NBA Playoffs 2012/13

Nuri Sahin

Much like the Knicks, zero to little intensity from OKC in a closing out game which is very disappointing to see although in the case of OKC, it's somewhat understandable given Westbrook's injury as while he can be awfully frustrating, he brought that something extra both in regards to both sides of the floor and as an influence. Good for the neutrals though .. and the sudden Celtic fans showing up. I kid . But seriously, on OKC, Kevin Martin has been utterly appalling for far too long now. I knew his good early season numbers would cool off. Perkins is dirt. Ibaka and Sefo are grand and so is Durant obviously, but If Durant who is pretty much their entire offence right now misses, they're in trouble and this is a player who's been out of form himself since the All Star break like I've mentioned before. Then there is the coach who is the real issue here. People said it was an overreaction post-last years finals when I said it, but OKC will never win a Championship with Brooks.

It's just all very disappointing really as they were so close to having a team that could compete and would eventually (or perhaps hopefully) mature to really compete for Championships, and that was flushed down the toilet it feels like by management all across the board.

padraig_f

Nuri Sahin wrote: »

. Then there is the coach who is the real issue here. People said it was an overreaction post-last years finals when I said it, but OKC will never win a Championship with Brooks.

It's just all very disappointing really as they were so close to having a team that could compete and would eventually (or perhaps hopefully) mature to really compete for Championships, and that was flushed down the toilet it feels like by management all across the board.

Yes, don't mean to blow my own trumpet (ok, maybe a little), but I did say during last year's Finals that Brooks couldn't coach, and again during the year when Westbrook was unfairly catching a lot of flak.

Looking more like Westbrook was helping to mask a lot of problems in the offense, with his fast-breaks and ability to collapse the defense by getting to the rim. They lost that, and their lack of offensive design is now getting exposed.

There was a lot of media focus last year on the Harden trade, but the Thunder probably made a bigger mistake when they re-signed Brooks. He didn't even need to be fired, he was out of contract. And you had proven good coaches out of a job (Phil Jackson, the van Gundys, Jerry Sloan), who probably would've jumped at the chance, given the talent available.

The Thunder made the mistake of being fooled by success. They had relative success in reaching the Finals, but if they evaluated the coaching in isolation, you could see it wasn't up to scratch. It was brutally exposed in the Finals, when they effectively had a meltdown, losing the last 4 games in a row. Brooks never made any meaningful adjustments, never threw a zone-defense at Miami at any point, when Dallas had success with it in the previous year's finals. It was a complete coaching failure, and the Thunder rewarded him with a new contract.

padraig_f

Happy to see Asik make his free throws to ice the game (he shot 8-12 from the line when the Thunder started intentionally fouling him).

This time last year he caught a bit of flak for missing two free throws for the Bulls against the 76ers, which saw them win the deciding game 6 (a bit unfairly, CJ Watson was more at fault for passing him the ball).

I loved this detail from last night's game report:

Late in the game, a frustrated Kevin Durant picked up a technical foul, and James Harden took the free throw. Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle:

McHale told Asik to take it, but it was too late.

stuchyg

Watched the LAC - Grizz game last night but this is my first chance to post since. Really enjoyed it, there was a nice bit of needle to it.

Couple of things from it for me

1. Is DJ the most overpaid centre in the NBA relative to skills and production, he couldnt catch a fcuking cold, shocking hands & shoddy defense and rebounding

2. On the flip both Z-Bo and Marc have exceptional ability with the ball in hands for such big men. Gasols behind the back swing to the kickout pass for the 3 would have been the play of the night had it went in.

3. Chris Paul deserves a ring at some point in his career. His floor leadership and knowledge is outstanding. His delay in picking the ball up at the end of the 3rd to turn off the shot clock was great to watch.

Paully D

Bulls 4-0 at United Center against the Nets this season. I'm hoping we can finish the job tonight (unfortunately I won't get to watch it). I wouldn't be too confident going to Brooklyn for a game 7, but then again it's very hard to see us losing 3 times in a row against them. Either way, I hope the series is over when I check the score in the morning!

The Phantom Jipper

Hinrich, Deng and Gibson all doubtful apparently. Nets won't get a better chance if that's the case.

padraig_f

Oh ****, Deng out now (flu) on top of Hinrich. Nate and Taj have the flu as well, but are playing.

Nuri Sahin

If the Nets lose this...

No excuses now.

padraig_f

Finding it hard to see how the Bulls win this. With the other injuries, I thought Deng was going to need to step up in games 6 and 7. With him out now, just can't see where the scoring is going to come from.

BQQ

Bulls are sticking around(75-71 at end of the 3rd) , but with the starters playing so many minutes, I see the nets being fresher and pulling away in the 4th

Nuri Sahin

David Lee is back.. somehow.

Dublin Red Devil

Game 7 needed in Brooklyn

Nuri Sahin

Fantastic effort from the Bulls. Just fell short. We go to Game 7.

Noah really should have won that jump ball at the end though against Williams!

Carcharodon

Nuri Sahin wrote: »

David Lee is back.. somehow.

I think it was just for the crowd, only played a minute.
Great game, Bogut has been a beast.

Carcharodon

I don't think I have been that nervous in a long long time, I don't know how they manage to scrape through that. Up 18 in the fourth and they manage to let them back in, then the finish..... oh sweet jebus, some of the craziest inbounding and turnovers I have ever seen. Fair play to Denver and their traps and defense but man what the he'll were the Warriors doing.
Rookie players and coach maybe...
Oh that was intense :cool:

leggo

Wow. My favourite game of the playoffs so far. From the ball just not dropping for Steph Curry to him not being able to miss in the 3rd to that absolutely insanity towards the end from the Warriors. Golden State are my playoff team, immensely entertaining and now with the star chops to give them some backbone. I hope they give the Spurs a good go, but have a feeling they'll have peaked against Denver. Still, this series win alone is progress enough for one season.

If the conspiracy theories about Derrick Rose being saved for the playoffs are true, then the Bulls need him back on Saturday or I think they're going down. Though they probably would've used him last night if it were possible, so that kinda answers that mystery.

Have an acca on tonight's games. Not optimistic, but you never know:

Hawks @ 4/5
Rockets @ 20/23
Knicks (-2.0) @ 10/11
Clippers (+6.5) @ 10/11

Iffy about the Clippers pick. The way I see it: if Memphis win, they win a close nail-biter. But that one could go either way. Clips covering a +6.5 spread is the only bet that looks reasonably safe to me. Confident enough in the other picks: Boston are pretty much relying on Melo and JR Smith to have another shocking game, I still think OKC will go through just not in Houston and the Hawks/Pacers series seems determined to torture us as much as possible so what better way to do so than with a Game 7?

ButtersSuki

Went to bed with the Warriors up 18 and woke up to see they had scraped home by 4. Steph Curry's image and recognition in the league has gone through the roof since the All Star snub. Genuinely surprised they managed to beat Denver minus Lee but delighted for them. They're really strong at the 1, 2 and 4 positions and if they can get a solid 3 and Bogut to increase his production they're young enough to be serious challengers in a couple of seasons if they can keep it all together.

They will not beat the Spurs though!

Game 7 for the Bulls and Nets, not going to call it until I see what team Chicago can get on the floor.

Lookingforward to the Celtics-Knicks tonight. Think Boston could make this a 7 game series yet.

walrusgumble

A great season for Denver, now gone down the sink after this play off

They can't put away their god damn free throws. There shot selection can be pish

walrusgumble

Deleted User wrote: »

brilliant, a game 6 in Boston to look forward to tomorrow night and then if they win, a game 7 on Sunday - Bank holiday weekend baby! can stay up without the worry of being wrecked for work

After the classless behaviour of Knicks, I hope Boston DESTROY them, and in doing so, KG absolutely insults all of Melo's family and his manhood.

17,17 and 18 in rebounding for KG in the last 3 games , and Terry remembering that he was a playa, who knows

Nuri Sahin

Big up to the Warriors for winning their series. Honestly didn't see them winning in Denver whatsoever I'll be honest, but kudos to them, they did.

Nuri Sahin

Carcharodon wrote: »

I think it was just for the crowd, only played a minute.
Great game, Bogut has been a beast.

Was an absolute monster in Round 1. Steph will get all the plaudits, but Bogut deserves his share too.

Paully D

Injuries have really caught up on us. I seen a comment from Chuck Swirsky (Bulls reporter) who said in 30 years of covering NBA across the league that he had never seen a team decimated by injuries and illness more than this years Bulls team and I find that hard to disagree with.

A great effort by the team to keep within 3 points, and Robinson puking on the sideline due to illness just proved how hard this team plays every night.

A huge game 7 coming up in Brooklyn now and while I'm not confident of winning it, I am very proud of the team for the way they have fought through set back after set back this season.

Carcharodon

Nuri Sahin wrote: »

Was an absolute monster in Round 1. Steph will get all the plaudits, but Bogut deserves his share too.

Yep, last night was easily his best game I've seen him play for the Warriors, 14 pts, 21 rebounds and 4 blocks I think, then you have his presence alone in the lane. If he can continue to be more productive on offense then the Warriors are more dangerous since they won't just be a jump shooting team.
Maybe I am a bit biased but I thought they had a great chance against Denver, Spurs will be different story, they won't get away with some of their sloppy play and are too inexperienced. Plus you have Jesus freak Jackson versus the best coach in the NBA

kmart6

Paully D wrote: »

Injuries have really caught up on us. I seen a comment from Chuck Swirsky (Bulls reporter) who said in 30 years of covering NBA across the league that he had never seen a team decimated by injuries and illness more than this years Bulls team and I find that hard to disagree with.

The Lakers could give the Bulls a run for their money on that one taking just this year into consideration(Rose was last year;))

padraig_f

Rooting for game 7s tonight (potentially could have four on Sunday), except for probably the Clippers, who despite the high-flying dunks, remain a pretty unlikeable team to me (not a fan of Griffin and Del Negro personality-wise). Much more a fan of the Grizzlies, more humility, hard-working, team-oriented, find them a lot easier to root for as a neutral. They lost in a game 7 against the Clips last year, so would be exorcising some demons if they were to win tonight.

buyer95

I dont feel confident at all about going to the TD Garden and winning, especially with the momentum behind the Celtics. That being said Melo is unlikely to play as poorly as he has in the last 2 games, shooting wise. The Celtics aren't going to score more than 90 points(give or take 5 points) so it will be down to the knicks to find our offensive game again. The high pick and roll is what has been working for us, with Chandler screening for felton, who has the footspeed to get by his man, throw the alley hoop to Chandler score himself or draw the help defense to get open 3s. Anthony and Smith both went into iso mood, which isn't a bad thing if there getting shots at the ring, as they both are 2 of the better iso guys in the league. However neither of them had the jump shot falling with any consistency in the last game, which is as much a testament to the C's improved defense as anything else. However I would question the Celtics ability to continue shooting the ball so well from deep. It has improved exponentially from game 3. The Celtics in the first three games, 16-for-58 from downtown, 27.5 percent. In the last two, 43.2 percent, including an 11-for-22 effort in Game 5. A lot of that is the JET finally playing like the player who led Dallas to the title in 2011, but I think it is a reasonable to question whether the Celtics can sustain that level of shooting from deep. They have basically lived by it in the last 2 games, because they can't get anything in their offensive sets.
The Knicks are favoured by 2 by the bookies, and I think might be about right. Atleast I hope it will. I'm staying away from putting money on though, as my record this week has been atrocious!

Nuri Sahin

Melo passing the ball \o/

Paully D

Will Pierce actually make a shot tonight? :eek:

me89

Well that was horrible.
The only good news is that we cant possibly play as bad next qtr.

Dublin Red Devil

The Truth