2018 NBA Playoffs, Third Round (Conf. Finals)

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Superbone
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Re: 2018 NBA Playoffs, Third Round (Conf. Finals)

Post by Superbone »

So... After a full season of NBA basketball, it's exactly the two teams in the Finals that we predicted before the season started. Ho hum.
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Hermen
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Re: 2018 NBA Playoffs, Third Round (Conf. Finals)

Post by Hermen »

TheOriginalOriginal wrote:
Mon May 28, 2018 8:26 pm
JustWinBaby wrote:
Mon May 28, 2018 8:26 pm
TheOriginalOriginal wrote:
Mon May 28, 2018 8:19 pm
Also, if its the same tired complaint, that means he hasn't adjusted. Weird how that plays out.
I am sure glad he is not coaching our team. It has been a pleasure to watch the Phoenix Suns since he left town.
He's won as many titles as we have. :lol:

And Houston is garbage to watch tbh, they aren't fun at all. They play college basketball offense.
I also don't like the way Houston played, but all in all they had a very good season. They won the home court in regular season and had a double digit lead in game 7 against GSW with CP injured. We can debate how much of it was GSW underperforming, but realistically nobody expected them to come this close.

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Re: 2018 NBA Playoffs, Third Round (Conf. Finals)

Post by Gladiator »

Superbone wrote:
Mon May 28, 2018 11:36 pm
So... After a full season of NBA basketball, it's exactly the two teams in the Finals that we predicted before the season started. Ho hum.
It’s soooo exciting, isn’t it?

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AmareIsGod
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Re: 2018 NBA Playoffs, Third Round (Conf. Finals)

Post by AmareIsGod »

Hermen wrote:
Tue May 29, 2018 2:18 am
TheOriginalOriginal wrote:
Mon May 28, 2018 8:26 pm
JustWinBaby wrote:
Mon May 28, 2018 8:26 pm
TheOriginalOriginal wrote:
Mon May 28, 2018 8:19 pm
Also, if its the same tired complaint, that means he hasn't adjusted. Weird how that plays out.
I am sure glad he is not coaching our team. It has been a pleasure to watch the Phoenix Suns since he left town.
He's won as many titles as we have. :lol:

And Houston is garbage to watch tbh, they aren't fun at all. They play college basketball offense.
I also don't like the way Houston played, but all in all they had a very good season. They won the home court in regular season and had a double digit lead in game 7 against GSW with CP injured. We can debate how much of it was GSW underperforming, but realistically nobody expected them to come this close.
Plus, they were without CP3 games 6 and 7.
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ShelC
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Re: 2018 NBA Playoffs, Third Round (Conf. Finals)

Post by ShelC »

They needed a 3rd guard to run offense, or really, a backup PG. They got away with Paul and Harden all season but after Paul went down it was Harden dribbling around or taking step backs.

But once again, MikeD couldn't make the adjustment and get his team to run any other offense. Not that they had a lot of options, but the PnR was working and opening up the lane. Instead, he was content to let his team jack 3s.

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Re: 2018 NBA Playoffs, Third Round (Conf. Finals)

Post by O_Gardino »

Split T wrote:
Mon May 28, 2018 8:35 pm
I never really bought into the shortened rotation being a big problem, but when you miss 27 straight 3's on pretty decent looks, it makes you wonder. What are the chances a 37%(just a guess) 3 pt shooting team misses 27 straight? You gotta think tired legs played a role.
I think a lot of it was heart and nerves. Harden seems to always wilt in the big moments, and Ariza looked scared. They really missed Chris Paul.

Joe Johnson should have gotten a longer look. The Rockets were good in his 5 minutes.

Anderson was a total loss in his time on the court. The Warriors put him in every pick and roll and scored like 10 points on him, and the Rockets didn't find him for even one shot.

How about PJ Tucker shooting 48% from 3 in the series?
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Indy
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Re: 2018 NBA Playoffs, Third Round (Conf. Finals)

Post by Indy »

ShelC wrote:
Tue May 29, 2018 6:08 am
They needed a 3rd guard to run offense, or really, a backup PG. They got away with Paul and Harden all season but after Paul went down it was Harden dribbling around or taking step backs.

But once again, MikeD couldn't make the adjustment and get his team to run any other offense. Not that they had a lot of options, but the PnR was working and opening up the lane. Instead, he was content to let his team jack 3s.
And yet, if those 3 clear fouls on harden where he was shooting a 3 were called, Houston could be playing for a championship.

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Indy
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Re: 2018 NBA Playoffs, Third Round (Conf. Finals)

Post by Indy »

O_Gardino wrote:
Tue May 29, 2018 8:13 am
Split T wrote:
Mon May 28, 2018 8:35 pm
I never really bought into the shortened rotation being a big problem, but when you miss 27 straight 3's on pretty decent looks, it makes you wonder. What are the chances a 37%(just a guess) 3 pt shooting team misses 27 straight? You gotta think tired legs played a role.
I think a lot of it was heart and nerves. Harden seems to always wilt in the big moments, and Ariza looked scared. They really missed Chris Paul.

Joe Johnson should have gotten a longer look. The Rockets were good in his 5 minutes.

Anderson was a total loss in his time on the court. The Warriors put him in every pick and roll and scored like 10 points on him, and the Rockets didn't find him for even one shot.

How about PJ Tucker shooting 48% from 3 in the series?
A lot of those 3s were long, so I am not sure I buy the tired legs. I think they were tight, and saw how GSW came back before, and just didn't play well. Completely different from the first 15-20 minutes when they are over-playing on D, jumping into the passing lanes, and getting out on the break. They choked.

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Re: 2018 NBA Playoffs, Third Round (Conf. Finals)

Post by O_Gardino »

Flagrant Fowl wrote:
Mon May 28, 2018 8:29 pm
As an impartial, I'd much rather watch this version of GSW over Houston any day. The foul hunting and lack of ball movement is boring.
Agreed. On paper, I was rooting for Tucker all the former Suns in Houston, but as the series went on I sure got sick of watching Harden take shots without running anything. Not a single pass or drive, or even making a dribbling move to create space. So glad I'm not going to watch that shit in the finals.
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Re: 2018 NBA Playoffs, Third Round (Conf. Finals)

Post by O_Gardino »

Indy wrote:
Tue May 29, 2018 8:16 am
O_Gardino wrote:
Tue May 29, 2018 8:13 am
Split T wrote:
Mon May 28, 2018 8:35 pm
I never really bought into the shortened rotation being a big problem, but when you miss 27 straight 3's on pretty decent looks, it makes you wonder. What are the chances a 37%(just a guess) 3 pt shooting team misses 27 straight? You gotta think tired legs played a role.
I think a lot of it was heart and nerves. Harden seems to always wilt in the big moments, and Ariza looked scared. They really missed Chris Paul.

Joe Johnson should have gotten a longer look. The Rockets were good in his 5 minutes.

Anderson was a total loss in his time on the court. The Warriors put him in every pick and roll and scored like 10 points on him, and the Rockets didn't find him for even one shot.

How about PJ Tucker shooting 48% from 3 in the series?
A lot of those 3s were long, so I am not sure I buy the tired legs. I think they were tight, and saw how GSW came back before, and just didn't play well. Completely different from the first 15-20 minutes when they are over-playing on D, jumping into the passing lanes, and getting out on the break. They choked.
Yep.
The league needs heroes, villains... and clowns. -- Aztec Sunsfan

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Cap
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Re: 2018 NBA Playoffs, Third Round (Conf. Finals)

Post by Cap »

Split T wrote:
Mon May 28, 2018 8:35 pm
I never really bought into the shortened rotation being a big problem, but when you miss 27 straight 3's on pretty decent looks, it makes you wonder. What are the chances a 37%(just a guess) 3 pt shooting team misses 27 straight? You gotta think tired legs played a role.
538 takes on that question: https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/th ... -in-72000/

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Mori Chu
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Re: 2018 NBA Playoffs, Third Round (Conf. Finals)

Post by Mori Chu »

Wow, what a game. Super excited that the Warriors came back. I picked the Rockets to win the title this year, and at halftime I felt like I had backed the right horse. But I couldn't believe that Houston missed so many shots (many of them open 3s!) in the 3rd quarter. It was like you could feel their whole team tightening up.

How much of this falls on D'Antoni? His teams seem to consistently underachieve in the playoffs. Is it coincidence? Is it because he doesn't trust his bench, and therefore guys like Ryan Anderson and Luc Mbah a Moute end up being worthless in a game where they could have been useful? I still can't believe that the Houston offense was literally "iso-ball" for Harden and Paul the whole game. I found it awful to watch.

And I have to say, for everybody complaining that Harden should have gotten foul calls on 3s: the constant baiting of the refs by Harden, trying to draw cheap ass fouls on 3 point flailing attempts while kicking out his legs and arms, is ridiculous and should not be rewarded by the refs. I really hate this aspect of Harden's otherwise amazing play. He clearly goes out of his way to try to bait the defender into sticking out his arm so that he can go up and get a whistle. Or if a defender is jumping at him, he sprawls out his entire body in the hope of being lightly tapped so that he can act like a grenade went off, falling back into a crumpled heap and hoping for a whistle. It's chickens**t. Refs didn't call that a couple of times? Good. They should have called it zero times.

I'm not trying to be a 100% Warriors apologist here. The Warriors players do many obnoxious things. I hate when they flex their muscles after making a shot. I dislike how Durant also does some of the "shoot into your arm to draw a foul" BS (though less often than Harden). I generally dislike that Durant went to such an already dominant team; bad for the league. I dislike when Draymond Green acts like a thug and a bully on the court. So the Warriors aren't perfect.

But I at least think that the Warriors play a much more beautiful and admirable brand of basketball than the Rockets. I love the passing, the unselfishness (most of the time, cough cough Durant) that they show on their offense. I looooooove that they consistently seem to get young guys involved and into the rotation, like McCaw, Looney, Bell. Despite having such a star-studded starting lineup and an army of cheap vets on the bench, they develop young players and trust them with minutes, even in a critical Game 7. I like Kerr as a coach, and I like him as a person and social/political activist.

Despite any of the flaws or problems with the Warriors team, I don't know how you can watch this game/series and not be awed by Steph Curry. The crazy 3-pointers he makes; he's an assassin. Durant is an amazing player and probably the more talented overall, but when Curry makes 2-3 three-pointers in a row, it just takes all the air out of the building. Breaks their spirits. A generational talent.

As for the Finals, I'll make a separate thread for that. But the short version is that I think the Warriors will make short work of the Cavs, probably winning in 5.

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Re: 2018 NBA Playoffs, Third Round (Conf. Finals)

Post by TOO »

"Super excited the Warriors came back."

Go away you.
👀 Fire Frank Vogel.

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carey
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Re: 2018 NBA Playoffs, Third Round (Conf. Finals)

Post by carey »

Marty [Mori Chu] wrote:
Tue May 29, 2018 10:18 am
How much of this falls on D'Antoni?
How much falls on Mike? Not much, but I'll say that it certainly appears Sisyphean at this point. The Rockets kept on firing 3s not because they were stubborn but because that is what's in their DNA. They couldn't pivot and all of a sudden start running their offense through Clint Capela. If they had CPMe the last 2 games I like to think they win at least one of them. As of now it looks like D'Antoni will be one of the league's greatest "what if" stories. What if Amare doesn't get suspended? What if Paul doesn't strain his hamstring?
I'm not trying to be a 100% Warriors apologist here.
Are you sure? :lol:
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Re: 2018 NBA Playoffs, Third Round (Conf. Finals)

Post by EDC »

The Warriors should be ashamed they let it go to 7 games. :)

73 win team that added KD.

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Superbone
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Re: 2018 NBA Playoffs, Third Round (Conf. Finals)

Post by Superbone »

Marty [Mori Chu] wrote:
Tue May 29, 2018 10:18 am
Wow, what a game. Super excited that the Warriors came back. I picked the Rockets to win the title this year, and at halftime I felt like I had backed the right horse. But I couldn't believe that Houston missed so many shots (many of them open 3s!) in the 3rd quarter. It was like you could feel their whole team tightening up.

How much of this falls on D'Antoni? His teams seem to consistently underachieve in the playoffs. Is it coincidence? Is it because he doesn't trust his bench, and therefore guys like Ryan Anderson and Luc Mbah a Moute end up being worthless in a game where they could have been useful? I still can't believe that the Houston offense was literally "iso-ball" for Harden and Paul the whole game. I found it awful to watch.

And I have to say, for everybody complaining that Harden should have gotten foul calls on 3s: the constant baiting of the refs by Harden, trying to draw cheap ass fouls on 3 point flailing attempts while kicking out his legs and arms, is ridiculous and should not be rewarded by the refs. I really hate this aspect of Harden's otherwise amazing play. He clearly goes out of his way to try to bait the defender into sticking out his arm so that he can go up and get a whistle. Or if a defender is jumping at him, he sprawls out his entire body in the hope of being lightly tapped so that he can act like a grenade went off, falling back into a crumpled heap and hoping for a whistle. It's chickens**t. Refs didn't call that a couple of times? Good. They should have called it zero times.

I'm not trying to be a 100% Warriors apologist here. The Warriors players do many obnoxious things. I hate when they flex their muscles after making a shot. I dislike how Durant also does some of the "shoot into your arm to draw a foul" BS (though less often than Harden). I generally dislike that Durant went to such an already dominant team; bad for the league. I dislike when Draymond Green acts like a thug and a bully on the court. So the Warriors aren't perfect.

But I at least think that the Warriors play a much more beautiful and admirable brand of basketball than the Rockets. I love the passing, the unselfishness (most of the time, cough cough Durant) that they show on their offense. I looooooove that they consistently seem to get young guys involved and into the rotation, like McCaw, Looney, Bell. Despite having such a star-studded starting lineup and an army of cheap vets on the bench, they develop young players and trust them with minutes, even in a critical Game 7. I like Kerr as a coach, and I like him as a person and social/political activist.

Despite any of the flaws or problems with the Warriors team, I don't know how you can watch this game/series and not be awed by Steph Curry. The crazy 3-pointers he makes; he's an assassin. Durant is an amazing player and probably the more talented overall, but when Curry makes 2-3 three-pointers in a row, it just takes all the air out of the building. Breaks their spirits. A generational talent.

As for the Finals, I'll make a separate thread for that. But the short version is that I think the Warriors will make short work of the Cavs, probably winning in 5.
Wow. That was vomit inducing. I'm not even sure you watched the game:
Marty [Mori Chu] wrote:
Tue May 29, 2018 10:18 am
I still can't believe that the Houston offense was literally "iso-ball" for Harden and Paul the whole game. I found it awful to watch.
Dude, Paul was out with an injury.
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Superbone
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Re: 2018 NBA Playoffs, Third Round (Conf. Finals)

Post by Superbone »

EDC wrote:
Tue May 29, 2018 10:38 am
The Warriors should be ashamed they let it go to 7 games. :)

73 win team that added KD.
They're just sloppy now and know they can just turn it on when they need to.
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TOO
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Re: 2018 NBA Playoffs, Third Round (Conf. Finals)

Post by TOO »

Superbone wrote:
Tue May 29, 2018 11:17 am
Marty [Mori Chu] wrote:
Tue May 29, 2018 10:18 am
Wow, what a game. Super excited that the Warriors came back. I picked the Rockets to win the title this year, and at halftime I felt like I had backed the right horse. But I couldn't believe that Houston missed so many shots (many of them open 3s!) in the 3rd quarter. It was like you could feel their whole team tightening up.

How much of this falls on D'Antoni? His teams seem to consistently underachieve in the playoffs. Is it coincidence? Is it because he doesn't trust his bench, and therefore guys like Ryan Anderson and Luc Mbah a Moute end up being worthless in a game where they could have been useful? I still can't believe that the Houston offense was literally "iso-ball" for Harden and Paul the whole game. I found it awful to watch.

And I have to say, for everybody complaining that Harden should have gotten foul calls on 3s: the constant baiting of the refs by Harden, trying to draw cheap ass fouls on 3 point flailing attempts while kicking out his legs and arms, is ridiculous and should not be rewarded by the refs. I really hate this aspect of Harden's otherwise amazing play. He clearly goes out of his way to try to bait the defender into sticking out his arm so that he can go up and get a whistle. Or if a defender is jumping at him, he sprawls out his entire body in the hope of being lightly tapped so that he can act like a grenade went off, falling back into a crumpled heap and hoping for a whistle. It's chickens**t. Refs didn't call that a couple of times? Good. They should have called it zero times.

I'm not trying to be a 100% Warriors apologist here. The Warriors players do many obnoxious things. I hate when they flex their muscles after making a shot. I dislike how Durant also does some of the "shoot into your arm to draw a foul" BS (though less often than Harden). I generally dislike that Durant went to such an already dominant team; bad for the league. I dislike when Draymond Green acts like a thug and a bully on the court. So the Warriors aren't perfect.

But I at least think that the Warriors play a much more beautiful and admirable brand of basketball than the Rockets. I love the passing, the unselfishness (most of the time, cough cough Durant) that they show on their offense. I looooooove that they consistently seem to get young guys involved and into the rotation, like McCaw, Looney, Bell. Despite having such a star-studded starting lineup and an army of cheap vets on the bench, they develop young players and trust them with minutes, even in a critical Game 7. I like Kerr as a coach, and I like him as a person and social/political activist.

Despite any of the flaws or problems with the Warriors team, I don't know how you can watch this game/series and not be awed by Steph Curry. The crazy 3-pointers he makes; he's an assassin. Durant is an amazing player and probably the more talented overall, but when Curry makes 2-3 three-pointers in a row, it just takes all the air out of the building. Breaks their spirits. A generational talent.

As for the Finals, I'll make a separate thread for that. But the short version is that I think the Warriors will make short work of the Cavs, probably winning in 5.
Wow. That was vomit inducing. I'm not even sure you watched the game:
Marty [Mori Chu] wrote:
Tue May 29, 2018 10:18 am
I still can't believe that the Houston offense was literally "iso-ball" for Harden and Paul the whole game. I found it awful to watch.
Dude, Paul was out with an injury.
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:)
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JustWinBaby
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Re: 2018 NBA Playoffs, Third Round (Conf. Finals)

Post by JustWinBaby »

ShelC wrote:
Tue May 29, 2018 6:08 am
They needed a 3rd guard to run offense, or really, a backup PG. They got away with Paul and Harden all season but after Paul went down it was Harden dribbling around or taking step backs.

But once again, MikeD couldn't make the adjustment and get his team to run any other offense. Not that they had a lot of options, but the PnR was working and opening up the lane. Instead, he was content to let his team jack 3s.
Yeah I guess Mike watched what happened to the great Brad Stevens and thought it could not happen to him, but it did.

Why didn't HOF coach Brad Stevens make some adjustments? I guess it was because the Celtics shot at a blistering clip of 17.9% (7 for 39) from the 3 point line. The great Brad Stevens probably would have made significant adjustments if his team was shooting just 15.9% (7 for 44) from the 3 point line like the Rockets did. He had no indication that it could continue so he let his team keep jacking them up until the end. How can you blame Brad Stevens for anything. After all he has won multiple championships, oh wait.

Let's be clear the Rockets and Celtics main reason for making it to the Conference finals was due to their 3 point shooting. You just do no go away from your strength. The Rockets only shot five more threes than what two great coaches Steve Kerr (16 for 39) and Brad Stevens allowed their teams to shoot. That is not jacking up shots, that is your offense.

What really happened was the perfect storm. The Rockets were dominating on both ends of the court when the shots were falling. When they stopped falling it allowed the Warriors to get open looks and they made them. I can see Rocket fans blaming the officials and I think it was a horribly officiated game in favor of the Warriors but in the end if they would have just made a few of their misses they would be in the finals. If the Celtics would have just made a few of their misses it would be the Celtics versus the Rockets.

That would have been a far more entertaining series to watch than the one we are stuck with. It is amazing as to how two of the best teams in the NBA melted down when it mattered most.

Go Cavaliers
I wanted Monty as our coach since D'Antoni left town. Nice choice James Jones.

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Re: 2018 NBA Playoffs, Third Round (Conf. Finals)

Post by In2ition »

1. I have no idea how Scott Foster keeps getting these gigs in big games, he is atrocious.
2. D'Antoni needed to make adjustments and just didn't. He still hasn't learned how to stem the tide.
3. Obviously losing CP3 was a huge blow to the flow of the offense and keeping it from getting stagnant.
4. As good as Capela is, the Rockets could really use a steadying force down low, where they could go to possession after possession for easy points.
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