The NBA Finals thread

[Angels_Make_Me_Drink]

Damn.

And if Lebron was on your team, you'd be first in line to blow him

And if you knew me, I wouldn't.

And I hope we don't sign him because we won't be able to build a team around him in time to compete while you can still get rings out of him. And he wouldn't come here for that reason. Players are judged on championships when all is said and done, he needs to go somewhere where he can improve that 2-3 mark he has.

[Punk]

The Spurs, Lakers and Heat have combined to win 13 of the last 16 championships.

 

[halobob]

On any other team Leonard would be a star

I hope he comes back home to so cal when he is a free agent.

[RallyMo]

I hope he comes back home to so cal when he is a free agent.

 

I don't know, man. 

 

The Spurs are unique.

 

Depending on how he likes the culture and his life here, I wouldn't be shocked to see him be a Spur for life.

 

Look at how effectively the Spurs build around their star players and how good they are at retaining them. I think it depends on how long Pop wants to stick around and how they groom a successor. 

Edited June 16, 2014 by RallyMo

[nate]

I think Pop will retire soon.

[Catwhoshatinthehat]

San Antonio has been the model of consistency and best run franchise in the NBA since they drafted Duncan.  That said once he's gone they're going to take a step back because it's not easy to replace a top 10 all time NBA player who's been anchoring the middle for you for 15+ years.  Popovich is a great coach but I wouldn't blame him if he retired when Duncan does because despite how well run the franchise is and how good they've been in the draft they're going to take a step back.  It may not be a brutal process like it is for some teams but it could take a few years to get back to the elite status.

[RallyMo]

San Antonio has been the model of consistency and best run franchise in the NBA since they drafted Duncan.  That said once he's gone they're going to take a step back because it's not easy to replace a top 10 all time NBA player who's been anchoring the middle for you for 15+ years.  Popovich is a great coach but I wouldn't blame him if he retired when Duncan does because despite how well run the franchise is and how good they've been in the draft they're going to take a step back.  It may not be a brutal process like it is for some teams but it could take a few years to get back to the elite status.

 

Absolutely. It's going to be impossible to duplicate what they've done.

 

Even though I live in San Antonio and I was rooting for them, I'm not a Spurs fan. I want the Lakers to beat them every time they face them.

 

With that said, I'd rather have what Spurs fans have had for the last twenty or so years than what the Lakers have had in that same time frame. Being able to watch the same core group of guys for about a decade and a half and have them be in it and winning titles over that same time frame must be spectacularly enjoyable.

 

They play basketball the way you would dream it would be played. They're not selfish. The ball movement is mesmerizing. They defer to one another when the time is right. They are the epitome of a team. The organization doesn't really feature a lot of off court drama (of course, there is some).

 

These videos really sum it all up pretty well:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPaH44ISY20

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BXhWvA_vHg&feature=youtu.be

Edited June 16, 2014 by RallyMo

[Hollyw00d]

He's a witch doctor brah. Watch yo back Nate!

The Spurs, Lakers and Heat have combined to win 13 of the last 16 championships.

Wow.

That's really exciting for the other 29 teams in the league,

The NBA sucks.

Edited June 17, 2014 by Hollyw00d

[OregonLAA]

The Spurs, Lakers and Heat have combined to win 13 of the last 16 championships.

 

Lame. How is basketball even popular with numbers like that?

[Punk]

I'm a Lakers fan, so I can't complain.

[nate]

No matter what you do you can't force parity in the NBA because one or two players usually determine if a team is good or not.  The NBA sucks for that one reason.  It is an individual sport disguised as a team sport.

[Stradling]

I read somewhere, I don't remember where, that sports are most popular when there is one dominating team.

[Hollyw00d]

Obviously that is BS, because football is king and it has the most parity of any professional sport. Except maybe golf, when tiger isn't playing

Edited June 17, 2014 by Hollyw00d

[OregonLAA]

Obviously that is BS, because football is king and it has the most parity of any professional sport. Except maybe golf, when tiger isn't playing

I agree with Nate that basketball is driven by a couple guys way too much.

Also baseball has more parity despite significant payroll differences