Recent content by m0ckduck

  1. m0ckduck

    2024 Playoffs Eastern Conference First Round: (4) Cleveland Cavaliers vs (5) Orlando Magic

    If by "scoring diversity", you mean players who can score and players who can't score, then I agree. Orlando attempted the 3rd fewest threes in the NBA and ranked 24th in 3PT percentage. At 22nd overall, they have the lowest offensive efficiency rating of any team in the playoffs. That's not...
  2. m0ckduck

    2024 Playoffs Eastern Conference First Round: (2) New York Knicks vs (7) Philadelphia 76ers - The Danse Macabre

    There was something subtly hilarious about watching the game knowing both coaches would be determined not to repeat the mistakes of G5 by failing to get their star any rest down the stretch... but then seeing how badly each team sagged in the few minutes that Brunson/Embiid sat.
  3. m0ckduck

    Jayson Tatum's Rise to the Top

    It's the new market inefficiency: two-way All-NBA guys who lead the league in playoff wins since their rookie year.
  4. m0ckduck

    (2) New York Knicks vs (6) Indiana Pacers - 2024 EC Second Round

    This feels like an old-school 1980's 2-2-1-1-1 series, where each team enjoys a big HCA and struggles on the other team's floor. I don't think Indy is ready to take this series. They've been very trick-or-treat already, losing twice solidly to a team with PatBev and Malik Beasley logging 60-70...
  5. m0ckduck

    2024 Playoffs Eastern Conference First Round: (3) Milwaukee Bucks vs (6) Indiana Pacers

    They're thoroughly in the zone of "run it back and hope for the best possible health outcome for every key player." There's nothing else to do, and they still have better title odds next year than 20+ teams. If you can't really improve in the NBA, then you're in the business of selling hope—...
  6. m0ckduck

    An Ode to the Fallen: 2024 - 2025 Offseason Thread

    I think the Heat, like the Lakers, want to cultivate a reputation of taking care of older stars as part of their free agent recruitment strategy. I don't see them pursuing it as recklessly as LA (e.g. last Kobe contract) but I doubt they will move on aggressively and Bellichick-ianly from Jimmy...
  7. m0ckduck

    The Unikornet

    I certainly didn't expect it. But it makes sense in hindsight. Bam doesn't have lots of range or quickness to his game, so Kornet's relative lack of lateral movement is mostly a non-factor. When it comes to holding up in the post, he like a blend of Porzingis and Horford: stronger than KP but a...
  8. m0ckduck

    Joe Mazzulla officially named head coach

    In the calculus of "CJM vs Udoka as better head coach", White's startling improvement has to count in Mazzulla's favor. Maybe the same improvement would have happened under Udoka, but I doubt it when I recall how tentative White looked during the 2022 playoffs. Lots of athletes are wired with...
  9. m0ckduck

    Derrick White, playoff alpha

    Remember, guys, he's not one of the NBA's top 100 players according to ESPN circa October. Maybe we could trade him + a 2nd to Charlotte and acquire that Grant Williams guy (#97).
  10. m0ckduck

    Jayson Tatum's Rise to the Top

    Since this Heat series showcased Tatum playing within himself and leading the evisceration by taking what the opponent gives him, I wanted to spotlight one specific "doing the small things" sequence yesterday that was so amazing I had to rewatch it several times: Early 1st quarter. DW and JT...
  11. m0ckduck

    2024 Playoffs Eastern Conference First Round: (2) New York Knicks vs (7) Philadelphia 76ers - The Danse Macabre

    The most Sixers-Embiid thing ever would be him completely dominating G6 but picking up a flagrant and missing G7 where Philly gets handily eliminated. "Most Sixers-Embiid thing ever" in the sense of leaving franchise and fans in an endless purgatory of dueling glass-half-empty vs glass-half-full...
  12. m0ckduck

    (2) Denver Nuggets vs (3) Minnesota Timberwolves - 2024 WC Second Round

    This feels like a series where we come away feeling Minn should have won, but where they make a few dumb mistakes and lose in 7. It's close enough that I would pick T-Wolves if they had HCA.
  13. m0ckduck

    2024 Playoffs Eastern Conference First Round: (4) Cleveland Cavaliers vs (5) Orlando Magic

    The officiating is so much tighter in this series than Knicks-Sixers, it's like a different sport.
  14. m0ckduck

    2024 Playoffs Eastern Conference First Round: (2) New York Knicks vs (7) Philadelphia 76ers - The Danse Macabre

    True, but you're both pointing to the fickle nature of public perception. I'm saying that, public perception aside, it's reasonable for even the most astute NBA observer to find Embiid disappointing in this series— and yet it's included a 50 point game. My overarching point is about talent and...
  15. m0ckduck

    2024 Playoffs Eastern Conference First Round: (2) New York Knicks vs (7) Philadelphia 76ers - The Danse Macabre

    That's the crazy thing about Embiid: right now, the narrative that's cued up for him around this series is "huge disappointment." And yet, he had a 50 point game! I can't thing of another player we'd be having this kind of discussion about.
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