NBA thread 2018-2019 v. Raptors are Champs

[Samsara]

Bucks win again, first to clinch a playoff birth.

I think if the Bucks and Sixers end up in the ECF, it'll be one for the ages.

[Samsara]

C's looked good last night...for once. They would have beat the Ws even if they did have Klay, I think.

Big game by KAT, Wolves get a badly-needed win against OKC. They have to have the win at Detroit tonight. Unlikely on a back-to-back, but they have to have it. We'll see.

[jingle.boy]

Ouch.  I guess that's why they play the games. 

Any given Monday.   

[KevShmev]

Regarding Westbrook and what happened with him last night, here is where I stand:

-I definitely believe that the fan made inappropriate comments towards him. You don't delete your entire twitter account right after unless you have something to hide.
-Westbook cannot react the way he did. Telling the guy you are going to f up and his wife is a really bad look for an NBA star.

[Samsara]

Regarding Westbrook and what happened with him last night, here is where I stand:

-I definitely believe that the fan made inappropriate comments towards him. You don't delete your entire twitter account right after unless you have something to hide.
-Westbook cannot react the way he did. Telling the guy you are going to f up and his wife is a really bad look for an NBA star.

Re: point 1 - I wouldn't assume that. Deleting the  Twitter account could be because the guy was getting absolutely bombed and trolled because he was in the spotlight, and Westbrook has a lot of defenders. I haven't read or watched what was said, and it wouldn't surprise me if the fan said something to Westbrook, but deleting Twitter isn't an admission of guilt.

Re: point 2 - Agreed completely. Westbrook has a history of speaking back to fans. He does it every game. Both positive and negative. I don't blame him for being angry if someone said something inappropriate. But he's a professional, and he needs to act like it. If he has a problem, he is supposed to alert security. If he does that, the fan gets tossed. Very simple. Instead, he loses his cool.

[KevShmev]

I should have expanded on point 1 - all reports are that the fan had a number of  tweets that could be construed as, to put it nicely, racially insensitive, and given what Westbrook accused him of saying last night, that looks damning to the fan and his credibility.

This stuff with Westbrook is going to get worse, since any fan looking to antagonize now knows that Westbrook is very reactionary and it will not take much to rile him up again.  And how long will it be before another fan goes too far, Westbrook responds in a worse fashion, and a brawl erupts?

[Samsara]

I should have expanded on point 1 - all reports are that the fan had a number of  tweets that could be construed as, to put it nicely, racially insensitive, and given what Westbrook accused him of saying last night, that looks damning to the fan and his credibility.

Yep, I heard that, yeah. And apparently Westbrook's teammates confirmed his side of the story, and the Jazz banned the fan from the arena for life.

This stuff with Westbrook is going to get worse, since any fan looking to antagonize now knows that Westbrook is very reactionary and it will not take much to rile him up again.  And how long will it be before another fan goes too far, Westbrook responds in a worse fashion, and a brawl erupts?

I'm hoping Westbrook gets smarter. The league's players better remember the Pacers brawl in the stands.

[TAC]

Celtics are now 11-2 without Kyrie.

33-29 with him...

[Samsara]

Celtics are now 11-2 without Kyrie.

33-29 with him...

THey are in a rough spot. They win without him. However, as was pointed out by Scalabrine this morning on NBA radio, they can't win on the road in the playoffs without him (last year). Personally, I've seen probably 10 Celtics games this year, probably half with Kyrie and half without him. THey are better without him. And not just the record. The ball movement is much better, and they play harder. Kyrie is so ball dominant, and that just doesn't work well with this particular group. They should let him walk.

[TAC]

Scal is a homer, and no way is he going diss Kyrie. The organization and broadcast partners, which Scal is part of, are going out of their way to kiss Kyrie’s ass, and it is sickening.

If Ainge wants to keep Kyrie, hoes going to have to let Brad Stevens go.

I would also like add that Scal is a fantastic color guy.

[Samsara]

Scal is a homer, and no way is he going diss Kyrie. The organization and broadcast partners, which Scal is part of, are going out of their way to kiss Kyrie’s ass, and it is sickening.

If Ainge wants to keep Kyrie, hoes going to have to let Brad Stevens go.

I would also like add that Scal is a fantastic color guy.

No doubt Scal is toeing the party line. I get it. But I think keeping Kyrie is a mistake. Tatum is going to be better than Kyrie when it is all said and done. Ainge should be focused on building around Tatum, not appeasing a head case like Kyrie Irving. And Stevens is experiencing some growing problems as a coach. Its a tough spot for him right now. I think if they clean out Kyrie and get a better team around Tatum, Stevens can be that coach in Boston for another decade.

[TAC]

Sam, I wish I had the time and energy to type out everything I'd want to say.

[King Postwhore]

Celtics are now 11-2 without Kyrie.

33-29 with him...

THey are in a rough spot. They win without him. However, as was pointed out by Scalabrine this morning on NBA radio, they can't win on the road in the playoffs without him (last year). Personally, I've seen probably 10 Celtics games this year, probably half with Kyrie and half without him. THey are better without him. And not just the record. The ball movement is much better, and they play harder. Kyrie is so ball dominant, and that just doesn't work well with this particular group. They should let him walk.

I'll add that he's taking games off against the lower tier teams for the most part so that adds to why they are 11-2 without him.

[TAC]

OK, Scal.

[King Postwhore]

OK, Scal.

 


Honestly Kyrie has made my blood boil.  All that drama that he hated with LeBron is exactly what he is doing now.

[T-ski]

you guys are all doing fine.

[bosk1]

Wit the regular season almost over, I'm pretty excited for the playoffs.  The east is competitive and exciting for the first time in awhile, which is good.  No LeBron, which is good.  The Warriors locked up the #1 in the west, which is good.  Overall...this is good. 

For the remainder of the regular season, it looks like there is little drama left in the east.  Yeah, the bottom spots are still up for grabs a bit, both in terms of seeding and for who will make it and who will not.  But the top half is locked up.

In the west, despite there being ONLY battles for seeding left to decide, it's still pretty dramatic for the last two days of games tomorrow and Wednesday.  The Warriors will probably rest ALL of their starters in one or both of the back-to-back games.  There is zero point in playing them and risking a pointless freak injury.  Best to have them rested and ready to go.

But the #2/#3 seeding is interesting.  Denver needs to win both games to hang onto the #2 and home court against Houston in the second round, which they surely do not want to give up (assuming the Rockets beat OKC tomorrow).  Do they play hard for the #2 or rest their guys?  I think that is THE story in the west right now.  But of course, the 6, 7, and 8 are up in the air in terms of seeding as well.

[T-ski]

I'm excited, the Bucks haven't won a playoff series in 18 years. 

Go Bucks!

[bosk1]

That's cool.  I would imagine they should make it at least to the East Finals.  I don't imagine anyone but the 76ers or Raptors being able to challenge them (I think the Celtics' injuries take them out of the race).

[Samsara]

Will be rooting for the NETS in this year's playoffs. It may be a short playoffs for me. 

[TAC]

That's cool.  I would imagine they should make it at least to the East Finals.  I don't imagine anyone but the 76ers or Raptors being able to challenge them (I think the Celtics' injuries take them out of the race).

I'll say it again...The Sixers are total Frauds. They are not getting out of the second round.


The Celtics are actually pretty healthy. Marcus Smart left last night's game with a bruised oblique. Tatum left as well after a shin contusion. he'll be fine though.

[Samsara]

That's cool.  I would imagine they should make it at least to the East Finals.  I don't imagine anyone but the 76ers or Raptors being able to challenge them (I think the Celtics' injuries take them out of the race).

I'll say it again...The Sixers are total Frauds. They are not getting out of the second round.

I hope so. #FuckJimmyButler

I'm a little biased though. General Soreness can go F himself.

[Lonk]

I was wrong about most of my predictions but pretty hyped for the playoffs. Might attend a Brooklyn Home game if the time is right.

[Azyiu]

The Magic is back to the playoffs for the first time in 7 years. They quietly won 9 of their last 10 games no less. One thing that stood out from last night's game at Boston is, the Magic went 22 for 22 at the FT line, wow!!

[jammindude]

Looks like the Blazers 1st round will be against the Jazz.  And barring a complete catastrophe, we should get home court, so I still think we can win that pretty easy.   I just hope we can win it in 5 and get a bit of a rest.   I still think we will exit sometime in the 2nd round.  The Blazers are one of those teams that *could* have made a serious threat to anyone in the post season *IF* we had every single piece of the puzzle ready and healthy.    But we needed ALL the pieces, and with Nurkic gone we no longer have that.    If we get some rest before the 2nd round, we might make someone work for it, but that's pretty much it.

[Samsara]

Don't sleep on the Jazz. No offense intended, but I expect them to handle the Blazers. Quinn Snyder's teams are always sneaky good, and solid when it comes to fundamentals. I like the Blazers, but the Nurkic injury was costly. Kanter isn't going to provide the same toughness, IMO. He's good, but he's not Nurkic. And while I love C.J. and Dame, they both can be streaky. The Jazz are really tough defensively, and they've put together a balanced team. That's going to be a hell of a series. I honestly think that'll be one of the best in the first round, and it'll go 7.

With my Wolves out of it, I turn to the hometown - go NETS. I love Caris Levert (one of my favorite players in the league), so I am pulling for Brooklyn. Hoping if they stay the 6th seed, they can take the Sixers 7. Not sure that happens if the Sixers are healthy, but we'll see.

[Lonk]

Drama just follows LeBron no matter where he goes. Wonder what Magic stepping down means for next year.

[Azyiu]

As a Lakers fan, I am really angry at Magic's handling of this whole thing! He gets us halfway to nowhere, and he is just going to quit with such a lame excuse?! 

I think the next best things for the Lakers to do would be keeping Walton, and explore the possibility of trading LeBron away.

[jingle.boy]

And to hold the PC without even telling your boss!?!?!  That's really unprofessional.

[TAC]

Marcus Smart out 4-6 weeks with torn oblique. Not good.

[bosk1]

Wow, so the Rockets not only failed spectacularly at getting the #2 seed, but they fell all the way to #4.    Couldn't have happened to a more deserving batch of clowns.

[Lonk]

Wow, so the Rockets not only failed spectacularly at getting the #2 seed, but they fell all the way to #4.    Couldn't have happened to a more deserving batch of clowns.

I was paying attention to that yesterday. To be fair, they didn't even played yesterday, and both Portland and Denver won yesterday (Don't know if Houston won the tie breaker with Denver).

But this playoff should be fun. I'm going to game 3 of Phil Vs. BKN.

[Samsara]

Sad my team's season is over, but with all their injuries, its for the best. The Wolves went 36-46. And if you count up the games missed by the core seven rotation players due to injury, you can see why. Looking forward to them getting healthy, and gaining some momentum and direction in the offseason.

Until  then though -- GO NETS!

[bosk1]

Wow, so the Rockets not only failed spectacularly at getting the #2 seed, but they fell all the way to #4.    Couldn't have happened to a more deserving batch of clowns.

I was paying attention to that yesterday. To be fair, they didn't even played yesterday, and both Portland and Denver won yesterday (Don't know if Houston won the tie breaker with Denver).

But this playoff should be fun. I'm going to game 3 of Phil Vs. BKN.

Yeah, Houston had the tiebreaker over Denver, so all Houston had to do was win on Tuesday.  But they choked it away by losing their last game.

[T-ski]

Wow, so the Rockets not only failed spectacularly at getting the #2 seed, but they fell all the way to #4.    Couldn't have happened to a more deserving batch of clowns.

and people want to give Harden the MVP over Giannis.