Playoffs Thread

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Originally Posted by luckyman

So at the least, I think Houston will be yet another team looking for a head coach soon.

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It’ll be interesting to see who would even want to go there to coach Russell Westbrook and Harden who are stuck in their ways.

Is there anything more pathetic than Westbrook, down almost 30 in an elimination game, with only 9 points (at the time) on barely 30% shooting, telling Lebron James that he better double him?

There's a time to put the ego away.

What could a different HC even do? Where do the Rockets go from here?

They have £130m on the cap for next season already. $81m between Westbrook and Harden alone. Another $37m for Eric Gordon, PJ Tucker, and Robert Covington. That's 5 players and we're over the cap.

The only players there who might be attractive for another team are RoCo, Harden, and maybe Tucker. Very few people will want Westbrook or his contract, and Eric Gordon is not great, certainly not $18 per season for the next 4 years great.

Do they move Harden? That's basically putting the franchise into full rebuild mode. Can't really try and build around them differently using picks, they already used all of them to get rid of CP3.

I also think we're starting to see the danger of the supermax now.

Maybe teams should look at Houston, look at Westbrook, and say ''hey, maybe we should let someone else give $200m+ to the visibly declining star who's about to hit 30''

“We’re headed in the right direction.” - James Harden pic.twitter.com/zLNNeKMLyg

— David Grubb (@DMGrubb) September 13, 2020

So is Daryl Morey still considered a "genius" GM?

The Rockets should hire Gentry, because Gentry’s system is so money. We all know. We can testify.

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Originally Posted by luckyman

So is Daryl Morey still considered a "genius" GM?

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He's very good at certain things.

He's long been evidently awful at other things. Unfortunately, some of those things are very important.

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Originally Posted by Pelicanidae

He's very good at certain things.

He's long been evidently awful at other things. Unfortunately, some of those things are very important.

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Very much the Philadelphia of the West. Traded away all the positive assets and sank gigantic money into horribly depreciating assets

Denver comingback from 3-1 series with Clippers now too

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Originally Posted by Pelicanidae

He's very good at certain things.

He's long been evidently awful at other things. Unfortunately, some of those things are very important.

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Do you have a Twitter?

The 1 team that wins a title -- GM did a good job (or, got lucky/were gifted things/had benefit of market, etc)

The other 29, as they get eliminated -- that GM is dumb....I would have done this and this differently (so I am smarter)

Its such a shame they dont pick 30 of you guys to be GM's. 30 teams would win the title every year

I really like this Denver team. Big Honey is just a joy to watch. Nuggets vs Heat in the finals would be awesome!

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Originally Posted by PeliKhan

I really like this Denver team. Big Honey is just a joy to watch. Nuggets vs Heat in the finals would be awesome!

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Totally agree. I think the Heat are going to have a lot of trouble with the Celtics though, and it wouldn't surprise me if the Celtics ended up coming out of the East instead.

Jokic is one of the few players in the league that I don't really know how anyone could dislike. I get it if someone hates watching Harden, or Trae, or even Lebron. Jokic though? He's just pure fun.

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Originally Posted by Silverfoxx

Do you have a Twitter?

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Yeah but I don't really use it at all, so it's not worth following :hihi:

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Originally Posted by Pelicanidae

Totally agree. I think the Heat are going to have a lot of trouble with the Celtics though, and it wouldn't surprise me if the Celtics ended up coming out of the East instead.

Jokic is one of the few players in the league that I don't really know how anyone could dislike. I get it if someone hates watching Harden, or Trae, or even Lebron. Jokic though? He's just pure fun.

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Celtics vs Heat is a interesting matchup. Both teams are deep, fundamentally solid on both ends of the floor. Mostly young but with a CPL veteran leaders. I don't hate either one for making the finals. GOD I DON'T WANT THE LAKERS! It would be aweful for small market teams to see AD leave for the Lakers then immediately make the finals..

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Originally Posted by PeliKhan

Celtics vs Heat is a interesting matchup. Both teams are deep, fundamentally solid on both ends of the floor. Mostly young but with a CPL veteran leaders. I don't hate either one for making the finals. GOD I DON'T WANT THE LAKERS! It would be aweful for small market teams to see AD leave for the Lakers then immediately make the finals..

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I'm not really sure what I think about a Lakers/Nuggets matchup. LA is obviously the superior defensive team, but Jokic is such a unique matchup and I don't know if I trust LA's rim protection if they commit AD fully onto guarding him. If they don't commit AD fully then that means Jokic is going to have free reign on either a mismatch in size, or against someone like McGee on the perimeter, which is not a great look.

Then of course, one of the Lakers biggest problems is their lack of a wide-ranging number of perimeter defenders. Lebron's locked in a bit in the playoffs which helps, and AD has perimeter skills, so they can cover for a lot but what happens when Jokic, Murray, Harris, MPJ, etc, all provide the threat of a shot from the perimeter? Hard to know what they'll do with that.

On the other hand, Denver has no real defensive answer to Lebron or AD. Jokic isn't quite as bad as some people seem to think on defense, but he's certainly nothing special either, and I can't imagine Grant or Millsap becoming a lockdown answer to a driving Lebron.

In the end I can't bet against Lebron, so I think we might well see Lakers v Celtics in the finals. Wild.

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Originally Posted by luckyman

So at the least, I think Houston will be yet another team looking for a head coach soon.

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Well that's that.

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/...s-return-coach

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"It's with tremendous sadness and gratitude that my wife Laurel and I announce that our incredible journey in Houston has ended for now and that we'll be moving to a new chapter," D'Antoni told ESPN in a statement.

D'Antoni, whose contract expired with the end of Houston's season in the Western Conference semifinals on Saturday, turned down extension offers before the season.

He will be considered among a group of candidates for the Philadelphia 76ers' coaching opening, sources told ESPN.

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I wish I would've put money on Denver!

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Originally Posted by luckyman

Well that's that.

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/...s-return-coach

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Doc Rivers could become available too! If this keeps up

Also just FYI Mike Malone was one of our former assistant coaches during the Byron Scott era if I remember correctly.

Nevermind I see he got extended.

This is all setting up for a Lakers title. Darn

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Originally Posted by JJackisangry

This is all setting up for a Lakers title. Darn

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Nuggets match up better than Clippers. Problem is if the Nuggets decides to show up before game 4.

Nightmare

Lakers will win the title. I could bet easy money on it now

It is Game 7. And who is the best player on the court? It ain’t Kawhi Leonard, that’s for damn sure. It is @BeMore27. AGAIN!!!!

— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) September 16, 2020

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Originally Posted by Taker597

Nuggets match up better than Clippers. Problem is if the Clippers decides to show up before game 4.

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eh clippers blew leads and look unipsired. Lebron will not let that happen

Jokic is old school basketball. Fundamentals...Fundamentals....Fundamentals!!!!

I love it.

A huge part of why the Clippers lost this game was on coaching.

Why did Doc commit to playing Montrezl so much? I get that Montrezl is normally good but having him on the floor when Jokic was there was a nightmare every time.

Why did they always commit to the double on Jokic? Doing that means Murray can basically just walk into a pullup, and he did; over and over.

I get that it's hard to defend the Murray/Jokic duo; if you commit the double on Jokic he can orchestrate offense from it as well as anyone, cause of his passing prowess, and if you commit it to Murray then you basically just allow Jokic to go 4 on 3, which is never good for a defense.

But there was no real adjustment or creativity from Doc. Just kept throwing failure at the wall. Nuggets figured them out and nothing changed.

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Originally Posted by Speakthetruth

eh clippers blew leads and look unipsired. Lebron will not let that happen

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I also think that, for all the flaws AD has that people keep bringing up, you can double with AD and have him recover much more than you can with Montrezl. AD has that defensive capability and that mobility.

Look good to me https://t.co/nw3YU9TKFl

— Damian Lillard (@Dame_Lillard) September 16, 2020

:hihi:

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Originally Posted by Pelicanidae

A huge part of why the Clippers lost this game was on coaching.

Why did Doc commit to playing Montrezl so much? I get that Montrezl is normally good but having him on the floor when Jokic was there was a nightmare every time.

Why did they always commit to the double on Jokic? Doing that means Murray can basically just walk into a pullup, and he did; over and over.

I get that it's hard to defend the Murray/Jokic duo; if you commit the double on Jokic he can orchestrate offense from it as well as anyone, cause of his passing prowess, and if you commit it to Murray then you basically just allow Jokic to go 4 on 3, which is never good for a defense.

But there was no real adjustment or creativity from Doc. Just kept throwing failure at the wall. Nuggets figured them out and nothing changed.

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If only they had you on the coaching staff instead of Doc Rivers, Ty Lue, Sam Cassell and others.

Why are all the smart basketball minds confined to message boards instead of an NBA bench??

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Originally Posted by MichaelMcNamara

If only they had you on the coaching staff instead of Doc Rivers, Ty Lue, Sam Cassell and others.

Why are all the smart basketball minds confined to message boards instead of an NBA bench??

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Sorry for not asking you before giving my opinion. I should have known that before I, a dude on the internet, gave my opinion, I should have asked you: a guy on the internet, for permission.

Nobody cares Mac.

When was the last time Doc ran a play or they went at a specific matchup?

The Clippers' offense looks when you multitask while playing 2K and are barely purposeful about what you do.

— Cranjis McBasketball (@Tim_NBA) September 16, 2020

We've only seen 13 teams have 3-1 comebacks in NBA playoff history and the Denver Nuggets have two of them...in back-to-back series. UNBELIEVABLE

— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) September 16, 2020

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Originally Posted by MichaelMcNamara

If only they had you on the coaching staff instead of Doc Rivers, Ty Lue, Sam Cassell and others.

Why are all the smart basketball minds confined to message boards instead of an NBA bench??

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I almost always respect your knowledge and your obvious insight, but not when you act like this... not necessary and its not a good look on you...

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Originally Posted by MichaelMcNamara

If only they had you on the coaching staff instead of Doc Rivers, Ty Lue, Sam Cassell and others.

Why are all the smart basketball minds confined to message boards instead of an NBA bench??

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Yeah you right

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Originally Posted by ramsters60

I almost always respect your knowledge and your obvious insight, but not when you act like this... not necessary and its not a good look on you...

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If the NBA fan experience was like Mac wishes it was, you'd have like two people taking part in it and they'd just post raw box scores every game and make no comment. Only facts, no opinions allowed. Nobody is allowed to speculate, evaluate, extrapolate, or theorise. Cause we're all just nerds on the internet.

And that includes Mac, who is also just a nerd on the internet, but who seems to give himself a pass for reasons that I can only presume are ego related.

Well it’s not the Lakers but fans in LA and ESPN/ Adam Silver are in meltdown mode. That Clippers/Lakers match won’t happen.

OMG CLIPPERS!!! pic.twitter.com/dsaqZmKyue

— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) September 16, 2020

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Originally Posted by 13 - 3

Well it’s not the Lakers but fans in LA and ESPN/ Adam Silver are in meltdown mode. That Clippers/Lakers match won’t happen.

OMG CLIPPERS!!! pic.twitter.com/dsaqZmKyue

— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) September 16, 2020

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They can still get lakers and celtics

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Originally Posted by Speakthetruth

They can still get lakers and celtics

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Not happening if Jimmy Butler stays on a roll

Clippers should've bought Jimmy Butler's coffee. I heard it has anti-choking properties.

— Dino Maragay (@dino_mars) September 16, 2020

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Originally Posted by Pelicanidae

If the NBA fan experience was like Mac wishes it was, you'd have like two people taking part in it and they'd just post raw box scores every game and make no comment. Only facts, no opinions allowed. Nobody is allowed to speculate, evaluate, extrapolate, or theorise. Cause we're all just nerds on the internet.

And that includes Mac, who is also just a nerd on the internet, but who seems to give himself a pass for reasons that I can only presume are ego related.

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I just dont get how people who have literally zero experience in the field think they are smarter/know more, etc than a staff who does it full time and has over 100 years in the league combined. Like, how is that possible?

You really think you would give your 2 cents to Doc or Ty or anybody on that bench, and they'd go "Hmm....never thought of that. Thanks Pelicans Report guy!!"

Yes, if I had my way, people would discuss the sport, the game. But they wouldnt be foolish enough to think they are smarter than these guys. When Mike Malone or Vogel lose next round, you will come on here and talk about how they were foolish for doing this or that or the team was stupid for signing this guy, etc.

Its just so insane to me, because I know that if you sat in any NBA coaches room, it would take less than 5 minutes for you to realize that you dont know 1% of what the average NBA coach knows. None of us do. And yet, fans have such confidence that they know so much more than all these guys. Thats just bonkers to me

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Originally Posted by MichaelMcNamara

I just dont get how people who have literally zero experience in the field think they are smarter/know more, etc than a staff who does it full time and has over 100 years in the league combined. Like, how is that possible?

Thats just bonkers to me

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It's this simple, Mac.

If you don't want to hear people speculate, theorise, analyse, or comment on the game, the coaching, the strategies, and the playing, then get off a forum dedicated to talking about the game. That's what fans do and it's what forums are for.

If that annoys you, you're welcome to that perception: nobody is forcing you to come on here. But you're not helping yourself or anyone else by getting on here and just being a jerk to people who are talking about the game. Makes you come off as bitter and snide, and doesn't contribute towards healthy discussion. It's not like you're making the forum better or elevating the analysis by doing this, you're just making it worse.

:snacks::drink::al::snacks::al::al::snacks::drink:

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Originally Posted by MichaelMcNamara

I just dont get how people who have literally zero experience in the field think they are smarter/know more, etc than a staff who does it full time and has over 100 years in the league combined. Like, how is that possible?

You really think you would give your 2 cents to Doc or Ty or anybody on that bench, and they'd go "Hmm....never thought of that. Thanks Pelicans Report guy!!"

Yes, if I had my way, people would discuss the sport, the game. But they wouldnt be foolish enough to think they are smarter than these guys. When Mike Malone or Vogel lose next round, you will come on here and talk about how they were foolish for doing this or that or the team was stupid for signing this guy, etc.

Its just so insane to me, because I know that if you sat in any NBA coaches room, it would take less than 5 minutes for you to realize that you dont know 1% of what the average NBA coach knows. None of us do. And yet, fans have such confidence that they know so much more than all these guys. Thats just bonkers to me

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wanna know what seems crazy to me? two things actually... that you would spend 5 more minutes of your life trying to shoot down the natural essence of a forum like this and secondly..... that I would spend 5 more minutes of mine revealing my personal disappointment in you... stick to what you do best, because you do some things very well....

“We are just not accepting that somebody's better than us.” — Jokic

— Kendra Andrews (@kendra__andrews) September 16, 2020

Man of these playoffs don’t have Pelicans fans excited about the future something is wrong with ya! As long as we let this team grow together I think we have a real chance. We are built ver similar to the way the Nuggets, Heat, and Celtics all were just in slightly different ways. The common theme is building through your youth while filling in the last few missing pieces. We are loaded with young talent like these teams except we have tons of draft picks to keep stock piling. I think Jrue is our Jimmy Butler/Kemba Walker and no way do I move him unless it’s a large haul. We need that vet on this team who sets an example with his play to the young guns. With the right coach this team is going to be dangerous!

God, I want the Nuggets to win so badly.

Lakers up 10

Unrelated note, Lakers have 15 more FTAs than the Nuggets

Lakers currently on pace for 64 free throws tonight.

Hard to make it much more obvious than this.

If Butler is too passive on offense, passed out of of a few good looks already.