The NBA

[AimingforYoko]

The Pacers won Game 7 at MSG, you say?

[DoctorAtomic]

I think Pacers/Celtics will be a good series because they'll get up and down the court and won't try to out-3 Boston. 

 

[Carey]

I was just about to post my typical post of congratulating the Celtics for winning the East before the series even began.  However, as mentioned I think it'll be a pretty good series.

I still think Boston will win, but I imagine the favorites will drop a game at home as is the custom.  However, I do think, unlike Cleveland, Indiana will look respectable on its home court.

Indiana just needs to do what it does best.  Probably a split in the first 2 games and the second 2 games, then game on.  Probably necessary for the West that the East finals don't end well before the current month comes to an end

[shoregirl]

Thank goodness for that 😂

[Lamb18]

This Timberwolves vs Nuggets game is wild! Won't say anything more because I don't want to jinx it.

[twoods]

Congrats to the Wolves! Amazing comeback from them after everyone thought they were done going down 3-2. 

[Salacious Kitty]

Denver deserves to be sent packing. What a pathetic showing in the second half. 

Edited May 20 by Salacious Kitty

[AimingforYoko]

T-Wolves in the WCF! Every 20 years, like clockwork.

[Lamb18]

9 seconds left in the game and the Audacy app loses the feed. Losers! I heard some yelling outside so I think Wolves won.

Feed came back to tell me Wolves won. I hope the next round will be on a station I can watch.

[Marley]

I’m rooting for the Timberwolves! Let’s go! But honestly at the end of the day anyone but fucking Boston.

Edited May 20 by Marley

[Salacious Kitty]

1 minute ago, Lamb18 said:

9 seconds left in the game and the Audacy app loses the feed. Losers! I heard some yelling outside so I think Wolves won.

Feed came back to tell me Wolves won. I hope the next round will be on a station I can watch.

Nope. Wednesday on TNT.

[DoctorAtomic]

I was rooting for Denver, but they just came out flat in the second half. You need to adjust when you're bricking 3s. 

[Lamb18]

Who do Wolves play next? Thunder?

[Salacious Kitty]

3 minutes ago, Lamb18 said:

Who do Wolves play next? Thunder?

Mavs.

[Carey]

14 minutes ago, Marley said:

I’m rooting for the Timberwolves! Let’s go! But honestly at the end of the day anyone but fucking Boston.

They do have to play the games, but you might want to turn to a different sport with that.

Though I hardly think Denver or the Lakers were beating Boston.  The regular season and the postseason are totally separate

[DoctorAtomic]

I'm hoping the Mavs and Wolves is a good series. The Mavs aren't going to be scared of them.

[LexieLily]

1 hour ago, AimingforYoko said:

T-Wolves in the WCF! Every 20 years, like clockwork.

KG yell: "ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE!!!!!!!"

(Today is KG's birthday, too!)

[kathyk2]

2 hours ago, Marley said:

I’m rooting for the Timberwolves! Let’s go! But honestly at the end of the day anyone but fucking Boston.

What's wrong with the Celtics? They haven't received the publicity the Lakers have despite having the best record in the NBA. I'm hoping for the Celtics to play the Mavericks so the Celtics can get revenge on Kyrie Irving.

[Marley]

I just hate all Boston sports team from something I will prob never get over 13 years ago lol. Fuck them.

[baldryanr]

7 hours ago, DoctorAtomic said:

I'm hoping the Mavs and Wolves is a good series. The Mavs aren't going to be scared of them.

If a team is legitimately scared of another one at this point then they don't deserve to be there. 

8 hours ago, Carey said:

Though I hardly think Denver or the Lakers were beating Boston.  The regular season and the postseason are totally separate

Only a deranged Lakers fan would think they could beat Boston. 

[Magog]

16 hours ago, baldryanr said:

If the Pacers can replicate their 67% FG percentage (and above 50% from three) then they can beat the Celtics.  Otherwise, a gentleman's sweep is the most likely outcome.

The Pacers can make it competitive. Its not going to be a walk in the park for the Celtics like a lot of people think or hoping for. It will not be a sweep.

16 hours ago, baldryanr said:

Being a Knicks fan continues to be an exercise in futility.  It's almost as bad as rooting for the Sixers.

Pacers 130-Knicks 109 

I hope that Ben Stiller, Tracy Morgan, Spike Lee, & Stephen A Smith slept well last night because I sure did. Its now going to be 52 yrs since the Knicks last won an NBA Championship (1973). Awwwww......

I can't wait for some more of that failure next season for the Knicks.

Orange & Blue Skies, Orange & Blue Skies. 🤣 🤣 🤣

As for the Timberwolves, congrats to them for finding a way to victory after being down 20 points to the Nuggets (being down by 15 at halftime). 

The only bad thing about the Nuggets going down last night is that we won't have another Nuggets Parade with them talking more smack at the Lakers. 

 

Edited May 20 by Magog

[Kip Hackman]

As a Hornets fan, seeing the death of the "super team", and the playoff successes of the T-Wolves, Pacers (and even OKC) gives me a little bit of hope.

Of course ...

 

[Carey]

13 hours ago, Magog said:

The Pacers can make it competitive. Its not going to be a walk in the park for the Celtics like a lot of people think or hoping for. It will not be a sweep

Probably helps that Boston is about .500 at  home in the playoffs

[DoctorAtomic]

I'm rooting for the Pacers, but if Boston is shooting lights out, they're hard to beat. However, 1-1 after 2 games isn't an outlandish result either. Porzingis is out for tonight too. 

So far, the Pacers have looked best when they keep the tempo up. The question will be is if they're just more tired tonight after 7 games. 

[Fukui San]

21 hours ago, Carey said:

Probably helps that Boston is about .500 at  home in the playoffs

And have been distracted by shiny objects during the playoffs for the last decade and a half. 

Tied 60-60 at the half in game 1. Not surprised at all.  

[Fukui San]

Celtics hit a desperation 3 to tie the game and send it to OT. 
 

As a Celtics fan, I fully expect that the Celtics will go down 3-1 or 3-2 in the series, rally back to force a Game 7 where it’ll be a coin flip.  

[DoctorAtomic]

I can see that. 

Same thing I said last series. The Pacers just threw the ball away too much. 

I know it's hard to foul when you're up and there's the one out of bounds play left, but I don't get the decision to defend like all Boston needed was a 2. You can let them get that easy basket. 

I also think getting down 12, 13 or so really takes a lot out of you to having to keep coming from behind all game too. Boston can shoot themselves back into the game at home, so you really can't let them get second chances or throw the ball away so much. 

[Carey]

A gentleman's sweep (or a real one) is still on the table, but even though, on paper, Boston is supposed to make this series quick, this is exactly why I didn't subscribe to a quick exit for Indiana.

Unlike Golden State, Boston sorta is lazy and untrustworthy sometimes when it's not ideal.  Indiana might care a little so there's that

[Magog]

10 hours ago, Carey said:

Unlike Golden State, Boston sorta is lazy and untrustworthy sometimes when it's not ideal.  Indiana might care a little so there's that

I wish that the Pacers would of cared a little more about taking care of the basketball in the last minute of the game & Overtime. A very winnable game for them & they flat out piss it away. And having 22 turnovers in the game (especially 2 very bad ones at the last minute in the 4th Quarter) was very unhelpful for them. It was an absolute fail on so many levels for the Pacers at the end. 

Edited May 22 by Magog

[Carey]

51 minutes ago, Magog said:

I wish that the Pacers would of cared a little more about taking care of the basketball in the last minute of the game & Overtime. A very winnable game for them & they flat out piss it away. And having 22 turnovers in the game (especially 2 very bad ones at the last minute in the 4th Quarter) was very unhelpful for them. It was an absolute fail on so many levels for the Pacers at the end. 

I'm not a Knicks fan (though hats off to a pretty good year for New York anyway) so on that note, I sorta wish that if the Pacers didn't care about a basketball game, that would've taken place over the weekend

[grommit2]

Gadzooks!  How can the Celtics be so successful?
They do not seem to know how to move without the ball, run plays, and set picks for their teammates. And yet, they hoist up shots from the popcorn machine and hit enough to win games.  Really defies contemporary basketball...but they win. 😲

[DoctorAtomic]

Wow Dallas. 

[Raja]

All that time for a replay to end with a worse call then missing whose finger touched the ball last.

[DoctorAtomic]

I'm not a fan of replay in any sports at all. I said here in the game 1 screen for the Pacers/Knicks that the Pacers turned the ball over too much to make that call a game changer. 

You've got an 18 point lead here. At home. One call at that point affecting the game; the ship sailed. I'm not rooting for Boston, but they know how to play with that buffer. That's kind of on the coaching here. 

[Carey]

Wow Dallas indeed.  Yet it's a must win Game 3 for them according to someone.  Though I think I would try to do what Minnesota could not do, in taking care of business at home.  Best chance Dallas would have in terms of getting more rest than Boston (not guaranteed since they can't control the ECF, and they still have to win 2 more games before losing twice as many)

[LexieLily]

I cannot emphasize it strongly enough how much Indiana had that game in hand and how badly they blew it.

Even more do than how they blew Game 1.

[DoctorAtomic]

I feel like I could just repeat what I said last night. 

[Carey]

If there was ever a year that someone could successfully overcome a 3-0 deficit, this is it

[twoods]

Guess it’s going to be Boston vs Dallas as most people predicted. Fuck the Celtics.

[Carey]

When the Celtics win their first title in sixteen years next month, what is the feeling that they'll be once again ahead of the Los Angeles Lakers in title count, with the chance of extending that?  Though I doubt they'll be super lucky in future years that their conference was more than a joke combined with all of the injuries they've had

[baldryanr]

If you're petty, then those Minneapolis titles don't really count because they were in a different city.

You could also pretend those 60s titles don't really count either because it was a different era - after all, no one walks around talking about how UCLA is the king of college basketball because they have the most championships.

Or you could just say that most teams can luck their way into a championship about once per generation (unless you are the Knicks, Sixers, or Clippers).

Edited May 26 by baldryanr

[Carey]

Well, all Dallas needs to do is "hold serve" at home one last time.  Or one more time on Tuesday.  It would help if Indiana did something to prevent a possible strut to a title for Boston.  IMO, a terrible situation would be for the latter to well, not turn into a reality, and then Dallas risks a ton before probably closing out things next weekend which spots the likely East Champions an additional half week

[emma675]

I think Dallas would have won by an even bigger margin had Dereck Lively not gotten injured. But Gafford and Washington really stepped up and filled in the gap. Hopefully Lively is back for game 5, but I doubt it. That was a nasty head bounce and he was moving like he was concussed afterwards. 

[Magog]

On 5/26/2024 at 11:55 AM, Carey said:

When the Celtics win their first title in sixteen years next month, what is the feeling that they'll be once again ahead of the Los Angeles Lakers in title count, with the chance of extending that?  Though I doubt they'll be super lucky in future years that their conference was more than a joke combined with all of the injuries they've had

Frankly, who knows & who cares? I really hope that ESPN do not bring this up during the upcoming NBA Finals. Its not like they'll have much else to talk about during the very likely week off between those 2 sweeps & the first Finals game.

13 hours ago, emma675 said:

I think Dallas would have won by an even bigger margin had Dereck Lively not gotten injured. But Gafford and Washington really stepped up and filled in the gap. Hopefully Lively is back for game 5, but I doubt it. That was a nasty head bounce and he was moving like he was concussed afterwards.

Luckily for Lively, there probably won't be a Game 5 for him to worry about. 

Edit: Just heard the very sad news that NBA Great Bill Walton had just passed away today. He will be dearly missed.

 ESPN - Bill Walton dies at age 71.

Edited May 27 by Magog

[Carey]

Magog: I'll refrain from a reaction for your post to acknowledge my feelings on it.  As it features valuable material, both sad obviously, and informative.  Instead, I'll offer a response.

Yeah, ESPN will likely have to fill time between mid week and next Thursday (random talk about Boston's record banners).  However, I hardly think it'll be easy for Dallas to lose each of their next 4 games, but until proven otherwise, I don't think a sweep is automatic.  Same for Boston, but more probable than not.  Until proven otherwise, the ECF isn't getting to Friday.

 

Now, onto the tough news:

RIP Big Red.  In the final year of Pac-12 action along with the rest of college hoops, Bill Walton was missed.  Felt like there was emotion there amid his illness.  Very good career, college & professional, and a heck of a run in the media.

Edited May 27 by Carey
Whether its mobile or the PC, I cannot type

[baldryanr]

Bill Walton is one of the great what-ifs in NBA history. 

Love him or hate him as a broadcaster, he was never boring.  He's gone far too soon.

[twoods]

“Throw it down big man! Throw it down.” It was so much fun listening to him in the broadcasting booth. Will miss him.

[Raja]

3 hours ago, baldryanr said:

Bill Walton is one of the great what-ifs in NBA history. 

Love him or hate him as a broadcaster, he was never boring.  He's gone far too soon.

When he was doing color for the Clippers I was amazed to find out he was a stutterer well into adulthood 

Edited May 27 by Raja

[Salacious Kitty]

I wonder if ESPN will re-air the Walton documentary. I really enjoyed it. He was missed during last season's Pac 12 hoops last hurrah. They never divulged the cancer diagnosis. 

Roxy Bernstein made mention of Bill when signing off for the Pac 12's last dedicated competition (baseball) Saturday night. 

[Carey]

The Luckiest Guy In The World is airing on ESPN2 in lieu of a Caitlin Clark starring marathon of Full Court Press.  The latter was scheduled to air on the deuce before getting bumped