Welcome back to The Abode.
Warriors/Cavs III in the 2017 NBA Finals has been such a fun and entertaining series. GS annihilated the Lebrons the first two games, which was akin to a dog strolling into the park and pissing all over the place.
The series then shifted to Cleveland.
LeBron James was +7 in 46 minutes and his team lost by five. In a game of incredible stats, nothing touches that.
— Michael Pina (@MichaelVPina) June 8, 2017
And you probably scoffed at my designation for the Cavs as “The Lebrons.” Psssssshhh.
Sweep. Greatest team of all time. Dynasty. Blah blah blah. With the Warriors up 3-0, all of that talk was warranted but as the great Dennis Green once said:
Let ’em off the hook indeed. The Lebrons had Game 3. No if’s and’s or but’s about it.
Then Game 4 happened. All I could think about was NBA Jam. 86 point first half for the Cavs. 137 points total. 24-45 (53.3%) from three-point land. It was a shooting display of extraordinary magnitude.
Unfortunately, the prevailing topic of conversation was the ineptitude of the referees. Conspiracy theories began to surface. Tim Donaghy anyone? The only problem is that both sides were screaming conspiracy and there was evidence to support both. Now, I’m a tinfoil hat wearer on many issues, but I don’t want to plant my flag on the conspiracy angle for Game 4. Instead….
I just want to appreciate the greatness that we are witnessing. See what I did there?
The shot-making and ball movement has been incredible.
https://gfycat.com/ThisHiddenEarthworm
I mean…c’mon. That is insane. I don’t think it’s possible to string those moves together in NBA 2K. Like, after that first spin away from Livingston, right when he lands from the spin, he immediately crosses over. I don’t think the coding and power of the PS4 would be able to handle that. Then, he drives into the lane and tear drops over…not one…not two…but three defenders.
Then there’s this:
https://gfycat.com/PaleAlarmingAfricanporcupine
Remember when Love shut Curry down in a similar situation last year? Yeah, not happening with a healthy Curry. With that said, it’s incredible D for a man of Love’s size. There’s been all that talk about players from the past smoking the Warriors.
“They’re all right. They would all kill us. The game gets worse as time goes on. Players are less talented than they used to be. The guys in the 50s would’ve destroyed everybody. It’s weird how human evolution goes in reverse in sports. Players get weaker, smaller, less skilled. I don’t know. I can’t explain it.” [The Mercury News]
Exactly. I can’t think of many power forwards from the past that could’ve contested that Curry shot: Shawn Kemp, Charles Barkley, and Tom Chambers pop into my head, but they were the outliers and I still have a modicum of doubt that they would’ve gotten their ankles broken on that move.
https://gfycat.com/SnivelingPowerlessIndigobunting
That’s good D. The Cavs know the play. Schumpert gets clipped a little by the Livingston screen, which gives Steph that sliver of daylight, but Jefferson is there to contest. Granted, he probably should’ve been a step or two higher, but still….That’s solid D. Just an incredible shot.
Speaking of better O:
https://gfycat.com/SafeWhirlwindDiamondbackrattlesnake
That’s a 7-footer doing that. And Lebron flies in at the last moment. So sick.
https://gfycat.com/GloomyScaredAnt
26 feet out? Shot making.
Michael Jordan of China!
Believe it or not @TheRealJRSmith once had 52pts,22reb, 11 3pts & 7 stls in 1 game. In the same season he had 60pts pic.twitter.com/bSCSSh2Ngu— NBA ALL DAY (@NBA_ALLDAY23) June 11, 2017
Someone shot JR to begin the series, as he was non-existent in Games 1 and 2. But he is resurrected and alive!!!
JR always has a special place in my heart.
https://gfycat.com/DeafeningTidyAnhinga
I just had an orgasm. It doesn’t get any better than that. It was so good that even Deron Williams couldn’t f#@! it up.
Anyways, I’m hoping for an awesome Game 5, but I think the Cavs shot their load. There’s only so much a man/woman/team has, right? If you are able to spend the night with <insert woman/man of your dreams>, it takes time to recover for the next round of action, right? Who am I kidding? I talked myself into a more competitive Game 5. With that said, I hope we continue to see greatness.
