Playoff performances better than 2012 ECF G6?

[tmacattack33]

I can't remember anything better specifically...from 1995 when I started watching onwards.

But of course that doesn't mean none were better.

I didn't really know what was going on until around 1997.

And Shaq's Finals were so good that many of his games blend together in my mind as one big group of amazing games. So maybe one of them...though they were never in a close series with the Sixers or Nets...so we'd have to pick from the Pacers series.

And I can admit to not watching (or playing close attention to) the Spurs-Nets Finals or Spurs-Pistons Finals.

Maybe a D.Wade 2006 Finals game would be better. I'd have to go back and watch em again to find the best one.

Or maybe Lebron's own Game 5 against the Pistons in 2007 with 25 straight clutch points.

Or maybe Dirk's game 2 or 3 vs OKC in the 2011 WCF, where he couldn't miss... from the field or the foul line. Though that was not as big of a game.

[sdot_thadon]

Boston had been world champs 4 years prior.. and had been beaten by the HEAT in 5 games the year before..

that doesn't make any sense, the ONLY REASON that there was so much pressure on this game is because people were thinking "how the fck is Lebron about to get eliminated 2 years in a row with the best team in the league around him "

that's why there was pressure, not because Lebron was facing some incredible opponent that nobody thought he could beat..but because Lebron was losing to opponents that he had no right to be losing to with the team he had around him..

Boston was a championship team with the core still intact. Albeit four years previous but that's irrelevant, They had the experience. Besides beating them previous year automatically insures you beat them every time? Why even play games then?

I believe some of you here think goat=best, that's not the case though. I feel Mj has had BETTER performances, but I don't feel he's had a GREATER one. You can name any Mj performance and I'm sure the circumstances and pressure don't stack up.

[Byobob]

To those who were saying that Miami put themselves into that position (2012 ECF G6) It seems that a lot of people here forgot that Bosh didn't play for the first five games and barely showed up in g6.

KG was abusing Miami's frontline everytime they fronted him. Which was neutralized a bit when Bosh came back.

[sdot_thadon]

To those who were saying that Miami put themselves into that position (2012 ECF G6) It seems that a lot of people here forgot that Bosh didn't play for the first five games and barely showed up in g6.

KG was abusing Miami's frontline everytime they fronted him. Which was neutralized a bit when Bosh came back.

Exactly. And I'm not sure why it's even a talking point of how they got in the position, it's a fckin playoff series sht happens. The discussion is about how he responded.

[Random_Guy]

strictly performance, there are probably better ones.
But if we are talking about context, that was perhaps the most pressure put on on superstar ever. Had he lost that game, his legacay would have been destroyed and he would be the laughing stock of not just the nba but probably modern sports in general. not really a lebron fan, but the way he stepped up and shook of the chokers label was exceptionally impressive.

[Da_Realist]

No air conditioning, 97 degrees, 34 points, 15-20 fgs, 17 rebounds

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHsmmGo-yFc

1984 NBA Finals Game 5
In Game 5, the Celtics took a 3

[LAZERUSS]

[QUOTE=Da_Realist]No air conditioning, 97 degrees, 34 points, 15-20 fgs, 17 rebounds

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHsmmGo-yFc

1984 NBA Finals Game 5
In Game 5, the Celtics took a 3

[Da_Realist]

I believe some of you here think goat=best, that's not the case though. I feel Mj has had BETTER performances, but I don't feel he's had a GREATER one. You can name any Mj performance and I'm sure the circumstances and pressure don't stack up.

Michael Jordan

1989 First Round Game 5 at Cleveland (only four home losses all year), Elimination Game

44 pts, 9 rebs, 6 asts, 17 points in the 4th quarter and the series winning shot

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJeO2sVZZZg

[tmacattack33]

No air conditioning, 97 degrees, 34 points, 15-20 fgs, 17 rebounds

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHsmmGo-yFc

1984 NBA Finals Game 5
In Game 5, the Celtics took a 3–2 series lead as Larry Bird scored 34 points. The game was known as the "Heat Game", as it was played under 97-degree Fahrenheit heat, and without any air conditioning at the infamous Boston Garden.

That's awesome, but i don't understand how a variable like that makes any difference...because everyone was playing in that same heat.

It's not like everyone else had some type of special cooling suit on while Bird was the only one without it.

Still though, yes, getting 34 points on such great efficiency and getting 17 rebounds in the Finals is amazing...and scoring wasn't even Bird's best attribute on offense.

[sdot_thadon]

So the Bird and Mj games mentioned, again fall under games that may or may not have been better. My question is how were they greater? Was Birds legacy on the line at that point? He'd already won titles I'm sure. Same for Mj, although he'd not won yet he didn't win that year either. Did his legacy go down the tubes? I mean it's only discussed on a daily basis how great his legacy is. I fail to see where either of these were under greater pressure.....

**edit: I'd like to add that I'm in no way diminishing any performance mentioned here, as they are all awesome. Just don't see any of these as being an in the darkest hour type of deal.

[Da_Realist]

So the Bird and Mj games mentioned, again fall under games that may or may not have been better. My question is how were they greater? Was Birds legacy on the line at that point? He'd already won titles I'm sure. Same for Mj, although he'd not won yet he didn't win that year either. Did his legacy go down the tubes? I mean it's only discussed on a daily basis how great his legacy is. I fail to see where either of these were under greater pressure.....

**edit: I'd like to add that I'm in no way diminishing any performance mentioned here, as they are all awesome. Just don't see any of these as being an in the darkest hour type of deal.

First of all, be honest...why was Lebron's legacy on the line in the first place?

Ok...to answer your question as to why they are greater, in my opinion...

Bird's performance was against a better team, playing in 97 degree heat in a must win for the Celtics. He shot 15-20 when everyone else around him were gassed and rushing to breath in oxygen on the sidelines. 15-20, 34 pts and 17 rebs is a man's game under any circumstances. When the game is played under a constant heat wave, it becomes epic.

MJ's performance was in a game where BOTH teams were fighting for their playoff lives. Against a team that had lost to Chicago in five the year before, worked hard to earn homecourt advantage this year and were undefeated against Chicago in the regular season. The game was nip and tuck all game long as opposed to Lebron's performance coming in a game where the Heat were up seven at the end of the 1Q, ten by halftime, ten at the end of the 3Q and won by 16 points. It was a front-running game. Chi - Cle was nip and tuck all game long, MJ scored 17 points in the 4th (saving his best for when the team needed it the most), hit what everyone thought was a game winner with 6 secs left only to be punched in the gut by a Cleveland layup with 3 secs left. Everyone in the building and watching on tv knew who was going to get the ball to try to win the game. MJ gets the ball and hits a hanging double pump shot fading to his left to snatch the series out of Cleveland with no time remaining on the clock.

That >> beats Lebron saving his "legacy" by beating a team that looked like they conceded the game by the end of the 3rd Q.

[Da_Realist]

Bird
1987 ECF Game 7 vs Detroit
37, 9 and 9 with some big shots near the end to ice the game.

Olajuwon
1995 First Rd Game 5 vs Utah
33, 10 and 4 with some big shots near the end to ice the game as well.

[sdot_thadon]

First of all, be honest...why was Lebron's legacy on the line in the first place?

Ok...to answer your question as to why they are greater, in my opinion...

Bird's performance was against a better team, playing in 97 degree heat in a must win for the Celtics. He shot 15-20 when everyone else around him were gassed and rushing to breath in oxygen on the sidelines. 15-20, 34 pts and 17 rebs is a man's game under any circumstances. When the game is played under a constant heat wave, it becomes epic.

MJ's performance was in a game where BOTH teams were fighting for their playoff lives. Against a team that had lost to Chicago in five the year before, worked hard to earn homecourt advantage this year and were undefeated against Chicago in the regular season. The game was nip and tuck all game long as opposed to Lebron's performance coming in a game where the Heat were up seven at the end of the 1Q, ten by halftime, ten at the end of the 3Q and won by 16 points. It was a front-running game. Chi - Cle was nip and tuck all game long, MJ scored 17 points in the 4th (saving his best for when the team needed it the most), hit what everyone thought was a game winner with 6 secs left only to be punched in the gut by a Cleveland layup with 3 secs left. Everyone in the building and watching on tv knew who was going to get the ball to try to win the game. MJ gets the ball and hits a hanging double pump shot fading to his left to snatch the series out of Cleveland with no time remaining on the clock.

That >> beats Lebron saving his "legacy" by beating a team that looked like they conceded the game by the end of the 3rd Q.

Ok, not sure if you understood my post. I agree those were tremendous games, but who had more to lose than Lebron did at that point? What was Bird losing? A finals game? They'd be down 3-2 THE NEXT GAME lol. It wasn't an elimination game for one, second Bird was already a proven winner. Mj in 1989 was 25 years old, he hadn't won a title yet but I doubt anyone was expecting him to win at that point of his career. The elimination game winner is big no doubt, but if he loses there wouldn't have been much fallout. I mean he lost that year anyway......

[veilside23]

KG game 7 against the kings

32 pts 21 rebs 2 assists 4 steals 5 blocks.. worthy of the discussion

[Da_Realist]

Ok, not sure if you understood my post.

I understood. It just doesn't mean much.

I agree those were tremendous games, but who had more to lose than Lebron did at that point? What was Bird losing? A finals game?

Yes. That's another reason Bird's was better.

Mj in 1989 was 25 years old, he hadn't won a title yet but I doubt anyone was expecting him to win at that point of his career. The elimination game winner is big no doubt, but if he loses there wouldn't have been much fallout. I mean he lost that year anyway......

It doesn't matter that he didn't win the title. Nobody knew that in the moment. What happened two rounds later doesn't take away from how epic that one game was.

We're talking game for game. Which game is more epic? I say 89 Chi Cle G5, 84 LAL Bos Game 5, 87 Det Bos G7 and a few others were all better than 12 MIA Bos G6 because of the intensity of the whole game, the will of their opponents and the clutch play down the stretch. In my opinion, that trumps Lebron proving he wouldn't choke in a relatively easy 16 point win.