14-15 NBA Playoffs Thread

[miami_fan]

Seven turnovers by the Spurs and the Clippers are only going into the 2nd qtr tied.

[stevew]

wow, crawford took like 3 steps.

[Chief Rum]

Good win for the Clips. This series deserved seven games anyway.

[RainMaker]

Yeah, real good win. Glad we'll have a game this weekend.

[Brian Swartz]

Series did deserve seven, much as I'd have like it to end tonight. Overall the Clippers have played slightly better and I favor them in the last game, though narrowly. Neither team really deserves to win or lose at this point, it's just been a close series. I can't think of a series with teams this good in the first round that was this closely contested.

Nothing's happened to change my mind that the winner is Golden State's toughest hurdle by quite a margin.

Also, Billy Donovan? Chances of him being an upgrade over Brooks are quite small in my opinion. I still say it's Presti's biggest mistake.

[Vince, Pt. II]

Originally Posted by Vince, Pt. II

I've heard rumors they want Billy Donovan.

So rarely do I hear things early that turn out to be true!

Still don't understand this move. I can understand wanting to go in a different direction than Brooks, but why Donovan? He's already bolted from one job at the pro level before even coaching a game, and they sort of have a 'win now' roster, not a 'learn to coach at this level' type of roster.

[nol]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

Good win for the Clips. This series deserved seven games anyway.

Thank God for hack-a-DeAndre!

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by nol

Thank God for hack-a-DeAndre!

It was nice to see it not work.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by Brian Swartz

Also, Billy Donovan? Chances of him being an upgrade over Brooks are quite small in my opinion. I still say it's Presti's biggest mistake.

I don't get why they went Donovan over Ollie if they wanted a college coach, but I don't think it'll be hard for Donovan to be an upgrade over Brooks. Brooks basically had zero offensive motion and half his problem was stubbornly sticking to certain substitution patterns (not staggering Durant/Westbrook's minutes, continuing to play Kendrick Perkins in multiple playoff series.) With a healthy KD, Westbrook and Ibaka the Thunder will easily make the playoffs so it gives Donovan a full 82 games to make the little adjustments - Brad Stevens for one was able to transition just fine in that time.

[Brian Swartz]

I think the difference is Brad Stevens went to a team without established superstars, high expectations, etc. I just don't think it make sense to hire a college coach for that kind of role. Donovan doesn't have a couple years to grow into the role, he has to be good right away. It's possible he does better than Brooks, but it's very risky and that just doesn't make sense to me with an established powerhouse team.

[miami_fan]

4th quarter, game 7, one point game.

[Izulde]

Originally Posted by BishopMVP

I don't get why they went Donovan over Ollie if they wanted a college coach, but I don't think it'll be hard for Donovan to be an upgrade over Brooks. Brooks basically had zero offensive motion and half his problem was stubbornly sticking to certain substitution patterns (not staggering Durant/Westbrook's minutes, continuing to play Kendrick Perkins in multiple playoff series.) With a healthy KD, Westbrook and Ibaka the Thunder will easily make the playoffs so it gives Donovan a full 82 games to make the little adjustments - Brad Stevens for one was able to transition just fine in that time.

Thought I read somewhere that Ollie said he had no interest in leaving college ranks, even though he was their first choice.

[miami_fan]

Come on DeAndre, hit those free throws!

[miami_fan]

Good call.

[miami_fan]

LA gamesmanship!

[Brian Swartz]

Well that's that. Congrats to LA Clippers. Spurs had their chances, especially game 4 and game 6, so nobody to blame but themselves.

Helluva series, I still say the Clippers are Golden State's biggest obstacle.

[CU Tiger]

Well there goes my bracket

Really think the door just opened for Bron..but No Love may render that pointless.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by Izulde

Thought I read somewhere that Ollie said he had no interest in leaving college ranks, even though he was their first choice.

Everyone has a number... And if it's the difference between Durant leaving or staying you pay it.

[stevew]

I guess it's good we got one good first round series.

Maybe we only need 8 playoff teams.

[RainMaker]

5 game series would probably make it more exciting.

[nol]

Sheesh, does everyone's memory only go back 6 months? Last year it was, "OMG best playoffs ever!" when 5 series went the distance. Anyway, Steph Curry got the MVP and it wasn't too close. The only thing that really stood out on the ballot was Westbrook getting 0 first-place votes because I'm sure he would have gotten some if the Thunder had gotten destroyed in the first round.

[Kodos]

That was a great series between San Antonio and LA. Even though it didn't go the way I wanted it to, it's nice to see the Clippers enjoy some success.

[Chief Rum]

I really hope CP3 is able to go tonight and play close to his normal ability. Not just because I am Clips fan, but also because I think it would make for a great series.

Single most important offseason transaction the Clips didn't do was properly replace Darren Collison backing up CP3.

[stevew]

Originally Posted by BishopMVP

Everyone has a number... And if it's the difference between Durant leaving or staying you pay it.

I'm probably the only one who made the obvious Donovan-Beal connection and figured that the coach that they brought in was going to have to live with no KD this year, right?

NBA conspiracy is so much fun

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by nol

Sheesh, does everyone's memory only go back 6 months? Last year it was, "OMG best playoffs ever!" when 5 series went the distance. Anyway, Steph Curry got the MVP and it wasn't too close. The only thing that really stood out on the ballot was Westbrook getting 0 first-place votes because I'm sure he would have gotten some if the Thunder had gotten destroyed in the first round.

I think the season is just too long. Injuries sort of killed what should have been an amazing Western Conference first round.

[RainMaker]

Not too confident in the Bulls but hoping they can at least take this series to 6 with the Cavs.

[stevew]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

Not too confident in the Bulls but hoping they can at least take this series to 6 with the Cavs.

I'm not very confident in the Cavs when you can throw 3-4 good big guys vs our 1 competent front court defender and Tristan Thompson.

[RainMaker]

Noah's knee is shot, he's been terrible in the playoffs. Got thoroughly outplayed by the Bucks big guys. Gasol is good but looks worn down. Taj and Niko are also pretty banged up.

The Bulls big guys are overrated at this point. It will come down to Rose being good or not. Seems he is every 3rd game but they need it to be more to beat the Cavs.

[RainMaker]

Nice win for the Bulls. Not sure they can shoot that well all series though. Think it's a mistake to play Hinrich and think Niko needs minutes.

[stevew]

Game two is pretty much a must win.

[RainMaker]

Rockets sure didn't look like they were giving a playoff effort tonight.

[Vince, Pt. II]

If the Rockets can't beat a Chris Paul-less Clippers team at home, this is going to be a short series.

[nol]

From the regular season thread:

Originally Posted by nol

They're definitely not in the top, championship tier of West teams right now, but that's more of a qualitative opinion based on other teams looking really, really good than one based on the particular Clippers results. By that I mean they're still pretty much at a mid-50s win pace and haven't had a ton of egregious losses (I thought the Spurs road loss was one of the higher quality games of the season).

They obviously had a pretty sluggish start and the defense doesn't look quite up to par as in past years, but I feel like part of that is because they've already been that team that's firing on all cylinders and topping the power rankings in December/January but exits in the first round. Griffin's play is concerning on the surface, but he's earned the right to be looked at as someone experimenting with his mid-range game who will turn up the intensity come playoff time.

As far as specific issues, the Hawes signing is looking really, really bad, especially when they could have instead gotten someone like Kaman or Pierce. No matter the record or seed, it's going to be about match-ups and being healthy. Having to face a team like Dallas on the road would probably be a more desirable outcome than having HCA against the Spurs/Thunder, and that's going to be playing out all across the bracket in every round this year.

Griffin has definitely turned things up. There was a play in the last 2-3 minutes of Game 7 where he caught the ball at the top of the key after things had broken down; about 5 seconds left on the shot clock. 99 times out of 100 in the regular season, that's ending in a contested mid-range shot, but he got Duncan with a hesitation dribble and took it strong to the basket, got fouled by Green or Duncan, and made the free throws.

It'll be interesting to see whether the Clippers rest Paul for game 2 now. I would probably lean towards thinking they've accomplished their mission in Houston and CP3 needs all the recovery he can get, but I can also understand trying to make a push to effectively end the series.

[Groundhog]

I just bought tix for the potential game 6 in LA, so I hope the Rockets at least make it competitive......

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by Groundhog

I just bought tix for the potential game 6 in LA, so I hope the Rockets at least make it competitive......

That sounds like a lot of fun. That place was rocking for the Spurs series.

[nol]

I thought the story of game 1 was the Cavs missing a few open looks they normally hit and the Bulls making a few more, but I wasn't expecting this much of a reversal.

[miami_fan]

John Wall of Washington Wizards has fractured left wrist, hand

[JPhillips]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

John Wall of Washington Wizards has fractured left wrist, hand

That sucks. I really thought they could give a Love-less Cavs team a run.

[Brian Swartz]

East just keeps falling apart. I thought going into this round any of the four had a chance in their series, maybe even of getting to the Finals. No disrespect to them, keep fighting and trying to win, but I'm at the point where we might as well give the winner of the West the trophy and be done with it. I'm going to be very disappointed if Paul can't come back strong also -- their first-round win won't mean all that much otherwhise.

[RainMaker]

I don't see how anyone beats the Warriors. Cavs have the best shot but Lebron and Kyrie would have to be spectacular for most of the games in that series.

[RainMaker]

I'll also be at the Bulls-Cavs game Friday and Sunday. Should be a lot of fun.

[LastWhiteSoxFanStanding]

I have counted 8 missed layups so far for the Bulls. And the first quarter isn't over yet. That ain't going to get it done.

[stevew]

Listening to radio, sounds like Mosgov is playing well.

[Groundhog]

TT is a beast on the offensive glass. During the season he struggled to bring energy when starting, so it's good to see.

[Lathum]

Wow. Rose.

[nol]

Wow. Austin Rivers.

[miami_fan]

Is Otto Porter Jr. the first first round bust to be mic'd up during an NBA playoff game? I don't remember if they put a mic on Kwame Brown at any point.

[JPhillips]

Porter has been far from a bust in these playoffs. He's finally playing like the guy they thought they drafted.

[Vince, Pt. II]

Grizzlies doing what they need to do. I'm trying to take solace in the fact that the Warriors have played two completely awful games and both games were still close.

[The Jackal]

Yeah, I don't think it's fair to call Porter a bust at this point. Weak draft, turning into a solid glue guy, and he has room to grow.

But call Kwame whatever you'd like.