NBA: The '23 NBA PLAYOFFS

[baseline bum]

Is the East really that ty? I know Spoelstra is a great coach, but this roster is sans Butler. How is it that defenses can’t stop a 37 year old Lowry, Caleb Martin, and Strus? Bam is nothing special either. The only way this makes sense is if Miami comes back down to Earth in the finals. They are getting every big break to go their way and scrubs are playing in God mode.

I mean look at the way Boston collapsed against a good but not great Warriors team last year. If they can stay healthy I like this Denver team so much more than last year's Warriors with the way Murray and Porter are playing and Jokic looking like Prime Bill Walton out there.

[Spurs Homer]

How is Miami continuing to overachieve like this? Butler is awesome but Bam is nothing special, Lowry is a fat old piece of , their role players are scrubs for the most part. This is getting incredibly fluky tbh. This heat team would literally be the weakest le team ever if they get the job done.

because every player on the floor plays hard ON EVERY SINGLE PLAY

They do not take any plays off or go easy- they compete on every play

boston got their hands full…

[FrostKing]

Is the East really that ty? I know Spoelstra is a great coach, but this roster is sans Butler. How is it that defenses can’t stop a 37 year old Lowry, Caleb Martin, and Strus? Bam is nothing special either. The only way this makes sense is if Miami comes back down to Earth in the finals. They are getting every big break to go their way and scrubs are playing in God mode.

Isn't that precisely what occurred in 2020...

[MultiTroll]

Is the East really that ty? I know Spoelstra is a great coach, but this roster is sans Butler. How is it that defenses can’t stop a 37 year old Lowry, Caleb Martin, and Strus? Bam is nothing special either. The only way this makes sense is if Miami comes back down to Earth in the finals. They are getting every big break to go their way and scrubs are playing in God mode.

Entire NBA if a team has average + roster and plays even a modi of fundamental hoop they are in the upper echelon.

Seems like the Golden gots (kills me to say this) are about the only team that passes the ball around properly. Other teams when you find out what their offensive strategy is please let me know. Perhaps i am missing Miami?

[MultiTroll]

I mean look at the way Boston collapsed against a good but not great Warriors team last year. If they can stay healthy I like this Denver team so much more than last year's Warriors with the way Murray and Porter are playing and Jokic looking like Prime Bill Walton out there.

Boston was Re 101 in going away from team ball with Tatum distributing vs the solo chucking suckshow they became starting in Game 4 and continuing in 5, 6.

Denver i dunno that 4th qtr esp the last 4 minutes vs Lakers was pathetic.
Showed me they too are entirely capable of choking.

[Robz4000]

I have a hard time seeing them get through Denver unless the injury bug hits them, which it very well could with Murray and Porter I guess.

Even if Murray and Porter go down this Denver team should still beat Miami in 6-7 games. Really just shows how mediocre the East truly was this season.

[Bynumite]

The Nuggets were the 4th best three point shooting in the regular season. They're 2nd best in the playoffs. They're a very good shooting team who can sustain their shooting. And a large part of it is that Jokic gets his teammates a lot of great looks from three with his vision and passing, his screen setting, and the fact defenses sag off to help on him. You doubting they can keep shooting good is a flawed hope.

The reason it was only a 6 point win was that the Lakers scored in the second half. I think they scored in the 70s in that second half. It wasn't because they shut down Denver. So if the key is to win for the Lakers is to outscore the Nuggets, that's not the Lakers strength. They still can't stop Denver.

You're obviously underestimating the Lakers adjustments, while giving a ton of credit to the Nuggets for some reason. Jokic scoring 31 pts through 3 quarters, then having a measly 3 points in the 4th quarter wasn't a fluke, Lakers adjusted.

It's also funny that you think the Nuggets can sustain this kind of elite shooting throughout the whole series vs LA. Something they didn't even do against the Suns by the way, who had one of the worse defenses in the playoffs (Nuggets averaged 37% from 3 vs Phoenix). While at the same time, you believe the #1 rated defense in the playoffs is all of a sudden going to fall of the edge of the earth.

[JamStone]

Jimmy is that dude

Mentally toughest guy in the league. The total an hesis of James Harden and, quite frankly, a lot of the star divas in the league.

He’s a boss. Idk if they’ll even win this series. But I’d take Jimmy Buckets on my team any day.

[daslicer]

How is Miami continuing to overachieve like this? Butler is awesome but Bam is nothing special, Lowry is a fat old piece of , their role players are scrubs for the most part. This is getting incredibly fluky tbh. This heat team would literally be the weakest le team ever if they get the job done.

A combination of Jimmy being on God mode for the whole entire playoffs and their scrubs being on God mode along with their players having elite conditioning. Whatever Miami is doing in regards to player conditioning is amazing. I have seen their players on both ends give maximum effort and never get tired. That stuff wears down teams because they are not used to playing a team that is relentless on both ends and doesn't tire out.

[The Gemini Method]

Miami is well coached and discipline in "Heat Culture". It's funny, but it's like the heyday of the Patriots. Never the most talented team in the Super Bowl, but they were mentally tough when the lights were brightest. The Sum is > than the parts and they have that one superstar that is the center of the universe. It's like he cruised through the Knicks series after the ankle injury and saved himself knowing the Celtics aren't mentally tough. That is a weird thing to say given their copious amount of playoff experience.

[FrostKing]

[DAF86]

He’s a great coach, but this roster is playing way over their heads. Teams can’t ing stop scrubs like Martin/Bam?

The Heat have been to 3 of the last 4 ECF. They clearly aren't as ty as you think they are.

[lefty]

Nah Jimmy is not a degenerate gambler

[spursreport]

The Heat have been to 3 of the last 4 ECF. They clearly aren't as ty as you think they are.

Yeah but they were humiliated in the Finals, and were humiliated at home a few times in the ECF last year. Boston was even blowing them out in game 7 before nearly choking it away. They were compe ive but then got their pushed in quite a number of times. This years squad isn’t different roster wise either.

[DAF86]

Yeah but they were humiliated in the Finals, and were humiliated at home a few times in the ECF last year. Boston was even blowing them out in game 7 before nearly choking it away. They were compe ive but then got their pushed in quite a number of times. This years squad isn’t different roster wise either.

And they probably will get humillated in the finals again this year if they get there. They aren't doing any different to what they have been doing for the last half a decade, tbh.

[spursreport]

A combination of Jimmy being on God mode for the whole entire playoffs and their scrubs being on God mode along with their players having elite conditioning. Whatever Miami is doing in regards to player conditioning is amazing. I have seen their players on both ends give maximum effort and never get tired. That stuff wears down teams because they are not used to playing a team that is relentless on both ends and doesn't tire out.

Sooner or later, that stuff can’t last. It was like the Phillies fluky run to the WS last year. They were on fire but came back down to Earth in the middle of that series bigtime against the Astros.

[daslicer]

Sooner or later, that stuff can’t last. It was like the Phillies fluky run to the WS last year. They were on fire but came back down to Earth in the middle of that series bigtime against the Astros.

I agree but if it lasts and they win it all I will be in shock. It will be the most surprising team ever to win a NBA le in my lifetime.

[Tyronn Lue]

Has a 7th seed ever faced an 8th seed in the Finals?

[Tyronn Lue]

And they probably will get humillated in the finals again this year if they get there. They aren't doing any different to what they have been doing for the last half a decade, tbh.

Teams party in Miami

[DAF86]

Sooner or later, that stuff can’t last. It was like the Phillies fluky run to the WS last year. They were on fire but came back down to Earth in the middle of that series bigtime against the Astros.

Dude, stop calling "flukey" something that happened in 3 of the last 4 years.

[spursreport]

Dude, stop calling "flukey" something that happened in 3 of the last 4 years.

Miami gets their pushed in when they get eliminated. The East is weak. They still aren’t elite. The Pistons stopped being elite after Larry Brown left despite making the ECF 3 more times where they got their pushed in consistently. Making the ECF doesn’t make you elite.

[DAF86]

Miami gets their pushed in when they get eliminated. The East is weak. They still aren’t elite. The Pistons stopped being elite after Larry Brown left despite making the ECF 3 more times where they got their pushed in consistently. Making the ECF doesn’t make you elite.

And who's arguing the East is elite?

I'm just saying the Heat getting to the ECF is clearly not a fluke, considering results in previous years.

[Kawhitstorm]

At the national media constantly fawning over playoff S bag, who only plays under pristine cir stances, while largely ignoring playoff Butler (can't remember a player of his caliber constantly raising his game to elite of the elite in the playoffs) and continuing to reward clowns like DeRozan with All-Star/All-NBA berths over him.

It isn’t like Kawhi & Butler didn’t play against each other in the playoffs.😂

Let’s reminisce:

-“Playoff Butler” got demolished in Gm 1 & wanted no part of Kawhi the rest of the series.
-Kawhi switched onto Butler in Gm 7 after Danny Green got raw dawgged in Gm 6 & turned him into an absolute ghost 👻
-Oh, Kawhi hit a buzzer beater & sent him packing to South Beach

Butler also got locked the down by a HEALTHY Giannis in ‘21 after claiming to be “stupidly locked in”😂

[Kawhitstorm]

Miami is well coached and discipline in "Heat Culture". It's funny, but it's like the heyday of the Patriots. Never the most talented team in the Super Bowl, but they were mentally tough when the lights were brightest. The Sum is > than the parts and they have that one superstar that is the center of the universe. It's like he cruised through the Knicks series after the ankle injury and saved himself knowing the Celtics aren't mentally tough. That is a weird thing to say given their copious amount of playoff experience.

The problem with the Celtics is that their best players aren’t the leaders but guys like Marcus Smart/Horford. Due to this, they don’t have a proper pecking order or someone to go to when things aren’t going their way.

Jason Tatum is basically the second coming of Paul George, he’s inconsistent & makes too many dumb mistakes for a player of his caliber. Meanwhile, Brown lacks vision & is always just trying to get his at all times.

But when Tatum is locked-in for 48 minutes, they are too talented on both ends for basically every team they face especially if Derrick White is being aggressive on the offensive end.

[FrostKing]

Lakers hit their ceiling and they hold a 5-game lead at Halftime