2023 Playoffs: Around the League Round 3 (WCF/ECF) News Thread

[Split T]

Lead is already gone

[Flagrant Fowl]

Suns are still the best team Denver has played.

[carey]

Sweep. Lol.

[Mori Chu]

Bye Lakers. I love it. Nugs probably are the most deserving team this year; I'll be fine with it if they win this year's title. I overestimated the Celtics, but the Nugs are for real. Jokic is so freaking good. Really fun to watch and so good at both scoring and passing. A real unicorn.

[Mori Chu]

[The Bobster]

Fuck the Lakers.

[SunsSince92]

Great to see the Lakers get swept! Anyone else think that might have been Lebron's last chance to win another ring? Old father time is clearly winning the battle now.

[Nodack]

Denver is a well oiled machine. They look great. Lakers got swept. Good for Denver. Sorry Lebron, no soup for you!

[Mori Chu]

Great to see the Lakers get swept! Anyone else think that might have been Lebron's last chance to win another ring? Old father time is clearly winning the battle now.

I think Lebron has won his last title. The only chance would be if a big FA came to the Lakers this offseason on a cheap deal, like Kyrie. But Lebron seems like his priorities are changing into being able to play with his son.

[Superbone]

Lebron with 31 at the half. Lakers up 73-58.

CAN HE DO IT FOR FOUR STRAIGHT GAMES?! <Mike Breen>

No.

Couldn't even do it for four quarters.

[The Bobster]

Winning championships has never been the determining factor in deciding who is a great player - it's still a team thing. Sure, you aren;t going to win without great players, but a lot of great players haven't win championships (Baylor, Barkley, K. Malone, Stockton, Paul, Nash) or have been upset when their teams were favored. That said, I think history will be much more charitible to LeBron James than it will be to Anthony Davis. But really, it's a testament to the Lakers not having much quality beyond those two. Their preferred #3, D'Angelo Russell, was a dud during the postseason, and you're just not going to win against the top teams if Austin Reaves is your third best player.

[Superbone]

Winning championships has never been the determining factor in deciding who is a great player - it's still a team thing. Sure, you aren;t going to win without great players, but a lot of great players haven't win championships (Baylor, Barkley, K. Malone, Stockton, Paul, Nash) or have been upset when their teams were favored. That said, I think history will be much more charitible to LeBron James than it will be to Anthony Davis. But really, it's a testament to the Lakers not having much quality beyond those two. Their preferred #3, D'Angelo Russell, was a dud during the postseason, and you're just not going to win against the top teams if Austin Reaves is your third best player.

Reaves was better than our third best player and yet we at least won two against Denver.

[TOO]

Winning championships has never been the determining factor in deciding who is a great player - it's still a team thing. Sure, you aren;t going to win without great players, but a lot of great players haven't win championships (Baylor, Barkley, K. Malone, Stockton, Paul, Nash) or have been upset when their teams were favored. That said, I think history will be much more charitible to LeBron James than it will be to Anthony Davis. But really, it's a testament to the Lakers not having much quality beyond those two. Their preferred #3, D'Angelo Russell, was a dud during the postseason, and you're just not going to win against the top teams if Austin Reaves is your third best player.

Reaves was better than our third best player and yet we at least won two against Denver.

Despite what the media tells you, Suns 2 best are better than their 2 best.

[Flagrant Fowl]

That's probably true, but the the combo of LeBron and AD is more balanced.

That's not to say Booker and KD are a bad fit, it's just more important to have a variety of skills around them. The Lakers can focus more on one or two types of players, mainly shooters and perimeter defenders.

[The Bobster]

This was all on the coaching staff and the other rotation players. Paul and Ayton didn;t come through and the rest of the bench was too threadbare.

[Superbone]

Good to see the Celtics show some fight tonight. Don't see them losing the next one either.

[AmareIsGod]

Good to see the Celtics show some fight tonight. Don't see them losing the next one either.

And again.

[Superbone]

It does feel like the Celtics have a great chance to be the first NBA team to come back from down 3-0. Saturday should be interesting.

[JeremyG]

Saturday is a must-win for the Heat, but I’m confident they’ll do it.

[Flagrant Fowl]

It doesn't matter. Unless Murray or Jokic break a leg, the Nuggets are winning the title.

I was definitely upset when they knocked out the Suns, but com'on, this is a really good team. Jokic is the modern Duncan and there's no one left in the playoffs to match his talent.