2021 NBA Playoffs Gamethread

Cellar-Door

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 1, 2006
34,457
Dame was inside the 3 point line with the ball and they didn't foul.... such a dumb move
 

jmcc5400

Member
SoSH Member
Sep 29, 2000
5,203
When future generations watch replays of this classic game, I hope they take note of the score of the game in the upper left corner and smile.
 

osori

Member
SoSH Member
Oct 8, 2009
2,302
I hope this is not the future of the Celtics : Tatum being inhuman and his teammates being trash and making dumb mistakes.
 

Cellar-Door

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 1, 2006
34,457
Dame deserves a better franchise. Like the C's.

(in my dreams)
Their refusal to break up him and CJ has been wild. It's obvious that one of the problems is that they can't defend at all with that backcourt. CJ isn't a good enough offensive player for them not to move him.
 

Cellar-Door

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 1, 2006
34,457
Dame did not take a shot in the last 2:30 of this game. That's insane. especially considering how many of those possessions were post TO or post FTs.
 

Kliq

Member
SoSH Member
Mar 31, 2013
22,667
Tough break for Dame, but its the same story for him. Portland goes all in on offense and never surrounds him with the defensive squad necessary to make up for a small PG who has to carry the entire offense. Jokic was also a beast in this game and showed why he was the MVP.

The series has kind of flown under the radar but I think its been a blast because these teams just run and gun and are led by a pair of amazing players.
 

ElUno20

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 19, 2005
6,055
They way it was spun on tnt was lebron leaving to start treatment. So yeah
 

Devizier

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 3, 2000
19,461
Somewhere
Well it certainly was a statement game for LeBron.

LeBron actually played well but it's an uphill battle without Davis. LA is being killed by Schroder
He is fucking terrible. You guys had me convinced that my eyes were deceiving me.
 

Kliq

Member
SoSH Member
Mar 31, 2013
22,667
He is fucking terrible. You guys had me convinced that my eyes were deceiving me.
He was very good in the game's LA won, scoring 24 and 20 points in the two wins. That is how it goes with him though, he is a streaky player but what LA needs right now with Davis shelved and LeBron not at 100% is another creator who can consistently carry the game at times, and he just isn't that player.
 

Kliq

Member
SoSH Member
Mar 31, 2013
22,667
The Suns have a chance to be the first team to knock LeBron out of the playoffs before the finals since the '10 Celtics.
 

SoxFanInPdx

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
3,246
Portland, OR
Woke up still pissed off about the Blazers game. They need to win Game 6. Dame's performance was wasted by a group of bums and a shitty coach in Stotts. No matter the outcome of this series, it's beyond time to ship CJ and he can take Stotts with him. Fuck.
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Dec 24, 2002
48,204
Woke up still pissed off about the Blazers game. They need to win Game 6. Dame's performance was wasted by a group of bums and a shitty coach in Stotts. No matter the outcome of this series, it's beyond time to ship CJ and he can take Stotts with him. Fuck.
There is a near term fix though it may not be easy. Nurk needs to not foul. I get its not simple when guarding the equivalent of CP3 with an extra foot of height but if he can just manage to stay out of foul trouble in these games, the Blazers would have a decent shot.
 

SoxFanInPdx

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
3,246
Portland, OR
There is a near term fix though it may not be easy. Nurk needs to not foul. I get its not simple when guarding the equivalent of CP3 with an extra foot of height but if he can just manage to stay out of foul trouble in these games, the Blazers would have a decent shot.
Agree with you, it isn't easy. They called some pretty tic-tac calls on Nurk in that 2nd half. They better get something out of the others on Thursday. That's all I know.
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Dec 24, 2002
48,204
Agree with you, it isn't easy. They called some pretty tic-tac calls on Nurk in that 2nd half. They better get something out of the others on Thursday. That's all I know.
Portland really missed Collins this series. He was never going to slow Jokic down but he would have been another capable body to throw out there and absorb some contact as well as fouls. Portland in a playoff series is terrifying because, as we have seen, they can score with anyone, even in the half-court (they had the highest points per possession in the regular season on ISOs) which is what happens with a lot of postseason possessions. Then they just need to get stops, which is easier said than done, especially with a guy like Jokic who is simply an elite artist at creating looks for his teammates.
 
Last edited:

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Dec 24, 2002
48,204
That's an absurd pass. His vision is something else.
If you watch the clip a bit more, you realize how unsolvable Denver's offense could really be with more shooting (or Murray back). Jokic is drawing a double on one side, Porter and Gordon are loaded up on the far corner and you have Morris and Rivers at the perimeter. Porter drops back while Gordon runs to the paint on that play. At that point, Jokic has a cutter going to the rim and three players on the perimeter with daylight. All he has to do is make a good pass. Instead he makes an absurd, ridiculous one.
 

ElUno20

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 19, 2005
6,055
Even half healthy Luka is miles better than kawhi + pg. This is an undressing.
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Dec 24, 2002
48,204
The Clippers are beastly on D. Its absurd.

Edit: Mavs have scored six points in the fourth with four minutes left!
 

Jed Zeppelin

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 23, 2008
51,289
Clips come all the way back only to miss a bunny after Pat Bev passed up what looked to be an open lane to the rim.
 

Euclis20

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 3, 2004
8,014
Imaginationland
I'm not sure what was worse, Beverly passing up that open layup or Kawhi airballing the 3 to tie. The Clippers would be ok with Luka being the best player in this series as long as Kawhi/George are the 2nd and 3rd best players on the floor, but too often they haven't been.
 

ElUno20

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 19, 2005
6,055
I hope this series wakes people up to the gap between Kawhi and PG and actual star level players. Those dudes arent there. Luka is destroying them and he's not even healthy.

If Kawhi and Luka switched teams, no doubt in my mind, Luka would be in the finals.
 

scottyno

late Bloomer
SoSH Member
Dec 7, 2008
11,304
I hope this series wakes people up to the gap between Kawhi and PG and actual star level players. Those dudes arent there. Luka is destroying them and he's not even healthy.

If Kawhi and Luka switched teams, no doubt in my mind, Luka would be in the finals.
Yup, they're definitely losing this series because those guys are only averaging about 55 points on over 55% shooting, how terrible.
 

lovegtm

Member
SoSH Member
Apr 30, 2013
11,996
Yup, they're definitely losing this series because those guys are only averaging about 55 points on over 55% shooting, how terrible.
Yeah, this is a problem with these roster-gutted superteams more generally, especially when they only have 2 stars, not 3. Your margin for error is really thin with the rest of the roster. If everything goes perfectly health-wise, and you get unexpected contributions from a Rondo, you get last year's Lakers.

Any health problems or chemistry issues or even just non-outperformance elsewhere on the roster, however, and you get this year's Lakers or the Clips of the last two seasons.
 
Is Philly without Embiid better than the Hawks? Feels like Atl have to be the favorites if he can't go.
Well, it sounds to me as though Embiid should be able to play. If he can play at all, even in a restricted capacity, the Sixers still have to be the strong favorites. Without him it might be closer to 50-50, but I'd still struggle to think of Atlanta as being favored.
 

scottyno

late Bloomer
SoSH Member
Dec 7, 2008
11,304
Yeah, this is a problem with these roster-gutted superteams more generally, especially when they only have 2 stars, not 3. Your margin for error is really thin with the rest of the roster. If everything goes perfectly health-wise, and you get unexpected contributions from a Rondo, you get last year's Lakers.

Any health problems or chemistry issues or even just non-outperformance elsewhere on the roster, however, and you get this year's Lakers or the Clips of the last two seasons.
Yeah, Kawhi has been spectacular, you could easily argue he outplayed Luka the first 4 games, George has been good except from 3, and then everyone else has been inconsistent or bad. They're really missing Ibaka.

Meanwhile, Dallas's entire roster can't miss for 3, it's not just Luka, he's shooting 43% for 3 and the entire team is shooting 42% on 35 3s a game, you won't win many games when you're spotting the other team that many points.
 

terrynever

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Aug 25, 2005
21,717
pawtucket
Is Philly without Embiid better than the Hawks? Feels like Atl have to be the favorites if he can't go.
Toss-up. It will be a fun series to watch. 76ers offense is more interesting without Embiid. Lots of ball movement, backdoor cuts and playmaking. Simmons and Harris can exploit mismatches. Both teams will try to push pace, especially when Maxey is on the floor for Philly. Capela should have fun inside and will take a beating from Dwight Howard until Dwight fouls out.

Simmons and Thybulle will both try to keep up with Trae on defense. Danny Green and Seth Curry not fast enough. Nobody is but Simmons and Thybulle have length.

Philly needs to defend home court in the first two games, then play hard and shoot well on the road, which is not always the case with these guys, especially the shooting part.