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NBA 2017 Playoffs |OT| WE DID IT

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FZZ

Banned
Hell of a performance by the Rockets. When they get going they're incredible.

Shameful performance by the Raptors. We were nice enough to give Canada NBA teams, and look what has happened.

Seriously though - where does everyone think the Raptors go from here? Can they really resign Lowry and Ibaka for ~$350M or whatever and try to carry this forward? Do they do a hybrid rebuild around Derozan? I just think they're in a tough spot - they've built a talented team but this series sweep seems devastating, and they're getting lapped by the up and comers in the east like the Celts, Wiz and Bucks.

Lowry to Clips

CP3 to Spurs

IT to Raps

it gonna happen brehs

Celtics gonna get Fultz
 
This series is gonna be like last year's finals. Blowouts after blowouts followed by a nail-biting game seven

I legit will not post anymore here till Casey is fired. It better happen soon.

Gonna have to wait for off-season, that's when coaches get fired.

Hell of a performance by the Rockets. When they get going they're incredible.

Shameful performance by the Raptors. We were nice enough to give Canada NBA teams, and look what has happened.

Seriously though - where does everyone think the Raptors go from here? Can they really resign Lowry and Ibaka for ~$350M or whatever and try to carry this forward? Do they do a hybrid rebuild around Derozan? I just think they're in a tough spot - they've built a talented team but this series sweep seems devastating, and they're getting lapped by the up and comers in the east like the Celts, Wiz and Bucks.

Lowry is a toss-up, fire Casey, bring in Stackhouse or Messina, and don't give Ibaka a huge contract
 
w7Mh3zc.png

10 to go!
 
As someone who doesn't watch basketball like that, is it me or is the East INCREDIBLY behind the West as far as talent goes? Like, LeBron has no competition and therefore coasts to the finals in which he has a 50/50 chance to win it all, where as if he was in the West his team probably wouldn't make it past the first round depending on the matchup?

Not taking nothing away from him, but it feels like he had it so easy compared to the other superstars. :p
 
As someone who doesn't watch basketball like that, is it me or is the East INCREDIBLY behind the West as far as talent goes? Like, LeBron has no competition and therefore coasts to the finals in which he has a 50/50 chance to win it all, where as if he was in the West his team probably wouldn't make it past the first round depending on the matchup?

Not taking nothing away from him, but it feels like he had it so easy compared to the other superstars. :p

I mean it's not like Jordan during the championship run had huge barriers in the east either.

That being said the argument never made much sense to me because if LeBron was in the west he'd probably still have a superteam lineup behind him.
 

Boogs31

Member
Hell of a performance by the Rockets. When they get going they're incredible.

Shameful performance by the Raptors. We were nice enough to give Canada NBA teams, and look what has happened.

Seriously though - where does everyone think the Raptors go from here? Can they really resign Lowry and Ibaka for ~$350M or whatever and try to carry this forward? Do they do a hybrid rebuild around Derozan? I just think they're in a tough spot - they've built a talented team but this series sweep seems devastating, and they're getting lapped by the up and comers in the east like the Celts, Wiz and Bucks.

I don't think you resign Ibaka or Tucker. Considering the Raptor's only gave up a first and Ross for Ibaka and basically a 2nd for Tucker they don't have much trade value anyway. They also are entering the latter portion of their careers. I do think if Lowry wants to resign you have to do it. I think he still has a lot of value around the league and they could eventually trade him in the next couple of years and maybe get some quality assets. It also allows them to stay relevant until they come up with a rebuilding plan. And I think they should be looking to trade Derozan as well and build a nucleus that has a similar age range to their young players like Poetl, Powell, Siakam and Wright. There's no easy answers, but I feel like staying competitive while also looking for the best offers for the likes of Lowry and Derozan is the best option. Worst case scenario for the Raptors is Lowry leaves.
 

Cornbread78

Member
As someone who doesn't watch basketball like that, is it me or is the East INCREDIBLY behind the West as far as talent goes? Like, LeBron has no competition and therefore coasts to the finals in which he has a 50/50 chance to win it all, where as if he was in the West his team probably wouldn't make it past the first round depending on the matchup?

Not taking nothing away from him, but it feels like he had it so easy compared to the other superstars. :p


It's a two team league this year and everyone else is just fighting for a little attention.


But yeah, easy going for Bron yet again...
 

LionPride

Banned
As someone who doesn't watch basketball like that, is it me or is the East INCREDIBLY behind the West as far as talent goes? Like, LeBron has no competition and therefore coasts to the finals in which he has a 50/50 chance to win it all, where as if he was in the West his team probably wouldn't make it past the first round depending on the matchup?

Not taking nothing away from him, but it feels like he had it so easy compared to the other superstars. :p

Where are we, 1993?

Since the early 90s the East has been worse than the West and definitely since the early 2000s
 

random25

Member
As someone who doesn't watch basketball like that, is it me or is the East INCREDIBLY behind the West as far as talent goes? Like, LeBron has no competition and therefore coasts to the finals in which he has a 50/50 chance to win it all, where as if he was in the West his team probably wouldn't make it past the first round depending on the matchup?

Not taking nothing away from him, but it feels like he had it so easy compared to the other superstars. :p

It just looks so easy for LeBron because he's just too good. And being a consistent 1 or 2 seed will always net you with weaker opponents up until the conference finals.

It's not like the Warriors are having a hard road either. It's just how great teams always gets advantage of favorable matchups.
 

Boogs31

Member
It just looks so easy for LeBron because he's just too good. And being a consistent 1 or 2 seed will always net you with weaker opponents up until the conference finals.

It's not like the Warriors are having a hard road either. It's just how great teams always gets advantage of favorable matchups.

The Warriors will play one of the top 4 teams in the NBA in the Western Conference Finals. The Cavs will play MAYBE the 8th best team in the league in the Eastern Conference Finals.
 

mjp2417

Banned
Seriously though - where does everyone think the Raptors go from here? Can they really resign Lowry and Ibaka for ~$350M or whatever and try to carry this forward? Do they do a hybrid rebuild around Derozan? I just think they're in a tough spot - they've built a talented team but this series sweep seems devastating, and they're getting lapped by the up and comers in the east like the Celts, Wiz and Bucks.

Lowry is a toss-up, fire Casey, bring in Stackhouse or Messina, and don't give Ibaka a huge contract

Pretty much this, but DeRozan is still the fly in the ointment. If you balk at giving Lowry 5 years (which is the rational thing to do) and he walks, DeRozan is still enough to keep you from bottoming out. You're basically the Pacers at that point. And DeRozan's trade value, unlike Paul George's, is pretty iffy. Zach Lowe put up an article earlier tonight speculating about this and there is no obvious trade partner for him, unless Magic fucks up and overrides Luke Walton in LA.
 
The Warriors will play one of the top 4 teams in the NBA in the Western Conference Finals. The Cavs will play MAYBE the 8th best team in the league in the Eastern Conference Finals.

...And they will probably reach the Finals with the same playoff record.

The East is weak but make no mistake the Cavs are better than any team in the West that isn't the Warriors.
 
As someone who doesn't watch basketball like that, is it me or is the East INCREDIBLY behind the West as far as talent goes? Like, LeBron has no competition and therefore coasts to the finals in which he has a 50/50 chance to win it all, where as if he was in the West his team probably wouldn't make it past the first round depending on the matchup?

Not taking nothing away from him, but it feels like he had it so easy compared to the other superstars. :p

It's also way easier to really suck in the West, playing better teams, losing more, getting good franchise players. West also travels more, meaning, again, easier to lose. Also, teams like the Nuggets, who would make the playoffs in the East, are getting a lottery pick.

Lebron is also really fucking good
 

Boogs31

Member
...And they will probably reach the Finals with the same playoff record.

The East is weak but make no mistake the Cavs are better than any team in the West that isn't the Warriors.

Did I disagree with that? The Cavs and Warriors are 1-2 in no particular order. Teams 3 thru 7 (maybe 8) are all Western Conference teams. The Cavs get a cake walk to the Finals every year. Even if the Warriors sweep the Western Conference Finals, they'll be doing so against a really good basketball team.
 

FZZ

Banned
Watching TNT rn and its amazing how little Chuck and Kenny talk when they show Bron highlights

but for Kyrie's little 11 point spurt they praised him so much

Chuck saying Bron will never be in his Top 5 comes to mind, he has Kobe ahead of Bron

will never understand the animosity 90s players have for LeBron, but 80s and older players don't
 

overcast

Member
I mean the warriors have about as easy a road to the conference finals as the Cavs.

But both of those teams are heads and shoulders above their conferences.
 
Did I disagree with that? The Cavs and Warriors are 1-2 in no particular order. Teams 3 thru 7 (maybe 8) are all Western Conference teams. The Cavs get a cake walk to the Finals every year. Even if the Warriors sweep the Western Conference Finals, they'll be doing so against a really good basketball team.

Eh...i don't know if would put the clippers, or the thunder above Washington or maybe even Boston. I also think Washington could definitely win a 7 game series against the jazz or the grizzlies

I mean it's easy to look at regular season records to determine how good a team is but I don't think anyone would argue the Spurs currently or the rockets are better overall than the cavs.
 
Did I disagree with that? The Cavs and Warriors are 1-2 in no particular order. Teams 3 thru 7 (maybe 8) are all Western Conference teams. The Cavs get a cake walk to the Finals every year. Even if the Warriors sweep the Western Conference Finals, they'll be doing so against a really good basketball team.

3 through 7, maybe 8, are all Western Conference teams? What? List them. Then list them in tiers.
 

LionPride

Banned
Watching TNT rn and its amazing how little Chuck and Kenny talk when they show Bron highlights

but for Kyrie's little 11 point spurt they praised him so much

Chuck saying Bron will never be in his Top 5 comes to mind, he has Kobe ahead of Bron

will never understand the animosity 90s players have for LeBron, but 80s and older players don't

Because they know he's better than the ever were and it eats at them, they know he's been the best player in the league for almost 10 straight years and it hurts em. Petty jealously probably.
 

Tommy DJ

Member
This series is gonna be like last year's finals. Blowouts after blowouts followed by a nail-biting game six.

It isn't surprising considering how the Rockets play. If the Spurs don't miss/turn the ball over too often, the Spurs bigs are alright because they aren't getting killed/gassed on transition. When the Rockets are hitting their 3, the Spurs might as well pack it up because they just can't get enough scoring to trade shots.

We saw it tonight, especially when the Spurs' bigs just melted to the Rockets' 3 guard lineup.
 

LionPride

Banned
Did I disagree with that? The Cavs and Warriors are 1-2 in no particular order. Teams 3 thru 7 (maybe 8) are all Western Conference teams. The Cavs get a cake walk to the Finals every year. Even if the Warriors sweep the Western Conference Finals, they'll be doing so against a really good basketball team.

1/2: Cavs and Warriors

3: Spurs
4: Rockets
5: Celtics
6: Jazz
7: Wizards
8: Clips I guess???
 

neptunes

Member
It seems like LeBron will have the east by the balls for the next couple of years, is another superteam in the east the only way to challenge him?. The playoffs are getting boring to watch.
 

Boogs31

Member
3 through 7, maybe 8, are all Western Conference teams? What? List them. Then list them in tiers.

Tier 1
1) Warriors
2) Cavs

Tier 2
3) Rockets
4) Spurs

Tier 3
5) Jazz
6) Clippers
7) Thunder
8) Wizards
9) Grizzlies
10) Celtics

You could make a case the Grizzlies are better than the Wizards and Celtics if all teams are healthy. With Conley and Gasol they would have 2 of the top 3 players against Boston and 2 of the top 4 players against Washington.
 
As someone who doesn't watch basketball like that, is it me or is the East INCREDIBLY behind the West as far as talent goes? Like, LeBron has no competition and therefore coasts to the finals in which he has a 50/50 chance to win it all, where as if he was in the West his team probably wouldn't make it past the first round depending on the matchup?

Not taking nothing away from him, but it feels like he had it so easy compared to the other superstars. :p

LeBron wouldn't make it out of the first round in the West? OK then.
 
You're overestimating the Clippers. They are even bigger chokers than the Raptors.

I also tend to think that while the Jazz have a bright future they have a long way to go while being a good team. The Celtics or Wizards could beat them.
 
It's funny to me that people moan about lebron's dominance when

1. he's near the end of his prime
2. he's been around long enough that his weaknesses are public knowledge.

If these teams want the crown they gotta take it.
 
It isn't surprising considering how the Rockets play. If the Spurs don't miss/turn the ball over too often, the Spurs bigs are alright because they aren't getting killed/gassed on transition. When the Rockets are hitting their 3, the Spurs might as well pack it up because they just can't get enough scoring to trade shots.

We saw it tonight, especially when the Spurs' bigs just melted to the Rockets' 3 guard lineup.

Meant game seven, but yeah.

Main non 3 pt factor is if the Spurs get tired out over the course of the series
 
Tier 1
1) Warriors
2) Cavs

Tier 2
3) Rockets
4) Spurs

Tier 3
5) Jazz
6) Clippers
7) Thunder
8) Wizards
9) Grizzlies
10) Celtics

You could make a case the Grizzlies are better than the Wizards and Celtics if all teams are healthy. With Conley and Gasol they would have 2 of the top 3 players against Boston and 2 of the top 4 players against Washington.

Wizards and Celtics and Grizzlies all better than the Thunder.

Well, idk tbh

It's tough, especially with a team like the Wizards with such an elite starting 5 and bad to decent w/Mahinmi bench
 

LionPride

Banned
Wizards and Celtics and Grizzlies all better than the Thunder.

Well, idk tbh

It's tough, especially with a team like the Wizards with such an elite starting 5 and bad to decent w/Mahinmi bench

Nah, they are. Not to say the Thunder roster is bad per se, but I'd give an edge to the Grizz definitely, Adams and Kanter would eat the Celtics alive, but Bradley would ruin Westbrook. John Wall and Brad would also ruin Oladipo and Westbrook but those two would be more competitive series
 

Boogs31

Member
The Clips are fucking trash and have been for three years

A Jazz series would go to seven

The Clippers when healthy are consistently a second round playoff team in a much more difficult conference. And you want to compare what the Clippers have done in the last three years to the Celtics? LA won 2 playoff series from 2014-16. And last year would have made it three if not for Paul AND Griffin getting hurt. What did the Celtics accomplish from 2014-16? Calling the Clippers trash while you hype up Boston? Gotta be kidding me.

And no they wouldn't win more than 2 games off Utah.
 

neptunes

Member
It's funny to me that people moan about lebron's dominance when

1. he's near the end of his prime
2. he's been around long enough that his weaknesses are public knowledge.

If these teams want the crown they gotta take it.
HOW SWAY?!?!..jk

Whatever physical decline he'll endure, I think he'll make up for it with his BBALL IQ. I swear he's getting smarter each season. It seems like he knows where every player is supposed to be, even his opponents.
 

LionPride

Banned
The Clippers when healthy are consistently a second round playoff team in a much more difficult conference. And you want to compare what the Clippers have done in the last three years to the Celtics? LA won 2 playoff series from 2014-16. And last year would have made it three if not for Paul AND Griffin getting hurt. What did the Celtics accomplish from 2014-16? Calling the Clippers trash while you hype up Boston? Gotta be kidding me.

And no they wouldn't win more than 2 games off Utah.
Yeah you're on your own here. The Clippers are guarenteed to fail in the playoffs, the Celtics can at least get to the conference finals. Clips have time and again disappointed, Celtics exceeded expectations since Brad became coach. Clips have fallen apart since Doc got there.

Also I hate the Celtics and want them to fail, but uh...they better than the Clippers. Having a competent coach can do that.
 

random25

Member
It's funny to me that people moan about lebron's dominance when

1. he's near the end of his prime
2. he's been around long enough that his weaknesses are public knowledge.

If these teams want the crown they gotta take it.

People were calling out LeBron's prime years about to end since 2013 or so. We'll still probably talk about when he'll end his prime when he's at age 40 lol.
 

Boogs31

Member
Wizards and Celtics and Grizzlies all better than the Thunder.

Well, idk tbh

It's tough, especially with a team like the Wizards with such an elite starting 5 and bad to decent w/Mahinmi bench

The Thunder have Roberson to defend the likes of Beal or Wall. If you take one of those guys away, the Wizards struggle. And against Boston, Roberson would guard Thomas, and if you take him away, Boston doesn't just struggle, they collapse. Say what you want about Westbrook's shot selection, but he's gonna put up big numbers and impact the game in a big way. OKC's size and athleticism is a challenge for anybody.
 

LionPride

Banned
People were calling out LeBron's prime years about to end since 2013 or so. We'll still probably talk about when he'll end his prime when he's at age 40 lol.

You know how Jordan was still able to give like 22 a game at 40? Expect that from LeBron which would be even more amazing because he's been playing since he was 18.
 
Little late but that 26-0 run was just about as fun as a colonoscopy. The underrated bit is that it came after 5 straight points from Amir. The world is not ready for playoff Amir.
 
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