NBA Playoffs: How About Them Nuggets?
Jokic has to be one of the most uniquely entertaining players to watch in recent memory. Murray is an absolute monster when the chips are down. Porter Jr and Harris are solid players in their own right.
Celtics/Heat might be one possession games until Game 7. What a crazy block by Bam.
Will the Lakers be able to stop the Nuggets?
September 16th, 2020 at 3:04 AM ^
If the Pistons are not in the playoffs, I usually just watch the NBA championship. It would be nice to see a Nuggets/Celtics championship series.
September 16th, 2020 at 3:28 AM ^
How about the Clippers? Gave up a half decade worth of their future to the Thunder (and then some) in exchange for a second round exit.
September 16th, 2020 at 6:50 AM ^
This is the way.
September 16th, 2020 at 8:13 AM ^
Fill in the blank.
The Clippers : NBA as the _____ : NFL?
September 16th, 2020 at 8:54 AM ^
Tampa Bay?
September 16th, 2020 at 9:51 AM ^
Tampa bay has a superbowl...try the Loins
September 16th, 2020 at 9:26 AM ^
2000s San Diego Chargers. They had such a good team for so long but could never make it past the Patriots/Colts in the AFC. One year they had the top offense and defense (by total yards) but went 8-8 and missed the playoffs.
September 16th, 2020 at 4:25 AM ^
Clippers goin’ to Clip...it is like death and taxes.
September 16th, 2020 at 4:34 AM ^
Clippers team never gelled and started to choke from the pressure starting in Game 6 after the Nuggets made a 3rd quarter run. Most talented team on paper but had no chemistry and stars came up small when it mattered most. Kawhii's performance reminded me of LeBron's first year in Miami when he shrunk against the Mavs in the Finals. Paul George was hit or miss all bubble and was dealing with depression ever since the reboot, so was well below his historical output.
I guess continuity does matter (at least a year of it), when it comes to the NBA no matter how talented the roster. Looks like adding 1 star (Durant- Golden State/Kawhii -Toronto) to an almost complete team, is a more realistic approach to accelerating towards a championship then trying to integrate multiple stars.
Nuggets look great and flow as a team that's been together where everyone knows their role. Jokic and Murray are unique talents. I expect the Lakers defensive length to disturb them though, shut down the other players, and eventually take it in 6 - but who knows, Nuggets are rolling.
September 16th, 2020 at 8:58 AM ^
I thought Kawhi actually played pretty good all series. Almost had two triple doubles and had 3 double doubles, plus nearly two more. Grabbed boards, created for others, made hustle plays. Pretty efficient outside of Game 2 and 7. And was still the best defender on the court at all times.
George was not nearly as good. Had a couple pretty good games, but not near the amount of consistency needed. He had a pretty mediocre playoffs overall.
September 16th, 2020 at 9:05 AM ^
Yeah, I was wishing the LAC-DEN game was on TNT, because I would have stayed up just to hear Shaq and Chuck drop some bombs about "Playoff P."
Depression (actual clinical depression) is no joke. But let me say this: if he was known to be prone to depression, how on earth do the Clippers not figure that out in their due diligence prior to handing over enough talent and draft capital to start a franchise from scratch? Right now that is looking like one of the most lopsided deals in recent memory. He wasn't a real force anywhere on the court for more than a few minutes in both series combined.
September 16th, 2020 at 10:36 AM ^
You do know the Lakers team is almost all new parts from last year...Lebron added a start and a bunch of journeyman and they seemed to have been able to gel. Maybe because the Lakers didn’t use load management like the Clippers.
September 16th, 2020 at 5:13 AM ^
NBA is the best it's been in years this playoffs. Who saw this coming with the Heat and Nuggets? Another choke by the Clippers. Clippers = Lions
Now watch out for the NBA to try and rig it for a Celtics/Lakers matchup.
September 16th, 2020 at 7:30 AM ^
Bam said no rigging
September 16th, 2020 at 7:35 AM ^
I think partly the good basketball is a function of every other night scheduling. A typical round used to take almost three weeks to play.
I hadn't even realized until your comment that we could get another Lakers-Celtics finals. Adam Silver must be salivating over that possiblity, while Gary Bettman laments the inevitable Dallas-Tampa Bay championship series. (Which promises to be high-octane but won't grab many casual fan viewers).
September 16th, 2020 at 8:15 AM ^
A typical round would take 2 weeks tops -- and only if it went to 7 games.
September 16th, 2020 at 9:35 AM ^
An individual series would, but with the way they would stagger the starts for TV ratings, you'd have three days between games for some teams. It would take forever to get through the first two rounds, plus the Finals are typically only played on Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday nights.
September 16th, 2020 at 8:47 AM ^
Clippers are no where near the Lions' level of ineptitude. At least the Clippers are good enough to get hype once in a while.
September 16th, 2020 at 9:36 AM ^
The Clippers were awful before Blake Griffin and Chris Paul teamed up. I think they had a couple playoff appearances with Loy Vaught and Gary Grant, but other than that, they were terrible.
EDIT: Had to look it up. The San Diego/LA Clippers had a .500 or better record 4 times in 32 years before Blake Griffin. That's a lot of wasted lottery picks.
September 16th, 2020 at 10:39 AM ^
No, but the curse on the Vlippers franchise is real. No matter who the Coach is, who owns the team, who they draft, what stars they sign, they are cursed...and the majority of Los Angeles Basketball fans root for them to fail. Bakker should move the team to Seattle and rebrand, instead they are building a new stadium on the site of the Forum.
September 16th, 2020 at 5:53 AM ^
I'll take the Lakers in 4 or 5. Just not a good matchup for Denver. Tough to hide Jokic defensively when LA's best two players are at their best attacking the rim or posting up.
September 16th, 2020 at 7:09 AM ^
Spicy Nuggs!
September 16th, 2020 at 7:37 AM ^
Give me the spicy nugs for days
September 16th, 2020 at 7:11 AM ^
I turned my cable back on Sunday for football, so last night was the first game I've watched in a very long time. Man, that was entertaining. Murray was hitting some unbelievable shots. Really hoping for a Heat-Nugs final.
September 16th, 2020 at 7:31 AM ^
"Really hoping for a Heat-Nugs final."
First time anyone ever said that in history
September 16th, 2020 at 10:40 AM ^
...says no NBA fan ever.
September 16th, 2020 at 7:29 AM ^
Amazingly the road to the championship just cleared way for LeBron. I would put a lot of money on the Lakers now, though I'd really like anyone else to win.
September 16th, 2020 at 7:52 AM ^
Go to Hell NBA!! we dont support Kneelers who disrespect the flag the nation the anthem the fans and the Military who Died so they could be disrespectful jackasses...NBA and NFL are banned in this house
September 16th, 2020 at 8:12 AM ^
You do realize that kneeling was born out of conversations between Kaepernick and military veterans who helped advise him on a way to protest effectively while respecting the service and sacrifice of our veterans.
September 16th, 2020 at 8:13 AM ^
I will be curious what happens in your house when Michigan players kneel.
I thought we had established by now that this has nothing to do with the flag and actually started after a consultation with a special forces soldier to find a way to avoid disrespecting the flag. But I guess I was wrong.....
September 16th, 2020 at 8:17 AM ^
You're a willfully ignorant person, you realize. Nobody thinks protests are about "the military" because they aren't. Nobody says they are except people like you. Peaceful protest are valid and to be respected. Stop living in 1920. Also, you're naive if you think college football players won't do the same. So, by your ridiculous standards, you can't watch that either.
September 16th, 2020 at 8:36 AM ^
People as dumb as this poster shouldn’t get to watch sports to begin with.
September 16th, 2020 at 8:41 AM ^
I don't know how people still take this stance. It's like you want to get to the top of Everest just so you scream and let everyone know that you're an idiot.
September 16th, 2020 at 8:55 AM ^
This might be a little complicated for you, but give it a try:
It describes you and millions of other voters (on both ends of what amounts to the political spectrum). It's one reason we can't have nice things.
September 16th, 2020 at 10:41 AM ^
Do your homework before commenting.
September 16th, 2020 at 10:47 AM ^
Glad to hear you won’t support the draft dodger who thinks my dad and the millions of Americans who served in Vietnam are suckers. Joe Biden appreciates your support!
September 16th, 2020 at 8:02 AM ^
That game 7 was a bit of a let down after the Heat-Celtics game. That game had everything - Overtime, big defensive play down the stretch, Duncan Robinson scoring 6 points, nuns!
September 16th, 2020 at 8:03 AM ^
what does this have to do with Duncan Robinson?
September 16th, 2020 at 8:33 AM ^
Here's reality - the Clippers were very overvalued by the mainstream media. That group became far too enamored with high variance jumpshooting, much like your typical fan. The truth is the Clippers had a poorly constructed roster that lacked a PG, a playable big against legit competition and had multiple defensive holes that made the team easy to attack. It's just extremely difficult to win at the highest level when you have a 6'8 and under lineup while getting heavy minutes from Lou Williams and Harrell in your closing lineup. Just too many holes in terms of perimeter defense and a complete lack of paint/rim protection.
Anthony Davis and Nikola Jokic basically destroyed analytic-driven small ball lineups.
September 16th, 2020 at 8:41 AM ^
I think the biggest thing is this Clippers team was never healthy. If I recall, they said the starting lineup only played like 14 games together.
The bubble restart after so many months off basically killed the momentum of the hot teams and gave everyone a fresh slate as well. Obviously, the Nuggets and some other teams are flourishing with this, while the Clippers, 76ers, Grizzlies, and others looked nowhere near as competent as they did back in early March.
September 16th, 2020 at 9:11 AM ^
Clearly the theme of "wings dominate the game, and they got two of the best wings" was both 1) oversold and 2) fundamentally inaccurate, given Paycheck P's impact
September 16th, 2020 at 9:32 AM ^
And yet - the Clippers were a game away from the WCF.
September 16th, 2020 at 10:32 AM ^
Which is spectacularly short of a game away from a ring
September 16th, 2020 at 10:45 AM ^
The Clippers had a great roster and added two Allstate including one of the best players in the world...so you are wrong there. They used load management and never gelled with the break in the season.
But media totally overhyped them.
September 16th, 2020 at 11:06 AM ^
Not a great roster at all when the only player above 6'8 is Zubac and your closing lineup features Lou Williams and Montrez Harrell. There is a BIG distinction between a roster good on paper and a cohesive unit that fits well together. Again, a squad that is perceived to be a good jumpshooting team with multiple all stars is much different from a team that is capable of being a great/elite team on both ends.
September 16th, 2020 at 8:35 AM ^
Nuggets continue to amaze me with their resiliency; Paul George was weirdly inconsistent this whole playoffs and I wonder if that's because of the break or if he's maybe a step down from his peak. We'll see.
I'm excited for the Heat-Celtics series because I love what the Heat do on both ends of the floor and I like to see the Celtics lose games even though I find the team reasonably fun to watch (beyond Marcus Smart, who follows in that long line of "good defensive players, mediocre assholes on offense" that every team has). It feels like the Nuggets are going to run into a brick wall against the Lakers, even though I expect the Nuggets to have some crazy shooting nights and keep it interesting.
September 16th, 2020 at 8:45 AM ^
Nuggets are in for a tough matchup against the Lakers and the NBA. Lakers are going to, at minimum, double their free throw attempts game in game out.
September 16th, 2020 at 1:26 PM ^
It’s an interesting series, with the typical LeBron+MegaStar and a bunch a old veterans that are borderline scrubs vs a monster 1-2 punch (Murray+Joker) and a deep team of solid role players.
Rooting for Denver this playoffs. Have a feeling the Heat may win it all with their absurdly deep team.