2018 NBA Playoffs Thread

[Mr.Guy]

Ill put $25 on the warriors if u are serious? Paypal bet?

Yea PayPal bet.

 

[bballkid11]

Yea PayPal bet.

Tonight?? or Series??

 

[Mr.Guy]

When Kevin Durant moved from Oklahoma City to the Bay Area, he didn't just do it to win a title -- he did it to reap the benefits of the technology investment capital of the world. Less than two years later, Durant has gone from holding the most endorsements in the NBA (at one time more than 10) to owning one of the most wide-ranging investment portfolios in the league.

His investment arm, the Durant Company, claims early-stage investments from $250,000 to $1 million in roughly 30 companies through a network of venture capitalists, including online digital-currency platform Coinbase, spare-change app Acorns, cloud-computing startup Rubrik, drink company WTRMLN WTR, fast-casual pizza chain Pieology, bike-sharing company LimeBike and delivery company Postmates.

Clearly, Durant has been dropping dimes of the literal kind. So we sat down with him to discuss his presence in Silicon Valley, his growing empire and whether his ultimate investment might come in the form of an owner's suite.

OKC blah ......Good Move KD.

I hope the market crashes and he loses his money. F that F boy.

 

[Mr.Guy]

Tonight?? or Series??

Just for tonight. I’m only making the bet with one person though.

 

[Deleted member 37467]

I'm not pretending the Cavs were healthy, I'm saying it doesn't matter.

Cavs were injured in 15', Warriors were injured in 16. It is what it is. The latter was SMOKING a fully healthy cavs squad before they got hurt.

Yea, because Love/Kyrie being out the whole series are equal to Bogut being out and Draymond missing a game due to his own actions.

Oh wait, no they aren't.

 

[lamekilla]

#betaboy

The NBA didn’t even respect it

 

[WASHED KING]

When Kevin Durant moved from Oklahoma City to the Bay Area, he didn't just do it to win a title -- he did it to reap the benefits of the technology investment capital of the world. Less than two years later, Durant has gone from holding the most endorsements in the NBA (at one time more than 10) to owning one of the most wide-ranging investment portfolios in the league.

His investment arm, the Durant Company, claims early-stage investments from $250,000 to $1 million in roughly 30 companies through a network of venture capitalists, including online digital-currency platform Coinbase, spare-change app Acorns, cloud-computing startup Rubrik, drink company WTRMLN WTR, fast-casual pizza chain Pieology, bike-sharing company LimeBike and delivery company Postmates.

Clearly, Durant has been dropping dimes of the literal kind. So we sat down with him to discuss his presence in Silicon Valley, his growing empire and whether his ultimate investment might come in the form of an owner's suite.

OKC blah ......Good Move KD.

Kd was sick of Russ hurting his feelings and was jealous of Bron so he went to team up with GS. Everything else just extra.

 

[Mr.Guy]

KD’s ring is basically a participation trophy.

 

[P C H]

When Kevin Durant moved from Oklahoma City to the Bay Area, he didn't just do it to win a title -- he did it to reap the benefits of the technology investment capital of the world. Less than two years later, Durant has gone from holding the most endorsements in the NBA (at one time more than 10) to owning one of the most wide-ranging investment portfolios in the league.

His investment arm, the Durant Company, claims early-stage investments from $250,000 to $1 million in roughly 30 companies through a network of venture capitalists, including online digital-currency platform Coinbase, spare-change app Acorns, cloud-computing startup Rubrik, drink company WTRMLN WTR, fast-casual pizza chain Pieology, bike-sharing company LimeBike and delivery company Postmates.

Clearly, Durant has been dropping dimes of the literal kind. So we sat down with him to discuss his presence in Silicon Valley, his growing empire and whether his ultimate investment might come in the form of an owner's suite.

OKC blah ......Good Move KD.

From a fan standpoint, it does kind of suck from a basketball perspective though. Morally or whatever, the move is totally legit and he's obviously reaping the benefits of playing in the bay on and off the floor,

but for us as basketball fans it kind of sucks. Not only did he make an already all time great team unstoppable, he took away one of the only real teams that could potentially dethrone them and in the process helped create an NBA that is hopeless to stop their reign due to the way the cap is constructed in the NBA. It is what it is.

 

[Deleted member 37467]

 

[Tony $now]

Bron played with one hall of famer to get 3 rings (Wade) he created Love and Bosh.

Jordan played with Phil Jack, Pippen, Rodman, and Steve Kerr and only got 6.

Yet somehow Jordan is the GOAT because he’s bald and made three decent shoes.

This post to screen name ratio is of Hall of Fame levels

 

[WASHED KING]

I forget KD has a championship most of the time tbh.

 

[Mr.Guy]

Does KD’s brother still like bowl studs?

 

[addict4sneakers]

I forget KD has a championship most of the time tbh.

When he’s frying lebron again, you’ll be reminded

 

[P C H]

Yea, because Love/Kyrie being out the whole series are equal to Bogut being out and Draymond missing a game due to his own actions.

Oh wait, no they aren't.

Aight, Love and Kyrie were healthy in the two regular season games that year and in the first four games of that finals.

They were getting SMOKED. LBJ and Kyrie then went super saiyan along with guys from gsw getting injured / hurt. When the deck was even, they were getting smoked. That's a FACT

If you want to say GSW choked then sure, they did. But how does going up 3-1 in the finals on Lebron, after winning 73 games that season, after beating LBJ the previous season, equate to GSW now NEEDING KD? That makes no sense man, you better than this.

 

[niceshoes247]

 

[Deleted member 37467]

It's really simple for me, let's take the choke job factor out of this.

In 2015, Kyrie and Love were hurt, Cleveland lost.

In 2016, they were healthy, Cleveland won.

Assuming both teams are healthy heading into 2017, I'm not sure GSW felt like they had things locked up.

They needed KD to lock things up and they went out and did just that.

Did they have a chance to win w/o him?

Sure. Was it a lock? No.

That's how I see it, we can agree to disagree.

 

[junglejim]

I actually want to see the cavs make the finals again so I can see this thread burn when KD torches Lebron again.

 

[Mark Antony]

Yo I apologize for ever saying anything about the nonsensical Bron slander, cuz I don't mind the KD ones at all.

 

[lamekilla]

The Basketball Gods see all. KD’s punishment is coming.

 

[shotsrangout]

When he’s frying lebron again, you’ll be reminded

Yeah imagine being excited to watch kd, Steph and Klay roast LeBron james, George hill and cedi Osman

What an accomplishment

 

[theregothatman]

KD’s ring is basically a participation trophy.

Stop! KD washed Lebron in the finals

 

[cubanref]

That is ESPN, not regular people in the regular world. You know that Cubans

True but ESPN posts it and people take it and run with it everywhere...

Spoiler

The thing that the average fan doesn't understand about Lebron is that he is one of the most marketable and recognizable athletes in the world right now. This man is a brand and it's in the best interest of the NBA, Nike and sports outlets everywhere to make sure that we keep getting these LBJ vs MJ talks all the time. This has more to do with the business side of it than anything else in my opinion. Let's face it...Lebron is the face of the NBA, Nike (I'm including Jordan Brand as a separate entity), and ESPN. He generates billions of dollars for them. He is for all intents and purposes a cash cow! There's a reason why Nike gave him a billion dollar lifetime contract. When it's all said and done his line will be selling shoes long after his playing career is over, ala Jordan and Nike will make its money back and then some.

With the advent of social media marketing, and the advancements in technology and internet he is generating so much traffic for everyone involved from all these hot takes that it's ridiculous. If anyone knows anything about marketing and sales you have to understand that if you can evoke an emotion from someone then you can sell them something. That's exactly what this whole "debate" is about. Getting the consumer to spend more time online debating about it, posting on social media, and talking about him as much as possible. To be honest its genius! This all started when he crowned himself The King and the chosen one. Then we had "The Decision" and the King goes back home. His camp has done an incredible job along with the companies they work with to make him a star off the court with all of the endorsements and deals he has. He and his camp need to be studied from a business point of view alone because it's incredible of how far they have come.

Obviously, none of this is possible if Lebron doesn't live up to the hype and he did and he's made sure to maintain his high level of play and has taken advantage of dictating his own path in the NBA to secure his legacy as one of the greats. I am not taking anything away from Lebron because he is a phenomenal once in a generation talent that deserves to be up there up there with the best of them all...But if he makes it to the finals this year and loses then his record goes to 3-6...I can't even put him up there alongside MJ if he has the same amount of finals losses as MJ has won...Regardless of his other "stats". For all we know he might never win another ring again and end up with 6-9 losses in the finals.

True fans need to understand that the NBA is a business first. They are in the market to make as much money as possible. The game has changed. It's no longer about loyalty and championships, it's about building a brand. It's about sponsorships and TV deals. It's become a $100 Billion dollar industry and everyone wants a piece of that pie...Lebron saw that so I give him and his camp kudos for taking advantage


Also, I wouldn't be shocked if Lebron went to GSW in the off-season. I think it would catapult his brand to another level especially if he ends up winning a few more rings along the way The internet would lose it

 

[P C H]

I'll agree to disagree on this as well and ima end it right here,

but in no way IMO can this be that black and white considering the moving parts of that series.

For perspective, in 2016 prior to game 5 and Dray's suspension, Iggy's back, and Bogut's knee, they had taken 5 of 6 that year from Lebron (counting regular season) by an average of 20 a game including being beaten 132-98, 104-89, and 110-77. They weren't even close.

To go from the aforementioned to all of a sudden NEEDING KD to beat LBJ after they've literally been whooping his *** is crazy to me. And even with that, the cavs BARELY won game 7. So to go from beating the **** out of Lebron to NEEDING KD to beat Lebron in a matter of 3 games is silly.

 

[theregothatman]

Yeah imagine being excited to watch kd, Steph and Klay roast LeBron james, George hill and cedi Osman

What an accomplishment

Why people act like Lebron doesn't choose his team. He stay with the 2 year contracts and at anytime he could go to a different squad. Secondly how you the best player in the league, but can't attract any decent players to come play with you?