Of course I did mean home game, fml.
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Official NBA '17-18 Season Thread
- Thread starter trikx_insane
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Westbrook is one of the most overrated players I've ever witnessed.
Hi DerrickRose can you apologize for picking the Heat in 6? Let's go Sixers, trust the process
(I'm still scared of the Celtics in the 2nd round but this season has been magical for me)
(I'm still scared of the Celtics in the 2nd round but this season has been magical for me)
Why? They’re pretty outmatched against Philly.
we're still a young team and wouldn't have homecourt, and just general nervousness because I'm not used to the team being in the playoffs
Warriors gonna win 2 or 3 more finals unless Houston beats them this year
Unless Curry makes a miraculous return against NOLA the warriors are going to have a hell of a time. Anthony Davis is the best player in that matchup right now. We'll see if Durant decides to shift up a gear or two from how he's currently playing. Not sure who wins the series but it's going to seven games either way.
As foe the east. I'm picking the young Sixers to upset the Cavs and then the raps or whoever comes out of that side of the bracket. Warriors over Sixers in 5 if Steph is back
Curry is questionable for game one.
I don't think NOLA can do the same thing defensively vs the Warriors as they did vs the Blazers. The Warriors have so many more weapons offensively and are one of the best passing teams of all time, they'll be able to get out of their P&R defense. AD will almost certainly have to guard KD, and even though the Warriors have no answer for AD (unless Dray goes back into DPoY Dray), they just have too many weapons and you can't rely on them going cold for 4 games out of 7.
I don't think NOLA can do the same thing defensively vs the Warriors as they did vs the Blazers. The Warriors have so many more weapons offensively and are one of the best passing teams of all time, they'll be able to get out of their P&R defense. AD will almost certainly have to guard KD, and even though the Warriors have no answer for AD (unless Dray goes back into DPoY Dray), they just have too many weapons and you can't rely on them going cold for 4 games out of 7.
I'm with you. Rockets over Sixers in 6 if he isn't
Why do I need to apologize for making a prediction?
(6) New Orleans Pelicans versus (2) Golden State Warriors
This series is tricky at first because we don't know the true status of Curry, but I'm going to look at this as if he doesn't play a single game which is the worst case scenario.
Just like with the Minnesota and Houston series, I feel like there's a math problem not enough people are talking about on New Orleans's end. They're not prolific from three in percentage or attempts (20th-22th). Admittedly, Golden State has been disappointing offensively on that end themselves because outside of Durant and Thompson, every other shooter is essentially unreliable. As a team, they shot 33.6% in that San Antonio series.
So, the plan for New Orleans' has to at least be this: shoot better or equal from three with Golden State and the only way they'll be able to do this is by defending because I can't imagine their three-point offense improving against a top defensive caliber team. Does New Orleans have the personnel to pass most of those shots from Durant and Thompson to the rest of the team? Will the rest of the team be cold?
Maybe a better way to phrase all of this is whose supporting cast do you trust to make big plays?
New Orleans has been successful largely because of their guard tandem of Rondo and Holiday, but the length and speed of Durant, Green, McGee, and Iguodala is an entirely different look from Portland. Much of their scoring has been through transition or just bad individual defense and team help. Also, Golden State is less dependent on the play of their point guards (assuming Curry is not in the series). Durant and Thompson totally take away their defensive advantages with their size.
Conversely, Golden State has multiple bodies to throw at Davis. Optimistically, if we want New Orleans to win this series, he has to consistently be the best player, and Holiday and Rondo have to be the third and fourth best.
I'm not sure what path Gentry takes as far as strategetic planning considering his math problem; maybe it's simpler than I think and it's as easy as New Orleans forcing plenty of missed threes and going up and down the floor, but those are still twos.
I think Golden State's defense as its best is just a little bit better here. I'm not assuming Davis will be stopped; I'm assuming that it's more likely Golden State's team defense shuts down the supporting cast than the other way around.
Golden State wins if: Their team defense is too much, New Orleans supporting cast can't stack up, the math problem from three shows itself, no good cover for Durant or Thompson.
New Orleans wins if: Golden State struggles notably from three, especially Green and Iguodala, Holiday shows himself once again against Thompson, Davis is a monster and probably gets Green in serious foul trouble
Golden State in six.
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Yeah we know what happened last time Curry got hurt. . . LeBron
Carmelo 7 pts, 3/7 FG, -19 plus/minus. At the bench mostly of time.
PG 5 pts, 2/16 FG, 0/6 3PM, 6 turnovers. In 45 minutes. Let me say it again: 5 PTS IN 45 MINUTES THROWING BRICKS ALL NIGHT LONG.
Yeah, the refs had shit up the end of game, Gobert fouled PG and they didn't called the foul early on Jazz's possession. But we must be honest: OKC had a shitty offense and defense for all whole season. They lose against a team w/o their starting PG, Rubio sat down early. And I don't wanna roast Westbrook unfairly, but 18/43 FG. You all condemned Kobe for shooting too much and now make all kind of excuses for Westbrook. I'm watching you, all over you which roasted Kobe for being a ballhog and shooting too much and now overlooks Westbrook.
Watching Westbrook these last few years is like if you swapped 3/4 of Kobe's basketball intelligence for pure athleticism. Russ is undeniably a worse version of Bryant, but only because he's lacking in the ability to comprehend and adjust his game accordingly in the biggest moments. It feels like Westbrook hasn't matured at all since Durant left, but maybe that's on the GM for breaking up the 2012 roster instead of.letting KD Harden and Russ grow together. But I can't help but notice that OKC's struggles recently seem to be symptomatic rather than systemic. It doesn't seem fair that a fan base as loyal and supportive as Oklahoma gets placed in such a bind, but it feels like karmic justice on the lying sack of shit that is team owner Clay Bennett
(1) Houston Rockets versus (5) Utah Jazz
This will be a long tough series for either team.
Both are great at what they do on the opposite ends. Utah defends what Houston does well (pick and roll & isolations), and that's as positive as it's going to get for Utah I'm afraid because Houston scores an amount on isolations absurd enough to the point where even if you defend them, you still might be losing the battle.
I noticed Utah was a bit bothered by Oklahoma City's switches around the latter part of the series; assuming Moute plays, they may be in serious trouble offensively.
Houston may not necessarily have an answer for Gobert's rolls to the rim or just the general size of Utah's frontcourt. The key to this series to me will be these two things:
Number one, can Utah stop Houston from shooting threes? Here's that math issue again: Houston takes more and makes more on average, and so as long as that's happening, their odds of winning increase dramatically. Much of Utah's defense is dependent on Gobert, and if he's out there guarding in space or switched onto Harden or Paul, he's useless. Utah has to find a way to keep Gobert defending the rim or they have to find a way to defend when he's not at the rim.
Number two, how far can Mitchell go? He's had some big scoring games the last two playoff mostly due to Oklahoma City's switches. Can you continue that or better yet, take it a new level of dominance against Houston? It will certainly be necessary in order for Utah's offense to potentially keep up. The best case scenario is Mitchell does his best to go at Harden. Truthfully, he is the only good isolation player Utah has.
We could talk about backcourt defense relating to Ingles, Rubio (who is effectively done most likely), and Crowder, but a part of me doesn't think they can individually defend Harden and Paul. Ingles is a great defender when a system comes together but I've never known him or Crowder to be good in space. Also, while Houston has been historically known for their turnover percentage the past few years, throughout the first round, they've actually improved in taking care of the ball. It would seem like having the addition of Paul alone helps maximize their offensive efficiency in comparison to past years. Harden gets rest, and Paul is one of the best turnover/assist guys around the league. Utah's defense isn't exactly dependent on turnovers but it certainly fuels it and their offense. Paul is a hard guy to win that turnover battle with due to just how smart he is.
So then the key is pretty much Houston making their shots from their least guys (Moute, Tucker, Ariza) to give Harden and Paul space to take advantage of Gobert guarding friggin forwards. If it works for a series, Houston's got it in the bag. I love Mitchell, but I don't know if depending on him offensively is a good recipe against a team with at least a system. It's a predictable system, but a system nonetheless.
To tell you the truth, if Houston dominates or finishes this series quickly, folks need to be very, very afraid. Utah is no slouch.
Houston wins if: Gobert can't be effective against Houston's small line-ups of death, they can't slow the tempo, contain Paul & Harden through the mid-range, and offensively keep up with Houston's threes.
Utah wins if: They dominate the glass, Gobert is a net positive against small lineups, Mitchell can't be guarded, Houston's forwards can't buy a basket, Paul & Harden can't get going again Utah's superb isolation defenders.
Houston in seven
This will be a long tough series for either team.
Both are great at what they do on the opposite ends. Utah defends what Houston does well (pick and roll & isolations), and that's as positive as it's going to get for Utah I'm afraid because Houston scores an amount on isolations absurd enough to the point where even if you defend them, you still might be losing the battle.
I noticed Utah was a bit bothered by Oklahoma City's switches around the latter part of the series; assuming Moute plays, they may be in serious trouble offensively.
Houston may not necessarily have an answer for Gobert's rolls to the rim or just the general size of Utah's frontcourt. The key to this series to me will be these two things:
Number one, can Utah stop Houston from shooting threes? Here's that math issue again: Houston takes more and makes more on average, and so as long as that's happening, their odds of winning increase dramatically. Much of Utah's defense is dependent on Gobert, and if he's out there guarding in space or switched onto Harden or Paul, he's useless. Utah has to find a way to keep Gobert defending the rim or they have to find a way to defend when he's not at the rim.
Number two, how far can Mitchell go? He's had some big scoring games the last two playoff mostly due to Oklahoma City's switches. Can you continue that or better yet, take it a new level of dominance against Houston? It will certainly be necessary in order for Utah's offense to potentially keep up. The best case scenario is Mitchell does his best to go at Harden. Truthfully, he is the only good isolation player Utah has.
We could talk about backcourt defense relating to Ingles, Rubio (who is effectively done most likely), and Crowder, but a part of me doesn't think they can individually defend Harden and Paul. Ingles is a great defender when a system comes together but I've never known him or Crowder to be good in space. Also, while Houston has been historically known for their turnover percentage the past few years, throughout the first round, they've actually improved in taking care of the ball. It would seem like having the addition of Paul alone helps maximize their offensive efficiency in comparison to past years. Harden gets rest, and Paul is one of the best turnover/assist guys around the league. Utah's defense isn't exactly dependent on turnovers but it certainly fuels it and their offense. Paul is a hard guy to win that turnover battle with due to just how smart he is.
So then the key is pretty much Houston making their shots from their least guys (Moute, Tucker, Ariza) to give Harden and Paul space to take advantage of Gobert guarding friggin forwards. If it works for a series, Houston's got it in the bag. I love Mitchell, but I don't know if depending on him offensively is a good recipe against a team with at least a system. It's a predictable system, but a system nonetheless.
To tell you the truth, if Houston dominates or finishes this series quickly, folks need to be very, very afraid. Utah is no slouch.
Houston wins if: Gobert can't be effective against Houston's small line-ups of death, they can't slow the tempo, contain Paul & Harden through the mid-range, and offensively keep up with Houston's threes.
Utah wins if: They dominate the glass, Gobert is a net positive against small lineups, Mitchell can't be guarded, Houston's forwards can't buy a basket, Paul & Harden can't get going again Utah's superb isolation defenders.
Houston in seven
i like how all the users who've never posted in this topic in the last 10 years are pretty much sixers fans
If you only post when your team's good nobody can make fun of you for your team being shit
"galaxy brain"
We're a pretty decent group of folks. Fans are fans.
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