***OFFICIAL NBA Thread -- Joker is Victorious***

[e-a-g-l-e-s eagles!]

19 minutes ago, Bwestbrook36 said:

Everyone knew that whole bubble thing would benefit the Lakers more then any other team.

I don't know that I give it an asterisk though, everyone else had to deal with the same stuff. It was just the Lakers happened to be built for it to work for them the most. 

They were talking about LeBron and the Knicks the other day and said that was his first choice but, his wife didn't want to live there. 

I grew to like LeBron last season but, after this debacle against the Sun's I'm back to wishing he would go somewhere else. 

I'm pissed they risked AD's future health for it too. It was just stupid, you know big guys with leg injuries will have them pile up if they try to play through it.

I'd hate to see Embiid suffer the same fate or worse if they push it with him. They should let him at least sit the first game. Make sure he isn't favoring the injury we saw this happen with KD as well. 

 

Frankly i wouldn’t have even played the bubble playoffs. I thought it was ridiculous in general after taking 4.5 months off and then just resuming. It was great for fans to watch something but really 4.5 months off is an entire offseason in the nba. I thought before the stoppage the Lakers would win it but it wasn’t a given considering ADs ability to get hurt. The layoff helped that cause he was able to rest up and be fully healthy. 

i saw that story with the Knicks. There was also the story he was looking at prep schools in Philly. I generally think he was down to the Lakers, Knicks and sixers. Tbh at that point in time the sixers for championship aspirations probably was the best cause he could lead them for 2-3 seasons until he declined then embiid and Simmons could carry the load to potentially more titles. I say that cause at that time the Knicks lacked talent and the Lakers didn’t have AD. They had kuzma, ball and Ingram. I think his wife wanted LA and he was also thinking about life after basketball market and hoping to put a championship team together in la 

[DaEagles4Life]

I think I hate PG more than other player in the league. 

[DaEagles4Life]

Luka is tearing apart the Clippers in the 3rd

They are trying to double him off the pick and roll and he is masterful 

[Bwestbrook36]

11 minutes ago, DaEagles4Life said:

Luka is tearing apart the Clippers in the 3rd

They are trying to double him off the pick and roll and he is masterful 

Playing through injuries too

[DaEagles4Life]

Kawhi showed up tonight 

[e-a-g-l-e-s eagles!]

Gotta think the clippers win game 7 at home. But then again it’s the clippers. If they were more mentally tough i think they’d be a lock but i really think you could see them win or a complete meltdown 

[jwill2420]

On 6/4/2021 at 8:57 AM, downundermike said:

He was the one that played like crap in the second half

He carried that team all season and looked completely gas out. Sometimes you can be loyal to a fault in sports. Dame is a good example of this. 

[Bwestbrook36]

59 minutes ago, jwill2420 said:

He carried that team all season and looked completely gas out. Sometimes you can be loyal to a fault in sports. Dame is a good example of this. 

Agreed, at the same time being loyal is now considered a fault is sad. Not just basketball either, doesn't seem like loyalty is appreciated anywhere these days. 

[DaEagles4Life]

Kara Lawson might be the next coach of the Celtics. Former woman coach at Duke and assistant under Stevens last year 

[jwill2420]

3 hours ago, Bwestbrook36 said:

Agreed, at the same time being loyal is now considered a fault is sad. Not just basketball either, doesn't seem like loyalty is appreciated anywhere these days. 

We are in an age of sports when all that counts is championships and what have you done for me lately. Those feel good stories of the past mean nothing anymore. It’s all about the bling. 

[DaEagles4Life]

KD Might be able to beat the Bucks without Harden 

[e-a-g-l-e-s eagles!]

10 minutes ago, DaEagles4Life said:

KD Might be able to beat the Bucks without Harden 

He can if Blake Griffin gives them this for a series. He isn’t what he was but he still an above average nba. Detroit has an ability to make you lose passion for the game and not care. He was never as bad as he looked with the pistons.

[DaEagles4Life]

1 minute ago, e-a-g-l-e-s eagles! said:

He can if Blake Griffin gives them this for a series. He isn’t what he was but he still an above average nba. Detroit has an ability to make you lose passion for the game and not care. He was never as bad as he looked with the pistons.

Goes from high flying Blake to the guy that had more charges this year. Props to him for taking the role and running with it, not everyone can lose the ego and accept your role. Dwight would have played his role with the Rockets might have won a title with Harden, but he thought his crap didn't stink

[DaEagles4Life]

They winning without Jeff Green as well. Of course Bucks won't shoot this bad again, but this is a statement. 

[e-a-g-l-e-s eagles!]

13 minutes ago, DaEagles4Life said:

They winning without Jeff Green as well. Of course Bucks won't shoot this bad again, but this is a statement. 

Yup i think people believe the nets are just that trio. They have decent pieces around them like griffin, Harris, shamet, Claxton and brown. They just lack ideal size at center. It’s why i think if embiid is/was healthy he’d have a field day 

[DaEagles4Life]

League needs to get this running on the court under control. Ibaka in street clothes was halfway to the box. Just a matter of time before someone trips and gets hurt. 

 

Luka vs Kawhi is great basketball 

[DaEagles4Life]

Nets are absolutely destroying the Bucks. I did not see this coming. The role players for the Nets, know their role and don't try to do more. Blake is probably the most important player on that team. 

[e-a-g-l-e-s eagles!]

6 minutes ago, DaEagles4Life said:

Nets are absolutely destroying the Bucks. I did not see this coming. The role players for the Nets, know their role and don't try to do more. Blake is probably the most important player on that team. 

Idk i kind of thought the bucks were frauds all year. I didn’t think they get destroyed but i didn’t think they were that good. I thought the nets and sixers were better teams. The nets really are just head and shoulders better than everyone especially when they get harden 

[DaEagles4Life]

Just now, e-a-g-l-e-s eagles! said:

Idk i kind of thought the bucks were frauds all year. I didn’t think they get destroyed but i didn’t think they were that good. I thought the nets and sixers were better teams. The nets really are just head and shoulders better than everyone especially when they get harden 

Bucks are better than this and Jrue is a legit defender. Nets are absolutely locking them down on defense. Defense is just about effort 

The role players are just dominating right now. 

 

[e-a-g-l-e-s eagles!]

43 minutes ago, DaEagles4Life said:

Bucks are better than this and Jrue is a legit defender. Nets are absolutely locking them down on defense. Defense is just about effort 

The role players are just dominating right now. 

 

They are but that doesn’t mean they are top title contender like people made them out to be. I also think they blew their load against Miami with the revenge factor. I still think they are frauds. i look at the bucks the last two playoff runs before this and say i don’t think they are as great as people made them out to be. They really struggled even before the stoppage last year and really picked up where they started after the stoppage. This year they were very up and down for a while. I didn’t think jrue was the missing piece to get them over. He and middleton are good players not great players. If you had two stars like Giannis and another star and they were your third and 4th guys i think it’s a different story. However relying on both to be your second and third options created issues. They need another star who can score consistently and take pressure off Giannis. They have a bunch of good role players and missing the other star to go with Giannis. 

[DaEagles4Life]

They were up and down because they worked on switching all year and different things. 

I disagree you need all these superstars to win. Jrue is a top 30 to 35 player in the league and Middleton is a borderline All Star the last few years. That is enough to win a ring with Giannis. 

This is all on Bud. His offense is stagnant, his team didn't come to play once again, and he choked in Atlanta for many years as well. This team is dead. 

Just saw Mike James out rebound Lopez and that is everything you need to know 

[Diehardfan]

55 minutes ago, DaEagles4Life said:

Bucks are better than this and Jrue is a legit defender. Nets are absolutely locking them down on defense. Defense is just about effort 

The role players are just dominating right now. 

 

Doesn't shock me. They have been around long enough to know the regular season doesn't matter and they start playin now. 

[e-a-g-l-e-s eagles!]

8 hours ago, DaEagles4Life said:

They were up and down because they worked on switching all year and different things. 

I disagree you need all these superstars to win. Jrue is a top 30 to 35 player in the league and Middleton is a borderline All Star the last few years. That is enough to win a ring with Giannis. 

This is all on Bud. His offense is stagnant, his team didn't come to play once again, and he choked in Atlanta for many years as well. This team is dead. 

Just saw Mike James out rebound Lopez and that is everything you need to know 

I’ll disagree middleton is good enough if he’s your second option. He’s proven in the playoffs the last 5 years to be inconsistent. He played well in the Boston series they lost in 2018 but 2017,2019 (Toronto)when they got eliminated against better teams he was bad. In 2020 against Miami he was good. So he’s inconsistent. In 2017 vs. Toronto he averaged 14.5 ppg on 39.7% (31-78) and 36% from three (37%). In 2019 against Toronto 13.7ppg on 36% shooting (30-83) and 37.5% on threes (12-32). So far in this Brooklyn series he’s averaging 15 ppg on 30% shooting (13-43) and 3-13 from three (23%). Literally every other year he seems to disappear when the bucks need him ina. Big series further in the playoffs. He has to be more consistent as they get deeper in the playoffs then he has been in his career. Every other series against better competition you don’t know which Middleton you are getting 

I like jrue but what has jrue won in the league and he played alongside AD who’s a top 10 player in the league and they really didn’t do much damage in the playoffs ever. They got to the second round and got smoked by the warriors (understandable). He’s a good guard and likely a good third option but he or middleton have to be a second options and neither imo are good enough second options or consistent enough to win a title with why teams they’ll have to face  

I don’t disagree but the coach is part of the problem. He should’ve been fired last year when they began slumping before the stoppage and then continued it when they went into the bubble. They struggled with injuries to jrue but they also lost some bad games to bad teams cause that’s what they did before the stoppage last year when they began the slide. however Middleton over his playoff career has shown to be inconsistent year to year. Every time they play better competition Middleton as flip flopped years he’s been good and bad. He’s inconsistent year to year as they advance further. He was 20 ppg regular season and 48% and 41 from three. He’s nowhere close to that in this series, Toronto series’ and nets he’s not been close to what they’ve needed from a second option. Holiday isn’t a great second option either. He has been that with the pelicans. it was only good enough with AD once to advance to the second round and one time he did was against the horrific blazers defense. Now wasnt all him. Against Miami he averaged 15.3 ppg, 48%, 20% from 3 (3-15), 9.8 assists. This series against the nets is not much different so far besides his assist numbers which is cause they are facing a better team. He’s averaging 15 ppg on 13-29 (45%), 3-9 from three (33%), 6.5 boards and 4.5 assists. 

[DaEagles4Life]

Disagree that Jrue isn't good enough vs the Blazers with AD he was 27.8 ppg, 6.5 assists, 4 rebounds shooting 57% from the field. He was the best player in that series. 

The difference is KD is a top 10 player of all time and Irving is better than Jrue and Middleton. 

Effort effort effort one team has showed it, the Nets really enjoy playing together, and the role players are killing it. 

[e-a-g-l-e-s eagles!]

7 hours ago, DaEagles4Life said:

Disagree that Jrue isn't good enough vs the Blazers with AD he was 27.8 ppg, 6.5 assists, 4 rebounds shooting 57% from the field. He was the best player in that series. 

The difference is KD is a top 10 player of all time and Irving is better than Jrue and Middleton. 

Effort effort effort one team has showed it, the Nets really enjoy playing together, and the role players are killing it. 

and the Blazers notoriously don’t play defense. And every year since 2017 besides 2019 they’ve lost in the first round. I don’t consider the Blazers a title contending team. Even the year the pelicans beat them they only got the 3 seed by a game and could easily have been the 7 seed if they had one more loss. They weren’t a legit title contender. They were literally teetering on being a 3 to an 8 seed going into the last two weeks and managed to make it by 2 games from being the 8 seed. and they weren’t the better team in that series even if the seeding showed that. There was a one game difference and the difference was NO actually played defense. Besides 2019 playoffs they’ve been an awful defensive team that can’t get out of the first round. They again aren’t close to a legitimate title contender  

using a series against the Blazers isn’t exactly the same thing as using it against a team like the Nets or a team like the Warriors or a team that actually can win an NBA title. The Portland trailblazers are about to trade Damian Lillard because they can’t get close enough to sniffing in NBA title due to bad roster construction and horrific defense. besides a 2019 where they managed to squeak by the first two rounds and then get blasted by a team that had actual title aspirations.

Jrue’s best playoff performance was that blazers series in the first round. if you go look at every other playoff series from holiday he’s nowhere close to those numbers scoring wise and the 2018 warriors series is deceiving cause he had a bunch of stat padding in a couple of games where they were getting destroyed. That tells you the Portland trailblazers are just garbage on D. 
 

2011 playoffs vs  miami

14 ppg, 41.4% FG(24-58), 3pt 52.3 (11-21) 

3.8 boards and 5.6 asts

 

2012 playoffs vs  bulls (played way better once rose got hurt)

18.2 ppg, 41.4% FG (39-94), 3pt 41% (9-22) 

5 boards and 4.7 asts

 

2012 playoffs vs  Celtics 

12.7 ppg, 42.2% fg (35-85), 3pt 40.7% (11-27)

3.3 boards and 5.6 asts

 

2015 playoffs vs  warriors

6.3 ppg, 36.8% fg (7-19), 3pt 25% (1-4)

1 board and 4.3 asts 

2018 vs  warriors 

20.4 ppg, 47.2% fg (42-89), 3 pt 30% (9-30)

3.2 boards and 5.2 asts

2021 playoffs vs Miami 

15.3ppg, 48% FG (25-52), 3 pt 20% (3-15)

6.8 boards and 9.8 asts

2021 playoffs vs. nets

15 ppg, 45% (13-29), 3 pt 33% (3-9)

6.5 boards and 4.5 asts

that blazers series numbers in terms of shooting and scoring isn’t close to the numbers he averages. Even that 2018 warriors series he had a bunch of stat padding when the warriors got up big in some of those games. I believe games 2 and 4 if i remember correctly. 
 

blazers series  he was 27.8ppg on 57%, 6.5 asts and 4 boards 

All other series he has been 15.2 ppg on 43%, 5.9 asts and 4.9 rebounds. 

The bolded paragraph goes to the point that at the moment they aren’t good enough second options to win a title with a super team (fortunate harden isn’t playing) and teams with better all star players as second options that were created. You have to beat that team and teams who have better second options to win a title.