Do you buy Dr. J explanation for losing G6 in 1980?

[Duderonomy]

He said when you play a team without their best player you are playing a new team you haven't scouted against.

There might be some truth to that
The Spurs winning on the road against Houston in 2016 without Kawhi
Then of course last season when the Warriors beat Houston.

[Da_Realist]

In his case, yes. Philly got hit with the early version of Showtime. Magic Johnson was finally unleashed. No one is prepared for that without scouting and conditioning.

[Bosnian Sajo]

He said when you play a team without their best player you are playing a new team you haven't scouted against.

There might be some truth to that
The Spurs winning on the road against Houston in 2016 without Kawhi
Then of course last season when the Warriors beat Houston.


There is "some" truth to that, but we are not going to act like the Lakers were in some king of advantage due to Kareem going down with an injury lol.


The Spurs example imo is a bad one due to it being only 1 game that Kawhi missed. He led the Spurs to 3 big wins before missing game 6.


As for the Warriors beating Houston....no. And you know why it's a big no. Steph/Klay/Green won an NBA Championship together without KD, and Kd only missed the last


*LIGHT-BULB OVER HEAD*


And that's where I stopped typing and actually understood why you brought up these examples. They are identical to the Kareem situation due to the star players missing the very last game in which they eliminated the opposing team. That's interesting. Still not gonna say those 3 teams had an advantage per say, but it is definitely interesting.

[Bosnian Sajo]

Who was the favorite to win in 1980? Because it is important to note that the Spurs and Warriors were heavy favorites over the Rockets in their respective series.

[3ball]

He said when you play a team without their best player you are playing a new team you haven't scouted against.

There might be some truth to that
The Spurs winning on the road against Houston in 2016 without Kawhi
Then of course last season when the Warriors beat Houston.
I agree 100%

I was pissed when Durant got hurt against Houston last year because Houston had begun to figure out and defend the Warriors' sets well - but when Durant got hurt, the warriors started running that 73-win crap again and Houston wasn't ready for it and probably needed several games to get a handle on it

[Stringer Bell]

Who was the favorite to win in 1980? Because it is important to note that the Spurs and Warriors were heavy favorites over the Rockets in their respective series.

The Lakers had HCA, they had won 1 more game in the RS than Philly. Kareem was the league

[Duderonomy]

*LIGHT-BULB OVER HEAD*


And that's where I stopped typing and actually understood why you brought up these examples. They are identical to the Kareem situation due to the star players missing the very last game in which they eliminated the opposing team. That's interesting. Still not gonna say those 3 teams had an advantage per say, but it is definitely interesting.

I should have wrote elimination game while the superstar missed the last game.
Since more than one game gives the other team time to prepare.

[jlip]

I like what Dr. J had to say here. What he stated reminds one that there are often complex and strategic basketball factors impacting the outcome of games. It's not always as simple as "player X refused to lose", or "player Y choked." Yes I know that Magic and Jamaal Wilkes dominated this game, but I, again like what Dr. J said there.

[ImKobe]

I like what Dr. J had to say here. What he stated reminds one that there are often complex and strategic basketball factors impacting the outcome of games. It's not always as simple as "player X refused to lose", or "player Y choked." Yes I know that Magic and Jamaal Wilkes dominated this game, but I, again like what Dr. J said there.

Yeah, obviously. Magic was a rookie as well so it's not like they had too much experience playing against him going into the Finals. Not only that, but Lakers had 3 of the 4 best players in that series.

[Duderonomy]

Utah can't use this excuse because they lost twice now, they should be up 2-1 right now.

[GimmeThat]

you're playing a new team you haven't scouted, but you're also playing a team with less players that requires you to scout.

you can also say a team doesn't have to be the most efficient to win a game, they can simply exhaust more energy if the opportunity presents itself

[John_Connor]

you're playing a new team you haven't scouted, but you're also playing a team with less players that requires you to scout.

you can also say a team doesn't have to be the most efficient to win a game, they can simply exhaust more energy if the opportunity presents itself

wrong account

[GimmeThat]

wrong account

poor self-awareness

[getting_old]

Philly always packed it in early on the biggest stage. All talent and flash and no substance.

Brought in Moses Malone to finally take a title for that era, he had zero drama-queen or clowning around in him....

[L.Kizzle]

The 70 Knicks beat the Lakers. Reed played but was maybe 25%.