NBA Playoffs

[Lefty2one]

Celtics get away with an egregious shot clock violation down the stretch. It's amazing how terrible NBA officiating has become.

 

[champs99and04]

Ehh Bledsoe was getting back on defense, as were most players on the floor. It looked obvious that the C's would get the rebound. I do agree with your previous posts on the Bucks, though. You will rarely see a larger disparity in quality of coaching than in this series. When you see rotations changing wholesale game to game its often a good hint that the coach is floundering.

You mean it's unusual for a player to go from a DNP in game one to 31 minutes in game four?

 

[superjohn]

I don’t understand how rocktw always avoids talking about the actual playing of basketball. Instead it’s semantics of is Curry a lock, surefire or probable HOFee. What can be compared, what is similar ? These are important perfectly objective distinctions with singular answers.

Or simply Kerr doesn’t play lol

Or how he can possibly be this strident about Lebron being better than Jordan when he never actually watched Jordan play.

 

[Walker11]

You mean it's unusual for a player to go from a DNP in game one to 31 minutes in game four?

Part of it. It is at least explainable with the Henson injury. Why Henson was approaching 40 minutes a night, maybe not as explainable. The minutes are all over the place outside of Bledsoe, Middleton and Giannis.

 

[auror]

No one said Philly- Golden State are the EXACT same, but if they lose in the finals or semis it is similar. Or it will be compared.

It will not be considered all that similar. Joining a team that already has proven to have enough (and has won a title) vs. one that is close but you put them over the top is entirely different.

James will get mentor bonus points.

Durant got coattails minus points (despite being the best player in the playoffs).

That all being said, I hate the LeBron + Sixers fit. Simmons + James is redundant and decreases the good spacing the Sixers have achieved. I'm not saying you don't do it if you are the Sixers, but depending on price / flexibility it may be smarter to build more long-term (for '19/'20 when the Warriors really get cap screwed with repeater tax in a few years).

 

[champs99and04]

Or how he can possibly be this strident about Lebron being better than Jordan when he never actually watched Jordan play.

I was alive for the '03 season bro, not impressed. High volume shooter, poor defender, real me guy.

 

[champs99and04]

It will not be considered all that similar. Joining a team that already has proven to have enough (and has won a title) vs. one that is close but you put them over the top is entirely different.

James will get mentor bonus points.

Durant got coattails minus points (despite being the best player in the playoffs).

That all being said, I hate the LeBron + Sixers fit. Simmons + James is redundant and decreases the good spacing the Sixers have achieved. I'm not saying you don't do it if you are the Sixers, but depending on price / flexibility it may be smarter to build more long-term (for '19/'20 when the Warriors really get cap screwed with repeater tax in a few years).

I actually think LeBron will want to play off the ball more and in a system with more built in cutting and screening as he ages. A Simmons/LeBron/Embiid core is light on shooting, but so overwhelming in other areas that it would not matter. They'd be the favorites immediately.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Ehh Bledsoe was getting back on defense, as were most players on the floor. It looked obvious that the C's would get the rebound. I do agree with your previous posts on the Bucks, though. You will rarely see a larger disparity in quality of coaching than in this series. When you see rotations changing wholesale game to game its often a good hint that the coach is floundering.

The Bucks were down 4 and needed to make a play, and Bledsoe turned his back and was jogging back. A player should never turn his back on the play anyway. If a player did that in a U12 AAU game his coach would tear him a new hole.

Smart made a play from his butt after getting hammered and not getting the call. Smart is a winner, and Bledsoe is a loser. There is a reason a player as talented as Bledsoe had never started in a playoff game until this season. It wasn't bad luck.

It is easy to blame the coach, but I don't know what Prunty can do with this team. The Freak, Middleton, Brogdan and maybe Maker and Dellavadova off the bench are worth salvaging. Everyone else should be on the chopping block. This team has been put together like it is a rotisserie team. Some of these guys are just not winners. Parker and Bledsoe are two examples, but there are more. The fact that they even need to keep a fossil like Terry around shows how little heart this team has. When two of your best players, Parker and Bledsoe, don't give a spit whether they win or lose, it is kind of hard to manage rotations. I think Maker is better than Parker right now, and has more upside. Parker has two busted wheels.

The only thing that has gotten Bledsoe riled is that Rozier accidentally called him "Drew" in a press conference. I would have thought Bledsoe would be more embarrassed by the public punking Rozier is doing to him, but no, it is the name that bothers Bledsoe.

Henson and Snell are probably not going anywhere with contracts paying them over $10M a year. Bucks should get relief on Teletovic's contract, which will leave the Bucks about $15m under the cap if they just let Parker go. That gives them a lot of options. I would make a run at Kemba if I was Milwaukee. Charlotte is trying to dump bad contracts, which they have a lot of, and the Bucks will have cap space. Trade Bledsoe and some coupons for Walker and one of the dogs like Marvin Williams. The chance of Walker re-signing with Charlotte after next season is close to 0% since they will be rebuilding, so Walker turns into a pumpkin pretty soon. The Bucks could even take that Batum abomination of a contract back if they threw in Snell.

 

[auror]

I actually think LeBron will want to play off the ball more and in a system with more built in cutting and screening as he ages. A Simmons/LeBron/Embiid core is light on shooting, but so overwhelming in other areas that it would not matter. They'd be the favorites immediately.

Not sure where you are cutting to with Embiid clogging the paint and defenders sagging off Simmons, especially since Redick has to be gone to make salary work, but if Embiid continues developing his outside game you could probably make it work, but I don't think it would be as triumphant as their talent would indicate. LeBron would have to at least maintain or improves his 3pt% on more catch and shoot attempts; Durant is a 70% eFG shooting on spot-ups, which is why his superduper team works.

I honestly don't think they'd be the favorites if the Warriors were 100% healthy.

Curry - Lebron = Curry (in age 34 LeBron as spot up/cutter role and Curry healthy)
Durant - Simmons = Durant
Klay - Embiid = Embiid
Draymond - Covington = Draymond (but clooose)
Bell - Fultz = Fultz (assuming continued development).
Livingston - Saric = Saric
Igoudala - Holmes = Iggy

Not saying it wouldn't be tight and it sure would be fun. Sixers 3 of the top 5 players, Warriors 4 of the 7 in my eyes. Wouldn't surprise me if there were like 9 or 10 past or future All-Stars in that matchup.

 

[CardiacAndre7]

Not sure where you are cutting to with Embiid clogging the paint and defenders sagging off Simmons, especially since Redick has to be gone to make salary work, but if Embiid continues developing his outside game you could probably make it work, but I don't think it would be as triumphant as their talent would indicate. LeBron would have to at least maintain or improves his 3pt% on more catch and shoot attempts; Durant is a 70% eFG shooting on spot-ups, which is why his superduper team works.

I honestly don't think they'd be the favorites if the Warriors were 100% healthy.

Curry - Lebron = Curry (in age 34 LeBron as spot up/cutter role and Curry healthy)
Durant - Simmons = Durant
Klay - Embiid = Embiid
Draymond - Covington = Draymond (but clooose)
Bell - Fultz = Fultz (assuming continued development).
Livingston - Saric = Saric
Igoudala - Holmes = Iggy

Not saying it wouldn't be tight and it sure would be fun. Sixers 3 of the top 5 players, Warriors 4 of the 7 in my eyes. Wouldn't surprise me if there were like 9 or 10 past or future All-Stars in that matchup.

I hate Draymond, but how are him and Covington close?

 

[champs99and04]

Not sure where you are cutting to with Embiid clogging the paint and defenders sagging off Simmons, especially since Redick has to be gone to make salary work, but if Embiid continues developing his outside game you could probably make it work, but I don't think it would be as triumphant as their talent would indicate. LeBron would have to at least maintain or improves his 3pt% on more catch and shoot attempts; Durant is a 70% eFG shooting on spot-ups, which is why his superduper team works.

I honestly don't think they'd be the favorites if the Warriors were 100% healthy.

Curry - Lebron = Curry (in age 34 LeBron as spot up/cutter role and Curry healthy)
Durant - Simmons = Durant
Klay - Embiid = Embiid
Draymond - Covington = Draymond (but clooose)
Bell - Fultz = Fultz (assuming continued development).
Livingston - Saric = Saric
Igoudala - Holmes = Iggy

Not saying it wouldn't be tight and it sure would be fun. Sixers 3 of the top 5 players, Warriors 4 of the 7 in my eyes. Wouldn't surprise me if there were like 9 or 10 past or future All-Stars in that matchup.

LeBron in Philly certainly isn't the most pristine of fits. Then again, while he's not Durant, it isn't like he's Andre Roberson. I don't know what he shoots on catch and shoot 3s, but I can't imagine the sample is very big. I'd bet on LeBron putting in the extra work to get in the vicinity of 40% as a spot up guy. If he could make it work with D-Wade (though at this point we're talking about a different league), I'm not overly concerned about him being redundant with Embiid, who does a lot of work as a screener and a dribble handoff guy that extends out to the perimeter. It won't be nearly as smooth as it was for the Warriors to integrate Durant into the lineup, but it won't be as messy as it was in Miami or when he returned to Cleveland. LeBron secretly has never really played for a team that could function without him. Were he to join a team that I think is headed to the finals, they would be my pick to win the whole thing (and I say that as somebody who thinks last year's Warriors were the greatest team of all-time).

I'm not a cap expert, so you may have a better handle than me on who they could afford and how. That said, with how little money they have on the books, and how many assets they still have, I have to believe they have enough room to add more pieces around LeBron. Losing Redick would be a big blow, but I think he's probably overqualified as the fourth or fifth guy on a super team. They could probably find a shooter or two on the cheap. My hunch is that they'll move Fultz over the summer and try to target some role players and a real guard - a guy like Kemba is there to be had, and while he wouldn't seem ideal at first, they're eventually going to need a player to carry their bench units and attest for how oversized they can be at times elsewhere.

As you alluded to, though, it all comes down to LeBron. If he's LeBron, I'm not picking against him. If he's a slightly lesser version of LeBron, that could be enough to tilt the scales. I really think the mileage is beginning to catch up to him and I think he'd be better served losing in the first round this year rather than carrying that bum team to get swept by the Warriors. If I'm advising him, I tell him it's in his best interests to be on the KG in Boston plan moving forward - 30 minutes a night or so and easing him out of the permanent alpha dog role.

 

[KemBaller]

It will not be considered all that similar. Joining a team that already has proven to have enough (and has won a title) vs. one that is close but you put them over the top is entirely different.

James will get mentor bonus points.

Durant got coattails minus points (despite being the best player in the playoffs).

That all being said, I hate the LeBron + Sixers fit. Simmons + James is redundant and decreases the good spacing the Sixers have achieved. I'm not saying you don't do it if you are the Sixers, but depending on price / flexibility it may be smarter to build more long-term (for '19/'20 when the Warriors really get cap screwed with repeater tax in a few years).

You're playing mental gymnastics here. Remember when LeBron's camp were trying to float that he wanted to go to GSW a couple months back, only to be rebuked by GSW brass? The 2 main reasons Durant was even able to go to GSW is because the team had their core on extremely team friendly deals/unprecedented rise in salary cap, and because Durant himself doesn't have the overwhelming "I'm the headliner here" ego that guys like LeBron and Kobe have. Neither of those are a negative on Durant.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

LeBron in Philly certainly isn't the most pristine of fits. Then again, while he's not Durant, it isn't like he's Andre Roberson. I don't know what he shoots on catch and shoot 3s, but I can't imagine the sample is very big. I'd bet on LeBron putting in the extra work to get in the vicinity of 40% as a spot up guy. If he could make it work with D-Wade (though at this point we're talking about a different league), I'm not overly concerned about him being redundant with Embiid, who does a lot of work as a screener and a dribble handoff guy that extends out to the perimeter. It won't be nearly as smooth as it was for the Warriors to integrate Durant into the lineup, but it won't be as messy as it was in Miami or when he returned to Cleveland. LeBron secretly has never really played for a team that could function without him. Were he to join a team that I think is headed to the finals, they would be my pick to win the whole thing (and I say that as somebody who thinks last year's Warriors were the greatest team of all-time).

I'm not a cap expert, so you may have a better handle than me on who they could afford and how. That said, with how little money they have on the books, and how many assets they still have, I have to believe they have enough room to add more pieces around LeBron. Losing Redick would be a big blow, but I think he's probably overqualified as the fourth or fifth guy on a super team. They could probably find a shooter or two on the cheap. My hunch is that they'll move Fultz over the summer and try to target some role players and a real guard - a guy like Kemba is there to be had, and while he wouldn't seem ideal at first, they're eventually going to need a player to carry their bench units and attest for how oversized they can be at times elsewhere.

As you alluded to, though, it all comes down to LeBron. If he's LeBron, I'm not picking against him. If he's a slightly lesser version of LeBron, that could be enough to tilt the scales. I really think the mileage is beginning to catch up to him and I think he'd be better served losing in the first round this year rather than carrying that bum team to get swept by the Warriors. If I'm advising him, I tell him it's in his best interests to be on the KG in Boston plan moving forward - 30 minutes a night or so and easing him out of the permanent alpha dog role.

Philadelphia 76ers Team Payroll | Basketball-Reference.com

The Sixers are in great shape on the cap if they let Reddick go at the end of the season. They could definitely bring in LeBron. Kemba is a different issue because right now Charlotte is trying to package Kemba with one of their bad contracts. I don't know if Fultz is tradeable with his contract.

 

[Walker11]

The Bucks were down 4 and needed to make a play, and Bledsoe turned his back and was jogging back. A player should never turn his back on the play anyway. If a player did that in a U12 AAU game his coach would tear him a new hole.

Smart made a play from his butt after getting hammered and not getting the call. Smart is a winner, and Bledsoe is a loser. There is a reason a player as talented as Bledsoe had never started in a playoff game until this season. It wasn't bad luck.

It is easy to blame the coach, but I don't know what Prunty can do with this team. The Freak, Middleton, Brogdan and maybe Maker and Dellavadova off the bench are worth salvaging. Everyone else should be on the chopping block. This team has been put together like it is a rotisserie team. Some of these guys are just not winners. Parker and Bledsoe are two examples, but there are more. The fact that they even need to keep a fossil like Terry around shows how little heart this team has. When two of your best players, Parker and Bledsoe, don't give a spit whether they win or lose, it is kind of hard to manage rotations. I think Maker is better than Parker right now, and has more upside. Parker has two busted wheels.

The only thing that has gotten Bledsoe riled is that Rozier accidentally called him "Drew" in a press conference. I would have thought Bledsoe would be more embarrassed by the public punking Rozier is doing to him, but no, it is the name that bothers Bledsoe.

Henson and Snell are probably not going anywhere with contracts paying them over $10M a year. Bucks should get relief on Teletovic's contract, which will leave the Bucks about $15m under the cap if they just let Parker go. That gives them a lot of options. I would make a run at Kemba if I was Milwaukee. Charlotte is trying to dump bad contracts, which they have a lot of, and the Bucks will have cap space. Trade Bledsoe and some coupons for Walker and one of the dogs like Marvin Williams. The chance of Walker re-signing with Charlotte after next season is close to 0% since they will be rebuilding, so Walker turns into a pumpkin pretty soon. The Bucks could even take that Batum abomination of a contract back if they threw in Snell.

You don't think Smart would pull this in an elimination game? Bledsoe has bad basketball character and is not a guy I want association with either.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

You don't think Smart would pull this in an elimination game? Bledsoe has bad basketball character and is not a guy I want association with either.

LOLOLOL. Great clip.

A guy like Bledsoe or Parker is just toxic on a team. They don't care and it becomes pointless for anyone else to care because plays like that will happen. The Bucks lost by 5 and there were at least 10 plays where Bledsoe or Parker just flat out dogged it. Notice Antetokuomnpo's half-hearted support of Parker when Parker was complaining about playing time.

The Bucks have a superstar from Greece that is willing to play in Milwaukee. That is about as likely as finding two unicorns. They have a great sidekick in Middleton who plays hard and smart on both ends. Brogdan is fine as the 4th or 5th best starter, and Dellavadova is a smart hustler off the bench. I think Maker has a lot of potential to be a quality starter, a 15 and 8 guy that blocks a lot of shots. Henson and Snell are not bad off the bench or as complementary starters. They need an above average starting point guard that is a winner. Bledsoe is not that guy. The Bucks better find that guy soon, because their unicorn is not going to want to stick around if the Bucks are wasting his career next to slackers like Parker and Bledsoe.

 

[Dogdeacon]

The impact Marcus Smart had on the Celts v Bucks last night is astounding. He'd done a lot this year to minimize his next contract $, length etc.., last night he undid almost every bit of it. Bledsoe & Delly had changed the series with their physical play. Marcus took it back. Did his block of the Giannis alley-oop get more in Greek Freak's head than the many Baynes' contests? Hard to understand how and why Giannis' took so few shots (10 shots vs 18 avg prev 4), felt like he was getting to the rim at will albeit while bowling right thru Yabusele or Semi (honestly not really able to distinguish sometimes). And Middleton for first time in series shot less than 50%. Celts won despite 17 TOs and Bucks getting 87 shots vs 69 (C's did get to line more FTA 32 v 20)! I almost wish the Celtics had saved the Smart unleashing for game 6 on road, of course couldn't risk that.

 

[HuskyHawk]

The Jordan vs. Lebron debate is pointless. Different eras, different situations, different players. Jordan would not have fared as well against modern quasi-zone defenses. He benefited tremendously from the clear out isolation play, and the fact that the refs gave him every benefit. All stars get that to some degree, but nobody more than Jordan. That said, he played tremendous defense, which is often forgotten. I don't think Lebron works quite as hard at that end.

I think Lebron hasn't helped his legacy by changing teams several times. When people latch on to a "greatest" they want to associate him with a single team, not 3 or 4 of them.

I think it's fair enough to say Jordan is the greatest shooting guard ever. LeBron the greatest small forward. Center I'm not sure who is best, maybe Wilt, maybe Hakeem. Power Forward? Malone? Maybe Duncan if you consider him a PF. PG I'll go with Magic.

 

[Husky25]

Maker is ready to be the next garbage player who starts crap every game

He'll have to rip that title from Eric Bledsoe's cold dead hands. Tom Heinsohn is the biggest homer in NBA broadcasting (Not surprising, given he's been operating east of 290 for literally 65 years), but in this case he is not wrong. Joe Prunty wants his team to play football out there. Not a good look aspiring to be the NBA's version of Jamie Dixon. Even if the refs are complicit, actual basketball talent normally wins out.

 

[Husky25]

The impact Marcus Smart had on the Celts v Bucks last night is astounding. He'd done a lot this year to minimize his next contract $, length etc.., last night he undid almost every bit of it. Bledsoe & Delly had changed the series with their physical play. Marcus took it back. Did his block of the Giannis alley-oop get more in Greek Freak's head than the many Baynes' contests? Hard to understand how and why Giannis' took so few shots (10 shots vs 18 avg prev 4), felt like he was getting to the rim at will albeit while bowling right thru Yabusele or Semi (honestly not really able to distinguish sometimes). And Middleton for first time in series shot less than 50%. Celts won despite 17 TOs and Bucks getting 87 shots vs 69 (C's did get to line more FTA 32 v 20)! I almost wish the Celtics had saved the Smart unleashing for game 6 on road, of course couldn't risk that.

Bucks shot around 35% from the field and they were awful from the line. They should go back to two man ref crews in the NBA. If they are going to be that bad, there should be a reason.

If the Celts play like they did in the 2nd half of game 4, they win going away. I have a feeling this series is going 7.

 

[Dogdeacon]

I think it's fair enough to say Jordan is the greatest shooting guard ever. LeBron the greatest small forward. Center I'm not sure who is best, maybe Wilt, maybe Hakeem. Power Forward? Malone? Maybe Duncan if you consider him a PF. PG I'll go with Magic.

Generally agree with your theme. Center you can't say Wilt b/c of Russell's teams mastery of him, it matters. If Russell is ruled out b/c he wouldn't fit in modern era then you have to say Kareem who fit himself into 3 eras. But I also like Bob Ryan's argument that a healthy Bill Walton would have gone down as best ever. Walton would be even more powerful in today's game with his passing skills.
Definitely Duncan over Malone, no contest Duncan won way more and did more on both ends with varying teammates, take away Stockton & Malone is 'merely' great but not an all-timer.
Yeah, I guess PG is Magic - can't really make a compelling case for anyone even if we take a sometime SG like big O or someone current's projected full career (ie. Curry, Harden)
.

 

[superjohn]

The Jordan vs. Lebron debate is pointless. Different eras, different situations, different players. Jordan would not have fared as well against modern quasi-zone defenses. He benefited tremendously from the clear out isolation play, and the fact that the refs gave him every benefit. All stars get that to some degree, but nobody more than Jordan. That said, he played tremendous defense, which is often forgotten. I don't think Lebron works quite as hard at that end.

I think Lebron hasn't helped his legacy by changing teams several times. When people latch on to a "greatest" they want to associate him with a single team, not 3 or 4 of them.

I think it's fair enough to say Jordan is the greatest shooting guard ever. LeBron the greatest small forward. Center I'm not sure who is best, maybe Wilt, maybe Hakeem. Power Forward? Malone? Maybe Duncan if you consider him a PF. PG I'll go with Magic.

Without hand-checking and without the Jordan Rules, MJ would have averaged over 40.

 

[superjohn]

Generally agree with your theme. Center you can't say Wilt b/c of Russell's teams mastery of him, it matters. If Russell is ruled out b/c he wouldn't fit in modern era then you have to say Kareem who fit himself into 3 eras. But I also like Bob Ryan's argument that a healthy Bill Walton would have gone down as best ever. Walton would be even more powerful in today's game with his passing skills.
Definitely Duncan over Malone, no contest Duncan won way more and did more on both ends with varying teammates, take away Stockton & Malone is 'merely' great but not an all-timer.
Yeah, I guess PG is Magic - can't really make a compelling case for anyone even if we take a sometime SG like big O or someone current's projected full career (ie. Curry, Harden)
.

I hope to never see Magic and James Harden's names in the same sentence ever again.

 

[tzznandrew]

The Jordan vs. Lebron debate is pointless. Different eras, different situations, different players. Jordan would not have fared as well against modern quasi-zone defenses. He benefited tremendously from the clear out isolation play, and the fact that the refs gave him every benefit. All stars get that to some degree, but nobody more than Jordan. That said, he played tremendous defense, which is often forgotten. I don't think Lebron works quite as hard at that end.

I think Lebron hasn't helped his legacy by changing teams several times. When people latch on to a "greatest" they want to associate him with a single team, not 3 or 4 of them.

I think it's fair enough to say Jordan is the greatest shooting guard ever. LeBron the greatest small forward. Center I'm not sure who is best, maybe Wilt, maybe Hakeem. Power Forward? Malone? Maybe Duncan if you consider him a PF. PG I'll go with Magic.

Well, you can see what Harden does, though. If you surround a great iso player with great shooters, he can essentially play iso. Jordan wasn't half the 3point shooter Harden is, but he didn't have to be in the era.

Just imagine the freedom of movement players have now with a MJ surrounded by shooters. It's scary.

 

[Dogdeacon]

I hope to never see Magic and James Harden's names in the same sentence ever again.

This playoffs is very much a tipping point for Harden. Its essentially win a championship or join Russ in the regular season stats whore conga line.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Generally agree with your theme. Center you can't say Wilt b/c of Russell's teams mastery of him, it matters. If Russell is ruled out b/c he wouldn't fit in modern era then you have to say Kareem who fit himself into 3 eras. But I also like Bob Ryan's argument that a healthy Bill Walton would have gone down as best ever. Walton would be even more powerful in today's game with his passing skills.
Definitely Duncan over Malone, no contest Duncan won way more and did more on both ends with varying teammates, take away Stockton & Malone is 'merely' great but not an all-timer.
Yeah, I guess PG is Magic - can't really make a compelling case for anyone even if we take a sometime SG like big O or someone current's projected full career (ie. Curry, Harden)
.

I never bought into the Russell argument. He was great, Wilt was better. Russell just played on much better teams and was a masterful defensive player. Wilt was dominant on both ends. 30.1 PPG, 22.9 RPG, 4.4 APG, .540 FG% It's sort of like Brady vs. Manning. I don't think Championships are the true measure. Agree that if you consider Duncan a PF and not a center, he's the guy.