2021 NBA Playoffs

[Kermit 3158]

Middleton has improved significantly.

[shadow_operative 15932]

7 minutes ago, Machinator said:

 

he should be out for the remainder of the series with a hamstring injury. trying to come back too early from those only makes it worse and brings your team down. they need to prepare to win this series without Harden. and, if he does try to come back and play during this series, i predict that will only hurt the Nets. 

[ztejas 43538]

7 minutes ago, Kermit said:

Bro, I love you. You know this. Just an observation. Also, you might have a gambling problem.

Haha. I've never had anything close to a gambling problem. Haven't placed a bet in awhile actually. 

I've been telling y'all KD is a machine right now for awhile. The Bucks have way more to prove even with Harden out. Just like that down 2 and Bud has to call time. 

[washparkhorn 9939]

29 minutes ago, Wulaw Horn said:

You don’t come back from Hamstrings without a shit ton of rest. He’s done for the series and the Nets playoffs are cooked. 
ballgame. 

The ledge is getting more crowded.

[Catdaddyhorn 3447]

Why the fuck would Forbes double Blake Griffin? 

[Machinator 32099]

 

[Wulaw Horn 19152]

15 minutes ago, shadow_operative said:

he should be out for the remainder of the series with a hamstring injury. trying to come back too early from those only makes it worse and brings your team down. they need to prepare to win this series without Harden. and, if he does try to come back and play during this series, i predict that will only hurt the Nets. 

Yep. I knew it immediately the second o saw it. Lol at Z saying maybe he will be back for game 2. Nope. 

[washparkhorn 9939]

2 minutes ago, Machinator said:

 

Makes sense - get an MRI to determine if he is injured or whether he is just playing through the remnants (e.g., scar tissue . . . ) of the prior hamstring injury. 

________________________

PJ Tucker continues to surprise me with his utility as a player. 

[Wulaw Horn 19152]

I’m not saying the Nets can’t win a game. Or 2. I’m saying no way they get 4. Unless one of the Bucks big 3 gets hurt. 

[Wulaw Horn 19152]

1 minute ago, washparkhorn said:

Makes sense - get an MRI to determine if he is injured or whether he is just playing through the remnants (e.g., scar tissue . . . ) of the prior hamstring injury. 

________________________

PJ Tucker continues to surprise me with his utility as a player. 

PJ is such a joy to root for. I thought it was 50/50 washed vs wanted out of the Tillman clown show. 
will be super happy for him to see him win a ring as an important part. 

[ztejas 43538]

That's not a foul. KD is on his hand which is an extension of the ball. 

Eh he might have caught his forearm a bit. 

Edited June 6, 2021 by ztejas

[ztejas 43538]

1 shot? Wtf? 

[Machinator 32099]

Just now, ztejas said:

1 shot? Wtf? 

And-1.

[SilasCoade 2622]

How could that be and 1 if he didn't get the shot off in time? It was obviously in his hand when the time expired.

[ztejas 43538]

Just now, Llogg said:

How could that be and 1 if he didn't get the shot off in time? It was obviously in his hand when the time expired.

Because on an and-1 the clock stops when the foul is committed. The continuation doesn't happen during real game time. 

[ztejas 43538]

7 minutes ago, Wulaw Horn said:

I’m not saying the Nets can’t win a game. Or 2. I’m saying no way they get 4. Unless one of the Bucks big 3 gets hurt. 

You're holding on to some Rockets baggage. And I get the emotion. But Brooklyn is extremely capable of winning this series without Harden. KD is the guy that they absolutely couldn't afford to lose because of his defense and he demonstrated that in the first half. They have the best and 3rd best player in the series and both of those guys are more experienced and tested than anyone on this MIL team. 

[ztejas 43538]

I will say - KD needs to be a little sharper. He had 8 or 9 great plays in that first half but 3 or 4 bad ones, too. Tucker did a pretty good job on him though (as did Giannis in help situations). I'm not sure whether I see that continuing or not. 

[Serak The Preparer 3431]

1 hour ago, Wulaw Horn said:

You still rooting for Harden?  I’m big Nets fan as my 1 or 1a team was always whoever KD plays for and my 1 or 1B team was rockets. I appreciate all the stuff Harden did and don’t blame him for deserting SS Ferntits. I think he deserves a ring after going it basically alone for 8 years while everyone else had super teamed it to win those titles. 

I sorta get where you are coming from, as in I do appreciate all of Harden's efforts while he was in Houston and don't begrudge him for wanting a change in scenery. That said, he also has (seemingly) taken no responsibility for any of the moves that Houston made to keep him happy. There were definitely some "win now" moves that didn't pan out in terms of a title, but that came at least in part at Harden's behest. Did the Paul trade come without his input? The Westbrook trade? 

Also, again, I get that he wanted to be somewhere else but he left in a spectacularly shitty fashion. I've had team members leave with lots of notice and team members leave with no notice / shitty effort on the way out. There are definitely some I wish success for more than others.

I am not rooting against the Nets / Harden, but I sure as hell am not going to be upset if they go out early (injury or no injury, those are part of basketball).

[Wulaw Horn 19152]

1 minute ago, ztejas said:

I will say - KD needs to be a little sharper. He had 8 or 9 great plays in that first half but 3 or 4 bad ones, too. Tucker did a pretty good job on him though (as did Giannis in help situations). I'm not sure whether I see that continuing or not. 

It will. They can load up on him and figure kyrie is inconsistent enough that he can’t beat them in a series. Giannis blocked KD last month. In and of itself it might not be that big a deal, but he’s the only guy in the world to do it. They’ve got enough to slow him down just enough to make this an unwinnable series for them. 
 

[ztejas 43538]

5 minutes ago, Wulaw Horn said:

It will. They can load up on him and figure kyrie is inconsistent enough that he can’t beat them in a series. Giannis blocked KD last month. In and of itself it might not be that big a deal, but he’s the only guy in the world to do it. They’ve got enough to slow him down just enough to make this an unwinnable series for them. 
 

I disagree with mostly everything that you've said since this game started so why don't we just see what happens. I'm not going to keep going back and forth because you're on a completely different page than I am. 

[Wulaw Horn 19152]

1 minute ago, Serak The Preparer said:

I sorta get where you are coming from, as in I do appreciate all of Harden's efforts while he was in Houston and don't begrudge him for wanting a change in scenery. That said, he also has (seemingly) taken no responsibility for any of the moves that Houston made to keep him happy. There were definitely some "win now" moves that didn't pan out in terms of a title, but that came at least in part at Harden's behest. Did the Paul trade come without his input? The Westbrook trade? 

Also, again, I get that he wanted to be somewhere else but he left in a spectacularly shitty fashion. I've had team members leave with lots of notice and team members leave with no notice / shitty effort on the way out. There are definitely some I wish success for more than others.

I am not rooting against the Nets / Harden, but I sure as hell am not going to be upset if they go out early (injury or no injury, those are part of basketball).

He’s a super star. He’s not going to be responsible for introspection. That’s not how it’s works. 
Les and Ferntits both refused to go into the tax while everyone else in the league did everything they could to extend their super stars chance of winning a title. 
He gave them plenty of notice he wanted out. A whole month of offseason left. Then he didn’t show up. Then he dropped a ducking masterpiece on Portland in game 1 (45 point triple double on efficient as hell shots) to show the league he wasn’t damaged goods and went through the motions. The Rockets were the ones who said “we are ok with being uncomfortable- so he made them uncomfortable). Then, they showed they were fucking morons by getting a shit ass package for him. 
He had every right to be pissed and untrusting of management. 
And then he came back to houston- the the fans he loved them, and gave a sort of apology. 
that’s all more than AD did and he gets a total pass. It’s more than Kawhi did and he gets a pass from everyone but spurs fans. It just is how this league is. I’m not going to hold him to some higher standard than anyone else is he’s to in the league and he had more reason than most to ask out, and accomplished more than most to be thought of fondly on the way out the door. 

[Catdaddyhorn 3447]

8 minutes ago, ztejas said:

Because on an and-1 the clock stops when the foul is committed. The continuation doesn't happen during real game time. 

Great explanation!! I guess It makes sense that the clock stops on a foul, but I'd never considered the ramifications of it in a play like the one to end the half. 

6 minutes ago, ztejas said:

You're holding on to some Rockets baggage. And I get the emotion. But Brooklyn is extremely capable of winning this series without Harden. KD is the guy that they absolutely couldn't afford to lose because of his defense and he demonstrated that in the first half. They have the best and 3rd best player in the series and both of those guys are more experienced and tested than anyone on this MIL team. 

I'm beginning to believe that Giannis' lack of skillset completely neutralizes him in a playoff setting. To the point of not being even the best player on his own team, much less the 2nd best player in the series. Everything that makes him great (being a terror in the open floor, destroying size mismatches, and play making when he gets down hill is totally minimized in the slow downed pace of playoff basketball. Milwaukee needs to use him more on ball screens with Middleton and Holiday dominating the ball to use him more effectively.  

[Kermit 3158]

1 minute ago, Wulaw Horn said:

He’s a super star. He’s not going to be responsible for introspection. That’s not how it’s works. 
Les and Ferntits both refused to go into the tax while everyone else in the league did everything they could to extend their super stars chance of winning a title. 
He gave them plenty of notice he wanted out. A whole month of offseason left. Then he didn’t show up. Then he dropped a ducking masterpiece on Portland in game 1 (45 point triple double on efficient as hell shots) to show the league he wasn’t damaged goods and went through the motions. The Rockets were the ones who said “we are ok with being uncomfortable- so he made them uncomfortable). Then, they showed they were fucking morons by getting a shit ass package for him. 
He had every right to be pissed and untrusting of management. 
And then he came back to houston- the the fans he loved them, and gave a sort of apology. 
that’s all more than AD did and he gets a total pass. It’s more than Kawhi did and he gets a pass from everyone but spurs fans. It just is how this league is. I’m not going to hold him to some higher standard than anyone else is he’s to in the league and he had more reason than most to ask out, and accomplished more than most to be thought of fondly on the way out the door. 

[Wulaw Horn 19152]

Just now, ztejas said:

I disagree with mostly everything that you've said since this game started so why don't we just see what happens. I'm not going to keep going back and forth because you're on a completely different page than I am. 

There’s only one thing conclusive since we’ve had our back and forth on and that was severity of the injury and I was conclusively right. You can feel free to come back and tel me how wrong you were after game 5 or 6 when the Nets are dispatched in a series that nobody but you thought they had any real chance of winning when Harden went out. I won’t rub it in when you do see it. 

[Wulaw Horn 19152]

2 minutes ago, Catdaddyhorn said:

Great explanation!! I guess It makes sense that the clock stops on a foul, but I'd never considered the ramifications of it in a play like the one to end the half. 

I'm beginning to believe that Giannis' lack of skillset completely neutralizes him in a playoff setting. To the point of not being even the best player on his own team, much less the 2nd best player in the series. Everything that makes him great (being a terror in the open floor, destroying size mismatches, and play making when he gets down hill is totally minimized in the slow downed pace of playoff basketball. Milwaukee needs to use him more on ball screens with Middleton and Holiday dominating the ball to use him more effectively.  

That last part is exactly what they did in their baseball style series against the Nets a month ago. I think I heard Lowe say that it was like 23 or 43 times. By far the most they’d run all year/ever and he became just a total and complete bitch to handle on the roll. And he’s not so bad a shooter that he can’t occasionally pop. 

[Wulaw Horn 19152]

3 minutes ago, Kermit said:

You are making some sort of false equivalence between Harden and Leonard. Leonard dicked over and forced his way out of the leagues model franchise. harden forced his way out of the leagues biggest dumpster fire. Totally different thing. 
have you not noticed everyone in HTown got out the second they could?  And they were all open to bring together again?  The commonality is they were all (rightly) fleeing Ferntits. I’ve worked for a sociopathic boss before. I don’t blame anyone for doing anything within their power to flee that situation. Especially when your window is so short to compete for titles. 

[ztejas 43538]

5 minutes ago, Wulaw Horn said:

There’s only one thing conclusive since we’ve had our back and forth on and that was severity of the injury and I was conclusively right. You can feel free to come back and tel me how wrong you were after game 5 or 6 when the Nets are dispatched in a series that nobody but you thought they had any real chance of winning when Harden went out. I won’t rub it in when you do see it. 

You're on one tonight aren't you 😅

[Catdaddyhorn 3447]

Can't believe the Durant allowed his friendship with Deandre Jordan to have Claxton fixed to the bench for the 1st part of the year.

[ztejas 43538]

10 minutes ago, Catdaddyhorn said:

Great explanation!! I guess It makes sense that the clock stops on a foul, but I'd never considered the ramifications of it in a play like the one to end the half.

It threw some people off - myself included. I had to think about it. It even came up on the TNT desk. 

But, when you think about it, it makes sense. Regardless of time on the clock the clock stops on a foul. 

[Wulaw Horn 19152]

4 minutes ago, ztejas said:

You're on one tonight aren't you 😅

Not at all. I had a wonderful day today with my family and kids and am looking forward to going to church, doing my radio show and going to FOGO tomorrow with my family. I just know how this ends. And it pisses me off bc I’d so looked forward to this series. 
I say all that to you with a rye smile of regret and longing on my face not red faced internet spittle flying guy. It can be hard to tell the difference online at times. 

Edited June 6, 2021 by Wulaw Horn

[Wulaw Horn 19152]

2 minutes ago, Catdaddyhorn said:

Can't believe the Durant allowed his friendship with Deandre Jordan to have Claxton fixed to the bench for the 1st part of the year.

The lesson, as always, never prominently involve an aggy in anything. 

[Wulaw Horn 19152]

16 minutes ago, ztejas said:

I disagree with mostly everything that you've said since this game started so why don't we just see what happens. I'm not going to keep going back and forth because you're on a completely different page than I am. 

Look, I really really really hope I’m wrong. I’m just not going to fall for the old banana in the tailpipe trick again. 
mat least Madden looks fucking sharp in the first against ASU. 

[Catdaddyhorn 3447]

These are just wasted possessions with Giannis running the offense. Claxton sat so far off him that he was essentially double teaming Lopez. 

[HtownHorn 14780]

49 minutes ago, Wulaw Horn said:

I’m not saying the Nets can’t win a game. Or 2. I’m saying no way they get 4. Unless one of the Bucks big 3 gets hurt. 

You act like Giannis is a clutch playoff player.

[ztejas 43538]

1 minute ago, Wulaw Horn said:

Look, I really really really hope I’m wrong. I’m just not going to fall for the old banana in the tailpipe trick again. 
mat least Madden looks fucking sharp in the first against ASU. 

I'm not sure you're entirely sold on how good Durant is right now. This game should be selling you on it so far. He is putting in incredible effort on both sides of the floor. This is an all-time great at the height of his powers. MIL is not just going to take this in 5 or 6 because Harden is out. On top of that - Brooklyn's role guys are playing with a lot of energy and Kyrie remains a cold blooded mfer as always. 

Again - KD and Kyrie have nothing to prove. They are playing with house money right now. Giannis is the one that should be sweating. 

[Wulaw Horn 19152]

1 minute ago, ztejas said:

I'm not sure you're entirely sold on how good Durant is right now. This game should be selling you on it so far. He is putting in incredible effort on both sides of the floor. This is an all-time great at the height of his powers. MIL is not just going to take this in 5 or 6 because Harden is out. On top of that - Brooklyn's role guys are playing with a lot of energy and Kyrie remains a cold blooded mfer as always. 

Again - KD and Kyrie have nothing to prove. They are playing with house money right now. Giannis is the one that should be sweating. 

Hope you are right. I get to name the next animal. My last choice was Vincent the next one will be durantula. I love KD. 

[ztejas 43538]

Just now, Wulaw Horn said:

Hope you are right. I get to name the next animal. My last choice was Vincent the next one will be durantula. I love KD. 

Did that absurd stepback 3 over Giannis settle you a bit chief? 😁

[ztejas 43538]

MIL is going full shit the bed mode.

[WJC88 97]

2 minutes ago, ztejas said:

I'm not sure you're entirely sold on how good Durant is right now. This game should be selling you on it so far. He is putting in incredible effort on both sides of the floor. This is an all-time great at the height of his powers. MIL is not just going to take this in 5 or 6 because Harden is out. On top of that - Brooklyn's role guys are playing with a lot of energy and Kyrie remains a cold blooded mfer as always. 

Again - KD and Kyrie have nothing to prove. They are playing with house money right now. Giannis is the one that should be sweating. 

With you on most of what you've posted. Disagree about KD and Kyrie not having something to prove. While they've had big time playoff performances most people don't give them credit for being the leaders on those teams. And doubt that they can lead a team to a title. 

[ztejas 43538]

4 minutes ago, WJC88 said:

With you on most of what you've posted. Disagree about KD and Kyrie not having something to prove. While they've had big time playoff performances most people don't give them credit for being the leaders on those teams. And doubt that they can lead a team to a title. 

Right... but they just lost their 2nd best player 50 seconds into the series. 

And when people don't give them credit it only holds their legacies back so much. At worst KD will finish his career as a top 20ish guy ever. At worst. Compared to what Giannis has done in the playoffs KD is on a different planet and Kyrie is much more proven to boot. Whether they were the "leaders" on those teams or not is almost besides the point. They know how to win. Giannis is still figuring it out. 

Edited June 6, 2021 by ztejas

[Wulaw Horn 19152]

18 minutes ago, ztejas said:

Did that absurd stepback 3 over Giannis settle you a bit chief? 😁

I feel really good about our chance of wining any game Milwaukee shoots 15% from 3 point on. 

[ztejas 43538]

9 minutes ago, Wulaw Horn said:

I feel really good about our chance of wining any game Milwaukee shoots 15% from 3 point on. 

A lot of those 3s have been poor or contested looks. Don't let the %s fool you. BKN has missed some good looks too - esp from Kyrie and KD.

You weren't feeling good about 4/7 - how are we feeling about 3/6? 😉

[ztejas 43538]

Griffin 18/14 and 3 dimes. Phenomenal game from him.

Durant brought his B game and was still probably the best player on the court. His defense and ball movement may have been the difference. He and Jyrie are believing in their teammates and through 1 game it's paying off. Not sure BKN's role guys will score this well every game though. 

[Patrick Bateman 3932]

Neither team played all that great but home court showed with the bench or supporting players for the Nets.  Griffin played like a beast tonight.  Harris shot really well.  James came in and subbed in as best he can for Harden.  The supporting players won't play this well every game so KD and Kyrie will need to have 1 or 2 huge games for the Nets to win this because Harden is probably done for a couple of weeks.  This will look closer then it was because of garbage time but this was won in the 3rd quarter.

Middleton was fucking terrible tonight.  It happens and without Harden on the court, the Bucks will game plan better and force the ball out of the hands of KD and Kyrie.  The Nets will need to run better sets in the half court.  If I'm the Bucks, I try and slow this down a ton.

[Radical Larry 28663]

 

[MNLonghornFUKM 8822]

Glad it’s Saturday night and the only game on the slate was over at like 830

[ztejas 43538]

7 minutes ago, Patrick Bateman said:

Neither team played all that great but home court showed with the bench or supporting players for the Nets. 

The Nets played about as well as you could hope with Harden going down. And I'm going to nitpick and say that (for the most part) the reason the Nets supporting guys showed out so well was because MIL sold out so many times to stop Durant which led to 2, 3, 4 pass plays to open guys whereas BKN kind of let Giannis get his and Giannis never really got his guys going. 

The shooting you'd expect to even out but Milwaukee got largely punished for throwing the kitchen sink at KD and BKN wasn't very punished for sagging off Giannis and not sending doubles. 

[Wulaw Horn 19152]

5 minutes ago, ztejas said:

The Nets played about as well as you could hope with Harden going down. And I'm going to nitpick and say that (for the most part) the reason the Nets supporting guys showed out so well was because MIL sold out so many times to stop Durant which led to 2, 3, 4 pass plays to open guys whereas BKN kind of let Giannis get his and Giannis never really got his guys going. 

The shooting you'd expect to even out but Milwaukee got largely punished for throwing the kitchen sink at KD and BKN wasn't very punished for sagging off Giannis and not sending doubles. 

And that doesn’t seem sustainable. 
no- don’t feel good about 3/6. But, the recipe is kyrie goes off once, KD goes off once or twice and the role guys play as well as they did tonight. And the bucks continue to shoot like shit. All that’s a tough ask. 

[ztejas 43538]

1 minute ago, Wulaw Horn said:

And that doesn’t seem sustainable. 
no- don’t feel good about 3/6. But, the recipe is kyrie goes off once, KD goes off once or twice and the role guys play as well as they did tonight. And the bucks continue to shoot like shit. All that’s a tough ask. 

KD will do this every game. He didn't "go off" tonight but he was the key for everything that happened. 

Kyrie definitely needs to have a Kyrie game or two - I agree with you there. 

[Wulaw Horn 19152]

Just now, ztejas said:

KD will do this every game. He didn't "go off" tonight but he was the key for everything that happened. 

Kyrie definitely needs to have a Kyrie game or two - I agree with you there. 

Oh I know. This was standard KD. Take his brilliance for granted KD.  I think he’s going to have to do more.