Lebron's trip to the Finals with Cleveland

[Andy]

People like to talk about it like it's this amazing feat, meanwhile Iverson did the same with an equally bad supporting cast, had a better regular season record, plus unlike Lebron he didn't get swept in the Finals and he faced one of the best NBA teams of all time.

Put that Cleveland team in the west and it's a 2nd round exit tops.

[Buddy Mignon]

Kobe did it with a pussy... and a crack head as his sidekicks.

[Katherine Robinson]

I attribute AI taking away a game to the Laker's arrogance at the time rather than his greatness. That being said, Lebron's trip to the finals is very overrated. He does not fair as well against the battlefield in the West.

[baseline bum]

Iverson actually had another quality player in his starting lineup though, in prime Mutombo. CROFL Laker fans who want to cry about Kobe's 2006 supporting cast when he had prime Odom as his #2 guy, while LeBron had who in 2007? Prime Drew Gooden?

[spurraider21]

I think people remember the game where he scored 25 straight points for the Cavs and something like 29 of their last 31 points in an overtime (or double ot?) win against the Pistons

[Joseph Kony]

rofl :lmao

2000 Sixers outside of Iverson >> 2007 Cavs outside of LeBron

He had Drew Gooden, Sasha Pavlovic, and Boobie Gibson in his starting lineup. gtfo with this shit :lol

[spurraider21]

Iverson actually had another quality player in his starting lineup though, in prime Mutombo. CROFL Laker fans who want to cry about Kobe's 2006 supporting cast when he had prime Odom as his #2 guy, while LeBron had who in 2007? Prime Drew Gooden?
Mutombo was still good, but his prime was probably a few years prior. He was hurt bad the season before, and his athleticism was noticeably lower. I believe Aaron McKie was 6th man of the year that year though

[baseline bum]

rofl :lmao

2006 Lakers outside of Kobe >> 2007 Cavs outside of LeBron

He had Drew Gooden, Sasha Pavlovic, and Boobie Gibson in his starting lineup. gtfo with this shit :lol

fify my nigga

[Joseph Kony]

fify my nigga

Also true. LeBron's teams in Cleveland were complete shit, I remember when they traded for Jamison and everyone thought they were stacked :lmao Bron was so good he literally made shit players around him look good. If he was on the 2009 Magic instead of Howard he'd have probably beaten the Lakers in the Finals tbh

[Koolaid_Man]

I attribute AI taking away a game to the Laker's arrogance at the time rather than his greatness. That being said, Lebron's trip to the finals is very overrated. He does not fair as well against the battlefield in the West.

In all honesty I can tell you're a nerdy white boy who's never touched a basketball in your life....it's really a shame that ignorant people like you can post the dribble and non-sense that has no basis in fact....reminds me of the lunatic Tea-Party fringe group tbh...

Here's your proof of AI's greatness:

4OppxKDj44E

[Phillip]

People like to talk about it like it's this amazing feat, meanwhile Iverson did the same with an equally bad supporting cast, had a better regular season record, plus unlike Lebron he didn't get swept in the Finals and he faced one of the best NBA teams of all time.

Equally bad supporting cast? Not even. Neither was great, but the 76ers was unquestionably superior and more complete. The defensive ability of that squad was absolutely nasty, with Ratliff, Mutumbo, and Snow. The Cavs just had a bunch of mid range shooters and undersized players at their positions outside of Big Z. Boobie Gibson being the 2nd most reliable option during that playoff run, after Lebron? rofl

The East actually even weaker back then too. The Pistons that Lebron beat would have rolled through the East in 01.


Put that Cleveland team in the west and it's a 2nd round exit tops.

I don't disagree with this at all. The East was definitely weak in 07, and Lebron's squad wasn't very strong. But it doesn't make what he did in his run less of an accomplishment. He still took a team with minimal talent to the Finals, and dominated along the way, including perhaps the greatest postseason single game performance ever in game 5 against Detroit.

oh and :lmao at one of the best NBA teams of all time... 07 spurs were arguably the weakest, most flawed spurs title team. everyone (including the spurs) knows how thankful they were that GS took care of Dallas. otherwise, no way they are even in the finals. The 06 and 12 Spurs were both better than the 07 Spurs, without question, and neither won a title.

[Chief Brody]

If the NBA could, they'd probably erase 2007 from their memory--just like the stillbirth that was the 1998-99 season. Outside of LeBron's Game 5 at the Palace it was easily the most forgettable season I can ever remember. At least '99 had the Knicks memorable playoff run with the AH shot, 4-point play, etc.

[DMC]

Lebron's trip is underrated. He almost single handed beat the Pistons. The rest of his team was completely ineffective in the Finals. All Spurs had to do was contain Lebron. He got one dunk the entire series.

[DMC]

If the NBA could, they'd probably erase 2007 from their memory--just like the stillbirth that was the 1998-99 season. Outside of LeBron's Game 5 at the Palace it was easily the most forgettable season I can ever remember. At least '99 had the Knicks memorable playoff run with the AH shot, 4-point play, etc.

lol

[Andy]

oh and :lmao at one of the best NBA teams of all time... 07 spurs were arguably the weakest, most flawed spurs title team. everyone (including the spurs) knows how thankful they were that GS took care of Dallas. otherwise, no way they are even in the finals. The 06 and 12 Spurs were both better than the 07 Spurs, without question, and neither won a title.

I was obviously talking about the 2000-2001 Lakers when i said one of the best teams of all time. They swept their way to the Finals and lost that one Finals game where Iverson goes off.

No spurs squad would even crack the top 10 of best NBA teams of all time imo.

[Chief Brody]

No spurs squad would even crack the top 10 of best NBA teams of all time imo.
That's a little harsh, tbh...although I do agree spurfan pimps that '07 squad too much with the "it was the most complete team blah blah blah" bullshit. Maybe they were, maybe they weren't. 2005 was there most impressive year, imo.

As stated earlier, 2007 was a skidmark on the underpants of the Association. Underwhelming regular season, Steve Nash won the MVP again, and the playoffs were incomparably atrocious outside of LeBron's Game 5. People might bring up the GSW series, but only Game 5 was really close...and even though it was a major upset the games themselves weren't close. The defending champs were swept in the first round, then the much anticpated Ben Wallace-Bulls laid an egg against the Pistons. The Cavs are the worst finals team the league has ever seen, and the one guy they had blew his wad against Detroit and was gassed. It also didn't help 07's cause that Donaghy was trying to pay back the Gambino Family in the WCSF.

It seriously might be the worst NBA season that most of us have ever lived through (luckily I wasn't alive for the 70's).

[Joseph Kony]

The 2007 Spurs were most definitely not one of the weaker teams with Ginobili in his prime, Duncan right at the tail end of his, and Parker entering his along with Bowen still playing elite defense and Oberto being the best big next to Duncan until Splitter came and even that's kinda arguable. The big three were playing at their highest level together that season, no way that was one of the weaker Spurs teams imo.

That 2006 Spurs team was something else though. Really too bad Duncan had plantar fasciitis the entire season and Manu had to make one of the worst fouls in NBA history. They would have steam rolled the Suns and destroyed the Heat. Wade would never rape Bruce Bowen the way he did the Mavericks imo

[Joseph Kony]

I was obviously talking about the 2000-2001 Lakers when i said one of the best teams of all time. They swept their way to the Finals and lost that one Finals game where Iverson goes off.

No spurs squad would even crack the top 10 of best NBA teams of all time imo.

fwiw, ESPN has the 1999 Spurs up there as one of the top 10 title teams of all-time if I remember correctly. You can talk about the shortened season to deflect from their greatness but they went 15-2 in the playoffs and dominated the Lakers/Blazers and only allowed an opponent to crack 90 points once. Robinson still at all-star level and young Duncan is probably the best frontcourt combo of all-time

[Joseph Kony]

That's a little harsh, tbh...although I do agree spurfan pimps that '07 squad too much with the "it was the most complete team blah blah blah" bullshit. Maybe they were, maybe they weren't. 2005 was there most impressive year, imo.

As stated earlier, 2007 was a skidmark on the underpants of the Association. Underwhelming regular season, Steve Nash won the MVP again, and the playoffs were incomparably atrocious outside of LeBron's Game 5. People might bring up the GSW series, but only Game 5 was really close...and even though it was a major upset the games themselves weren't close. The defending champs were swept in the first round, then the much anticpated Ben Wallace-Bulls laid an egg against the Pistons. The Cavs are the worst finals team the league has ever seen, and the one guy they had blew his wad against Detroit and was gassed. It also didn't help 07's cause that Donaghy was trying to pay back the Gambino Family in the WCSF.

It seriously might be the worst NBA season that most of us have ever lived through (luckily I wasn't alive for the 70's).

You don't even remember that season :lol Dirk won the MVP in 2007, not Nash

[Chief Brody]

You don't even remember that season :lol Dirk won the MVP in 2007, not Nash
:lolMy point exactly, though...it was so bad I don't even remember the MVP.

[baseline bum]

Also true. LeBron's teams in Cleveland were complete shit, I remember when they traded for Jamison and everyone thought they were stacked :lmao Bron was so good he literally made shit players around him look good. If he was on the 2009 Magic instead of Howard he'd have probably beaten the Lakers in the Finals tbh

LOL, I remember how much the media hyped them getting Jamario Moon and Anthony Parker too. Ooh, LeBron finally has a supporting cast!

[RsxPiimp]

Equally bad supporting cast? Not even. Neither was great, but the 76ers was unquestionably superior and more complete. The defensive ability of that squad was absolutely nasty, with Ratliff, Mutumbo, and Snow.



i mean this from the bottom of my heart. you're definitely one of the worst poster in this board when it comes to basketball takes, seriously. :lol

please understand ratliff and mutombo did not play together in the same team :lol. ratliff was traded for mutombo before the all star break giving iverson an over the hill, 34 year old dikembe mutmobo as his low post scorer.

also, the sixers ranked 27th of 29th in defensive rating that year, nasty defense my ass :lol they brought mutombo to help solve that very same issue :lmao


the drop in talent is beyond ridiculous after mutombo, since the sixers second best offensive option was aaron mckie who shot 41% throughout the playoffs. :lol


and why are you even bringing eric snow as some sort of defensive monster? kid, you didnt even saw the series, so stfu :lmao he was just another player that shot 41% and didn't even hit a 3 pointer throughout the entire playoffs, yeah a shooting guard who couldn't hit a three pointer :lol


the sixers was really all about iverson. he was the 76ers unlike the cavs who had some BRIGHTER spots offensively. people talk about the cavs team as if it was all lebron and while i agree, iverson did far more weight lifting carrying that 76ers team.

just look at the quality of team iverson faced before reaching the finals.

pacers (miller, j. rose, jermaine o'neal)
raptors (prime vince carter)
bucks( prime ray allen, glenn robinson, cassell)

now look at the teams lebron faced

wizards ( no gilbert arenas)
nets (good team but carter was past his prime)
pistons ( ben wallace replaced by an old and injured webber)

its crystal clear those 2001 eastern conference teams would obliterate any of those 2007 eastern conference teams who were missing their best players :lol


also considering iverson faced perhaps the greatest playoff team in nba history, its amazing he managed to steal a win against the heavily favored lakers that year.

[baseline bum]

also, the sixers ranked 27th of 29th in defensive rating that year, nasty defense my ass :lol they brought mutombo to help solve that very same issue :lmao

CROFL, they were fifth in defensive rating that year you fucking retard

http://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/NBA_2001.html

[Sean Cagney]

Kobe did it with a pussy... and a crack head as his sidekicks.

Kobe always had a dominant big man next to him and great role players when he made the finals. Don't add him to this list please.
The 2007 Spurs were most definitely not one of the weaker teams with Ginobili in his prime, Duncan right at the tail end of his, and Parker entering his along with Bowen still playing elite defense and Oberto being the best big next to Duncan until Splitter came and even that's kinda arguable. The big three were playing at their highest level together that season, no way that was one of the weaker Spurs teams imo.

That 2006 Spurs team was something else though. Really too bad Duncan had plantar fasciitis the entire season and Manu had to make one of the worst fouls in NBA history. They would have steam rolled the Suns and destroyed the Heat. Wade would never rape Bruce Bowen the way he did the Mavericks imo

You sir are correct on all accounts there. I agree with all you said above.
Equally bad supporting cast? Not even. Neither was great, but the 76ers was unquestionably superior and more complete. The defensive ability of that squad was absolutely nasty, with Ratliff, Mutumbo, and Snow. The Cavs just had a bunch of mid range shooters and undersized players at their positions outside of Big Z. Boobie Gibson being the 2nd most reliable option during that playoff run, after Lebron? rofl

The East actually even weaker back then too. The Pistons that Lebron beat would have rolled through the East in 01.



I don't disagree with this at all. The East was definitely weak in 07, and Lebron's squad wasn't very strong. But it doesn't make what he did in his run less of an accomplishment. He still took a team with minimal talent to the Finals, and dominated along the way, including perhaps the greatest postseason single game performance ever in game 5 against Detroit.

oh and :lmao at one of the best NBA teams of all time... 07 spurs were arguably the weakest, most flawed spurs title team. everyone (including the spurs) knows how thankful they were that GS took care of Dallas. otherwise, no way they are even in the finals. The 06 and 12 Spurs were both better than the 07 Spurs, without question, and neither won a title.
Dallas lost to the 8th seed, no matter how many games they won that year they were not a juggernaut. 05 Spurs and 06 maybe the best Spurs team IMO and at their height! Too bad Tim had Plantar in 06 because that team was deep and serious, great year those two were and the Spurs at their height IMO. The 07 Spurs were good though, they were not weak by any means just not as good as the previous two IMO. All their guys in their prime at the same time, forget it they were a force those few years. I agree on a few things you said though.

[RsxPiimp]

CROFL, they were fifth in defensive rating that year you fucking retard

http://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/NBA_2001.html
Ill take this one like a man and concede i made a mistake but everything I said other than slip up was the troof

[Katherine Robinson]

In all honesty I can tell you're a nerdy white boy who's never touched a basketball in your life....it's really a shame that ignorant people like you can post the dribble and non-sense that has no basis in fact....reminds me of the lunatic Tea-Party fringe group tbh...

Here's your proof of AI's greatness:

4OppxKDj44E

A severe case of pot calling the kettle white, Kevin.

[Venti Quattro]

LOL, I remember how much the media hyped them getting Jamario Moon and Anthony Parker too. Ooh, LeBron finally has a supporting cast!

:lmao fucking Jamario Moon knew nothing about basketball except jumping over people

[scanry]

I attribute AI taking away a game to the Laker's arrogance at the time rather than his greatness. That being said, Lebron's trip to the finals is very overrated. He does not fair as well against the battlefield in the West.

Shaq was very impressive all year and the NBA had no one to stop the big fella. And with Kobe coming along, they crushed the league. Phil managed the minutes and the egos very well woth the help of the veterans from his Bulls days. The 2002 season was a different story though. Kobe was itching to get away from the beta role and Shaq would have none of it. Too bad the Kings couldn't take care of the Lakers.

[Joseph Kony]

LOL, I remember how much the media hyped them getting Jamario Moon and Anthony Parker too. Ooh, LeBron finally has a supporting cast!

Wasn't Parker 34 when the Cavs got him :lol

[Killakobe81]

I attribute AI taking away a game to the Laker's arrogance at the time rather than his greatness. That being said, Lebron's trip to the finals is very overrated. He does not fair as well against the battlefield in the West.

True. (Baseline & Katherine) But AI also had an amazing performance to punish the Laker's for their arrogance. Lebron had no such game. Lebron's run was amazing because the run he made on a still effective but declining Pistons team was as amazing as anything young Kobe or Wade did ... it was impressive. His finals? Not so much. And though Bowen did yeoman's work, the loss to the Mavs as part of the Heat it proves as great as he is (much like Kobe or even MJ) that a strong defender (See 2008 Celts or Badboys) flanked by strong defensive unit can limit a great player.

Lebron's run was great until the finals ...
AI sputtered after Game 1 but man his step over Tyron Lue was the epitome of swagger ...

[ambchang]

Couple of observations.

1) Surprised no one mentioned that Larry Brown > Mike Brown
2) AI torched the Lakers because the Lakers were historically bad at defending quick point guards. One because Shaq is not interested in pick and roll defense, two because the Lakers have horrible and/or overrated perimeter defenders who CANNOT defend quick PGs (see Iverson, Bibby, Parker, Nash).
3) Iverson actually did pretty well the rest of the series. The Lakers trapped more often and Iverson didn't get another >40 game again, but he did have a couple of games in which he scored in the high 30s.

[Killakobe81]

Couple of observations.

1) Surprised no one mentioned that Larry Brown > Mike Brown
2) AI torched the Lakers because the Lakers were historically bad at defending quick point guards. One because Shaq is not interested in pick and roll defense, two because the Lakers have horrible and/or overrated perimeter defenders who CANNOT defend quick PGs (see Iverson, Bibby, Parker, Nash).
3) Iverson actually did pretty well the rest of the series. The Lakers trapped more often and Iverson didn't get another >40 game again, but he did have a couple of games in which he scored in the high 30s.

Sure AI scored but wasnt as efficient or impactful after Game one ...
And I agree pnr defense was ALWaYS the Shaqobe Lakers weakness ...

[Phillip]

I was obviously talking about the 2000-2001 Lakers when i said one of the best teams of all time. They swept their way to the Finals and lost that one Finals game where Iverson goes off.

No spurs squad would even crack the top 10 of best NBA teams of all time imo.
oops i misread

sorry, just used to spurfans here never STFU about how good the 07 spurs were, when they were a pretty weak championship team compared to others.

[Phillip]

also, the sixers ranked 27th of 29th in defensive rating that year, nasty defense my ass :lol they brought mutombo to help solve that very same issue :lmao



CROFL, they were fifth in defensive rating that year you fucking retard

http://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/NBA_2001.html


:rollin

this crap right here is why no one gives a shit about rsxpiimp, other than kool who gets bjs from him on an hourly basis.

rsxpiimp might literally be one of the 5 worst posters ever. how many times has he posted stats and claimed them to be "facts" when in fact they were 100% infactual and incorrect? and its not like his stats were slightly off, pretty much every time is crap like this, claiming a team was 3rd worst in the league, when in fact they were top 5 :lmao

hell, just to TRY to give him the benefit of the doubt (because i dont see how someone could be THAT stupid), i checked the stats for the year before and the year after their title run, to see if maybe he simply looked at the wrong year. but guess what the 76ers defensive ratings were in those years? 4th best in both. :lmao so much for them having a poor defense, thus requiring them to trade for mutumbo as he suggest :rollin :rollin :rollin

[Kool Bob Love]

^^^
:lmao Oh SNAP.


oops i misread

sorry, just used to spurfans here never STFU about how good the 07 spurs were, when they were a pretty weak championship team compared to others.

Doesn't matter bro. Make the playoffs and win the last game you play. 07 Mavs couldn't get it down. It happens.

[Phillip]

Doesn't matter bro. Make the playoffs and win the last game you play. 07 Mavs couldn't get it down. It happens.

i agree 100%

all i simply said, was that many spurfans overrate the 07 team. i think it was the weakest of their 4 title teams, and weaker than several of their non-title teams as well.

[Kool Bob Love]

I'll give you weakest of the four. But weaker than non-title teams? Nah My Spurs fandom won't let me.

[Phillip]

and why are you even bringing eric snow as some sort of defensive monster? kid, you didnt even saw the series, so stfu :lmao he was just another player that shot 41% and didn't even hit a 3 pointer throughout the entire playoffs, yeah a shooting guard who couldn't hit a three pointer :lol


:lmao you say i didnt watch the series, yet you say Eric Snow was a SG (although he was a PG), on a team that featured Allen Iverson?

[spurraider21]

In all honesty I can tell you're a nerdy white boy who's never touched a basketball in your life....it's really a shame that ignorant people like you can post the dribble and non-sense that has no basis in fact....reminds me of the lunatic Tea-Party fringe group tbh...

Here's your proof of AI's greatness:

4OppxKDj44E
iverson's shooting performances of that series, from best to worst in order of FG%....

18-41, 14-32, 12-30, 12-30, and 10-29

[Phillip]

I'll give you weakest of the four. But weaker than non-title teams? Nah My Spurs fandom won't let me.

You really think 07 Spurs beat the 06 or 12 Spurs? Not a chance IMO.

[LkrFan]

Iverson actually had another quality player in his starting lineup though, in prime Mutombo. CROFL Laker fans who want to cry about Kobe's 2006 supporting cast when he had prime Odom as his #2 guy, while LeBron had who in 2007? Prime Drew Gooden?
2006 Odom was an inconsistent Beotch. He'll have 1 good game, then 4 straight doozies. That was the norm. He was frustrating as fuck. All that damn talent. He won one 6-MOY award and made no all star appearances. What a colossal waste of talent. Even now, look at him throwing away the opportunity millions of people wish they had: the opportunity to play in the NBA. Fuck Odom for real.

[Leetonidas]

i agree 100%

all i simply said, was that many spurfans overrate the 07 team. i think it was the weakest of their 4 title teams, and weaker than several of their non-title teams as well.
I really disagree with that. I don't think they were tested much on the way to that title. But it's not their fault they played a shitty Denver team, the Sun's coaches couldn't keep their retarded players on the bench, and they played two pretty weak teams in the WCF and Finals.

I was longing for a SA-Dallas rematch though. I don't think it would have been clear cut for either team seeing as how the previous series came down to a single bone-headed foul, but it would have been a great series to watch. I think a lot of the perception is based on the strength of competition. The 2011 Mavericks had one of the most impressive runs ever and beat a lot of tough competition, but, and I may be in a spurfan minority here, I think the 2007 Spurs were better than the 2011 Mavericks. The reason that Spurs team gets overrated is because of how they crushed most of their weak competition but like it was mentioned earlier, Duncan/Ginobili/Parker were playing at the highest level they ever had cumulatively. I really wish the Horry hip-check didn't happen because I believe 100% the Spurs would've beaten them with or without the suspensions.

[Leetonidas]

Not to mention a good defensive team like the Pistons could not stop James at all and he was looking like the best player on earth at the time and the Spurs held him in check around 20ppg on a lower FG%

And yes I know he was the only player the Spurs had to focus on really but the same could be said for most of his career and that usually didn't stop him from putting up dominant numbers.