NBA 2020-2021 - v. 2021 Finals: Milwaukee and Giannis rule the basketball world

[TheOutlawXanadu]

I have a question, and keep in mind that I am not really a fan of the NBA.

Last night, my kid was watching the Houston v. Oklahoma City game.  At the very end, the OK player sunk 2 free throws to give OK a 4 point lead with 3.x seconds left.  At that point, even I knew that the ball was going to James Harden and that he would shoot a 3-pointer and attempt to get fouled in the process.  The OK defender was playing very closed, and I was more than a little surprised that a foul didn't get called.  Of course, he missed the shot, so it wouldn't have mattered much, but here's my question:

Why weren't the OK defenders all standing in the back court or in the front court along the half-court line?  At most, the five OK players should have been standing flat-footed at the 3-point line with their arms straight up and not moving at all.  In other words, why were they doing things that could have resulted in a foul being called if Harden had made the shot?

I just watched the replay, and it was a bad strategy by OKC, IMO. Because Harden missed and was not fouled, people aren't really talking about it (people usually don't worry about the process if the result was good, even if the process was bad). So I think your observation is totally legitimate, and Dort (the OKC player who jumped at Harden) probably got chewed out a bit once he went back to the locker room.

[pg1067]

I have a question, and keep in mind that I am not really a fan of the NBA.

Last night, my kid was watching the Houston v. Oklahoma City game.  At the very end, the OK player sunk 2 free throws to give OK a 4 point lead with 3.x seconds left.  At that point, even I knew that the ball was going to James Harden and that he would shoot a 3-pointer and attempt to get fouled in the process.  The OK defender was playing very closed, and I was more than a little surprised that a foul didn't get called.  Of course, he missed the shot, so it wouldn't have mattered much, but here's my question:

Why weren't the OK defenders all standing in the back court or in the front court along the half-court line?  At most, the five OK players should have been standing flat-footed at the 3-point line with their arms straight up and not moving at all.  In other words, why were they doing things that could have resulted in a foul being called if Harden had made the shot?

I just watched the replay, and it was a bad strategy by OKC, IMO. Because Harden missed and was not fouled, people aren't really talking about it (people usually don't worry about the process if the result was good, even if the process was bad). So I think your observation is totally legitimate, and Dort (the OKC player who jumped at Harden) probably got chewed out a bit once he went back to the locker room.

Thanks.

I seem to remember something like this happening a few years back where the defender played aggressive defense and the offensive player hit a 3-pointer and the free throw to tie or win the game.

[King Postwhore]

Hot Damn!! What a win for the C's!!

[jammindude]

That Nuggets Jazz game was awesome! What a crazy final 20 seconds!!!

[jingle.boy]

Hot Damn!! What a win for the C's!!

Yeah, that was a tight one. Smart and Walker being invisible for 3 quarters, then lighting it up in the 4th saved the day. Raps shooting bricks from 3 again. 

The Raps need to bring their “A” game pronto.

[T-ski]

Bucks are done.

Coach Bud can’t adjust worth a shit in the playoffs.

Two wasted years of the best Bucks team since Kareem was in town.

[TAC]

Those were two awful fouls calls at the end of the game. At least they cancelled each other out.

[King Postwhore]

Another 10 round battle between Toronto and Boston tonight.   95/95 with 4 minutes to go. 

[King Postwhore]

Holy crap!  What a hell of a win for the Raptors.   I thought we had it.

[TAC]

Holy crap!  What a hell of a win for the Raptors.   I thought we had it.

Amazing finish.

[jingle.boy]

Holy crap!  What a hell of a win for the Raptors.   I thought we had it.

So did the rest of the world. Jingle.son walked away after the games leading bucket by Thies. I stayed, and lost my shit!!  apparently, Some twitter handles had already announced the 103-101 loss.

Raptors again played like as for most of the game, but managed a W. they HAVE to get their shit together or it will be meaningless.

[TAC]

I thought it was funny when Lowry fouled Wannamaker with his testicle.

[jingle.boy]

I thought it was funny when Lowry fouled Wannamaker with his testicle.

That was a terrible replay non-call.  So was the flagrant earlier on Thies. Suspect officiating on those two replay challenges.

[T-ski]

Bucks start the 4th up 12......lose by 15.

I can’t even.

[jingle.boy]

Bucks start the 4th up 12......lose by 15.

I can’t even.

That was an unbelievable quarter by both teams.  40-13 .  Jimmy Buckets alone had more points than the Bucks.  He is proving to be a legit superstar.

[T-ski]

Bucks win but most likely lose Giannis for what could be many games.

[jingle.boy]

I'm not sure I've seen a more pathetic attempt to play ball than the Raptors put forth.  11 points in the 1st!?  35 for the half, while giving up 37 in 2Q??  This is what happens when you run a 7-player rotation.  They're mentally and physically gassed.  And now Ibaka's status is unknown.

[TheOutlawXanadu]

I'm not sure I've seen a more pathetic attempt to play ball than the Raptors put forth.  11 points in the 1st!?  35 for the half, while giving up 37 in 2Q??  This is what happens when you run a 7-player rotation.  They're mentally and physically gassed.  And now Ibaka's status is unknown.

I ultimately think that the Raptors are more of a regular season team than a playoff team at this point. And there's no shame in that. But they definitely have that feel of "They will win 50+ games every year because they have good players and a great coach, but in the playoffs, they don't quite have the horses." I'm not saying they can't win this series, but I don't know how much they have left in the tank.

[jingle.boy]

I'm not sure I've seen a more pathetic attempt to play ball than the Raptors put forth.  11 points in the 1st!?  35 for the half, while giving up 37 in 2Q??  This is what happens when you run a 7-player rotation.  They're mentally and physically gassed.  And now Ibaka's status is unknown.

I ultimately think that the Raptors are more of a regular season team than a playoff team at this point. And there's no shame in that. But they definitely have that feel of "They will win 50+ games every year because they have good players and a great coach, but in the playoffs, they don't quite have the horses." I'm not saying they can't win this series, but I don't know how much they have left in the tank.

You could be right, but I still feel the limited bench use is what's killing them.  I mean, last year they looked like they were squeaking by on just an 8-man rotation.  Nurse is playing the same guys, without Kawhi.  How he expects to get the same outcome is baffling.  Their strength in the regular season was their bench depth.  Now, he's not playing any of those players.  FFS, the bench got 100 points in Game 4 vs the Nets.  ok, ok... it was the Nets, but they still made the plays and shots.

[T-ski]

My Bucks are done. Team Just wasn’t the same when the season restarted. I wouldn’t be surprised if they try to shake up the roster a bit after this.

I will now root for Denver for I care not for any of the other teams still playing.

[jingle.boy]

My Bucks are done. Team Just wasn’t the same when the season restarted. I wouldn’t be surprised if they try to shake up the roster a bit after this.

Pretty sure the Raps are going to join them tonight.  They've been manhandled by the Celtics, and just haven't adapted at all - which is very odd for Nurse's coaching ability.

[TheOutlawXanadu]

My Bucks are done. Team Just wasn’t the same when the season restarted. I wouldn’t be surprised if they try to shake up the roster a bit after this.

I will now root for Denver for I care not for any of the other teams still playing.

I feel bad for you guys. You ran into the worst combination of bad luck as a fan base - Giannis injury, bad matchup, and cheap ownership (not resigning MB).

[T-ski]

My Bucks are done. Team Just wasn’t the same when the season restarted. I wouldn’t be surprised if they try to shake up the roster a bit after this.

I will now root for Denver for I care not for any of the other teams still playing.

I feel bad for you guys. You ran into the worst combination of bad luck as a fan base - Giannis injury, bad matchup, and cheap ownership (not resigning MB).

Brogdon didn’t want to be in Milwaukee.  There were underlying issues outside of basketball that contributed to this decision. Add In his injury history, the Bucks made the right decision in letting him go, especially for the contract he currently has.

[King Postwhore]

My Bucks are done. Team Just wasn’t the same when the season restarted. I wouldn’t be surprised if they try to shake up the roster a bit after this.

Pretty sure the Raps are going to join them tonight.  They've been manhandled by the Celtics, and just haven't adapted at all - which is very odd for Nurse's coaching ability.

What's going on with Ibaka tonight?

[jingle.boy]

My Bucks are done. Team Just wasn’t the same when the season restarted. I wouldn’t be surprised if they try to shake up the roster a bit after this.

Pretty sure the Raps are going to join them tonight.  They've been manhandled by the Celtics, and just haven't adapted at all - which is very odd for Nurse's coaching ability.

What's going on with Ibaka tonight?

Sumthin with his ankle.  I didn't watch the last 1.5 quarters of the game, so I don't know if it happened in-game, or outside of it.  Apparently he was seen in a 'boot' yesterday.

[dparrott]

HEAT BEAT THE BUCKS!!! WOOOOOOOO!!!   

Lakers/Clippers WCF would be interesting. 

[jammindude]

The way they are playing right now, I think a Celts/Heat ECF is going to be more interesting than a Bucks/Raptors would have been anyway.

[King Postwhore]

Double OT for C's/Raptors.

[TAC]

The refs have sucked big time.

[King Postwhore]

Yeah, terrible playoff officiating. 

[TAC]

This game is sick!

[King Postwhore]

Holy shit. 

[TAC]

Lowry is a beast!

[King Postwhore]

With 5 fouls for a long time!  Game 7.  Chad not looking at his phone. Lol.

[jingle.boy]

With 5 fouls for a long time!  Game 7.  Chad not looking at his phone. Lol.

No, I was not - was watching on about a 10-minute delay, so I didn't want to be spoiled. 

Agree that the refereeing sucked - missed an elbow that cut Lowry, but then the flagrant foul on Tatum (I think) later was complete horse-shit.  Then there was another point where they called 4 fouls in the span of about 5 seconds. 

Lowry... yeah, he took 4Q and OT to another level, as did Powell - the former making some INCREDIBLY ballsy steals while holding 5 fouls.

This game is sick!

Best game of the series so far.  Thank god the Raps 3-pt shooting came alive, because at one point they were -15 in the differential (points).  Both teams ended up making 19 three's, on virtually the same shooting %.  Raps could've had it put away if not for their FT misses though - 3 that were late in Q4.

I hope Friday's is gonna be just as amazing - with the same outcome