The 2017 NBA playoffs thread

[Russ Smith]

Is there a team in the NBA that's been as lucky as the Warriors when facing teams without their best players on the floor?

It does seem to keep happening. Of course the Warriors had to play without Curry against Portland last year and without Durant for 2 games this year so it's not like the Warriors haven't had it too. They played games without Bogut the last 2 years in the playoffs. They lost Livingston and Barnes at the same time as Durant in the Portland series.

It's just a fact of life in the NBA another reason they need to shorten the season IMO.

Forgot to add the Warriors even today only got 10 minutes from Iggy because of a sore knee.

Obviously not the same as losing Leonard for most of the 2nd half but it hurt, part of the reason it went from the lead cut to 6 to SA getting it back into double digits was Iggy couldn't play and SA's bench outplayed the Warriors.

And while I'm whining, how in the world did the refs miss the obvious 8 seconds call? They didn't cross halfcourt until 15 on the clock and got a layup and nearly a 3 point play out of it(Aldridge missed the FT). Why is that not reviewable it's a timing issue just like was a shot released in time.

 

[Hoop Head]

Is there a team in the NBA that's been as lucky as the Warriors when facing teams without their best players on the floor?

It does seem to keep happening. Of course the Warriors had to play without Curry against Portland last year and without Durant for 2 games this year so it's not like the Warriors haven't had it too. They played games without Bogut the last 2 years in the playoffs. They lost Livingston and Barnes at the same time as Durant in the Portland series.

It's just a fact of life in the NBA another reason they need to shorten the season IMO.

Forgot to add the Warriors even today only got 10 minutes from Iggy because of a sore knee.

Obviously not the same as losing Leonard for most of the 2nd half but it hurt, part of the reason it went from the lead cut to 6 to SA getting it back into double digits was Iggy couldn't play and SA's bench outplayed the Warriors.

And while I'm whining, how in the world did the refs miss the obvious 8 seconds call? They didn't cross halfcourt until 15 on the clock and got a layup and nearly a 3 point play out of it(Aldridge missed the FT). Why is that not reviewable it's a timing issue just like was a shot released in time.

The Warriors are also playing without their coach, which I'd say is just as valuable as a starter considering they have Mike Brown filling in. Kerr is one of the best coaches in the league and he's really familiar with Popovich since he played PG under him for a couple of seasons. Sure, they've gotten lucky playing teams without their star players but like Russ pointed out, they've missed their fair share of players also.

 

[elindholm]

Kerr is one of the best coaches in the league

Just curious, what is this based on? The Warriors have performed better under both Walton and Brown than they have under Kerr.

 

[TJ]

The Warriors are also playing without their coach, which I'd say is just as valuable as a starter considering they have Mike Brown filling in. Kerr is one of the best coaches in the league and he's really familiar with Popovich since he played PG under him for a couple of seasons. Sure, they've gotten lucky playing teams without their star players but like Russ pointed out, they've missed their fair share of players also.

Fair point re: Kerr, but GSW still plays under his watch with his game plan installed. Not like Mike Brown pulled out his playbook from Cleveland and said, "alright team, this is how we're going to do things, now."

A Spurs team without Parker and Leonard is no better than Utah or Portland, despite Pop being in charge. A GSW team without Kerr is still the best team in the conference. The Warriors are so talented that one of Durant or Curry could go down and they'd be just fine.

 

[TJ]

Just curious, what is this based on? The Warriors have performed better under both Walton and Brown than they have under Kerr.

Kerr's fingerprints are still all over the team, even when he's not on the bench. When Kerr took over for Mark Jackson, the team immediately got better and won the title, and then followed that up with the best record in the history of the NBA. I think what makes Kerr special is that he is very intelligent, a great leader, and knows how to get the most out of his players. Furthermore, look at the coaches who have mentored him: Phil Jackson, Greg Popovich, and Lute Olson. Having been exposed to that amount of elite coaching is every up-and-coming coach's dream.

 

[LoyaltyisaCurse]

Damn... the Warriors went old school Spurs, going Bruce Bowen uber cutting Leonard enough times until he got that ankle to roll.

Bush league crap... but whatever it takes to win, I guess.

That was not dirty...ZAZA is a clumsy oaf...

 

[elindholm]

When Kerr took over for Mark Jackson, the team immediately got better and won the title

True, but I attribute that to Jackson being a terrible coach, not Kerr being a great one.

and then followed that up with the best record in the history of the NBA.

Thanks to Walton; their record was much better under him that season than under Kerr.

Furthermore, look at the coaches who have mentored him: Phil Jackson, Greg Popovich, and Lute Olson. Having been exposed to that amount of elite coaching is every up-and-coming coach's dream.

But plenty of other young coaches with proper pedigrees bomb. I'm not saying that Kerr is a bad coach, just that it's pretty much impossible to know. I think I could coach the Warriors to 60 wins. (And yes, it is implicit in that claim that I believe myself to be a better potential NBA coach than Mark Jackson.)

 

[LoyaltyisaCurse]

Kerr is a great coach...period.

 

[TJ]

True, but I attribute that to Jackson being a terrible coach, not Kerr being a great one.

Jackson was not a great coach, but it is still a remarkable feat to take a team that's winning 50+ games and having it win 60-70. It's the equivalent of a coach taking a 25 win team to being a Top 3 seed in the playoffs the following year. Kerr took GSW from a 6 seed to a 1 seed and the title the following year.

Thanks to Walton; their record was much better under him that season than under Kerr.

Too small of a sample size and Walton didn't make the Lakers any better in Year 1. Granted, that Laker team is devoid of talent, but Walton's impact was seemingly never felt like Kerr's impact was when he took over GSW.

But plenty of other young coaches with proper pedigrees bomb. I'm not saying that Kerr is a bad coach, just that it's pretty much impossible to know. I think I could coach the Warriors to 60 wins. (And yes, it is implicit in that claim that I believe myself to be a better potential NBA coach than Mark Jackson.)

But Kerr didn't bomb. He won a title in his first season and has the record for wins in a regular season. At UofA, he was one of the smartest players Olson had ever coached and was known as a genuine student of the game. He extracted a lot of his coaching prowess from him, but also from Phil and Pop. He studied D'Antoni's system, borrowed some of the tenants of SSOL, but also covered up some of its deficiencies such as short rotations and no attention to defense. Within two seasons, Kerr turned Curry into a two time MVP, Green into a Top-20 player, Klay into one of the best perimeter players in the game, and convince Iguodala that his best contributions would come off the bench, which resulted in a Finals MVP. Furthermore, he successfully integrated Durant into the lineup without causing rifts.

You can point to the talent as being the catalyst for GSW's success, but it takes a certain type of coach to make it all work together.

 

[mojorizen7]

Kerr's presence and fingerprints in Golden State are more about basketball culture then they are just X's and O's. He gets it. Now they've got it.

The Suns still need it.

 

[Hoop Head]

Just curious, what is this based on? The Warriors have performed better under both Walton and Brown than they have under Kerr.

TJ summed up most of what I'd say as far as why Kerr is a great coach. Walton had a better record but it was also early in the season when they were defending champions. Kerr got them for the 2nd half when teams started playing harder because they were tuning up for the playoffs and the Warriors were scouted better.

Kerr's fingerprints are still all over the team, even when he's not on the bench. When Kerr took over for Mark Jackson, the team immediately got better and won the title, and then followed that up with the best record in the history of the NBA. I think what makes Kerr special is that he is very intelligent, a great leader, and knows how to get the most out of his players. Furthermore, look at the coaches who have mentored him: Phil Jackson, Greg Popovich, and Lute Olson. Having been exposed to that amount of elite coaching is every up-and-coming coach's dream.

Kerr was present for all of the home games that Walton coached in their 73 win season, he stayed in the locker room. He was present for this last win also and helped orchestrate their comeback against San Antonio. When Kerr took over is when Steph became an MVP caliber player and Draymond Green also stepped up in a big way and is a Defensive Player of the Year candidate every year now. Iggy also moved to the bench and became one of the top 6th men in the league. He's managed to get more out of the players on his roster than anyone else did.

Coaches get replaced in all sports because they're doing a good job but not quite good enough, very rarely does the replacement coach come in and push them to a championship level without any big roster moves. Kerr took basically the same team that Mark Jackson had and turned them into champions in his first year. It's rare that a coach does that so quickly when a team replaces a winning coach. I think Larry Brown with the Pistons is the only other example I can think of in the NBA where a good coach was let go to bring someone in to turn the team into legit contenders, he benefitted from acquiring Rasheed Wallace halfway through that season though which pushed them over the top.

 

[Russ Smith]

Just curious, what is this based on? The Warriors have performed better under both Walton and Brown than they have under Kerr.

Limited action of course. And to be fair Mark Jackson was underachieving so there's the argument that all kerr did is not get in the way the Jackson was.

I think Kerr is a very good coach, hard to know how good he hasn't done it long enough to show over time, but hes' been really good so far.

 

[Russ Smith]

Fair point re: Kerr, but GSW still plays under his watch with his game plan installed. Not like Mike Brown pulled out his playbook from Cleveland and said, "alright team, this is how we're going to do things, now."

A Spurs team without Parker and Leonard is no better than Utah or Portland, despite Pop being in charge. A GSW team without Kerr is still the best team in the conference. The Warriors are so talented that one of Durant or Curry could go down and they'd be just fine.

Over a season I agree, in a 7 game playoff having guys who have been through it before like Manu and Gasol and Green is a big advantage. Portland and Utah are young and talented but they don't have guys who have done it before like SA does.

And of course they don't have Pop.

But obviously if Kawhi is going to be limited it's a huge edge for the Warriors.

 

[Russ Smith]

That was not dirty...ZAZA is a clumsy oaf...

I think it's more "dangerous" than dirty it's something that guys like Curry and Klay deal with regularly and don't do themselves because of it. The first one Kawhi got hurt on he landed on a teammates foot, David Lee, who was sitting on the bench so it's hard to blame the Warriors for that one.

I also forgot to point out in addition to the couple against Curry yesterday, there was the big "contested 3" by Durant in the 4th where the SA defender did the exact same thing. Durant even spread his feet to go around the SA defenders foot. What made it different is it wasn't on the sideline so there wasn't a defender in front of you and guys on the bench behind of you scenario like there was when it happened with Kawhi.

I don't think the Warriors were practicing "sweep the leg" but I do think the league has to do something more about that technique because it's dangerous and guys get hurt because of it.

And I also believe it's part of why so many shooters now flop after letting the ball go, they know the NBA is paying more attention to defenders doing that so they try and draw fouls by kicking the leg out and falling.

 

[Russ Smith]

Jackson was not a great coach, but it is still a remarkable feat to take a team that's winning 50+ games and having it win 60-70. It's the equivalent of a coach taking a 25 win team to being a Top 3 seed in the playoffs the following year. Kerr took GSW from a 6 seed to a 1 seed and the title the following year.


Too small of a sample size and Walton didn't make the Lakers any better in Year 1. Granted, that Laker team is devoid of talent, but Walton's impact was seemingly never felt like Kerr's impact was when he took over GSW.





But Kerr didn't bomb. He won a title in his first season and has the record for wins in a regular season. At UofA, he was one of the smartest players Olson had ever coached and was known as a genuine student of the game. He extracted a lot of his coaching prowess from him, but also from Phil and Pop. He studied D'Antoni's system, borrowed some of the tenants of SSOL, but also covered up some of its deficiencies such as short rotations and no attention to defense. Within two seasons, Kerr turned Curry into a two time MVP, Green into a Top-20 player, Klay into one of the best perimeter players in the game, and convince Iguodala that his best contributions would come off the bench, which resulted in a Finals MVP. Furthermore, he successfully integrated Durant into the lineup without causing rifts.

You can point to the talent as being the catalyst for GSW's success, but it takes a certain type of coach to make it all work together.

Yeah the Durant and Iggy things can't be overstated enough. Maybe Iggy would have bought in anywhere if he could get a ring but he wanted to start and was convinced it was best for the team to come off the bench. Durant is a huge star, to blend him in was not easy and took awhile but it has been done. And they had to do it twice since he got hurt and missed a chunk of games.

I also think Kerr did a great job with Klay, remember there was a time when the Warriors were allegedly considering trading him, Kerr helped him stay focused on just getting better and it turned out to be one of those the best trades are the ones you don't make situations.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Kerr's presence and fingerprints in Golden State are more about basketball culture then they are just X's and O's. He gets it. Now they've got it.

The Suns still need it.

Kerr was still coaching the team, even when he wasn't on the sideline. It was his philosophy, his system both offense and defense, his determination of roles and starters. Walton just manned the sideline.

 

[Ronin]

Today's Game 5/15/17
Wizards Vs Boston Game 7 (TNT) 5:00 p.m. This series is tied 3-3
http://www.espn.com/nba/preview?gameId=400952532

 

[Ronin]

NBA.com‏Verified account@NBAcom 9m9 minutes ago
Kawhi Leonard (ankle) is out for Game 2 tomorrow, according to Coach Popovich
http://www.nba.com/article/2017/05/...2?cid=nbacomsocial_tw_sf78934746&sf78934746=1

 

[Ronin]

ESPN Stats & Info‏Verified account@ESPNStatsInfo 14m14 minutes ago
The Wizards will be looking for their first Conference Finals berth since 1978-79 tonight. That's the 2nd-longest active drought in the NBA.

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[Ronin]

Jim Lefko‏Verified account@jimlefko 36m36 minutes ago
Pop calls Zaza's play where Kawhi was injured: "Totally unnatural close out that the league has outlawed years ago."

 

[Ronin]

Jeff McDonald‏Verified account@JMcDonald_SAEN 43m43 minutes ago
To sum up Pop: Zaza has a history, it was a bs play, "I don't give a damn about intent, you still go to jail for manslaughter."

 

[AzStevenCal]

Jeff McDonald‏Verified account@JMcDonald_SAEN 43m43 minutes ago
To sum up Pop: Zaza has a history, it was a bs play, "I don't give a damn about intent, you still go to jail for manslaughter."

Two words Pop, Bo Wen!!!

 

[Dback Jon]

Two words Pop, Bo Wen!!!

Yup - I agree with Pop about it being dirty, but can't get much sympathy for Pop.

 

[sunsfan88]

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[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Pop - karma is a bitch