Author Topic: NBA Thread: Brought To You By The Tampa Bay Raptors Of Toronto (Read 1322481 times)

Adrock · « **Reply #2800 on:** June 16, 2021, 01:45:07 PM »

Per Shams Charania, Clippers fear All-NBA star Kawhi Leonard has suffered an ACL injury

Yikes. Here’s the play where it happened.

As for the best possible team to beat the Nets, I would have said the Suns only because the Jazz are banged up. Losing Paul changes that. If Irving remains out and Harden is primarily on the floor for moral support, I think the Sixers have a shot. Cursed season is cursed. Seems like the team that can drag itself across the finish line will be champion.

EDIT: A few days ago, Mark Cuban called BS on reports that Mavericks executives fear Luka Dončić will ultimately leave due to a "growing rift with the front office." Today, the Mavericks cleaned house. Doesn't sound like bullshit, Mark.

broodwars · « **Reply #2801 on:** June 16, 2021, 06:11:56 PM »

Quote from: Adrock on June 16, 2021, 10:24:26 AM

Quote from: broodwars on June 14, 2021, 11:31:51 PM
The Jazz's season is over. Even if we did somehow get past the Clippers with as terribly as this team has played, we'd get swept by the Suns with the way THEY are playing.
Sources: LA Clippers' Kawhi Leonard could miss rest of series with knee injury (Expected to miss Game 5)

Phoenix Suns' Chris Paul out indefinitely, placed in NBA health and safety protocols

Quote
Time to blow up the team and rebuild around Donovan and a few key pieces. The bare minimum this year was getting to the Finals, and they're falling apart in the Semis.
I was going to tell you to settle down the other night (frustrating loss, I get it). If the Jazz can't get past the Clippers without Leonard and the Suns without Paul, banned from the league until they get their act together.

Semi-related: I know I'm on an island on this, and it doesn't bother others as much as it bothers me. If the Jazz advance, I really don't want to hear any if-Kawhi-Leonard-didn't-injure-his-knee-the-Clippers-would-have-won nonsense. Mike Conley will probably miss the entire series. Donovan Mitchell came back from injury in the first round then re-aggravated it in Game 3 of this round. Every team deals with injuries. Suck it up.

Honestly, the piss-poor way the Jazz have been playing this series, I don't think it was out-of-line expecting them to lose after the way they barely won Games 1 & 2 and then got completely blown out in Games 3 & 4, not with Donovan's deteriorating health; the Jazz management's COMPLETE radio silence on Conley's status; and the way Donovan seems to be the only player stepping up this series.

On the one hand, it's sad to see the Clippers possibly lose this series this way, with Leonard injured. As a sports fan, you always want your team to prove they're the best by beating the best at their best. As you also indicated, I don't want to hear all the whining from Clippers fans about how they would have won if they had Leonard. I don't want an asterisk on a potential championship (as many people gave to the Lakers last year), with people saying the Jazz were frauds who got lucky that everyone was injured. There are sports boards I go to that have been calling the Jazz as such for weeks now.

On the other hand, **** the Clippers. Welcome to the club when it comes to limping your way through the playoffs. Enjoy your stay.

The Chris Paul thing is just inexplicable. The dude is smarter than this, getting himself locked into CoVid Protocol on essentially the Eve of the Western Conference Finals.

On a more joyful note, I highly recommend this video from Youtuber ScooterMagruder. Among other things, he likes to put out videos showing the current status of various sports leagues from the perspectives of the teams' fans. I missed this when he put this out, but here's his video for Round 1 of this year's Playoffs. I think BlackNMild might appreciate the moment where he plays a Warriors fan.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3QMjDPCNUQ

nickmitch · « **Reply #2802 on:** June 16, 2021, 06:30:28 PM »

So, is it assumed Chris Paul tested positive? The article only mentions that he's in the protocols.

broodwars · « **Reply #2803 on:** June 16, 2021, 06:40:02 PM »

Quote from: nickmitch on June 16, 2021, 06:30:28 PM

So, is it assumed Chris Paul tested positive? The article only mentions that he's in the protocols.

No one knows. The team, apparently, isn't going to put out an update on this situation until Saturday. Personally, I think it's ridiculous that no one apparently knows if Chris Paul is vaccinated.

I mean...you'd think that'd be a thing the NBA would have mandated by now, given what happened last season and the very public presence of NBA players.

BeautifulShy · « **Reply #2804 on:** June 16, 2021, 07:27:28 PM »

Quote from: broodwars on June 16, 2021, 06:40:02 PM

Quote from: nickmitch on June 16, 2021, 06:30:28 PM
So, is it assumed Chris Paul tested positive? The article only mentions that he's in the protocols.

No one knows. The team, apparently, isn't going to put out an update on this situation until Saturday. Personally, I think it's ridiculous that no one apparently knows if Chris Paul is vaccinated.

I mean...you'd think that'd be a thing the NBA would have mandated by now, given what happened last season and the very public presence of NBA players.

It wasn't readily reported but Paul did get vacinated back in Feb and tested positive on Monday.

broodwars · « **Reply #2805 on:** June 16, 2021, 08:13:41 PM »

Quote from: BeautifulShy on June 16, 2021, 07:27:28 PM

Quote from: broodwars on June 16, 2021, 06:40:02 PM
Quote from: nickmitch on June 16, 2021, 06:30:28 PM
So, is it assumed Chris Paul tested positive? The article only mentions that he's in the protocols.

No one knows. The team, apparently, isn't going to put out an update on this situation until Saturday. Personally, I think it's ridiculous that no one apparently knows if Chris Paul is vaccinated.

I mean...you'd think that'd be a thing the NBA would have mandated by now, given what happened last season and the very public presence of NBA players.
It wasn't readily reported but Paul did get vacinated back in Feb and tested positive on Monday.

Wow, that's just a bad roll for him to still get CoVid despite the vaccination. I know there are multiple strains, but the odds on that have to be pretty incredible.

nickmitch · « **Reply #2806 on:** June 16, 2021, 10:10:18 PM »

Yeah, that's really bad luck if he's vaxxed up. Hopefully, it means his infection won't last long.

broodwars · « **Reply #2807 on:** June 16, 2021, 10:32:47 PM »

So, how about Atlanta coming back from being down 26 to beat Philadelphia by 3 on the road? What a finish.

And Embiid still can't hit a free throw to save his life.

Adrock · « **Reply #2808 on:** June 16, 2021, 10:37:21 PM »

1. A nurse friend explained the COVID-19 vaccine to me so I’ll pass along the info. “The vaccine kinda keeps you bubble wrapped and if you do happen to get covid the chances of you requiring hospitalization are minimal.” It only really protects you, meaning you can still get COVID-19 and spread to others, but you most likely won’t die… of COVID-19, not you know *broadly gestures at a cold, uncaring universe indifferent to our survival and full of things that will kill us*

2. The Sixers choked. Another freezing cold take from me. Even if they get through this round, maybe they don’t make it past the Nets.

3. I feel like the Jazz should be up by more points. Maybe the Clippers are having their Braveheart moment. 💁‍♀️

nickmitch · « **Reply #2809 on:** June 16, 2021, 11:36:16 PM »

Thanks for sharing!

broodwars · « **Reply #2810 on:** June 16, 2021, 11:58:59 PM »

God, I hate Paul George. He's like the second coming of James Harden. Every time he drives, he pushes off on the defending player with his off-hand, and the refs always respond by calling a foul on the defending player. It's Bullshit.

Really not happy with the officiating in general tonight. That Flagrant 1 call on O'Neal was weak.

OK, I'm done watching this trainwreck. The Clippers are just completely out-working the Jazz, and the Jazz have been ice cold and complacent in the 2nd half. This is painful to watch.

Adrock · « **Reply #2811 on:** June 17, 2021, 01:05:49 AM »

Everyone: I was rooting for you; we were all rooting for you! How dare you?!

The Jazz:

Mike Conley:

BlackNMild2k1 · « **Reply #2812 on:** June 17, 2021, 02:03:01 AM »

I had this post typed up before I left, and forgot to hit send.... (around 6pm pst)

People always forget that being vaccinated doesn't mean you can't get and spread COVID, mostly what it's good for is protecting you from getting deathly ill from it.

But hopefully CP3 is good to go in a few days, as the Nets gonna need some competition.

-----
I don't know how the Clips beat the Jazz tonight. But hopefully they able to keep it up if the Jazz don't want to move on. Suns are waiting.

Adrock · « **Reply #2813 on:** June 19, 2021, 12:00:03 AM »

This game is infuriating. The three pointers were falling in the first half; they aren’t during this Sixers-level collapse. Stop shooting three pointers.

Terance Mann turned into Michael Jordan, apparently.

broodwars · « **Reply #2814 on:** June 19, 2021, 12:17:53 AM »

Quote from: Adrock on June 19, 2021, 12:00:03 AM

This game is infuriating. The three pointers were falling in the first half; they aren’t during this Sixers-level collapse. Stop shooting three pointers.

Terance Mann turned into Michael Jordan, apparently.

I just can't anymore with this team. We have Conley back, and the Clippers still don't have Leonard. If the Jazz lose this game and series, as they very much deserve to do, I expect this organization is going to get blown up by the new owner. Probably can't do much with the players right now, but I expect Dennis Lindsey has managed his last team, and I would not be surprised to see Quin Snyder gone as head coach.

Adrock · « **Reply #2815 on:** June 19, 2021, 12:30:19 AM »

I’m honestly surprised the refs finally called an offensive foul on Pushoff P.

The Jazz took so many L’s in a row this week. After getting “gifted” a Kawhi Leonard injury, they blow both games. Then, John Stockton publicly admitted to being an anti-vaxxer and anti-masker in a conspiracy theory documentary due to his “significant amount of research.” *lose horn*

Quote from: broodwars on June 19, 2021, 12:17:53 AM

I expect this organization is going to get blown up by the new owner. Probably can't do much with the players right now, but I expect Dennis Lindsey has managed his last team, and I would not be surprised to see Quin Snyder gone as head coach.

Yeah, I expect some significant changes. I hate to see a coach as usually good as Quinn Snyder get fired. He, admittedly, made some seriously questionable decisions in that third quarter. The Clippers went on that massive run and like the only thing Snyder did was sub Donovan Mitchell out. What in the world?? Maybe tell your guys to stop jacking up ill-advised, contested three pointers and drive to the basket once in a while. The Clippers have no interior defense especially with Serge Ibaka out for the season. Then, Rudy Gobert got exposed on the perimeter again. He isn’t used to rotating to the three point line, and the Clippers made him pay over and over and over and over and over…… Gobert wasn’t even stopping people in the paint. Like, why are you even out there, bruh? DPOY, my ass. Draymond Green was robbed.

Mitchell deserved so much better than this. I know you’re mad, and honestly, the more I think about this series and particular this game, I’m mad for you. As a basketball fan, I felt cheated. One of the best defensive teams in the league was like 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️ in the second half.

Credit the Clippers for not giving up. For ****’s sake, even Pat Bev was on fire from the arc.

broodwars · « **Reply #2816 on:** June 19, 2021, 01:13:09 AM »

Well, with the Jazz officially out, I wish the Suns all the best to win the Championship. Maybe this loss will FINALLY convince this fucking organization to get aggressive on...ANYTHING.

Anyone but the Clippers or Nets for the Championship this year.

BlackNMild2k1 · « **Reply #2817 on:** June 19, 2021, 11:50:33 AM »

I didn't watch the game, but after checking in prior to the half, I was thinking that just maybe it goes to 7 (they were up by quite a bit when I first checked in)... and then as they came up on the half, Clips cut it to 4 or 5 of something and the announcers were going crazy.

I thought the Jazz were gonna be powerhouses this year... but they fizzled out against a crippled Kawhi-less Clips in an empty LA Stadium. LOL
not sure what happened there, but they can't let Playoff P do that to them, not like that.

I also thought ATL was about to shut down Philly yesterday with a late rally (I wasn't watching, but listening on the radio on and off), but apparently that never happened.

So the East goes to game 7's... who sees the Bucks pulling this off?
Giannis really needs to work on a post up game and a shot, but if Harden is still hobbled, I really can't see Durant carrying a whole team w/o someone someone else also at the very least being a threat and taking some heat off him. He just might play all 48 again tonight, but I don't know if he can pull it off by himself.

The West is settled and WCF starts on Sunday.
What's the word on CP3?
- COVID protocols in effect for how long? did he actually come down with Covid and may miss the entire WCF?

and speaking on Western Conference Finals.... here's an interesting fact!!
Did you know that the Milwaukee Bucks and the Chicago Bulls have more WCF appearances than the LA Clippers!!?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NBA_Conference_Finals#Western_Conference_Finals

Adrock · « **Reply #2818 on:** June 19, 2021, 02:56:32 PM »

1. For the record, last night’s game was the first at Staples Center this season at full capacity.

2. It wasn’t even really Playoff P (though he had a good game). It was a combination of 2019 second round draft pick Terance Mann channeling Steph Curry and dropping 39 points on 7-10 from the arc, and Quin Snyder just flat-out fucking refusing to make any meaningful adjustments in the second half. Tell your guys to stop shooting so many three pointers when they aren’t falling for the love of…………

Then, the Clippers were straight up abusing Rudy Gobert. The Jazz tried switching to zone for a bit. The main problem is they didn’t have any capable perimeter, point of attack defenders. Conley and Mitchell normally can, but both were clearly bothered by injuries. It fell on Gobert except the Clippers played five out, forcing him to either help the POA defender who got beat or stay with his man. Often he wouldn’t even fully commit and was caught between the paint and the corner three point line. I can’t even begin to explain how infuriating that was. Snyder put Gobert on Mann who got so many wide open threes because he was supposed to be the one who can’t shoot except he was like “Nope, I’m cosplaying as Larry Legend tonight.” I know Gobert signed that $200 million contract in the off-season, but Snyder should have pulled Gobert. At least then you’re giving up two points, not open threes.

If the Clippers didn’t shoot so ungodly amazingly, they probably lose that game. Still, try literally anything else, Snyder. Once the Clippers stopped running pick and roll, Gobert was useless out there.

3. Unless Kevin Durant has another other worldly performance and/or Jrue Holiday/Khris Middleton have exceptionally bad performances, I see the Bucks winning Game 7.

4. I believe Chris Paul needs a few negative tests in a row before he can return. The thing is, we don’t know what’s going on with him. Does he have COVID-19? Is he asymptomatic? Paul probably misses Game 1.

The Suns are better equipped to play against the Clippers considering they have no major injuries, better on-ball defenders, and notably a player who can get to the basket whenever the hell he wants. Gobert is a better rim protector than Deandre Ayton right now, but Ayton is more mobile. He won’t get exploited the way Gobert was. It’ll be an interesting series. Without Kawhi Leonard, I don’t see how the Clippers advance though I didn’t think they’d make it past the Jazz so maybe I should, you know, shut the **** up entirely.

———

Nets vs. Bucks is awesome. I’m upset I missed the first three quarters. Whomp.

Bucks win on a Kevin Durant air ball in overtime. That feels oddly anti-climactic. The Nets had so many chances but were building houses in Brooklyn. I did kind of want Suns vs. Nets in the Finals for the Chris Paul/James Harden narrative. I guess Clippers vs. Sixers would have the Doc Rivers connection. Obviously, Sixers are who I’m rooting for based on who’s left despite my general dislike for Rivers as a coach. Hopefully, they can get past the Hawks.

broodwars · « **Reply #2819 on:** June 20, 2021, 01:45:09 AM »

Well, the Jazz didn't make it to the Finals this year, but on the upside...neither will James Harden. **** that guy.

Good on the Bucks for pulling it off against the Superteam, but as I said before I want the Suns to win that Championship if the Jazz couldn't. Suns-Bucks could get interesting.

ThePerm · « **Reply #2820 on:** June 20, 2021, 02:58:28 AM »

I just want a reason to care about the Suns again.

Adrock · « **Reply #2821 on:** June 20, 2021, 05:56:12 PM »

Well, Ben Simmons is getting traded. He tanked his value with his yips at the free throw line and shooting in general so I don’t know who wants him on that contract. An established organization with a strong culture like the Heat or Spurs would probably be best for his career. They won’t baby him like the Sixers did though in Daryl Morey and Doc Rivers’ defense, they walked in on Simmons wearing swimmies. The Sixers would be selling low. They have to do something. Embiid is locked in for two more years with a player option on a third.

Give credit to the Hawks. I don’t think anyone outside of Georgia saw them making the Conference Finals. Still, I’ll be shocked if the Bucks don’t sweep the Hawks. I don’t have a horse in this race. I guess it would be neat-o if the Hawks won it all. I like watching Devin Booker play so maybe the Suns. Who am I kidding? See y’all during free agency.

Enjoy this first though.

BlackNMild2k1 · « **Reply #2822 on:** June 21, 2021, 01:57:49 AM »

It's up to the Suns to make the small market finals happen.

CP3 better be good by game 3, and hopefully it's no worse than a 1-1 situation by then.
We're pretty sure Kawhi is done for the season, even though we never got confirmation of a torn ACL, so as long as Mann don't go all "The Man" again, I think the Suns can pull this off, especially if CP3 makes it back soon. He's been out close to week so far, right?

BeautifulShy · « **Reply #2823 on:** June 21, 2021, 09:09:59 PM »

Yeah BnM it has been a week since he tested positive Covid-19. It is looking like Paul is out again today for protocols.

Adrock · « **Reply #2824 on:** June 23, 2021, 12:04:28 AM »

Holy ****, that ending! No goaltending on an inbound pass. This fourth quarter was so good.

Paul George is about to get wrecked on social media.

News:

Author Topic: NBA Thread: Brought To You By The Tampa Bay Raptors Of Toronto (Read 1322481 times)