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2016 NBA Playoffs


Ms. Spam
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I don't know. I haven't been paying much attention to the east. I thought they had the best record for some reason.

Is that flame bait, or do you just not follow the NBA outside of rooting for the Spurs? Assuming good faith, the Warriors posted the best NBA regular season record ever. They kinda dominated the coverage.

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Usually I pay way more attention. I haven't actually had time this year. I've seen a total of like 5 full games of regular games and the last 3 or 4 minutes of a few playoff games. I've actually watched more hockey than basketball!

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The 80s will likely always be considered the greatest era of NBA. And, though the Magic's Showtime Lakers teams are up there as well, and the better team as an overall dynasty, most consider that Celtics team with a relatively healthy Walton coming off the bench for the already stacked front court that had Bird and McHale in the middle of their primes and Parrish at center as something special.

 

Only thing missing was the chance to play the Lakers in the Finals. Sadly, it was the only year from 82-89 that the Lakers failed to make the Finals.

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If we're talking about generation changing, it's actually no contest. The Lakers-Celtics rivalry dwarfs the change brought about by the Bulls dynasty. Yes, Jordan's Bulls are remembered as the NBA's singular team just before some of the magic was lost, but Magic and Bird brought the NBA to new heights through their rivalry.

 

Magic and Bird built the NBA from a struggling league up to a cultural phenomenon with lightening speed in the 80s. Before that, they turned the NCAA Tournament into a cultural phenomenon before they even got to the NBA. Indiana State vs. Michigan State still holds the record for most watched college basketball game. Ever wonder why most people's memories of the NCAA Tournament and March Madness started in the 80s? Heck, Magic's announcement that he had HIV sent shockwaves around the world in an entirely different way.

 

Jordan came around a few years later, took the torch from them, and arguably went a little further. He's certainly the more singular figure as the great Lakers, Celtics, Pistons, and even the uncrowned Trailblazers teams of the 80s and early 90s faded and only Stockton and Malone (themselves aging) remained to challenge him. Perhaps that's why you think Jordan had a bigger impact, because there was no one to continue the legacy started with Magic and Bird once Jordan retired. But Jordan, great as he was, built his empire on their shoulders.

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In what it meant to the NBA basketball in promoting the league you're right. I'm talking about each successive generation of new fans having never seen those games save on NBA TV.

 

The Jordan factor is amazing. An 18 year old would have been 5 when Jordan played his last game. Yet these kids still want Jordans. They might want some Chuck Taylors for the cool "old" factor lol.

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Yeah, Jordan is more marketable. But he had more kids lining up to buy his shoes back when the Pistons were whooping him out of the playoffs every year too. Didn't make the Bulls better. Didn't mean that people weren't talking about the Pistons or Lakers back then.

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  • 2 weeks later...

 

Yeah, Jordan is more marketable. But he had more kids lining up to buy his shoes back when the Pistons were whooping him out of the playoffs every year too. Didn't make the Bulls better. Didn't mean that people weren't talking about the Pistons or Lakers back then.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This editor sucks!

 

Jordan's Bulls kicking the Detroit bad boys to the curb was a pretty big deal back then. Yeah, it wasn't East vs West in the finals, but Jordan's Bulls finally reaching greatness was a pretty big deal back then.

 

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My point was that Jordan was selling more shoes than anyone even while the Pistons were bouncing him out of the playoffs three years in a row.

 

People forget that when the Bulls won their first championship, the Sports Illustrated cover read "Finally!" Before that, Jordan had a reputation as a one-man team who could be contained by Chuck Daly's "Jordan Rules". He didn't win a championship until he was 28, in his 7th year in the league.

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No one is denying that the Lakers vs. Celtics was the catalyst for the sudden rise of the popularity of the NBA. Those matchups were always touted as Magic vs. Bird, but the reality was that it was a matchup between two very talented teams.

 

Jordan was recognized as the greatest player of his generation, that pretty much put his team on his shoulders throughout the playoffs. His greatness was not enough to overcome the combined talent of the Pistons during his early years. Once he got a decent amount of talent around him, his Bulls started to become the greatest of all-time.

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I'm not entirely sure what point of mine you're arguing against.

 

 

I'm just saying that it wasn't a question of if Jordan would win a championship. The question was when. And all of those people that were lining up to buy Jordan's shoes did so because they were excited about this amazing player that had entered the league.

 

I do think that Thomas vs Jordan and Ewing vs. Jordan were pretty hyped back then.

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That was an outstanding team effort by the Cavs.

I give it more to individual efforts than team play, especially on offense. Really the wins and losses can be broken down by whether Irving's hero ball was working or not. Their offense ground to a halt many times. Heck, the ball barely moved until they were under 5 seconds on the shot clock throughout the fourth quarter last night.

 

Defense is another matter. They played some good defense out there.

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