Remember when it was a challenge to get to the Conference Finals?

[russwest0]

:confusedshrug:

[t-rex]

Think of how you will feel in a few days when the Pacers get there.:oldlol:

[1987_Lakers]

No, East has been garbage for 15 years now.

[Roundball_Rock]

:coleman:

The 80's Lakers made the conference finals every year except for the one fluke year they lost in a best of 3 series to Houston in the first round. Outside of 1992, the 90's Bulls never had a tough road to reach the conference finals, even though they did have tough ECF's in 1993 and 1998. Why do people act as if the Heat's roster and their success are novel things?

[HoopsFanNumero1]

Why are OKC fans complaining though. You're guaranteed a WCF appearance.

[Threethrows]

Yeah, now the refs gift you games just for letting them bang your mom :biggums:

[AnaheimLakers24]

west is still kinda tough. east been a joke since 91

[Solefade]

the last time OKC got to the conference finals you guys had 3 superstars, now you guys replaced harden with 3 refs


stacked as fvck

[Beastmode88]

the last time OKC got to the conference finals you guys had 3 superstars, now you guys replaced harden with 3 refs


stacked as fvck

Lol Casper doesn't show up in big games, def not a superstar.

[TheCorporation]

Good teams make it look easier, duh. Dominant teams make it look even easier.

Take Shaq's 16-1 Lakers, or MJ's 16-3 Bulls

Guess it was a challenge for them, too? :lol

You're only propping up LeBron and Company by saying how "easy it is" for them. Well, that's because they're that good.

[Magic 32]

Good teams make it look easier, duh. Dominant teams make it look even easier.

Take Shaq's 16-1 Lakers, or MJ's 16-3 Bulls

Guess it was a challenge for them, too? :lol

You're only propping up LeBron and Company by saying how "easy it is" for them. Well, that's because they're that good.[/QUOTE]

http://static.foxsports.com/content/fscom/img/2012/04/06/040612-NBA-heat-grizzlies-LN-PI_20120406224900881_660_320.JPG

[Trollsmasher]

:coleman:

The 80's Lakers made the conference finals every year except for the one fluke year they lost in a best of 3 series to Houston in the first round. Outside of 1992, the 90's Bulls never had a tough road to reach the conference finals, even though they did have tough ECF's in 1993 and 1998. Why do people act as if the Heat's roster and their success are novel things?
:applause:

[pauk]

Sure has been challenging, especially in the East considering to get there teams have to face the best team in the NBA & best player in the NBA who hasnt choked or underperformed a single game and who even shuts down your best offensive player when it matters and hence the series doesnt even go 7 games.....

[sbw19]

Dead horse be dead. Blame the NBA for keeping the current playoffs format.

[edrick]

:confusedshrug:

Yeah, I remember last year when SA went 4-0, 4-2, 4-0. Those were the days.

[Byobob]

Yeah, I remember last year when SA went 4-0, 4-2, 4-0. Those were the days.


I also remember OKC losing only 1 game to get in the WCF back in '12. :lol

[JT123]

I also remember OKC losing only 1 game to get in the WCF back in '12. :lol
I remember that. :lol Only loss was to the Lakers. The Thunder should have won that game too, but Stern didn't want Kobe getting swept two years in a row. I actually kind of liked the Thunder back then, before they became the NBA's golden child.

[Hamtaro CP3KDKG]

Not int he East no i dont remember since the 90s

[alanLA92]

I remember when the Celtics took 20 games to get to the finals, going 7 games against the 37 win Hawks and Lebron's Cavs. But wouldn't call it a challenge to be proud of. :lol

[SilkkTheShocker]

Yeah, I remember last year when SA went 4-0, 4-2, 4-0. Those were the days.

DAT ETHER :oldlol:

[HoopsFanNumero1]

I remember when the Celtics took 20 games to get to the finals, going 7 games against the 37 win Hawks and Lebron's Cavs. But wouldn't call it a challenge to be proud of. :lol

And then took down the best the WC had to offer with ease.

[J Shuttlesworth]

I agree. OKC's road is too easy to the WCF this year. They had to play a team that has no offense (Grizzlies) and then played 8 vs. 5 against the Clippers. Easiest road to the WCF in history aside from the Spurs last year.

[dajadeed]

Good teams make it look easier, duh. Dominant teams make it look even easier.

Take Shaq's 16-1 Lakers, or MJ's 16-3 Bulls

Guess it was a challenge for them, too? :lol

You're only propping up LeBron and Company by saying how "easy it is" for them. Well, that's because they're that good.

http://static.foxsports.com/content/fscom/img/2012/04/06/040612-NBA-heat-grizzlies-LN-PI_20120406224900881_660_320.JPG[/QUOTE]

That's what happens when 3 superstars in one conference team up. Who the hell are they supposed to compete against?

That's what the people talking about spirit of competition were talking about when they said stars back in the day wanted to beat each other.

It's simple really. In an already shitty conference, when 3 of the best players become free agents and team up, there's going to be a lot of even shittier teams... with one team with 3 superstars.

Of course they're going to watlz into the ECF for several straight years.

[MMM]

East from 04-11 had more elite contenders than the West

usually at least 2 and sometimes 3 while the West had a few years where there was only 1 contender.

As a whole the West was still a superior conference but the East from 04-11 wasn't as bad as the East from 12 to current and 00-03

[Roundball_Rock]

That's what happens when 3 superstars in one conference team up. Who the hell are they supposed to compete against?

Who did Pippen, Jordan and Rodman (before that Grant) compete against (the Bulls were the only team with 3 HOF'ers in or near their prime and the only team with two MVP caliber players for an extended period)? It was 6 different conference finals opponents in 6 championship seasons. How about Kareem, Magic, Worthy? Garnett, Pierce, Allen would have made it to three consecutive NBA finals if KG did not get hurt in 2009 and they almost made it to another Finals in 2012. They easily could have had four NBA finals appearances in five seasons.

I do not like what Lebron and Bosh did but I don't agree with those who act as if the modern day Heat roster is unprecedented. Two great players plus a third very good player has been a winning formula for ages in the NBA. How many championship teams fit that description? I know some don't, i.e. the 2003 Spurs or 2011 Mavericks, but it often is the case.

People also overlook cases where such "dream tandems" failed to win championships. Lebron, Wade, Bosh did in fact have to face Durant, Westbrook, and Harden in the NBA finals. They did face the Spurs dynasty. They did face, albeit an old, Celtics team with 4 all-stars who took them to 7 games in the ECF. Kobe, Howard, Nash, Gasol were all on the same team last year. It failed miserably, but you had two top 5 caliber players along with a former MVP and another all-star all on the same team. This year you had Howard playing with Harden, Paul with Griffin (and Jordan and Crawford), Westbrook with Durant (and Ibaka), and so on.

The Heat did have an "unfair" advantage in 2011 by having two top 3-4 players but Wade since then has declined, as has Bosh. You cannot legitimately say Lebron has had far more help than the other star teams mentioned in 2012, 2013 and this year. Keep in mind during all this time the Heat have had one of the worst benches among top teams.

We are witnessing a great run by a great team and an all-time top 5 talent who has a shot at becoming the GOAT. Let's enjoy it.

[J Shuttlesworth]

Who did Pippen, Jordan and Rodman (before that Grant) compete against (the Bulls were the only team with 3 HOF'ers in or near their prime and the only team with two MVP caliber players for an extended period)? It was 6 different conference finals opponents in 6 championship seasons. How about Kareem, Magic, Worthy? Garnett, Pierce, Allen would have made it to three consecutive NBA finals if KG did not get hurt in 2009 and they almost made it to another Finals in 2012. They easily could have had four NBA finals appearances in five seasons.

I do not like what Lebron and Bosh did but I don't agree with those who act as if the modern day Heat roster is unprecedented. Two great players plus a third very good player has been a winning formula for ages in the NBA. How many championship teams fit that description? I know some don't, i.e. the 2003 Spurs or 2011 Mavericks, but it often is the case.

People also overlook cases where such "dream tandems" failed to win championships. Lebron, Wade, Bosh did in fact have to face Durant, Westbrook, and Harden in the NBA finals. They did face the Spurs dynasty. They did face, albeit an old, Celtics team with 4 all-stars who took them to 7 games in the ECF. Kobe, Howard, Nash, Gasol were all on the same team last year. It failed miserably, but you had two top 5 caliber players along with a former MVP and another all-star all on the same team. This year you had Howard playing with Harden, Paul with Griffin (and Jordan and Crawford), Westbrook with Durant (and Ibaka), and so on.

The Heat did have an "unfair" advantage in 2011 by having two top 3-4 players but Wade since then has declined, as has Bosh. You cannot legitimately say Lebron has had far more help than the other star teams mentioned in 2012, 2013 and this year. Keep in mind during all this time the Heat have had one of the worst benches among top teams.

We are witnessing a great run by a great team and an all-time top 5 talent who has a shot at becoming the GOAT. Let's enjoy it.
Good post. I never understand idiots who say the big 3 ruined the eastern conference. They made it so that there is actually a contender against the West. Lebron on the Cavs, Wade Heat, and Bosh raptors would all lose if they could make it to the finals.

[tpols]

^ what are the other star teams out east? Paul George's Indiana Pacers? Derrick Rose's Bulls? Rondo's old Celtics?

Rose, Rondo, and Paul George are not in the same league as bron or any top 10-20 GOAT level player. The only other player in the East even comparable to Bron over the past few years on an invididual superstar level is Dwayne Wade and hes his teammate.

[JohnFreeman]

Yeah, I remember last year when SA went 4-0, 4-2, 4-0. Those were the days.
:roll:

[kennethgriffin]

Good teams make it look easier, duh. Dominant teams make it look even easier.

Take Shaq's 16-1 Lakers, or MJ's 16-3 Bulls

Guess it was a challenge for them, too? :lol

You're only propping up LeBron and Company by saying how "easy it is" for them. Well, that's because they're that good.

http://static.foxsports.com/content/fscom/img/2012/04/06/040612-NBA-heat-grizzlies-LN-PI_20120406224900881_660_320.JPG[/QUOTE]


anyone notice this fool said 16-1 lakers... and 16-3 bulls LOL

this one wasnt born back in the day when 1st rounds were 5 game series

:lol



and btw... lakers that year beat 4 teams with 50+ wins

kobe = 24 series victories vs 50+ win teams ( most in history )

jordan = 20 series victories vs 50+ win teams


00's west = tough as nails

90's east = damn tough aswell


00's and 10's east = LMFAO

[Roundball_Rock]

Good post. I never understand idiots who say the big 3 ruined the eastern conference. They made it so that there is actually a contender against the West. Lebron on the Cavs, Wade Heat, and Bosh raptors would all lose if they could make it to the finals.

The Heat faced 7 game ECF's in 2012 and 2013. People act as if they are sweeping their way through the East. The Heat had a tougher road to the Finals in 2012 and 2013 than the Spurs and Thunder did in the West

Spurs in 2013: 4-0, 4-2, 4-0.
Heat in 2013: 4-0, 4-1, 4-3.

Thunder in 2012: 4-0, 4-1, 4-2.
Heat in 2012: 4-1, 4-2, 4-3.

The one legitimate point is, due to Rose's injuries, the Heat's biggest conference rival has been taken out of contention for the past three playoffs, but unfortunately injuries are part of basketball.


90's east = damn tough aswell

It was but the Bulls, like today's Heat, had no true rival. During their title years they faced 6 different ECF opponents in 6 years--and no one holds that against MJ.

[215Philly]

Yeah, I remember last year when SA went 4-0, 4-2, 4-0. Those were the days.
No defence playing West :facepalm