NBA The 2024 NBA Playoffs

[Brian Fowler]

27 minutes ago, Contentious C said:

Well, now it's Denver playing like dog shit, but at least it's close.

Yeah apparently we are getting to see the entire series reenacted in this game.

[Contentious C]

6 different champs in 6 years again. 18 titles among the remaining 4! I don't like the Wolves' chances as long as Towns is out there making negative IQ plays, and Indiana has no defensive identity.

[Stefanie Sparkleface]

I don't know if I'm ready for a world where Minnesota could potentially be an NBA finalist.

[Dolfan in NYC]

Well, now Jokic can go back to being with his horses. 

[Brian Fowler]

So at halftime of the Indiana/New York game, stat muse tweeted out that teams up by 15 or more points at halftime are 20-0 in game sevens.

The Pacers after the game quote-tweeted with just 21-0.

Guess how many points Denver was up by at halftime

[Tabe]

What a collapse by Denver in the second half.  Jokic looked exhausted and seemingly nobody else did anything in the second half.  37 points in the 2nd?  Yikes.  Credit to Minnesota for a tremendous comeback.

[Brian Fowler]

1 hour ago, Tabe said:

What a collapse by Denver in the second half.  Jokic looked exhausted and seemingly nobody else did anything in the second half.  37 points in the 2nd?  Yikes.  Credit to Minnesota for a tremendous comeback.

You could see that Malone all but completely gave up on his bench other than Braun. Guys were playing Thibs level minutes.

[jaedmc]

What a weird series. All credit to Minnesota who looked on the ropes and unable to respond after Denver won three straight. This was a historically gutsy comeback that feels like Championship level material to me. So watch them lose to the Mavs in 5 I guess - because these playoffs have been something else.

I feel ... apathetic... about the Pacers/Boston series.

 

[Dolfan in NYC]

Back to the Knicks for one quick second:

I hope he got all the Rangers stuff I sent.

[Stefanie Sparkleface]

11 hours ago, Dolfan in NYC said:

Well, now Jokic can go back to being with his horses. 

Now I've imagined him wistfully singing "Goodbye Horses" as he sadly leaves his farm, and this isn't your fault but I'm going to blame you for it anyway.

[Contentious C]

3 hours ago, jaedmc said:

What a weird series. All credit to Minnesota who looked on the ropes and unable to respond after Denver won three straight. This was a historically gutsy comeback that feels like Championship level material to me. So watch them lose to the Mavs in 5 I guess - because these playoffs have been something else.

I feel ... apathetic... about the Pacers/Boston series.

 

I think Dallas matches up better against them than most.  They have actual bodies on the bench who can still stand up defensively, and it isn't like Irving & Doncic haven't been getting double-teamed their entire careers.  They could probably switch Luka onto Gobert on the defensive end and get away with it.  I think it's just going to take consistent 20+ point games from both of them to eke out 4 wins, because the two of them getting baskets is going to make it easier to, well, do the exact same thing Ant did against Denver: draw attention so the role players get wide-open looks. 

Then again, maybe I'm just saying this because I don't want Minnesota to play Boston in the finals. 

[Brian Fowler]

Minnesota vs Indiana would be the NBA's nightmare, but also kinda a fascinating matchup between offense and defense.

[blitzkrieg]

3 hours ago, Brian Fowler said:

Minnesota vs Indiana would be the NBA's nightmare, but also kinda a fascinating matchup between offense and defense.

They'll have Gobert cough on a mic if that happens.

[Dolfan in NYC]

During an interview Charles Barkley told Anthony Edwards he hadn't been to Minnesota in about 20 years.  

Ant's response was "Bring ya ass."

BringYaAss.com now brings you to the Minnesota state tourism site. 

[Brian Fowler]

8 hours ago, Dolfan in NYC said:

During an interview Charles Barkley told Anthony Edwards he hadn't been to Minnesota in about 20 years.  

Ant's response was "Bring ya ass."

BringYaAss.com now brings you to the Minnesota state tourism site. 

Probably since the Lakers-Wolves WCF matchup in 04 I would guess.

[Brian Fowler]

Got a close one going late in Boston

Edited May 22, 2024 by Brian Fowler

[Contentious C]

I thought about finding a way to sign up for ESPN to watch the Celtics & Rangers games, but A) it's too fucking expensive anyway, since they only let you go the Death-by-Corporate-Greed route and B) I don't need this stress.  Defending either of those Haliburton buzzer beaters better would have been nice.   Can't count on turning them over 20 times all series, but they probably aren't going to shoot 56% every game either.  Jesus.

[Brian Fowler]

Why Rick Carlisle never ever fouls up three in the final seconds I cannot understand.

[Dolfan in NYC]

 

Notably, the governor of Minnesota knows what an acrostic is. 

[Contentious C]

I am pleased with this result.

People seem to forget that Minnesota is pretty atrocious on offense; not 90s playoff team level of bad, but not as good as the other 3 remaining.  Ant going 1-4 on 2-pointers sounds like whatever Dallas' defense was worked on him, because it's better if he's a league-average perimeter shooter than going downhill and dominating you.  I only watched about 10 minutes of the game while I ran tonight, and what I saw looked pretty ugly on both ends, aside from Kyrie getting to the basket at will and carving up the Wolves that way.  Luka got it going in the 4th, too, with some mid-rangers.  And being able to can those shots is often the difference this time of year. 

[Brian Fowler]

7 hours ago, Contentious C said:

I am pleased with this result.

People seem to forget that Minnesota is pretty atrocious on offense; not 90s playoff team level of bad, but not as good as the other 3 remaining.  Ant going 1-4 on 2-pointers sounds like whatever Dallas' defense was worked on him, because it's better if he's a league-average perimeter shooter than going downhill and dominating you.  I only watched about 10 minutes of the game while I ran tonight, and what I saw looked pretty ugly on both ends, aside from Kyrie getting to the basket at will and carving up the Wolves that way.  Luka got it going in the 4th, too, with some mid-rangers.  And being able to can those shots is often the difference this time of year. 

The Towns-Gobert fit is sometimes still real ugly on offense. Not always like it was last year, but often enough to raise questions even this deep. Of course, that front line is absurd to try and score on. 

It's also worth remembering that Dallas seemingly turned their defense on down the stretch. The last fifteen games of the season they had the best defense in the NBA, and they've shown that pretty often in the playoffs. And they still have the ability to score on the other end fairly well. I'm not making any predictions on either conference final much less the championship yet, but when Dallas plays their A game on both sides, they're awfully hard to match up with. 

But, hey, home court didn't mean shit for Minnesota and Denver in the last round, I won't be surprised at all if Minnesota takes the advantage right back the next three games 

[Contentious C]

I'm sure this seems familiar to Minnesota.

[RandomAct]

I think Minnesota hit Dallas with their best shot tonight.  KAT and Edwards are both folding under the pressure, and Luka/Kyrie getting switches with elite lob threat outlets is a nightmare scenario.

Luka hates Gobert and I love it.

[jaedmc]

After the last round, I won't count Minny out of anything. But Dallas looks like they're capable of clawing their way out of anything at this point.

[Brian Fowler]

I don't know what Rick Carlisle said to the team going into the second, but he should remember it for the rest of his career.