NBA Playoffs 2023

[blink]

After watching that rout, I think the Lakers are going to the finals. They're deep and they have very healthy LeBron and Davis. Lakers in 6 over Denver.

Sucks, but that is how things are. AD will give Jokic some trouble scoring inside. LeBron has that deep-run playoff experience versus most of these guys and that'll be a factor.

I tend to think that the Lakers will win as well.  I know Denver is good, but the lakers supporting cast just looks better right now.  Denver hasn’t proven anything yet.  They dominated a sinking ship in the suns….count me not particularly impressed.

[Who]

If you trade for CP3, do you just keep him instead of waiving him due to the partial guarantee?

So he is due $30mil and half is guaranteed with the other half not-guaranteed. So you owe him $15mil anyway. So the option is save the $15mil on CP3 and spend money on a replacement PG which would probably be at least the MLE ($11-12mil) given it is a starting PG slot. So you would only be saving $3-4mil and likely getting a much worse player.

Even on a young team, CP3 would be a valuable mentor and floor general to help put young guys in a position to suceed. He did it before in OKC and did a great job.

I reckon most teams would be better off keeping CP3 and giving him the full $30mil.

[gouki88]

Brutal no-show from all besides Curry and Looney

[bopna]

I have no trust what so ever on the Heat to be able to bring down the mighty Lakers...ofcourse already assuming the Nuggets would not be able to bring down the Lakers since they just have the history of coming up short always...such a cursed franchise those Nuggets are.

The only team that needs to be in the finals are us or if we can not beat the Sixers then atleast the Sixers should give the Fakers some problems...
The cHeat are so small compared to the Lakers and basically these same Heat in 2020 was destroyed by then AD and Lebron and the fakrrs have a much improved line up now.

Please lets take care of the Sixers in G7..

[SparzWizard]

I have no trust what so ever on the Heat to be able to bring down the mighty Lakers...ofcourse already assuming the Nuggets would not be able to bring down the Lakers since they just have the history of coming up short always...such a cursed franchise those Nuggets are.

The only team that needs to be in the finals are us or if we can not beat the Sixers then atleast the Sixers should give the Fakers some problems...
The cHeat are so small compared to the Lakers and basically these same Heat in 2020 was destroyed by then AD and Lebron and the fakrrs have a much improved line up now.

Please lets take care of the Sixers in G7..

Pretty much the Celtics or 76ers are capable of taking out the Lakers. But knowing the Celtics' mindset, they would find a way to lose like how they did in last year's Finals. Literally just play smart basketball and play more inside presence with Timelord and Horford and GSW would've been cleaned up. LAL has elite defense and just supreme talent who are battle-tested and a strong depth. A team who started the season 2-10 is literally two rounds away from winning banner 18. They've been unstoppable at Crypto in these playoffs.

[scaryjerry]

Wouldn’t totally count Denver out of this lakers series but Jokic will have to play some all time unforgettable basketball to get it done

[Neurotic Guy]

Nightmare.

The only things I care about from a team perspective in the NBA are that the Celtics win and the Lakers lose.  No other teams matter to me. All season it looked possible that the Lakers wouldn’t make the playoffs.  Then Lakers pulled out the 7th seed in a play-in OT win.  They got an injured and underwhelming OKC as the  2-seed in the first round and suddenly became a contender.  Now they are one series from the Finals. 

if Boston loses tomorrow, I don’t see any team in the East beating LA. And I’m certainly not sure the Cs would.  Hoping that Denver can do it - the Finals will be pure anxiety if the Lakers make it there.   Finding it hard to believe we are sitting here with the Lakers already advanced to the WCF and the Celtics needing a G7 win to advance.

[Kernewek]

Denver has been underrated every round of the playoffs thus far. I believe in the Eastern European postman.

[RMO]

Wouldn’t totally count Denver out of this lakers series but Jokic will have to play some all time unforgettable basketball to get it done

Hasn't he been doing that most of the season (except the last month or so of the regular season - aka the dog days).

Is Denver really that inferior to the lakers?  The lakers got a pretty easy path through the first two rounds.  They took care of business and now their reward is this aura of invincibility?  I don't get it.

P.S.  Just want to acknowledge that I see you said you're not totally counting out Denver so my question is more to the general mood of this discussion and less directly to your post which I quoted.

[celticinorlando]

Lakers are going to win the west unfortunately

[Neurotic Guy]

Lakers are going to win the west unfortunately

Always a little relieved when you are negative. Thank you.

[tazzmaniac]

Nightmare.

The only things I care about from a team perspective in the NBA are that the Celtics win and the Lakers lose.  No other teams matter to me. All season it looked possible that the Lakers wouldn’t make the playoffs.  Then Lakers pulled out the 7th seed in a play-in OT win.  They got an injured and underwhelming OKC as the  2-seed in the first round and suddenly became a contender.  Now they are one series from the Finals. 

if Boston loses tomorrow, I don’t see any team in the East beating LA. And I’m certainly not sure the Cs would.  Hoping that Denver can do it - the Finals will be pure anxiety if the Lakers make it there.   Finding it hard to believe we are sitting here with the Lakers already advanced to the WCF and the Celtics needing a G7 win to advance.

The Lakers beat Memphis, not OKC, in the 2nd round.  I think the Sixers would have a very good chance to beat the Lakers.  Sixers match up much better, both offensively and defensively, against the Lakers than the Celts.  AD is not going to like having to defend Embiid all the time but who else do they have to do so.  Embiid will be able to stay in the paint defensively. 

[tazzmaniac]

Wouldn’t totally count Denver out of this lakers series but Jokic will have to play some all time unforgettable basketball to get it done

Hasn't he been doing that most of the season (except the last month or so of the regular season - aka the dog days).

Is Denver really that inferior to the lakers?  The lakers got a pretty easy path through the first two rounds.  They took care of business and now their reward is this aura of invincibility?  I don't get it.

P.S.  Just want to acknowledge that I see you said you're not totally counting out Denver so my question is more to the general mood of this discussion and less directly to your post which I quoted.

If the Lakers had an easy path, then Denver had a calkwalk.  The Twolves were easily the worst team in the West playoffs and I'd rather face the Suns than the Warriors.  Denver obviously has a pretty good chance to win the series but with Lebron and AD healthy I'd give the edge to the Lakers.  AD should make things tougher for Jokic both offensively and defensively.  I'd say its 60-40 for the Lakers but with the Lakers luck I'll bump it to 2 out of 3 chance for the Lakers. 

[Phantom255x]

Hate to say, but the Lakers also have that "killer instinct" we all wish the C's had. In fact, only series this round going 7 is ours. Which was probably unexpected. Denver, Miami and LAL have all basically taken care of business, and when they had the chances to close out their series in a 5th or 6th game, they took care of business. C's goofed around and now it's going 7. Last round, they goofed around Game 5 and it took 6 just to beat Atlanta (and not too far from going 7 that round either)

[CelticsWhat35]

Hate to say, but the Lakers also have that "killer instinct" we all wish the C's had. In fact, only series this round going 7 is ours. Which was probably unexpected. Denver, Miami and LAL have all basically taken care of business, and when they had the chances to close out their series in a 5th or 6th game, they took care of business. C's goofed around and now it's going 7. Last round, they goofed around Game 5 and it took 6 just to beat Atlanta (and not too far from going 7 that round either)

Both the Lakers and Heat lost game 5’s being up 3-1 and won game 6, which is what the Celtics did with the Hawks.