ITS THE OFFS BABY THE 2023 NBA PLAYOFFS

i’m sure the warriors will still be favored. it’s hardly a death knell

idk its pretty bad i mean obvs they can still win the game but theyre in a tough spot

their depth is already not good theyve looked worn out at the end of both games and now theyre losing one of their stalwarts

yea I mean as washed as he seems they play way way better with him out there

it’s interesting that the clippers just don’t play small anymore. biyombo playing extended minutes w/ ayton stuck on the bench and lue just goes from zubac to plumlee. not really doing a whole lot

watching Russ and no one else every play on both ends is pretty entertaining just chicken with his head cut off but he’s going so hard he’s in the middle of everything too

love what hes bringing to this series im back on the russ train

doubling KD when all it takes is one swing pass to get devin booker driving into wide open space seems like a bad idea

def not ideal

it’s unfathomable to me how central russ is to the clippers. they’re just acting like the last two seasons never happened

totally naming my next cat draymond

kawhi is the best player in this series and that could be what this series comes down to

not sure kawhi being the best guy means much anymore tbh

he prob is the best player in the series but players 2, 3, and 4 are on the other team. it’s asking a lot of even a player of his caliber to win 4 out of 7 in that scenario

and 5!

I think they’re dogs for sure but the kawhi factor is the only thing giving them a chance

A suspension is crazy . 🤷🏽‍♂️ https://t.co/8aNWJvarKT

— Damian Lillard (@Dame_Lillard) April 19, 2023

dray to portland?

cp3 finally beat scott foster

wow it’s true

It’s the craziest thing of the playoffs so far

[scott foster sits at podium with towel over head]
"sometimes you just dont have it."

— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) April 19, 2023

there was still a giant free throw disparity in favor of the clips

I'm starting to look around for a good haul for Trae. Wonder if the Magic would be interested

this is exactly the kind of series that exposes his limitations in a pretty predictable way. he really needs to be on a team that is built around being able to hide him on defense to the fullest extent possible and even then doing that lowers your ceiling pretty significantly

they genuinely looked better w/o him on the floor last night

its true

yup. obv the dejounte trade was made with the goal of coexistence but if/when they actually look to move him it has provided them with more of an exit strategy than other teams that have been in their kind of position. wonder how many teams in the league already look at his contract as under water

yeah he's gone from propping up a sub par lineup to actively harming a good roster

i wouldnt go quite that far

it's a good roster!

good as in like a winning team?

i'm not saying they could just drop him and do well, just that, if they could get a decent trade, they could be in really good shape. Collins has got to go as well

i think the thing about a decent trade for a guy like trae is its almost always primarily built around draft picks just cause the team getting him is trying to be good so they cant afford to give up good players, you might get a good young role player who when unleashed turns out to be better than people thought like bridges in the kd trade but thats pretty rare

hawks are also over lux tax next year which obvs isnt great for a playin team if i were them id be thinking about blowing it up or like partially blowing it up keeping some young guys but dipping into the lottery for a couple years, doubt their new star coach would be too stoked about that tho, suspect theyll just run it back next year gotta give snyder a chance with trae, i have seen some promising signs of trae moving the ball quicker getting into plays and so forth less just spamming the pick and roll over and over, tho maybe theyre just over him and snyders not a fan idk

maybe try to upgrade their shooting and defense around the edges a lil

replacing Collins with a reliable 3 point shooter at the 4 would be huge

the problem with the hawks is that there’s no upside on the roster, yeah they have some good players but i don’t see anyone ready to break out or anything.

Jalen Johnson is the one potential. Quin gets a shit eating grin when he talks about him

you should see him in the gym. real win-win

wolves and hawks kind of went down a similar path this year, made a move to be contenders now scrapping in through the play-in and likely getting ran out of the gym in the first round

Jalen Johnson is also a good modern day update to the Joe Johnson Josh Smith days of guys with generic names, very auspicious for the hawks in terms of their history, things of that nature

i feel like there are like 9 Jalen Johnson's in the NBA right now but they all spell Jalen slightly different

the problem with the hawks is that there’s no upside on the roster, yeah they have some good players but i don’t see anyone ready to break out or anything.

― call all destroyer, Wednesday, April 19, 2023 11:18 AM (thirty-seven minutes ago)

we talked about this last year but for me their problem is that they're small and soft. when they match up vs a team like boston or last year's heat team it just feels like the varsity vs the JV in terms of one team being bigger faster stronger tougher better. the crowning achievement of this nucleus was beating a sixers team that was even more immature and tumultuous than the hawks

physicality is somehow underrated in the nba

i could see the hawks diagnosing the problem the same way i am & coming to the conclusion that the root issue is trae & that he needs to be moved. i could see a version of this team w/ murray as the lead guard next to bogdanovic, w/ more johnson & okongwu, and hunter and capela in there that shifts 180 to a more athletic and defensively minded identity. you prob take a step back next year but there may be more sustainability in a team built that way than one built around trae

i just struggle envisioning the roster where trae is flourishing in the playoffs. i guess maybe it would look something like toronto's or brooklyn's in terms of the wings. but is trae that much better than FVV? he certainly isn't defensively & FVV got picked on in that sixers series last year so i don't think surrounding trae w/ great defensive wings is a magic bullet come playoff time or anything.

i hesitate to bring this name up bcuz i don't think trae is the same guy but this almost reminds me of the ben simmons situation where finding a fit w/ a team that has already formed its nucleus is really hard bcuz he's such a unique player. i do kinda think the best bet for trae would be to end up in a small market wasteland-y type situation where a GM could engineer a team around him that maybe was better conceived than the hawks. but trying to fit trae in as a puzzle piece on an existing winning team is really hard. how do you watch the last two playoffs and think "if we get trae young we can win more playoff rounds than we did last year"

i think a few years ago we had a trae discussion based on similarity score projections 538 had posted preseason & i said that to me trae's floor was players like marbury or steve francis. others were saying his floor was i.e. kyrie irving. i bring this up not to toot my own horn bcuz his career still has a lot of years left but there has always been an outcome where trae is the kind of player who just doesn't really lead you anywhere. i'm really curious how many GMs see it the other way and would essentially be willing to bet their careers on it

just need an owner to step in and pull the trigger, the same four words keep echoing through my mind trae young houston rockets... trae young houston rockets...

meanwhile, bucks not very concerned about the heat

Just wrapped up at Bucks shootaround.

There has been no status change on Giannis Antetokounmpo.

He is still listed as doubtful (lower back contusion) for Game 2 on the Bucks’ injury report.

— Eric Nehm (@eric_nehm) April 19, 2023

must be effecting his ability to move

need miami to win tonight, for the culture

ok he’s playing

Giannis Antetokounmpo has been upgraded to questionable (lower back contusion) for Game 2 on the Bucks’ 1:30 pm ET injury report.

— Eric Nehm (@eric_nehm) April 19, 2023

i think it should be in the new cba that whenever a player is questionable with a contusion of any kind and then plays they have to be introduced to "contusion" by stevie wonder