NBA 2019 Playoffs Thread

[ozgod]

are these folks insane??

wait two whole days in line, just to watch a game on a big screen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHH5I0w-MdA

They probably see it as a two day tailgate

[tstorey_97]

Warriors are certainly wounded, They got beat last night in all facets. They got beat in game one all the way around also.
Game two Raps forgot to score in the second quarter (43-21) but were there at the buzzer.

Raps coaching, unlike some coaching staff's I know, quickly adjusted to Warriors charging and doubling Leonard and Lowry in the first game. Watch it go down, interesting example.

GSW front court has had little success with
Siakam 32-12-18-19
Gasol 20-6-17-9

GSW back court has had little success with
Fred V 16-17-11-8

No Durant is certainly a huge deal, but the remnants are getting worked over by Gasol, Siakam and Freddy.

Yes, the no Durant excuse will hang in the air forever won't it?
In balance, I guess "Steph Curry can carry a team" is a myth? Or is it just that "Leonard can carry a team better?"





 

[ozgod]

Yes, the no Durant excuse will hang in the air forever won't it?
In balance, I guess "Steph Curry can carry a team" is a myth? Or is it just that "Leonard can carry a team better?"

It's just the reality of it unfortunately...KD is one of those players that at his best can swing the course of series. Of course we will never know if he would have been at his best for this one but that question will always be there. I suspect which side people fall on that question will be if they rate KD or Kawhi higher.

As for Steph, I think he's answered that question with their first championship. Nobody can take that away from him, even if Iggy was voted Finals MVP.

[SparzWizard]

Yes, the no Durant excuse will hang in the air forever won't it?
In balance, I guess "Steph Curry can carry a team" is a myth? Or is it just that "Leonard can carry a team better?"

It's just the reality of it unfortunately...KD is one of those players that at his best can swing the course of series. Of course we will never know if he would have been at his best for this one but that question will always be there. I suspect which side people fall on that question will be if they rate KD or Kawhi higher.

As for Steph, I think he's answered that question with their first championship. Nobody can take that away from him, even if Iggy was voted Finals MVP.

Irving and Love were both hurt that year and yet the Cavs took them to six games.

[gouki88]

Yes, the no Durant excuse will hang in the air forever won't it?
In balance, I guess "Steph Curry can carry a team" is a myth? Or is it just that "Leonard can carry a team better?"

It's just the reality of it unfortunately...KD is one of those players that at his best can swing the course of series. Of course we will never know if he would have been at his best for this one but that question will always be there. I suspect which side people fall on that question will be if they rate KD or Kawhi higher.

As for Steph, I think he's answered that question with their first championship. Nobody can take that away from him, even if Iggy was voted Finals MVP.

Irving and Love were both hurt that year and yet the Cavs took them to six games.

I love bringing this up when Warriors fans complain about their injuries this postseason

[SparzWizard]

Yes, the no Durant excuse will hang in the air forever won't it?
In balance, I guess "Steph Curry can carry a team" is a myth? Or is it just that "Leonard can carry a team better?"

It's just the reality of it unfortunately...KD is one of those players that at his best can swing the course of series. Of course we will never know if he would have been at his best for this one but that question will always be there. I suspect which side people fall on that question will be if they rate KD or Kawhi higher.

As for Steph, I think he's answered that question with their first championship. Nobody can take that away from him, even if Iggy was voted Finals MVP.

Irving and Love were both hurt that year and yet the Cavs took them to six games.

I love bringing this up when Warriors fans complain about their injuries this postseason

Warriors fans think they'll win Game 7 in this Finals 

[ozgod]

Yes, the no Durant excuse will hang in the air forever won't it?
In balance, I guess "Steph Curry can carry a team" is a myth? Or is it just that "Leonard can carry a team better?"

It's just the reality of it unfortunately...KD is one of those players that at his best can swing the course of series. Of course we will never know if he would have been at his best for this one but that question will always be there. I suspect which side people fall on that question will be if they rate KD or Kawhi higher.

As for Steph, I think he's answered that question with their first championship. Nobody can take that away from him, even if Iggy was voted Finals MVP.

Irving and Love were both hurt that year and yet the Cavs took them to six games.

Well the Cavs did have the best player in the world at the time 

[gpap]

are these folks insane??

wait two whole days in line, just to watch a game on a big screen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHH5I0w-MdA

They probably see it as a two day tailgate

Imagine all the Molsons being consumed right now in Toronto.

[gpap]

I would not be surprised if Durant now just takes a 5 year max from GSW.  At this point, they'll be begging him to come back.  He's earned his validation.  Those last two titles were clearly his.

Never understood why he would want to leave in the first place. He's got it made in Golden State. Two championships already on his mantle with likely more to come. Moving into a new arena. Playing with the best backcourt in the NBA. Palm trees and beautiful weather year round. And to leave all that to play with the miserable Knicks? Never made any sense to me. Especially where he chose to go play there as a free agent.

I think you're severely underestimating how fragile and thin-skinned he is. From warring with 15 year-olds using burner accounts on Instagram to his constant technicals and ejections, he's really shown himself to be a very childish man.

He clearly hates that people discredit him and (rightfully) don't respect him for being a coward, and I think this definitely eats at him.

I think he's gone. He hates that people who say it's Steph's team are so vocal. It's irrelevant that GSW is losing now because the people who are anti-KD will just point to injuries.

What did he expect before he decided to join them?

Anyway, if Durant did leave, I still think the Clippers are a more likely destination spot than New York.

Better coach, better run franchise (as opposed to the Clippers from years past) and a better supporting cast to work with.

Also, I think another factor in free agency is the status of Durant's injury. Quite frankly, it certainly appears the injury is alot worse than was originally reported. Does this play a major factor this summer?
https://clutchpoints.com/warriors-rumors-something-changed-regarding-kevin-durants-status-in-last-few-days/

[Phantom255x]

So does anyone see Ibaka, Gasol and their other bigs basically imposing their will on Golden State? Even after someone misses, I see them active and grabbing boards, making tip-ins or drawing fouls. They did a lot of this in the Bucks series too. Frustrated both the Bucks and also the Warriors.

Meanwhile, for some reason we didn't try any way to help our front court with buyout signings (Kanter, Faried, etc.) and basically had Horford, injury prone Baynes and then Theis as our front court which hurt us that Bucks series. Timelord wasn't a factor, as expected. Ugh.

Wish Stevens would change his scheme OR Ainge constructs the right team for it. His "live by the 3, die by it" scheme doesn't work with our current roster, while it works for teams like the Rockets/Warriors because they have the players for it. And while our front court looks a lot better than it did 3-4 years ago, I'd still like more there. If Timelord isn't expected to be a huge part of the team next season too, then Danny better add someone in addition to Baynes/Theis/Horford.

We got killed in the Bucks series because of missing shots, but also our inability to really contain their bigs and rebound in clutch moments (outside of Horford, he didn't really have much help with Baynes injured). 

[tazzmaniac]

So does anyone see Ibaka, Gasol and their other bigs basically imposing their will on Golden State? Even after someone misses, I see them active and grabbing boards, making tip-ins or drawing fouls. They did a lot of this in the Bucks series too. Frustrated both the Bucks and also the Warriors.

Meanwhile, for some reason we didn't try any way to help our front court with buyout signings (Kanter, Faried, etc.) and basically had Horford, injury prone Baynes and then Theis as our front court which hurt us that Bucks series. Timelord wasn't a factor, as expected. Ugh.

Wish Stevens would change his scheme OR Ainge constructs the right team for it. His "live by the 3, die by it" scheme doesn't work with our current roster, while it works for teams like the Rockets/Warriors because they have the players for it. And while our front court looks a lot better than it did 3-4 years ago, I'd still like more there. If Timelord isn't expected to be a huge part of the team next season too, then Danny better add someone in addition to Baynes/Theis/Horford.

How do you know we didn't try?  For the most part, buyouts prioritize playing time over everything else including playing for a better team. 

[Briantir]

Tonight we bare witness the end of the Golden Era Rip

Kawhi Leonard took a year off comes back in another conference, rookie head coach, new team, and restores balance to the NBA... WOW

[ObjectivityOverBias]

If KD comes back, perhaps Curry goes off tonight? I sense the series isn't over. As  much as I bashed GS & Curry, I don't think they go out like punks.

2nd team to come back from 3-1 in the finals?

[liam]

Are they starting this game tonight???

[Ogaju]

Kevin Durant's height is not fair competition.