NBA Playoffs 2023

[Matrim55]

That’s a strange statement after he just shot 5-21 in a game his team could have been eliminated.

He outscored the Sixers 16-13 by himself in the 4th quarter of a close-out game featuring the current MVP.

Dude was horrendous for 3 quarters but anybody who can put up that 4th quarter is clearly one of the best basketball players in the world.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

He outscored the Sixers 16-13 by himself in the 4th quarter of a close-out game featuring the current MVP.

Dude was horrendous for 3 quarters but anybody who can put up that 4th quarter is clearly one of the best basketball players in the world.

He’s a mystery these days.

 

[Matrim55]

He’s a mystery these days.

There aren't a lot of 25-year-old alphas who hold up consistently in these circumstances. Remember Booker last year, or Giannis vs. the Heat in 2020?

Last alpha age 25 or younger to lead his team to a title was D Wade in 2006, but he had Shaq as his sidekick, and had Riley as his coach.

The ups-and-downs are pretty extreme for Tatum, but it'd actually be a bit more unprecedented if he was just straight-up dominant already.

Anyway:

 

[aceboon]

Suns fans sat thru that game 7 vs the Mavs and now this game 6

 

[Ratso]

 

[HooperScooper]

He outscored the Sixers 16-13 by himself in the 4th quarter of a close-out game featuring the current MVP.

Dude was horrendous for 3 quarters but anybody who can put up that 4th quarter is clearly one of the best basketball players in the world.

Oh. So he had 3 points entering the 4th quarter? I am in Europe and woke up about 4:00 am to check the score and saw he was 5-21 from the field. So I didn't see the game. Wth was he doing before the 4th quarter? He needs to be more consistent, and better, if the Celtics are going to win it all. Starts on Sunday.

Sixers shot pretty terribly from the field. Was the Celtics D that good?

 

[nelsonmuntz]

76ers really melted down offensively at the end. They didn’t just miss shots, they wasted multiple consecutive possessions by burning the shot clock and then forcing up a bad shot. There was a lot of hero ball, particularly by Maxey and Harden, and I don’t think Harris took a shot after halftime. I feel like these outcomes are a feature, not a bug, of Doc Rivers coached teams.

There is always way too much ISO and not enough ball movement. His Celtics and Clippers teams were the same way. This style makes it easy for the opposing defense to turn it up a notch at crunch time.

 

[Edward Sargent]

Oh. So he had 3 points entering the 4th quarter? I am in Europe and woke up about 4:00 am to check the score and saw he was 5-21 from the field. So I didn't see the game. Wth was he doing before the 4th quarter? He needs to be more consistent, and better, if the Celtics are going to win it all. Starts on Sunday.

Sixers shot pretty terribly from the field. Was the Celtics D that good?

Yes, he was 0fer in the first half, yes on Cs D Horford, White and Smart were outstanding

 

[Travelman6]

The sixers already advanced....

Sixers advance to Eastern Conference finals. Here's what you need to know

After dispatching the hated Celtics in six games, the Sixers are in the Eastern Conference finals. Here's what's next.

sports.yahoo.com

 

[nelsonmuntz]

I guess the fact that every player gets older is some kind of point, but if you're saying LeBron and Curry are in the same boat, I don't know what to tell you.

And the fact that the players you mentioned are just fully not over the hill.

Like, your argument is that EVENTUALLY players regress. Congrats. That’s just not the case with the group you mentioned at this point.

Every one of these geezers is one bad step away from a pulled groin or pulled hamstring or some other old man injury. See Chris Paul if you are curious. Lebron, Steph and Klay are hanging by a thread physically. AD is much younger, but he is so brittle he might as well be 35. Sure, they can still put up a big night but they are not the same defensively and they will struggle in their third series of the playoffs against a good team like the Nuggets whose core is in its prime. If the Lakers/Warriors winner beats the Nuggets. Look at the Suns/Nuggets series. Paul broke down and KD is not a top defender anymore.

I think the Celtics will win the championship in 4 or 5 games if they play the Lakers or the Warriors, because 4 straight series of 35+ mpg is too much for players the age and condition of Lebron/Steph/Klay/AD.

 

[HuskyHawk]

He outscored the Sixers 16-13 by himself in the 4th quarter of a close-out game featuring the current MVP.

Dude was horrendous for 3 quarters but anybody who can put up that 4th quarter is clearly one of the best basketball players in the world.

He was horrendous shooting for 3 quarters, but very good passing, rebounding and defending. I don't think there's any doubt that he's "one of the best basketball players in the world". You could say that about several guys on those teams.

@HooperScooper he was 1-14 from the field at one point. Mostly it wasn't 3s, it was drives to the hoop that didn't fall. Some got blocked, sometimes he got fouled (no calls), sometimes he just rushed it and put too much on it.

This game reminded me of some of the UConn games during our losing streak. The refs put the whistles away and were letting everything go. Philly is clearly the more physical team, with the exception of Smart, and it worked to their advantage. Have to stop driving to the hoop and expecting the foul calls you got in the regular season.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Every one of these geezers is one bad step away from a pulled groin or pulled hamstring or some other old man injury. See Chris Paul if you are curious. Lebron, Steph and Klay are hanging by a thread physically. AD is much younger, but he is so brittle he might as well be 35. Sure, they can still put up a big night but they are not the same defensively and they will struggle in their third series of the playoffs against a good team like the Nuggets whose core is in its prime. If the Lakers/Warriors winner beats the Nuggets. Look at the Suns/Nuggets series. Paul broke down and KD is not a top defender anymore.

I think the Celtics will win the championship in 4 or 5 games if they play the Lakers or the Warriors, because 4 straight series of 35+ mpg is too much for players the age and condition of Lebron/Steph/Klay/AD.

This is the point I was originally making. The playoffs are a grind. The games are more physical. Defense turns up. Being older with an injury history isn't an advantage even if you've "been there".

 

[CardiacAndre7]

Every one of these geezers is one bad step away from a pulled groin or pulled hamstring or some other old man injury. See Chris Paul if you are curious. Lebron, Steph and Klay are hanging by a thread physically. AD is much younger, but he is so brittle he might as well be 35. Sure, they can still put up a big night but they are not the same defensively and they will struggle in their third series of the playoffs against a good team like the Nuggets whose core is in its prime. If the Lakers/Warriors winner beats the Nuggets. Look at the Suns/Nuggets series. Paul broke down and KD is not a top defender anymore.

I think the Celtics will win the championship in 4 or 5 games if they play the Lakers or the Warriors, because 4 straight series of 35+ mpg is too much for players the age and condition of Lebron/Steph/Klay/AD.

Every player is one step away from an injury. This is such a ridiculous take. LeBron is one of the most durable athletes we’ve ever seen. The guy is 38 and still as fast, strong and athletic as almost anyone in the league. AD is brittle, you can have that one. But every player deals with injuries.

 

[Matrim55]

Sixers shot pretty terribly from the field. Was the Celtics D that good?

Celtics D was amazing -- had a drtg of like 76 when Time Lord was on the floor -- and the Sixers helped things along by missing some makeable shots.

Embiid really, really struggled to impose himself on the game when facing the double bigs. Horford would guard him w/ Rob in that roaming role, and Embiid is just not a good enough passer/playmaker to punish that. And he just lacks the stamina to bring guys down to the block every time.

Embiid's numbers for this series:

• 28/9/2 on 45/25/89 shooting splits and a negative a/to ratio

Embiid's career playoff numbers:

• 24/11/3 on 46/29/82 shooting splits and a negative a/to ratio

Embiid's career conference semis numbers:

• 24/11/3 on 43/30/82 shooting splits and a negative a/to ratio.

This is his 11th playoff series. He's shot better than 50% from the floor in three of them, and had a positive a/to ratio in three of them. All of those were first-round series.

The Sixers are 0-4 in Conference semis since he's been there.

Jokic's numbers, for comparison:

• 35/13/10 on 59/44/89 shooting splits with a 2.5-1 a/to ratio vs. the Suns.

Jokic's career playoff numbers:

• 27/12/7 on 53/41/83 splits w/ a 2.3-1 a/to ratio.

Jokic's conference semis numbers:

• 28/14/8 on 53/40/81 splits with a 2.6-1 a/to ratio.

The Nuggets are now 2-2 in conference semis, and bear in mind one of those losses came two years ago without Murray and MPJ.

If Embiid doesn't turn this around in Game 7 and at least get Philly to the conference finals, this "rivalry" is going to end up like Hakeem/Ewing, where the clearly inferior big market guy got propped up for years until eventually it just became so damn obvious that the other guy was miles ahead that it wasn't a rivalry anymore.

This is absolutely a legacy game for him coming up..

 

[Hey Adrien!]

I've been ambivalent so far, but that Grimes defensive stop has got me locked in to tonight's game.

The Knicks lack shooters (revisionist history, but imagine how this team would look if Kevin Knox reached his ceiling and/or if the Knicks drafted Bridge/Shai instead?), but are a fun team to root for. Hart has been a perfect addition to this team too.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Every player is one step away from an injury. This is such a ridiculous take. LeBron is one of the most durable athletes we’ve ever seen. The guy is 38 and still as fast, strong and athletic as almost anyone in the league. AD is brittle, you can have that one. But every player deals with injuries.

Most of your takes are terrible, but arguing that 35 year old NBA players are no more likely to get injured than 25 year old NBA players still makes your Top 10 most ridiculous takes. Nice work.

 

[husky429]

Every player is one step away from an injury. This is such a ridiculous take. LeBron is one of the most durable athletes we’ve ever seen. The guy is 38 and still as fast, strong and athletic as almost anyone in the league. AD is brittle, you can have that one. But every player deals with injuries.

Funny how I knew it was Nelson you were responding to even though I have him on ignore. The guy is an idiot.

Lebron is historically durable. Like, they'll probably cut apart his body when he dies to figure out what in the hell was going on inside of him kind of durable. He's been playing deep into the playoffs most of his career, and has had, what--1 or 2 major injuries in 20 seasons? Only one I can recall is the groin injury circa 2021.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Funny how I knew it was Nelson you were responding to even though I have him on ignore. The guy is an idiot.

Lebron is historically durable. Like, they'll probably cut apart his body when he dies to figure out what in the hell was going on inside of him kind of durable. He's been playing deep into the playoffs most of his career, and has had, what--1 or 2 major injuries in 20 seasons? Only one I can recall is the groin injury circa 2021.

Agree on LeBron. He's a unique human being. It's incredible, especially considering he started out of HS. The other guys have all already had issues or have slowed down.

 

[Inyatkin]

We heard you the first 5 times. Got anything else?

Yes, you would be the one to complain about someone else making inane points over and over.

 

[CardiacAndre7]

Most of your takes are terrible, but arguing that 35 year old NBA players are no more likely to get injured than 25 year old NBA players still makes your Top 10 most ridiculous takes. Nice work.

If ever the pot/kettle metaphor was necessary, this would be it. Probably top 10 most necessary uses. I know you like your lists.

 

[Matrim55]

 

[CardiacAndre7]

Guy is absolutely incredible. I’m still in the Embiid deserved it camp, at least he did once over the last 2 seasons, so i’m glad he got it this year. But Ayton/the Suns are the perfect matchup for Jokic.

 

[Inyatkin]

I don't know, a smart guy on the Boneyard told me the Nuggets were mediocre, so I'm sticking with that.

 

[QDOG5]

Jokic is my favorite player in the NBA. I love everything about his game. Mark Jackson left him off his top 5 in the MVP voting. He should lose his vote.

 

[REB1094]

Miami is guarding Brunson like the local middle school league where there's only 1 good player. 2 guys on him all quarter, but the rest of the starting lineup is 5-31 lmao