NBA Finals (Heat vs Lakers)

[SnottieDrippen]

Jimmy Butler might have moved into the top-5 OAT discussion last night after his masterpiece, and with so much of his team hurt, and against the juggernaut that is the Lakers. This guy is clearly the best player in this series. 

[bugatti]

24 minutes ago, Jack of all Trades said:

Someone needs to get LeBron a blanket and pacifier.  Guy cries more than anyone I have seen.  Gets most if not every call and when he doesn’t he whines.  Walked off the court last night when they got beat, wow!  

I honestly do not think he was doing it out of poor sportsmanship. He did it because he knew the cameras were on him, but I genuinely believe he thought the horn would sound. One of those, "my bad, I didn't mean to do that" moments.

[bugatti]

10 minutes ago, SnottieDrippen said:

Jimmy Butler might have moved into the top-5 OAT discussion last night after his masterpiece, and with so much of his team hurt, and against the juggernaut that is the Lakers. This guy is clearly the best player in this series. 

If you ask Butler he would tell you he is in that discussion. That is what makes him who he is.

[mcpapa]

3 hours ago, bugatti said:

I honestly do not think he was doing it out of poor sportsmanship. He did it because he knew the cameras were on him, but I genuinely believe he thought the horn would sound. One of those, "my bad, I didn't mean to do that" moments.

There was seven tenths of a second left on the clock.  Much ado about nothing.  

[bugatti]

29 minutes ago, mcpapa said:

There was seven tenths of a second left on the clock.  Much ado about nothing.  

Seven-tenths when the shot clock horn went off. He had exited before then. But yes, much ado.

[SnottieDrippen]

5 hours ago, bugatti said:

I honestly do not think he was doing it out of poor sportsmanship. He did it because he knew the cameras were on him, but I genuinely believe he thought the horn would sound. One of those, "my bad, I didn't mean to do that" moments.

Yeah right... Another case of LeBron being a diva and a sore loser. Though it is common practice in Playoffs series to not do the hand shaking and all that follows the conclusion of a regular season game. 

5 hours ago, bugatti said:

If you ask Butler he would tell you he is in that discussion. That is what makes him who he is.

Hyperbole aside, I agree, and it's what I respect about him other than his game. On the other hand, it simply isn't true.

[Jumper_Dad]

7 hours ago, Jack of all Trades said:

Someone needs to get LeBron a blanket and pacifier.  Guy cries more than anyone I have seen.  Gets most if not every call and when he doesn’t he whines.  Walked off the court last night when they got beat, wow!  

Players always walk off the court without shaking hands while the series is still going on. There may be one or two that speak afterwards but most just leave. I've seen it happen in nearly every game this post season. If he walks off after getting eliminated without shaking hands, then you'll have a story.

[Jack of all Trades]

1 hour ago, Jumper_Dad said:

Players always walk off the court without shaking hands while the series is still going on. There may be one or two that speak afterwards but most just leave. I've seen it happen in nearly every game this post season. If he walks off after getting eliminated without shaking hands, then you'll have a story.

No the story is that he is a crybaby.  He never fouls and he always gets fouled.  A majority of calls go his way.  Example was last night when he stepped on one guys foot and then tripped over another and a foul gets called on Miami.  

This guy is nowhere near the best player ever and might barely make the top 5 of Lakers.

[Jumper_Dad]

22 hours ago, Jack of all Trades said:

No the story is that he is a crybaby.  He never fouls and he always gets fouled.  A majority of calls go his way.  Example was last night when he stepped on one guys foot and then tripped over another and a foul gets called on Miami.  

This guy is nowhere near the best player ever and might barely make the top 5 of Lakers.

I agree that he's not the GOAT, I never said that he was. Unless he stays a decade in LA he doesn't even deserve consideration as an all-time Laker.

As far as his being a cry baby, there have been players like that since I started watching in the 70's, they never thought they committed a foul and then felt that they were fouled on every shot. 

[SnottieDrippen]

If you think NBA players are crybabies, you should go to a high school game... Less knowledgable players, coaches, officials, and fans. And large percentage of each group listed complain more than any professional game I've seen

There's undoubtedly an aspect of selling calls because the pros are so strong that you think it takes more force than it actually does to impede their shooting/passing/dribbling motions. 

As JD mentioned, LeBron is not the first and won't be the last to complain about calls, and he is not in the same league as Pau Gasol and Tim Duncan, who, for my money, are the biggest offenders of this complaint in the league's history.

[bugatti]

And the reality is, crying for calls is now as much about manipulating the referees than it is about actually thinking you were fouled. Same with selling calls (i.e. flopping). It is gamesmanship at its worst. Until the players want it corrected it is here to stay. 

[bugatti]

Wishing this series would have ended last night, but we have to wait around until Friday night now for this year's championship to be awarded.

[theguru]

1 hour ago, bugatti said:

Wishing this series would have ended last night, but we have to wait around until Friday night now for this year's championship to be awarded.

Do you think the Heat have any chance to win the series?

And it was nice seeing Rondo make a couple of clutch plays near the end. 

[bugatti]

50 minutes ago, theguru said:

Do you think the Heat have any chance to win the series?

And it was nice seeing Rondo make a couple of clutch plays near the end. 

Absent a catastrophic injury this one is over.

[theguru]

I just saw a report saying the NBA ratings are down 45% and game 3 was the least watched in recorded ratings history.

I also saw a report where Adam Silver said next season will focus on “returning to normalcy.”

Money talks!