Choke-lahoma City

[MR92]

Being up 3-1 and losing a series is considered a choke in any league.

[goj]

Originally Posted by larrysing

"Choking" as a collective group of athletes is not really a thing.

What happened was, the best team won.

That's why they play a best of 7 series - almost 100% of the time, the better team will win. There are exceptions.

But "choking" as a team is not really a thing.

Choking is being up by 7 with 5 minutes left at home in game 6, collectively as a group committing tons of turnovers in the final minutes and proceeding to blow the lead, lose game 6 at home, and lose the series.

OKC has all the talent on O and D to win a championship but they lack the mental fortitude and the championship mindset.

[Flying Ace]

Originally Posted by M3 Number 86

Quick name some gs players of the 90s. No googling. Or the 80s.

Jeremy Lin

[Mardio]

They definitely let this series get away. I noticed Adams was having a field day low in the post, they started off most of the games with him dominating the boards. They should have continued that strategy into the 4th quarters, instead it was forced long jumpers.

[csu87]

Originally Posted by sygazelle

Up early and still trollin' At least your committed.

I'm up for a tiny bit of fun so I'll bite...

Like many cities, Oakland has good parts and bad parts. The business district is amazing. I worked on Market Street in SF for years and then on Lake Merritt in Oakland. The commute, the weather, the view of the lake from the office, all better in Oakland.

And BTW, there are a few nice houses in Oakland too. For example, this one's not too shabby. It may not be as nice as where you live, but not bad:

http://realtor.com/realestateandhome...turbo=1#photo4

not to disagree but...

Oakland is so shitty, the Raiders want to move. Think on that

[larrysing]

Originally Posted by fravel

I'll agree to disagree on that one. I've been on multiple sports teams in multiple games where the cumulative talent of my team was significantly greater than the other team (and vice-versa), yet we still lost (or won) because we played down to the level of our competition, or they played down to our level. Maybe that doesn't fit your definition of "choke", but when a team that should win, no-questions-asked, doesn't, it's hard to say they didn't choke (as a team).

It's not a matter of "choking" though....

If you define "choking" which I don't even believe exists as a "failure to perform at your optimum skill level because you are....nervous?....worried?....scared?..." then how could you POSSIBLY say that this particular individual physiological symptom could occur to all 5 members on a team at the same time, over the period of multiple games?

And how in the world are we supposed to know that one team "should win, no questions asked?" If that is our definition, then GS should have gone undefeated in the playoffs after having the only 73-win season in history, right? Shouldn't that qualify as "should win, no questions asked?"

No one choked. The better team won, as expected.

[fravel]

Sorry, I was in a debating mood this morning, I was more talking about the general concept of "choking" as opposed to this specific situation. I don't know squat about basketball or which team should have won.

[csu87]

you can definitely say they choked. Otherwise, how do you explain blowing leads in the final games, or how they completely demolished GS in 3/7 of the games. And it doesnt necessarily need all 5 of the guys on the floor to choke to actually "choke" it away. Just need your stars to choke. Westbrook and Durant just couldnt finish when it mattered. 19 and 27 pts from 2 of the top 5 players in the league? and Adams only having 9 rebounds and 9pts isnt going to win anything.

They did the same in the regular season as well. Blew leads late in the game and couldnt finish.

Both teams are extremely talented, with OKC maybe having the more talented team.

[BayMoWe335]

Originally Posted by sygazelle

Up early and still trollin' At least your committed.

I'm up for a tiny bit of fun so I'll bite...

Like many cities, Oakland has good parts and bad parts. The business district is amazing. I worked on Market Street in SF for years and then on Lake Merritt in Oakland. The commute, the weather, the view of the lake from the office, all better in Oakland.

And BTW, there are a few nice houses in Oakland too. For example, this one's not too shabby. It may not be as nice as where you live, but not bad:

http://realtor.com/realestateandhome...turbo=1#photo4

You can find a nice house almost anywhere, but if it's in Oakland, it's shit by default.

Where I live, you can get yourself a nice starter home for $1.8m.

[goj]

Originally Posted by larrysing

It's not a matter of "choking" though....

If you define "choking" which I don't even believe exists as a "failure to perform at your optimum skill level because you are....nervous?....worried?....scared?..." then how could you POSSIBLY say that this particular individual physiological symptom could occur to all 5 members on a team at the same time, over the period of multiple games?

And how in the world are we supposed to know that one team "should win, no questions asked?" If that is our definition, then GS should have gone undefeated in the playoffs after having the only 73-win season in history, right? Shouldn't that qualify as "should win, no questions asked?"

No one choked. The better team won, as expected.

The better team did win obviously. But HOW they lost can be referred to as choking

[BayMoWe335]

Originally Posted by fravel

I'll agree to disagree on that one. I've been on multiple sports teams in multiple games where the cumulative talent of my team was significantly greater than the other team (and vice-versa), yet we still lost (or won) because we played down to the level of our competition, or they played down to our level. Maybe that doesn't fit your definition of "choke", but when a team that should win, no-questions-asked, doesn't, it's hard to say they didn't choke (as a team).

You're not a pro athlete though.

Pro athletes are on a different planet and typically lose because the other pro athlete plays better.

Westbrook owned Curry until Curry owned Westbrook.

[larrysing]

Originally Posted by csu87

you can definitely say they choked. Otherwise, how do you explain blowing leads in the final games, or how they completely demolished GS in 3/7 of the games. And it doesnt necessarily need all 5 of the guys on the floor to choke to actually "choke" it away. Just need your stars to choke. Westbrook and Durant just couldnt finish when it mattered. 19 and 27 pts from 2 of the top 5 players in the league? and Adams only having 9 rebounds and 9pts isnt going to win anything.
They did the same in the regular season as well. Blew leads late in the game and couldnt finish.
Both teams are extremely talented, with OKC maybe having the more talented team.

You "blow leads" when the other team plays better at the end of the game. Every team that loses a 4th quarter lead doesn't "choke" that lead away.....

Sometimes the other team (which has some of the best players in the world) just rises up and outplays you.

"Choking" is merely an over-used term which fans and media use to try and explain things which they don't fully understand.

Do you EVER hear a coach or a player say, "We just choked." ???

No, because choking is not really a thing. It's just not.

You lose because of lack of focus, or getting outplayed, or missing a shot at a bad time, or fouling at a bad time, or missing a free throw or a 3-pointer when you need it the most.

You don't lose because of some mysterious, undetectable "choke" gene.

[goj]

Originally Posted by BayMoWe335

You can find a nice house almost anywhere, but if it's in Oakland, it's shit by default.

Where I live, you can get yourself a nice starter home for $1.8m.

Troll lol

I'm in the Bay Area where real estate costs serious money. But a starter home anywhere in the US for 1.8m is not even believable.

Try again...

[csu87]

Originally Posted by goj

Troll lol

I'm in the Bay Area where real estate costs serious money. But a starter home anywhere in the US for 1.8m is not even believable.

Try again...

You must be in the loser category that collects welfare and works in a call center cause 1.8m is definitely a starter home for ballers like these 2.

Durant and Westbrook are still loaded so I'm sure they'll get over it. Pro sports is a business...they get to go home to their mansions while most of these losers collect welfare or work in a call center.

[insanecoder]

Originally Posted by grimlock

except the part where the ball has to find the way to the net without violating the laws of physics..

j/k
if u knew which way it was rigged, u could make big $ betting on it

I know yer kiddin cause u dont need to alter the trajectory of the ball to rig anything
In basketball, if you wanted to influence the game.. you either get to one of the ball-hogs OR you get to the ref .. you know how some "questionable"
close calls by the refs can shift momentum and put teams on the foul line for easy foul shots?
In football, you get to the quarterback
In baseball, you get to the pitcher

[goj]

Originally Posted by csu87

You must be in the loser category that collects welfare and works in a call center cause 1.8m is definitely a starter home for ballers like these 2.

So he must be neighbors to durant and Westbrook

[Whostheboss]

LeBron James!!!!

[eluded]

Everybody said it was choking

They were up three games to one against the team that set the best record in the NBA. That team also has the first unanimous MVP. Curry is simply one of the most amazing players since Michael Jordan.

So no, it's not choking, they were just too good.

[grimlock]

Originally Posted by insanecoder

I know yer kiddin cause u dont need to alter the trajectory of the ball to rig anything
In basketball, if you wanted to influence the game.. you either get to one of the ball-hogs OR you get to the ref .. you know how some "questionable"
close calls by the refs can shift momentum and put teams on the foul line for easy foul shots?
In football, you get to the quarterback
In baseball, you get to the pitcher

it happens, players/refs getting approached by syndicates with individual bribes.. but once you go beyond the individual it's hard to keep up any kind of conspiracy

but back on the series, at that level it's all psychology, the thunder had it at the start, then GS got it back, as simple as that

[grimlock]

Originally Posted by eluded

Everybody said it was choking

They were up three games to one against the team that set the best record in the NBA. That team also has the first unanimous MVP. Curry is simply one of the most amazing players since Michael Jordan.

So no, it's not choking, they were just too good.

it's self-belief
but he can be thrown off his game, as shown
Jordan, on the other hand, his limitations are purely physical, as he can get inside the other players heads, and of course he has a temper, which is at which point most ppl nope out because u have to be willing to hurt him like he does to you

[tdott]

NBA is rigged, they tell refs who to favor. Green should have been suspended, many blown calls in these playoffs that changed the outcome of the game.

Yes a team still has to score baskets to win, but if you've been watching close enough the favoritism has been one sided and we can only assume that is because the refs are being given that direction from the league. Team owners should request an investigation and not allow the league to have influence over the refs.

[csu87]

Lol and here come the conspiracy theories....

Everyone tries to blame the refs for the outcome of games, but if you would actually watch an entire game, you can see the refs dont have much influence. The only time a call could affect the outcome, is after one or both teams havent done enough to win it. There is no way you can blame the refs for the Warriors winning. No ref had anything to do with Klay scoring 37 in one quarter. Hell, the game that Green could have been suspended for, the GSW would have been better off if he had been suspended. He was -30 in points differential. If anything, not suspending him gave OKC an edge.