NBA Thread

[milehiiu]

Moving on..... to the next series.

DENVER Nuggets.

We've got:

Gary Harris..... from Fishers, Indiana.

Trey Lyles..... from Indianapolis, Indiana.

Mason Plumlee.... from Warsaw, Indiana

AND

We've got :  "The Joker"..... from Serbia !

 

 

[Hoosierhoopster]

Are the Warriors dirty? 

The repeated defenders (more than one) "close outs" under Harden/in his space (and others) when he (or others) is/are shooting 3's looks pretty damn deliberate. After what Pachulia did to Kawhi in those playoffs, it's amazing to me that the refs are not all over GS for this -- to me, grossly improper and calculated, dirty play that can end a player's career. The flip side is that Harden is a big time flopper, maybe the biggest in the game.

Posting this as a question as I'm not sure I can look at GS's "defense" objectively any more. Draymond, now even Klay?

If this is deliberate, and it really looks like deliberately illegal D to me, meaning they're actually being coached / told to get in/under the shooter's space, man, that needs to be addressed and seriously. Absolutely pathetic, from my point of view. Not giving a shooter a place to land, especially after what happened to Kawhi, as a result of Pachulia's clearly illegal D, just no excuse.

https://247sports.com/nba/golden-state-warriors/ContentGallery/Warriors-Rockets-refs-Game-1-reactions-131620792/#131620792_1

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/26629293/the-officiating-rockets-vs-warriors-series-threatens-define-rivalry

 

[FW_Hoosier]

51 minutes ago, Hoosierhoopster said:

Are the Warriors dirty? 

The repeated defenders (more than one) "close outs" under Harden/in his space (and others) when he (or others) is/are shooting 3's looks pretty damn deliberate. After what Pachulia did to Kawhi in those playoffs, it's amazing to me that the refs are not all over GS for this -- to me, grossly improper and calculated, dirty play that can end a player's career. The flip side is that Harden is a big time flopper, maybe the biggest in the game.

Posting this as a question as I'm not sure I can look at GS's "defense" objectively any more. Draymond, now even Klay?

If this is deliberate, and it really looks like deliberately illegal D to me, meaning they're actually being coached / told to get in/under the shooter's space, man, that needs to be addressed and seriously. Absolutely pathetic, from my point of view. Not giving a shooter a place to land, especially after what happened to Kawhi, as a result of Pachulia's clearly illegal D, just no excuse.

https://247sports.com/nba/golden-state-warriors/ContentGallery/Warriors-Rockets-refs-Game-1-reactions-131620792/#131620792_1

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/26629293/the-officiating-rockets-vs-warriors-series-threatens-define-rivalry

 

Looks like they missed some calls on Klay earlier in the game, but the whining about the no-call on Harden’s last shot is ridiculous.  That wasn’t a foul by Draymond.  Harden clearly went out of his way to kick his legs forward trying to draw the foul, but the refs aren’t going to, and shouldn’t, make that call in a playoff game. 

This has always been the problem with Harden’s game... Once the playoffs start, refs stop letting him game the system to draw BS foul calls like he does during the regular season.  Maybe if he was more concerned with actually making the shot than trying to kick his legs out and draw a cheap foul, he could’ve tied the game.

[Hoosierhoopster]

13 minutes ago, FW_Hoosier said:

Looks like they missed some calls on Klay earlier in the game, but the whining about the no-call on Harden’s last shot is ridiculous.  That wasn’t a foul by Draymond.  Harden clearly went out of his way to kick his legs forward trying to draw the foul, but the refs aren’t going to, and shouldn’t, make that call in a playoff game. 

This has always been the problem with Harden’s game... Once the playoffs start, refs stop letting him game the system to draw BS foul calls like he does during the regular season.  Maybe if he was more concerned with actually making the shot than trying to kick his legs out and draw a cheap foul, he could’ve tied the game.

I completely agree Harden gets away with way too much, during the regular season anyway (though also against the Jazz in the playoffs) in drawing fouls. He draws more fouls than any other player in the League, by a good margin. Part of that is that he's good at it, part of it is BS. However, that said, what the Warriors are doing looks extremely dirty, and multiple NBA players from other teams have weighed in with their disgust at the officiating. It needs to be addressed.

[FW_Hoosier]

44 minutes ago, Hoosierhoopster said:

I completely agree Harden gets away with way too much, during the regular season anyway (though also against the Jazz in the playoffs) in drawing fouls. He draws more fouls than any other player in the League, by a good margin. Part of that is that he's good at it, part of it is BS. However, that said, what the Warriors are doing looks extremely dirty, and multiple NBA players from other teams have weighed in with their disgust at the officiating. It needs to be addressed.

It’s a tough issue.  Defenders landing in a shooter’s area is a safety issue that needs to be addressed, but the new rule also leads to players like Harden trying to game the system by needlessly jumping forward/kicking their legs just to try and draw a BS foul.  Like Green said after the game, “When you land 3 feet ahead of where you shoot the ball from, that really ain't my issue. I've been fouled by James on a James 3-pointer before."

This wouldn’t be an issue if players like Harden just didn’t try to game the system. No sympathy from me.

[Hoosierhoopster]

1 hour ago, FW_Hoosier said:

It’s a tough issue.  Defenders landing in a shooter’s area is a safety issue that needs to be addressed, but the new rule also leads to players like Harden trying to game the system by needlessly jumping forward/kicking their legs just to try and draw a BS foul.  Like Green said after the game, “When you land 3 feet ahead of where you shoot the ball from, that really ain't my issue. I've been fouled by James on a James 3-pointer before."

This wouldn’t be an issue if players like Harden just didn’t try to game the system. No sympathy from me.

I understand the sentiment, and don't fault it. 

On the other hand, Kawhi was not, in any way, gaming the system, and this is the same team doing it again. It's one thing if it's just Pachulia, who is a dirty piece of crap of a player, but when multiple GS guys are doing it, it's a real problem, imo. There's something more going on here than Harden gaming the system. Kawhi almost lost his career.

[NotIThatLives]

At halftime the three shots that they Illustrated the first one was a no-call that I agreed with, the second one was 50/50 and the third one was absolutely a foul that was not called.  At the end of the game did he get bumped yes after the shot and I agreed with the no call.  They probably could have called a foul on Klay Thompson as well blocking foul.  

Hoopster what your addressing is 100% correct, they are coming under Harden's Landing space. It's one thing if Harden was jumping forward and flopping like crazy like he kind of did on the last shot but the other ones are a normal shot. Imo

[ATX_sig]

Maybe the refs should let a player guard Harden or call offensive fouls when he uses his off arm yet all he wants a fair chance.    Maybe a couple of those run out fouls could have been called. I suspect a couple of the fouls against Iggy and some early fouls caused Curry to sit were phantom fouls.  

Pretty tired of the Wah Wah rox.   It is always something.  Don't remember the Clips whining about about much in their series with the Warriors. Who was that guy on the Warriors who played 34 minutes of awesome D and shot 6-7 with 14 points.  Last year it was CP3 getting hurt costing them but losing Iggy didn't hurt the Warriors at in their narrow game 4 and 5 losses.    Smiley D'anwhiney was always crying about something back in those Suns series with Spurs and Mavs. He is still no different. 

 

[Hoosierhoopster]

16 minutes ago, ATX_sig said:

Maybe the refs should let a player guard Harden or call offensive fouls when he uses his off arm yet all he wants a fair chance.    Maybe a couple of those run out fouls could have been called. I suspect a couple of the fouls against Iggy and some early fouls caused Curry to sit were phantom fouls.  

Pretty tired of the Wah Wah rox.   It is always something.  Don't remember the Clips whining about about much in their series with the Warriors. Who was that guy on the Warriors who played 34 minutes of awesome D and shot 6-7 with 14 points.  Last year it was CP3 getting hurt costing them but losing Iggy didn't hurt the Warriors at in their narrow game 4 and 5 losses.    Smiley D'anwhiney was always crying about something back in those Suns series with Spurs and Mavs. He is still no different. 

 

I have no dog in the Rockets v Warriors series -- Not a fan of either team, really can't stand Harden -- the way he creates fouls -- or the Warriors. Very tired of them. That said, and while agreeing with you on Harden generally, the repeatedly dirty play by GS players in getting into and under the shooting space of shooters -- which started most notably with the dirty play leading to Kawhi's season-long injury -- is just plain bad. It needs to be addressed. Pretty hard to watch the clips of the first-half (non-call) fouls and think those plays were ok. A number of players not involved in the series have spoken up.

[NotIThatLives]

Yep.  Can't stand either team.  Call the fouls a foul.  I want a fair series along with a bunch of people and players that blew up Twitter.  

[Seeking6]

Admittedly once Pacers were eliminated I haven't watched as much NBA playoffs. I did catch a little of Denver/Portland game last night. It's not often that 2 former Mr. Indiana's are on the same team. With that said. Mr. Lyles looks like a guy who could care less about his team. Didn't play and wasn't even remotely engaged. Is this the norm for him in Denver?

Mile-maybe you could help out with local talk?

[Seeking6]

Interesting tidbit for tonight's Rockets/Warriors game. After the calls in Game 1 caused issues the NBA assigns veteran official Scott Foster to the game. Reminder that Chris Paul, Harden, and Rockets have a long running feud with Foster. Harden was fined for criticizing Foster in February. Seriously NBA. You couldn't get anyone else??

[Hoosierhoopster]

1 minute ago, Seeking6 said:

Interesting tidbit for tonight's Rockets/Warriors game. After the calls in Game 1 caused issues the NBA assigns veteran official Scott Foster to the game. Reminder that Chris Paul, Harden, and Rockets have a long running feud with Foster. Harden was fined for criticizing Foster in February. Seriously NBA. You couldn't get anyone else??

And the Rockets release an "audit" of last year's WC Finals to show that officiating cost them a trip to the Finals. Strange plot lines circulating, lol.

[Seeking6]

Just now, Hoosierhoopster said:

And the Rockets release an "audit" of last year's WC Finals to show that officiating cost them a trip to the Finals. Strange plot lines circulating, lol.

I've long accepted brutal officiating as a Pacers fan during those series vs Knicks and Bulls during 90's. But the NBA couldn't assign anyone else? Haha...wish I was a gambler. The over and Warriors all day long...and I don't even know what the line is. 

[Hoosierhoopster]

21 minutes ago, Seeking6 said:

I've long accepted brutal officiating as a Pacers fan during those series vs Knicks and Bulls during 90's. But the NBA couldn't assign anyone else? Haha...wish I was a gambler. The over and Warriors all day long...and I don't even know what the line is. 

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/26634678/nba-curry-fouled-game-1

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ftw/2019/04/29/rockets-audit-nba-officials-memo-2018-champion-changed/39420383/?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBlitzRss&utm_campaign=usatoday-newstopstories

 

[BGleas]

44 minutes ago, Seeking6 said:

Interesting tidbit for tonight's Rockets/Warriors game. After the calls in Game 1 caused issues the NBA assigns veteran official Scott Foster to the game. Reminder that Chris Paul, Harden, and Rockets have a long running feud with Foster. Harden was fined for criticizing Foster in February. Seriously NBA. You couldn't get anyone else??

Just an FYI, the NBA assigns the officiating crews for the games in a series before the series starts. So for example, Scott Foster was assigned to game 2 before the series started, not in a reactionary move to Game 1. 

[Seeking6]

Just now, BGleas said:

Just an FYI, the NBA assigns the officiating crews for the games in a series before the series starts. So for example, Scott Foster was assigned to game 2 before the series started, not in a reactionary move to Game 1. 

Good to know and thank you. I'll still say given Foster's history with Rockets there wasn't someone else?

[BGleas]

It’s a make/miss league. Not really any adjustments, the Bucks shot out of the minds tonight, not much you can do about that. The Celtics couldn’t get anything to go down and then it snowballed into turnovers once the Bucks got rolling in the 3rd. 

[Hoosierhoopster]

Bucks outplayed the C's hands down tonight. They definitely adjusted from game 1 and brought the energy. C's were not focused.

Still think experience will carry the day, but it's an interesting series. 

[BGleas]

12 minutes ago, Hoosierhoopster said:

Bucks outplayed the C's hands down tonight. They definitely adjusted from game 1 and brought the energy. C's were not focused.

Still think experience will carry the day, but it's an interesting series. 

I didn’t really see any adjustments. They pretty much played the same, the Bucks just shot lights out. They made 20 3’s, when last game their “others” really struggled shooting. 

Edit: That’s not a knock on the Bucks, same reason the Celtics won game 1, they made shots. 

Edited May 1, 2019 by BGleas

[Hoosierhoopster]

3 minutes ago, BGleas said:

I didn’t really see any adjustments. They pretty much played the same, the Bucks just shot lights out. They made 20 3’s, when last game their “others” really struggled shooting. 

Edit: That’s not a knock on the Bucks, same reason the Celtics won game 1, they made shots. 

They outplayed your guys Gleas. Middleton can shoot, I don't buy into the they shot better, that's always the case in W's in like this. Part of it was simple focus, they were firing on all cylinders, with focus. C's looked off, we can talk about some things they did differently, but what I saw mostly was energy and focus and a C's team that wasn't ready for it after blowing them out in game 1. Game 3 will be different.

[BGleas]

3 minutes ago, Hoosierhoopster said:

They outplayed your guys Gleas. Middleton can shoot, I don't buy into the they shot better, that's always the case in W's in like this. Part of it was simple focus, they were firing on all cylinders, with focus. C's looked off, we can talk about some things they did differently, but what I saw mostly was energy and focus and a C's team that wasn't ready for it after blowing them out in game 1. Game 3 will be different.

We’re saying the same thing. I guess I just hate that word ‘adjustments’, I think people throw it around too often. I don’t think energy and focus is an adjustment. Switching how you defend a pick and roll is an adjustment, switching who is defending someone is an adjustment, or running different sets offensively to create new matchups is an adjustment. 

The Bucks played hard and shot the back off the charts, while the Celtics were sloppy and missed a lot of shots they made in Game 1. The Celtics ran the same defensive scheme tonight and the Bucks ran the same offense, but tonight guys like Lopez, Canoughton, etc. made 3’s, and Middleton who is a great shooter was lights out  

This isn’t me discounting the Bucks, it’s the same reason the Celtics won Game 1. 

[Hoosierhoopster]

Just now, BGleas said:

We’re saying the same thing. I guess I just hate that word ‘adjustments’, I think people throw it around too often. I don’t think energy and focus is an adjustment. Switching how you defend a pick and roll is an adjustment, switching who is defending someone is an adjustment, or running different sets offensively to create new matchups is an adjustment. 

The Bucks played hard and shot the back off the charts, while the Celtics were sloppy and missed a lot of shots they made in Game 1. The Celtics ran the same defensive scheme tonight and the Bucks ran the same offense, but tonight guys like Lopez, Canoughton, etc. made 3’s, and Middleton who is a great shooter was lights out  

This isn’t me discounting the Bucks, it’s the same reason the Celtics won Game 1. 

We're mostly saying the same thing but it's a little more than that. Brown started for the Bucks in game 1 and was awful. He got replaced (and wasn't well) by Mirotic tonight, who was better, but then Connaugton came in for 30 minutes and was more than solid. Meanwhile Giannis was attacking the rim better and Horford could not stop him like he did in game 1. It's not just the other guys had a great shooting night, the game was very different.

[Hoosierhoopster]

And Draymond sends Harden to the locker room after swiping his eye. Curry dislocates a finger. Fun continues.

[BGleas]

2 minutes ago, Hoosierhoopster said:

We're mostly saying the same thing but it's a little more than that. Brown started for the Bucks in game 1 and was awful. He got replaced (and wasn't well) by Mirotic tonight, who was better, but then Connaugton came in for 30 minutes and was more than solid. Meanwhile Giannis was attacking the rim better and Horford could not stop him like he did in game 1. It's not just the other guys had a great shooting night, the game was very different.

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.