Goombah,

Delly is the only guy who could bait DG into a tech...and if they guard each other on some kind of switch, you might see Delly do just that.


It's not just you noticing the fouls...outside of AI, who guard Lebron pretty well and has mastered getting clean swipes at the ball as defender is pulling up, gsw clogs the lane and everybody reaches or grabs Lebron as he's moving...refs don't call it and if not, gsw is smart for continuing to do it.

Also...no scoring big man in there for Cavs....no Mozgov. Bron, by instinct and basketball iq, drives to the lane to either score or dish. With a scoring big man in there for the Cavs....Bron would either draw the opposing big man and dish it to TM..or the defense would collapse when he drives giving TM an easier chance for rebound . As it is now...before Game 3, Bron drives into the lane against his defender....gsw players stay at home and maybe reach at him...defense doesn't collapse and gsw big man starts boxing out the moment Bron shoots.

Both teams have depth but I think Cavs have better variety of talent, so Lue has more options for adjustments.
Before Mark Jackson mentioned it..I didn't know that RJ played for GSW recently...but if you notice...he fits the mold of most of their players....6'6"-6'9" athletic wing player...he can switch on anybody gsw has..even the centers because he's strong and has bulk to him. He's the Cavs version of Iggy and he's giving them fits now.

Allegedly NBA is looking at groin shot that Draymond threw at LBJ.May be suspended.
It should be multiple games because he hits people in balls all throughout. the playoffs.

DRAYMOND suspended for game 5.

You called it,Goombah.

Now...what's the 3 digit lottery number for Monday?

This suspension is nothing more than a ratings grab by NBA. Putting GS at a small disadvantage for a home game. If they really wanted to punish GS, Green would've been suspended for two games vs OKC. But the NBA couldn't risk having its teddy bear player (Curry) not play in the Finals.

The Cavs choked away Game 4. Lue stupidly burned his guys out playing LeBron, Irving, & Smith the entire 2nd half. LeBron cannot win without Wade or another alpha dog.

LeBron came to play tonight.Love and Shumpert need to go.

Game 6 in Cleveland.
Pressure is on GSW.

Shumpert has never looked worse than during this series. He played with one good arm last year vs. GS and was exponentially better. I have no idea what has happened with Kevn Love.

For one game at least, LeBron found his alpha dog in Cleveland. I'm not convinced that the Cavs can win Game 6 even at home. Hopefully Bogut is done for the series and Green will try to do too much after his suspension.

LeBron watches the Godfather II for inspiration before Game 5:
http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2016/06/the_godfather_part_ii_scenes_t.html

Cool article,Goombah...I think it's KL who betrayed Lebron and broke his heart though..

DG only knows one way to play....and he's gonna have to dial it back..which can hurt GSW. No Bogut...means Cavs can drive to the rim and finish.

Cavs can win... but everybody has to show up ....can't expect Bron and KI to light it up again.

I'm not the biggest K Love fan, but I think he's getting a bad rap. He does not match up well vs GS. Then again they give lots of players fits. He's also coming off a concussion after being elbowed in the head. Not making excuses, but the guy is 18 pt/10 reb player the rest of the time.

I think Lue must figure out how to integrate Frye & Mozgov to go with a 9 man rotation. The 7 player rotation will kill the Cavs - just look at last year. All of the bench can spell the starters for a few minutes.

Goombah,

Love's skillset should make him a lot more useful in this series than he has been. Lot of the roster are specialists..and one dimensional players...so you play them as situation dictates...and yank them if they aren't performing in the one thing they do well. KL can do so many things, ideally he's supposed to be eating GSW defenders up.Who on that roster can guard him? He's just shrinking under the pressure.


I agree, expand the rotation...let Mozgov bang the GSW "bigs" around

Love is shrinking under the pressure there's no denying. His Game 5 play was particularly puzzling given Green's suspsension. But Green is a matchup nightmare for Love given Love's slowness.

Goombah,

I still need you to tell me the lottery number for Thursday because baiting Green into that tech might have altered sports history, and you're the only one that I read ANYWHERE talk about using that tactic.

I'd like to take credit, but here's more likely what happened. The league got much more bad PR than it anticipated for its inaction with Green's kicks in the OKC series. Then Green hit LeBron in the groin. Had it been anyone but LeBron, the NBA would have again looked the other way. But the league realized they could win by suspending Green and extending the series, thus generating more revenue.

My dream scenario for Game 6 is that someone deep on the Cavs bench drop kicks Green in the groin. Or Green slips on the floor and accidentally kicks Curry in the packagae, thereby killing two birds with one stone.

Goombah,


I agree with the league's motivation. I give Lebron credit for the crafty vet move of baiting DG and then speaking about the altercation to the press to draw attention to it. You are right that if it wasn't Lebron.....there wouldn't have been a tech levied AFTER the fact.

If you recall, and time really does fly, last year...Mike Miller left the bench after an altercation between Lebron and Bogut during the Finals....and because no reporter mentioned it...NBA didn't sit Miller for the next game.

NBA front office and refs are making a mockery of the rules going on two years straight.
The Lebron-DG altercation happened RIGHT in front of a ref..and it was after DG set a MOVING SCREEN..and then held Bron's arm to keep him from going around him...



sets illegal screen at 1:20..REF is RIGHT there...you've been calling this out for weeks,Goombah.


The game AFTER DG should have gotten tossed for kicking Adams....he was blatantly doing fake tough guy tactics....as though he was untouchable...I think now with the hammer coming down on him....he'll tone down the nonsense for fear of getting another T.

Bogut out for rest of Finals.

I think the Cavs will go after Green early since he'll be playing center with Bogut out. It's incumbent upon Cleveland to get him into early foul trouble. That frustration may lead to a technical, or better yet, a flagrant.

The other strong possibility is that Green plays timid and doesn't fould, thereby giving LeBron and/or Kyrie easy shots at the hoop.

Goombah,

Cavs should dominate the boards.
GSW is going to continue to reach in on driving players as long as refs allow it...they will do it more now that Bogut isn't available.

I'd play lineup of KI,LBJ,RJ,KL,TT for key stretches.....with RJ hounding Klay on defense.


Glad that refs have been called out by Van Gundy on national tv for getting lot of calls wrong..including getting fooled by AV and his flops. DG is under the microscope and I dn't think he's the same player without the fake tough guy antics (and the illegal screens he ALWAYS sets)

I caught last 20 minutes of the game.

If NBA does what it 's supposed to do...which is to suspend the player who threw something that hit a fan.....I'll watch part of game 7....standing on my head.

Kerr's comments about the officiating are true. But he conveniently overlooks all the ticky tack calls against Cleveland. Love got his 3rd foul early 2nd quarter on a play where he grazed Green. Another Cav hacked him. Then how about the Varaejo flop in Game 5 where Dellavedova gets whistled.

GS reminds me of entitled children. Then again, Kerr, Thompson, & Curry all grew up that way.

The biggest takeaway is Iguodola's back. He had absolutely no lift and was not the same guarding LeBron as he had been. If he can't go, or is limited, that spells trouble for GS's smaller lineup.

Cavs have momentum and I think the Warriors are a little panicked. Doesn't mean anything, but I think the pressure is much more on GS.

CAVS WIN!!!!!!


Goombah, congrats......

Thank you. I am still in shock. LBJ block near end of the game broke the will of GS.

I will cherish this forever!!!!

The definitive play of Game 7. If JR Smith doesn't alter Iguodala's angle, I'm not sure LeBron gets the block.

Goombah,
Maximum effort wins championships.



To quote opposing characters from a great film


"Never Stop. Never Stop fighting until the fight is done"


"You got an all out prize fight...you wait until the fight is done and there's one guy left standing. And that's how you know who won"


I'd say last night's win ranks up there with Giants beating undefeated Patriots in the Superbowl. Down 3-1 to team with best regular season record....and 2 X MVP.

This summed up my feelings about GS at the beginning of the series. I'll admit they were tougher than I gave them credit for and that 73 wins was no accident. The Cavs just out physicaled GS in the final 3 games.

Rocky vs. Mr. T.

Goombah,

did you make it to the parade?

Yes I did, Getthesenets. I texted my boss 30 minutes after the game to request to attend. I took my son & it was a very enjoyable day. He snapped pretty good pics while sitting on my shoulders.

This is my favorite aerial shot.

[img]http://m.imgur.com/ZTBz6Ff?r[/img]

Nice.

Your son is gonna grow up thinking rings and finals appearances are normal in "The Land"

I thought it was a classy move for Ernest Byner to be invited to the activities.

Again, congrats Goombah and look forward to the 2016-17 NBA thread.

Thanks Getthesenets. It's been great talking hoops with you. I thoroughly enjoy your perspective.

What do you think will happen with Durant? I hope that he goes anywhere but Golden State. Although I think having 3 big scorers might be difficult to make everyone happy when there's only one ball.

Likewise,Goombah.

I can't think of where KD might land. Veteran, high IQ point guards don't grow on trees...but if OKC can land one...KD's best chance for a ring is team he is on now.

Think he might have outgrown the small market Thunder though and wants to play on a bigger stage.

You're right about him potentially messing up the chemistry of GSW.

I agree the point guard spot is tough. Earlier this week, Mike & Mike were saying that Westbrook's contract with OKC is up next year. I think that's where the choice gets tougher for KD. If he thinks (or knows) that Westbrook is bolting, do they stay for one more try in 2017?

I wonder whether San Antonio might be a better fit, particuarly if Duncan retires. Then there is a young nucleus of KD, Aldridge, and Leonard. That's a powerful big three, even though KD & Leonard play the same position. They might just go with a small lineup to match the speed of GS. It could even put KD in the pivot at times.

Goombah,

I had no clue which way the KD decision would turn out, announcement coming down today.