A very close game, but the Rockets manage to stave off a Spurs comeback attempt at the very end. Heine with a very good 21/8/12 (with 5 steals and 7 blocks), but the Spurs probably need him to score more if they want a chance of matching weeweetee and Lil' V.O., who provided 26/11/11 and a ridiculous 23/23/3 (with 7 blocks) themselves.
Oof, that's not good for the 76ers! John Collins is by some measures the single best player on Philadelphia - and certainly he's the defensive linchpin. The fact that the game went to OT despite the 76ers missing him for half the match is at least promising. They might still have a chance, but it's going to be a challenge. Still, if they get within 4 points when Dan II shoots 2-11 from three...
Another great game by Heine and Jamal Murray, but a monster game by weeweetee. 49/19/4 is silly. What's more silly is that he and Lil' V.O. combined for 39 rebounds, 5 fewer than the entire Spurs team (and 1 more offensive rebound).
Sonius with a middling game, and I guess the 76ers really do still have a chance. Kevin Knox and Devin Booker were in a shot off, but the decisive factor might have been Dan II finding his shot. It's game on!
The Rockets must be very pleased to see that they can win even when one of their two stars has a bit of an off night. As long as literally anyone else on the team manages to have an okay game, they can win. This one must hurt for the Spurs, though. Heine had a 21/19/9/6/8 game, and the rest of the starters played pretty well too, but still it wasn't enough. If the Spurs want to have a chance, they might need Heine to take twice as many shots. That might get in the way of his herculean defensive effort, though.
Collins-less Philly are in the lead! I think I called the Sacramento Kings the deepest team in the league earlier, but it might actually be the Philadelphia 76ers. They've got fewer decent players, but their entire starting 5 is capable of having very good games. Dan II had the 4th best GameScore on the team, and it was plenty enough. Like Heine in the other series, the Pacers might need Sonius to shoot even more. He'd ideally hit more of the threes, though.
It's a sweep! This one has to feel good for the Rockets. While this isn't the same Spurs as the one that terrorized weeweetee and Lil' V.O. for so many years, it's still a pretty damn solid team. And the Rockets themselves aren't the team they were during the height of that rivalry either, just take a look at their regular season record. Heine again had a very good game, but he just can't be expected to outscore both of the other team's superstars.
This game came purely down to the 3rd quarter, with all other quarters ending tied. Sonius was certainly the difference this time, particularly defensively. Neither he nor Dan II shot particularly well, but there's a vast gulf in their defensive abilities. That's why John Colling is so important for the 76ers, and this is the exact sort of game they need him to win.
Another close game, and this time Philadelphia come out on top! Most Indiana players had one to forget. The injury may have had an impact too, though they were actually ahead going into the 4th quarter.
3-3! It was a very different game to the last, with the starting 5 of the Pacers all playing decently, and most playing much better than that. This time the 76ers were the ones having games way below their own standards. This has been a great series, and we're going to game 7. It really is anyone's series to win.
It's the Pacers! They're off to their first Final appearance in the NBA era! What's more remarkable is that they weren't even in the playoffs last year, with a 27-58 record. And the last time they made it past the 1st Round was in 2009, fully 15 years ago. Sonius may not have made such a poor free agency decision after all, eh?
It's heartbreak for the Philadelphia 76ers, on the other, who did everything they could to overcome the loss of John Collins in the very first game of the series. Dan II played out of his mind in the last game, putting up 38 points. Still, they beat two good teams to even get there in the first place, and they're getting closer to the Final every year.
Who are the favourites? The Rockets have the superstars, but the Pacers have the depth. The Pacers also have the better regular season record, but given we're about to witness an NBA Final of a 4 seed against a 5 seed, I'm not sure we should pay that too much mind this season.
Nah, Welsh. That bit of commentary is/was well known in Britain as well.
I feel like it was featured on every crap "funny football moments" type VHS that seemingly every 80s/90s kid got from well-meaning but clueless elderly relatives each Christmas.
I’d like to think having FT = very good (don‘t need 100 or nearly that to have good stats there I think) means opponents are simmed to let you rather shoot a lot to avoid gifting freethrows. Would have to check with weetee‘s stats but think that was his design fault.
I’d like to think having FT = very good (don‘t need 100 or nearly that to have good stats there I think) means opponents are simmed to let you rather shoot a lot to avoid gifting freethrows. Would have to check with weetee‘s stats but think that was his design fault.
Perhaps, but it's also possible you often don't take that many because you're shooting 3s. Sometimes you do get quite a few, though, and it's free points.
Perhaps, but it's also possible you often don't take that many because you're shooting 3s. Sometimes you do get quite a few, though, and it's free points.
I have a feeling the midrange shot is important when thinking about "taking a shot" in general. Just a feeling based on who getting the highest amount of points. And also seems like the "V" tag is important
I had to google what "PK spread" meant, and I guess it means that the bookies have no fecking idea who's going to win either!
Indiana draw first blood! Sonius doesn't have the best offensive game, but his defensive contributions are vital for the Pacers. Has to watch those turnovers in future, though. For Houston, Lil' V.O. has the best game by far, with weeweetee scoring fewer than 20 points for only the second time in these entire playoffs - and that was in the first round. The Rockets definitely need his volume scoring to have a chance.
That's more like it from weeweetee! Another good defensive showing from Sonius (9 blocks!), but it wasn't enough to stop weeweetee. When Lil' V.O. backs his teammate's scoring with 29 rebounds and 6 each blocks and steals... yeah the Pacers aren't beating that. Well I say that, but they very nearly did anyway.
The Rockets take the series lead! We can clearly see the danger or relying on "depth" represented in this match. While most of the Pacers played better than most of the Rockets, that's not going to be enough when the other team can put up two or three superstar performances every game. Sonius isn't the scorer to carry the entire Indiana team like that, he needs some help. He's gotten it many times these playoffs, but if they are shut down... well, we get this.
119-116 to the Rockets, so close! Sonius definitely did get the help he needed this time, with Kevin Knox dropping an absurd 52 points on 19 shots. Unfortunately for the Pacers, weeweetee in particular provided a monster performance on the other side, and Lil' V.O. and Tyus Jones both played their part as well. If this is going to be a 4-1 win, it would be deceptively close one. We've seen 3-1 leads turn into 3-4 defeats several times already these playoffs, though, so let's see if the Pacers are up to the challenge.
They might be! A 20-point win from Indiana, again fuelled by Kevin Knox scoring. It's becoming increasingly clear that if Sonius provides the defensive (and something more) and Kevin Knox provides the scoring, the Pacers have the potential to be pretty damn solid. For the Rockets, it seems like they were plenty good enough offensively, but the steal, block and rebound numbers all seem below par.
Houston wins! Lil' V.O. had to go off in the 3rd quarter with a sprained elbow, but by then the Rockets were already well ahead of the Pacers. weeweetee had little trouble chaperoning his teammates over the line to their first ring. And that was off the back of their worst regular season for many years! It's been a long time coming.
I'm sure the Indiana players will feel very disappointed, but considering they weren't even in the playoffs last year, they've got more reason to be proud than anything else. Sonius didn't get his 7th ring (yet, as I'm sure he would add), but he proved that he is (and was) more than the third wheel on the Spurs superteam.
Playoff stats
Playoff leaders
As I mentioned at the top, these stats include the play-in, and it seems like two games is enough to qualify for this list. So sontodevil and Lil-Nut won't be on it, but Nobbers is.
@weetee Fecking finally! Looked like we were in no position to capitalise on the collapse of the evil empire, but we've managed to carry those other three scrubs over the line somehow.
@nimic Have a 48 win team (or worse) won the whole thing before now in the experiment? We're looking like the Greece 2004 of the NBA.
@weetee Fecking finally! Looked like we were in no position to capitalise on the collapse of the evil empire, but we've managed to carry those other three scrubs over the line somehow.
@nimic Have a 48 win team (or worse) won the whole thing before now in the experiment? We're looking like the Greece 2004 of the NBA.
Brooklyn is the worst team in the league, but then they did draft Magic Johnson. One of you will get to play with him, but... it's not you. It could be worse for you, though.
MVP and DPOY, joining the greats now I can live with not getting a ring, for this seasom…
Memphis should be a great spot to end up tbh, with Wemby and enough cap to get 2 of the listed players / get depth.
I read that we re-signed Murray from this, hoped we would have some cap for a good center, but wasnt to be :/ We need to trade Ant most likely, unless he develops well and we can play smallball all the time
I dont think the metrics get any worse than the Pelicans do they
But of course shit facilities only drive players out of teams. Tired of changing in a portacabin at Spurs and Cleveland but apparently happy to downgrade to a truck stop toilet.
I dont think the metrics get any worse than the Pelicans do they
But of course shit facilities only drive players out of teams. Tired of changing in a portacabin at Spurs and Cleveland but apparently happy to downgrade to a truck stop toilet.
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