OKC THUNDER

[RonTheSavage]

Originally Posted by Spyder

How about LeBron miraculously recovering from that gun shot wound last night? Screaming in agony on the bench and nearly falling out of his chair.. oh... wait...he wasn't shot? That was only a cramp?

Midol should sponsor LeBron, not Nike. I'm not a bitter Cleveland fan either, though I am a Cleveland fan. I am also a fan of the underdog and humility and can't stand arrogance so I'm rooting for OKC.

I still have OKC taking this in Game 7.

This series is over and it will be official come Thursday. Do you really think Lebron was faking? They actually took him out of the game in the final seconds so something had to have been wrong. He "recovered" enough to limp off the floor after the game. To me arrogance was OKC last night in the first quarter, Westbrook posing after hitting shots, Durant (who is a nice kid) trash talking DWade, Ibaka calling LeBron out for not being a great defender.

Im not calling you out, you're from Ohio so you have reasons to not like Lebron and I kind of understand. I just dont think the kid is as bad as some people make it seem.

[djbarnes]

Originally Posted by Spyder

I still have OKC taking this in Game 7.

Wow, that's sticking to your guns.  I applaud that.  I'm no Heat or Lebron fan, but that's quite an unlikely prediction.  If Harden and the rest of the OKC supporting cast were wilting this bad under the pressure of a non-elimination game 4, they are done.  Period, end of story.

--Donnie

[Spyder]

Originally Posted by RonTheSavage

This series is over and it will be official come Thursday. Do you really think Lebron was faking? They actually took him out of the game in the final seconds so something had to have been wrong. He "recovered" enough to limp off the floor after the game. To me arrogance was OKC last night in the first quarter, Westbrook posing after hitting shots, Durant (who is a nice kid) trash talking DWade, Ibaka calling LeBron out for not being a great defender.

Im not calling you out, you're from Ohio so you have reasons to not like Lebron and I kind of understand. I just dont think the kid is as bad as some people make it seem.

I don't think you're calling me out, it's just sports talk. I honestly, never really cared for LeBron because of the way he carries himself. He's a freak talent and a hell of a basketball player, top 20 all-time for sure and he's got plenty of game left in his career.

You're right on the OKC arrogance as well. I also think it contributed to their loss. In my opinion, Westbrook would not be taking 20+ shots a game and scoring 40 points. The ball would be going to Durant, Hardin and Fisher and I would use Westbrook like Rondo to open plays and determine the pace of the game. Westbrook is a 1 track guard that thinks "drive the lane" first.

I don't have that "hatred" of LeBron for leaving Cleveland. I just dislike his character and the way that he left was just... really stupid. I can't think of words for it besides being an arrogant kid with a terrible management team of his high school buddies. But , put me in the same position in my early 20's, with an opportunity to make millions in Miami and avoid the Cleveland snow... hell I may leave too - as would 90% of his haters.

I just think there's something fishy with the series and think it will go Game 7. Hard for me to think like that because I'm not a conspiracy theorist or anything, but something just doesn't feel right if that makes any sense.

[iacas]

Midol should sponsor LeBron, not Nike. I'm not a bitter Cleveland fan either, though I am a Cleveland fan. I am also a fan of the underdog and humility and can't stand arrogance so I'm rooting for OKC.

Midol sponsors Nike? :-)

[RonTheSavage]

Originally Posted by Spyder

I don't think you're calling me out, it's just sports talk. I honestly, never really cared for LeBron because of the way he carries himself. He's a freak talent and a hell of a basketball player, top 20 all-time for sure and he's got plenty of game left in his career.

You're right on the OKC arrogance as well. I also think it contributed to their loss. In my opinion, Westbrook would not be taking 20+ shots a game and scoring 40 points. The ball would be going to Durant, Hardin and Fisher and I would use Westbrook like Rondo to open plays and determine the pace of the game. Westbrook is a 1 track guard that thinks "drive the lane" first.

I don't have that "hatred" of LeBron for leaving Cleveland. I just dislike his character and the way that he left was just... really stupid. I can't think of words for it besides being an arrogant kid with a terrible management team of his high school buddies. But, put me in the same position in my early 20's, with an opportunity to make millions in Miami and avoid the Cleveland snow... hell I may leave too - as would 90% of his haters.

I just think there's something fishy with the series and think it will go Game 7. Hard for me to think like that because I'm not a conspiracy theorist or anything, but something just doesn't feel right if that makes any sense.

Everything you said about Lebron is totally fair. Im a Lebron fan and apologist and even I cringed at "The Decision" and the not 1 not 2, 3,4, 7 etc. championship thing. My one knock of him is like you mentioned his "team" of well paid yes men around him. None of his pals told him that the decision was a PR nightmare? They all deserve to be fired for that alone.

As far as the series goes, fishy and the NBA have gone hand in hand for years. From Patrick Ewing ending up in NY up to this years draft lottery. I do believe basketball is the hardest sport to officiate, but this entire postseason has been really bad. Im not gonna complain too much becasue MIA has gotten a ton of calls. The "fan" in me wants to contribute that to Miami being the more agressive team and getting rewarded for attacking the rim. And Serge Ibaka believes he's gonna swat every shot in the fourth row so like you said the youth of OKC is contributing to their losses.

[Spyder]

Very funny, Erik. lol I figured someone would call me out on that.

I took a long hiatus from the boards after the birth of my son,but it sure is nice to be back now!

[iacas]

Very funny, Erik. lol I figured someone would call me out on that.

I don't care about basketball one bit, but that stood out, so I had to comment. :-) Welcome BACK!

[Kapanda]

Originally Posted by iacas

I don't care about basketball one bit, but that stood out, so I had to comment.

Welcome BACK!

Man, didn't even recognise iacas with that new avatar!

Anyway, wanted to comment before the end of tonight's game and say this: for you guys that resent James for his arrogance: have you guys never been arrogant in your life? Especially when you were young, like James is?

[Kapanda]

There you have it!

1 down, "not 7"-1 to go!

[Spyder]

Good for him. I was pulling for OKC but you have to give props to the better team.

[djbarnes]

Originally Posted by Spyder

I just think there's something fishy with the series and think it will go Game 7. Hard for me to think like that because I'm not a conspiracy theorist or anything, but something just doesn't feel right if that makes any sense.

Well, apparently they wanted to silence this particular conspiracy theory now.  Plus let Miami win it at home.  :)

--Donnie

[Kieran123]

Done

[RonTheSavage]

Very happy for the Heat!

[Gresh24]

Originally Posted by jamo

Nope.

Wade - 22.6 PPG  6.0 REB  5.2 ASST 1.4 STL  1.2 BLK  .406 FG%

Harden - 12.4 PPG  4.8 REB  3.6 ASST  1.2 STL  0 BLK  .375 FG%

[jamo]

Wade - 22.6 PPG  6.0 REB  5.2 ASST 1.4 STL  1.2 BLK  .406 FG% Harden - 12.4 PPG  4.8 REB  3.6 ASST  1.2 STL  0 BLK  .375 FG%

Wow! You're right, a five-game series is much more indicative of their abilities than an entire season of statistics.

[Gresh24]

Originally Posted by jamo

Wow! You're right, a five-game series is much more indicative of their abilities than an entire season of statistics.

Yeah, why use the Finals as a gauge?

It speaks to the HUGE disparity in the two players.  My goodness, Wade is a first ballot HOF'er who put on one of the most dominating and impressive Finals performances ever ('06), and has been a top 5 player in the entire league for his career.

Harden doesn't even start , and was completely lost in the Finals.

Sorry, but to say they are a wash was about the craziest basketball analogy I've ever heard.  I could give you a list of 30 NBA players with regular season stats the same as Hardens and even close to Wade.

They are NO WHERE close to one another.

[djbarnes]

Originally Posted by Gresh24

Yeah, why use the Finals as a gauge?

It speaks to the HUGE disparity in the two players.  My goodness, Wade is a first ballot HOF'er who put on one of the most dominating and impressive Finals performances ever ('06), and has been a top 5 player in the entire league for his career.

Harden doesn't even start, and was completely lost in the Finals.

Sorry, but to say they are a wash was about the craziest basketball analogy I've ever heard.  I could give you a list of 30 NBA players with regular season stats the same as Hardens and even close to Wade.

They are NO WHERE close to one another.

I agree with everything you've said above, but I will say this...it will be interesting to see how OKC grows from this.  Assuming they don't lose any major pieces and keep building, a guy like Harden *should* be much better down the stretch next year.  Wade is a better player and always will be, but Wade has a lot of experience that Harden doesn't have but *is* getting.  And Durant is a little behind Lebron in that department, too.

OKC will still be very interesting to watch, and if they play in the finals again next year with similar squads, I don't see it going 4-1, anyway.  And Harden's numbers will be MUCH better, though still probably not Wade's.

--Donnie

[VoidOfEnigmas]

The thunder is a young team, they seem to fall apart when its late in the game, I think next year they'll come back strong and lose 4-3 to miami in the finals.