2019 NBA Playoff Discussion

[sunsfan88]

Gosh the Spurs just wont die.

It’s Pop.

 

[95pro]

It’s Pop.

Its crazy, he's made some guys some money by developing them and they went on to earn contracts. Who's this White guy this year now. Its nuts. I also meant as a playoff era, when will they die? I mean he just keeps the team playing well even with unknown characters.

 

[Russ Smith]

I know people don't like KD but my goodness, 50 tonight, could easily have gotten more but the Clips started doubling and tripling him and he passed. Had some highlight reel defense too. If he and Kyrie both end up as Knicks they could be a problem although I do wonder if he and Kyrie will work well together, both ball dominant.

 

[Yuma]

I know people don't like KD but my goodness, 50 tonight, could easily have gotten more but the Clips started doubling and tripling him and he passed. Had some highlight reel defense too. If he and Kyrie both end up as Knicks they could be a problem although I do wonder if he and Kyrie will work well together, both ball dominant.

I love KD. One of the greatest players all time, imho.

 

[Russ Smith]

Wanted to say this the whole series but one thing that kerr and the Warriors drove me nuts with was how they defended the Clips inbounds. The entire series the Clips were rolling the ball inbounds and picking it up one dribble from halfcourt. One of the reasons the games seem to go on endlessly is they give the Clips 4-5 free seconds on every inbounds from the backcourt by doing that. I sure hope they dont do that to the Rockets, giving Harden and Paul extra time will kill you.

 

[Hoop Head]

Wanted to say this the whole series but one thing that kerr and the Warriors drove me nuts with was how they defended the Clips inbounds. The entire series the Clips were rolling the ball inbounds and picking it up one dribble from halfcourt. One of the reasons the games seem to go on endlessly is they give the Clips 4-5 free seconds on every inbounds from the backcourt by doing that. I sure hope they dont do that to the Rockets, giving Harden and Paul extra time will kill you.

I think D'Antoni would kill Paul and Harden for wasting 4-5 seconds on offense so I don't think the Warriors need to worry about anything.

 

[Russ Smith]

I think D'Antoni would kill Paul and Harden for wasting 4-5 seconds on offense so I don't think the Warriors need to worry about anything.

The clock doesn't run when they do that because it hasn't been touched. So they start the 24 1 dribble from halfcourt. The Clips did it the whole series and the Warriors let them.

Big concern in the Rockets series is both Steph and Klay rolled ankles tonight stepping on someone.

 

[AzStevenCal]

The clock doesn't run when they do that because it hasn't been touched. So they start the 24 1 dribble from halfcourt. The Clips did it the whole series and the Warriors let them.

Big concern in the Rockets series is both Steph and Klay rolled ankles tonight stepping on someone.

I've never liked it when they roll the ball out like that. If it were up to me I'd start the clock when the ball touches a player or the court.

 

[Hoop Head]

The clock doesn't run when they do that because it hasn't been touched. So they start the 24 1 dribble from halfcourt. The Clips did it the whole series and the Warriors let them.

I know the clock doesn't run for that, or the shot clock doesn't run, but that isn't how the Rockewfts play. D'Antoni pushes them to run and bomb 3's at the expense of everything else. Letting the clock tick away gives the defense time to set up and catch their breath. I can't see the Rockets doing it more than 2-3 times a game when the situation calls for it and most teams would do the same.

Big concern in the Rockets series is both Steph and Klay rolled ankles tonight stepping on someone.

That is concerning. I bet the Rockets will enjoy that though. They had the injuries last year that helped Golden State move on. We'll see what happens. I think the Warriors will take the Rockets more seriously than the Clippers and more seriously than they did in the regular season as well. Should be a great series.

Hopefully Klay can get healthy quick. Curry's ankles have been an issue since he's been drafted so that could be a big problem for them. Unlike the Rockets last year they don't have a good matchup for Durant. They lost Ariza and Aminu so it'll be interesting to see how they play him.

 

[Hoop Head]

Nash has been tweeting about the playoffs a fair bit lately, most of them are quite enjoyable like this one....

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[AzStevenCal]

I know the clock doesn't run for that, or the shot clock doesn't run, but that isn't how the Rockewfts play. D'Antoni pushes them to run and bomb 3's at the expense of everything else. Letting the clock tick away gives the defense time to set up and catch their breath. I can't see the Rockets doing it more than 2-3 times a game when the situation calls for it and most teams would do the same.



That is concerning. I bet the Rockets will enjoy that though. They had the injuries last year that helped Golden State move on. We'll see what happens. I think the Warriors will take the Rockets more seriously than the Clippers and more seriously than they did in the regular season as well. Should be a great series.

Hopefully Klay can get healthy quick. Curry's ankles have been an issue since he's been drafted so that could be a big problem for them. Unlike the Rockets last year they don't have a good matchup for Durant. They lost Ariza and Aminu so it'll be interesting to see how they play him.

I don't think that's true anymore. They bomb away but aren't the Rockets near the bottom of the league in pace this past season?

 

[Hoop Head]

I don't think that's true anymore. They bomb away but aren't the Rockets near the bottom of the league in pace this past season?

I'm not sure about that. Harden has been a 1 man team most of the year though so it wouldn't surprise me that much if they did play slower with him being the bulk of their offense. He was setting a ton of records related to unassisted baskets like "Most 3's without being assisted", "Most consecutive points score without being assisted", and "first player to score 50+ points without being assisted on any of his shots" when Paul was out. Harden was still getting assists but he wasn't on the receiving end of them. Playing that way slowed them down because they had 1 player as their entire offense, basically. They were almost 2 different teams with and without Paul. They'll look more like they did in the Utah series against the Warriors, perhaps faster because Golden State likes to run also.

 

[Hoop Head]

Enes Kanter's status for the Blazers in the next round is questionable due to a separated shoulder he suffered in game 5 vs OKC. He stepped up big for them with Nurkic out and if they face San Antonio his presence will be missed mightily. He says he'll push through it since he doesn't have time to take off and heal but trying to play through it may hurt more than help, not only in terms of his production but the chances of aggravating it more and needing to sit out entirely.

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Barkley picked the Blazers to make it out of the West and that seemed like a crazy pick until everyone got to see how well they played against OKC. They're in the easier bracket in the West also having to face the winner of the Spurs/Denver series, which will give them a team that's been stretched to the limit already. If they had a healthy Nurkic and Kanter then I could see why someone would pick them as a potential spoiler and dark horse candidate but I don't think they have enough productive players, mainly bigs, to get past Golden State or Houston, whichever team wins that series.

 

[Russ Smith]

I don't think that's true anymore. They bomb away but aren't the Rockets near the bottom of the league in pace this past season?

To me you just give Lou Williams 4-5 more seconds everytime down to try and get a shot or get fouled. If they let the Rockets try and do that now it's Harden which would be even dumber. I know I'm not alone, Kelenna Azabuike brought it up in the postgame tonight he said he thought it was one of the reasons the games grinded so much because Kerr allowed them to have almost a full clock from halfcourt the entire series

 

[Superbone]

I love KD. One of the greatest players all time, imho.

I hate KD. He's a quitter and a front runner. He ruined the Warriors for me.

 

[Yuma]

I hate KD. He's a quitter and a front runner. He ruined the Warriors for me.

That's the opposite for me. I lived in Northern Nevada for many years and GS was the "local" team on TV. I saw him make amazing plays, always in crunch time that won us games. They kept talking about Draympng Green doing the dirty work. However, the key blocks, rebounds, or shots that helped put away games were almost always Durant. For a couple seasons, Curry was even deferring to him and letting Durant take the big shots down the stretch. If there was one player I would want to add as a veteran to our team, it would be Durant.

 

[Phrazbit]

That's the opposite for me. I lived in Northern Nevada for many years and GS was the "local" team on TV. I saw him make amazing plays, always in crunch time that won us games. They kept talking about Draympng Green doing the dirty work. However, the key blocks, rebounds, or shots that helped put away games were almost always Durant. For a couple seasons, Curry was even deferring to him and letting Durant take the big shots down the stretch. If there was one player I would want to add as a veteran to our team, it would be Durant.

Well, given Durant's preferred level of competition, he'll be sure to join whatever team looks like it's going to be better than the Warriors.

 

[Yuma]

Well, given Durant's preferred level of competition, he'll be sure to join whatever team looks like it's going to be better than the Warriors.

Who will that be? I have a feeling next season the power at the top might change.

 

[BC867]

I've never liked it when they roll the ball out like that. If it were up to me I'd start the clock when the ball touches a player or the court.

Absolutely! Once it touches a player on offense on the inbounds pass, or even just crosses the stripe, why would it not start the shot clock. It is a teammate who throws it in.

 

[Hoop Head]

Absolutely! Once it touches a player on offense on the inbounds pass, or even just crosses the stripe, why would it not start the shot clock. It is a teammate who throws it in.

Once it touches a player in bounds it does start the shot clock. I think Steve was saying he'd make it the court or player to avoid situations like the Clippers seemed to use to their advantage. A player can inbound it and sort of let it roll along, the PG then follows it while it rolls to snatch it up if an opposing player tries to steal it or when it comes to a stop they pick it up. Until they touch it though the shot clock doesn't run but the game clock does, provided it was inbounded like that after a made basket and it's not in the final 2 minutes of the quarter.

 

[BC867]

Once it touches a player in bounds it does start the shot clock. I think Steve was saying he'd make it the court or player to avoid situations like the Clippers seemed to use to their advantage. A player can inbound it and sort of let it roll along, the PG then follows it while it rolls to snatch it up if an opposing player tries to steal it or when it comes to a stop they pick it up. Until they touch it though the shot clock doesn't run but the game clock does, provided it was inbounded like that after a made basket and it's not in the final 2 minutes of the quarter.

Yes, you're right. I had forgotten that it has to be thrown in hard enough for the Point Guard to trail the ball before touching it for it delay to the clock.

Perhaps the only way to discourage it would be full court pressure on the ball by the opposing Point Guard and a few steals and easy baskets.

Of course, it takes a good defensive, true Point Guard to . . . . . well, that is another story.

 

[Phrazbit]

Nikola Jokic is the most underrated player in the league and, probably, one of the most unheralded young stars ever.

The dude is 24, a beast on the glass, can score from anywhere, probably the best passing big man in basketball and a solid defensive player too. I don't get how he isn't talked about more.

 

[sunsfan88]

Absolutely! Once it touches a player on offense on the inbounds pass, or even just crosses the stripe, why would it not start the shot clock. It is a teammate who throws it in.

This was my favorite moment of a player rolling the ball down the court this season.

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[Hoop Head]

Nikola Jokic is the most underrated player in the league and, probably, one of the most unheralded young stars ever.

The dude is 24, a beast on the glass, can score from anywhere, probably the best passing big man in basketball and a solid defensive player too. I don't get how he isn't talked about more.

He's in Denver so that sort of works against him on the national stage. I did hear about him as a dark horse MVP candidate early in the year but as Denver fell out of 1st place in the West and Harden started making a case for himself it really started to become a Giannis vs Harden MVP race with Jokic on the outside looking in. He's probably the only other player who stayed top 5 in that race all year though. He didn't necessarily fall either it's just those ahead of him made more of a gap between them and everyone else. I think he's a lock for 1st team All-NBA this year and after that happens it should help him be more recognized next year.

As far as playing in Denver, I'm not sure what it is about Denver but no one gets much national attention there. I remember when they had a team of Melo, Iverson, and Kenyon Martin and Melo was the only one who was ever talked about despite Iverson and Martin putting up numbers that were close to what they did in Philly and New Jersey, respectively. Chauncey Billups went there after he was a Piston also and sort of faded away, as did Iggy before going to Golden State. It's where stars go to fly under the radar, it seems. Now they actually have good young talent in Jokic, Jamal Murray, Malik Beasley, and Gary Harris so that should help them start be recognized more. This is their first year in the playoffs though, they'll need to keep that up.

 

[Western Font]

Re: letting the inbound roll. It’s not a basketball play so they should just make it illegal and call it a turnover after a few seconds, when it’s clear it’s intentional. I don’t think it would be missed.