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NBA Playoffs 2023


ztejas

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30 minutes ago, ztejas said:

He is in the last year. He got traded and Utah bought out his remaining $13M. Then LA signed him on a minimum. He's made $47M this season. 

@statsman you're right that he's in a prove it season as he's an upcoming UFA. 

You’re right in that I should have realized how ridiculous it would be for Westbrook to be on a minimum this year. 

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Shit changes year by year lol. And the wolves have 1 21 YO cornerstone and potentially a 22YO cornerstone player. They turned departing DLO into Conley, NAW and 3 2nd round picks

We will see how it goes

Neither player is signed past next year. With the new CBA rules I’m not sure they could sign both (of course they will resign Ant), but that will put them over the current cap with just ant, kat and Gobert).
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"D'Angelo is really engaged in this ball game"

Well yeah they're up 50 fucking points. 

2 minutes ago, Fastbreak said:

Ja is disengaged. Maybe thinking about the champagne room later.

Thinking about how his team is better when he doesn't play. 

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The Rui tough guy act was adorable. 

Idk who wins GS/SAC but I like them over the LA team that's likely going to win this shitfest. 

And I think sans major injury DEN/PHO is going to settle the West. 

Edited by ztejas
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2 minutes ago, Mitch Cumsteen said:

Otherwise known as a Lillard. 

Have you come around on this Mitch? You were vehemently defending the idea that they were worse without him last season. 

And on Lillard - not sure he's ever had a roster as good as this Memphis team the past 2 seasons. 

Edited by ztejas
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8 minutes ago, ztejas said:

Have you come around on this Mitch? You were vehemently defending the idea that they were worse without him last season. 

And on Lillard - not sure he's ever had a roster as good as this Memphis team the past 2 seasons. 

I think this is a different series if Adams and Clarke area healthy. Davis is doing whatever he wants.

But yeah, it is a ridiculous argument that they're better without him. That's a lottery team otherwise. He's still a freak of nature and he's still really young and getting better. And at least he had the balls to go out there and play through an injury unlike most of the rest of the league it seems. 

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17 minutes ago, Mitch Cumsteen said:

I think this is a different series if Adams and Clarke area healthy.

Seems irrelevant to the discussion. 

18 minutes ago, Mitch Cumsteen said:

But yeah, it is a ridiculous argument that they're better without him. That's a lottery team otherwise. He's still a freak of nature and he's still really young and getting better. And at least he had the balls to go out there and play through an injury unlike most of the rest of the league it seems. 

I have nothing against Ja but I'm starting to wonder, man. Those bullshit numbers he put up tonight don't do anything for me. They were cooked after 1 and I watched his guys without him take G2. 

I think you're overthinking this one Mitch. 

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I just think the narrative around Ja is different if Adams and Clarke play and they are more competitive in the series. That's the relevance of the comment. 

I think game 2 was an overconfidence / letdown for LA. They won game 1 handily and Morant was out. They probably thought it was going to be easy. Meanwhile Memphis knows they can't go down 2-0 with the next two in LA.

And tonight? I don't think it's his fault that Dillon Bricks is an idiot. They were going to lose tonight regardless. 

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26 minutes ago, Mitch Cumsteen said:

I just think the narrative around Ja is different if Adams and Clarke play and they are more competitive in the series. That's the relevance of the comment. 

But that's not what we're discussing. You're making excuses for Ja saying that if his team was more loaded it would be easier for him to win. No shit. 

27 minutes ago, Mitch Cumsteen said:

And tonight? I don't think it's his fault that Dillon Bricks is an idiot. They were going to lose tonight regardless. 

Tonight I'm pretty sure he let his team score 9 points in a quarter. They never made it a game after that. 

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2 hours ago, ztejas said:

The Rui tough guy act was adorable. 

Idk who wins GS/SAC but I like them over the LA team that's likely going to win this shitfest. 

And I think sans major injury DEN/PHO is going to settle the West. 

If Davis stays healthy, and that's a major if, I think LAL are likely favored in the second round regardless of who comes out of that series. What Davis is doing defensively is special. Will certainly be contrasting styles and a very interesting matchup either way. 

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3 minutes ago, NevaLost said:

If Davis stays healthy, and that's a major if, I think LAL are likely favored in the second round regardless of who comes out of that series. What Davis is doing defensively is special. Will certainly be contrasting styles and a very interesting matchup either way. 

I don't like what I'm seeing from LA at all right now. SAC/GS is fuckin cut throat and that energy is going to carry over. This Lakers team looks ready to be had imo. 

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Did not watch one minute during regular season, but got hooked on the Kings vs. Warriors.  The winner of that series is in the WCF, imo. 

 

I give it to the Kings by a nose.  Their intensity and athleticism is off the charts, I think, but I've only seen Denver play once during this year's playoffs. 

 

I am thinking Philly/Celtics vs. Kings final

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4 hours ago, ztejas said:

But that's not what we're discussing. You're making excuses for Ja saying that if his team was more loaded it would be easier for him to win. No shit. 

Tonight I'm pretty sure he let his team score 9 points in a quarter. They never made it a game after that. 

They were 3-25 in that first quarter. He was 1-2. Sure, his handle looked iffy getting used to playing with his jacked up hand in a brace but the rest of that team was complete dogshit. I can’t put that on him.  And It's not like Ja not being there was responsible for Davis going 4-14 in game 2 and LeBron going 1-8 from three. Correlation does not equal causation. The notion that they are somehow a better team without him remains absurd. 

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3 hours ago, Mitch Cumsteen said:

They were 3-25 in that first quarter. He was 1-2. Sure, his handle looked iffy getting used to playing with his jacked up hand in a brace but the rest of that team was complete dogshit. I can’t put that on him.  And It's not like Ja not being there was responsible for Davis going 4-14 in game 2 and LeBron going 1-8 from three. Correlation does not equal causation. The notion that they are somehow a better team without him remains absurd. 

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1 hour ago, closetohumping said:

BB7A522D-51DC-45E1-8E8F-DCB463BBDFF2.thumb.png.0130c0690503dea16f2d538e4ffedfd1.png

The sample size is definitely growing to make a decent case that they're better without Ja. I think the most dangerous thing about Memphis is their defense, and Ja isn't exactly a contributor to that. Ja's overall impact isn't as widespread as other stars.

That said, in the playoffs, someone needs to make big shots. Especially when shit ass role players tend to remember that they're Dillon Brooks on the road. Desmond Bane is really good, but he's not ready to be the guy yet.

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6 minutes ago, aggie08 said:

The sample size is definitely growing to make a decent case that they're better without Ja. I think the most dangerous thing about Memphis is their defense, and Ja isn't exactly a contributor to that. Ja's overall impact isn't as widespread as other stars.

That said, in the playoffs, someone needs to make big shots. Especially when shit ass role players tend to remember that they're Dillon Brooks on the road. Desmond Bane is really good, but he's not ready to be the guy yet.

Yea this isn’t a four game winning streak or something.   It’s a thing Imo.   Not saying he isn’t a talent but it’s the Russ, harden, luka deal.  Four guys watching one guy dribble for 18 seconds

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10 minutes ago, closetohumping said:

Yea this isn’t a four game winning streak or something.   It’s a thing Imo.   Not saying he isn’t a talent but it’s the Russ, harden, luka deal.  Four guys watching one guy dribble for 18 seconds

The conclusion is defensible but your reasoning is way off. If the Grizzlies are worse with Ja than without him, it's because of the negative impact he has on their defense, not because they stagnate on offense. I don't know the stats, but just from the eyeball test I'm betting their pace picks up considerably on offense with Ja on the floor.

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The Cavs must win today to have a chance to win this series, can't go down 3-1. It's crazy that if Giannis is out for a while, the Cavs or Knicks could easily go to the ECF with the way that side of the bracket looks. Miami looks ok, but playoff Jimmy Butler can win them a few games even without Herro. 

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Madison Square Garden is awesome. 

The food selection is pretty darn good. The Bier selection is great. The people working there have always been cool. I used to work the Big East and I made friends with an usher and each year he would make sure to find my mom a place to sit right behind the basket while I was working.

I found a concession where they just sold a prime rib sandwich. You could watch them slice it down off the roast, it came as a dip, on a great crusty French bread and with some awesome NYC half sour pickles. One year at the Big East I only ate prime rib sandwiches, pizza and pickles. I was in heaven.

The atmosphere inside can be incredible. 

Edited by PittsburghTiger
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I can’t believe we’re still having this argument about Ja. I went through and looked at those games last year and there were so many with extenuating circumstances (injuries to other teams stars, back to backs, etc) that the numbers didn’t match the conclusions. But ok I get it. I also look at that roster and don’t see a lot of guys above replacement level except JJJ. Does the rest of that team look like a playoff squad or the number 2 seed in the west without him? I can’t buy it.

I hate that I’m defending the dude too, because he seems like a grade A piece of crap. I look at him a little differently than Luka and Harden and I’m not sure exactly why. Maybe it’s because he gets so many paint points? Maybe it’s because he doesn’t settle for so many step back threes? I dunno. I just get a different vibe from him but I could definitely be wrong. 

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6 minutes ago, Mitch Cumsteen said:

I can’t believe we’re still having this argument about Ja. I went through and looked at those games last year and there were so many with extenuating circumstances (injuries to other teams stars, back to backs, etc) that the numbers didn’t match the conclusions. But ok I get it. I also look at that roster and don’t see a lot of guys above replacement level except JJJ. Does the rest of that team look like a playoff squad or the number 2 seed in the west without him? I can’t buy it.

Yeah, when it comes down to it, there's not a single team that would rather face them with Ja in the playoffs than without. They'd happily take their chances with the other guys. If Bane and JJJ combie for 55 and beat you, you shake their hands. Memphis wasn't particularly good in Game 2; the Lakers were just awful (some of that was defense, some was just dude missing shots).

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