Even if you do not follow the NBA, I am sure that even you know the Warriors and Cavs were (baring Lebron, Steph, Kyrie, Durant, Love, etc. getting hurt) going to meet in the NBA finals AGAIN this year. Now neither has punched their ticket yet, however if you do not believe this will happen for the third straight year you are delusional or a Celtics or Spurs fan who has too much hope.
Now I am not a big NBA guy, however I find this super team debate extremely entertaining. Many say that this is bad for the league. In my opinion, this is the best thing for the NBA. I will tune in and watch Lebron vs. the Warriors for the third straight year, but if it was Toronto vs. Utah? I'm not watching that. I don't care enough about basketball to watch that, but the storyline in this series is incredible. Can the best player in the world beat a super team? Does Kyrie own Steph again this year? Does Durant make the difference? Does Draymond kick someone else in the privates? I am tuning in to watch this, and I imagine most of the public is doing the same.
What do you guys think of these "super teams"?
Who do you have winning the NBA finals?
If you oppose super teams, what is your solution? Why do you think they are bad for the league?
Does anyone know the odds of Draymond kicking someone in the privates this year?!
The NBA is terrible. Cavs and Warriors will both probably sweep the conference finals. It's the only league where you know what the Finals matchup will be before the season starts. Unlike the NHL, where the Predators (the last team to make the playoffs) might win. Or where baseball is a total toss up. Even the NFL has several teams that could win the super bowl at the time the playoffs start.
I'm saying that as someone who actually likes basketball for the most part. Nothing like march madness.
While I agree with a good portion of that, I argue that the Cavs and Warriors are great for the league. I am very excited to watch the finals. Could not care less about the regular season. How many regular season games do you watch for NHL or MLB? I am a huge fan of both, and find myself only watching highlights or looking at apps for updates. But when the playoffs come on I generally try to watch games, especially during the final round of any sport.
The only regular season that I consistently watch is the NFL's. I'll only watch the NBA in the Finals, but I start in round 1 with the NHL and MLB.
Go preds!
MJ won 3 in a row, took a break, won 3 more in a row. Lakers won 3 in a row with shaq/ kobe. Then 2 more with Kobe/ Gasol. Celtics won 8 in a row. Lakers won 4 with magic, Celtics won 3 with Larry Legend. LeBron pretty much always goes to the finals and has three. Spurs have 5. Rockets have 2. Other than that one off Dallas championship, NBA has ALWAYS been a league of superteams. This conversation is ridiculous. Remove the Celtics and Lakers championships and thats like ~50% (rough guess here) of the championships.
Ratings are up double digit percentages across all networks so obviously people like it. I just love the NBA in general anyways
No, this is an idea that is perpetuated by a society that has zero attention span. If you look at the teams that I have been to the NBA finals in history, it's the Lakers, Celtics, Spurs, Bulls. There is no parity in the NBA and that's the way it's been. The question is do we want the NBA to be like the NHL?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_NBA_champions
I agree with this, I love the NBA the way it currently is. No reason to change it.
Life long Celtics fan checking in, firstly I agree with a lot of the stuff already said on this thread. I feel like a lot of the NBA relies on a super team to come together to make the finals/win a championship, it is why teams that don't have a some what super team fall by the wayside and don't win. This is of course very different to the NCAA where upsets happen all the time due to the level of play/not having NBA bodies yet.
Personally, I know my C's are going to get crushed against the Cavs but I can only hope that we trade the 1st overall pick and then get a Butler/Hayward/George and then forge somewhat of our own super team in order to challenge the Cavs properly in the ECF.
There are a lot of teams that a solid, well rounded teams, but if they do not have 3/4 exceptional players, they just aren't going to make it to the finals - it is just the game of basketball. It isn't like soccer, where upsets can happen due to the pace of the game, coaching styles, etc. basketball is such a fast paced game, it is tough to see a huge upset, unless one team can't buy a bucket.
TL;DR - It is how the NBA has always been, if you want to watch pure basketball without super teams, watch the NCAA.
No, kinda like business/life/school etc. - it's the bad teams that make the NBA bad.
People need to stop ripping on success and greatness of those that put in the work or have the talent (or whatever you call it) and start shaming the mediocre and under-performing.
These have been the least exciting playoffs I have ever watched. Both conf finals are completely lopsided.
KD fucked up the NBA, Zaza fucked up the WCF this year by injuring Kawhi (deliberate). The first game of the West speaks volumes to Kawhi's impact (the Spurs were something like +22 with him and -21 without him), it's a damn shame what happened. Thankfully, LeBron flipped the switch (the man is truly something special to witness) so we should see a close finals.
Before Warriors superteam formed, you had 3 viable contenders for West (OKC, GSW, SAS). After KD does his thang, there should only be one West contender but Kawhi is better than all 4 stars on GSW combined so that made things interesting. Zaza is a fucking dick, thus things got boring.
Cavs jinxed themselves with the Monstars theme song
My favorite team of all time is the 2003-04 Pistons, who beat a super team Lakers if anyone remembers. All of the players were good but I don't believe any of them made All-NBA first team (could be wrong, too lazy to check). It's fun to root for the underdog, and I'm not a fan of overstacking a team just to win. Functional over flash, but I'm sure I'm in the vast minority here.
Probably one of the biggest NBA what-if's is if Joe Dumars drafted Carmelo Anthony instead of that bum Darko Miličić. That team becomes a dynasty and you're probably looking at 3 or 4 championships at least, IMO.
This is a product of the absurd amount of TV money that the NBA is getting. GS can afford to have FOUR max contracts and more than enough left to sign good players. When there's that much money going around, and the cap is as high as it is now, that leads to top talent being pulled to a handful of teams and the rest of the NBA (like the other 75%) is left way overpaying for decent to good players.
GSW does not have Klay or Steph on the max yet bro, and since top players are commanding the same % of the cap as before (their pay is going up with the cap), it should have no effect.
Hmm, well then Charles Barkley needs to get his facts straight!
Either way, mediocre players are getting a huge payraise that's not warranted.
The NBA is almost unwatchable this year! The whole season is a practical joke amongst the players until playoffs start. I'm so tired of watching these soft ass sorority girl jogs by the defense when the ball changes possession. My aunt whose 43 puts more effort into her morning runs! AND WHY are so many lay-ups going uncontested in the paint? Defense in today's game is so porous they couldn't hold a friggin cup of water.
AND lets set the record straight for all of these invertebrates filling the ranks of the NBA. NO grown ass man (with a working skeletal system) should ever turn into wet spaghetti when taking a light forearm check from a shooting guard... Unless you are entirely made of fucking ectoplasm, stay on your feet!!!
Whatever happened to the 1980's and how how badass basketball used to be. When an offensive player would take an elbow to the chops, finish his layup, and sprint back on D. Skill level was also more evenly distributed. The Detroit bad boys for being a completely rag tag group of guys made it to the finals three or more times. I want to see they hay day, in todays game! I want to see effort, blood, and sweat!
For now, I'll stick to watching hockey. Regardless of how you view the sport, at least when a hockey player takes a 80mph puck deflection off his nose. He's not carted off the rink on a stretcher... He skates over to the bench, the trainer sets his nose back in place, and he's back in the game on his next shift. That's professionalism. That's dedication.
Instead, a sprained pinky gets you a two game rest in the NBA... absolutely pitiful.
you're such a tough guy bro.
Maybe I'm avant-garde for thinking those who make $15+ million a year should be held to a higher standard of performance. We often forget that athletes are entertainers at the end of the day, and if they're not entertaining... what is the point in all of their unnecessary calisthenics?
Why watch basketball when you can get hand-jobs from anonymous bitches wearing Amazonian jaguar masks?
This is a very good point. I'll have to ruminate on this, maybe write a 500 page book.
To get money all leagues need superstars. Superstars will always get the benefit of the doubt (Brady, Woods, Lebron)
NBA is almost turning into the real life Harlem Globetrotters.
I honestly find concerning the fact that top European football (soccer) clubs want to ditch national championships to create an European super league on the model of the NBA, out of sheer greed, because I know it'd end up exactly like the problem this thread is underlining.
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