NBA Regular Season & Playoffs 2019-20 Thread

kmart6

https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1306309530222034945
https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1306309896317603840

EagererBeaver

Osmosis Jones wrote: »

No one I'm happier for than Pat Bev, thought he had been gifted a ring last summer and has spent the entire season letting everyone know

This. Lots of Clippers, PG13 included, getting on as if they'd actually achieved something. Kawhi had a bad few games at the end of a series at the end of a difficult season but he's a two time champ and finals MVP. He can be excused. What about the rest of them though? Cowardly ****e altogether.

LuckyLloyd

Lakers open a 7 point fav for game 1. Still no respect for this Denver team!!

LuckyLloyd

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/29876905/nba-playoffs-how-lakers-nuggets-stack-surprising-west-finals-matchup

Decent straightforward preview piece here. It’s a bad matchup for Denver - the way the Lakers are constructed makes guarding Jokic / attacking his deficiencies very natural for them.

eagle eye

Denver found their regular season defense in that series. Totally different team now but having played 7 against the Clippers it'll be difficult against the Lakers.

Celtics blew it the other night but you have to love how Jimmy Butler is playing. He's been the star of the playoffs for me to this point, and I'm a Celtics fan.

jk23

I think Denver have a great young core in Murray, Jokic and Porter jr but the Lakers are locked in and have looked great in the bubble.

Going to back the Lakers to sweep Denver, think it's 3/1 in some places...

ButtersSuki

jk23 wrote: »

I think Denver have a great young core in Murray, Jokic and Porter jr but the Lakers are locked in and have looked great in the bubble.

Going to back the Lakers to sweep Denver, think it's 3/1 in some places...

You’re throwing your money away......

I’d favour the lakers, but it won’t be a sweep.

LeBron and the Lakers can’t believe their luck I suspect.....all falling nicely into place for them.

jk23

ButtersSuki wrote: »

You’re throwing your money away......

I’d favour the lakers, but it won’t be a sweep.

LeBron and the Lakers can’t believe their luck I suspect.....all falling nicely into place for them.

I am just thinking the Lakers have 3 very good centres to throw at Jokic in McGee, Howard and of course Davis

Murray is going to be tired and KCP along with Green can defend him alot better than anyone they have faced so far...not going to put a good amount on the sweep but I think the Nuggets will really struggle against this Lakers team...

ButtersSuki

jk23 wrote: »

I am just thinking the Lakers have 3 very good centres to throw at Jokic in McGee, Howard and of course Davis

Murray is going to be tired and KCP along with Green can defend him alot better than anyone they have faced so far...not going to put a good amount on the sweep but I think the Nuggets will really struggle against this Lakers team...

Jokic will make McGee and Howard look like G Leaguers, and Davis won’t match up against him much defensively except from help positions - he won’t be the primary defender much. Davis could potentially go to town on Jokic at the other end for sure, but I’d fancy Jokic to cause havoc for the Lakers from a total game perspective.

People thought the Clippers would sweep Denver too.....

ButtersSuki

jk23 wrote: »

I am just thinking the Lakers have 3 very good centres to throw at Jokic in McGee, Howard and of course Davis

Murray is going to be tired and KCP along with Green can defend him alot better than anyone they have faced so far...not going to put a good amount on the sweep but I think the Nuggets will really struggle against this Lakers team...

Lakers will definitely be much fresher. You saw that in Game 1 of the clippers series where Denver were gassed and were blown out. I’d put the house on LA in game 1 again for the same reason - even with the extra day off as LA have had more recovery time and more test in general with their series being much less competitive. But this won’t be a sweep (barring injury).

EagererBeaver

Jimmy Buckets coming up huge down the stretch again with two massive plays on D. Brown keeping the Celtics in it with a pair of huge 3s.

simongurnick

Butler is rejuvenated this year in a huge way

ButtersSuki

simongurnick wrote: »

Butler is rejuvenated this year in a huge way

Imagine being a Philly fan watching this and thinking “we paid Tobias Harris”

jk23

simongurnick wrote: »

Butler is rejuvenated this year in a huge way

Would love to see the Heat win it all this year especially for Butler and Dragic

kmart6

Giannis confirmed as MVP again.

tglynn

kmart6 wrote: »

Giannis confirmed as MVP again.

More incentive for LeBron to crush tonight!

kmart6

tglynn wrote: »

More incentive for LeBron to crush tonight!

Don't think they are correlated really. LeBron is on the record as saying regular season MVP doesn't motivate him and Giannis would prefer to be playing the Eastern Finals right now than meeting with the Bucks owners trying to figure out what the team should do next.

tglynn

kmart6 wrote: »

Don't think they are correlated really. LeBron is on the record as saying regular season MVP doesn't motivate him and Giannis would prefer to be playing the Eastern Finals right now than meeting with the Bucks owners trying to figure out what the team should do next.

100% but he'll absolutely feed tonight. Denver have nobody who can guard him and if he wanted more motivation to show he's the best player in the league he just got it

eagle eye

tglynn wrote:

More incentive for LeBron to crush tonight!

Do you think he should have got it? I don't, right man got it imo and after him I'd have Harden, Doncic, Lebron and Davis very close together but a good bit behind.

tglynn

eagle eye wrote: »

Do you think he should have got it? I don't, right man got it imo and after him I'd have Harden, Doncic, Lebron and Davis very close together but a good bit behind.

No Giannis deserved it, just making the point in LeBron's mind he had a great case for it. Topped the league in assists and was all around as effective as ever in his 17th season. Incredible what he can do. And not that he needs more motivation for tonight but it can't hurt

Osmosis Jones

It's still a joke that the awards are now announced well into the playoffs, nobody cares at this stage, announce regular season awards as the regular season ends!

eagle eye

Osmosis Jones wrote:

It's still a joke that the awards are now announced well into the playoffs, nobody cares at this stage, announce regular season awards as the regular season ends!

Have to agree, think it'd make the awards more important and talked about too.

kmart6

Dominant from the Lakers, blew the Nuggets away early in the 2nd. Jokic could have fouled out mid-way through the 3rd but the refs seem to have some sympathy at that stage. Easy to say after a game like this but a whitewash looks like a strong possibility.

kmart6

Well he's pissed about it...

https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/1307174319856914433?s=09

EagererBeaver

kmart6 wrote: »

Well he's pissed about it...

https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/1307174319856914433?s=09

"...but me being compared to him, I took offense to that."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bn3a2gs3E0I

EagererBeaver

ButtersSuki wrote: »

Imagine being a Philly fan watching this and thinking “we paid Tobias Harris”

I don't think you can frame it as a choice between Burnett and Harris. Butler has said that he knew almost immediately Philly was a bad choice and the wrong decision.

LuckyLloyd

EagererBeaver wrote: »

I don't think you can frame it as a choice between Burnett and Harris. Butler has said that he knew almost immediately Philly was a bad choice and the wrong decision.

Nearly beat the Raptors all the same...

kmart6

Jesus that is a sickener for the Nuggets!! Dragged themselves back into it. Lakers were trying to throw it away.

~Rebel~

Incredible Lakers Nuggets game two - seriously clutch stuff from Davis and Jokic respectively.

Osmosis Jones

Heartbreak for Denver, especially after that block from Murray. Watching it back I've no idea what Plumlee's doing calling for a switch on AD as soon as he starts running away

https://twitter.com/NBAonTNT/status/1307864617171873794?s=20