Official NBA Thread

[Manhattan]

Jokic is no joke! Haven't watched Denver play much so its great watching him dominate. Its a good thing he hit that crazy 3 at the end of 3Q and Murray hit an impossible jumper too. Without those 5 pts LA might've stolen the game. LA actually played a really good game with AD scoring 40 but it got overshadowed by Jokics insane triple double. Denver played out of the minds and it still came down to a possession or 2 at the end. You can tell Darvin Ham's philosophy of one possession at a time really resonates cuz it looked like a blowout for most of the game.

Before the series I thought Denver had the better starting 5 but LA has a deeper bench. It proved out because all the LA bench guys had positive +/- for the game and negative for Denver's bench. LA actually outscored Denver in 3Q and 4Q. Putting Rui on Jokic worked really well cuz it allows AD to roam and get rebounds (thats where they lost the game). LA probably starts Rui for next game. All Rui needs to do is keep Joker out of the paint. He's way too good of a passer to double team consistently.

Denver is the most well rounded team LA has played in the playoffs. Memphis played bruising & physical but was undersized. GSW was undersized too and relies on 3 to beat you. Denver is arguably better at every starting position except PF (Lebron). If LA loses gm 2 it'll be too hard to win 4 out of 5 especially without home court.

What a dummy Ja is...

[brucebanner]

Lebron is not a scrub @sexualbanana

Reeves is playing his way to a nice contract this offseason.
Game 1 was certainly looking like a blowout until the second half, it'll be interesting to see the adjustments for game 2.

Game 1 of Miami / Boston tonight. Wonder what version of Boston shows up.

[jabjab]

Ja technically didn't do anything illegal but he's in the public eye and looked at as a role model to some kids out there. He still represents the NBA and should know better not to flash guns for the SECOND time. Not a smart guy but he's just a kid. Surprised Nike still plays his commercials tbh

[sexualbanana]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

Lebron is not a scrub @sexualbanana

Like I said, scrub.

[Manhattan]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

Ja technically didn't do anything illegal but he's in the public eye and looked at as a role model to some kids out there. He still represents the NBA and should know better not to flash guns for the SECOND time. Not a smart guy but he's just a kid. Surprised Nike still plays his commercials tbh

I think if your employer had access to your social media and you flashed a gun inside of a strip club they'd think twice about your employment status. Then they had a chat with you about that kind of behavior because your employer is widely known and you're one of the public faces of their organization and you went and did again 2 months later. We're getting into Plaxico/Pacman Jones territory in the Mt Rushmore of Stupidity.

[sexualbanana]

The Heat are making everyone, myself included, eat their words.

[jabjab]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

The Heat are making everyone, myself included, eat their words.

I'd be very impressed if they made it to the finals!

[Manhattan]

Denver up 2-0 I still think it'll be a competitive series. Not much you can do when Murray was throwing up flames like that. LA might need to double him like they did Curry if he gets hot again but in a close game it only takes 2 or 3 shots to break open a game.

Denver kinda stole gm 2 with that 4Q Murray run. LA led and controlled the pace most of the way with DLo, AD, and LBJ having terrible games. LBJ bobbling the dunk and missing a few open layups could've made a big difference with such small margins for error.

DLo in the final year of his contract too. If LA loses the series there's a good chance LA gives Reaves and Rui the bag and push DLo out. He's not only been mostly useless on offense but so much of a liability on defense Denver admitted to going after whoever he's guarding. DLo's shot is weirdly inconsistent. He has the mechanics of a great shooter and his misses are all on target (front/back of rim). Larry Bird said bad shooters miss sideways but good shooters miss short or long. Reminds me of Schroder fumbling his $80M contract extension by having a terrible stretch of games.

[max_boost]

I thought Schroder fumbled by betting on himself? oh man how tragic aha Anyway i think good assessment and i agree with you. I like Denver to win so I don't have to hear anymore of this Lebron 5 rings GOAT talk aha keep him at 4 so he can't match Kobe/Magic/Duncan

[brucebanner]

LA could be up 2-0, should be 1-1. Denver pulled off winning both at home and take control of the series, I agree it'll likely be competitive but I don't see LA winning. Dennis did mess up his bag by betting on himself, he's recouping his value during these playoffs though, overall I think he's playing well. Reeves going to get PAID this summer.

Like I said before game one of heat / celtics. It'll be interesting to see what version of Boston shows up for game 2.

[Manhattan]

With all that being said the single biggest factor is probably home court. I don't think it's as important in any other sport as it is in bball. It's been proven that while franchise players play well anywhere its the role/fringe players that really shine at home. Both teams are perfect at home in the playoffs if I'm not mistaken.

In the playoffs LAL has been decent to awful on the road but spectacular at home (blowouts by 40 and 30 vs MEM and GSW). Total dr jekyll and mr hyde from one game to the next. DLo had a few pretty good games at home and there was the Lonnie Walker game vs GSW. Something about the confidence & energy of home games that has such a huge impact.

From the beginning I thought the biggest hurdle for LAL was not having home court throughout the playoffs. If LAL can protect home court in gm 3 & 4 it could get very interesting with a best of 3 series. Would be awesome to see #7 vs 8 seed in the finals and a rematch of the bubble. Plus LAL would have home court vs the 8th seed

[jabjab]

Denver vs Miami final. Go Miami!

[max_boost]

As much as I love Miami and butler’s killer mentality , Denver is just too good I think. It would be an all time performance if jimmy killer pulls it off

[brucebanner]

Butler or joker could win and I'd be happy with either.

Lakers had control of this game 4 but nuggets are making their run here in the 3rd.

Does Lebron get swept? He still wouldn't be a scrub @sexualbanana

[taemo]

loving this playoffs, lakers swept. now lets see if celtics gets swept too.
denver miami im ok for either one to win. both jokic and butlers deserves it

[max_boost]

Kyrie to lakers to replace dlo?

[Manhattan]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

Kyrie to lakers to replace dlo?

LA could've used someone other than almost 40 yr old Lebron to shoulder some of the offense. Being about the same age as Lebron I get exhausted from just watching him play. You almost feel bad watching a middle aged man working such a labour intensive job. Kyrie would have to take either a pretty significant pay cut or get it done via sign n trade with DLo plus a few draft picks. His antisemitic stuff won't fly in Hollywood so he's gonna be on a tight leash in terms of social media.

LAL can run it back with the same core but needs to rely on Lebron even less next year. Kyrie might be a picked up cuz he's friends with LeGM but LA really needs a decent backup for AD and some shooters. They went from horrible shooters before the trade deadline to average shooters and it's gotten them pretty far but still don't have an elite shooter (Kennard, Mcdermott, insert white guy name). As long as LBJ is playing they need to be in 'win now' mode.

Been the spiciest or at the very least the most surprising playoffs I've ever seen. Figured surely it would have been a PHX vs MIL/BOS finals. MIA going to pull off 2 shockers beating MIL and BOS. Thought they caught some lucky breaks after the MIL collapse then faced a NYK team that wasn't very good to begin with. BOS seemed to be a legit contender but losing this series has revealed a lot of internal & coaching issues.

Only gripe is sweeps aren't all that fun to watch for most casual fans myself included. Series going 7 games with close scores would be a lot more entertaining. Although LAL/DEN series was not as lopsided as a typical sweep. LAL had a chance to win every game and controlled most of gm 2 and 4. Jokic and/or Murray caught fire at the right time to sway those games. LBJ and AD both looked tired in this series and in games vs MEM/GSW before that. Chasing a play-in spot and playing must win games for 3 months straight probably took a toll. Gordon is probably the player most suited to defend him in the whole league. Both about the same size & build and Gordon with the crazy athleticism to boot and not expected to score. Also interesting that Murray burned LA a lot more than Curry/Klay last series. Probably because it was a more balanced inside/outside attack with Jokic.

Denver is so good at every position and well balanced I think they'll steamroll MIA in the finals. But then again MIA has pulled off 2 of the biggest upsets in the playoffs already. Would be incredible to have a play-in 8th seed beat #1 and 2 east seeds AND #1 west seed on the way to a championship. It would be the most incredible playoff run ever. And people would finally legitimately recognize Jimmy as MJ's long lost son.

[max_boost]

Okay man lol celtics win game 6?

[Manhattan]

Crazy he still dropped 40 and got as far as they did.

If a team were ever to come back from 0-3 to win this would be the season. I think Vegas odds are already predicting that BOS wins the series.

[max_boost]

Lol omg what an ending Boston Miami lol

Miami fans stunned. I am stunned ahaha

If you hesitate you masterbate aka go fk yourself lol