The 2022 NBA Play-In Tournament + Playoffs Thread

[Muggz]

I feel soo bad for Luka ok i'm over it.

 

[Covert Rain]

I got upset about it, too. Then I realized that had we somehow not choked against Dallas, it wouldn't have mattered because Kerr would have coached circles around Monty anyway.

Possibly but we would not have been swept and it would have been a series. I could have accepted losing a great WCF series against GSW.

 

[Covert Rain]

It wasn’t a fluke. They POUNDED us 4 of the last 5 games and then we flat out QUIT like dogs in Game 7 at the first sign of resistance.

All Dallas proved was how mentally weak and soft this team actually was.

I am talking about Game 7 and it was an absolute fluke. The Suns didn’t play a game like that all season long. We could play that game 7 10 more times and you wouldn’t see them play that bad. That was the worst game by every member of that team at the same time.

 

[Russ Smith]

Luka is allowed to throw anyone around.

He this thing I call following upstairs because it happens commonly to people who are followed too close on stairs the person clips their heel. He did it like 4-5 times last night they'd get Luka on Curry on a switch, Steph would go by him off the dribble and then suddenly Steph would be stumbling to regain his balance because Luka caught his heel

 

[Russ Smith]

Mavericks couldn’t miss when they played us. Have not shot well consistently in this series.

that was the key last night it got to where Kleber wouldn't shoot and Bullock couldn't shoot so it was just Luka and Dinwiddie.

 

[Russ Smith]

Luka’s not athletic enough to even be an average defender. Our Game 2 plan was genius to make him work his ass off on defense. Sucks that we couldn’t do that again during the series.

He doesn't try though. Klay at his current state is not all that athletic at all but he's at least trying to stay in front. In the last round they kept talking about it if Luka gives 2 seconds of effort on D when his man has teh ball the help will come, but he doesn't do that.
At the end of the game he kept scoring, the man is unguardable, but then down the other end his man would score or get by him and create an open shot. The kicker was that foul on the Wiggins 3 that put the Warriors up 14 100-86 they won 109-100 so those 3 FT's were the guarantee of at least a tie. Just straight lazy closeout hit Wiggins high and then ran right through the landing zone.

 

[Russ Smith]

Luka got in his feels after a curry three:

xc_hide_links_from_guests_guests_error_hide_media

Draymond calling him a P word several times in that clip !

 

[Russ Smith]

there's alternate angle clip of the exchange durnig the timeout after Steph's 3 that Luka got mad at. Luka was staring down Steph who high fives Lee after the timeout. JTA is walking with Steph and he and Luka exchange compliments and Luka starts walking after JTA and has to be stopped by teammates. JTA turns to come back and is stopped by coaches. Apparently went back and forth for a bit longer after that.

Luka also mocked the Steph shimmy in the game, Steph said he didn't see it, Draymond said he thought it was funny.

Getting chippy

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

I am talking about Game 7 and it was an absolute fluke. The Suns didn’t play a game like that all season long. We could play that game 7 10 more times and you wouldn’t see them play that bad. That was the worst game by every member of that team at the same time.

Uh why even make this argument? To try to make yourself feel better? They got absolutely asswhomped and quit. Fluke or not, they quit. That game counts. It’s emblazoned on everyone’s minds as the last “performance” of the “great” team. If it makes you feel better to call it a fluke go ahead, but you are the way you play, so that game 7 is a part of their portfolio. And given what it represented, an epic failure and their ticket to go fishing, it’s unfortunately a large segment of their portfolio.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

He doesn't try though. Klay at his current state is not all that athletic at all but he's at least trying to stay in front. In the last round they kept talking about it if Luka gives 2 seconds of effort on D when his man has teh ball the help will come, but he doesn't do that.
At the end of the game he kept scoring, the man is unguardable, but then down the other end his man would score or get by him and create an open shot. The kicker was that foul on the Wiggins 3 that put the Warriors up 14 100-86 they won 109-100 so those 3 FT's were the guarantee of at least a tie. Just straight lazy closeout hit Wiggins high and then ran right through the landing zone.

He did do it against the suns. He just hedged for a second or two to allow the original defender back into position. Worked like a charm against us. I think it worked better against us than against warriors because our sets became predictable, so they could station players in obvious passing lanes to allow the recovery. Warriors play a much more fluid, less set-based, offensive scheme.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

there's alternate angle clip of the exchange durnig the timeout after Steph's 3 that Luka got mad at. Luka was staring down Steph who high fives Lee after the timeout. JTA is walking with Steph and he and Luka exchange compliments and Luka starts walking after JTA and has to be stopped by teammates. JTA turns to come back and is stopped by coaches. Apparently went back and forth for a bit longer after that.

Luka also mocked the Steph shimmy in the game, Steph said he didn't see it, Draymond said he thought it was funny.

Getting chippy

It was right at the end of the first quarter when Steph threw up the terrible 3 and then doncic hit the long 3 at the buzzer.

 

[Russ Smith]

He did do it against the suns. He just hedged for a second or two to allow the original defender back into position. Worked like a charm against us. I think it worked better against us than against warriors because our sets became predictable, so they could station players in obvious passing lanes to allow the recovery. Warriors play a much more fluid, less set-based, offensive scheme.

The Mavs are trying to double Steph and make Draymond be the scorer. It works at times but the problem last night was that repeatedly it winds up with Brunson against him in the paint. he wasn't really scoring but Brunson kept trying to draw a charge on the pass and never got the call once so either the pass was completed or if they missed, the Warriors had an easy putback because Brunson was on the floor.

Big Brunson fan but he has to realize they're not rewarding flops as much in this series.

 

[95pro]

there's alternate angle clip of the exchange durnig the timeout after Steph's 3 that Luka got mad at. Luka was staring down Steph who high fives Lee after the timeout. JTA is walking with Steph and he and Luka exchange compliments and Luka starts walking after JTA and has to be stopped by teammates. JTA turns to come back and is stopped by coaches. Apparently went back and forth for a bit longer after that.

Luka also mocked the Steph shimmy in the game, Steph said he didn't see it, Draymond said he thought it was funny.

Getting chippy

Personally i loved the little shimmy Luka did.

1 - it was funny
2- i hate Curry's celebrations, they're annoying as crap, even the mouthpiece is annoying
3 - Luka isn't conceding to outright praise guys and become friends with them, it creates a rival

 

[LoyaltyisaCurse]

Personally i loved the little shimmy Luka did.

1 - it was funny
2- i hate Curry's celebrations, they're annoying as crap, even the mouthpiece is annoying
3 - Luka isn't conceding to outright praise guys and become friends with them, it creates a rival

He can Shimmy all he wants, but when he gets all up in arms because Curry ran the court with his tongue out, that makes him a little whiny hypocrite.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Possibly but we would not have been swept and it would have been a series. I could have accepted losing a great WCF series against GSW.

They would have thrashed us in 5 games, max. Would have out-coached, rebounded, shot and smartest us into oblivion.

 

[AzStevenCal]

He can Shimmy all he wants, but when he gets all up in arms because Curry ran the court with his tongue out, that makes him a little whiny hypocrite.

Steven Adams. As far as I know, that's the entire list of current NBA players that don't occasionally behave like little whiny hypocrites. Sure, Luka and Lebron are co-captains of the Little Whiny Hypocrite Team but it's a huge team.

 

[Ronin]

Heat guard Tyler Herro won't play in Game 4 vs Celtics due to groin injury

Tyler Herro won't play, but Jimmy Butler and Kyle Lowry might be able to.

sports.yahoo.com

 

[Ronin]

xc_hide_links_from_guests_guests_error_hide_media

 

[95pro]

xc_hide_links_from_guests_guests_error_hide_media

Something we all saw with the Suns smdh...monty montymonty...

 

[Sunburn]

Something we all saw with the Suns smdh...monty montymonty...

Monty wins Coach of the Year and gets dog walked in the second round. Inexplicable how the entire team's performance fell in the playoffs after receiving such high national praise and recognition.

 

[Russ Smith]

He can Shimmy all he wants, but when he gets all up in arms because Curry ran the court with his tongue out, that makes him a little whiny hypocrite.

yeah it doesn't bother me at all. I always laugh when people complain about Steph when they have guys on their own team who do the staredown after dunks.

To be fair several fans here have called out Booker for example for talking tough to Brunson and Luka and then not backing it up although it appears he was hurt.

What bothers me about Steph is like you were saying last night he gets so careless at times.

 

[LoyaltyisaCurse]

Heat guard Tyler Herro won't play in Game 4 vs Celtics due to groin injury

Tyler Herro won't play, but Jimmy Butler and Kyle Lowry might be able to.

sports.yahoo.com

Series of attrition. Crazy

 

[Russ Smith]

Very long but good explanation of what the Warriors are doing on the high screen with Luka and Steph and why it's working.

xc_hide_links_from_guests_guests_error_hide_media

Start about 1:10 and you see him explain that Steph is doing that hedge and literally bump into Luka and then recover on purpose, it's completely by design. But then as the play goes you see how at the very beginning of the screen, Dinwiddie is actually wide open if he just cuts to the rim but by game 3, Dinwiddie has figured out Luka will NOT make that pass, he wants Dinwiddie to flare out for a 3 so that Luka can drive. So JTA has seen the exact same thing so he intentionally stops Dinwiddie, in fact he grabs him and gets away with it. Luka then tries to drive against both defenders, can't, Steph gets bored and goes back to a wide open Dinwiddie. And it ends up with the play where Luka intentionally hooks JTA with his left arma and gets called for it and then whines about it.

 

[Russ Smith]

Very long but good explanation of what the Warriors are doing on the high screen with Luka and Steph and why it's working.

xc_hide_links_from_guests_guests_error_hide_media

Start about 1:10 and you see him explain that Steph is doing that hedge and literally bump into Luka and then recover on purpose, it's completely by design. But then as the play goes you see how at the very beginning of the screen, Dinwiddie is actually wide open if he just cuts to the rim but by game 3, Dinwiddie has figured out Luka will NOT make that pass, he wants Dinwiddie to flare out for a 3 so that Luka can drive. So JTA has seen the exact same thing so he intentionally stops Dinwiddie, in fact he grabs him and gets away with it. Luka then tries to drive against both defenders, can't, Steph gets bored and goes back to a wide open Dinwiddie. And it ends up with the play where Luka intentionally hooks JTA with his left arma and gets called for it and then whines about it.

Also note if you watch towards the end, he details how Luka gets contacted by Wiggins left hand in the lower chest and immediately snaps his head back and then grabs his face to fool the ref into thinking he got hit in the face! that's why the ref on the poster dunk initially called a foul on Wiggins, he saw Luka do that and bought it. After they watched the replay the realized there was no contact to the face or head at all and the left hand did not extend or fend off Luka so not offensive

 

[LoyaltyisaCurse]

Boston taking it to Heat early…