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

even as a rumor it's not really worth commenting on

why would the wolves trade KAT to the blazers this makes no sense to me

why? because some deep-thinking blazer fans want them to. those blazer fans would be willing to package up nurkic, cj and toss in zach collins as a sweetener. they'd like their answer before free agency starts, because those fans want to put together some more deals and they need to know where they stand.

but this is the 'offs thread and the blazers and wolves are out of the 'offs, so we need to finish up the details in the other thread.

on most nights when teams are just showing up to play the luka-zinger combo is killer (on offense anyway) but zinger is too easy to neutralize when teams are scheming in the playoffs. one of the main tensions of current NBA basketball is that a lot of what is efficient in the regular season doesn’t often fly in the postseason, the mavs need to realize that zinger has to be able to score in the post to be a weapon in the playoffs. carlisle is right but he’s also wrong

According to Second Spectrum tracking, the Mavericks averaged 1.18 points per possession during the regular season when Porzingis set a ball screen for Doncic, the most efficient duo in the league to run at least 300 picks.

That success became irrelevant in the playoffs, when the Clippers consistently defended the 7-foot-3 Porzingis with a wing with the intention to switch every pick-and-roll. They dared Dallas to feed Porzingis post-ups, which Carlisle called "not a good play" and "a low-value situation" in response to criticism last season.

why would the wolves trade KAT to the blazers this makes no sense to me

― J0rdan S., Sunday, June 6, 2021 11:55 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

I was just making an oden joke. I do think he could use a change of scenery tho

gosh that espn piece paints a grim picture. also didn’t realize the two of them weren’t friends

sounds more like they actively dislike each other

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E3SKOScXIAQSbi0?format=jpg&name=medium

Porzingis hasn’t really shown any development as a post player is the thing

Clay at 9:29 6 Jun 21

i'm hearing that KAT is definitely heading to portland this summer, also i am hearing that from people who constantly carp about portland's defensive situation, i am thinking they aren't watching a lot of nba basketball


haha...yeah KAT's tenacious D

re: the ESPN piece - Interesting, but I always wonder how much to believe in these locker room drama/gossip stories. For instance, many of of those press conference quotes attributed to Zinger are open to interpretation, or timing.

yeah could easily be nothing but on the other hand its not hard to imagine how zinger could be unhappy right now

someone on twitter suggested zinger and a pick for horf, going old for young like that is a no no especially when your star is so young, but if you consider the zinger contract a failure then getting a better player on a shorter deal might be a good idea

however if youre willing to give up a pick you might be able to get an even shorter contract back idk

but you really dont want the team to get worse too

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-lbmsrMbJ0

lol

amazing video. tim mcmahon is pretty plugged in with the mavs i assume if he’s saying luka and zinger aren’t close he’s heard it from good sources w/in the organization

one thing that would help the mavs would be better seeding luck + playing better in the regular season so they don’t end up playing one of the best teams in the NBA in the first round again

some good stuff in this piece (also nice to see tjarks on the byline) https://www.theringer.com/2021/6/7/22522190/luka-doncic-dallas-mavericks?utm_campaign=theringer&utm_content=chorus&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter

yeah good piece did leave out a problem with the all luka offense which is that he tends to tire out as the game goes on which then brings up conditioning, motor and so forth

and conceivably you could have offense where he still finishes almost as many possessions that has more ball movement team activity etc just by running more plays where he starts off the ball

the you run the luka ball dominant stuff in the 4th

modulating when he expends his energy def a good development step for him, hard to imagine him (or anyone) routinely putting up 25 point halves for four playoff series in a row and still having gas in the tank at the end

yeah would also be nice to see him get in great shape

feel like lebron got to a point somewhere with the heat where he rarely put his stamp on the game in the first half unless it was an absolute must win elimination game. he would do a lot of distributing, easing into the game himself, not trying to dominate from a scoring perspective from the jump, get a lot of baskets in transition and then would really kinda take over in the fourth quarter in terms of going to the rim, hunting his shot for 3-4 possession in a row etc

yeah thats the way to do it especially when you consider the defense tires out as the game goes on, tho lebron in miami had some guys

Oh, god, Mil just going to shit the bed aren't they. Like go out in 5.

Yep. They get so shook in big playoff series. Gonna shoot 20% from 3 again.

is bud's job on the line if they get wrecked

gotta be

is it his fault middleton is like 2-45 on the series so far

can't fire the players

this is no fun. we need to see brooklyn sweat

It’s his fault they don’t really run offensive plays

yah bud is bad im just mad that they cant make shots atm.

Just bricking everything out there.

the beautiful game the way it was meant to be played

Holy fuck Khris

is bud's job on the line if they get wrecked

― Clay, Monday, June 7, 2021 8:08 PM (twenty-four minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

the reporting i have heard suggests a deep and competitive conference finals trip is the minimum to save him

3 years in a row where you just fold in the playoffs, including 2 as the #1 seed, may have something to do with it

it’s pretty tough to see any team giving the full-strength nets much trouble the next few years tbh. scary

omg it's only game 2

i would define this as "getting wrecked"

bucks haven't even lost at home in this series and we're crowning the nets 3 time champions

sure, but this has gone about as badly for the bucks as you could imagine. they're getting beaten in every facet of the game that they would need to win in order to take this series.

I meant in the east, but like harden isn’t even playing yet and this is happening

Question do you see Bud making the necessary adjustments to be competitive in this series

typically there aren’t coaching adjustments that explain 25-30 point deficits. the bucks just need to play better. they get to come back home with must win urgency, playoff series have ebbs and flows, ppl start crowning champions or breaking up teams after two games and then all of a sudden the narrative has flipped two games later. let’s see how it plays out

Still have never talked to an actual nets fan

Think about it… neither have I.

Not even like bandwagoners that follow Durant cos well Durant doesn’t pull fans around like that