Giannis is a delight
NBA 2018-19 Thread
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mikal
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As is the depth and defense of the Bucks. IF they win the NBA Championship, that along with Giannis will be the reason why.
DaveC
Blue Crack Addict
yea the raptors look gassed at this point compared to the bucks. hopefully they can take some of the home crowd's energy and get back into the series next game but it's not looking great. at least if this is where it ends they are being beaten by an obviously superior team.
Sickly Vulpine
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I'll say it now: portland is the most pathetic team to make the WCF in a very, very long time. It should have been Denver, they would not have folded this easily. They would not have had second half collapses this bad. I have no dog in the fight, other then to see a new champion.
As much as I feel absolutely nothing for Houston and their whining, they were at least ready for primetime. portland is not even ready for rush hour.
Anyway, it's going to come down to Milwaukee if we want a new champion.
As much as I feel absolutely nothing for Houston and their whining, they were at least ready for primetime. portland is not even ready for rush hour.
Anyway, it's going to come down to Milwaukee if we want a new champion.
lazarus
Blue Crack Supplier
More like FAILblazers, amirite??
Sickly Vulpine
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True that. Back in the day, if I recall right, they were known as the jailblazers for all their legal troubles. I liked them better then!
If only Denver had an opportunity to beat Portland...
Maybe it's not Portland. Maybe Golden State is just really really good.
Sickly Vulpine
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Look, I hear you. They're very good, don't get me wrong, it just seems as though they are more vulnerable than in seasons past. That's why I condemn the competition this season rather than give credit to GS. Their regular season was lackluster, and Durant plus Boogie(debateable how much he helped the team) are both out. Sharks are supposed to smell blood in the water. Just seems like when there's an opportunist wound there are suddenly no Great Whites in the WC.
Lillard showed signs of going cold from the field in the last series. He has never recovered. I think it's got more than GS has to do with it. He's just gone cold. That's on him.
With the whole Portland/Denver thing, the only reason I mention Denver is because it went to 7 games and even in the last game it went to the wire. It honestly could have gone either way, that's the reason why someone like myself has to wonder what it would be like with Denver in the WCF. To me, it's legit to wonder "what if". I get what you're saying though, they had game seven on their home court and didn't finish.
Lillard showed signs of going cold from the field in the last series. He has never recovered. I think it's got more than GS has to do with it. He's just gone cold. That's on him.
With the whole Portland/Denver thing, the only reason I mention Denver is because it went to 7 games and even in the last game it went to the wire. It honestly could have gone either way, that's the reason why someone like myself has to wonder what it would be like with Denver in the WCF. To me, it's legit to wonder "what if". I get what you're saying though, they had game seven on their home court and didn't finish.
Shouldn't the fact that they had a "lackluster" regular season yet were still the 1 seed in the far superior Western conference tell ya something?
Sickly Vulpine
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Lackluster by their high standards. Losing half a dozen games at home by 20 or more points told me they were vulnerable - what champion in the nba does that? It may be that this was not the case. Or, that other competitors in the west lacked the backbone to get it done. We can play around with the narrative, but there were signs they didn't look as good as in years past. Their supposedly hungry competition just wasn't up to it is all.
NBA champions who have been in the last 4 finals and know how to pace themselves in the regular season so that they're fresh for the playoffs? Draymond Green more or less took the first 5 months of the season off.
iron yuppie
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Maybe Nick Nurse should consider getting the ball out of Siakam's hands for the moment.
Sickly Vulpine
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Like I said, we can play around with the narrative. You want to give them credit, I see fault with the teams who boasted they were eager to unseat them and then came up with nothing. It doesn't amount to much.
During the last championship run of the Bulls, Pippen was out for a significant amount of time during the season. I didn't see that team taking games off despite the lengthy playoff runs. Nobody was taking months off. They weren't getting blown out at the United Center. They certainly would not have let a team with no stars, the Clippers, win two games in a playoff series.
The fact that, by your own admission, a key player would be taking several months off shows a team with commitment and focus issues. It was logical to wonder where their heads were at and whether they were up to the task. Subsequent events have shown they probably did it right, but I certainly don't let their opponents off the hook. I'm sorry, but I don't let a team who is about to be swept out of the conference finals off the hook, West or East. Would you?
They lost twice to the raptors that year who had the worst record in the NBA, but hey... THEY'D NEVER LOSE FOCUS.
What exactly am I letting Portland off the hook from? They're not playing well. Dame says he isn't hurt (I don't believe him), but if he's going out there he should play better. Their starting center, who's actually a backup they picked off the scrap heap, has a separated shoulder (and is fasting during the day). Their real starting center has a broken leg.
And despite all that... They ended up in the Western conference finals. And the team that, according to you, would have put up more of a fight? Lost to Portland. With a game 7 at home. So I'm not sure how you can possibly make that argument.
Could you argue that Portland has run out of gas? Absolutely. I would. If everyone was at full strength, including Nurkic, could they beat Golden State? Probably not. Neither would Denver.
Would Jordan's Bulls coast through a regular season? No. But that was a different time. Managing minutes is kinda a thing now, for better or worse. Everyone not named Tom Thibodeau or Scott Brooks is doing it. The Spurs have won multiple titles doing this (thus why everyone is doing it now).
And again... THE WARRIORS ARE THE ONE SEED. They have so much talent that they knew they could manage players to ensure they were healthy and ready for the playoffs.
If there's an argument to be had regarding their struggles at times, it has a lot now to do with whether or not they catered too much to how KD wanted to play in an effort to make him happy enough to stay vs just playing the way that got them to this dynastic point - not about anything else. And even with those issues... They were the one seed. In the West, which is infinitely deeper than the East.
mikal
Blue Crack Addict
I think we can all just agree that the Warriors are still the best until someone knocks them off, and most likely the Bucks are best built to be that team, as long as they don't play (shoot) like they did in Game 3.
The Rockets were the best built team to knock off the KD Warriors. They were not prepared to see the pre-KD Warriors.
If KD returns and just fits in rather than trying to go back to iso heavy offense, nobody is beating them.
If KD doesn't return, or if they do go back to a more KD focused iso heavy offense, the presence of both Giannis and Kawhi would give both eastern conference teams a fighting chance... but they'd still both be underdogs.
If KD returns and just fits in rather than trying to go back to iso heavy offense, nobody is beating them.
If KD doesn't return, or if they do go back to a more KD focused iso heavy offense, the presence of both Giannis and Kawhi would give both eastern conference teams a fighting chance... but they'd still both be underdogs.
mikal
Blue Crack Addict
Oh I never believed the Rockets were built to beat them. Not sure why the rest of humanity thought so.
Should be interesting. I think the Bucks would have a great shot against them less because of Giannis, but because of their depth and defense.
Hewson
Blue Crack Supplier
The Rockets formula to try and beat them was to outgun them. Not likely to work.
I think the formula is to try and defend them, which requires maximum effort for 48 minutes. Not an easy task but Budenholzer's system might have a shot if they get there.
I think the formula is to try and defend them, which requires maximum effort for 48 minutes. Not an easy task but Budenholzer's system might have a shot if they get there.
Warriors playoff record in KD era vs all non Houston teams - 35-5 .875
Warriors playoff record in KD era vs Houston 8-5 .615
And 1.5 of those 8 wins came without KD.
The Rockets designed their approach with 3 and D players, and an iso heavy offense designed to a) exploit favorable matchups (i.e. get Steph into as many pick and rolls as possible) and b) draw Golden State into a similar style of play.
It failed, because the Warriors are really fucking good. But it came closer to working than anyone else, and it's not even remotely close.
Warriors playoff record in KD era vs Houston 8-5 .615
And 1.5 of those 8 wins came without KD.
The Rockets designed their approach with 3 and D players, and an iso heavy offense designed to a) exploit favorable matchups (i.e. get Steph into as many pick and rolls as possible) and b) draw Golden State into a similar style of play.
It failed, because the Warriors are really fucking good. But it came closer to working than anyone else, and it's not even remotely close.
31-1 in games where Curry plays and KD doesn't.
mikal
Blue Crack Addict
Shall be interesting to see what their lineup looks like in the finals.
How they play is not important than who they play. If they play Warriors style basketball nobody's beating them. If they play iso heavy, they're still probably winning, but it gives whomever the opponent is a chance to pull the upset.
Jerry Dunk
Refugee
Agree with Headache. Part of it is that KD plays into the trap: Houston begs Golden State to go iso-heavy, and for whatever reason, KD obliges. Golden State does not do that when Durant is out.
Are the Bucks still gonna beat Golden State or nah?
mikal
Blue Crack Addict
Maybe. But one thing we can all agree on is that Drake sucks.
DaveC
Blue Crack Addict
neither of these teams is beating GS unless something really wacky happens. i'll be quite satisfied just to make the finals and be able to go to a game though.
Need Kawhi to be healthy tho
DaveC
Blue Crack Addict
reading how mad all the bucks fans are at drake is really giving me life today.
LuckyNumber7
Blue Crack Addict
Despite the finals being uninteresting with usual suspects for the last decade, I think it’s safe to say the favorite always has a reasonable chance of losing.
Just don’t have a JR Smith moment.
Just don’t have a JR Smith moment.
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