NBA Playoffs 2019 - Kawhi So Serious?!

[DanteGabriel]

To be clear, I don't think this series would necessarily have flipped if the Celtics were firing on all cylinders. Not once the Bucks' three point shooting reverted to norm in game 2 and beyond. But it wouldn't have left a sour taste like this series will.

Maybe I was wrong about how hard I thought the Celtics should go after Butler or Kawhi. Either of them could have been the Garnett type this team needed.

[KingintheNorth4]

They're calling it a right calf strain for KD.

[Proudfeet]

8 hours ago, DanteGabriel said:

It's naive to think that the only two options are just that Stevens thinks Tatum's shot selection is fine or that he is unable to tell Tatum about it effectively. The more likely explanation, which I referred to with my Phil Jackson comment, is that the player simply doesn't care what his coach is telling him -- i.e. Kobe Brain.

I'm glad you agree that taking 20 foot shots is dumb. I don't want Kyrie or Tatum or anyone else taking contested 20 foot jumpers. I mean, I recognize why sometimes it has to happen and I know that superstars are the ones who can make that shot. Still not a good idea to take those shots, and the Celtics take too many of those shots when they don't have to, and Tatum is one of the prime offenders. So what are you disagreeing with me about?

I think that blaming an outsider for a problem is pretty unreasonable. Especially considering the very brief period they spent together. I doubt that Kobe is telling Tatum to take 20 foot jumpers specifically. And that if Stevens is unable to dissuade Tatum from taking those shots, that is on him. It's not a particularly hard concept after all, stubborn player or otherwise. It's not as if he is Simmons or DeRozan who seem to lack confidence in making three point shots. 

1 hour ago, DanteGabriel said:

To be clear, I don't think this series would necessarily have flipped if the Celtics were firing on all cylinders. Not once the Bucks' three point shooting reverted to norm in game 2 and beyond. But it wouldn't have left a sour taste like this series will.

Maybe I was wrong about how hard I thought the Celtics should go after Butler or Kawhi. Either of them could have been the Garnett type this team needed.

I don't know about Butler, but I don't think you'd like how Kawhi plays. I remember when I watched the Spurs for their vaunted passing game and all I saw was them shoving it to Kawhi to play hero ball. I don't think it has changed much in Toronto either.

[Relic]

8 hours ago, Triskele said:

 

@Relic - Take it, it's yours

 

Nt, nt, nt, nt, but thanks. 

[Rhom]

6 hours ago, Triskele said:

Durant has quite possibly hurt his Achilles, holy shit.  

ETA:  All the feedback sounds bad to me.   I'm willing to bet like 85% that he's done for the playoffs.  

But is he dead like Bradley Beal?

[Relic]

1 hour ago, Rhom said:

But is he dead like Bradley Beal?

What is Beal can never die, just rises harder and Bealer

[SkynJay]

I approve of the change in thread title.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

James Harden only took one shot in the last 8 minutes of them game.

Who again was it that said that notorious choker Harden had proved himself in the playoffs? Come accept your public !!!!

[David Selig]

2 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said:

James Harden only took one shot in the last 8 minutes of them game.

Who again was it that said that notorious choker Harden had proved himself in the playoffs? Come accept your public !!!!

Yeah, quite the choker. He only had 31 points and 8 assists on 76% TS% with just 2 turnovers in this game, what a loser.

Blaming him for not shooting much in the last 7 minutes is ridiculous (7, not 8, he was on the bench at the start of the last 8 minutes). Often not shooting is the best decision for the star player. Harden was blitzed a lot and made the right play most of the time. And Houston had no problem scoring in this period, their offensive rating in the last 7 minutes was 128, which is fantastic.

[Maithanet]

14 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said:

James Harden only took one shot in the last 8 minutes of them game.

Who again was it that said that notorious choker Harden had proved himself in the playoffs? Come accept your public !!!!

?? It's not like the Rocket's offense was bad in that stretch.  They scored on 7 of 12 possessions in the final 7 minutes, including three turnovers by someone other than Harden. 

The Rockets problem was they couldn't secure rebounds.  GSW had 7 second chance points in the final 7 minutes.  You can call Harden a choker for that if you want, but that isn't exactly his game.  All series the Rockets have had the advantage on the boards, and if they'd maintained that in the 4th quarter, they walk away with the W. 

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

22 minutes ago, David Selig said:

Yeah, quite the choker. He only had 31 points and 8 assists on 76% TS% with just 2 turnovers in this game, what a loser.

Blaming him for not shooting much in the last 7 minutes is ridiculous (7, not 8, he was on the bench at the start of the last 8 minutes). Often not shooting is the best decision for the star player. Harden was blitzed a lot and made the right play most of the time. And Houston had no problem scoring in this period, their offensive rating in the last 7 minutes was 128, which is fantastic.

Would we not be crushing LeBron if he took 1 shot in the last 8 (or 7) minutes of a game, especially if the other team’s best player was out with an injury? Or KD? Or Curry? Or any elite player?  

You called Harden a proven playoff player in the clutch. His history does not support that statement, and last night he came up short again.

[Maithanet]

5 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said:

Would we not be crushing LeBron if he took 1 shot in the last 8 (or 7) minutes of a game, especially if the other team’s best player was out with an injury? Or KD? Or Curry? Or any elite player?  

You called Harden a proven playoff player in the clutch. His history does not support that statement, and last night he came up short again.

If the offense was operating just fine, and that Harden was making the smart play to pass it (rather than standing around passively like Lebron in 2011), then no.  Nobody (or at least nobody on this forum, there's always haters somewhere) would be crushing Lebron or KD or Curry for that. 

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

10 minutes ago, Maithanet said:

If the offense was operating just fine, and that Harden was making the smart play to pass it (rather than standing around passively like Lebron in 2011), then no.  Nobody (or at least nobody on this forum, there's always haters somewhere) would be crushing Lebron or KD or Curry for that. 

Harden is the best offensive player in the league and led in scoring by a huge margin. Taking one shot in the fourth quarter of a close game is simply not okay.

[David Selig]

35 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said:

Would we not be crushing LeBron if he took 1 shot in the last 8 (or 7) minutes of a game, especially if the other team’s best player was out with an injury? Or KD? Or Curry? Or any elite player? 

I don't know about others, but I certainly wouldn't be crushing anyone just based on the number of shots. It depends on the type of defence he faced and whether he was getting his teammates good looks. The "superstars should do it all, so an off-balance shot with 2 players challenging it by the star is better than a role player open look" mentality in the NBA has always been something that I hate. I much prefer for stars to make the right play and take what the defence gives them. That's something I've always admired about LeBron, he has never been afraid to pass in such moments and take the backseat if a teammate was in a better position to score or had a hot night. The goal is for the team to score as efficiently as possible, not the individual.

The Rockets shot 5/8 from the field overall, 2/3 from 3 and 6/7 from the FT line in the last 7 minutes, and a lot of it was thanks to the openings Harden created.. I really doubt Harden trying to force the issue with the defence fully geared to make it as tough as possible for him to score would have lead to a better result.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

41 minutes ago, David Selig said:

I don't know about others, but I certainly wouldn't be crushing anyone just based on the number of shots. It depends on the type of defence he faced and whether he was getting his teammates good looks. The "superstars should do it all, so an off-balance shot with 2 players challenging it by the star is better than a role player open look" mentality in the NBA has always been something that I hate. I much prefer for stars to make the right play and take what the defence gives them. That's something I've always admired about LeBron, he has never been afraid to pass in such moments and take the backseat if a teammate was in a better position to score or had a hot night. The goal is for the team to score as efficiently as possible, not the individual.

The Rockets shot 5/8 from the field overall, 2/3 from 3 and 6/7 from the FT line in the last 7 minutes, and a lot of it was thanks to the openings Harden created.. I really doubt Harden trying to force the issue with the defence fully geared to make it as tough as possible for him to score would have lead to a better result.

I also support star players who make the right play and pass at times, even in the crunch. But again, your star player, who is the best offensive player in the league, and the best pure scorer, simply cannot take one shot in the fourth quarter.

[David Selig]

Good thing that Harden actually took 3 shots in the fourth quarter then...

But if he took only one shot while the offense worked fine with him creating for others, that would have been fine by me too.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

53 minutes ago, David Selig said:

Good thing that Harden actually took 3 shots in the fourth quarter then...

But if he took only one shot while the offense worked fine with him creating for others, that would have been fine by me too.

Where are you getting 3 shots from? I’ve heard like a dozen commentators now say just one shot, but they dispute the time range.

[DireWolfSpirit]

I dont see anything left in this field that will prevent Giannis from hoisting the Finals Championship trophy. 

[David Selig]

1 hour ago, Tywin et al. said:

Where are you getting 3 shots from? I’ve heard like a dozen commentators now say just one shot, but they dispute the time range.

https://stats.nba.com/game/0041800225/?RangeType=2&StartRange=21598&EndRange=28800

[Rhom]

33 minutes ago, DireWolfSpirit said:

I dont see anything left in this field that will prevent Giannis from hoisting the Finals Championship trophy. 

Except the NBA has always been cruel to young stars attempting to win their first ring.  There's generally a season or two of getting over the hump before they actually get there.