NBA PLAYOFFS [2018-2019]

Sports & Music

Moderators: AArdvark, Ice Cream Jonsey

User avatar
Flack
Posts: 8822
Joined: Tue Nov 18, 2008 3:02 pm
Location: Oklahoma
Contact:

NBA PLAYOFFS [2018-2019]

Post by Flack »

Hello everybody and welcome once again to this year's thread covering the NBA playoffs. What an exciting time we have in store for you this year!*

In the west this year, we have (from #1 to #8): Golden State Warriors, Denver Nuggets, Portland Trailblazers, Houston Rockets, Utah Jazz, YOUR OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER, the San Antonio Spurs, and the LA Clippers.

In the east, we have who cares. Just kidding. This year we're looking at the Bucks in first place, followed by the Toronto Raptors, '76ers, Celtics, Pacers, Knicks, Orlando Magic, and finally the Pistons.

The biggest fizzle of the year was LeBron James' Lakers, who finished 11th in the west and didn't even make the playoffs. Boo hoo. That'll give him more time during the off season to count his money. Shortly before the last regular season game, Magic Johnson stepped down from the organization and head coach Luke Walton was fired (rumor is he's moving to the Kings next year).

The biggest rumor of the year is that Kevin Durant hates his team and his team hates him, and now that he's got his rings he's moving to the Knicks next year and possibly bringing Kyrie Irving there, too. It would be interesting to see a team in the east do something. Anything.

If there's any good news for the Thunder, it's that they're facing Portland in the first round, a team they went 4-0 against during the regular season. Both teams ended the regular season on a hot streak, but hopefully the Thunder has what it takes to get through the first round. If they do, they'll face the winner of the Denver/Spurs contest.

The other good news is that one can only assume the Rockets will defeat the Jazz in round one, which sets the stage for a Warriors/Rockets showdown in the semi-finals. Not only will that be fantastic to watch, but it'll knock one of them out before the western conference finals. Can OKC beat either one of those teams in a best of 7 match up? Not a chance, Thunder fans. And we'll have to beat the winner of the Denver/Spurs series first, which is not a given.

Like last year, I think the western conference finals will be a much better series than the actual finals. If you put the first seed from each side up against one another, GSW and the Bucks went 1/1 last year, but the game the Bucks won was without Draymond Green and Curry, so... good luck, buck. I dunno, it feels like GSW has been coasting half the season and still ended up first in the west. They're just on another, very hate-able level.

YOUR OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER take on the Portland Trailblazers today at 2:30 central on ABC. See you there!

(*I am well aware nobody here cares about any of this.)
"I failed a savings throw and now I am back."

User avatar
Flack
Posts: 8822
Joined: Tue Nov 18, 2008 3:02 pm
Location: Oklahoma
Contact:

Re: NBA PLAYOFFS [2018-2019]

Post by Flack »

The NBA put on two defensive displays (sarcasm) tonight. First up was the 76ers vs the Nets. The 76ers went into the half up by one point, but came out of the locker room on fire and scored 51 in the third. Final score, 145-123, Philly.

The second game of the night was game two between the return champions Golden State and 8th seed Clippers. Before halftime, GSW was up by 31 and I almost turned off the game, but the Clippers began climbing their way back in. Kevin Durant fouled out with two minutes left; he was the first GSW player, and the third player to go behind the Clip's Beverley and Green. The Clippers' Watson took advantage of Durant's absence by hitting a quick two, tying the game at 125 all with just under two minutes to go. The Warriors missed almost everything while the Clippers could do no wrong. Shamet hit a 3 pointer and two free throws put them ahead at the finish line. Final score, Clippers 135, Warriors 131. Series tied 1-1.

YOUR OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER played terrible due to a Paul George shoulder injury and are down 0-1 to the Trail Blazers. Game two is tomorrow night -- stay tuned!!
"I failed a savings throw and now I am back."

User avatar
Ice Cream Jonsey
Posts: 28877
Joined: Sat Apr 27, 2002 2:44 pm
Location: Colorado
Contact:

Re: NBA PLAYOFFS [2018-2019]

Post by Ice Cream Jonsey »

I do care about this. I'm getting all my NBA news from you. This is all I've got! I can't stand any of the other sources - The Ringer is sooooo pathetically fixated on Boston because they know it pleases their dipshit boss, and r/nba is unreadable. This is all I've got, Flack!
the dark and gritty...Ice Cream Jonsey!

User avatar
Flack
Posts: 8822
Joined: Tue Nov 18, 2008 3:02 pm
Location: Oklahoma
Contact:

Re: NBA PLAYOFFS [2018-2019]

Post by Flack »

The best NBA source I've found so far is Draymond Green's mom on Twitter, who retweets every negative tweet about Kevin Durant she reads. You go, Momma Green!

https://thebiglead.com/2019/04/16/draym ... teve-kerr/
"I failed a savings throw and now I am back."

User avatar
Flack
Posts: 8822
Joined: Tue Nov 18, 2008 3:02 pm
Location: Oklahoma
Contact:

Re: NBA PLAYOFFS [2018-2019]

Post by Flack »

This is the kind of playoff season I love. The GSW/Clippers are 1-1. Denver turned on the afterburners last night late in the fourth quarter; now, they and the Spurs are 1-1. The 76ers/Nets series is 1-1. Raptors/Magic, 1-1.

In fact, there's only one series now that's 2-0 -- or, if you're an Oklahoma City Thunder fan, 0-2.

YOUR OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER are not doing very well, folks. Unless you were hoping they would not make it to the second round, in which case they are doing GREAT.
"I failed a savings throw and now I am back."

User avatar
Flack
Posts: 8822
Joined: Tue Nov 18, 2008 3:02 pm
Location: Oklahoma
Contact:

Re: NBA PLAYOFFS [2018-2019]

Post by Flack »

If Tuesday was the night of tied series, Wednesday's triple header was the night of dominance.

Celtics took the Pacers 2-0.
Bucks took the Pistons 2-0.
Rockets too the Jazz 2-0.

Of those, only the Celtics game was close. 8th seeded Detroit has nothing to offer the Bucks with big man Blake Griffin temporarily out (and not much more when he's in). The Rockets took their foot off the gas halfway through the fourth quarter and still won by twenty.

Something is going on behind the scenes at Golden State. It's obvious the chemistry is out of balance. The semi-finals between an under performing GSWs vs. the Rockets firing on all cylinders will probably be the best series of the playoffs. I predict the winner of that series will face either the Bucks or the Celtics... probably the Celtics, if I had to guess. The Bucks are dominating an 8th seed team right now but Kyrie Irving is a scoring machine for the Celtics and the Bucks went 0-2 against them this season.
"I failed a savings throw and now I am back."

Casual Observer
Posts: 3266
Joined: Wed Oct 01, 2003 10:23 pm
Location: Everett, WA, 2 blocks from where the Green River Killer picked them up

Re: NBA PLAYOFFS [2018-2019]

Post by Casual Observer »

Flack wrote: Wed Apr 17, 2019 5:27 am well, folks. Unless you were hoping they would not make it to the second round, in which case they are doing GREAT.
Maybe they should re-name themselves the Oklahoma Sonics for some inspiration? Also, in other news, the guy who bought the Sonics and sold them to Ok is also not doing well in his presidential bid (Starbucks millionaire Howard the duck Shultz).

User avatar
Flack
Posts: 8822
Joined: Tue Nov 18, 2008 3:02 pm
Location: Oklahoma
Contact:

Re: NBA PLAYOFFS [2018-2019]

Post by Flack »

Well ladies and gentlemen, YOUR OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER will not go down without a fight! By shutting down Lillard and imitating a swarm of bees on defense, the Thunder "shut down" Portland's offense (did you really "shut down" a team that still scored 100+) and won at home, 120-108. We're on the rebound, but will it last?

After game two of the GSW/LAC series, Patrick Beverley decided to poke the bear and went after Durant in the media. There are two possible outcomes -- one, the bear self-destructs, and two, the bear scores 40 points by the end of the third and your team coasts to an easy victory. I'll let you decide which happened. GSW wins by 27, series is 2-1.

Boston isn't dominating the Pacers, but they are beating them consistently. The Celtics look like a bunch of good players with one great one (Irving) doing much of the heavy lifting. Not sure if it'll get them past the Bucks next round, but it's working against the Pacers. Boston goes up 3-0 in the series.

I missed the third games in the 76/Nets and Raptors/Magic series, but they're both 2-1 now, too. That fourth of the bracket is the least interesting. It's like a slow roll to see who can go home first, and then second. Yawn.
"I failed a savings throw and now I am back."

User avatar
Flack
Posts: 8822
Joined: Tue Nov 18, 2008 3:02 pm
Location: Oklahoma
Contact:

Re: NBA PLAYOFFS [2018-2019]

Post by Flack »

It's that time of the season when emotions begin to spill over and manifest in the form of technical fouls. Woo, hoo! Things are getting real!

Game three of the Bucs/Pistons marked the desperately needed return of Blake Griffin, who sat out the first two games of the series with a bad knee (knees?), and they didn't look much better in game three. On the court Griffin wore a giant leg wrap, and off the court, he wore ice pack knee pads. Everybody knows the statistic -- no team has ever come back from a 0-3 deficit in the playoffs -- and the Pistons tried hard to prevent that from happening, but were unsuccessful. Their wounded hero scored 27, but could not save them. Frustration came to a head when Brown (Bucs) and Drummond (Pistons) locked horns and both got t'ed up, but it wasn't enough to get the Pistons fired up. Pistons are now down 0-3.

The Nuggets/Spurs are so evenly matched that it's kind of boring, really. Spurs won game one, Nuggets won game two, Spurs won game three, and yesterday, the Nuggets won game four. There were four playoff games yesterday so I only watched part of this one. I always get a laugh anytime a player gets so mad they chunk the ball at a ref, which is what the Spurs' DeMar DeRozan did in the 4th. It got him two technicals and an an instant rejection, and a thumbs up from me.

Those few technicals were nothing compared to the 76ers/Nets game. Here's a clip of what went down in the third. Things were already getting physical when Jarrett Allen (who my wife loves, because of his hair) went up for a dunk and got karate chopped by Joel Embiid. Seconds later, Jared Dudley comes out of nowhere and shoves Embiid almost into the front row. Then Jimmy Butler hit Dudley and then about ten players locked up and went into the front row, trampling photographers, a referee, and people sitting in the front row. Good times!



Embiid got a flagrant for the original hit, and Dudley and Butler each got two technicals and were tossed. If nothing, all the action was a welcome diversion for the Nets, who go 1-3 in the series.

Just as my kids were finishing up coloring Easter eggs, the fourth game of the day kicked off. The Rockets, who dominated the Jazz in the first two games of the series, faced Utah in Utah. There are nights when everything goes right for the underdog and nothing goes right for the favorite. Harden, one of the best scorers in the league, was 0-15 halfway through the fourth quarter. The Jazz's plan seemed to be "smother Harden and see what happens." It worked... for about 40 minutes. Eventually Harden hit a two, followed by a three. He scored 14 in the fourth, and it seemed Utah could feel the game, and their season, slipping away. On a night when everything went right for the Jazz and everything went wrong for Harden, the Rockets still won by three. That puts the Rockets 3-0, and Utah planning their "we're still proud of you guys" parade.

There are four more games today (on Easter). I'm going to skip the Boston/Pacers (Boston's 3-0) and the Raptors/Magic (2-1, I think) and just watch GSW/LAC (great series) and the Thunder/Portland game (Thunder's 1-2, but playing at home).
"I failed a savings throw and now I am back."

User avatar
Flack
Posts: 8822
Joined: Tue Nov 18, 2008 3:02 pm
Location: Oklahoma
Contact:

Re: NBA PLAYOFFS [2018-2019]

Post by Flack »

Sunday, the Celtics were the first to advance to the semifinals after a 4-0 sweet over the Pacers. I didn't get to watch the game because the people I live with wanted to celebrate Easter. GSW went up 3-1 over the Clippers (when Kevin Durant starts dropping 4-point plays, just... go home) and YOUR OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER suck eggs and went down 1-3 against Portland. The only question mark in round one are Denver/Spurs, who are locked up at 2-2. Hope everyone had a better Easter than Oklahoma City Thunder fans.
"I failed a savings throw and now I am back."

User avatar
Flack
Posts: 8822
Joined: Tue Nov 18, 2008 3:02 pm
Location: Oklahoma
Contact:

Re: NBA PLAYOFFS [2018-2019]

Post by Flack »

To borrow an old saying I don't fully understand, the wheat is separating from the chaff.

It's ironic that Detroit put Blake Griffin on the floor in Monday's game, as Griffin, with his leg wrapped from hip to ankle with supports and wearing a metal knee brace when sitting on the bench, was reminiscent of the city's most famous police officer, Robocop. Every time Griffin was on the floor, the announcers were saying things like "that guy is all heart" and "why is he limping so much" and "dear god when are they going to pull him out." The guy's only 30, but looked more like he was 60 on the court. During the second quarter, Griffin dunked the ball and landed on the ground. Then I took this picture of my television with my phone.

Image

That face says it all. Griffin and his Pistons went 0-4 and are done. Rest that leg, Blake!

On Sunday the Boston Celtics closed out the Pacers in another 4-0 series, so in the east it'll be the Bucs/Celtics in the semi-finals, along with (most likely) the 3-1 76ers vs. the 3-1 Raptors.

Also on Monday night, the Utah Jazz beat the Rockets, pulling the series to 1-3. You know that little adrenaline rush animals get right before they die? It felt a lot like that.

In the west, the Clippers, the Utah Jazz, and the OKC Thunder are all holding on by a thread, each 1-3 in the first round. The Spurs/Nuggets are the only series that went 2-2, and the only one that will most likely go more than 5 games. First round was/is full of mismatches.

In tonight's match ups, expect the Raptors to put away the Magic, the 76ers to put away the Nets, and (unfortunately) Portland to send the Thunder packing back to OKC. Plus you have game five of the Spurs/Nuggets snoozefest.
"I failed a savings throw and now I am back."

User avatar
Flack
Posts: 8822
Joined: Tue Nov 18, 2008 3:02 pm
Location: Oklahoma
Contact:

Re: NBA PLAYOFFS [2018-2019]

Post by Flack »

My niece ruined everything by having a baby this evening so I didn't get to watch any games. But, as predicted the Raptors put away the Magic, the 76ers put away the Nets, and Portland sent the Thunder home with a heartbreaking buzzer beater (final score 118-115).



I think the GSW/LAC game has 5 mins left so I guess I'll go watch that.
"I failed a savings throw and now I am back."

User avatar
pinback
Posts: 17672
Joined: Sat Apr 27, 2002 3:00 pm
Contact:

Re: NBA PLAYOFFS [2018-2019]

Post by pinback »

He probably practiced that.
I don't have to say anything. I'm a doctor, too.

User avatar
Flack
Posts: 8822
Joined: Tue Nov 18, 2008 3:02 pm
Location: Oklahoma
Contact:

Re: NBA PLAYOFFS [2018-2019]

Post by Flack »

pinback wrote: Thu Apr 25, 2019 5:05 am He probably practiced that.
YOUR OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER wishes he hadn't.

When I turned on the GSW/LAC game last night, the Clippers were up by 5 in the fourth. Golden State came back to tie, but you could see what kind of game it was as the league's top scorers weren't hitting anything. The Clippers went on a couple of short runs and beat the Warriors by 8. As Shaq said after the game, "this changes the script," with the Clippers now 2-3 and going back home for game six. Even if Golden State ends up winning, that's still another round of games and travel they're doing while the Rockets are at home, resting up for the next round.
"I failed a savings throw and now I am back."

User avatar
Flack
Posts: 8822
Joined: Tue Nov 18, 2008 3:02 pm
Location: Oklahoma
Contact:

Re: NBA PLAYOFFS [2018-2019]

Post by Flack »

Spurs beat the Nuggets, making the series 3-3 and the first series to go to game 7. Zzz. Hurry up, let's get to the semis!

In today's exit interviews, Billy Donovan (the coach of YOUR OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER) said he was unsure about his future in the franchise.
"I failed a savings throw and now I am back."

User avatar
Flack
Posts: 8822
Joined: Tue Nov 18, 2008 3:02 pm
Location: Oklahoma
Contact:

Re: NBA PLAYOFFS [2018-2019]

Post by Flack »

Steve Kerr (coach of the Golden State Warriors) casually mentioned yesterday that for game six, GSW would be starting with their "Death Lineup." If you don't know what the Death Lineup is, it has its own Wikipedia page.

The linup is Curry, Thompson, Igoudala, Durant, and Green. Every one of them have won some player of the year award. The name comes from the fact that although each of them have their own roles, essentially any of them can play any position, so it's a nightmare for defenses because you can create mismatches on every single possession. They get away with this by putting Igoudala instead of a true center. This forces their opponents to either pull out their center or face constant mismatches.

(Since the arrival of Kevin Durant, this same lineup is also known as the Hamptons Five, although the Death Lineup is obviously a cooler name.)
"I failed a savings throw and now I am back."

User avatar
Ice Cream Jonsey
Posts: 28877
Joined: Sat Apr 27, 2002 2:44 pm
Location: Colorado
Contact:

Re: NBA PLAYOFFS [2018-2019]

Post by Ice Cream Jonsey »

I was going to make fun of basketball fans and Wikipedia over the fact that a non-existing thing that is just made up like "Death Lineup" has its own page and Hugo does not, but then something in me clicked and I checked and sure enough, there is an entry for the "Legion of Doom" line that the Philadelphia Flyers had in the 90s/00s. (I was more of a Flyers fan back then.)

I will note that the fucking morons editing Wikipedia wrote this:
In the 1992–93 and 1993–94 seasons, Mark Recchi (jersey #28), Lindros (#88) and Brent Fedyk (#18) had formed the productive "Crazy Eights" line.
Mark Recchi never wore 28 for Philly in his life, fucking idiots.

Anyway, I have never been the NBA Coach of the Year, so Steve Kerr has only won the award one more time than I have, but why doesn't he start with that every game in the playoffs? Was he previously worried about bringing death to his enemies?
the dark and gritty...Ice Cream Jonsey!

User avatar
Flack
Posts: 8822
Joined: Tue Nov 18, 2008 3:02 pm
Location: Oklahoma
Contact:

Re: NBA PLAYOFFS [2018-2019]

Post by Flack »

The Death Lineup is deadly, but not perfect. The weakness is that it's a small lineup with no big men. Now, there was a version of it called Boogie Death with DeMarcus Cousins replacing Igoudala (as an actual center with both offense and defense) that was nearly unstoppable... and then Cousins tore his quad in the first game of the playoffs, putting him out indefinitely. There's also a variation with Bogut as center, but it's a big trade off (no offense). So, the Death Lineup is risky; if everybody's both scoring and playing defense, it's unstoppable. It's five guys not playing positions, but just balling and making things happen. Even if it's not perfect, I'm sure the Clippers aren't looking forward to seeing it tonight at 9pm central.
"I failed a savings throw and now I am back."

User avatar
Ice Cream Jonsey
Posts: 28877
Joined: Sat Apr 27, 2002 2:44 pm
Location: Colorado
Contact:

Re: NBA PLAYOFFS [2018-2019]

Post by Ice Cream Jonsey »

I understand the Clippers used to have a Death Lineup of their own, which was what Sterling would give you if you invited any black men into box seats as his mistress?
the dark and gritty...Ice Cream Jonsey!

User avatar
Flack
Posts: 8822
Joined: Tue Nov 18, 2008 3:02 pm
Location: Oklahoma
Contact:

Re: NBA PLAYOFFS [2018-2019]

Post by Flack »

That was actually the Death to a Career Lineup, which was close.

The Warriors put Sean Livingston (who we call "the alien") at starting center, a lineup which as far as I know doesn't have a cute name or Wikipedia entry, but seemed effective all the same. Patrick Beverly and company did their same attack ("Operation Swarm Durant") and the last thing they heard before going back to the locker room at half time was "Durant ties the record for most points in a playoff half" with 38 in the first half and 50 before he got bored and sat down later. The only thing that slowed the GSW machine down game was when Curry rolled his ankle, which allowed the Clippers to remain within 20. Draymond Green did his normal fit-throwing act, earning himself a T and almost two, but... not news, it's Green.

GSW closes the series with a 129-110 game six, and all of this is a best case scenario for Houston. GSW will have no rest as they go into the semi finals on Sunday against a rested Houston, with Curry having rolled his ankle. Could it be the slight advantage Houston needs? We'll see!
"I failed a savings throw and now I am back."

Post Reply