Mike Aller

oh come on. this isn't near the gut-wrenching agony that cavs fans were in for years. we expect to lose, the bulls have won a game, that's a positive. just happy to be here. Exactly. I'm assuming that you're a Cubs fan. So, being a fan of a team that doesn't win championships, you get excited at the idea of the playoffs and just the possibility. It's almost impossible to not get worked up. Look at all of those annoying Saints fans. Sure, it's annoying, but it is pretty expected. Also, I don't think I've said a single thing in this thread where I was convinced the Cavs were going to win the championship or acted that way in the least. You're the one doing things like that.

It wasn't an insult to the city of Chicago and the history of Chicago basketball, lol. It was a great shot. Hell, they were pretty tame in comparison to just about any TNT announcer. And, he has done plenty. With insider information like that, you should move to Vegas.

Haha, this is cute. A team like the Cavs. Gosh us Bulls fans have never seen a team as good as this Cavs team. It's almost as good as the 7th or 8th best Bulls team of all time, almost. And the thing that makes it even funnier to me is the media and Cavs fans acting like this is some juggernaut. Let them win a title first. Wow. I guess this past decade of not being spoiled with multiple basketball championships has really taken a toll on your mood. Jordan isn't coming off of the bench, and this Bulls team isn't nearly as good as the Cavs are. And, you know that. Everyone does. I'm aware he isn't. I'm also aware that LeBron might not be coming off of yours here in a few months. And there is a really good chance you can look back fondly on that one NBA finals he got you to. Heh. That has nothing to do with this season. You are acting like a whiney Yankees fan. I know nothing is guaranteed. But, I'm enjoying it while it is happening. It just so happens that I am currently enjoying it at the expense of your favorite team. You got to do that for years (including to Cavaliers fans). Get over it.

Haha, this is cute. A team like the Cavs. Gosh us Bulls fans have never seen a team as good as this Cavs team. It's almost as good as the 7th or 8th best Bulls team of all time, almost. And the thing that makes it even funnier to me is the media and Cavs fans acting like this is some juggernaut. Let them win a title first. Wow. I guess this past decade of not being spoiled with multiple basketball championships has really taken a toll on your mood. Jordan isn't coming off of the bench, and this Bulls team isn't nearly as good as the Cavs are. And, you know that. Everyone does.

Haha, quit being so sore. LeBron dominated the game. The announcers get excited for any big play by any player, especially big name players. That was a beautiful shot from damn near half court. Anyway, it was a great game by Noah, but pretty much no body else seemed to show up. The Bulls played well in the first 3 games, and extremely well in game 3. This is just what will happen if they have an off night versus a team like the Cavs.

The only reason the Lakers are being questioned is because they aren't sweeping the 8 seed. No one really should expect Dallas or Denver to beat LA in a best-of-7. The problem is that the 8-seed is a pretty good team that won 50 games and was only seven games worse than the Lakers. This isn't a 1-8 matchup in the East the last couple years where the 1-seed has been 20-25 games better. I don't think the Lakers are the overwhelming favorite and with their injuries and Fisher/Artest seemingly unable to make shots consistently, I wouldn't be surprised if they go down before the Finals. Don't let the Cubs fan in you get to you. Use Bynum, Gasol and Odom properly and the Lakers will beat every team in the NBA in a best-of-7. Agreed. I'm a huuuuge Odom fan. When he's on, he might be one of the most complete players in the NBA not named LeBron, Kobe, or Dwayne just because he can do everything so well.

Yeah. I don't know. Agree to disagree, I guess. I like it, but I suppose I can understand why opposing fans wouldn't. Also, the LeBron in the 80s/90s comparison is dumb. LeBron wouldn't do what he does, because he would have grown up learning not to do that. Also, despite the fact that LeBron always constantly over exaggerates his injuries (pretty much my biggest annoyance with him), I think he would hold up just fine in that/those decades.

True. Without huge shake ups the Spurs, Suns, and Lakers should all be significantly worse next year. OKC, Houston, Portland, and (maybe) Dallas are probably the ones that are going to be better next year as it stands now. And, OKC and Houston are probably way ahead of the other two.

Sure you can. We can't even consider guys like Stockton, Barkley, Iverson, etc. in those discussions? You gotta win titles. I can't even think of a guy who was considered the best player in the league that never won at least one championship. LeBron is relatively openly accepted as the best player in the league right now. I'm not old enough to know for sure, but I would imagine that Jordan was too. Did Jordan become a better player in the clinching game of his first championship? It's an absolutely ridiculous argument. It would be like saying a pitcher has to have twenty wins to be accepted as the best pitcher in baseball (and, sadly, wins still hold far too much weight as well). Wins, like championships, will almost certainly come if the individual plays at a high enough level. But, bad pitchers still end up with high win totals, and great pitchers still end up with low win totals. They are team stats. Not individual stats. Jordan was a better player under Jackson than he was under Loughery, Collins, etc. Maybe not a more dominant individual talent, but a player more conducive to winning. And I'm fully expecting Lebron to rip off a bunch of titles. If he doesn't win one (barring some freak injury) it'd blow away the Marinos, Malones, etc. of the world in terms of being a giant black mark on a player's career. I agree that it'd be a black mark, and I don't see it happening either. But, there is still too much emphasis put on it. Before last year, you constantly heard how Kobe is a champion and his pedigree and blah blah blah. But, he wasn't even the best player on his own team when he won those championships. Shaq was the MVP of all 3 finals. Given, he was the undisputed "leader" of his team for the most recent championship. But, at what point is a guy disappointing if he doesn't have a championship and at what point isn't he? At what point is it a black mark because he didn't have the "winning attitude," and when is it bad luck and/or bad teams? The only thing that I'll be personally happy in regards to LeBron if the Cavs win the championship is that people will finally stop this stupid argument. They aren't going to hang "LeBron James - 2010 NBA Champions" in the rafters, and they certainly didn't do that with Jordan. He was the dominant player that turned a very, very good team into a dynasty.

That's clearly their glaring weakness. Who are some of the FA centers in the upcoming offseason, that would make sense in OKC? I would assume they wouldn't break the bank with a big guy like Bosh, but just a guy to take up space, grab boards, play some D and maybe score 9-12 a game seems like the type of guy that could elevate them from mid/low tier western conference team to a top 3 contender annually with Durant/Westboork/Green/Harden as their core. Shaq? I'm not sure how he'd hold up after another year, but that's pretty much exactly what he did for the Cavs all year long. Plus, his ego seems to have finally accepted his limited role. He'd only be a piece to add if the Thunder could/would seriously compete for a championship next year.

At first I didn't like the Minnesota trade, but I'm starting to like it more and more. If someone doesn't trade up with the Rams, they can either take Clausen, or their second round pick becomes extremely valuable, and they can trade down a few more picks and continue to stockpile draft picks.

Sure you can. We can't even consider guys like Stockton, Barkley, Iverson, etc. in those discussions? You gotta win titles. I can't even think of a guy who was considered the best player in the league that never won at least one championship. LeBron is relatively openly accepted as the best player in the league right now. I'm not old enough to know for sure, but I would imagine that Jordan was too. Did Jordan become a better player in the clinching game of his first championship? It's an absolutely ridiculous argument. It would be like saying a pitcher has to have twenty wins to be accepted as the best pitcher in baseball (and, sadly, wins still hold far too much weight as well). Wins, like championships, will almost certainly come if the individual plays at a high enough level. But, bad pitchers still end up with high win totals, and great pitchers still end up with low win totals. They are team stats. Not individual stats.

Sure you can. We can't even consider guys like Stockton, Barkley, Iverson, etc. in those discussions? I suppose you can give the whole "you need a championship" argument more merit in basketball rather than football or obviously baseball, but it's still pretty weak. It amazes me how many people use it and how many people think it holds serious weight in the judgment of a player. LeBron has averaged 29.4PPG, 8.2 RPG and 7.2APG in his playoff career. And, his first three playoff trips he had to carry his team much more than he has to now. How can you blame him? It's mind boggling.

He is having a good time. He doesn't do it in the face of anyone else. With the exceptions of a few stares at the Chicago bench, you hardly ever see LeBron taunt any player or team. And, Taj and LeBron were laughing when they were talking late in tonight's game, so obviously it is all in good fun. I could understand dislike for a guy like KG, but why for LeBron? It honestly makes no sense to me. Especially when you have a guy like Noah on your team. Somehow because he acts goofy off of the court that makes it OK? I thought his comments about Cleveland were pretty hysterical (and, for the most part, true). Also, the whole title argument is a bit of a stretch for a 25-year old kid. I mean, really? And, in case you haven't noticed over the past few years (and game two in this series) LeBron doesn't need someone else to take late game shots. People stopped trying to use that against LeBron about 3 years ago, so you should probably catch up. Again, the LeBron hate is ridiculous. He's cut down on the dancing and all of those shenanigans, but it was equally as ridiculous to see him pulling those stunts out. I like LBJ though. I'm praying that we have a fighter's chance at stealing him away from the hole known as Cleveland. I can understand why someone would think the dances are dumb. But, to dislike LeBron for it is pretty dumb. It's just good fun.

Haha, thats awesome. Oh and 42 minutes of play, playing the point guard position, and guess how many turnovers D Rose had? ZERO, that is [expletive] impressive Rose pissed me off hardcore tonight, haha. I've seen the Cavs in countless close games where the other team was finally scoring on a consistent basis in the 4th and LeBron would come down and score on nearly every possession. That's what Rose did tonight. I was obviously annoyed, but it was still impressive. He took some of, if not all of the momentum out of countless Cavs' spurts.

Awesome win for the Thunder. And, you're right, that crowd was absolutely ridiculous. Probably the second best in recent memory, with Golden State's during the Mavericks series a few years ago being the first. Obviously, I still expect the Lakers to win the series, but it's kind of scary to think how good the Thunder are going to be for the next decade or so if they can keep that core together. If they had a big man who could consistently take pressure off of Durant and Westbrook, they could probably compete for a title this year.

He is having a good time. He doesn't do it in the face of anyone else. With the exceptions of a few stares at the Chicago bench, you hardly ever see LeBron taunt any player or team. And, Taj and LeBron were laughing when they were talking late in tonight's game, so obviously it is all in good fun. I could understand dislike for a guy like KG, but why for LeBron? It honestly makes no sense to me. Especially when you have a guy like Noah on your team. Somehow because he acts goofy off of the court that makes it OK? I thought his comments about Cleveland were pretty hysterical (and, for the most part, true). Also, the whole title argument is a bit of a stretch for a 25-year old kid. I mean, really? And, in case you haven't noticed over the past few years (and game two in this series) LeBron doesn't need someone else to take late game shots. People stopped trying to use that against LeBron about 3 years ago, so you should probably catch up.

Sulley, how in the world is LeBron an immature, disrespectful punk?

Nice win by the Bulls. A pretty terrible game by almost every Cavs player until the 4th quarter. I wanted the sweep, but I assumed the Bulls would win one. And life moves on.

I've just accepted that any post sulley makes about the Cavs is trolling. TT, you would be better off to do the same. The Bulls have played really well, and the Cavs have definitely had more trouble with them than I expected. But, isn't it still 2-0? I know it might make some of you feel better to say that IF jmoon hadn't played so well or IF the Cavs hadn't shot so well. But, they did. And, they won. If you haven't followed the Cavaliers the past few years, what LeBron did isn't anything too astonishing. He was usually good for something like that 2-3 times a month.

Is this a joke? Cavs fans seems to think it's their right to already talk about the 2nd round. Don't get me wrong, when you have LBJ you should feel cocky, but Cleveland hasn't done enough or dominate enough to warrant such cockiness. While I won't pretend to think the Bulls will win this series, Cleveland for the most part isn't nearly as good as their record says they are. They have a mediocre coach, and their supporting cast leaves a lot to be desired, excluding Jamison and Williams. I'm going to watch every minute of every game. That includes the first round. But, that said, I don't think we'll have much of a problem with the Bulls. This isn't the West where all eight teams are legitimately good teams. Also, how exactly are they not nearly as good as the record says? Was it the last four games of the season that we lost when LeBron didn't play that made you think that? Or, maybe the slow start to the season and adjustments having to be made with the addition of Shaq and Jamison. If anything, I'd say they are significantly better than their record says. Also, in your supporting cast talk, you forgot a few players. Most importantly, Varejao. The league and announcers now recognize how important of a player he is. You also didn't mention Shaq, West, and Parker. Now that the playoffs have started, guys like JJ Hickson, Big Z, and Jamario Moon are going to have trouble finding any minutes. In my opinion, they have the best roster in the NBA, but only because the Lakers aren't nearly as deep. Oh, and Kevin Garnett is such a punk. I didn't think I could possibly dislike that guy more than I already do.

I was pretty shocked at how few calls Rose got. He definitely got clearly robbed on a few drives. That said, it was a poorly officiated game on both sides, although Cleveland obviously got the best of it. Although it was frustrating for me, as a basketball fan it was nice to see the Bulls make a run. Sidenote: It's hilarious to watch Brad Miller and Shaq match up. It's like a VH1 reality show. "Low Post - The after years."

lol. big words from a fan of the cleveland cavaliers. lebron's "death machine" goes down before the finals and you cry yourself to sleep again. Sorry, that only happens to your teams. what only happens to my teams? being heavily favored against overlooked opponents and getting run like a bunch of circus clowns? no, that happens to the cavs. and it never happened to the bulls. What is with your Cavs hate?

I'm confused as to what Washington did wrong by admitting to it before the tests came in?

That was the first time I got to see Jennings. He looked pretty good. Even though they were going in last night, he takes a lot of stupid shots. He's going to get a lot better.