I’m not convinced this season will be any less fascinating? Going into last season, everyone assumed it’d be the Cavs out of the East and GSW out of the West, and the exact storyline most predicted played out, and it was one of the most dramatic seasons in NBA history. The storyline’s now set again, and it has the…

You mean Seattle?

I just don’t know that the Oklahoma City Sonics get to pull this card.

Indeed. These debates really bring out people’s pro-management bias. Underneath it all, athletes are labor, but labor sufficiently privileged to occasionally choose the location of their work. Why shouldn’t Durant do what he wants? What the fuck does he owe the Thunder?

They had overtime in this game, friend.

So Haq a Shaq, that's the hallmark of a real sport?

Uhrt eh derk.

this is a bad take

Batting practice? Oh fuck off (to Hample, not you BP). THAT DOES NOT COUNT.

Batting practice balls, balls tossed into the crowd by players/coaches, etc.

Congrats to both of those teams.

That’s the problem, he hit a homer. He should have clobbered a monster dong.

You wrote 4 paragraphs trying to defend your team and fans from what’s clearly meant to be a ball-busting series, and in doing so both seemingly missed the entire point of the series and gave more fuel to those who really do see Cards fans as the stuck-up prudes of baseball.

Comments like this are exactly why this series must never die.

I’m saying that his decision to come back is inextricably linked to having been drafted by the Cavs in the first place.

“If Philly had gotten better lottery position or better draft classes, we’d think of him differently.”

IT WAS HINKIE’S JOB TO DRAFT BETTER PLAYERS. There were way better players available for every draft pick he had. He intentionally avoided drafting good players at times because it might mean winning more games.

You’re ignoring the fact that LeBron was drafted 13 years ago and left Cleveland at one point, the Kyrie led Cavs sucked, and the other #1 overall pick they made is already out of the league. This championship Cavs team was assembled through free agency, not the draft.

The 76ers are hardly the first team to build through the draft; The Process was once known as The OKC Thing.

Only a management consultant could come up with a strategy that makes you 10% more likely to “succeed” but has three times the opportunity costs and you have to do it forever. I’m surprised he didn’t try to have the team coached by a Toyota assembly line manager and a client engagement coordinator from McKinsey