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Post by connors on Apr 8, 2019 6:16:44 GMT
According to ESPN for Wade to make the playoffs in his final season.....
"For the Heat to make the playoffs, the following would need to happen:
The Heat win Tuesday at home against Philadelphia and in Brooklyn on Wednesday.
Charlotte loses either at Cleveland on Tuesday or at home against Orlando on Wednesday.
Detroit loses both to Memphis on Tuesday and to New York on Wednesday."
The playoff picture is looking largely set now. Possibility for a couple of teams towards the bottom to swap places by looks of it.
I fancy either 76ers or Celtics to come out of the East and (perhaps boringly) GSW from the West.
I just see those two eastern teams to be better built for playoffs than Bucks and Raps. I think I'm placing an awful lot of store in Irvings "Big Game" play and that Boston can shorten their rotations and park those difficult issues for the summer.
I like the balance of the 76ers. Embiid is dominant. They have shooting and a closer who relishes the moment in Jimmy Buckets. They play tough defence and they have a wild card in Simmons who can do quite a bit of quite a lot.....other than shoot. The bench seems to be playing well also.
I'm not feeling the Rockets this season and I love the way the Nuggets play but could see them getting upset by OKC. Don't believe OKC have the depth or consistency to beat the Warriors.
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Post by SamH on Apr 8, 2019 12:41:21 GMT
The Heat only have themselves to blame, losing 4 straight when it counts most. Cant see Detroit losing to the Knicks. Wade is still playing at a high level, it's kind of a shame he's retiring now but guess he's had enough after 16 seasons. He'll be missed.
The East will be interesting for once as it won't be the LeBron show and you've got 4 legit teams that could win it, plus Indiana are still competing without Oladipo and could spring an upset on Boston. Still not convinced Philly have the chemistry to go all the way, they'll have to knock off both Bucks and Raps if the seeding plays out.
At present it's OKC v Houston, not a matchup I relish. They play tomorrow too so that could alter the positions though.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 10, 2019 16:20:16 GMT
My hero has retired. The power forward who changed that position announced he's done last night. And props to Wade. I think he decided to give his body a rest, I think Dirk's body made the decision for him. They've both been great for the NBA
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Post by connors on Apr 10, 2019 17:42:19 GMT
Agreed Hersey - and they both dropped 30pts in their last games I believe?
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Post by SamH on Apr 10, 2019 23:01:01 GMT
The Dirk tribute is superb if you have League Pass (or it's probably on youtube anyway). Some of the old footage is great to see and they got several legends in to pay tribute. Larry Legend in particular just always says the right thing.
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Post by LTFan on Apr 11, 2019 8:16:20 GMT
I’ve not really followed the NBA avidly since the Channel 4 (and brief ITV) years, so I’ll admit I’m somewhat out of touch. But why did they retire at the end of the regular season and not after they play-offs?
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Post by blacknwhite on Apr 11, 2019 8:29:18 GMT
I’ve not really followed the NBA avidly since the Channel 4 (and brief ITV) years, so I’ll admit I’m somewhat out of touch. But why did they retire at the end of the regular season and not after they play-offs? Neither of them made the play-offs and both were eliminated from contention before tonight. |
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Post by LTFan on Apr 11, 2019 8:45:50 GMT
I’ve not really followed the NBA avidly since the Channel 4 (and brief ITV) years, so I’ll admit I’m somewhat out of touch. But why did they retire at the end of the regular season and not after they play-offs? Neither of them made the play-offs and both were eliminated from contention before tonight. Ah, got it, makes sense now. Like I said, I don’t really follow the NBA much outside of the All Star Weekend and the Finals (which follow on nicely from the end of the BBL season). Thanks for clarifying. |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 11, 2019 9:11:07 GMT
The Dirk tribute is superb if you have League Pass (or it's probably on youtube anyway). Some of the old footage is great to see and they got several legends in to pay tribute. Larry Legend in particular just always says the right thing. It was. They did him proud. Larry's idea of 2 more years may have been pushing it, though. |
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Post by SamH on Apr 11, 2019 9:49:25 GMT
The joy! The joy of seeing Portland somehow wind up 3rd! That's by far the best matchup for OKC.
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Post by SamH on Apr 12, 2019 21:20:28 GMT
How about some round 1 predictions then? I never get close with these but what the hell!
Bucks 4-0 Pistons
Raptors 4-1 Magic
76ers 4-1 Nets
Celtics 4-1 Pacers
Warriors 4-0 Clippers
Nuggets 4-1 Spurs
Blazers 2-4 Thunder
Rockets 4-1 Jazz
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Post by Deleted on Apr 13, 2019 7:22:34 GMT
Slipped under the radar a bit...
"Guard Tarik Phillip's contract was purchased by the Washington Wizards on the final day of the regular season, and he was actually on Washington's 15-man roster for its season-ending loss to Boston on Tuesday night, although he didn't get into the game." (WVU Sports)
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Post by Deleted on Apr 13, 2019 23:06:08 GMT
Nick Nurse wearing a suit with the teams he's coached in the lining, saw a London Towers logo.
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Post by SamH on Apr 13, 2019 23:34:57 GMT
Yeah and in his interview he said "someone brought it so I wore it" yeah right!
I'm very impressed with Orlando, they looked legit tonight. Also credit the Nets for their win, they had much more energy than the sixers (except Butler) and looked hungrier for the win.
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Post by connors on Apr 14, 2019 19:00:29 GMT
Bucks 4-1Pistons
Raptors 4-1 Magic
76ers 4- 2 Nets
Celtics 4-0Pacers
Warriors 4-0 Clippers
Nuggets 3-4 Spurs
Blazers 3-4 Thunder
Rockets 4-0 Jazz
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Post by blacknwhite on Apr 15, 2019 11:15:05 GMT
I like to think the Nets now having home court advantage definitely makes that series a lot more interesting.
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Post by SamH on Apr 15, 2019 17:28:28 GMT
Well, disappointment in game 1 if Blazers/okc, but when you look at how bad the shooting was, and we still has chances in the final 2 minutes to go ahead, it's not so bad. Shooting won't be that dire again and I'll be surprised if Kanter can keep up that sort of production. Hopefully that was a fools gold win for Portland.
Detroit on the other hand, have major problems looking at that game 1!
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Post by DefyingGravity on Apr 16, 2019 10:34:51 GMT
Warriors losing a 31 point lead. Oh dear...
If Raptors don't win their next game then they are in trouble I think. Lowry really needs to step it up.
Rockets I think will cruise to a 4-0 win first round.
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Post by SamH on Apr 16, 2019 12:49:11 GMT
Amazing turnaround by the Clippers, sadly I don't think it will make any difference to the series outcome but for one night at least, they could celebrate something special.
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Post by connors on Apr 16, 2019 12:58:45 GMT
Not the first time Lowry has been a topic of discussion in terms of going AWOL in the playoffs is it? This is why I'm sticking to my improbably Celtics coming out of the East story......despite the rise of Giannis!
As for the Clippers I looked at the box score and their bench scoring was unreal in that game and not just Lou Williams either! Really shocking result and another example of how more teams are seemingly prospering without the Alpha superstar that traditionally teams have relied upon. Indiana? Denver? Nice counter balance to the "Big 3, Big 4" brigades!
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Post by DefyingGravity on Apr 16, 2019 13:03:26 GMT
I agree. I don't think that Warriors / Clippers game will change the series outcome, although it would be nice to see.
Still can't see any other outcome in the East apart from the Bucks. Would like to see the Raptors make it, but pretty confident that won't happen. A toss up of who I would rather see out of Bucks / Celtics.
I haven't been able to see much of the playoff games so far. Hopefully that will change soon enough.
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Post by SamH on Apr 19, 2019 10:19:45 GMT
I may have given the Nuggets too much credit. They've looked pretty ordinary so far and nothing like a 2nd seed on the west. Or maybe I made the cardinal sin of underestimating the Spurs and thinking they weren't good enough! People have been doing that since about 2008 and I'm usually careful to remember they are always going to play well and consistently. Oops.
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Post by connors on Apr 23, 2019 6:07:49 GMT
Well I got at least one first round match up right (Celts/Pacers) but I totally overestimated Sams Thunder!
They are really struggling and Russ, my sons favourite player, is killing his team with his poor outside shooting. He's such a good overall player but he needs to find an answer to that issue. When you look at the way Lillard and CJ are shooting the ball compared to Russ and George it is easy to see why one team is winning this series (Kanter at least matching Adams and besting him at times is another shock!).
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Post by DefyingGravity on Apr 24, 2019 8:57:42 GMT
I too am surprised at the Blazers/Thunder results. I did think that Blazers would take the series but I really did think Thunder, and I suppose therefore Westbrook, would have performed better.
Rockets dropped a game against Utah so far. Not surprised by this. We will win this series but then will likely be no match for the Warriors sadly.
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Post by connors on Apr 24, 2019 14:59:44 GMT
That shot by Lillard!! Unreal. I guess that is what makes players like him as good as they are the belief they have in their own ability.
Paul George says that it was a bad shot to take and I am inclined to agree with him. Conventional wisdom when you are tied and have time on the clock would be to go for a 2 and maybe even expect to get fouled. So I don't think he did anything wrong defensively. Equally getting the ball out of his hands would have involved a double team that given the tied score could easily have lead to an easy dunk so you just have to give Lillard credit for an unbelievable shot to ca an outstanding performance!
As an aside knowing how fickle my sons allegiances are I am fully expecting the Russ Westbrook jersey to be shelved and a cheeky request for a Dame Lillard one coming my way :-)
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