NBA playoffs thread

[MisterD]

Knicks shouldn’t call a timeout all series just to let Embiid perpetually stay out of gas.

[theneumann64]

It's gonna be a good series. Kind of amazing how little a historical rivalry there is between the Knicks and Sixers considering how long they've been in the league together and the whole NY-Philly thing. They haven't been good at the same time all that often. They've actually only played in the playoffs 4 times- 1968, 1978, 1983, and 1989. (If you go back to the '50's when the Sixers were still the Syracuse Nationals they played 5 times in that era, but I'm not counting that for these purposes).

[coqui900]

One of my biggest NBA pet peeves is how the Knicks are this revered, sainted franchise and aside from the early 70s and the late 90s they have been pretty bad to average.

That said, I really do love this Knicks team. I think this really shows what an incredible coach Jay Wright is. Plus, Kyle Lowry (one of my all-time favorite point guards) is getting possibly his last run.

[thelasallelunatic]

What's the over/under of missed games for Embiid? I'm going with 1.5.

[theneumann64]

Apr 18, 2024 8:27:02 GMT -5 coqui900 said:

One of my biggest NBA pet peeves is how the Knicks are this revered, sainted franchise and aside from the early 70s and the late 90s they have been pretty bad to average.

I don't think this is the case at all. People talk about the Garden, and the history of basketball in New York in general, but I don't think the Knicks get any real deference as a historically great franchise or anything.

[MisterD]

Not having Heat vs Knicks and Sixers vs Celtics is a pretty strong argument against "the NBA is totally fixed".

[nyalum]

I think the Knicks' depth at center will be crucial here. NYK has 2 starting-quality centers that can defend and use up 10 fouls on Embiid. OGA will probably guard Maxey most of the time. NYK fans should pray to God Robinson isn't on the foul line down the stretch in a close game.

[JoeFedorowicz]

Apr 18, 2024 9:04:55 GMT -5 nyalum said:

NYK has 2 starting-quality centers

I'm disagreeing with the bolded word. I think them and Precious get torched. The question is whether anyone else on the Sixers can score. 

[MisterD]

They don't have two Embiid quality because that's not really a thing but they're absolutely both starter level. Just how often the refs let Embiid dramatically throw his hands up or dive to the floor to get to the line will probably be the #1 factor in the series.

[JoeFedorowicz]

Apr 18, 2024 9:20:49 GMT -5 MisterD said:

They don't have two Embiid quality because that's not really a thing but they're absolutely both starter level. Just how often Embiid gets fouled doing normal basketball thing will probably be the #1 factor in the series.

FIFY

[MisterD]

defector.com/joel-embiid-didnt-get-the-officiating-memo

[thelasallelunatic]

Apr 18, 2024 8:41:01 GMT -5 MisterD said:

Not having Heat vs Knicks and Sixers vs Celtics is a pretty strong argument against "the NBA is totally fixed".

What about the Lakers free throw differential?

[JoeFedorowicz]

Apr 18, 2024 9:55:52 GMT -5 MisterD said:

defector.com/joel-embiid-didnt-get-the-officiating-memo

I don’t understand the argument. He was clearly fouled on two of three of those examples. He’s a giant with a high usage rate. He gets fouled doing basketball things. He’s not Trae Young stopping into guys.

[MisterD]

He gets fouled doing basketball things.

That's the sentence where we don't agree. He's not going up for a real basketball shot, he's moving upwards to make contact and get to the line. Something can be a foul and also not a basketball move.

[JoeFedorowicz]

When he gathers quickly and raises his arms up with the ball in them, do you think he can't shoot from that position? Or does his intent actually matter.

[MisterD]

I think he can shoot from that position but wouldn't shoot in that manner if not for the potential foul. No different than a soccer player going down in the box when they aren't in position to score hoping for the penalty, except with Embiid is over and over and over and over and ...

[JoeFedorowicz]

So fouls should be allowed in that gather as determined by Tony Brothers.

[theneumann64]

As long as Brunson gets the calls he should get then I got no problem. Sometimes they let him get the shit kicked out of him a lot more than they should.

[nyalum]

Apr 18, 2024 13:55:27 GMT -5 theneumann64 said:

As long as Brunson gets the calls he should get then I got no problem. Sometimes they let him get the shit kicked out of him a lot more than they should.

E.G. the OKC game when he basically got tackled into the basket stanchion and got no call for an and-one.

[MisterD]

Apr 18, 2024 13:31:40 GMT -5 JoeFedorowicz said:

So fouls should be allowed in that gather as determined by Tony Brothers.

The NBA said it was cutting down on foul hunting. We'll see if they cut down on foul hunting.

[lasallejohn]

They also made a “delay of game” call the other night that I’ve never seen them make. Tony Brothers and co. had an awful night.

[JoeFedorowicz]

Covered the 5.5 so hopefully it was a good bet for them

[theneumann64]

Article in the Inquirer today talking about what I was saying a little earlier- kind of insane how much there's NOT a historical rivalry between the 2 teams. I'd honestly never even heard about this broom thing.

www.inquirer.com/sixers/philadelphia-sixers-new-york-knicks-charles-barkley-broom-1989-20240419.html

Best eras of the Knicks were late 60's through early 70's, when the Sixers were in the doldrums (the Knicks last title was the year the Sixers won 9 games), then again for most of the '90's, when the Sixers were down. The '89 series was as the Sixers were headed downhill and the Knicks up, and they just happened to catch each other in the middle. Probably the main reason why I've never really harbored much ill-will towards the Sixers- the Celtics, Nets, Heat, Bulls, and Pacers are all far ahead on that list. Since I'm a Yankees fan I don't have a problem with the Phllies really either, and I'm not a huge hockey guy so it's not like I wake up every morning thinking about how much I hate the Flyers either.

[thelasallelunatic]

There's the Embiid injury we all knew was coming. Kahwi, Zion, Embiid, you can load manage the shit of all them, it doesn't matter, they can't stay healthy.

[thelasallelunatic]

Lebron is a bitch.

[MisterD]

Apr 18, 2024 8:34:18 GMT -5 thelasallelunatic said:

What's the over/under of missed games for Embiid? I'm going with 1.5.

So I modified this and offered a friend under 1.5 games missed + trips to the locker room and he passed. Turns out both right and super embarrassing for an Embiid fan.

[lasallejohn]

It’s crazy the Knicks still needed Miles McBride to go off to win a game with Embiid playing on 1 leg. Even if Knicks end up beating the Sixers, they’re done in round 2.

[JoeFedorowicz]

You grab three more defensive rebounds and probably win.

[nyalum]

Apr 21, 2024 4:37:22 GMT -5 lasallejohn said:

It’s crazy the Knicks still needed Miles McBride to go off to win a game with Embiid playing on 1 leg. Even if Knicks end up beating the Sixers, they’re done in round 2.

Point taken. Multiple guys stepped up, though. Josh Hart hit some huge 3s down the stretch and Robinson brought everything he had during his minutes. Bogdanovic also heated up.

[thelasallelunatic]

Apr 20, 2024 23:17:11 GMT -5 MisterD said:

Apr 18, 2024 8:34:18 GMT -5 thelasallelunatic said:

What's the over/under of missed games for Embiid? I'm going with 1.5.

So I modified this and offered a friend under 1.5 games missed + trips to the locker room and he passed. Turns out both right and super embarrassing for an Embiid fan.

D, you and I have went back and forth over the years over different issues, but it's money in the bank. He's not finishing this series. It may even be prudent for the Sixers to shut him down.