2021 NBA Offseason Thread

[Cavatt]

Teams can't even really run "small ball" lineups against the Lakers because when the Lakers go 'small,' they're still pretty massive. They've been running Morris/LeBron/AD as their small ball lineup, which is 6'8/245 pounds, 6'9/255 pounds, and 6'10/250 pounds. The Lakers have three guys as big as Bam on the floor at almost all times.

Miami's biggest problem, imo, is that their best defenders can't shoot well, and their best shooters can't defend well. If they play Robinson and Herro, LeBron is just going to constantly hunt them.

After facing Lillard, Harden, and Jokic/Murray, this is the first series the Lakers aren't facing an elite guard who can break down a defense. After the Murray/Jokic pick and roll, this matchup is much easier for them. I don't want to be too confident, but I have a hard time seeing the Heat win this series. Their two best players play the same positions as the Lakers' two best players, and they're much worse.

I think you are right a penetrating guard is the an obvious missing piece in Miami in this specific series. Dragic is good, but he just can't get to the paint like he once did. Him and Bam running pick and roll was one of their best plays. Now he is out. A faster first step guy would be something to hurt the Lakers with. Who is going to run the offense? I would say Butler, but he looks really overmatched.

I think they got blindsided by the physicality of the Lakers, losing their own game. I don't think they could possibly look so overmatched next game, but missing guys? Oof. Definitely thought they would put up a better fight.

Nathan S posted Bam's matchups with Davis and how he has consistently lost those. I thought it was a regular season thing, and I really didn't realize how much bigger Davis looks once they are next to each other.

Davis has seriously gone nuclear for the playoffs. I don't know how they will stop him, and Lebron is just out there orchestrating and Letting Davis do the heavy lifting. I think Davis would have to get hurt for them to win.

You never know though, playoff outcomes can swing wildly, but I agree about your 2 best player points.

 

[Walter White]

LeBron has played against the Warriors and other legendary teams. This is nothing to him. And he has seen it all. Mentally, that gives the Lakers a big edge even if the teams were evenly matched skill wise.

But Miami is better than what they showed. Nunn will have to step in and push the pace and attack. They need a dribble penetrator and to get open looks. Lakers will destroy them in the half court. It has to turn into a shootout. And LeBron and AD will slice the zone up. I think they need to try to take away everyone else and force LeBron to be a scorer. Or really double AD and commit. Doubling LeBron is a disaster if they do it too long. LeBron hasn't had to be a scorer yet in the playoffs. I would put pressure on him to exert more energy working one on one.

 

[Los216]

This guy is a fucking clown. Thank god LeBron came back and spared us from having to watch the debacle that would’ve been Kyrie, Waiters, Wiggins, Bennett, and Thompson. Pretty sure had LeBron not come back, Kyrie would be gone and we wouldn’t have made a single playoff appearance with him here. LeBron made plenty of game winners when they played together, playoffs included. I don’t wish anyone to get injured, but watching KD and Kyrie get bounced in the 1st or 2nd round would be pretty satisfying.

That has nothing to do with Kyrie's statement. His statement was true. LeBron is a better player and he's the guy you want with the ball in his hands to make the right decision but when it comes to who would you rather have taking the shot it's probably Kyrie, KD, Steph, maybe even Dame Lillard.

If anything this is a compliment to LeBron's greatness as a player. LeBron is probably the GOAT but he will tell you himself that he'd rather make the right play then always feel like he has to take the shot. Some guys in the league are just better big time shot makers. LeBron has made his fair share and I don't think Kyrie is painting this like LeBron hasn't or can't make shots but while they were teammates LeBron himself has differed to Kyrie in those moments so I don't see the issue with the statement unless people just want to create beef between Kyrie and LeBron when he didn't even mention his name.

 

[Los216]

 

[MediumBaller]

That has nothing to do with Kyrie's statement. His statement was true. LeBron is a better player and he's the guy you want with the ball in his hands to make the right decision but when it comes to who would you rather have taking the shot it's probably Kyrie, KD, Steph, maybe even Dame Lillard.

If anything this is a compliment to LeBron's greatness as a player. LeBron is probably the GOAT but he will tell you himself that he'd rather make the right play then always feel like he has to take the shot. Some guys in the league are just better big time shot makers. LeBron has made his fair share and I don't think Kyrie is painting this like LeBron hasn't or can't make shots but while they were teammates LeBron himself has differed to Kyrie in those moments so I don't see the issue with the statement unless people just want to create beef between Kyrie and LeBron when he didn't even mention his name.

His statement wasn’t true. Look at LeBron’s numbers in those situations and then look at everyone else’s. LeBron is 12-23 in the playoffs on game-tying and go-ahead shots in the last 10 seconds of the 4th quarter/OT. Kyrie is 1-3. KD is 2-13. Curry is 2-9. He also has more playoff game winners than Jordan and Kobe combined.There’s no one else I’d rather have take the shot than LeBron James.

I 100% believe that Kyrie thinks he’s the best option down the stretch. And that’s his biggest problem. It’s why locker room issues have followed him everywhere he’s been.

 

[MediumBaller]

Speaking of Kyrie, good luck to Brooklyn coach Steve Nash. He’s going to need it.

"I want somebody who is going to understand that I am a human being first. I serve my community first.”

... I don’t even know what that means in the context of coaching.

 

[Dr. Claw]

I look at Kyrie's comment like, "I trust Durant to hit when I pass him the ball".
Frankly, before 2018 and the advent of the LeFuckYou3 I used to cringe at LeBron taking Js and especially 3s. LeBron was also usually the ball handler so he would be the one passing more often than not. Even when he hit that game winner against Chicago in 2015 I was cringing. Not so much now.

Besides, there is more than one way to be clutch, and one of LeBron's main ways of being clutch involves things besides scoring.
"BLOCKED BY JAMES"! Clutch.
The Nuggets lockdown and taking on Murray 1 by 1? Clutch. Especially now.

 

[Dr. Claw]

Also, I'm laughing my ass off at the Lakers basically deploying Warriors 2018 strategy. Even with the Durant bullshit, the thing that pissed me off most is that they could just throw JaVale in front of the Cavs and the Cavs couldn't really do shit. Good.

Now LeBron gets to experience what Steph did for all of his rings, only he'll actually win Finals MVP.

Strangely though, as the resident "Heat Hater" I basically have 0 hate for this team the way they've gone through the East in the playoffs. A shame that Bam (who is better than Braymond) is hurt, and so is Dragic.

I feel vindicated with the performance of Rondo in these playoffs. There was no other guard I wanted to take the place of Kyrie. But people pooh-poohed that. Now he's probably going to get ring No.2 playing alongside LeBron.

 

[Nathan S]

3-point shooting in the 2017 playoffs:

Frye 51%
JR 50%
Love 45%
LeBron 41%
Korver 39%
Deron 39%
Shump 39%
Kyrie 37%

Poor Kyrie, playing on a team like that. A total wasteland, no one he could trust to make a shot. No one but...himself...

 

[cavsfever]

How soon we all forget...

 

[Los216]

His statement wasn’t true. Look at LeBron’s numbers in those situations and then look at everyone else’s. LeBron is 12-23 in the playoffs on game-tying and go-ahead shots in the last 10 seconds of the 4th quarter/OT. Kyrie is 1-3. KD is 2-13. Curry is 2-9. He also has more playoff game winners than Jordan and Kobe combined.There’s no one else I’d rather have take the shot than LeBron James.

I 100% believe that Kyrie thinks he’s the best option down the stretch. And that’s his biggest problem. It’s why locker room issues have followed him everywhere he’s been.

LeBron has said himself that he has differed to Kyrie down the stretch before. Why is it crazy hearing Kyrie say that? This is like when LeBron was the one who said Kyrie should take The Shot and now that Kyrie is saying yeah I think I should take those shots he's wrong? WTF?????? lolololololololololol

 

[cavsfever]

Nathan S posted Bam's matchups with Davis and how he has consistently lost those. I thought it was a regular season thing, and I really didn't realize how much bigger Davis looks once they are next to each other.

Davis has seriously gone nuclear for the playoffs. I don't know how they will stop him, and Lebron is just out there orchestrating and Letting Davis do the heavy lifting. I think Davis would have to get hurt for them to win.

Bam and AD are listed at just one inch difference in height and at the same weight (actually Bam is listed as one pound heavier!). But AD is obviously MUCH BIGGER than Bam. I refuse to believe that AD is just 250 pounds, that seems ridiculous.

I wonder if AD will deny Lebron is fourth Finals MVP trophy...about the only suspense I have about this series.

 

[Los216]

I look at Kyrie's comment like, "I trust Durant to hit when I pass him the ball".
Frankly, before 2018 and the advent of the LeFuckYou3 I used to cringe at LeBron taking Js and especially 3s. LeBron was also usually the ball handler so he would be the one passing more often than not. Even when he hit that game winner against Chicago in 2015 I was cringing. Not so much now.

Besides, there is more than one way to be clutch, and one of LeBron's main ways of being clutch involves things besides scoring.
"BLOCKED BY JAMES"! Clutch.
The Nuggets lockdown and taking on Murray 1 by 1? Clutch. Especially now.

Exactly. It's not tit for tat. How many times have we seen leBron hit guys for game winners? Korver, Damon Jones, Love, Z, Donyell Marshall, Ray Allen. LeBron has taken his fair share of clutch shots. Nobody is saying that he's not clutch. All Kyrie is referring to is a specific moment and that's shot making but like anything with LeBron as soon as anybody says anything that isn't worshiping the ground he walks on people have to move the goalpost and not look at the context of the question.

Like if you told me there 5 seconds on the clock and I need to pick one guy to hit the shot to win the game and the choices are LeBron or Damien Lillard I'm gonna take Lillard. Why do people pull out stats and metrics and start talking about defense or passing? We're talking about taking a shot. It's not that serious.

 

[Bob_The_Cat]

Miami is going to be an interesting team to watch this offseason. There’s no way Riley is going to compromise their FA standing in 2021, but Drabid, Hill, Leonard, and Crowder are all FA’s. There aren’t a lot of great options this year in FA, but I could see them making a pitch to a guy like VanVleet.

I’d imagine they‘ll try to sign most guys to one year deals, but I can’t imagine they pass on the offseason in hopes of signing someone in 2021. They’re going to need to add some guys to try and improve a Finals team without committing too much money long term. I’m not too sure how they pull it off, though it appears they could add around $25-$35 mill in salary and still keep two max slots depending on the cap.

 

[ACisKING]

The bizarre thing is that I was a Kyrie fan first from before he was in the NBA (he’s literally the reason I joined this forum). And yet over the course of their three year run together I slowly morphed into much more of a LeBron fan. I cant ever bring myself to root against Kyrie but man he makes it hard to root for him.