AggieSportsGuy said:

---

The NBA needs to address offensive enagagement being called as a foul in the offseason. Players jumping into defenders and raising their arms into defenders while driving the lane. Needs to change.

---

Harden and Westbrook would be out of the league and Lebron would be just another guy

Bold.

So WHY exactly is the entire media establishment seemingly in agreement about the inevitably of a Warriors/Cavs rematch?
Are they favored? Sure. With reason? Maybe. But throwing around words like "inevitable"? Come on.

Five Thirty Eight says the Warriors have an 83% chance of winning the title. Spurs 5%, Cavaliers 5%, Celtics 4%, etc .....
How is that possible? Yes, the Warriors are great, yes they have the best record ... but not as good as last year's record, when the Finals went 7 games. So why the lovefest?

Also I'd note that (if you believe 538) the Cavs are only 1% chance higher than the Celtics. So how can anyone just assume the Cavs will win the East? Because Lebron? One great player does not a team make. They aren't even the number 1 seed.

I don't have solid data to dispute anyone, I just think a whooollllle lotta folks are jumping to conclusions, driven perhaps by what they WANT to see: a rematch.

spaceman said:

---

So WHY exactly is the entire media establishment seemingly in agreement about the inevitably of a Warriors/Cavs rematch?
Are they favored? Sure. With reason? Maybe. But throwing around words like "inevitable"? Come on.

Five Thirty Eight says the Warriors have an 83% chance of winning the title. Spurs 5%, Cavaliers 5%, Celtics 4%, etc .....
How is that possible? Yes, the Warriors are great, yes they have the best record ... but not as good as last year's record, when the Finals went 7 games. So why the lovefest?

Also I'd note that (if you believe 538) the Cavs are only 1% chance higher than the Celtics. So how can anyone just assume the Cavs will win the East? Because Lebron? One great player does not a team make. They aren't even the number 1 seed.

I don't have solid data to dispute anyone, I just think a whooollllle lotta folks are jumping to conclusions, driven perhaps by what they WANT to see: a rematch.

---

The Cavs have looked really good in the playoffs whereas the Celtics have struggled with the Bulls and Wizards. They also have Lebron and Kyrie whereas Boston really just has Isiah, so yeah, I'd heavily lean towards the Cavs making it there with relative ease, even though they are the 2 seed.

As for the Warriors, they have an amazing team and have steam rolled everyone so far. The Spurs are hurt and the Rockets try to do what the Warriors do, they just aren't as good at it.

I don't think people are really jumping to conclusions, and apparently the 538 numbers don't either

gougler08 said:

---

spaceman said:

---

So WHY exactly is the entire media establishment seemingly in agreement about the inevitably of a Warriors/Cavs rematch?
Are they favored? Sure. With reason? Maybe. But throwing around words like "inevitable"? Come on.

Five Thirty Eight says the Warriors have an 83% chance of winning the title. Spurs 5%, Cavaliers 5%, Celtics 4%, etc .....
How is that possible? Yes, the Warriors are great, yes they have the best record ... but not as good as last year's record, when the Finals went 7 games. So why the lovefest?

Also I'd note that (if you believe 538) the Cavs are only 1% chance higher than the Celtics. So how can anyone just assume the Cavs will win the East? Because Lebron? One great player does not a team make. They aren't even the number 1 seed.

I don't have solid data to dispute anyone, I just think a whooollllle lotta folks are jumping to conclusions, driven perhaps by what they WANT to see: a rematch.

---

The Cavs have looked really good in the playoffs whereas the Celtics have struggled with the Bulls and Wizards. They also have Lebron and Kyrie whereas Boston really just has Isiah, so yeah, I'd heavily lean towards the Cavs making it there with relative ease, even though they are the 2 seed.

As for the Warriors, they have an amazing team and have steam rolled everyone so far. The Spurs are hurt and the Rockets try to do what the Warriors do, they just aren't as good at it.

I don't think people are really jumping to conclusions, and apparently the 538 numbers don't either

---

Great post. The Celtics were in trouble until Rondo went out with his injury. They didn't have to come up with an answer for him and everything changed from that point forward. 5 games into the series with the Wizards they look great at home and like hot garbage on the road. Meanwhile the Cavs won with relative ease in two sweeps over the Pacers and Raptors.

Also, on the 538 odds those are to win the title. Meaning that if the Cavs or Celtics get to the Finals that is their percent chance to win it all. Not necessarily the odds on who wins if the Cavs and Celtics face off. I think those odds say more about the respect they are giving the Warriors than anything. Current Vegas odds have the Cavs 1/8 to win the East and Celtics 5/1. In contrast, the Warriors are 1/10 to win the West, Spurs 8/1, Rockets 20/1

Draymond Green's a POS mouth-breather.

John Wall with a clutch 3 to send their series to 7.

WES2006AG said:

---

John Wall with a clutch 3 to send their series to 7.

---

That was fun to watch the last several minutes. Brad Stevens drew up some gems and the celtics executed them very well. Meanwhile, Scott Brooks's play almost gets a 5 second call and Wall bailed him out with a heat check 3.

AustinAg2012 said:

---

Draymond Green's a POS mouth-breather.

---

My 2nd favorite player on GSW.

Spurs had a great 1Q against the Warriors. You can see the advantage in depth and inside presence already and if the Warriors can't hit shots consistently it's going to be tough.

If you've watched all year you've seen the Warriors have thrown up some duds against some mediocre teams. I'm not saying they've been inconsistent because it's hard to win 67, but they've definitely looked less in sync on their sets offensively than last year or in 2015.

This Celtics - Wizards game has been great.

Celtics punch their ticket. Series against Cavs starts Wednesday in Boston.

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-warriors-dont-start-trying-until-theyre-down-15/

FiveThirtyEight site updated probabilities of winning NBA title as of tonight:

Warriors 84%
Spurs 7%
Cavs 5%
Celtics 4%

Looks like the Crltics are having a good week. Close out the Zards and get the number 1 pick.

Last night's game is the perfect example of why we should have regular season awards announced just prior to the playoffs starting. Indignant/Petty LeBron is the best LeBron.

...but only if he's actually playing a guy who beat him for the MVP race.

LBJ isn't going to face any of the guys who finished above him like when Curry won it.


And although LBJ is the best player, he wasn't deserving of the regular season MVP.