Everything Playoffs-2021

[Kagemusha]

It would be cool to see Bucks v Clippers in the Finals

[magoon]

It would be cool to see Bucks v Clippers in the Finals

Whatever happens with the Clippers - and whether or not they beat the Mavs depends mostly on how well Luka plays, because the Mavs need him in insane mode to win games - I don't think they're making finals. They don't have any real playmaking, their guard depth sucks and Paul George simply isn't dependable in the way Kawhi is.

[golden]

Nets are amazing but my goodness Boston without their second best player is hanging points on them, the Nets have no defence.

Really not sure how they would play Giannis. He can break them down and Milwaukee has shooters and defends better. Should be a good series.

Giannis dropped 36 and 49 on them earlier this month in two Milwaukee wins.

Brooklyn is putting up a ridiculous 123 ORTG, as a TEAM, in the playoffs. That's insane, and even higher than their stellar 118 ORTG in the regular season. It's rare to see 3 ultra-high usage scorers optimized, but Nash may have figured it out. He subs Harden out early and has him carry the bench units, without KD & Kyrie, just like he was carrying the Rockets.

To put it in perspective, looking at the Raps top offensive players: FVV (113 ORTG), Siakam (110 ORTG) & Lowry (117 ORTG) - only Lowry is even close the level of the Nets in terms of efficiency.

Question is if anybody can exploit their non-existent defense to the point where they can keep up. We never really saw much of KD/Kyrie/Harden together in the regular season... and it looks pretty scary.

[Mitchell Duong]

To beat the nets you have to hold them to under 120. Then you have a chance.

[slaw]

Brooklyn is putting up a ridiculous 123 ORTG, as a TEAM, in the playoffs. That's insane, and even higher than their stellar 118 ORTG in the regular season. It's rare to see 3 ultra-high usage scorers optimized, but Nash may have figured it out. He subs Harden out early and has him carry the bench units, without KD & Kyrie, just like he was carrying the Rockets.

To put it in perspective, looking at the Raps top offensive players: FVV (113 ORTG), Siakam (110 ORTG) & Lowry (117 ORTG) - only Lowry is even close the level of the Nets in terms of efficiency.

Question is if anybody can exploit their non-existent defense to the point where they can keep up. We never really saw much of KD/Kyrie/Harden together in the regular season... and it looks pretty scary.

Haven't watched a second of that series but how much of it is Brooklyn and how much of it is Boston? Celtics are all banged up with Brown being out and Walker being less than 100%, plus, they've never looked themselves this season.

As for the Nets, why would we expect anything different offensively? D'Antoni is one of the few NBA coaches who I would give the label to but he is an offensive genius.

[The Claw Reborn]

Payoffs Potpourri:

• My God....Julius “playoffs” Randle is horrible (27% fg). Derozan has to sleep easy

• Cyborg Kawhi once again showed up when it matters most.

• Bucks revenge series...Jrue was worth it for them

• Lakers and Suns going deep and may decide this in Game 7

[planetmars]

Kawhi is a man possessed.. but the Mavs looked shell shocked. Everyone was just going through the motions in the second half. It was really boring and I had to flip channels because I was losing interest.

What makes Kawhi so damn efficient in the playoffs? It's like every shot he takes is a magnet to the net. He's incredible.

As for Doncic.. yeah his neck is hurt, and he's playing through it which is great.. but he's averaging like 40% from the free throw line. What's up with that? He turned into Shaq at the line.. or has he always been bad at free throws?

[planetmars]

Payoffs Potpourri:

• My God....Julius “playoffs” Randle is horrible (27% fg). Derozan has to sleep easy

• Cyborg Kawhi once again showed up when it matters most.

• Bucks revenge series...Jrue was worth it for them

• Lakers and Suns going deep and may decide this in Game 7

With regards to Randle.. it just re-confirms how hard it is to win when the best player on your team is a PF. That guy needs so much more help because it's easier to defend a PF who has high usage. Bosh sort of disappeared as a Raptor too. Pascal last year. Dirk's team got upset by the #8 team in the West (but eventually found a way to win it all - his team was good though). KG didn't do anything until he played with Pierce and Allen. Anthony Davis, same thing.

Your best player in the NBA has to be a wing or a guard.

[S.R.]

Dallas is a good team but they almost seemed to overreact to Lukas greatness in the first 2 games. Became way too deferential and looked for him to bail them out almost every offensive possession. You just can't expect 1 guy to carry a team to that degree.

Clippers have been gearing up and looking good but still not as good defensively as expected. They have trouble with high scoring guards and would have trouble with bigs like AD or Embiid. AD getting injured again is huge and opens the West up a bit. Murray being out, too. May have to wait for WCF to see LAC face a full strength opponent.

[planetmars]

Dallas is a good team but they almost seemed to overreact to Lukas greatness in the first 2 games. Became way too deferential and looked for him to bail them out almost every offensive possession. You just can't expect 1 guy to carry a team to that degree.

Clippers have been gearing up and looking good but still not as good defensively as expected. They have trouble with high scoring guards and would have trouble with bigs like AD or Embiid. AD getting injured again is huge and opens the West up a bit. Murray being out, too. May have to wait for WCF to see LAC face a full strength opponent.

They could struggle against Utah. Gobert will make it hard for Kawhi and PG to navigate to the rim. A part of the reason why they dismantled the Mavs last night was their paint points. Porzingis is way overrated as a rim defender. Conley has improved A LOT since last year. And if Mitchell is back to 100% he can give them some trouble. Utah lead the league in 3pt attempts, and was 5th in 3pt%. They can shoot.. and that's how the Mavs killed them in games 1 & 2.

[golden]

They could struggle against Utah. Gobert will make it hard for Kawhi and PG to navigate to the rim. A part of the reason why they dismantled the Mavs last night was their paint points. Porzingis is way overrated as a rim defender. Conley has improved A LOT since last year. And if Mitchell is back to 100% he can give them some trouble. Utah lead the league in 3pt attempts, and was 5th in 3pt%. They can shoot.. and that's how the Mavs killed them in games 1 & 2.

Not sure how much of a factor Gobert will be. Clippers were the top 3-point shooting team in the league, so Gobert hanging around the rim helps them. And they've now unlocked their small-ball death lineup with Batum at the 5, so it looks like they might have found some adjustments to neutralize Gobert.

[planetmars]

Not sure how much of a factor Gobert will be. Clippers were the top 3-point shooting team in the league, so Gobert hanging around the rim helps them. And they've now unlocked their small-ball death lineup with Batum at the 5, so it looks like they might have found some adjustments to neutralize Gobert.

Clippers can shoot but so can Utah. Just watching the Mavs game last night, the Clippers were able to get to the rim at will. Clippers will have to hope they can remain hot through out a playoff series.. easier said then done though. Shots usually get cold, especially from role players. So if Morris, Rondo, PatBev, Mann or Jackson get cold, Kawhi and PG will want to try and drive it to the rim to make up for their misses.

I would take Utah in 6 games in that series after watching both teams play so far these playoffs.

Gobert's real nemesis are athletic hyper guards. Like Russel Westbrook or Ja Morant. Those guys are fearless and would attack Gobert anyway. Clippers don't have guards that you have to worry about. I don't see George attacking Gobert. Maybe Kawhi, but even he'll back off a bit if there is a tower in his way. He did that last night a couple of times.

[S.R.]

Clippers can shoot but so can Utah. Just watching the Mavs game last night, the Clippers were able to get to the rim at will. Clippers will have to hope they can remain hot through out a playoff series.. easier said then done though. Shots usually get cold, especially from role players. So if Morris, Rondo, PatBev, Mann or Jackson get cold, Kawhi and PG will want to try and drive it to the rim to make up for their misses.

I would take Utah in 6 games in that series after watching both teams play so far these playoffs.

Gobert's real nemesis are athletic hyper guards. Like Russel Westbrook or Ja Morant. Those guys are fearless and would attack Gobert anyway. Clippers don't have guards that you have to worry about. I don't see George attacking Gobert. Maybe Kawhi, but even he'll back off a bit if there is a tower in his way. He did that last night a couple of times.

Gobert's real nemesis is JV! Actually though, he & Utah are used to defending in the modern NBA and I think it's when he has to focus on a traditional, physical big that he's more prone to foul trouble and is just drawn away a bit from the general focus on defending small, perimeter oriented teams. He doesn't really want to bang with another big body all game long, he wants to screen and roll on small defenders and stuff layup attempts from the weak side.

[The Great One]

Been sayin this since 2019. Kawhi Leonard is the best player in the world.

[The Great One]

So Anthony Davis is hurt again? is it me or is this guy ALWAYS injured?

I love how dramatic the news are today though. The Lakers are going to be just fine. They have LeBron James lol. They are more than good enough to beat the Suns without Davis. They are going to need Davis in the WCF against the Clippers though.