2018 Playoffs Thread

[Finito]

Harden has disappeared at the end of every game this series so its not new. But as someone stated earlier if he doesnt get the calls hes a non factor. This also leads to him throwing a pity party and not getting back on D or playing any at all.

With that being said, fatigue has a lot to do with this loss. But we all know this and have seen it before. Someone else hit the nail on the head bringing up the 07' game 5 vs the spurs. Eerily similar.

CP3 is the general though and he kept the composure at the end of the last 2 games. It hurts the Rockets the most without him out there in the 4th qrt imo

I agree. The difference in the Rockets this year was Paul. Harden is what he is we all know this he can get you close but Paul is there Mariano Rivera he's the closer on that team down the stretch. They need him. It just sucks injuries have killed these playoffs

 

[Russ Smith]

D’Antoni could’ve easily expanded his rotations by 1-2 guys with the Suns and should here. Joe Johnson on Houston reminds me of when we had Jalen Rose. No reason why he couldn’t play 10-15 min per game. Same with Joe. Dude was productive in the playoffs last year with Utah, so it’s not like there’s no gas in the tank.

D’Antoni will lose Monday and it’ll be another reminder that he hasn’t learned a lesson from 10 years ago.

I think the question with Johnson is who would he guard but you can see he can still put the ball in the basket so yeah he could play a few minutes at least.

 

[Russ Smith]

Game 7 is going to be interesting. Draymond made a comment after game 5 about teh Warriors having "found something" on offense that they thought they could use going forward and from what I saw last night I suspect what they found is James Harden doesn't play defense he just tries to steal the ball. My FB feed is showing me all these highlights from the game last night and it's stunning how many of them are Draymond or Steph or especially Durant driving by Harden as he reaches from behind, doesn't get the steal and they either score or pass for a score and harden yells at a teammate. he made it work once, stripped Draymond and got a dunk, but in the 2nd half he was basically just waving at guys driving by him. I've been saying it all series the Rockets are attacking Steph, and the Warriors need to be attacking Harden, I suspect that's what Draymond was talking about and it sure paid off in the 2nd half last night.

He's unguardable on offense but it's a lot harder to hide him on defense without Paul in the game.

 

[Finito]

Game 7 is going to be interesting. Draymond made a comment after game 5 about teh Warriors having "found something" on offense that they thought they could use going forward and from what I saw last night I suspect what they found is James Harden doesn't play defense he just tries to steal the ball. My FB feed is showing me all these highlights from the game last night and it's stunning how many of them are Draymond or Steph or especially Durant driving by Harden as he reaches from behind, doesn't get the steal and they either score or pass for a score and harden yells at a teammate. he made it work once, stripped Draymond and got a dunk, but in the 2nd half he was basically just waving at guys driving by him. I've been saying it all series the Rockets are attacking Steph, and the Warriors need to be attacking Harden, I suspect that's what Draymond was talking about and it sure paid off in the 2nd half last night.

He's unguardable on offense but it's a lot harder to hide him on defense without Paul in the game.

Oh James Harden doesn't play defense....wow

Hey wait breaking news. Yao Ming is tall

 

[Mainstreet]

Seeing everyone calling out D'Antoni now is frustrating. It wasn't long ago he was touted as a genius and a great coach by a lot of Suns fans, wishing he would return to Phoenix or predicting a title for Houston. Once the playoffs roll around though and his shortcomings are highlighted everyone sees why he won't coach a team to a championship. Everyone calls him out for the one trick pony he is and questions if he'll ever learn and then in a few months people forget the playoff collapse and gets nostalgic again for him. I really don't get it. He led the Suns to some great years and helped usher in this fast paced style of play that dominates the league but just because he was the first to do it before everyone got on board doesn't make him the best at it. He'll coach the Rockets another year, maybe two, and then they'll let him go hoping whoever replaces him can have one last run with Harden before he's too old. When he's sitting around without a head coaching position and the Suns start looking for their next coach, people will want them to give D'Antoni a look again for some reason. I hope the team doesn't actually do it though because that first postseason trip he's with us people will start calling for his head when he's running 7 players into the ground and not coaching defense.

I know Paul is injured and some may blame their failure to win on his injury but he's injured because D'Antoni only plays 7 players a game with his stars playing 44 minutes a night in the postseason. If he developed a 9 man rotation like most other teams he wouldn't have an injury to explain why his team comes up short during every single playoff run.

What I saw from last night Warriors vs. Rockets game is 3 stars (Curry, Durant and Thompson) versus 1 star (Harden). I prefer more rotation players but I'm not going to dump on D'Antoni because Paul goes down.

 

[Russ Smith]

What I saw from last night Warriors vs. Rockets game is 3 stars (Curry, Durant and Thompson) versus 1 star (Harden). I prefer more rotation players but I'm not going to dump on D'Antoni because Paul goes down.

I get why he did it he wanted to slow the game down without Paul and make the Warriors guard longer but all those give the ball to Harden ISO with 5 on the shot clock plays led to a situation where Harden was either going to be the hero or the goat and last night he was hero in the first half(with Gordon) and goat in the 2nd half. yes it's easier to coach with Durant, Curry and Klay and Draymond but as the 4th quarters of 4 and 5 showed, if they get greedy and ISO too much they're much easier to guard, when they share the ball like last night they're tough to guard. It took 2 losses for Kerr to get that point across.

So I can't blame Harden for being in that situation, it was clearly by design of the coach, so I think it's somewhat fair to say they did what the coach wanted but at a certain point the Warriors adjusted and took it away, and Houston never adjusted to the adjustment. Tucker and Ariza and Gordon all played well last night, they just didn't get the ball and when Ariza did he was often taking shots to beat the clock instead of in the flow.

 

[HeHasRosen]

Harden didn't get the calls in the 2nd half. Then he started pressing and getting frustrated. It took him out of the game.

Klay was on fire. There was a point when all the warriors were bickering at each other. Shaking their heads. You could see it in their body language. Except for Klay he wasn't going to let them lose focus. I saw it several times.

There is an argument that playing only 7 guys and not having a rotation, could have led to CP3 getting hurt. So yes some of this is on D'Antoni. You have to adjust and its something he never does. Stubbornness gets you nowhere in sports. Without his team leader last night he had to. And he didn't. Thats what you get

 

[LoyaltyisaCurse]

@Russ Smith you just know Game 7 is going to be Scott Foster’s crew.

 

[AzStevenCal]

What I saw from last night Warriors vs. Rockets game is 3 stars (Curry, Durant and Thompson) versus 1 star (Harden). I prefer more rotation players but I'm not going to dump on D'Antoni because Paul goes down.

Chris had to play 41 minutes, that's what caused his injury. That's why Draymond Green was rushed to the hospital when he played 45 plus minutes the other day. Same with Lebron, he logged 46 minutes in a must win situation and the guy will spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair because of it.

Apparently, the best way to beat a team that has a lot more talent than you do is to go deep into your inferior roster. The Warriors are playing their star players extra minutes so the Rockets should outsmart them by giving Ryan Anderson and Joe Johnson more burn.

 

[Russ Smith]

@Russ Smith you just know Game 7 is going to be Scott Foster’s crew.

yeah he's not exactly the Warriors best friend.

It's on the road but if Paul can't play there's really not much excuse, if the Warriors can't win without Paul they don't deserve it.

 

[Russ Smith]

Chris had to play 41 minutes, that's what caused his injury. That's why Draymond Green was rushed to the hospital when he played 45 plus minutes the other day. Same with Lebron, he logged 46 minutes in a must win situation and the guy will spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair because of it.

Apparently, the best way to beat a team that has a lot more talent than you do is to go deep into your inferior roster. The Warriors are playing their star players extra minutes so the Rockets should outsmart them by giving Ryan Anderson and Joe Johnson more burn.

I don't lnow about THIS series I didn't see the stats but for the whole postseason the Warriors have 2 guys averaging 38 MPG, 1 37 and 1 just under 35(Curry). Houston doesn't have a single player above 36.1 MPG(Harden). Paul is only playing 34.5 MPG, he played 32 in the regular season so I doubt an additional 2.5 MPG is the problem. But I guess the counter is you have a guy with a history of problems like that, so when he goes down, it's easy to assume he's just playing too much.

And the counter to that is the Rockets wouldn't have been playing in game 6 if Paul hadn't played so well, and so much, in games 4 and 5.

 

[elindholm]

Harden didn't get the calls in the 2nd half. Then he started pressing and getting frustrated. It took him out of the game.

I said before the playoffs even started that how Harden would be officiated in the playoffs would determine who comes out of the West. Having said that, I think that he'll get the calls in Game 7 and the Rockets will advance.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Seeing everyone calling out D'Antoni now is frustrating. It wasn't long ago he was touted as a genius and a great coach by a lot of Suns fans, wishing he would return to Phoenix or predicting a title for Houston. Once the playoffs roll around though and his shortcomings are highlighted everyone sees why he won't coach a team to a championship. Everyone calls him out for the one trick pony he is and questions if he'll ever learn and then in a few months people forget the playoff collapse and gets nostalgic again for him. I really don't get it. He led the Suns to some great years and helped usher in this fast paced style of play that dominates the league but just because he was the first to do it before everyone got on board doesn't make him the best at it. He'll coach the Rockets another year, maybe two, and then they'll let him go hoping whoever replaces him can have one last run with Harden before he's too old. When he's sitting around without a head coaching position and the Suns start looking for their next coach, people will want them to give D'Antoni a look again for some reason. I hope the team doesn't actually do it though because that first postseason trip he's with us people will start calling for his head when he's running 7 players into the ground and not coaching defense.

I know Paul is injured and some may blame their failure to win on his injury but he's injured because D'Antoni only plays 7 players a game with his stars playing 44 minutes a night in the postseason. If he developed a 9 man rotation like most other teams he wouldn't have an injury to explain why his team comes up short during every single playoff run.

Most of the people who are criticizing DA are the same people who ALWAYS criticize him and NEVER talk about wanting him back.

 

[AzStevenCal]

I don't lnow about THIS series I didn't see the stats but for the whole postseason the Warriors have 2 guys averaging 38 MPG, 1 37 and 1 just under 35(Curry). Houston doesn't have a single player above 36.1 MPG(Harden). Paul is only playing 34.5 MPG, he played 32 in the regular season so I doubt an additional 2.5 MPG is the problem. But I guess the counter is you have a guy with a history of problems like that, so when he goes down, it's easy to assume he's just playing too much.

And the counter to that is the Rockets wouldn't have been playing in game 6 if Paul hadn't played so well, and so much, in games 4 and 5.

From a cursory review of the box scores this series I'd say both teams are playing their key men extra minutes. Golden State is probably going a little further in the minutes increase, especially once they reached the point where each loss made the next game an almost must-win situation for either team.

 

[95pro]

The officiating is really getting to me. It swings one way then the refs make up for it.

The third quarter as the warriors started their run, Draymond Green was blatantly holding Gordon’s jersey as he was trying to get out on defense. No call nothing.

In the second quarter Gerold Green got hit for a ticky tack reach in. Curry does the same thing on the following posesso with maybe a bit more physical contact and doesn’t get called for a foul. Gordon then complains to the ref about it.

Overall it’s been terrible, moreso at the warriors gym than any of the other three remaining teams.

 

[BC867]

Most of the people who are criticizing DA are the same people who ALWAYS criticize him and NEVER talk about wanting him back.

Absolutely! D'Antoni is "ALWAYS" criticized because he has "NEVER" learned from his shortsighted leadership.

He is a one-trick pony during the regular season who wears down his short rotation come playoff time.

Unfortunately, that only continued (what is now) the Suns 50 year M.O. We're ready for a change, especially with our first ever #1 pick for a big man of the generation.

Why would we want D'Antoni and his tunnel vision back to run them into the ground?

 

[Russ Smith]

The officiating is really getting to me. It swings one way then the refs make up for it.

The third quarter as the warriors started their run, Draymond Green was blatantly holding Gordon’s jersey as he was trying to get out on defense. No call nothing.

In the second quarter Gerold Green got hit for a ticky tack reach in. Curry does the same thing on the following posesso with maybe a bit more physical contact and doesn’t get called for a foul. Gordon then complains to the ref about it.

Overall it’s been terrible, moreso at the warriors gym than any of the other three remaining teams.

You do realize that Houston has shot more FT's than the Warriors in the 3 games in Oakland combined? In the only one Houston won, they shot 27 FT's to 14 for the Warriors. Really the only guy on the Warriors who is consistently getting to the FT line is Durant. The Warriors shot slightly more FT's in game 3 and game 6, Houston shot twice as much in game 4. Even in game 5 in Houston the Rockets shot 32 FT's to 23 for the Warriors. I'm a Warriors fan so admittedly I'm not impartial but watching these games the one overwhelming comment there has only been 2 close games, Houston won both of them, with great 4th quarters. So suggesting the officiating is playing a role in the Warriors wins against houston is hard to believe, they've lost by 13, 41 and 29 points. the 2 wins by the Warriors in Oakland were by a combined 70 points, kind of hard to blame the refs for that.

They called Livingston for a moving screen last night, I think that's the only moving screen called in the entire series. So while I'm sure you're right about Draymond holding Gordon on a screen, it's been allowed the entire series by both teams.

 

[Mainstreet]

Chris had to play 41 minutes, that's what caused his injury. That's why Draymond Green was rushed to the hospital when he played 45 plus minutes the other day. Same with Lebron, he logged 46 minutes in a must win situation and the guy will spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair because of it.

Apparently, the best way to beat a team that has a lot more talent than you do is to go deep into your inferior roster. The Warriors are playing their star players extra minutes so the Rockets should outsmart them by giving Ryan Anderson and Joe Johnson more burn.

In the playoffs key players sometimes gets extra minutes. Injuries happen so I will leave cause and effect to the experts. I doubt Lebron spends the rest of his life in a wheelchair.

 

[AzStevenCal]

In the playoffs key players sometimes gets extra minutes. Injuries happen so I will leave cause and effect to the experts. I doubt Lebron spends the rest of his life in a wheelchair.

Read my post again. Either I missed my target or you missed my point.

 

[Mainstreet]

Read my post again. Either I missed my target or you missed my point.

I agree with the 2nd paragraph of your post. It's the 1st paragraph that got me.

 

[AzStevenCal]

I agree with the 2nd paragraph of your post. It's the 1st paragraph that got me.

It was sarcasm. I was up all night, I was cranky and I was tired of hearing all the blame for everything being laid at Dantoni's feet. Maybe he made a billion mistakes and is the worst coach ever. Still, he's taken his team to the 7th game of the conference finals against a team that has a ton more talent than he has.

 

[Mainstreet]

It was sarcasm. I was up all night, I was cranky and I was tired of hearing all the blame for everything being laid at Dantoni's feet. Maybe he made a billion mistakes and is the worst coach ever. Still, he's taken his team to the 7th game of the conference finals against a team that has a ton more talent than he has.

Sorry I missed the sarcasm. I am certainly not going to push Lebron around in a wheelchair.

We agree, D'Antoni doesn't catch a break on the Suns forum.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Sorry I missed the sarcasm. I am certainly not going to push Lebron around in a wheelchair.

We agree, D'Antoni doesn't catch a break on the Suns forum.

It wasn't just here, Barkley and the like were just as bad (actually, worse). I don't mind people commenting about Mike or ripping him but to completely ignore the talent advantage is absurd IMO. Short of arming Tucker and Ariza with baseball bats, there's not much a coach could do that would level the field between these two teams.

 

[Cheesebeef]

I think the Celtics win tonight. It's almost like they're TOO YOUNG to feel the pressure here, especially at home where the crowd will be rabid.

And LeBron just has NOTHING on that team. He might be able to singlehandedly win like that at home where one or two guys might actually score double-digits, but they just showed Hill/Smith Jr. stats on the road, averaging 7 points... COMBINED PER GAME.

That doesn't get it done and the Finals FINALLY have someone from the East besides LeBron for the first time in 8 years.

Crazy thing is the last time it happened was the older than dirt Celtics. Now it's their fresh faces.

Man, Ainge has just KILLED it up there.

 

[Cheesebeef]

This game already feels like it’s over.

And damn... Tatum is a beast. That guy is going to be a 27 ppg scorer within three years.

So... where does Gordon Hayward go?