Getting this warmed up. Feels pretty wide open this season. Gonna come down to health and matchups more than ever imo.
I believe Lakers win it all if healthy, but their roster is so thin and top heavy that even an injury to a bench player like Gabe Vincent will pretty much derail their le hopes. They're kinda like the Suns but with better stars.
Celtics are very well constructed and balanced and can afford to lose a rotation player and be fine.
Like to see either Cleveland or OKC win. Two teams who've played the right way all year, no hype.
OKC is gonna skull everybody
OKC will be tough to beat, they were consistently top 3 in O (top 3 right now) and D (top right now) Rating in the league this season. Their net rating is 2.7 points over #2 Cleveland. OKC, Cleveland and Boston are just head and shoulders above everyone else statistically.
OKC is efficient on offence (#7), low on TOs (best in the league), great on defence (#1 in eFG%), and #1 in forced TOs. In fact, they force 4.6 TO more than they commit, which is rather insane. That said, TOs usually decreases in the playoffs as the teams are of better quality and also game play is much more purposeful with less risks taken.
OKC is a poor rebounding team #21 in ORB% and #17 in DRB%. I would say the only good teams that are worse rebounding teams than OKC are Denver and New York, and Dallas if you still consider them good. If you take Hartenstein out, they do not have a single high volume rebounder in their lineup. Their FT rate is also pretty bad, 25th in FTA/FGA on offence (Lakers are #1 despite being middle of the league, #13 in 3PTAr, #19 in shots taken in 0-3 feet of the basket, #3/5/8 in shots taken from 3-10, 10-16 and 16-3P. That is a lot of FTs for a mid range shooting team
:ROFL), while being #26 on defence. They get a lot of fouls called on them by being aggressive on perimeter closeouts, going for steals and pressing the ball handler, closing passing lanes so that other teams cannot hurt them internally and punish them for their lack of size.
Stylistically, their offence is heavily reliant on SGA, who also performs much better with rest, and that is what the playoffs offer. Shai also plays noticeably, though not significantly worse in losses than in wins. If a team can focus on NOT doubling Shai and force his teammates to beat you, that seems to be a better strategy than limiting Shai and leaving his teammates open, because his teammates can and will make you pay. Not only is J-Dub a good finisher, but they have 5 other players who averages more than double figures. You leave them open, they will nail the shot. Not only that, but if a player hits a slump, which inevitably happens in the playoffs, another player will step up. it is just extremely difficult to shut down a team like that. They also defend the 3 pt line among the best of them. Long, quick perimeter players just shuts down the perimeter, making life for shooters, and they hound the ball handlers like only the best could.
I think their style of play matches up with the Celtics VERY well so if they go head to head, I expect them to come out on top. However, Cleveland with their size may pose some problems for them. it all depends on how well OKC can hound Mobley in the high post and force Cleveland to abandon that offensive set. Sengun in particular would suffer against OKC's swarming defence, and his lack of size and verticality will play into OKC's hand. Unless Amen Thompson or Eason can shut down, relatively, Shai and J-Dub, The OKC will likely take this in 6 or 7, but I expect this series to be insanely entertaining. Not sure how Steven Adams will fare in this matchup, his size and rebounding helps, but he is so slow.
Looking forward to this, I think OKC, as everybody else already noted, are the favourites on paper, but I will still take Boston (assuming OKC can't make the finals) or the Cavs to have just as much a chance in ringing.
Houston, with their size and perimeter defence, will also be a big problem for OKC. But I don't see the Rockets having enough firepower to really counter OKC's defence.
Anybody know who has the tie breaker this season twixt the Suns & Mavericks?
I'd appreciate it.
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Never mind, I just looked it up. Suns 3-1.
Well in that case I'll need 1 more victory by the Mavs, or, 1 more loss by the Suns and the Suns will be eliminated from the playoffs.
OKC ain't winning
Too young, too little playoff experience, their core of players has won a total of 1 playoff series so far.
Cute regular season team, that's it. They have only one legit star in SGA and his production is bound to take a hit when he stops getting his Harden type foodstamps in the playoffs.
The brutal truth & your Finest Hour.OKC ain't winning
Too young, too little playoff experience, their core of players has won a total of 1 playoff series so far.
Cute regular season team, that's it. They have only one legit star in SGA and his production is bound to take a hit when he stops getting his Harden type foodstamps in the playoffs.
Play-in:
EC-
Magic over Hawks
Heat over Bulls
Heat over Hawks
WC-
Dubs over Grizz
Kings over Mavs
Grizz over Kings
Postseason:
EC-
Cavs over Heat in 5
Celtics over Magic in 5
Pistons over Knicks in 6
Pacers over Bucks in 5
Cavs over Pacers in 7
Celtics over Pistons in 6
Celtics over Cavs in 7
WC-
Thunder over Grizz in 4
Rockets over Dubs in 7
Lakers over Wolves in 6
Clippers over Nuggets in 6
Thunder over Clippers in 6
Lakers over Rockets in 6
Thunder over Lakers in 5
Finals:
Celtics over Thunder in 6
Hey Robz4000 .Might as well open an official playoffs thread upstairs with a Graph Bracket. Downstairs is kinda dead at this point tbh..
Did Quentin post Zaza'd Ja Morant? Post also gave Pippen Jr a hard shove earlier.
31 ft with two players? really? this game must have flown...
West playoffs though
I would like to see OKC vs Clippers in the 2nd round, some interesting matchups to say the least
I don’t understand how so many media people can say the Lakers got a favorable draw. I want no part of a fresh and nothing-to-lose Ant Man in a 7 game series.
Imagine the possible trajectory of his career if he pulls off the upset
I just cringe imagining if the Lakers lose this series as to how James will take off after the White race all over again. He'll like call old man Trump everything but a White man within like 24 hours of like being eliminated.
"I could not play to my level knowing that Trump is President. I am completely undone and incapable of playing professional basketball again until Trump has been thrown from office and the Magic Negro made interim President until we can have a special Presidential Election and I get a 2 year extension. Oh, the shame. Oh, the racist nature. Oh, I don't think I can go on. Oh."
Lakers shouldn’t even get home court. They should be in the playing based on point differential and net rating. Incredible stroke of luck for the entire year.
We don't stand a snowball's chance in , amb. We need a third wheel, not a superstar per se, but a player who can and will produce when James and Luka can't produce. The dry spells will be repugnant.
And they'll be no mercy shown James once it gets started. They're gonna be all over him all game long.
And Luka's heart ain't in it for the short run, nor the long run. He's miserable over there.
Lakers are nowhere close to contention, even with a 3rd wheel. James is way over the hill at this point and he can no longer carry a team to a le by himself, which was something he couldn’t do even in his prime. Davis was hurt all the time and even if you kept him and added a third wheel, say someone in the mold or level of a butler, the lakers are not good or deep enough to do anything. They be lucky to go past the first round.
With Luka, you’d be able to go to the second round. But I think that’s it.
Besides, you got your white man superstar, he ain’t from the states, but then it’s much better to have a white foreigner than a black American. Amirite?
Well, said "black American" hates white Americans and was indignant at having to win that last Laker's le/in the bubble because we whites was waiting for him to make up his mind. Oh, he was one miserable SOB having to grant on us. If he was really committed to his cause he'd a left that NBA le on the counter and walked out that door. Eh?
Why would Lebron win one for the whites and be miserable?
Besides, why would black Americans hate white Americans? I mean, it's not like they were ever treated poorly in the past or anything.
Because he hates white Americans and knew that we were waiting on him to win that le for our white asses.
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