NBA playoffs thread

[thelasallelunatic]

TJ McConnell made a conference final before the Sixers.

Listen, I didn't want to see the Knicks decimated by injuries, but props to the Pacers. Randall should have gotten his shoulder fixed in January. I hope the Nova Knicks can bounce back and the Sixers beat them.

Fuck Lebron and Fuck the Celtics!

[thelasallelunatic]

I'm gonna rant a little bit because I'm a bottle of red deep, some grappa, and a few summer shandy, but here it goes...

I fucked up our roster last night with Efe out, and the Greek in, some of that is the half dozen Euro Explorers, some of it is the fluidity of the portal, but I will make good on it with this post.

I've never expected 2 road teams to get beat in game 7, but Denver proved to be absolutely flimsy. Blowing a 20 point lead in the 2nd half, at home, in high altitude? Fuck out of here. Joker better get some cardio work done this summer.

The Knicks finally got beaten by fatigue and the injury bug, but they were beaten in the first half as well. But D and Neumann, don't hang your head, you got something good up the turnpike.

From a championship standpoint, it's the Celtics to lose. The Pacers are overmatched and neither of the teams out west are ready. So unless one of these teams knock off boston, these playoffs aren't gonna be memorable.

Finally, I think the way to go in building a team is abundantly clear. It's not star hunting, it's not 3 max players, it's not signing a bunch of guys in their mid 30s. It's having guys that can play off the bench, having a team that can play a certain style, players that can fit, etc...so if the Rocket man GM thinks he's going to sign Jimmy (my favorite player), Paul George, or Lebron, and get any closer to the title, he's sorely mistaken.

Draft well, and build a team that fits. Get in shape, and try to stay healthy.

[thelasallelunatic]

Bill Walton dies of cancer at 71...right as the Pac 12 disbands.

[thelasallelunatic]

Bronny is only going to work out for the Suns and Lakers.

Gotta love a kid that's not an NBA player dictating this like he's Porzingus not working out for the Sixers.

The Clutch machine is powerful.

[thelasallelunatic]

Dallas wins in a 5 game gentlemen's sweep. We have Mavs vs Cs...I will be betting the Mavs. The value is on Dallas, my feelings on the Celtics not withstanding.

A week off until the finals. It could've been 9 days. I know it would never happen, but if I were the NBA, I'd talk to ABC about moving game 1 up to Sunday or Monday. I don't think basketball is a game that plays well if the teams are sitting for 7-10 days.

Lastly, can we stop the Antman vs Jordan talk? We can revisit it in a decade, but guy has had a month of elite basketball. It's just stupid at this point.

[gymrat67]

T.J. McConnell puts on absolute clinic against NovaKnicks. 

[thelasallelunatic]

I'm betting the Mavs for the series.

[thelasallelunatic]

Hurley is staying at UConn...golf clap

[thelasallelunatic]

The logo died today. RIP Jerry West.

[JoeFedorowicz]

Hot take replace the logo with a Kobe logo

[MisterD]

Might be your worst idea here.

[GlitterBro #2]

Make it Barkley and I'm in

[calsufan]

Jun 12, 2024 10:12:31 GMT -5 GlitterBro #2 said:

Make it Barkley and I'm in

The question is could they fit Barkley in the logo? He is one of my all time favorite Sixers along with Andrew Toney, The Doc and Bobby Jones.

[MisterD]

Maybe it could be this where the one finger is known to represent the maximum number of playoff rounds he'll win in a given season?

[calsufan]

Jun 12, 2024 10:33:23 GMT -5 MisterD said:

Maybe it could be this where the one finger is known to represent the maximum number of playoff rounds he'll win in a given season?

TROLL ALERT!

[JoeFedorowicz]

Jun 12, 2024 10:05:19 GMT -5 MisterD said:

Might be your worst idea here.

Would love to know why a logo developed over 50 years ago featuring a player not revered by anyone currently playing should remain. The guys on the court...idolize Kobe. If it's not going to be Michael Jordan (and it won't be)...Kobe should be the next one on there.

[GlitterBro #2]

Jun 12, 2024 10:51:15 GMT -5 JoeFedorowicz said:

Jun 12, 2024 10:05:19 GMT -5 MisterD said:

Might be your worst idea here.

Would love to know why a logo developed over 50 years ago featuring a player not revered by anyone currently playing should remain. The guys on the court...idolize Kobe. If it's not going to be Michael Jordan (and it won't be)...Kobe should be the next one on there.

This would raise the ire of some people in the "me too" era based on the 2003 allegations and the out-of-court settlement in 2005. He lost some endorsement deals after that and in 2018 at the height of "me too", he was removed from the panel in a film festival based on complaints from people about these allegations. I doubt the NBA would want to deal with this, regardless of his basketball abilities.

[MisterD]

Maybe the NFL can have a Ray Lewis logo. Leagues that aren't the NHL don't print money by going around making totally unforced errors.

[MisterD]

(With just a minute of hindsight, Roethlisberger was the obvious analogy there.)

[explorerburger]

I worked with Jerry about 15 years ago. He was a total gentleman and generous to a fault, but also a bundle of contradictions. It was an awesome experience, which can't be said about working with all athletes.

Jerry had a complex relationship with the logo. He resented that the league refused to acknowledge that it was his image, so he would tell everyone that he didn't care. But I know he did.

He was consistent about his willingness to surrender the logo, and for whatever it's worth, I believe that Kobe would have been his pick to follow him.

[JoeFedorowicz]

Jun 12, 2024 11:05:36 GMT -5 MisterD said:

(With just a minute of hindsight, Roethlisberger was the obvious analogy there.)

Not that obvious. At least not to me. I think Ben was a bad guy. I think Kobe made a bad decision and maybe misread the situation. The NBA (players and admin) does not (and did not) view Kobe like the NFL (players and admin) view Ben. 

[MisterD]

It doesn't matter if only like 10% of people have reservations about Kobe, that's way too high a percentage for something league-wide. Its just not necessary.

[thelasallelunatic]

fadeawayworld.net/constructing-the-most-realistic-lakers-roster-for-the-2024-25-season

For anybody that wants or needs a laugh...

[theneumann64]

As much as I hate them, Celtics one win away from completing one of the most dominant postseason runs of all time (16-2, no losses after Game 2 of 2nd Round). Yes, you can critique the quality of their opponents, but it would still be pretty impressive.

(Vomit)

[thelasallelunatic]

At this point, I'm hoping for the sweep.

[JoeFedorowicz]

Jun 13, 2024 13:52:39 GMT -5 theneumann64 said:

Yes, you can critique the quality of their opponents, but it would still be pretty impressive.

They have the best team. It was a soft run, but their team is just better. That said, Jayson Tatum is the third best player on their team. I'm so tired of him being paraded about like he's a top guy in the league when he just isn't. 

Jaylen Brown is the best player on the team. J'rue Holiday is the best defender on the team. Porzingas might be the best offensive player on his team when he's out there. 

Tatum is just another guy who takes 25 shots a game and wants to be treated like a first team all nba guy. When all of the evidence points to the contrary.

[explorerburger]

So many teams tried to make Porzingas something we wasn't, then just....gave up on him.

But as option # 2 or #3, he is a demon.

[MisterD]

The funny thing is the Knicks still wouldn't reverse that trade if given the chance. Really worked out well for everyone except Dallas.

[lasallejohn]

[MisterD]

Me when that happened: