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

lol

embiids gonna have to go wild which is possible, its always the question of whether he can manage playing physically for a whole game, cause where he really kills you is when hes fouling your whole team out, hes got to not turn the ball over when double teamed and not settle for too many threes, in short hes gotta be better than he has been in past playoffs, but if he is then we can tip our caps and call him mr champion, one thing he has going for him is al horford is not in the playoffs this year

i put them on my list of three teams i think can actually win it but i would be concerned w/ how the heat guarded them the other night, squeezing down hard on embiid and daring anyone else on the sixers to score a bunch of points. i think at home there will be games where seth curry hits threes, and tobias had a pretty good night vs the heat, and the sixers packed it in after the first quarter so whatever. but still if you can make embiid pass and seth curry isn't hurting you, it might start to get pretty tight against good teams. i wouldn't trust danny green after last playoffs

the great news for the sixers is that they'll only need to try in two series to win the title

yeah philly has to be creative with how they get him the ball not just dump it in the post which is easy to double and also exhausting

teams that wouldn't surprise me: suns, sixers

teams that might surprise me a little but i would get it: jazz, nets, bucks

teams that would fill me with glee: blazers, nuggets, heat

teams that would fill me with glee, but not happening: knicks

teams that i can't see doing it but i haven't really watched them that closely this season: mavs, clippers

no fuckin' way: dubs, grizz, spurs, hawks, celtics, bullets, pacers, hornets

mr silver i am writing you today to discuss the terms of our divorce: lakers

but still if you can make embiid pass and seth curry isn't hurting you, it might start to get pretty tight against good teams. i wouldn't trust danny green after last playoffs

They're not a terrible 3pt shooting team (37.4%, 10th). The problem is they are 26th in 3pt attempts/game. Probably a function of having Embiid and Simmons on the floor at the same time.

there are definite limitations to playing any two non-shooters in the playoffs, but particularly if they are your ball handler and your screen setter. this goes for the heat as well as the sixers.

yeah and the heat got around it by going small and putting great to elite shooters around those two at basically every other position. when they were getting nothing from dragic and herro this season their offense was like bottom 5 in the league. obv darryl understands this

the other issue w/ simmons compared to butler as an example is that jimmy gets to the line at an elite rate and is very good when he gets there. simmons has always been efficient bcuz he's so selective but he's not going to push the envelope and get to the line at the ends of games which jimmy did routinely in the bubble last year. embiid obv can get to the line and is great for a big guy when he's there, but i think it's easier in the playoffs to be doing that off the dribble than as a post player

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

can't wait to find out who will win the nba playoffs

this

thats what its all about baby

we love the game for one reason

to find out who wins the nba playoffs

Can't wait for the next episode of the reality show, "The 2021 NBA Playoffs".

bcz we are all messy b*tches who love drama

that’s right

voted nets btw

i can't figure out who to vote for. what a tough year to figure out the champ.

i can't decide between the bucks and sixers, i'm very concerned about anthony davis making it through 4 playoff rounds healthy, and i think the top 3 teams in the east would be beat any remaining team in the west. i might lean the sixers bcuz they have the easiest path to the finals of any team in either conference... think the bucks might be the better team tho

can we all agree that it would be "fun" to see portland, denver or miami win?

jordan that's very much where i'm at. i don't think this is the lakers year and with that in mind the east seems stronger. i would love to pick the bucks but i was just looking at their top 8 guys and man you have to hope jrue holiday has the playoffs of his life if you want to make that pick.

they've also given themselves such a bad path compared to philly.

I also voted nets but this whole post season screams chaos to me

i would love to pick the bucks but i was just looking at their top 8 guys and man you have to hope jrue holiday has the playoffs of his life if you want to make that pick.

― call all destroyer, Monday, May 17, 2021 11:30 PM (yesterday)

i think there's a two fold issue w/ the bucks. one is giannis and middleton related, having those guys not freeze up and take a bunch of jumpers in crunch time after the offense does nothing for 21 seconds. the second is that they were a pretty deadly shooting team, but you kinda need to believe that guys like bryn forbes, dante d, connaughton, even jrue are going to be 40% three point shooters in the playoffs and weren't just shooting the lights out in the most shooting friendly season in NBA history. if the bucks can figure out how to run an offense at the end of games and have role players who make threes they might be the best team in the league and will prob come out of the east. if neither of those two things get solved they could potentially lose to the heat again

Lakers/Nets

Simmons has been very bad down the stretch. Not healthy and/or distracted by family drama. I think the Sixers could beat the Nets because the Nets are thin and don't play defense, but I think they would lose to the Bucks.

i like how everyone’s just ignoring polyphonic’s nightmare scenario, or haven’t even read it properly because it just cancels out somehow, like staring at the sun

Not healthy and/or distracted by family drama.

hmmmm?

nets officially cursed

THIS JUST IN: guess who’s joining us to set up a #COVID vaccine site outside @barclayscenter?

Thank you to the @BrooklynNets for getting in the game to get New Yorkers vaccinated. Tune in for more. https://t.co/vL7jQKHX9N pic.twitter.com/7vC29uu8bs

— City of New York (@nycgov) May 18, 2021

this would be an amazing time for kyrie to come out with a weird anti-vax statement

Is simmons still dating a Jenner

can only assume someone mustve warned him off of it in advance xp

Is simmons still dating a Jenner

― Matt Armstrong, Tuesday, May 18, 2021 8:11 AM (twenty-five minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

no, d booker took over that one for now.

haven't watched a game in a few weeks but i'm excited for some 'ins

off to a good start

Just in: Indiana Pacers guard Caris LeVert is expected to miss tonight’s Play-In Tournament game vs. the Charlotte Hornets due to health and safety protocols, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) May 18, 2021

ah well

ffs!

Would be pretty wild if some star who didn’t get vaccinated manages to get COVID and swings the whole offs (not caris levert, obviously)

re: Simmons (feel bad even posting it, shits fucked up regardless), this came out in March?

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9457973/Basketballer-Ben-Simmons-sister-Olivia-claims-half-brother-molested-years-age-three.html

...lebron xp

xp ugh, did not hear about that

ugh is right.

He missed 4 games in a row due to an unknown, non-covid illness right around the same time and hasn't seemed himself since.

i had no idea he posted career lows in points rebounds and assists. what an odd player.

Ny vs atl is a coin flip. exact same record and point differential. both are healthy, right? i guess besides hunter but he hasnt been there all year basically.

gritty defense vs razzle dazzle offense its the nba playoffs baby

interesting prove it series for both teams

randle gonna be played 44 mpg

might rest for zero second half minutes the whole series

"you can rest when you're dead at halftime"

Bucks at sea

This is so frustrating all we had to do was keep playing our game

yeah it seemed like a bad sign when coach bud stuck with his rotation at the end of the 3rd q and took out the lineup that was annihilating them

that turnover by middleton was an extremely unforced error, he dribbled into falling out of bounds. pressure getting to em

Hawks just need to miss a few shots

thank the goddamn lord for brook lopez

THERE HE IS

bucks should be thanking the lord that trae young isn't right, hawks made that comeback with him missing a million shots

PJ!!!!!!!

PJ's three can only be described as merciless

Yeah if Trae sat this would’ve been a different game

this series is a good example of the difference between the eastern and western conferences and chris paul never having reached the conference finals until a few years ago

take a breath folks, you're going to the NBA Finals

Bucks host Suns
Won't you come

I am so excited

now we can all move on to the evening's main event, Animal Kingdom, only on TNT!

I know this is a series we were massively favored to win but fuuuuck this is awesome , did it without Giannis too

congrats to the wisonsin deer

The heart of this team in getting their heads straight and arresting what looked like an epic collapse

Flirting with an "epic collapse" is hardly the most reassuring evidence of massive "heart".

The hawks have so many good players

rip marv don’t let the door hit ya etc

Welp, at least by now we've discovered all but one of the teams who are full of losers. Should we have a new Finals thread or just ride with this one?

2021 NBA Finals: Phoenix Suns vs Milwaukee Bucks

also it's that time It's the 4th Annual I Love Hoops NBA Role Player Hollafame - VOTING & CAMPAIGNING THREAD (voting closes FRIDAY, JULY 23, 2021, 11:59 PM CST)