2014 NBA Finals

[RockinRyA]

Spurs look in control throughout the game despite the Heat snatching the lead at times. The turnovers kept them from blowing the game wide open earlier.

I didn't think so at all. When the Heat went up 7 in the fourth they looked like they were probably going to steal it.

Well I was never worried even during that stage. I watch a lot of Spurs games, in fact this year I got to watch more of their games than Celts, and if you arent looking at the score you would think that the spurs were leading by 2 possessions. It certainly looked like a classic SA game save for the TOs.

[nickagneta]

Can't help but wonder if any player other than Lebron cramped up in the conditions whether the talk on ESPN and talk radio would even be on the conditions in the arena. If Danny Green cramped up would this be a story.

My guess is probably not and I think that is sad. My guess is the story would be how Lebron and the Heat overcame the conditions. Instead, its about whether the NBA should have called off the game, whether the league should have called off the 2nd half, whether this was an embarrassment to the league, etc.

Lebron cramps up. He's done it before in other games where the conditions were not such that it was 90+ degrees F in the building. Why isn't anyone saying that maybe Lebron cramped up because Lebron cramps up and that it wasn't necessarily the conditions in the arena, conditions that caused exactly zero other players to cramp up?

[cman88]

Can't help but wonder if any player other than Lebron cramped up in the conditions whether the talk on ESPN and talk radio would even be on the conditions in the arena. If Danny Green cramped up would this be a story.

My guess is probably not and I think that is sad. My guess is the story would be how Lebron and the Heat overcame the conditions. Instead, its about whether the NBA should have called off the game, whether the league should have called off the 2nd half, whether this was an embarrassment to the league, etc.

Lebron cramps up. He's done it before in other games where the conditions were not such that it was 90+ degrees F in the building. Why isn't anyone saying that maybe Lebron cramped up because Lebron cramps up and that it wasn't necessarily the conditions in the arena, conditions that caused exactly zero other players to cramp up?

Because the League needs to make up excuses for why Lebron lost. they always do this..

when he lost to the C's in 2010 it was the "elbow" remember?

[D.o.s.]

"I always loved the heat...There is no athlete on the planet who could've played through those cramps," Isiah Thomas told Yahoo! Sports. "Michael Jordan absolutely couldn't have played through those cramps. I absolutely couldn't have played through those cramps. As an athlete, there's nothing you could do. There's no way you could play that way. People have to understand that ? just no way."

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/isiah-thomas--assist-to-lebron---michael-jordan-couldn-t-have-played-with-those-cramps-071514640.html

[fairweatherfan]

Can't help but wonder if any player other than Lebron cramped up in the conditions whether the talk on ESPN and talk radio would even be on the conditions in the arena. If Danny Green cramped up would this be a story.

My guess is probably not and I think that is sad. My guess is the story would be how Lebron and the Heat overcame the conditions. Instead, its about whether the NBA should have called off the game, whether the league should have called off the 2nd half, whether this was an embarrassment to the league, etc.

Are people actually saying this kind of nonsense?  If so I'm glad I don't listen to that stuff.  Are they actually advocating for cancelling the game or "just asking questions"?

Because the League needs to make up excuses for why Lebron lost. they always do this..

when he lost to the C's in 2010 it was the "elbow" remember?

Some media members = "the league"?

[nickagneta]

Can't help but wonder if any player other than Lebron cramped up in the conditions whether the talk on ESPN and talk radio would even be on the conditions in the arena. If Danny Green cramped up would this be a story.

My guess is probably not and I think that is sad. My guess is the story would be how Lebron and the Heat overcame the conditions. Instead, its about whether the NBA should have called off the game, whether the league should have called off the 2nd half, whether this was an embarrassment to the league, etc.

Are people actually saying this kind of nonsense?  If so I'm glad I don't listen to that stuff.  Are they actually advocating for cancelling the game or "just asking questions"?

Yeah, I watched Mike and Mike and Michael Smith and Jemele Hill were on and Mike and Michael were asking whether the game should have been called off. They questioned whether the second half should have been called off. Jemele stated that with the tragedies that have happened at summer weather football training camps that it should have been discussed.

And the day is just starting so ESPN will have a bundle of shows with a bunch of Lebron sycophants as hosts bringing this subject up. At least that's my guess.

Personally, if you know you have these type of conditions you got to properly hydrate. Maybe that is a Lebron weakness, he doesn't hydrate properly because its just a bad habit of his. Maybe his body is naturally or chemically induced to dehydrate more than others, I don't know.

But I think the conditions were fair for both teams and were not dangerous(wet floor, etc) so I think the calls for calling off the game due to conditions are more, Lebron cramping up driven, rather than any other reason.

[CelticG1]

Did you listen to the reasoning behind the comment?

Yeah he was lying through his teeth.  Maybe he meant to say something different or phrase it differently but any coach who would rather LeBron be playing or "wish" he was playing in that situation is a complete idiot.

I'm sure Van Gundy the coach would not only rather have LeBron be playing and not cramping up but would prefer him putting up 40 a game just to make sure his team was getting LeBron best as well.

I swear when Van Gundy first said he'd rather have LeBron playing "if he were the Spurs coach"  that he was going to say something about attacking him on defense and him not being able to move much.

Mark Jackson was pretty much dumbfounded by the comment

[D.o.s.]

Mark Jackson is pretty much dumbfounded by everything, at least based on his commenting style. Van Gundy said that he wanted his team to beat the Heat at full strength, so there was no lingering doubt about which team was better in game 1 of the series. Makes sense to me. 


Anyway, via Grantland:

[Fred Roberts]

My feeling is that the HEAT are going to win this thing regardless .. . .so whatever. Whether they do it on skill along, skill + refs or skill + refs + miracles (like Ray's shot last year) .. . they're going to win.

Do they have enough time between games or what? This series might take 3 weeks.

[angryguy77]

Lebron should have had some of this:

[Roy H.]

Can't help but wonder if any player other than Lebron cramped up in the conditions whether the talk on ESPN and talk radio would even be on the conditions in the arena. If Danny Green cramped up would this be a story.

My guess is probably not and I think that is sad. My guess is the story would be how Lebron and the Heat overcame the conditions. Instead, its about whether the NBA should have called off the game, whether the league should have called off the 2nd half, whether this was an embarrassment to the league, etc.

Are people actually saying this kind of nonsense?  If so I'm glad I don't listen to that stuff.  Are they actually advocating for cancelling the game or "just asking questions"?

Yeah, I watched Mike and Mike and Michael Smith and Jemele Hill were on and Mike and Michael were asking whether the game should have been called off. They questioned whether the second half should have been called off. Jemele stated that with the tragedies that have happened at summer weather football training camps that it should have been discussed.

And the day is just starting so ESPN will have a bundle of shows with a bunch of Lebron sycophants as hosts bringing this subject up. At least that's my guess.

Personally, if you know you have these type of conditions you got to properly hydrate. Maybe that is a Lebron weakness, he doesn't hydrate properly because its just a bad habit of his. Maybe his body is naturally or chemically induced to dehydrate more than others, I don't know.

But I think the conditions were fair for both teams and were not dangerous(wet floor, etc) so I think the calls for calling off the game due to conditions are more, Lebron cramping up driven, rather than any other reason.

The head of the Players' Association wasn't happy, either:

?The playing conditions for tonight?s game were completely unacceptable from the opening tip,? Klempner wrote. ?In a situation like this, there needs to be more open communication before a decision is made that could potentially place players at risk.?

It makes you wonder how players survived in the days before arena air-conditioning, when they were playing at much faster paces.     Wilt averaged 48 minutes per game one year, and I'm guessing that he played in some hot arenas.

To their credit, the majority of players didn't complain or make excuses.  I'm just having a tough time with the notion that anybody's health was put at serious risk.

[AngryAndIrritable]

If you can't handle the odd bit of unusual temperature variance then you have no business in professional sports IMO. I don't think LeBron is making excuses, but it's sad that the media is already making them for him.

[GreenWarrior]

I just wish he would stay off the camera and radio and stop telling us what a horrible experience it's been, and how he can't sleep because he's peeing so much because of all the liquids he's drinking. he just comes off looking like such a wuss by doing this.

regardless of weather it's fair, right or wrong? he loses this series and his "legacy" takes a big hit.

[pearljammer10]

Can't help but wonder if any player other than Lebron cramped up in the conditions whether the talk on ESPN and talk radio would even be on the conditions in the arena. If Danny Green cramped up would this be a story.

My guess is probably not and I think that is sad. My guess is the story would be how Lebron and the Heat overcame the conditions. Instead, its about whether the NBA should have called off the game, whether the league should have called off the 2nd half, whether this was an embarrassment to the league, etc.

Are people actually saying this kind of nonsense?  If so I'm glad I don't listen to that stuff.  Are they actually advocating for cancelling the game or "just asking questions"?

Yeah, I watched Mike and Mike and Michael Smith and Jemele Hill were on and Mike and Michael were asking whether the game should have been called off. They questioned whether the second half should have been called off. Jemele stated that with the tragedies that have happened at summer weather football training camps that it should have been discussed.

And the day is just starting so ESPN will have a bundle of shows with a bunch of Lebron sycophants as hosts bringing this subject up. At least that's my guess.

Personally, if you know you have these type of conditions you got to properly hydrate. Maybe that is a Lebron weakness, he doesn't hydrate properly because its just a bad habit of his. Maybe his body is naturally or chemically induced to dehydrate more than others, I don't know.

But I think the conditions were fair for both teams and were not dangerous(wet floor, etc) so I think the calls for calling off the game due to conditions are more, Lebron cramping up driven, rather than any other reason.

The head of the Players' Association wasn't happy, either:

?The playing conditions for tonight?s game were completely unacceptable from the opening tip,? Klempner wrote. ?In a situation like this, there needs to be more open communication before a decision is made that could potentially place players at risk.?

It makes you wonder how players survived in the days before arena air-conditioning, when they were playing at much faster paces.     Wilt averaged 48 minutes per game one year, and I'm guessing that he played in some hot arenas.

To their credit, the majority of players didn't complain or make excuses.  I'm just having a tough time with the notion that anybody's health was put at serious risk.

I think this whole thing is BS that its even an issue... The Heat are really complaining about playing a game in a non Air Conditioned environment? Seriously? Hey Lebron, go throw on 30 pounds of football equipment and step outside for some NFL training camp in mid-summer. Or maybe you'd like to go somewhere in South American to play a 90 minute game of soccer in 100 degree weather. Try playing a tennis match for 5 hours in 90+ degree heat. Stand in a baseball field etc.

This is such a joke from over privileged american athletes who feel entitled to everything. Spolestra saying the Spurs should be fined? Get real dude. Suck it up and take the lose and go whine about your complimentary air conditioning on someone elses time.

[hpantazo]

Can't help but wonder if any player other than Lebron cramped up in the conditions whether the talk on ESPN and talk radio would even be on the conditions in the arena. If Danny Green cramped up would this be a story.

My guess is probably not and I think that is sad. My guess is the story would be how Lebron and the Heat overcame the conditions. Instead, its about whether the NBA should have called off the game, whether the league should have called off the 2nd half, whether this was an embarrassment to the league, etc.

Are people actually saying this kind of nonsense?  If so I'm glad I don't listen to that stuff.  Are they actually advocating for cancelling the game or "just asking questions"?

Yeah, I watched Mike and Mike and Michael Smith and Jemele Hill were on and Mike and Michael were asking whether the game should have been called off. They questioned whether the second half should have been called off. Jemele stated that with the tragedies that have happened at summer weather football training camps that it should have been discussed.

And the day is just starting so ESPN will have a bundle of shows with a bunch of Lebron sycophants as hosts bringing this subject up. At least that's my guess.

Personally, if you know you have these type of conditions you got to properly hydrate. Maybe that is a Lebron weakness, he doesn't hydrate properly because its just a bad habit of his. Maybe his body is naturally or chemically induced to dehydrate more than others, I don't know.

But I think the conditions were fair for both teams and were not dangerous(wet floor, etc) so I think the calls for calling off the game due to conditions are more, Lebron cramping up driven, rather than any other reason.

The head of the Players' Association wasn't happy, either:

?The playing conditions for tonight?s game were completely unacceptable from the opening tip,? Klempner wrote. ?In a situation like this, there needs to be more open communication before a decision is made that could potentially place players at risk.?

It makes you wonder how players survived in the days before arena air-conditioning, when they were playing at much faster paces.     Wilt averaged 48 minutes per game one year, and I'm guessing that he played in some hot arenas.

To their credit, the majority of players didn't complain or make excuses.  I'm just having a tough time with the notion that anybody's health was put at serious risk.

I think this whole thing is BS that its even an issue... The Heat are really complaining about playing a game in a non Air Conditioned environment? Seriously? Hey Lebron, go throw on 30 pounds of football equipment and step outside for some NFL training camp in mid-summer. Or maybe you'd like to go somewhere in South American to play a 90 minute game of soccer in 100 degree weather. Try playing a tennis match for 5 hours in 90+ degree heat. Stand in a baseball field etc.

This is such a joke from over privileged american athletes who feel entitled to everything. Spolestra saying the Spurs should be fined? Get real dude. Suck it up and take the lose and go whine about your complimentary air conditioning on someone elses time.

Countless TPs for you sir for an excellent description of what most athletes have to go through on a regular basis in terms of competing in hot temperatures. Any NBA player complaining about broken AC is a joke.

I used to play basketball in our local church gym with a group of older guys every week, and we had no AC. During the summers it was easily 90 degrees with no airflow in there and we all went at it hard for 3 plus hours with very few breaks. No one complained, we willingly came there every week looking forward to it.

Our high school soccer team had two practices a day in august everyday except sunday for a whole month, in the heat and humidity, and they were tough as hell. We were punished for drinking water during practice. We all survived, no one complained.