NBA In-Season Tournament 2023 Discussion and Gamethread

[The Social Chair]

The NBA probably wanted the west coast semi-final at a much earlier time because there is more star power out there.

But why schedule the game against Thursday Night Football then? Should have played yesterday.

 

[Euclis20]

Indy lucky to be within shouting distance after tapping multiple rebounds to the Bucks and shooting 22% from 3. They look like a team that's just happy to be there, hopefully they start making some of these (and a lot of their misses have been really, really bad).

 

[Don Buddin's GS]

But why schedule the game against Thursday Night Football then? Should have played yesterday.

The Bucks played on Tuesday night. They would have had to travel to LV and done a back-to-back.

 

[DeJesus Built My Hotrod]

Ok Aaron

 

[Euclis20]

McConnell with turnovers on 3 straight plays.

 

[shawnrbu]

Nesmith is so good.

 

[chilidawg]

But why schedule the game against Thursday Night Football then?

Because Pats/Steelers? Must not watch TV.

 

[DeJesus Built My Hotrod]

This game is kinda great

 

[chilidawg]

Bucks winning the starter minutes, Pacers the bench minutes. Can the Pacers starters close this out?

 

[Don Buddin's GS]

View: https://twitter.com/Pacers/status/1732917050677273068

 

[chilidawg]

View: https://twitter.com/Pacers/status/1732917050677273068

Are all those seats empty?

 

[Just a bit outside]

To follow up on an earlier post I received an email today to buy tickets at a discount. I imagine there are plenty of seats available.

 

[Just a bit outside]

That Turner flop was hilarious.

 

[Euclis20]

Nesmith is so good.

And still committing multiple braindead fouls.

 

[The Social Chair]

Because Pats/Steelers? Must not watch TV.

The NBA didn't know that before the season. At least 8 million more people will watch that awful football game.

 

[Just a bit outside]

Didn’t have Beasley taking so many important shits on my bingo card.

 

[Tony C]

I generally give guys a break on all that flop stuff and was ready to do the same on this -- even getting nicked by a specimen like Giannis can lead to a fall. But, no, that was a full-on flop.

By the way, I don't know how a defense with Lopez and Giannis can give up so many uncontested 8 foot jumpers from the key. They're playing a lot of zone, but weird for there to be a hole right in the middle.

 

[Euclis20]

Indy shooting under 20% from 3.

 

[shawnrbu]

Why doesn’t Giannis freight train to the basket?

 

[Just a bit outside]

Giannis needs to shoot the 3 foot shot.

 

[Euclis20]

I generally give guys a break on all that flop stuff and was ready to do the same on this -- even getting nicked by a specimen like Giannis can lead to a fall. But, no, that was a full-on flop.

By the way, I don't know how a defense with Lopez and Giannis can give up so many uncontested 8 foot jumpers from the key. They're playing a lot of zone, but weird for there to be a hole right in the middle.

Their defense is really bad.

 

[Lose Remerswaal]

This quarter feels familiar.

 

[chilidawg]

Bucks winning the starter minutes, Pacers the bench minutes. Can the Pacers starters close this out?

To answer my own question, yes they can.

 

[mikeot]

Halliburton doing here to the Bucks what he did to the C’s - what a closer.

 

[Euclis20]

This quarter feels familiar.

Ind was 5-10 for 3 in the 4th quarter against Boston, and they've hit 7 all night against the bucks. Crazy.

 

[DeJesus Built My Hotrod]

Ok Pacers

 

[Euclis20]

The EC bracket was the Pacers, Knicks, Celtics and Bucks, and we've got the Pacers going to the finals. Good from the perspective that Haliburton could be a huge star and it's good for him to get more exposure, but all we need is for Pelicans to upset the Lakers and we've got one of the least desirable matchups (from a popularity perspective) imaginable for the finals.

 

[benhogan]

No, but the fact that Minneapolis won "their" first five titles kinda does. (Similarly, I don't feel any particular ownership of the Philadelphia Warriors' titles).

preach

 

[SemperFidelisSox]

Of course everything worked out perfectly for the Lakers to be in a great position to win this tournament. Pelicans and Pacers. Geesh.

 

[Jakarta]

The NBA didn't know that before the season. At least 8 million more people will watch that awful football game.

Any reason why they couldn’t play these games the week before the Super Bowl? Is there a reason why they need to get this done so early in the season?

 

[Euclis20]

Any reason why they couldn’t play these games the week before the Super Bowl? Is there a reason why they need to get this done so early in the season?

I can't say for sure, but the unofficial start of the NBA season has always seemed to be christmas day. There's good reason to get people paying attention to the NBA before then. Additionally, teams are probably happier to have their guys go all out early in the year, so if anyone does get hurt during these games, they have more time to recover before the playoffs.

 

[Buster Olney the Lonely]

Man that was fun. I would totally return for this next year.

pre game Chuck is yelling at the ESPN crew who were about 15 feet away. "Hey y’all got Malika Andrews to look at. We got nobody."

 

[Buster Olney the Lonely]

Wish I were going to game two

 

[Tony C]

Man that was fun. I would totally return for this next year.

pre game Chuck is yelling at the ESPN crew who were about 15 feet away. "Hey y’all got Malika Andrews to look at. We got nobody."

How full/empty was it? Seemed pretty empty but hard to tell.

 

[Buster Olney the Lonely]

How full/empty was it? Seemed pretty empty but hard to tell.

Second half it seemed to fill in a bit but you’re right that there were a bunch of empty seats.

Guy next to me was a Vegas native. Said that the casinos probably held a bunch of those for comps and did not end up giving them away. The Laker game I expect will be packed.

 

[CaptainLaddie]

Wish I were going to game two

How was T-Mobile Arena? It's pretty nice, right?

 

[Buster Olney the Lonely]

Sent this to my son.

“Is that the guy from Fortnite?”

 

[Buster Olney the Lonely]

How was T-Mobile Arena? It's pretty nice, right?

Not sure about parking because I walked there but was super easy to get in and out of the arena.

Lines were not long either for the bathrooms or concessions. Sight lines at least for me were good.

 

[Buster Olney the Lonely]

And it is right off the strip. So close to everything.

 

[Red Averages]

Wasn’t this game supposed to start at 9?

 

[CaptainLaddie]

And it is right off the strip. So close to everything.

Yeah, it's great. Park MGM is right there (I am a big Park fan).

 

[ElUno20]

What a shitty game.

 

[the moops]

Lebron James doing this at age 39 is so bonkers. My god

 

[wrong rim ricky]

Lebron still has it to be the best player on the floor when he dials it up. Pathetic effort by the Pels.

 

[chilidawg]

The EC bracket was the Pacers, Knicks, Celtics and Bucks, and we've got the Pacers going to the finals. Good from the perspective that Haliburton could be a huge star and it's good for him to get more exposure, but all we need is for Pelicans to upset the Lakers and we've got one of the least desirable matchups (from a popularity perspective) imaginable for the finals.

Pels/Pacers would have been the ideal matchup for this tournament. Young, challenging teams with young stars, trying to show what they've got. Lakers vs. Buck or Celtics would've just been more legacy teams. Boring.

 

[HomeRunBaker]

Yeah, it's great. Park MGM is right there (I am a big Park fan).

Eataly!!! I could eat there all day.

 

[HomeRunBaker]

Saturday night is going to be a track meet with the young gun Halliburton vs the old guard LeBron. Silver has to be freakin loving this!

 

[SemperFidelisSox]

Does anyone believe Lebron is still playing at this level naturally? I know Mav Carter said he spends $1 million a year on his body and health, but come on.

 

[lovegtm]

Does anyone believe Lebron is still playing at this level naturally? I know Mav Carter said he spends $1 million a year on his body and health, but come on.

I don't believe it, but I sure hope Al is investing in similar stuff.

I'm extremely in favor of athletes in skill sports using medicine to extend their careers and give us better entertainment.

 

[Imbricus]

Wait a minute -- Haliburton with 15 assists and ZERO turnovers last night? And he's 23 years old? That is some other worldly stuff.

Edit to add: And the Pacers shoot 21% from three against the Bucks, and 48% from three against us? There's gotta be a curse of the Miami Heat or some such starting up here.