Pariah Posted May 17, 2021 Report Share Posted May 17, 2021 According to Los Angeles Lakers forward Jared Dudley, the Lakers winning the NBA Championship “will be the hardest challenge any team has ever had in NBA history”. Cue Pariah playing the world's tiniest violin in sympathy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclevlad Posted May 23, 2021 Report Share Posted May 23, 2021 So is Mr. P a happy camper? For someone often discussed as one of the best players in the league, Anthony Davis has laid more eggs in playoff games than I can count.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pariah Posted May 23, 2021 Report Share Posted May 23, 2021 I don't really actually follow basketball that closely. I just hate the Lakers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclevlad Posted May 23, 2021 Report Share Posted May 23, 2021 That's enough today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pariah Posted May 24, 2021 Report Share Posted May 24, 2021 Over in that other sport, the Colorado Avalanche finished a four-game sweep of the st. Louis Blues. Probably facing the Vegas Golden Knights (who are currently up 3-1 on Minnesota) next. The winner of that series will be the prohibitive favorite to win the Stanley Cup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclevlad Posted May 24, 2021 Report Share Posted May 24, 2021 Hockey is simply a dance prelude to a pathetic attempt at an MMA match. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starlord Posted June 1, 2021 Author Report Share Posted June 1, 2021 Many NBA fans need to be repeatedly punched in the face and grow the bleep up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pariah Posted June 1, 2021 Report Share Posted June 1, 2021 Just now, Starlord said: Many NBA sports and pop culture fans need to be repeatedly punched in the face and grow the bleep up. Fixed that for ya. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclevlad Posted June 1, 2021 Report Share Posted June 1, 2021 9 minutes ago, Starlord said: Many NBA fans need to be repeatedly punched in the face and grow the bleep up. Was just thinking about that some more. Ernie Johnson commented that it's been a surprisingly large outbreak. USA Today's For the Win recounted 6, and this is just in the freaking first round...what, a bit over 20 games right now. Now maybe *some* of this is the extra attention implicit with playoff games, but it certainly feels like there's more to it. I suspect the racial slurs at Morant's parents happens more often than we might expect...which isn't condoning it by any means...but that's still 5 physical incidents in a very tiny window. But doing a bit of reading, perhaps some of this is the extra attention, as I've found several comments that bad fan behavior is a notable problem for the NBA. Related news...the Utah Jazz banned 2 spectators for heckling Russell Westbrook in 2019. The fans filed a $100M defamation and distress lawsuit against Westbrook and the Jazz. The suit got tossed out by a Utah judge last week. Pariah 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pariah Posted June 1, 2021 Report Share Posted June 1, 2021 I wish I were surprised by this development. But hey, if you can storm the Capitol building, why not an NBA court? This world has lost its collective damn mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclevlad Posted June 2, 2021 Report Share Posted June 2, 2021 Not the whole world. Just half. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pariah Posted June 2, 2021 Report Share Posted June 2, 2021 Report: Celtics GM Danny Ainge stepping down, coach Brad Stevens to become head of basketball ops Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclevlad Posted June 2, 2021 Report Share Posted June 2, 2021 I was watching other games until very late but...Damien Lillard was SMOKING at the end of regulation and through the overtimes. 5 crazy-hard 3's nailed in a row...one to tie the game at the end of regulation, the rest to keep them afloat. 6 for 8 total in OT, team's final 17 points. But the Blazers were done in by some careless play, and poor defense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclevlad Posted June 4, 2021 Report Share Posted June 4, 2021 Suns come out hot. Davis' groin injury isn't close to healed; the pain forces him out. Suns stay hot. Lakers roll over and show their bellies. Mid 2nd, it's 48-19 Suns. Wonder what Shaq will have to say after this one, assuming things don't change *dramatically*. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pariah Posted June 4, 2021 Report Share Posted June 4, 2021 1 hour ago, unclevlad said: Suns come out hot. Davis' groin injury isn't close to healed; the pain forces him out. Suns stay hot. Lakers roll over and show their bellies. Mid 2nd, it's 48-19 Suns. Wonder what Shaq will have to say after this one, assuming things don't change *dramatically*. The great thing about this is that it guarantees that the Lakers will have the shortest reign as NBA champions in league history. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclevlad Posted June 4, 2021 Report Share Posted June 4, 2021 I think the Laker medical staff is also going to have some questions to answer. OK, perhaps AD was just proving House's aphorism that patients always lie, but he wasn't moving worth a damn from the start. His inability to contribute on offense or especially defense likely fueled the Suns' start; when he left the court, the Lakers were seriously deflated, the Suns buoyant. 6 and a half left, Suns were up 7; end of the first quarter it was 22, and the first 4 minutes of the second was another 12-5 burst. And that was basically it. Lakers played better and made it respectable, but never got closer than, I believe, 11. Me, I'm glad LeBron's out. For several years now, he acts like he's larger than the game. That's 2 of the 3; Knicks were better but I think we saw how soft the East really was, below the top 3 teams. Now if the Clippers get knocked out, it'll be my dream trifecta. So, Nuggets vs. Suns. Game 1 is Monday night. Not sure Denver will make a real dent but I expect it'll be entertaining. Pariah 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pariah Posted June 4, 2021 Report Share Posted June 4, 2021 Meanwhile in the West, the Jazz await the winner of the Mavericks and Clippers. I have to say, I would find it entertaining to see both LA teams out in the first round. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclevlad Posted June 4, 2021 Report Share Posted June 4, 2021 Oh, what I love is, LOTS of people feel the Cips tanked at the end of the season, and there's good reason to think so. So they go out and tank, then LOSE in the first round? Delicious. The other thing to watch will be how much churn this postseason will create. Stotts may be out after *another* first round exit, particularly with the complete inability to get any buy-in to play defense. If the Clips do get knocked out, the Kawhi/George situation fails. LOTS of money there. Lakers have a ton of free agents; not Davis or LBJ, but you don't make a deep playoff run very often with just those two. They did get the help in the bubble run; but on balance, nowhere near enough this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pariah Posted June 7, 2021 Report Share Posted June 7, 2021 LeBron and the Lakers are out in the first round. The Clippers are still in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclevlad Posted June 10, 2021 Report Share Posted June 10, 2021 Clips are still in, but for how much longer is an open question. The post-season coaching carousel is cranking away strongly, with 1 moving into the front office and now 3 more being canned. And if things continue, there might be 2 more. Budenholzer's been getting sharp criticism for how the Bucks have lost, and for seemingly being unable to move the Bucks forward. Excellent regular seasons, yes, but very poor playoffs. This caught up to Terry Stotts; I haven't heard anything but it wouldn't surprise me that if the Nets sweep the Bucks, Bud's out. They're fallling behind now. The other is Ty Lue with the Clips. You can't drop major bucks on PG and Kahwi and have their playoff track record. Blaming the coach probably isn't fair here, but that hardly matters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclevlad Posted June 12, 2021 Report Share Posted June 12, 2021 Nuggets are gonna have to consider some changes. Down 0-2, you can't lose game 3 or it's fundamentally over. And this was the night they celebrated Jokic winning the MVP. But they're laying an egg. The starting guards...ok, well, both their real starting guards are out. The forwards...Aaron Gordon's a support-style power forward but he's not adding enough. Much worse, Michael Porter Jr. is *supposed* to be a scoring option; it's his major talent. Gordon is 2-10. Porter Jr. is 4-12. Jokic has 30 points and 19 rebounds as we hit the 2 minute mark with Denver now down 17...and therefore, game over...the other 4 starters combined have 27 and 11. Suns have 3 straight garbage-time wins...17, 25, and ended at 14 tonight, but it wasn't that close. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclevlad Posted June 13, 2021 Report Share Posted June 13, 2021 It's beginning to look like the story of this year's playoffs is health. Harden's basically missed all 4 games; Kyree had to leave today. Nets probably can't win if both are still out. Danny Green is a notable contributor for the Sixers; he's out for the rest of the series with the Hawks. I don't think that will matter in the end; I don't think the Hawks can stop the Sixers often enough. BUT if Embiid has issues, and he's been looking dinged up...who knows. Mitchell's ankle is a question mark, and they need him. Which all means the Suns should just put the Nuggets down tonight. Don't take unnecessary chances. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclevlad Posted June 14, 2021 Report Share Posted June 14, 2021 Cue the intro from Hell's Bells.... and... Break out The Brooms.... Break out The Brooms.... The biggest problem facing the Nuggets in the off-season is going to be self-assessment. There are some contributing players like Barton that can be free agents, but they aren't too bad there. But Jamal Murray's injury meant that their playoff run wasn't likely to be long at all. Porter Jr was reportedly hampered with back injuries...but that was also what cost him his one year in college. And he needed surgery. So there's an alarming pattern there, given that he doesn't turn 23 til the end of this month. At least the Nuggets didn't roll over this time as they did in game 2. Down 15 at the end of the 3rd, they made a game of it.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starlord Posted June 14, 2021 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2021 There was only a 72 day layoff between last season and this season and this season, while on 72 games, was greatly condensed with several back-to-backs or only 1 day off between games. This could be a factor with all the injuries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclevlad Posted June 14, 2021 Report Share Posted June 14, 2021 I'd be inclined to think it was the compressed schedule more than the short gap. It was that short only for the Lakers and Heat. Teams that made the playoffs, but lost in, let's say even the 2nd round...they played, what, about 20 games total between the play-in period and their playoff games. at most. The Olympic team camp is scheduled to open July 6th...with the NBA Finals not even starting until July 8th. They end the 22nd, if it goes 7...and opening day in Tokyo is the 23rd. OK, so, anyone in the Finals will have to pass on the Olympics. Story on NBC.com says LeBron and AD have already declined due to injury issues. If there's something to the compressed schedule causing some of these problems, that'll likely mean more don't. And last...from the NBC story about the Olympic team: Quote All teams in Las Vegas will be taking part in what USA Basketball described as “comprehensive health and safety protocols … including mandatory and regular COVID-19 PCR testing, administered to athletes, coaches, officials and staff in accordance with FIBA and USA Basketball recommendations and CDC guidelines.” THAT may turn many NBA players off, just from not wanting to deal with all that for another 6-8 weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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