namepeace said:

uPtoWnNY said:

Houston needs to pick up the pace on offense....stop with the iso shit & get more movement.

Well, your faith paid off RSchro! We have a series now.

The original core (Steph, Klay, Dray) look tired. 4 years of deep playoff runs get to you.

Steph looks like he's not 100% but they're making him work on defense too.

Ariza being able to stay in the game was a huge help, and the role players hit some big shots.

.

Curry's able to hide on defense against most teams, but not Houston with their guards. Rockets' ball movement was money - I don't know what happened in Game 1.

Cavs are done if LeBron doesn't get some backcourt help. Has anyone seen J.R.? Instead of pushing cats in the back, get your game going.

As far as dirtiest players ever, Boston had a bunch of them back in the day. We called them 'hatchet men'. Tommy Heinson for one.

Add Bill Laimbeer to that dirty list, he was always trying to cheap shot somebody.

Hey folks, there might be a potential storm brewing in Minnesota. Apparently, the relationship between Towns and the organization is not in a "good place" according to several stories I've read. Stay tuned......

Eastern Conference Finals

Game 3

Boston Celtics 86 Cleveland Cavaliers 116

The Cleveland Cavaliers struggled to get going offensively the first two games of this series outside of Lebron James and Kevin Love and as a result found themselves down 0-2 and possibly on the verge of being bounced out of their NBA title run early. In particular, the trio of Tristan Thompson, J.R. Smith, and George Hill struggled from the field, so if the Cavs had any chance of getting back into this series, the rest of the supporting cast had to step up.

And they did just that. The Cavs exploded out of the gate, jumping out to a 16 point lead in the first quarter and never looked back. They also stepped up their defense, limiting the Celtics to just 27% shooting from the floor. Lebron James led the Cavs with 27 points, 12 assists, and five rebounds while Kevin Love scored 13 points and grabbed 14 rebounds. But this time the supporting cast showed up, with George Hill scoring 13 points for the Cavs while Kyle Korver added 14 points including going a perfect 4 for 4 from the 3-point line. J.R. Smith added 11 points while Tristan Thompson added 10 points and seven rebounds.

Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 18 points while Trent Rozier was limited to just 13 points on 5 for 12 from shooting from the floor. Jaylen Brown was held to just 10 points while Greg Monroe matched that total off the bench. But Marcus Morris and Al Horford were limited to just nine and seven points respectively.

Boston leads series 2-1.

Western Conference Finals

Game 3

Houston Rockets 85 Golden State Warriors 126

The Houston Rockets came into game 2 and played strong defense against the Golden State Warriors and were hoping to regain home court advantage in this game. Meanwhile, the Warriors were hoping to use their home court advantage to get a leg up on the Rockets and re-establish the dominance they displayed in game 1.

Houston would go back and forth with Golden State early in this game, but the Warriors would pull away late in the first quarter and went into overdrive in the second half en route to a rout of the Rockets. Stephen Curry scored 18 of his game high 35 points in the third quarter, and he also finished with six rebounds. Kevin Durant scored 25 points, grabbed six rebounds, and dished out six assists. Klay Thompson added 13 points for Golden State while Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala each aded 10 points.

James Harden led the Rockets with 20 points, but Chris Paul struggled in this game, scoring just 13 points, though he grabbed 10 rebounds. Clint Capela added 13 points and eight rebounds while Eric Gordon added 11 points.

Golden State leads series 2-1.

Rockets reverted back to their old habits, and Steph got his groove back. He did to Harden what Harden did to him. Warriors will win series, and they'll destroy Boston or Cleveland in the finals.

uPtoWnNY said:

Hey folks, there might be a potential storm brewing in Minnesota. Apparently, the relationship between Towns and the organization is not in a "good place" according to several stories I've read. Stay tuned......

Uh oh. BOS and LA both have assets to accommodate a move, though BOS has more tradeable picks and players, and LA presumably has more cap space.

I'm sure glad I went to the Astros game last night.

Abdul said:

Add Bill Laimbeer to that dirty list, he was always trying to cheap shot somebody.

Absolutely. Biggest pussy to ever play the game. He was even a bigger pussy than Draymond Green has been - so far.

RodeoSchro said:

I'm sure glad I went to the Astros game last night.

I'm glad you did too!

Game 4 is the season for you guys.

namepeace said:

RodeoSchro said:

I'm sure glad I went to the Astros game last night.

I'm glad you did too!

Game 4 is the season for you guys.

It sure is!

The Astros are in town that night, hosting the San Francisco Giants. I'm just saying.

namepeace said:

uPtoWnNY said:

Hey folks, there might be a potential storm brewing in Minnesota. Apparently, the relationship between Towns and the organization is not in a "good place" according to several stories I've read. Stay tuned......

Uh oh. BOS and LA both have assets to accommodate a move, though BOS has more tradeable picks and players, and LA presumably has more cap space.

I just saw a story saying Phoenix is open to trading the pick, and there is a picture of Towns wearing a Suns jersey on social media. Hmmmm....

In other T-Wolves news, Wiggins is reportedly unhappy being the third option in Minnesota's offense behind Towns and Butler. Some of these NBA cats are a bunch of fucking babies.

uPtoWnNY said:

namepeace said:

Uh oh. BOS and LA both have assets to accommodate a move, though BOS has more tradeable picks and players, and LA presumably has more cap space.

I just saw a story saying Phoenix is open to trading the pick, and there is a picture of Towns wearing a Suns jersey on social media. Hmmmm....

In other T-Wolves news, Wiggins is reportedly unhappy being the third option in Minnesota's offense behind Towns and Butler. Some of these NBA cats are a bunch of fucking babies.

Wiggins lacks a killer instinct IMO, when he get's touches he's too passive, he's not an alpha!

Abdul said:

uPtoWnNY said:

I just saw a story saying Phoenix is open to trading the pick, and there is a picture of Towns wearing a Suns jersey on social media. Hmmmm....

In other T-Wolves news, Wiggins is reportedly unhappy being the third option in Minnesota's offense behind Towns and Butler. Some of these NBA cats are a bunch of fucking babies.

Wiggins lacks a killer instinct IMO, when he get's touches he's too passive, he's not an alpha!

These are strictly guesses on my part but --

They're trying to Make Wiggins an alpha, when maybe he's a natural beta. Those work fine too. Klay Thompson, Joe Dumars, Jamaal Wilkes, guys like that are fine to work outside the confines of being "the man."

Butler is an alpha, but his ceiling isn't as high.

Thibs seems like the kind of coach who wants big men to be traditional pivot guys and/or plays to his favorites like Butler.

This leaves KAT to stew.

PHX would be a good landing spot, they have pieces and tradeable assets, and could build around him.

namepeace said:

Abdul said:

Wiggins lacks a killer instinct IMO, when he get's touches he's too passive, he's not an alpha!

These are strictly guesses on my part but --

They're trying to Make Wiggins an alpha, when maybe he's a natural beta. Those work fine too. Klay Thompson, Joe Dumars, Jamaal Wilkes, guys like that are fine to work outside the confines of being "the man."

Butler is an alpha, but his ceiling isn't as high.

Thibs seems like the kind of coach who wants big men to be traditional pivot guys and/or plays to his favorites like Butler.

This leaves KAT to stew.

PHX would be a good landing spot, they have pieces and tradeable assets, and could build around him.

I'm not even sure if he's a beta to be honest , he looks really lost on the court sometimes.

KAT should touch the ball on every possesion, too many times when I watched the T-Wolves this season he would go multiple possesions without touching the ball, that's unacceptable.

Eastern Conference Finals

Game 4

Boston Celtics 102 Cleveland Cavaliers 111

The Cleveland Cavaliers dominated the Boston Celtics in game 3, and they were hoping to use that momentum in this game to even up the series. Much of their success in game 3 was the result of the supporting cast finally showing up to help Lebron James, and they did their fair share in this game. But ultimately it came down to the king to push the game though.

The Cavs once again came strong out of the gate, jumping out to an 18 point lead in the first half. They got help from Kyle Korver, who sacored 14 points in this game, and from George Hill and Tristan Thompson who each scored 13 points whille Thompson also grabbed 12 rebounds. But unlike game 3 the Celtics refused to go away. Relying primarily on their starters and Marcus Smart off the bench, Boston made several runs in the second half to get within striking distance, but each time they threatened to close the gap, Lebron James would take over, hitting huge shots to give the Cavs a comfortable lead that they would not relinquish. Lebron James scored a game high 44 points while Kevin Love added nine points and 11 rebounds. J.R. Smith added nine points on three 3-pointers.

Jaylen Brown led the Celtics with 25 points but shot 10 for 23 from the floor. Jayson Tatum scored 17 points while Trent Rozier scored 16 points on 6 for 15 shooting from the floor while also dishing out 11 assists and grabbing six rebounds. Al Horford scored 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds, but the Cavs made a concerted effort to slow him down, as he shot just 5 for 13 from the floor. Marcus Morris and Marcus Smart added 10 and eight points respectively.

Series tied at 2-2.

Western Conference Finals

Game 4

Houston Rockets 95 Golden State Warriors 92

The Golden State Warriors annihilated and embarassed the Houston Rockets in game 3, and they were hoping to continue that momentum in this game. Meanwhile, the Rockets were hoping to bounce back from their dismal performance and even up this series by reigniting their offense and playing much better defense than they did in the last game.

Early on, the Warriors strated out much like they left off in game 3, scoring the first 12 pojnts of the game and leading by nine at the first quarter. But they got sloppy in the second quarter and also got into foul trouble, with Stephen Curry getting three quick fouls. They also turned the ball over multiple times, allowing Houston to get back into the game and taking a seven point lead by halftime, led by James Harden and Chris Paul.

The Warriors would explode in the third quarter, going on a 17 point turnaround led by Stephen Curry, who scored 17 of his 28 points in this game in the quarter which included five 3-pointers. But just as the Warriors shooting was as hot as the recent lava flowing in Hawaii in the third quarter, it got as frozen as the polar ice caps in the fourth. Meanwhile, Chris Paul became a beast down the stretch for the Rockets, scoring eight of his 27 points in the fourth quarter and pulling his team back into the lead while also playing some stifiling defense. The Warriors had a couple of chances to tie the game in the closing seconds, but Stephen Curry mishandled the dribble and was forced to pass to Klay Thompson who was forced to put up a wild shot which missed with 0.5 seconds remaining in the game. After a Chris Paul free throw and timeout, Stephen Curry made one last shot attempt to tie the game but missed, thus allowing Houston to even up this series. James Harden led the Rockets with 30 points while Eric Gordon scored 14 points off the bench and Clint Capela added eight points and 13 rebounds.

Kevin Durant scored 27 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for the Warriors while Draymond Green scored 11 points, grabbed 14 rebounds, and dished out eight assists. Klay Thompson was limited to just 10 points on 4 for 13 shooting from the floor. Andre Iguodala missed this game due to an injury.

Series tied at 2-2.

Much better! I know we're the better team than Golden State - IF we play our game and stay within ourselves. Which is exactly what we did last night.

Golden State had their vaunted Thrid Quarter Takeover, out-scoring us by 17 points and turning a 7-point halftime gap into a 10-point lead going into the fourth quarter. And we said, "SO WHAT!"

That was a great game, albeit a game of streaks. It wasn't a back-and-forth lead-swapping type of game. Interesting note - Golden State had won 39 of 40 games this season when they entered the fourth quarter with a lead of 10 points or more. The one game they had lost?

It was against the Houston Rockets.

It's great to be coming back to H-Town with the home court advantage again. Go Rockets!

I forgot the best part of the game!

Golden State lost in large part becasuse Draymond Green, the NBA's biggest pussy, missed a wide open dunk.

HAHAHAHAHA! Karma's a bitch!

RodeoSchro said:

Much better! I know we're the better team than Golden State - IF we play our game and stay within ourselves. Which is exactly what we did last night.

Golden State had their vaunted Thrid Quarter Takeover, out-scoring us by 17 points and turning a 7-point halftime gap into a 10-point lead going into the fourth quarter. And we said, "SO WHAT!"

That was a great game, albeit a game of streaks. It wasn't a back-and-forth lead-swapping type of game. Interesting note - Golden State had won 39 of 40 games this season when they entered the fourth quarter with a lead of 10 points or more. The one game they had lost?

It was against the Houston Rockets.

It's great to be coming back to H-Town with the home court advantage again. Go Rockets!

I still think GS is the better team. They've just played 5 seasons worth of basketball in 4 years and some of their core bench players (Livingston, Iggy) are aging and battling injuries.

I was surprised that HOU showed their mettle. They won't fold. When they move the ball around they're awfully hard to beat and are never out of a game.

namepeace said:

RodeoSchro said:

Much better! I know we're the better team than Golden State - IF we play our game and stay within ourselves. Which is exactly what we did last night.

Golden State had their vaunted Thrid Quarter Takeover, out-scoring us by 17 points and turning a 7-point halftime gap into a 10-point lead going into the fourth quarter. And we said, "SO WHAT!"

That was a great game, albeit a game of streaks. It wasn't a back-and-forth lead-swapping type of game. Interesting note - Golden State had won 39 of 40 games this season when they entered the fourth quarter with a lead of 10 points or more. The one game they had lost?

It was against the Houston Rockets.

It's great to be coming back to H-Town with the home court advantage again. Go Rockets!

I still think GS is the better team. They've just played 5 seasons worth of basketball in 4 years and some of their core bench players (Livingston, Iggy) are aging and battling injuries.

I was surprised that HOU showed their mettle. They won't fold. When they move the ball around they're awfully hard to beat and are never out of a game.

That is 100% correct. For some reason they shoot much better when there's ball movement.

RodeoSchro said:

namepeace said:

I still think GS is the better team. They've just played 5 seasons worth of basketball in 4 years and some of their core bench players (Livingston, Iggy) are aging and battling injuries.

I was surprised that HOU showed their mettle. They won't fold. When they move the ball around they're awfully hard to beat and are never out of a game.

That is 100% correct. For some reason they shoot much better when there's ball movement.

You get better shots when there's constant movement and cutting to the basket. That ISO shit is too easy to defend.

It's CRUCIAL for Houston and Boston to care of business at home, otherwise both will lose in six.

uPtoWnNY said:

RodeoSchro said:

That is 100% correct. For some reason they shoot much better when there's ball movement.

You get better shots when there's constant movement and cutting to the basket. That ISO shit is too easy to defend.

It's CRUCIAL for Houston and Boston to care of business at home, otherwise both will lose in six.

Odd-numbered games are always the most important. Boston took care of business last night, and how. It doesn't look like Cleveland, despite the Herculean efforts of the incredible Lebron James, can win at the Garden.

I don't like ISO at all, although James Harden can use it to great effrect - sometimes. But it's because he can blow by guys off the dribble like no one else except...Stephen Curry.

But passing creates a rhythm (and why the heck is "rhythm" so hard for me to spell right the first time?!?). It's like a beat and when you feel it, you jam. I hope the Rockets get pass-happy tonight.

Abdul said:

namepeace said:

These are strictly guesses on my part but --

They're trying to Make Wiggins an alpha, when maybe he's a natural beta. Those work fine too. Klay Thompson, Joe Dumars, Jamaal Wilkes, guys like that are fine to work outside the confines of being "the man."

Butler is an alpha, but his ceiling isn't as high.

Thibs seems like the kind of coach who wants big men to be traditional pivot guys and/or plays to his favorites like Butler.

This leaves KAT to stew.

PHX would be a good landing spot, they have pieces and tradeable assets, and could build around him.

I'm not even sure if he's a beta to be honest , he looks really lost on the court sometimes.

KAT should touch the ball on every possesion, too many times when I watched the T-Wolves this season he would go multiple possesions without touching the ball, that's unacceptable.

Maybe Thibs is allowing the offense to run through Butler. I don't get the feeling Thibs is the kind of coach that can deal with millenials.

namepeace said:

Maybe Thibs is allowing the offense to run through Butler. I don't get the feeling Thibs is the kind of coach that can deal with millenials.

Yeah it does seem that way, I think it's a mistake. Jimmy Butler's a solid player and on another team (Like on his old team the Bulls! lol!) him being the #1 option would make sense, but on the T-Wolves KAT is the one who should be it.

Signing Jeff Teague didn't help, as a PG he's not much of a floor leader IMO, he's more a good backup at this point in his career.

Millenials and Thibs don't seem to mix, all that yelling and what not

Eastern Conference Finals

Game 5

Cleveland Cavaliers 83 Boston Celtics 96

One of the big truths about NBA playoff basketball is that the further along one gets in the playoffs, the more of a grind the game can be. That was true for both the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers, but it was the balance of the Celtics that wore on Lebron James in this game.

The Celtics would jump out to a 16 point lead late in the first and early in the second quarter and basically hung on from there, despite going on a four minute scoring drought in the second quarter which allowed the Cavs to come within striking distance. But every time the Cavs got sort of close, the Celtics would hit a couple of huge shots to extend the lead, despite shooting just over 36% from the floor in this game. Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 24 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and four steals. Jaylen Brown scored 17 points while Al Horford scored 15 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. Marcus Morris and Marcus Smart each added 13 points.

Lebron James led the Cavs with 26 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists, but also uncharacteristically turned the ball over six times. While some wondered whether he suffered some undisclosed injury in this game or prior to it, he only admitted to feeling run down after the game. Kevin Love scored 14 points and grabbed seven rebounds, but once again the supporting cast was mostly MIA, as the collective of Kyle Korver, George Hill, Tristan Thompson and J.R. Smith scored a total of 17 points. Some of that was due to Boston's stifiling defense, but much of it was reminiscient of the poor play in the first two games of this series. And if they don't turn it around in the next game, their title run could end sooner than they planned for.

Boston leads series 3-2.

we might be getting two new teams in the finals YESSSSSSSSSS

HOU is actually showing some defensive mettle. They're getting just physical enough to disrupt the halfcourt sets. Offensively, they're moving the ball well and getting open shots while really going after Steph hard.

If the supporting cast can hit shots on the road they'll win this series. But they're going to get the best of GS in Game 6.

namepeace said:

HOU is actually showing some defensive mettle. They're getting just physical enough to disrupt the halfcourt sets. Offensively, they're moving the ball well and getting open shots while really going after Steph hard.

If the supporting cast can hit shots on the road they'll win this series. But they're going to get the best of GS in Game 6.

Yeah if they win Game 6 against GSW or beat GSW in game 7 to head to the finals I would love to see what Grandpa James fans say and plus that will end the Jordan vs Grandpa Lebron AARP James debate.