2026 NBA Playoffs - Conf. Finals

[TOO]

Chet needs to get in the gym and lift some weights. Amazing to me that an NBA player wants to stay that skinny. He got completely bodied by Wemby and was scared the rest of the series. Enjoy that $250m contract.

I'd still take him on the Suns in a heart beat lol.

[bajanguy008]

I have to counter "Bobster" by saying that's why it is so unbelievable to me.
Every other player I can remember disappearing in a key playoff game Missed shots. You referenced Johnson and without specific names, some variation of 4/15, 3/13 - hitting less than 5 shots on like close to 15+ attempts have happened and dude's rep took a hit.

I can't however ever remember an "All Star, All NBA" player going 1-2 on field goals, elimination game......
He's a 7 footer
He's the 2nd option
He was primarily guarded by Vassell, Keldon (two small fwds)
No foul trouble (33mins)

That's mind blowing

[The Bobster]

I have to counter "Bobster" by saying that's why it is so unbelievable to me.
Every other player I can remember disappearing in a key playoff game Missed shots. You referenced Johnson and without specific names, some variation of 4/15, 3/13 - hitting less than 5 shots on like close to 15+ attempts have happened and dude's rep took a hit.

I can't however ever remember an "All Star, All NBA" player going 1-2 on field goals, elimination game......
He's a 7 footer
He's the 2nd option
He was primarily guarded by Vassell, Keldon (two small fwds)
No foul trouble (33mins)

That's mind blowing

Remember, Wilt was criticized after game 7 of the 1969 Finals when he had 18 points and 27 rebounds and his team lost by 2 points.

Chet was 3rd team all-NBA, but he averaged offensive numbers that were basically what Deandre Ayton averaged here. Chet's very good defensively, but his offense is that of a complimentary player.

But there's plenty of great players with abysmal game 7's, like Scottie Pippen in a loss to the Pistons in 1990 (1 for 10, 2 points). But with enough postseason success after that people have forgotten how he was perceived at that point. And Chet's got a long way to go before he's the equal of a Scottie Pippen, but there's still a possibility he may get there and erase the stink from last night's game.

[Mori Chu]

It's wild that Chet basically couldn't play against Wemby. He got completely neutralized. You can kind of see why, since Wemby is bigger and can basically bother or block any shot Chet wants to put up, including all the way out to the 3-point line. I bet it got in his head and messed up his confidence. I think people are being too harsh on him and blaming him too much. The lack of Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell really hurt them. Their second-best player in most games was Alex freaking Caruso for Pete's sake. The Thunder have a really deep and talented team, but it's hard to overcome an injury to your 2nd-best player and another of your best 5-6 guys in a crucial series. And, to be fair, I think the refs dialed back some of the ridiculous whistles as the series went along, which exposed how much OKC relies on the officials to win.

Gotta say I am just really happy that OKC got eliminated. Over the course of this season I grew to really hate the way they play. I am a little scared for the league with Wemby just steamrolling everyone for a decade to come, but I think it's better than a smug foul-baiting OKC dynasty.

I was wrong about the Spurs. In another message I predicted OKC would win this series and said that the Spurs weren't ready yet. They proved me and others completely wrong. Sometimes when you get a generational talent, you're just ready. And you have to give credit to the rest of their roster and coaching staff; it isn't just Wemby putting up 40 points every night. In last night's Game 7 they had 6 guys put up double-digit scoring, and Wemby had only 22 points on 15 shots. Love the way they share the ball. They play great defense. And Wemby himself is hard to take your eyes off of; he is always flying around, talking, showing fire and emotion, bothering shots, making crazy moves that he shouldn't be able to make. They are a lot of fun to watch.

[Split T]

Chet channeling his inner Ayton last night

[Mori Chu]

I saw a tweet that referred to Chet as "Ozempic Abe Lincoln" and I can't stop laughing about it.

[Aztec Sunsfan]

I saw Harstenstein developing a very effective floater trying to counter that freaking length, so there it is an example on not giving up, while Chet just couldn’t overcome losing the clear advantage. All smiles scoring against the small ball Suns, but a total zero against real size,he could have tried going against Kornet, but he shied away from the moment completely.

He is really young and could mature into a better competitor, but most of the time in that regard , you are what you are.

[O_Gardino]

Crazy how young the Spurs are, but they were the team that looked mature and ready.

Harper - 19
Bryant -20
Castle - 21
Wemby - 22
Champ - 24
Vassell - 25
Johnson - 26
Fox - 28
Kornet - 30
Barnes - 33