The NBA

[Lady Whistleup]

Any team that wins deserves to win, it's just discouraging to see that many severe injuries this season.  Like Donovan Mitchell or Joel Embiid were doing amazing and now they're playing through injuries and it shows.

[Lady Whistleup]

More Mavs drama: 

Apparently Rick Carlisle wants out and Luka wants him out. So Rick Carlisle is interviewing for the Bucks ... when the Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer hasn't even been fired yet.

Luka also wants Kristap Porzingis traded. 

[emmawoodhouse]

Kyrie has been ruled out of Game 5. No timetable on his return.

[Lady Whistleup]

7 minutes ago, emmawoodhouse said:

Kyrie has been ruled out of Game 5. No timetable on his return.

Ok Celtics fan are obnoxious. Many of them are cheering his injury in twitter. Man don't do that. 

[emmawoodhouse]

Get off Twitter! It's such a cesspool. 

[Lady Whistleup]

9 minutes ago, emmawoodhouse said:

Get off Twitter! It's such a cesspool. 

Twitter actually has really up to date sports news ... 

[LexieLily]

4 hours ago, Lady Whistleup said:

More Mavs drama: 

Apparently Rick Carlisle wants out and Luka wants him out. So Rick Carlisle is interviewing for the Bucks ... when the Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer hasn't even been fired yet.

Luka also wants Kristap Porzingis traded. 

If Budenholzer is on the chopping block, would getting past the injured Nets save him?

[Lady Whistleup]

1 hour ago, LexieLily said:

If Budenholzer is on the chopping block, would getting past the injured Nets save him?

Apparently not -- it's Finals or bust for Budenholzer. Lots of chatter that he;s wasting away Giannis's prime years with early playoff exits. Also the perception that Giannis is the type of player you have to "win now" with because his skill set won't age well. Unlike the sharp shooters he relies so much on his athleticism. 

[LexieLily]

44 minutes ago, Lady Whistleup said:

Apparently not -- it's Finals or bust for Budenholzer. Lots of chatter that he;s wasting away Giannis's prime years with early playoff exits. Also the perception that Giannis is the type of player you have to "win now" with because his skill set won't age well. Unlike the sharp shooters he relies so much on his athleticism. 

They said that about Westbrook about his athleticism, didn't they?

Finals or bust for Bud, okay, so what if they get to the Finals and lose to Phoenix or Utah, teams with no alleged superstars (Booker and Mitchell, respectively, are in the second tier, and of course CP3) who are the "underdog/out of nowhere team" this season?

[Lady Whistleup]

Atlanta won a fun and wild game tonight. Came back from an 18 point deficit.

Tonight is the first night I could really see Embiid's injury. He just doesn't have his usual speed and quickness. And his body language was miserable. He's not my favorite player but I felt bad for him as I felt like all he really wanted was some vicodin.

And another painful night for Ben Simmons at the line. 1-5. And benched in the final moments of the game. Ouch. 

[Maximum Taco]

The Empire Strikes Back! A wonderful performance by the Villainous Hawks. 

Gave the 76ers just enough hope for Embiid and Simmons to both flub potential game winning layups. 

Just a masterclass in villainy. Gotta let the heroes defeat themselves. 

Edited June 15, 2021 by Maximum Taco

[LexieLily]

23 minutes ago, Lady Whistleup said:

Atlanta won a fun and wild game tonight. Came back from an 18 point deficit.

Tonight is the first night I could really see Embiid's injury. He just doesn't have his usual speed and quickness. And his body language was miserable. He's not my favorite player but I felt bad for him as I felt like all he really wanted was some Vicodin.

And another painful night for Ben Simmons at the line. 1-5. And benched in the final moments of the game. Ouch. 

Is there any update on Harden and/or Kyrie that you know of besides them being unavailable for Game 5? Now that BKLN/MIL is guaranteed six games, the fact that PHI/ATL is also guaranteed to go at least six has to be good news for Brooklyn.

Embiid was 0-for-12 in the second half including the point-blank game-winning layup. Yikes.

[Lady Whistleup]

3 minutes ago, LexieLily said:

Is there any update on Harden and/or Kyrie that you know of besides them being unavailable for Game 5? Now that BKLN/MIL is guaranteed six games, the fact that PHI/ATL is also guaranteed to go at least six has to be good news for Brooklyn.

Embiid was 0-for-12 in the second half including the point-blank game-winning layup. Yikes.

Kyrie's injury is apparently pretty serious. He was in a walking boot and crutches. James Harden is more day by day. I think if Nets lose Game 5 they'll bring Harden back.

At this point I feel like the Clips or Suns will win just because they're the only teams left that are still healthy. Every other team is just surviving on tape and painkillers.

[LexieLily]

31 minutes ago, Lady Whistleup said:

At this point I feel like the Clips or Suns will win just because they're the only teams left that are still healthy. Every other team is just surviving on tape and painkillers.

Ha, as of the writing of this reply Clips are up 43-17 on the Jazz almost midway through the second quarter.

ETA: 68-44 at half.

Edited June 15, 2021 by LexieLily

[Lady Whistleup]

Nets have upgraded James Harden to DOUBTFUL tonight. I think he'll play.

[Carey]

8 minutes ago, Lady Whistleup said:

Nets have upgraded James Harden to DOUBTFUL tonight. I think he'll play.

Same here, but in a limited role.  Win or lose, they're probably going to need him down the road.  Well, they're definitely going to need him in this series

[Lady Whistleup]

Just now, Carey said:

Same here, but in a limited role.  Win or lose, they're probably going to need him down the road.  Well, they're definitely going to need him in this series

Yeah they might have him run the second unit and play bench minutes. The Nets bench struggles without him. 

[Carey]

15 hours ago, Lady Whistleup said:

16 hours ago, LexieLily said:

If Budenholzer is on the chopping block, would getting past the injured Nets save him?

Apparently not -- it's Finals or bust for Budenholzer. Lots of chatter that he;s wasting away Giannis's prime years with early playoff exits. Also the perception that Giannis is the type of player you have to "win now" with because his skill set won't age well. Unlike the sharp shooters he relies so much on his athleticism. 

 

14 hours ago, LexieLily said:

Finals or bust for Bud, okay, so what if they get to the Finals and lose to Phoenix or Utah, teams with no alleged superstars (Booker and Mitchell, respectively, are in the second tier, and of course CP3) who are the "underdog/out of nowhere team" this season?

It depends on how the finals play out.  I think Budenholzer's done if the Bucks get swept (or look ugly in a 5-game series loss).  Anything less?  Short of Giannis getting hurt it's over for Mike

[Lady Whistleup]

45 minutes ago, Carey said:

It depends on how the finals play out.  I think Budenholzer's done if the Bucks get swept (or look ugly in a 5-game series loss).  Anything less?  Short of Giannis getting hurt it's over for Mike

I'm not sure what a new coach could really do though. As far as I can see, Giannis has built in problems. He can't shoot, he can't make free throws, and he can be surprisingly careless on defense. They could try to get a stronger backcourt but Milwaukee clearly wants to invest in Giannis as their flagship star. 

[Carey]

19 minutes ago, Lady Whistleup said:

I'm not sure what a new coach could really do though. As far as I can see, Giannis has built in problems. He can't shoot, he can't make free throws, and he can be surprisingly careless on defense. They could try to get a stronger backcourt but Milwaukee clearly wants to invest in Giannis as their flagship star. 

Oh get that, and that fine.  Coaches getting kicked out in the NBA is the norm.  FWIW, while it's more common in professional basketball than in the NHL, it's worse in the NHL since they fire people would've actually won and are legends (and the ones that haven't won much end up going in 5 other places and get tossed in 4 of them).

It's probably going to happen, but that is the problem.  It does nothing to help the team more often than not.  Giannis will never be MJ, but one of the things have helped Chicago in the late 80s and 90s was Phil saying that MJ will still be the star while adding more threats to the rest of the league.  That's what needs to happen & bigtime since I don't think Antetokounmpo's shooting will improve significantly enough to make a difference

[LexieLily]

Re; @Lady Whistleup and saying that Suns and/or Clippers will win based on the battle of attrition, the Clippers won the game last night, but not only did Utah play better and win the second half, but Kawhi did something to his knee. I didn't see it but the annoucers were talking about it.

[Lady Whistleup]

James Harden upgraded to questionable for tonight. Apparently he's insisting on playing. I get it. These are competitive guys and the worst thing is just sitting on the bench. Just hope he doesn't get injured again.

[LexieLily]

20 minutes ago, Lady Whistleup said:

James Harden upgraded to questionable for tonight. Apparently he's insisting on playing. I get it. These are competitive guys and the worst thing is just sitting on the bench. Just hope he doesn't get injured again.

Not going to lie, the idea of this is giving me flashbacks to when KD came back in the playoffs after he missed a month with a calf strain, played two games, and then promptly tore his Achilles. 

[Lady Whistleup]

12 minutes ago, LexieLily said:

Not going to lie, the idea of this is giving me flashbacks to when KD came back in the playoffs after he missed a month with a calf strain, played two games, and then promptly tore his Achilles. 

I know. I also think that KD coming back so strong after his Achilles tear made people have a false sense of security about how serious an Achilles tear is. Yes KD came back and is still great but that's probably because his game relied so much on very specific skills rather than athleticism. 

Achilles' tears ended Elgin Baylor, Kobe, Isiah Thomas, Chauncey Billups and (let's face it) DeMarcus Cousins who now only plays garbage time.

ETA: Apparently Damian Lillard and Draymond Green have signed on the dotted line to go to the Olympics. It really doesn't matter who they pick as the US will win but Dame will be fun to watch.

Edited June 15, 2021 by Lady Whistleup

[emmawoodhouse]

Just announced that Harden will play.

[Fukui San]

1 hour ago, emmawoodhouse said:

Just announced that Harden will play.

Don't know how this will turn out, but this has Bad Idea written all over it.

[emmawoodhouse]

11 minutes ago, Fukui San said:

Don't know how this will turn out, but this has Bad Idea written all over it.

So far, not so hot for the Nets. Just saw Harden pass the ball to an invisible player. 😁

[Carey]

Still another half, but if this first half was rust shedding, this game might not be over.  Milwaukee should still win, but depending on the second half, it's not a lock the Bucks will win Game 6 either.  I'd bet Irving will not be returning in this series, but that's it

[LexieLily]

Well, now, look at Brooklyn making a game of it!

[Carey]

That sound you heard was people deleting their Twitter posts saying Brooklyn is done

[Lady Whistleup]

So that was either an epic comeback from Kevin Durant or a massive choke job from the Bucks, depending on how you look at it.

[Carey]

Just now, Lady Whistleup said:

So that was either an epic comeback from Kevin Durant or a massive choke job from the Bucks, depending on how you look at it.

And it was both

[LexieLily]

2 minutes ago, Lady Whistleup said:

So that was either an epic comeback from Kevin Durant or a massive choke job from the Bucks, depending on how you look at it.

 

[Lady Whistleup]

KD's response to the Chuck guarantee:

[Fukui San]

I can’t believe they won with Harden scoring only 6 pts. 

[Lady Whistleup]

30 minutes ago, Fukui San said:

I can’t believe they won with Harden scoring only 6 pts. 

Well the Slim Reaper decided to channel his inner MJ and take over the game. I knew when Giannis went for that fadeaway against limping, can-barely-walk-up-the-court Harden that he doesn't have that killer instinct.

Sad to say because he's a wonderful person by all accounts and so likable. But his basketball IQ is not up there with the greats.

ETA: here's KD's game-winning shot:

 

 

Edited June 16, 2021 by Lady Whistleup

[Lady Whistleup]

So what do you guys think? I still think Bucks in 7 because the Nets are down too many bodies. James Harden and Jeff Green are playing through injuries.

OTOH the kind of loss the Bucks had last night must have been so deflating. Because while everyone talks about KD unleashing his inner monster, the Bucks still could have won this game. I was shocked to see that the Bucks were up 17 well into the third quarter and leading for most of the fourth as well. Even in the final minutes they could have gotten buckets to fall easily -- they had a lot of turnovers and sloppy plays.

[cambridgeguy]

Hmm, looks like one of the other team's players can barely move.  Shall we attack him every chance we get?  No, it wouldn't be sporting?  OK then.

The Bucks might still win this series but they'll do it in spite of Budenholzer.  He's gone unless they win the title.

[Lady Whistleup]

Omg. This is ridiculous. Chris Paul tested positive for the 'rona and will be out indefinitely. 

80% of the NBA is vaxxed. How could someone like CP3 not take precautions DURING THE PLAYOFFS?

Edited June 16, 2021 by Lady Whistleup

[Carey]

What the hell is going on in the NBA this morning?!

 

 

 

Edited June 16, 2021 by Carey
The Source

[Magog]

Quote

So what do you guys think? I still think Bucks in 7 because the Nets are down too many bodies. James Harden and Jeff Green are playing through injuries.

OTOH the kind of loss the Bucks had last night must have been so deflating. Because while everyone talks about KD unleashing his inner monster, the Bucks still could have won this game. I was shocked to see that the Bucks were up 17 well into the third quarter and leading for most of the fourth as well. Even in the final minutes they could have gotten buckets to fall easily -- they had a lot of turnovers and sloppy plays.

I wouldn't be surprised if the Bucks lose Game 6. They flat out threw that game away last night.

 

It looks like Kwahi Leonard is not going to able to play in Game 5 & he might be done for the series with an injured right knee. So now, the Clippers have to rely on Paul George (Pandemic P) to help them get past Utah. Good luck with that. 

Edited June 16, 2021 by Magog

[Lady Whistleup]

Omg: updated injury/illness list

Kawhi Leonard - knee

James Harden - hamstring

Kyrie Irving - ankle

CP3 - 'rona

Donovan Mitchell - ankle

Mike Conley - hamstring

Joel Embiid - knee

Danny Green - calf

So the Bucks and the Hawks are the only teams without a major injury. 

[xaxat]

1 hour ago, Lady Whistleup said:

Omg. This is ridiculous. Chris Paul tested positive for the 'rona and will be out indefinitely. 

80% of the NBA is vaxxed. How could someone like CP3 not take precautions DURING THE PLAYOFFS?

As of this morning, we don't know that he didn't. 

ETA Being in the protocol does not mean someone has tested positive and being vaccinated is no guarantee that one won't catch the virus. As we found out with the Yankees' breakout.

 

Edited June 16, 2021 by xaxat

[Lady Whistleup]

1 hour ago, xaxat said:

As of this morning, we don't know that he didn't. 

ETA Being in the protocol does not mean someone has tested positive and being vaccinated is no guarantee that one won't catch the virus. As we found out with the Yankees' breakout.

 

Ok Jalen Rose says that Chris Paul is vaccinated, and simply came into contact with someone who tested positive. Says that out "indefinitely" might not be that long as the protocols for vaxxed individuals is a much shorter quarantine.

ETA: here' s a good article breaking down last night's game and why KD is so hard to defend.

Edited June 16, 2021 by Lady Whistleup

[LexieLily]

2 hours ago, Lady Whistleup said:

Omg. This is ridiculous. Chris Paul tested positive for the 'rona and will be out indefinitely. 

80% of the NBA is vaxxed. How could someone like CP3 not take precautions DURING THE PLAYOFFS?

What?!?

[Lady Whistleup]

Chris Paul in health and safety protocols. But Jalen Rose says he's vaxxed so he won't be out long.

[LexieLily]

3 minutes ago, Lady Whistleup said:

Chris Paul in health and safety protocols. But Jalen Rose says he's vaxxed so he won't be out long.

In that regard it may be an unexpected blessing that Phoenix is already chilling waiting for the Utah/Clippers series to finish that is guaranteed to at least go two more games.

Lots happening in the NBA this morning - Stan van Gundy (Pelicans) and Scott Brooks (Wizards) fired.

[Lady Whistleup]

Scott Brooks probably needed to go -- 4 years with talented rosters and not much to show for it. But Stan van Gundy -- don't think one year with a rebuilding team is enough to make a judgment. 

[LexieLily]

Jalen Rose said CP3 is vaccinated and might only miss one game.

The COVID rules are unclear and prime for interpretation based on the player; Lebron was definitely reported to be at a large gathering with questionable contact tracing procedures, during the first round, and was not held out of any game nor was it addressed in any sense by the league.

Edited June 16, 2021 by LexieLily

[emma675]

20 minutes ago, LexieLily said:

The COVID rules are unclear and prime for interpretation based on the player; Lebron was definitely reported to be at a large gathering with questionable contact tracing procedures, during the first round, and was not held out of any game nor was it addressed in any sense by the league.

I don't think Lebron was vaccinated either, which really should have pissed his teammates (and the other team) off even more.