It really angers me when LeBron is all of a sudden anointed greatest small forward of all time and his career is not even over yet!
How easy it is to forget how he simply choked in the 2010/11 playoffs. He didn't get a ring until he had Wade,Bosh and Allen.
You know who never choked,complained or was afraid to take the last shot?
LARRY THE LEGEND BIRD!
1)So far better career shooter,passer,rebounder (stats don't lie)
2)Played against stiffer defense oriented half court teams ie:Motor City Badboys Pistons and legendary players like Thomas,Magic,Jordan,Dr.J!
LeBron plays in an offense favored watered down league where a foul is called for hand checking him. In the 80's teams like the Pistons ended players careers!
3) Bird always wanted the ball with the game on the line ...LBJ gets flustered and pouts when things go south see 2010/11
4)Bird put up great numbers despite debilitating pain most of the last half of his career. LBJ so far hasn't dealt with any major injuries. You can bet when he does start to downslide though it will be sudden and dramatic.
Seemed like GSW tried to adjust to the D on Curry and Thompson by changing the sets, having other people move the ball.
I think tonight they will return to the philosophy that Curry can't be stopped.
This year's playoffs were kinda lame, but the Finals have been really competitive. Cleveland's bringing it more than I thought they possibly could--love seeing an underdog fight like this.
I like last year's finals but the Spurs just basically wiped the court with the Heat which was nice to watch but not competitive which this series has been until tonight's blow out.
Blatt took him out for crucial minutes, presumably because he is exhausted
Bad coaching.
He played him way too many minutes in the first 3. He was gassed during over time. A good coach manages a players minutes so they have energy at the end of the game. And enough energy for the next game.
Blatt took him out for crucial minutes, presumably because he is exhausted
Bad coaching.
He played him way too many minutes in the first 3. He was gassed during over time. A good coach manages a players minutes so they have energy at the end of the game. And enough energy for the next game.
It not bad coaching. That way too simplistic.
They wouldnt have won if he didnt play those minutes.
LeBron dictates his minutes and when he feels tired.
With 2 starters out, LeBron knows he has to play beyond his usual minutes.
They also have reserves playing starter minutes as well.
Who are you going to dust off from the bench?
Brendan Heywood, The Matrix, and Kendrick Perkins?
Blatt took him out for crucial minutes, presumably because he is exhausted
Bad coaching.
He played him way too many minutes in the first 3. He was gassed during over time. A good coach manages a players minutes so they have energy at the end of the game. And enough energy for the next game.
Considering that the Cavs immediately go to shit as soon as LeBron hits the bench, what alternative does Blatt have, really? He can run LeBron into the ground and hopefully win some games, or he can rest LeBron and possibly sacrifice some wins in anticipation of later games that they never reach. It's a serious rock v. hard place scenario made even worse by the fact that the Cavs barely have enough warm bodies to meet the roster minimum (hell, Irving is still on the active roster).
Yes. Simplistic.
I think having players tell the coach when and how they are going to play causes problems for the coach and team.
Should be the coaches decision.
I think Smith and Jones have mostly been the players off the bench.
The Cavs are hurting. This would be a different series with Love and Irving. Everyone knows that.
The Cavs are still one of the two best teams in the NBA.
For the Cavs to win more games, Blatt is going to have to come up with a solution greater than "let Lebron do it".
No one can out play Lebron, but the Cavs are being out coached.
Yes. Simplistic.
I think having players tell the coach when and how they are going to play causes problems for the coach and team.
Should be the coaches decision.
I think Smith and Jones have mostly been the players off the bench.
The Cavs are hurting. This would be a different series with Love and Irving. Everyone knows that.
The Cavs are still one of the two best teams in the NBA.
For the Cavs to win more games, Blatt is going to have to come up with a solution greater than "let Lebron do it".
No one can out play Lebron, but the Cavs are being out coached.
After 3 games it took Kerr to insert Iggy into the starting line-up and sit slow ass Bogut, to counter the Cavs grinding defense.
It took Kerr 3 three whole games to adjust and Blatt is being out coached?
I might be wrong, I'd have to go check. But I think Kerr won the first one and was very close in the next 2.
I don't consider telling Lebron to play till hes gassed coaching.
I think Cavs are being out coached.
If you don't see it that's fine.
I might be wrong, I'd have to go check. But I think Kerr won the first one and was very close in the next 2.
I don't consider telling Lebron to play till hes gassed coaching.
I think Cavs are being out coached.
If you don't see it that's fine.
Again....LeBron dictates his minutes not Blatt.
This was the GSW responding after being down, yet Kerr has had the edge???
How does one get out-coached being up 2-1?
CLEVELAND — It was another thunderous moment of truth, and another moment when Steve Kerr intervened, took a risk and chest-thumped the Warriors back to life.
It was the biggest moment yet. It was a defining NBA Finals event for Kerr’s young coaching career, a turning of the tide, a decisive strategic magic trick.
It probably saved the Warriors’ season — for the second time in these playoffs.
And it was the purest, savviest, boldest essence of who Kerr is, why he’s here and how much further he can take the Warriors.
The move: After losing back-to-back games to LeBron James’ Cavaliers, Kerr took center Andrew Bogut out of the lineup, put forward Andre Iguodala in and went all-in with the Warriors’ small lineup, with Draymond Green at center.
That took some guts, but it sped everything up, pushed the Warriors to a whirlwind first-quarter lead and just got the Warriors feeling like themselves again after two troubled games.
Put it all together, and it gave the Warriors an uplifting 103-82 victory in Game 4 at Quicken Loans Arena to tie up this series 2-2 with Game 5 set for Sunday back in Oakland.
“The move changes the chess board,” Kerr said. “So I think it was important to get better spacing.
“We had five guys out there who can run pretty fast; so we got up and down the floor pretty quickly, and that helped us get off to a better start.”
Iguodala played brilliantly matched against James, David Lee came off the bench and gave the Warriors productive minutes and Curry helped seal the deal in the fourth quarter.
All set up by Kerr’s move, in the nick of time.
This was a coach reading his team, reading the time and the place and delivering — just like Kerr pulled off two rounds ago, when he made a major defensive change in the Memphis series in this exact same dire circumstance.
So this is what the Warriors are learning about their rookie coach: When the pressure is the highest, Kerr and his staff can figure out a way to change the tone of a rough series.
And this time, this was with a championship on the line, with the Warriors facing the prospect of possibly going down 3-1, an almost sure-death situation.
This was under the spotlight, with his team floundering and an NBA title receding into the distance.
That took some guts.
What was the reaction of the players when Kerr told them he was making the move?
“It made sense when he told us just because we’ve been getting off to such slow starts,” Curry said.
So what do they think of their coach now?
“Not afraid to take a chance,” Curry said of Kerr, “and obviously it’s not a blind guess. He’s obviously invested in our team and a smart coach that is willing to make adjustments to help us win a game.”
Against Memphis in the West semifinals, when the Warriors were also down 2-1 in the series and also facing a do-or-die moment, Kerr made a huge switch in defensive assignments that kicked the Warriors back to life to start Game 4.
In this Game 4, it was the small-ball offense that fed the defense for the Warriors.
Also, in another quintessential example of Kerr’s many levels, he faced this moment of truth by issuing a big, old public fib.
Before the game, when he was asked — by me, among others — whether he would be making a lineup change, Kerr bluntly said there would be no change.
His postgame explanation: “I lied. I did. “¦ My options were to tell the truth “¦ so if I tell the truth, it’s the equivalent of me knocking on (Cleveland coach) David Blatt’s door and saying, ‘Hey, this is what we’re going to do.’ “¦
“So I lied. Sorry, but I don’t think they hand you the trophy based on morality. They give it to you if you win.”
Right after his news conference, Kerr spotted me and instantly apologized personally, saying he had to do it.
I told him that I understood that coaches have to do what they can and also that he’s 1-0 in games when he publicly lies straight to my face.
He laughed, and he could afford to.
Kerr also has a new habit of pulling coaching magic tricks precisely when they are at their most desperate, which is not a terrible reputation for a coach to develop on the largest stage exactly when his team needs it.
Read Tim Kawakami’s Talking Points blog at blogs.mercurynews.com/kawakami. Contact him at tkawakami@mercurynews.com or 408-920-5442. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/timkawakami.
Lebron>Kerr's coaching.
Blatt's lack of coaching lost game 4.
It's that simple.
That's the way I see it.
You are free to think that Blatt is genius who is out coaching Kerr.
BTW, I'll give it up to Blatt for game 3.
I think he did a better job than Kerr in that one.
Your being extra with that genius comment.
Lebron didn't play defense on Curry in 2 & 3. Della did. The cavs defense is what slowed them down. That not a Lebron only advantage.
Again u have yet to explain how a coach coming from behind is out playing the other.
SI writer made a great point about the differences between the Warriors and the Cavs. In Game 2 and 3 the Warriors were playing really bad yet pushed 2nd game to overtime and made a big surge at the end of Game 3. The Cavs have a bad game and get blown up by 20 points in Game 4. It's sort of like Memphis. If you can break their defense they don't have the bodies and scoring to come back.
Comments
How easy it is to forget how he simply choked in the 2010/11 playoffs. He didn't get a ring until he had Wade,Bosh and Allen.
You know who never choked,complained or was afraid to take the last shot?
LARRY THE LEGEND BIRD!
1)So far better career shooter,passer,rebounder (stats don't lie)
2)Played against stiffer defense oriented half court teams ie:Motor City Badboys Pistons and legendary players like Thomas,Magic,Jordan,Dr.J!
LeBron plays in an offense favored watered down league where a foul is called for hand checking him. In the 80's teams like the Pistons ended players careers!
3) Bird always wanted the ball with the game on the line ...LBJ gets flustered and pouts when things go south see 2010/11
4)Bird put up great numbers despite debilitating pain most of the last half of his career. LBJ so far hasn't dealt with any major injuries. You can bet when he does start to downslide though it will be sudden and dramatic.
Didnt Lee prove in the series vs Memphis that he's used to East Coast/Bang-up ball?
Seemed like GSW tried to adjust to the D on Curry and Thompson by changing the sets, having other people move the ball.
I think tonight they will return to the philosophy that Curry can't be stopped.
This one's been good, but I think I really enjoyed the 2013 Spurs/Heat matchup as well. Two heavyweights going 7 games.
And last year's Finals, which featured some of the best basketball ever played.
This year's playoffs were kinda lame, but the Finals have been really competitive. Cleveland's bringing it more than I thought they possibly could--love seeing an underdog fight like this.
Have not looked at the box score but GSW rebounding sucked.
Seemed like Cavs got more offensive rebounds than GSW got total rebounds.
Joey Crawford
[removed][removed]
This video cuts off too soon because Curry pushes him and tells him to go back to his bench but you get the idea
JR and Shump are who we thought they were
Delly too, apparently
can Lebron physically keep this shit up? Blatt took him out for crucial minutes, presumably because he is exhausted
I like the W's chances. Even if Lee and Iggy gotta drag the splash bros across the finish line
Bad coaching.
He played him way too many minutes in the first 3. He was gassed during over time. A good coach manages a players minutes so they have energy at the end of the game. And enough energy for the next game.
It not bad coaching. That way too simplistic.
They wouldnt have won if he didnt play those minutes.
LeBron dictates his minutes and when he feels tired.
With 2 starters out, LeBron knows he has to play beyond his usual minutes.
They also have reserves playing starter minutes as well.
Who are you going to dust off from the bench?
Brendan Heywood, The Matrix, and Kendrick Perkins?
Considering that the Cavs immediately go to shit as soon as LeBron hits the bench, what alternative does Blatt have, really? He can run LeBron into the ground and hopefully win some games, or he can rest LeBron and possibly sacrifice some wins in anticipation of later games that they never reach. It's a serious rock v. hard place scenario made even worse by the fact that the Cavs barely have enough warm bodies to meet the roster minimum (hell, Irving is still on the active roster).
I think having players tell the coach when and how they are going to play causes problems for the coach and team.
Should be the coaches decision.
I think Smith and Jones have mostly been the players off the bench.
The Cavs are hurting. This would be a different series with Love and Irving. Everyone knows that.
The Cavs are still one of the two best teams in the NBA.
For the Cavs to win more games, Blatt is going to have to come up with a solution greater than "let Lebron do it".
No one can out play Lebron, but the Cavs are being out coached.
After 3 games it took Kerr to insert Iggy into the starting line-up and sit slow ass Bogut, to counter the Cavs grinding defense.
It took Kerr 3 three whole games to adjust and Blatt is being out coached?
WTF?
I don't consider telling Lebron to play till hes gassed coaching.
I think Cavs are being out coached.
If you don't see it that's fine.
Again....LeBron dictates his minutes not Blatt.
This was the GSW responding after being down, yet Kerr has had the edge???
How does one get out-coached being up 2-1?
I dont see it because you cant explain it.
Blatt's lack of coaching lost game 4.
It's that simple.
That's the way I see it.
You are free to think that Blatt is genius who is out coaching Kerr.
BTW, I'll give it up to Blatt for game 3.
I think he did a better job than Kerr in that one.
CLEVELAND — It was another thunderous moment of truth, and another moment when Steve Kerr intervened, took a risk and chest-thumped the Warriors back to life.
It was the biggest moment yet. It was a defining NBA Finals event for Kerr’s young coaching career, a turning of the tide, a decisive strategic magic trick.
It probably saved the Warriors’ season — for the second time in these playoffs.
And it was the purest, savviest, boldest essence of who Kerr is, why he’s here and how much further he can take the Warriors.
The move: After losing back-to-back games to LeBron James’ Cavaliers, Kerr took center Andrew Bogut out of the lineup, put forward Andre Iguodala in and went all-in with the Warriors’ small lineup, with Draymond Green at center.
That took some guts, but it sped everything up, pushed the Warriors to a whirlwind first-quarter lead and just got the Warriors feeling like themselves again after two troubled games.
Put it all together, and it gave the Warriors an uplifting 103-82 victory in Game 4 at Quicken Loans Arena to tie up this series 2-2 with Game 5 set for Sunday back in Oakland.
“The move changes the chess board,” Kerr said. “So I think it was important to get better spacing.
“We had five guys out there who can run pretty fast; so we got up and down the floor pretty quickly, and that helped us get off to a better start.”
Iguodala played brilliantly matched against James, David Lee came off the bench and gave the Warriors productive minutes and Curry helped seal the deal in the fourth quarter.
All set up by Kerr’s move, in the nick of time.
This was a coach reading his team, reading the time and the place and delivering — just like Kerr pulled off two rounds ago, when he made a major defensive change in the Memphis series in this exact same dire circumstance.
So this is what the Warriors are learning about their rookie coach: When the pressure is the highest, Kerr and his staff can figure out a way to change the tone of a rough series.
And this time, this was with a championship on the line, with the Warriors facing the prospect of possibly going down 3-1, an almost sure-death situation.
This was under the spotlight, with his team floundering and an NBA title receding into the distance.
That took some guts.
What was the reaction of the players when Kerr told them he was making the move?
“It made sense when he told us just because we’ve been getting off to such slow starts,” Curry said.
So what do they think of their coach now?
“Not afraid to take a chance,” Curry said of Kerr, “and obviously it’s not a blind guess. He’s obviously invested in our team and a smart coach that is willing to make adjustments to help us win a game.”
Against Memphis in the West semifinals, when the Warriors were also down 2-1 in the series and also facing a do-or-die moment, Kerr made a huge switch in defensive assignments that kicked the Warriors back to life to start Game 4.
In this Game 4, it was the small-ball offense that fed the defense for the Warriors.
Also, in another quintessential example of Kerr’s many levels, he faced this moment of truth by issuing a big, old public fib.
Before the game, when he was asked — by me, among others — whether he would be making a lineup change, Kerr bluntly said there would be no change.
His postgame explanation: “I lied. I did. “¦ My options were to tell the truth “¦ so if I tell the truth, it’s the equivalent of me knocking on (Cleveland coach) David Blatt’s door and saying, ‘Hey, this is what we’re going to do.’ “¦
“So I lied. Sorry, but I don’t think they hand you the trophy based on morality. They give it to you if you win.”
Right after his news conference, Kerr spotted me and instantly apologized personally, saying he had to do it.
I told him that I understood that coaches have to do what they can and also that he’s 1-0 in games when he publicly lies straight to my face.
He laughed, and he could afford to.
Kerr also has a new habit of pulling coaching magic tricks precisely when they are at their most desperate, which is not a terrible reputation for a coach to develop on the largest stage exactly when his team needs it.
Read Tim Kawakami’s Talking Points blog at blogs.mercurynews.com/kawakami. Contact him at tkawakami@mercurynews.com or 408-920-5442. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/timkawakami.
Your being extra with that genius comment.
Lebron didn't play defense on Curry in 2 & 3. Della did. The cavs defense is what slowed them down. That not a Lebron only advantage.
Again u have yet to explain how a coach coming from behind is out playing the other.