The enemy of the Lakers is my friend. The NBA finals thread.

ilol@u

Member
SoSH Member
Mar 2, 2009
4,231
Foxboro
C’mon, we’re not seriously counting this title, right? Four month break in the middle, playoffs played without fans. Lakers just won a nice little exhibition tournament.
You can argue this is the most deserved NBA title in history. No home field advantage, no travel, no weird schedule. Just straight up basketball on a neutral field.
Lakers were the best team. Congratulations to LeBron, hate him as a Celtics fan, but love him as an NBA fan and a human being.
 

lexrageorge

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 31, 2007
18,099
My fear was that Butler exhausted his final reserves in Game 5, and that was indeed the case.

The Lakers benefited greatly when the Clippers collapsed, as that was one team that could match up with them physically. But that happens, and there's a saying that luck is a residue of design. Credit Pelinka with putting together a competent supporting cast, and credit Rondo for being playoff Rondo when it mattered.
 
Last edited:

bankshot1

Member
SoSH Member
Feb 12, 2003
24,652
where I was last at
I think the NBA deserved a lot of credit for putting on a pretty good tournament under very difficult conditions, which i hope the players and the fans never have to repeat again.
 

mikeot

Member
SoSH Member
Dec 22, 2006
8,147
You can argue this is the most deserved NBA title in history. No home field advantage, no travel, no weird schedule. Just straight up basketball on a neutral field.
Lakers were the best team. Congratulations to LeBron, hate him as a Celtics fan, but love him as an NBA fan and a human being.
Can’t argue with any of this, as much as I want to.
 

ElUno20

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 19, 2005
6,055
You can argue this is the most deserved NBA title in history. No home field advantage, no travel, no weird schedule. Just straight up basketball on a neutral field.
Lakers were the best team. Congratulations to LeBron, hate him as a Celtics fan, but love him as an NBA fan and a human being.
They played NO ONE to win a title. No one.

People arent stupid. No one watched their title sham of a title run.
 

PC Drunken Friar

Member
SoSH Member
Sep 12, 2003
14,542
South Boston
They played NO ONE to win a title. No one.

People arent stupid. No one watched their title sham of a title run.
If the Celtics won this finals, there is no fucking way I would call it a sham.

It's a shame that some teams (clippers, bucks) choked, but shit happens to loser franchises. Sit back and watch the GOAT.
 

HomeRunBaker

bet squelcher
SoSH Member
Jan 15, 2004
30,096
Hmmmm......one final stop in Green?


I think the NBA deserved a lot of credit for putting on a pretty good tournament under very difficult conditions, which i hope the players and the fans never have to repeat again.
Assuming we start up on Christmas Day or sometime in January at the latest, combined with the outbreaks we saw in MLB and NFL......wouldn’t regional bubbles be the way to go for the NBA? This will be a quick turnaround and no vaccine ready for when we resume.
 

Tony C

Moderator
Moderator
SoSH Member
Apr 13, 2000
13,694
You can argue this is the most deserved NBA title in history. No home field advantage, no travel, no weird schedule. Just straight up basketball on a neutral field.
Lakers were the best team. Congratulations to LeBron, hate him as a Celtics fan, but love him as an NBA fan and a human being.
Amen. That was impressive. LeBron is just insanely head and shoulders above great.
 

Euclis20

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 3, 2004
8,017
Imaginationland
You can argue this is the most deserved NBA title in history. No home field advantage, no travel, no weird schedule. Just straight up basketball on a neutral field.
Lakers were the best team. Congratulations to LeBron, hate him as a Celtics fan, but love him as an NBA fan and a human being.
Certainly can't say it wasn't deserved, but LeBron and the Lakers got some fortunate luck along the way. Considering his age, the long break was more beneficial to him than it was to any of the other top tier contenders. And as has been discussed repeatedly, the Lakers managed to avoid both the Clippers and Bucks, the two other main contenders all year long.

Well deserved? Definitely. Were there circumstances beyond their control that tilted the playing field in their favor? Absolutely. I can be happy for Lebron (and Rondo) but still appreciate that they caught some major breaks along the way.
 

Leskanic's Thread

lost underscore
Silver Supporter
SoSH Member
Jul 16, 2005
2,774
Los Angeles
Imagine living in a bubble for months only for fans to engage in their own super-spreader event in your honor?

View: https://twitter.com/harrisonhill__/status/1315481132901621761?s=21
As I saw someone say on Twitter when that footage was posted: if the Dodgers win the World Series, L.A. is going to be on lockdown for another year.

Being a Boston fan here, the only good thing is that I'm staying safer at home and don't have to look any happy Laker fans in the eye.
 

soxhop411

news aggravator
SoSH Member
Dec 4, 2009
46,276
less than 6 million people watched the game yesterday. A huge decline over the 2019 finals
ABC’s broadcast of the Los Angeles Lakers’ victory over the Miami Heat in Game 6 of the 2020 NBA finals was no match for “Sunday Night Football” on NBC, according to the earliest available Nielsen numbers.

Last night, the Lakers’ 106-93 defeat of the Heat was down 57% in TV ratings from the big finish of 2019’s NBA finals, when the Toronto Raptors beat the Golden State Warriors. Of course that Game 6, which aired in June, wasn’t up against the NFL.
NBC was first in ratings with a 2.7 rating/15 share in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic and in total viewers with an average of 10.1 million, according to preliminary numbers. Following its pregame show, the Minnesota Vikings vs. Seattle Seahawks game kicked off at 8:30 p.m. and scored a 3.2 rating and 11.4 million viewers.

ABC was second in ratings with a 1.9/10 and third in viewers with 5.1 million. At 7 p.m., pregame show “NBA Countdown” scored a 1.4/8 and 4.4 million viewers. The NBA Finals game itself, starting at 7:30 p.m. ET, averaged a 2.1/11 and 5.6 million viewers. At 10:30 p.m., “Jimmy Kimmel Live: Game Night” earned a 0.8/5 and 2.5 million viewers.
https://www.thewrap.com/lakers-win-nba-finals-game-6-miami-heat-ratings-vikings-seahawks-nfl/
 

nighthob

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
12,678
But it’s the Knicks, so they’ll be the ones trading Boston the pick that they use on Lil’Bron. With Tatum and his son LeBron is a cinch to finish his career here. ;)
 

TripleOT

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 4, 2007
7,758
Playoff Rondo and his vetmin salary on the Celtics could have made the difference this season, like it did in LA. All that BS last season about him sitting away from that putrid squad was about one thing: Rondo plays to win.

He played great with NO the last time he was in the playoffs, and played very well again in the playoffs this season, actually shooting 40% from three, second best on the Lakers after the Other Morris, (also a solid bargain piece) with an eFG of 53.7%.

The key to this Lakers team was they could play tough minded players like Rondo, Morris and Green next to their two superstars. Their roster had an Island of Misfit Toys feel to it, but Vogel did a good job with it, getting contributions from Caruso, KCP, Howard, and Kuzma, who he wisely gave a lesser role. They did benefit from a shortened season that put less miles on LeBron, and lessened the chance that the oft banged up AD would get injured.

Now the Los Angelis Lakers have 17 titles (and if you believe that, you believe the Sacramento Kings, Atlanta Hawks, and OKC Thunder all have one NBA title, the Golden State Warriors have five titles and the 76ers have three ), the pressure is on the Celtics to get back to the Finals and get the title lead again.
 

Gunfighter 09

wants to be caribou ken
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 31, 2005
8,548
KPWT
The Simmons & Russillo pod from Tuesday with Lakers’ 12th man Jared Dudley gives a pretty interesting look inside this team and inside the bubble, of anyone wants to hate listen.

Dudley’s takes on Rondo and Vogel we’re the parts O found most interesting or original.
 

Kliq

Member
SoSH Member
Mar 31, 2013
22,672
I refuse to listen to Laker praise, but Dudley is consistently great on podcasts and has a great media career waiting for him whenever he retires.
 

BigSoxFan

Member
SoSH Member
May 31, 2007
47,093
I refuse to listen to Laker praise, but Dudley is consistently great on podcasts and has a great media career waiting for him whenever he retires.
Screw that. He needs to return to coach BC hoops. One of the smartest college players I ever watched. Could honestly go either route.
 

Jimbodandy

Member
SoSH Member
Jan 31, 2006
11,405
around the way
I wish Al was still recruiting kids like him to exceed expectations on the Heights. Love JD.
I love JD too, so I don't wish that school's admissions dorks on him. That ship has sailed. The good old days of winning a couple of games in the tourney and living in the top 25 of hoop and football are over.
 

Gunfighter 09

wants to be caribou ken
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 31, 2005
8,548
KPWT
Screw that. He needs to return to coach BC hoops. One of the smartest college players I ever watched. Could honestly go either route.
At the end of the podcast he said he was planning on Doing that after he finishes being an NBA coach or GM.