2023 NBA Playoffs
- Thread starter BaseballJones
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okay that was fun for an instant. Flashbacks to our Indiana game a few seasons ago.
Not gonna watch the final exchange of free throws, I'm hitting the sack. You guys are a lot of fun to watch a game with.
Not gonna watch the final exchange of free throws, I'm hitting the sack. You guys are a lot of fun to watch a game with.
They got a reasonably wide open corner 3 from a pretty solid 3 point shooter. And their halfcourt offense has been abominable for about 20 minutes now. Can't imagine they get a better look to tie than that.
Wolves had a real chance. If Towns doesn't pick up that quick 5th or Ant was just slightly less terrible they win this.
Won the Towns minutes by a ton, but got killed when he was out.
Won the Towns minutes by a ton, but got killed when he was out.
And Towns hasn't scored since 2:39 left in the 3rd. 33 from Towns and Ant in a game that went to overtime, total trash.
Yeah, I get it, but he also sat a good chunk of that and he's on 5 fouls. He was +18, every other player was negative. He was -7 after coming back... they lost this game in the minutes he was out.
We don't know that they do better tonight with him. Anyways, you simply can't punch a teammate. They had the stones to do what GSW should have.
I think they play better offensively without Gobert. Rudy's probably laughing at how bad Anderson played though.
GObert has a long history of his team's being better when he's out in the playoffs. He's a non-factor on offense and in the playoffs teams stretch him out on D and he's far less effective.
Though LAL was maybe a good matchup since they can't shoot.
Though LAL was maybe a good matchup since they can't shoot.
But a much needed one. That was some ugly basketball. It just sucks when the Lakers win.
Sure, but at the end of the day he scored 24 points in 41 minutes, and none in the 4th quarter or OT (not like he carried the team when they needed it). And it's not like the foul trouble was random bad luck, he has to own his inability to stay on the court.
Maybe he grabs some of the Wolves' bricks in the 4th quarter (3-15) or OT (2-8).
Sure, he struggled down the stretch.... he also was BY FAR the best player for his team and the only reason they didn't lose by a good margin in regulation.
And his fouls... I mean some were bad, some were meh, if they called some of those every time AD would have been in trouble too, that's the game.
I'll take Conley here, in large part because he was the only guy who showed up in the 4th quarter (9 of their 12 points including the game-tying free throws).
It's too bad Slomo literally kicked away their chance to win in regulation, because he was really great for most of the game. 12 points and 13 assists, plus 4 steals and 4 blocks.
*edit - none of it matters, they lost because they got absolutely nothing from Edwards. KAT was great until he wasn't, role players gave them just enough (in addition to Anderson/Conley, Prince was solid despite the missed 3 at the end, Alexander-Walker and Noel gave them some good minutes off the bench). We can blame some of it on the absence of Gobert (meh) and McDaniels (yes), but if they get anything at all from Edwards, at any point, they win.
KAT is horrifically out of shape and had absolutely zero left the close out the 4th despite sitting a good amount for foul trouble.
Weird game in that he was the best player on the court and yet turned passive in the 4th and OT. They were killing him, justly, on TNT for not posting up Schroeder and Reaves when they had him on switches.
Hard to argue the point.
I don't know if he was out of shape or just terrified of picking up another offensive foul, but he was worse than Ant for the 4th quarter and OT.
I doubt that is conditioning. As mentioned in the game thread, KAT and the team have made a season out of these type of 4Q collapses when they look gassed bc they don’t know how to close out games.
He dominated the Nets in the 4Q like a week ago in a comeback win. He’s played some of his best games on the backend of B2B’s this year which wouldn’t be the case if it was a conditioning issue.
Hard to see the Lakers beating an actual team in a 7-game series, let alone 3 of such teams in a row.
That 4th by the Wolves was one of the most hilariously inept offensive performances I've ever seen. They weren't just missing looks; legitimately could not generate any advantages.
Made last year's 4th Q Celtics iso offense look like the Durant Warriors.
That 4th by the Wolves was one of the most hilariously inept offensive performances I've ever seen. They weren't just missing looks; legitimately could not generate any advantages.
Made last year's 4th Q Celtics iso offense look like the Durant Warriors.
Remember when the Chicago Bulls beat us twice, and they and Cleveland were the only teams to really give us a game for the first two months of the season? Man they really fell off.
The Heat this year look like a team with two really good players (Butler and Bam) and a bunch of role players who are playing 1-2 rotation slots above where they'd be useful. Herro as sixth man...solid. Herro as 30+ minute starter? Not so much. Strus as rotation shooter? Solid. As starter? Not so much. Gabe Vincent as third guard? Yes, as starter not so much. Oladipo looked good in playoffs last year--not sure what happened to him. Lowry was effective last night, but he looks washed so often now it's hard to rely on him at all. They play a style that's messy, and they are physical (I would argue generally dirty) but there's just not enough juice on that roster at this point.
The weird thing is, whom did they lose besides Tucker? It's a kinda big loss, but aside from that, it's the same roster.
Agreed, I can't really explain it. And other than Lowry it's not an aging thing----most of those guys are young/prime guys still and some (Vincent, Strus, Caleb Martin) are at an age you'd expect improvement more than decline.
Tucker does matter, in that it fills one of the starting slots wtih an actual NBA starting player. But the difference is way more than that, somehow....
Tucker does matter, in that it fills one of the starting slots wtih an actual NBA starting player. But the difference is way more than that, somehow....
I remember an old Joe Garigiola quote from the Game of the Week in the late 70's. I use it at work occasionally and nobody knows what I am talking about. "He comes from the Ray Burris school of hitting. Swing hard just in case you hit it." I collected his Topps cards just for that quote.
Amazing what a difference a year can make.
OFFICIAL: The Miami HEAT have re-signed guard Tyler Herro to a contract extension.
"Tyler Herro and the Miami Heat agreed on a four-year contract extension Sunday that a person with knowledge of the details said could be worth $130 million."
"And the move also means Miami’s core is locked up for years. Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, Kyle Lowry and now Herro all have multiple seasons on their deals with the Heat, who won 53 games last season, were the No. 1 seed for the Eastern Conference playoffs and went to Game 7 of the East finals before falling to Boston."
FWIW RAPTOR had Sam Hauser and Herro deadlocked in ratings this season.
They remind me of the Jazz of the recent past. A team that never made the necessary moves to improve and therefore got stale swimming in that mid-seeding purgatory. Like Utah did, it’s time to overhaul that roster and bring in some new energy.
RAPTOR also has White ahead of Tatum. It’s goes to show how valuable it is when a coach places you in advantageous situational matchups opposed to being forced to overexpose a player like Herro….and not that one player is “better” than another.
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Miami could probably get a Gobert-Mitchell haul for Bam and Jimmy, and then maybe rehab Herro's trade value putting up numbers on a bad team.
Herro is really good in the proper role though so I don’t see him necessarily being needed to be traded. He spent all the non-Butler games, and some of the Butler games, as a #1 option…..and that simply isn’t going to be his optimal role on a winning team.
But yeah, Miami can blow it up while also being one or the few true destinations left in this league to attract FA. They are in a golden spot if they choose to go that route of a quick retool and not necessarily a full rebuild.
Pretty good comp. They made their one asset-play for Lowry and that hasn't worked, he's just too old now to be the creator they need. So Herro---a nice third option---is supposed to be a number two, and down the line. Butler misses a lot of time and Bam just hasn't ever developed into the scorer they need (while he's great at a lot of things). So they are playing 1/4 of their schedule depending on Herro and Bam on offense with a weak supporting cast and that just doesn't cut it. Even when they are all healthy they are a scorer short.
It'll be interesting to see what they do. Butler has to be near the end of his peak, so there's a case to move him. But if you do that you take a big step back and you worry a bit it all falls apart. They probably are still hoping they can package Duncan Robinson's Contract and some picks to get a fallen star somehow.
Most of the starters are getting up there in age and wear. Butler sat out the first 6 minutes of the fourth last night and barely touched the ball at all after that. He's played a ton of high stress minutes and carried teams on his back. He's 33 now, he can't do it forever.
At least he'll always have that one time he took a 3-pointer that didn't go in. Truly a legendary and heroic moment.
Great take.
If they could coax a Rudy/Dono haul for Butler/Bam, they could be contending in 2 seasons since they are a FA destination after the Lowry contract expires. Cap flex/space is worth multiples to them.
Lowry is getting old, which is most of their decline. Hopped into the Time Machine against Atlanta though.
