Nba playoffs thread

[Q-is-here]

Wiggins 5 pts 1 reb 0 asts 2-6 in a close out game.

I'm just posting just to say let's not overreact to the wolves got robbed in the warriors trade based on 1 good Wiggins game

And Kuminga got pushed around and played off the floor early and only did anything during garbage time.

Having said that, I think Golden State closes this thing out in the next game. Memphis was playing off adrenaline. And my goodness, Tyus Jones can only do so much! When will anyone else from Memphis help that guy out?

[Lipoli390]

Wiggins 5 pts 1 reb 0 asts 2-6 in a close out game.

I'm just posting just to say let's not overreact to the wolves got robbed in the warriors trade based on 1 good Wiggins game

And Kuminga got pushed around and played off the floor early and only did anything during garbage time.

Having said that, I think Golden State closes this thing out in the next game. Memphis was playing off adrenaline. And my goodness, Tyus Jones can only do so much! When will anyone else from Memphis help that guy out?

Some good perspective, guys!

[Q-is-here]

Love it! Final nail in the coffin of the super-friends/entitled superstar teams.

First the Lakers, then Brooklyn, and now Philly. All gone baby!

Hard not to be very pleased with how these playoffs are shaping up! Wouldn't mind seeing Butler go down because he can be such a Machiavellian asshole, but as a franchise that puts the work in and has great continuity with its front office and head coach, I have to respect Miami.

.....and I guess Golden State and be a bit arrogant, but again, hard not to respect the continuity and culture they've built.

.....and yeah, Memphis is annoying too since they beat us.

But otherwise, I LOVE these remaining teams.

(but wouldn't mind seeing Chris Paul and his floppy-ass go home).

((so who does that leave? Boston? Nah, they've won their fair share of titles and their fans are entitled too)).

(((go Bucks!)))

[Lipoli390]

So far this has been a great season for me in a number of ways. I'll list them:

1. The Wolves had a great season. They won 46 games, which exceeded general expectations and precisely matched my pre-season prediction. I have to feel good about that, right? Then they won a great play-in game to make the playoffs, after which they took the 2nd seed to 6 games in the first round. Great season for our Wolves.

2. The Lakers didn't make the playoffs. The League's most arrogant franchise, thinking they could use their deep pockets and Hollywood allure to buy their way into multiple titles, fell flat for the second season in a row. Very satisfying.

3. The Brooklyn Nets were swept in the first round of the playoffs. Another team that went the "super team" route, attempting to use their deep pockets and the allure of New York City to buy their way to a championship. It was even worse that two of their three mercenary stars were Kyrie Irving and James Harden, two loathsome players who epitomize the worst in the modern professional athlete.

4. Then tonight, the Sixers get knocked out 4-2 by the Heat. I'm not a big Miami fan, but the Sixers are right there with the Lakers and Nets on my dislike list. Daryl Morey is a jackass and that's enough for me to despise the Sixers. But they took it to another level when they traded for lazy fat boy James Harden. And I'm still disgusted by how the team's best player, Embiid, and even their head coach threw one of their teammates, Simmons, under the bus last year when they were knocked out of the playoffs. It was such a pleasure watching the Sixers go down in their own building tonight. And it was especially gratifying to see Harden have such a putrid game, which included taking only 2 shots in 22 minutes in the second half when they needed his scoring most. But they don't have Ben Simmons around to blame this year. Primary responsibility for this season's exit falls on Morey. His arrogance caused him to pass on deals for Simmons at the beginning of the season that would have made them a better team. Instead his ego compelled him to hold out for his prize - namely a fat guy with a beard who plays for himself, not his teammates.

It doesn't matter what happens from here on out. I'll still be pulling for the Bucks in the East and the Suns in the West. But I also like the Celtics and I actually kind of like the Heat because of how they're succeeding without big-name free agent stars. I like the Warriors as well since I can't help but like their style of play and it's impossible not to like Steph Curry. Dallas is probably my least favorite of the remaining teams, but I can't really dislike them. So short of the Wolves advancing in the playoffs, this has otherwise been a terrific NBA season for me. :)

[Monster]

So far this has been a great season for me in a number of ways. I'll list them:

1. The Wolves had a great season. They won 46 games, which exceeded general expectations and precisely matched my pre-season prediction. I have to feel good about that, right? Then they won a great play-in game to make the playoffs, after which they took the 2nd seed to 6 games in the first round. Great season for our Wolves.

2. The Lakers didn't make the playoffs. The League's most arrogant franchise, thinking they could use their deep pockets and Hollywood allure to buy their way into multiple titles, fell flat for the second season in a row. Very satisfying.

3. The Brooklyn Nets were swept in the first round of the playoffs. Another team that went the "super team" route, attempting to use their deep pockets and the allure of New York City to buy their way to a championship. It was even worse that two of their three mercenary stars were Kyrie Irving and James Harden, two loathsome players who epitomize the worst in the modern professional athlete.

4. Then tonight, the Sixers get knocked out 4-2 by the Heat. I'm not a big Miami fan, but the Sixers are right there with the Lakers and Nets on my dislike list. Daryl Morey is a jackass and that's enough for me to despise the Sixers. But they took it to another level when they traded for lazy fat boy James Harden. And I'm still disgusted by how the team's best player, Embiid, and even their head coach threw one of their teammates, Simmons, under the bus last year when they were knocked out of the playoffs. It was such a pleasure watching the Sixers go down in their own building tonight. And it was especially gratifying to see Harden have such a putrid game, which included taking only 2 shots in 22 minutes in the second half when they needed his scoring most. But they don't have Ben Simmons around to blame this year. Primary responsibility for this season's exit falls on Morey. His arrogance caused him to pass on deals for Simmons at the beginning of the season that would have made them a better team. Instead his ego compelled him to hold out for his prize - namely a fat guy with a beard who plays for himself, not his teammates.

It doesn't matter what happens from here on out. I'll still be pulling for the Bucks in the East and the Suns in the West. But I also like the Celtics and I actually kind of like the Heat because of how they're succeeding without big-name free agent stars. I like the Warriors as well since I can't help but like their style of play and it's impossible not to like Steph Curry. Dallas is probably my least favorite of the remaining teams, but I can't really dislike them. So short of the Wolves advancing in the playoffs, this has otherwise been a terrific NBA season for me. :)

I kept saying I was never convinced about the Nets despite their talented trio. I'll say this about that franchise they keep being able to find cheap good young players.

[Monster]

Reggie Bullock Leads the Mavs in minutes played in the playoffs at almost 40mpg. I'm convinced (I did not see this coming) he is part of the reason the Knicks went from being a surprise of the league to one of the disappointments. Dallas with a lopsided win after losing the previous game in a similar way to keep the series interesting.

[Lipoli390]

Reggie Bullock Leads the Mavs in minutes played in the playoffs at almost 40mpg. I'm convinced (I did not see this coming) he is part of the reason the Knicks went from being a surprise of the league to one of the disappointments. Dallas with a lopsided win after losing the previous game in a similar way to keep the series interesting.

I can see the Mavs winning the series for two reason:

1. The Suns aren't playing well generally and look very vulnerable. Although the Suns had the League's best regular season record, they've looked like anything but the best team so far in the playoffs. They even struggled against the 36-win Pelicans. Yes, the Pelicans have a number of talented young players, but I think the Suns made them look better than they really were.

2. The Mavs have the best player on the court every time these two teams go at it. While not always true, it's generally the case that, in the playoffs, the team with the best player wins the series.

3. The Mavs just seem to want it more. I see more overall effort from the Mavs than I've seen from the Mavs this series so far.

Having said all that, the Suns will be a tough out on their home floor. And Dallas is not a great team overall.

[Lipoli390]

Here was one of Harden's comments after last night's loss to Miami. Asked what caused him to disappear offensively, Harden said, ""We ran our offense. The ball just didn't get back to me." Of course, it wasn't Harden's fault; it never is. Embiid covered for him, saying Harden's now a playmaker rather than the MVP elite scorer he once was. I guess that was sort of a dig more than a cover. :) But he didn't throw Harden under the bus as clearly as he did Simmons last year at this time.

I wonder if this year's playoff humiliation will motivate Harden to lay off the burgers and fries and start a vigorous off-season workout program.

Then there's Doc Rivers. His comment was that the Sixers didn't have enough talent on their roster to beat the Heat. Of course, that's a ridiculous Harden like cop out. The Sixers have the League's best big man along with James Harden, Harris and Maxey. The Heat have Butler, Bam and Tyler Herro. Last year Doc joined Embiid in blaming Simmons. This year Doc was essentially blaming the front office for not giving him enough talent. Hmm. There's a pattern here. But to be fair, Daryl Morey certainly delivered Doc a flawed roster. If not for Morey's oversized ego, Doc would have have a better roster and, importantly, a roster that would have played together the entire season before the playoffs. Oh, and the Sixers would have had a better regular season record, perhaps having home court advantage over the Heat.

[Q-is-here]

Reggie Bullock Leads the Mavs in minutes played in the playoffs at almost 40mpg. I'm convinced (I did not see this coming) he is part of the reason the Knicks went from being a surprise of the league to one of the disappointments. Dallas with a lopsided win after losing the previous game in a similar way to keep the series interesting.

Big, tough wings and hybrid forwards that can keep a defense honest from outside the arc are just so effing valuable. Bullock, Dorian Finney-Smith, Jae Crowder, PJ Tucker, Dillon Brooks.....and the list goes on. If Okogie had a corner 3 in his tool bag he'd make millions and millions more and be an invaluable rotation player on any playoff team. I've been shocked by his inability to ever improve his outside 3 - it's probably cost him $20-30+M in future career NBA earnings. Just that one thing, because he's got the tenacity and defensive chops to be a coveted asset if it wasn't for his horrid shooting.

I guess Taurean Prince is our version of the archetype mentioned above. I'm not sure he's as good of a defender as those other guys, but he definitely knows how to take a charge and his spot up shooting really took off this season after an early cold spell.

[Lipoli390]

Reggie Bullock Leads the Mavs in minutes played in the playoffs at almost 40mpg. I'm convinced (I did not see this coming) he is part of the reason the Knicks went from being a surprise of the league to one of the disappointments. Dallas with a lopsided win after losing the previous game in a similar way to keep the series interesting.

Big, tough wings and hybrid forwards that can keep a defense honest from outside the arc are just so effing valuable. Bullock, Dorian Finney-Smith, Jae Crowder, PJ Tucker, Dillon Brooks.....and the list goes on. If Okogie had a corner 3 in his tool bag he'd make millions and millions more and be an invaluable rotation player on any playoff team. I've been shocked by his inability to ever improve his outside 3 - it's probably cost him $20-30+M in future career NBA earnings. Just that one thing, because he's got the tenacity and defensive chops to be a coveted asset if it wasn't for his horrid shooting.

I guess Taurean Prince is our version of the archetype mentioned above. I'm not sure he's as good of a defender as those other guys, but he definitely knows how to take a charge and his spot up shooting really took off this season after an early cold spell.

Great points, Q. Those tough wings and hybrid forwards are a huge part of success in today's NBA. Like you, I remain mystified by Okogie's inability to develop a reasonably good consistent perimeter shot. He was a 38% 3-point shooter in college on 4 attempts and he's always been a good free throw shooter. That's why every season I've expected him to suddenly get over the hump. But alas, it hasn't happened. And you're right, it has cost him multiple millions. The Wolves will probably let him walk this summer. Then watch. He'll suddenly become a consistent outside shooter.

I agree that Taurean Prince is our version of the archetype you identified. I just wonder if he can stay healthy. And even if he can, it would be nice to add another to our roster. Any thoughts on available free agents who would fit that archetype?