2015-2016 NBA Playoffs

[DarthFed]

^ I was thinking the same thing. Clips-Blazers could go the distance too but I doubt it. I think that's over in 6 at most.

 

[DarthFed]

And CP3 broke his hand tonight. Crazy. It is going to be Blazers advancing as the Clips aren't even a playoff level team without Paul. Similar to Houston I don't think Curry needs to play at all for Golden State to beat Portland. Things suddenly looking up a bit for them if Curry will be back by the conference finals.

 

[brokenshoelace]

Injuries ruining the playoffs yet again. I hate the Clippers as much as the next guy, but this sucks. Even Blake is struggling with his quad. The Western Conference semis promised to be spectacular with OKC/SAS and GSW/Clippers.

 

[brokenshoelace]

In other news, Mark Cuban said Durant was OKC's only superstar before game 5, and that Westbrook was "just an All-Star." I don't understand why do some guys make comments like this? The guy's been killing you all series and it's clear you can't guard him, why would you say something that gives him more ammunition to gloat if he beats you? As it happens Westbrook had one of his best games of the season, completely destroying Dallas and went 37 p 12 r 9 a one 13/23 shooting.

 

[the AntiPusher]

^ I was thinking the same thing. Clips-Blazers could go the distance too but I doubt it. I think that's over in 6 at most.

With Chris Paul's injury this changes the whole series, I think Portland in 6-7 ..I think the warriors can defeat either team now without Step

 

[DarthFed]

Cuban still has those moments where he says stupid crap just to be in the spotlight. I don't remember the Mavs roster over the course of the past 15 years but Dirk has often had good teams around him. Certainly quite a bit better than what Westbrook almost dragged to the playoffs last year. He knows the Mavs are going to be mediocre for the foreseeable future and is naturally not too happy about that.

 

[kskate2]

Too bad about CP3. Portland will likely win that one. GSW needs the MVP for the conf finals. I won't even mention the NBA finals because they won't get out of the West without him.

 

[DarthFed]

^ I was thinking the same thing. Clips-Blazers could go the distance too but I doubt it. I think that's over in 6 at most.

With Chris Paul's injury this changes the whole series, I think Portland in 6-7 ..I think the warriors can defeat either team now without Step

No doubt about that. Griffin's status doesn't even matter, the Clips are not close to a playoff level team without Paul and will probably lose in 6. Golden State won't need Curry at all in the next series.

 

[brokenshoelace]

Chris Paul and Blake Griffin are out for the rest of the playoffs. Clippers are done.

 

[DarthFed]

Blake too? Wow. Without CP3 that is a weak team even with a fully healthy Griffin. Without both they'd be one of the worst teams in the league. Nice gift of a series to Portland but they don't need to apologize. They did well to win game 3 and were ahead slightly in game 4 before the Clippers injuries.

 

[kskate2]

Raps up the ante and take a close game 5.


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[calitennis127]

Cuban still has those moments where he says stupid crap just to be in the spotlight. I don't remember the Mavs roster over the course of the past 15 years but Dirk has often had good teams around him. Certainly quite a bit better than what Westbrook almost dragged to the playoffs last year. He knows the Mavs are going to be mediocre for the foreseeable future and is naturally not too happy about that.

Cuban does not like black street players for the most part. Remember that he coined the term "Thuggets" about the Melo-JR-KMart-Nene Denver teams. Westbrook is very brash and in-your-face, so it is not surprising that Cuban does not take a liking to him.

 

[calitennis127]

Someone cursed Curry. Talk about terrible luck. What's even sadder is a wet spot may not only end up deciding this year's playoffs, but also be a difference maker in a historical sense. This was a legacy year for GSW and especially, Curry, with the way he's played. We're talking about a potential all-time great who was likely going to crown arguably the best individual regular season in history with a well-earned championship.

With regards to the above, I also think Lebron's title chances just skyrocketed.

Well Golden State has LeBron to thank for their championship last year and the momentum it generated into this season, given his horrendous performance in the Finals last year.

 

[DarthFed]

Well Golden State has LeBron to thank for their championship last year and the momentum it generated into this season, given his horrendous performance in the Finals last year.

I wouldn't say Lebron had a bad finals, it just wasn't as impressive as everyone was saying. A big part of the game today simply comes down to efficient scoring. It's easy to put up 30 points if you're putting up 30 shots a game like he did in the finals last year. Lebron had to do it, and his effort level was incredible since he was playing with a group of scrubs and the Warriors could get away with doubling him all game, but at the end of the day he wasn't scoring efficiently enough.

 

[Murat Baslamisli]

Raps- Miami it is !

 

[DarthFed]

So the 2nd round is set and the series out West have already started with blowout wins in game 1 for the home teams. I did predict the Thunder to pull off the upset but that's based on the thought that they'd steal one of the first 2 games in SA. If they lose tonight I don't see them coming back. They did rally from 0-2 down in 2012 vs. the Spurs but this is a different Spurs team. It'd be tough to picture OKC winning 4 out of 5. And I figured Golden State can beat the Blazers without Curry but I have to admit at this point that the Warriors are surprising me. They look great even without Curry, I knew they wouldn't be bad but they are playing significantly better than I would have expected. Now I know Cali will be in here to say that this proves Curry is overrated but I disagree. Maybe without Curry it goes from being a historically great team to a team that can win 50 games and that'd be more than I would've said a couple weeks ago. Curry said he could be ready by game 3 but I think the Warriors would be foolish to risk it if they are ahead 2-0. If it is 1-1 and Curry truly is cleared to play then you have a decision. Even then I'd say wait until game 4 and if you're down 2-1 then absolutely play him if somewhat healthy. But the way the Warriors are looking so far I'd say 2-1 or even 3-0 is much more likely than 1-2.

I think the Raptors-Heat series is going to be very good and could definitely go the distance. The Cavs should win but I think Atlanta is going to test them more than last year (which isn't going out on a limb since it was a blowout sweep in the ECF). Atlanta played better all last year but they did not look good in the playoffs at all. They looked like a team that may have worked too hard to get HCA and it caught up to them. They looked good against Boston, obviously that's not Cleveland but still, maybe that one goes 6.

 

[brokenshoelace]

OKC were absolutely embarrassing in game 1. Honestly never been as ashamed watching my favorite team/player. They looked like they've never defended a pick and roll in their life. I'd be amazed if tonight ends up in anything other than a comfortable Spurs victory.

 

[brokenshoelace]

Well, OKC sure tried their hardest to fuck that up but they ultimately held on for the win (helped by a terrible no-call). Huge win. Steven Adams is turning into quite a player, and Russ was fantastic.

However, if they don't find a way to deal with Lamarcus Aldrdige, I don't like their chances in this series.

 

[DarthFed]

Still waiting to find out what the hell that call should have been. At least an offensive foul. It'd have been pretty demoralizing for OKC to lose that one. The entire Spurs team aside from Aldridge was dreadful. The shot selection was especially bad, and it may be time for them to swallow their pride and use Duncan sparingly. Everyone gets old and it's a tough decision to make but he is done. As it stands I think OKC has more than 50% chance to win the series now.

 

[calitennis127]

OKC were absolutely embarrassing in game 1. Honestly never been as ashamed watching my favorite team/player. They looked like they've never defended a pick and roll in their life. I'd be amazed if tonight ends up in anything other than a comfortable Spurs victory.

Good call there. But seriously, here are some thoughts on the game:

1) Durant's move past Danny Green in the last minute was big-time. He caught the pass and did not hesitate. Green is most effective when his man catches and holds the ball and then he can get into the guy's chest. Durant caught and made a quick burst to get around him for the floater. That was one hell of a play.

2) Ibaka's foul on Aldridge was completely stupid. Coaches do not teach how to do proper shot contests and Ibaka had a brain freeze moment.

3) Everyone will be talking about the Waiters-Ginobili moment. It is hard for me to pick a side there. On the one hand, Ginobili is a complete queer who was playing his normal gay ass defense with his hands in Waiters face not giving him any space, but on the other hand, Waiters is an idiot and the inbounds play Donovan set up was very poor. Why in the world would you ever have Waiters inbound in that situation? He is probably the worst guard on the team for that purpose.

4) As a team, the Spurs are a bunch of effeminate whiners. I thoroughly detest that organization. I hope OKC wins this series decisively.