The 2014 Playoffs thread

[Celtics18]

I don't understand how Scott Brooks still has a job.

I don't either, but there isn't much he can do. His best defensive unit has 3 guys, Thabo, Perk and Collison, that are almost useless offensively. When he went small, OKC scored, but gave up too much.

The one that confuses me the most is Sefolosha. He could stay on if he could hit wide open shots. He shot over 40% from 3 the two seasons prior to this last one. Now he's a Tony Allen level brickmaster.

I feel like Westbrook and Durant need to take some of the blame for not being able to get their teammates involved more.  Look, clearly those two are amazing players.  They really put pressure on the opposing defense, but, somehow, their aggression should be creating more easy looks for those around them. 

That doesn't happen.  It's a two man show offensively for that squad, even when Ibaka is in there. 

I definitely think Scott Brooks should have gone back to a bigger lineup in that game. 

[Adelaide Celt]

Good D by Baynes on Durant!

C'mon Spurs!

I really want Mills to drain a 3 in Adams' face.

You and me both mate!

I'll settle for the win today.

[GreenWarrior]

they shouldn't even bother playing the rest of this series....

[Vox_Populi]

I don't understand how Scott Brooks still has a job.

I don't either, but there isn't much he can do. His best defensive unit has 3 guys, Thabo, Perk and Collison, that are almost useless offensively. When he went small, OKC scored, but gave up too much.

The one that confuses me the most is Sefolosha. He could stay on if he could hit wide open shots. He shot over 40% from 3 the two seasons prior to this last one. Now he's a Tony Allen level brickmaster.

I feel like Westbrook and Durant need to take some of the blame for not being able to get their teammates involved more.  Look, clearly those two are amazing players.  They really put pressure on the opposing defense, but, somehow, their aggression should be creating more easy looks for those around them. 

That doesn't happen.  It's a two man show offensively for that squad, even when Ibaka is in there. 

I definitely think Scott Brooks should have gone back to a bigger lineup in that game.

Durant had 5 assists, about his season average. Westbrook had 7, again, about his season average. And in the first few minutes, Sefo and Collison took the first 2 or 3 shots I think, they just missed them horribly. Running plays for Perkins is a bad idea. Every Collison shot was open, Sefolosha was run off the line but still mostly left open. Most of Russ and KD's assists were from the bench, where their better shooters are.

I agree they deserve some blame, they had too many TOs. Otherwise, I dunno, it's why Ibaka is so important. He's the only other starter they can count on to make open looks. I mean, defenses don't double Durant off the ball just because he's dangerous.

[Rondo9]

I don't understand how Scott Brooks still has a job.

I don't either, but there isn't much he can do. His best defensive unit has 3 guys, Thabo, Perk and Collison, that are almost useless offensively. When he went small, OKC scored, but gave up too much.

The one that confuses me the most is Sefolosha. He could stay on if he could hit wide open shots. He shot over 40% from 3 the two seasons prior to this last one. Now he's a Tony Allen level brickmaster.

I feel like Westbrook and Durant need to take some of the blame for not being able to get their teammates involved more.  Look, clearly those two are amazing players.  They really put pressure on the opposing defense, but, somehow, their aggression should be creating more easy looks for those around them. 

That doesn't happen.  It's a two man show offensively for that squad, even when Ibaka is in there. 

I definitely think Scott Brooks should have gone back to a bigger lineup in that game.

Kind of hard to do that, when your role players can't hit anything.....

[Atzar]

Pacers are undefeated in the post-season when Hibbert scores 10 or more. That's hilarious.

Is hilarious really the word you are looking for?? Why is it hilarious that they are undefeated when their All-Star center comes to play?

As far as D.O.S comment above, yes when the game is called fairly undersized teams like Miami will commit a lot of fouls. There is no reason to let them get away with fouls just because they are undersized.

My guess as to the use of "hilarious" is that the number they're using as a measurement--10 points--is so low, and also that this guy who's supposed to be such a good center goes so often without scoring a measly 10 points. I want Indy to win, but Hibbert is so inconsistent; how can a "legit" 7-footer not score at least 10 points most of the time?

Where to begin.

First of all, he's not mentally tough.  Dominant when he's confident, but he gets down on himself easily and it has a massive negative impact on his game at both ends of the court.  Not really a guy who will still help his team even when he's 1-7 from the field; it gets in his head and affects the other parts of his game.

He has a high center of gravity, so despite his strength and sheer mass he struggles to establish deep position in the post and back defenders underneath the basket.  This means he has to take comparatively difficult shots in an attempt to get himself going, which means the confidence issues surface more often.

That's not such an issue against Miami.  Against the Heat he has such a massive size advantage that he can get his easy looks simply by crashing the offensive glass - their bigs can't (or don't) keep him away from the rim, so he gets his easy points and confidence that way.  Much more consistent way to get going, so he's much more of a problem for Miami.

And when he's engaged and feeling good, we all know what he is - he's massive and intelligent, an eraser in the paint on defense and active on both ends.  He stops using the low-percentage post-up opportunities to get points and instead gets them within the offense with cuts and rolls on screens, finding weak spots in the defense to earn easy finishes and free throw opportunities.  Completely different player. 

[ACF]

Guess who's the lead official for ECF Game 2?


http://www.nba.com/news/referee.html

[staticcc]

Guess who's the lead official for ECF Game 2?


http://www.nba.com/news/referee.html

Well Lebron is 7-6 with the Heat in the playoffs when Crawford has been an official so I don't know what you're impyling. Unless you believed the 26-2 record that Lebron apparently had with Crawford officiating that some Spurs fan invented on Twitter last year in the Finals .

[D.o.s.]

He is, however, a really annoying courtside presence.

[ACF]

 I'm not implying anything. But you know you're in for a roller coaster ride with Joey C in the game.

[ACF]

He is, however, a really annoying courtside presence.

Yup.

[PhoSita]

The Spurs are scary.

[pearljammer10]

The Spurs are scary.

I don't see the Thunder having a chance without Ibaka...The Spurs are that scary good.

[Fafnir]

The Spurs are scary.

I don't see the Thunder having a chance without Ibaka...The Spurs are that scary good.

Yeah they need Ibaka to overwhelm the Spurs athletically.

Without Ibaka its coming down to execution and the Spurs are going to annihilate the Thunder on that front

[mgent]

The Spurs are scary.

I don't see the Thunder having a chance without Ibaka...The Spurs are that scary good.

Nope, Spurs scored 66 points in the paint to OKC's 32.  Spurs are basically guaranteed to win the paint battle and the TO battle each game and that's just too much to overcome.