OT: 2021 NBA Playoffs

[superjohn]

Ball don't lie

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Suns are getting a lot of calls tonight. Crowder turned the ball over there. Crowder also grabbed the net that should have been a goaltending in the first half.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Booker makes some of the toughest shots I have seen any NBA player make.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Giannis is completely gassed with 4:50 left. Maybe sitting him with 2 minutes left in the 3rd, together with the quarter break, plus 3 minutes in the 4th, would have been a good spot to rest Giannis.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Weird +/-'s:

Booker -12
Connaughton -24

 

[auror]

Booker is so whiny, I hate it. Is this Chris Paul's influence or was he always this bad? He uses his off hand to push off / draw contact on every drive and throws a tantrum every play.

 

[superjohn]

Heading to Milwaukee.

 

[auror]

Congrats Bucks. 50 for Giannis.

In the words of Billy Madison

 

[Dogdeacon]

Giannis was fantastic and made the winning plays down the stretch of games 4 & 5 and then for all of game 6. MVP

 

[uconngb]

Not much of an NBA fan but this is pretty cool as i know 3 of the Bucks owners really well.

 

[auror]

 

[Kenny11]

One of the most “feel good” nba champions in a while.

 

[auror]

 

[Chin Diesel]

So, Chris Paul has officially been inducted in to the Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing, John Stockton and Reggie Miller club?

 

[nelsonmuntz]

One of the most “feel good” nba champions in a while.

David Stern is rolling over in his grave.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

I watched the 60 minutes piece on Giannis 2 years ago. I will watch it again, but I am pretty sure that one of the scouts that found him in Greece talked about players smoking cigarettes on the bench in the league he played in. That is where Giannis started.

Also, the Hawks were the only other team even thinking of drafting Giannis in the first round when the Bucks picked him. He could have slid to the second round if the Bucks passed on him.

 

[Kitaman]

So, Chris Paul has officially been inducted in to the Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing, John Stockton and Reggie Miller club?

I believe James Harden put in his application.

Speaking of which the great thing about these Finals is that it dismissed the issue of Super Teams or Super 3, or creating a Championship Team with All Stars. Just need 2 great players, and fill in the parts with capable players and you have a good team.

Anyway this should make those club members extremely jealous:

 

[WhereistheDove?]

Saw Giannis and his brothers at a hotel in Chicago back in 2019 right after they got booted from the playoffs. Took the time for a bunch of kids that came up to say hi. Seems like a really good dude off the court and clearly, an unstoppable force (and lord help this league if he's figured something out in his FT shooting) on the court.

 

[J187Money]

Have been a Bucks fan since I was a kid - days of Sidney Moncrief and Marques Johnson. Last night was awesome! I was in Wisconsin last week - the whole state is pretty gassed up.

 

[Dean Wormer]

What he said in the postgame about wanting to win in Milwaukee and doing it the hard way, makes me a fan forever. He literally tore apart the super team concept where you leave a small market, join a couple of your buddies (hello LBJ, KD, AD, etc), and grab a quick ring. He signed his supermax contact because “the job wasn’t done, and this city trusts me and believes in me”. Don’t know if it’s a culture thing but some of these foreign dudes work ethic puts our entitlement issues to shame.

 

[Lefty2one]

I believe James Harden put in his application.

Speaking of which the great thing about these Finals is that it dismissed the issue of Super Teams or Super 3, or creating a Championship Team with All Stars. Just need 2 great players, and fill in the parts with capable players and you have a good team.

I don't think it dismissed it as there were no healthy super teams this season. It's not like MIL KO'd a superteam and the Nets would have steamrolled MIL if they were healthy.

 

[Hey Adrien!]

This was easily the most enjoyable finals for me in a long time. Two very likable teams playing very entertaining basketball. Congrats to the Bucks and wow, what an all-time performance by Giannis.

 

[UofCT]

This was easily the most enjoyable finals for me in a long time. Two very likable teams playing very entertaining basketball. Congrats to the Bucks and wow, what an all-time performance by Giannis.

It was fantastic. The whole playoffs were great.

 

[WhereistheDove?]

I don't think it dismissed it as there were no healthy super teams this season. It's not like MIL KO'd a superteam and the Nets would have steamrolled MIL if they were healthy.

It is clearly becoming a potential weakness of the superteam concept though as most of them are bringing established guys that are a bit older. We've seen a lot of significant superteam injury issues.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

It feels like every series is coming down to injuries. Utah is probably not good enough to beat the Clippers without Conley, but the Clippers are going to lose someone important to injury if they keep going 7 games.

The Suns got a huge gift with the sweep. They may be the freshest and healthiest team left by next week.

This is my most prescient post of the whole playoffs. The Bucks had to beat a very good Nets team that was playing without Kyrie and with Harden at less than 100%. They didn't have to play the 76ers, or any of the arguably 4 best teams from the west: Lakers, Clippers, Jazz, or Nuggets, because all 4 of those teams had major injuries that effectively ended their seasons. The Hawks and Suns are good young teams but in a normal environment, both would be a year or two away from really challenging for a conference title.