Wonder if the Warriors can put their egos in check and dominate the playoffs like they should. They treated the regular season like the preseason in how many ejections and just stupid decisions they were making. I mean getting the Warriors at EVEN money would probably be the best value bet on the board if they play like they are capable and quit treating the rest of the league like they are irrelevant.

Cavs might want to wake up.

Also, is there a rule against the Bucks firing their coach right now and hiring someone like Phil Jackson? Give him 100k per win to start and double it every round of the playoffs?

I know a lot of people subscribed to the "Cavs will turn it on come playoffs" theory, myself included. Today it looked like the same struggling Cavs. So I am guessing now that that playoff Cavs team is not showing up this year.

Given that, I don't think there is any way LeBron comes back. He will opt out and either join George in LA (if he goes there) or he will head to Philly.

It was the offense that really sputtered today, alarmingly. Jeff Green should be glued to the bench after today's game in particular. I'm not writing them out of the series, but they are at least even money (IMO) at this point re: making the next round - especially with Lance's ability to raise his game whenever he faces LeBron in the playoffs.

I appreciate how good the Warriors are. I also appreciate how difficult it is to reach the Finals four years in a row, especially with a hungry and very skilled team like Houston lying in the wake. I hope we get a seven-game series there - and it's no guarantee who gets out alive. I can't wait.

Someone better than me put it perfectly earlier tonight - the Cavaliers' roster looked just fine until the the magnifying glass of the playoffs honed in and all of the sudden it becomes clear that Jordan Clarkson being the 3rd best offensive player on the team is going to be a issue. Buckle up, Cleveland. This could end abruptly, or we are about to witness Mt. Everest LeBron

I love this guy.

https://www.theplayerstribune.com/en...acers-playoffs

I would love the Cavs to be swept, and the Pacers do play some aggressive on ball D, but I don't think they'll shoot 8-34 from 3 many more games...

Some weird rotational decisions though. Seemed like they could use some energy - no Cedi Osman. Seemed like they could use some 2nd chance points against a pretty weak rebounding frontline - no Tristan Thompson (who Lue said would be out of the rotation). Seemed like they planned to get more shooting around LeBron, Korver only got 4 minutes (though he did go 0-3 in that short time).

Celtics/Bucks had a crazy last few minutes. I'm not sure why everyone is worried about the Celtics O - if Rozier and Morris just make tough 20 foot + jumpshots like that in the 4th quarter every game we'll be fine! Speaking of playoff depth issues though, my god does that amplify just how bad the Bucks bench is (especially if you consider Brogdon a starter over Snell).

Minnesota blew a golden chance to steal an early win and put a little doubt into that series outcome. Guy's other than Harden just aren't going to shoot 3-25 from 3 again. Atrocious last possession by Minnesota though. Butler isn't a dribble into a step-back 3 kinda guy - gotta at least set some sort of pick.

Blazers/Pels has been everything

Apparently Gregg Popovich's wife of 40 years, Erin, passed away today.

Just awful

Watching Rondo in the playoffs made me think about what an interesting career he has had. He had such a stellar career in Boston - 4x All-Star, 4x All-Defense, 1x All-NBA, 1x Steals leader, 3x Assists (once w/Sac)... he has to be up there with dudes who kind of screwed it up on their own. I think he stopped caring on defense, never developed a shot, and became a polarizing figure around the league. I mean, those kind of accolades that early in his career suggest a semi-HOF caliber trajectory. I can't help but imagine how good he could have been if he was playing in a different era, like the run-n-gun 80's.

If I were a Pacers fan, I'd be furious at the officials this 4th Q.

Totally did not see the Portland sweep coming. Davis being a monster isn't surprising of course, but Lillard hasn't been limited that effectively in a long time.

NBA needs to update the rule on suspending players who leave the bench during an altercation. Can't just decide it based on whether the players is a star.

The draconian rule was the right response to the thug-ball 90s.

I think that now it would be better to write some discretion into the rule rather than keep it as a zero-tolerance rule on paper with de facto exceptions in practice.

Marcus Smart back doing Marcus Smart things. 2-7 shooting, 5 turnovers, big positive impact on the Celtics winning.

Does that count as a big shot?

Watching the Cavs play is like watching LeBron playing MyPlayer on 2K with his teammates' sliders set to 0. Huge shot though, and LeBron having arguably his best season ever while probably wearing a year or two off of his career longevity in the process.

I don't watch a ton of the NBA these days (I mostly just catch Pacers games during the rare times that one is available to me), so I say this without a lot of viewing to base it on: I don't recall seeing a superstar who so constantly begs for calls from the refs like Lebron James does. If he even gets grazed, his brow gets furrowed and he's got his hands out in outrage that there wasn't a call. And this is with a guy who gets a ridiculous amount of calls in his favor. Am I alone in thinking this?

Tim Duncan comes to mind.

Yes. Watch more stars.

Stars and non-stars alike complain about calls a lot. It feels like it's more now than it was 15-20 years ago, but it may be more attention is being paid to it now.

I think, for better, there is less physical contact in the game now. Especially since the hand check rules were changed. So now players feel like any physical contact necessitates a foul call. Before there was less to complain about because you knew no one was getting a call.

Not huge news from an NBA perspective, but Bogut officially retired from the NBA to sign in the Aussie league for 2 years. Apparently he had a couple of playoff teams interested in him after the Lakers waived him, but came back to Aus for family reasons (grandma passed away), and is going to stick around. Huge news over here, but given he signed for my local team I'm mostly curious if he still has anything left in the tank, or if he can stay healthy for more than a handful of games.

End of this Thunder-Jazz game is pretty incredible. OKC have had about 6 chances to tie the last 30 seconds, now with the ball again with 24 remaining.

Paul George got robbed, pretty clear foul by Gobert on his 3pt attempt.

That Mitchell kid, he's pretty good.

+1.

I don't care how much a ref might like to swallow his whistle at the end of games. That was egregious.

Westbrook 43 shots. Why would anyone ever want to stay and play with him?

He really is. Even watching him in summer league pre-season, he looks like a 3rd or 4th year guy, not a rookie.

A couple of real bad airballs down the stretch, too. PG deserves some blame for laying an egg in an elimination game, but I just don't think the stagnant half-court style that Westbrook forces a team into for 75% of their possessions is championship basketball.

The play a little bit before it where Adams screened Ingles into PG while he was shooting the 3 - IMO it was a no call, but they whistled the foul, it was clearly in the act of shooting, but somehow it ends up being an inbounds play. Felt like the refs were doing all they could NOT to blow their whistles at the end there and be responsible for the road team levelling the scoreline.

I'm glad the Jazz got through, but I'd be furious if I were an OKC fan - despite how bad they played for most of the game.

Yep. I hate the jump into a guy move (that Paul Pierce perfected) when it's not part of a normal shooting motion, but if you get him on a pump fake and the guy is going to land on you and you go up into him it has to be called.

Normally I hate it, but I'm fine with Westbrook playing this way last couple games, just because Gobert + the Thunder's lack of shooters kind of forced him into mid-range jumper hero mode, and the team was playing better when he did so (or are we going to ignore him shooting 39 times in that insane Game 5 comeback?)

I agree, but I think the college game started calling that play much better than the NBA this year. If the shooter goes outside of a normal shooting motion to initiate contact on those plays its an offensive foul. That's something the NBA really needs to consider doing.

Well that escalated quickly

(posted at half of GS-NO game 1)

Any chance Donovan is fired?

A chance? I'd have to say that's a yes.
A big/good chance? Ehhhhhh, I don't think so.

This. We asked the NBA to make its basketball less of a contact sport, if not a full non contact sport. It makes sense for any contact to be questioned by the players and coaches. There is also the belief that complaints today will benefit them at some point down the road.

When was the last time LBJ hit the floor for a loose ball?

Amazing performance by LBJ.

2 coaches, almost entirely new roster, still the same iso-heavy play that always gets worse when games get tough and the playoffs arrive. Seems to me that this points strongly to Westbrook not being compatible with anything else. Could probably hire the worlds best offensive coach and still face the same issue.

I'm feeling that Sixershate.

Saric looks like he has a very punchable face.

And classy of Philly to be just about in the lockerroom before the final buzzer.

A fairly long Zach Lowe piece today about how changing it might start with eliminating 5 mid-range jumpers a game from Westbrook. (yes, he explains why that number as the essay goes along)

Zach Lowe on Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder - NBA

Celtics got their win. They won't be able to shoot like that all series and will come back to reality in game 2.

I think Celtics will take the series just because of the youth/inexperience of the Sixers. I'd say something along the lines of it being hard to see a Rozier/Smart backcourt making the conference finals, but I think you could give Brad Stevens his last Butler roster and they'd probably make a run of it.

I still can't believe Detroit drafted Kennard over him.

Eh, as this article notes, pretty much everybody had him going right in the 12-15 range. Kennard was projected by some as a lottery pick, if not in the same range as Mitchell.


https://ftw.usatoday.com/2018/04/nba...ts-mock-drafts

I think the bigger question is how did Louisville have such troubles on offense when Mitchell was there?

His inconsistency (especially year one) and lack of finishing at the rim made him a much lesser go-to.

Celtics won't shoot like that most games, but can they defend the 3-pt line and keep the Sixers out if transition like that all series? Horford's always matched up well vs Embiid, we have enough bodies to throw at Simmons he'll have to work to get to the rim even if we stay at home on shooters, and we have the athleticism and length to run the Redick's and Belinelli's off the line while mercilessly attacking them on the other end - especially if Jaylen Brown returns. I still think the series is a toss up, but I'm pretty glad right now I have a little on the Celtics +310 to win it - that seemed very high.