2014-2015 NBA Season

RattlerGator · May 28, 2015, 09:40:27 AM

This could turn out to be a truly great series. LeBron's uniqueness happens to fit with the in-season pieces they've put together in Cleveland to make for a truly underestimated team. It's almost as if these castaways were exactly what the Association needed to exhibit just how great LeBron is. And then along comes slight Steph Curry to give us the beauty of the game from the opposite end -- I agree, I-10east, I'm excited to see what's gonna be what and I'll be pleased with either winner.

RattlerGator · May 28, 2015, 09:45:48 AM

By the way:

Ten of the 11 former Florida Gators basketball players in NBA advanced to the league's postseason for the 2014-15 season. The Gators were represented on nine of the 16 playoff teams with four starters and six reserves active for competition. The 10 total UF players in the postseason marked the most of any school this year.

Three have since advanced to the 2015 NBA Finals, representing both of the teams remaining in the field. As such, a former Florida player is guaranteed to win the NBA Finals for the *fifth* consecutive season.

http://www.onlygators.com/05/28/2015/florida-gators-in-2015-nba-playoffs-finals/#ixzz3bRN3hXUz

I thought I'd add this as a way of saying Thank You, Billy Donovan! The State of Florida is going to miss that man.

Wacca Pilatka · May 28, 2015, 10:05:53 AM

It'll be nice to see a new team as a title winner for once, even though LeBron's presence maybe makes the Cavs seem less "new" to the Finals. I've been watching the NBA since 1984, and in that time span, the only teams to have won titles are the Celtics, Rockets, Spurs, Lakers, Pistons, Bulls, Heat, and Mavericks. I just wanted to see a different franchise win it this year. Now, that's guaranteed.

thelakelander · May 28, 2015, 10:12:52 AM

What would LeBron do without James Jones and his five straight trips to the finals

?

Seriously though, it's kind of crazy that only 8 franchises have won titles over the last 31 years. Out of those 8, the Mavericks are the only one to not win multiple titles.

KenFSU · May 28, 2015, 11:53:04 AM

CANNOT wait for the Finals.

Also, five straight Finals appearances for Lebron.

That's pretty wild.

Nowhere near ready to put Lebron in the same conversation with Jordan, but curious how you guys think Lebron stacks up to Kobe as an all-time great. Obviously Lebron's the better all-around player, but I still think Kobe's had the better career.

Steve · May 28, 2015, 12:02:06 PM

Heard a crazy (related) trivia question a few weeks ago: When was the last NBA Finals played without Tim Duncan, Dwayne Wade, or Kobe Bryant?

thelakelander · May 28, 2015, 12:02:52 PM

LeBron is a better all around player and teammate. Kobe is the exact opposite. Kobe has had the better career but LeBron could probably go on to play another decade at a decent level.

thelakelander · May 28, 2015, 12:05:17 PM

Quote from: Steve on May 28, 2015, 12:02:06 PM
Heard a crazy (related) trivia question a few weeks ago: When was the last NBA Finals played without Tim Duncan, Dwayne Wade, or Kobe Bryant?

Jordan's last ring in 1998.

Steve · May 28, 2015, 12:29:30 PM

Yep. Pretty amazing.

Of all of the league, It seems like the NBA struggles with parity the most.

JaxJersey-licious · May 28, 2015, 12:53:24 PM

Quote from: Wacca Pilatka on May 28, 2015, 10:05:53 AM
I've been watching the NBA since 1984, and in that time span, the only teams to have won titles are the Celtics, Rockets, Spurs, Lakers, Pistons, Bulls, Heat, and Mavericks. I just wanted to see a different franchise win it this year. Now, that's guaranteed.

Yeah, I'm really looking forward to the Finals this year for that exact same reason and the fact that both teams have rookie coaches, have been historically awful, and are clearly the best teams in their respective conferences this year.

What's just as incredible as the fact that only a select number of teams have championships over the last 30 years were how many stellar teams had multiple opportunities to contend for a title and just couldn't get over the buzzsaws they ran into: Blazers, Pacers, Knicks, Suns, Jazz, Nets, Thunder. Mavs are the lone exception with their well-earned title.

thelakelander · May 28, 2015, 01:14:00 PM

Only because the King wetted in his pants! Wade stepped back after that loss to help LeBron elevate his game to the guy dragging the Cavs with him today!

Wacca Pilatka · May 28, 2015, 02:03:47 PM

Quote from: Steve on May 28, 2015, 12:29:30 PM
Yep. Pretty amazing.

Of all of the league, It seems like the NBA struggles with parity the most.

With the smaller rosters, having one transcendent player just has that much bigger of an impact, I guess. An NFL team can saddle a brilliant quarterback with a pedestrian roster and not rise above 8-8, or the early 00s Rangers can feature prime A-Rod and a terrible pitching staff and finish with a losing record. But there's no way an NBA team with a healthy, prime-years Jordan or LeBron or Shaq wins fewer than 50 even with a weak supporting cast.

And it almost seems detrimental to have a deep, balanced roster of good players, because such teams almost always fall to the team with a transcendent star or two, even if the latter has animated corpses making up most of the rest of the roster.

thelakelander · May 28, 2015, 02:32:05 PM

^Pretty much. Those one or two transcendent players typically have the talent to elevate their game to incredible levels that significantly exceed their norm. So even a Michael Jackson, held down by a team of Titos, can win a few individual games on their own. However, they become unstoppable when Tito starts nailing his tunes.

KenFSU · May 28, 2015, 03:24:21 PM

Quote from: Wacca Pilatka on May 28, 2015, 10:05:53 AM
It'll be nice to see a new team as a title winner for once, even though LeBron's presence maybe makes the Cavs seem less "new" to the Finals. I've been watching the NBA since 1984, and in that time span, the only teams to have won titles are the Celtics, Rockets, Spurs, Lakers, Pistons, Bulls, Heat, and Mavericks. I just wanted to see a different franchise win it this year. Now, that's guaranteed.

You can also argue that Houston wouldn't even be on that list if Jordan hadn't taken a year and a half off to play baseball. In fact, it's crazy to think of just how many legit championship-caliber teams in that era simply couldn't get past Jordan:

The Ewing/Pat Riley Knicks.
The Malone/Stockton Jazz.
The Barkley/KJ Suns.
The Clyde Drexler Blazers.
The Reggie Miller/Rick Smits Pacers.
The Shaq/Penny Magic.

Wacca Pilatka · May 28, 2015, 03:30:36 PM

^ Agreed. I doubt Houston would be on that list.

Amazing how many good teams of the 80s and 90s never got a sniff of the title.

Then there were the very solid teams that were doomed to plateau at winning 50-55 and lose in the second round of the playoffs to one of the teams you mentioned (or earlier, the Lakers or Celtics or Pistons). Dominique's Hawks, the Run TMC Warriors, the Mark Aguirre Mavericks...Malone and Stockton were at that juncture for a solid 8 or 9 years before they made the Finals.

For a while there, the West was an absolute bloodbath with the Suns, Rockets, Blazers, Jazz, the Kemp/Payton Sonics, and the early Robinson Spurs fighting it out for the opportunity to lose to Jordan.