Playoff Game Thread

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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By the way, I know Iguodala is hurt and all but the only time Matt Barnes should sniff the floor for the rest of the playoffs is during warm-ups before and dap-ups afterward.
 

Sam Ray Not

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Nobody watching this beatdown, for good reason, but it should be noted: this is the exact Spurs team that waxed the Rockets by 40 on their home floor in a playoff close-out game.
 

Kliq

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This is the kind of gamethread you get when Durant joins a super team and Kawhi gets hurt...
 

BigSoxFan

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This is the kind of gamethread you get when Durant joins a super team and Kawhi gets hurt...
Yup. Zaza's dirty play ruined Game 2. At least the Spurs had a big lead in Game 1 so it was an interesting finish. We'll see what Kawhi looks like on Saturday. Spurs are a great home team so they won't lay down like this next couple of games. You could see this beat down from a mile away.
 

Sam Ray Not

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Wait, so are you arguing that this Aldridge play isn't dirty?
I think I've pretty consistently argued that kind of play is standard-issue "dirty," but that it happens all the time, and was blown out of proportion in the case of Zaza/Kawhi, due mostly to the greatness of Kawhi and the ensuing Spurs collapse. If Damian Jones makes the same play against Bryn Forbes, they probably don't even replay it once.

Dumb luck is always an underplayed factor in sports (cos it doesn't fit dramatic narratives of good guys and bad guys), but if one is going to dole out "blame" for the 1% of Kawhi's injury that wasn't dumb (bad) luck, I think Pop's reckless decision to keep him in the game with an obviously messed-up ankle is at least as culpable as Zaza's recklessness/dirtiness. Kawhi had just turned the same ankle ten minutes earlier by stepping back into his own bench. Pop took a calculated risk to go for the throat in that game by keeping him in, and got burned.

And needless to say, much I like and admire Pop, given his history with Bowen, I thought his rant against Zaza rang pretty hollow — more as performance art than anything else. (Weirdly, Skip Bayless felt the same way).

Anyway, I was relieved to hear Kawhi's MRI came back clean, and am hoping he comes back in Game 3 looking 100% healthy and spry so the whining quiets down a bit and people can focus on basketball things like the awesomeness of Patrick McCaw. :)
 

Grin&MartyBarret

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The whining will never die down in any series that includes Golden State.

That's partially due to the fact that they are inherently a whiny team, and partially due to the fact that these super teams are incredibly fun to root against. Just the nature of being a Golden State fan now, I'm afraid.

As for the play itself, it's just dirty. Regardless of how often it happens. It sucks that a dirty play like that turned what should have been an excellent series, and there's no doubt that the competition committee will look at it during the offseason.
 

BigSoxFan

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The whining isn't really going to die down. Were it not for the dirty play, we'd have a 1-1 series going back to SA for 2 games. Spurs may surprise and win both at home but my guess is a split and a series conclusion in Game 5, which means that this play could potentially cost us some great Game 6 or 7 excitement. I'm sure Warriors fans are perfectly fine with this but it sucks for everyone else.
 

Sam Ray Not

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The whining isn't really going to die down. Were it not for the dirty play, we'd have a 1-1 series going back to SA for 2 games. Spurs may surprise and win both at home but my guess is a split and a series conclusion in Game 5, which means that this play could potentially cost us some great Game 6 or 7 excitement. I'm sure Warriors fans are perfectly fine with this but it sucks for everyone else.
Yeah, I'll go along with all that. I do think it's a little unfair to assume that that first 2.5 quarter beatdown the Spurs delivered — with the Warriors coming off an 8-day break, and starting the game at an hour when they're usually rolling out of bed — was representative of what to expect from the series. The Ws were overwhelming favorites going into the series, with better players at every position including the bench (with the exception of the starting SF slot, which was basically a push), and I think would ultimately have trampled the Spurs either way. But the two games in SA (assuming Kawhi is good to go) will give us a better sense of how true that is. Spurs could still shut me up good.

I guess all I'd gently request of the Warriors haters is that that they choose between "totally unbeatable superteam that wrecked the league" and "lucky bastards that need to rely on injuries to win games." :)
 
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BigSoxFan

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Yeah, I'll go along with all that. I do think it's a little unfair to assume that that first 2.5 quarter beatdown the Spurs delivered — with the Warriors coming off an 8-day break, and starting the game at an hour when they're usually rolling out of bed — was representative of what to expect from the series. The Ws were overwhelming favorites going into the series, with better players at every position including the bench (with the exception of the starting SF slot, which was basically a push), and I think would ultimately have trampled the Spurs either way. But the two games in SA (assuming Kawhi is good to go) will give us a better sense of how true that is. Spurs could still shut me up good.

I guess all I'd gently request of the Warriors haters is that that they choose between "totally unbeatable superteam that wrecked the league" and "lucky bastards that need to rely on injuries to win games." :)
All I'm saying is that Spurs win Game 1 without the play. They probably lose Game 2 and split in SA and we'd probably have an awesome Game 5 at 2-2 back in Oakland. My guess is GS would win that and then we'd have an awesome Game 6 with a super team trying to close out a series in basically the Foxboro of the NBA. And if they didn't, you'd have an epic Game 7 that GS would probably pull out.

Unless the Spurs can somehow win both games in SA or surprise us in Game 5, Zaza has fucked everything up.
 

NoXInNixon

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Im intrigued enough by the thought of two 12-0 teams meeting in the finals that I'm willing to forgive some dirty play. Against the Spurs. If Cleveland tries any shit, to hell with them.
 

Hagios

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It's been said before, but the prospect of two 12-0 teams meeting in the finals drives home the point that for the good of the game, the league needs to get rid of max contracts.
 

jon abbey

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It's been said before, but the prospect of two 12-0 teams meeting in the finals drives home the point that for the good of the game, the league needs to get rid of max contracts.
Get rid of salary caps all together, do it like baseball does it. We need more superstar teamups, not fewer.
 

j-man

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NBA needs to contact 6 Teams Milw Mem orl NO Sac Minn move the brooklin nets to SEA

make GS trade Thompson make Cle trade Love put GS Cle over the cap and make SA over the cap as well
 

jon abbey

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Also the easiest fix for the playoffs is keep the schedules the same (for now) but just take the best 16 records in the league, regardless of conference, and seed 1-16. In years like this and last where there is a major dropoff after the top 4 teams in the league, it would be nice if two of them didn't meet in the second round.
 

Sam Ray Not

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Kawhi officially ruled out for Game 3. Zaza Samuelsson can eat shit.
Gregg Popovich, too (much as I love Pop). No reason a player who had badly turned his injured ankle ten minutes earlier by stepping back into his own bench needed to be on the floor in the first place.

Mostly, just tough luck for hoops fans with no real horse in the race.

Still: never count out Pop and the Spurs. This is the same Kawhi-less team that went into Houston with the Rockets facing elimination and everyone assuming a Rockets blowout... and won by 40.
 

tims4wins

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Also the easiest fix for the playoffs is keep the schedules the same (for now) but just take the best 16 records in the league, regardless of conference, and seed 1-16. In years like this and last where there is a major dropoff after the top 4 teams in the league, it would be nice if two of them didn't meet in the second round.
What would this have looked like? I think the Celts would have been the 4th seed, and Cleveland, Utah, and the Clips would be tied for the 5-7 slots. Celts would likely have been bounced in the 2nd round against any of those teams as the 5 seed. Anyway.
 

BigSoxFan

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Gregg Popovich, too (much as I love Pop). No reason a player who had badly turned his injured ankle ten minutes earlier by stepping back into his own bench needed to be on the floor in the first place.

Mostly, just tough luck for hoops fans with no real horse in the race.

Still: never count out Pop and the Spurs. This is the same Kawhi-less team that went into Houston with the Rockets facing elimination and everyone assuming a Rockets blowout... and won by 40.
And it's the same Spurs team that lost by 100 in Game 2. They'll play better at home, might even squeak out a win, but this series was over before it began because of 1 stupid play. That just sucks.
 

jon abbey

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What would this have looked like? I think the Celts would have been the 4th seed, and Cleveland, Utah, and the Clips would be tied for the 5-7 slots. Celts would likely have been bounced in the 2nd round against any of those teams as the 5 seed. Anyway.
No, under a different system, pretty obviously the Cavs would have tried harder during the season and been 3rd or 4th, they were 23-23 after January 8th. It warps the entire season when Cleveland knows they basically won't be challenged until the Finals, 34-4 now in Eastern Conference playoff games since LBJ came back.
 

NoXInNixon

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Also the easiest fix for the playoffs is keep the schedules the same (for now) but just take the best 16 records in the league, regardless of conference, and seed 1-16. In years like this and last where there is a major dropoff after the top 4 teams in the league, it would be nice if two of them didn't meet in the second round.
The problem with this is that there would be a lot more playoff series between teams three time zones apart. That's the real reason for conferences and unbalanced schedules.
 

tims4wins

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No, under a different system, pretty obviously the Cavs would have tried harder during the season and been 3rd or 4th, they were 23-23 after January 8th. It warps the entire season when Cleveland knows they basically won't be challenged until the Finals, 34-4 now in Eastern Conference playoff games since LBJ came back.
The problem with this is that there would be a lot more playoff series between teams three time zones apart. That's the real reason for conferences and unbalanced schedules.
Agree x 2
 

jon abbey

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The problem with this is that there would be a lot more playoff series between teams three time zones apart. That's the real reason for conferences and unbalanced schedules.
Hmm, by a quick count, this year there would be 5 Eastern time zone teams and 3 Pacific time zone teams, the other eight in the middle. With all of the off days in the playoffs, this seems like less of a problem, but they could easily switch to a 2/3/2 system to help if needed.
 

Tony C

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The whining isn't really going to die down. Were it not for the dirty play, we'd have a 1-1 series going back to SA for 2 games. Spurs may surprise and win both at home but my guess is a split and a series conclusion in Game 5, which means that this play could potentially cost us some great Game 6 or 7 excitement. I'm sure Warriors fans are perfectly fine with this but it sucks for everyone else.
This. Really sucks for a basketball fan. Fuck Zaza and the Warriors.
 

johnmd20

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No, under a different system, pretty obviously the Cavs would have tried harder during the season and been 3rd or 4th, they were 23-23 after January 8th. It warps the entire season when Cleveland knows they basically won't be challenged until the Finals, 34-4 now in Eastern Conference playoff games since LBJ came back.
34-4. I thought that was a misprint. What a hilarious, depressing stat.
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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Spurs keeping it relatively close in the first half versus Golden State. Davis Bertans looks like another keeper for San Antonio and Manu is having a turn back the clock type half. On the other side, the resurrection of JaVale McGee continues with 16 points in 11 minutes. If I am the Celtics, I seriously look at him this offseason. As much as the Warriors are a great landing spot for his career resurgence, the Celtics, with their established management and team culture are another place where he can likely thrive.
 

Kliq

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Spurs keeping it relatively close in the first half versus Golden State. Davis Bertans looks like another keeper for San Antonio and Manu is having a turn back the clock type half. On the other side, the resurrection of JaVale McGee continues with 16 points in 11 minutes. If I am the Celtics, I seriously look at him this offseason. As much as the Warriors are a great landing spot for his career resurgence, the Celtics, with their established management and team culture are another place where he can likely thrive.
Yeah the Celtics shouldn't get McGee unless it's a dirt cheap contract. We've had this discussion before, the only people to ever enjoy the McGee experience are people who expect very little out of him.
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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Yeah the Celtics shouldn't get McGee unless it's a dirt cheap contract. We've had this discussion before, the only people to ever enjoy the McGee experience are people who expect very little out of him.
I know we've had this discussion before but the topic isn't closed imho. People grow and mature. McGee clearly came into this season with a level of dedication and seriousness that he had never shown before in his career.

He still won't command a lot of money next year because of his aforementioned issues. However he possesses skills that will be in demand and are valuable to the Celtics. Both sides could do worse than to explore a fit.
 

Devizier

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What's remarkable is that it's pretty safe to say that Lebron and the Cavaliers coasted big time this season.

And yet he still put up 26/8/8 over 74 games.
 

BaseballJones

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If both teams go 12-0 heading into the Finals, with this being the third straight year they're facing each other, with both teams winning one series, and with them being clearly the best two teams in the NBA (you could debate a healthy Spurs vs. Cavs I suppose), this finals should be epic for anyone who is a basketball fan and not just a Cs only fan.

I know neither conference finals series is over yet but...well.....
 

jon abbey

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I'll believe this year's Cavs can play with this year's Warriors when I see it.
 

Sam Ray Not

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Worse than what Zaza did, latest chapter:


Same knee in which Steph strained his MCL in last year's playoffs.
 

Sam Ray Not

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So, what is the purpose of this post exactly?
I guess just to show how incredibly common that type thing of is? And I suppose to quash any potential narrative that the Warriors have a tolerance for or a culture of goonery that the Spurs and other teams do not (not that I think anyone here really buys into that stuff, beyond just being bummed for Kawhi and sorry that we all probably missed what could have been an epic WCF).

I'm also totally open to an argument that what Dedmon did here was less egregious than what Zaza did. My sense is that it's significantly worse in term of its potential to cause serious injury, but since you guys are almost certainly more objective than I am, I'm curious what you think.
 

BigSoxFan

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I guess just to show how incredibly common that type thing of is? And I suppose to quash any potential narrative that the Warriors have a tolerance for or a culture of goonery that the Spurs and other teams do not (not that I think anyone here really buys into that stuff, beyond just being bummed for Kawhi and sorry that we all probably missed what could have been an epic WCF).

I'm also totally open to an argument that what Dedmon did here was less egregious than what Zaza did. My sense is that it's significantly worse in term of its potential to cause serious injury, but since you guys are almost certainly more objective than I am, I'm curious what you think.
To start, I think that Dedmon and Aldridge were clearly retaliating for the Zaza play. Whether they did it on their own or with some kind of *wink* *wink* approval from the coaching staff, we'll never know. I'm not big on the retaliation stuff but Zaza clearly instigated this. I've watched a ton of Spurs games and I've never noticed this kind of stuff outside of Bowen.

As for the Dedmon play itself, I didn't notice it in real time but it's a real chickenshit play. Going after someone's knees is total bullshit no matter how angry or justified you think it is. I'm glad Curry didn't get hurt because the last thing we need as sports fans is to have the NBA Finals ruined as well.

But I guess my ultimate point is that I don't think it's fair to compare these plays in isolation. If Zaza doesn't do his thing, you likely don't see any of this stuff from the Spurs. Now, a team like the Spurs (as classy as they seem to be) needs to avoid the 2 wrongs make a right approach.

You don't go at knees. Have some solid contact on layups. Play extra physical. Don't go after knees or ankles because you instantly lose the right to complain when you follow suit.
 

DannyDarwinism

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Worse than what Zaza did, latest chapter:


Same knee in which Steph strained his MCL in last year's playoffs.
Yikes, that's awful. I thought the Zaza play was reckless, at best, and more likely than not had some intention behind it, but this is an escalation for sure. Kawhi being out sucks for everyone who loves basketball, but hopefully there's no more of this shit.
 

DJnVa

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Tickets tonight down do $45. Spurs fans do not believe in miracles.