OFFICIAL AROUND THE NBA THREAD -May 2021

[Natebishop3]

Lakers down 13 at half.

So to start the 2nd half, 2 fouls on the Warriors in the first 30 seconds. 3 fouls in the first 1:12. 4 fouls in the first 1:28.

So predictable.

Why do we even follow this joke of a charade when we know exactly what's going to happen.

 

[TBpup]

Why do we even follow this joke of a charade when we know exactly what's going to happen.

Turned it off when the Warriors were in the penalty with 9 minutes left in the 3rd. #Blatant

 

[Natebishop3]

That was a flop and a half.

 

[Natebishop3]

On the one hand.... I hate Draymond and it's nice to see his bullshit not work anymore. On the other hand, I despise the Lakers and Anthony Davis is the softest big man I think I have ever seen.

 

[DDolla]

Curry is the real MVP. Sorry Jokic and Dame

 

[DDolla]

What a game

 

[Natebishop3]

Curry is the real MVP. Sorry Jokic and Dame

Why?

 

[DDolla]

Damn, now we have to play the Warriors in the 2nd round

 

[Fairly-Hard]

Damn, now we have to play the Warriors in the 2nd round

I really hope this happens.

 

[blazerkor]

On ESPN they just showed that the Lakers are 3 to 1 favorites over the Suns. It's the first time that a seventh seed has ever been favored over a second seed and they're favored by a lot. I think it makes sense though. I don't think the Lakers will play as bad as they did in the first half again and they are really deep and have very versatile lineups they can put out there.

 

[Titan]

Imagine working hard and get a 2 seed then find out the 7th seed is the favorite. I don’t envy the Suns

 

[DDolla]

Imagine working hard and get a 2 seed then find out the 7th seed is the favorite. I don’t envy the Suns

That’s like us last year, work so hard in the bubble to just face the Lakers

 

[Haakzilla]

...and yet again, on the flip-side, you have your boy Westbrook in his *100th playoff game disappearing when it counts most go figure!

Maybe this explains why?

 

[THE HCP]

 

[BlazerBeav]

Curry is the real MVP. Sorry Jokic and Dame

Nah. He wasn't even that good in this game. His turnover with the Warriors up 3 late was awful. His refusing to take an open 2-pointer down 3 with 40 seconds left led to a second year guy taking the game-tying shot.

 

[KSF-ERIC]

Brook really harassing DeRozen. Love the passion he plays with. DeRozen 0-1st half when being guarded by Brooks.

I’m rooting for Grizz to beat Warriors even though Warriors would have a better shot against Jazz.

 

[KSF-ERIC]

Nah. He wasn't even that good in this game. His turnover with the Warriors up 3 late was awful. His refusing to take an open 2-pointer down 3 with 40 seconds left led to a second year guy taking the game-tying shot.

I’ve been saying Curry is trash but no one will listen. He couldn’t respond to Kyrie in 16 and can’t respond to LeBron tonight. Does Curry even have a signature moment in the playoffs? Besides getting shut down by Kevin Love, I mean?

 

[Chris Craig]

Well, the Jazz are happy

 

[e_blazer]

Well, the Jazz are happy

Because they're going to enjoy watching a Blazers/Lakers series?

 

[wizenheimer]

Damn, now we have to play the Warriors in the 2nd round

Portland is in the 3 vs 6 slot. If they advance they'd play the winner of the 2 vs 7 match-up which would be Suns or Lakers

 

[Hoopguru]

I expect Pops to retire, he's missed the playoffs two years in a row and he doesn't have any super stars developing for him to coach.
Tough league to coach in unless you have a few super stars on the team. He has been on record that the game has changed way to much with to many threes and his team shoots fewer than any team in the league. Game has passed him by.

 

[Strenuus]

God this makes me want the Suns to win oh so much more.

 

[Natebishop3]

I expect Pops to retire, he's missed the playoffs two years in a row and he doesn't have any super stars developing for him to coach.
Tough league to coach in unless you have a few super stars on the team. He has been on record that the game has changed way to much with to many threes and his team shoots fewer than any team in the league. Game has passed him by.

So it begs the question - was he ever really that good to begin with or did he just have arguably the best power forward of all time on his roster? His teams were extremely good. The guy took over a team with Duncan and David Robinson. He might have been one of, if not the, best GMs of all time though. He assembled some excellent teams. So how much of their success was Pop the GM and how much was Pop the coach?

 

[e_blazer]

So it begs the question - was he ever really that good to begin with or did he just have arguably the best power forward of all time on his roster? His teams were extremely good. The guy took over a team with Duncan and David Robinson. He might have been one of, if not the, best GMs of all time though. He assembled some excellent teams. So how much of their success was Pop the GM and how much was Pop the coach?

You can make the same argument with Phil Jackson, Red Auerbach, Pat Riley, Chuck Daley and on and on. Great coaches need great players and vice versa. Great coaches tend to go where there are great players. Jack Ramsay won it all with Bill Walton but couldn't coach a team to a title without him.

 

[Hoopguru]

When you take over a team with a couple future HOF & other great players it makes your job much easier I would guess. I recall Hill the guy he replaced felt betrayed and even David Robinson didn't agree with the change. When Robinson came back and injured his foot and they end up with TD, the planets lined up for POP.

 

[Natebishop3]

You can make the same argument with Phil Jackson, Red Auerbach, Pat Riley, Chuck Daley and on and on. Great coaches need great players and vice versa. Great coaches tend to go where there are great players. Jack Ramsay won it all with Bill Walton but couldn't coach a team to a title without him.

I don't think you can make that argument with Phil Jackson.

The Bulls had Jordan and Pippen before he took over. They didn't win anything.

The Lakers were a cultural mess before Phil took over.

 

[e_blazer]

I don't think you can make that argument with Phil Jackson.

The Bulls had Jordan and Pippen before he took over. They didn't win anything.

The Lakers were a cultural mess before Phil took over.

I didn’t say that a bad coach could fail to achieve success with great players, or that even a good coach needs a good supporting cast to go with his stars. Doug Collins was a decent coach, but I don’t think he meshed well with Jordan. Jackson and all of the guys I listed were really good coaches. So is Pop. It still takes great talent to win a title.

 

[Dom McBlazer]

Damn, now we have to play the Warriors in the 2nd round

No. It's the winner of the Suns/Lakers series.

 

[Chris Craig]

I expect Pops to retire, he's missed the playoffs two years in a row and he doesn't have any super stars developing for him to coach.
Tough league to coach in unless you have a few super stars on the team. He has been on record that the game has changed way to much with to many threes and his team shoots fewer than any team in the league. Game has passed him by.

At the peak Pops era in San Antonio has been World class, and he will always be among the best coaches in the league, but he has done all he can for the Spurs.

 

[Natebishop3]

I didn’t say that a bad coach could fail to achieve success with great players, or that even a good coach needs a good supporting cast to go with his stars. Doug Collins was a decent coach, but I don’t think he meshed well with Jordan. Jackson and all of the guys I listed were really good coaches. So is Pop. It still takes great talent to win a title.

I'm just saying that Phil is a little different because he was known as a guy who could work with egos and malcontents. Dennis Rodman is a perfect example. Pop and Rodman did NOT get along. At all. Pop also wasn't able to do much with Kawhi and Aldridge. Why do you think that is? LMA and Kawhi were at the top of their games when they were on the Spurs together.

Phil was able to win with two almost completely different Bulls teams and Lakers teams. Only similarity obviously being Jordan and Pippen on the Bulls and really just Kobe on the Lakers. Pop couldn't win without Duncan, even though Kawhi was able to go on and win in Toronto. I'm just saying we never really got to see Pop have success without Duncan, but Phil won without Jordan. He won without Shaq. Kobe wasn't able to win without Phil.