2024 NBA Season and Playoffs

[SparzWizard]

Thought the Knicks had a sneaky chance to come out of the east if they managed to get healthy.  Not favorites, but definitely a pain-in-the-ass out for us or anybody else.

Without Randle they just don't have enough firepower.  Brunson is good but he can't do it alone.

So seems like Orlando Magic might win that series should they match up first round

[jpotter33]

Man, big news on Randle being done for the season. Makes the Knicks much less lethal and not a serious threat at this point to come out of the East.

We have no excuse (barring injury) not to make it to the Finals again, especially if we can get all three of Milwaukee, Miami, and Philly in the opposite side of the bracket as us.

[Who]

Philly is the only other high level team in the East other than Boston but that requires Embiid performing at a good level. Nobody else is close.

[Who]

I like Orlando. They remind me of the 2004 Pistons before they landed Rasheed Wallace. They need one more big piece. They are a good team that is difficult to play against but not a great team. They do not have the offense to be a great team. They need that final piece. An offensive scorer / playmaker.

They remind me of the 2004 Pistons because of their defense & how difficult they are to matchup with from a physical & athletic standpoint. Difficult team but they need that final offensive piece to make them a title contender.

And this is the team after Philly that I see as the next biggest threat in the East. Now that Randle is for sure out.

[Redz]

Is Milwaukee trying to tank out of the 2 spot or are they just legitimately a hot mess?

No way they should be losing to the Grizz on their home floor - Lillard or no Lillard.

[Phantom255x]

Philly is the only other high level team in the East other than Boston but that requires Embiid performing at a good level. Nobody else is close.

I've felt the same way. PHI upgraded at coach, have a deeper bench than previous years, and also got rid of Harden who was a bit of a headcase and added a few good role players in the process which complement their team better. And Maxey has shown strides too. Still like Boston in a series but a healthy PHI which they are now is probably 2nd best in the East.

[Phantom255x]

Man, big news on Randle being done for the season. Makes the Knicks much less lethal and not a serious threat at this point to come out of the East.

We have no excuse (barring injury) not to make it to the Finals again, especially if we can get all three of Milwaukee, Miami, and Philly in the opposite side of the bracket as us.

Need to root for the Heat in the coming games, especially the H2Hs with PHI + IND coming up. Also I quickly checked but IND's schedule to finish isn't easy either, which is good if it means keeping them in the 7-8 bracket.

[Who]

I was looking at Brunson's stats the other day.

They are really incredible.

I saw his per 100 possession stats. He is scoring 40pts per 100 possessions (4th best in league). Then another 9.5 assists per 100 possessions. So that is what another 20-23 points on top of the 40 points he is scoring himself. The only big time scorers getting more assists than Brunson are Luka and Jokic.

He is basically 60% of their offense (by himself) when he is on the floor. Not even including the secondary assists and ball movement he creates from his drives, from double teams, from being trapped and teammates in space to attack.

NY is only 2-3 wins behind Milwaukee despite Brunson only getting half a season out of Randle, half a season out of RJ Barrett / OG Anunoby, and with Mitchell Robinson playing only 24 games. Giannis has Lillard. He is only 2-3 games ahead of Brunson in the standings. What Brunson has done there is incredible. He deserves more credit. He is single handedly keeping that NY offense afloat. The offensive load he is carrying is phenomenal.

I'd pick Brunson first team All-NBA over Giannis. Giannis only a 2-3 game lead over Brunson despite having Lillard as a co-pilot and an otherwise healthy team except for Middleton (half a season also). What Brunson has done is more impressive than Giannis.

[celticinorlando]

Is Milwaukee trying to tank out of the 2 spot or are they just legitimately a hot mess?

No way they should be losing to the Grizz on their home floor - Lillard or no Lillard.

They are a hot mess. Gave up 70+ points in the paint in each of the last games vs two of the worst teams in the NBA.

Doc is already burning out Giannis before the playoffs.

[Phantom255x]

Is Milwaukee trying to tank out of the 2 spot or are they just legitimately a hot mess?

No way they should be losing to the Grizz on their home floor - Lillard or no Lillard.

There was a part of me that thought in 2022 that MIL was also intentionally trying to avoid BKN in the first round, which they did and the C's played BKN while MIL played a bad CHI team. Definitely wondering if they are trying the same here. Avoid PHI/MIA.

[celticinorlando]

Is Milwaukee trying to tank out of the 2 spot or are they just legitimately a hot mess?

No way they should be losing to the Grizz on their home floor - Lillard or no Lillard.

There was a part of me that thought in 2022 that MIL was also intentionally trying to avoid BKN in the first round, which they did and the C's played BKN while MIL played a bad CHI team. Definitely wondering if they are trying the same here. Avoid PHI/MIA.

Problem is Bucks probably can't avoid the heat, sixers and pacers. All three would be a tough draw for Milwaukee.

[W8ting2McHale]

Randle is getting shut down and scheduled for shoulder surgery. Brunson isn’t going to get reinforcements for the playoffs after all.

Embiid looked good in his first game back, but can he hold up through the postseason?

[Vermont Green]

Anunoby, listed as game to game, has only played in 3 games since the end of January.   In the 14 games where NYK had both Randle and Anunoby, they were 12-2.  In 3 games where they had Anunoby and no Randle, they were 3-0.  They were 17-15 before getting Anunoby.

I am not sure what is going on with Anunoby, but getting him back will help quite a bit, based on outcomes earlier in the season.

[Phantom255x]

Doc Rivers already starting to blame everyone but himself. Yeah I'm sure the cooks and drivers and everyone else would have really helped on the court

[gift]

Doc Rivers already starting to blame everyone but himself. Yeah I'm sure the cooks and drivers and everyone else would have really helped on the court

it'll be interesting to see the precise way in which doc orchestrates his exit from milwaukee.