Greatest (over)hyped team to never sniff a NBA finals?

[Columbo]

The timberwolves with Garnott

The Spurs pre-Duncan

The post-Harden Thunder

 

[Primetime]

The hype for the bulls going into that series was too over the top. After game 1 espn releases a column asking if rose was the best player in the world and Ric Bucher tells dan and Stugotz that he’d take rose over LeBron . Their defense and rebounding was no joke though. They needed one more guard who could run the offense and get his own at a decent level and they didn’t have him until rose was too far removed from him mvp form. Indiana pushed Miami so far because Bosh was hurt and missed all but 13 minutes in 2012 and Wade was playing hurt through the 2013 playoffs. Roy thabeet also seemingly was given free run to do whatever he wanted defensively by the refs. Pretty sure the bulls and heat were called pretty evenly when they met up. If rose never blew out his knee then maybe they’d have gotten past them in 2014 or 2015 if butler develops and Noah stays healthy too, but I don’t see how they’d have done it in 2012 or 2013

Agreed, I think 2014 would've been their year, simply bc Miami was seemingly on their last legs.

Ironically, I actually feel the Bulls best team (or best chance) was in 2015, in which they finally had a legit 2nd option offensively in Gasol, a quality 3rd option in Butler, and had Rose at the best he'd ever been since 2011/2012. They had a 2-1 series lead, then 2-2 after LBJ hit the game winner, then 2-3 after Cavs nearly choked a big lead in game 5, and then Chicago went on to completely lay an egg at home in game 6... crashing and burning with nothing but finger pointing and people getting fired.

It was like the final chapter of one of those coulda/woulda/shoulda stories.

 

[Mantis Toboggan M.D.]

Man, the Bulls overhype in 2011 was what turned me into a Heat fan . Especially after Game 1. God were Bulls fans insufferable about that. Then the backdoor sweep happened

I was waiting for the show to open with this on that Friday like a kid waiting to open his Christmas gift . “I have the heat in five mike “ “you have the heat in five ?! You need to start revising.” “Why ?” “Open your eyes “

 

[FunkDoc1112]

I was waiting for the show to open with this on that Friday like a kid waiting to open his Christmas gift . “I have the heat in five mike “ “you have the heat in five ?! You need to start revising.” “Why ?” “Open your eyes “

2011 is one of the GOAT front to back seasons for the fukkery man. Helped that I started college that year too.

I was only a baby but it seems like only the 93 season topped it.

 

[AJtheOne]

Lob City should be winning this poll I understand why people are picking the mid to late 2000s Suns but they went further than Lob City ever did.

They shouldve gotten to conference finals at least once but they never even made it out of the 2nd rd.

 

[Mantis Toboggan M.D.]

2011 is one of the GOAT front to back seasons for the fukkery man. Helped that I started college that year too.

I was only a baby but it seems like only the 93 season topped it.

From a business standpoint I think 2010-11 is the best because it was always compelling, you had a ton of stars who were major draws balling out in strong markets, all time greats playing at or near their peak, young stars on the way up who clearly were gonna have next, and a massive amount of legit contenders so it didn’t feel like a foregone conclusion. You had Boston looking to avenge a game 7 loss in the finals before their window finally slammed shut. Los Angeles was chasing 3 in a row in Phil’s last year with kobe going for 6. Dallas had a lot of vets making their last run. Orlando was expected as one at the start. San Antonio looked phenomenal all year. Memphis surprised a ton of people. Oklahoma City showed they were gonna be around for a while. The Knicks were relevant and exciting for the first time in a decade. The bulls emerged as contenders for the first time since Jordan retired and rose became the youngest mvp ever. Then there’s everything involving the heat. That’s ten different teams people had their eyes glued to just for the title picture. We also had rookie Blake Griffin putting guys on posters every week, Chris Paul returning from injury, the Blazers making one more run with Brandon Roy before his knees gave out, a second year guy named Stephen Curry showing flashes out in Oakland. There were so many reasons to tune in and so many teams to look for. I was watching a game at least five nights a week every week all season long.

 

[MooseMouthMthafuga]

Give that another few years and they probably would have made the finals. Their owner got cheap and JJ bounced and they were never the same talent wise. Adding a Joe Johnson was all it would have taken.

Heard Joe wanted 5 yrs 50 mil, but Sarver offered 5 yrs 45 mil, and wouldn't budge.


That was actually the year prior to his free agency.Sarver basically told him you're not that good.

Just so happened, Joe was on the brink of a having breakout year.The light bulb came on

and the Suns were stuck looking stupid for not extending his contract

Still frustrated with Robert Sarver, told the Suns to kick rocks.


Pissed me the fukk off.I remember telling people Amare and Joe was the future.

Nash was already in his 30's and Marion was just a great 3rd wheel.

As it is, Joe was underutilized on that squad.Even Quentin Richardson got more respect than him.

In that regard, I never blamed him for leaving.The Suns should've recognized what they had.

Then again, Joe did look a lil passive those first couple of years with the Suns.

He was kinda how TJ Warren is right now.You saw lil flashes of his potential

but he seemed timid.Like he was afraid of being in the limelight.

When Nash came, Joe did a complete 180.He just became a smooth azz killer out there on the court.

He was still quiet, but you could tell he let go of all the anxiety and fear.

But those was the good ol crazy days.I remember how Suns fans thought Jokim Noah was the missing piece.

They were sure the Suns would do whatever it took to draft him.Would've been interesting to see a squad like

Nash
Joe
Marion
Amare
Noah


Instead they added a young Boris Diaw and Amare's knees started to go

 

[ItWasWritten]

To me the 98-99 Lakers

This was the lockout season, Team was hyped

We Were a super team really before SUperteams existed

Van Exel
Eddie Jones (Later Glen Rice via trade)
Shaq
Kobe

We started off struggling, trash defense..

Then we added Rodman

won like 12 in a row, i cant rememebr exactly but we went on a crazy streak

Dennis was Dennis and the Lakers let him go and we never recovered

 

[Primetime]

The timberwolves with Garnott

The Spurs pre-Duncan

The post-Harden Thunder

Them David Robinson-led Spurs

 

[Professor Emeritus]

From a business standpoint I think 2010-11 is the best because it was always compelling, you had a ton of stars who were major draws balling out in strong markets, all time greats playing at or near their peak, young stars on the way up who clearly were gonna have next, and a massive amount of legit contenders so it didn’t feel like a foregone conclusion. You had Boston looking to avenge a game 7 loss in the finals before their window finally slammed shut. Los Angeles was chasing 3 in a row in Phil’s last year with kobe going for 6. Dallas had a lot of vets making their last run. Orlando was expected as one at the start. San Antonio looked phenomenal all year. Memphis surprised a ton of people. Oklahoma City showed they were gonna be around for a while. The Knicks were relevant and exciting for the first time in a decade. The bulls emerged as contenders for the first time since Jordan retired and rose became the youngest mvp ever. Then there’s everything involving the heat. That’s ten different teams people had their eyes glued to just for the title picture. We also had rookie Blake Griffin putting guys on posters every week, Chris Paul returning from injury, the Blazers making one more run with Brandon Roy before his knees gave out, a second year guy named Stephen Curry showing flashes out in Oakland. There were so many reasons to tune in and so many teams to look for. I was watching a game at least five nights a week every week all season long.

I don't remember another season with so many contenders and so many amazing story lines as 2011

The 62-win Bulls, 61-win Spurs, 58-win Heat, 57-win Lakers, 57-win Mavs, and 56-win Celtics ALL felt like they were contenders. Hell, the 55-win Thunder were borderline contenders too.

The Decision Heat, Rose's MVP campaign, Lakers' attempt to three-peat, Celtics' attempt to come back after Game 7, and Duncan's Spurs rising to the top of the league again were all huge season-long story lines.

Then the playoffs started, at it got insane. The Grizzlies-Spurs upset, the Brandon Roy comeback game, Lebron finally beating Boston, Mavs destroying the defending champ Lakers with a 40-point win for the sweep, Durant's Game 7 over the Grizz....and that was all before the conference finals started.

With the pre-decision Cavs ('05-10) I think they overachieved in 3 of those years (took 60+ win Detroit to 7 in '06, upset Detroit to reach the Finals in '07, took a 60+ win Celtics team to 7 in '08). And '09, that's just a tough one, bc both Lebron and Dwight balled out. In '10 however, even though that Celtics team did go on to embarrass the Magic and take the Lakers to 7, that 2nd round series by the Cavs would likely have always been damning on some 30 for 30 conspiracy tip, if he hadn't come back and won one.

I don't get why people think the Cavs should have won in 2010. The five best players on the court were:

Lebron
Garnett
Pierce
Rondo
Ray

Then you have to drop a LONG ways before you get to...um....Mo Williams?

The hype for the bulls going into that series was too over the top. After game 1 espn releases a column asking if rose was the best player in the world and Ric Bucher tells dan and Stugotz that he’d take rose over LeBron . Their defense and rebounding was no joke though. They needed one more guard who could run the offense and get his own at a decent level and they didn’t have him until rose was too far removed from him mvp form. Pretty sure the bulls and heat were called pretty evenly when they met up. If rose never blew out his knee then maybe they’d have gotten past them in 2014 or 2015 if butler develops and Noah stays healthy too, but I don’t see how they’d have done it in 2012 or 2013

It's just not fair that that Bulls team somehow had D-Rose, Butler, Deng, Boozer, Gasol, Noah, and a ton of great role players and great coaching, all within a short timeframe from 2011-2015, yet never once was able to put it all together in the right year.

Indiana pushed Miami so far because Bosh was hurt and missed all but 13 minutes in 2012 and Wade was playing hurt through the 2013 playoffs. Roy thabeet also seemingly was given free run to do whatever he wanted defensively by the refs.

I can't remember who it was, probably Zach Lowe, who once said, "Roy Hibbert's entire career has been a series of borderline fouls."

It was like the refs got on some weird group-think for three years where they all said, "Um, let's pretend that Hibbert is an elite defender and just not call those on him anymore." Pretty much ANY large rim-protector could become an elite defender if the refs swallowed their whistles half the time he jumped up in the air and brought both arms down on the ball carrier.

 

[Primetime]

The Roy Hibbert "verticality" era

He was about to change the game

 

[Primetime]

2011 is one of the GOAT front to back seasons for the fukkery man. Helped that I started college that year too.

I was only a baby but it seems like only the 93 season topped it.

From a business standpoint I think 2010-11 is the best because it was always compelling, you had a ton of stars who were major draws balling out in strong markets, all time greats playing at or near their peak, young stars on the way up who clearly were gonna have next, and a massive amount of legit contenders so it didn’t feel like a foregone conclusion. You had Boston looking to avenge a game 7 loss in the finals before their window finally slammed shut. Los Angeles was chasing 3 in a row in Phil’s last year with kobe going for 6. Dallas had a lot of vets making their last run. Orlando was expected as one at the start. San Antonio looked phenomenal all year. Memphis surprised a ton of people. Oklahoma City showed they were gonna be around for a while. The Knicks were relevant and exciting for the first time in a decade. The bulls emerged as contenders for the first time since Jordan retired and rose became the youngest mvp ever. Then there’s everything involving the heat. That’s ten different teams people had their eyes glued to just for the title picture. We also had rookie Blake Griffin putting guys on posters every week, Chris Paul returning from injury, the Blazers making one more run with Brandon Roy before his knees gave out, a second year guy named Stephen Curry showing flashes out in Oakland. There were so many reasons to tune in and so many teams to look for. I was watching a game at least five nights a week every week all season long.

I agree 100% and I've said this for years. 2011 was GOAT.

Heat, Bulls, Magic, Knicks, Celtics, Lakers, Mavericks, Thunder, Spurs, Grizzlies.

Jeezuz

You had year 1 of the Heatles and Kobe going for a 3peat, and MVP Rose, and the Celtics big 4, and OKC's young big 3, and the Grit n Grind Grizzlies, and Dwight's Magic team, Brandon Roy's swan song, and the Spurs being a top seed still...

.. and none of those teams I listed even won the championship that year

One of the most fun playoffs ever

 

[Primetime]

Heard Joe wanted 5 yrs 50 mil, but Sarver offered 5 yrs 45 mil, and wouldn't budge.


That was actually the year prior to his free agency.Sarver basically told him you're not that good.

Just so happened, Joe was on the brink of a having breakout year.The light bulb came on

and the Suns were stuck looking stupid for not extending his contract

Still frustrated with Robert Sarver, told the Suns to kick rocks.


Pissed me the fukk off.I remember telling people Amare and Joe was the future.

Nash was already in his 30's and Marion was just a great 3rd wheel.

As it is, Joe was underutilized on that squad.Even Quentin Richardson got more respect than him.

In that regard, I never blamed him for leaving.The Suns should've recognized what they had.

Then again, Joe did look a lil passive those first couple of years with the Suns.

He was kinda how TJ Warren is right now.You saw lil flashes of his potential

but he seemed timid.Like he was afraid of being in the limelight.

When Nash came, Joe did a complete 180.He just became a smooth azz killer out there on the court.

He was still quiet, but you could tell he let go of all the anxiety and fear.

But those was the good ol crazy days.I remember how Suns fans thought Jokim Noah was the missing piece.

They were sure the Suns would do whatever it took to draft him.Would've been interesting to see a squad like

Nash
Joe
Marion
Amare
Noah


Instead they added a young Boris Diaw and Amare's knees started to go

Quinton Richardson was lowkey comedy because he was dating Brandy at the time and they'd have highlights of her talkin ish and getting extra animated from courtside whenever a big play happened. Plus all the interviews they'd do.

It's funny what you mentioned with Joe Johnson too, because I vaguely remember watching him in Phoenix a year or two before Nash, and I didn't really think too much of him but "timid" definitely came to mind. He just seemed like a shy ass dude, hovering on the perimeter while Man Child and Starbury had everyone's attention.

 

[Reggie]

Give that another few years and they probably would have made the finals. Their owner got cheap and JJ bounced and they were never the same talent wise. Adding a Joe Johnson was all it would have taken.

Especially if he turned into the player that he did. The Suns should have had a title for sure but bad luck and injuries fukked it up for them.

 

[superunknown23]

2011 is one of the GOAT front to back seasons for the fukkery man. Helped that I started college that year too.

I was only a baby but it seems like only the 93 season topped it.

The 1993 playoffs were the best I’ve ever seen. It was amazing in BOTH conferences.
Damn, that was 24 years ago