I don't think Harden has responded well to the shortening of their bench. It hurt him last year against San Antonio as well. If they can keep him fresh, he'll kill whoever they guard him with. I just don't see how they can manage that now with Paul out.
NBA Playoffs
- Thread starter superjohn
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I don't think Harden has responded well to the shortening of their bench. It hurt him last year against San Antonio as well. If they can keep him fresh, he'll kill whoever they guard him with. I just don't see how they can manage that now with Paul out.
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Any reason you are posting in this thread then?
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Explains a lot of these takes, actually
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Lol, all these playoff teams have injuries in the last 5 years, it’s part of the game...
What’s amazing is the KING no matter who’s there, who’s hurt, who plays, he’s always playing and getting to the NBA Finals, the one constant in the playoffs over the last almost decade, unreal.
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Horrible basketball, nothing compelling besides the LeBron show...
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I don’t mind the basketball itself that much but I doo agree that the games themselves are not as compelling as will be the fallout this summer in free agency based on who wins and loses.
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Some thoughts . . .
1. Was at the Cavs game last night - tremendous atmosphere. LeBron hitting those two shots late was unreal.
2. Celts seemed to give up with a lot of time left on the clock and only down 10 or 12. No fouling to put Cavs at line.
3. Harden has a terrible game, Rockets beat the best team in the world. If LeBron has a similar horrible game? Cavs would lose by 40. I suggest again, let's change it from "MVP" award to "Best Season" award.
4. Don't see Cavs winning in Boston - James would have to go 45/12/12 and have at least 2 guys have a decent game. Seems unlikely given the folding-chair road prowess of a lot of the scrubs, and given that the Celtics seem to play much better at home.
5. Marcus Smart had a very good game, but it was very difficult to tell that real time.
6. If you were told Rozier and Brown combined for 21 of 34 and 8 for 15 from 3, you'd probably have bet the Celts won going away - Morris and Horford had bad games to balance that, and nobody slowed LeBron down at all.
7. Houston or GS vs Celts is a fun finals - Celts may win a couple at home. Houston vs. Cle is a fun finals - LeBron and Co. would have a shot - it's a matchups thing. GS vs. Clev would be awful - Cavs are worse than last time, and last time wasn't close.
8. Love and CP3 being out may not change any result in the remaining 3 games.
9. If GS loses tonight Durant's legacy will be severely damaged.
10. Chick sitting next to me last night stole my free shirt.
1. Was at the Cavs game last night - tremendous atmosphere. LeBron hitting those two shots late was unreal.
2. Celts seemed to give up with a lot of time left on the clock and only down 10 or 12. No fouling to put Cavs at line.
3. Harden has a terrible game, Rockets beat the best team in the world. If LeBron has a similar horrible game? Cavs would lose by 40. I suggest again, let's change it from "MVP" award to "Best Season" award.
4. Don't see Cavs winning in Boston - James would have to go 45/12/12 and have at least 2 guys have a decent game. Seems unlikely given the folding-chair road prowess of a lot of the scrubs, and given that the Celtics seem to play much better at home.
5. Marcus Smart had a very good game, but it was very difficult to tell that real time.
6. If you were told Rozier and Brown combined for 21 of 34 and 8 for 15 from 3, you'd probably have bet the Celts won going away - Morris and Horford had bad games to balance that, and nobody slowed LeBron down at all.
7. Houston or GS vs Celts is a fun finals - Celts may win a couple at home. Houston vs. Cle is a fun finals - LeBron and Co. would have a shot - it's a matchups thing. GS vs. Clev would be awful - Cavs are worse than last time, and last time wasn't close.
8. Love and CP3 being out may not change any result in the remaining 3 games.
9. If GS loses tonight Durant's legacy will be severely damaged.
10. Chick sitting next to me last night stole my free shirt.
intlzncster
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They definitely show their youth at times. It's why they struggled to win on the road so much.
Yep, LeBron is the MVP in a landslide.
It's gonna come down to their role players and bench. And those guys haven't showed up much away from home. I mean, I would not put money on Jeff Green having a 2nd great game in a row. If Love is out, C's should roll.
I would say that it was the Cavs mission to take Horford out of the game. He got doubled quick whenever he touched the ball low. Celts didn't adjust to that--that's on Stevens. And what compounded that was Tatum being relatively ineffective. He wasn't aggressive, in the play, nor consistent enough.
Should have decked her. Equality. #MeToo
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Was not an option for me - #BLM. Lol.
intlzncster
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And it looks like Love is definitely out. Huge for the Celtics.
Love out for Game 7 after entering protocol
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Don't agree at all. Cavs built their lead after Love went down.
All Love adds is experience - guy doesn't seem fazed playing on the road. But he hasn't been lighting it up, and his D is always shaky at best.
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I don't know. I'd rather have him than not if I'm Cleveland, but I almost feel you're better off surrounding LeBron with athletes and trying to win a low-scoring game. Love has gotten exposed as a primary defender and a help defender in this series; abused might be the better word. Stevens has proven pretty proficient at targeting weak defensive players - one of the reasons Milwaukee hung in there for seven games is that they were fairly stout across the board.
Jeff Green isn't good, but can he play well in one game? Maybe. We know what we're getting with Love - a minus defensive player who looks good on offense when his shot is falling. Where they'll miss him most will be when it comes to preserving LeBron. Love can at least lift some pressure with the occasional post-up and maybe even direct the show for a minute or two if LeBron needs a rest.
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Even after being down 17 after 1st quarter the in game ML was GS -142 lol
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I don't think it matters. They don't have to horses to beat the Celts in Boston. Boston will have to give it away, and LeBron will need to be Superman.
Wow.
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To me, it looks like Houston is the better team. I'd bet on Houston in game 7, with or without Paul.
Problem with GS is that both Durant and Curry are guys who are the best in the world when they are leading. Give them a 10 point lead and an up tempo game, and they might be the best two players players on the planet.
Problem is, Durant and Curry lose that shine when the game is tight and every shot matters - Curry in particular. Him throwing the ball away on the behind the back pass two years ago is the classic moment - it's like he doesn't grasp the moment and doesn't tighten up his game, and, if anything, becomes more reckless with his shots. That doesn't even contemplate his defense, which is very weak. Durant just seems to get bound up.
Thompson, Green, Iggy, and Livingston, on the other hand, are all VERY clutch players. Particularly Thompson and Green.
Durant was 6-17 and 1 of 5 from three. Dude is a flat out choker. Curry ended up 12 for 23 and 5 for 13, but several of those were only after GS was up 10, and he played poorly until Klay got them the lead.
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If GS wants to win game 7, they need to go through Green and Thompson and Livingston.
Problem with GS is that both Durant and Curry are guys who are the best in the world when they are leading. Give them a 10 point lead and an up tempo game, and they might be the best two players players on the planet.
Problem is, Durant and Curry lose that shine when the game is tight and every shot matters - Curry in particular. Him throwing the ball away on the behind the back pass two years ago is the classic moment - it's like he doesn't grasp the moment and doesn't tighten up his game, and, if anything, becomes more reckless with his shots. That doesn't even contemplate his defense, which is very weak. Durant just seems to get bound up.
Thompson, Green, Iggy, and Livingston, on the other hand, are all VERY clutch players. Particularly Thompson and Green.
Durant was 6-17 and 1 of 5 from three. Dude is a flat out choker. Curry ended up 12 for 23 and 5 for 13, but several of those were only after GS was up 10, and he played poorly until Klay got them the lead.
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If GS wants to win game 7, they need to go through Green and Thompson and Livingston.
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You seem like you take stats without regarding context but even so. Look at Green and Livingston's percentages throughout the series. I respect your opinion in almost all areas but you are so biased against KD that I have a hard time taking your opinion on this series credibly.
When is @the Q going to correct his statement that he doesn't actually watch the NBA? How can something generate so many hot takes without watching?
I don't mean this in a bad way, but Golden State is the best front running team I have ever seen. They have a real ability to roll it up when the game is in hand. I somehow think the game seven will be a tough one, so I am interested to see how they respond.
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I respect his opinion, but by his own admission I don't think he's a huge NBA guy and the post you quoted seems to be based almost entirely on a pretty flimsy foundation. Correct me if I'm wrong @MadDogRevival
During that pivotal third quarter, Curry assisted on a three to cut the lead to two, hit a three to give them the lead, assisted on a two to give them the lead back, assisted on another two that re-tied the game, hit a three to extend the lead to five, another one to extend the lead to eight, and then scored seven straight points to put the game away at the beginning of the fourth quarter.
None of that strikes me as front-running or anything like it. If we want to dig into his past for evidence on how he's played in elimination games, you have game seven of the OKC series (36, 5, and 8, a lot of which came late), game six (31, 10, and 9, overshadowed by Klay), game five (31, 7, and 6), and game six and seven against the Clippers in 2014 (24 and 33 points, respectively). The only real clunker was game seven against Cleveland two years ago (6 of 19, 2 assists to 4 turnovers), but Klay was possibly worse (6 of 17, 2 of 10 from three).
I wouldn't call Durant clutch, but I wouldn't call him a choker either. If anything, he has flaws as a player that tend to get exposed when the floor gets cramped and the physicality increases. There's no greater indictment on him as a player than Houston daring them to run their offense through him and them (maybe) finally figuring out that it's better to have the ball in Steph's hands. He's still an incredible player who will serve his purpose, but I feel stupid for wondering last year if he was closing the gap on LeBron.
Needless to say my gameplan would not be to go through Draymond and Livingston in game seven over Steph and KD.
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Golden State is a 5.5 point favorite (!) for game seven. I guess those of us wondering if there's a chance Chris Paul plays have our answer.
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2nd half score: Warriors 64 Rockets 25. lol
If they get Iggy back and the Rockets don't get Paul (which I don't think they will), they are gonna roll.
If they get Iggy back and the Rockets don't get Paul (which I don't think they will), they are gonna roll.
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That's the key though. The Cavs on the road need that experience. Most of their guys are stone cold on the road.
I feel like the Celtics didn't make good adjustments in Cleveland, both with the Horford double I mentioned earlier, and when Love went out.
Larry Nance Jr has done some damage against the C's so he's certainly somebody to account for.
Jeff Green can't possibly have two big games in a row, can he?