Everything Playoffs-2021

[S.R.]

Budenholzer has always used an immutable "pack the paint, allow the 3" defensive scheme, regular season and playoffs. I remember after coming out of the philly series how more relaxed our guys looked shooting the 3 vs the bucks.

Sticking to that kind of defence vs the Nets is crazy. From 3 Durant is shooting 45%, Kyrie over 40%, and Joe Harris an insane 47.5%. If you're the bucks you gotta get to these guys on the perimeter. You have an excellent rim protector in Giannis, you don't need the rest of your team packing the paint. They need a complete reversal of their defensive priorities, otherwise it'll be a sweep.

It's also extreme bc it's the Nets. They're now shooting 44% as a team from deep these playoffs. Once you get to that level efficiency as a team and put up 40+ attempts, the game is essentially over. Opponent needs to either keep up with that or have a pretty extreme advantage in another area to cover the gap. Bucks don't have an advantage anywhere and are just getting smoked.

Also, KD man. If anyone can defend him it should be Giannis, Middleton, Tucker - the Bucks theoretically have the guys. And they can't at all. KD going to work in the playoffs is a whole different animal.

[DanH]

I think I saw that the Nets are shooting 50/40/90 as a team in the playoffs. Bonkers.

[The Great One]

Watching Durant play in these playoffs is insane. I'm just glad he didn't play against the Raptors in the finals. Holy shit.

[Jclaw]

Watching Durant play in these playoffs is insane. I'm just glad he didn't play against the Raptors in the finals. Holy shit.

This. All this talk about Kawhi being the best player in the NBA after that Dallas series....until I see a healthy KD lose, he's the one.

[The Great One]

This. All this talk about Kawhi being the best player in the NBA after that Dallas series....until I see a healthy KD lose, he's the one.

KD is a beast but Kawhi imo is still the best player in the world(been sayin this since 2019).

[G__Deane]

Watching Durant play in these playoffs is insane. I'm just glad he didn't play against the Raptors in the finals. Holy shit.

Skinny azz dude can ball ....

[Demographic Shift]

So tonight the Hawks can move Hinkie Nation from Defcon 4 to Defcon 3 with a win in the WellsFargo Centre.
The Hawks were full value in running up that 20 point lead they put up in the 1st quarter and then held till late in the 4th when they made some real headscratcing decisions... Up 8 with 30 seconds to go you intentionally foul in the backcourt ? Bold strategy there cotton.
In any event they held on...Can Trae Young do it again ?
Oui.

The Clips after going the full 7 against the Mavs suit up in Salt Lake against the Jazz. They have had a days rest but the Jazz have been waiting for a while. Salt Lake is at altitude as well and those Mormons will be ready to scream and yell as much as they did for Stockton and the Mailman. Donavon Mitchell isn't Luca.. but Donavon has lots of friends coming to the party where Luca didn't.
Clips lose the opener.

As for the Nets and Bucks... conventional wisdom is that you don't worry till you lose one at home. I'm sure the Bucks are less panicked than the assembled media and Milwaukee fan base but tomorrow the Bucks have to win or they are going home. Lets see what they got at home and how the Nets players not named Durant and Irving do away from home.

[Mitchell Duong]

Man Coach Bud.... One credit I will give him is he made the Bucks look formidable which is more than we can say for Jason Kidd, who would be perfect for the Celtics.

Still enjoying the year the Bucks got the MPV, COY, EOY and we got the Chip.

[golden]

Man Coach Bud.... One credit I will give him is he made the Bucks look formidable which is more than we can say for Jason Kidd, who would be perfect for the Celtics.

Still enjoying the year the Bucks got the MPV, COY, EOY and we got the Chip.

Honestly Masai was completed jobbed out of EOY that year. MU fires the reigning COY, trades face-of-the-franchise for an injured guy who didn't even want to report and makes a big trade deadline move - every one of those moves turns up aces and we a chip? The reward: Masai wasn't even a top 3 finalist for EOY, which shows you what a sham that award is. Horst won it.

So the argument is that it's a regular season award... right? Next year, the Raps improve on their regular season record and finish second overall. The reward: Lawrence Frank wins EOY for poaching Kawhi, has a worse regular season record, and the Clips flame out of the playoffs in the most embarrassing fashion ever. MU jobbed again.

Every GM/POBOs #1 objective is to win a championship and Masai got zero recognition for that, even after making legendary front office moves to pull that off.

[The Claw Reborn]

Booker who is natural scorer offensive player may not have reach this level of playoff basketball had it not from elite defensive players like Chris Paul and Jae Crowder (a big loss to Miami). Suns are a more complete team now but jury is still out if they don’t represent the West. That is the nature of the beast, offense and defense has to mesh with each other when it matters most.

[bertarapsfan]

Gotta make my last series prediction.
Jazz in 6- Mavs had success when the hit the 3. Jazz has some of the craziest roster of dudes who can hit 3. Every single dude from Niang to Clarkson to Ingles to Conley to O neal will knock them down if they get them. Theses dudes are going to hit the shots the Mavs couldn't. The mavs also had some sucess when they used Boban to defend the paint and mismatch a small team on the other end... Gorbert is going to have some monster games. Kawhi going to have 40 plus alot. But the rest of them dudes arn't built for the big time

[The Great One]

Damn Bogdanovic is pretty good.

[Kagemusha]

Or perhaps he just chose a quarter of a billion dollars ?
Hard to say no to that.

Greed over legacy.
He has every right to pick his poison.

[The Claw Reborn]

Eric Lewis trying so hard to be in Ballmer’s payroll when he retires as a referee, he has dreams to be like Uncle Dennis

[The Claw Reborn]

I want Newly minted Owner Dwayne Wade to represent the West than that whale owner of the Clippers. Lawrence Frank sitting with Ballmer like a puppet.