NBA 2018-2019

Revan said:
Just watched the highlights of Toronto vs 76ers match. Kawhi with one of the most not-Kawhi performances I have seen. He took 39 shots, that is Kobe-level.

76ers must feel gutted to lose in the last second by one of the luckiest bounces I've seen. Still credit to Raptors and to Kawhi who has transformed them. Will be fun to watch him vs Giannis.
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Kawhi realized that unless he gets the job done they're going out. It was the correct choice.

His supporting cast at Clippers, barring some serious other additions, is going to be possibly less talented than the one he has at Toronto but has so much more fight in them that he will enjoy playing with them much, much more I believe.
 
Eboue said:
I think the east will be a good series. Toronto is better than they looked, Philadelphia is just bad matchup for them. I probably wont even watch the west unless it's close in the 4th quarter.
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You're being silly
 
Sarni said:
Kawhi realized that unless he gets the job done they're going out. It was the correct choice.

His supporting cast at Clippers, barring some serious other additions, is going to be possibly less talented than the one he has at Toronto but has so much more fight in them that he will enjoy playing with them much, much more I believe.
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Well yeah, they won and that is all that matters. Lowry also was shooting very badly.

Still, 39 shots is a bit ridiculous, but it is one-off for Kawhi who is one of the most efficient players in the league (counting only high-volume players and not centres). Like Steph though, it is very adorable to see these players who are shooting really bad but don't lose any confidence in their shooting and continue doing so.
 
Revan said:
Just watched the highlights of Toronto vs 76ers match. Kawhi with one of the most not-Kawhi performances I have seen. He took 39 shots, that is Kobe-level.

76ers must feel gutted to lose in the last second by one of the luckiest bounces I've seen. Still credit to Raptors and to Kawhi who has transformed them. Will be fun to watch him vs Giannis.
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This is interesting in the context of David West and LeBron's tweet about analytics.
 
Revan said:
Well yeah, they won and that is all that matters. Lowry also was shooting very badly.

Still, 39 shots is a bit ridiculous, but it is one-off for Kawhi who is one of the most efficient players in the league (counting only high-volume players and not centres). Like Steph though, it is very adorable to see these players who are shooting really bad but don't lose any confidence in their shooting and continue doing so.
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I think with Lowry that kind of performance was more or less what you can expect from him in the playoffs these days. He will have one, maybe two good games in a 7-game series and that is about it.
 
Apparently KD might be out until game 5 or even longer. If that is the case if we could steal one of the games in Oakland we might have a shot at causing one of the biggest upsets ever here.

Green is on two technicals and I think you miss a game after your fourth. We should be doing everything in our power to get him to commit 4. Put Collins and Meyers on him and get under his skin.
 
Sarni said:
Apparently KD might be out until game 5 or even longer. If that is the case if we could steal one of the games in Oakland we might have a shot at causing one of the biggest upsets ever here.

Green is on two technicals and I think you miss a game after your fourth. We should be doing everything in our power to get him to commit 4. Put Collins and Meyers on him and get under his skin.
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You're being silly.
 
Sarni said:
Apparently KD might be out until game 5 or even longer. If that is the case if we could steal one of the games in Oakland we might have a shot at causing one of the biggest upsets ever here.

Green is on two technicals and I think you miss a game after your fourth. We should be doing everything in our power to get him to commit 4. Put Collins and Meyers on him and get under his skin.
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Durant has a history of these calf sprains. If you remember the last one he had in 2017 was also considered "mild" and actually happened in the playoffs vs Portland. He missed 8 days. I think KD's return will depend on how the series is going. IMLTHO I don't think you'll see him back before game 3 no matter what happens but if it's a split or the Blazers win both I think you'll see him next Saturday for game 3. If the Dubs win the first two I don't think you'll see him until game 4. If the Dubs go up 3-0 you may not see him at all depending on the outcome of game 4.
 
charlton66 said:
Durant has a history of these calf sprains. If you remember the last one he had in 2017 was also considered "mild" and actually happened in the playoffs vs Portland. He missed 8 days. I think KD's return will depend on how the series is going. IMLTHO I don't think you'll see him back before game 3 no matter what happens but if it's a split or the Blazers win both I think you'll see him next Saturday for game 3. If the Dubs win the first two I don't think you'll see him until game 4. If the Dubs go up 3-0 you may not see him at all depending on the outcome of game 4.
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Yeah I think so. All these calf sprains are apparently different though. I think if we win one in Oakland he will be back for Game 3 for sure, unless he really really can’t play.

I would give us 5% chance. Any win from here is a bonus, we have already exceeded the expectations.
 
Sarni said:
His supporting cast at Clippers, barring some serious other additions, is going to be possibly less talented than the one he has at Toronto but has so much more fight in them that he will enjoy playing with them much, much more I believe.
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Much more fight? Just because we missed shots or Kawhi took a ton in Game 7 doesn't mean that we have less fight than the Clippers. Our defensive intensity was off the charts throughout the series. The only issue was the lack of points off of the bench and the supporting cast, but I don't see how that can be attributed to a lack of fight.
 
Playoffs really are like a different sport. You can put up all the gaudy numbers in the regular season but the playoffs reveal a players and teams true level. Defense actually occuring, it is a beautiful thing to see, points have to be earned, the mid range is reinstated in the game, it is a tough, physical game, a proper contest is allowed.

Love it.
 
Bobski said:
Playoffs really are like a different sport. You can put up all the gaudy numbers in the regular season but the playoffs reveal a players and teams true level. Defense actually occuring, it is a beautiful thing to see, points have to be earned, the mid range is reinstated in the game, it is a tough, physical game, a proper contest is allowed.

Love it.
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Couldn't agree more. Shots like Curry's, CJ's, Kwahi's in the face of all that defensive intensity are just beautiful. Jimmy Butler's layup where he had a subtle push on the defender to hold him off was awesome.

Even Harden whose game I dislike the most, the way he was getting by AI or Klay for that little floater was basketball at its best.
 
mav_9me said:
Couldn't agree more. Shots like Curry's, CJ's, Kwahi's in the face of all that defensive intensity are just beautiful. Jimmy Butler's layup where he had a subtle push on the defender to hold him off was awesome.

Even Harden whose game I dislike the most, the way he was getting by AI or Klay for that little floater was basketball at its best.
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When it is too easy to score it is not fun. Defense has to be valued by the league more than it is in the regular season. Marc Gasol gave Embiid fits, little knows Torrey Craig was immense against Lillard for the Nuggets, Kawhi is by some distance the best 2 way player in the game, watching Simmons and Butler go against him at both ends was brilliant, intrigued by how the Bucks and the Raptors contest each other, 2 great defensive teams when they are allowed to be.
 
Eboue said:
I think the east will be a good series. Toronto is better than they looked, Philadelphia is just bad matchup for them. I probably wont even watch the west unless it's close in the 4th quarter.
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Good analysis. I think the Raptors match up well against the Bucks. I think Bucks will win it but it will be Raps in the finals if their bench comes up big like in game 5.
 
mazhar13 said:
Much more fight? Just because we missed shots or Kawhi took a ton in Game 7 doesn't mean that we have less fight than the Clippers. Our defensive intensity was off the charts throughout the series. The only issue was the lack of points off of the bench and the supporting cast, but I don't see how that can be attributed to a lack of fight.
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I wouldn’t question the defensive effort but on the offense it just seemed everyone was afraid to take a shot. Sixers were the same though. Both teams panicked.
 
Bobski said:
Playoffs really are like a different sport. You can put up all the gaudy numbers in the regular season but the playoffs reveal a players and teams true level. Defense actually occuring, it is a beautiful thing to see, points have to be earned, the mid range is reinstated in the game, it is a tough, physical game, a proper contest is allowed.

Love it.
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Portland v Denver had five made threes last night. Would have never happened in regular season but the defense was so intense and the stakes so high that players missed easy looks.
 
mazhar13 said:
Much more fight? Just because we missed shots or Kawhi took a ton in Game 7 doesn't mean that we have less fight than the Clippers. Our defensive intensity was off the charts throughout the series. The only issue was the lack of points off of the bench and the supporting cast, but I don't see how that can be attributed to a lack of fight.
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True, raps have a lot of fight but shooting was dreadful. Fix that, and finals are a real possibility.
 
Sarni said:
it just seemed everyone was afraid to take a shot.
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That's because the shooting was dreadful for at least 3 games of the series. Big disappointment for the Raps, but didn't matter in the end. It will definitely matter against the Bucks.
 
Fridge chutney said:
Good analysis. I think the Raptors match up well against the Bucks. I think Bucks will win it but it will be Raps in the finals if their bench comes up big like in game 5.
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Bucks have cruised through the playoffs so far. Raptors will be much tougher than Celtics and Pistons were but I hope they still come out on top. Giannis supporting cast is just much, much better overall and their bench has significantly more depth.

I was hoping Bucks would play Sixers though as those regular season games had great intensity, on the other hand Sixers bench would get smoked even more than they got against Raps.
 
Sarni said:
Bucks have cruised through the playoffs so far. Raptors will be much tougher than Celtics and Pistons were but I hope they still come out on top. Giannis supporting cast is just much, much better overall and their bench has significantly more depth.

I was hoping Bucks would play Sixers though as those regular season games had great intensity, on the other hand Sixers bench would get smoked even more than they got against Raps.
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For the west, this was the best possible outcome. It should be a tough series.
 
Fridge chutney said:
True, raps have a lot of fight but shooting was dreadful. Fix that, and finals are a real possibility.
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Fridge chutney said:
That's because the shooting was dreadful for at least 3 games of the series. Big disappointment for the Raps, but didn't matter in the end. It will definitely matter against the Bucks.
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Yeah but what is it about them that makes them so scared in the playoffs? It’s like there’s a scar from those LeBron disappointments year after year. Lowry is a shell of a player he is in regular season, even Gasol looked very limited on offense. VanVleet cannot make anything and Green took three shots last night. It’s like they are terrified of losing which makes them go into hiding in crucial moments. That’s no way to win a championship. They would have lost last night if Sixers had some bottle (or bench), those three lost possessions in a row were criminal regardless how good Toronto defense was on each of them. Inexcusable.
 
It is ridiculous that Sixers got outscored by over a hundred in less than a hundred minutes Embiid wasn’t on the floor against Toronto. I get that there has to be a drop off when a player like him goes off but it can’t be a minus one point per minute!!
 
Fridge chutney said:
For the west, this was the best possible outcome. It should be a tough series.
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Bucks v Sixers would have been a lengthy series too.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Blazers v Warriors carry on for the same number of games as ECF.
 
Sarni said:
Yeah but what is it about them that makes them so scared in the playoffs? It’s like there’s a scar from those LeBron disappointments year after year. Lowry is a shell of a player he is in regular season, even Gasol looked very limited on offense. VanVleet cannot make anything and Green took three shots last night. It’s like they are terrified of losing which makes them go into hiding in crucial moments. That’s no way to win a championship. They would have lost last night if Sixers had some bottle (or bench), those three lost possessions in a row were criminal regardless how good Toronto defense was on each of them. Inexcusable.
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Toronto has never had success in NBA. The players aren't used to winning or being champions. That's why getting someone like Kawhi was so huge for the franchise. It's no coincidence that he's been their best player by far and dragged them over the line. He teaches others how to win and hopefully it rubs off.
 
Fridge chutney said:
Toronto has never had success in NBA. The players aren't used to winning or being champions. That's why getting someone like Kawhi was so huge for the franchise. It's no coincidence that he's been their best player by far and dragged them over the line. He teaches others how to win and hopefully it rubs off.
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Indeed. He’s amazing. I think he will leave in the Summer (70/30 Clippers v Raptors I would say now) but he was still the right choice. No way they make the ECF with DeRozan here. Even if he leaves you still had some good pieces in Siakam and OG.
 
Sarni said:
Indeed. He’s amazing. I think he will leave in the Summer (70/30 Clippers v Raptors I would say now) but he was still the right choice. No way they make the ECF with DeRozan here. Even if he leaves you still had some good pieces in Siakam and OG.
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Spot on. I actually think it's closer to 50/50 with the key being whether the raptors are competitive and building something Kawhi believes in around him. They've managed his fitness exceptionally well, a big plus for someone who barely played last year.
 
Sarni said:
It is ridiculous that Sixers got outscored by over a hundred in less than a hundred minutes Embiid wasn’t on the floor against Toronto. I get that there has to be a drop off when a player like him goes off but it can’t be a minus one point per minute!!
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:eek:
 
Fridge chutney said:
Spot on. I actually think it's closer to 50/50 with the key being whether the raptors are competitive and building something Kawhi believes in around him. They've managed his fitness exceptionally well, a big plus for someone who barely played last year.
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This is what I think as well. The Clippers are building for the future, whilst the Raptors traded away their future for this season. If we get the championship, Kawhi might stay, but Masai will have to show that he can build a team that can continue to challenge.
 
Fridge chutney said:
Spot on. I actually think it's closer to 50/50 with the key being whether the raptors are competitive and building something Kawhi believes in around him. They've managed his fitness exceptionally well, a big plus for someone who barely played last year.
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Most journos think he has already made up his mind and it won’t change based on success of Raptors in the playoffs or what they do in offseason. I also lean towards that. I think Russillo mentioned that on Bill Simmons podcast, that free agents usually have an idea what they will do and playoffs performances are not going to change much. I agree.

Also some think it won’t be about basketball situation as much as it will be about his private life if he goes to LA. His family lives in California and he just might want to be closer to them.

Let’s see. I think it’s likely that he goes but I could see him surprising everyone and staying like Paul George.
 
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mazhar13 said:
This is what I think as well. The Clippers are building for the future, whilst the Raptors traded away their future for this season. If we get the championship, Kawhi might stay, but Masai will have to show that he can build a team that can continue to challenge.
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Like I said above I’m not sure it will be mostly about basketball. Besides Clippers could have a team ready to compete as soon as next year too, they have lots of flexibility.
 
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