nba playoffs aka the 'offs (which includes the 'ins) 2021

feel like it's in that tier of playoff series where the games are superficially close even tho you know one team is going to win in 4 or 5 games. which isn't the tier where you're just kicking ass but also isn't the tier where you're in danger of actually being threatened. we'll see how tonight plays out tho...

love that Memphis isn’t fuckin around this series

it's great. it's extremely refreshing. they don't have an agenda other than trying to win the game.

well, they had fun out there

they just don't quite have the ammo on offense. i've been trying to figure out the player they need, and he's not a fit with ja, but this team could do some damage with a zach lavine type.

they don't really have any wings. someone like brandon ingram would be good for them tho you'd prob want a better shooter in reality

it's funny it's like a new era of memphis being a team of only guards and bigs. the city is a magnetic forcefield against quality small forwards

well, kyle anderson is good but he's kinda sui generis

maybe this is just a product of how hard memphis plays, but if i were invested in the jazz i wouldn't be thrilled that they can't seem to blow the grizz out

― call all destroyer, Monday, May 31, 2021 11:54 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

i mean theres a reason no one believes in them despite the fact that they were #1 all year its because their roster isnt that good

lol you said it not me

if mitchell had played in game 1 we'd prob be talking about a sweep

Grizz folded again in the last few minutes of a close game, back to back. They need more shooting badly.

if mitchell had played in game 1 we'd prob be talking about a sweep

― J0rdan S., Tuesday, June 1, 2021 12:31 AM (ten hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

yeah memphis had a +1 point differential this year

i mean i saw john hollinger try to reverse engineer the jazz success and what he came up with is gobert is a top five player lol

seems more likely theyre deep with quality players are well coached and really gelled this year but lack elite high end talent

however with the way the west is unfolding with injuries and whatnot i do think theyve got a shot at the finals, but i do not think theyre as good as their regular season play would suggest

and i think its generally accepted that while gobert is a defensive monster night in and out he can be schemed against

i think a lot of people don't really understand why gobert is so good in the regular season--a lot of it is that he never gets hurt, he plays a lot of minutes, and his conditioning is outstanding.

otm

i think a lot of people don't really understand why gobert is so good in the regular season--a lot of it is that he never gets hurt, he plays a lot of minutes, and his conditioning is outstanding.

― call all destroyer, Tuesday, June 1, 2021 8:35 AM (forty minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

also he just plays hard. i dont think ive ever seen him take a possession off. all that is formula for reg season dominance.

i think the jazz are also a nice match up for memphis to some extent bcuz rudy means they can keep jonas out there for 30-35 mins per game

i don't feel any differently about the jazz after this series, memphis has played them well at home but the games never felt in doubt to me. if the lakers get knocked out i think they have as good of a chance as any team to make it out of the west but i don't think they would beat the east champion

with Embiid possibly hurt I am getting increasingly worried about a Clippers Nets finals

out of the east team seems clear the bucks played the best in the first round, not impressed with the nets so far but they could be coasting vs the celtics i guess, hopefully embiid isnt too hurt we dont need anymore of that nonsense

barring a celtics miracle i would prefer the bucks to win this year, for basketball reasons

same i am on board with the bucks and the suns

I'd be real sad if Milwaukee couldn't get one over the next few years, but barring that I'd be cool with Philly or the Suns. how fucking depressing that last year saw championships by the Lakers, the Dodgers, and the Brady Bucs, as if 2020 wasn't stupid enough

still riding for pistons suns presuming embiid has not fractured his tailbone
brooklyn utah would be the strangest of all time

pistons!

pistons could sneak in

I know that was just a brain lapse for forks but since the Pistons have been brought up, thought I’d mention that I’ve been thinking for a while that Blake Griffin’s blatant actions to get out of Detroit and join the Brooklyn Weirdo Super Friends seem quite under-reported. I mean he looked washed enough to be on his way out of the league.

griffin's not been partic effective in his playoff minutes against the celtics

They haven’t really needed him to be though

he was def faking in detroit, i mean not dunking in a year then dunking all the time in new york, but hes still washed lol just not that washed

they dont need much from him if all the big 3 are healthy. hes a smart vet who'll make the right read and keep the ball zipping etc. also no one dogged it more than harden did to start this season, blakes actions are nothing compared to that.

yeah that one's not a big deal imo

nets might still need a functioning big when they face mil/phi

harden did it for a little while after a public trade demand, blakes dogging spans multiple seasons, its diabolical

nets might still need a functioning big when they face mil/phi

― micah, Tuesday, June 1, 2021 6:02 PM (one minute ago) bookmarkflaglink

yeah giannis and even lopez should be able to knock the nets over like bowling pins

btw liking the bucks using more of lopez offensive game recently rather than just parking him at the 3pt line

blakes dogging spans multiple seasons, its diabolical

― lag∞n, Tuesday, June 1, 2021 3:04 PM (six minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

he was an all star and got them to the playoffs just a couple seasons ago then got hurt. i dont think he was truly doggin it til this season.

I think also compared to Harden, with Blake it wasn’t totally clear the degree to which he was dogging it , since he is indeed washed to some degree. It feels more deceptive than what Harden did, though I’m not sure if one or the other is actually worse tbh

its lame for both no doubt. makes that team even that much more hatable. i honestly think i would route for either LA team over them in a finals matchup.

Clips Nets would be more joyless but I know I would be rooting for the Clips. Lakers Nets? More interesting storylines and shit but apocalyptic in terms of finding a rooting interest

Alright enough talk of such things, let us resume rooting for Suns Bucks (or a quantum leap from MPJ + a legendary playoffs for Joker)

ahem

harden just never got into shape this year. not sure it matters.

if the Nets win "lol nothing matters" should be the new league slogan

This lineup has logged 0 minutes together this season. https://t.co/dKWlWVZdXw

— pickuphoop (@pickuphoop) June 2, 2021

sensible line up on paper at least