The NBA

[Carey]

I've been reading social media, which is featuring people & their meltdown here.  One thing that is of concern is they're worried that Scott Foster will operate in Miami for Game 6.  Which can't happen.  Maybe Game 7 which is a loss for the Heat with or without him, but I don't think he'd be coming back that soon.

The bad news is that Eric Lewis hasn't shown up yet,  You might forgo flying back to Boston if Scott Foster AND Eric Lewis work Game 7, but it would''ve been best served for Miami if Lewis ref'd Game 5 

[baldryanr]

7 hours ago, Carey said:

Heh, I don't think anyone's been fired either after losing up 3-0.  Given how NBA coaches have low life expectancies in their sport, I guess I fear for Erik.  Not completely given who they actually are, but...

Contrary to what the first three games would have us believe, Boston is the more talented team (plus only one of those three games was a true blowout).  Let's not forget the Heat lost to Atlanta in the first play in game and were tied with Chicago after three quarters in the second.  Miami deserves a lot of credit, but if both teams are playing up to their true potential then the Celtics win.

All of this is a long winded way of saying that Spoelstra is safe - he doesn't have the history of collapses like Doc.  He (and Pop) are the two coaches with ironclad job security.

[Magog]

2 hours ago, baldryanr said:

All of this is a long winded way of saying that Spoelstra is safe - he doesn't have the history of collapses like Doc.  He (and Pop) are the two coaches with ironclad job security.

We'll see if his job is safe if the Heat choked away a 3-0 lead. Stuff like that gets remembered forever. 

I don't know why Jimmy Butler & the Heat didn't show up last night. The Celtics got off to a good start & the Heat got left in the dust. The game was pretty much over at halftime. Now, I have to deal with ESPN getting all giddy about the Heat possibly choking this series away. I'm very certain that they're hoping the Heat lose Game 6.

 

[Medicine Crow]

Not a good look for Jack Armstrong (digging for gold) when the camera swung to him near the end of the game.  Ick.

[DoctorAtomic]

I agree with Charles. Heat need to treat Game 6 like Game 7 because they're going to get slaughtered if they have to go back to Boston. 

[Carey]

If they lose on Saturday?  It doesn't matter if it's by 1 point or by 50.  No need to travel back to Boston for what would be a Monday Game 7 to clinch the conference title

[marianH]

Boston's last game was great, but Heat's made a lot of mistakes especially in the beginning. I think Heat's will win.

[Fukui San]

I think the most appropriately weird ending to the series would be for the series to go to 7 and then both teams forgetting how to shoot for the entire game, with the Heat winning like 78-77.

[Carey]

Either the above would validate the league's weirdest ending or Boston wins 78-77 due to Butler or Love's shot going in the basket.  After the light goes off or the buzzer sounds before the ball completely leaves the hands.

FWIW, should Miami lose both of their next 2 games, the "story" would come full circle.  26 years ago, Pat Riley once said that someday, someone would successfully come back from a 3-0 deficit.  I guess it'll have to start with us.  It'll sorta suck if the Heat are the victims here instead of the "perpetrators" over a quarter century later.

Though Riley would've been correct in 2 cases: Someone overcoming 3-0...and the fact that after the Heat didn't really come close against Chicago, he said, "As long as MJ is playing with the Bulls, nobody is winning anything."

Finally "Boston" would be the beneficiary of history in 2 of the 4 sports, with the other 2 being the victims.  Of course, Boston would have to beat Denver (and Florida would have to win the Stanley Cup) to complete that story

[Fukui San]

The Red Sox beat the Yankees coming back from 3-0.

The Bruins lost a series after leading 3-0.

The Patriots came back in the Super Bowl after trailing 28-3.

The Celtics would then complete that set if that were to happen.

[twoods]

Looks like you may get your wish. Heat playing tight yet again and will definitely lose game 7. 

Edited May 28, 2023 by twoods

[Carey]

2 hours ago, Fukui San said:

The Red Sox beat the Yankees coming back from 3-0.

The Bruins lost a series after leading 3-0.

The Patriots came back in the Super Bowl after trailing 28-3.

The Celtics would then complete that set if that were to happen.

I'm sorry, but I have to add 18-1, which FWIW, was revenge for New York.  The team that knocked off Boston in 2010 didn't even win the Cup, but they typically don't win the cup on an annual basis.

Either way, Boston winning out definitely completes the cycle

[Fukui San]

41 minutes ago, Carey said:

I'm sorry, but I have to add 18-1, which FWIW, was revenge for New York.  The team that knocked off Boston in 2010 didn't even win the Cup, but they typically don't win the cup on an annual basis.

Either way, Boston winning out definitely completes the cycle

The Patriots have won and lost Super Bowls in every possible manner by now, lol. Except for blowout in their favor. 

Celtics leading going into the 4th but too close for comfort I think. 

[Marley]

If the Heat can’t pull it out in game 6 they are done for. They are down right now in Q4 but not too far down. It’s not looking great tho but come on Heat figure it out!

[DoctorAtomic]

It's not like Boston is playing lights out here. 

[Carey]

Just now, Marley said:

If the Heat can’t pull it out in game 6 they are done for. They are down right now in Q4 but not too far down. It’s not looking great tho but come on Heat figure it out!

It's pretty annoying TBH.  Boston should be playing like they are, and the Heat are an actual joke.  The weird part is that somehow, Miami found a way to win Game 2.  It's like Miami entered this series to be the first team to blow a 3-0 series lead instead of trying to win their 4th title in the past 20 years.

6 minutes ago, Fukui San said:

The Patriots have won and lost Super Bowls in every possible manner by now, lol. Except for blowout in their favor. 

Oh they definitely have.  At the time until 2012, they were the laughing stock.  Like the Bruins, they had the best regular season ever, but somehow got knocked out by a team that was one iota from missing the playoffs outright.  Since Super Bowl 42, they went several years without winning a playoff game.  Then they ended up being one of the final 4 for 8 years in a row.

It might be a personal POV, but I never thought of adding Boston blowing a 3-0 lead because the Flyers didn't win the cup that year, and then in the next year, they finished the deal, swept Philly, and won the cup.  So I never could Bruins blowing 3-0 (and injuries played a factor that season)

[AimingforYoko]

Wow, if Boston pulls this off, that putback might go in the pantheon.

 

 

Edited May 28, 2023 by AimingforYoko

[Marley]

Omg no fuck what an annoying ending!

[twoods]

Glad I’m not a Heat fan. Yikes.

[Fukui San]

We are in line for my prediction of a hide your eyes awful 78-77 Game 7. 
 

Denver just laughing and hugging each other right now. 

[LexieLily]

My blood pressure won't be able to take a Game 7 after all of this. 

[Carey]

2 minutes ago, Fukui San said:

Denver just laughing and hugging each other right now. 

And sometime next month, they'll be hugging each other for another reason.  Or they won't, but Boston will be occupied with something else.  Fortunately, no brain-storming needed for parade-planning in the city of Boston

Edited May 28, 2023 by Carey

[twoods]

Possibly the worst way the Heat could lose this game happened. They have to be demoralized. Jimmy looks devastated during the interviews. Stupid Boston teams. Just go away already.

Edited May 28, 2023 by twoods

[Carey]

5 minutes ago, twoods said:

Possibly the worst way the Heat could lose this game happened. They have to be demoralized. Jimmy looks devastated during the interviews. Stupid Boston teams. Just go away already.

Stupid Boston teams.  LOL.  To be fair, we share the same mentality as it relates to Boston team.  At least for the most part.

The only time "Boston teams" lose is if it's to glorified, media loving overrated teams.  And/Or teams for Philadelphia.   Sorry to rip on Philly; it sucks for me because I'm from Western Pennsylvania.

I think I may have watched my final NBA game (of the season).  Of course, nobody cares, nor should they.  I don't think I can sit through what's next.  I pretty much knew this outcome was going to happen, but I so did not predict it would go down like this.  In such historic fashion.  

I'm not a Boston fan at all, but their teams play hard (except when they don't), and they're talented.  I respect the players, maybe not the fans (well, most of them), but to be honest, if the series were going to Game 7 but it was back and forth or the home teams won every game, I'd have felt a little different.

One can't control the outcome of a sporting event, and it'll happen when a team you hate wins (out).  At the end of the day, one's personal livelihood (i.e. family) tops what happens in a sport.  When the Celtics win on Memorial Day, that's sports.  Life continues.  I'm more upset when it's over for someone close to me than whether a team I love loses in the postseason.

With that, I apologize for my (past) comments related to this series.  I'm not a Celtics fan, so this way they're going to win the series adds insult to injury.  That said, it's not my fault Miami won each of the first three games, got Bud fired, and survived against Chicago.  But they are less talented and smaller.  Also slower.

I never thought I'd see someone blow a 3-0 lead to lose a series.  Often joked that Doc would be the first.  Of course, I never thought a 1 seed would lose to a 16 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

If Erik gets booted, then Miami can cease operations for all I care.  Because they're not going to do anything going forward.   It's still a bad look to lose to a substitute head-coach, so I do know if I'd defend Spoelstra if he actually got fired.

[LexieLily]

Twitter is going nuts at the moment wondering how the Celtics managed to have 3 seconds on the clock when they inbounded the ball for the last possession, when the clock was at 2.9 the possession before and Butler didn't yet have the ball in his hands for the ensuing foul. 

 

[Fukui San]

Even now, I'm only 50/50 on Boston showing up ready to play in two days.

[baldryanr]

So, how many times are the 2004 Red Sox going to be mentioned on Monday?  I'm assuming that all of the players (except Schilling) will be invited.

Gotta love playoff basketball and overreactions, though.  All of the fans who think the Heat are dead men walking who shouldn't even bother flying to Boston should talk to all of those fans who thought the Celtics were dead men walking who should have just flown directly to Cancun after game 3.

Plus for those who hate Boston, I point to the 2022 Phoenix Suns.  The Celtics are certainly capable of blowing the game.

[Magog]

At this point, I don't even know who's going to win tomorrow night? It can go either way. 

The Celtics almost threw that game away last night (blowing a 10 point lead with 4 minutes left) & Derrick White saves the day. 

[DrSpaceman73]

8 hours ago, LexieLily said:

Twitter is going nuts at the moment wondering how the Celtics managed to have 3 seconds on the clock when they inbounded the ball for the last possession, when the clock was at 2.9 the possession before and Butler didn't yet have the ball in his hands for the ensuing foul. 

 

Because the clock stops when the foul is called. Not on his release.  

[DoctorAtomic]

I want game 7 to be 143 - 139. I'm not sure I care who wins. I don't think either team deserves to at this point. I do like Butler, but I think I'll be rooting for Denver. 

[DrSpaceman73]

Im.not a big fan of either team but what an ending.  Basic mistake didn't block out and gets the put back with 0.1 seconds. 

[mojoween]

I’m rooting for Jayson Tatum but not rooting for Boston if that makes any sense, but if the Celtics pull this off, hopefully for now and forevermore people will stop talking about the blasted 2004 Red Sox.

[LexieLily]

The ref assignments are out: Scott Foster AND Tony Brothers tonight.

[Carey]

I know Scott Foster isn't really beloved, but I'd take him as the crew-chief than having Eric Lewis anywhere near this series.  Things don't favor Miami when Foster officiates and that's too bad for them, but Lewis involved would have been worse.  And bad for business.

As for the BoSox, I'm with mojoween about the hope that they'll forever stop talking about it, but I also don't agree that they will.  It's not going to matter if Denver wins the NBA Finals, and I don't think they will unless Miami wins tonight.

However, the Celtics have to win the finals or else while history is just that, it'll be sorta meaningless.  BTW, if they win, I'm not sure if I'll be more upset over a 4-game sweep or if they do nothing until they're facing elimination.  I think definitely the latter.

One of these days, they'll be in that situation where they'll be down 3-1 or 3-2 and have to rally, but instead it's against a team that has a better record.

[Magog]

Does anyone even know what the Denver Nuggets is thinking about right now & who are they rooting for tonight? They're basically an afterthought even since they swept the Lakers & they'll probably be an afterthought during the Finals. 

3 hours ago, mojoween said:

I’m rooting for Jayson Tatum but not rooting for Boston if that makes any sense, but if the Celtics pull this off, hopefully for now and forevermore people will stop talking about the blasted 2004 Red Sox.

Win or lose, the 2004 Red Sox will be talked about forever & ever. What they did was legendary & the Celtics are trying to do that tonight. 

I still don't know who is winning the game tonight. Is Jimmy Butler going to show up for 4 Quarters tonight? He hasn't been doing that lately & it will be a big help to the Heat if it doesn't take him till the 4th Quarter to get it going. 

[Carey]

1 hour ago, Magog said:

Win or lose, the 2004 Red Sox will be talked about forever & ever. What they did was legendary & the Celtics are trying to do that tonight. 

To be honest, the only comparison is the fact that they're from the same area.  The Red Sox were the underdogs (though the Yankees/BoSox were closer in skill than Heat/Celtics).  The Red Sox beat the defending league champions AND won both of their last two games on the road.  Furthermore, New York has a ton more titles than Boston in MLB.  Finally, the Yankees knocked off the Red Sox the year before in seventh game of the ALCS.

Someone will opt out of keeping quiet if the Celtics win, before saying this is David beating Goliath.  Um, no!

The Celtics are the defending East champions, AND they beat Miami previously.  Unlike the '04 BoSox, this Celtics team is much, much better than the Heat.  TBH, Miami should've won Game six, but lost Game 2.  We'd be in the same spot & it would be tremendous.  Finally, the Celtics had more than a dozen more titles than Miami.

At the end of the day, the comparison is NOT 2004 ALCS; it's Super Bowl 51

[Fukui San]

If NBA went properly WWE, they’d have the Nuggets attend Game 7 and have them sit just behind both benches. 

[baldryanr]

It's too bad the Lakers aren't the west champions.  Not because they're better than Denver - the Nuggets are absolutely the superior team and deserve to be playing in the finals.  No, the shame is the meltdown people would be having over thinking the NBA/ESPN would do everything humanly possible to ensure the Celtics make it through.  Every questionable call?  The game is rigged.  Coming back from 3-0?  Yeah, it's a lot easier when the league is trying to make it happen.

[catrox14]

3 hours ago, Magog said:

Does anyone even know what the Denver Nuggets is thinking about right now & who are they rooting for tonight? They're basically an afterthought even since they swept the Lakers & they'll probably be an afterthought during the Finals. 

My guess, as a Nuggets fan, is they want Miami, since that gives Denver home court advantage.

[twoods]

Boston is the second seed, so don’t they still get the home court?

[Carey]

2 hours ago, catrox14 said:

My guess, as a Nuggets fan, is they want Miami, since that gives Denver home court advantage.

Maybe Denver can lie down & lose 3, before going on a 4 game winning streak.  That would actually be awesome if that happened.

 

Just now, twoods said:

Boston is the second seed, so don’t they still get the home court?

Better record.

FWIW, whoever wins the title (Miami, Boston, and Denver) would have beaten a team that fired its head coach in the aftermath.  Man, sometimes the owners of the NBA suck

[LexieLily]

Jason Tatum rolled his ankle on the very first play. 

[Carey]

I'm not a Boston fan, but that sucks.  If they persevere in the aftermath, they would've earned it.  BTW, Boston gets homecourt over Denver due to a better record (or a tie + head to head or other tiebreakers; both teams split BTW)

Anyway, the final thing I'll say is that consequences are part of sports (and life really) so maybe don't boot a proven person.  I've seen teams in all of sports die away for getting rid of a leader, because they were unable to recover.  Philly had to make a change, but I don't think Phoenix needed to; Milwaukee didn't need to but it's no surprise.  A valid reason nobody from the collegiate level is running to the pros

[Fukui San]

That’s why you show up ready to play the first three games of the series, guys. 

[Magog]

1 hour ago, LexieLily said:

Jason Tatum rolled his ankle on the very first play.

He seems fine right now. The Celtics are still with striking range right now. Only down by 8 points. (66-58)

[Marley]

Miami up 21 - keep it going pls!

[Carey]

Oh thank God

[Marley]

See ya stupid Boston! Woohoo!

[Magog]

Heat 103 - Celtics 84 

I'm very certain that most of the people on ESPN are very very sad right now that the 3-0 comeback has failed. The 2004 Red Sox can rest easy tonight.

The Celtics were right there at halftime & they just crash & burned in the 2nd half. It also didn't help that they were bricking a lot of 3 pointers. 

Thankfully, Jimmy Butler didn't wait till the 4th Quarter to get it going. Caleb Martin getting 26 points for the Heat was a massive help.

So, its the Heat & Nuggets in the NBA Finals. I wouldn't be surprised if ESPN finds a way to find a Lebron narrative in these Finals even he won't be anywhere near it. I don't even know who those guys are now going to be rooting for.

A Denver Nuggets victory parade would be nice to see, even though their owner really sucks & he can get bent. I already seen a Heat Parade & it was pretty "meh" to me.

 

Edited May 30, 2023 by Magog

[Carey]

2 minutes ago, Magog said:

Heat 103 - Celtics 84 

I'm very certain that most of the people on ESPN are very very sad right now that the 3-0 comeback has failed.

Fuck EM