Exactly. Its not just about the rings. Jordan also never had a bad finals series like lebron did in 2007 and 2011. 

What an amazing narrative would have been Lebron and the cavs tying the series 3-3 and going for history on game 7 against the warriors at their home nonetheless.

Unfortunaly it took them an extraordinary, record breaking performance to win one game and asking them to do that for 2 other games to at least tie the series was too much.

16-1

Good night.

That 22-2 run by the GSW in the 2nd was really something. You kinda knew then it was over and the only thing the Cavs could do was get close at some points of the game.

I definitely agree with this, the only team that probably could have given a Lebron team trouble was the Chicago Bulls with a healthy D. Rose but we all know what happened to that. Everyone else has been a complete pretender.

And yet despite numerous weak periods in the history of both conferences, I can think of no other player to single handedly make it to the Finals.  And with a team that was the second worst in the history of the League without their star.  Jordan's bulls were bad, but not nearly that bad. 

But when I look at GOAT, I loook at single accomplishments more than rings because both your record and your own performance are affected by that.  Jordan never faced a finals ever without Hall of Fame callibur help.  He never made it to the Conference Finals without Hall of Famers iirc.  This isn't a nock on Jordan, it's a reality of team sports.

But I don't have Lebron in the top 3 either.  Kareem, Jordan, and Wilt are still above him.  And if I'm putting anyone against Jordan, it's 110% going to be Wilt Chamberlain (mainly because the more I study him, the more I am convinced he isn't human).  LeBron is in between them and Kobe, Magic, Bird, Russell, etc etc etc. We'll have to see how he finishes out.  I think he and the Cavs have the potential in them to beat these Warriors.  But it's going to be hard work and take a lot of grit and determination they didn't show  in games 1 through 3.  They have the skill, but you gotta have the hunger to go with it. 

Also, I hate to say it, but I think Kevin Love might need to go. It's sad, he's great when he is on fire, he can get you a 20-20. But He just keeps failing to be relevant at key moments in the Finals. He'll get you double doubles all day...in the Playoffs. He'll grab lots of rebounds...in the Playoffs. He'll even hustle and be relevant on defense...in the Playoffs. He'll be a consistent 3 point shooter...in the Playoffs. But then the Finals come and they're getting like 2, maybe 3 descent games a series. That's killing them in these games with the Warriors, who are so filled with deadly players.

Kevin Love doesn't work with the Cavs. He worked with Minne due to him not being forced to simply be a three point shooter.

The cavs really need to work on themselves in the offseason. They made a bunch of terrible decisions. From giving Thompson $80 million to continuing to allow LeBron to play 43+ minutes throughout the playoffs, it's clear that there's work to do.


The 22-2 run in the 2nd showed who the superior team is. Props for Golden State for creating an amazing organization

Thompson has been a good player for them though.  And that 22-2 run was really bad, but I will say that a big part of what killed them then and at other points was not fighting for rebounds.  Which where Love really screwed up.  He grabbed some rebounds but there were many where he didn't even try.  You cannot give up your offensive rebounds against the Warriors and you absolutely can't give them second chance shots.  And that's on Thompson, Love, and to a degree Lebron cause rebounds are more about effort a lot of times.  And that's where Love really falls down, when he's not grabbing rebounds or scoring in the paint, what good is he? 

Yeah, there's work to do.  I think the Cavs still have significant untapped potential, but they gotta be willing to put in the work.

The funny thing is, when you look at these two teams on paper, one would think that they're evenly matched.
You have 4 of the top 10 best players in the world, 2 on each team and both are at the SF and PG positions. Plus you have 3 other all stars and both appear to have deep benches.
But once you step out on the court, it's an entirely different story.
You watch the Warriors play and how unselfish they are with the ball and how much they gel together, it's almost like they've been playing together their entire lives. It's especially amazing considering half of their team was put together THIS year, not just K.D.
Meanwhile, you look at the Cavs, and they need LeBron and Kyrie to do EVERYTHING for them. Because if they're not going, everything else falls apart. And most of their players are one dimensional. JR Smith was great these past 2 games, but ONLY because he got hot from the field. When his shot isn't falling, he disappears. Same goes for Kyle Korver, Iman Shumpert, Deron Williams, Channing Frye, even Kevin Love, and in Tristan Thompson's case, when he's not grabbing rebounds.
It took a record breaking, historic performance scoring and shooting the ball in Game 4 combined with the Warriors' lackluster defense and the ABSOLUTE WORST officiating I have ever seen in a professional sporting event in my entire life, that officiating was an ATROCITY, that should never, ever, ever be witnessed, experienced, or repeated ever again, for the Cavs to win ONE game AT HOME.
There was no way they were going to pull off THAT performance again tonight on the Warriors' home floor. They need to blow up this team and completely rebuild. The only guys I would keep for sure are LeBron and Kyrie. Kyrie because he's the future of this franchise and LeBron because... well.... LeBron. And try to gather pieces that can get it done on BOTH ends of the floor and whose play on one end is not affected by the other. Take Klay Thompson for example, before Game 2, the guy was Ice Cold shooting the ball, he couldn't hit water if he fell out of a boat, but defensively he was OUTSTANDING the entire playoffs. The Cavs need players like that where they are mentally strong enough to give it their best effort regardless of how their performing on one end of the floor as opposed to "Oh no, I missed 2 shots in a row. I'm not feeling it tonight."
Because if they go in with this same roster next year and assuming the Warriors keep their roster together as well (A Lot of FA's this offseason for Golden State) than I think we're in for a repeat of this year.