NBA Discussion Thread

[Benzine]

fuck i could drop 20 on tyler herro

 

[ColoradoAvalancheFanMatt]

Well, that’s because you’re from New Zealand and I’m 100% convinced Tyler Herro only acknowledges there might have been an Old Zealand

 

[Benzine]

now the really good nba starts. the games have been pretty great though.

 

[Dead2009]

I wonder if James Harden is gonna demand a trade from the Clippers either during the offseason or midseason like he usually does next year.

 

[Fire Queen]

extremely specific prediction: minnesota is gonna win the western conference finals, celebrate like they won the nba finals, and then get swept by the celtics

i don't want this to happen i am trying to speak it into existence to prevent it from happening

 

[Jon]

extremely specific prediction: minnesota is gonna win the western conference finals, celebrate like they won the nba finals, and then get swept by the celtics

i don't want this to happen i am trying to speak it into existence to prevent it from happening

I'll take the Celtics winning the Championship. I don't really follow basketball, but I root for the Celtics still. Especially because Tampa doesn't have a basketball team. And fuck LeBron, the Lakers and the Magic. lol

 

[Joseph Snapple]

I wish I could root for the magic tbh I've loved their name and logo forever I just can't with the DeVos family. I know there's no clean owners but I also don't know shit about most of them.

 

[VashTheStampede]

I wish I could root for the magic tbh I've loved their name and logo forever I just can't with the DeVos family. I know there's no clean owners but I also don't know shit about most of them.

Yeah, the DeVos family was one of the two main reasons I switched from being a Magic fan to a New Orleans fan.

 

[VashTheStampede]

 

[A Punched Face]

extremely specific prediction: minnesota is gonna win the western conference finals, celebrate like they won the nba finals, and then get swept by the celtics

i don't want this to happen i am trying to speak it into existence to prevent it from happening

I'm okay with this.

 

[A Punched Face]

I'm also okay with how this game has been going.

 

[Joseph Snapple]

lol hawks

 

[A Punched Face]

Now that there's only one team left for Boston playoffs I've been able to update to my proper previous pumpkin.

 

[A Punched Face]

Eastern conference finals tonight! Western kicks off tomorrow night.

Still no Porzingis for the Celtics... Hopefully he comes back this series.

 

[A Punched Face]

A series of basically all comebacks and the Celtics end up sweeping. Hopefully Porzingis is back for the finals.

 

[Benzine]

The Celtics played with a lot of poise - especially in a series where the pace was dictated by the other team.

 

[Fire Queen]

crazy how both conference finals could end up in sweeps where the team getting swept in each case had a good shot at winning each game. especially the twolves

if it ends up being dallas/boston like it probably will sorry guys but i gotta root for the meteor

 

[shortkut]

 

[shortkut]

 

[Jon]

Time for the Celtics to win the Championship for Bill.

 

[A Punched Face]

Finals time! Let's get banner 18 finally!

 

[A Punched Face]

Well Porzingis is showing everyone just how much he was missed the last two series

 

[A Punched Face]

Just me talking to myself here I see.

The Celtics went up 2-0 last night on one of their worst shooting nights in recent memory, going only 10/39 from 3 point range. That's average for the number of 3s taken, but 4-5 more misses than typical (and that's while hitting a bunch toward the end of the game). Just getting their average in would have given them a score of 117 or 120. This also isn't a case of better defense from the Mavs: the Celtics were missing wide open 3s for a good chunk of the game. I think at one point they were 1/11 on open 3s.

Granted the Mavs also shot poorly from range, only going 6/26. They typically take ~33 per game, so they weren't getting as many looks. They were also better defended against, which is why they took fewer than average. However, if they did hit their average of ~33% they would have gotten an additional 2-3 themselves.

So it still would have been a double digit differential if both teams hit those per typical rates.


The Mavs actually took more free throws than the Celtics did, but they went 16/24 on them, whereas the Celtics went 19/20.


Doncic had a triple double, but the rest of his team wasn't helping him as much as they needed. This seems to be another case of a single star player (though they also have Kyrie) not being enough to overcome a fully well built team. We'll see how the rest of the series goes though.

 

[Jon]

Just me talking to myself here I see.

The Celtics went up 2-0 last night on one of their worst shooting nights in recent memory, going only 10/39 from 3 point range. That's average for the number of 3s taken, but 4-5 more misses than typical (and that's while hitting a bunch toward the end of the game). Just getting their average in would have given them a score of 117 or 120. This also isn't a case of better defense from the Mavs: the Celtics were missing wide open 3s for a good chunk of the game. I think at one point they were 1/11 on open 3s.

Granted the Mavs also shot poorly from range, only going 6/26. They typically take ~33 per game, so they weren't getting as many looks. They were also better defended against, which is why they took fewer than average. However, if they did hit their average of ~33% they would have gotten an additional 2-3 themselves.

So it still would have been a double digit differential if both teams hit those per typical rates.


The Mavs actually took more free throws than the Celtics did, but they went 16/24 on them, whereas the Celtics went 19/20.


Doncic had a triple double, but the rest of his team wasn't helping him as much as they needed. This seems to be another case of a single star player (though they also have Kyrie) not being enough to overcome a fully well built team. We'll see how the rest of the series goes though.

I hope they sweep the Mavs.

 

[A Punched Face]

I think they'll drop at least one to them, probably the next one. Porzingis has a slight injury that could hobble but not keep him out.

 

[Jon]

I think they'll drop at least one to them, probably the next one. Porzingis has a slight injury that could hobble but not keep him out.

I am not a basketball guy, but I'm very happy they are on the verge of winning.

With a young core that isn't one of those "let's try to buy a championship" big threes.

 

[A Punched Face]

I am not a basketball guy, but I'm very happy they are on the verge of winning.

With a young core that isn't one of those "let's try to buy a championship" big threes.

The team is built to essentially have 6 starters with:

Tatum (26)
Brown (27)
Holiday (33)
White (29)
Porzingis (28) /Horford (38)

Porzingis tends to get the nod, but Horford is starter quality. He just happens to be 38 so it makes sense to have him come in off the bench more often than to kill his body.

Then key contributors Hauser (26) and Pritchard (26) are capable but not starters.


So most of the key players are still in their 20s, with Holiday in the tail end of his prime (but still great) and Horford on the tail end of his career (but still really good).


Horford deserves a championship.

 

[shortkut]

I just want Kyrie to lose. Preferably most of the other players on both teams too, but mostly him

 

[A Punched Face]

I just want Kyrie to lose. Preferably most of the other players on both teams too, but mostly him

This is fair.

 

[Jon]

I just want Kyrie to lose. Preferably most of the other players on both teams too, but mostly him

How to tell us you're from New York without saying you're from New York.

 

[shortkut]

How to tell us you're from New York without saying you're from New York.

Also I’m from New York

 

[Jon]

Also I’m from New York

 

[Fire Queen]

How to tell us you're from New York without saying you're from New York.

to be fair i'm also a big kyrie hater but for other reasons (went to duke, thinks the earth is flat, subscribes to anti-semitic conspiracy theories)

the last nba game i went to was when he was with brooklyn playing in charlotte and after he missed a free throw i jeered "MUST HAVE BEEN THE CURVATURE OF THE EARTH HUH"

 

[Jon]

to be fair i'm also a big kyrie hater but for other reasons (went to duke, thinks the earth is flat, subscribes to anti-semitic conspiracy theories)

the last nba game i went to was when he was with brooklyn playing in charlotte and after he missed a free throw i jeered "MUST HAVE BEEN THE CURVATURE OF THE EARTH HUH"

Oh, I despise Kyrie too. So arrogant and not nearly as good as he thinks he is. Among other things.

 

[A Punched Face]

So far this game is going as expected for me. I figured this one would be a loss for the Celtics and it's already looking pretty bad in the first quarter.

 

[A Punched Face]

Wow. Didn't expect the Celtics to come back so quickly. Only down 1 after the first.

Doncic is once again reminding people that while he's incredible at the offensive side of the game, he's a liability on D.

 

[A Punched Face]

Welp. Didn't expect this at all. Tatum is having his best game if the series so far, and helped bring the team back from being down 13 in the first to ending the 3rd up 15.

 

[shortkut]

So far this game is going as expected for me. I figured this one would be a loss for the Celtics and it's already looking pretty bad in the first quarter.

Did they do anything for Jerry West before the game?

 

[A Punched Face]

Did they do anything for Jerry West before the game?

They did, yeah. Had a whole montage about him.

What a crazy recent time for NBA history with both him and Walton.

 

[A Punched Face]

Celtics were on their way to blowing it, but then Doncic tried to play D and ended up fouling out with over 4 minutes left.

 

[Benzine]

celts did not deserve that win

 

[Benzine]

took a punt today though (don't so much nowadays, and especially less with wife still jobless), that was nice

 

[A Punched Face]

celts did not deserve that win

I'd go so far to say that Doncic doesn't deserve to win any games with how he's responding now. Multiple times in the game he decided it was more worth his time to complain to the refs and stay on the offensive side of the court than to get back and provide any semblance of a defense. Even just being a body that took up space could have prevented at least 6 or 7 points on easy shots that were wide open because the Celtics were playing 5 on 4 at those moments.

When he did try to do something other that stay back and complain, he put himself in bad positions where he was able to be exploited on the floor, and it resulted in him fouling out very early.


I definitely prefer him to Kyrie still, but man.


Also funny to see it at this point when tons of people over the internet kept saying "The Celtics haven't been tested this whole playoffs! The Mavs will cruise to a win!"

 

[Jon]

I'll take a Celtics win, regardless of how they got there.

 

[A Punched Face]

I'll take a Celtics win, regardless of how they got there.

This last game was an example of what they'd been doing the past few years: poor start to the game and a poor finish to the game. That they were able to hold on in the end is a very good sign.

I don't know what to expect for Game 4. I can say I'd love for a sweep to happen, but I'd also love for the team to win on home court. However: the Celtics are now 7-0 in the playoffs on the road this year. 8-2 at home.

 

[A Punched Face]

So is this game gonna be the loss? Down double digits after one.

 

[A Punched Face]

Yeah there's no chance this will be a sweep.

Win it in Boston.

 

[A Punched Face]

Well this game is going so much better than the last. Maybe they did want to win for 617

 

[A Punched Face]

Tatum needs 3 more boards to get a triple double. He's still the top scorer in the game despite only having 20 points.

 

[A Punched Face]

Also Derrick White had his two front teeth smashed lol. He's gonna need some fakes soon