Daniel Randle consistently proving that hes the best player on the Wolves ever since playoffs started, but their bench is not holding up and they fall for foul bait all game
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Sports NBA Thread: 2024-2025 Season
- Thread starter awyp
- Start date
She can't stop picking the right side
I thought I'd lean a certain way as time went on but I genuinely think these two teams are equal. Thibodeau in the finals??? Imagine that since the Derrick Rose years.
Winner of the series is decided by who who dictate their pace more: The Pacer's high octane fluidity, passing, and shooting versus The Knicks' grind-it-out, isolation foul game.
Oh, and it's very interesting that Knicks players have averaged waaaaay more playoff minutes than Pacers players. Don't wear them out again, Thibs...
I thought I'd lean a certain way as time went on but I genuinely think these two teams are equal. Thibodeau in the finals??? Imagine that since the Derrick Rose years.
Winner of the series is decided by who who dictate their pace more: The Pacer's high octane fluidity, passing, and shooting versus The Knicks' grind-it-out, isolation foul game.
Oh, and it's very interesting that Knicks players have averaged waaaaay more playoff minutes than Pacers players. Don't wear them out again, Thibs...
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The Pacers pulling 3 of the best statistical comebacks in NBA history is evidence of an offense so sharp and connected that opponents must play defense every millisecond that ticks on the court.
Thunder and Pacers are practically identical. Starting lineups are like looking each other in a mirror. They both have really deep benches. Maybe the formula is steal a franchise pg from a joke franchise then draft great role players then make trades around the edges for those x-factor pieces (Nesmith, Caruso).
Idk about being perfectly identical. They're both very deep teams and built through the draft, but they couldn't be further apart in style of play.
This has been the formula for quite some time really. Denver is another good example as well as the Butler Heat years.
This has been the formula for quite some time really. Denver is another good example as well as the Butler Heat years.
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Thunder in 5/6
I never see you guys talk to me on discord :(
The 2025 NBA Finals will be a display of the best defense versus the best offense. Both teams have primarily relied on depth and dominating around the margins; especially through forcing turnovers.
I foresee the Pacers facing an uphill battle this time around. The Thunder have shown some growth in halfcourt efficiency against the Nuggets in Round 2. The Thunder have more size, athleticism, and talent. Pacers have less room for error, so Siakam needs to be incredibly potent on runouts and switches.
The other Pacers don’t quite have the offensive chops to create their own shot, so the Thunder’s speed and defense could potentially put the Pacers in a scenario where they can’t get an advantage on any of their defenders. Pacers’ offense relies heavily on finding off-ball advantages and mismatches, and the Thunder are the perfect matchup to take most of those advantages away.
Let’s see what happens.
The 2025 NBA Finals will be a display of the best defense versus the best offense. Both teams have primarily relied on depth and dominating around the margins; especially through forcing turnovers.
I foresee the Pacers facing an uphill battle this time around. The Thunder have shown some growth in halfcourt efficiency against the Nuggets in Round 2. The Thunder have more size, athleticism, and talent. Pacers have less room for error, so Siakam needs to be incredibly potent on runouts and switches.
The other Pacers don’t quite have the offensive chops to create their own shot, so the Thunder’s speed and defense could potentially put the Pacers in a scenario where they can’t get an advantage on any of their defenders. Pacers’ offense relies heavily on finding off-ball advantages and mismatches, and the Thunder are the perfect matchup to take most of those advantages away.
Let’s see what happens.
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I was digging around some NBA history and found something fascinating to me. If the Pacers win the series, they’ll be one of very few teams since the introduction of the three point line to not have a player 2nd Team All-NBA or better. Here are the others:
88-89 Pistons (none!)
89-90 Pistons (only Joe Dumars 3rd team)
94-95 Rockets (Hakeem and Drexler 3rd team)
Surprises to me as someone born in 1996:
I thought Isiah Thomas would’ve made an All-NBA team during the championship years, but I guess his best years were before then despite the championship years being 89 and 90. And I knew Dumars was good but to have been selected over Thomas was surprising to me.
How was Hakeem not 1st or 2nd team in 94-95?? I mean the answer is that David Robinson and Shaq were ahead of him which, fair I guess, but still was surprising.
I thought for sure the 03-04 Pistons would be on the list but Ben Wallace made 2nd team that year. This was still when positions were taken into account though.
Obviously if the Thunder win then the streak of 2nd team or better players winning continues, but if the Pacers do it’ll be the first time we’ve seen anything like it in a long time.
88-89 Pistons (none!)
89-90 Pistons (only Joe Dumars 3rd team)
94-95 Rockets (Hakeem and Drexler 3rd team)
Surprises to me as someone born in 1996:
I thought Isiah Thomas would’ve made an All-NBA team during the championship years, but I guess his best years were before then despite the championship years being 89 and 90. And I knew Dumars was good but to have been selected over Thomas was surprising to me.
How was Hakeem not 1st or 2nd team in 94-95?? I mean the answer is that David Robinson and Shaq were ahead of him which, fair I guess, but still was surprising.
I thought for sure the 03-04 Pistons would be on the list but Ben Wallace made 2nd team that year. This was still when positions were taken into account though.
Obviously if the Thunder win then the streak of 2nd team or better players winning continues, but if the Pacers do it’ll be the first time we’ve seen anything like it in a long time.
Well, since someone’s going to eventually say it anyway, I might as well be the one to break the ice. The Oklahoma City Thunder as of last night have just won of the most Mickey Mouse championships we have ever seen… is what I would say if I didn’t believe the Pacers did this to themselves. Yeah, so, uh… extremely hot take incoming, but I don’t think Haliburton’s injury cost them that game. Was he on pace to score enough points to help the Pacers win? Yes. However, let’s face the facts here. The Pacers played a lot of basketball during this postseason, and injuries are an unfortunate part of any sport. The odds that he or anyone else got hurt leading up to this game were fairly high, and I just found out Haliburton already had a calf strain back in Game 6.
The point I’m trying to make is, relying so much on one player like this can be a successful strategy but it can also shoot your team in the foot at the worst possible times. The Pacers were strong in this postseason, but they were also inconsistent, and an argument can be made that they put themselves and him into this situation by not closing out the series when they as a team had the chances to do so.
The point I’m trying to make is, relying so much on one player like this can be a successful strategy but it can also shoot your team in the foot at the worst possible times. The Pacers were strong in this postseason, but they were also inconsistent, and an argument can be made that they put themselves and him into this situation by not closing out the series when they as a team had the chances to do so.
The Pacers already had to fight like Hell to take it to Game 7 with Haliburton doing everything he could. You hate to see that kind of thing, but it doesn't mean the Thunder don't deserve the title.
yeah
many teams besides the thunder were injured to fuck all
but that's every year
a ton of other teams could have found a way to overcome their hindrances and limitations and didn't
was rooting hard for the pacers but props to the thunder for pulling it off, i was definitely a doubter so they got me there
Bro the Thunder had the highest net rating in the nba all season, even with Shai off the floor they still had the highest. OKC definitely deserved that ring there is nothing “Mickey Mouse” about it.
The pacers also have a very deep roster, they are not relying entirely on one player. Siakam was even favored to win finals MVP over haliburton. Haliburton is the team leader yes and him going down really hurt their winning chances, but he wasn’t their only option. In reality what hurts most is the decision to play with a calf strain, because it made a very high risk of this happening. Huge props to Hali for playing and putting everything on the line, but this was a plausible outcome. Same thing happened to KD 3 years ago. Pray for Hali.
Also this image right here is so powerful. Shoutout the Pacers for fighting so hard, and cool to see Hali sticking around to be with them.
I’m excited for the 25-26 season and hope the new Jazz scout is serious about not sitting players anymore! This was seriously one of the most fun seasons and playoffs to watch as a basketball fan, we really got spoiled this year with how competitive the league was overall. Thank you everyone in this thread for listening to my jazz rants and throughout the year.
I’ve never seen a video game forum go so crazy over a basketball event (the Luka trade)
Depth has decided these playoffs the past few years, so this isn't a Mickey Mouse championship. They built a roster made to last.
Also I dont think your analysis on the Pacers (who also have amazing depth) is entirely accurate. They aren't a team that much more reliant on Haliburton than OKC is with SGA.
even as a Knicks fan i can only tip my cap to the Pacers even in defeat (yes couple days behind, sorry life was doing life things).
Haliburton heal up soon.
that said ofc congrats to the Thunder, SGA had a insane season and im happy for both him and the Thunder fans since they seem to truly support the team through all.
Haliburton heal up soon.
that said ofc congrats to the Thunder, SGA had a insane season and im happy for both him and the Thunder fans since they seem to truly support the team through all.
Calling this a Mickey Mouse championship is absurd lmao stop being ridiculous
I was rooting for the Pacers ever so slightly but good for the Thunder for winning
I think this era of parity is great for the NBA. 7 champions in 7 years is pretty cool. I think the Thunder definitely have a chance to turn this into something really special though considering their youth and future. They seem very well set up to be a championship contender for years to come, so props to Sam Presti.
I truly do think the Rockets are going to be the biggest competition for the Thunder going into next season. They’ve already gotten noticeably better with the addition of Durant. Other teams will probably make some moves too but I see the Rockets being the main challenger. Maybe if the Spurs get Giannis? We shall see.
Speaking of the East though the East is in shambles lol, as of now I pick the Knicks as the favorite to come out of the East for next year but really who knows? Could certainly be the Pistons getting better or the Magic with Bane? Celtics are still a good team despite the trades to get them under the second apron. Bucks probably not but they still have Giannis (for now). It’s wide open. Oh yeah the Cavs too. I really have no idea (maybe I shouldn’t discount the Pacers but the Hali injury is really tough swallow).
Draft is tonight, and I’m excited to see what the Sixers cook up. I’m pretty confident we’re not slated to take Ace Bailey anymore thank god, because the guy seems like trouble. We probably go with Edgecomb instead which I would much prefer.
The rumor I’ve heard that I want the most though is for us to trade back to 5 and offload Paul George to the Jazz. We’d get back Sexton and John Collins in said trade which I think would be great to get rid of PG. I hated the $50 million a year contract we gave him to begin with, and after last season’s performance I’m ready to dump him. Sadly we’re probably going to try and run it back with him, Embiid, and Maxey being a “big three” but a boy can dream, right?
Speaking of Embiid, I love the guy and all but unless he can return to MVP form it may be time to consider blowing it up. I mentioned the potential Jazz suitor for PG, but I haven’t really heard of any potential trade partners for Joel. Probably because we’re giving him one more chance this year, but if he gets hurt again that might be it. Maxey is young and I don’t want to waste him. McCain seemed like a lock to win ROTY before his injury. Maybe VJ Edgecomb will be able to contribute right away. Idk, lots of what-ifs going into draft night for us. Despite the East being wide open this upcoming season I wouldn’t dare dream of us reaching the ECF though lol
I was rooting for the Pacers ever so slightly but good for the Thunder for winning
I think this era of parity is great for the NBA. 7 champions in 7 years is pretty cool. I think the Thunder definitely have a chance to turn this into something really special though considering their youth and future. They seem very well set up to be a championship contender for years to come, so props to Sam Presti.
I truly do think the Rockets are going to be the biggest competition for the Thunder going into next season. They’ve already gotten noticeably better with the addition of Durant. Other teams will probably make some moves too but I see the Rockets being the main challenger. Maybe if the Spurs get Giannis? We shall see.
Speaking of the East though the East is in shambles lol, as of now I pick the Knicks as the favorite to come out of the East for next year but really who knows? Could certainly be the Pistons getting better or the Magic with Bane? Celtics are still a good team despite the trades to get them under the second apron. Bucks probably not but they still have Giannis (for now). It’s wide open. Oh yeah the Cavs too. I really have no idea (maybe I shouldn’t discount the Pacers but the Hali injury is really tough swallow).
Draft is tonight, and I’m excited to see what the Sixers cook up. I’m pretty confident we’re not slated to take Ace Bailey anymore thank god, because the guy seems like trouble. We probably go with Edgecomb instead which I would much prefer.
The rumor I’ve heard that I want the most though is for us to trade back to 5 and offload Paul George to the Jazz. We’d get back Sexton and John Collins in said trade which I think would be great to get rid of PG. I hated the $50 million a year contract we gave him to begin with, and after last season’s performance I’m ready to dump him. Sadly we’re probably going to try and run it back with him, Embiid, and Maxey being a “big three” but a boy can dream, right?
Speaking of Embiid, I love the guy and all but unless he can return to MVP form it may be time to consider blowing it up. I mentioned the potential Jazz suitor for PG, but I haven’t really heard of any potential trade partners for Joel. Probably because we’re giving him one more chance this year, but if he gets hurt again that might be it. Maxey is young and I don’t want to waste him. McCain seemed like a lock to win ROTY before his injury. Maybe VJ Edgecomb will be able to contribute right away. Idk, lots of what-ifs going into draft night for us. Despite the East being wide open this upcoming season I wouldn’t dare dream of us reaching the ECF though lol
It's so weird to see this level of optimism for the Pistons and not think it's completely absurd.
Yesterday was a weird night to be a Nets fan. I’m…..conflicted on the picks. 4 guards and a forward is a weird selection, especially when most of these guys can’t shoot, but I like that they traded their 2nd round pick for more draft capital in the future. Hopefully a few of these guys turn into the leaders we need in the future and we can offload Clax, CJ & CT.
Well, it’s been a little bit over a week since the NBA Finals wrapped up, more specifically since my initial post about it. I was at work yesterday just like I am today (on my lunch break as I type this) and I found myself thinking about something. This Thunder team, like, yeah, they were really good this season, no doubt about that, but just how good were they? Relative to other teams, I mean. I thought about this for a while, and I decided I wanted to ask you all the following question:
If you put the Celtics team from what would now be two seasons ago against this past season’s Thunder team, who would win in a seven game series?
Because, the more I think about it, the more I start thinking the Celtics take this one relatively easily. Let’s assume all key players come into the series healthy and no serious injuries are sustained on both sides to keep things even. Let’s also assume every game is played either alternating between who’s at home or that every game would be played a neutral site. I’m done calling the ring a Mickey Mouse ring, but in all seriousness I do think both of these teams have some things in common and they’re both better at different things. I’m interested in what you guys know follow the league way more than I do have to say about this.
If you put the Celtics team from what would now be two seasons ago against this past season’s Thunder team, who would win in a seven game series?
Because, the more I think about it, the more I start thinking the Celtics take this one relatively easily. Let’s assume all key players come into the series healthy and no serious injuries are sustained on both sides to keep things even. Let’s also assume every game is played either alternating between who’s at home or that every game would be played a neutral site. I’m done calling the ring a Mickey Mouse ring, but in all seriousness I do think both of these teams have some things in common and they’re both better at different things. I’m interested in what you guys know follow the league way more than I do have to say about this.