help or a great system or just don't watch basketball. His teams were considerably better in the 90s than the 80s, while MJ was equally good statistically in both eras. So if that's the case, you would assume maybe he learned some things but maybe his teammates got better. Also didn't hurt that Lakers/Celtics/Pistons finally faded but even so, the Bulls were a lot better than their competition. That's just not Jordan doing that. That's the entire team/system.

Kyrie won without any help in 2016

Nobody is saying that other players did it alone. But the "he needs help" narrative has never been used by another athlete except for LeBron.

Who's paying the people who argue back at the LeBron lovers?

Because if no one argued back then the conversation would stop.

Awesome work by the LeBron team to have people on both sides of the argument...

Pretty sure people thought MJ needed help in the 80s.

Pretty sure Cavs are literally the dumbest organization in NBA history when it comes to winning especially during their first tenure and not that smart this tenure.

Yeah, do you know guys who need help that didn't get it.

I'll give you a list. Let me know what you think of them:

Barkley
Cp3-finally got some great one and finally in the WCF
Malone/Stockton
RWB-had some and finally got more and still suck
Ewing
Tracy

Really weird picks there?

You've just picked guys that didn't win a championships. They all had help.

You've even put Stockton and Malone on the same line.

Yeah I picked guys who are great but never had help, to most of the guys are your side it's ones who didn't win titles. Some eventually got it, hell some were put on "super teams" at the wrong times in their careers. Point is most of the guys who didnt' get help are 2nd tier afterthoughts in the line of greatness. KD could have been one of those guys if he didn't intervene. Lebron definitely intervened. I have no problem with it, but it's a huge mark against Lebron. It literally was mentioned in multiple posts.

A ton of greats or 2nd tier greats never got help and all I bet wish they had some or more. There are reasons why they never won it all. Likely one is they weren't that good but likely their teams were not that good. MBP just said you never hear about it, I'm pretty sure he just ignores it.

Pretty sure if we go across sports you have guys like Bonds or other greats stuck with mediocre teams that wish that either had better org, luck or teammates or all 3. Hell the Capitals and Ovechkin has been dealing with this stigma his entire career up till now.

Pretty sure MJ is looked way down upon if Phil/Pippen didn't come abroad and let's say never won a title or daresay lost in the Finals eventhough he shouldn't have been. In the NBA when you're great the only way they compare you is by rings--it's why Kobe is sometimes in the casual fans conversation of greatest all time. Seems silly for a great not to ring chase to me.