2021 NBA Playoffs Gamethread
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Karmic payback for Booker not getting called against Middleton earlier.
Giannis is an offensive rebound machine on threes and FTs his shit misses so badly, always hits the rim weird.
Not what I saw -- both hands on ball. And given BOoker's fouls on middleton, he doesn't have any good karma.
What Dokes said!
Watching that play again, the foul from Paul is not only stupid, it's also kind of dirty and dangerous
Refs have been letting them play the last few minutes of this game
They do and Budenholzer has made some very good adjustments all playoffs. Each win slays another narrative.
still can't get over "cerebral" CP3 committing that foul. The Bucks made a mistake not just holding that until someone fouled (Middleton). Let him dunk that.
And they had just 8 turnovers, and allowed just 4 free unintentional free throws to players other than Giannis. Really remarkable.
Shitty thing in any context. Extra shitty to a guy who just avoided major injury.
Not to pile on CP3. (which exactly is what I’m doing), but the guy has been in the league for a decade and a half, and has failed on the big stage repeatedly.
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Agree completely. It's only because Giannis is such an outlier athlete even by NBA standards that he was able to feel that and grab enough rim to keep from serious injury.
Jrue is productive even when he's not making shots because of his defensive ability. Thought he played really well when NO lost to GSW and not surprised that he's really dominating this series from the defensive end. His ability to guard Booker and Paul really sets the tone for MIL.
So yes I hope Marcus is watching but I hope Romeo was watching too. I think Romeo could play roles much like Jrue does.
Last few games it has felt like the Bucks are just the tougher team; their players are tougher and more focused. Booker has been great but he spends so much time whining for calls, I think he loses focus in these games. The Bucks are flawed but I get the sense they are just more locked-in and are playing harder and smarter down the stretch, which has allowed them to win these close games.
This slow-mo action rules, just incredible storytelling:
View: https://twitter.com/JustEsBaraheni/status/1416612949632880640?s=20
This slow-mo action rules, just incredible storytelling:
View: https://twitter.com/JustEsBaraheni/status/1416612949632880640?s=20
Such an incredible series. B2B game saving defensive plays by Giannis in G4 & Jrue in G5 take them from possibly losing in 5 to being up 3-2. Giannis has stepped up his game to his highest level ever on the biggest stage as has Jrue. G6 is going to be nuts again.
That was a sick game last night, and an incredibly satisfying series so far. It's so nice to have some fresh faces and cities as a part of the narrative.
There were 3-4 moments last night where, as a fan, my breath literally was taken away - most notably the Jrue takeaway to Giannis slam.
There were 3-4 moments last night where, as a fan, my breath literally was taken away - most notably the Jrue takeaway to Giannis slam.
Holiday has been phenomenal against Phoenix's megawatt backcourt of Chris Paul and Booker. According to Second Spectrum, in the 268 matchups in which Holiday is the primary defender on Booker or Paul, they're averaging just 22 points per 100 possessions. Against all other Bucks defenders, the duo is averaging 39.7 points per 100 possessions. Holiday has forced Paul into an uncharacteristic 10 turnovers and Booker into eight.
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/31836199/nba-finals-2021-one-win-away-jrue-holiday-milwaukee-bucks-staying-course
Thanks. That was incredible and Holiday came up with the play of the night. Giannis nearly gave away the game by missing four free throws in the last 5 minutes of game time but that play really sealed the deal.
This really isn't a there are very fine people on both sides situation.
Throwing popcorn on an injured player limping off is as bad as throwing a ball onto the field. There are no winners here.
The only way to stop that hoop would have been even dirtier...and got him a Flagrant 1; which would have done the same thing as the missed foul shot/offensive rebound. Smart play would have been conceding the dunk.
Agree there are no winners but you are building your point by describing what happened last night in a misleading manner. This wasn't a leisurely toss of a ball onto the field. The difference pointed out by Humphrey (I think) is that one occurrence (firing a baseball at someone who doesn't see it coming) is legitimately dangerous and the other (dropping popcorn) on someone is not. Your stance is that both are nevertheless roughly equally bad behavior.
Legitimately dangerous? I am not in support of anyone throwing things at the players and it's totally disreputable. But it's not like this idiot in the stands was firing a 102 MPH fastball. Yeah, you get hit with a meatball tossed from the stands it might hurt for 8 seconds,(and only if it hits you in the head, any other place and it's just a bounce off) but it's not legitimately dangerous. It's just annoying. You're not going to get seriously hurt by it, which is what legitimately dangerous means.
Wait! You’re comparing being hit in the head by a baseball thrown with a downward trajectory at maybe 50 mph with being hit in the head by several kernels of popcorn?
Obv no place in the game for either but one is quite a bit more dangerous than the other.
I wonder if you could be charged with assault with a dangerous weapon if you threw a baseball at someone walking on the street in front of you
I wonder if you could be charged with assault with a dangerous weapon if you threw a piece of popcorn at someone walking on the street in front of you
I wonder if you could be charged with assault with a dangerous weapon if you threw a piece of popcorn at someone walking on the street in front of you
Maybe not dangerous weapon but both could be charged with assault.
Not that I think throwing a baseball at someone is the same as throwing popcorn at them.
Watching the highlights from the game last night; one really incredible play by Giannis was after the alley-oop, he misses the free throw and has a chance at the offensive rebound, but instead of grabbing it he calmly bats it back to the superior free throw shooter in Middleton to ice the game. It was a really smart play.
Thank you for posting this Tweet. Its so well done down to the soundtrack. Its an iconic play that pairs nicely with Giannis' block in the prior game. I won't lie - I may have watched the clip a half dozen times.
I want the Suns to force a game seven. I agree with others that these teams are fun and I want more basketball.
I’m rooting hard for the suns (my username should give that away) but I love Giannis. I don’t find his game super exciting to watch but everything I’ve watched and read about him leaves me with the impression that he’s just an awesome guy. Still hoping the suns can pull it out in 7, but I wouldn’t be upset about Giannis getting a ring. The guy gets too much hate and his story is awesome
I don't have anything against the Suns and find them to be generally a likeable team and I'd be cool if they won a title. I'm rooting for the Bucks because I like their players, but more importantly I just think it would benefit the kind of NBA basketball that I enjoy if the Bucks were to win the title. Winning a title because they drafted extremely well, made some ballsy trades and found some suitable role players out of the bargain bin would be a good thing for the NBA. The fact that they had a superstar who signed a super-max right before the season started and didn't go looking for a super team is also a bonus. A small-market team that did all of the things well (and caught some lucky breaks) is a nice story I think that benefits the rest of the league.
Doesn’t that kinda describe the Suns as well? They are also a small market team who drafted Booker, Ayton, Cam Johnson, and Bridges.....while adding bargain role players in Crowder, Payne, Craig and Saric. They did everything well and caught a break that Paul happened to be a FA and actually wanted to play there.
Yeah, I like the Suns path to the title too. I guess I think of Phoenix as a more glamorous market than Milwaukee. Phoenix was also really bad for a long time; Milwaukee didn't really acquire their players by tanking (although Phoenix drafted really well outside of the Top 5). I'm not really hating on Phoenix, I just like that Milwaukee has done, and I'd like to see them rewarded for convincing Giannis to stay and then really trading everything for Jrue Holiday and then signing him to a max extension (in addition to giving Middleton a giant contract). A lot of these times we see teams go all-in on trying to retain a franchise player and it often backfires, the franchise star requests a trade, and the team is in shambles and facing a long rebuild.
Yeah, pretty much both teams fit this description.
I have no rooting interest, but I have been a Chris Paul stan since forever and it's bumming me out that he's been playing so poorly.
I want the Bucks as well for these reasons, plus Chris Paul is a dirty player, and Jae Crowder seems like an asshole.
I want the Bucks to win just so I can stop hearing about how Giannis is a problem in the playoffs.