Official Around the NBA April 2019 Playoff Edition

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Natebishop3 said:
I want Milwaukee to shit all over Kyrie because I’m tired of people thinking he’s better than Dame. The guy was mediocre in Cleveland until LeBron came back, and he rode LeBrons jock until he was traded. I want him to get wrecked by Milwaukee.
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What I'm constantly amazed by is how much blind praise Irving gets. Can you imagine how good the Celtics would be if they had Damian instead of Kyrie? Hell, the Celtics had almost 7 players average double figures and 7 players who shot over 36% from 3. Portland had 4 players who shot over 36% (and one of those was Meyers and his inconsistent minutes).

You'd have a hard time convincing me that Damian wouldn't lead that team to 5-10 more wins.
 
The Clippers played inspired basketball. But on the flip side of that the Warriors looked like they simply were going through the motions at times.
Warriors will win game six is what i'm thinking. They will not take the Rockets for granted at all either.
Kenny on the TNT crew was spot on with the things he was saying last night. Fact is the Warriors have three of the best shooters in the league and one of them is possibly the best to ever play the game. Even Houston would have to play perfect 4 times to beat the Warriors in 7 games.
Here however seems to be the problem for the Warriors. They can be beat because their defense is not the same this year. The Houston Rockets might be able to take this Warriors team. You got to wonder if there isn't some finger pointing going on with that group right now? Team chemistry is huge in the playoffs.
 
TorturedBlazerFan said:
I think its hard to tell. They’re games couldn't be more opposite of each other... I think they’re both talented and play to their strengths well.
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Harrell would be the same player on any team. Lou wouldnt. Harrell is their heart and energy. Much better defender, much more efficient scorer.
 
What is with the Dubs? I didn't expect them to lose 2 at home.
 
BonesJones said:
Harrell would be the same player on any team. Lou wouldnt. Harrell is their heart and energy. Much better defender, much more efficient scorer.
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Williams has been a good bench scorer his whole career (obviously he's gotten better), but he did similar things for Houston, LAL, Tor and ATL).
Harrel's a lot younger at this point and an energy player, who also because of position doesn't really take shots outside of a couple of feet - Which is fine he plays within himself. I just think one is a scoring guard, one is a low post bruiser. What they do is so polar opposite it's kind of impossible to compare who is "better". Both good at what they do, and play within themselves. I'd probably rather have Harrell in Portland.
 
TorturedBlazerFan said:
Williams has been a good bench scorer his whole career (obviously he's gotten better), but he did similar things for Houston, LAL, Tor and ATL).
Harrel's a lot younger at this point and an energy player, who also because of position doesn't really take shots outside of a couple of feet - Which is fine he plays within himself. I just think one is a scoring guard, one is a low post bruiser. What they do is so polar opposite it's kind of impossible to compare who is "better". Both good at what they do, and play within themselves. I'd probably rather have Harrell in Portland.
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Not even close to this level though. Just check his per 36 stats.
 
BonesJones said:
Not even close to this level though. Just check his per 36 stats.
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It's a completely different position though bones. I get the whole "Stats" thing but in the end you are talking about a different type of player. Not something you can readily compare. Certainly not in a per 36 stat at all.
 
Natebishop3 said:
I would be more worried about Toronto. Their defense is scary.

Will the refs continue to hand Giannis 20 FTA games?
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I expect that number to decrease
 
kjironman1 said:
It's a completely different position though bones. I get the whole "Stats" thing but in the end you are talking about a different type of player. Not something you can readily compare. Certainly not in a per 36 stat at all.
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Im saying check the stats reference to talking about Lou Williams in LAC compared to how he did in Houston and other places.
 
BonesJones said:
Not even close to this level though. Just check his per 36 stats.
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He's gotten better as he's gotten older but he's been basically a bench scorer and a pretty good one for the last 4-5 years. He's also on a team that doesn't have much scoring from the guard position sure. I'm not sure we can say definitively if Harrell could do what he's doing as effectively everywhere, because some teams he wouldn't get minutes, and wouldn't work because he can't shoot. I think they're both perfect fits for what LAC needs.
 
kjironman1 said:
Reaching for the stars with a Hammer!
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Zach Lowe on the blazers thunder and others:
A lesser team -- hell, most teams -- would have broken apart after the four-game humiliation New Orleans inflicted on Portland a year ago. The Blazers didn't run from it. They took time to hurt. They acknowledged weakness. And then, they fortified themselves.

They didn't overhaul their system, on either end. They got better at it, and added new wrinkles. Lillard came back with new ways to skirt trapping defenses. They stormed out of the gate, survived a hellish winter schedule, and surged again in March and April. They believed, even after losing Jusuf Nurkic -- their second-best player for much of the season.

They knew they could win, but also that they could lose without fracturing. Losing no longer scared them. "There's nothing for us to be afraid of," CJ McCollum told me in November, "because the worst has already happened."

The Lowe Post podcast[/paste:font]
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ESPN's Zach Lowe talks to various basketball people about various basketball things. Listen now!



They were ready for Oklahoma City's blitzing defense. Lillard picked the Thunder apart. He wore down the redoubtable Steven Adams. On one Lillard pick-and-roll midway through the third quarter of Portland's pivotal Game 4 win, Adams failed to rumble beyond the 3-point arc. Lillard, perhaps surprised by the open space in front of him, walked into an easy triple to put Portland up 12.

Billy Donovan then shifted Adams away from Portland's screen-setters, and had him guard Maurice Harkless off to the side. It was surrender. It was merciful. A year ago, Lillard's confidence melted under pressure from New Orleans' trapping defense. You could see it. He broke. This time around, he broke the Thunder.

The whole team played with poised ruthlessness. McCollum cooked pull-up jumpers, and rescued wobbly all-bench units. Portland's guards will never have classic postseason size, but the ability to make tough shots -- to make something from nothing -- is a must-have playoff skill, too. Al-Farouq Aminu, the Blazers' quiet soul, did a little of everything. Harkless scrounged for double digits. Bit players stepped up.

The Blazers spent the season asking: Why not us? Why can't we be the second-best team in the Western Conference? Why can't we make the conference finals?

But perhaps even they didn't realize what they were really asking: If Durant departs Golden State, why can't we challenge for the NBA Finals?

Maybe they'll never get there. Nurkic has a long recovery ahead. Zach Collinslooks like a guy who can make the leap, but actually making it is a different thing. The cap is strangling them. They are always one bad playoff matchup from facing the same old questions about the smallish LIllard-McCollum backcourt.

But right now, the Blazers look like a case study in persistence -- proof there is value in staying good in a league that too often disparages prolonged goodness.http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/page/zachlowe26597367/nba-playoff-winners-losers-russ-dame-warriors
 
BonesJones said:
You took that the wrong way.

Not coming at you sideways or insulting your BBIQ. Simply that Griffin is a better defender than his reputation suggests,.
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And this is what I'm talking about. I don't use reputation to determine a player's skill level. I watch the player, many times and look for tendencies.

They say Patrick Beverly is a good defender. But reputation precedes him. But I see huge deficiencies in his defensive decision making. You can play 2 Man game against him all game and he can't handle it. His D is overrated just like Dame's is underrated.

Blake has zero post defense. He's too short and had no length.
His on the ball D is suspect too. And frankly his pick and roll defense is dubious at best. Off ball? Meh.

None of it matters when you're injured though...
 
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dviss1 said:
And this is what I'm talking about. I don't use reputation to determine a player's skill level. I watch the player, many times and look for tendencies.

They say Patrick Beverly is a good defender. But reputation precedes him. But I see huge deficiencies in his defensive decision making. You can play 2 Man game against him all game and he can't handle it. His D is overrated just like Dame's is overrated.

Blake has zero post defense. He's too short and had no length.
His on the ball D is suspect too. And frankly his pick and roll defense is dubious at best. Off ball? Meh.

None of it matters when you're injured though...
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Did you just say Dame's D is overrated?
 
Today's paper quotes Steve Kerr saying team not prepared. For a close out playoff game? When they played poorly during the year the rationale was they are bored with regular season and saving themselves for playoffs. They blow 31 point third quarter lead at home and rationale is this was wake up call.

Maybe they have just regressed. A good team but one of half a dozen or so.

Houston will benefit from time off, as will Blazers.
 
crandc said:
Today's paper quotes Steve Kerr saying team not prepared. For a close out playoff game? When they played poorly during the year the rationale was they are bored with regular season and saving themselves for playoffs. They blow 31 point third quarter lead at home and rationale is this was wake up call.

Maybe they have just regressed. A good team but one of half a dozen or so.

Houston will benefit from time off, as will Blazers.
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The Kobe Pau Odom Lakers looked like a multiple title winning powerhouse until they got swept by Dallas.

The Warriors have worse depth than recent seasons. Seem unmotivated after 5 years of finals. 7 years ago the league had a blend of teams with bigs, slashers, shooters, bulky PF. Now the league plays against small ball shooting every game and is prepared to defend the warriors 3pt style.

I certainly would still give the warriors the highest chance of winning a title of any of the 10 teams left. But I wouldn't be surprised at all if they lose. We've seen far stranger things happen every couple seasons.
 
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