Can LeBron do it again vs. the Spurs?

i don't think CAVS can keep up with the SPURS speed. they have speed, talent and they know how to make baskets. but , i know one man make difference....like the last year final between MAVS and HEAT.....from where i see its gonna be 4-1 game.

Sleepy, though my team was out a while ago, I really won't be surprised if the Cavs take the cake and eat it too this year. Spurs were the best team in the playoffs, no doubt about it, but in the regular season, both these teams met twice where the Cavs beat the Spurs both times (including once at the Alamo...Never been done by the Cavs since 1988). Judging by that, it looks like the Spurs are in for some serious competition. We all know LeBron is gonna go all out, he's gonna shine as this is the beginning of his era of dominance...The old lion goes down to the new one. Go Cavs, you beautiful underdogs, the magnificent dark horses!! LOL!!

Samsara, I knew you would show up and try to defend the "weak" east. I dont know if you got a chance to read my comments on the last thread about how weak the east is... Anyway, here is one stat that you cant deny:
Post Michael NBA Champions: East Team 2 - West Team 6

The west is just too deep. I mean, any of those teams in the west could put up a competitive fight against the east's best team. The same cannot be said about the east. Imagine what would happen to the Wizards had they made it to the finals. Other than chicago, detroit and cavs, they did nt have much. Then throw in the Gregg Oden sweep stakes where most East teams realized that they were nt good enough to have a respectable record, so they benched all their stars with some mysterious injuries to lose as many games as possible for a higher chance for a top draft pick. As we know, that did nt work out all too well... but what I am saying is that, compare divisions like the one SA, HOouston and Dallas are in... vs any of the divisions in the east.... Over the course of the season and the playoffs, its much harder for the western conference...

Yeah, the East is weak, but not watered down...Hell no! We have a few elite teams (If the 2006 champs: The Heat, 2004 champs: Pistons, and the 2007 chmps, Cavs are your so called version of "Watered down teams", then I wonder what you think of the teams that lost to them). Yeah yeah, everyone talks about the post Jordan era, where the East failed to win the champlionships for about 5-6 years in between. but, what about the 2001 Lakers who swept all the teams in the Western conference playoffs with ease but lost the first game to Philly in the Finals?? The West then was hyped to be all that but with Philly's first game win, the east finally lost its step-child status.

You talk about match-ups as though that determines the winner straight up, hahaha thats naiveity at its zenith. The NBA is not about that and it never was except for a few instances. Who in the league could match up one-on-one to Shaq or Kobe during the the Laker dynasty? The Spurs broke that theory and so did Detroit the very next year. I still say that last year, Wade single handedly killed the Mavs…Shaq is an old warrior living off his glory days and to give him credit for the NBA championship at Miami would only gonna blemish his myth.

Lets all cut the bull and let the facts do the talking. LeBron is gonna kill the Spurs, and I (of all people) want this to be the beginning of a new era. Since Jordan left, the NBA looked desperately for a superman among its Justice League of Heroes and as far as I see, it has found its new ratings man. Go James, the Cavs are gonna seek and destroy the Spurs...But its gonna be a hard fought series, I give you that. My prediction: Cavs win 4-2.

Lol, you could not be more wrong. Some of the things that you say is so outrageous, I dont know where to start. Anyway, I wont even bother arguing over such blasphemy. But again, I respect your opinion so lets leave it at that.
Funny you mentioned the Philly series. Quite a game that first one.

The reason I mentioned matchups was because I wanted to point out to everyone how ineffective Bowen gets against players more physical than him. If Matchups were nt part of the game, how in the world did Dalls lose in the first round and how in the world did Sacramento play the Spurs so well last year?? About the Cavs... Take a look at each player of both teams and you will see that other than Lebron, the Spurs are more talented hands down. It takes more than one player to beat San Antonio. A few years ago, Amare went crazy, yet the Spurs nearly swept the Suns that year. I don't know how many more games Boobie can chip in 30 points for the Cavs. Their other star, Hughes is playing with some tear in his leg. Basically, all I am saying is that it would be very improbable that the Cavs can win the series. However, it is not Impossible.

Sleepy:
Are you in San Antonio too, or just a Spur fan??

Regarding the finals, I won't be surprised if this series ends up being 4-0, of 5-1 in favor of Spurs. Spurs are no Pistons...they have enough pride to no allow one guy like Lebron beat them...Also, just look at the way they defended 3-point line against Suns, and Jazz.....Gibson will get limited opportunity from the 3 point line, and Spurs are stout in interior defense....Having said that, Lebron will get his 20-30 points per game, and rest of the team will suffer....

Oh, BTW, West is way better than EAST !! It was fluke that Heat won last year, thanks to Dallas's choke job, and Thanks to internal bickering in the Lakers that allow Detroit to win in 04.....It ain't happening this year ! SPURS are the 2007 NBA Champions....I hope the ESPN folks understand, its the NBA Champs, not the World Champs...

there is no way for James to go through Spurs.
Spurs is a team and James is single.
Spurs can change the game in their favour anytime with the playes like Parker, Ginobilli. Duncan, Bowen etc.
so i think the game will go no more than Game 5, 4-1 for Spurs in the worst case otherwise the game will be 4-0.

i agree with knightcrawler... spurs are too good for Cavs. No doubt they showed an aswesom performance against Pistons...but i am not sure if they can play with the same level with spurs. plus I dont think anyone in Cavs has stop Tony Parker.. he is fast and he can penetrate... i would say spurs 5-1
and yeah i still dont understand whats with this espn guys and "world champion" thing. they did lose the championship didnt they?

GO SPURS GO!

Knight Crawler, I am not from San Antonio... just a long time Spurs fan...
Thanks guys for reinforcing what I have been saying all along. If anyone is interested... check out Bill Russel's comments on Tim on nba.com

LOL... Boston really has it tough... This is the second time they tanked the regular season in hopes for the 1st pick and it did nt work out.. If I was from Boston, I would boo the Celtics. I feel bad for "The Truth"... what a waste of talent and a brilliant career. I dont know who would win the worst executive of the year award.. isiah or danny ainge... its pretty close. The Knicks have a much higher payroll but at least they show more promise and had a better record...

Anyway, Detroit's defense, in spite of ranking high statistically, is not what it used to be. Hell, the NBA has pretty much out lawed any defense with all their rules to make the game "pretty".

One more thing, I noticed someone made a comment about how the NBA is boring now because there is no star power. Man, that is nonsense. Only an average fan who just watches the game for dunks and flashy moves would say that. The majority of the fans are "average" when it comes to basketball appreciation. I think it is just as great as it used to be during the MJ days. My only complain with the NBA is ... why is the damn regular season so freaking long???

spurs, rockets then mavs. or may be rockets, spurs and mavs.

Suike, funny you ask me that. Well, for one, they are in the same division (south west). Spurs, needless to say, they are my favorite team. However, I like other teams too.

For example, Dallas... still, they have the deepest team in the league. I do think Nowitzki is overrated. He is a great talent and has room for improvement. As impressive his shooting ability is, the more disappointing is his inability to take advantage of smaller players - as you all saw against GSW.. That being said, if the team is intact, they will be back next year.

As for Houston, T-Mac is incredible... his all around play, his playing style... he's amazing... As for Yao, that guy is really the second coming of Olajuwon. He sent Timmy back to the Virgin Islands high school this one game early in the season. Anyway, Battier was a great acquisition for them. They will be back next year. The injuries really hurt them.

I hope that answers your question.

Nice discussion guys !

Sleepy:
Other than my Lakers, I follow quiet a bit of Rockets. I agree with you that Dirk is over-rated. He is a great shooter, maybe one of the best in the league right now, but Superstars are supposed to shine when it really matters...and 2 years in a row, Dirk has disappointed Maverick fans, and gave people like you and myself to question his heart....When playoff starts, I tend to throw out regular season stats........

Now, back to Rockets, T-Mac is incredible, only when he is T-Mac....But, he becomes Tracy McGrady more often than, and thus, Rockets were out in the 1st round. T-Mac has been a below average shooter for 4th year running in the league....Its just that he has enough talent to be a superstar, but I sometimes think he takes games too casually. He played really against the Jazz, had like 16 assists on game 7, but the game Rockets had to win, and was there for the taking was Game 3 against Jazz...Tied at 72 with 7 mins to go. Yao and Hakim in the same sentence.....gimme a break ! Don't take me wrong, Yao is a really really good, but he can't be great. First, he is so timid as a Center. Hakim is training him right now, and might help...but, he needs to build more lower body strength....and play more physical....can't be harassed by a point guard....Well, enough said ! Battier is being considered for a trade to acquire Rashad Lewis...so, he might be on the way out....Rockets need a good point guard, more like what Lakers need...Lakers need t o sign Billups, and Jermaine O'Neil.......Oops, I am all over the map now...Chime in !!

4-0 Spurs --> Result

Yah I heard about Rashard Lewis going to Houston for Battier. I hope it does not happen. Rashard is a great talent, but I think Battier is such a good fit for Houston. They got pretty unlucky this year by missing McGrady and Ming for all those games. That does take a toll on you no matter what. It is however very fascinating to see Tracy show his all around game that he used to have back in Toronto.

Sorry Knight Crawler, I dont think the Lakers have enough cap room to accommodate both O'neal and Billups. I must say O'Neal would be an amazing acquisition. I would go as far to say that I would rather have J.O rather than Amare. Just because JO is more consistent and by a mile a much better defender. He also rebounds better. Obviously, he cannot get up like he used to when he was younger, but he is amazing.

lakers aint gettin o'neal, nah no way infact they might have to throw kobe away cause he is is being a cry baby."wwwwwwaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh I Wana be traded " , " NNAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH I dont wana be traded " . " I think I do wana be traded ", " I think I am confused" , " I think I dont know what I am doing". " I think I dont know what I want" , " cause my name is Kobe".

Well, all the talk and analysis is over... Guys, I hope you guys watch the game tonight and tell yourselves "Damn, that sleepy guy was so right"

I will say spurs in 6 but I would love to see the cavs beat them and take it to a game 7. It would be good for the nba, I'm bored with the spurs but I know there's a lot of people that dig them.

spurs in game 5 or game 6