It’ll be a late sweepThis needs a Mutumbo finger wag meme.
It’ll be a late sweepThis needs a Mutumbo finger wag meme.
No, just giving a fuck. I'd be asking the guys to play some defense. The Bucks could get where they wanted and seemed determined to return the favor.“Guys, just get a big lead”
why don’t more coaches think of that?
Yes, this.Not a lot of defense being played right now
Is this an actual line you got? At what stage of the playoffs?Atlanta out of the East +1800 is live!
Yes, and I regret not totally hammering it. I believe it was before G6 of their series against Philly.Is this an actual line you got? At what stage of the playoffs?
I'm really enjoying Atlanta and Phoenix runs. Congrats @Conigliaro's Potential They've done it right. No splashy FA signings, super team nonsense. Development + clever trades + shrewd signingsHuge win for Atl tonight. They brought playoff intensity to Milwaukee, who seemed to think that it was a walk-through.
Yeah Hawks are a great mix of homegrown guys, smart trades, and some prudent FA additions. Really well put together team. Pleasure to watch them. Suns too.I'm really enjoying Atlanta and Phoenix runs. Congrats @Conigliaro's Potential They've done it right. No splashy FA signings, super team nonsense. Development + clever trades + shrewd signings
That’s really good. Nice work.Yes, and I regret not totally hammering it. I believe it was before G6 of their series against Philly.
Yeah, my buddy got +2800 to win it all before Game 6, I believe.Yes, and I regret not totally hammering it. I believe it was before G6 of their series against Philly.
I know what you’re trying to say, but in the last 12 years they’ve made it to the Conference Semifinals six times and Eastern Finals twice. That’s really good. They aren’t the Kings.Hawks were a mediocrity for so long, this run must be so gratifying to their longtime fans.
mea culpa here for mocking that Luka/Trae deal, clearly ATL knew what they were doing.Yeah Hawks are a great mix of homegrown guys, smart trades, and some prudent FA additions. Really well put together team. Pleasure to watch them. Suns too.
I'll always be a fan of both of these teams for who they knocked off too, alongside the 2002 Angels, 2001 DBacks, and 2003 Marlins.
They aren't the Kings of recent history (the Kings aren't mediocre, they are just bad) but calling this their 2nd trip to the ECF in the last 12 years is underselling it a bit. It'd be just as accurate to say this is their 2nd trip to the ECF in the last 60 years. They've been to the playoffs plenty and out of the first round quite a bit over the last few decades but other than a run to the ECF in 2015, they've been on the treadmill of mediocrity since they had Bob Pettit, who is 88 years old.I know what you’re trying to say, but in the last 12 years they’ve made it to the Conference Semifinals six times and Eastern Finals twice. That’s really good. They aren’t the Kings.
Fair. I hope you learned something, then.Yes, but I didn’t say I wouldn’t listen.
I mean, apologies for the thread hijack (go Trae!!!), but ... try to keep track of the point you were making? Your Mantle anecdote suggests your point was that if Kobe had known it was good to miss fewer shots, rebound better, and share the ball more, he would have done so. Not a particularly compelling argument, imo.Yes. Has anyone informed Steph that defense is half of the game?
People talking bad about Curry is like your bat signal. I love it.Fair. I hope you learned something, then.
I mean, apologies for the thread hijack (go Trae!!!), but ... try to keep track of the point you were making? Your Mantle anecdote suggests your point was that if Kobe had known it was good to miss fewer shots, rebound better, and share the ball more, he would have done so. Not a particularly compelling argument, imo.
But per your query about Steph's D: pretty sure he's aware it's half the game, since despite his small frame, he's been a solid defender over his career — roughly equal to or even a bit better than Kobe in terms of defensive impact on the scoreboard (with the caveat about positionality that I made earlier). Career DBPM: Curry +0.3, Kobe -0.1 (where positive is good). I'd argue that inch for inch, Steph's the better defender of the two; but obviously being 3-4 inches taller, 5-6 inches longer, and 30 lbs. heavier makes a big difference in terms of ability to lock players down man-to-man.
Kliq brought up a good point earlier about the faster pace of the current game, so here's their career production per 100 possessions (with Harden thrown in for good measure).
Regular season
Steph 34.4 pts on .626 true shooting / 6.5 reb / 9.3 ast / 2.4 stl
Harden 36.0 pts on .611 true shooting / 7.8 reb / 9.4 ast / 2.2 stl
Kobe 35.8 pts on .550 true shooting / 7.5 reb / 6.7 ast / 2.1 stl
Playoffs
Steph 34.8 pts on .609 true shooting / 7.1 reb / 8.3 ast / 2.1 stl
Harden 33.1 pts on .589 true shooting / 7.8 reb / 8.5 ast / 2.5 stl
Kobe 34.7 pts on .541 true shooting / 6.9 reb / 6.4 ast / 1.9 stl
Similar overall production per possession, with Kobe generally lagging a bit behind in most categories, and getting completely trounced in terms of using his possessions efficiently.
I believe that is when a team goes up 3-0 and ends up winning 4-1 (the one loss allows the losing team to save face). Going down 0-1 (or even 0-2 or 0-3) then winning 4 straight would be a backdoor sweep.A gentlemen's sweep?
Okay, I always thought it was just 4-1. Doing some googling, the Internet doesn't seem to be picky on the sequence of the one loss, but I have to admit that it does kind of make more sense that way.I believe that is when a team goes up 3-0 and ends up winning 4-1 (the one loss allows the losing team to save face). Going down 0-1 (or even 0-2 or 0-3) then winning 4 straight would be a backdoor sweep.
I freaking love this team. Really strong 1991 Braves vibes. And a reminder: that is the first ECF game Atlanta has ever won. So this is already their best team in post-St. Louis franchise history. (I wish I could stay up through the night to watch them live, but catching up first thing in the morning at least let's me miss all of the late-game stoppages in play.)I'm really enjoying Atlanta and Phoenix runs. Congrats @Conigliaro's Potential They've done it right. No splashy FA signings, super team nonsense. Development + clever trades + shrewd signings
Ha, enjoy the ride.I freaking love this team. Really strong 1991 Braves vibes. And a reminder: that is the first ECF game Atlanta has ever won. So this is already their best team in post-St. Louis franchise history. (I wish I could stay up through the night to watch them live, but catching up first thing in the morning at least let's me miss all of the late-game stoppages in play.)
Before last night, they hadn't won a conference final game since 1969.I know what you’re trying to say, but in the last 12 years they’ve made it to the Conference Semifinals six times and Eastern Finals twice. That’s really good. They aren’t the Kings.
Watched the 02 Super bowl from a sports bar in Sweden. They would run major US sports events on tape delay to cut out commercials, so kickoff was around 1AM IIRCHa, enjoy the ride.
I recall staying up to 6am in 2003 watching Cuse- Melo win its first National Championship in my London flat and gleefully walked into the office that day. If you make it to the finals I bet you'll have a few all-nighters
Once I started watching morning replays with stoppage-skipping, I could never go back.I freaking love this team. Really strong 1991 Braves vibes. And a reminder: that is the first ECF game Atlanta has ever won. So this is already their best team in post-St. Louis franchise history. (I wish I could stay up through the night to watch them live, but catching up first thing in the morning at least let's me miss all of the late-game stoppages in play.)
It's funny and interesting how divergent Trae and Ben Simmons are right now. The difference is grit.Once I started watching morning replays with stoppage-skipping, I could never go back.
Congrats on Trae--I was totally wrong about his ability to hold up defensively in the playoffs. He could be a top-5 player shockingly soon.
Trae is well en route to passing a lot of bigger names, simply because of the insane premium there is on skill and shooting in the NBA right now (I love it). The big question was whether he could hack it on D in the playoffs, and he seems to be able to.It's funny and interesting how divergent Trae and Ben Simmons are right now. The difference is grit.
If they make it into the Finals, I'll be in Japan for the Olympics and might be able to watch quite a few games live after I wake up in the morning! (I think Game 7 of the Finals would clash with my second day of softball commentary, but otherwise I should be good to go...but I'll definitely cross that bridge in due course.)I recall staying up to 6am in 2003 watching Cuse- Melo win its first National Championship in my London flat and gleefully walked into the office that day. If you make it to the finals I bet you'll have a few all-nighters
Thing is, Trae isn't even that good of a shooter - yet. I mean, he's great at the line (86% this year, and much better than that in Winning Time) and with the floater, but he only shot 34.3% on three-pointers this year during the regular season and is slightly down on that mark in the postseason. He's still only 22 years old; if he learns how to rein in the deep 3s and gets up to nearer 40% from behind the line, he might become an MVP candidate. And of course his swag is off the charts, let alone the BBIQ. I spent all morning reading SoSH and Peachtree Hoops and NBA Reddit content about the game just giggling like a school girl...there really isn't any feeling quite like this as a sports fan, watching a team and a player exceed expectations so often and by so much.Trae is well en route to passing a lot of bigger names, simply because of the insane premium there is on skill and shooting in the NBA right now (I love it). The big question was whether he could hack it on D in the playoffs, and he seems to be able to.
The list of guys I might take him over is getting heretically long...
I didn't get to watch either but from the highlights, looks like the Hawks were down by 5 with 4:00 left. Call them upstarts or whatever, but winning a game on the road in the conference finals against a higher seed under those circumstances is pretty huge on the face of it. (Keeping in mind the highlights don't show the Bucks' lowlights to lose the game.)I didn't watch. Saw the score though, and my eyes deceived me, and I thought that MIL won 116-113. As I watched the 10 minute recap, I didn't remember the exact final score, just thought that MIL won and was thinking how the hell do they pull this out? Pleasantly surprised to see that they didn't.
I love watching the full replays for this and to get the flow. They are...accessible on the internet.I didn't get to watch either but from the highlights, looks like the Hawks were down by 5 with 4:00 left. Call them upstarts or whatever, but winning a game on the road in the conference finals against a higher seed under those circumstances is pretty huge on the face of it. (Keeping in mind the highlights don't show the Bucks' lowlights to lose the game.)
They were actually down 7 with 4:00 left - and the Bucks didn't get a single rebound (offensive or defensive) the rest of the game. Which is...something.looks like the Hawks were down by 5 with 4:00 left.
The Bucks just don't have the personnel to not do that when Lopez is in.Dropping your big ten feet off Trae on p/r coverage is ridiculous. The Bucks are a very stupid team.
Atlanta making this run without Hunter, and with a hobbled BogBog. Nate is getting everything out of this team. I love watching how they play with so much competitiveness and cohesion.
Trae is Curry-ish, at a younger age than when Curry became great. Winning three consecutive road game ones is quite an accomplishment, and shows that this team don’t GAF about seedings or hype or fans cheering against them. They just go out there and compete.
I only watched the last 1/2 of the 4Q and yes, ATL's rebounding won the game, which is interesting. I think they had three possessions where they got ORebs that killed MIL, including one possession where they must have gotten 3 or 4 ORebs and it lead to a John Collins 3P.They were actually down 7 with 4:00 left - and the Bucks didn't get a single rebound (offensive or defensive) the rest of the game. Which is...something.
Well he had 2 ATO plays that were really good down the stretch. He also has given up limiting the playing times of his stars, so that's a sign of growth.The knock on Bud for most of his career is that he does well establishing a system that thrives in the regular season, but he is not a coach very good at making in-game adjustments and quick-thinking solutions, which is why he has always struggled in the playoffs.
Agree that Milwaukee has the better top 5, but Atlanta does have by far the best half-court offensive player on either team, and he's surrounded by good complementary guys.I wasn't a huge Trae guy before this year and he has totally won me over---not only skill and impact but also his approach. Great fun to watch.
I am really impressed at Atlanta's play and also the depth; spectacular job building the team and the roster. I thought last summer they might be moving a bit too quickly in adding Gallo and Bog but they were right on the timing.
I just continue to worry the Bucks don't have enough adjustments available (in terms of personnel/looks) or the ability to do them well to get there. But it should be a great series, their top five is better than Atlanta's, imo, and that is pretty huge in the playoffs
Totally agree---and back to the question of "Can you win with Giannis as your go-to scorer?" really.Agree that Milwaukee has the better top 5, but Atlanta does have by far the best half-court offensive player on either team, and he's surrounded by good complementary guys.
That's also critical in the playoffs--Brooklyn almost beat Milwaukee with a much worse overall top-5, simply because their best halfcourt player was so much better than the other team's.
Yeah, I've tried to be balanced on Giannis because I think he does a lot of things well and could absolutely win a title this year. But as far as being a go-to-scorer goes, it's not looking good, and that is THE premium skill.Totally agree---and back to the question of "Can you win with Giannis as your go-to scorer?" really.
This is fair, but he wouldn't be the first MVP level player who needed another guy around to take the big shots at the end of games. Garnett had a more varied offensive skillset with his outside shot and a decent array of post moves, but he was never comfortable creating his own shot in crunch time. Middleton isn't Pierce but he may be able to do a decent impression long enough for the Bucks to win it all (this year or in future years).Yeah, I've tried to be balanced on Giannis because I think he does a lot of things well and could absolutely win a title this year. But as far as being a go-to-scorer goes, it's not looking good, and that is THE premium skill.