BGleas

Kawhi is just insane... https://mobile.twitter.com/Marc_DAmico/status/1127749782313762816

Really enjoying watching the Blazers (and the Nuggets for that matter). I think we saw in the 4th quarter what separates a guy like Lillard from guys like Westbrook and Kyrie. In a huge game where he didn’t have it most of the night, Lillard was perfectly willing to let the hot guy (McCullom) take the leading role and the big shots. Lillard flat-out just wants to win and he doesn’t care how.

Agree 100%. It’s debateable if he’s the best player of this generation, but nobody has impacted the way the game is played more than Steph Curry in a really long time.

I still don’t know why people thought the Warriors couldn’t/shouldn’t win without Durant. They’re so much more fun to watch without Durant. I don’t know why people discount Curry, the dude is a 2-time MVP and one of the most unique superstars in a long, long time.

Yeah, I don't understand this huge sentiment in the media that GS is cooked and Houston should win the series. I realize this isn't the same Warriors team from before Durant got there (no Harrison Barnes, Bogut is WAY older, and a few other bench guys gone), but Steph Curry is still a two-time MVP and it's been documented that when Durant is out they revert back to the 'old Warriors' with pace/space. Just look at the 4th quarter the other night, after Durant went out Curry almost instantly reverted back to the Curry running guys all over the court, making shots, and the Warriors ball movement got much better. I expect Houston to win tonight at home, but I'd favor GS at home in Game 7.

Perfect fits for Indiana would be guys like Klay (not happening) and Khris Middleton (not available). Shooters that can make an impact and still do that they do even off the ball.

Absolutely! Stinks to Kyrie for nothing, but does not stink at all to lose him whatsoever. Kyrie ruined the Celtics season.

Really hoping Toronto closes out Philly tonight, because yes, Tor-Mil should be great! I lean with you on favoring Toronto. Kawhi is just playing at a ridiculous level and he’s been there before. This seems like a “step”for Milwaukee. Last year they went 7 in first round, this year ECF, next year Finals.

Enjoy the ECF! As much as it stinks for me that the Celtics imploded this year, Bucks (and hopefully) Raptors should be a really fun series to watch.

He’s really embarrassed himself in this series, beyond normal. He looks like a Knick.

Might be a few days off the boards for me, @KoB2011. I’m driving up to Boston to help Kyrie pack his things.

Mike Golic, Jr. called Jokic the "Dad-bod God" this morning.

It’s funny how we forget, before that injury in the playoffs against the Warriors a couple years ago Kawhi was absolutely the 3rd best player in the NBA, and closer to LeBron and Durant than whoever you’d put at 4th.

Just having some fun here, @Hoosierhoopster, obviously the Celtics-Bucks series is more than just this, but with that said it is still a make/miss league a lot of the time. While the Bucks are outplaying the Celtics, no doubt, in some very key spots the Celtics are missing a lot of really open shots as well, whereas the Bucks are making them. That does go back to what type of shots you're taking as well though.

Durant is a great player playing at a ridiculous level right now, but his style of play is currently ruining what made the Warriors 'The Warriors'. I don't like the heat Steph is getting right now, because this isn't Steph's team anymore. What makes Steph one of the hardest players in the NBA to defend is the ball and people movement the Warriors always had. Steph isn't a spot-up shooter, and Durant playing iso ball is killing everything the Warriors are based upon. This isn't me saying Durant isn't the best player, but might be, but his style doesn't necessarily fit Golden State anymore.

I love Brad Stevens and I still think he's one of the top 2-3 coaches in the NBA. What he's done in Boston has been phenomenal. With that said, he did a really bad job this season. I don't know if there is really anything you can do with a personality/figure like Kyrie, but Stevens wasn't able to ever get the team to play properly for any extended stretch. I still think Boston is the more talented team top-to-bottom compared to Philly and Milwaukee (not sure about Toronto when they're healthy, they're really good), but for whatever reason (again, probably even out of his control) Stevens was unable to get this team to play together. I've never seen a team take more horrible shots off of zero or just 1 pass super early in the shot-clock (the Celtics did this constantly), and they basically played 'my turn, your turn' on offense most of the season. The dynamics completely ruined Tatum's development this season and really hurt Jaylen Brown for the first half. I put most of it at the feet of Kyrie, but Stevens is the coach and he gets a ton of accolades so he has to share some when it goes bad like it did this season.

You don't think most college games are bad basketball? I only get defensive on it when I find the reasoning to be based more in perception than reality, which I find is usually the case with people that like college basketball and slam the NBA. Not saying that is you, I understand you just don't like the NBA game from a stylistic standpoint.

What I don't get when college fans say this about the NBA is that the vast majority of college games are terrible in terms of the play on the court. I love college basketball, but what makes college basketball great for the most part is the pageantry, the rivalries and the atmosphere, most of the time the games are actually pretty bad. Is it really good basketball when Wisconsin beats Rutgers 63-56 and both teams shoot around 40% from the field?

Like HH said, addition by subtraction. He’ll walk as an unrestricted free agent.

He has been atrocious. After the game he actually said he should have been more selfish and that 22 shots wasn’t enough for a player as talented as his. I really hope he goes to the Knicks.

You’re missing out. The playoffs have been fantastic.

It's been great to watch. This might be the best conference semi round ever.

I appreciate the response and I have heard many of those same things over time as well. Some thoughts on the points you mentioned. 1. 48 minutes is a long game and the players are so talented. So when a team jumps out to a big lead, it's just numbers that the team missing a lot of shots is eventually going to get hot within the course of a game and come back. Also, this happens in college all the time. There's tons of times during a college season where a team goes up 10-20 points in the first 10 minutes and then by the last 5 minutes of the game it's a 5-pt game. Happens all the time. 2. This I can't really push back on. It's just a fact that the NBA season is a long season and you're traveling for 5-10+ days at a time (albeit with top-notch accommodations) playing back-to-backs, etc.. It takes a toll on the body and the mind. I saw this first-hand so I tend to give NBA players a break on it sometimes. I've been on road trips where we landed in Boston at 2:30am after playing in another city and then had a home game the next night. These guys beat up their bodies for 7-9 months, so I sort of get taking plays offs. Also, how many times have we complained about IU guys not playing hard? So, this one happens in college as well, probably for different reasons though. But, again I get what you're saying. That 11+ minute video from a couple years ago of Harden's bad defensive plays was insane. 3. I don't really get the Thomas Bryant part, but on your general point I think the NBA has had maybe the best run of any professional sport the last 10-15 years in terms of the likability of their stars. Yeah, they complain in the media and they don't always handle social media great, but name me a star in the NBA the last 10 years that's gotten in trouble with the law or had any off-the-court scandals? Outside of Kobe Bryant's legal issue which was almost 20 years ago, the current crop and the aging crop of NBA stars have been pretty clean and all seem like good guys. They do a ton in the community, etc. At the same time, they're playing in the most scrutinized era in terms of media and fan access. 4. I can't debate against star treatment, there's no doubt in the NBA that stars get away with way more than other players and they draw fouls way more than other players. The Big Market/Small Market stuff I don't buy as much, but compared to college that would be the same as the Blue Blood vs. little guys thing. Do the Lakers have advantages compared to the Kings? Absolutely. But Duke has advantages compared to Wake Forest in college. Milwaukee is currently a 1 seed. Portland and Denver are playing in the conference semi's. Over the last 10 years San Antonio has been to 2 Finals, OKC has been to the Finals, Orlando has been there and Cleveland went to 4 straight. 5. There is a lot to complain about in terms of NBA officiating (believe me, I can start that thread 😀), but NBA refs are infinitely better than NCAA refs. NCAA refs are the worst! I appreciate you bringing those points up, for me this is a fun discussion. I realize everyone likes what they like and everyone has a right to their opinion, but sort of what you alluded to is that I think a lot of the gripes against the NBA are perception, not really reality. I happen to be someone that loves college basketball and the NBA, but I always enjoy this discussion.

I'll never understand people that love basketball but don't like the NBA? Honestly, the last 10-12 years or so, the NBA playoffs for the most part have been phenomenal in terms of both story-lines and drama. I know it seems like LeBron (Heat/Cavs) and the Warriors have dominated as forgone conclusions, but both the Pacers and Celtics took LeBron's Heat and Cavs teams to 7-game series in the East and GS was taken 7 by OKC and Houston in recent years. We've had 3 7-game NBA Finals over the last 9 years, plus the drama that was the Mavs and Spurs beating LeBron's Heat, as well as a little mini renewal of the Celtics/Lakers rivalry as they met twice in the Finals. I grew up on the Celtics/Lakers of the 80's and the beauty at which those teams executed offensively, but I still say that if someone asked me to show them an example of how basketball should be played I'm throwing in the tape of the Spurs beating the Heat 4-1 in 2014. It was just an amazing display of team basketball by the Spurs. I don't love all the 3 attempts in the game now, so I understand that criticism, but otherwise the NBA has largely been awesome for the past 12 or so years.

I don’t think the game was that different. Connaughton played more because he was hitting shots, he played better. Giannis could attack better because the guys around him were hitting shots, unlike in Game 1, and the Celtics weren’t, so Giannis was able to get out into transition more. Yes, that made the game different of course, but again it came down to making shots Guys not named Giannis went 10-34 from 3 in Game 1 vs. 18-44 in Game 2. That’s a huge difference and opens things up a great deal for Giannis. It was a super tight game until midway through the 3rd when the Celtics went 16 straight possessions without scoring and the Bucks couldn’t miss.