The NBA

[Marley]

Damn the lakers are imploding. 

I’m hoping Milwaukee beats the Nets.

Rooting for the Jazz and Nuggets too.

[Lady Whistleup]

Damn that Nuggets/Blazers game was amazing. Instant Double OT classic. Nuggets are a better team overall but Dame Time is something else. What a cold-blooded assassin. This is by far the best first round series.

ETA: checked in on the Lakers game to see Lebron stalking off before the game is over to the locker room. He looks done.

Edited June 2, 2021 by Lady Whistleup

[LexieLily]

10 hours ago, emma675 said:

It just seems to be something every game now, I swear. I wonder if the NBA will have to put stricter measures in place for fans or make access to the players and court harder during games? I worry that someone completely crazy will actually attack and hurt a player during a game at some point.

Is it just because everyone has been cooped up in their homes for over a year that the fans are going nuts, combined with it being playoff time and arenas are getting ever so closer to allowing full capacity?

Watching the Lakers implode is always so much fun. So much for Lebron's shoulders being "built for this."

[cambridgeguy]

7 hours ago, LexieLily said:

Watching the Lakers implode is always so much fun. So much for Lebron's shoulders being "built for this."

The other possibility is that he knew they were toast without AD, so might as well save LeGod mode for Games 6 and 7 when he might be back.  Plus it's more dramatic if they pull off the win now.  I do think the Last Dance really heightened his concern about his legacy, so he's likely even more keenly aware about the narrative.

[Magog]

I wonder how Steph & those Warriors feels about Damian Lillard scoring 55 points & setting the NBA Playoff record for 3 pointers made in a game (12). 

Despite his 55 points, the Blazers still lost & they'll probably lose Game 6 to the Nuggets on Thursday Night.

10 hours ago, emmawoodhouse said:

I guess the Lakers game shows that AD is the true MVP of this team. Yikes. At least we don’t have to hear CP3 bitching about the refs anymore and he can win a playoff series for a change. 

Uh, lets see CP3 win Game 6 first. Injured or not, his teams somehow find ways to mess it up. 

2 hours ago, cambridgeguy said:

Watching the Lakers implode is always so much fun. So much for Lebron's shoulders being "built for this."

As for LeBron, I'm not worried about him in Game 6. Its his other teammates that need to show more of an effort than that no-show performance last night. If the Lakers lose to the Suns, all of the Lakers not named LeBron James & Anthony Davis should get all of the blame.

 

Edited June 2, 2021 by Magog

[xaxat]

13 hours ago, Carey said:

In addition to legal action, another way to minimize such bad behavior is to have one of their stars pummel the hell out of some antagonist.

I think that's an awful idea. They are athletes, not savages.

[Lady Whistleup]

So Danny Ainge is reportedly leaving and Brad Stevens will take over the front office role:

As for Steph Curry, he's not petty and so he was in awe of Damian Lillard like many other NBA players last night. One thing that's important to remember is that many of these NBA players have known each other since they were little kids from AAU clubs and summer camps and basketball clinics. 

 

[Danny Franks]

2 hours ago, Magog said:

I wonder how Steph & those Warriors feels about Damian Lillard scoring 55 points & setting the NBA Playoff record for 3 pointers made in a game (12). 

Probably that Steph will beat that when he plays in the playoffs next year. But given that Steph really doesn't have the personality that you think he does, I doubt he'll mind too much that other players are succeeding.

2 hours ago, Magog said:

As for LeBron, I'm not worried about him in Game 6. Its his other teammates that need to show more of an effort than that no-show performance last night. If the Lakers lose to the Suns, all of the Lakers not named LeBron James & Anthony Davis should get all of the blame.

The roster that was built to please LeBron, as usual, will get the blame for not being good enough for LeBron. Maybe teams should think about not letting him dictate who his teammates are, if he's never happy with them.

[Lady Whistleup]

22 minutes ago, Danny Franks said:

The roster that was built to please LeBron, as usual, will get the blame for not being good enough for LeBron. Maybe teams should think about not letting him dictate who his teammates are, if he's never happy with them.

I think Lebron was happiest with the Big Three in Miami. Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, and Ray Allen were the complementary chess pieces that fit Lebron's style of play. 

The issue with the Lakers is that in order to sign Lebron and AD, it ate away at cap space and so the rest of the players are a motley crew of role players.

In the playoffs you really do need five strong starters so if one gets hurt, another can pick up the pace. The Lakers have no plan when AD gets hurt (which is often).

[LexieLily]

Joel Embiid has a "small meniscus tear" and is day-to-day, out for tonight's Game 5. The PHI-ATL (caveat: presuming Atlanta is able to close out New York) series just got more interesting. I don't know who comes off the bench behind Embiid besides Dwight Howard, but Capela should be able to whoop them.

[Lady Whistleup]

Here's a long profile on Kevin Durant. It's very sympathetic and a good read.

[cambridgeguy]

6 hours ago, Lady Whistleup said:

So Danny Ainge is reportedly leaving and Brad Stevens will take over the front office role:

I've read articles saying they should hire a black coach (a very good idea for multiple reasons) and then used the winning percentages of all the Celtics' black coaches, which are mostly better than Brad Stevens, as the crux of the argument.  This is where the writer comes across as an idiot.  Bill Russell had a good winning percentage, which surely had nothing to do with Bill Russell the player, John Havlicek, etc.  Likewise, KC Jones won two championships - clearly those guys named Bird, McHale, and Parish would have been nothing without him.  And Doc had a pretty good trio too (and had a lousy percentage prior to that).  I'm pretty sure Stevens would have a better percentage if he had some inner circle HOFers to work with.

 

[Carey]

9 hours ago, xaxat said:

22 hours ago, Carey said:

In addition to legal action, another way to minimize such bad behavior is to have one of their stars pummel the hell out of some antagonist.

I think that's an awful idea. They are athletes, not savages.

That's fair enough.  I was talking about that as an act of self-defense, not athletes turning into murderers.  If you still think that's an awful idea, then that's your opinion.  I am not trying to promote violence xaxat.  I just mentioned a solution to try to control something that's gotten out of hand.  While there's no history of it in the NBA, I wish I could tell you that there have been no injuries or fatalities in any event (sports or concerts) courtesy of a troubled patron and at the expense of the star of an event.

Maybe the media should stick to covering the game and not the antics of fans that are not apart of the game.  That, and the athletes should take a higher ground and keep quiet.  Whatever they're doing isn't working; I tune into a particular event to watch that event.  I'm not watching to learn about the dumb stuff and the reaction of it.  Whatever the league has done so far is pretty good, but it is not working

[Lady Whistleup]

I think it would be good for Boston to hire a black coach because for better or worse Boston has developed a reputation as being unwelcoming to black athletes. And that might affect free agency if Boston keeps its rep as being hostile to black athletes. They cannot afford to lose players like Jayson Tatum.

[Carey]

I think it could go both ways.  I agree that hiring an African-American head coach could result in more trust from the black athletes within the NBA.  OTOH, it could be a tough task if he doesn't succeed.  The good thing about it is that Boston was pretty successful a decade and a half ago, so, with the right person, it might work again.  However, the standards are much higher there as opposed to most other places.

It would be nice as well if they hired a woman.  I heard some speculation that they might go that route.  Someone like Kara Lawson would be a great hire to succeed Brad Stevens.  I might not bet on that right now, but I don't plan on betting against it either.  What a story that would be if it became official!

[LexieLily]

Knicks/Hawks series had an awful lot of trash talk and chirping for two teams that haven't done much of anything lately, but Trae Young taking a bow after hitting a stepback three when the Hawks were up 20+ and a minute away from closing out the Knicks was beautiful. 

[Lady Whistleup]

1 minute ago, LexieLily said:

Knicks/Hawks series had an awful lot of trash talk and chirping for two teams that haven't done much of anything lately, but Trae Young taking a bow after hitting a stepback three when the Hawks were up 20+ and a minute away from closing out the Knicks was beautiful. 

He's an instant classic villain.

 

[Court]

I loved the bow so much. But I'm a Hawks fan sooo

[LexieLily]

9 minutes ago, Court said:

I loved the bow so much. But I'm a Hawks fan sooo...

I'm a Hawks fan for that series because I like rooting for the teams where all the most recent former Rockets players made the playoffs. Lol.

[Maximum Taco]

Luka's cooking in the first.

Looks like he might have another performance against the Clips tonight. 

[Magog]

2 hours ago, Maximum Taco said:

Luka's cooking in the first.

Looks like he might have another performance against the Clips tonight. 

He most certainly did by scoring 42 points. The Mavericks tried their best to blow this game in the 4th Quarter, but lucky for them they found a way to win the game. 

I may like LeBron James a whole lot & I kind of feel sorry Anthony Davis a little bit. But, I would be pretty happy if both LA teams are gone in the 1st round. Stephen A Smith would be vomiting in disgust about that & that would make it even more enjoyable.

[mojoween]

“Trae Young, right in Spike Lee’s face...”

Poor Spike.  It must have been tough to watch the Knicks lose to a team that was only fielding one player.  At least, that’s how the highlights I heard this morning have made it sound, heh.

[cambridgeguy]

5 hours ago, Magog said:

Stephen A Smith would be vomiting in disgust about that & that would make it even more enjoyable.

SAS is a Knicks fan (he was bouncing up and down with joy after game 2) so I'm sure he's quite disgusted right now even without considering the LA teams.

And talk about home court disadvantage.  Aren't you supposed to win your home games?

[Danny Franks]

8 hours ago, LexieLily said:

Knicks/Hawks series had an awful lot of trash talk and chirping for two teams that haven't done much of anything lately, but Trae Young taking a bow after hitting a stepback three when the Hawks were up 20+ and a minute away from closing out the Knicks was beautiful. 

Eh, the Knicks were told they wouldn't even win twenty games this season, and all the players were being written off as has-beens, never-weres and busts before the season started. All they've achieved has rubbed the noses of the so-called experts in it all year.

They clearly hit a mental wall in the playoffs, which is a shame, but they still proved everyone who laughed at them before the season, and until just a couple of months ago, wrong.

Feuds between players and fans are a long tradition in the NBA, because the fans are so close to the court and the players can get into it with them so much easier. It's something that I would think most players and fans have missed, during the pandemic.

[Carey]

22 minutes ago, cambridgeguy said:

6 hours ago, Magog said:

Stephen A Smith would be vomiting in disgust about that & that would make it even more enjoyable.

SAS is a Knicks fan (he was bouncing up and down with joy after game 2) so I'm sure he's quite disgusted right now even without considering the LA teams.

And talk about home court disadvantage.  Aren't you supposed to win your home games?

Well, to be fair, the best teams, the greatest dynasties, and the championship franchises find ways to win on the road.  I haven't checked (recently) but I can't remember a time where a former champion in the NBA (and even in MLB & the NHL) won the title by winning only their home games, while going winless on the road.  Of course in the NFL it's one and done with a neutral field being the site of the title game (except this past year, though the eventual champion won three road games to get there).

 

I also haven't checked to see how long a series went in any best-of where the road teams kept winning or won all 7 seven games.  What's happening with LA and Dallas is pretty much what occurred between Houston and Phoenix 27 years prior.  Eventually home court was defended.

 

That being said, a team should win at home more often than not.  To lose all your home games is such a bad look.  As for New York, they've been a mess for quite a while, but barring someone sabotaging things, they're on track to improve.  At least to the point where they win at MSG more often than not

[DoctorAtomic]

I thought Houston did back in the day but that's off the top of my head. 

[Magog]

2 hours ago, Carey said:

Well, to be fair, the best teams, the greatest dynasties, and the championship franchises find ways to win on the road.  I haven't checked (recently) but I can't remember a time where a former champion in the NBA (and even in MLB & the NHL) won the title by winning only their home games, while going winless on the road.  Of course in the NFL it's one and done with a neutral field being the site of the title game (except this past year, though the eventual champion won three road games to get there).

 

I also haven't checked to see how long a series went in any best-of where the road teams kept winning or won all 7 seven games.  What's happening with LA and Dallas is pretty much what occurred between Houston and Phoenix 27 years prior.  Eventually home court was defended.

I think the road team won all 7 games in the 2019 World Series. (Washington Nationals - Houston Astros).

 

[DrSpaceman73]

4 hours ago, cambridgeguy said:

SAS is a Knicks fan (he was bouncing up and down with joy after game 2) so I'm sure he's quite disgusted right now even without considering the LA teams.

And talk about home court disadvantage.  Aren't you supposed to win your home games?

Especially when you supposedly have such a historic venue and great fan base, yes.   

 

[DrSpaceman73]

55 minutes ago, Magog said:

I think the road team won all 7 games in the 2019 World Series. (Washington Nationals - Houston Astros).

 

Baseball has the lowest home field advantage at 54 percent winning at home traditionally.  It's more about pitching match ups than home field.

Basketball/nba has the highest advantage, 60 percent of games won at home over the years.  It fell to 55 percent during covid games this past season

NFL Hoover's between 55 and 65 percent.  It actually fell right at 50 percent during last season with covid restrictions.  

Despite covid bubble last season the 'home' NBA team still won I think 54 percent of the games, though that could be skewed with the small number of games and the higher seeded teams in the playoffs get more 'home court' games by the nature of the scheduling.  

[LexieLily]

Anthony Davis is playing tonight but the Lakers are still down 18 in the first quarter. Fingers crossed that the Lakers get smoked. 

[Maximum Taco]

3 minutes ago, LexieLily said:

Anthony Davis is playing tonight but the Lakers are still down 18 in the first quarter. Fingers crossed that the Lakers get smoked. 

Booker's going OFF. 

22 points in the 1st.

Looks like he wants to end that Lakers season tonight. 

[LexieLily]

5 minutes ago, Maximum Taco said:

Booker's going OFF. 

22 points in the 1st.

MPJ also had 22 points in the first quarter of the Denver game; the most in the first quarter of a playoff game over the last 25 seasons. He had six threes, same as Booker. 

[Lady Whistleup]

I felt bad for AD, I could tell he was injured even before he hobbled off. Groin injuries are no joke. They're the kind of injury where only rest and rehab will fix it. AD just needs to rest that body of his.

[twoods]

AD carried the Lakers through the playoffs last year in the bubble which was no joke, then had to quickly start this season. I don’t blame his body for going “Screw this shit, I can’t do it anymore.” Hopefully the early playoff exit gets him well rested for next season. 

[cambridgeguy]

I know most of the talk is about the Lakers but it seems like Portland is at a crossroad here.  Is Dame going to spend the rest of his prime getting bounced in the first or second round?  Clearly he needs some help beyond CJ McCollum and a bunch of spare parts.

[Carey]

To add insult to injury off of Los Angeles' exit, future 2021 NBA Champions will totally humiliate the Suns, whether the game is played in Brooklyn or not.  I don't think Phoenix will make it out of the West though.

 

Say what you will about Lebron, and he's a grown man that can or should be able to deal with the heat of losing in the first round.  I too felt bad for AD.  No way the Lakers were getting out anyway, but through no fault of his own things just sucked this year.  I guess you can say they were forced to punt to 2021-2022.  No sense wrecking yourself in a first round series to where you're hampered the following year.

 

Portland?  Meh.  Dame's contract situation is unknown to me, but the league is not built for him to win out throughout the postseason in his current spot.  He might do enough to get into the HOF, but if he wants to get crowned, he'll need a different scene.  Not sure anyone wants to build a super team in Oregon, but that's just my opinion

[Lady Whistleup]

Dame put up a cryptic message on IG:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CPr8Btxgyzk/

 

[Maximum Taco]

2 hours ago, Carey said:

Portland?  Meh.  Dame's contract situation is unknown to me, but the league is not built for him to win out throughout the postseason in his current spot.  He might do enough to get into the HOF, but if he wants to get crowned, he'll need a different scene.  Not sure anyone wants to build a super team in Oregon, but that's just my opinion

Dame is a free agent in 2025. But it's the NBA, the players have so much power. If he wants out of Portland, he'll get out. It might take a little work from his agent, but he'll get out. 

[Magog]

LeBron gave it his best shot last night, but it wasn't nearly enough. He lost in the 1st round of the Playoffs for the first time in his career. LeBron & Anthony Davis are the only ones that I feel sorry for the Lakers going down in flames in the 1st round. They can now both heal up, regroup, & come back strong next season. The rest of the Lakers can get lost & stay lost. Hopefully, when the Finals comes around, we won't have to hear about who LeBron is rooting for.

As for the Clippers, they are going down tonight. If they somehow win Game 6 tonight, then they're definitely losing Game 7. 

Edited June 4, 2021 by Magog

[emma675]

Dame is so fun to watch, but I agree, he can't drag Portland past the first round with the players around him now. I can't see him staying there for long, he wants to win a championship no matter what (like most players). 

Devin Booker just went off last night, that was fun. AD should not have even attempted to get on the court, he just looked in pain from the jump. Hopefully, he can get some rest and rehab now; they didn't have a lot of time between the bubble and the start of this season to do that. 

So the Mavs and Clippers play game 6 tonight and some of round 2 starts tomorrow (I know the Sixers and Heat play at noon ET on Saturday). It all feels rushed somehow this post season, I don't know why. 

[emmawoodhouse]

It's rushed because the season started late. 

[Lady Whistleup]

Blazers coach got fired.

[AimingforYoko]

7 minutes ago, Lady Whistleup said:

Blazers coach got fired.

And the KAT to Blazers rumors started quickly.

 

 

Edited June 5, 2021 by AimingforYoko

[xaxat]

OK, this ad got a lot more awkward in the last couple of days.

 

Edited June 5, 2021 by xaxat

[Lady Whistleup]

So there was some drama with Magic saying about Dennis Schroeder "I don't think he's a Laker."

Also Luka had a rough game tonight while Fun Guy Kawhi went wild on the Mavs. Another game where home team loses. Game 7 in a round 1 series has to be rough. Aww Luka, you're still cute.

Edited June 5, 2021 by Lady Whistleup

[cambridgeguy]

The Clippers - so can we just stay in Dallas for Game 7?  Really, we're OK with that.

[isalicat]

14 hours ago, Lady Whistleup said:

So there was some drama with Magic saying about Dennis Schroeder "I don't think he's a Laker."

Also Luka had a rough game tonight while Fun Guy Kawhi went wild on the Mavs. Another game where home team loses. Game 7 in a round 1 series has to be rough. Aww Luka, you're still cute.

Luka is cuter than cute. That is all my shallow self has to say on that subject :)

[Carey]

It's super early in the series, but it's looking like the Bucks first game vs the Nets with their Big 3 intact lasted the most of 43 seconds

[Lady Whistleup]

2 hours ago, Carey said:

It's super early in the series, but it's looking like the Bucks first game vs the Nets with their Big 3 intact lasted the most of 43 seconds

And the Bucks took that energy of the Nets losing James Harden and promptly bricked every 3 and FT attempt and lost the game. 

[Carey]

47 minutes ago, Lady Whistleup said:

3 hours ago, Carey said:

It's super early in the series, but it's looking like the Bucks first game vs the Nets with their Big 3 intact lasted the most of 43 seconds

And the Bucks took that energy of the Nets losing James Harden and promptly bricked every 3 and FT attempt and lost the game. 

And the Nets did the exact opposite.  Oddly enough, the pregame talk (not necessarily TNT but other places) basically mentioned Griffin as a glorified role player.  Not the dominating force he once was.  Man did he show up tonight!

Monday should be interesting, but beyond that, it will be.  If James is week-to-week as opposed to day-to-day then I'll have an idea of how dominant Brooklyn can be off of a road game.  Tonight's pummeling following the loss of a key player in-game was a tad bit surprising, but the outright win was not.

No Harden, no problem it seemed (at least in Game One)!