NBA: *** Official 2015 NBA Playoffs Thread ***

[Mumbai1986]

[h=3]Player Salaries[/h]
PLAYER NAME	2014/15	2015/16	2016/17	2017/18	2018/19	2019/20
David Lee	$15,012,000	$15,493,680	$0	$0	$0	$0
Andrew Bogut	$12,972,973	$12,000,000	$11,027,027	$0	$0	$0
Andre Iguodala	$12,289,544	$11,710,456	$11,131,368	$0	$0	$0
Stephen Curry	$10,629,213	$11,370,786	$12,112,359	$0	$0	$0
Shaun Livingston	$5,305,000	$5,543,725	$5,782,450	$0	$0	$0
Marreese Speights	$3,657,500	$3,815,500	$0	$0	$0	$0
Klay Thompson	$3,075,880	$15,501,000	$16,663,575	$17,826,150	$18,988,725	$0
Harrison Barnes	$3,049,920	$3,873,398	$5,194,226	$0	$0	$0
Leandro Barbosa	$1,448,490	$0	$0	$0	$0	$0
Brandon Rush	$1,145,685	$1,270,964	$0	$0	$0	$0
Festus Ezeli	$1,112,880	$2,008,748	$3,013,122	$0	$0	$0
Nemanja Nedovic	$1,104,240	$0	$0	$0	$0	$0
Draymond Green	$915,243	$0	$0	$0	$0	$0
Justin Holiday	$816,482	$1,147,276	$0	$0	$0	$0
Ognjen Kuzmic	$816,482	$1,147,276	$0	$0	$0	$0
James Michael McAdoo	$259,634	$0	$0	$0	$0	$0
TOTALS	$73,611,166	$78,772,757	$50,934,329	$17,826,150	$18,988,725	$0

 

[ISU42]

I see James Michael McAdoo robbed the Warriors this year.

 

[HFCS]

Serious question, if LeBron get's to 10 finals and wins 6, what is more impressive? 6-0 or 6-4?

He's going to go to way more finals than Jordan did, which I think can at least neutralize one performance in his first legit title shot of his career with team he had only been on for one year.

6 championships is the impressive number.

Or championships over years played is the impressive number even.

If LeBron ends up something like 5-4, or 5-5, 6-4 or 7-4 I think you'll see a common argument that he had the better overall career but that Jordan was better at his peak and a better closer.

We know this GOAT debate isn't remotely about career stat totals, if it was Jordan wouldn't be considered #1 by the vast majority including most other players in the top 10. It's about career averages and winning titles.

For LBJ to even make 4-5 more Finals won't be easy. To win 3-4 more would be incredible and certainly set tip the scales of the debate.

Like I've said over and over, I don't hold 0-2 with the Cavs against him in the slightest in this comparison (it may even bolster him a bit). But he has a bit of a hole to dig going 2-2 with the Heat in his prime, especially '11. It sounds ridiculous to say, but that's how high the bar is. I'm sure we're all idiots compared to Stephen Hawking even if we were 4.0 students straight through college, if somebody wants to throw their hat in that ring I'm sure a B on a test somewhere or a single hypothesis proven wrong would be scrutinized.

 

[HFCS]

Player Salaries
PLAYER NAME	2014/15	2015/16	2016/17	2017/18	2018/19	2019/20
David Lee	$15,012,000	$15,493,680	$0	$0	$0	$0
Andrew Bogut	$12,972,973	$12,000,000	$11,027,027	$0	$0	$0
Andre Iguodala	$12,289,544	$11,710,456	$11,131,368	$0	$0	$0
Stephen Curry	$10,629,213	$11,370,786	$12,112,359	$0	$0	$0
Shaun Livingston	$5,305,000	$5,543,725	$5,782,450	$0	$0	$0
Marreese Speights	$3,657,500	$3,815,500	$0	$0	$0	$0
Klay Thompson	$3,075,880	$15,501,000	$16,663,575	$17,826,150	$18,988,725	$0
Harrison Barnes	$3,049,920	$3,873,398	$5,194,226	$0	$0	$0
Leandro Barbosa	$1,448,490	$0	$0	$0	$0	$0
Brandon Rush	$1,145,685	$1,270,964	$0	$0	$0	$0
Festus Ezeli	$1,112,880	$2,008,748	$3,013,122	$0	$0	$0
Nemanja Nedovic	$1,104,240	$0	$0	$0	$0	$0
Draymond Green	$915,243	$0	$0	$0	$0	$0
Justin Holiday	$816,482	$1,147,276	$0	$0	$0	$0
Ognjen Kuzmic	$816,482	$1,147,276	$0	$0	$0	$0
James Michael McAdoo	$259,634	$0	$0	$0	$0	$0
TOTALS	$73,611,166	$78,772,757	$50,934,329	$17,826,150	$18,988,725	$0

I doubt a lot of people thought Iggy was going to earn that full 12.2mil going into this season. David Lee, not as much.

 

[CyJack13]

Also, do the GSW keep this championship team intact?

Their financials are excellent.

Only issue really is re-upping Draymond and figuring out what to do with the bloated contracts of Lee and Bogut.

If they can dump Lee and possibly Bogut on some team, then they can easily re-sign Draymond, Barnes, and then in the future really pay Curry the money he is worth.

Bogut's contract isn't that bad, he wasn't good in the Finals but him and Green anchored their top ranked defense in the regular season. They should be able to move Lee's contract if they attached a couple draft picks to it. Sign Green to a max deal and they'll be all set to make a real run at defending their title next year.

 

[Mumbai1986]

Bogut's contract isn't that bad, he wasn't good in the Finals but him and Green anchored their top ranked defense in the regular season. They should be able to move Lee's contract if they attached a couple draft picks to it. Sign Green to a max deal and they'll be all set to make a real run at defending their title next year.

It's funny how well run the Warriors are after so many disastrous years.

Compare them to the Knicks and my god. The Knicks spent 81 million dollars this year to win like 16 games.

The Warriors spent 73 million dollars to win 67 games and an NBA title. I think Steve Kerr made the right decision.

 

[Cyclonesince78]

	Sports Insights (@SportsInsights)
6/18/15, 12:57 PM David Blatt is -350 to return to the Cavs next season at BetOnline and -300 at Bovada.

 

[HFCS]

	Sports Insights (@SportsInsights)
6/18/15, 12:57 PM David Blatt is -350 to return to the Cavs next season at BetOnline and -300 at Bovada.

Cavs/LBJ should be careful here. They could do a lot worse, I was impressed with him at times...but at the end of the day of LBJ doesn't give support to whoever his coach is, why continue a charade?

Ignore the 2 idiots in the video, the Stein story is thought provoking:
http://espn.go.com/blog/marc-stein/post/_/id/3896/lebrons-handling-of-blatt-unbecoming

 

[Cyclonesince78]

Cavs/LBJ should be careful here. They could do a lot worse, I was impressed with him at times...but at the end of the day of LBJ doesn't give support to whoever his coach is, why continue a charade?

Ignore the 2 idiots in the video, the Stein story is thought provoking:
http://espn.go.com/blog/marc-stein/post/_/id/3896/lebrons-handling-of-blatt-unbecoming

I agree. Rome wasn't built in a day.

 

[CyJack13]

If they fire Blatt, they are just going to hire Lue, who most people feel is already coaching the team. LeBron runs the Cavs, every move they make is going to have to come with his approval. That's what LeBron wanted when he left Miami, where it was not like, where Pat Riley had the ultimate power in the organization.

 

[Cyclonesince78]

Says a lot about Lebron

according to ESPN's Brian Windhorst:"I think, at the end of the day, LeBron likes the freedom. He likes having Blatt to kick around, something he couldn't get away with with other coaches in the past," Windhorst said on SVP and Russilo. "I think LeBron is OK with him going forward. If David Blatt is OK with taking the abuse from the star player, which he does, David Blatt will be back. I think it'll be Blatt's decision more than anybody else at this point."

 

[Cyclonesince78]

Behind the scenes, however, he was ignoring and at times disrespecting coach David Blatt as much as ever, according to ESPN's Marc Stein.
"There was LeBron, in one instance I witnessed from right behind the bench, shaking his head vociferously in protest after one play Blatt drew up in the third quarter of Game 5, amounting to the loudest nonverbal scolding you could imagine," Stein wrote. "Which forced Blatt, in front of his whole team, to wipe the board clean and draw up something else."

 

[BodeClone]

Says a lot about Lebron

Prince James seems uncoachable. LeBrick is the biggest attention getter in NBA history. First he wants all the credit when he wins, and sadly he has to undermine his coach/coaches as a result. He purposely bumped into Spo a few years ago walking to the bench. And he thinks he's above his team because he has to shake the other teams hand on his own (without his teammates) with 20 seconds left to show 'sportsmanship'. This is the same guy that didn't shake hands with the Magic a few years back. LeBron begs for any attention he can get, and he'll do it at the expense of his head coaches.

 

[CycloneRulzzz]

If they fire Blatt, they are just going to hire Lue, who most people feel is already coaching the team. LeBron runs the Cavs, every move they make is going to have to come with his approval. That's what LeBron wanted when he left Miami, where it was not like, where Pat Riley had the ultimate power in the organization.

This. If it wasn't for Lue saving Blatt from himself, Blatt gets t'd up Chicago wins that game and maybe the series.

 

[Cyclonesince78]

The Lebron fanboys are awfully quiet. I was looking forward to seeing what possible excuses they could come up with about his unprofessional and indefensible behavior.

 

[BodeClone]

Prince James will forever be known as LeBrick James. 3/17 FGs with under 5 minutes left and the game was within 5 points for this series, yet people say he should have WON the Finals MVP?!?!?! An award that use to mean something, until this joker got 4 votes this year. Give me a break, LeBrick doesn't like the pressure, he just likes to bully his coach. ONCE AGAIN, The Chosen One turned to Frozen One

 

[ISU42]

The Lebron fanboys are awfully quiet. I was looking forward to seeing what possible excuses they could come up with about his unprofessional and indefensible behavior.

Yes, yes they are. Dude up there wants to give LeBron a mulligan for the 2011 finals if he makes more finals than Jordan because he had only been with the Heat for one year. Give me a break.

 

[HFCS]

Prince James will forever be known as LeBrick James. 3/17 FGs with under 5 minutes left and the game was within 5 points for this series, yet people say he should have WON the Finals MVP?!?!?! An award that use to mean something, until this joker got 4 votes this year. Give me a break, LeBrick doesn't like the pressure, he just likes to bully his coach. ONCE AGAIN, The Chosen One turned to Frozen One

You take a lot of grief here, and people shouldn't just dismiss that stat...but the guy who did win MVP missed NINE free throws in a row at one point and countless other key FTs. If the Cavs had been full strength MVPIggy could just as easily have been getting the blame for losing the series with that horrendous FT shooting.

I doubt you'll see a Finals like this again anytime soon where people are at a loss for who to vote for MVP. I would have voted for James personally even in a losing effort. GS just had that many more weapons that they still won the series with key players often not firing well.

 

[BodeClone]

You take a lot of grief here, and people shouldn't just dismiss that stat...but the guy who did win MVP missed NINE free throws in a row at one point and countless other key FTs. If the Cavs had been full strength MVPIggy could just as easily have been getting the blame for losing the series with that horrendous FT shooting.

I doubt you'll see a Finals like this again anytime soon where people are at a loss for who to vote for MVP. I would have voted for James personally even in a losing effort. GS just had that many more weapons that they still won the series with key players often not firing well.

I suppose I put more emphasis on clutch moments than others. He was nowhere to be seen when it mattered. The biggest moment of this series was game 1 when he missed that shot at the end of the 4th. Say he makes that shot, the Cavs may/may not go up 3-0 in the series (they did end up winning games 2 and 3), AND Kyrie stays healthy.

 

[Cyclonesince78]

Yes, yes they are. Dude up there wants to give LeBron a mulligan for the 2011 finals if he makes more finals than Jordan because he had only been with the Heat for one year. Give me a break.

Maybe they're Kevin Durant fans now.