NBA playoffs 2018: Will the Celtics be Raptored?

[Rhom]

Big question now is how bad is that hammy on CP3?

[DanteGabriel]

2 minutes ago, Rhom said:

Big question now is how bad is that hammy on CP3?

Hamstrings don't ever seem to heal quickly, do they?

[Jaime L]

Wow, crazy intense game.

Draymond with 3 huge screw ups in the last 10 seconds. 1) trying to tip a rebound back out that went to Houston where if he just caught it and went back up, he almost certainly would've scored with where Capela being out of position going for the rebound. 2) Then instead of just rebounding the missed FT and calling a timeout, he passed it, denying GS the ability to get the ball at midcourt. 3) dribbling an easy pass off his knee as GS was bringing it up the court. The last one was like a rookie mistake.

[James Arryn]

That was a terrible game. Refs struggled, stars struggled, Paul’s probably hurt. I would change everything about this game except the W. I honestly...that kind of game kills coaches. You could argue both teams got all the looks they wanted, and yet almost every big moment was on D...but on the other hand I don’t think that was a great defensive game, either. Warriors couldn’t hold onto the ball, Rockets couldn’t shoot straight, and like none of it seemed down to great D, just players fucking up. 

 

Oh, and as an overall sports thing, I would like to ban the whole ‘he wants it’ commentary when guts make shots like Paul made tonight. Guys want it just as bad when they miss, it’s fucking stupid. 

[Jaime L]

5 minutes ago, James Arryn said:

You could argue both teams got all the looks they wanted, and yet almost every big moment was on D...but on the other hand I don’t think that was a great defensive game, either. 

Gotta disagree here JA. Holding GS under 100 two games in a row is borderline impossible and the Rockets did it convincingly. Capela, Ariza, Paul and Tucker are feisty as fuck. PJ Tucker, in particular, has these ninja like double teams out of nowhere that seem to mess with any Warrior who is on the verge of getting an open shot. Sure GS is fucking up plenty, but I do think a lot of it just never having an inch to breathe. Didn't think Houston had this in them defensively so I've been really impressed...at least on that end. 

[Maithanet]

Really hope that the series wasn't decided with that Paul injury though.  Even if he's back at 75-80%, this series is over.  The Rockets are playing great defense and good enough offense, but they have no room for error.  Even with Paul I'd consider this 3-2 series a coin flip. 

If I were Paul/Dantoni, I would seriously consider writing off game 6 and just playing for game 7.  Obviously that depends on the injury, if Paul is fine then no worries or if Paul is hurt enough that an extra couple days makes no difference, then just go all out for both games.  But losing a blowout in game six (particularly if you could get some rest for Harden, Capela, Ariza, etc) isn't the end of the world.  If that's what you need to do to have everyone (relatively) healthy for game 7, then that might be a shot worth taking.  Particularly since I think the Rockets chance of closing it out in GSW (even with Paul at 100%), is very low. 

[sperry]

9 hours ago, James Arryn said:

That was a terrible game. Refs struggled, stars struggled, Paul’s probably hurt. I would change everything about this game except the W. I honestly...that kind of game kills coaches. You could argue both teams got all the looks they wanted, and yet almost every big moment was on D...but on the other hand I don’t think that was a great defensive game, either. Warriors couldn’t hold onto the ball, Rockets couldn’t shoot straight, and like none of it seemed down to great D, just players fucking up. 

 

Oh, and as an overall sports thing, I would like to ban the whole ‘he wants it’ commentary when guts make shots like Paul made tonight. Guys want it just as bad when they miss, it’s fucking stupid. 

 

That was a completely bizarre game. Both teams have looked so out of sorts the past two games that I really can't tell who is the better team, or if both are just playing badly. Obviously guys like Ariza and Tucker have been playing great defense, same for the Warriors guys, but this shooting seems unsustainably low even in the face of great defense.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

10 hours ago, DanteGabriel said:

Hamstrings don't ever seem to heal quickly, do they?

A few years back I had a really bad hamstring pull. I could still feel it six months later doing squats and dead lifts.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

You guys are making way too much noise about the defense this series. It’s unforced turnovers and missing wide open shots that’s killing both teams. Golden State should have won that game by 20 points if they didn’t play like ****.

[Relic]

11 hours ago, DanteGabriel said:

Hamstrings don't ever seem to heal quickly, do they?

It really depends. If he has a second degree strain he's likely done for the season. Even a first degree hammy strain (0 to 5% of the muscle fibers torn) can take anywhere from a coupole of days to a couple of weeks, if not longer, to heal. Bad news for the Rockets, they will need Gordon to be amazing and have to dig someone up off the bench to perform, in all likelihood. 

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

Interesting data: The Warriors averaged 6.9 ISO plays per game during the regular season. They had just 6 ISO plays in the game that eliminated the Pelicans. They’re averaging 20.5 in this series verse the Rockets. Furthermore, Durant has had more ISO plays this series than the entire Warriors team did last year against the Cavs.

If they keep playing like this, they won’t win this series. What made the Warriors so special was their ball movement. Durant is cramping that.

[sperry]

I thought the Warriors would probably win anyway, but it's a shame that this pretty much takes the drama out of it.

[sperry]

Also, my favorite moment from the entire playoffs was Chris Paul openly mocking Steph Curry's smug, douchey ass.

[Maithanet]

4 minutes ago, sperry said:

Also, my favorite moment from the entire playoffs was Chris Paul openly mocking Steph Curry's smug, douchey ass.

I think that, like Lebron James, Chris Paul chafes at the idea that Curry has somehow surpassed him.  Paul's the most complete point guard in decades, and I think he hates the idea that he might be surpassed by someone who's "just a shooter".  In spite of a 2-0 defecit in both NBA championships and MVP awards, Chris Paul insists that the jury is still out.  He desperately wants to be Steph Curry's rival.

Whenever they play each other, Paul is on a mission to physically dominate and embarrass Curry.  There are times when Curry looks unfazed, and all of Paul's fury is for nothing.  Other times Curry seems genuinely uncomfortable with Paul's relentless assault on both ends of the floor.  Last night was the latter, and I loved the shimmy.

But I really fear that the series (and with it, the season) ended with Paul's injury. 

[Maithanet]

Chris Paul declared out for Game 6.

Quote

 

Rockets point guard Chris Paul will miss Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals against the Golden State Warriors on Saturday with a hamstring strain, the team announced Friday. 

Paul, who suffered the injury in the fourth quarter of Houston's Game 5 win on Thursday, will have his status re-evaluated when the team returns from Houston after Game 6 in Golden State.

 

That's really bad.  I mean, it's what we all expected given how he could barely walk after game 5, but still.  That sucks.  Game 7 is only Monday, doubtful a hamstring could be significantly improved in just four days.  Maybe he could call Ray Lewis for some deer antler spray?

[DanteGabriel]

1 hour ago, sperry said:

Also, my favorite moment from the entire playoffs was Chris Paul openly mocking Steph Curry's smug, douchey ass.

I posted it earlier, wish image embedding were possible for it:

14 hours ago, DanteGabriel said:

This is a nice GIF (not actually a GIF, but whatever)

https://screengrabber.deadspin.com/oh-yes-1826314048

 

[Maithanet]

I will say that one thing about the NBA that is silly is that shimmy play was actually Curry playing very well.  He forced Paul it's a late shot clock, off balance 3 pointer.  Those go in sometimes, but as a defender whether it goes in is almost irrelevant.  If you force the other team to take bad shots, you're winning, even if the shot goes in.  Great players are able to screw up the match by making bad shots at a sustainable rate, and nobody does that better than Curry.  But it's funny that Paul is the one showboating there when, from a process (rather than results) perspective, Curry was the one who made the good play. 

That's just the nature of the game, but a lot of "highlight reel" plays are just great players making bad offense look good. 

I play ultimate frisbee (competitively) and there's a saying "behind every great grab is a really mediocre throw."  Because if you're playing offense the right way, you don't have to make challenging catches, even against good defense. 

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

Count me as one who thinks the Rockets still have a chance, even if Paul is out for the rest of the postseason. They’re still a really good team, and Gordon can step up and replace him with Joe Johnson taking over Gordon’s previous scoring role. It’s a hit no doubt, but it’s not the end of the world.

14 minutes ago, Maithanet said:

I play ultimate frisbee (competitively) and there's a saying "behind every great grab is a really mediocre throw."  Because if you're playing offense the right way, you don't have to make challenging catches, even against good defense. 

I haven’t played since college, but I used to love the UF rec leagues at my university. There was also some intense badminton leagues.

[IamMe90]

2 hours ago, Tywin et al. said:

Count me as one who thinks the Rockets still have a chance, even if Paul is out for the rest of the postseason. They’re still a really good team, and Gordon can step up and replace him with Joe Johnson taking over Gordon’s previous scoring role. It’s a hit no doubt, but it’s not the end of the world.

I haven’t played since college, but I used to love the UF rec leagues at my university. There was also some intense badminton leagues.

They have a chance, sure, but it has decreased significantly. I'm really fucking bummed. If Houston wins this series and the Celtics win theirs, I'll win $260 in a bracket pool. But mostly I'm bummed because I was looking forward to a really fucking epic game 7 in this series, and I fear Golden State might blow them out without Paul's second-half clutchness. 

[James Arryn]

17 hours ago, Jaime L said:

Gotta disagree here JA. Holding GS under 100 two games in a row is borderline impossible and the Rockets did it convincingly. Capela, Ariza, Paul and Tucker are feisty as fuck. PJ Tucker, in particular, has these ninja like double teams out of nowhere that seem to mess with any Warrior who is on the verge of getting an open shot. Sure GS is fucking up plenty, but I do think a lot of it just never having an inch to breathe. Didn't think Houston had this in them defensively so I've been really impressed...at least on that end. 

Hmm, well maybe I was biased as a Rockets fan. Did you think the Rockets struggled due to GS D? Because it seemed possession after possession they were getting wide open looks and just weren’t hitting from outside. 

So, not looking good on Paul. My friends had been predicting a Golden State Miracle all along, the ungodly fucks. Soon as the Rockets made it a series, they were all ‘so, will it be Paul or a Harden to get hurt?’ Fuckers.