NBA Playoffs - Play In? PLAY-IN It Cool

[DMC]

On 5/20/2021 at 9:03 PM, Argonath Diver said:

Alas, not only is the game a bit of a snooze, but Marv Albert and Mike Fratello sound so bad that it's an untenable experience.

It always amused me that Fratello got a premier announcing job.  "Who's the coach that makes the game as boring as possible?  Let's get that guy!"

On 5/20/2021 at 9:29 PM, Tywin et al. said:

Long story short is he suggested a possible deal to find a solution on the crisis at the Southern border, and safe to say it was not received well by very liberal posters who largely make up the thread (and to be fair, from what I recall it was a pretty bad idea). He got flamed by several people and was called all sorts of names. I didn't see most of it, but it must have gotten really bad if he decided to have his account deleted. Sad because he was a fun guy to talk to.

I have absolutely no memory of this.  Weird.  Guess it's quite possible I was just drinking a lot at the time.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

37 minutes ago, DMC said:

I have absolutely no memory of this.  Weird.  Guess it's quite possible I was just drinking a lot at the time.

No, I think it just happened abruptly. I only saw a bit of it and regret not saying something because by the time I woke up the next morning, he was out. The position he took was absolutely not a good one, especially when you consider the leanings here, but I thought it was a sincere attempt to suggest a possible solution to an issue. He didn't deserve the treatment he got, and I say that as someone who also says  @Rhom's kiddo is a traitor and he'll have to live with voting for Trump in 2020, but he also knows I don't actually hate him despite his terrible decision. The venom directed at Trisk was real and I understand why he was so hurt after spending over a decade at least posting here.

[Argonath Diver]

He was the lone vocal Cardinals fan here too 

I did see the vitriol in the politics thread. This place has a very high level of discourse compared to any other internet community I frequent, but that doesn't stop emotions bleeding through. One reason I don't engage in really active arguments online is my terrible temper/lack of patience with posters who disagree with my statements. I quit a Cardinals board after fifteen years over a silly debate about hip hop where I got my feelins' hurt. I do hope he still lurks here and sees the good will toward him, even if he stays apart. I really enjoyed his contributions.

re NBA: 

Washington continues to hang with Philly. I was sad to see Gafford go, but the Bulls just didn't have a roster or coach that suited his rim runner athleticism. Rooting for them just because I liked him so much. Also, Robin Lopez continues to be one of the most entertaining role players in the league. Who would have guessed "Robin Lopez" for "Best hook shot artist in the NBA in 2021" ?

[Proudfeet]

12 hours ago, SkynJay said:

Yeah, it was rough.  Portland's game plan is pretty much what I expected -Let Joker eat, double MPJ, and make someone else beat them.

And Rivers will not be that person regularly.

There just isn't enough firepower here.  I expect Denver to hit more threes (Porter went 1 for 10 and still scored 25) but I am not sure how they win four games with their guards getting outscored by 40 every game.  

Will not be that person is too nice. I was thinking more excised from rotation.

I guess you can hope for Portland to go cold, but that probably won't happen for four games.

___

Mitchell is still out. Bummer.

[KingintheNorth4]

Rudy Gobert's rim protection is astounding.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

52 minutes ago, KingintheNorth4 said:

Rudy Gobert's rim protection is astounding.

He was truly born in the wrong era. And yet the Jazz are still down in the third and not a single one of you has any faith in them.

[Proudfeet]

What do you mean? All the predictions in the previous page were for the Jazz.

Anyway, the Jazz are actually doing better than I expected without Mitchell in terms of looks. There's not much you can do about people missing open threes. It happens.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

Grizzle 1, Jazz nil.

[Rhom]

17 hours ago, Tywin et al. said:

He didn't deserve the treatment he got, and I say that as someone who also says  @Rhom's kiddo is a traitor and he'll have to live with voting for Trump in 2020, but he also knows I don't actually hate him despite his terrible decision. 

Awwww shucks... I don't hate you either.   And yeah, I think Trisk may have even gotten a temp ban out of the deal and that just put him over the edge when all the other posters were the ones spewing the crazy stuff.  Anyways, thats why I generally stay out of anywhere other than Lit or Ent.     I also miss Jace.  Haven't seen her around in a while either.

So anyways, in Cat on Cat crime... how about DBook last night setting the Suns record for most points in a playoff debut?!!?  

I don't know if Memphis has the depth to pull this off against Utah, but with Ja and Brooks I think they've got a puncher's chance.

[Maithanet]

11 hours ago, Proudfeet said:

Anyway, the Jazz are actually doing better than I expected without Mitchell in terms of looks. There's not much you can do about people missing open threes. It happens.

It happens, but I wouldn't expect it to happen all series.  The Jazz were the best 3 point shooting team in the regular season, if the Grizzlies formula is to expect them to shoot 25% from deep every night, they're going to be sorely disappointed.  I'm not particularly worried about the Jazz. 

I am more concerned about the Clippers, as they once again struggled in crunch time and failed to win a game they should have. 

[Argonath Diver]

All in all, it's been a pretty thrilling start to the playoffs, hasn't it?

I watched a fair portion of the games. The Knicks/Hawks game was electric. The Suns hanging on was great. Portland/Denver won't be as classic as it could have been with Murray playing, but I expect 6+ games of tight contests even without him. The Clippers lost, haha. The Bucks/Heat game was ugly as hell but was an exciting 4th. I didn't get to see the Utah game, but I expect Mitchell to come back with a chip on his shoulder soon.

Everyone looks vulnerable. Except perhaps the Brooklyn NBA2K Make-a-Team. But fuck those guys.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

First ballot HoF flopping:

 

[WarGalley]

  

3 hours ago, Argonath Diver said:

All in all, it's been a pretty thrilling start to the playoffs, hasn't it?

I watched a fair portion of the games. The Knicks/Hawks game was electric. The Suns hanging on was great. Portland/Denver won't be as classic as it could have been with Murray playing, but I expect 6+ games of tight contests even without him. The Clippers lost, haha. The Bucks/Heat game was ugly as hell but was an exciting 4th. I didn't get to see the Utah game, but I expect Mitchell to come back with a chip on his shoulder soon.

Everyone looks vulnerable. Except perhaps the Brooklyn NBA2K Make-a-Team. But fuck those guys.

Absolutely. I watched all but a couple of games. I was really rooting for the Warriors to beat the Lakers and face the Jazz.. so close but way too many turnovers in the 2nd half of that game. And then they repeated their mistake with the Grizzlies who were clearly hungry and playing with a chip on their shoulders. 

I thought Portland - Denver was a surprise given the final difference in score. Portland is one of those teams I've felt haven't made the all-in trade/roster moves to get Damian Lillard a ring and he's probably my #1 player without a championship that I want to win it all (and Chris Paul is probably #2). Very curious how they do tonight.

 

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

Well that was a good old fashion ass whipping. It seems I was very wrong to pick the Heat in Six.

[Proudfeet]

11 hours ago, Maithanet said:

It happens, but I wouldn't expect it to happen all series.  The Jazz were the best 3 point shooting team in the regular season, if the Grizzlies formula is to expect them to shoot 25% from deep every night, they're going to be sorely disappointed.  I'm not particularly worried about the Jazz. 

I am more concerned about the Clippers, as they once again struggled in crunch time and failed to win a game they should have. 

Yeah, Bogdanovic got hot late to make it close. 

I didn't watch the Clippers game. Did they force everything to their two stars playing one on five again?

3 hours ago, Tywin et al. said:

First ballot HoF

Are you sure? Seems a little premature. 

11 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said:

Well that was a good old fashion ass whipping. It seems I was very wrong to pick the Heat in Six.

Didn't watch it, but its just one game. The other was close. 

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

20 minutes ago, Proudfeet said:

Are you sure? Seems a little premature. 

Flopping when you're not even in the game and barely get touched? 

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Didn't watch it, but its just one game. The other was close. 

It's a cliché, but typically the second game is more telling. Miami is not going to win four of the next five games absent an injury to Giannis. Jimmy, Bam and Herro have 66 points combined in the first two games. That's not going to get it done.

[Proudfeet]

14 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said:

Flopping when you're not even in the game and barely get touched? 

How does that relate to him being first ballot HoF? Maybe if you're talking acting awards?

14 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said:

It's a cliché, but typically the second game is more telling. Miami is not going to win four of the next five games absent an injury to Giannis. Jimmy, Bam and Herro have 66 points combined in the first two games. That's not going to get it done.

Well, as I said, I didn't watch it. Just don't think one bad game is necessarily predictive. Its different if there's something you think will persist while watching it I guess.

Edit - Budenholzer doesn't have the best reputation for playoff coaching. Could put some hope on Spoelstra possibly if you're rooting for the Heat.

[WarGalley]

Lillard absolutely on fire right now. Like Curry and the Warriors, the Blazers will have a problem when he needs to sit even with CJ.

 

Edit: 8/11 from 3 and 32 points.. in the first half. Completely overshadowing Jokic's 25 pts.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

53 minutes ago, Proudfeet said:

How does that relate to him being first ballot HoF? Maybe if you're talking acting awards?

 I did say first ballot HoF flopping, like this:
 

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Well, as I said, I didn't watch it. Just don't think one bad game is necessarily predictive. Its different if there's something you think will persist while watching it I guess.

The Heat's offense is just flat and the Bucks look way more aggressive. The difference between the two games was the shot making of the Bucks, and while I wouldn't expect tonight to be the norm going forward, it still seems like too much.

Plus Bam has just been flat out bad. Can't explain that one.

Quote

Edit - Budenholzer doesn't have the best reputation for playoff coaching. Could put some hope on Spoelstra possibly if you're rooting for the Heat.

That's the knock on him and it's valid. Likewise, Spo is known for his adjustments, but I'd be truly shocked if it affected the series going forward. I called Heat in six, but this feels like a gentleman's sweep for the Bucks.

[Proudfeet]

3 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said:

 I did say first ballot HoF flopping, like this:

Ah. Right. I read it differently as in HoF (player) flopping. 

10 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said:

That's the knock on him and it's valid. Likewise, Spo is known for his adjustments, but I'd be truly shocked if it affected the series going forward. I called Heat in six, but this feels like a gentleman's sweep for the Bucks.

Maybe. But its something you can hold on for hope even if you don't think its likely. There was that one series with the Spurs v Thunder where the Spurs won in six trading blowouts, which admittedly isn't a good example as the home team still won in the end, but it looked like it was up in the air after four games.

__

Good win by Denver. Gives hope that this will be a competitive series.