The 2022 National Basketball Association (NBA) Playoffs Thread

role player hofer cedric maxwell out here

yeah no idea what to make of the matchup feel like anything could happen

― lag∞n, Sunday, May 29, 2022 11:23 PM (forty-four seconds ago) bookmarkflaglink

their reg season games over the past few years have been tight and fun, so fingers crossed

can't disagree with anything here

On an individual level, what a moment for Al Horford, who makes his first Finals in Year 15. Has been about the right things his entire career, beloved teammate, absolutely massive around the rim on defense and on the glass tonight with the season at stake. https://t.co/NX5IUJzTTR

— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) May 30, 2022

absolutely huge year from horf no way they get here if hed played like he was 35

Congrats to the ILH celtics crew! So cool to see this team putting it all together. Here's to a competitive finals.

it's completely insane to me that this team is in the finals. they were unwatchable 5 months ago.

ilh bowl finals

i always had faith in this team even when they were struggling but in the way you have faith in a second round team

i hope this finals is fun, these are great teams and i just want to see high-level ball

thank god the finals doesnt start until thursday

looking forward to this one, warriors are such a different team than bucks&heat it should have a very different flavor to it. maybe tatum can finally look like a superstar

also yeah glad the celtics finally get a full reset, they just played more than 3 weeks of tough games on 1 day rest

Jaylen Brown on Jimmy Butler’s shot: “When he shot that, I was like, man, what the hell?”

— Jay King (@ByJayKing) May 30, 2022

same

damn the heat getting shredded in here and being called an immoral basketball team after losing by four points in game 7 cold world

tough crowd

i will say… i think we can all agree that those who live in glass houses (root for marcus smart) shouldn’t throw stones (at kyle lowry)

i think we can all agree

oh no

and i’m also sure we all saw tatum giving udonis haslem an extended speech in his ear after the game, pounding haslem on his chest, giving his immense respect to the torch bearer of heat culture and all he does for the game

jayson tatum can do whatever he wants, i still hate those guys

lol

dunno why i'm surprised udonis is still on the team i guess i figured he'd be on the coaching staff or something at this point

the heat are not as beautiful as the beautiful game deserves its representatives to be

i had the same reaction to the jimmy shot initially but sitting with it more i’m not really bothered by it. the celtics would’ve had the last shot with no worse than OT combo if jimmy goes for two and i just don’t see how the heat score enough to win in overtime. butler would’ve been into the 50+ minute range and the celtics beat them handily in the fourth when the game was heads up. the heat only came back by playing gimmicky defense with the celtics trying to burn clock and also smart missing several wide open threes. if butler wants to take an open shot to potentially end the game, given the way he played the last two games, i’m cool with it. it’s not like it was oladipo

dunno why i'm surprised udonis is still on the team i guess i figured he'd be on the coaching staff or something at this point

― ciderpress, Sunday, May 29, 2022 11:54 PM (two minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

its gotta be some shady deal they made with him to take less money years ago theres no other explanation

xp yeah i don't necessarily disagree with the concept of the shot but if you watch it he was not balanced or in rhythm, he could have tried to get an and 1 on horford instead but that's not an easy or obvious decision in the moment

yeah back when they needed guys to play for peanuts to make the big 3 work

yeah he double clutched it and was pretty short. he didn’t execute it well but the fact that he took it i’m cool with. also ppl are just handing butler two points it’s not like the lane was just wide open. horford played great rim defense in the fourth quarter xp

yeah it was a wide open look and if you make it youre ahead idk

with haslem… honestly NBA rosters are too big for the amount of guys in the world who can truly play at that level, no team really needs 15 roster spots bcuz no team can actually find 15 guys who are good NBA players. the heat are essentially circumnavigating the coaching staff rules by putting him on the roster instead of some young player who is ultimately inconsequential to the team. they develop guys on their g league team and give their two way guys real run during the season anyway. the heat cut kyle guy at the end of the year in order to put haywood highsmith on a two way… i liked kyle guy but the heat don’t need kyle guy. i honestly think more teams should try keeping an old head around on their roster for a decade

like i just looked at the celtics roster they have malik fitts, juwan morgan, luke kornet and nik stauskas on their team. if al horford was willing to take a minimum salary to sit on the bench and never touch the court for the years 2025 to 2030 i think that legitimately would have more value to them than making sure they had one more essentially useless player on their roster

that last roster spot has value from a development pov also the younger guys are cheaper, any old guys who want to hang around can get off the cap and become coaches

while making like 5% the money lol

the last roster spot has developmental value to teams in europe

xps - You might be right, jord, but keeping 15 players on the roster doesn't reduce the quality of the team on the floor, might allow teams to fill open spots created by injuries more easily, while still being able to scrimmage with full numbers and discover role players who need a second or third shot to find their niche. I can't see that it hurts anything from the fan's perspective.

it has worked out for the heat so you cant argue with results.

that said the bigger logistical issue would be haslems cap hold more so than the roster slot. and if they wanted to pay him under the table there are plenty of other ways to do it.

like what

Worth noting that the warriors 15th spot was… GP2. Who has been obv huge for them all szn. The hope is that you take flyers on those final roster spots and hope one of them fits. With Haslem you’re not even giving the team one more shot at a possible rotation player, even if it’s a long shot it’s worth it.

exactly, also as mentioned the vet minimum is more that it is for a younger player, also you dont even need to fill all those spots if you dont want to

Lowry was a clown out there

2009-10 Player Cash Earnings $7,100,000
2010-11 Player Cash Earnings $3,500,000

in 2010 haslem resigned for half what he was making before which was the year lebron came to the heat.....

well the warriors are a unique case because they're willing to go a hundred million into the tax and don't need to carry 3-5 dirt cheap guys on their roster who straight up can't play. but if draymond wanted to be a pseudo assistant coach for a half decade it would have more value to the warriors than 97% of guys who will be the last dude on their bench

heat have too many randos, gabe vincent and max strus cant be getting this many minutes on a title team imo, embiid is right they need another star

― terence trent d'ilfer (m bison), Sunday, May 29, 2022 11:21 PM (yesterday)bookmarkflaglink

yeah the heat do an unbelievable job with what they have but they need more

― lag∞n, Sunday, May 29, 2022 11:22 PM (yesterday)

i think the heat culture back and forth over the years has kinda made people forget that pat riley is basically the OG star hunter. he's almost 80 i don't think he's looking at trying to win a title in the next 2-3 years and sitting back being like, max strus and gabe vincent... i got my guys. if and when guys like beal, mitchell, lillard etc go on the market the heat are 100% gonna be in the mix, and they have picks and players to trade. they got the biggest FA on the market last year and traded a first round pick to do it, riley knows the deal

Herro being a bad playoff performer is gonna hurt them

https://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/13/sports/basketball/13hoops.html

Add Udonis Haslem to the list of players taking less money to play for the Miami Heat next season.

Haslem, a power forward, signed a five-year deal worth about $20 million, roughly $14 million less than he could have received if he accepted more lucrative offers from Dallas and Denver.

LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh took less money in their Heat deals last week to allow Miami the flexibility to sign certain players, and Haslem — Wade’s teammate for all seven of their professional seasons — was at the top of their collective wish list. Another factor for Haslem was swingman Mike Miller’s decision to join the Heat — something the team still has not announced. Miller and Haslem are close friends.

it was a home town discount! he loves miami!

sorry i declare this case closed and the miami heat guilty

well the warriors are a unique case because they're willing to go a hundred million into the tax and don't need to carry 3-5 dirt cheap guys on their roster who straight up can't play. but if draymond wanted to be a pseudo assistant coach

Herro being a bad playoff performer is gonna hurt them

a full assistant coach staff + pseudo assistant draymond is >>> one less assistant coach, actual assistant coach draymond, and chris chiozza. only the heat have figured this out