The NBA

[twoods]

Oh look, they attack the basket more and get more free throws, and stop jacking up threes and are now leading. Shocker. Lebron seems to be out of gas and AD has already checked out. Thanks for a great season, Lakers! Much better than I thought it would be after the 2-10 start.

[LexieLily]

The Lakers don't have much of a choice, obviously, but is LeBron going to play all 48 minutes?

[Magog]

Nuggets 113 - Lakers 111.   (Edit because I got the final score wrong.)

Congrats to the Denver Nuggets for their 1st ever trip to the NBA Finals. And their first ever Playoff sweep in team history. The only bad thing is that their owner really sucks.

I know that ESPN/ABC is weeping in a corner right now seeing the Lakers go down in a sweep. At least, the Lakers put up in a fight in Game 4. I'm certain that the Celtics will lay down & play dead in Game 4 like they did in Game 3. In the Celtics mind, they're already in Cancun.

 

 

 

Edited May 23, 2023 by Magog

[LexieLily]

1 minute ago, Magog said:

Nuggets 114 - Lakers 111.

 

LAKERS GET SWEPT. YOU LOVE TO SEE IT!

[NUguy514]

Bron-bron-bronnie-bron, I know I should cry very profusely over the tragedy that you and your minions were swept in a most fantastically humiliating fashion, but...

[Salacious Kitty]

Hasta la vista, Lakers! Take Boston with you tomorrow. 😃

[twoods]

Are there even any Heat or Nuggets fans on this board? We want to celebrate with you guys!

[Salacious Kitty]

21 minutes ago, twoods said:

Are there even any Heat or Nuggets fans on this board? We want to celebrate with you guys!

Do bandwagon fans count? 😂

[Marley]

Yay Nuggets! 

At least LA tried to keep this game close. Wonder what they’re gonna do in the off-season.

[Fukui San]

Lakers got swept. Can't get any more embarrassing than that!

Celtics: Hold my beer.

[catrox14]

1 hour ago, twoods said:

Are there even any Heat or Nuggets fans on this board? We want to celebrate with you guys!

Lifelong Nuggets fan here. Just been laying low until my guys got the job done. Just four more to go!

[twoods]

5 minutes ago, catrox14 said:

Lifelong Nuggets fan here. Just been laying low until my guys got the job done. Just four more to go!

First Finals for you guys, right? How exciting and good luck to them.

[catrox14]

49 minutes ago, twoods said:

First Finals for you guys, right? How exciting and good luck to them.

Yup. First Finals.  It's awesome! I'm especially happy for Jamal Murray after his ACL injury. I just love the players. Largely unselfish and just a great gotdamn team. So excited!

[Sile]

11 hours ago, twoods said:

Are there even any Heat or Nuggets fans on this board? We want to celebrate with you guys!

Been a fan since back in the Doug Moe years.  I've got them to win at +1600.  But I'm so used to the media completely ignoring them that I don't even think to check messages boards!

[DoctorAtomic]

I don't have any team rooting interest, but it's great to see Denver get into the finals for the first time. Butler is on fire, so I'm hoping it's going to be last one with the ball wins the title. 

I just don't want to see sloppy play or too many whistles. 

[Magog]

Just by watching TV today so far, I'm hearing way more about LeBron possibly retiring (he will not), the Lakers offseason needs, & Kyrie possibly coming to the Lakers (they'll be stupid if the Lakers do that) than the Nuggets winning last night & getting to the NBA Finals for the first time ever. 

The Celtics are losing tonight & its only a matter if its going to be another blowout like Game 3 or its going to be a close game & Jimmy Butler puts them away again.

Edited May 23, 2023 by Magog

[Medicine Crow]

14 hours ago, twoods said:

Are there even any Heat or Nuggets fans on this board? We want to celebrate with you guys!

I've been a Heat fan since they "acquired" my guy, Kyle Lowry from the (my) Raptors.  I like the other Heat players too ... they're tough!!!

[Carey]

14 hours ago, twoods said:

Are there even any Heat or Nuggets fans on this board? We want to celebrate with you guys!

There are no NBA teams in my area, so I tend to root for greatness, from a player to a franchise, and based on when they're good.  In good that could mean what you see, and it also could mean the effort one puts in.

While I didn't care for Los Angeles, there was effort from James this year.  That's worth rooting for.  However, there was no excitement, hope, or wishing the Lakers won out.

Jokic is great since it felt like his MVP awards were ones he didn't outright earn.  The guy has crushed it, and he's proven that he's that damn good.

Butler is just amazing.  Sometimes you get the guy that leads with awesome play, and then there's one that leads with the voice.  When both occur, that's what makes someone pretty epic

[DrSpaceman73]

I'm not a Denver fan but I watched the lakers series and really impressed by them. Hope they win

 

Also first title appearance and chance of first title is a good story. 

Edited May 23, 2023 by DrSpaceman73

[voiceover]

Wins Twitter for today:

“BREAKING: Heat-Nuggets Finals to be played in corner of LeBron’s retirement special, sources tell ESPN”

 

[Crashcourse]

LeWhine, this one's for you. 

 

 

 

 

[Carey]

16 hours ago, Salacious Kitty said:

Hasta la vista, Lakers! Take Boston with you tomorrow. 😃

Not so fast.  Don't bet on it (and BTW, the odds moved from 16/1 to 13/1 that Boston will win out before knocking off Denver in a possible but doubtful Finals matchup).

As mentioned, at least LA tried.  Boston is making Philadelphia look like crap every passing second.  But I don't know if they'll fall tonight for good, or TBH on Monday.  I'll believe it when I see it.

Scott Foster is on the call tonight

[baldryanr]

2 hours ago, voiceover said:

Wins Twitter for today:

“BREAKING: Heat-Nuggets Finals to be played in corner of LeBron’s retirement special, sources tell ESPN”

Yeah, I don't care how much money he's already made, LeBron's not walking away from $50 million next season.  All he needs is for the LeBron James of feet to recommend surgery that has a long recovery time (if he really wants to he can pull a Shaq and wait until the start of training camp)

[NUguy514]

3 hours ago, Carey said:

While I didn't care for Los Angeles, there was effort from James this year.  That's worth rooting for.

I'd say the likelihood that Bron-bron will retire is about the same as the likelihood that I will be drafted to replace him.  This is purely and absolutely a tactic to distract the dipshits at ESPN and on social media from the real story, which is that King Flopper was summarily swept aside by the court Joker.  It's working because dipshits will always dipshit, but if we could find a way to harness the energy of the tears and teeth-gnashing and impotent anger of Stephen A. Smith and Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy and Mike Breen and everyone else at ESPN and in Lakers Nation and turn all of that energy into electricity, the world would be fully powered for at least a decade.

[baldryanr]

8 minutes ago, NUguy514 said:

It's working because dipshits will always dipshit, but if we could find a way to harness the energy of the tears and teeth-gnashing and impotent anger of Stephen A. Smith and Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy and Mike Breen and everyone else at ESPN and in Lakers Nation and turn all of that energy into electricity, the world would be fully powered for at least a decade.

And if we could also harness all of the smug joy and satisfaction of those who hate LeBron/the Lakers and turn it into electricity you could add another couple of decades to that estimate.

[LexieLily]

Three guesses who is the crew chief ref for tonight's game? Scott Foster. 

In other news, Jimmy Butler fined 25K for not doing post-game media after Game 3. That should work out well for the Celtics' already miniscule chances tonight. [/sarcasm]

[NUguy514]

2 hours ago, baldryanr said:

And if we could also harness all of the smug joy and satisfaction of those who hate LeBron/the Lakers and turn it into electricity you could add another couple of decades to that estimate.

Hey, I'm more than willing to contribute.  Bron-bron and the Lakers lose, and the planet is fully powered – win-win!

[DrSpaceman73]

Lebron won't retire because he's too much of an attention hog (or synonym with a w)  to go away. 

[Carey]

Fuck Miami.  Fuck Boston.  Ditto the association.  The Heat would've been better off losing to Chicago.  No wonder they got scared & lost to Atlanta to avoid the Celtics on the way to ruining the Bucks legacy.  Totally pathetic tonight.

[LexieLily]

The league avoided the embarrassment of their two favorite teams BOTH getting swept, so yay for them? Miami's going to come back from this and take it in five.

[Carey]

4 minutes ago, LexieLily said:

The league avoided the embarrassment of their two favorite teams BOTH getting swept, so yay for them? Miami's going to come back from this and take it in five.

No they're not.  They had a chance to close out Boston while they were down & lacked confidence.  It was in their building, and they needed to win because that's 2 extra days you're spotting Denver, where the Heat will fly to if they win in six.  That was not good at all; it was very sad.  This isn't some nobody that plays to avoid a sweep; they saw their West top rival fail, and now they can obtain bragging rights without having to face them.  Denver won't lose at home, but I don't know or think they can win in Boston if that plays out

[Fukui San]

Congrats to the Celtics on retaining a shred of dignity. Win one more and we’re talking about actual respectability. 
 

Finals start on June 1 no matter how this series turns out. Rest shouldn’t be an issue for Miami unless this series really turns around. 

[Carey]

13 minutes ago, Fukui San said:

Congrats to the Celtics on retaining a shred of dignity. Win one more and we’re talking about actual respectability. 
 

Finals start on June 1 no matter how this series turns out. Rest shouldn’t be an issue for Miami unless this series really turns around. 

Well, the lack of rest would be the least of Miami's problems.  Though at that point, the talk could turn into an issue of rust from Denver, who would have to jump on the plane to travel East if Boston backdoors all the way to another title

[twoods]

It’s a number two seed beating a number 8 seed so they don’t get swept. No one is impressed. People forget that Denver is the number 1 seed and should have swept the 7th seed Lakers, but a number 8 seed still on the cusp of going to the Finals is pretty damn impressive. Hopefully playoff Jimmy shows up in Boston and has some help from Adebayo and Lowry.

Edited May 24, 2023 by twoods

[roseha]

Well we get another episode of Inside the NBA on Thursday!

Charles was hilarious right at the start of the pregame, asking if Jayson Tatum's shirt said "Bahamas".

If only they could cover the finals.

Edited May 24, 2023 by roseha

[Carey]

Twoods: Great points.  A couple things, however.  Boston winning an elimination game isn't impressive, but to be fair, neither is Denver beating the Lakers.  It's a nice story & good for the Nuggets that they're Finals-bound, but they were the much better team.  I don't know if they were supposed to win 4-0, as LA was playing the best since the All-Star break (which they had to do soon after starting 2-10).

Boston, the defending Eastern Conference Champions, is a 2 seed.  To be fair, they shouldn't be down 0-3 to Miami.  Looking back, their 1st 2 games were close losses, but still a bad look, especially given the fact that the Heat had a negative point differential.  TBH, if Boston had split the first two games, the backlash from Game 3 would not have been as bad or maybe even not there.

As for winning Game 4 as a 2 seed to avoid the sweep, I disagree.  I honestly do not think that the Celtics' goal was to avoid a sweep; they want to win the whole thing.  Feels like they're on the path of one game at a time.  Of course, if Miami wins either one of their next two games, then all of this is moot.

10 minutes ago, roseha said:

If only they could cover the finals.

I may have mentioned this in the past (maybe elsewhere), but this here is one of the many reasons why I think Roger Goodell is a better commissioner in the top sports than Adam Silver.  There are a number of things Adam is better at then Roger, but the reason why I'm saying this relates to how great Goodell is at the small stuff.

I don't know for sure if Silver has control over the following, but the fact that TNT hasn't been the home for the NBA Finals once over the past decade-plus isn't ideal.  The current ESPN team has been great, probably the best one they've had.  However, if possible, Goodell would have found a way to make sure that TNT got featured & hosted the highest level within a top sport.  While the NBA Insiders are in their prime.  They've been very great over the years & are accomplished.  A final round (NBA Finals on TNT) would be pure gold.  Must see TV.  Nothing against people like Wade, Parker, and company, but they just wouldn't be able to emulate the best when & if Turner got the NBA Finals once of these days

[DoctorAtomic]

I'm not surprised at all if Boston wins game 5. It's not like these teams don't know each other well. Then you're going to get the 'Miami is shaky, etc.'

[Magog]

Somehow, the Celtics won last night & now all of a sudden, I'm hearing some people thinking & hoping that the Celtics can win Game 5 & quite possibly make that 3-0 comeback. Frankly, that is not going to happen & I'm certain that Jimmy Butler is going to redeem himself in Game 5 after that very average performance last night. Besides, the Celtics have been up & down at home in these Playoffs. They're currently 4-5 at home & there is nothing intimidating about TD Garden or those Celtics. 

[Crashcourse]

16 hours ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

Lebron won't retire because he's too much of an attention hog (or synonym with a w)  to go away. 

It's too bad because before he came on board, the Lakers were one of my favorite teams, especially during the Showtime era.  Then LeWhine came along and spoiled it for me.  

[DrSpaceman73]

6 hours ago, Crashcourse said:

It's too bad because before he came on board, the Lakers were one of my favorite teams, especially during the Showtime era.  Then LeWhine came along and spoiled it for me.  

I've always hated them.  It's been my one constant my whole sports fan life. 

Lebrons just the latest reason.  

[isalicat]

18 hours ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

I've always hated them.  It's been my one constant my whole sports fan life. 

Lebrons just the latest reason.  

Yeah, add in the Dodgers for me. Always: Beat L.A.!!!

[Salacious Kitty]

Just saw on Twitter that LeBron supposedly played the playoffs with some kind of foot injury that may require surgery. 

[baldryanr]

1 hour ago, Salacious Kitty said:

Just saw on Twitter that LeBron supposedly played the playoffs with some kind of foot injury that may require surgery. 

I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not, but yeah, he injured his foot months ago.  Surgery was recommended, but the "Lebron James of feet" told him he could keep playing and reevaluate after the season.  At the time I know some haters snickered about how this was all wildly exaggerated to make him seem more impressive (he's playing hurt!) while also giving him a convenient reason to shut it down if the Lakers went south. 

 

[DrSpaceman73]

38 minutes ago, baldryanr said:

I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not, but yeah, he injured his foot months ago.  Surgery was recommended, but the "Lebron James of feet" told him he could keep playing and reevaluate after the season.  At the time I know some haters snickered about how this was all wildly exaggerated to make him seem more impressive (he's playing hurt!) while also giving him a convenient reason to shut it down if the Lakers went south. 

 

Include me in that group.  I don't really believe it.  

He probably had an injury. But it's probably a mild one that athletes play through all the time. 

I've read the 'expert opinions' trying to convjnce me he was really injured. He just doesn't get the benefit of doubt from me.   Too much flopping and 'injuries' with the mildest of falls and being touched. 

[Carey]

Injuries are part of sports.  It's a fact that playing hurt hinders people, but everyone's hurt (at the most important part of a season).  A healthy James changes nothing.  Denver was the better team.  Maybe they don't get swept, but they probably should've lost in 5 or 6 instead of 4 but they lost every game for other reasons, period

[twoods]

I agree. A team relying solely on an aging superstar has to look at themselves in the mirror this off-season and figure out what to do. It doesn’t help that they don’t have draft picks because of what they gave up for AD, and almost all the other players not on contracts. The Lakers are freaking out that Lebron may retire because they make a crapload of money off of him- nobody wants to see an ailing AD and an overpaid Austin Reeves or DLo. That being said, I hope he does retire because he sucks the air out of the room and the Lakers need to move on. Le-tire already.

Hope the Heat close it out in front of their fans and Playoff Jimmy shows up.

Edited May 26, 2023 by twoods

[Marley]

Uh oh Miami lost again. Not looking good. They better get it together so stupid Boston can fuck off lol.

I don’t think Lebron is going to retire. I think he’s gonna try to play with Bronny like he said do another 2 years. The lakers need to do something tho Lebron is gonna be gone eventually and no one can rely on AD really.

[LexieLily]

39 minutes ago, Marley said:

Uh oh Miami lost again. Not looking good. They better get it together so stupid Boston can fuck off lol.

Is it fair to say that I'm getting slightly, moderately nervous?

[Carey]

I honestly don't know what'll happen on Saturday.  If Miami loses, I'll be shocked if they win on Monday.  The 3 times a Game 7 occurred in a series where the same team won that game & each of the first three games, thee team that nearly blew it played at home.  Miami would be on the road.  Unless I overlooked it, I do not believe a team forcing a Game 7 down 0-3 hosted that game in any sport including hockey & baseball.

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...

4 minutes ago, LexieLily said:

Is it fair to say that I'm getting slightly, moderately nervous?

I'm not sure.  I've had a cause for concern since Game 2 and given Boston's track record with this stuff

[Fukui San]

The weirdest playoffs by far, no matter what happens next. Far weirder than the Bubble, weirder than the compressed after Bubble season.