2013-14 NBA thread v. Adam Silver Lays the Pipe on Donald Sterling ©2014antigoon

[Accelerando]

I think there's more problems with Indiana Pacers this post-season than just Roy Hibbert.

[Dimitrius]

I'm rooting for everyteam down 3-2 tonight! I want a weekend FULL of game 7s!!

[antigoon]

GO MAVS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ReaPsTA]

Remember when people were talking about how we need to fix the first round because it's so boring?

[jammindude]

Most Game 7 series in the first round in NBA HISTORY!   I have not been interested in basketball in 6 or 7 years...but I'm a convert on this playoff season.   Greatest playoff year I've ever personally seen!

 

[contest_sanity]

Great win for the Mavs, but what the hell was Monta thinking throwing that ball down the court with 2 seconds left?  Just hold the ball, for God's sake!

[Destiny Of Chaos]

Remember when people were talking about how we need to fix the first round because it's so boring?

The debate isn't that the first round is boring, it's that the West is much stronger than the East.

[KevShmev]

Wow, that was incredible.  A 3 at the buzzer by Lillard to win the series for Portland. 

[black_biff_stadler]

They're gonna need to dramatically step up their post game on both ends in the next round to stand a chance. Most of their team looks like Anderson Varejao when they're chasing defensive rebounds and they seem way averse to consistently driving the lane, frequently jacked up 15+ foot jumpers (most of which were still contested) with more than 10 seconds still left on the shot clock, and just settle for bad shots a lot.

[ReaPsTA]

Watched a replay of the Lillard shot.  Amazing.  Love the play too.  Lillard just runs immediately and, purely because of surprise, gets free.

McHale getting fired.

[antigoon]

I yelped when I saw that live. Couldn't believe how wide open he was.

[antigoon]

Best first round ever.

[contest_sanity]

Best first round ever.

Seriously! What, five out of the 8 series going to Game 7s? That's gotta be unprecedented?

[contest_sanity]

Of course, it's second guessing now (and with such little time you have to make split second decisions), but it seems Houston should have been planning to run a 2nd defender to wherever the ball was inbounded because there was no chance for a pass. For instance, if the guy guarding the inbounds had immediately gone after the ball once it was in play, perhaps Lillard is a little less wide open... just thinking out loud.

I wonder if you would ever even consider not guarding the inbound at all and having that extra defender available on the perimeter? After all, you have Dwight at the rim to protect against a lob... ?

EDIT 1: (seen in another article): why the hell was Parsons guarding Lillard anyway?

EDIT 2: sorry for double post!

[antigoon]

[antigoon]

I just watched the video again - Parsons was standing *behind* Lillard. He didn't even really need a screen. Hell, any of the three guys on the perimeter could have gotten open for that 3.


edit: Also, wouldn't it be beneficial to switch for something like this? To have someone - anyone - to contest a last second shot? Harden could have easily moved over to catch the running Lillard.

ALSO, why was Harden - 2013/14's most mocked defensive liability - even out there?

[Dimitrius]

BECAUSE HE'S A DEFENSIVE JUGGERNAUT!!

[Jamesman42]

What a fucking shot.

I hope the following teams advance this weekend:

Grizz (because Mike "Mike" Miller)
Mavs (because Monta)
Raptors (because fuck Garnett)
Hawks (because fuck the Pacers but especially fuck that whole team)

I'm torn on LAC and GSW. They're both so good and I want them both to go on. Curry is a monster and is quickly becoming a favorite of mine. But CP3 deserves a shot at the finals. Will be fun to watch.

[Syzzle]

Well the Rockets are automatically down a defender every possession because of James Harden so no surprise that someone was open. 

[contest_sanity]

lol at that gif, antiG

Yeah, that was just a poor defensive possession all around, from the players themselves and also the coaching decision about personnel on the floor.

lol at DEFENSIVE JUGGERNAUT !!! (for those unaware)

Lastly, things shaping up nicely for OKC as Z-Bo is suspended, Conley is gimpy, and it's now being reported that Tony Allen has a migraine and may not play.

[ReaPsTA]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2GJ2PwXQ4E

The call by Tirico on Lillard's shot is amazing:

"It's Lillard.  He got the shot off!  OH MY GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOODD!!!  GOOOOOOD!!  AND THE BLAZERS! WIN THE SERIES! FOR THE FIRST TIME! IN FOURTEEN YEARS!"

 - I've never heard an American pro sports commentator say oh my god before.

 - I love when commentators get totally lost in the moment.  It's when they're at their best.

[contest_sanity]

^ in response, still my fave:

"LEBRON JAMES, WITH NO REGARD FOR HUMAN LIFE!!!!"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tag9UmmFfY8

[ReaPsTA]

Great moment.  Lots of energy.  Harlan captured it very well.

[ReaPsTA]

Conspiracy Theory - The Pacers were making all the drama up on purpose.

[Dimitrius]

Conspiracy Theory - The Pacers were making all the drama up on purpose.

That would be beyond amazing!

[ReaPsTA]

That Warriors Clippers game was borderline perfect.

[black_biff_stadler]

I'll be very surprised to see the winner of any of the games in the LAC/OKC series score less than 100 points.

[KevShmev]

Considering how crazy these Western Conferences series have been, if the Spurs win today, the top 3 seeds and the 5 seed (that had the same record as the 4 seed) will all have won, which is kind of disappointing.  I was hoping to see it being one of those years finally where a bunch of lower seeds (6-8 seeds) won in the first round.

[jammindude]

Considering how crazy these Western Conferences series have been, if the Spurs win today, the top 3 seeds and the 5 seed (that had the same record as the 4 seed) will all have won, which is kind of disappointing.  I was hoping to see it being one of those years finally where a bunch of lower seeds (6-8 seeds) won in the first round.

I was just noticing that if the Spurs and Raptors both win, both the East and the West will have the 1-2-3-5 seeds remaining. 

[j]

Considering how crazy these Western Conferences series have been, if the Spurs win today, the top 3 seeds and the 5 seed (that had the same record as the 4 seed) will all have won, which is kind of disappointing.  I was hoping to see it being one of those years finally where a bunch of lower seeds (6-8 seeds) won in the first round.

The Z-Bo suspension and the Paul George non-suspension combined were a pretty obvious case of protecting NBA interests and likely contributed to the outcomes of those two series.  Officiating has had a significant impact on some of these games too (Nets-Raptors, Warriors-Clippers), though I don't think I could tell general incompetence from calculated manipulation if it were even taking place.

Not to go full conspiracy theorist, it's just...convenient.

Unfortunately the Mavs are about to give it up to the Spurs completely of their own accord.  No league intervention necessary.

-J

[antigoon]

I mean. Z-Bo punched a guy in the face.

[Accelerando]

Yeah Spurs!!!

[j]

I mean. Z-Bo punched a guy in the face.

Eh, watch the replay.  Looked to me like it was more of an attempted shove gone wrong.  Really dumb and deserved a flagrant for sure, but not a suspension.

Arguably more concerning was Paul George's clearly leaving the bench during the altercation the other night without consequence.

-J

[ReaPsTA]

The Raptors Nets game was a lot of fun, with a riveting ending.  Was getting out of my couch a lot due to the intensity.

The Spurs Mavs game was mostly unexciting, but a bit intriguing.  I loved what Carlisle did by putting Dirk at center.  It ended up not working out because the Spurs were so hot, but they cut the lead to 14, caught them off guard, and showed once and for all how great a job Carlisle did coaching this series.

The Spurs needed a game like this both for themselves and to send a message to the league.  The Mavs played great, but the Spurs also weren't playing at the level they'll need to in order to win the WCF and the finals.  They showed that level of intensity, execution, and mental toughness in this game.

[ReaPsTA]

Lets see how my playoff predictions did:

Prediction: Spurs > Mavericks in 5
Result:     Spurs > Mavericks in 7 (off by 2 games)
Comments:   I got this series wrong.  Mavs put up a much better fight than I expected.

Prediction: Rockets > Blazers in 6
Result:     Blazers > Rockets in 6 (off by 3 games)
Comments:   Lolworthy prediction.  Rockets couldn't keep it together at the end.  Can't believe they picked up McHale's option.  Such a bad move.

Prediction: Thunder > Grizzlies in 5
Result:     Thunder > Grizzlies in 7 (off by 2 games)
Comments:   I really underestimated the Grizz.  Great job by them.

Prediction: Clippers > Warriors in 6
Result:     Clippers > Warriors in 7 (off by 1 game)
Comments:   Oddly, in the series most effected by unforeseen events (the Sterling drama), my prediction was closer to the result than any of my others in the western conference.

Prediction: Pacers > Hawks in 6
Result:     Pacers > Hawks in 7 (off by 1 game)
Comments:   While numerically close, my thoughts on the series were way off.  I thought the Pacers would jump a level and play at least semi-coherent ball.  They sucked their way through six games and only finally played decent on game 7.

Prediction: Bulls > Wizards in 7
Result:     Wizards > Bulls in 5 (off by 3 games)
Comments:   Wizards showed intensity and heart I didn't think they had.  Bulls didn't have talent to stick with them.  Congrats to the Wizards.

Prediction: Heat > Bobcats in 5
Result:     Heat > Bobcats in 4 (off by 1 game)
Comments:   All the credit to the Heat for taking this seriously and ending it quickly.

Prediction: Nets > Raptors in 6
Result:     Nets > Raptors in 7 (off by 1 game)
Comments:   Raptors were great.  Both teams scored the same amount of points, so really it's hard to think it didn't just come down to luck.

Overall Stats:
I picked 7/8 series winners correctly.  w00t!
I was, on average, off by 1.75 games.  I don't feel good about that.

Predictions for the next round:

Spurs > Blazers in 6
The Spurs are a lot better than the Rockets.

Thunder > Clippers in 6
Scott Brooks, fortunately for the Thunder, managed to improve his offensive coaching in the second half of the Grizzlies series.  And, while the Clippers win was riveting, it can't be forgotten that the Warriors weren't that great of a team.

Wizards > Pacers in 7
The Wizards have shown more heart this playoffs than the Pacers.  The Pacers can't be trusted until they earn that trust back.

Heat > Nets in 6
The Heat are better rested, more experienced, and not as old.  I dunno.  I'm rooting for the Nets, but I can't see it.