hello friends it's the 2018 NBA Playoffs, a place where dreams GO 2 DIE

*gestures at u*

nuggets will win the nba playoffs

*fires up 2k* let's gooooooooooooo

it is time

https://i.imgur.com/HWeJDuC.jpg

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DajogKGWAAAsvS6.jpg

thunder jazz is gonna be a slugfest.

east:
1 raptors vs 8 wizards
2 celtics vs 7 bucks
3 76ers vs 6 heat
4 cavs vs 5 pacers

west:
1 rockets vs 8 twolves
2 warriors vs 7 spurs
3 blazers vs 6 pelicans
4 thunder vs 5 jazz

who ya got

oops xp

popular rappers in 5
celtics in 5
sixers in 4
cavs in 6

rockets in 4
warriors in 7
pelicans in 7
jazz in 7

Not sure the Warriors would've scripted a better path entering the night: Spurs in Round 1, winner of Blazers-Pelicans in Round 2. Jazz-Thunder on Rockets' side of the bracket. They can only face 1 of Utah, OKC, Houston and won't do it until after Curry should be healed.

— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) April 12, 2018

top seed all the way down except jazz over okc

east:
1 raptors vs 8 wizards — Raps in 6 cos they have to make things harder than they should be
2 celtics vs 7 bucks — this will be relegated to NBAtv for sure. Celtics in 5 cos coaching
3 76ers vs 6 heat — 76ers in 6 but depends on embiids health
4 cavs vs 5 pacers — Cavs in 6? Pacers will play tough but they are young

west:
1 rockets vs 8 twolves — Rox in 5 wolves will win game 3
2 warriors vs 7 spurs — Warriors in 6
3 blazers vs 6 pelicans — this one is going 7 games, im going with PDX
4 thunder vs 5 jazz — Jazz in 7

im upset that all the teams i wanted to see play the dubs are on the other side of the bracket

raptors 5
celtics 6
heat 6
cavs 7

rockets 4
warriors 5
blazers 6
jazz 5

Bucks Celts is interesting - obviously Boston has the coaching/home field advantage, but don't the Bucks have the best three players in the series?

al horford is the second-best player in the series, so no

and jaylen brown is the best

Watching Harden and CP pick-and-rolls vs MIN, and I think my computer is about to burst into flames. HOU scored 130 points/100 possessions (not a typo) in four games vs MIN

— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) April 12, 2018

Raptors 6 - Maybe even 7, still don't trust em
Bucks 7 - Brad Stevens is a thing but all that talent has to count for something
Sixers 6 - They held together very well without Embiid, imagine they're even better now with him back
Cavs 5 - Lebron will probably play defense

Rockets 5 - Would be a sweep but Harden is forever spooky in the playoffs until the day he's not
Warriors 6 - Spurs are scary and Dubs didn't seem awake to end the season
Pelicans 7 - No idea so went with brow.
Jazz 6 - No idea how good OKC are when they're primarily trying to win and not manufacture stats for Russ

schedule:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DakG_TLWAAEFiXj.jpg:large

man the wolves could really use some of those terrible games they lost against total shithole tanking teams like the suns now :/

both dantoni and thibs have been running playoff rotations all year so we pretty much know what we're gonna get here. sounds like mbah moute is gonna miss at least the first round so that's a major blow to their defense, however...

Rockets are 4-0 vs. Minnesota this season, with a 129.8 offensive rating in a sample size of almost 200 minutes. Jesus. Butler played in 3 of those games, tearing his meniscus after 25 minutes in the third. Houston has thrived in this matchup

— Shane Young (@YoungNBA) April 12, 2018

yeah you really got to be able to clean those ones up, def a successful nba team habit xp

they would probably be a 3-4 seed if jimmy never got hurt

yeah they were really rolling

fyi the conferenceless matchups:

1 Houston Rockets vs. 16. Milwaukee Bucks
2 Toronto Raptors vs. 15. Miami Heat
3 Golden State Warriors vs. 14. Denver Nuggets
4 Boston Celtics vs. 13. Minnesota Timberwolves
5 Philadelphia 76ers vs. 12. San Antonio Spurs
6 Cleveland Cavaliers vs. 11. Indiana Pacers
7 Portland Trail Blazers vs. 10. Utah Jazz
8 Oklahoma City Thunder vs. 9. New Orleans Pelicans

those are just as good

replacing the wizards with the nuggs is an improvement

rappers in 5
celtics vs bucks idk
sixers in 4
cavs in 6

rockets in 4
warriors in 6
blazers vs pelicans idk
thunder vs jazz idk

not sure where else to post this but Javale Mcgee released an album (under the name Pierre) and it's... kinda alright?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csSS1Yaar9M
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJK43gaQDtY

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/715wNLf1CSL._SL1056_.jpg

no

east:
raptors in 5 - they'll lose game 1 but rally back. lowry will still be not good.
celtics in 6 - celts will sell out to shut down transition, bucks will struggle to score in halfcourt
76ers in 7 - like everyone's said, depends on the health of embiid. heat are deep and well coached, but the sixers are so much more talented. if embiid misses the whole series, switch to heat in 7
Cavs in 5 - Cavs own the Pacers, Lebron didn't suffer through this season just to lose in the first round.

west:
rockets in 5 - rox are too good, butler will help the wolves grind one out at home.
warriors in 5 - spurs sans kahwi are no match and the warriors bench spent the whole season getting reps
pelicans in 7 - this is a total toss-up and i know that the pelicans don't have much behind their top two, but holiday can lock up whichever of dame and cj is hot at the moment and im hoping for a monster perf by AD, the best player in the series
jazz in 7 - reminds me a bit of the jazz/clippers series from last year, major coaching advantage to the jazz and idk if the thunder supporting cast will be able to match their intensity

anyway, looking forward to seeing how wrong i am

also lol at the pacers still drawing the cavs even in the hypothetical conferenceless playoffs

The Portland Trail Blazers lost the fewest number of games to injury during the regular season with the Pelicans surrending the most.

— Jeff Stotts (@InStreetClothes) April 13, 2018

toronto in 5
boston in 6
philly in 6
cleveland in 5

rockets in 4
golden state in 7
portland in 6
oklahoma city in 6

east:
1 raptors vs 8 wizards -- really want to make this pick after seeing game 1, given the raps choking history, but raptors in 5 seems right
2 celtics vs 7 bucks -- one of these teams has giannis, the other team has coach brad. neither team is very good. celtics in 7
3 76ers vs 6 heat -- kind of unfortunate draw for the philly, but sixers in 5
4 cavs vs 5 pacers -- honestly have watched zero pacers games this year, but lebron has won like his last 17 round one games so cavs in 4 or 5 seems like the smart pick

west:
1 rockets vs 8 twolves -- should be a fun series, rockets in 5
2 warriors vs 7 spurs -- this should probably be the NBATV series.........warriors in 5
3 blazers vs 6 pelicans -- gotta go with an upset pick, so pellies in 7
4 thunder vs 5 jazz -- jazz in 6

Not sure the Warriors would've scripted a better path entering the night: Spurs in Round 1, winner of Blazers-Pelicans in Round 2. Jazz-Thunder on Rockets' side of the bracket. They can only face 1 of Utah, OKC, Houston and won't do it until after Curry should be healed.
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) April 12, 2018
― they call me melo gelo (Spottie), Thursday, April 12, 2018 1:08 AM (yesterday)

well, by losing their last game on purpose they did kind of script it...

I won't predict how many games each series will last. I know I'm not smart enough for that.

Toronto
Boston
Philly
Cleveland

Houston
Golden State
Portland
OKC

I have no idea but I’m going Indy over Cavs. Upset special.

wld be a great outcome

yah rooting for drama for sure

oh yeah i'm deeply rooting for the pacers in that one, let's go crazy

salute to lagoon who sticks to his guns and picks against the team with a 16 game winning streak and their best player coming back because he said they weren't that good a couple of months ago

youre gonna be so sorry kevin, incredibly sorry

I respect your unwavering confidence in your initial assessment even in the face of emerging contradictory evidence

matt armstrong never posts anymore I feel like I need to start some beefs, just doing my part

Miss Matt Armstrong. Glad we picked up m@tt and mordy tho.

Pumped to watch 20 hours of basketball this weekend.

maybe i should dm matt to come back for the playoffs

Could easily see the 76ers crashing and burning here. They’ve been running hot but history says the young guys won’t perform at that level in the playoffs. They do have some solid vets but their main dogs are all first time ‘offers. And the heat are just solid and will keep games close. Heat have the worst offense in the league and the 76ers a top 2 defense so .... idk.

Embiid vs Whiteside for a series is bound to get hairy. And I’m calling at least a few dragon vs b Simmons scuffles. Wonder if they’ll put j rich on Ben Simmons and try to cut off the head of the snake.

Am I going to be furtively watching the Dubs/Spurs on my phone during my kid's AAU tournament tomorrow? Probably.

putting a smaller guy on simmons who can get under him and bother him fullcourt cld work, its def a scenario that a lot of young players struggle with

toronto drakes 5
boston celtix 6
sixers 5
cavs 6

rox 4
spurs 3 (gsw forfeits game 4)
portland 7
youtah 7

then
cavs 7
sixers 6

rockets 6
spurs 0 (everyone in potland gets food poisoning)

then
cavs 6
spurs -4 (harden is already writing surrender tweets)

then
spurs win the national basketball association world championship for the 2018 basketball season

everyone in potland gets food poisoning)

wow reported to the secret service

um maybe if u culeros would stop being high all the time and eating weed

hm seems like the fascist government of “Texas” hasn’t let you folks enjoy the wonder and merriment legalized ganja yet tsk tsk

my thoughts on the east...

1. raptors vs 8. wizards

don’t think this is a great match up for the raptors exactly... two guards who could be better than theirs & two wing players who could be also. ultimately i’ll side with the raptors, their season long cohesion will win out. but i think it will be in 6 or 7 and an upset would not stun me.

2. celtics vs 7. bucks

the bucks are the more talented team at this point but i think the gap between brad stevens and the bucks coaching staff is much larger than that talent gap. i do think the bucks got good experience last year vs toronto & an upset seems possible but i just think the celtics will be too well coached for this bucks team. in 6 or 7.

3. sixers vs 6. heat

i like this match up for the heat. they’ll actually get some use out of whiteside when embiid plays and they have a few guys who can do credible jobs on simmons. the heat also played the sixers well in the regular season. this will be an great coaching match up... i think there will be a lot of close games and it will come down to which team can really score in the half court at the ends of games. i think the heat really could win but i’ll bet on philly’s talent and home court, in 7.

4. cavs vs 5. pacers

can the pacers even win one?

west...

1. rockets vs. 8 wolves

thibs teams seem to have a way of stealing one, and i actually could see them winning two. but probably not.

2. warriors vs. 7. spurs

im worried this is gonna be a pretty depressing end to the season for the spurs. i think they get one but any more than that would surprise me unless the warriors just aren’t trying.

3. blazers vs. 7. pelicans

the blazers were bound to come down to earth... brow could win this series on his own. but i’ll bet on their home court, and i’m still not a huge fan of that pelicans roster even in its current state.

4. okc vs 5. jazz

another one where the home court really matters for me... and i’ll just bet on the talent and experience of russ & PG over a defense first team led offensively by a rookie.

hm seems like the fascist government of “Texas” hasn’t let you folks enjoy the wonder and merriment legalized ganja yet tsk tsk

― Clay, Saturday, April 14, 2018 1:28 AM (five hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

who needs ganja when you have GOD, ja?

tfw your failure season is 47-35

j0’s breakdowns seem fair. I’m actually pretty interested in every series. Even the pacers Cavs is gonna have lance vs Lebron plus we’ll find out if the Cavs have another two gears they can jump to.

Not surprisingly, GSW starting lineup for today does not appear to have played together this season, per https://t.co/FEdwClQq9Z lineup data.

— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) April 14, 2018

https://i.imgur.com/MWHZKUc.png

bigball lineup

the playoffs is where non shooters go to die

Rudy Gay out here to start the second half in place of Kyle Anderson for the Spurs.

— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) April 14, 2018

spurs outside shooting has been RUFFFFF this year.

I’m almost too late but

east:
1 raptors vs 8 wizards.
WIZ IN 7 (ok raps in 7 but I believe they can blow this)
2 celtics vs 7 bucks.
Cs in 6
3 76ers vs 6 heat
Sixers in six
4 cavs vs 5 pacers
Cavs in 5

west:
1 rockets vs 8 twolves
Oh no
2 warriors vs 7 spurs
Warriors 5
3 blazers vs 6 pelicans
Blazers in 6
4 thunder vs 5 jazz
Jazz in 7

This kawhi situation is sad

i just wanna know wtf is going on there

my theory is he has hella anxiety and doesnt want to sit there all day getting eyes on him after being criticized for months

my theory is he never existed and they're trying to cover it up

im so mad ppl are being mean to kawhi now even tho i said i would listen to trade offers, but thts only bc i have committed myself to be a better listener

Valančiūnas has very nice eyes
https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/553217692597907457/51EokBwz.jpeg

This kawhi situation is sad

― they call me melo gelo (Spottie), Saturday, April 14, 2018 6:32 PM (five minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

he gon get traded

could be both sides agreed to stay quiet on specifics to keep his trade value up.

this wiz raps game is good

they look pretty well matched for a 1v8...

wizards are better than their seed and the raps can never be trusted

wiz had a really weird season, would make a certain kind of sense for them to finally gel right when it matters

that steal to miles 3 sequence was p sick

playoff basketball baby!

teh best

jump balls r such a farce lol

one of the few things the college game has right

why is drake wearing a minor league hockey jersey im mad now

Nice drive by Lowry shoulda counted

Can the raps reverse the curse

this game is gnarly!

Good stuff. That bench took the pressure off their top dogs. No van vleet too. Wizards have like 6 playable players to the raptors 10-11

yeah thats gonna be tough at playoff intensity

Was expecting a little more from this philly crowd. Like just constant chants.

I like so many players in this series

it sounds pretty rowdy to me!

No one should be sitting imo.

it's amazing how crazy the philly crowd gets anytime fultz does anything at all

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DayiJqNUQAAo3Ef.jpg

lol

sixers look playoff ready

they've got too many weapons even w/o embiid

also i know being a pedant about this is worse than saying nothing at all at this point but i am fairly certain damian lillard did not "literally put his teammates on his back" this season

maybe it happened at a Blazer practice

pelicans looking sharp

yeah picked them due to the best player on the floor rule

davis rolling to the rim is unfair

paul pierce is wearing a plaid three piece suit w no tie top button unbuttoned and a crew neck tee underneath wth

the best player on the floor is the lowly "basketball" imo

interesting way to think about it, thx

man blazers just arent getting looks

shook?

CJs been kinda trash for a couple months now.

that kelly o pic is very beautiful

theyre loading up on cj/dame and portlands supporting cast is not exactly stepping up

mirotic letting it fly sans compunction

playoff rondo is cool. such a gifted passer

game back in competitive range

pelicans decided to not "give the ball to anthony davis"

which one is he

hes tall and moves around good

that one

hm this is at least interesting

playoff basketball is good

i think doris is right pelicans played so hard all game now theyre tired

hard to keep dame and cj down for a whole game

there’s nothing like a crowded hometown sports bar for a game like this

wow that turner reverse!

jrue is a terror

hes making winning defensive plays down the stretch here for sure

wow what a block!

not sure the quick two is a great idea against a team this long

holiday gdamn

pdx winning game two by 15+

going for the quick two with 8 seconds left and no timeouts is prosecutable i think

Jruemond Holiday

going for the quick two with 8 seconds left and no timeouts is prosecutable i think

― lag∞n, Saturday, April 14, 2018 9:59 PM (two minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

so was... playing meyers leonard in crunch time

that wldve been incredible if he lost that ball immediately upon entering the game for the first time

playoffffffffffffssssssssssssssssssssssss

I think stotts like Leonard for the crunch bc he spreads the floor and can rebound in theory but uh buddy cmon now

yeah i mean if he cld really do those things he shd play during the rest of the game too

he def cannot really do those things

lots of theoretically good players out there

rondo 6-8-17

draymonds mom otm

Coaching failed the Blazers!

— MBG (@BabersGreen) April 15, 2018

lol

cj lillard shooting 13/41 failed the blazers

also i know being a pedant about this is worse than saying nothing at all at this point but i am fairly certain damian lillard did not "literally put his teammates on his back" this season

― Clay, Saturday, April 14, 2018 10:31 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Ha this jumped out at me too he emphasized it so hard

messy game

Iso step back three from rozier was definitely low on my list of preferred plays there but hey

Uh

lol

wow

cavs are bad

just realized that since it's already the offs i should probably unbookmark the 2017 NBA OFFSEASON thread that i was planning to read

bron flopping

⬇️

I have no idea but I’m going Indy over Cavs. Upset special.

just finished celtics-bucks my lord not exactly a well played game but intense with some huge shots and plays p cool

man refs almost let giannis get away with a second over the back to force a jump ball, there wldve been riots, i almost rioted in my home

yeah he had about 8 fouls in that game

The 5th on him was bs though

as good as he played its hard not to think about how good giannis wld be with a jump shot

just realized that since it's already the offs i should probably unbookmark the 2017 NBA OFFSEASON thread that i was planning to read

― 龜, Sunday, April 15, 2018 4:08 PM (fifteen minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

hmm no its important to consume all the posts

⬇️

I have no idea but I’m going Indy over Cavs. Upset special.
― Jeff, Monday, 16 April 2018 6:09 AM (fourteen minutes ago)

the league will not let lebron be eliminated in the first round

wld be funny tho

totes

Osama shouldve hooped instead of tryna kill ppl cause he tall as hell!

— Terry Rozier (@T_Rozzay3) May 2, 2011

rozier stepback was coldddddd

terrys not scared

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Da2T2buVwAAZess.jpg

the cavs are going to be fine!!!!

lol the east is a fn wasteland

Terry Rozier said he went to Kyrie Irving's house two days ago to catch up and talk about the playoffs. Rozier wanted to take all of Irving's shoes. #CELTICS #NBAplayoffs

— Amanda_Pflugrad (@Amanda_Pflugrad) April 15, 2018

update he did take the shoes

Most important thing to come out of the post game pressers: Terry Rozier said he went to visit Kyrie's house the other day and took all his shoes.

— Jared Weiss (@JaredWeissNBA) April 15, 2018

just getting to the end of the 1st q and that lance dunk into headbutt of the stanchion <3

Pacers are pretty deep. booker was a good pickup. they have two solid players at every position and one star.

i am abroad and am
missing most of the 1st round but i’ve had a working theory that kyrie has been a huge positive influence on rozier’s game.

last play was a good example of lebron's liability defensively, even tho the pacers missed that shot. cavs turnover -> lebron sulks -> pacers 5 on 4 -> wide open 3

Pacers better not blow this one

guys I still don't totally understand bball but according to my analysis the wolves are gonna beat Houston

Smh lance

Good call gbx

myles turners presence is vital for defending lebron

Cavs offense falling apart wasn’t expected

the pacers getting this version of oladipo for paul george might be one of the craziest developments of the last 5 years

Otm. And pg being relegated to a spot up shooter

Sabonis is cool too.

80 points damn

Hard not to overreact here but the Cavs haven’t shown that they have what it takes yet this season.

Dipo shaky as hell on those double teams still. Lucky Cavs too gassed to pick off those passouts, which were barely making it xcourt.

bron getting knocked out in the first round by lance would be just *chef's kiss*

This is all i'm thinking about until Game 2 pic.twitter.com/4upBCo3ebp

— Victor Wobadipo (@World_Wide_Wob) April 15, 2018

lmao

cute xd

Yes

Has dipo ever even seen a double team? Learning on the fly here

utah okc is some good sloppy ball and melo is impressing?

the most average basketball game

Late in the season, teams started trapping Dipo at half court in 4th quarters. He’d usually back up, pick up his dribble, and panic; did the same tonight, but at least managed to get rid of the ball (and split a few in the 1st half).

i'm happy that the move to utah has worked out for ricky rubio

when i watch KAT recently i think about what it would look like if he was in super good shape

Houston look fired up!

the wolves guarding harden with derrick rose............................

The wolves playing Derrick rose at all.....

uhh, Houston?

Rose good again now.

Except that whole defense thing.

james harden is a good basketball player

gbx catching on quick, I concur

Poor NBA players forced to go the length of the court at the end of the game. So confused.

I legit gasped when chris threw that pass away

Kobe-overrating and very Low Energy Shaq was very very drowsy seeming on Inside The NBA. Tinted Glasses embarrassing (not very bright in studio) and didn't seem to have watched game. Replace With Webber?

— David Roth (@david_j_roth) April 16, 2018

Lmao cp tried to throw the game away

didnt see the game but not an inspiring line from chris paul 3

old habits etc

Pups FGA

Wiggins: 15
Rose: 14
Butler: 11
Crawford: 11
Teague: 9
KAT: 9

:/// esp with KAT playing team-high 40min.

fwiw cp3 for his career has some of the best playoff numbers ever xp

when i watch KAT recently i think about what it would look like if he was in super good shape

― J0rdan S., Sunday, April 15, 2018 9:12 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

its weird for an athletic player hes pretty unathletic looking, bad posture splay footed round shoulders boobs and he kinda lopes around

Bartolocolon.jpg

KAT should consider wearing his 248 lb in a less husky way.

His feet are 27” long what’s he supposed to do

fwiw cp3 for his career has some of the best playoff numbers ever xp

― lag∞n, Monday, April 16, 2018 9:41 AM (one hour ago)

palpatine_good.gif

this was infuriating

Absolutely disgusting foul by Jimmy Butler. Uncalled for. No place for this in the NBA pic.twitter.com/8AqBluIDeL

— victor (@yslvic) April 16, 2018

lol

Don't think anything will ever beat the one where he casually lies down on MCW's back and somehow gets the call, fouling him out. Didn't even have the ball.

james is a wizard

def a power move there, daring the ref to call backcourt

The vacant expression on his face is just...

Foul on MCW 🙃 pic.twitter.com/GrBYT6CFGB

— Warm Weather Stan Acct (@bayani13) January 2, 2018

yeah would've been a big deal had he not got that call too, the game was tight and the wolves were coming. he got free throws from that trash and made it a 3 possession game

yeah that play is amazing xp

was trying to remember where i'd seen a similar play

https://78.media.tumblr.com/e3aa53f52be4ca84632b09d864c64a70/tumblr_n4qufxJ0OG1s4bl2qo1_400.gif

lmao

harden owns the refs

James Harden ranked 355th in travels per game this season. Yes, the NBA’s leading scorer ranked 355th in travels per game (0.03).

— Michael Gallagher (@MikeSGallagher) April 16, 2018

I could buy that he travels less than average on a per-possession basis just on the basis of his practicing his moves a ton, very clear he knows the rules inside and out and how to use them to his advantage, but basically ranking last PER GAME is preposterous, things of that nature

who ranked first???

http://www.nbaminer.com/player-turnover-details/

via this site (i don't think it's updated completely), the top five at the time (guys who played enough for it to be a pattern):

Dwight (0.39)
Boogie (0.35)
Marc Gasol (0.31)
Melo (0.27)
Kyle Kuzma (0.27)

fwiw cp3 for his career has some of the best playoff numbers ever xp

― lag∞n, Monday, April 16, 2018 9:41 AM (one hour ago)

palpatine_good.gif
― k3vin k., Monday, April 16, 2018 11:32 AM (three hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Easy to keep your averages up when you keep your total games down :)

jack_nicholson_head_nod.gif

last night really did hurt as a cp3 stan but I still believe

not surprising

Yahoo Sports story: Spurs star Kawhi Leonard expected to miss remainder of postseason, committed toward rehab toward full health. Details: https://t.co/WiDuP2WygU

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 15, 2018

totally normal and okay, everything is fine

the fuck is happening w/ him

vaguely reminiscent of the wtf pacers implosion back in 2014 or whatever year that was

kind of seems like he’s being a little fuckin punk tbh

Spurs need to tear it down imo

Also maybe bump Pops up to the front office? He seems a little fried to me

the organization is def at a crossroads here

I wouldn’t say Pop is fried, he still dragged this Kahwi-less Frankenstein of misfits and olds to the playoffs

Video Essay on Kawhi Leonard and why the San Antonio Spurs star remains sidelined: pic.twitter.com/KAT0UWBXtI

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 16, 2018

this made me feel better tbh

hmm idk

hes accomplished a lot obv but he just needs to say SOMETHING. the radio silence is a very bad look.

ballers de bellyasova

josh richardson was arguably the best heat player for big chunks of the season but he looks shook out there.

hes accomplished a lot obv but he just needs to say SOMETHING. the radio silence is a very bad look.

― they call me melo gelo (Spottie), Monday, April 16, 2018 7:35 PM (ten minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

im saying i think he has an anxiety thing im sticking with this explanation

Keep the dream alive, gotta stay strong

When did Kawhi stop travelling with the team – just for the playoffs? Anxiety about sitting next to his judgy creakyass Spurs teammates doesn't seem far-fetched. More surprised that Pop wouldn't mask his exasperation a little more.

this wade performance is cracking me up

19 points all on shots where he’s like turning around a full 180 degrees before shooting

dwyane is putting together an impressive years long stretch of having a little left in the tank

Heat really have no use for Whiteside; wonder if there's a team that wants to handle that contract.

seems doubtful

i didn't realize he was maxed out ouch

wait ben simmons is australian, is that legal

no, he is currently a fugitive from justice

i think wade just picked up his dribble, then dribbled again before hitting a turnaround jumper

whiteside will actually be useful in this series once embiid gets back but yeah otherwise they’re way better playing with olynyk & johnson or even smaller

Whiteside might be the dumbest player I’ve ever seen. He takes himself out of so many games mentally. Miami got duped.

i think wade just picked up his dribble, then dribbled again before hitting a turnaround jumper

― 龜, Monday, April 16, 2018 10:07 PM (two minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Good thought I imagined the double-dribble -> travel there.

he’s okay. he has warts that ultimately make him not worth the money they’re paying him, but he also has stretches every year of really good basketball. he’s overpaid but they still get use out of him.

re whiteside

miami's payroll is 4th in the league jeeeeez

waiting for somebody to post video to twitter lol xp compuipost https://twitter.com/search?q=wade%20double%20dribble&src=typd

IIRC Blazers were after both Parsons AND Whiteside during 2016 FA summer bonanza for max / near max $.

there were plenty of other mistakes the blazers were delighted to make that summer

can't stop the Ersanity

Yes Wade!!

wow heat looked like they were ready to go home there for a min

btw feel like the refs might be letting 'em play a little too much

historically comedic performance by wade tonight

it is okay fun to root for wade in the playoffs

only**

Steal was very sassy

lmfao wade, this is out of control

6-34 on 3's, sheesh

hell of chuckin

hard to get a handle on the series... i guess the sixers could feel good about the fact that they won by 30 when they shot incredibly well and lost a very close game when they shot incredibly poorly? embiid coming back throws a wrench in that tho. i think this comes back to philly 2-2 and we'll see what things look like at that point.

heat still have to figure out how to score without wade putting up 27 points tho

embiids return is a huge wildcard, rusty guy who demands tons of touches cld easily disrupt phillys rhythm for an unaffordable game or two when theyve been rolling without him, or he cld also just give philly too much talent for the heat to deal with

Good Defender danny green is kinda helpless against KD

yeah hes just raising up and doinking in little mid rangers like nbd

embiid's return will also screw up the heat because whiteside has to match a lot of his minutes

Also maybe bump Pops up to the front office? He seems a little fried to me

― reggae mike love (polyphonic), Monday, April 16, 2018 8:10 PM (two hours ago)

I mean...the roster he coached to 47 wins...

If Pop seems a bit fried, it's because he's had to work harder this year than he has for a very long time. He's about to take the helm of the U.S. national team, too.

i'll cut pop some slack given the weirdness w/ kawhi. he seems surly but it basically tanked their season.

Good Defender kyle anderson has looked good on KD in the halfcourt, tho he cant hit an open 3 to save his life rn

ya the dubs not even guarding him in the corner is pretty brutal

“bitch ass” pic.twitter.com/6vpOnlEtsj

— Dwob Wade (@World_Wide_Wob) April 17, 2018

he's not a good 3 pt shooter overall, tho he has been ok from the corner. just not taking advantage of his gifts. xp

i still come back to the fact that LMA left portland because there wasn't enough high end talent around him and now the spurs roster without kawhi is probably worse than what LMA left in portland. portland started lillard, mccollum, batum and robin lopez in the playoffs that year.

yeah add him to this years blazers and theyd be tough to deal with

You got it !!! It’s a travel! Harden does a double step back to get behind the line for a 3 pt shot. Gathers on Rft (0), launches back w/Lft (1), lands on next step w/Rft (2) and now brings Lft (3) https://t.co/ft3S7eWYPN

— Ronnie Nunn (@NunnBetterRefs) April 16, 2018

travel twitter is good actually

i wouldn't mind if the nba did it's annual "let's figure out somethng to make the refs emphasize next season" on stepback travels

i still come back to the fact that LMA left portland because there wasn't enough high end talent around him and now the spurs roster without kawhi is probably worse than what LMA left in portland. portland started lillard, mccollum, batum and robin lopez in the playoffs that year.

― J0rdan S., Monday, April 16, 2018 10:18 PM (eleven minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

sure, but spurs w kawhi are much better than that portland team

you know what makes calling some travels hard is the concept of gathering is kind of abstract like when does the dribble end like if harden had controlled the ball with one hand a little longer there wld it still be a travel

Pop must be so mystified by Kawhi, he spends the offseason getting LMA feeling good again and meanwhile his best player is quietly thinking who knows what about his career.

basically

spurs are up bc they have slowed this game dowwwwwwwn

ya dubs starting to look p ruff in the halfcourt

draymond seeming very confused by the concept of people guarding him

sure, but spurs w kawhi are much better than that portland team

― 21st savagery fox (m bison), Monday, April 16, 2018 11:30 PM (twelve minutes ago) Bookmark

yeah def. the only point i'm making is that when LMA was on a team prob better than this spurs team people considered winning 1 series a nice outcome, and his last year there they lost 4-1 to memphis. not sure we should really expect much more out of this version of the spurs even putting this match up aside.

oh yeah, no doubt. kawhi is the straw that stirs the drink here. im honestly going to be happy if the spurs stay competitive and maybe win a game or two this series so they can draft the next michael jordan with the no 18 pick and then pop and kawhi go on a wine tour this summer and learn that getting to work together everyday is the real championship.

really like yr attitude

spurs fans are #blessed this way

uh so basically the dubs remembered they could run and shoot threes so natch they won the quarter by 11 points, fart

there are some bay area hwites raising the roof next to the spurs bench and i just want to dismantle capitalism so much

i see a lot of ppl reppin the spurs out here in new mexico, i think well of them even though i have apparently been cursed with being a minnesotan

since when has the NBA used the phrase “hostile act”

draymond is a hostile actor

fact

Parse this: Popovich says he “can’t imagine being more proud of a player” than he is of Aldridge, who he praised for “fighting through adversity and being there for his teammates night after night after night.”

— Mike Finger (@mikefinger) April 17, 2018

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Da9EjVsU0AAnzyK.jpg:large

*in the voice of a huge baby* fucking sick and tired of being babied

i love being babied, it's good to me

feed me mushy food, absolutely

The examples of Ben Simmons not wanting to finish with his left hand are endless... pic.twitter.com/EQEVyemUqe

— BBALLBREAKDOWN (@bballbreakdown) April 17, 2018

I wouldn’t say Pop is fried, he still dragged this Kahwi-less Frankenstein of misfits and olds to the playoffs

I didn't mean to imply he was coaching poorly, just that he seems exhausted and frustrated.

so am i super biased or was that game last night poorly officiated?

Prob biased

Wades been getting phantom calls for decades tho

i only watched the second half, it didnt seem biased particularly either way but they were def letting them play physical, too physical imo, but constantly so, so overall id say not ideally officiated but not terrible, id give them C

the heat shot 8 more free throws than the sixers but 6 of those came on intentional fouls at the end of the game, so it was essentially even. i thought if anything the game was over-officiated, especially in the first half. it was a physical game & the heat were right on the sixers all night especially on hand offs and screens and stuff but they called 53 combined fouls which is over 1 per minute of game time... gross.

ha yeah maybe they werent ~letting em play~ so much as the teams just kept playing physical despite the refs, tho def particularly in the 4th some egregious shit went uncalled

they called so many fouls on screens and stuff so far from the basket in the first half... i think by the second half the "let em play" thing had manifested itself in assaults at the rim going uncalled

but with a game that physical in an environment like that i'm not sure what you're supposed to do

a familiar pattern

Riley knows a lot about mugging the other team in the playoffs.

.@DwyaneWade is in his bag. 😳 pic.twitter.com/jaIaitmDlV

— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) April 17, 2018

subtle left thumb tuck

#GameOfThumbs
*Watch closely for the subtle left thumb tuck @bballbreakdown pic.twitter.com/Cl2peXZnWp

— BBiomechanics (@BBiomechanics) April 17, 2018

there's no fixing that

there was a good sequence in last nights game where simmons had an open driving lane and wade wrapped him up then he rushed his first ft with the most resigned body language and it bricked front rim right back at him

this is otm

A.I has EVERY reason to be the stereotypical bitter NBA old head and I don't think there's a former player who is a bigger NBA fanboy than he is. Shit is heartwarming

— Beyonce has an uncle named Larry Beyince. Bruh.... (@DragonflyJonez) April 17, 2018

Charles Barkley otoh...

pretty much everyone vet tbf.

raps just hung 44 on the wiz in q1

So this gonna be another game where every offensive rebound leads to a Boston 3

celtics have some shooters

WHAT CAN (JAYLEN) BROWN DO FOR YOUR U?? pic.twitter.com/hVVM9t5bCf

— BBALLBREAKDOWN (@bballbreakdown) April 18, 2018

raps just hung 44 on the wiz in q1

― they call me melo gelo (Spottie), Tuesday, April 17, 2018 7:39 PM (forty-three minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

76 in the half

horford coast to coast !

If they leave Jabari on him the Celts are gonna score 150

jabari is a real bad defender

giannis and brogdon are the only good bucks i guess

brad playing his scrubs all season is really paying off now when all his good players are injured, praise brad

We’re gonna end up with 25 turnovers, this is gross

Ok Giannis gonna have to singlehandedly win this

ha this is just like the last game

Let’s hope not

p good game tho

Bucks shooting 63% and still being down 5 really says it all

horford owning giannis on the block is an interesting development

Would be very Playoffs Raptors to cough up this game.

this is the first time ive seen red panda in the garden i guess small children playing ball isn't playoffs worthy

what are they gonna do with the wizards? i don’t think they can run this back next year

just occurred to me that late season/playoffs jaylen brow is playing at the level that many on this board predicted earlier just this year wld be his career ceiling

better really

this bucks D has been nothing short of plain awful

what an insanely poorly coached team

theyre stacked with guys who shd be able to defend

Wouldn’t be surprised if they give up the highest % from 3 in the league

what are they gonna do with the wizards? i don’t think they can run this back next year

― J0rdan S., Tuesday, April 17, 2018 9:34 PM (eleven minutes ago)

it's interesting they're in a tough spot with wall's huge contract looming and a ceiling of 3 seed with the way the east is looking

horford's D has been good as hell

he locked in for sure

trade wall to tha bulls for markkanen + this years pick imo

lol not sure the bulls would want to do that

seems like a bulls type thing to do

interesting

there’s a chance the wall contract isn’t a complete disaster but they need to churn a lot of that roster

rozier looking like a major success

they’re paying otto porter like $90 million

wall seems like he needs a fresh start somewhere else

Bucks need a coach soooo baaaad

the fact that wall and beal not so secretly hate each other makes it harder to argue that they should keep both of them, problem is wall is probably untradeable

john wall for kemba, who says no

lol jaylen in the post game interview calling the bucks out for going under screens on him when he shot 40% from 3 for the season

they’re paying otto porter like $90 million

― J0rdan S., Tuesday, April 17, 2018 10:22 PM (ten minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

another shot in the efficiency wars lol

wall contract has real albatross potential imo

yeah one reason they shd move him now

these super max deals are proving to be a nuisance.

Bucks need a coach soooo baaaad

― frogbs, Tuesday, April 17, 2018 7:23 PM (fifteen minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

so do the wizards

i really dont like evan turner's game at all

its not a good game

when aminu makes a 3 portlands in stadium announcer shd say "aTHREEnu" imo

jrue is sneaky athletic

i dont understand how the pelicans looked badly coached for gentrys whole time there except now they look really well coached

willingness to adapt also jrue is much better without boogie

i dont understand how the pelicans looked badly coached for gentrys whole time there except now they look really well coached

― lag∞n, Tuesday, April 17, 2018 11:04 PM (fifteen minutes ago)

we know so little about coaching

man speak for yrself i know lots abt coaching

put me in, coach

jrue's had a rly weird career arc but i'm glad he seems to be good again and at peace w/ his game

Gentry tie is bad.

oh i meant to chime in on some above evan turner talk but, like, he's bad now yes but he's seriously *so much better* lately than he's been for most of the last couple seasons. by which i mean he's less often actively sabotaging his own team through being an absolute space cadet on the floor

jrue is playing out of his mind

yeah hes a useful player, obv very overpaid, but for me it's just his game is just ugly, horrible to watch aesthetically xp

mirotic trade ended up being a stroke of genius

the pelicans rule, this is wild

playoff rondo

i forgot about rondo shitting on the celtics in the first round last year until he got hurt

unreal pass by rondo a few mins ago

good game

R O N D O

WWWOOO

that mirotic three was gorgeous too. and theyre getting all the loose balls atm

etwaun moore really choked like crazy there and got bailed out twice

sorta weird they were clearing out the entire floor for jrue and just taking brow out of the play even with jrue playing like an assassin

what a win

that was an awesome game. so demoralizing for the blazers.

basically portland is playing like the team that absolutely stumbled into the post-season down the stretch and that's not a team that wins big games

yeah bad time to slump.

btw the pelicans essentially traded saric and noel for jrue. seems like a great trade in retrospect!

morotic for a 2nd rounder too iirc?

they got mirotic and a second for a first. at the time it felt like an overpay but now seems like a fair trade for both sides

mirotic looks bigger than he did on the bulls, is playing defense and so forth, wild

Telling quote from LeBron James on Wednesday looking back at the season and looking smack in the face of the 0-1 deficit the Cavs are in against Indiana:

"I think we spent so much time trying to figure out who we were in the regular season and getting the right lineups and guys in and out and things of that nature, we could never build for the playoffs. It was kind of like, build for the next game. So the postseason finally hit us and it hit us very well. And I think that can be the best teacher for us to know exactly what we should be ready for tonight."

lmao @ Bledsoe pulling the "never heard of him" card on Rozier, the dude who's shredded you the last 2 games

kind of a bad look dude

maybe he thought they were referencing a hair salon owner

nice

Bledsoe’s bad. His defense has been overrated since he left LAC when he only had to play for 20 minutes a night.

i dont understand how the pelicans looked badly coached for gentrys whole time there except now they look really well coached

― lag∞n, Tuesday, April 17, 2018 11:04 PM (fifteen minutes ago)

we know so little about coaching

― k3vin k., Tuesday, April 17, 2018 11:20 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Maybe...he hates boogie? Not sure honestly. Maybe brow going supernova made everything else easier

Btw I love that playoff rondo is the only rondo that exists anymore, a new spring tradition

feel like replacing boogie with mirotic would go a long way to seeing your vision of a spaced out, up tempo offense out on the floor

seems otm.

i want to pick the cavs to crush the pacers tonight but i just do not understand this team.

With Oladipo already benched with 2 fouls, you might be right.

two flops, the nba has spoken

lol 19-3

lbj is 7/8

26-8 might wanna get oladipo back in

shit tightened up pretty quick

yup

cavs game plan is to get vic to foul out. that contact was 100% initiated by love

Kevin Love is facing away from the basket when he draws this shooting foul. pic.twitter.com/b6NSKFb5C0

— John Schuhmann (@johnschuhmann) March 20, 2017

Look at how far Kevin Love moves to his right. Oladipo points same thing out to the official. Now he's on the bench with 3 fouls because of this rewarded call-seeking behavior #TwitterNBAShow https://t.co/yikFzk6WNn pic.twitter.com/JAHiQYfsjv

— Nate Duncan (@NateDuncanNBA) April 19, 2018

ridiculous.

Ok so playoff Lebron was just a game late this year

this is game 7 lebron

29-8-4 for the half!

Erin Popovich, wife of head coach Gregg Popovich, passed away today.

oh man wtf

what oh no :(

:(

married for over 30 years

brutal

oh no, pop :(

Terrible news for pop :(

Pacers have made this interesting

So sad for Pop.

damn Pop....that’s terrible

Wolves off to a pretty good start

pacers got shafted by the refs and bron went nuts but the cavs only won by 3

actually by 6

ok lol

cp3 has it tonight

Why the fuck is Rose allowed to play basketball?

good road split for the jazz

Russell Westbrook, Paul George and Carmelo Anthony combined to go 0-14 shooting in the fourth quarter.

— Royce Young (@royceyoung) April 19, 2018

oof.

I finally figured out d mitchell's lookalike is. It's Tech N9ne lol.

Jeez rockets up by 23 with Harden shooting 2-14.

I think I picked a really good time to start following minnesota basketball team the "Timberwolves"

over time you will grow to appreciate the team with an affection equal to that of the poster upper mississippi shakedown

Jeez rockets up by 23 with Harden shooting 2-14.

― omar little, Wednesday, April 18, 2018 11:15 PM (six minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

whole team is shooting 35% lol

he seems really fond of them!! lots of loving kindness

fire thibs

Listen guys
I'm going to honest here
I'm looking at the advanced analytics and
This isn't going very well

wow paul with the finger roll over gibson that had to be -7 feet in the air

the news about pop’s wife is so sad :(

the rockets have shot 42 threes after 3 qs. the Wolves... 12

lebrons post game interview was very heartfelt talking about pop, he was on the verge of losing it. xp

This isn't going very well

I think the key is to choose opponents who are slightly worse than you are, or at least somewhat of an equal match. This helps immensely.

wow paul with the finger roll over gibson that had to be -7 feet in the air

― k3vin k., Wednesday, April 18, 2018 11:38 PM (one minute ago

17* feet in the air

probably my least favorite call that refs always get wrong for some reason

How the hell is THIS traveling? @JimPeteHoops pic.twitter.com/1OKT4Eij77

— Mike (@uofmike) April 19, 2018

there was a very chris paul moment earlier ere was a very cp3 moment earlier when he accepted the apology of bjelinca ofr a hard foul and then immediately asked the refs to review it for a flagrant

chris paul is having Too Much Fun pic.twitter.com/KBWZdAZP5h

— James Herbert (@outsidethenba) April 19, 2018

wow why can't I type

harden is 2/18 ...

Chris Paul improv hour pic.twitter.com/VWXFPBOEhO

— Point God (@World_Wide_Wob) April 19, 2018

cp clowning

Flag Post Permalink

lebrons post game interview was very heartfelt talking about pop, he was on the verge of losing it. xp

― they call me melo gelo (Spottie), Wednesday, April 18, 2018 11:40 PM (yesterday) Bookmark

it was but at the same time it was clear he hadn't heard the news until asked point blank about it being interviewed on national tv... i thought that was a v inappropriate question to ask given the circumstances

Actually LeBron came out and said "I'm not on social media right now, but I was made aware through some friends, through texts, that a question was asked to me postgame, and a lot of people feel like I was blindsided," James said on UNINTERRUPTED. "That is absolutely false. Allie LaForce told me that she was going to ask me the question and if it was OK.""

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2771394-the-bottled-water-obsession-taking-over-nba-locker-rooms

So why alkaline water? For Temple, it’s all about mind and body wellness. He says that alkaline helps reduce inflammation and keep the immune system in check.

“The science that I know is that we put so much acidity in foods that you have to balance it out some way,” Temple says. “I’ve also heard reports of the two big [bottled water] brands having brain-eating amoebas in it and things of that nature.” (This could not be confirmed.)

lol

lebrons post game interview was very heartfelt talking about pop, he was on the verge of losing it. xp

― they call me melo gelo (Spottie), Wednesday, April 18, 2018 11:40 PM (yesterday) Bookmark

it was but at the same time it was clear he hadn't heard the news until asked point blank about it being interviewed on national tv... i thought that was a v inappropriate question to ask given the circumstances

― 龜, Thursday, April 19, 2018 7:45 AM (five hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yea i agree. they shouldve saved the question for the postgame presser instead

i only saw it when they aired it later on tnt and i never even heard the question they just cut straight to his response.

that water article is awesome. this was good too
http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/23216496/nba-how-philadelphia-76ers-formed-culture-built-win

water article is great because it's just another example of how rich people can be made to believe anything

selling witchcraft to the super wealthy is the only remaining healthy industry in 2018 america

The NBA’s obsession with water is difficult to trace, but one player who pushed the league’s taste forward more than any is Antawn Jamison. For years, the retired NBA player, who currently works as a scout for the Los Angeles Lakers, sung the praises of water purity. Every jump shot, he would yell “Fiji,” because, as he tells it, “it was water, baby!” He even wrote it on his shoes.

jfc

https://img.bleacherreport.net/img/article/media_slots/photos/002/794/093/ede2ea7b5d1848ccebffc830c3c575de_crop_exact.jpg?h=533&w=800&q=70&crop_x=center&crop_y=top

silicon valley's absurdity is actually just rich people's absurdity after all

i'm gonna go out and get a bottle of essentia right now

The NBA isn’t alone in this obsession. For the first time in American history, sales of bottled water exceeded those of carbonated soft drinks in 2016. And that gap widened in 2017. Americans also drank 9 billion gallons of bottled water last year, according to the Beverage Marketing Corporation. (That seismic shift in the market recently caught the eye of LaVar Ball, who is now selling Big Baller Brand bottled water from Lithuania.)

ok that Jamison part sounds like an Onion article