Posted by zeldafan on 5/24/2017 8:42:00 PM (view original):
Posted by wylie715 on 5/24/2017 7:30:00 PM (view original):
Posted by zeldafan on 5/24/2017 1:49:00 PM (view original):
Posted by wylie715 on 5/24/2017 1:02:00 PM (view original):
I'm not a big LeBron fan, but the greatest roster in the history of the game?? I don't think so. Irving is great. Love is good. Thompson is good. Nobody else on that roster really stands out.
Awe poor baby. He only has two all stars in their primes. I feel so sorry for him.
two all stars in their prime does not make the "greatest roster in the history of the game". I'd rather have the Warrior roster surrounding KD than the Cav roster surrounding LeBron.
Oh bullshit... no great in history has had more talent around them than Lebron during their prime. On top of that he's played in the weakest conference the sport has ever seen. I took great pleasure in seeing him get humiliated by the Mavericks in 2011 and the Spurs in 2014.
This is just nonsense the 90's is by far the weakest decade and it isn't close. In the entire 6 season run by the Bulls, the Bulls played exactly four series against an opponent with at least 2 HOFers and those teams were the 91 Lakers (who were very old), the 91 Pistons (who were also very old and toast within a season), and the 97 and 98 Jazz (with Malone and Stockton both in their mid 30's).
Every single team James has played in his current 7 season run in the Finals had at least 2 HOFers (assuming Klay gets there) and James went through Boston, Brooklyn, and maybe Chicago (Pau, Butler, Rose all have shots at the HOF). And just to stay consistent James' 07 Finals team beat a Nets team with Kidd and Carter, a Pistons team with Chauncey, Rip, Webber, and Sheed (all possible inductees though CWeb the only given), and then lost to the Spurs with TD, Parker, and Manu.
So in James' 8 Finals season he has played at least 11 teams with multiple HOFers and at least 2 more teams that have a real shot at that.
Now if we look at James' playoff exits for his entire career and compare those teams to his team.
Cleveland first stint - James only HOF
06 - Pistons - Big Ben, Rip, Chauncey
07 - Spurs - 3 HOFers
08 - Celtics - 3 HOFers (and Rondo)
Cleveland adds washed up Big Ben for 09
09 - Magic - 1 HOFer - clear upset loss
Cleveland swaps washed up Big Ben for washed up Shaq in 10
10 - Celtics - 3 HOFers (and Rondo)
Joins Bosh and Wade in Miami - so 3 HOFers (though Bosh might not get there now)
11 - Mavericks - 2 HOFers (including a very old Kidd) - clear upset loss
12 - win title against 3 HOFer Thunder in Finals
Add old Ray Allen
13 - win title against 4 HOFer Spurs (assuming Kawhi continues his progression) - Heat were not favored
14 - Spurs - 4 HOFers
Back to Cavs joins Irving and Love (who for this exercise we will call HOFers though neither is given)
15 - Warriors - 2/3 HOFers (Curry and Thompson, maybe Green), however Love unavailable for entire Finals and Irving hurt in game 1 - so essentially just Lebron
16 - win title against 2/3 HOFers Warriors in Finals - Cavs were not favored
17 - facing 3/4 HOFers Warriors in Finals
so how about Jordan
Bulls - only HOFer
85 - Bucks - 0 HOFers
Add Gervin
86 - Celtics - 5 HOFers
Lose Gervin
87 - Celtics - 5 HOFers
Add Pippen
88 - Pistons - 4 HOFers
89 - Pistons - 3 HOFers
90 - Pistons - 3 HOFers
Then the first 3 peat, which described above.
Jordan comes back during 95 season re-joining Pippen
95 - Magic - 1 HOFer
Rodman joins the Bulls for the next 3 peat and the Bulls in all 12 series only face a team with even 2 HOFers just two times (the aforementioned Jazz teams).
You see Jordan didn't win until the super teams of the 80's fell apart and he was left with a watered down league with no legitimate challengers. It was a foregone conclusion the Bulls were going to win in the 90's and it wasn't just because Jordan was that good, it was because Jordan was paired with perhaps the 2nd best player in the league in a time when very few teams even had 2 HOF level players on their rosters.