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<< after being skool'd on altering another person's quotes, I will resist the urge to place an AM after the N and an L after the B >>Guess I'm the only one who cares 'bout the NBA playoffs. Ah well.
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2019 NBA Playoffs
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Have been watching as much as I can the west games are out for me during the week. Did watch the Rockets get undercut time and again in game 1. I have not skin in the game after my Pistons took their quick cup of coffee in the playoffs to go, but think the match-ups are good.Guess I'm the only one who cares 'bout the NBA playoffs. Ah well.
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Oh and Kyle woof, you are not helping Leonard set up long term in Toronto. Clippers here he comes.
Portland beats Denver in (ahem)... QUADRUPLE OVERTIME!!! 
Ties for the LONGEST PLAYOFF GAME in NBA HISTORY. Other one was in the '50s, I think.
Nikola Jokic played SIXTY-FIVE MINUTES. No word yet on whether he needed an IV afterwards.
And they play again Sunday afternoon, just 39 hours afterwards. Rest up, fellas. :skep:
https://www.theringer.com/nba/2019/...-portland-trail-blazers-denver-nuggets-game-3
Ties for the LONGEST PLAYOFF GAME in NBA HISTORY. Other one was in the '50s, I think.
Nikola Jokic played SIXTY-FIVE MINUTES. No word yet on whether he needed an IV afterwards.
And they play again Sunday afternoon, just 39 hours afterwards. Rest up, fellas. :skep:
https://www.theringer.com/nba/2019/...-portland-trail-blazers-denver-nuggets-game-3
The children I have penned up in a pit in my basement thank you for your discretion.
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Rocket tie up their series with the Warriors 2-2. The champs ain't invincible after all.
The Bucks looks on the verge of eliminating the Celtics, are up 3-1.
Toronto (my new favorite East team) are knotted up with Philly 2-2.
And Portland and Denver are 2-2 in their surprisingly entertaining series.
I think we're seeing a more competitive league now, after several years of domination by the LeBron Cavs and the Warriors.
It's kinda nice.
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The Bucks looks on the verge of eliminating the Celtics, are up 3-1.
Toronto (my new favorite East team) are knotted up with Philly 2-2.
And Portland and Denver are 2-2 in their surprisingly entertaining series.
I think we're seeing a more competitive league now, after several years of domination by the LeBron Cavs and the Warriors.
It's kinda nice.
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The Warriors-Rockets series is on another level, tension-wise. Every game is a dogfight all the way through, every game is close.
Warriors won tonight 104-99 to go up 3 games to 2, but Durant went out in the third with a calf strain... and may possibly be lost for the series (or even the whole playoffs).
Can the Warriors win one of the remaining two sans KD to close it out? Dunno. It'll be a challenge, even though they did win without him being there for a good chunk of the game tonight.
In the East, the Bucks finished their b!tch-slapping of the Celtics with another rout, taking the series 4-1 after losing the first game.
'Fear the Deer' indeed.
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Warriors won tonight 104-99 to go up 3 games to 2, but Durant went out in the third with a calf strain... and may possibly be lost for the series (or even the whole playoffs).
Can the Warriors win one of the remaining two sans KD to close it out? Dunno. It'll be a challenge, even though they did win without him being there for a good chunk of the game tonight.
In the East, the Bucks finished their b!tch-slapping of the Celtics with another rout, taking the series 4-1 after losing the first game.
'Fear the Deer' indeed.
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A friend just sent me a clip of the highlights of the Raptors vs. 76ers game. That is what passes for the NBA today? What a joke. ZERO defense. It's like casual pick-up and it's the playoffs!
I'm confused who actually watches this garbage. What a sorry excuse for the best basketball around. Just a bunch of driving and jacking up 3s with zero defense. No thanks.
I'm confused who actually watches this garbage. What a sorry excuse for the best basketball around. Just a bunch of driving and jacking up 3s with zero defense. No thanks.
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Who is #21 on the 76ers?! That is the worst athlete I've ever seen. The guy can barely run. He's like a newborn deer. What is going on? He alone makes me never want to watch the NBA. Least agile person ever to get paid to play. The way that dude moves is comical.
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So Stop liking what you don't like?
As a proud supporter of the Bad Boys Pistons, I will say--I am very happy that that basketball no longer exists.
The 2 games last night were stellar--the shots by McCollum that sealed it and the shot by Leonard that won it were as good as anything that happens in March Madness.
If you don't like today's positionless basketball that is largely predicated on ball movement (except Houston) then I can't help you--Sunday was a great day and any pro sport would have loved to see their game sevens decided by a total of 6 points and feature a buzzer beater that literally has everyone waiting in suspension while the ball decides whether or not to go through the hoop after bouncing on the rim 4 times.
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You might want to stop posting now.
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Ah, okay. Since you say so I'd better listen. Thanks for your offering of help, but I really don't need. it. I'm able to assess whether or not I have any interest in watching "positionless" basketball, and I don't. It's like a pick up game, just with most guys being over 6'7" and being millionaires. You have your opinion, I have mine. I don't have any desire to watch guys chuck up shots from anywhere and not see any defense. That last shot in the 76ers game was a horrible shot. Falling away, back to the basket. He ALSO carried the ball when he first got it. Let me add not actually enforcing the rules. That makes it horrible too.
Thanks for playing sheriff though. Since you like the NBA, I'd better like it too. We all know this is an NBA fan forum and you're not allowed in unless you love the NBA. Glad we're on the same page.
If you watch full games instead of highlights clips, you'll see that NBA teams, especially most playoff NBA teams, play good defense. Good defense tends not to make it into highlights clips for obvious reasons, unless it's a 'monster blocked shot' or something similarly spectacular.
Oh, and tens of millions of ppl 'watch this garbage', if you don't, that's fine, but your opinion is just that... your opinion.
The one thing I agree with you on is that the game is becoming too oriented towards the 3-point shot.
I'd like to see the 3-point line moved back personally, and college ball is apparently already going to do this next season, if the recommendation from their competition committee is followed (they want to move it from their current 20 feet 9 inches to the International Distance of 22 feet 2 inches).
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Rockets-Warriors series, Game 6... instant classic in so many ways.
Kevin Durant, out, injured.
DeMarcus Cousins out, injured.
Warriors forced to play 'old school Warrior' basketball, i.e. it's all about the Splash Bros, Draymond, and the (allegedly too thin) bench.
Houston is a team that's 'built to beat the Warriors' (their own words), and has insisted all year that Golden States was 'lucky' to beat them last year in 7 games, due to Chris Paul getting hurt and being out for Games 6 and 7.
Game starts, Curry IMMEDIATELY gets into foul trouble, and is bricking absolutely everything. Has zero points in the first half, and has to sit for long stretches.
Result should be an easy Rockets win and the series tied 3-3, right?
Nope.
Klay Thompson keeps 'em close in the first half, scoring 21 there (and 27 for the night).
The GS bench ACTUALLY SHOWS UP (and how). Scoring, defense, offensive-rebounds, energy, etc. etc.
And Curry? After the worst first half of his playoff career, comes out the locker room at halftime, GOES INSANE, scores 33 in the second half (!), 23 of it in the fourth quarter (!!), and 16 in the final five minutes(!!!).
GS wins 118-113.
And that folks, is what you call heart. GS takes the series in six games. And Curry-haters can go pound sand. Again. :lol:
And yet I kinda feel for the Rockets. GS has knocked them out of the playoffs four out of the past five years. Harden, Paul, and coach D'Antoni were completely beside themselves in the postgame press conference. No Durant, Curry going terribly in the first half, and Houston was at home... and they STILL lost? No excuses for that, really.
There's likely going to be a considerable shake-up in Houston in the off-season, or at least as big a one as their capped-out roster will allow.
Any maybe some re-thinking of D'Antoni's very analytics-heavy strategy/style. It consistently works well in the regular season, and consistently does not in the post-season. They're going to have to figure that out, somehow.
If not, you could see James Harden, one of the two or three best players on the planet, walking eventually. Which would blow up the franchise. H-Town definitely has some things to figure out in the coming months.
And maybe the Warriors, too. Even if they win a third consecutive championship (and four in five years), the vibe continues to be that Durant will be leaving this off-season. They've proven they can still play well without him, but they may no longer be as 'inevitable' as they have been, going forward.
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Kevin Durant, out, injured.
DeMarcus Cousins out, injured.
Warriors forced to play 'old school Warrior' basketball, i.e. it's all about the Splash Bros, Draymond, and the (allegedly too thin) bench.
Houston is a team that's 'built to beat the Warriors' (their own words), and has insisted all year that Golden States was 'lucky' to beat them last year in 7 games, due to Chris Paul getting hurt and being out for Games 6 and 7.
Game starts, Curry IMMEDIATELY gets into foul trouble, and is bricking absolutely everything. Has zero points in the first half, and has to sit for long stretches.
Result should be an easy Rockets win and the series tied 3-3, right?
Nope.
Klay Thompson keeps 'em close in the first half, scoring 21 there (and 27 for the night).
The GS bench ACTUALLY SHOWS UP (and how). Scoring, defense, offensive-rebounds, energy, etc. etc.
And Curry? After the worst first half of his playoff career, comes out the locker room at halftime, GOES INSANE, scores 33 in the second half (!), 23 of it in the fourth quarter (!!), and 16 in the final five minutes(!!!).
GS wins 118-113.
And that folks, is what you call heart. GS takes the series in six games. And Curry-haters can go pound sand. Again. :lol:
And yet I kinda feel for the Rockets. GS has knocked them out of the playoffs four out of the past five years. Harden, Paul, and coach D'Antoni were completely beside themselves in the postgame press conference. No Durant, Curry going terribly in the first half, and Houston was at home... and they STILL lost? No excuses for that, really.
There's likely going to be a considerable shake-up in Houston in the off-season, or at least as big a one as their capped-out roster will allow.
Any maybe some re-thinking of D'Antoni's very analytics-heavy strategy/style. It consistently works well in the regular season, and consistently does not in the post-season. They're going to have to figure that out, somehow.
If not, you could see James Harden, one of the two or three best players on the planet, walking eventually. Which would blow up the franchise. H-Town definitely has some things to figure out in the coming months.
And maybe the Warriors, too. Even if they win a third consecutive championship (and four in five years), the vibe continues to be that Durant will be leaving this off-season. They've proven they can still play well without him, but they may no longer be as 'inevitable' as they have been, going forward.
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Toronto-Philly, Game 7 of the Eastern Conf semi-finals.
Two seconds left, score tied 90-90. Toronto Raptor Kawhi Leonard has the ball, dribbles to the deep right corner, and launches a long two over 7-foot tall Philly defender Joel Embiid.
As the ball flies in high, slow arc towards the basket, Leonard and Embiiid are like this:
![]()
And then this happens:
<div class="tenor-gif-embed" data-postid="14121665" data-share-method="host" data-width="100%" data-aspect-ratio="0.8955823293172691"><a href="https://tenor.com/view/kawhi-kawhi-leonard-raptors-toronto-raptors-buzzer-beater-gif-14121665">Kawhi Kawhi Leonard GIF</a> from <a href="https://tenor.com/search/kawhi-gifs">Kawhi GIFs</a></div><script type="text/javascript" async src="https://tenor.com/embed.js"></script>
Raptors in seven. Nice job, Canada. Now, where'd I put my maple syrup?
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<script type="text/javascript" async="" src="https://tenor.com/embed.js"></script>
Two seconds left, score tied 90-90. Toronto Raptor Kawhi Leonard has the ball, dribbles to the deep right corner, and launches a long two over 7-foot tall Philly defender Joel Embiid.
As the ball flies in high, slow arc towards the basket, Leonard and Embiiid are like this:
And then this happens:
<div class="tenor-gif-embed" data-postid="14121665" data-share-method="host" data-width="100%" data-aspect-ratio="0.8955823293172691"><a href="https://tenor.com/view/kawhi-kawhi-leonard-raptors-toronto-raptors-buzzer-beater-gif-14121665">Kawhi Kawhi Leonard GIF</a> from <a href="https://tenor.com/search/kawhi-gifs">Kawhi GIFs</a></div><script type="text/javascript" async src="https://tenor.com/embed.js"></script>
Raptors in seven. Nice job, Canada. Now, where'd I put my maple syrup?
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<script type="text/javascript" async="" src="https://tenor.com/embed.js"></script>
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That is a great sports moment image. In so many ways.As the ball flies in high, slow arc towards the basket, Leonard and Embiiid are like this:
![]()
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Yep, just my opinion, but I felt like expressin' myself. Just to clarify, this was ten minutes of highlights, more like a "condensed game."
Millions watch? C'mon buddy. I ride bicycles and even watch other people get paid to ride bicycles. I'm CLEARLY outside the bell curve of what Americans like. I don't drive a car. I ride bicycles. I play soccer. I don't watch the NFL or NBA. The games are too long, too slow, and I can't handle watching all those commercials. I'd say I'm okay with others watching...but then there is that whole CTE and domestic violence thing with the NFL...and the NBA...let's see...almost all black players and almost all white owners, coaches, refs, and league employees. So yep, I see both sports as part of the modern day plantation. Just my opinion though. I don't see pro sports these days as an escape from the daily grind, I see them as part of the problem. We could also talk about all the drunk driving created by having that many NFL games every Sunday for months on end...
Oh, so sorry, my bad... watching a whole TEN MINUTES of highlights is an entirely different thing, you must be an expert on the state of play in the NBA by now.
Don't you feel bad watching a sport so heavily influenced by EPO/doping? Especially considering how deadly some of those drugs are?
Soccer's not that far out of the American mainstream anymore. It's almost become 'stealth cool' here now, at least in some parts of the country.
Personal opinion noted, though you are the first person I've met who's described the NBA as 'slow'... y'know, what with the 24-second shot clock and all the running.
I actually agree with you here. I used to be a pretty big NFL fan, but CTE, the vicious attacks on players on freedom-of-speech issues (taking a knee during the Anthem) and the dumbing down of the game ("We are passing league, and who cares about defense!") have really turned me off of it in recent years. I don't like a lot of NFL fans anymore, they don't care about the players rights or their health, so I don't really want to be a fan anymore, if that's what being an NFL fan means now.
Well, let's check that out, you may or may not have a point there. I know on ownership you do, as only two out of the 30 NBA teams have a majority owner of color (one black, one Indian).
But elsewhere, let's see (all figures are as of 2015)...
- 74 percent of the players are black. So, sure, pretty heavily black, but not really 'almost all'.
– 33 percent of NBA coaches are people of color. That's not bad.
– 41 percent of NBA assistant coaches are people of color. Pretty good, actually.
– 35 percent of professional positions at the NBA League Office are ppl of color. Not bad.
– There are four NBA team CEOs/team presidents in the league. Could be better.
– Five NBA general managers are black, one is Asian. Would like to see more.
- 47 percent of NBA referees/game officials are ppl of color. That's quite good. Kinda blows your 'most refs are white' thing out of the water.
– 20 percent of team senior administrative positions are held by ppl of color. Just okay.
– 21 percent of NBA team physicians are ppl of color. Just okay, could be better.
So, I think you have a partial point, but it's overstated, and it's pretty clear you don't watch the games, because if you did, you would've noticed all the black coaches, assistant coaches, and referees.
I don't see sports as an 'escape' either, I see them as interesting both as games and as narratives/stories.
And ppl who are going to drive drunk are going to find a way to do so whether or not they attend a game... they have deeper issues than sports fandom going on.
Done hijacking the thread yet? Not that you don't raise interesting issues in your own scattershot way. But they'd probably be better in their own thread, rather than crap-posting in mine. Just sayin'.
Have a nice evening.
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And then there were four...
Western Conf Finals: Golden State vs Portland
Eastern Conf Finals: Toronto vs Milwaukee
I'll take GS in six, and Milwaukee in six as well (sorry Canada).
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Western Conf Finals: Golden State vs Portland
Eastern Conf Finals: Toronto vs Milwaukee
I'll take GS in six, and Milwaukee in six as well (sorry Canada).
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it was a squeaker, but at least Curry will be in the finals...
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