NBA Playoffs Thread

knownone":3jigdwfu said:

Giannis is the best basketball player I've seen since Michael Jordan. He can play the 4 like Kevin Garnett and attack the rim like LeBron. The Warriors are the more talented team, but it would not shock me if the Bucks beat them in 6. Giannis is just that impactful all over the court.

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Not even the best player in this series, he’s actually having a pretty terrible stretch here. Until he can shoot from the outside, he will never become a great player like LeBron or Jordan.

Hawk-Lock":24fibfvn said:

knownone":24fibfvn said:

Giannis is the best basketball player I've seen since Michael Jordan. He can play the 4 like Kevin Garnett and attack the rim like LeBron. The Warriors are the more talented team, but it would not shock me if the Bucks beat them in 6. Giannis is just that impactful all over the court.

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Not even the best player in this series, he’s actually having a pretty terrible stretch here. Until he can shoot from the outside, he will never become a great player like LeBron or Jordan.

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This series speaks more to his teammates than Giannis. It's eerily similar to the 2006 Piston series against LeBron where they just threw everyone in the paint and forced LeBron's teammates to beat them, and they just couldn't. Giannis is a different player than MJ or LeBron. I don't think he can have the same impact on offense as those 2 which is why I said he was Kevin Garnett who could attack the rim like LeBron.

He's averaging 23 points / 14 rebounds / 6 assists / 1 steal / 2.6 Blocks, on 46% shooting against the Raptors. That stat line would rank among the best in KG's career, and it's a bad series for Giannis.

Compare it to Kawhi's 30 points / 8 rebounds / 4 assists / 2.2 steals / 0.8 blocks, on 45% shooting against the Bucks.

Giannis (IMO) has been just as good if not better than Kawhi in this series. The biggest difference in the series is experience. The Raptors have 6 players on their team with significant playoff and big game experience; the Bucks don't have a single player whose made it past the first round until this season besides George Hill.

mrt144":34scxa13 said:

knownone":34scxa13 said:

Portland is a less talented version of the Warriors without KD. They should be up in the series 2-1, but they've failed miserably to get buckets when their offense breaks down. What Portland needs is a wing with length who can create his own shot. That's their biggest issue. You can't consistently win in the playoffs when your 2 best creators are 6'3 or under. If they had a guy like Jimmy Butler, they'd easily be winning this serious.

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I am conscripting you into being the GM of the Blazers...NOW!

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Honestly, Portland's GM has done a hell of a job considering the circumstances. They've made the playoffs 8 out of 10 years. He's hit on two all-stars with mid-tier lottery picks. His biggest issue is being in Portland. It's hard to recruit great players to play in a small market.

The good news is Rodney Hood sounds like he'd like to stay in Portland, and he has the talent to be the player they need if he can put it all together. Unfortunately, unless Hood turns into an all-star, or a great player comes to Portland, there is not a GM in the league who could bring this team further than they got this season.

What are the chances the championship goes north of the border? Or are the Raptors just happy to be there?

NBA not over yet?Damn..

Did the NBA change up their schedule? Seems like the Finals are coming earlier than usual.

HawkGA":1eg2ksjx said:

Did the NBA change up their schedule? Seems like the Finals are coming earlier than usual.

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Did a lot of the series end early?

If Durant is out for most of the Finals, the Raptors will win the championship. Kawhi is the best player in the series, and the Raptors have the veteran experience to avoid being overwhelmed by the Warriors runs.

GS just isn’t all that without Durant. They’ll need him if they want to win another championship.

But I assume their victory last night puts them in pretty good shape to win it all. Win their first game at home because they are at home, go up 2-1 and then get KD back? Please, it's all over now except determining how many games the series goes to, but it won't be more than 6.

HawkGA":20mw7p8n said:

But I assume their victory last night puts them in pretty good shape to win it all. Win their first game at home because they are at home, go up 2-1 and then get KD back? Please, it's all over now except determining how many games the series goes to, but it won't be more than 6.

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What last night proved to me is that GSW needed a great deal of help to avoid getting blown out in the first half. They won largely because the Raptors couldn't hit open shots. Seriously, GSW shot 46% from the field, 38% from three, and only won by 5 against a team that shot 37% from the field, 29% from three. don't think GSW will win the series without KD, unless the referees continue to muck up the game for them.

knownone":39rzznny said:

HawkGA":39rzznny said:

But I assume their victory last night puts them in pretty good shape to win it all. Win their first game at home because they are at home, go up 2-1 and then get KD back? Please, it's all over now except determining how many games the series goes to, but it won't be more than 6.

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What last night proved to me is that GSW needed a great deal of help to avoid getting blown out in the first half. They won largely because the Raptors couldn't hit open shots. Seriously, GSW shot 46% from the field, 38% from three, and only won by 5 against a team that shot 37% from the field, 29% from three. don't think GSW will win the series without KD, unless the referees continue to muck up the game for them.

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That's the thing about the Warriors though, isn't it? Like, you can have them dead to rights and then they go off like they had you the whole time. I do think the injuries are going to finally erode the possibility of that happening but...

mrt144":2smq103h said:

knownone":2smq103h said:

HawkGA":2smq103h said:

But I assume their victory last night puts them in pretty good shape to win it all. Win their first game at home because they are at home, go up 2-1 and then get KD back? Please, it's all over now except determining how many games the series goes to, but it won't be more than 6.

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What last night proved to me is that GSW needed a great deal of help to avoid getting blown out in the first half. They won largely because the Raptors couldn't hit open shots. Seriously, GSW shot 46% from the field, 38% from three, and only won by 5 against a team that shot 37% from the field, 29% from three. don't think GSW will win the series without KD, unless the referees continue to muck up the game for them.

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That's the thing about the Warriors though, isn't it? Like, you can have them dead to rights and then they go off like they had you the whole time. I do think the injuries are going to finally erode the possibility of that happening but...

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Danny Green is Electric, woogie woogie!

Well color me wrong!

What were the Spurs thinking in letting Kawhi and Greene go?

Crizilla":pzj4tfjz said:

What were the Spurs thinking in letting Kawhi and Greene go?

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They really didn’t have a choice. Kawhi sat out an entire year and pretty much said he wouldn’t play in San Antonio again.

Should be a fun rest of the series, especially if KD and Klay come back. Raptors were never going to be GS at full strength, so this would kind of be like the Warriors spotting Toronto a game. Klay should be back for game 4, who knows with KD. What would be really interesting is if Toronto goes up 3-1, could the Warriors win three in a row if they got everyone back? I'm happy for Toronto, even if they win the championship everyone knows GS is the better team.

Hawk-Lock":15swh0xr said:

Should be a fun rest of the series, especially if KD and Klay come back. Raptors were never going to be GS at full strength, so this would kind of be like the Warriors spotting Toronto a game. Klay should be back for game 4, who knows with KD. What would be really interesting is if Toronto goes up 3-1, could the Warriors win three in a row if they got everyone back? I'm happy for Toronto, even if they win the championship everyone knows GS is the better team.

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To be fair, the Raptors aren't healthy either. If Kawhi and Anunoby were 100% healthy during this stretch there is a legitimate argument to be made that the Raptors would sweep the Warriors.

So while I agree that GS is probably the better team with Klay and KD playing; I wouldn't go so far as saying that they'd definitely beat the Raptors if both teams were healthy. If anything we've been robbed of seeing the Warriors historically great offense go against one of the most talent laden defensive teams in NBA history. Both Kawhi and Gasol have won defensive player of the year. Green, Siakam, and Lowry are perennial all defensive team candidates, and Anunoby has flashed the potential to be the one of the best defensive players in the league.

knownone":22piczol said:

Hawk-Lock":22piczol said:

Should be a fun rest of the series, especially if KD and Klay come back. Raptors were never going to be GS at full strength, so this would kind of be like the Warriors spotting Toronto a game. Klay should be back for game 4, who knows with KD. What would be really interesting is if Toronto goes up 3-1, could the Warriors win three in a row if they got everyone back? I'm happy for Toronto, even if they win the championship everyone knows GS is the better team.

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To be fair, the Raptors aren't healthy either. If Kawhi and Anunoby were 100% healthy during this stretch there is a legitimate argument to be made that the Raptors would sweep the Warriors.

So while I agree that GS is probably the better team with Klay and KD playing; I wouldn't go so far as saying that they'd definitely beat the Raptors if both teams were healthy. If anything we've been robbed of seeing the Warriors historically great offense go against one of the most talent laden defensive teams in NBA history. Both Kawhi and Gasol have won defensive player of the year. Green, Siakam, and Lowry are perennial all defensive team candidates, and Anunoby has flashed the potential to be the one of the best defensive players in the league.

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Kawhi isn't 100%, but he is healthy enough to play. At this point, who isn't fully healthy? Big difference between Kawhi playing at less than 100% and guys like KD and Klay not even playing. Cousins isn't even close to full health. Iguodala is also pretty banged up.

I think if both teams were at full strength, Warriors would probably win in 5. Toronto is a great story and an easy team to root for, but Warriors are a championship dynasty. Raptors aren't all that special other than Kawhi. This is the same Toronto team that had home court and got swept by one of LeBron's weaker teams.

Hawk-Lock":1vypa6s7 said:

knownone":1vypa6s7 said:

Hawk-Lock":1vypa6s7 said:

Should be a fun rest of the series, especially if KD and Klay come back. Raptors were never going to be GS at full strength, so this would kind of be like the Warriors spotting Toronto a game. Klay should be back for game 4, who knows with KD. What would be really interesting is if Toronto goes up 3-1, could the Warriors win three in a row if they got everyone back? I'm happy for Toronto, even if they win the championship everyone knows GS is the better team.

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To be fair, the Raptors aren't healthy either. If Kawhi and Anunoby were 100% healthy during this stretch there is a legitimate argument to be made that the Raptors would sweep the Warriors.

So while I agree that GS is probably the better team with Klay and KD playing; I wouldn't go so far as saying that they'd definitely beat the Raptors if both teams were healthy. If anything we've been robbed of seeing the Warriors historically great offense go against one of the most talent laden defensive teams in NBA history. Both Kawhi and Gasol have won defensive player of the year. Green, Siakam, and Lowry are perennial all defensive team candidates, and Anunoby has flashed the potential to be the one of the best defensive players in the league.

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Kawhi isn't 100%, but he is healthy enough to play. At this point, who isn't fully healthy? Big difference between Kawhi playing at less than 100% and guys like KD and Klay not even playing. Cousins isn't even close to full health. Iguodala is also pretty banged up.

I think if both teams were at full strength, Warriors would probably win in 5. Toronto is a great story and an easy team to root for, but Warriors are a championship dynasty. Raptors aren't all that special other than Kawhi. This is the same Toronto team that had home court and got swept by one of LeBron's weaker teams.

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The Warriors were 100% and couldn't beat the Clippers in 5. The Raptors that got swept last year didn't have Kawhi, Gasol, Green, and Siakam was a role player averaging 7 points per game, he's now a budding all-star averaging 17 points per game.

There is a massive difference between the Kawhi that's on the court and healthy Kawhi.

If you compare them player for player the Warriors only have a slight edge in high end talent.

Curry > Lowry
Klay > Danny Green
Durant = Kawhi
Draymond < Siakam ( This might seem odd but statistically he's better than Draymond in every category)
Cousins < Gasol
Iggy < Ibaka
Cook < VanVleet
Livingston < Anunoby

The Warriors would certainly be the favorites, but they'd be lucky to win in 6 IMO.