The 2nd Season - 2019 Playoff Thread

ifmanis5

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KL has been great but the Warriors have no rim protection at all and seem too tired to switch and chase.
Cook, Iggy, Cousins, Mckinnie are 5-21 FG.
 

coremiller

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The Warriors' defense after the first quarter has been awful. Way too many open shots allowed.
 

InstaFace

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If Toronto hadn't had the entire team go into a coma in the 3rd quarter of G2, giving up a 20-2 run, we might be watching a sweep tonight.
 

Red Averages

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Wow, this is really happening isn't it? Obviously huge for this year, but also...

Could have huge implications on free agency.

Is Durant more likely to leave now or stay -- if the narrative is that GS can't win without him suddenly, instead of him just being a great piece for them?
 

coremiller

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This has been a badly coached series by Kerr. Their defensive strategy had been poor. Way too much double-teaming that Toronto has exploited with quick passing to beat the rotations.
 

CreedBratton

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If Toronto hadn't had the entire team go into a coma in the 3rd quarter of G2, giving up a 20-2 run, we might be watching a sweep tonight.
Yup this should have been a sweep. Dynasties end weird & sooner then expected sometimes.

Do we consider 3-2 in the finals in these 5 trips a disappointment?
 

coremiller

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Also running Curry into the ground in Game 3 in a quixotic losing effort has really hurt them tonight.
 

lars10

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Yup this should have been a sweep. Dynasties end weird & sooner then expected sometimes.

Do we consider 3-2 in the finals in these 5 trips a disappointment?
I think losing an mvp type player before the finals is a pretty steep climb for anyone.. is there any doubt that with KD golden state goes right back to a huge favorite?
 

jmm57

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This one is far from over, but two of the wins have come against two of the worst finals teams I’ve seen. Last years Cavs and the year they had no Kyrie or Love.
 

DeadlySplitter

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lead is 11 and Toronto has made 9 more FTs than DA TOWN.

same amount of field goals made, Toronto has had more shot opportunities due to a 16-9 turnover disparity. so Toronto really should be up more.
 

scottyno

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This one is far from over, but two of the wins have come against two of the worst finals teams I’ve seen. Last years Cavs and the year they had no Kyrie or Love.
but they had to beat better teams than those cavs teams just to get to the finals
 

jon abbey

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This one is far from over, but two of the wins have come against two of the worst finals teams I’ve seen. Last years Cavs and the year they had no Kyrie or Love.
But they had to beat better teams each year in the West to get there, it’s not their fault the conferences were so lopsided until this season.
 

Sprowl

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Masai Ujiri deserves some serious splooge for putting this team together.
 

coremiller

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But they had to beat better teams each year in the West to get there, it’s not their fault the conferences were so lopsided until this season.
Yeah, 2016 OKC and 2018 Houston were probably better than any of the finals teams they played, even the 2016 Cavs team they lost to.
 

CreedBratton

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I don’t see how three titles in five years in a major sport is a disappointment.
Yup, agreed with everyone, you know that narrative will be out there. But, they definitely could have won 5 titles & been regarded with Celts & Bulls as the greatest dynasty in NBA history. That is gone now.
 

DeadlySplitter

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Curry & Thompson both have to play great 3 games in a row, 2 on the road, assuming KD is done. biggest hill they've had to climb in this run.
 

Kliq

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Brilliant game from Toronto attacking Golden State’s weaknesses. For a guy with significant baggage coming into these playoffs, Lowry put together two brilliant games on the road against the champs.
 

DeadlySplitter

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no way 3-2 in 5 Finals in a row is a disappointment. but I think everyone got caught up in the Warriors invincible mystique this year, including the actual players (Draymond Green) and there's some humble pie being served right now.
 

coremiller

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Brilliant game from Toronto attacking Golden State’s weaknesses. For a guy with significant baggage coming into these playoffs, Lowry put together two brilliant games on the road against the champs.
Lowry wasn't that good tonight. 3/12 for 10 points, 4 fouls, +5 in a game his team won 13.
 

Kliq

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Lowry wasn't that good tonight. 3/12 for 10 points, 4 fouls, +5 in a game his team won 13.
I thought he was tremendous working the pick and roll in the fourth quarter, and his D was pretty good on Steph.
 

jon abbey

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Have we ever seen a series with this much individual defensive talent on the two teams combined?
 

coremiller

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If the Warriors are going to get back in this series:

- they need to cut down the turnovers. 17 tonight, they need to cut that in half.
- Somebody besides the Splash brothers needs to hit some shots. After Klay/Steph, Looney had 10 points, all around the rim on finishes, and Green had 10. They were 3rd/4th in scoring. After them, the rest of the team combined for 17 points on 7/24 shooting, with 8 turnovers, and was 3/9 from the line.
- the defensive rotations need to be a lot tighter. They are giving up way too many open shots. The Toronto O is good, but not thaaatt good.
- Steph has to be better. When the other offensive options are so limited, 9/22 and 2/9 from 3 is not going to cut it. If he'd shot like that in Game 3 they would have lost by 30.

This reminds me a lot of the 2016 OKC series. Toronto's length and athleticism on D is causing them real problems. To win the Ws will need to slow down Toronto on offense + both Steph and Klay need to put up big numbers at the same time. Not impossible but with 2 games on the road it will be v. hard to do 3 in a row.

If KD comes back, who knows what happens.
 

Reverend

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KL, stoic as always, looking to finish the job.
KL saying, among other things, that he’s not doing it for the fans was pretty funny.

He was trying to elaborate on how the only goal is to win but it was odd to hear it come out while talking (along with not doing it for points, etc.).
 

ElUno20

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I'm not celebrating yet. I've seen these sons of bitches come from 3-1 down before.
 

BaseballJones

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Yup, agreed with everyone, you know that narrative will be out there. But, they definitely could have won 5 titles & been regarded with Celts & Bulls as the greatest dynasty in NBA history. That is gone now.
(1) they haven’t lost this series yet, and (2) who’s to say they don’t win a couple more titles before it’s all said and done?
 

Toe Nash

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If Toronto hadn't had the entire team go into a coma in the 3rd quarter of G2, giving up a 20-2 run, we might be watching a sweep tonight.
Or if they would have made a few more of their open looks in the 4th of that game. They must have missed like 8 wide open 3s in the last 6 minutes and they only lost by 5.
 

lovegtm

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(1) they haven’t lost this series yet, and (2) who’s to say they don’t win a couple more titles before it’s all said and done?
Definitely not counting them out of this series, but if KD leaves, the current core is not winning any more titles imo. They just don’t have enough paths to add depth around their big 3.
 

Devizier

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Definitely not counting them out of this series, but if KD leaves, the current core is not winning any more titles imo. They just don’t have enough paths to add depth around their big 3.
Unless they can S&T Durant to generate a trade exemption

Dunno if that can work with the current cap rules but that was one thought that jumped to my head
 

ifmanis5

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Reports are that KD still isn't ready:
https://www.rotoworld.com/basketball/nba/player-news/headlines/9070791?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
Here's the full quote from Brian Windhorst, speaking from inside Oracle Arena after Game 4: "Durant just isn’t ready. His body is not ready. The trainers don’t believe it, he doesn’t believe it. He tried to do some stuff at practice on Friday; it didn't work." ESPN's Jalen Rose also reported that KD's workout on Friday did not go as planned. "It didn't go well on any level. It did not go well on any level. I'm just going to keep it at that," said Rose.