Game Thread PLAYOFFS: ROUND 2, GAME 7: BLAZERS @ NUGGETS - MAY 12, 2019 - SUNDAY, 12:30 PM, ABC

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Purely a hypothetical question: which team would you want the Blazers to face in this year's Finals?

  • Total voters
    67
  • Poll closed .
Okay, first off, before I dog them, respect to DEN. They played a hard-fought series. Murry is a baller, Jokic is an amazing offensive player, and I like both Craig and Harris. Aside from Jokic's flopping and intent to injure Kanter, there's not a lot to dislike about their team.

But I'm SO happy we beat them because I've been saying all season long that they aren't as good as their record indicated. And I think their Playoff run - particularly Round 2 - proved it. First off, they had to go the distance against a very mediocre Spurs team. Well coached, but old, mid-level talent. They did what they needed to and beat them, but it took them 7.

Then in the second round they faced us - a team with a one-armed back-up Center, not known for his defense, and not able to eat/drink for a portion of the series, going up against the guy many across the league have said is not only the best C in the game, but in conversation for the best PLAYER in the game. And we beat them. Not only that, but we beat them without Dame ever playing like himself. We beat them off minimal (if any) contributions from several of our rotation players (including two starters!). We didn't play anywhere close to our peak ability, and we beat them. They did a great job making sure Dame didn't beat them, but it didn't matter.

They're a good, scrappy team with some intriguing players. But that #2 seed was pretty similar to our #3 seed last season. They gave us a run, but only because we were down 1.5 Centers.
 
blue9 said:
Okay, first off, before I dog them, respect to DEN. They played a hard-fought series. Murry is a baller, Jokic is an amazing offensive player, and I like both Craig and Harris. Aside from Jokic's flopping and intent to injure Kanter, there's not a lot to dislike about their team.

But I'm SO happy we beat them because I've been saying all season long that they aren't as good as their record indicated. And I think their Playoff run - particularly Round 2 - proved it. First off, they had to go the distance against a very mediocre Spurs team. Well coached, but old, mid-level talent. They did what they needed to and beat them, but it took them 7.

Then in the second round they faced us - a team with a one-armed back-up Center, not known for his defense, and not able to eat/drink for a portion of the series, going up against the guy many across the league have said is not only the best C in the game, but in conversation for the best PLAYER in the game. And we beat them. Not only that, but we beat them without Dame ever playing like himself. We beat them off minimal (if any) contributions from several of our rotation players (including two starters!). We didn't play anywhere close to our peak ability, and we beat them. They did a great job making sure Dame didn't beat them, but it didn't matter.

They're a good, scrappy team with some intriguing players. But that #2 seed was pretty similar to our #3 seed last season. They gave us a run, but only because we were down 1.5 Centers.
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I agree with everything you said, but I view it from a slightly different angle. IMO, the balance of power shifted sharply to the East this year, with 4 of the top-5 teams. I've felt all year that the champion will come out of the East. Despite all the individual talent in the West, the conference's top teams feel like they've fallen off sharply. So yeah, Denver isn't as good as a #2 team ought to be, but that's largely because no one else really challenged them for the honor.
 
handiman said:
I agree with everything you said, but I view it from a slightly different angle. IMO, the balance of power shifted sharply to the East this year, with 4 of the top-5 teams. I've felt all year that the champion will come out of the East. Despite all the individual talent in the West, the conference's top teams feel like they've fallen off sharply. So yeah, Denver isn't as good as a #2 team ought to be, but that's largely because no one else really challenged them for the honor.
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Fair.
I'll be interested to see what happens with DEN. All year I've thought they were this year's flash in the pan. They will need to make some smart moves to avoid back-sliding, IMO.
 
blue9 said:
Fair.
I'll be interested to see what happens with DEN. All year I've thought they were this year's flash in the pan. They will need to make some smart moves to avoid back-sliding, IMO.
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It will be super interesting to see what they do with Millsap. He has a team option for $30 million. Keep him and they'd be close to the tax line. They have no draft picks in the 2019 Draft and wouldn't really be able to do much in free agency.
 
hoopsjock said:
It will be super interesting to see what they do with Millsap. He has a team option for $30 million. Keep him and they'd be close to the tax line. They have no draft picks in the 2019 Draft and wouldn't really be able to do much in free agency.
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I think they talk to him before hand and work out a deal. Decline the team option, then re-sign him for 3yr/$53M ($20M, $17.5M, $15M)
 
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