55 thoughts on “June 17, 2015: Blackhawks and Warriors”
The NBA last night.
Well, there you have it. The Warriors are the NBA’s champions and it is well deserved. They carved through what I thought was an epically tough Western Conference with nary a scratch. And then they took down an Eastern Conference champ that was banged up, but still game for the fight. That Cleveland fought to the last half minute of the game was a testament to their desire to win, but they were outmanned.
I am a fan of basketball. I want to see good games. We got that in this series, primarily because the Cavs got an all-World performance from LBJ and GSW was able to answer that with a collection of really good performances. The best and most even performance of those was from Andre Iguodala. Curry had an epic game 5, but Iguodala was consistently good throughout the series. Cleveland tried to get Iggy to the line in the 4th quarter, resorting to the desperation tactic of fouling intentionally off the ball. But, Kerr smartly substituted him out of the game. OMG, get this out of basketball, stat.
I think Cleveland was correct in going big and staying big. Mosgov was a beast in there and his was good enough to force GSW to go big. Ezili was good in short run. Bogut never made it on the floor and that was a good decision, after all, you play to win the game.
GSW ended up with the second best ELO (whatever that is score) in the history of the league at the end of a season, second only to the 1996 Bulls. I think it’s pretty hard to argue that when you win 67 games in a brutally tough Western Conference and then get the title that you aren’t one of the greatest single season teams in history. I don’t like to compare teams across eras, but I ask you: do they beat last year’s Spurs in a best of seven? If Cleveland minus Love and Irving played them this tough, what would have that team done? But, the Spurs hack-a-Jordan’d their way out in the first round this year to a team that spit out the bit against a team that was no match for this very club. So, don’t spend too long thinking about that.
Also, it’s pretty great that a team that has struggled for pretty much 40 years finally brings one home. As a victim of the T-Wolves being in Minnesota and causing me to irrationally be a fan, part of me really hurt to see Curry get that ring. Not that I don’t want him to win, but man, we should have had him. I think I’ll stop saying that now. After watching this series, I’ll take some solace in the idea that I’d rather have Andrew Wiggins than Klay Thompson, who was pretty pedestrian in the series overall and would be pretty ordinary I think with Ricky Rubio instead of Steph Curry playing next to him. So, there’s hope! GSW has a little more hope, though. They are young and they have a lot of really nice pieces that fit together well.
As for LBJ, well, I saw a story last night (in the USA Today, but still) that this Finals loss further diminished his legacy. Sportswriters: they gave you the save statistic. No player has ever combined for more points and assists per game in the Finals than James did. No other player has ever led both teams in points, rebounds, and assists, like James did. When LeBron wasn’t on the floor, James Jones, Delly, J.R. Smith, and Shumpert combined to shoot 0-21. Without LBJ on the floor, Cleveland loses every game in this series by 30 points. He was the most valuable player of this series. The save statistic crew didn’t see it that way, but take Iggy off the Warriors and they still win the series. Take LBJ off and it’s a massive four game blowout.
The saddest part of this whole thing is realizing that Steph Curry has a really nice smile. How did the Wolves' scouts miss that?
None of that debacle makes any sense. I mean, they picked Flynn (I think) on the strength of his tournament, but Curry had a hell of a tourney, too, if I remember. Plus the smile and the generally being a superior player in pretty much every way imaginable.
I'm really glad Flip never made the Love-Thompson trade, but man, I admit I was getting excited to possibly see Curry and Love play together for self-loathing, what could have been reasons.
I'm just a basketball fan. I love the game and the local squad's ineptitude doesn't diminish my love for it. I think Love would have fit in GSW better than he has in CLE, but maybe next year (and I'm pretty sure he'll be in CLE next year), that will mesh together better.
I think it will be an interesting summer. I'm gonna miss watching.
I think there's no doubt he goes back now that they lost the Finals without him. Now he can say, "hey, they needed me" instead of "oh man, I really was the third wheel".
"I've missed the playoffs twice. I lost in the Finals four times. I'm almost starting to be like I'd rather not even make the playoffs than to lose in the Finals. It would hurt a lot easier if I just didn't make the playoffs and I didn't have a shot at it."
-LeBron James
"Easy for him to say."
-Minnesota Timberwolves Organization, Players & Fans
Can you imagine Rubio and him together!?
❤️? (*^◯^*) ?❤️
I think Kerr and his staff showed enough coaching skills that they would have used significantly different strategies depending on who they were playing, so I do think GSW wins (or would be likely to win) against anyone else or a full strength Cavs squad. Although take my opinion for what its worth since I really did not get to watch a lot of this series.
You might be right, but imagine Cleveland going small with Love at the five. Or imagine Curry having to guard Kyrie instead of Delly. Imagine LeBron not having to take 35 shots and actually being his normally efficient self. With those two guys, CLE has three of the top four players on the court. Without those two guys, they have LeBron and then insert, what six guys? between him and Mosgov.
I think it would have been fun to watch. But, this Warriors team is really good.
I would really, really have liked to have seen this series with Cleveland at full strength. As it was, this series was compelling. With those guys, it could well have been epic. I still think GS would have won (spoiler alert to the Boss: it would have been played differently), but it certainly would not have been a sure thing.
Seeing Lebron with a full toolbox against this Warriors team would have been awesome.
take Iggy off the Warriors and they still win the series. Take LBJ off and it’s a massive four game blowout.
given how poorly Klay Thompson played all series, I disagree on (a). But (b) is pretty obvious.
We're pretty close to agreement on a lot of this. Iggy was their best player in the Series. I was saying that all along. LeBron was the whole team pretty much. Yes, the game would have been played differently -- LeBron wouldn't have had a 45% usage rate with Kyrie and Love on the floor -- but this was an interesting series anyways. LBJ has never been a Kobe-esque ball hog, so to see what he could do in that type of situation was pretty interesting. He's not as agile as Kobe, so he's going to struggle some and his jump shot pretty much completely abandoned him. He had to get to the rim to score and even that was a chore. Even still, he made it close, along with some ferocious rebounding from him (led all rebounders in the series!) and his front line mates.
But, LBJ at his best is an efficient player who draws attention and finds others. If CLE can get a couple more competent shooters, they might get to the mountaintop next year. GSW will also have a very good shot to get there. Bring on the 2015-16 season!
One more thing: I love the NBA.
As for LBJ, well, I saw a story last night (in the USA Today, but still) that this Finals loss further diminished his legacy.
Anyone who watched 5 minutes of this series would not say that.
Apparently such a thing as a "pun slam" exists. Could someone please attend this tonight and report back on what it's like?
I... I just... wow.
The world is a beautiful place.
drools...
ID the AU
With a few new Topps sets coming out last week and this week, there were a some new Twins AU cards released, including a couple awesome ones. I snagged this one last week from the Archives set.
Which Twins player (past/present/prospect) has this outstanding signature?
I may be the only one, but I still think Chris Parmelee can play. Hope he gets a chance in Baltimore.
He's certainly shown flashes. I hope so too.
I hope you're right. I like the guy, but I certainly think he had more than enough chances with the Twins. Take away that amazing September callup his first season and he's an 87 OPS+ in over 800 PAs with the Twins. Even with it, he was a slightly below-average hitter with little defensive value.
BTW, OPS+ is extreme SSS is hilarious. Parmelee ha a 524 OPS+ with the O's after 1 game. He does know how to make an impression with a new team, that's for sure.
It doesn't really bother me that they gave up on Parmelee, but overall this team has done a crappy job of admitting that they are bad and focusing on developing talent. Tom Kelly used to say it takes 1,000 at-bats to know what you are doing as a Major League hitter. I think there are some exceptions but this is probably pretty close to the case.
I will admit that the following isn't totally fair because I'm comparing a 2nd baseman, a 3rd baseman, and a 1st baseman/right fielder, but look at this comparison of numbers through age 26 season:
The Twins would have been much better off giving AB in 90+ loss seasons to a guy like Parmelee than Willingham. Those are the years you stick with young talent.
At least Willingham was a legitimately good player. What really annoyed me was when they would sit Parmelee and play Ryan Doumit.
At least Willingham was a legitimately good player.
His first year with the Twins. He went downhill fast.
Sad, but true.
Same could be said for Doumit.
The difference was that Plouffe and Dozier both showed steady improvement. Parmelee went off in his September call-up and then just hung around below average. None of these guys were really considered great prospects despite being high draft picks. The fact that two of them have become everyday players in the majors is actually a positive as far as player development, not a negative. Also, we shouldn't be surprised that Santana has struggled to keep his job given his minor league track record. The one we should be concerned about is Arcia. He hit a ton everywhere in the minors. His numbers were decent this year before getting hurt but he still looks lost at times.
Plouffe and Dozier didn't really start showing improvement until after the first 1,000 plate appearances - which is my point.
I had no problem with the Twins sticking with them. They were the examples of what can happen with patience. My point wad that Parmelee should have been given a similar opportunity. The only difference is position.
...he hit another HR last night.
Interesting note:
He was the Twins 1st round pick in 2006, 20th overall.
Plouffe was the Twins 1st round pick in 2004, 20th overall.
2 of his 4 hits were homeruns.
Everyone for the Orioles hit a HR last night.
Iguodala finished the series with averages of 16.3 points, four assists and 5.8 rebounds, shooting 52.1 percent from the field. However, he wasn’t the most valuable player on his own team or in any one game, let alone the entire series.
According to Michael Beuoy’s “kitchen sink” win probability added, which quantifies the win probability contributions for every box score stat we can measure and attribute at the player level, Iguodala ranked fourth overall in the Finals, behind James, Curry and Draymond Green.
buuuuut it looks like he let me write a paragraph:
To be fair, Iguodala did a yeoman’s job defending James. When they shared the court James had a net rating of minus-15.5 and was held to a true shooting percentage of 46.4 percent, which skyrocketed to a net rating of plus-18.8 and 50.9 percent true shooting when they didn’t.
best comment on that piece:
AuthorofSarcasm
9:13 AM PDT
Well, assuming it goes to a member of the winning team, who else on the Warriors would get it? They are the epitome of a team. I see nothing wrong with it, although maybe Kelly Olynyk should've received a few votes.
No, I stated repeatedly that he was their best player in this series. Look at my recaps. I think he did guard LBJ effectively and said as much. Ten years from now, everyone from outside of Northern California and the I Hate LeBron! club will be wondering what ever possessed the voters to select him over James.
If we were brothers, we'd have to settle this in a wrestling match about now.
Ten years from now, everyone from outside of Northern California and the I Hate LeBron! club will be wondering what ever possessed the voters to select him over James.
True, true.
If we were brothers, we'd have to settle this in a wrestling match about now.
Also true. You've got me by a few pounds, but older brothers always win these things.
We really don't differ by that much on our interpretations. I was mostly giving the link to the WaPo piece for its headline: "Andre Iguodala is worst NBA Finals MVP in last 30 years"
Unless I wasn't informed, you and I are both still awaiting our semifinal opponents.
Completely forgotten.
RPZ leads me 1 game to none (played live).
Game 2 may be played tomorrow, at Target Field.
It turns out that if you have a finely tuned engine, you're gonna wanna take care of it. Kudos to the Warriors and their focus on player health.
that was an interesting piece.
Also interesting was the piece right after it, which asserts that David Lee is very likely to be traded this off-season. Makes sense to me. He'll be in the last year of his contract at age-32. Clearly, he can still play, but he's too expensive to sit on the bench for $15M/year.
Charlotte apparently is poised to release Barnes to avoid some guaranteed money. If so, Barnes should be able to find a place to play in the league still. He would be a major bench upgrade for Cleveland, for example.
Is there another reason to join a co-ed kickball league?
My office has a few extra tickets to tomorrow's game. Anyone want to come with me? (There will be a drawing.)
Magoo?
If anyone's going via tickets they already have, I'll be in section 209, row 5.
Thanks for the offer, but I'm out. Have fun, y'all.
If no one else is interested, I could be persuaded...
Edit: Half bakef... this was in response to AMR
OK, if I get one of the extras, it goes to RPZ. (I won't know until 9am tomorrow.)
I'm leaving town tomorrow morning to see the parental units, and so will be out of range of the internet until Friday evening. I hope to get Minor Details and the recap of tonight's game done before I leave. However, I'll need someone to take the recap of Thursday's game. The plan is to catch up on Thursday's minor league games on Saturday.
There's talk of a sellout crowd headed here tonight to watch one of baseball's top prospects. Buxton's fiance' and parents will be in attendance as well.
The NBA last night.
Well, there you have it. The Warriors are the NBA’s champions and it is well deserved. They carved through what I thought was an epically tough Western Conference with nary a scratch. And then they took down an Eastern Conference champ that was banged up, but still game for the fight. That Cleveland fought to the last half minute of the game was a testament to their desire to win, but they were outmanned.
I am a fan of basketball. I want to see good games. We got that in this series, primarily because the Cavs got an all-World performance from LBJ and GSW was able to answer that with a collection of really good performances. The best and most even performance of those was from Andre Iguodala. Curry had an epic game 5, but Iguodala was consistently good throughout the series. Cleveland tried to get Iggy to the line in the 4th quarter, resorting to the desperation tactic of fouling intentionally off the ball. But, Kerr smartly substituted him out of the game. OMG, get this out of basketball, stat.
I think Cleveland was correct in going big and staying big. Mosgov was a beast in there and his was good enough to force GSW to go big. Ezili was good in short run. Bogut never made it on the floor and that was a good decision, after all, you play to win the game.
GSW ended up with the second best ELO (whatever that is score) in the history of the league at the end of a season, second only to the 1996 Bulls. I think it’s pretty hard to argue that when you win 67 games in a brutally tough Western Conference and then get the title that you aren’t one of the greatest single season teams in history. I don’t like to compare teams across eras, but I ask you: do they beat last year’s Spurs in a best of seven? If Cleveland minus Love and Irving played them this tough, what would have that team done? But, the Spurs hack-a-Jordan’d their way out in the first round this year to a team that spit out the bit against a team that was no match for this very club. So, don’t spend too long thinking about that.
Also, it’s pretty great that a team that has struggled for pretty much 40 years finally brings one home. As a victim of the T-Wolves being in Minnesota and causing me to irrationally be a fan, part of me really hurt to see Curry get that ring. Not that I don’t want him to win, but man, we should have had him. I think I’ll stop saying that now. After watching this series, I’ll take some solace in the idea that I’d rather have Andrew Wiggins than Klay Thompson, who was pretty pedestrian in the series overall and would be pretty ordinary I think with Ricky Rubio instead of Steph Curry playing next to him. So, there’s hope! GSW has a little more hope, though. They are young and they have a lot of really nice pieces that fit together well.
As for LBJ, well, I saw a story last night (in the USA Today, but still) that this Finals loss further diminished his legacy. Sportswriters: they gave you the save statistic. No player has ever combined for more points and assists per game in the Finals than James did. No other player has ever led both teams in points, rebounds, and assists, like James did. When LeBron wasn’t on the floor, James Jones, Delly, J.R. Smith, and Shumpert combined to shoot 0-21. Without LBJ on the floor, Cleveland loses every game in this series by 30 points. He was the most valuable player of this series. The save statistic crew didn’t see it that way, but take Iggy off the Warriors and they still win the series. Take LBJ off and it’s a massive four game blowout.
The saddest part of this whole thing is realizing that Steph Curry has a really nice smile. How did the Wolves' scouts miss that?
None of that debacle makes any sense. I mean, they picked Flynn (I think) on the strength of his tournament, but Curry had a hell of a tourney, too, if I remember. Plus the smile and the generally being a superior player in pretty much every way imaginable.
I'm really glad Flip never made the Love-Thompson trade, but man, I admit I was getting excited to possibly see Curry and Love play together for self-loathing, what could have been reasons.
I'm just a basketball fan. I love the game and the local squad's ineptitude doesn't diminish my love for it. I think Love would have fit in GSW better than he has in CLE, but maybe next year (and I'm pretty sure he'll be in CLE next year), that will mesh together better.
I think it will be an interesting summer. I'm gonna miss watching.
I think there's no doubt he goes back now that they lost the Finals without him. Now he can say, "hey, they needed me" instead of "oh man, I really was the third wheel".
"I've missed the playoffs twice. I lost in the Finals four times. I'm almost starting to be like I'd rather not even make the playoffs than to lose in the Finals. It would hurt a lot easier if I just didn't make the playoffs and I didn't have a shot at it."
-LeBron James
"Easy for him to say."
-Minnesota Timberwolves Organization, Players & Fans
Can you imagine Rubio and him together!?
❤️? (*^◯^*) ?❤️
I think Kerr and his staff showed enough coaching skills that they would have used significantly different strategies depending on who they were playing, so I do think GSW wins (or would be likely to win) against anyone else or a full strength Cavs squad. Although take my opinion for what its worth since I really did not get to watch a lot of this series.
You might be right, but imagine Cleveland going small with Love at the five. Or imagine Curry having to guard Kyrie instead of Delly. Imagine LeBron not having to take 35 shots and actually being his normally efficient self. With those two guys, CLE has three of the top four players on the court. Without those two guys, they have LeBron and then insert, what six guys? between him and Mosgov.
I think it would have been fun to watch. But, this Warriors team is really good.
I would really, really have liked to have seen this series with Cleveland at full strength. As it was, this series was compelling. With those guys, it could well have been epic. I still think GS would have won (spoiler alert to the Boss: it would have been played differently), but it certainly would not have been a sure thing.
Seeing Lebron with a full toolbox against this Warriors team would have been awesome.
given how poorly Klay Thompson played all series, I disagree on (a). But (b) is pretty obvious.
We're pretty close to agreement on a lot of this. Iggy was their best player in the Series. I was saying that all along. LeBron was the whole team pretty much. Yes, the game would have been played differently -- LeBron wouldn't have had a 45% usage rate with Kyrie and Love on the floor -- but this was an interesting series anyways. LBJ has never been a Kobe-esque ball hog, so to see what he could do in that type of situation was pretty interesting. He's not as agile as Kobe, so he's going to struggle some and his jump shot pretty much completely abandoned him. He had to get to the rim to score and even that was a chore. Even still, he made it close, along with some ferocious rebounding from him (led all rebounders in the series!) and his front line mates.
But, LBJ at his best is an efficient player who draws attention and finds others. If CLE can get a couple more competent shooters, they might get to the mountaintop next year. GSW will also have a very good shot to get there. Bring on the 2015-16 season!
One more thing: I love the NBA.
As for LBJ, well, I saw a story last night (in the USA Today, but still) that this Finals loss further diminished his legacy.
Anyone who watched 5 minutes of this series would not say that.
Apparently such a thing as a "pun slam" exists. Could someone please attend this tonight and report back on what it's like?
I... I just... wow.
The world is a beautiful place.
drools...
ID the AU
With a few new Topps sets coming out last week and this week, there were a some new Twins AU cards released, including a couple awesome ones. I snagged this one last week from the Archives set.
Which Twins player (past/present/prospect) has this outstanding signature?
Nice call-up for the Orioles in their 19-3 win over Philly:
2 of his 4 hits were homeruns.
I may be the only one, but I still think Chris Parmelee can play. Hope he gets a chance in Baltimore.
He's certainly shown flashes. I hope so too.
I hope you're right. I like the guy, but I certainly think he had more than enough chances with the Twins. Take away that amazing September callup his first season and he's an 87 OPS+ in over 800 PAs with the Twins. Even with it, he was a slightly below-average hitter with little defensive value.
BTW, OPS+ is extreme SSS is hilarious. Parmelee ha a 524 OPS+ with the O's after 1 game. He does know how to make an impression with a new team, that's for sure.
It doesn't really bother me that they gave up on Parmelee, but overall this team has done a crappy job of admitting that they are bad and focusing on developing talent. Tom Kelly used to say it takes 1,000 at-bats to know what you are doing as a Major League hitter. I think there are some exceptions but this is probably pretty close to the case.
I will admit that the following isn't totally fair because I'm comparing a 2nd baseman, a 3rd baseman, and a 1st baseman/right fielder, but look at this comparison of numbers through age 26 season:
Plouffe 829 PA, .231 BA, .283 OBP, .423 SLG, .707 OPS
Dozier 963 PA, .240 BA, .288 OBP, .384 SLG, .672 OPS
Parmelee 901 PA, .249 BA, .307 OBP, .391 SLG, .699 OPS
The Twins would have been much better off giving AB in 90+ loss seasons to a guy like Parmelee than Willingham. Those are the years you stick with young talent.
At least Willingham was a legitimately good player. What really annoyed me was when they would sit Parmelee and play Ryan Doumit.
At least Willingham was a legitimately good player.
His first year with the Twins. He went downhill fast.
Sad, but true.
Same could be said for Doumit.
The difference was that Plouffe and Dozier both showed steady improvement. Parmelee went off in his September call-up and then just hung around below average. None of these guys were really considered great prospects despite being high draft picks. The fact that two of them have become everyday players in the majors is actually a positive as far as player development, not a negative. Also, we shouldn't be surprised that Santana has struggled to keep his job given his minor league track record. The one we should be concerned about is Arcia. He hit a ton everywhere in the minors. His numbers were decent this year before getting hurt but he still looks lost at times.
Plouffe and Dozier didn't really start showing improvement until after the first 1,000 plate appearances - which is my point.
I had no problem with the Twins sticking with them. They were the examples of what can happen with patience. My point wad that Parmelee should have been given a similar opportunity. The only difference is position.
...he hit another HR last night.
Interesting note:
He was the Twins 1st round pick in 2006, 20th overall.
Plouffe was the Twins 1st round pick in 2004, 20th overall.
2 of his 4 hits were homeruns.
Everyone for the Orioles hit a HR last night.
True, true
I'm pretty sure SBG wrote this article for the WaPo. 😉
buuuuut it looks like he let me write a paragraph:
best comment on that piece:
No, I stated repeatedly that he was their best player in this series. Look at my recaps. I think he did guard LBJ effectively and said as much. Ten years from now, everyone from outside of Northern California and the I Hate LeBron! club will be wondering what ever possessed the voters to select him over James.
If we were brothers, we'd have to settle this in a wrestling match about now.
True, true.
Also true. You've got me by a few pounds, but older brothers always win these things.
We really don't differ by that much on our interpretations. I was mostly giving the link to the WaPo piece for its headline: "Andre Iguodala is worst NBA Finals MVP in last 30 years"
"What do we need to work on?"
What's the latest on the WGOM cribbage tourney?
Unless I wasn't informed, you and I are both still awaiting our semifinal opponents.
Completely forgotten.
RPZ leads me 1 game to none (played live).
Game 2 may be played tomorrow, at Target Field.
It turns out that if you have a finely tuned engine, you're gonna wanna take care of it. Kudos to the Warriors and their focus on player health.
that was an interesting piece.
Also interesting was the piece right after it, which asserts that David Lee is very likely to be traded this off-season. Makes sense to me. He'll be in the last year of his contract at age-32. Clearly, he can still play, but he's too expensive to sit on the bench for $15M/year.
So, who's a good trading partner? Finding one other than the Jazz seems difficult.
Other NBA news that I missed: Charlotte traded Lance Stephenson to the Clips for Matt Barnes and Spencer Hawes.
Charlotte apparently is poised to release Barnes to avoid some guaranteed money. If so, Barnes should be able to find a place to play in the league still. He would be a major bench upgrade for Cleveland, for example.
From the WTH department: https://www.kickball.com/blog/how-to-meet-women-while-playing-social-sports?utm_campaign=may_blog_content&utm_source=waka_central_facebook_page&utm_medium=social_media&utm_term=meet_women&utm_content=meet_women_blog
Is there another reason to join a co-ed kickball league?
My office has a few extra tickets to tomorrow's game. Anyone want to come with me? (There will be a drawing.)
Magoo?
If anyone's going via tickets they already have, I'll be in section 209, row 5.
Thanks for the offer, but I'm out. Have fun, y'all.
If no one else is interested, I could be persuaded...
Edit: Half bakef... this was in response to AMR
OK, if I get one of the extras, it goes to RPZ. (I won't know until 9am tomorrow.)
I'm leaving town tomorrow morning to see the parental units, and so will be out of range of the internet until Friday evening. I hope to get Minor Details and the recap of tonight's game done before I leave. However, I'll need someone to take the recap of Thursday's game. The plan is to catch up on Thursday's minor league games on Saturday.