Not gonna lie that Lillard dagger shot from like 35ft was pretty awesome.
Printable View
Perhaps he has been reading this forum?
Stop letting nerds tell you how to play basketball....
— David West (@D_West30) May 11, 2019
Currently deliberating on whether Lillard's shot or Kawhi's was the better series ending buzzer beater from these playoffs.
I'm leaning Kawhi, because it was more heavily contested and it has that emotional weight for Toronto fans, as well as Kawhi's reaction to the shot and the fact that it teetered on the edge. The drama.
But obviously Lillard's was a longer shot, and there's something to be said for that cold conviction of just knowing you're going to drill it, and then doing so.
Edit: it's definitely Kawhi.That’s the first game-winning buzzer-beater in a Game 7 in NBA history.
— Micah Adams (@MicahAdams13) May 13, 2019
It’s the 2nd one in a winner-take-all game alongside Jordan’s “The Shot”
Randle makes that shot easily
Myth, do you NOT remember the Curry shot against the Pels? That was even more impressive.
1) It was LONGER
2) AD was flying across his face
3) He was fouled & it wasn't called & MOST importantly
4) It was to TIE the game. So, they LOSE if he doesnt make it. Toronto doesn't lose if Kawhi shot is missed. It's OT.
Fair enough, my bad. I should have phrased it better.
What I meant was: if that game is on the line and I get to pick the player, there are only maybe two or three other names in the league that I would be willing to trust to hit that shot, in those circumstances, more often than not. Obviously they could still miss, but I'd be willing to put my faith in them. I wouldn't put my faith in, say, Giannis, as much as I love him as a player, because he doesn't have the playoff experience and he isn't a very good shooter in general. I would put my faith in Lillard, Kawhi, and Durant to hit it, and if they missed I'd live with it knowing they were the best guys for the job.
This photo. Wow. pic.twitter.com/w1bWTgiru5
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 13, 2019
One of the biggest shots in Raptors history in four photos. pic.twitter.com/g8MIUUxm0b
— SLAM (@SLAMonline) May 13, 2019
Now that the series is over and they're eliminated, we can take a real look at what Philadelphia's 4 best players did in this series.
Embiid: 17.6 points, 8.7 rebounds, 3.2 assists, on 36.2% from the field and 32.04% from 3, 4 turnovers, on 34 minutes a game.
Simmons: 11.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, 4.9 assists, on 57.8% from the floor and 0% from 3, on 36 minutes a game.
Butler: 22 points, 7 rebounds, 5.6 assists, on 43.9% from the floor and 17% from 3, on 37 minutes a game.
Harris: 14 points, 9.2 rebounds, 3.8 assists, on 39.9% from the floor and 31.9% from 3, on 38 minutes a game.
That's not very good. There are some bright spots here and there: Harris rebounded pretty well, Simmons was overall efficient (at least partially due to his super low volume, but still), but that is not what you want from your 4 star players. Butler and Harris are free agents. Do the Sixers spend big to keep them after performances like this? Embiid was ill when it was convenient, but was perfectly happy to be a pretend aeroplane when he was winning: do we buy the excuses? Simmons was so timid, and given his imperfect fit with Embiid, do they look to move on from him? Or do they decide that Embiid's health is too unreliable, and move on from him and keep Simmons?
Lots of questions in Philly tonight.
I feel it will be very tough for Leonard to leave Toronto after that buzzzer beater. Had they just won the game not in that fashion imo it would be much different.
Disagree. It was a nice moment but all it did was propel them into the ECF.
Raptors get blown out 4-1 and Kawhi is not going to stay because of one buzzer beater that will be long forgotten about.
Would have to lose in 7 games minimum or the Finals for him to even think about staying
Kawhi just became a legend in Toronto. They can pay him $50 million more than anyone else. He is not leaving Toronto!
Is Kawhi Leonard already the best player to ever play for the Raptors? I'm serious.
Who's the competition? Vince Carter, Chris Bosh, DeMar Derozan?
2018-19 Kawhi: 26.6/7.3/3.3, 49.6/37.1/85.4 shoot splits, 25.8 PER, 9.5 WS, .224 WS/48, +14 net rating, 3.6 VORP, conference finals with insane buzzer beater. 3 most points in a single playoff series since the NBA/ABA merger, behind only Kareem in 1977 and Jordan in 1993. 25.8 PER.
VC's best year in Toronto, 2000-01: 27.6/5.5/3.9, 46/40/76 splits, +10 net rating, 6.8 VORP, 12.8 WS but he played more games, his WS/48 was only .208, 25.0 PER. Famously lost in the 2nd round against Philadelphia in a game 7.
Bosh's best year in Toronto, 09-10: 24/10.8/2.4, on 51/36.4/79.7 splits, +6 net rating, 25.0 PER, 2.7 VORP, 9.6 WS, .182 WS/48. Didn't make the playoffs.
Derozan, 2016-17: 27.3/5.2/3.9, 46.7/26.6/84.2 splits, +3 net rating, 24.0 PER, 1.9 VORP, 9.0 WS, .166 WS/48. Made the playoffs, got eliminated by Lebron James in a sweep in the second round.
Kwahi turned down the supermax in San Antonio with a team he'd already won a finals with and the finals MVP. He was willing to walk away from even more money with a storied franchise where he'd already been to the top.
I'm not saying he is 100% leaving but money ain't the only thing to some guys.
My predictions:
Kawhi stays in Toronto
Klay signs max to stay with Golden State.
Kemba signs max with Charlotte
KD and Kyrie sign with Knicks. Knicks trade with Pelicans for AD (Meat of deal is Dennis Smith Jr., Kevin Knox, Mitchell Robinson, and 2-3 1st round picks)
Cousins signs with Lakers. Boogie remains an injury prone punk.
Is Kemba eligible for the supermax? I don't think he is but I haven't checked.
Charlotte is so far away from winning, I think Walker bolts. He wants to win more than anything. If re-signs w/ Charlotte, he's w/ a losing team straight through his prime. I certainly could be wrong, but I think his inner competitor is greater than the $$$ difference.
Would you take Embiid and Simmons for AD?
I wouldn't. Maybe if a pic or two is thrown in and if there are no better offers like a shot at the first pic from the Knicks and their young guys or Tatum and Brown and multiple picks from Boston. Both of them and pics are better than the Lakers offer even though I liked Ingram before the clot issue. Embiid's inuries are worrisome. Will Ben ever develop some sort of outside shot?
No.
Edit: to explain why is pretty simple. I think Simmons is a good player who has years of good basketball ahead of him, but I don't get transcendent talent from him. Two years in a row now he's shrunk to nearly disappearing in the playoffs, and while he's still extremely young, I don't put my trust in him when I have better offers out there (which I think I do).
The real star of that trade is obvious: it's Embiid. He's the biggest talent out of the two, and when he's healthy he's brilliant. The problem is exactly that: when he's healthy. It's not like AD, where he's been called injury prone but what people mean by that is that he's prone to twist an ankle or sprain a thumb and miss five games. Embiid is injury prone in the serious way, where he might become useless over the course of a single season, and never recover. His knees are wrecked. His back is bad. Yes, we have a good trainer now but I don't want to bet the farm on the 50/50 chance that Joel Embiid's body doesn't disintegrate into dust in the next two years.
Embiid and the Pels former training staff.
https://static2.cbrimages.com/wordpr...finity-war.png
Yea I agree. The Raptors have a great duo to build around with Kawhi and Siakim.. As long as they have those 2 they will always be one other star away from serious championship contenders. They can get on the trade market for guys like Conley, Beal, and etc. to improve that team. He has just as good of a chance to win with the Raptors as any team he would be joining this offseason. Plus when you factor in the $ it is a big deal. Sure it’s a very real possibility he leaves but my $ is on him staying and that shot turning him into a legend win or lose the ECF is what convinced me.
This is a no brained and would never happen. I would trade AD for Simmons alone and adding Embid to the deal would be incredible. With Jrue and our draft pick we would have the potential to really create something special. Embid could be used as a great trade piece to bring in Beal? Tatum? Jrue/Beal/Simmons.. Jrue/Tatum/Simmons.. Yes please!!
Hey remember Josh smile Jackson? Y’all favorite Suns player,
https://www.barstoolsports.com/bosto...sisting-arrest