Seems like another loss for Pelicans, so unfair, hope the league still allows them into the playoffs as they are so exciting and young.
Zion’s +/- in the bubble is ridiculous.
Zion’s +/- in the bubble is ridiculous.
NBA 2019-2020
- Thread starter altodevil
- Start date
Dame was ice cold today in a HUGE win!
Melo was great as well and his defense has been good in the bubble so props to him as well.
Nurkic though to me has been huge for the blazers! such a difference in comparison to whiteside.
@Sarni I dont want to jinx it but it looks like your boys are well positioned to make the playoffs
As for the Pelicans they had the easiest run in to go on and make the playoffs and they blew it.
I dont want to single out Zo but.. Wtf happened in the bubble? He was playing out of his mind before the Rona caused the NBA to shut down. He has been terrible to say the very least. He is capable of much more and needs to do much better.
Also think they could part ways with Gentry because he has a lot of blame in this mess as well.
Melo was great as well and his defense has been good in the bubble so props to him as well.
Nurkic though to me has been huge for the blazers! such a difference in comparison to whiteside.
@Sarni I dont want to jinx it but it looks like your boys are well positioned to make the playoffs
As for the Pelicans they had the easiest run in to go on and make the playoffs and they blew it.
I dont want to single out Zo but.. Wtf happened in the bubble? He was playing out of his mind before the Rona caused the NBA to shut down. He has been terrible to say the very least. He is capable of much more and needs to do much better.
Also think they could part ways with Gentry because he has a lot of blame in this mess as well.
Ouch, petty jab there. Doc takes out PG near the end to help Portland get to the playoffs yet they still bottle it. Imagine teams in the west helping you qualify and you still manage to bottle it.
Imagine NBA actually making up rules to get you into the playoffs and then giving you the easiest calendar possible and all you can do is beat a team whose best player is Ish Smith and a team on a back to back with less than 24 hours of rest.
No worries about Portland, we’ve still gone 4-2 against one of the hardest schedules out there and been one of the best teams in the bubble. Pelicans have been second worst above only the mighty Wizards.
Last edited:
I’d feel much better about it if we beat Clippers to go over Memphis. As things stand we both have two games left and we have to do better than them to go into play-in tournament without having to beat them twice. They are playing Celtics and Bucks and we are playing Mavs and Nets, with current standings none of those teams can move higher or lower. We could probably beat Memphis twice but it won’t be easy. Once will be very doable.
Hard to reply to you when you're constantly editing your comment.
Mate, even last night Portland in all their strength had barely won against a Sixers team that's without their 2 best players in Simmons and Embiid. Not to mention that they also scraped a win against a Nuggets team that was without 4 starters with Jokic on restricted minutes ffs.
Having one of the best backcourt duo's in the league but still struggling to make the 8th seed in a situation where west top teams are basically letting you win because they believe you'd be able to give Lakers a run for their money is nothing to be boastful of.
Win is a win, you can only beat what's in front of you and a team with Harris, Richardson and Horford would still spank Pelicans silly (not to mention this Nuggets team is 3-2 in the bubble and has had some good wins as well, they are super deep so having a few players off isn't that bad).
As I said, if NBA hadn't actually given Pelicans that schedule they'd be 0-6 in the bubble because none of the games they lost, aside from the very first one, were particularly close. They got embarrassed by Clippers and Kings, and it wasn't close last night either. All that against by far the easiest schedule anyone has got in there.
Imagine if all you can beat is this Wizards team and Memphis on back to back with less than 24 hours rest (they were the first team to be asked to play b2b in the bubble, another blatant advantage NBA has given Pelicans in order to get Zion into playoffs). The league has literally done everything in their power to give Pelicans a chance and they've gone 2-4.
Sure, a win is a win, but one thing is to win being a better team on the given night but being gifted the win because other top teams want you to qualify is a whole another thing all together. Oh yeah, that Nuggets team was also on the b2b on top of missing 4 starters and Jokic being on restricted minutes. A mighty endeavour that W for Portland was indead.Win is a win, you can only beat what's in front of you and a team with Harris, Richardson and Horford would still spank Pelicans silly (not to mention this Nuggets team is 3-2 in the bubble and has had some good wins as well, they are super deep so having a few players off isn't that bad).
As I said, if NBA hadn't actually given Pelicans that schedule they'd be 0-6 in the bubble because none of the games they lost, aside from the very first one, were particularly close. They got embarrassed by Clippers and Kings, and it wasn't close last night either. All that against by far the easiest schedule anyone has got in there.
Imagine if all you can beat is this Wizards team and Memphis on back to back with less than 24 hours rest (they were the first team to be asked to play b2b in the bubble, another blatant advantage NBA has given Pelicans in order to get Zion into playoffs). The league has literally done everything in their power to give Pelicans a chance and they've gone 2-4.
Also that rethoric can be just as easily applied to Portland, with no restart Portland wouldn't even have had a chance to fight for the 8th seed. Iirc Portland was occupying 9th or 10th spot. If anything the whole restart goes into their hands because they're close to full strength.
Well with no restart there'd be no playoffs at all. We were 2.5 games behind Memphis with 18 games to go, if I remember correctly, so still within a chance if season continued as normal.
Pelicans have been gifted a schedule because NBA wanted them to qualify and gone 2-4. It doesn't get any more embarrassing than that, honestly. But you probably still reckon they deserved to be in the playoffs because they are exciting and young.
There was a strong current that was advocating for playoffs to be held with seeding to stay the same as it were prior to the stopage and I'm sure you're well aware of it. Would be hard for Portland to qualify back then considering they had no Collins, no Nurkic and Melo was missing the ocean from a boat.
It amazes me that you can honestly advocate that the NBA is pushing NOLA when it's quite obvious that both Portland and NOLA had benefited from the restart. You said it yourself, Portland are a better team.
Hey at least i said I'd want them in the playoffs based on what they did this season as a young team, whilst you want Portland to qualify because they played in the conference finals LAST season. Let's go full crazy, give it to Portland because they've won the chip in '77
, who says no?But on a serious note, Pelicans have to fire Gentry. They've been embarrassing on defense in the bubble, Lonzo has been beyond awful (looks like he doesn't belong in the same league), Zion's defense has been beyond embarrassing and if all he can provide is top level offense he's going to go the same way of Okafor (who was also a brilliant offensive player in the post since day 1 but it did not amount to anything because of his lack of effort on defense). They need a younger coach that will make those players more enthusiastic, like Kenny Atkinson or something.
Also it'd probably be a good idea to trade Jrue and get some younger talent back. It's looking less and less likely that their timeline will align with his, at 30 he can play at this level for 2-4 more years but it's better if he can do that at a competitive team while they go into proper rebuild, their ceiling during those years will not get higher than first round exit.
Also it'd probably be a good idea to trade Jrue and get some younger talent back. It's looking less and less likely that their timeline will align with his, at 30 he can play at this level for 2-4 more years but it's better if he can do that at a competitive team while they go into proper rebuild, their ceiling during those years will not get higher than first round exit.
There was a strong current that was advocating for playoffs to be held with seeding to stay the same as it were prior to the stopage and I'm sure you're well aware of it. Would be hard for Portland to qualify back then considering they had no Collins, no Nurkic and Melo was missing the ocean from a boat.
It amazes me that you can honestly advocate that the NBA is pushing NOLA when it's quite obvious that both Portland and NOLA had benefited from the restart. You said it yourself, Portland are a better team.
Hey at least i said I'd want them in the playoffs based on what they did this season as a young team, whilst you want Portland to qualify because they played in the conference finals LAST season. Let's go full crazy, give it to Portland because they've won the chip in '77
I actually wanted them to skip the seeding games and go straight into playoffs to be honest. Turned out I was wrong as seeding games ended up plenty of fun, and made some unexpected young teams emerge as playoffs contenders like Phoenix.
What have Pelicans actually done this season as a young team? You can't possibly be serious about it, can you? They've had a terrible season before the lockdown, and have been even worse since. I can't believe you actually said that. Grizzlies as a young team have done far more than Pelicans have.
Portland will (likely) get into play-in game because they managed to hold close while having half of the team injured, and have been good after restart with whole team available. It's been a tough season riddled by injuries but if we get there in the end, it will be deserved. As I said, at full strength this is a 45-48 win team as proven before. Pelicans in current form at full strength are maybe a 36-37 win team at best (post restart team is maybe a 25 win team).
If we want to allow a young team in to get experience based on what they've done this season it would have to be Memphis, who were close to having a winning record before lockdown and have beaten some very good teams while playing exciting basketball with rookie Ja and young Jaren leading them (+ Brooks, Allen, Clarke) or Phoenix who started off very well, faded because of Ayton's 25-game ban but have been amazing since restart - again, led by Booker (amazing season), Ayton and some other young talent + Rubio. Definitely not Pelicans who have really done shit this season, they've had maybe two good games against good teams all season long, honestly! I get they look exciting on paper and have had all the hype in the world but based on this season all they deserve is Gentry getting fired and the whole team getting told to put some fecking effort in.
I won't mind if Phoenix overtake us, they will have deserved it. Will be hard though as they have to go 3-0 now and count on us losing a game (or 2-1 and count on us losing both, which probably won't happen). As fun as Grizzlies have been all season, without Jaren I don't really want them in the playoffs as they will get eaten alive by Lakers. I'll be hoping for them to get some lottery luck and finish in top 4 though, as unlikely as it is for what will be 14th best lottery odds (if they don't get it they lose their pick... on the other hand if they do they will lose 2021 pick and no. 20 in 2021 will probably be better than no. 8 in 2020).
I won't mind if Phoenix overtake us, they will have deserved it. Will be hard though as they have to go 3-0 now and count on us losing a game (or 2-1 and count on us losing both, which probably won't happen). As fun as Grizzlies have been all season, without Jaren I don't really want them in the playoffs as they will get eaten alive by Lakers. I'll be hoping for them to get some lottery luck and finish in top 4 though, as unlikely as it is for what will be 14th best lottery odds (if they don't get it they lose their pick... on the other hand if they do they will lose 2021 pick and no. 20 in 2021 will probably be better than no. 8 in 2020).
Look tbch if i could choose i wouldn't have any of those 3 (NOLA, Memphis, Portland) teams in the playoffs due to my personal dislike towards them. But out of those 3 i dislike NOLA the least. Also team that has Favours, fkin Okafor and that 3rd lad as their C options and are still in the playoff contention get my vote.
Also they did play some nice stuff during the regular season, they managed to surprise some teams when no one expected them to do anything significant.
They were expected to win 40 games this season according to bookies, so it's not like they were some massive underdogs. They've won 7 games against teams with above .500 record. They've definitely underpeformed considerably compared to expectations.
Now, Grizzlies were expected to be the worst team in the NBA according to their line.
Do agree about Memphis, out of the 3 they've showed the most though i don't like them. Phoenix is a good shout but Ayton using PED's and getting banned makes it hard to give them a voice. Them being even that close to the playoffs is huge considering what a dumpster-fire that whole organisation has been in the recent times.
Speaking of dumpster-fire organisations Sixers got to be mentioned. They've pretty much fecked themselves into oblivion due to their unwillingness to break the process and choose between Embiid and Simmons because it's fairly obvious that they can't fulfill their potential playing alongside one another on top of both of them being injury prone.
That was fkin rich from the bookies considering Williamson got injured in the preseason. Thicc boy also missed like 2/3 of the season. Poor bastards had Melli playing significant minutes at one point
and Ball/Ingram both of whom if the reports are to believed weren't at all happy about the prospect of playing for NOLA.Worse than Cleveland, New York, Atlanta or are you referring to West only?
That was fkin rich from the bookies considering Williamson got injured in the preseason. Thicc boy also missed like 2/3 of the season. Poor bastards had Melli playing significant minutes at one point
Worse than Cleveland, New York, Atlanta or are you referring to West only?
Hornets (23.5), Wizards (26.5) and Cavaliers (24.5) had lower lines than them (26.5 - 27.5) but Knicks (27.5) and Hawks (33.5) actually had higher lines. Hawks were expected to do quite well.
Watching NOLA is really odd these days. Zion gets a point per minute but the team as a whole looks significantly worse with him lumbering about on defense in recent games. It's baffling. Can't say I feel bad for them, although I do for Zion, he needs to sort a bunch of things out and the circujmstances aren't helping, of course. The NBA clearly tried to pull all levers to somehow get their newest mega cash cow into the playoffs. Zion vs. Lebron, the headlines and bullshit takes would write themselves, the millions would flow, people would tune in etc.... So in a way I am glad NOLA fecked up. Memphis deserves the spot in my opinion, but I'd be all for more Dame time as well.
In unrelated news: Doncic vs. the Bucks was one of the greatest individual performances I've seen in a while. Poing Guard Perfection is what that was.
In unrelated news: Doncic vs. the Bucks was one of the greatest individual performances I've seen in a while. Poing Guard Perfection is what that was.
Horford and Harris were bad moves for them. One is a bad fit and the other is vastly overpaid (though he'd have got the same deal on the market). That Harris trade in general was horrible, the package offered was close to what you'd normally give away for a star and he's not a star. Shrewd move by Clippers though, those were two great weeks for them - getting Shamet and two picks for Harris and then getting Zubac for Muscala (that was ridiculous) which essentially meant they received Shamet, Zubac and two first round picks for expiring Harris who they wouldn't have extended anyway considering their pursuit of Kawhi.
Sixers had been sitting on assets for too long which hurt them too. Maybe not to same extent that Celtics managed to depreciate their Kings/Grizzlies picks as assets but still.
I watched the second half of the Pelicans yesterday and thought Zion was slightly unlucky with the +/-. NOP had their best period for making 3 pointers with him off the team, and the opposite was true for Spurs when he came back on. Possibly that’s on him but I couldn’t tell why from watching.
I’ve only watched him in the bubble, and don’t get the hype at all, but they showed a stat at the end that his +/- is still the highest of any rookie in the NBA this season. But still... what kind of player is he supposed to become? His game just looks a bit unrefined, I don’t see what he’s amazing at other than dominating in the paint. Is that enough for the hype?
I’ve only watched him in the bubble, and don’t get the hype at all, but they showed a stat at the end that his +/- is still the highest of any rookie in the NBA this season. But still... what kind of player is he supposed to become? His game just looks a bit unrefined, I don’t see what he’s amazing at other than dominating in the paint. Is that enough for the hype?
At his best he's going to be too strong and heavy for any perimeter defenders to guard but too fast and agile for any post defenders to guard. Basically the only matchup for him in the league will be someone like Giannis, who's a taller, as athletic and as agile as him. He's still got a lot of work to become a star but he's got the tools and his physical attributes are like nothing we'd ever seen before.
Both are overpaid if you ask me. Adding Horford (who can provide a bit of spacing but nothing significantly more than Embiid) on a mammoth contact to a team that sorely lacked shooting is mind boggling.
It's Larry West after all, a man is a genius. Difference between him and Ainge is that Ainge gotta win every trade which means he'll miss out on some players that would benefit the team, whilst West knows when he gotta "lose" the trade in order to help the team in the long run.
They will have to choose soon or will end up in a limbo.
He's a spectacular athlete pretty much. Unprecedented combination of strength, agility and quickness for his weight/size. Though i believe he will have to lose quite a bit of weight in order to prolong his career and be more impactful defensively. Good at finishing at the rim, but still has to make leaps and bounds with his shooting. Has good vision and can pick a pass.
Looks like Portland vs Memphis for the #8 seed, can't see past Portland especially if they end 8th instead of Memphis.
A series with the Lakers would be interesting for sure, but I'd take the easier team with Memphis tbh.
A series with the Lakers would be interesting for sure, but I'd take the easier team with Memphis tbh.
Whoever is the 8th seed will be favorites but if it’s Portland they will be hugely overwhelming favorites. IMO:
Portland 8 v Memphis 9: 90/10
Memphis 8 v Portland 9: 60/40
Memphis 8 v Phoenix 9: 65/35
Portland 8 v Phoenix 9: 75/25
Phoenix can’t be 8th anymore.
fecking hell Ayton, how do you even forget to turn up for a freaking test?!
6-0!
I count you at 7-0 already, Philly are sitting everybody tonight. And to be fair I don’t really see Mavs playing their best players on Thursday so may as well congratulate you on going 8-0 in the bubble! Of all teams I did not expect Phoenix to do it.
Memphis have the tie breaker over you so you have to count on Portland losing one of two remaining games. It’s possible. Even Walmart Nets don’t look like a certain win to me anymore, they are 5-2 in the bubble!
Last edited:
Lillard, Booker, Warren, Porter, Jokic. Easy. Booker gets the All-Bubble award. Porter ROTB. Warren most improved. Honorable mention to Trent.
I wonder what odds we would have got for Phoenix overtaking Memphis. It hasn’t happened yet but it looks like they will win tonight to go 7-0 in the bubble while Memphis will lose to go 1-6. The only scenarios in which Suns go above Grizzlies were Suns 7-1 or better + Grizzlies 0-8 and Suns 8-0 + Grizzlies 1-7 or worse.
Horford is a horrible fit and vastly over-paid! I only watched a bit of their playoff run last year but I thought it was Butler who they learned on to create offense when things got tough, they kept the wrong player!
I like Harris he's done an amazing job going from a journeyman to a legit star, but he's just about a star, he's not in easily and some will deny him the status.
Philly is still too young, how many stars won titles at the age of Embiid?
Best game of the bubble. Back and forth and lots of drama.
Dame was unconscious. He is serious.
Melo was Huge for them tonight. He has been a fantastic addition for this team.
CJ was simply pathetic. He could not buy a shot this game. Could just be every time I watch but CJ just does not scream "star player for me" I very well could be wrong though as I dont follow Portland enough but every time I watch him thats the vibe I get.
Welp it's all in Portlands hands now.
Dame got that mentality that I love in a player. Let his team down vs clippers and got clowned for it and then goes and drops 51 and then 61. Dude is a baller.
Where do you think he ranks amongst the all time best Portland players of all time?
Dame was unconscious. He is serious.
Melo was Huge for them tonight. He has been a fantastic addition for this team.
CJ was simply pathetic. He could not buy a shot this game. Could just be every time I watch but CJ just does not scream "star player for me" I very well could be wrong though as I dont follow Portland enough but every time I watch him thats the vibe I get.
Welp it's all in Portlands hands now.
Dame got that mentality that I love in a player. Let his team down vs clippers and got clowned for it and then goes and drops 51 and then 61. Dude is a baller.
Where do you think he ranks amongst the all time best Portland players of all time?
And it's 7!
Last day of the final game will be huge with 4 teams still able to make the play in the West.
Last day of the final game will be huge with 4 teams still able to make the play in the West.
Blazers play last so we will know where we are. Huge game from Dame last night, 61 points in efficient shooting while CJ was comically bad so he basically did the job for the two of them. He’s been so fired up ever since Beverley/George rift, probably going for 40+ against Nets as well.
Suns and Grizzlies play at the same time, I feel Grizzlies are going to pull it off for two reasons: Bucks will rest their best players (Giannis will probably be suspended for the incident yesterday) and Jenkins is a good friend of Bud, so they will take it lightly. Will be a shame if Suns manage to go 8-0 in the bubble and still miss out. Even if both win at 10, Suns can still hope Blazers don’t win their game but since it is against Nets it’s probably more likely they will take care of business.
Fecking hell Lillard, chill out.
Suns vs Blazers play-in could potentially be great, but Memphis stands no chance against Portland right now. Really don't fancy them in the first round, they're on fire right now and the Lakers have looked quite lethargic since they didn't have anything to play for in the seeding games. If we don't immediately are on our game we could easily fall behind in the series.
Suns vs Blazers play-in could potentially be great, but Memphis stands no chance against Portland right now. Really don't fancy them in the first round, they're on fire right now and the Lakers have looked quite lethargic since they didn't have anything to play for in the seeding games. If we don't immediately are on our game we could easily fall behind in the series.
This is nuts:
I highly doubt the blazers don’t win vs Nets.
Dame is a man on a mission! He has been playing out his mind.
Nah, our defense is atrocious. Lakers will get it in 6 maximum. Lillard will go for 50+ in one game, CJ will play well in maybe 2.
I think we'll make it hard for ourselves. Definitely not a straightforward 15-point blowout and I expect us to be down by 10 at some point during game.