2018 NBA Playoffs, First Round

[Mori Chu]

Watching Celtics-Bucks right now. Milwaukee seems to have found their groove. Bill Simmons tweeted earlier that he was worried because the Bucks coach accidentally stumbled into finding effective lineups to go against Boston, namely going smaller and having Giannis at center and surrounding him with shooters. I still think Milwaukee should win; Boston is too depleted, and Milwaukee has undisputably the best player in the series.

[JustWinBaby]

Also, I am loving watching the Jazz. I think they are my favorite postseason team, narrowly edging out Philly. Love both of these young squads. Mitchell is the man, Rubio has found a renaissance in the prime of his career on a new team, Ingles is a sharpshooting tough mofo who brings a ton of emotion (their "Draymond"), and Gobert is just nasty on defense under the basket. Great overall collection of talented players who complement each other. They probably don't have quite enough shooting or experience to be true contenders, but it's impressive what they are doing to OKC. The Jazz play the right way and they built their team with care. I wonder what they'd be like if Gordon Hayward had stayed there (and not injured himself)?

Man, I'll be really curious to see a Rockets/Jazz series. I think Houston will wreck Utah because they're just such talented shooters. I don't think Utah can score enough points to keep up. But it'll be fascinating to watch.

I can see the Jazz beating the Rockets. While Mike has done a really nice job in Houston, I really question the talent level. Certainly Harden is off the charts and Chris Paul will be a hall of famer. However I cannot stand Chris Paul and he has choked more than once in the playoffs during his career. In addition if you are honest with your evaluation of that team other than Harden and Paul it is a bunch of role players/shooters. Most champions have had three dominant forces, I only see two. The burden of winning always seems to be on Harden's shoulders.

Great playoffs thus far it looks like even the overated, IMO, Brad Stevens is struggling due to the talent disparity against the Bucks. The teams with the most talent almost always wins in the playoffs. I just do not understand why Brad Stevens has been elevated to some kind of folk hero. What has he actually accomplished?

[Mori Chu]

Also, I am loving watching the Jazz. I think they are my favorite postseason team, narrowly edging out Philly. Love both of these young squads. Mitchell is the man, Rubio has found a renaissance in the prime of his career on a new team, Ingles is a sharpshooting tough mofo who brings a ton of emotion (their "Draymond"), and Gobert is just nasty on defense under the basket. Great overall collection of talented players who complement each other. They probably don't have quite enough shooting or experience to be true contenders, but it's impressive what they are doing to OKC. The Jazz play the right way and they built their team with care. I wonder what they'd be like if Gordon Hayward had stayed there (and not injured himself)?

Man, I'll be really curious to see a Rockets/Jazz series. I think Houston will wreck Utah because they're just such talented shooters. I don't think Utah can score enough points to keep up. But it'll be fascinating to watch.

I can see the Jazz beating the Rockets. While Mike has done a really nice job in Houston, I really question the talent level. Certainly Harden is off the charts and Chris Paul will be a hall of famer. However I cannot stand Chris Paul and he has choked more than once in the playoffs during his career. In addition if you are honest with your evaluation of that team other than Harden and Paul it is a bunch of role players/shooters. Most champions have had three dominant forces, I only see two. The burden of winning always seems to be on Harden's shoulders.

Great playoffs thus far it looks like even the overated, IMO, Brad Stevens is struggling due to the talent disparity against the Bucks. The teams with the most talent almost always wins in the playoffs. I just do not understand why Brad Stevens has been elevated to some kind of folk hero. What has he actually accomplished?

Don't underestimate the Rockets. Harden is the deserving MVP this season; he has been nearly unstoppable on offense. Just a nightmare to guard, with good 3-point shooting as well as great drives to the basket, great passing, making the right play / finding his teammates, etc. And Chris Paul may have a history of playoff choking, but he has never had a running mate as talented as Harden. Plus he is in a system that maximizes his talents, surrounded by sharpshooters and guys he can pass to. Their offense has been just nuts this year. As for the rest of their team being role players and shooters, that's mostly true, but they are good ones, and they're exactly the guys they need. They have a lot of sneaky random pieces like Gerald Green, PJ Tucker, Eric Gordon, Trevor Ariza; veteran guys who bring shooting and defense and toughness. They just have an endless parade of guys who you can't leave open from the outside; the spacing and shooting are just nasty on that team. And Capela is great in that system, almost the perfect center for what they want to do. Your main chance to beat the Rockets is to hope that they all go ice cold on their shooting, which will be rare.

As for the Celtics and Brad Stevens, I'd give the guy a break. He's missing two of his best players as well as Marcus Smart and others. He's forced to rely on a rookie in Tatum and a second-year player in Jaylen Brown for a lot of his offense. And he's guided that team to a 2-seed in the East despite all the injuries. If you watch Celtics games, he is a great strategist, drawing up clever plays to get points down the stretch. And their defense is excellent and is always prepared, the guys are working together and communicating. Stevens deserves some credit for how well this ragtag group of players can play together.

[specialsauce]

Overrated Brad Stevens my ass. He’s underrated. He’s a top 5 coach

[Split T]

I think Stevens is the best coach in the NBA

[Mori Chu]

Bucks get a win to tie their series 2-2 and stay alive. Celtics made a furious comeback but Greek Freak and Brogdon helped the Bucks hold on. Wish we had gotten Brogdon in that Bledsoe trade; oh well.

Spurs and Warriors on ESPN now. Spurs down 0-3 and trying to fight off elimination in a sweep. This one should be fun.

[Superbone]

Spurs and Warriors on ESPN now. Spurs down 0-3 and trying to fight off elimination in a sweep. This one should be fun.

Nah. Maybe for you Warriors fans.

[Ring_Wanted]

Overrated Brad Stevens my ass. He’s underrated. He’s a top 5 coach

Absolutely. He gets the best out of everybody.

[Ring_Wanted]

If we do pick Ayton and add Koko as coach I would at least make an offer to the Jazz. He will be in the last year of his contract next year. The Jazz would probably hang up on us.

Probably, indeed. The hype is inmense at this moment and even if the Jazz are eliminated, he finally has cemented his name. You'd have to blow Utah away with an absurd offer. I don't think they take #16 and an expiring, for instance.

But let's also remember that they have the best defensive presence in the NBA. Gobert is shielding the rim.

[Ring_Wanted]

Spurs and Warriors on ESPN now. Spurs down 0-3 and trying to fight off elimination in a sweep. This one should be fun.

Nah. Maybe for you Warriors fans.

Word.

[Mori Chu]

Spurs and Warriors on ESPN now. Spurs down 0-3 and trying to fight off elimination in a sweep. This one should be fun.

Nah. Maybe for you Warriors fans.

If you can't enjoy Warriors/Spurs, I don't know what to tell you. Two incredibly smart and tough teams going at it. Lots of interesting players and personalities, great coaches, rowdy fans. Doesn't take a Warriors fan to enjoy these games. I'd say almost every series has been a lot of fun; this year's playoffs are really enjoyable so far.

[TOO]

Also, I am loving watching the Jazz. I think they are my favorite postseason team, narrowly edging out Philly. Love both of these young squads. Mitchell is the man, Rubio has found a renaissance in the prime of his career on a new team, Ingles is a sharpshooting tough mofo who brings a ton of emotion (their "Draymond"), and Gobert is just nasty on defense under the basket. Great overall collection of talented players who complement each other. They probably don't have quite enough shooting or experience to be true contenders, but it's impressive what they are doing to OKC. The Jazz play the right way and they built their team with care. I wonder what they'd be like if Gordon Hayward had stayed there (and not injured himself)?

Man, I'll be really curious to see a Rockets/Jazz series. I think Houston will wreck Utah because they're just such talented shooters. I don't think Utah can score enough points to keep up. But it'll be fascinating to watch.

I can see the Jazz beating the Rockets. While Mike has done a really nice job in Houston, I really question the talent level. Certainly Harden is off the charts and Chris Paul will be a hall of famer. However I cannot stand Chris Paul and he has choked more than once in the playoffs during his career. In addition if you are honest with your evaluation of that team other than Harden and Paul it is a bunch of role players/shooters. Most champions have had three dominant forces, I only see two. The burden of winning always seems to be on Harden's shoulders.

Great playoffs thus far it looks like even the overated, IMO, Brad Stevens is struggling due to the talent disparity against the Bucks. The teams with the most talent almost always wins in the playoffs. I just do not understand why Brad Stevens has been elevated to some kind of folk hero. What has he actually accomplished?

The talent level certainly isnt the problem, MikeD has never been good at making in-game adjustments when his system isnt working. This isnt new.

[Superbone]

Spurs and Warriors on ESPN now. Spurs down 0-3 and trying to fight off elimination in a sweep. This one should be fun.

Nah. Maybe for you Warriors fans.

If you can't enjoy Warriors/Spurs, I don't know what to tell you. Two incredibly smart and tough teams going at it. Lots of interesting players and personalities, great coaches, rowdy fans. Doesn't take a Warriors fan to enjoy these games. I'd say almost every series has been a lot of fun; this year's playoffs are really enjoyable so far.

I don't know what to tell you either. The Warriors/Spurs series has been the least engaging of any of them. Even though the Warriors are down at halftime, I fully expect them to come back and win.

[TOO]

Overrated Brad Stevens my ass. He’s underrated. He’s a top 5 coach

Absolutely. He gets the best out of everybody.

Indeed, I can't think of a coach I'd want more than Brad Stevens, Pop included. He makes everyone look great.

[Split T]

Spurs and Warriors on ESPN now. Spurs down 0-3 and trying to fight off elimination in a sweep. This one should be fun.

Nah. Maybe for you Warriors fans.

If you can't enjoy Warriors/Spurs, I don't know what to tell you. Two incredibly smart and tough teams going at it. Lots of interesting players and personalities, great coaches, rowdy fans. Doesn't take a Warriors fan to enjoy these games. I'd say almost every series has been a lot of fun; this year's playoffs are really enjoyable so far.

I don't know what to tell you either. The Warriors/Spurs series has been the least engaging of any of them. Even though the Warriors are down at halftime, I fully expect them to come back and win.

Actually might be smart for warriors to lose. They'll win the series eventually, the longer it drags out the more time Curry has to get healthy before facing pelicans.

[carey]

Bucks get a win to tie their series 2-2 and stay alive. Celtics made a furious comeback but Greek Freak and Brogdon helped the Bucks hold on. Wish we had gotten Brogdon in that Bledsoe trade; oh well.

Really? I've never heard you mention it before.

[TOO]

Bucks get a win to tie their series 2-2 and stay alive. Celtics made a furious comeback but Greek Freak and Brogdon helped the Bucks hold on. Wish we had gotten Brogdon in that Bledsoe trade; oh well.

Really? I've never heard you mention it before.

Dwelling on the past might the be what this board does best.

[JCSunsfan]

Today's games have been really fun. Utah is way up on OKC in the 4th quarter. Rubio is 1 assist away from a triple-double. Really wish we had acquired him.

He would have been Elfrid part 2 if we had gotten him. They say Kokoskov has done wonders for Rubio and really turned him around with his unorthodox shooting drills (there are videos on youtube of Kokoskov's drills). They say he did the same thing for Goran when he was here. That is why getting Kokoskov would be so good. He is a great coach and tactician, but he also excels as a shooting coach. Think of what that could do for JJ and TJ and even Payton. Honestly, if Elfrid could develop a three point shot, he would be an excellent player.

[O_Gardino]

Today's games have been really fun. Utah is way up on OKC in the 4th quarter. Rubio is 1 assist away from a triple-double. Really wish we had acquired him.

He would have been Elfrid part 2 if we had gotten him. They say Kokoskov has done wonders for Rubio and really turned him around with his unorthodox shooting drills (there are videos on youtube of Kokoskov's drills). They say he did the same thing for Goran when he was here. That is why getting Kokoskov would be so good. He is a great coach and tactician, but he also excels as a shooting coach. Think of what that could do for JJ and TJ and even Payton. Honestly, if Elfrid could develop a three point shot, he would be an excellent player.

He would also need to develop some competitiveness.

[specialsauce]

Today's games have been really fun. Utah is way up on OKC in the 4th quarter. Rubio is 1 assist away from a triple-double. Really wish we had acquired him.

He would have been Elfrid part 2 if we had gotten him. They say Kokoskov has done wonders for Rubio and really turned him around with his unorthodox shooting drills (there are videos on youtube of Kokoskov's drills). They say he did the same thing for Goran when he was here. That is why getting Kokoskov would be so good. He is a great coach and tactician, but he also excels as a shooting coach. Think of what that could do for JJ and TJ and even Payton. Honestly, if Elfrid could develop a three point shot, he would be an excellent player.

He would also need to develop some competitiveness.

Yeah I’m gonna have to disagree as well.