The Playoffs

[AbeVigodaLive]

Thank God Conley's back. Also, Tony Allen was tremendous. Z-Bo did what I expected him to. Gasol didn't have his best night, but still produced.

Let's go Grizzlies. I hope they win as I personally hate the style of basketball the Warriors play.

Why don't you like the Warriors style of basketball just curious

I love the Warriors, I just think that the griz are a great throwback team and at full strength make for an excellent matchup with the Warriors, which is really all I am looking for in the playoffs where the Wolves are not included.

Yes, it's a nice contrast in styles. I'm also flat out jealous of Golden State and the near perfect starting lineup they have constructed. It's like the ideal starting 5 in the modern day NBA: An elite defensive 5, a swiss army knife 4, a 3 &D 3, and two sweet shooting guards. It would be nice for someone that plays smashmouth ball to punch them in the face!

I prefer the pace and space style that Golden State plays. Plus, they SEEM to have such a jovial, almost collegiate camaraderie to the team that makes them more likeable in a way. I think the Spurs have had that at times too.

Sometimes, it's just rare to find teams that actually seem to enjoy each other.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Thank God Conley's back. Also, Tony Allen was tremendous. Z-Bo did what I expected him to. Gasol didn't have his best night, but still produced.

Let's go Grizzlies. I hope they win as I personally hate the style of basketball the Warriors play.

Why don't you like the Warriors style of basketball just curious

I love the Warriors, I just think that the griz are a great throwback team and at full strength make for an excellent matchup with the Warriors, which is really all I am looking for in the playoffs where the Wolves are not included.

Yes, it's a nice contrast in styles. I'm also flat out jealous of Golden State and the near perfect starting lineup they have constructed. It's like the ideal starting 5 in the modern day NBA: An elite defensive 5, a swiss army knife 4, a 3 &D 3, and two sweet shooting guards. It would be nice for someone that plays smashmouth ball to punch them in the face!

I prefer the pace and space style that Golden State plays. Plus, they SEEM to have such a jovial, almost collegiate camaraderie to the team that makes them more likeable in a way. I think the Spurs have had that at times too.

Sometimes, it's just rare to find teams that actually seem to enjoy each other.

Don't disagree with anything you say here Abe. I have a few teams/individuals that just bug me for various reasons:

Golden State - Pure jealousy on my part. I hope like hell they go down. For some reason I've never harbored a similar ill-will toward San Antonio, which also plays a team brand of basketball. I guess they are historically above the fray, whereas Golden State was one of us not that long ago. They were one of us!!!
James Harden - His stupid beard bugs the hell out of me along with his foul-baiting tactics.
Chris Paul - Too much flopping around. Plus he regularly destroys us.
Wes Mathews - Another jealousy thing, nothing against him personally. Just tired of seeing him destroy us from beyond the arc every damn time we play Portland. His finally getting injured made him less loathsome. He's recently taken Chandler Frye's place on my list, another notorious Wolves killer from beyond the arc.
Packer Fans - 'Nuff said.

[Coolbreeze44]

Yes, maybe Memphis is the team and style that I've been saying will come along eventually. Maybe some day soon teams will be trying to copy what Memphis is doing. My point is that you want to be ahead of the curve, not falling in line behind it.

[thedoper]

Yes, maybe Memphis is the team and style that I've been saying will come along eventually. Maybe some day soon teams will be trying to copy what Memphis is doing. My point is that you want to be ahead of the curve, not falling in line behind it.

I think this is a great point and one I have been trying to make around the wolves. I think it is impossible to copy GS because they have one of the best Shooting back courts to come around in a while. But Memphis is a complete contrast to that and they show a potential direction to still be successful. Q has pointed out some of those characteristics (tough D, easy interior baskets). Any way you look at it you need world class talent. GS has world class shooters so the pace and space makes sense, Memphis has a world class front court so their inside out approach works. We have a very patchy make up of players that may be closer to Memphis than GS as I see it. But maybe we can create a funky hybrid of styles with our new hopefully world class draft pick coming in.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Yes, maybe Memphis is the team and style that I've been saying will come along eventually. Maybe some day soon teams will be trying to copy what Memphis is doing. My point is that you want to be ahead of the curve, not falling in line behind it.

I think this is a great point and one I have been trying to make around the wolves. I think it is impossible to copy GS because they have one of the best Shooting back courts to come around in a while. But Memphis is a complete contrast to that and they show a potential direction to still be successful. Q has pointed out some of those characteristics (tough D, easy interior baskets). Any way you look at it you need world class talent. GS has world class shooters so the pace and space makes sense, Memphis has a world class front court so their inside out approach works. We have a very patchy make up of players that may be closer to Memphis than GS as I see it. But maybe we can create a funky hybrid of styles with our new hopefully world class draft pick coming in.

Memphis is nice to root for, but their offense simply isn't good enough to win an NBA title in all likelihood. They were ranked 13th in offensive rating this past season. The last time an NBA team went on to win an NBA title that didn't have at least a top 11 offense was......forever may be?

Believe me, their front office wishes they had better 3-point shooting. But they've made the most of the personnel they have and have carved out a strong identity and lasting success. They may not win a title, but they have been a damn good team for a number of years now. Impressive.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Meh. I think a healthy Memphis team could contend for a title. They control possessions better than any team in the playoffs, imo, in terms of getting good looks on offense while locking up on defense.

Side note: I wonder if they'd be interested in a Budinger this off-season.

[mrhockey89]

Q, just think... The Wolves could have easily had pretty much any of the Golden State key players at some point...

Steph Curry... picked Johnny Flynn instead
Klay Thompson - Took Derrick Williams instead
David Lee - Courted him in FA to play WITH Love (wtf?)
Andre Iguodala - We all (including our FO) talked about whether he was the right fit when the 76ers were shopping him for 10 years, but determined he wasn't a fit

I could go on, but I don't really need to.

Side note...look at this year's playoffs... Steph Curry MVP, James Harden 1st runner up MVP, Blake Griffin looking MVP-like in the playoffs... If only we had two top 6 picks in the draft that those guys were all drafted in...

[MikkeMan]

Memphis is nice to root for, but their offense simply isn't good enough to win an NBA title in all likelihood. They were ranked 13th in offensive rating this past season. The last time an NBA team went on to win an NBA title that didn't have at least a top 11 offense was......forever may be?

03-04 Detroit Pistons was 18th in Ortg, 93-94 Houston ranked 15th and 89-90 Detroit ranked 11th in 27 team league. So it is possible although not probable to win NBA championship without that good offense. It just requires very good defense and good playoff run.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

These playoffs have given D'Angelo Russell a better case for us, in my opinion. Perimeter guys that good are so hard to find. Need perimeter scoring to be worth a shit in this league.

[bleedspeed]

Meh. I think a healthy Memphis team could contend for a title. They control possessions better than any team in the playoffs, imo, in terms of getting good looks on offense while locking up on defense.

Side note: I wonder if they'd be interested in a Budinger this off-season.

I agree. I could see memphis being interested in Bud. I could see Bud having his best year ever with them.