So is every NBA Championship going to have an asterisk now?

[mbewane]

The asterisk game. you could literally apply this to any championship.

Going off the coli rules the 91 Bulls title should be * Zeke had just comeback from tearing the ligaments in his wrist and Magic had Aids. Am I doing it right?

Exactly. And Zeke's ring against the Lakers should have an asterisk too since they were dealing with injuries as well. It's an endless useless discussion. The only thing is that everyone would rather see teams be at full capacity for the beauty of the game, but unfortunately shyt happens. Also at some point teams have to anticipate some injuries in their team building. If you have a 36 year old Bron who's been in the league for 20 years and Day to Davis as the cornerstones of your roster, well you're choosing to be dependent on health. Same with the Nets. Suns medical staff is always cited as one of the best, and lo and behold they had to deal with less injuries than other teams. At some point people have to admit that while some injuries are just bad luck, some others may be preventable or at least be dealt with in a better way by some teams more than others. When CP got injured Payne was there to pick up the slack. When Giannis got injured other guys stepped up. Why couldn't other teams with injuries do the same? Well, you have to go back at decisions that were made all the way back in the offseason and at the trade deadline.

 

[SCORCH]

Very interesting that the thread starts with the 2015 Championship and not LeBron's Miami super team.

 

[OnFleekTing]

No such thing as an asterisk per se but the side eye of the bubble and the players who obviously feasted in that environment vs a regular basketball playoff environment won't be discounted
Same way Shaq is out here shytting on Duncan and the Spurs for winning the lockout championship

 

[mastermind]

asterisks are so stupid and childish.

 

[L&HH]

the only one is the Lakers. not their fault, but i think it was clear the bubble affected play

injuries happen, teams making a deep run play over 100 games. Harden is a blimp, and Irving is always hurt. not exactly fluky, it should have been expected

If the bubble affected play then it affected everyone evenly. Also the Lakers were disadvantaged for losing home court something that historically is proven to matter in sports

 

[nieman]

The only asterisk would be the bubble. And that's only because it was a complete offseason's length before starting a fall-league tourney. It didn't matter who won, but there was no grind or rhythm of the season to carryover into the playoffs. It truly was extenuating circumstances.

Every other season stands. Injuries happen. Suspensions happen. Missed calls happen. Bad calls happen.

 

[Kunty McPhuck]

The only asterisk would be the bubble. And that's only because it was a complete offseason's length before starting a fall-league tourney. It didn't matter who won, but there was no grind or rhythm of the season to carryover into the playoffs. It truly was extenuating circumstances.

Every other season stands. Injuries happen. Suspensions happen. Missed calls happen. Bad calls happen.

Literally the only asterisks I've ever seen for sports is either shorten season/competition for whatever reason. Or the initial winners were stripped and the title was given retrospectively to the runner up/who didn't cheat. That's it.

 

[Gil Scott-Heroin]

If the bubble affected play then it affected everyone evenly. Also the Lakers were disadvantaged for losing home court something that historically is proven to matter in sports

This sounds good in theory, but in reality...

Lakers were an aging and injury-riddled squad, and that COVID-break allowed them to rest up, rehab any lingering injuries and rejuvenate themselves. Enter the Bubble, and staying in one location rather than travelling all over the country aided them physically as well. If last season continued as is with no break, and there was a regular playoff environment, who's to say that AD even stays healthy?

The Lakers benefited more than arguably any other team.

 

[MischievousMonkey]

2015 - GSW (they played against injured teams)

2016 - Cleveland (Draymond got suspended/Steph wasn't 100% healthy)

2017 - GSW (Superteam)

2018 - GSW (Superteam)

2019 - Toronto (Durant & Klay was injured)

2020 - LA Lakers (in the bubble)

2021 - Milwaukee (Nets, Lakers, Clippers, Nuggets & other teams top players injured)


For the record in my opinion the only Chips I'm side eyeing out of those I listed are the 2017 & 2018 stacked deck, superteam Golden State Warriors. Notice I didn't say it was an asterisk just some shyt. But at what point is this gonna stop? And what does a team have to do or go through to not have an asterisk
Championship?

Sport is about narratives You can't produce facts in sports discourse

This is why it generates so much discussion that will never go anywhere. Which is great for sport

 

[Trapperman Dave]

so if draymond doesnt get suspended you still think the cavs win the series? the nba clearly stepped in with the suspension to give the cavs new life knowing they were down 3-1 going back to oakland. the cavs still had to go out and win and the warriors still had multiple chances but that decision was only made to extend the series rather than a rule being broken and their hands being tied.

idk tbh but they were more healthy than the cavs were in 15. If he were suspended like two games I’d be more understanding

 

[Trapperman Dave]

Very interesting that the thread starts with the 2015 Championship and not LeBron's Miami super team.

Okc and spurs were healthy

 

[Tha_Mac]

Very interesting that the thread starts with the 2015 Championship and not LeBron's Miami super team.

I explained why that was if you read the entire thread.....but it was because I wasn't online in forums so I don't know what people were saying about the Heatles superteam.

 

[Tha_Mac]

This sounds good in theory, but in reality...

Lakers were an aging and injury-riddled squad, and that COVID-break allowed them to rest up, rehab any lingering injuries and rejuvenate themselves. Enter the Bubble, and staying in one location rather than travelling all over the country aided them physically as well. If last season continued as is with no break, and there was a regular playoff environment, who's to say that AD even stays healthy?

The Lakers benefited more than arguably any other team.

How is that an advantage for the Lakers and no one else though? Everyone was in one location and did not have to travel, so shouldn't that have been a plus to all teams?

 

[Gil Scott-Heroin]

How is that an advantage for the Lakers and no one else though? Everyone was in one location and did not have to travel, so shouldn't that have been a plus to all teams?

The older you get the longer you need to recover, and travel disturbs that -

In a recent study, researchers unwound the biological mechanisms behind a home-court advantage. Jet lag, body clock disturbances, and bad sleep were all revealed to hurt performance and accuracy. The findings were published December 11 in the journal Scientific Reports.

That gave an aging team like the Lakers more chance to rest and recuperate that they otherwise wouldn't have the advantage of in a regular playoff setting.

 

[Tha_Mac]

The older you get the longer you need to recover, and travel disturbs that -

That gave an aging team like the Lakers more chance to rest and recuperate that they otherwise wouldn't have the advantage of in a regular playoff setting.

but everybody got to rest and teams with youthful exuberance should have benefitted more because they already had crazy energy and was able to recuperate quicker.