****The Official 2014-15 NBA Thread****

"sports24/7 wrote:

I really think this part of it is so overlooked. It takes a special kind of player to be able to completely change their game and take a back seat.

That's part of the reason I believed that Lebron made a poor basketball decision by leaving Miami.

"sports24/7 wrote:

While it's way too early to tell, it always struck me as strange that they felt a guy with zero NBA experience would be the right guy to handle this job. This job, more than any in the NBA, is more about managing egos than the X's and O's of it. This guy has never dealt with one NBA superstar, let alone three (and a guy in Waiters who thinks he's a superstar).

I agree with your premise, but it's early in Cleveland. That is something that those three can eventually learn to do. Of course, it's also entirely possible that they never do.

It took the Heat a whole season for team players to play team bball and gel properly. NBA fans think it's so easy to do and yet there are these individual players on the Cavs 'trying' to play team ball. It's going to take them a loooong while. Lebron made a poor bball decision but it was a personal one. I think he knows it will take at least a season my be 3 or 4 but if he wins one championship in Cleveland he might think it was worth it. IF he gets too impatient and frustrated before then he may regret it because we all know winning is most important in sports.

We'd be up by 30 if we ever stop turning the ball over. This crap has got to stop.

"ckparrothead wrote:

I mean aside from the schadenfreude angle I don't know why people are looking at this situation where Kyrie Irving refuses to play team-oriented basketball and LeBron keeps having to talk to him about it and we're all pouncing on LeBron for this. This is Irving's deal, and it shows just how special a trio the Heat had managed to put together back in 2010.

Eh theres two things at work here imo....

1 is that Kyrie probably picked up some bad habits the last few years as a young player with no real stars or strong vets to keep him in line..
2 is that it shows Lebron needs the ball to be effective. Blatts system is designed to be less Iso and the same things Kyrie is struggling with is where Lebron is struggling with. Whats good for one has to be good for the other.

Personally I dont see this team winning anything as constructed. Theyd be better off trading Kyrie for a big and making Lebron a PG/primary ball handler. You cant make Kyrie a SG imo so thats the way the way to go.

6 games. 6 double digit wins.

Golden State at home on Saturday. Should be a big test for our new found defense . Hopefully, Terrence Jones and Patrick Beverly will be back in the lineup.

"rafael wrote:

That's part of the reason I believed that Lebron made a poor basketball decision by leaving Miami.

If it's true that Deng and Gasol were on the way, he made an awful basketball decision. I honestly wonder if winning championships is the most important thing to him right now though. He made some comments at the end of the year last year that made me wonder that, and that was what started to scare me a bit about him potentially leaving.

"jpep13 wrote:

With Wade and his back/knee problems, Want to see more Shabazz

Back problems?

That's Lebron.

Wade's issue has always been his left knee.

"Limbo wrote:

What's the timeline on that switch, you think? I was thinking around Christmas if they did actually make that change, maybe right after or something. But at the moment the way Cole's going...erm...

And man, this Cavs thing is so strange...and yet so predictable. At least the NBA has national storylines in November, I guess.

I think people outside of Miami didn't realize/underestimated how intelligently and professionally Wade handled everything. People had the wrong impression of him for some reason, and maybe underestimated the importance of he and LeBron's friendship. Bosh's super versatile game didn't hurt either...and he's a unique personality.

I predicted December 1st before the season started. Maybe sooner?

Shabazz has three important allies: Riley loves his game, Spo likes his command of the offense, and D-Wade is a a huge backer of his, and tells people privately that he is gonna be really good.

Shabazz really does look like a natural playmaking PG out there. He plays fast, but always seems under control. It would not surprise me at all to see him starting eventually this season.

If only the dude would make some damn shots.

"ckparrothead wrote:

If only the dude would make some damn shots.

His .429/.333 split is pretty good for a rookie PG.

I like Shabazz's energy better. Cole for some reason has a much slower tempo. The ball doesn't move around as quick as when Shabazz is on. For a rookie he looks in command and in control.

"Section126 wrote:

His .429/.333 split is pretty good for a rookie PG.

Yeah but the last two games he seemed pretty cold. Dunno. Seems like every time the guy is shooting (not at the basket) he's missing.

He should stick to some midrange shots until he's more comfortable with the NBA three.

"PhiNomina wrote:

The weirdest part is that supposedly Blatt held a film session before yesterday's game and told Kyrie he was 3rd in the pecking order and that his job was to feed Love and LeBron. Before that, LeBron had scolded Kyrie in the locker room after the loss to Portland about ball hogging.

So Kyrie comes out and drops 34 pts and 0 assists while taking on 2-3 defenders every time down. Pretty impressive to watch. He went full Melo.

After the game? Blatt praised Kyrie's game.

It's kind of a mess and Blatt might be in over his head. I'm a Cavs fan but this is still wildly entertaining.

Full Melo? I guess that's code for "it didn't matter who was guarding him he was going to shoot and make it because he's awesome" :)

Shabazz on Shabazz crime.

Man, Rockets are just balling so far.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlUluhbvxlo#t=10

"TiP54 wrote:

Man, Rockets are just balling so far.

The Blazers were the best team in the league and looked unstoppable at the beggining of last season.. Reality came back and it will for Houston too.

"Vertical Limit wrote:

The Blazers were the best team in the league and looked unstoppable at the beggining of last season.. Reality came back and it will for Houston too.

Still, credit where credit thus far. Im not saying they are winning Finals, I am saying they are balling out.

https://vine.co/v/OeLVUbYDLLB

Mario Chalmers sucks.

Who the hell wrote this NBA schedule? It seems like in every game there's a team who, for scheduling reasons, has a clear advantage. Not just talking Heat here...it's a League-wide thing. Too many "schedule losses" or whatever you want to call it. Hurts competition.

Shabazz has consistently looked like the fastest player on the court so far this season. Of course that changes when hes matched against Rose Westbrook Wall and Lilliard but if he's top 15 in game speed ill take it. Kid got ridiculous handles too.