NBA playoffs 2018

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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Cavs look like a different team.
I hate hot takes but the ones around Toronto being unprepared for the big stage are starting to ring true. I also think the Cavs are playing better as these playoffs go along.

I don't know if this score holds up but if it does, fine. Because I strongly believe that whomever fights their way out of the 76ers/Boston series will give the Cavs a tough time. They are both well coached and relatively deep. On the surface, Toronto is too (maybe deeper than anyone) but for whatever reason, they seem to come up short against the Cavs.
 

lovegtm

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I hate hot takes but the ones around Toronto being unprepared for the big stage are starting to ring true. I also think the Cavs are playing better as these playoffs go along.

I don't know if this score holds up but if it does, fine. Because I strongly believe that whomever fights their way out of the 76ers/Boston series will give the Cavs a tough time. They are both well coached and relatively deep. On the surface, Toronto is too (maybe deeper than anyone) but for whatever reason, they seem to come up short against the Cavs.
I agree. The Cavs are a better match-up for the Cs, just because they don't have the defense to expose the lack of shot creation, and you can open up holes with a strong system.

The Raptors just look really intimidated by the Cavs, in a way that I don't think Philly or Boston are.
 

Big John

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The Raptors haven't lost game 2 yet, but giving up 98 points in 3 quarters is not a recipe for victory. Forget about LeBron. They don't have an answer for Kevin Love, who has been a zombie for most of the year.
 

Reverend

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Am I money or what? Let's put this in the same round file that my, Lakers will win less than 30 and Brooklyn pick be worse than the LA pick, have already been disposed of in.
Out of curiosity, are you watching the game? I'm wondering what it's like, how you're enjoying it, etc. given what you thought would happen. Like, as a fan of neither team. It sounds like it could be neat.
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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I agree. The Cavs are a better match-up for the Cs, just because they don't have the defense to expose the lack of shot creation, and you can open up holes with a strong system.

The Raptors just look really intimidated by the Cavs, in a way that I don't think Philly or Boston are.
I don't get it with Toronto. They have such depth and the right pieces in terms of their starters. Yet they are letting LeBron and Love have their way with them.

Again, I know the easy take is that its because they are the Raptors but that doesn't work for me. Is it coaching? Lowry is having a decent offensive game and DeRozan isn't horrible though his regular season 3p% looks to have been a mirage. But the team just looks sluggish and resigned to the fact that Cleveland deserves to win. Its frustrating AF because from a personnel perspective, they are the one team from the East that seemed to have the pieces to exploit Cleveland.
 

lovegtm

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I don't get it with Toronto. They have such depth and the right pieces in terms of their starters. Yet they are letting LeBron and Love have their way with them.

Again, I know the easy take is that its because they are the Raptors but that doesn't work for me. Is it coaching? Lowry is having a decent offensive game and DeRozan isn't horrible though his regular season 3p% looks to have been a mirage. But the team just looks sluggish and resigned to the fact that Cleveland deserves to win. Its frustrating AF because from a personnel perspective, they are the one team from the East that seemed to have the pieces to exploit Cleveland.
"It's the Raptors" is shorthand for "Casey is a meh coach, and DeRozan and Lowry seem to lack grit."
 

Montana Fan

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Out of curiosity, are you watching the game? I'm wondering what it's like, how you're enjoying it, etc. given what you thought would happen. Like, as a fan of neither team. It sounds like it could be neat.
Hah, I went out for about 2 quarters, got back and am watching Lebron take Toronto to the woodshed. Will this whipping make games 3 and 4 more or less interesting in your opinion?
 

Reverend

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Hah, I went out for about 2 quarters, got back and am watching Lebron take Toronto to the woodshed. Will this whipping make games 3 and 4 more or less interesting in your opinion?
At this point, maybe... exactly as interesting as it is to watch one many take apart a dozen other professional athletes tasked with stopping him five at a time.
 

Montana Fan

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At this point, maybe... exactly as interesting as it is to watch one many take apart a dozen other professional athletes tasked with stopping him five at a time.
Yeah, he's using them pretty badly and I guess watching one of the GOAT perform at the top of his game makes this much more entertaining than I initially thought was likely.
 

Big John

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So how many shots does LeBron have to hit before they bring a second defender over? It may not work, but the current plan isn't working either.
 

Reverend

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Yeah, he's using them pretty badly and I guess watching one of the GOAT perform at the top of his game makes this much more entertaining than I initially thought was likely.
That's basically where I'm at.

It's not worth as much to me to try to root against him (this round) than it is to just... watch. I thought it would be, but it isn't.
 

lovegtm

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Toronto has built a team that at any other time would be competing for a championship. They just have the unfortunate luck of being matched up against the greatest player on earth.
The Indiana Pacers had this Cavs team on the ropes. Toronto just looks like total shit.
 

AimingForYoko

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I'm actively rooting for a sweep now. I don't care if that leads to GSW/CL series for a millionth time.

Cluck off, Raps.

Also, fuck off Drake.
 

Deathofthebambino

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If you want to look at it that way, sure, but I think it could also be said that Lebron can actually play much better than he did (he was 12/30 from the floor for 26 points, which is dreadful for him) and Kevin Love was invisible on offense (3/13 for 7 points). Korver, Smith and Green are all capable of playing like that for a few games in a row (Korver was only 7/17 from the floor, and 5/12 from 3). And it was on the road against the #1 seed. Now, all they have to do is win their home games, and they win the series.
Like I said the other night, Lebron and Love didn't exactly have good games in Game 1, so there was room for the Cavs to actually get better in Game 2. And here we are. Lebron is more likely to go 19/28 from the floor like tonight, than he is to go 12/30 like he did in Game 1, and when Love is on, it changes everything about their offense.

Only question was whether or not their defense would hold up, but I guess if you score 130, doesn't really matter how you play on defense.