Maximum Taco

Luka's cooking in the first. Looks like he might have another performance against the Clips tonight.

Dame is a BAD MAN. Just impossible shot after impossible shot. It is firmly and inarguably Dame Time right now.

I agree. Luka and the Mavs are on a mission. You know they have used the Clips tanking as bulletin board material. And IMO Luka's the kind of player that can go off and steal a series just like Dame. The Clips didn't exactly run roughshod over the Mavs last year and Porzingis was injured then. You really just shouldn't tank, not to set up a good playoff seed. I think he's gonna opt out no matter what cause he'll get paid more if he does. He might re-up with the Clippers then, but when you head to free agency it's always a toss up. Kawhi seems like a very deliberate guy, I think he's gonna go everywhere and see what they can offer before he just commits to the Clippers again. I think playing in LA was a huge draw for Kawhi, but I also think he thought he was gonna have more success there. Losing can take a toll, especially when like he came in and it was supposed to be Battle of LA, free pass to the Conference Finals, and they haven't made it there even once (this will especially sting if LeBron goes back-to-back or even makes the Finals or Conference Finals again as the 7 seed) One thing I think I can be sure of is that Kawhi only cares about the post season. If he thinks the Clippers aren't built to win in the post season he gone.

I gotta say, I didn't think I'd be hyped for the play in tournament, but I'm pretty excited to have 2 days of high stakes basketball. Hope we see some upsets.

It'll always be the Gord Downie Memorial North Division to me.

That's really all Gordon Bombay does, he's not really a good hockey coach, it's all just trick plays. There's a reason why he's only ever super successful coaching junior hockey. I'm guessing he wasn't all that great coaching college and the stick tape fiasco was not what brought him down. What college team wouldn't have just tons of stick tape lying around? What player could afford skates and pads and sticks (hundreds of dollars worth of equipment, and sticks break so it's not a one time purchase) that would be good enough to allow him to play in college but also not be able to afford stick tape (like 5 bucks)? I call bull Bombay! You couldn't hack it in college, cause your trick plays only work against kids! Seriously though, I love the Mighty Ducks, and I'm having a blast with this new series too.

Just watched this movie, it was very good. It was great at building suspense which I feel these types of movies sometimes aren't great at. I also recommend it if you are looking for a fun thriller. The only big issue I had was I don't feel that was enough to ruin my enjoyment of the movie, but it did feel awkward to me.

Apparently it was truly nuts. Like Kawhi and PG could decline or demand playing time IN GAME. Like Doc could be like "Yo we really need you in the 4th" and Kawhi could just be like "Yeah, it's a no from me dawg." I get a BIT with Kawhi too, like by some reports he's held together with tape, and his knees just aren't there any more. But why PG?

The Clippers Drama y'all. The DRAMA.

It's a little more common in hockey then you might think. Red Kelly won the cup 4 times with Detroit, and then 4 times with Toronto Frank Mahovlich won the cup 4 times with Toronto and then 2 more with Montreal. Mark Messier won 5 in Edmonton and then 1 more in New York (I believe he's the only one to Captain two teams to the chip) Patrick Roy won 2 in Montreal and 2 in Colorado Scott Niedermayer won 3 in New Jersey and 1 in Anaheim Claude Lemieux won in Montreal, New Jersey (twice, but in different stints) and Colorado Joe Nieuwendyk won in Calgary, Dallas and New Jersey Brett Hull won with Dallas and then Detroit There's probably much more.

Spurs fans are gonna be salty forever, they think he faked his injury and then forced his way out of San Antonio. I'm not sure how accurate that is, but they are gonna be salty about Kawhi forever. He left and all they got was DeMar DeRozan, and I love DeMar, but I can see how they feel shortchanged. Raptors fans are a bit different, at the time he left I don't think there were any hard feelings, he came in, was honest about his intentions, played his hardest, and we won our first NBA title. We were all grateful he put in his all even though Toronto obviously wasn't his first choice for a destination. I think every fan I know was like "Thanks for the chip, good luck in LA." But then two things happened 1) The Raptors were good this season, and not just good but like Championship contention good, and now all we can think about is "If we were just a little better we'd be in the conference finals probably up one game on the Heat." That obviously makes us think that if Kawhi could've just gotten it together and delayed his homecoming and signed even a one year deal here, we'd be facing a potential back-to-back scenario. Not to mention the fact that it recently came out that Kawhi left not only cause he wanted to go home, but because he didn't think Toronto was good enough to repeat, a fact that obviously didn't turn out to be true. All that definitely soured Raptors fans on Kawhi a bit. 2) The Clippers are just so unbearably unlikable this year. Before they were the kicked puppy of the NBA, we all rooted for them. I was even thankful Kawhi picked them over the Lakers because I felt like I could root for his success a little. But then they told Steph Curry that they'd be running the league for the next 5 years, and then they trolled the most likable man in the NBA in Dame Lillard for no reason, and then they trolled the second most likable man in the NBA in Luka Doncic because he dared to put up a fight in the first round, and then they called Jokic a flopper and took a SECOND shot at Luka just to be the least gracious winner of a first round series ever. To be fair most of this was Patrick Beverly (and a little Paul George) but all it takes is one bad apple to spoil the whole team. So when they finally fell flat on their faces, it was so easy to cheer. I remember someone saying the Clippers loss was like Nuggets Christmas, and Lakers Christmas, and Raptors Christmas, and Trail Blazers Christmas and Mavericks Christmas and Spurs Christmas and Thunder Christmas all wrapped into one. They were the league's heel and we were glad to see them go down. It's almost remarkable in one season the Clippers went from one the league's most likable teams, to maybe the most hated team in the league (yes more than the Lakers) and all it took was Patrick Beverly thinking they had a shot at the title and not being able to shut his damn mouth about it. Last year the Raptors emulated Kawhi, they took his serious attitude and didn't even think about celebrating until after the bag was secured, and it paid off in spades. The Clippers went the opposite route and used Patrick Beverly and Paul George as their models and started celebrating as soon as Kawhi and Paul George landed at LAX, and they got what was coming to them and everyone in the league cheered as it went down.

I swear I'm not at all salty about Kawhi leaving my team to go home, but it was pretty satisfying to see Jamal Murray of Kitchener, Ontario send him packing in the second round. I'm officially on the Nuggets bandwagon until this ride ends.

I don't think the Celtics deserved the win, but the Raptors definitely deserved the loss. This felt like the opposite of Game 6. Celtics tried to throw the game away by bricking their FTs, Raptors succeeded by just throwing the ball into traffic over and over. Disappointing Game 7, but glad it was at least close. Good Lucks Celts, I think you might need it against Miami. Sigh, no longer the Champs. But were the Champs for over 400 days, and could be the Champs again in less than a year. So there's always that...

My Raptors! We're going to 7 baby! At least for one more game; Still the Champs.

The Raptors would be Championship favourites if they still had Kawhi. I would like them over everyone in the league, easily.

Sigh, oh well, I didn't really expect the Raptors to be able to rattle off 3-4 straight vs the Celts (but I didn't expect them to do so last year vs the Bucks either, and that happened,) they're good and would eventually recover. Hopefully my boys can find some energy and push this to game 7. Not over yet. Still the Champs.

Clips are ready for the Lakers. They needed the Mavs to wake them up, but they ready now.

My Raptors! We have a pulse! In bound with 0.5 seconds left. Lowry with the cross court pass over the tallest man in the NBA. OG at the buzzer for the 1 point win. I'm hoping that's the start of something big, but even if it wasn't, for tonight, that was glorious.

Porzingis is out for the rest of the first round Luka's gonna have to carry the Mavs again to force game 7. Feels like the Clippers probably are gonna cruise past though.

It could only happen in the NBA. No other league has players that are simultaneously so empowered but also so united and dedicated to each other.

Dallas would be doing ok tonight if they hadn't let the Clips absolutely rain death on them in the 1st. I gotta think they need Porzingis back if they are gonna take two in a row from the Clips.

80 Points at the HALF. The Lakers are back, Dame Time is over.

Every time I try to feel bad for Paul George I remember that he tried to give himself the nickname "Playoff P" and I realize he deserves everything he's getting right now.

I thought it was a neat coincidence that his birthday is right before "Mamba Day" too. Very cool that the Lakers are busting out the Mamba jerseys tomorrow for him. Doesn't seem like Luka is any worse for wear, got the triple double before the 4th. He's on a mission this afternoon to tie the series. EDIT: Bang! 43 points, 17 rebounds, 13 assists and the OT Dagger. Luka. Went. Off.

No, I think it's just a coincidence. I remember an article from when they retired his numbers. In highschool he wore the numbers 24 and 33. I don't think he got to pick his numbers in highschool, they were just the ones he was given. When he joined the Lakers, he wanted those numbers but George McCloud was already wearing 24, and 33 was already retired for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, so he picked 8, the story is because when he was in Adidas ABCD camp he got the number 143 and 1+4+3=8. Then when he wanted to enter a new stage in his career he switched to 24 cause nobody was wearing it now.