Top 3 least likely teams to have won the Championship

[8Ball]

So a guy who rails against public perception being wrong about this star and that one is now telling me that the public thinking a team is going to be great means it actually is.....and that advanced assumption means more to the matter of over/under achieving....than how good he team actually was on the court?

Perception of the masses having seen the teams in question play zero games means more than how good a team actually is when basketball is played.

That what you’re telling me right now?

You can only play a team as it is. You can’t play what such and such thought they would be in October. The teams you’re talking about never actually existed when the season started....so why is what they may have been in an alternate reality even worth reporting?

How a team is put together pre-season and what a team looks like days before a finals is night and day.

[Kblaze8855]

You're not telling the truth again.

The Warriors were already a playoff team before 2015. Curry, Klay, Dray, and Iggy led them in playoff minutes in 2014 and the splash bros made the playoffs the previous year as well. Their talent was +2800. What the "masses" didn't see was that Kerr would flip their offensive system on its head to produce a higher level of teamwork. Hence them overachieving with the talent they had. That's simply what it was.

If you think a team is going to be ok....and when they get on the floor they are top 10 or so all time...the “ok” team you imagined....never came to fruition.

That average team existed only in your head and perhaps in the past.

Neither of which mean anything in reality.

Predictions....are imaginary.

Godfather 3 was supposed to be great. But it wasn’t. When Dances with Wolves wins best picture....it didn’t “upset” Godfather 3....because Godfather 3 on the screen....wasn’t very good.


It does not matter what the movie or the team was “supposed” to be.

A movie is what it is. A team is what it is.

Your preseason assumptions aren’t worth a free throw.

In the words of Barts special Ed teacher on the simpsons when he said he was supposed to be in the 4th grade.....





What you’re supposed to be doesn’t mean shit.

[SouBeachTalents]

People didn’t foresee Klay and Dray turning into all-star level players. That’s what changed things. Once they became that level of player, expectations were adjusted accordingly.

Or frankly, Steph making the leap to MVP and legitimate ATG player. The guy had one All-NBA selection and never even finished top 5 in MVP voting heading into 2015, it's almost unheard of for an NBA player to make such a significant leap in play heading into their late 20's

[tpols]

If one director is given a budget 10x higher than that of another director... and the wealthy movie producer gets trounced at the box office, how would that not matter? We're not allowed to point out the fella made a way better product with less to work with?

[Kblaze8855]

If one director is given a budget 10x higher than that of another director... and the wealthy movie producer gets trounced at the box office, how would that not matter? We're not allowed to point out the fella made a way better product with less to work with?

When the issue is how good the movies are....of course it doesn’t matter. None of this shit means anything to reality.

Might as well outplay Kwame Brown then talk tough because he was supposed to be a hall of famer.

If he’s not actually playing well outplaying him means shit. And if the teams that are supposed to be good....aren’t...you get no extra credit for beating them.

They don’t make rings for “shoulda” because it’s all in your head.

[HBK_Kliq_2]

And Kawhi had the biggest carry job in terms of total points/rebs/assists.

[tpols]

And Kawhi had the biggest carry job in terms of total points/rebs/assists.

Yea the funny thing is the raptors were a high seed for quite a few years, 1st seed in 2018 in the East... and yet the odds maker's had them at an unreal +15,000 to win the title. Why? Because everybody knew they were fools gold. Nobody would dare bet on them... even if you could make 15 grand off 100 bucks.

Kawhi comes over? From +15,000 to +1850. That's how huge of a difference he made to their expectations... and what do you know? Turns out he takes them from a laughing stock choke artist squad to a title winning team while hitting some of the most absurd clutch shots ever seen.

[HBK_Kliq_2]

Yea the funny thing is the raptors were a high seed for quite a few years, 1st seed in 2018 in the East... and yet the odds maker's had them at an unreal +15,000 to win the title. Why? Because everybody knew they were fools gold. Nobody would dare bet on them... even if you could make 15 grand off 100 bucks.

Kawhi comes over? From +15,000 to +1850. That's how huge of a difference he made to their expectations... and what do you know? Turns out he takes them from a laughing stock choke artist squad to a title winning team while hitting some of the most absurd clutch shots ever seen.

I agree, well said. Kawhi, curry and dirk are the best shooters for top 20 GOATS, so it makes sense why they would overcome the odds.

[Smoke117]

And Kawhi had the biggest carry job in terms of total points/rebs/assists.

Kawhi was Lowry's sidekick.

[Axe]

Op acting as if the 2015 warriors never won 67 games in the said season

[Stephonit]

Op acting as if the 2015 warriors never won 67 games in the said season

So the regular season counts? Who would have thought!

[Axe]

So the regular season counts? Who would have thought!

Lol and you act like that gerbil was the only one responsible for their season turnaround.

[pandiani17]

As they have told you already, those predictions were than in pre-season, so they shouldn't be taken too serious. For example, the '15 Warriors were massive favorites to win the chip before the play-offs started, and they were supposed to sweep the floor with the Love-less Cavs in the finals. It could be interesting, though, to remember surprising champions of the past, especially from the 70's or 80's, from long gone eras. I started watching NBA in the 99-00 seasons and since then IMO the most unexpected ones have been Pistons in 2004 (similar to the Raptors in 2019), Mavs in 2011 (though these guys had a very good roster) and the Raptors in 2019. Were there these types of champions in the previous eras? Were Seattle or Washington favorites when they won all in the late 70s?

[red1]

15 warriors nor raptors were underdogs. those were relatively easily finals with injury luck.

[tpols]

15 warriors nor raptors were underdogs. those were relatively easily finals with injury luck.

There was injury luck in both cases no doubt... but the Warriors were still underdogs going into the 2016 season. +480 to the Cav's +280. People thought with Kyrie and Love back, the dubs were 2:1 dogs. So they would've been underdogs regardless of injury.

The raptors did benefit from the Warriors injuries but they had to go through hell just to get to the Finals. Philly with 4 all stars and the Bucks were better than any team in the East from 2011 to 2018. I mean... a rookie Jason Tatum and Terry Rozier led Celtics were the best comp in 2018 and the Craptors with Lowry and Derozan were the best before that.