The NBA

[DrSpaceman]

I think KD knew the risk of playing, which was exactly what we saw happen, a worse injury to his achilles, and decided to take the risk. 

You only get so many chances at a pro title.  Who knows if he will ever be in this position again?  He played for years to make it to the finals and never could before signing with GS, he may very well never get another chance once he leaves, and I am assuming he will. 

He went out there and tried to do it, paid the price.  Can't see he didn't give everything he had for the team. 

I think the Raptors will likely win in 6 now.  Warriors managed to just hang on last night, can't see them repeating that twice without KD

[MVFrostsMyPie]

 

 

 

1 hour ago, catrox14 said:

I don't think all 12000 fans were cheering KDs injury.

It wasn't just the fans in the stadium, but yeah sure, let's just excuse their behavior.

Because, Canada.

And also cause the warriors are "evil" right?

[Magog]

1 hour ago, DrSpaceman said:

I think the Raptors will likely win in 6 now.  Warriors managed to just hang on last night, can't see them repeating that twice without KD

The Raptors should win Game 6. Hopefully, that will happen. But, those idiot Atlanta Falcons had a 28-3 lead in the Super Bowl (51) not too long ago & they choked. Frankly, those Warriors comeback from this will be kind of similar to that Super Bowl.

[Maximum Taco]

That one hurt. I really wanted to win, and after Kawhi went Kawhiborg in the 4th it seemed like it would happen.

Still I'll console myself with the fact that the Warriors only really won because they won the 1st with KD in. The Raps fought Golden State to ties in the 2nd and 3rd and won the 4th, just not by enough. 

Also I have to feel there was some Karma in play here. A lot of Raps fans were delighting in KD's injury, it feels right that they didn't get to celebrate on the same night where they showed so much ugliness. 

I have confidence my Raps will stay undefeated at Oracle and close this out in 6. 

Stay hyped Toronto, but hopefully also a little bit more classy after this event. North Over Everything. 

Edited June 12, 2019 by Maximum Taco

[Ms Blue Jay]

5 hours ago, MVFrostsMyPie said:

It wasn't just the fans in the stadium, but yeah sure, let's just excuse their behavior.

Because, Canada.

And also cause the warriors are "evil" right?

Canada is 35 million people.  The Greater Toronto Area alone is 6 million people.  I don't judge New York City by the actions of one, let's say, lifetime New Yorker who is now the President.  It was a mistake.  A lot of people have apologized.  There is even a movement now for Raptors fans to donate to Kevin Durant's charity as an apology.

Edited June 11, 2019 by Ms Blue Jay

[MVFrostsMyPie]

Good, they should. JFC. 

[doodlebug]

1 hour ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Canada is 35 million people.  The Greater Toronto Area alone is 6 million people.  I don't judge New York City by the actions of one, let's say, lifetime New Yorker who is now the President.  It was a mistake.  A lot of people have apologized.  There is even a movement now for Raptors fans to donate to Kevin Durant's charity as an apology.

Well said.  If Warriors fans don't want to be judged by the bad behavior of one of their owners, then Raptors fans should not be judged by the bad behavior of some of their fans.  I suppose the Warriors' fans are hoping to use this regrettable incident to try to inspire their team to make a comeback in the series, but it smacks of sour grapes/poor sportsmanship on their part to refuse to acknowledge the many, many gestures of apology and conciliation being made by Raptors' fans which is in stark contrast to the Warriors fans who seemed more interested in excusing and defending the team owner who assaulted one of the Raptors.  Class will tell.

I think the Warriors' supporters were excited to get the matchup with Toronto in the finals, assuming that they'd roll over and play dead as the Warriors swept to another championship and they're just a bit unhappy that it turns out that the Raptors have outplayed their guys and the Warriors have more than met their match.  It hasn't brought out the best in them, that's for sure.

I do feel sorry for Durant, though.  Achille's injuries are extremely painful and it is going to be a long, hard road back to the NBA for him.  Not to even mention how this affects his free agency.

Edited June 11, 2019 by doodlebug

[catrox14]

8 hours ago, MVFrostsMyPie said:

It wasn't just the fans in the stadium, but yeah sure, let's just excuse their behavior.

Because, Canada.

And also cause the warriors are "evil" right?

I wasn't excusing any of them, nor did I say nor imply the Warriors are evil.  I'm also, not Canadian and am a Nuggets fan. So whilst I am rooting for the Raptors, I'm not a member of that fanbase per se.

I'm saying that fans  ALL teams  can be giant assholes but not all fans are assholes.  An owner shoving a player is a whole other level of asshole.

[Ms Blue Jay]

https://www.nbcsports.com/bayarea/warriors/fan-sends-warriors-flowers-apology-canadas-kevin-durant-injury-cheers

[MVFrostsMyPie]

1 hour ago, catrox14 said:

I wasn't excusing any of them, nor did I say nor imply the Warriors are evil.  I'm also, not Canadian and am a Nuggets fan. So whilst I am rooting for the Raptors, I'm not a member of that fanbase per se.

I'm saying that fans  ALL teams  can be giant assholes but not all fans are assholes.  An owner shoving a player is a whole other level of asshole.

I know you’re not Canadian.

what I’m saying is, every time you or anyone else brings up that asshole shover to counteract how the fans behaved, is that two wrongs don’t make a right. Just because he was his own special level of asshole, doesn’t make how Toronto fans behaved any better or excuse their behavior. A spade is still a spade.

KD didn’t do shit to them, except make them slightly check their assumptions of winning. Or hey, on second thought they could keep acting like amateurs if it brings them bad karma and maybe makes their own players reconsider playing for such a fanbase.  🤷🏻‍♀️

[MVFrostsMyPie]

there’s no way to spin this. It even got progressively worse after they saw that he had to be helped off the court. but I guess this is supposed to be totally justified since that one asshole tried to shove a Raptor. 👍🏼 

Maybe they just need to admit they can be as big of assholes as Americans. 

[statsgirl]

On the other hand,

It appears that people cheered when Durant went down, and when they realized that it was a serious injury, via the other players, they cheered him. Or as Daniel Dale put it

Yeah, sports events can bring out the worst in people. That's especially true in crowds where people feed off of each other. (As social psychologist Kipness put it, autonomy in a situation is 1/# of people in the group.)

[MVFrostsMyPie]

Makes me wonder how much longer (or if) the people inside the stadium would have started cheering in support if their own players hadn't chided the fans. Good on the players though for not having any of that. Too bad they couldn't also chide the fans outside the stadium and in all the bars.

[cleo]

Yes Toronto fans acted badly for 20 seconds. They didn't rush the court and cause his injury. I don't understand why he was on the floor when he was not ready. Oh yeah I do- bc GSW were desperate. All the reports from people that had seen parts of his workout were that he did not look good/ ready. I don't care if he wanted to play, it sounds like he was under a lot of pressure to do so and it's supposed to be the job of the medical team and coaches to have his best interest at heart. 

They risked his health and now he faces possibly surgery and months of recovery. But so much easier to focus on 20 seconds of behaviour by Toronto in the heat of the moment. 

Edited June 12, 2019 by cleo

[nittany cougar]

Maybe I misinterpreted it, but I thought that some of the fans were cheering KD for his effort, the same way that fans clap when a player is carted off in college football.It was sad to see KD go out this way.  In my dreams, KD, James Harden and Russell Westbrook would unite in OKC and win the championship that slipped away in 2012.

I love the quiet power of Kawhi Leonard. I am also a huge fan of the city of Toronto and hope that the Raptors win the series.

Edited June 12, 2019 by nittanycougar

[perkie1968]

This is beyond ridiculous.  It's not like the arena was completely silent and when Durant went down they stood up and cheered and pointed at him and laughed and threw garbage at him and it went on for 20 minutes.

The reality is that the crowd was already cheering before he went down:

a) because it's a sports game and that's what people do

b) because someone had stopped a play and the ball was heading in the other direction

Once people realized he was down, they did stop, though it took a couple of seconds to realize that he was down and it was serious.  They're being bitched at because it took them 7 seconds instead of 2 seconds, to go 'uh oh that's looks bad, lets stop clapping'?  

Were there still a couple of them that were specifically cheering his injury?  Maybe, but those are the same 7 idiots who did damage to a police car during the celebration of the previous round's win.  

Why the entire stadium (and now apparently everyone outside and in all bars, really?) are being blamed for a few idiots, is beyond me.  

[mojoween]

The media is tiring.  Isn’t it possible that there isn’t ANYONE to blame?  The Achilles can pop at any time.  I could step off the curb and bam! crutches.

I mean, yes, he had a calf injury that could have made him move differently that could have caused weakness in his ankles but damn that’s a lot of ifs.  

Also, he is so skinny for a seven footer, not Shawn Bradley skinny but Kevin’s legs are so slender.

Let’s leave the guy be, media.  He’s suffered enough without you piling on.

On another note, I feel safe saying that this guy, in particular, had a bad look.

Edited June 12, 2019 by mojoween

[Kip Hackman]

Settle down, Toronto. Jeez.

[NUguy514]

4 hours ago, perkie1968 said:

Why the entire stadium (and now apparently everyone outside and in all bars, really?) are being blamed for a few idiots, is beyond me.  

Well, for starters, it appeared to be well more than a "few" idiots.  

Raptors fans, welcome to the big leagues and stop playing the aggrieved victim because people are calling you out for being assholes in this one instance.  Stop downplaying it or trying to shift the blame or excuse it.  All fan bases have instances (often many, many instances) where those fans are indefensible assholes.  So, congratulations, you're just like every other fan base in professional sports.  (Except for soccer fans.  Soccer fans legitimately are the worst.)

[Maximum Taco]

19 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Canada is 35 million people.  The Greater Toronto Area alone is 6 million people.  I don't judge New York City by the actions of one, let's say, lifetime New Yorker who is now the President.  It was a mistake.  A lot of people have apologized.  There is even a movement now for Raptors fans to donate to Kevin Durant's charity as an apology.

We're getting there. 

https://ca.gofundme.com/hey-toronto-help-support-kd039s-charity-foundation

5k in one day isn't too bad. Hopefully we can make it to 25k.

[Ms Blue Jay]

Geez.

[Maximum Taco]

KD announced what most of us suspected. He did rupture his achilles and has undergone a successful surgery.

Looks like we're gonna have close to a full season without him, that's a shame. 

Here's hoping he comes back better, faster, stronger. The game needs him. 

[AimingforYoko]

Humor amid the gloom per a Deadspin commenter:

"The tendon is often replaced with one from a cadaver. Which means Quinn Cook might miss next season too."

[Ms Blue Jay]

1 hour ago, Maximum Taco said:

KD announced what most of us suspected. He did rupture his achilles and has undergone a successful surgery.

Looks like we're gonna have close to a full season without him, that's a shame. 

Here's hoping he comes back better, faster, stronger. The game needs him. 

Glad he's ok, that at least the surgery was successful.

Horrible situation and I don't think he should have played, but hindsight is 20/20 and I'm no basketball nor health expert.  Just a horrible situation.

Edited June 12, 2019 by Ms Blue Jay

[Growsonwalls]

Guys this is a horrible accident that could have happened anytime, anyplace. Kevin Durant is a competitive guy and considering we've seen guys with concussions in football games in tears begging to be let back on the field I don't think anything could have stopped him from playing.

Injuries and pain are a part of sports. I was once at a ballet performance where a girl landed hard from a jump, screamed, and was carried offstage. Popped her Achilles tendon, still has not returned to dancing. It happens.

[twoods]

The Achilles attaches the calf muscle to the heel, so I’m guessing the strain he had and rehab probably put a lot of pressure on the Achilles which causes it to rupture. One of the causes of Achilles rupture is calf muscle tightening which also could have happened. Regardless of his mechanism of injury and if he was ready to play, I wish him all the best in his recovery.

[Maximum Taco]

9 hours ago, twoods said:

The Achilles attaches the calf muscle to the heel, so I’m guessing the strain he had and rehab probably put a lot of pressure on the Achilles which causes it to rupture. One of the causes of Achilles rupture is calf muscle tightening which also could have happened. Regardless of his mechanism of injury and if he was ready to play, I wish him all the best in his recovery.

I have to think they overplayed him too. 

IIRC he played 12 minutes and exited in the 2nd minute of the 2nd quarter. That means that up to that point he played all but 2 minutes of the game (or 85% of total game time.) Previously Kerr had said he would play him in "short bursts" and evaluate as the game continued. Apparently 12 out of 14 mins counts as short bursts?

Personally I got queasy when I saw Kerr had him out to take the tip off. No qualms with starting him, but you want to test his hops out right at the start? Felt super risky. 

Edited June 13, 2019 by Maximum Taco

[Growsonwalls]

20 hours ago, twoods said:

The Achilles attaches the calf muscle to the heel, so I’m guessing the strain he had and rehab probably put a lot of pressure on the Achilles which causes it to rupture. One of the causes of Achilles rupture is calf muscle tightening which also could have happened. Regardless of his mechanism of injury and if he was ready to play, I wish him all the best in his recovery.

Hmm. Big injuries do often happen by playing when you're dealing with low-grade injuries. A good example is Tom Brady in 2008. He had sat out the pre-season with a foot injury, but played the first game of the season and blew out his knee and was out for the rest of the season. Knee injuries happen all the time in football (and basketball) but who knows what would have happened had he rested his foot, allowed it to heal properly, and then came back? 

With that being said, these are hyper-competitive guys who want to play, and pointing fingers is an exercise in futility. Injuries and pain are just a part of an athletes' life. There are those rare exceptions like Lebron James who just seem to be made of an extremely strong constitution but as I said, they're the exceptions.

[Fukui San]

Brady didn't blow out his knee making a cut. He blew out his knee because another guy rammed into it sideways with great force. The big What If? to that injury is what if the RB blocked the blitzer better.

The football injury that the Durant injury most resembles is the RGIII playoff game. Griffin came back gimpy for a big game, aggravated the existing injury on a noncontact play, and was never the same afterward.

[ganesh]

This is the weirdest game ever.

[Magog]

YES!!!!! DING DONG, THE EVIL EMPIRE IS OFFICIALLY DEAD!!!! 

HA HA HA HA!!!

THANK YOU, TORONTO RAPTORS!!!

What a hell of a game this is. Mr. Smugness (HA HA) & those scummy Warriors would not go down without a fight. But thankfully, the Raptors did not miss this up. Now, THAT is a great way to close out Roaracle.

Edited June 14, 2019 by Magog

[MVFrostsMyPie]

Ah yes, there's that "evil" bullshit again. Find a new tune.

PS. Far from dead. Besides, who would you irrationally hate on if that was the case? 

Edited June 14, 2019 by MVFrostsMyPie

[mojoween]

Feh.  I didn’t realize just how much I was rooting for GS until the last minute and it was pretty much over.

Yeah it may be Toronto’s first ring, but Kawhi already has one so it’s not like this is his lifelong dream come true.

I feel good for Adnan Virk I guess.  But man things mighta been different with Klay on the floor.

Also you gotta make that shot, Steph.

Edited June 14, 2019 by mojoween

[mojoween]

2 hours ago, Fukui San said:

The football injury that the Durant injury most resembles is the RGIII playoff game. Griffin came back gimpy for a big game, aggravated the existing injury on a noncontact play, and was never the same afterward.

Well there is the one difference that KD wasn’t trying to play on a basketball floor that was ripped up in places, unstable and also not fit for human consumption.

[Jx223]

Woo-hoo Raptors, lol. Congrats to them and their fans on their first ever NBA Championship in franchise history. Often times it's fun to see a team win for the first time. And I'm very glad they beat the Warriors..

The Raptors worked very hard and were very impressive throughout these playoffs. I have enjoyed watching them play in these playoffs and they were pretty resilient throughout them. Including in the earlier rounds when they were down and fought back to win series.

I enjoyed the playoffs this year including the EC rounds and they played a big role in that. Wonderful ending for them.

[catrox14]

Congrats to the Raptors!  Really wish my Nuggets had been able to hang on to Masai Ujiri.  That said, good on him and the Raptors.  Next season, I'm hoping for a Nuggets/Raptors final!

[catlover79]

These have been a great past couple of days for me, sports wise. First Boston loses the Stanley Cup finals, and now Golden State loses the NBA title. Happy days are here again!!!!

[Ms Blue Jay]

  😊  😊  😊  😊  😊  😊  😊  😊

Edited June 14, 2019 by Ms Blue Jay

[Growsonwalls]

That was a weird ending to a thrilling series. Congrats to the Raptors, although one has to wonder what would have happened if Golden State didn't go down with one injury after another.

[Jx223]

I think it's nice and interesting that Kawhi has two finals MVP with two different teams. (An honor that only a few great players have). He also helped put a stop to teams 3 peating (the Heat and Warriors). He really was excellent in these playoffs. When he first came to Toronto, some people in the media were questioning whether or not he could lead/elevate another team. And was wondering if he was just a system player (who benefited in the Spurs system).

But he showed that he could lead/elevate another team. I thought he came into his own even more this year as player with the Raptors. I think he may end up staying with them and he could possibly thrive with them in the East.

Edited June 14, 2019 by Jx223

[Maximum Taco]

Wow that game was weird. 

Super tight all the way through, Klay going down with that wonky knee, and Steph getting that good look and just clanking it, not to mention Draymond trying to call a timeout they didn't have. 

But the Toronto Raptors are NBA Champions!!! OH MY GOD!!! THE TORONTO RAPTORS ARE NBA CHAMPIONS!!!!!

I (and Toronto) will be hyped for the entire summer. NORTH OVER EVERYTHING!

[twoods]

@Ms Blue Jay I am thrilled that I was wrong about the Raptors. I believed they were too tired from their prior series and would buckle under all the pressure. Boy was I wrong. So happy to see players win their first ring, especially Ibaka, Lowry and Gasol. Loved when the owner kept lifting the trophy up the GM was trying to direct it to Kyle since he had been through it all in Toronto after continually losing to Lebron every year.

Nice show of sportsmanship at the end with both teams shaking hands and Toronto being somewhat subdued until the Warriors left the floor. I’m not a Warriors fan but they have always been very classy, even in defeat.

Edited June 14, 2019 by twoods

[Magog]

53 minutes ago, MVFrostsMyPie said:

Ah yes, there's that "evil" bullshit again. Find a new tune.

Man, I love the taste of saltiness in the early morning. It taste like sugar. 

53 minutes ago, MVFrostsMyPie said:

PS. Far from dead. Besides, who would you irrationally hate on if that was the case? 

I can think a few. Stephen Curry is still around. Mike Brown (being useless as usual for those Warriors), Ben Simmons (76ers), Celtics (especially if Kyrie Irving isn't there next season) the Lakers (except for LeBron), Knicks, and James Harden & those crummy Rockets.

Edited June 14, 2019 by Magog

[MVFrostsMyPie]

Honey, I'm not salty at all. I couldn't be prouder of the Warriors. 🙂

[Sew Sumi]

Congrats to the Raps. I would have liked to see a series without one team being a veritable MASH unit, but those are the breaks. 

Now both teams have holes to fill as Toronto (likely) loses Kawahi, and the Dubs lose KD. 

Edited June 14, 2019 by Sew Sumi

[Maximum Taco]

Klay tore his ACL according to Woj. 

First off, super props for coming back to knock down those two free throws. Just amazing that he even came back and was thinking about coming back into that game. He's a warrior in more than just name. 

Second, Golden State is probably gonna start next season with no Klay and no KD. Gonna be wide open in the West. 

[catlover79]

On 6/12/2019 at 7:17 PM, Growsonwalls said:

I was once at a ballet performance where a girl landed hard from a jump, screamed, and was carried offstage. Popped her Achilles tendon, still has not returned to dancing. It happens.

When I was in high school, I did the stats for the varsity baseball team. The opposing team was at bat and the batter hit a grounder to third. Our first baseman had to stretch to catch the throw. Unfortunately for him, he stretched a little too far and wound up tearing his ACL. I can still see him writhing on the dirt at first base while our coaches and trainers worked on him. He had season-ending surgery.

The next year, he came back in fine form. In the last game of the season, he was at bat and the opposing pitcher was unfortunately a bit wild. Our guy got struck in the face by a pitch. He went down like a rag doll. Ultimately, his jaw was wired shut for several weeks and two wisdom teeth were removed in the process.

The only silver lining is that both of those games were played at our school, and the hospital is less than half a mile down the road. They didn't even need to wait for an ambulance - someone just loaded him up in a car and they were at the ER about two minutes later.

For whatever reason, some athletes are just injury prone. It's really amazing that even more injuries don't happen on the field, court, ice, whatever.

Edited June 14, 2019 by catlover79

[doodlebug]

6 hours ago, Growsonwalls said:

That was a weird ending to a thrilling series. Congrats to the Raptors, although one has to wonder what would have happened if Golden State didn't go down with one injury after another.

But injuries are part of the game. Golden State has been remarkably injury-free over the years and won several championships over teams who were missing key players due to injury.  What goes around, comes around. It was their turn to try to overcome the injury bug and they didn’t.

Congrats to the Raptors! Coming from a town where championships are rare, I remember that sweet feeling. Toronto is a terrific town filled with great people, despite the few exceptions.  They outplayed GS when everyone was sure they couldn’t compete and many felt the series would just be a formality on the way to another crown for the Warriors.  The better team won this time and also demonstrated that good defense will defeat good offense most times. They exposed and exploited the Warriors’ Achilles’ heel (apologies to KD).

I must say, the sour grapes of the GS fans are mighty tasty, too. While their team seemed gracious in defeat, from what I’ve seen online this morning, many of their fans are taking the low road.

Edited June 14, 2019 by doodlebug

[DrSpaceman]

Well that could not have gone worse for the Warriors

Lose the series

Klay THompson torn ACL

Durant torn achilles

They should be glad the series is over before they lose Green and Steph too.

Cousins really did not impress this series.  You come to the team to win a title, have your golden opportunity to not only do so but contribute in a major way in the process and put up mediocre effort........pretty disappointing

Raptors just outplayed them all series, injuries or not.  Vanvleet is a nice story. 

Now the offseason will be fascinating.  Does Kawhi stay?  What happens with KD, out for a season now with a torn achilles? 

How would you like to be the Knicks now?  A month ago you were look at the top pick with Zion Williamson and signing KD in a FA deal.  Now?  You are getting RJ barrett and ???  You can still sign KD, but he won't be on the court of another 15 or so. 

[Ohwell]

Oh well, somebody had to win; somebody had to lose.  I was rooting for the Warriors so hard.  *sniff*  

Happy for Kawhi though.  I'll never forget that game-winning shot he made in the last series.   The only thing I hate about them winning (other than my Warriors losing) is the thought of Drake smiling.   

Fuck you, Drake.