Bittersweet- Giannis Wins the NBA’s MVP

After the playoffs this year and the backlash to Giannis winning over LeBron, Giannis could probably average 40/15/8 next year and not be named MVP again. 

Next year is Luka's turn, anyway. 

All that matters is the big one... don’t mean a thing if you ain’t got the ring. 

Although 40-15-8 would probably get him another MVP... 

@Music City posted:

All that matters is the big one... don’t mean a thing if you ain’t got the ring. 

Although 40-15-8 would probably get him another MVP... 

I think they have to consistently get to the Eastern Finals every year. No more second-round exits. 

LeBron had a good year but no one does what Giannis does on both ends of the court.  LeBron in his prime, sure.  But not now.  Harden is one dimensional. 

Luka is close for sure 

So Giannis winning the MVP pissed Lebron off, huh? How quaint. Giannis is getting shit on from everywhere. The haters, the doubters... let it all motivate him. Go full MJ on them. Full Wyatt Earp mode. 

And that petty little female dog should be the target #1. Declaring himself the GOAT... you fuckin poser. Until Lebron is gone... out of the league... Giannis can be the small market scourge of the NBA. The Banana Boat club ruined the league by making it the NBAAU and sucking up to the big media. Giannis should take it personally on our behalf. Be the guy that helps us midwesterners flip a nice fat middle finger to the big media losers. 

I've said it before, Lebron would have had a much tougher time in the 80's.  

Rick Mahorn would have bitch-slapped him and then let Bill Laimbeer finish him off.

Bird's in-game smack was legend-ary.

Well, the dream team Clippers certainly imploded.  Paul and Harden haven’t done shit in the playoffs.  Although, Jimmy Butler looks like a genius right now. 

I sure hope Denver beats the Lakers.  It would be nice not to reward the hired guns like LeBron and AD. 

But you are right MC.  Not sure I’ve seen an NBA superstar on this level get dissed and overlooked like Giannis.  Is it because he’s not from the US?  Neither was Dirk. 

I mean, the numbers he’s put up are unprecedented.  Yet people still shit all over him. 

It’s not all unexpected... people in the media feel like they threw this guy in the pissant market a bone. Perhaps their motivation is that he’ll get priced out of Milwaukee and end up on the Knicks so the powers that be can get all giddy about the Knicks being a power again.

The honeymoon is over now. There’s a lot of doubt generated by the last two playoff exits. Lebron went through this too- the pressure made him feel like he needed to play with better teammates, so he took his talents to South Beach.

Giannis should do what Lebron did- gather the media, bring Jim Gray out of mothballs, build up the tension... then look at the camera and say “I’m staying in Milwaukee. The fans stayed with me, supported me even when things didn’t go well. I believe in finishing what I start. I don’t run away from challenges. I’m coming... I’m coming for all of you.”

{Grabs the camera, throws it down on the floor}

@Music City posted:

It’s not all unexpected... people in the media feel like they threw this guy in the pissant market a bone. Perhaps their motivation is that he’ll get priced out of Milwaukee and end up on the Knicks so the powers that be can get all giddy about the Knicks being a power again.

The honeymoon is over now. There’s a lot of doubt generated by the last two playoff exits. Lebron went through this too- the pressure made him feel like he needed to play with better teammates, so he took his talents to South Beach.

Giannis should do what Lebron did- gather the media, bring Jim Gray out of mothballs, build up the tension... then look at the camera and say “I’m staying in Milwaukee. The fans stayed with me, supported me even when things didn’t go well. I believe in finishing what I start. I don’t run away from challenges. I’m coming... I’m coming for all of you.”

{Grabs the camera, throws it down on the floor}

What he should stress is that the Bucks sat him down in win-or-go-home playoff game because they didn't want to risk his future by playing him on a bad ankle. Isaiah Thomas for the Celtics and KD with the Warriors come to mind as examples as to what can happen. 

The big thing that the media has right is Giannis' inability to hit a shot in the clutch. Can you imagine Giannis hitting a shot like Anthony Davis did tonight to win at the buzzer? He doesn't have a go-to move. 

We've seen Giannis hit clutch 3's - obviously not in that exact situation.

Anyway...yay! A MVP....

Hey got an e-mail from Adam Silver!!

Dear Boris,

This NBA season was unlike any other in the history of our league and we thank you for being with us every step of the way.

The intense competition in Orlando was a reminder of what we all love about NBA basketball.  My hope is that you were inspired by the extraordinary team and player performances in the Playoffs and Finals.

Our goal for next season is to have fans back in our arenas, but health and safety will remain our top priority.  While we finalize our plans, we encourage you to stay connected during the offseason by following the league and its teams and players on social media.

Thank you again for your incredible support throughout the year.

----------

Should I e-mail him back & tell I didn't watch the finals?

I didn't either, I did watch plenty of the earlier rounds tho.

@Boris posted:

Should I e-mail him back & tell I didn't watch the finals?

In a word... yes.

I watched some highlights, but didn’t watch any of the games front to back.

I am a yuuuuge NBA fan but didn’t watch a single game between Lakers and Heat

Season ended after the Heat dismantled the Bucks.

I watched about half as much of the Finals as I normally do. I just hate watching the Klutch Sports teams play (when LeBron was on the Heat and the Lakers). At least when Durant went to the Warriors, almost the entire rest of the stars on the team were homegrown (Curry, Klay, Draymond) or mid-level free agents (Igoudala).

The 2019-20 Lakers were built by LeBron (or his agents) talking to Anthony Davis and telling him to force a trade to the Lakers. The LeBron Heat teams were set up a few years in advance by LeBron and Bosh coordinating signing shorter extensions to come up for free agency at the same time. This years Clippers' team was the same way - Kawhi getting Paul George to force a trade to only the Clippers.

Players need to have some say in where they play, but it's gotten to the point now where you might as well let the 5-6 superstars form their own teams (it's almost what's happening now anyway) and drop the pretense. If the NBA Hall of Fame was like MLB where the HOFers had to have a team hat be put on their plaque, there isn't a single Laker on this year's title team that would have a Laker hat on. There are 2 surefire HOFers (LeBron and AD), another guy who basketballreference.com gives a 99+% chance of getting in (Howard) and another guy who they give a >60% chance of getting in (Rondo) that at least were rotation players. Cumulatively, they've played 6 seasons with the Lakers out of their 55 cumulative seasons in the league.