I'm thinking Spurs and Pacers. Duncan gets his last title and retires.

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!

David Stern would go out there Vince McMahon style himself before ever letting the refs to allow this.

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The Spurs played the Nets and the Pistons recently IIRC. It was give mid and small market teams hope.

_________________
Be well

GO BEARS!!!

I agree the Spurs will win the title, but I'd be shocked if Indy beats Miami.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

Hopefully the West injury isn't serious. The Pacers hate the Heat and play them tough. Their bigs will cause a lot of problems for the Heat. If Paul George has truly arrived they will win in 6.

_________________
Be well

GO BEARS!!!

50% of Bill Hall's name is the letter L.

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The Bulls hate the Heat and play them tough too. I think it's fairly obvious that George has indeed arrived, but there's still not enough talent there to beat Miami. I would love to be wrong about this.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

Ryne Sandberg backwards is Grebdnas Enyr.

I hope this doesn't make me a bad NBA fan, but I just couldn't watch the Pacers in the Finals.

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Kid Cairo's Boers & Bernstein YouTube Channel

Kid Cairo: 2013 March Madness Tournament Winner!

"Cowabunga? Cowa fucking piece of dog shit! This game is diarrhea coming out of my dick!"

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I didn't watch either of the Nets Finals appearances until I YouTubed them years later. Some teams I just have to draw the line with.

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Kid Cairo's Boers & Bernstein YouTube Channel

Kid Cairo: 2013 March Madness Tournament Winner!

"Cowabunga? Cowa fucking piece of dog shit! This game is diarrhea coming out of my dick!"

This would make an interesting topic. "What teams wouldn't you watch in a Championship?"

So does this guy:

+1
The string-theory, multi-verse Pacers likely wouldn't bother to tune in to watch either.

Half way there. Spurs better pray Indiana wins because the Heat will destroy them. I'm willing to make a few friendly wagers if that match up happens.

_________________
Be well

GO BEARS!!!

This will be San Antonio's first trip to the NBA Finals since they schooled LeBron James and the Cavaliers in 2007. Not even constant sightings of Tony Parker's ex-wife Eva Longoria at courtside could get viewers to tune in for the lowest rated NBA Finals ever.

With that in mind, I was surprised the Grizzlies didn't put up more of a fight vs. the Spurs in the West Finals. I wouldn't be shocked if San Antonio wins 1 more NBA Championship with this group.

Listen to an interesting fact on around the horn....since 1999 either the Spurs, Lakers ,or Heat have been in the Finals....This means something , what I don't know

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I'm going to bounce from the spot for awhile but I will be back at some point to argue with you about this hoops stuff again. Playoffs have been great this season. See ya up the road.

I'm out.

Outside of the Spurs, the ability to attract top talent via free agency or trades is what probably connects Miami and LA. NY should belong in that group as well in terms of attracting talent, but they've suffered from some really poor management.

_________________
Successful calls:

Kyrie Irving will never win anything as a team's alpha: check
T.rubisky is a bust: check
Ben Simmons is a liability: check
The Fields Cult is dumb: double check

2013 CSFMB ROY

In recent years, Knicks' management has wasted millions on bad contracts. Right now, the Amare Stoudemire contract doesn't look so smart.

It will never look smart. He made his name on jaw-dropping athleticism. Doesn't look like he worked on his skills enough to survive impending father time. He's dead weight.

_________________
Successful calls:

Kyrie Irving will never win anything as a team's alpha: check
T.rubisky is a bust: check
Ben Simmons is a liability: check
The Fields Cult is dumb: double check

2013 CSFMB ROY

It's also a bad contract, too. Hard to believe, a former Chicagoan actually helped screw up the Knicks' as BOTH a head coach and a front office executive. You may have heard of him...Isiah Thomas.

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Not that Isiah! This Isiah played his high school basketball at Collins H.S. here, helped Indiana win the 1981 NCAA Championship and was part of the Detroit Pistons' "Bad Boys" that wouldn't shake the Bulls' hands in the 1991 NBA Eastern Conference Finals.

Too bad Chicago doesn't have NY's drawing power. A in-his-prime Marbury and Carmelo Anthony forced trades to NY, and many UFAs are always intrigued by NY when the team has cap space. That lack of drawing power already screwed the Bulls over in 2000 and 2010, and probably will do so again the in the near future. The biggest loser will probably be Derrick Rose.

_________________
Successful calls:

Kyrie Irving will never win anything as a team's alpha: check
T.rubisky is a bust: check
Ben Simmons is a liability: check
The Fields Cult is dumb: double check

2013 CSFMB ROY

Veganfan, that's a valid point. The Bulls had a lot of salary cap room in the above years, but got very little to show for it. They've had a lot of trouble attracting premium free agents since long before Derrick Martell Rose's arrival.

Unfortunately for the Bulls, the guys who did sign here haven't been worth nearly the $$$$ the team paid for them. Ben Wallace? Richard "Rip" Hamilton? Carlos Boozer? Ron Mercer? The Bulls have been so bad in free agency since Michael Jordan retired after the 1998 lockout, there have also been guys that used the Bulls as leverage to stay where they're at.

It's funny picturing about 27 of the 30 fanbases in the league reading this and rolling their eyes. I'm sure teams like Indiana and Detroit feel really bad for us Bulls fans. It's also funny because the Knicks have been a hot mess this entire past decade plus. Their "drawing power" obviously was not very beneficial.

I get tired of hearing about this overhyped argument that the Bulls can't attract anybody. When is the last big time FA that Boston attracted? Vin Baker?

The Bulls have an excellent coach and management team in place, and a very good core to build around. They will be title contenders for the foreseeable future, while NY will be stuck in the same spot, with their ceiling being about what it was this year.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

I'm somewhat confused here. I did acknowledge that the Knicks have sucked for the better part of last decade, despite their considerable drawing power (as evidenced by objective indicators like revenue and franchise worth, and subjective indicators like the city's rep. as the cultural capital of the country, and NYC subculture)

I totally agree about the Bulls having a good coach, but not sold yet on management. Do you really think they're title contenders as currently constituted?

The Bulls have a star, a star coach, and some nice young pieces. My whole argument about "drawing power" revolved around the Bulls need, with which I think you'd agree, for a second "star." Teams like NY, despite shoddy performance and management, seem to attract the stars we're talking about, which is why I think the lack of drawing power for Chicago will force them to find other ways to obtain the type of player they need to take on the Heat, Spurs, and Thunder.

And if you're tired about the argument that the Bulls can't attract anyone, how did you feel in 2000 and 2010 when the Bulls failed to sign Duncan, McGrady, Wade, James, Hill, and/or Bosh, despite creating cap space to sign those specific players?

_________________
Successful calls:

Kyrie Irving will never win anything as a team's alpha: check
T.rubisky is a bust: check
Ben Simmons is a liability: check
The Fields Cult is dumb: double check

2013 CSFMB ROY

Let's also not forget who was in the GM's chair, too. Jerry Krause was considered by some as a bit abrasive and not the easiest guy to deal with. While John Paxson & Gar Forman have done much better building the Bulls via the draft, they seem to be reluctant dealing their players. Like Krause before them, the Bulls have really had trouble signing premium FAs.

Yes I think the Bulls are clearly title contenders if healthy. I don't think they need a second star, especially not one like Marbury or Melo. Those guys never win anything for a reason.

You don't really need drawing power if you have good management. The Bulls have put together a team that is almost indisputably a top 4 team when healthy, as evidenced by the best record in the league two years in a row(the best record argument that you kept using this postseason to suggest the Thunder would beat the Spurs and Grizzlies if healthy.) So you seem to agree that best record is equivalent to being a contender. The Bulls are right there, and don't need to add or change much. There is no Super Team in the league right now like 90's Bulls or 2000ish Lakers.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul