2021 NBA Playoffs Gamethread

lovegtm

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Apr 30, 2013
11,996
If Brown doesn't get hurt there's a decent chance the Celtics are playing in the NBA finals
Yeah, unfortunately the Nets were healthy in the first round. I do think the Celtics matched up better with the Giannis Bucks than people thought, which is looking more true as we've seen that team's limitations.

All the more reason for the Celtics to treat the next couple years with urgency and to stop this "bridge year" bullshit. We heard "bridge year" the past two seasons, and this team could easily have won a title in both of them with a bit of injury luck (us healthier mainly).
 

HomeRunBaker

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Jan 15, 2004
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Yeah, unfortunately the Nets were healthy in the first round. I do think the Celtics matched up better with the Giannis Bucks than people thought, which is looking more true as we've seen that team's limitations.

All the more reason for the Celtics to treat the next couple years with urgency and to stop this "bridge year" bullshit. We heard "bridge year" the past two seasons, and this team could easily have won a title in both of them with a bit of injury luck (us healthier mainly).
The term “bridge year” works well to defend the process of failing to build a strong supporting cast.
 

Devizier

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Jul 3, 2000
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The Celtics just had horrible depth and this was reflected in their seeding and outcome. If they just had a mediocre guy instead of Semi-Grant they could still be alive in the Hawks’ seed, even without Jaylen.
 
There are about 10 teams that could spend days kicking themselves for not still being alive in the playoffs and being in a position to take advantage of the weak field that remains. But to return to talking about one of the teams that is still alive...

I'm hardly unique in comparing this year's Hawks to the 1991 Atlanta Braves, but the parallels keep getting stronger and stronger for me. I attended Game 5 of the 1991 NLCS in Atlanta against Pittsburgh, and the Braves lost 1-0 in a really depressing game - you may vaguely remember that David Justice stumbled over third base on his way to scoring a run that the Pirates appealed and then had overturned, even though replays seemed to show that the cleats of Justice's shoes did barely skim the base on the way past, and the Braves never came close to scoring again. But they had to go on the road for Games 6 and 7 and managed to win them both to reach the World Series...and the Hawks get to play one of these last two games at home. I'd be surprised if they reached the Finals after what happened last night, but it wouldn't *shock* me; much depends upon Trae's ankle, of course, but if Giannis remains out for the series, even a gimpy-ish Trae should be able to challenge Brook Lopez better off the pick and roll, and the jury is out on whether the Bucks can thrive enough again on offense for 48 minutes. We'll see!
 

lexrageorge

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Jul 31, 2007
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Yeah, unfortunately the Nets were healthy in the first round. I do think the Celtics matched up better with the Giannis Bucks than people thought, which is looking more true as we've seen that team's limitations.

All the more reason for the Celtics to treat the next couple years with urgency and to stop this "bridge year" bullshit. We heard "bridge year" the past two seasons, and this team could easily have won a title in both of them with a bit of injury luck (us healthier mainly).
Not sure we can place any blame for what happened 2 seasons ago. Kemba's knee gave out much sooner than expected, and Hayward got yet another totally fluke injury that essentially ended his playoffs. No team in the NBA can adjust to losing 2 starters, and the Celtics with either player missing would have been no match for a healthy Lakers team.

A better roster this season would have given them better seeding and they would have at least avoided a healthy Nets team in Round 1. But Wyc essentially declared that staying under the tax line was going to be priority #1 last season, so that is where the blame belongs if anywhere.
 

scottyno

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Dec 7, 2008
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If they had the same path as the Suns, sure. Against a healthy Nets team (and they were healthy for round 1), they wouldn't have had more than a puncher's chance even if Brown/Kemba/TL were all healthy.
they lost 2 close games to the heat without brown or TL, with them they probably beat them twice and don't even end up the 7
 

cardiacs

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Jul 15, 2005
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I don't remember being so excited for a non-Celtics NBA game before. If Trae is playing I think we are going 7 (maybe not the most provocative opinion).
 

TripleOT

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Jul 4, 2007
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This reminds me of the 2020 season where both Finals teams benefited from other teams losing important players, and then the eventual champion benefiting from the other team’s center/linchpin on both offense and defense getting hurt in game 1, missing two more games, and never being fully right when he came back
 

AMS25

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Feb 29, 2008
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Holland on the Plains
I don't remember being so excited for a non-Celtics NBA game before. If Trae is playing I think we are going 7 (maybe not the most provocative opinion).
As a Thunder fan, I'm not usually interested in the Eastern Conference playoffs. But, this year, it's been fun to watch the Bucks and the Hawks.
 

Ale Xander

Hamilton
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Oct 31, 2013
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This is some serious 3D chess by the Hawks to use the MLK jerseys in a game against Milwaukee.
 

Sam Ray Not

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Jul 19, 2005
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Hawks seem like a team ready to start its offseason
They can still easily win this, but a loss would be distinctly un-tragic as playoff eliminations go. They’ve already wildly overperformed expectations for this season; and they should be way better over the next 1-5 seasons, not just because their star starting backcourt are both only 22 but also because they have two potential star young forwards in Hunter and Reddish, both of whom were mostly unavailable for this run. Good times for CP….
 

TripleOT

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Jul 4, 2007
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Middleton was hypnotized at halftime into believing the Hawks were the Celtics. Do the Hawks have one big run left In them?
 

Euclis20

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Aug 3, 2004
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I've never been a Reddish fan but man is he showing up. 15 points so far in the second half, he's the biggest reason Atlanta is still within striking distance.
 

ElUno20

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Jul 19, 2005
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Do we only care about 1 half of the floor? Reddish is getting torched and damn near giving up point for point on the other end.
 

HomeRunBaker

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Jan 15, 2004
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Do we only care about 1 half of the floor? Reddish is getting torched and damn near giving up point for point on the other end.
It’s also a ridiculously small sample. I think I had him in the 20’s of my mock draft a couple years ago and aside from a few games (like this one) I’ve seen nothing to question my outlook on him. “Garbage” may be too strong......but it may not be.
 

bigq

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Jul 15, 2005
11,083
Its actually cool for him. It just feels a bit dirty from a Cs fan perspective or probably just me.
I hear you. 11 points in 12 minutes including 3-3 from 3 in an elimination game is something. He flashed early for the Celtics and promptly crashed. Hope he gets his ring with the Bucks. I doubt he will get another chance.
 

Ale Xander

Hamilton
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Oct 31, 2013
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What’s with all the off days? They need 2 off days in between games 3 and 4 in the same place?
Milwaukee to Phoenix isn’t exactly Miami to Portland either
 

Kliq

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Mar 31, 2013
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The Phoenix Suns and Milwaukee Bucks both entered the league as expansion teams in the 1968-69 season. As to be expected, both teams finished last in their respective divisions, which at the time meant that a coin-flip between the two of them would be decide who gets the #1 overall pick, even though the Bucks (27-55) clearly appeared to be better off than the woeful Suns (16-66). The prize in the draft could not be any bigger: Lew Alcindor, the most dominant player in the history of college basketball and the obvious heir apparent to Mikan, Russell and Chamberlain, the man to rule the league for the entire 70s. In probably the most important coin flip in NBA history, the Bucks won the flip and got to take Alcindor, with a title coming just two years later.

The Suns got the raw end of the deal, their consolation prize was Florida center Neal Walk, who Bill Simmons once described as "the hairiest player in NBA history." One of the great Jewish basketball players of all time, Walk was not a bad player, he averaged 20-12 in 1972-73, but injuries slowed down his career shortly thereafter and he was out of the league by 1977. The Suns are still chasing their first NBA title.

42416
 

HomeRunBaker

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Jan 15, 2004
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What’s with all the off days? They need 2 off days in between games 3 and 4 in the same place?
Milwaukee to Phoenix isn’t exactly Miami to Portland either
They probably don’t want to go up against the MLB Home Run Derby and All-Star game on Mon/Tues. This way they get Wed night all to themselves and G4 in the optimal prime time Sat night slot.
 

HomeRunBaker

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Jan 15, 2004
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Even so, ratings will not be good for this matchup. Numbers may be historically low.
Probably not as Suns vs Bucks is not your large fan base, big city traditional Finals matchup. My point was that they will still be better by not going up against the MLB All-Star game and HR Derby.