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2019 NBA Playoffs: QUARTERFINALS


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7 minutes ago, Jrag said:

It’s funny that this wrestling message board, who generally hates the ace, really really loves the frontrunners in sports.

Couldn’t be me.

 

This is exactly how I feel when people start clutching their pearls over people playing the heel in sports around here.  

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9 hours ago, sydneybrown said:

I say this expecting Toronto to win game 7.  A nobody market is probably going to the NBA Finals.  TWO nobody markets isn't happening.  EVER.  Bucks-Nuggets or any non-Warriors match-up would be the least-watched NBA Finals in the last 30 years.  Warriors should get there anyway.   But if they need help....it'll be there.

Yep, the 1999-2000 Blazers say hi.  Indiana-Portland was a Finals matchup the NBA didn't want to see.

 

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52 minutes ago, gatling said:

Yep, the 1999-2000 Blazers say hi.  Indiana-Portland was a Finals matchup the NBA didn't want to see.

 

You guys are forgetting the year we could have had a Kings vs. Bucks Finals matchup, but Tim Donaghy got involved.

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Houston was a means to an end.  I wanted to see the Warriors lose, but I wasn't hoping for a Rockets championship afterwards.  I don't dig their foul hunting and I always get a kick out it biting them in their ass during late game situations; i.e. check out Chris Paul and Harden after Klay intercepted the inbound pass after Curry's three.  I didn't think this version of their team would beat the Warriors at the start of the series, but I thought the KD injury, cracked open the door.   I respect Morey's and the Rocker's owner hustle (taking a shot with Melo, grabbing Austin Rivers, etc.) and willingness to try to take the Warriors out during their current run (some teams are probably just waiting it out), but Chris Paul isn't getting better or younger.  I'm interested in seeing their next roster gamble.

If KD is out, I'd give the Raptors (unless Lowry and Gasol continue their inconsistent play) or the Bucks a shot.  I wouldn't bet on the Blazers or the 76ers getting it done.  I wouldn't completely count Denver out if they had homecourt, but their defense is too inconsistent imo.  There are news hits that keep mentioning Cousins is trying to come back for the playoffs, but if he isn't a 100 percent, I wonder if rushing back would actually be helpful for the Warriors. 

That Ray Allen/Big Dog/Cassell Bucks team needs more love.

Edited by _MJ_
grammar
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KD to GSW was such a chump move. It was terrible for the NBA. GSW/OKC could have had an incredible rivalry for a few years if he resigned. Or if he ended up somehow in San Antonio. 

But another underrated part of the equation - as great as he has been on Golden State, he sort of ruined that team. The 70-win team reinvented basketball and in a great way. Maybe my favorite teams ever were the last Spurs title team and their few years before that. They were the most aesthetically beautiful team in memory.

And then came along GSW once that clown Mark Jackson left and Kerr unlocked The Splash Brothers and Draymond. They passed as much as San Antonio but also had the added feature of Steph shooting half court bombs and Klay having 35 point quarters once he got nuclear.

I can’t remember the last time I wanted to go out of my way to see GSW for the artistry of what they can do. I know they still pass a ton and lead the league in assists and are a way better watch than Houston. But it just doesn’t feel as mind bending.

I wish I watched more Denver this year than I did. That team is beautiful to watch. Jokic is so idiosyncratically brilliant. If and when Murray makes the leap and the other young guns follow, they are going to be like a new Sacramento Kings circa Weber and Divac (two of the other best passing bigs.)

I am just really excited for KD to move somewhere else. It isn’t just because GSW won’t be this dominant force. But it will make a lot of teams more interesting. 

One thing I would love to see: KD on the current Nets team.

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Yeah, KD moving to New York or wherever will restore balance to the league and while I think it's been interesting the past three years or so, it's time for a little bit more uncertainty. I want that pre-KD Warriors team back on the regular. I want LeBron to get his one or two more superstars down in LA too so he can stop bitching and moping. As much as Dolan makes me want to say "they don't deserve it", I feel like the league is in a better place with the Knicks being competitive. KD to either the Nets or Knicks would be good times. Kawhi to the Clippers. There are so many great, great talented players right now and teams like the Bucks are showing you don't need to go top heavy on superstars but find pieces that make sense and develop. We could have a really competitive league next year and I'm excited for that. Warriors and Bucks will still likely be the favourites but they won't be out of reach and so many teams will have a great player or two on their team.

What I'd really like to see is Portland add another key player but Evan Turner's awful deal is still on the books for another year. If they had a healthy Nurkic and replaced Turner with another quality wing with Turner's ~$18m, they'd be in contention for the top spot in the west.

When KD leaves, I really hope Warriors add some solid depth guys back into the line-up and we don't see somebody the level of Cousins sign on the cheap to go ring hunting. Veterans near the end of their careers like David West makes sense but the Cousins signing was greeeeeedy.

The talent level is reminiscent of the late '80s and early '90s and now hopefully we can get the talent distribution of that era down too.

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Dear God, I don't ask for much but can you please do me one little favor: PLEASE LET THE SIXERS WIN THIS FREAKING GAME 7. 

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There's some interesting "what if"  scenarios.  I think if KD had stayed in OKC with Westbrook and Oladipo they probably would have won a title. They were a game away from the finals without Oladipo. Of course he would have had to gain the same motivation to get back into shape as he did when he was dealt to Indiana.  

Warriors would have still been right there with them with Curry, Klay and Draymond along with whatever role pieces they used the KD money on.  

Cavs would have been right there with them as well with LeBron and Kyrie although who knows if Kyrie still wants out,  most likely as he apparently never liked being #2 to LeBron and I assume LeBron to LA was still happening at some point. 

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I don't think KD staying in OKC was realistic as he had issues with things in the city and never really meshed well with Westbrook, but he could have gone somewhere else.

I also feels fairly confident that Oladipo doesn't become the player he became if he stays in OKC.

OKC is weird in that a theoretical sense you look at all the talent they had and go "they should have won titles for a decade" but something has never been quite right there with much of the talent that leaves becoming better and... well that much talent not sticking around for whatever reasons (mostly cheapness).

I'm glad with Golden State taking out the Rockets as the Rockets are pretty lame (prepares to be handed a detailed report breaking down 76 ways in which they are not in fact lame and how everyone else is), but at this point I'll take any of the teams left standing taking the title.

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I just think when you are up 3-1 on Golden State (and kicking their ass) it'd be possible to run it back and beat them the following season. I don't blame KD for getting out of there even if I wished he had gone to a different team but I think if he stayed in OKC they could have got it done. 

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I still just think people are unrealistic on KD. It was an evolution of what KG and LeBron had done the previous several years, not some incredibly new sin never before seen. And, ultimately, the guy decided to take a job in Oakland instead of Oklahoma City, and willing sacrificed some money in favor of what he perceived to he a better quality of life. Someone does that in any non-sports line of work, it's a solid, understandable decision.

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Sports is different and NBA is different than any other sport.  Nobody would care how Charles Woodson won or didn't win all that anyone cares about is he was a legend at his position. That's enough.  He gets the Hall of Fame recognition,  the jacket,  the speech and the bust.  Rings are cool but not a factor unless it's a QB and even then people are still going to (rightly) rank Dan Marino among the all-time greats. 

NBA is more like a championship belt.  They always talk about this on The Ringer and it's true.  Durant right now has the "belt" but in the NBA it's not just about the rings,  it's how someone got to that point.  Durant felt disrespected and he talked about this at length because he wrongly thought simply winning the championship and a Finals MVP would make him "champion."  But it didn't.   It took until after last year when everyone said "okay, now KD is the best."  It took multiple wins over LeBron and for Curry to look more like the second option. Shaq wanted to win a title away from Kobe. Kobe wanted to win titles away from Shaq.  Fast-forward to a point during this season and Draymond is talking about how the Warriors don't need Durant and all the other stuff that is out there and many people have convinced themselves that Durant wants to leave to prove he can win away from Golden State.  Part of why this is still such a hot topic is because Durant allowed himself to get wrapped up in it and CARE about what people are saying. He should have never made those burner accounts and he should have never publicly said he felt this or that.  

I think he's going to end up staying in Golden State by the way.  About LeBron,  many people did get on him about the Heat alliance but it was all forgiven when he won with the Cavs. About KG,  nobody batted an eye because these were roster moves and Pierce, KG and Allen were at the tail end of their primes.  They were all on franchises that failed to get them quality teammates.  

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1 hour ago, Brian Fowler said:

I still just think people are unrealistic on KD. It was an evolution of what KG and LeBron had done the previous several years, not some incredibly new sin never before seen. And, ultimately, the guy decided to take a job in Oakland instead of Oklahoma City, and willing sacrificed some money in favor of what he perceived to he a better quality of life. Someone does that in any non-sports line of work, it's a solid, understandable decision.

Ultimately, the bigger difference would be in context with Durant's leavning.

With KG or Lebron going, it was a sin, but ultimately it had the same benefit: They needed help, they KNEW they needed help...and even in Minnesota and Cleveland, they knew that these guys may be great, but they are never winning the title until they get some help...and their team just couldn't get them the help they need. It was what it was: They needed help, so they went to a team that would give them the help they needed to lock up a title, and if they stayed where they were they didn't have a prayer at winning the title.

Durant will always be different from any of these teams, because ultimately: OKC HAD THEM.  The year before Durant walked in free agency, OKC had Golden State after their 73 win season up 3-1, with the lead with 2 minutes to play in game 5 to go to the NBA Finals and have the biggest upset in NBA history. There's no way of "well, Durant needed some help to lock up a title"- OKC HAD THEM ON THE ROPES, and even if it's perfectly fine to say "run it back and we have a chance of beating these guys", Durant jumps to the Warriors afterwards. 

You can't compare any other act in the past of the NBA to something that goes past "I need  help to win a ring"- and nothing short of, say, "Giannis takes league minimum and agrees to come off the bench for the Warriors just for a ring" would go to that level.

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The thing that really hurts the most about the fact that Toronto winning tonight is virtually guaranteed because the record of home teams in game 7's is only slightly worse than the Globetrotters record vs the Washington Generals is this: if Embiid didn't get sick before game 4 the series would be over and the Sixers would be in the ECF. Praying for a miracle tonight.

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I don't think Toronto is ever a lock even with Kawhi.  Lowry could easily have a 2-15 shooting night among other things. 

Back to Durant,  you can't even blame Westbrook for OKC not beating Golden State,  Durant himself was terrible down the stretch of that series. He had it all setup there to win. 

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