NBA Playoffs 2023

[Matrim55]

Seems weird how dismissive of Jokic so many people here are.

Just the Philly fans. Everyone else knows he's the best player in the world. And while he's not a good rim protector at all, his overall impact on the Denver defense continues to be underrated:

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

Seems weird how dismissive of Jokic so many people here are.

Not dismissive.

They’re a good matchup for the Warriors because he wouldn’t have to worry about guarding Looney or Draymond. KCP can do a solid job on Steph too.

He’s not guarding AD and AD and Vanderbilt have been some of the two best defensive guys in the playoffs. That’s who Murray and Jokic would have to deal with. That’s my logic on it.

 

[HuskyHawk]

It was the second truly excellent all-around game the Celtics have played since December (the destruction of the Bucks in March was the other one). When they play with pace and intensity they are really, really good, but they've been so prone to not ever getting out of 3rd gear that I don't trust them to do it in back-to-back games.

Re: Grant, not saying the offense should run through him. But he guards 3-4-5 really well (and can credibly switch onto guards at times), nails every single defensive rotation, is a good connector as a passer, and is an absolute sniper in the playoffs: 47/45/81 career splits.

The fact that Mazzulla has consistently DNP-CD'd him down the stretch and into the postseason has driven me nuts.

I agree with you on Grant, but he has a tendency to think he's a primary option on offense. On this team, he just can't be. Last night he did exactly what you want him to do. I think Mazzula benched him because he was focused on earning a big payday on his next contract and not on what the team needed from him. It was pretty obvious.

 

[Matrim55]

Love this thread. I'm super critical of Joey Mazz, but doing the simple stuff right -- like putting JB on Harden -- is a step in the right direction.

 

[CardiacAndre7]

I don't think the Nuggets have ever choked? Beat by a better team in the bubble, then lost w/ Jokic & scrubs against a great Phoenix team in '21 and an all-time great Dubs dynasty team in '22.

Fair, not sure why I said choked. But they haven’t won anything to make me believe they should be definitively favored over the Lakers or Warriors.

Jokic is a tough matchup for anyone but AD is about as good as it can get against him. And the Lakers defense has been pretty great overall.

The Warriors are the warriors, they can beat anyone, anytime.

 

[superjohn]

Fair, not sure why I said choked. But they haven’t won anything to make me believe they should be definitively favored over the Lakers or Warriors.

Jokic is a tough matchup for anyone but AD is about as good as it can get against him. And the Lakers defense has been pretty great overall.

The Warriors are the warriors, they can beat anyone, anytime.

They haven't had Murray and Porter Jr. It's remarkable what they did without them. Jokic playing with backcourts of Facundo Campazzo, Austin Rivers, and Bones Hyland. When Jokic was off the court last season they were the worst team in the league.

It's not fair to judge them on winning when they didn't have two of their three best players the last two playoffs.

 

[CardiacAndre7]

They haven't had Murray and Porter Jr. It's remarkable what they did without them. Jokic playing with backcourts of Facundo Campazzo, Austin Rivers, and Bones Hyland. When Jokic was off the court last season they were the worst team in the league.

It's not fair to judge them on winning when they didn't have two of their three best players the last two playoffs.

But it’s fair to judge the Warriors and Lakers who have both won recently.

This is definitely the best Nuggets team though. But they did get a huge break with that CP3 injury.

 

[Matrim55]

Fair, not sure why I said choked. But they haven’t won anything to make me believe they should be definitively favored over the Lakers or Warriors.

Jokic is a tough matchup for anyone but AD is about as good as it can get against him. And the Lakers defense has been pretty great overall.

The Warriors are the warriors, they can beat anyone, anytime.

Fully agree. I think the 4 teams with the best shot right now are those three & the Celtics. Sixers & Suns a tier below, with the Knicks & Heat a tier below that.

If the Heat actually win a title this year -- I do not think they can -- then Spo immediately goes onto the coaching Mount Rushmore, and he's not the 4th guy on that mountain. He's like Jefferson or Lincoln, not TR.

 

[HuskyHawk]

But it’s fair to judge the Warriors and Lakers who have both won recently.

This is definitely the best Nuggets team though. But they did get a huge break with that CP3 injury.

Not the same team either though. The Lakers with LeBron and AD. Missed playoffs. Won title. Lost round 1. Missed playoffs. Beat Memphis in rd 1. Hardly a juggernaut.

The Warriors, what can you say? Epic. But they can't keep it up much longer. The run is ending.

 

[CardiacAndre7]

Not the same team either though. The Lakers with LeBron and AD. Missed playoffs. Won title. Lost round 1. Missed playoffs. Beat Memphis in rd 1. Hardly a juggernaut.

The Warriors, what can you say? Epic. But they can't keep it up much longer. The run is ending.

Lakers are a better team right now than they probably have ever been with AD and LeBron, at least from a personnel perspective.

We thought the Warriors were done then they won the title last yr. How quick people forget.

 

[superjohn]

Marcus Smart wins the NBA Hustle Award.

Why is there an NBA hustle award? Couldn't it also he named the NBA flop award?

 

[navery12]

Budenholzer should pack his bags.

 

[August_West]

Ooof . Should ask his star if his coach “ choked”

 

[nelsonmuntz]

There are consequences for crashing a Maserati.

 

[Inyatkin]

Seems fair to wonder how much a coach even matters. Budenholzer isn't any smarter or dumber now than when he won an NBA title. The Celtics have a new coach every year with basically the same results.
I know people will tell me I'm dumb here, but it at least seems like too much attention is put on one guy.

 

[CardiacAndre7]

Seems fair to wonder how much a coach even matters. Budenholzer isn't any smarter or dumber now than when he won an NBA title. The Celtics have a new coach every year with basically the same results.
I know people will tell me I'm dumb here, but it at least seems like too much attention is put on one guy.

Udoka was gonna be the guy for a while. And Brad Stevens was amazing and was the guy for a while.

Bud just severely disappointed the last 2 years and didn’t make enough adjustments in game to counter the opposition.

 

[Dogdeacon]

Seems fair to wonder how much a coach even matters. Budenholzer isn't any smarter or dumber now than when he won an NBA title. The Celtics have a new coach every year with basically the same results.
I know people will tell me I'm dumb here, but it at least seems like too much attention is put on one guy.

He literally made some very basic coaching mistakes (no TO to advance ball in final seconds, lack of adjustments to stop Butler) that contributed to losses. It was coaching malfeasance, possibly justifiably lost focus - but when you add in his chronic regular season vs playoff body of work it simply was time to go.

 

[Inyatkin]

He literally made some very basic coaching mistakes (no TO to advance ball in final seconds, lack of adjustments to stop Butler) that contributed to losses. It was coaching malfeasance, possibly justifiably lost focus - but when you add in his chronic regular season vs playoff body of work it simply was time to go.

Missing the point. He made dumb mistakes, sure, but he wasn't magically smarter two years ago. You have guys who coach for decades, with star players, who never win a title, but this guy did it.
I think there are outliers who get every ounce of winning out of a team, but probably only for the short term. In general, at this level, most coaches are pretty interchangeable.

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

Missing the point. He made dumb mistakes, sure, but he wasn't magically smarter two years ago. You have guys who coach for decades, with star players, who never win a title, but this guy did it.
I think there are outliers who get every ounce of winning out of a team, but probably only for the short term. In general, at this level, most coaches are pretty interchangeable.

As someone pointed out I think, it takes luck to win championships.

But he had A LOT of luck injuries wise in the East that year. That may have been taken into account when seeing how he did in years outside of that.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

As someone pointed out I think, it takes luck to win championships.

But he had A LOT of luck injuries wise in the East that year. That may have been taken into account when seeing how he did in years outside of that.

Milwaukee has the best regular season record in the NBA the last 5 years and got knocked out once in the first round and twice in the second round over that period. That dynamic will get any coach in any sport fired.

The Bucks championship window is closing fast, and as a small, northern market, Milwaukee may not have another window for 10 or 20 years. They have to win now. I don’t disagree with this move.

 

[superjohn]

Saw a crazy stat. As a Miami Heat player Jimmy Butler has never scored 40 or more points in a regular season game. As a Heat player he's scored 40 or more points in 8 playoff games.

 

[Ratso]

boston is a fun town, but philly has gotta win

 

[Ratso]

philly is a lot more fun,

 

[aceboon]

Harden adding to his ledger of playoff failures tonight

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Celtics are the best team left. Doesn't necessarily mean they win it all, but they are the best team left.