The NBA Thread

MikeH said:
I know it's nowhere near as disrespectful but the Pippen dunk reminded me of:


Had a friend the other week say that if someone was in a coma for 30 years and you showed them a Hezonja highlight reel, you'd think he was a top 10 player of all time hah
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A couple other great disrespectful dunks:

Kemp over Lister…


and Shaq murdering Chris Dudley…
 
The West—
(1) Utah v. (#8) Golden State/Memphis – Utah in 6 over GSW or 5 over Memphis
(2) Phoenix v (7) Lakers- Lakers in 6
(3) Denver v (6) Portland- Portland in 6
(4) Clippers v (5) Dallas- Clippers in 6

The East—
(1) Philly v. (#8) Washington- Philly in 5, unless Beal is healthy than 6
(2) Nets v. (7) Boston- Nets in 5
(3) Bucks v. (6) Heat- Bucks in 7
(4) Knicks v. (5) Hawks- Hawks in 7

The way injuries have unraveled this season for the Nuggets absolutely blows. I would have favored them over any team in the west other than the Lakers and called that 50/50 if we were healthy.

But we are not. Not only did Murray tear his ACL, our starting SG (Barton) and our best perimeter defender / backup SG (Dozier) are also out with injuries. I was going to pick Nuggets in 7 until it was announced that River may miss tomorrow's game with an illness.. I now lean Portland in 6 because if we have to play Shaq + Howard heavy minutes in a playoff game I see us losing control of home court.

Jokic is going to win the MVP and deserves to. But you can’t walk into a series with a bunch of guys who were basically out of the league 2 months ago (Rivers, Shaq Harrison) + undrafted rookies (Campazo, Howard) and except to be favored against arguably the best backcourt in the West. If MPJ plays like the star he is turning into than maybe the Nuggets win in 7.

Who you all got?
 
DownIsTheNewUp said:
The West—
(1) Utah v. (#8) Golden State/Memphis – Utah in 6 over GSW or 5 over Memphis
(2) Phoenix v (7) Lakers- Lakers in 6
(3) Denver v (6) Portland- Portland in 6
(4) Clippers v (5) Dallas- Clippers in 6

The East—
(1) Philly v. (#8) Washington- Philly in 5, unless Beal is healthy than 6
(2) Nets v. (7) Boston- Nets in 5
(3) Bucks v. (6) Heat- Bucks in 7
(4) Knicks v. (5) Hawks- Hawks in 7

The way injuries have unraveled this season for the Nuggets absolutely blows. I would have favored them over any team in the west other than the Lakers and called that 50/50 if we were healthy.

But we are not. Not only did Murray tear his ACL, our starting SG (Barton) and our best perimeter defender / backup SG (Dozier) are also out with injuries. I was going to pick Nuggets in 7 until it was announced that River may miss tomorrow's game with an illness.. I now lean Portland in 6 because if we have to play Shaq + Howard heavy minutes in a playoff game I see us losing control of home court.

Jokic is going to win the MVP and deserves to. But you can’t walk into a series with a bunch of guys who were basically out of the league 2 months ago (Rivers, Shaq Harrison) + undrafted rookies (Campazo, Howard) and except to be favored against arguably the best backcourt in the West. If MPJ plays like the star he is turning into than maybe the Nuggets win in 7.

Who you all got?
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Hmm...

—Western Conference 1st Round—

UTAH over MEM in 5
LAL over PHX in 5
POR over DEN in 6
LAC over DAL in 6

—Eastern Conference 1st Round—

PHI over WAS in 5
BKN sweeps BOS
MIA over MIL in 7
NYK over ATL in 6
​
I enjoy discussion of in-depth playoff postgame analysis, so I will do my best in remembering to share my thoughts/observations when I am able to. Won't be able to watch POR play live tonight unfortunately (work obligations).
 
Jokic had a HISTORICALLY great offensive season where he looked like a cross between Prime Dirk and Prime Bird.

He led the Nuggets to the 3 seed in the West despite a plethora of injuries and covid stuff.

Every major roation player missed at least 10+ games, our second best player tore his ACL, our 3rd best player missed a month with covid and then took a long minute to recover... And yet we kept winning. Even with a backcourt made up people who were basically out of the NBA within the past 2 years.

You can point to Embid's D but that overlooks the the difference in their offensive is almost as large. Embid is an elite two-player who plays with a superb cast of defenders and far better role players. Jokic is a *generational* offensive hub who elevates his teammates in a way that very, very few players (Lebron, Magic, Bird, Nash) do.

Basically, if they were both healthy all year, I'd call it a split decision... but that's not how it played out.



Woob_woob said:
I dont remember the last time there were so many good 1st round series. Im going Utah, LAL, Portland, LAC, Sixers, BK, MIL(could see going either way), NYK

Also I know I'm biased but Embiid should win MVP. Jokic will win it, but Joel was the best player in the league this year
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Woob_woob said:
I dont need a center to pass the ball
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Watch the video above.

It's not that he "can pass the ball". It's that he might be the best passer in ALL of basketball (it's him or James). And sits alongside James and CP3 as having the highest BBIQ in the game.

Which when you combine with his elite touch (can score anywhere on the court) makes him literally impossible to scheme against so long the team isn't entirely devoid of shooters. Because he will MURDER you for doubling. It's also means that he raises the effecincy of his teammates.

Unfortunately, being devoid of shooters is where the Nuggets are atm due to Barton and Murray (and potentially Rivers) being out. Which is the only reason I'm picking Portland.

In contrast, Embid was a completely trainwreck anytime he was doubled until this season. And though that has gotten better, he is still turning it over nearly 20% (!) of the time he is doubled this season.

Luckily for him, the Sixers have a cake walk to the ECF so it's not gonna matter. But against the Lakers it would / will absolutely be a problem. Likely against the Bucks as well.
 
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