@Music City posted:Lakers only play Anthony Davis for 19 min and the Suns even the series... Lakers are in trouble...
AD will be limited at best, and Chris Paul's shoulder is starting to feel better. That's a bad trend for the Lakers.
Sixers lose Game 4. The bigger thing is Embiid leaving with an injury.
Westbrook with a classic Westbrook game. The good - He had a 19-21-14 triple-double. The bad - he went 3 for 19 from the floor.
Lakers down 21... no AD. James playing like it’s a preseason game.
Portland/Denver one for the ages tonight... Dame Time with a pair of killers to go to OT and the double-OT. Unbelievable...
@Tschmack posted:Lakers are in serious trouble
I sure hope so. I bet the NBA and ESPN behind the scenes are crapping themselves.
@Music City posted:Lakers down 21... no AD. James playing like it’s a preseason game.
LeBron played like he knows AD isn't coming back anytime soon and he knows they have no chance without him.
If the Lakers are done, the new NBA story will be who Klutch Sports decides to have force their way onto the Lakers for next season. They need at least another borderline all-star type player.
I don’t understand this... Chris Paul gets boxed out cleanly by Wes Matthew’s, acts like he got his should dislocated... gets a foul (total bullshit- if that’s a foul, then they’re all fouls). Acts like he’s coming apart on the sideline- but calmly swishes both FTs and then leaves the game with the Suns up 30.
If it turns out that all that was total bullshit, and he did all that to get a foul then had to sell it because all eyes were on him, he should be suspended for the rest of the series. LeBron fakes getting poked in the eye, says he can’t see, then hits the dagger 3 to beat Golden State... oh what a hero! Overcoming the pain of almost getting hit in the eye! We don’t deserve such heroics. 🤮🤮🤮🤮
This acting bullshit that Paul and Lebron have been doing for years... I’ve had enough. These fuckers need to get crumpled on a drive like the Davises from Indiana or Laimbeer or Alonzo Mourning. I am tired of this acting horseshit... the league cannot keep rewarding these fucking frauds.
@Music City posted:... I am tired of this acting horseshit... the league cannot keep rewarding these fucking frauds.
Yeah, what is this, soccer ?
Living in AZ it's been fun watching the natives.
They were just happy to get in to the playoffs for the first time in 11 yrs.
@bvan posted:Yeah, what is this, soccer ?
The East moves on- three 4-1 series and a sweep. Philly taking on Atlanta with a gimpy Embiid will be interesting... and of course the Bucks and Nets is probably going to be the best series in the playoffs.
The West still has 3 series going: Denver and Phoenix will try to close out in game 6 tonight, while Dallas tries to close out on Friday. Assuming at least 2 of these go to game 7. Utah sits and waits...
@Music City posted:This acting bullshit that Paul and Lebron have been doing for years... I’ve had enough. These fuckers need to get crumpled on a drive like the Davises from Indiana or Laimbeer or Alonzo Mourning. I am tired of this acting horseshit... the league cannot keep rewarding these fucking frauds.
One of things I don't care for in today's NBA is the flopping. I think even some European soccer players are saying "damn that's weak"
Anthony “Street Clothes” David lasts 5:30 before he limps off the floor.
Devin Booker putting on a fuckin’ show tonight... wow! 22 points and a 36-14 lead after 1.
Suns prevail... little trash talk after Booker gives them an emphatic dunk, so the Lakers chirped about it. So they eject Jae Crowder and Devin Booker? No Ts for the Lakers barking? James yelling at the Suns... nothing.
AD out there dapping the Suns players... LeBron? Walked out, went to the locker room.
Just imagine the number of flagrants, technicals, ejections, and suspensions if this was called under modern rules pic.twitter.com/Zb9JBz986P
— Bad Sports Refs (@BadSportsRefs) June 4, 2021
In all fairness, I hated that era, too. There were 79-71 playoff games for fucks sake.
You can play good basketball without either killing guys or faking injuries. Is it too much to ask for something in the middle?
The real issue is faking injuries- if it turns out you reacted like you got shot and there’s no contact at all? Suspension. League office should back up officials on that. It’s hard to know live- but if you were acting, there should be punishment.
@H5 posted:Just imagine the number of flagrants, technicals, ejections, and suspensions if this was called under modern rules pic.twitter.com/Zb9JBz986P
— Bad Sports Refs (@BadSportsRefs) June 4, 2021
The Bad Boys Pistons entire roster would have missed the post-season just based on accumulating flagrans.
Kawhi and Luka has been pretty damned fun to watch. They’re the only 1st round series to go 7. Leonard had 45 last night, with daggers late from deep. Just awesome... that series ends Sunday.
Dallas headed to Cancun.
Clippers / Utah coming up.
Suns doing to the Nuggets what the Nets are doing to the Bucks…
Denver looks like they quit in game 2 much like the Bucks.
Can we do away with the “Paul George is a Superstar” talk now? I haven’t seen him play like a Superstar since he left OKC.
@Music City posted:Can we do away with the “Paul George is a Superstar” talk now? I haven’t seen him play like a Superstar since he left OKC.
Career per 36 minutes
George. 21.9 points, 6.9 rebounds, 3.7 assists on 16.9 FGA. Shooting splits: 44/38/85
Middleton: 19.0, 5.5 rebounds, 4.1 assists on 15.1 FGA. Shooting splits: 46/40/88
He's a higher usage version of Middleton on offense that's made some all-defensive teams. Middleton isn't on his level defensively, but he's not bad on that end. George is a slightly better version of Middleton with much better PR.
He's an excellent player, but not on the Durant/LeBron/Harden/Giannis/Kawhi level.
The playoffs got a whole lot more interesting. The Clippers and Hawks pulled even and I think both teams have a legit opportunity to advance.
The Jazz are in real trouble if Kahwi starts to heat up and PG13 is more than holding his own. Utah got 37 from Mitchell and shot 41% from 3 and still got blown out.
As for Philly, if I’ve said it once I’ve said it a million times that Joel Embiid is not mentally tough and he’s not a leader. When things get difficult he fades into the background. Collins and Capela are winning that battle of the bigs. The 76ers may have to counter with more of Dwight Howard. Plus, for all the crap Khris Middleton gets I’m sorry but Ben Simmons has to give you more than 11 points. Tobias Harris can score but he doesn’t play defense.
@Tschmack posted:The playoffs got a whole lot more interesting. The Clippers and Hawks pulled even and I think both teams have a legit opportunity to advance.
The Jazz are in real trouble if Kahwi starts to heat up and PG13 is more than holding his own. Utah got 37 from Mitchell and shot 41% from 3 and still got blown out.
As for Philly, if I’ve said it once I’ve said it a million times that Joel Embiid is not mentally tough and he’s not a leader. When things get difficult he fades into the background. Collins and Capela are winning that battle of the bigs. The 76ers may have to counter with more of Dwight Howard. Plus, for all the crap Khris Middleton gets I’m sorry but Ben Simmons has to give you more than 11 points. Tobias Harris can score but he doesn’t play defense.
All you need to know about Ben Simmons is that when his team was down 3 with under 10 seconds left, Doc RIvers benched him for Shake Milton. It was the right move by Doc because Simmons gives you even less than Giannis outside the paint, but at least Giannis is a 30% career 3 point shooter. He's bad, but Simmons plays point guard and has shot 354 3-pointers in his career (and made 5). You'd think as a guard you would end up with that many attempts just on end-of-quarter heaves or getting the ball at the 3 point at the end of the shot clock every 20 games or so.
Imagine the ratings of a Sixers-Bucks, hack-a-Simmons, hack-a-Giannis, ECF with 50 FTs each game between the two of them?
Trae Young on a 7-0 run and the Hawks have a 1 point lead after being down 18 at the start of the 4th quarter. 36-17 in the quarter overall… unreal.
Well, it only took a day for the Bucks to fall to second place in the categories of worst collapse in the playoffs, superstars choking late in the 4th quarter at the line, and horrible offensive execution hindered by floor spacing due to a superstar that can't shoot.
At least the Bucks got beat because a top-10 player all time had the best game of his career. The Sixers got beat by a team that didn't even shoot well and has no future Hall of Famers (no, I don't think Trae Young is the next Steph Curry).
However, it is going to really suck watching Bogdanovic play deeper into the playoffs than the Bucks.
For as bad as the Bucks melted down that Philly choke job was worse. I mean, there’s no shame in a guy like Durant going crazy but Atlanta doesn’t have anyone close to that ability.
Given the Chris Paul situation it’s honestly totally up for grabs this year. I thought the Clippers had no chance and then PG13 rises up and gets a win. The Hawks and Nets basically stealing wins was also unexpected.
If somehow the Bucks can regain their composure and win this series I think they have a legit shot at the title. The Sixers are a mess and the Hawks do not match up well with Milwaukee and every single team left out west has question marks.
Game 6 will be interesting based on how the Nets approach it. They treated Game 5 as a must-win. Will they treat Game 6 the same way. Do they play Harden and Durant 46-48 minutes again or are they a little more conservative about pushing their minutes given they have a Game 7 at home to fall back on?
If the Bucks build a big second-half lead as they did in Game 5, the Nets are more likely to be conservative and give Durant and Harden some rest. If they go with the same intensity they did in Game 5 to try to battle back from a big deficit and lose, it makes Game 7 a lot harder for Durant and Harden especially to come back for in terms of fatigue.
Of course, when you can just give the ball to Durant, have a pick set for him, have him drive to his right, and shoot uncontested jump shots you are never out of it.
Giannis needs to cover Durant, even with screen issues that could arise.
So that CBS article… the one that said Giannis is not a list of players, and included Embiid. Dude fades down the stretch (again), clangs 2 FTs in a 3 point game… is he still better than Giannis?
@Music City posted:So that CBS article… the one that said Giannis is not a list of players, and included Embiid. Dude fades down the stretch (again), clangs 2 FTs in a 3 point game… is he still better than Giannis?
All Giannis needs to do is average 35/15/8, shoot 80% from the line, and lead the Bucks to wins in the next 2 games and he changes the whole narrative in the next 3 days. As long as the NBA home office doesn't influence the officials to call a bunch of offensive fouls on his drives, it's all under his control right now.