2018 Playoffs Thread

[Hoop Head]

It's a double edged sword. Want the ratings to tank but also want them to be good. The money the league makes in the finals will help determine the cap next year and higher ratings and more games equal higher salary cap. The Suns need all of the help they can get adding to their cap space. Both conference finals lasting 7 games surely helped their bottom line. Neither was all that exciting considering each went 7 games though.

 

[Mainstreet]

Definitely didn't want to see ANOTHER Cleveland vs Golden State series. Ugh.

I hope the ratings tank hard.

Low ratings for the Finals may send a message but as long as the money flows, I doubt anyone cares except the fans.

 

[Mainstreet]

Signature choke job by a D'Antoni team.

Officiating was terrible. Not necessarily in favor of one team, but just inconsistent for both teams. I just don't understand what a foul was in this game.

I think it's a miracle the Rockets pushed it to game 7 with the Warriors.

Harden is less than Curry, Thompson and Durant.

My guess is if Kerr coached the Rockets and D'Antoni coached the Warriors the results would have been much the same except this series would not have gone 7 games.

 

[Russ Smith]

Here is the ******* article making something out of nothing:

https://sports.yahoo.com/stephen-cu...ng-credit-dont-disrespect-guys-232110496.html

yeah he was not knocking LeBron

 

[devilalum]

And yet only down 10. This should be a 20 point lead but still those offensive boards are keeping Houston alive. Tucker is amazing he's 6'4" getting all those boards, 8 offensive tonight already

Yep

Tucker showed up for game 7 even if nobody else did.

 

[CardsFan88]

Low ratings for the Finals may send a message but as long as the money flows, I doubt anyone cares except the fans.

True, but ratings dictate advertising money. Not singularly, but when they are a trend. Plus you always want to send a message, even if the NBA suits may not be listening.

But as a fan of the NBA I wanted both teams to be fresh, and if not, then at least Houston. I'm sure many feel the same way, and it was the NBA's policies which planted the seed for this situation.

The new CBA wasn't supposed to allow a superstar team to be able to give a max offer to Durant. We all know what LeLocust does, consume everything and move on. After he did that, his old team won, what, three nba lotteries, which then allowed them the pieces to trade for Love to create the LeBron, Love, Irving trio that won that championship along with a little suspension help. (Plus what Arizona people don't want to see Harden or Green or Tucker win)

So just seeing the same teams/players over and over again that have flaunted the system is just boring imo.

It's a bit of a let down in that I was hoping their time had passed. It almost was, for both, and if they had, who knows what the future holds. Golden State is in a better situation, and could remain a threat for quite a few years, but I had hoped their peak was behind us. The win last night holds that off.

At least the Suns won't be expected to realistically compete for a couple more years, but I don't want them hanging on like a Spurs and screwing us.

 

[Mainstreet]

Yep

Tucker showed up for game 7 even if nobody else did.

Have to say I had a warm spot in my heart for Tucker's effort.

 

[Mainstreet]

True, but ratings dictate advertising money. Not singularly, but when they are a trend. Plus you always want to send a message, even if the NBA suits may not be listening.

But as a fan of the NBA I wanted both teams to be fresh, and if not, then at least Houston. I'm sure many feel the same way, and it was the NBA's policies which planted the seed for this situation.

The new CBA wasn't supposed to allow a superstar team to be able to give a max offer to Durant. We all know what LeLocust does, consume everything and move on. After he did that, his old team won, what, three nba lotteries, which then allowed them the pieces to trade for Love to create the LeBron, Love, Irving trio that won that championship along with a little suspension help. (Plus what Arizona people don't want to see Harden or Green or Tucker win)

So just seeing the same teams/players over and over again that have flaunted the system is just boring imo.

It's a bit of a let down in that I was hoping their time had passed. It almost was, for both, and if they had, who knows what the future holds. Golden State is in a better situation, and could remain a threat for quite a few years, but I had hoped their peak was behind us. The win last night holds that off.

At least the Suns won't be expected to realistically compete for a couple more years, but I don't want them hanging on like a Spurs and screwing us.

I agree with what you are saying but as long as the owners do not make a stand against the players association, the current system will remain. As it stands now, the owners are content to to rake in the money rather than make decisions to make it a more competitive league. Neither side want a strike... so it continues.

I'm not happy seeing the Cavaliers and Warriors in the Finals again either.

 

[Hoop Head]

Thought the Suns might be able to make a go at Tucker if Warren is traded but he signed a 4 year deal with Houston for the MLE. They were smart with his raises also. He's making $7.5 million this year, $7.9 next, then $8.3, and the last is for $7.9 also. That's not awful but I wouldn't want to be on the hook for $8 million in 3 years. He was the Rockets most consistent player in the Warriors series. Since he's not a scorer I'm surprised D'Antoni plays him as much as he does. He's a good PF in the SSOL system though. He can hit corner 3's and rebound.

 

[Russ Smith]

I think this is probably the last year where both GSW and CLE make it. I can see the Warriors maybe making it next year depending on what Capela does and how healthy CP3 is but I think it's pretty apparent the older Iggy and Livingston get the less impactful they are and as great as the big 4 are for the Warriors they need that 5th guy to be dominant. Iggy is unique because he's a great defender at multiple positions and he can play some offense. Looney defends and rebounds but couldn't score, Bell is talented but was behind Looney in the series in terms of impact. West is all offense no defense and old himself.

For Cleveland if LeBron stays, they need to completely redo that roster and it's not clear that they have the cap flexibility to do it. If LeBron goes somewhere else, that team becomes the team to watch with Boston and Philly. If he somehow goes to Philly they become the team to watch.

 

[Hoop Head]

Almost want to see Lebron join Houston for the potential Boston vs Houston or Lebron vs Kyrie finals. That could be really good. No one could deny Lebron's title if he could win with Houston because he'd have to get out of the West to see the Finals, so the Warriors, Spurs, Wolves, Pelicans, OKC, etc. All would beat the bottom 6 seeds in the East, maybe more, in a series.

He'd get a lot of heat for it but it might get people to appreciate his streak of consecutive trips to the finals. It would make that look a bit different doing it in a more talented conference and with a new team, again. Going to the finals multiple times with 3 different teams without being traded would be something.

 

[JCSunsfan]

I do not want to see LeBron come to the west. The balance of power is too great one way already. BTW. This is going to be a short championship series. Five games max.

 

[Russ Smith]

I'm not blaming D'Antoni, to get to 7 games was impressive but again they had teh best regular season record, had the homecourt advantage and people can say he got to game 7 without Chris Paul, but he lost both games without Paul so that explains the last 2 losses, he wouldn't have gotten to game 7 if Paul had gotten hurt earlier.

I do think D'Antoni has to explain why the hell he played Ryan Anderson that long. They lost by 9 points, Anderson played 8 minutes and the Rockets were outscored by 12 in those 8 minutes. Just look at the highlights, Curry 1 on 1 hits a stepback 3 over Anderson, Curry blows by Anderson passes to Looney for a dunk. Draymond outruns Anderson downcourt takes the pass and flies in for a dunk. Curry beats him 1 on 1 hits a 3 that hit the rim and bounces in. there is another blow by involving Curry in there too. It's not Ryan Anderson's fault he was put in that position, maybe Johnson or Luc don't do any better either but the game opened up during that time. They were talking abotu it on ESPN this morning and Jalen Rose said "I feel sorry for Anderson, he can't take himself out of the game there. I'm sure he felt like the rest of us did, why in the world is he still in the game?"

 

[BC867]

D’Antoni’s short bench does it again and probably contributed to his hamstring injury to begin with. Not to mention his team’s signature defensive collapse.

D'Antoni = D'Antoni. His SSOL offense and S.5OL (7.5 player rotation or less) bench, along with no skill for coaching defense, have ended as many of us expected. And why we have been adamant about not ever want him back with the Suns.

He doesn't know how to excel in post-season basketball and the way refs call games. He doesn't realize the importance of defense. It is not just about outscoring the other guys. And he wears down his players leading up to this point.

He knows how to put on a show. But, in the end, whether with the Suns, the Lakers, the Knicks or the Rockets, he is limited.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Having an interior offense could have kept Houston in the games they lost. I understand the math and the value of the three point shot. But basketball is played in real time. Teams face cold streaks from outside like Houston did in game 7. Having an interior game can keep a team within striking distance and sometimes breathes new confidence into a team that is struggling.

I give DAntoni credit for building an adequate defensive team. That is something new for him. His short rotations in the playoffs seem like a little bit of panic. I think he needs a better half court offense to fall back on when his preferred offense is struggling.

The inside vs outside game in basketball is not unlike the running game vs the passing game in football. The NFL is not going back to "4 yards and a cloud of dust" because they have designed the rules to avoid that. But a quality running game sure helps when a QB is struggling. Just the threat of a good running game opens up the passing lanes a little.

 

[Russ Smith]

D'Antoni = D'Antoni. His SSOL offense and S.5OL (7.5 player rotation or less) bench, along with no skill for coaching defense, have ended as many of us expected. And why we have been adamant about not ever want him back with the Suns.

He doesn't know how to excel in post-season basketball and the way refs call games. He doesn't realize the importance of defense. It is not just about outscoring the other guys. And he wears down his players leading up to this point.

He knows how to put on a show. But, in the end, whether with the Suns, the Lakers, the Knicks or the Rockets, he is limited.

Their defense actually wasn't horrible, in a 7 game series they held the Warriors under 100 twice, and to 101 another time. They had a couple of games where the Warriors ran away and hid but really the biggest issue Houston had in this series was on offense, not defense, and it was largely 3 point shooting. The last 2 games were connected to no Chris Paul, but remember the Rockets were held under 100 5 of the 7 games. IMO it shows more the Warriors emphasis on defense than a lack of emphasis on defense by Houston.

 

[Raze]

I think the 2007 team that Lebron drug to the finals is worse than the one he has now. That team started Larry Hughes, Sasha Pavlovic, Lebron, Drew Gooden, and Zydrunas Ilgauskas in the finals vs the Spurs. They benched Hughes for Daniel Gibson for 2 of those games. I'd take George Hill, Kyle Korver, Lebron, Love, and Tristan Thompson over them every time.

This has to be the worst team Lebron has had in his 8 straight finals runs though. The Cavs are in a bad spot but Lebron is part of the reason for that. He couldn't make it work with Kyrie and the trade sending him out brought in IT and Crowder, who Lebron couldn't work with either. They shuffled half of their roster at the deadline and I think they got worse. They would have been better off with maybe doing the IT and Frye for Clarkson and Nance trade and then waiting till the offseason to blow up the rest. Crowder should have brought them back a rotation player. Sending D.Wade away for nothing hurt their depth also. Derrick Rose and Crowder were traded for Hill and Rodney Hood, and they're stuck paying Hill $19 million next year. Their salary situation is a nightmare and it was all for a quick fix of sorts when they weren't winning a title this year regardless of the moves they made. Maybe if they made a deal with the Nets pick to get someone like DeAndre Jordan back they might be in a better position but surrounding Lebron with talent isn't as easy as it should be. He's supposed to be the best player of this generation but for him to truly compete for titles he needs a very specific type of team around him. He needs a scorer to take pressure off of him, Kyrie or Wade, a big to rebound and spread the floor like Bosh and Love, and a rim protecting Center which he lacks now, and shooters. All he has for shooters is Korver and maybe JR Smith in every 3rd game.

You could count the 2015 team if you ignore that Kyrie played in game 1. Games 2 through 6 started:

Dellavedova
Shumpert
Lebron
Thompson
Mozgov

That has to be the worst team I've heard of in a Finals (minus the best player on the planet.)

Lebron lost the Finals and STILL should have won the MVP.

 

[Covert Rain]

Their defense actually wasn't horrible, in a 7 game series they held the Warriors under 100 twice, and to 101 another time. They had a couple of games where the Warriors ran away and hid but really the biggest issue Houston had in this series was on offense, not defense, and it was largely 3 point shooting. The last 2 games were connected to no Chris Paul, but remember the Rockets were held under 100 5 of the 7 games. IMO it shows more the Warriors emphasis on defense than a lack of emphasis on defense by Houston.

What kills me about him is he is still making the same mistakes. Short benches killed us at times. He did it again during the playoffs. I mean if you trust your players during the regular season to get you here why not trust them during the playoffs?

Makes zero sense, places a huge burden on the other players who have not done it all season that way and you up your injury chances big time.

So frustrating.

 

[HeHasRosen]

A few takeaways from the WCF.

The Warriors aren't unbeatable. I think they were exposed a bit. You have to be physical with them. You have to play good defense. I think teams are going about beating them in the wrong way, by trying to outscore them.

You need to bully them inside. PJ Tucker and Capella pushed them around. More reason we must draft Ayton.

You need a true PG to orchestrate and facilitate. A la CP3. We must find a way to bring in a true pg. A floor general.

Sure we could wait them out but what if they stay together? If we get Ayton and a true PG. We can compete in the WC in the next 2 years.

 

[Cheesebeef]

You could count the 2015 team if you ignore that Kyrie played in game 1. Games 2 through 6 started:

Dellavedova
Shumpert
Lebron
Thompson
Mozgov

That has to be the worst team I've heard of in a Finals (minus the best player on the planet.)

Lebron lost the Finals and STILL should have won the MVP.

that he won not just 1, but TWO games with the above starting lineup was an out of this world MIRACLE.

 

[BC867]

A few takeaways from the WCF.

The Warriors aren't unbeatable. I think they were exposed a bit. You have to be physical with them. You have to play good defense. I think teams are going about beating them in the wrong way, by trying to outscore them.

You need to bully them inside. PJ Tucker and Capella pushed them around. More reason we must draft Ayton.

You need a true PG to orchestrate and facilitate. A la CP3. We must find a way to bring in a true pg. A floor general.

Sure we could wait them out but what if they stay together? If we get Ayton and a true PG. We can compete in the WC in the next 2 years.

C = ; PG =

 

[Russ Smith]

A few takeaways from the WCF.

The Warriors aren't unbeatable. I think they were exposed a bit. You have to be physical with them. You have to play good defense. I think teams are going about beating them in the wrong way, by trying to outscore them.

You need to bully them inside. PJ Tucker and Capella pushed them around. More reason we must draft Ayton.

You need a true PG to orchestrate and facilitate. A la CP3. We must find a way to bring in a true pg. A floor general.

Sure we could wait them out but what if they stay together? If we get Ayton and a true PG. We can compete in the WC in the next 2 years.

Everything you said has been known since 2015. That's precisely how the Cavs played them that year with Delly, Thompson and Mozgov taking turns flooring Steph and Klay to wear them out.

I don't think anybody tries to outscore the Warriors, they just try to attack Steph, Durant and Klay on defense so they have to play both ends, if you make them defend, it wears them out is the idea.

The way to beat the Warriors is 2 fold, turnovers and bad 3 point shooting, it's just not clear how much of that is on you and how much of that is on the Warriors. When they lose it's almost always because of turnovers and bad 3 point shooting.

 

[Bufalay]

This article pretty much says everything we here already knew about Mike D., but it's an apt summary...

https://thebiglead.com/2018/05/29/mike-dantoni-rockets-warriors-offense-harden/

I stopped reading at “coached them to 65 games this year”.

 

[Russ Smith]

Iguodala out tonight, sounds like Kevin Love is probably out too, he's still in the concussion protocol.

 

[HeHasRosen]

Im not counting the cavs out. Only because they have the best in the world.

Warriors have been inconsistent all year. If they somehow continue that trend maybe Lebron can take advantage. He needs help from his teammates. A couple guys have to step up.

The Cavs should have a huge chip. I mean HUGE. No one is giving them a shot in hell.

Lebron is having one if the best, if not THE best playoff runs of all time by a single player. At the very least i will sit back and watch him work his magic. They need to steal this one to set the tone tonight.