ohtani's jacket

That was a phenomenal performance from LeBron James. 10 finals in the modern NBA era is remarkable as well.

I absolutely adore The Fall, but I think they're a band where you need to fall into a rabbit hole of listening to all of their albums instead of getting hooked on their singles (though Cruiser's Creek is a neat tune.) If you don't like hearing pop music pulled through a shredder then definitely stay away from them.

I'm a Kiwi, but Dean Jones was one of my cricket idols when I was growing up. Horrible news.

Boston shot themselves in the foot with their turnovers. I am a Marcus Smart fan, but he was pretty terrible in the fourth. The Tatum vs. Herro duel was good stuff. Hope Bam isn't seriously hurt. Didn't look good, though.

Not bad. If you like the singles the rest of the album is decent filler.

Bit of an over reaction. What did people expect after such a long layoff?

I just finished Season One. Fantastic. Loved every second of it. Johnny is the best. Whoever dreamed of this reboot is a genius.

I've never head Voices Carry or The Sun Always Shines on TV before. I like the chorus in Voices Carry, and I thought the a-ha song was one of the better examples of the book opting for a lesser known song from an artist. It's a good song, but Take On Me is one of the definitive tunes of the 80s in my books. I've never listened to a-ha's debut record before. Now seems like a good time. Into the Groove is a fun song. I guess Kate Bush has two definitive entries into the pop cannon -- Wuthering Heights and Running Up that Hill. Both are great songs, but I prefer Wuthering Heights personally. That Placebo cover did a lot to entrance a new generation to the song, IIRC. The verses are great, IMO. They build a tremendous amount of tension heading into the chorus. A lot of people think West End Girls is some kind of pop masterpiece and one of the best songs of the 80s. I don't really hear it. I've always been partial to Opportunities myself. Still, 1985. What a great time to be alive.

Jason Kidd wasn't a nobody. Shawn Marion and Peja Stojakovic, weren't nobodies either. The Mavs were old, they only had one All-Star, they didn't have a second star, and their supporting cast didn't look like championship material, I'll give you that. They had great coaching, though (Carlisle, Terry Stotts and Dwayne Casey.) Casey drew up an excellent game plan against LeBron, which basically forced him out onto the perimeter where he had to rely on his jumper (which wasn't very good at the time.) When I said Dallas had been knocking on the door, I meant Dirk-led Dallas teams had been contenders for a while. I shouldn't have implied that this particular Dallas team had been knocking on the door, as no-one saw them as a contender at the beginning of the 2010-11 season. I was taking about the 2015 Finals where Love and Irving were injured. Coming back and winning a title after you lose in the Finals is always a testament to a team's toughness. I don't care who the opponent is. It's a tough thing to do. But apparently none of LeBron's successes count. They're all series he should have won, and the times when he lost are damning. You better get your excuses ready for this season now because you're gonna need them.

I wouldn't call the teams below that level great, but very good teams included Milwaukee, Dallas, Atlanta and Houston. San Antonio was good during the Gervin era. Phoenix were decent in the early 80s as well, and Denver was perhaps the ultimate run-and-gun team of all-time.

The 90s was an era of franchise stars. The teams were committed to their star player and built around them. They didn't blow up the team after a few years or trade away their star. With the exception of Barkley and Shaq, the franchise players were loyal to their team and didn't demand trades or form super teams. Most of the teams got a bite at the apple, but the 90s weren't an era of parity. It seems like a deep era, but there was a cap to the teams' success. The 80s had better all-round teams, IMO. When the money started increasing, you couldn't really have teams with rosters like the Celtics or Lakers, and then the league became diluted with expansion teams. You could argue that Jordan held back an entire generation of Hall of Famers, and perhaps he did, but he didn't have to deal with a dynasty when he was winning championships. His team were the dynasty.

The Lakers did their best to make this a series, but the Nuggets couldn't capitalize. Anthony Davis not looking so overrated.

It's the NBA Jam phenomenon. Barkley's Suns could have been a great side, but they choked against the Rockets two years in a row. The title was up for grabs in those years too.

Jordan only went through Detroit in his first Finals run. In '92, Detroit lost to the Knicks. The Jordan comparisons are tiresome. Nobody holds it against Jordan that he kept getting bumped from the playoffs by the Celtics and the Pistons because he had to get over the hump. If LeBron had a team that stood in his way, people would like that more because that's the classic narrative. But if you look a bit closer at what LeBron has accomplished in the playoffs. he has generally gotten payback on the teams that beat him. That includes the Pistons in '07, the Celtics in '09 & '11, the Spurs in '13 and the Warriors in '16. I think LeBron could have won the 2011 title and the 2015 title if the Cavs had been healthy. The fact that he won the 2012 and 2016 titles after those disappointments is a testament to his competitiveness. People love to take LeBron down a notch, but you can't point out the meltdowns and the poor performances in deciding games without also highlighting the resilience. LeBron coming back and beating the Pistons, Celtics, Spurs and Warriors was ever bit as tough as the Bulls finally getting past the Pistons. 2011 was a loss a lot of people took enjoyment in because nobody really wanted the Heat to win. Dirk was phenomenal throughout those playoffs. It was my favorite playoff run since Hakeem. I wouldn't exactly call his teammates nobodies, at least not to regular NBA fans. I mean he had Jason Kidd on his team fro crying out loud. Dallas had been knocking on the door for years. Personally, the Warriors winning in 2015 was more of a surprise. It wasn't like they had been a perennial contender up until that point, and they didn't really explode until after they won the title. The thing that bugs me about the Jordan/LeBron finals record comparison is that Jordan didn't face teams as good as the Spurs or the Warriors. He beat an injured and fading Lakers team (not prime Showtime Lakers) and his run was over before the Shaq/Kobe Lakers were established. We never got to see the Bulls vs. the Rockets in the Finals. For the most part, Jordan got the equivalent of the 2011 Dallas team each time. Maybe deeper rosters on those opponents, but basically Drexler or Barkley playing the role of Dirk. If LeBron had gotten a few more looks at teams like that, he would have more championships.

Metal in '84 was dominated by that group Metallica that the book ignored and another classic Maiden album, but here are a few other tracks that stand out to me:

Hip Hop was still firmly tied to the electro scene in '84. There was some decent stuff, though. 1984 dance music is disappointing, however. Things got a bit too electric without everyone trying to sound like a computer. Best song you didn't know Michael Jackson sang on?

1984 1984 is considered the greatest year in pop music history, which I guess is why the book chose so many songs from it. I can understand why critics feel the way they do. There were some great albums released in '84, many of which aren't represented on the list like Minutemen and Husker Du. However, for me, '84 represents a shift away from the early 80s music I enjoy (post punk, funk, boogie), so I'm not as high on it as the critics. I thought the book missed a trick by not including a Cyndi Lauper song. You'd think Madonna would have made an appearance by now as well. Aside from When Doves Cry, I would have also included this in the book: As usual, I'll dump the stuff I like here: And one for the wrestling fans:

That was better from Boston. People keep talking about winning four out of five. I think that's the wrong way of looking at it. If Boston win the next won, then both teams need to win two out of three. That's always the way I've seen a decided series heading into a Game 5.

Getting to the Finals 9 times is impressive regardless of conference. To have that level of success over such a lengthy period is something that should be lauded. He couldn't have done it without switching teams, but it's impressive all the same. And he's about to make the Finals from the West as well. His record in the Finals isn't that great. He probably should have won a couple of more championships, but he ran into two dynasties. He still has time to rectify that though. If LeBron and AD win this year, they would have to be favorites to win the next championship as well. I'm not a huge fan of LeBron, but I do kind of hope he wins another ring for his legacy's sake. I just wish it wasn't with the Lakers. My point about KD was that he was one of the guys with the potential to team hop and win multiple championships, not that he'll actually do it.

There's no guarantee KD will win a ring with Brooklyn, and nobody knows how well he'll come back from the injury, but I can easily see him changing teams. I think we're going to see top players changing teams and potentially winning multiple championships with different organizations. I don't really care about the GOAT argument. I think LeBron will solidify himself in the top five, especially now that he's beginning to own so many playoff records. As far as his finals record goes, if he gets to five then I don't think it will matter. If he stays at 3, or maybe even 4, people will have a case for him underachieving.

I actually think LeBron winning a championship with a third team would solidify his place in history. The knock on LeBron has always been his finals record. If the Lakers win this year things start looking a lot better. And they could easily go back-to-back. Five rings would put him level with a bunch of other all-time greats. The difference being that he did it with three different teams. People would start to look at that as something special and unique. And possibly, a sign of the future if Kawhi or KD manage to do it too.

You have to wait until it's 3-1 Lakers to see anything from Denver.

That whole Rattlesnakes album is good stuff. I do agree with you about the lyrics, though. However, the more you listen to Cole, the catchier they get. If I had been a teenager in '84, it would have had me scuttling about trying to find a copy of On The Waterfront. The guitar solo in Purple Rain is one of my all-time favorite solos. The song works even better if you've seen the movie. Funny how it was originally a country song intended for Stevie Nicks. Prince was on top of the music world in '84. The book should have bit the bullet and included When Doves Cry as well.

C'mon, in the bubble Denver came back from 3-1 down twice. The Raptors forced a Game 7 from 2-0 down. OKC forced a Game 7 from 2-0 down.

Harden losing 8 elimination games says it all.