This One Time At Sports-Camp

Ganymede

@tragedyjones said:

My next game will be set in Cleveland.

Why the fuck in the name of everything holy would you do that?

Arkandel

@tragedyjones said:

My next game will be set in Cleveland.

Is it because the Cavs are likely to win it all this year? You bandwagoner.

Ganymede

@Arkandel said:

Is it because the Cavs are likely to win it all this year? You bandwagoner.

You're being sarcastic, right?

So long as the Cavs play in the East, they will never be likely to win. This is because they will never be adequately tested.

Arkandel

Any team that puts LeBron in his prime out on the floor is likely to win it all. ANY TEAM.

Ganymede

@Arkandel said:

Any team that puts LeBron in his prime out on the floor is likely to win it all. ANY TEAM.

Say, how did that work out last year when the Warriors won by using an aged Andre Iguodala?

Basketball is a numbers-game. Always. LeBron isn't Marty Brodeur or Tom Brady. He's one of five necessary parts, and if all of them ain't working properly, your machine will fail.

Arkandel

@Ganymede said:

@Arkandel said:

Any team that puts LeBron in his prime out on the floor is likely to win it all. ANY TEAM.

Say, how did that work out last year when the Warriors won by using an aged Andre Iguodala?

The team was decimated by injuries - Kyrie and KLove were both out for a while, Dellie did his best but he ran out of fumes without a backup... it was exhaustion that did them in.

This year if they stay healthy? Well, the Spurs can't be counted out (Timmy is about to hit his peak after all) and KD is back! But I'd still count the Cavs as favorites. Same roster that brought them to the finals, just improved and hungry.

And LeBron. The guy is a cyborg.

Monogram

If Love and Irving had both been healthy for those finals, I do believe that series would've been a lot more interesting. And I think the Cavs would've had a lot better odds at winning. As it was, the only reason the Cavs got the wins they did in the finals was because Lebron drug them to it. But he's not Superman. Impressive display regardless.

And goddamnit, my Bucks will be relevant this years.
proceeds to say that and goes to cry in the corner

Arkandel

@Monogram said:

And goddamnit, my Bucks will be relevant this years.
proceeds to say that and goes to cry in the corner

I love the Bucks. Antetokounmpo is awesome, I watched him before he left Greece. Long-armed freaks, the lot of your team.

Ganymede

@Arkandel said:

This year if they stay healthy? Well, the Spurs can't be counted out (Timmy is about to hit his peak after all) and KD is back! But I'd still count the Cavs as favorites. Same roster that brought them to the finals, just improved and hungry.

I didn't say that I counted the Cavs out. I said they should never be considered the likely winner of the Finals because they are in the East. This is because they will never be properly tested.

The Warriors are coming back with Curry, Thompson (Klay), Green, Bogut, and Barnes. They still have Iguodala and McAdoo. They won last year; the Cavs did not.

If you want to argue that a fully-healthy Cavs team would beat the Warriors? I'd get into that debate. But the Cavs aren't young, they aren't deep, and they depend too much on their Top 3 for production. Thompson (Tristan) is a joke. J.R. Smith is worthless. And you better hope Mozgov takes over for the aging Varejao.

Ganymede

Dude, there's really no difference between sports and gamer geekery, except for who engages in it.

I engage in both. Because I'm awesome. I can switch to American football, baseball, or hockey, if you want. Not conversant on college sports or soccer/football.

Arkandel

@Ganymede said:

The Warriors are coming back with Curry, Thompson (Klay), Green, Bogut, and Barnes. They still have Iguodala and McAdoo. They won last year; the Cavs did not.

The GSW will not repeat. If nothing else, I don't see them coming out the West if they're matched against the Spurs or Thunder. I never had that much faith in teams so heavily reliant on 3-pointers to begin with - it was a perfect storm for them which kept them hot pretty much through the second part of the playoffs and healthy at the same time. If they had to deal with a spread defense due to KLove and chase Kyrie around instead of staying fresh and exhausting Dellie instead? Oh, that would have been a whole different story.

They never beat the Cavs, they beat LeBron who took two games from them on his own. With the rest of them behind him? Squash.

As for Varejao, the guy is over. If he can give 12-15 quality minutes a game without getting hospitalized it'll be a medical miracle.

As for the East, if the Heat stays remotely healthy this year they will be a force to be reckoned with. Their starting 5 alone are enough to decimate defenses - Bosh is a top-3 big man defender in the league and spreads the floor like hell, and his PnR with Dragic will be elite. With what's left of Stoudemire and assuming (okay, it's a bold assumption) DWade's knees don't come undone they're very good.

Also, the Bulls... maybe, if DRose finally comes back. It's his last chance to show he can still be elite, which would be a damn shame. The guy has an IQ of about 80 but damn he was good before the injuries.

Monogram

@Ganymede
I'm completely with you that the Cavs are severely lacking in depth. I do think the Warriors are a bit more overrated than everyone says they are. I feel like if the Clippers hadn't just up and imploded in the post seasons, they posed the greatest challenge to the Warriors.

Bogut is worthless. He didn't do shit on the Bucks and I personally think he's propped up by everyone else. I don't know much about Green and Barnes, but I will admit that I like Iguodala and McAdoo. As for Curry, there's just something about his play that seems off. I know that's vague, but, that's all I can say. Not saying he's not good, he's very good.

The problem is, I haven't seen anyone worthwhile challenge the Warriors, so to me, I have no idea how good they really are. Certainly no one in the East is going to prove that because there's no one in the East that's relevant beyond the Cavs. Atlanta? Maybe? San Antonio and LA Clippers are about the only teams I can think of. But goddamn are the Spurs old and the Clippers is just just dysfunctional as hell because their new owner is a gigantic boob.

Miami had the same amount of depth when they won their two championships as the Cavs do now, so I think it's still possible for the Cavs. That's a weak argument, I know, and I have no idea why I'm defending Lebron of all people. Maybe it's just because I want to see a small-market NBA team that isn't San Antonio win a championship.

Ganymede

That's all very nice, sir, but I didn't say that the Warriors will repeat. I said that the Cavs are not the likely winner of the next Finals. Here's a short list of why: (1) too dependent on LBJ; (2) too shallow; and (3) won't be seasoned.

I'd put my money on the Thunder or the Rockets before the Warriors this year.

I won't put my money on the Heat or the Bulls beating out the Cavs. The Cavs will likely win the East, but that doesn't mean they'll win it all. Anyone coming out of the West has to get through one hell of a crucible.

ThatGuyThere

@Arkandel said:

Any team that puts LeBron in his prime out on the floor is likely to win it all. ANY TEAM.

No they are likely to get to the finals. LeBron is a legit top 5 ever player but like Jerry West before him he tends to top out at the finals and not with the championship. LeBron is currently 2 - 4 in the finals. and given the strength of the West likely to face a better team then his own there each year.
Now given that the East is and will continue to be for the foreseeable future rubbish he will be in the finals again, will he win, well that all depends on the match up.

Arkandel

@Ganymede said:

The Cavs will likely win the East, but that doesn't mean they'll win it all. Anyone coming out of the West has to get through one hell of a crucible.

Fair enough, but that's not necessarily(or at least exclusively) a good thing. One team having taken a huge beating and the other being relatively fresh conveys advantages and disadvantages of its own.

Misadventure

THIS is why you don't set a game in Cleveland.

Monogram

The Thunder? Maybe if they had kept James Harden and Durant's foot didn't explode every season. But as it stands, their big pieces are likely to gtfo out of OKC in the next season or so.

EmmahSue

MOD VOICE: Topic forked so sports talkers can talk sports.

Arkandel

@Monogram said:

The Thunder? Maybe if they had kept James Harden and Durant's foot didn't explode every season. But as it stands, their big pieces are likely to gtfo out of OKC in the next season or so.

The Harden trade will spawn so many beer conversations for so many years to come.

I dunno, about OKC. If they stay healthy (and I really hope they do, it'd be terrible if the ankle injury diminished KD) they are an extremely fun team to watch with two top-10 guys on their roster. KD himself is second only to LeBron. They can go places.

What I lament is Carmelo will never be in a true contender in what's left of his prime. By the time the Knicks are able to climb out of their hole he'll be too old, and that's a shame.

ThatGuyThere

Carmelo's prime is long over. His career will last a while longer but he is definitely sees his best days far in the rear view.
Thunder have a huge depth issue as has been shown each year for the last three. If Durant and Westbrook stay healthy they can contend if either goes down for any length of time the best they can hope for is the bottom half of the playoffs. Even with Durant and Westbrook healthy I don't seen them higher then the 4th best team in the West. though a good run of luck could get them to the WCF or the finals. Granted if they were in the East I think it would be them and Cleveland in the conference finals.