How far does Jordan go on the 2018 Cavs in place of LeBron?

[OrlandoMagicGuy]

LeBron wouldn't have been in a position were he only wins 30 games and gets the 8th seed like MJ did

LeBron wins 50+ games with the Bulls and is a Top 4 seed

But if LeBron in that position and had to face the Celtics in the first round.How is he beating them with a bunch of scrubs and cokeheads?

[Mamba4Life]

But if LeBron in that position and had to face the Celtics in the first round.How is he beating them with a bunch of scrubs and cokeheads?

The same way LeBron beat the 2007 Pistons with a bunch of scrubs and cokeheads.

Anf the 2007 Pistons > Those Celtics

[OrlandoMagicGuy]

The same way LeBron beat the 2007 Pistons with a bunch of scrubs and cokeheads.

LeBron goes to the 2007 nba finals via weak eastern conference

Anf the 2007 Pistons > Those Celtics

.............................

[Axe]

I’m just confused, is this the mental gymnastic awards that LeBron fans like to play because he didn’t win actual championships in reality and they use it to justify his abysmal loser performance on the big stage?

Does it make them feel more comforted this bizarre unprovable hypotheticals?

When reality states he’s 3 for 9 and damn near 1 for 9 in the Finals? Barring lucky circumstances, clutch legacy shaving shots, injuries and league assisted officiating or suspensions?

Yeah, losing probably means more stats for him as long as he's trying.

[86Celtics]

The same way LeBron beat the 2007 Pistons with a bunch of scrubs and cokeheads.

Anf the 2007 Pistons > Those Celtics

This is one the most stupid takes that I've ever seen. Do you enjoy making a fool out of yourself? Or are you really that stupid?

[Wally450]

And the 2007 Pistons > Those Celtics

Just stop man.

[Manny98]

Honestly they would lose in the first round

Jordan is probably a better player than LeBron when working with a good supporting cast but he loses to LeBron in terms of raising the floor of supporting casts that lack star power like those Cavs which was pretty much LeBron and a bunch of role players

That Cavs team was specifically built to accommodate LeBrons playstyle so Jordan would struggle on that team

[LostCause]

Honestly they would lose in the first round

Jordan is probably a better player than LeBron when working with a good supporting cast but he loses to LeBron in terms of raising the floor of supporting casts that lack star power like those Cavs which was pretty much LeBron and a bunch of role players

That Cavs team was specifically built to accommodate LeBrons playstyle so Jordan would struggle on that team

This is actually a solid post. Jordan’s floor raising ability is a lot better than you’re suggesting here (In fact, the Backpicks guy rated him as having one of the largest carry-jobs in NBA History in 88 and 89). So depending on which version of Jordan you use he could certainly get that team to the Finals

If we're using 33 year old Jordan, or 97 Jordan, he could probably still get past those Pacers. The Bullets he faced in the 1st round of 97 were similar to the Pacers but had a better defense relative to league average and he dropped 37 per game on them (With a 62 TS%). LeBron averaged 34 (With a 66 TS%) against Indiana. Regardless it comes down to how you believe the supporting cast would work with Jordan. I do think Jordan could work with the roster, as it's mostly shooters and we saw with Kerr/Paxson/Hodges that Jordan played well with 3-pt specialists.

So just like with LeBron, getting past the Pacers in the 1st round will definitely come down to the wire but I can see 97 Jordan doing it. Toronto I think will go similarly, Derozan still becomes terribly inefficient in the playoffs and Kevin Love will still present the matchup nightmare he did that series by stretching the floor. Lowry's not enough here (Siakim wasn't developed enough yet to be a difference maker)

They may lose against Boston though. Again comes down to differences between MJ and LeBron. At this stage of his career Jordan largely played in the triangle and while he could and did stray from that to create on his own (and there's no reason he couldn't still do so at 33), the rest of the team will probably suffer as they'll rely on Lue's coaching against a team as well-coached with good defense like Boston (and Stevens will outcoach him). LeBrons a better playmaker than Jordan so we can't just say Jordan would create the same for his teammates as LeBron did. So this probably goes 7 games with Boston having the advantage.

Regardless if Jordan gets past Boston or not they still get swept in the Finals though

[tpols]

would easily make the finals considering the competition ~ trash bros raptors & rookie tatum / jaylen brown led celtics.

Would definitely not pass up the 16 footer lebron had against curry that wouldve been a game winner.

Probably takes two games off the dubs.


Shit I forgot 2018 cavs had Kevin Love. Lebron made that dude invisible... MJ would probably have him playing how he did in minnesota ~ all NBA.

MJ + an All NBA teammate could win the title.

[Hey Yo]

He def doesn't quit, pout, and throw his teammates under the bus BEFORE over time of Game 1.

Cause he wouldn't have gotten to the Finals to begin with.

It's a proven fact that MJ couldn't play more than 3 straight Finals appearances w/o having to quit the league and rest up (1993 and 1998) so th only way he's playing in the Finals in 2018 is if he took 2014 and 15 off to rest up.

[Turbo Slayer]

would easily make the finals considering the competition ~ trash bros raptors & rookie tatum / jaylen brown led celtics.

Would definitely not pass up the 16 footer lebron had against curry that wouldve been a game winner.

Probably takes two games off the dubs.


Shit I forgot 2018 cavs had Kevin Love. Lebron made that dude invisible... MJ would probably have him playing how he did in minnesota ~ all NBA.

MJ + an All NBA teammate could win the title.

Shit I forgot 2018 cavs had Kevin Love. Lebron made that dude invisible

Kevin Love years in Minnesota 29.6 points on 45 FG%

Kevin in 2018 30.8 points on 46 FG%

Check link: https://www.basketball-reference.com.../loveke01.html

LeBron ball doesn't belittle other players. It's a false narrative.

Points per 100 possessions in effect

[Turbo Slayer]

would easily make the finals considering the competition ~ trash bros raptors & rookie tatum / jaylen brown led celtics.

Would definitely not pass up the 16 footer lebron had against curry that wouldve been a game winner.

Probably takes two games off the dubs.


Shit I forgot 2018 cavs had Kevin Love. Lebron made that dude invisible... MJ would probably have him playing how he did in minnesota ~ all NBA.

MJ + an All NBA teammate could win the title.

I agree with everything you say (mostly) but the 2018 Cavs don't win the 2018 NBA Finals with any superstar in history. It's just not going to work.

Sure MJ and the Cavs could take 1 game but let's face reality. The Warriors would sweep them.

[Roundball_Rock]

The first round. We have no evidence to suggest Jordan could do anything with a team of that caliber. Jordan was able to get more out of already good teams but LeBron is much better at getting more out of bad or average teams.

Keep in mind the Bulls' progress was gradual with MJ. ESPN wants you to think MJ showed up and they immediately turned around. The Bulls won 38, 30, 40, 50, 47, 55, 61, 67 games from 1985-1992 before backsliding slightly to 57 and 55 in 93' and 94'. The results needed roster and coaching improvements. You could put prime LeBron on a 30 win team and he would turn them into a contender.

The "47" may look like a step back but they made the conference finals for the first time that year, after losing 4-1 in the second round in the previous year (which was their first time winning a playoff series with MJ).

[LostCause]

Keep in mind the Bulls' progress was gradual with MJ. ESPN wants you to think MJ showed up and they immediately turned around. The Bulls won 38, 30, 40, 50, 47, 55, 61, 67 games from 1985-1992 before backsliding slightly to 57 and 55 in 93' and 94'. The results needed roster and coaching improvements. You could put prime LeBron on a 30 win team and he would turn them into a contender.

The bolded isn't true but even then it's a silly statement to make following what the rest of your post said

MJ didn't "show up" in his prime. Neither did LeBron. So it doesn't make much sense to bring up Jordan's rookie year, a sophomore campaign where he missed most of the season with injury, then his 3rd year which one could argue was his actual sophomore year then make a statement about what a "prime" LeBron would do. Most of your post is disingenuous.

Though I'm curious what you define "contender" as. 09 LeBron is largely looked at as his peak. That year his team lost to the Magic in the 3rd round. Were they contenders or pretenders that year?

[RRR3]

What version of MJ? Even peak MJ isn't beating the Warriors with that Cavs team, no matter what that armadillo brained "coach" says.

He might get a game or two off the Warriors if the refs don't screw him (they screwed LeBron in game 1 lest anyone forget)