Playoff Game Thread
- Thread starter ElUno20
- Start date
One game overreaction alert, but at some point Pop has to consider going with a smallball look with Kawhi at the 4 ... right? Trotting out traditional two-big lineups with Lee or Aldridge at the 4 is killing them against this Rockets team.
Personally, I'd try something like Dedmon-Leonard-Green-Manu-Mills.
Personally, I'd try something like Dedmon-Leonard-Green-Manu-Mills.
Last edited:
I've been a big Aldridge fan and I think he has taken an undue beating for not putting up the same numbers he did in Portland when he came to SA. Everyone puts up smaller numbers in SA and it is always ultimately better for the team. However, I can't defend his performance tonight. Watching him failing to score while posting up on Harden and Ryan Anderson is unacceptable.
To me it's less an issue of his not putting up numbers than of being unplayable defensively as a PF against fast modern teams that play four-out (of which the Rockets are the apotheosis). At age 31 it looks like he's lugging around 20-30 lbs. of unwanted weight.
But even as far as the numbers: you can live with a drop in volume if it comes with a rise in efficiency (a la David Lee). Aldridge this season has seen a dip in volume (to 19.2 pts per 36) while his efficiency has dipped to sub-mediocre (.532 ts). He's also been pretty crap on the glass (8.1 boards per 36). Not surprising that the Cavs were 4.6 pts better per 100 possessions this season with him on the bench.
I know he's making max money, but that's a sunk cost. I don't see how the Spurs get by the Rockets, let alone the Warriors, with Aldridge continuing to play big minutes at the 4 alongside another slow big like Lee or Gasol. I'd seriously consider relegating him to 15-20 minutes a game at backup C.
Last edited:
He needs to go to the Diaw School of Fat Basketball. He looked incredibly sluggish out there and it was weird to watch. Reminded me of Mark Blount fumbling balls away. Spurs need Aldridge to be much better. When he's on, they can beat anyone.
Leonard seems like he'd be an ideal small ball 4. Not sure about the rest of that lineup though, if Pop wins with that he should be elevated to coaching sainthood.
The Clips wouldn't be wrong to keep Paul. He's pretty irreplaceable. But they need to build up their team depth somehow. A three nickels for a quarter trade involving Griffin or Jordan is probably necessary.
Yup. They're rolling. I'm certainly glad they pissed away the #1 seed. Celtics would need all the help they can get.
But....but....all those minutes!!
This Cleveland team is a juggernaut. Unstoppable offense with all those shooters surrounding LeBron and Kyrie.
I expect the raptors to play better at home, they are a really good team, but if Lowry is hobbled they have no chance. They might not win a quarter going forward.
Spurs go on an 8-0 run in the last 2 minutes to start pulling ahead, 61-48 with a little more than 2 minutes in the first half.
But can they defend well enough to prevent GSW from looking like a better version of that...
Yeah, it didn't "look" bad until his reaction to it and having to be carried off. It was non-contact occurring on the landing which makes it even more likely that he heard "the pop." Players know.....I have to trust his reaction and inability to even attempt to put weight on it.
Skip must have missed the first game of the night where Bron went for 39/6/4/3/2 on 14 FGA. Not to take anything away from Kawhi who was just as ridiculous.
We, the fans, are the big winners in these playoffs. LeBron and Kawhi last night......Wall and Isaiah the night before.....we've had Harden and Westbrook too. Good times for the NBA.
I was hoping for a Pierce moment but I agree that he's probably done for the playoffs.
I almost forgot about Pierce being carried off in a similar manner. He also had the head bandage at the post-game presser one time too. Makes me wonder if he faked the stab wounds too!.....(that was a joke)
But he was OUR drama king!!
* Edited to correct gunshot wounds to stab wounds. All these athlete violence stories tend to get jumbled as one ages.
Last edited:
The basketball Rorschach Test that is Demar Derozan is now sporting a career playoff eFG% of .407, which is last among all players with at least 700 FG attempts since 1979'-80. For his play-off career, he's at -15.8 points per 100 possessions for his raw on/off numbers, with a -2.4 BPM.
Agreed. And don't forget the two-time defending MVP, who has "quietly" put up these #s (per 36 min) while leading his team to a 5-0 record in the playoffs:
30.8 pts on .645 true shooting
6.1 rebounds
6.8 assists
2.0 steals
Net on-off of +20.2 points per 100 possessions
Or his teammate DPOYmond Green, who has anchored the league's best playoff defense by far (97.1 pts allowed per 100 possessions, against two good offensive teams) while putting up these #s:
14.8 pts on .674 true shooting
9.5 rebounds
7.4 assists
1.9 steals
3.9 blocks (???? Dude is 6'-6")
Net on-off of +26.8
It's a golden age for amazing players, for sure.
Fwiw, even if Skip is kind of a fool and a shameless homer for "his Spurs," I'm fine with considering the Kawhi-monster 1A/1B with LeBron at this point. Now that he's setting up his teammates for easy buckets, there's really nothing he doesn't do at an elite level (excellent 3 pt shooter, Jordan-like array of mid-range post moves, 90% FT shooter, excellent rebounder, best perimeter defender in the league, e.g.)
I will note (as a fellow shameless homer) that Durant's combo of length and skill on both ends gave Kawhi some problems in last year's epic Thunder/Spurs series: 28.5 ppg on .601 ts to Kawhi's 23.2 on .554. As ridiculous as Kawhi is, 6'-12" > 6'-7". A healthy Durant may be the player in the league most capable of making Kawhi look at least somewhat mortal.
Last edited:
Ugh, that totally sucks. You kind of knew just from the expression on his face and the way he was holding it and not moving. Just a gross moment. The painfully ironic aspect of it is that he was playing his best hoops in a couple years before it happened. Over the last couple years he has occasionally looked diminished by injuries, slow, slightly overweight, etc. But in this years' playoffs -- last night's game in particular -- he had looked as lithe, aggressive and quick off the dribble as the Parker of old, with a sweet three-point shot added for good measure. As a Warriors fan, I was thinking "ugh ... if this version of Parker is for real, these guys are gonna be really tough to handle."
That said, the Spurs are so deep and so well-coached that they're still gonna be tough for the Rockets and/or Warriors to handle. Patty Mills has been at least as good as Parker for a couple years now; give him an extra 5-10 minutes a game; and play a bit bigger with more "point-Manu" and "point-Kawhi", plus maybe a few more minutes for Simmons and Murray, and the Spurs may not even miss a beat.
Prediction: I think this gives the team a rallying cry, and led by the Kawhi-monster they take this series.
James Harden and DeMar Derozan combined last night: 18 points on 28 field goal attempts
Golden state holding Utah to 14 points in the first half. Utah was outscored by Draymond alone, who was 4 of 4 from 3
Sadly, yes. If the Celtics were playing better, I might reduce it to like 97.5%. Spurs losing Parker kills them against GS. And Houston would lose 4-1 or get swept.Round 3? Skip past the Conference finals and straight to the chase?
Heard a rumor Hayward is gonna sign with Warriors after getting swept
I almost said it after game 1 this round but I have a hunch both GS and Cleveland are going to be 12-0 going into the finals
This game got ugly fast. Cavs making it a laugher. They've outscored the Raps 20-3 in the 4th with a little more than 6 to go. Lead by 19.
17 to 1 run. Toronto just gooning it up but it's not working. And they did it with JR, Love, and Kyrie on the bench.
Toronto getting the NBA treatment in the fourth.. I have no desire to see the C's play this shitty Cleveland team... you have to play a perfect game to beat them because you can't play D on Lebron and they're allowed to play a very physical D. At some point you can't keep up.
Edit: or I could be wrong..
Edit: or I could be wrong..