NBA Playoffs: 1st Round

[Mori Chu]

Mavs getting spanked by the Rockets in the 4th. And my Wiz are up 2-0 over the crap-tastic Raptors so far.

[carey]

Mavs getting spanked by the Rockets in the 4th. And my Wiz are up 2-0 over the crap-tastic Raptors so far.

Your Wiz?

[LazarusLong]

Mavs getting spanked by the Rockets in the 4th. And my Wiz are up 2-0 over the crap-tastic Raptors so far.

Josh Smith shows his "A" game. This is why Detroit threw so much money at him years ago. Unfortunately, too many times he jacks up bad shots and plays out of control.

Tonight, though, he was solid on both ends of the court, especially with his terrific passes to Howard and other teammates.

For the Mavs, Carlisle and Rondo not only aren't on the same page, they're not on the same planet ...

[Mori Chu]

Sure feels like Rondo is gonna split after the season. What a rough trade; they gave up two useful rotation vets and a 1st-round pick to get him, and he's probably been a net negative for them. Oof.

[Shabazz]

I know this can change quickly, but Dallas is one of the few Western teams in worse shape than us going forward. Dirk is running on fumes and they have no young talent waiting in the wings.

[Mori Chu]

Really curious to see what happens in tonight's Spurs-Clippers game. LA looked dominant in Game 1, but if you're a Spur fan, there were still reasons to hold out hope. The Clips played pretty much a perfect game for them; they were fired up, the crowd was into it, their D was top-notch, DeAndre Jordan looked like an MVP candidate, J-Crawford was actually hitting his crazy shots, and so on. Plus, the Spurs goofed up a lot of things they usually do well, and they shot poorly.

I feel for them having so many injuries, but if they keep following their system, you have to figure that some of those shots are going to bounce in next time. Also, the Clips bench is absolutely horrid. You have to figure that the bench will lose the Clips at least one game, or tire out the starters from so many minutes that it'll catch up with them as the series goes on.

[Mori Chu]

I know this can change quickly, but Dallas is one of the few Western teams in worse shape than us going forward. Dirk is running on fumes and they have no young talent waiting in the wings.

Yeah; I would not trade rosters with the Mavs right now. Everybody talks about the Spurs being old and washed up, but at least they have Kahwi and other young players to lean on.

[Shabazz]

Also, the Clips bench is absolutely horrid. You have to figure that the bench will lose the Clips at least one game, or tire out the starters from so many minutes that it'll catch up with them as the series goes on.

It works in the Clippers favor that the first round is stretched out over 9 weeks.

[Superbone]

Also, the Clips bench is absolutely horrid.

Surely, you must have forgotten about Austin Rivers.

[Mori Chu]

Doc didn't forget about him.

[Mori Chu]

Watching the Grizzlies absolutely dissect the Blazers. It's a complete mismatch. Portland has a ton of injuries, but they just don't look capable of beating such a big and physical team. I like what I'm seeing from the Grizz a lot. I am really curious to see their second-round series against the Warriors. I think that could be the biggest challenge along the way to a Warriors title, honestly. Yes, they'll also have to face Lebron, and either the Clips/Rockets/Spurs before that. But I think just in terms of matching up, these Grizzlies could be really difficult for Golden State to match up against.

[carey]

Grizzlies seemed to have flipped the proverbial switch.

[SDC]

I know this can change quickly, but Dallas is one of the few Western teams in worse shape than us going forward. Dirk is running on fumes and they have no young talent waiting in the wings.

free agents want to play for dallas and cuban. who among the coaches or players want to be associated with an eric bledsoe-led team, unless the suns overpay?

[Mori Chu]

This Spurs-Clippers game is a good watch. Duncan has 20 points in the 3rd quarter. Hope the Spurs can get out of LA with a split.

[Aztec Sunsfan]

When they are not demolishing my Suns, is impressive to see the Spurs taking control of the rhythm within a game. Granted, they lost their 10 point lead, but after that, they were able to remain calm, tie the game and then controlled the entire overtime. And as extra bonus, without Parker on the floor. Hopefully, Hornacek is taking notes.

It was painfully familiar, but at the same time, I found some peace.

[Indy]

When they are not demolishing my Suns, is impressive to see the Spurs taking control of the rhythm within a game. Granted, they lost their 10 point lead, but after that, they were able to remain calm, tie the game and then controlled the entire overtime. And as extra bonus, without Parker on the floor. Hopefully, Hornacek is taking notes.

It was painfully familiar, but at the same time, I found some peace.

This. It is so different to watch than what is typical in "dynasties" the last 20-30 years. This isn't about the best player in the league taking over the game on sheer will or with a lot of help from the Zebras. It truly is a team that is so confident, without cockiness, doing their thing, over and over and over and over until they win. And I swear Tim Duncan's after game interview would have been nearly the exact same if they would have lost, or they were up 3 games to zero. I have to admire it.

I know these two teams are very evenly matched on talent, but they couldn't be farther apart in make-up.

[Superbone]

Pop almost blew the game with his hack-a-Jordan routine.

[Mori Chu]

I just love watching the modern Spurs. I love the way they play and the sense of teamwork and camaraderie that they show. Duncan is an amazing leader and one of the best players of all time. Pop is a phenomenal coach. They get so much out of such modest talent like Diaw, Green, Mills, Splitter, Red Rocket, etc. Even their "big 3" isn't really a big 3 any more; but despite Parker and Manu both looking like ghosts, they still get it done. And you can say that they lucked into Kawhi, but they both had the good sense to draft him and the proper system to develop him. I think Kawhi would be only about 60% the player he is on most other teams. The Spurs grew him and made him, and now he's one of the best young players in the NBA. Really envious and impressed by everything that they do there on that team. I'm rooting for them.

[Superbone]

Plus it doesn't hurt that the Clippers are hard to root for. There's something about them that really puts me off.

[Indy]

Plus it doesn't hurt that the Clippers are hard to root for. There's something about them that really puts me off.

It is probably their players. And their coach. Yeah.