Carey

It might be a week before a valid line featuring the Suns vs the East Champion gets disclosed. Though they probably could start it at Phoenix -5.5 and they'd be on point

I don't know if you drink or not, but you might want to consider watching the game with a bottle of Crown Royal when Paul George slips on a wet spot, goes sliding 94 feet toward a cameraman who as a result loses his camera as it falls on Paul's head tonight in Game 6 on ESPN. And Lady W, ITA re: CP3 needing to face actual greats or close to it in order to validate his title. It will be a valid title but the respect will not be there since he was fortunate to go through a ton of teams missing key players

I didn't expect it too get to this level, but I think with the lack of rest, the increase of injuries was a possibility. To be fair, the players need to make money so they really didn't have that much of a choice. I can see it both ways. The thing is only 2 teams went the distance, and the 2 others that didn't got a couple weeks head start (over Miami and Los Angeles). Thinking about it, the Lakers & Heat have the biggest argument, but no one else does. Not being able to work out in one's facility due to all the restrictions have had an impact. The injuries were going to take place even with a normal length offseason. It sucks, period, but these players are in & have been in a much better spot in life than most throughout the country & planet. For me, I'm neutral. That list of players hurt is concerning, and I think both parties have and had a responsibility to prevent it. A fan or civilian may be saddened too, even if they didn't have a stake or rooting interest, but they were and possibly still are dealing with a lot on their end to completely care about the fate of these professional athletes

You got that right! Chances are I'll never rank Rob Manfred over Adam but this is pathetic. If TPTB from the NFL ran the NBA, this would never have happened. Especially when your top stars, past, present, and future go down to wreck ratings & interest. Not to mention change the landscape, betting, and final picture of one's postseason!

I guess Mike will survive into 2021-2022 if Milwaukee loses both of their next two games or even 2 of their next 3 if applicable. If he doesn't then I guess it's fair enough since the Bucks were getting worked before the injury (and without Trae). I hope it's not a torn ACL but I think Giannis is done regardless for the postseason. I hope it's not too severe since it will have a major impact on next season

There's going to need more than duct tape. A lot more than duct tape. So I mentioned that Milwaukee was favored -9. Not only has that swung the other way: it swung the other way and then more than doubled with Atlanta -18.5!

I'm sorry, but I can't. For what it's worth, in every other year (last year excluded) we were a couple weeks removed from the end of the NBA & Stanley Cup finals in which I'm free until football. In free that means a break from the top sports while I regroup and reload for the start of the top sports (both the NFL and College Football). I'll still pay attention, but I no longer think it's worth it to focus on it as much as I have been despite everything. Independence Day is on Sunday within a long weekend for yours truly. I guess I'll start focusing on summer before things get started in a couple months time if people continue to fall left and right even though it's offsetting a ton. Injuries are a part of the game, but this is ridiculous. Whoever wins the title deserves it, but I can no longer take it where everyone's falling.

The reasoning is that the turnaround was rather short this year. I believe that does have something to do with it, but the NBA had to shorten the off-season. Maybe they should've started later instead of starting in time to have Christmas hoops (which means less money for the players and everyone else). Or they could've shortened the road to the postseason to avoid having the season get into autumn. It's a tough call, but we're in a Pandemic. It'll be shorter again this offseason to catch up and get back to the normal start & finish, but only by a month or so. BTW, the line finished at Bucks -9 (up from 3-5 before it was taken off the board over Trae's status if not whatever reason)

As of 7:35 PM Eastern on Tuesday night, Trae Young is a no-go. He was listed as questionable & a game-time decision before the decision, which was rather breaking, came down As of 7:45 Eastern, the line on Game 4 for the ECF is not on the board as of present time. I don't know or think it was even on the board to begin with; Game 4 for the WCF, which is more than 24 hours later, is on the board (Suns -1, O/U of 214.5)

Well, there goes a free Wednesday evening! Thanks a whole lot, Phoenix! The fact is no one's forcing me or anyone to watch anything. Moreover, the second game of Stanley Cup Final is on Wednesday so no "free Wednesday evening" anyway. Just yet another conflict & the use of several monitors. Los Angeles's victory isn't a shocker. If I thought about it, their win probably shouldn't be surprising either. Every-so-often the Game one/seven home team wins both of their first two games before taking one of two on the road (or both for the series sweep). Splitting allows for the home team, in this case, the Suns, to clinch early enough & in front of their fans. However, the Clippers are aware of this and they rather not fall victim to that stuff. So they played as if their lives depended on it. Paul George and company did more than enough to win big on the road to force a Game 6. They might end up losing at home as a result of "going all-in" but their previous two losses could've gone another direction. L.A. could easily have won the series if not up 3-2, but a couple painful defeats brings out the best in a franchise

Go Tampa. Only since I'm not picking the Habs to win. Though I should root for Montreal to avoid a new back-to-back champion. Nonetheless, I like Tampa to repeat regardless of if they do it in 4, 5, 7 or even six games. I think Montreal was tested in the best way possible, based off of who or what their competition turned out to be. I don’t know or think it’s enough, and you could see them getting blown out of the final. If I had to choose a length for this series, I think the Lighting wins it in 6. Assuming they hold at home, the Canadians need to steal a game on the road, obviously. I really only see Tampa winning on the road; even if Montreal can steal a game, Tampa too much that they can rather easily steal 2 games on the road. Carey Price is a big deal, and his team plays the type of game that can drive people crazy (similar to New York). Of course it took the Lightning 7 games to close out the Islanders, so while they’re prepared to beat the Canadians, they might struggle doing so. In fact, they might not win the series, but I think they will. Their goaltender in Vasilevskiy is a nice asset which may result in Montreal finding it impossible to have any success in the Stanley Cup Final

While that's probably true you have better sources than most NBA reporters if you know that for sure. Every article I've seen has called it a sprain. And yes, technically a sprain is a tear of some sort, but even with that most articles don't explicitly call out the ACL. They just call it a generic right knee injury. If Kawhi has a torn ACL but no one of significance announced it yet, it possibly a case of TPTB not disclosing one's severity of an injury until after the player's final series comes to an end. Man, if Phoenix wins, are they so going to have an advantage over the eventual East winner. Better roster, home court, a ton more rest, and no travel to a ton of travel (for Game One)

You need to add in the 16 playoff wins for New England and the one (1) playoff win for Ohio over that same period. That'll make it 134 to 124, so you're all good. I guess you could thank Pittsburgh for its contribution to that stat, in both Ohio and New England's favor!

ITA. Trae is amazing, but I think Milwaukee has a better chance at winning the Finals due to your valid points. The Bucks have people needed to counter the depth of Phoenix and the Clippers. Doesn't help that the West will be hosting the East in the first two games (and a possible Game 7), regardless of whichever of the 4 matchups take place

To be fair, outside of Wade, the help KD had when he won is in such a higher league than the help James had. However it's still help. I actually admired Kidd as a player. Not much there in terms of ammo to hate him. However, IIRC Kidd sorta had Larry Drew fired before filling the void courtesy of that decision. Not much coaching or leadership experience, I did not like the move then. Therefore if he falters in Dallas, I don't think I'm losing sleep over it

You know what, if Los Angeles had lost tonight, I think I definitely bet them to still win the series. No one's come back from 0-3, but until 2021, no one's come back from 0-2 twice in the same year. Helps if the coach is the same guy that coached the only team to win an NBA Finals despite losing 3 of it's first four games!

Doesn't Mark Cuban have the power to tell Luka to shut up and play? Mark Cuban. IMO, if Luka ended up being Luka to where it can no longer work in Dallas, I can't imagine Luka going elsewhere without Mark "profitting" from Luka's departure. Jason Kidd isn't a great HC, but I don't think it'll be a total disaster if it happens either

Oh I know you didn’t mean he was a legit bad guy LOL! While there have been so many people that aren’t really nice guys (or the opposite of good, and there is no history or samples of Trae being that) within and outside the NBA, their bad guy label is mainly for what happens on the court. It’s sorta like the WWE. While I have my rooting interests, more often than not rooting for the villain is so worth it

Personally, I get the Trae Young as the villain. Maybe he and the Hawks are lovable villains, but I don't know if I could personally go there yet, despite Giannis' story. IMO, it's kind of difficult to be a villain when one hasn't won anything. It does help Atlanta to fill that role given the fact that they're not facing Brooklyn. Plus if all goes well, they might square off against Phoenix where they'd definitely be that team that several would rather see lose than win

It's only one game, but given the history of Atlanta sports, if there were ever a year for someone to win an NBA playoff series despite losing each if its first 3 games, this would be the year. Of course, while there are 2 chances of that possibility, Milwaukee has been very good on the road, and I don't see the West champion dropping both of its first 2 games at home

I think Doc would've been better off being a front office person and maybe less of a HC on the sideline. Though if he ever coached LeBron, he wouldn't need to do anything

It's amazing that the Warriors were a couple wins away from being one of 16 teams playing for 2021 NBA title (their 4th in 7 years), and I guess they could draft first overall. It's a really big deal if Thompson returns and stays healthy. Speaking of Golden State, who "changed" the "culture" of the NBA with their scoring and whatnot, I guess I'm not a fan of how the league moved from defense to more offense. I guess scoring is what people want, but it's annoying that there's a limit to that. It's similar to my criticism toward the NFL; I don't think it's a big deal, but I'd love to see how high a team can go. In all fairness, I guess I have to respect it that they don't want too much scoring, mainly in terms of a one-sided game

Meh. Harden on one leg is better than several people playing on two legs

Man, the Inside the NBA guys are totally destroying Simmons to put it mildly. Hats off to Ben saying he needs to be better (and for actually facing the media), but Shaq is right. Address your situation within the series, not between seasons

What a great game. Shoulda coulda woulda (re: long 2 that wasn't a 3). Rather amazing that Milwaukee won the series. Just my opinion, but if Atlanta does what Atlanta does in terms of sport (IOW: falter), whoever comes out of the West will be your 2021 NBA Champions