Jrag

What Kawhi is doing in this series is mind boggling. He is making all the tough ones too, but just completely automatic when Philly slips up on their rotations. He might carry this to 7, but I still see the Sixers winning. Great series so far. If we are ranking the best players still alive in these playoffs it’s clearly KD and Kawhi at 1 and 2. The rest of them are fighting for 3rd.

Tyrion has been dumbed down over the last few years, yes, but I sort of loved the last ditch desperation bit with Cersei at the end. It’s not that he expected anything from Cersei, but I think he rightfully realizes how precarious Dany’s situation is and he can see the madness boiling up. Liked the direct plea to Cersei as a last gasp situation.

I will wait and see what they have in store for Jaime before I cast any judgment on that scene. I took it as... he decided to ride south when he heard about Euron’s involvement. Almost a jealousy thing. Really didn’t like how they handled the Bronn stuff... I really am loving the Dany/Jon 1-sided power struggle situation going on. Sansa telling Tyrion the truth was absolutely the right move. I actually really like how this idea has spread around without Jon being directly involved in any plots. It would ring false if he all the sudden became super ambitious after the Great War ended. Much more interesting this way and overall I think they are really nailing the Starks/Targs part of the story.

The Rockets, more than anything, have proved the worth of ISO ball in the right hands. The pass heavy teams, like GS and Philly, are more fun to watch I agree, but it’s no surprise those two teams turn the ball over at a crazy high rate. Harden is obviously the best foul hunting guy ever. It doesn’t annoy me anymore than, say, the endless series of moving screens the Warriors set to get Klay and Steph open. In both situations, it’s the best guys in the league manipulating the game based on the way the refs are calling it. For me, Harden’s vision and ability to control the game at his own pace will be fun to watch regardless of how many trips he takes to the line. He continues to add stuff every year, too. I always have mad respect for the stars who continuously improve. This year he added that floater and oh boy is it a killer.

I dunno. Maybe it’s just wanting to see a good series, but the general feeling around the NBA media types was disappointment when the Rockets went down 0-2. I couldn’t imagine rooting for the Warriors over anyone at this point. That shit was old before KD even got there in my opinion.

They really aren’t. Most NBA people are rooting for them. Who is out here clamoring for GS to win another ring? You are clearly a heel, yes, but I don’t let that cloud my judgement of the actual team.

Did... did Siakam hurt his leg when he tripped Embiid?

Embiid with a monster game last night. Guys just have no chance if they are driving into him. His timing and range as a rim protector is legit special. If he is knocking down 3s you can go ahead and call game. That’s basically what happened last night. Also, Sixers rolling with Point Ben in transition and Point Jimmy in the halfcourt is the ideal way to use both those guys. It apppears that Toronto does not have the firepower to match despite the incredibly efficient massive games from Kawhi.

You know what I’m saying. There not being a single white walker fight scene is sort of weird. All these people have Valyrian steel and it’s an afterthought. And considering how the previous episode ended with the row of white walkers..... what a waste.

I would have really liked a scene where someone with Valaryian steel killled a White Walker. How did we not get that? They could have set up a scene where Jaime or Breinne kill a White Walker and a chunk of the zombies disintegrate. Would have at least made the Sam surviving nonsense a bit more plausible ..

Yes.

Am I the only one (besides the obvious one) who loves that Daryl Morey audit stuff? A clear attempt to swing the calls in game 2, yes, but massive points for originality. Hard to really take a side on the actual officiating in my book. Klay got away with way too much on those close outs, but I understand not wanting to give Harden the benifit of the doubt. Chris Paul and Draymond Green should literally be ejected every game. Can’t believe how much those guys are allowed to go at the refs. Draymond is clearly the worst, but CP3 has been doing that shit for so long it’s no wonder he has some refs out to get him. Scott Foster is trash tho...

Also, Adam Silver ran off Hinkie. In hindsight the league really really fucked the Sixers over. Forced poppa Colangelo on em which paved the way for Big Collars and the absolutely worst draft night trade in league history.

Great adjustments by Brett Brown in game 2. As I expected he switched to Butler on Lowry and Simmons on Kawhi and it worked much better and allowed Jimmy to spend more energy on the offensive end. I absolutely did NOT see the Embiid on Siakim and Harris on Gasol switch coming and that worked out really well. Gasol would clearly much rather be a distributor and Brett knew it. Great job there. Brown really struggles with in-game adjustments to the point where he clearly deserves some grief after bad losses. For example it was obvious about 8 minutes into game 1 that Boban had no place in this series, but Brett really likes to stick with his initial gameplan. As I mentioned earlier he definitely made some great adjustments between games. I dunno man I thought Kyle was very clearly the second best Raptor yesterday. A couple big threes late and he was directly and indirectly involved with a whole bunch of those Philly turnovers. Siakim looked ok for stretches, but Philly isn’t respecting his shot outside of the corner 3. You could tell he was trying to force a few things here and there. Driving 1 on 1 against Embiid might work every now and again, but that’s a situation Philly surely loves. Green had an off night, but I’m sure he will bounce back. Gasol has to be more aggressive offensively.

Sam living is the most inexcusable thing in show history. Even above Gendry running back to the wall. Why even cut to him so much if your going to keep him alive. Just explain it away that he survived in some lucky way. Don’t cut to him literally in the grasp of the fucking dead! That made no sense and really took me out of it for a second. Also, Jon really should have killed that dragon before the Arya/Night King moment. Hard to imagine the lord or light brought him back for THAT. Loved all the Theon and Jorah stuff. Count me in on the Sansa/Tyrion power couple bandwagon.

I thought Toronto/Philly game 1 was interesting. Kawhi making the toughest shots all game. He worked Jimmy Butler to the point where I've completely flipped on who I think should guard him. Simmons played really well defensively when matched up with Kawhi. I do anticipate that will be the match up going forward. Embiid did not play well, but I thought the defense from the Sixers starters wasn't bad at all. It really shows how thin Philly is when Mike Scott missing games means playoff minutes from Furkan Korkmaz. I really think both series out East will go long. How bad are those Celts are better without Kyrie takes looking right now?

Daryl Morey obviously and conveniently leaking this to Lowe before Game 2 really makes me laugh. http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/26634745/rockets-audited-18-game-7-say-finals-bid-taken Harden is absolutely 1000% getting to the line next game.

The Eastern Confernece Playoffs begin today! Wooooo

Interesting snapshot of the first round through the player efficiency lens: Top 5 in PER: 1. Embiid - 39.4 2. Giannis - 31.6 3. Durant - 29.7 4. Kawhi - 28.9 5. Bledsoe - 28.7 Tells me two things. 1. The Nets going super small wasn’t a great idea. 2. Embiid doing this on a bum knee should terrify the rest of the East. If his knee continues to improve I think they can pull it off in round 2.

It will be interesting to see who guards who in this Sixers/Raps series. I would like to see the Sixers start with Ben on Lowry and Jimmy on Kawhi.

A little too high for me, but I have no problem having Dame as the clear cut 3rd best guard in the league. Right below the Kawhi/AD/Embiid tier is where I would have him overall. Those guys are freaks on both sides of the ball. What a bounce back from Portland after that beat down in the first round last year. I’ve grown to really like CJ because of his podcast (even though Howard Schultz dipshit kid is involved.)

After barely being able to jump in game 1, Embiid looked awfully bouncy in games 4 and 5. I would guess Toronto in 7, but I would not be surprised if Philly beats them. Would be a little more shocked if Boston pulled it off.

On Binge Mode last week someone said it best. Kit Harrington needs to fire his agent over this nonsense. At some point they went from hiding how short he is to mandating 1 short joke per week. How about some middle ground there, guys?

The knighting scene is one of my favorite moments in show history. Maybe #1 I could do with a full season of those specific characters drinking and telling stories. I wonder how many of them survive next week? Tyrion needs to stay out of the fucking crypts! I love the way they are pacing this out.