2019 NBA Playoff Discussion

[PDXChris]

You live with that play, IMO. I saw George get bashed on Twitter for saying basically the same thing, that he didn't allow him a good shot so you have to live with it. Some fans were going nuts because Lillard made it apparently they thought it was a good shot since he's gone like 5-5 from 30+ feet this playoff series. I don't care if he is 4-4 prior to that shot though, it's not a good look. He made it and that sucks for OKC but even if he missed it would have been OT so the pressure wasn't really on him that much.

He shot 39% from that range this year. I've seen hit that shot quite a bit. Westbrook shot 42% for all his shots.

BTW, here is an article with those stats. He took over 50 shots from that range.

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/26593473/nope-damian-lillard-series-winner-bad-shot

 

[Mainstreet]

Rockets beat the Jazz 100-93.

Win series 4-1.

Mitchell only shoots 4-22 from the field. He was 0-9 from 3 point range.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Rockets beat the Jazz 100-93.

Win series 4-1.

Mitchell only shoots 4-22 from the field. He was 0-9 from 3 point range.

Yeah, he's a very good young player but it's tough to win with as many non-shooters next to you as he's surrounded by. Put him on a team with spacing and he won't have too many more 4 for 22 nights, if any.

 

[Mainstreet]

Yeah, he's a very good young player but it's tough to win with as many non-shooters next to you as he's surrounded by. Put him on a team with spacing and he won't have too many more 4 for 22 nights, if any.

Maybe. Mitchell sure looked vulnerable in this series.

I'm guessing the Jazz will try hard to keep Rubio because Mitchell does not look like the answer at point guard.

 

[Mainstreet]

Blake Griffin has arthroscopic surgery in left knee.


Shams Charania‏Verified account @ShamsCharania


Detroit Pistons star Blake Griffin underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee today. Injury had impacted him during the final weeks of the season.


5:21 PM - 24 Apr 2019

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

You live with that play, IMO. I saw George get bashed on Twitter for saying basically the same thing, that he didn't allow him a good shot so you have to live with it. Some fans were going nuts because Lillard made it apparently they thought it was a good shot since he's gone like 5-5 from 30+ feet this playoff series. I don't care if he is 4-4 prior to that shot though, it's not a good look. He made it and that sucks for OKC but even if he missed it would have been OT so the pressure wasn't really on him that much.

Actually apparently Dame shot like 36% on the season from 30-40 feet, so it’s like Paul George taking a normal 3 pointer. In other words, it’s a good shot for Dame.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

It was much deeper but it brought back memories of Salim Stoudamire's game winner over freshman Arron Afflalo where Arron just didn't think he could possibly shoot from that far away and he did and hit it.

I saw the highlights this morning and I read 37 footer and thought yeah right, then I saw the actual shot and yeah I can definitely believe that's at least 37 feet.

I have to say people keep crediting Curry for changing the "geometry" with these longer 3's but people forget the guy who actually started that, and even Curry credits him, is Reggie Miller. Same thing he'd shoot from so far away that people who hadn't played him before simply didn't realize he could make it, the whole Reggie Range was based on that. Curry has taken it to another level, deeper and more accurate, and Lillard is getting there quickly.

Crazy Dan Majerle range existed too when he was rolling.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

He shot 39% from that range this year. I've seen hit that shot quite a bit. Westbrook shot 42% for all his shots.

BTW, here is an article with those stats. He took over 50 shots from that range.

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/26593473/nope-damian-lillard-series-winner-bad-shot

This was an incredibly interesting read.

 

[Cheesebeef]

who the hell would have expected the only first round series to go more than 5 games would be GS v. Clippers?!

 

[Hoop Head]

Actually apparently Dame shot like 36% on the season from 30-40 feet, so it’s like Paul George taking a normal 3 pointer. In other words, it’s a good shot for Dame.

I don't know if I'd consider that a good shot still. I found Lillard's shot chart for that game, he was nailing deep 3's all game but went a little further for that one.

I don't know how the defense was on other attempts from that far but George was right on him and he's got 6 inches on Lillard. He should have been trying to block that shot but I think the reason he wasn't going for a block is fear of fouling him. Losing the game by a made 40 footer isn't nearly as bad as losing it because you gave him 3 free throws to make 1.

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[Hoop Head]

Maybe. Mitchell sure looked vulnerable in this series.

I'm guessing the Jazz will try hard to keep Rubio because Mitchell does not look like the answer at point guard.

I've heard the opposite from Jazz fans, that they want Mitchell at PG which will allow them to add another shooter next to him. He's capable of playing PG and should be fine there, from what they say though it seems like Mitchell has done better at PG this season than Rubio and the Jazz have looked better like that overall. I can see the case for both sides. Utah isn't a FA destination and the late season incident with a fan and Westbrook won't help them there either so they're probably better off resigning Rubio and trying to deal him if they want Mitchell to take over at PG in the long term. At least then they're not letting talent walk away for nothing.

 

[Russ Smith]

who the hell would have expected the only first round series to go more than 5 games would be GS v. Clippers?!

I didn't watch a second ofthe game last night, was exhausted we watched Survivor I fell asleep halfway through and didn't see the Warriors score until this morning. In early news before the game they were reporting that the Clips came out and started warming up at the basket the Warriors always warm up at. It's not a set rule it's a unwritten thing but the clips clearly did it to piss off the Warriors and they were speculating the Warriors would stomp them. Apparently didn't work out that way.

I still expect they will win the series but just reinforces what I have been saying all year this is not nearly as good a team on the court as it looked on paper they will lose to the Rockets in the next round, if they get there.

 

[Russ Smith]

BTW forgot to mention this but the NBA has in fact rescinded the T's on Durant and JaMychal Green for that ridiculous sequence where they were joking about Durant's flop and laughing and the ref gave them a double T.

So Durant still has only 2 technicals.

 

[slinslin]

Mitchell has trouble averaging more assists than turnovers. I doubt he can play PG at all.

 

[SunnyBaller]

Mitchell at point is the same as playing Booker there, both can do it but not their strong suit

 

[AzStevenCal]

Mitchell has trouble averaging more assists than turnovers. I doubt he can play PG at all.

I don't see him as a point guard but I do believe he needs at least an average scoring threat next to him in the backcourt. Last night Rubio, on paper, had a very good game but they were leaving him wide open on long shots and in addition to shooting 1 for 5 out there, he passed up on several wide open shots. And he didn't pass them by because he had a better option, he simply refused to shoot them. Anyway, I think he kills Mitchell's game far more than he helps him.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Mitchell at point is the same as playing Booker there, both can do it but not their strong suit

Sort of. I think Booker is far better playing the point than Mitchell is but both of them need a good combo guard playing next to them.

 

[Dback Jon]

Actually apparently Dame shot like 36% on the season from 30-40 feet, so it’s like Paul George taking a normal 3 pointer. In other words, it’s a good shot for Dame.

Pretty amazing for a lightly recruited (out of HS) player who went to a school in NAU's conference

 

[AzStevenCal]

Pretty amazing for a lightly recruited (out of HS) player who went to a school in NAU's conference

Especially now given that scouting is so ever present.

 

[Russ Smith]

Especially now given that scouting is so ever present.

We had that discussion on a UCLA board the other day. One of the former mods on that site was a scout at the time he was one of the few that had Lillard rated higher but he was actually trying to get Kerry Keating at Santa Clara to offer him, not UCLA.

Lillard had an interesting HS time he was at St Joe's a private school where Jason Kidd played, but he didn't play that much and it was allegedly because he wasn't a great student and the coach was using PT as a carrot. Do better in school I'll play you more. It didn't work, he transferred to Oakland HS which I believe is in the Oakland Athletic League(OAL) a league famous for talent, and bad academics. By the time Lillard was a senior he was actually a Pac 12 level student, but nobody was really recruiting him because they tend to assume kids in the OAL don't have the academics. There are exceptions if you're Gary Payton or Greg Foster or Marshawn Lynch in football but lots of really good athletes get overlooked from that league over grades. He also played for a fairly unknown AAU program the Oakland Rebels, not the Oakland Soldiers so he got seen less by bigtime schools.

his body also apparently filled out quite a bit he went from really skinny to pretty strong and that made him a much better player.

 

[Mainstreet]

I've heard the opposite from Jazz fans, that they want Mitchell at PG which will allow them to add another shooter next to him. He's capable of playing PG and should be fine there, from what they say though it seems like Mitchell has done better at PG this season than Rubio and the Jazz have looked better like that overall. I can see the case for both sides. Utah isn't a FA destination and the late season incident with a fan and Westbrook won't help them there either so they're probably better off resigning Rubio and trying to deal him if they want Mitchell to take over at PG in the long term. At least then they're not letting talent walk away for nothing.

Booker is more of a point guard than Mitchell and the Suns are looking for a point guard or combo guard to play beside him. I think the same applies to Mitchell. IMO, both players could play nicely with a combo guard.

We agree there is a good chance the Jazz try to keep Rubio.

If the Suns do not draft Morant, I think Colby White would be a solid pick.

 

[Hoop Head]

Booker is more of a point guard than Mitchell and the Suns are looking for a point guard or combo guard to play beside him. I think the same applies to Mitchell. IMO, both players could play nicely with a combo guard.

We agree there is a good chance the Jazz try to keep Rubio.

If the Suns do not draft Morant, I think Colby White would be a solid pick.

Booker has been in the league 2 years longer than Mitchell so he may look like a more capable PG now but Mitchell sliding over to PG now would make more sense for his development, IMO. He's also smaller than Booker at 6'3 so he's got more of a combo guard body. I've heard some say he played more of a PG role in college but I haven't looked up his college play at all. I know he wasn't the scorer he's been for Utah, which is why he fell in the draft to them, so maybe he does have a brighter future at PG if he has a history there. I'm only basing it on what I've heard from Jazz fans. Playing with Rubio has allowed him to be more of an attacker than playmaker and if Booker played with a true PG like Rubio I don't think we would have seen his playmaking standout much at all either.

 

[95pro]

Gosh the Spurs just wont die.

 

[Mainstreet]

Booker has been in the league 2 years longer than Mitchell so he may look like a more capable PG now but Mitchell sliding over to PG now would make more sense for his development, IMO. He's also smaller than Booker at 6'3 so he's got more of a combo guard body. I've heard some say he played more of a PG role in college but I haven't looked up his college play at all. I know he wasn't the scorer he's been for Utah, which is why he fell in the draft to them, so maybe he does have a brighter future at PG if he has a history there. I'm only basing it on what I've heard from Jazz fans. Playing with Rubio has allowed him to be more of an attacker than playmaker and if Booker played with a true PG like Rubio I don't think we would have seen his playmaking standout much at all either.

Booker and Mitchell are the same age so I'm not sure that makes Mitchell more of a point guard candidate other than he is shorter.

Anyway, I don't have any problem with the Jazz switching him to the point guard position. My point was that both players would play well with a combo guard.

 

[Hoop Head]

Gosh the Spurs just wont die.

I wouldn't be surprised if they take the series. I don't like that matchup for Portland either if it happens. I'm sure the NBA would love it though, Aldridge vs the team he left behind. Of course that's a few years late but Lillard has clearly ascended to superstar status without Aldridge there and the Spurs are Aldridge's team now. On top of that it's the new guard oriented outside shooting offensive style versus the grind it out low post and midrange scoring Spurs.

Ugh. The more I think about it the more I'm glad David Stern isn't in charge to make sure that Denver can't run in game 7 and has to keep Jokic and Murray on the bench with foul trouble all game.