NBA Season 2024-25

[scaryjerry]

Complete choke job by OKC in OT. They look like the Celtics down the stretch the last two games haha

They won by almost 50 in the game before this.
They?d also easily sweep the Knicks with a margin of victory around 25. In fact the nuggets would also sweep the Knicks.

[celticinorlando]

Complete choke job by OKC in OT. They look like the Celtics down the stretch the last two games haha

They won by almost 50 in the game before this.
They?d also easily sweep the Knicks with a margin of victory around 25. In fact the nuggets would also sweep the Knicks.

OKC had the best record in basketball. Home court. The MVP and is struggling with a very thin Denver.

It is ok to point out OKC is having their own issues and underachieving in this series being down 2-1.

[Phantom255x]

Whoever wins this OKC-DEN series is definitely reaching the Finals, and I say this even if Golden State advances and gets back Curry fully healthy.

[DefenseWinsChamps]

Complete choke job by OKC in OT. They look like the Celtics down the stretch the last two games haha

They won by almost 50 in the game before this.
They?d also easily sweep the Knicks with a margin of victory around 25. In fact the nuggets would also sweep the Knicks.

OKC had the best record in basketball. Home court. The MVP and is struggling with a very thin Denver.

It is ok to point out OKC is having their own issues and underachieving in this series being down 2-1.

Two possibilities - both can be true, or either

1. This is a young team that needs this friction to become champions
2. This is a team that is more built for the regular season, with solid talent 1-9, but only one star. And that one star struggles to score moreso with his playing style in the playoffs.

[Phantom255x]

I still got OKC winning the series, but it may end up going 7 games now.

I will say, it does go to show how things really tighten up in the playoffs. OKC has a very deep bench and probably the best bench in the league, yet in Games 1 and 3 they were mostly bad outside of Caruso who had 20 points in Game 1. Otherwise it's heavy reliance on the starters. Which is usually true as is, but then it puts more pressure on SGA and the starters to carry the load even more than they had to in the regular season, so even if 1-2 guys struggle things get dicey.

Say what you will, but the Nuggets are actually getting good contributions from Westbrook and Watson, to go along with their already battle-tested group and starters.

You rely on the superstars but sometimes it's those secondary guys (both in the starting lineup and bench) who can make a difference in close series too.

[Who]

NBA Stat: NBA players to average 40.0+ PPG over the first 3 games of a playoff series, last 40 years: Michael Jordan (5x) LeBron James (2x) Donovan Mitchell (this series) (via OptaSports)

NBA Stat: In his 120 minutes this postseason, Caruso has a STOP% of 8.8%. That means for every 100 defensive possessions he plays, 9 of them ended with Caruso either stealing the ball, blocking a shot that OKC recovers, or drawing an offensive foul. That?s 3.5x league average (2.6%). (via databallr)

[Vermont Green]

Complete choke job by OKC in OT. They look like the Celtics down the stretch the last two games haha

They won by almost 50 in the game before this.
They?d also easily sweep the Knicks with a margin of victory around 25. In fact the nuggets would also sweep the Knicks.

OKC had the best record in basketball. Home court. The MVP and is struggling with a very thin Denver.

It is ok to point out OKC is having their own issues and underachieving in this series being down 2-1.

Two possibilities - both can be true, or either

1. This is a young team that needs this friction to become champions
2. This is a team that is more built for the regular season, with solid talent 1-9, but only one star. And that one star struggles to score moreso with his playing style in the playoffs.

A lot of things can be true all at the same time, such as:

   1.  DEN was underrated going into the series (they were Champs not so long ago)
   2.  OKC in general and SGA in particular are overrated some, based on regular season success.

As to SGA (as I suspect that will get the most reaction), I think he is a fabulous player.  Deserves 1st team all NBA status, deserves MVP consideration, all of it.  But Jokic is still Jokic.  Both teams are focused on containing the other team's best player.  Both stars had what appear to be off games based on the box score, but that is due a lot to scheme.  Jamal Murray and Jalen Williams become key players (both had good games).  Similar to how Brown gets more opportunities as teams focus on Tatum.

And don't forget about DEN's home court advantage.  Acclamation to altitude is a real thing.  Game 5 is often the pivot game in a close series but I think this game 4 is very key.  The difference between DEN 3-1 or back to square at 2-2 is huge.  This is a big test for OKC, ton of pressure in game 4.  If they show they can respond, it is big for the series and beyond.

[Who]

2nd time Jokic's teammates have bailed him out in last few games. Gm 7 against LAC and last night Gm 3 against OKC.

Yet, we still have to hear about how he has no help.

[Who]

Keerthika Uthayakumar: Nikola Jokic committed a career-worst 8 turnovers, scored 20 points on 25 shots, had the worst TS% of his career & missed the most threes of his career. The Nuggets still won.

Law Murray: Thunder were:

* bad in the paint (missed 30 of 58)
* bad from the free throw line (missed 7 of 22)
* bad in the midrange (missed 8 of 11 non-paint 2s)
* bad from 3 (missed 26 of 35)

On shots outside the paint, Thunder were 12/46. 26.1%. NBA regular season average: 37.1%

[Banner18now!]

Are Celtics fans still worried about the Cavs right now? Asking for a friend 

Never worried about any other team than the Celtics themselves.
They are the ones who beat themselves with bad coaching, dumb basketball and lack of effort at times. If your star player isn?t a leader when the team is down the coach better be.

[Who]

SGA led the NBA in

* 20+pts games
* 30+pts games
* 40+pts games
* 50+pts games

[Who]

SGA with 3 bad plays in the final 2-3 minutes (of regulation, not OT).

Two long jump shots that he settled for instead of driving. The 3rd a forced shot off an unsuccessful drive. He had 4th play where he tried to beat A Gordon one-on-one off the dribble but failed and was bailed out by J-Dub who turned a terrible possession into 2 FTs.

Bad decision making more than anything in those plays.

[Who]

OT went badly for OKC. 2 missed floaters for Hartenstein - both good looks. A missed floater for J-Dub. A bad turnover for J-Dub. First 3 minutes. No scores. Denver builds 7pt lead.

Chet stops the bleeding with a driving dunk going around Jamal Murray. Jokic responds with his 2nd runner / floater of OT. Murray had a transition hoop off that J-Dub turnover. MPJ got a 3 on a different possession. That is how they built their 7pt lead. Chet rims out on 14 foot pull up J off SGA kickout. DEN ball. 1:20 to play with both ball and 7pt lead.

SGA quiet in OT. They went to J-Dub more because he played so well in Q4. J-Dub did not deliver. Then again, neither did SGA at the end of regulation.

Aaron Gordon finishes them off with a baseline 15 footer off of Jokic's dribble penetration. 3 big plays by Jokic in OT leading to hoops for Denver. SGA silent. 9pt lead. Final minute. Hartenstein misses his 3rd floater of OT. Game over.

DEN wins OT at a score of 11 to 2.

[Who]

So they are starting Trayce Jackson Davis

G: Podz
G: Hield
F: Jimmy
F: Draymond
C: TJD

Draymond on Randle. Jimmy will defend McDaniels. Hield on Ant? Strange matchup. He is their weakest defender. You would expect Jimmy or Podz to take Ant.

[Phantom255x]

Warriors offense without Curry is hideous