2018 NBA Playoffs Thread

[tekthemaestro]

Also since i Know it will be continued Russ slander & his lack of ability to "get players involved" Could i PLEASE get an answer as to why the Cavs Second option in Kevin Love is averaging 11/10/1 on 32/37/85 shooting & only 12 attempts per game.

Because we are all well aware that Russ plays hero ball, But Lebron is a "facilitator" he "makes the game easy for others" guys "love playing with him"..... And somehow someway The second option on the team is getting 12 shots. If it Falls on a much more selfish player like russ to get teammates going.... Shouldn't this responsibility Fall on a GOAT "facilitator & Teammate" to get his guys going.... Or in this case it's Just K. Love being trash

Wouldn't have anything to do with Him Standing in the corner waiting for ashot as Lebron Scowls at Lance Stephenson & Sabonis all game

i addressed this literally in the post above yours. unlike most, i dont see lebron as this great facilitator at all. im not impressed by a drive and kick to a waiting shooter in the corner. any and everybody can and does do that. if you cant catch and shoot late in the shot clock, or you cant slash late in the shot clock, you cant play with lebron.

 

[trynafeelmink]

yall really underestimate the value of getting teammates involved early when you run the offense. if you're a PG, its smarter to get your team going first, THEN you get going. Russ is a me-first player. much like lebron. They depend on you to play 2nd fiddle to them whereas they look to score, and if they cant... then they dump the ball to you with a couple seconds left and you better be able to score in those seconds. If they try that a few times and it doesnt work, they ice you out of the game for the most part. Playing like that doesnt allow your teammates to get in rhythm.

If Russ had it his way, he would iso every play and have 3pt shooters standing all around the 3pt line waiting. you cant win that way. I HATED seeing how people talked about adams and kanter like they were scrubs cuz of westbrook last year. ANY decent pg would feed kanter and adams and EAT down low. PG been playing out of his mind all season. why would you not have him get hot in every game this series?

Here's the thing with that, Telling russ to facilitate wouldn't be maximizing his skill set. He's better suited & harder to stop when he's constantly attacking The rim & defenders. And A lot of that is due to the makeup of the team & Coaching. His entire career even back to the days Of KD i watched as Brooks/Donovan run Iso after Iso after ISO. Every now and then a pick & roll for both KD & Westbrook.

Granted Russ goes into moments like lastnight when he's jacking up unneeded contested threes and those kind of shots are all on him. With that said The coaching staff does not lend to him moving the ball because a lot of the gameplan is Iso & kick out despite the roster not being ideal to that. Russ Has played a majority of his minutes with a Complete NON shooter on the floor his entire career (Thabo, Roberson, Waiters was the only guy i could remember getting major minutes at the two who had a respectable shot)

Players have their habits indeed but calling plays and instilling an offensive system is part of that. Look at the difference in how the Warriors played & how much more they began moving the ball & upping the pace once a new coach came in & instilled that.

Also for all the slander that's Russ shoot first attacking style gets... We've seen A player who the exact opposite of him in CP3 for his entire career not have significantly better results playing that style. For all the quotes of beautiful basketball & "this is how the game should be played" he's experienced the same shortcomings. Their hasn't been a Pass first PG, get everyone involved type guy that teams have won with either, but it's still viewed so differently from the shoot first attacking PG.

 

[Lovetohate3000]

I thought jazz we're done when Rubio went out. They really had no one that could facilitate .
No idea how pg or westbrook couldn't shut down Mitchell either. I was shocked Utah won.

 

[equality]

Last night was the personification of Russell Westbrook, Makes Amazing plays & can start killing at any time, Then Follows it up With some ridiculous attempts. You live or die with a player like that.

Now on to the actual Game...
- I was wrong about Donovan Mitchell he really deserves the hype. Homie stepped up every time he was needed this series as a rookie.MyROTY
- I till want PG on the Lakers but he's no Killer & performances like lastnight showcase it, There's No way ya'll gonna tell me That "Russ ain't get him involved" when i saw him give PG the ball On SEVERAL possessions during the 4th for him to fumble it around, not attack & throw it back to Russ. ESPECIALLY when we just saw Russ with the same aggression the game before & PG Was able to Get off for 35+ because he was actually engaged & attacking.
- Man Melo... that's my Dude but homie is completely washed. I never expected him to be some overly efficient dude. I expected him to get to the playoffs and have Spurts where he could carry the Offense for 5-6 minutes. I was completely Wrong he's done.

The first shot of the game and the first shot he took which completely missed the rim and dented the backboard sums up this season for. He needs to lose 20 pounds at this age, or just **** off and retire. Always been a Melo defender but can't do it no more.

 

[classic94]

Simmons is goin to get rings very early in his career plus he’s just better than Mitchell

 

[tekthemaestro]

Here's the thing with that, Telling russ to facilitate wouldn't be maximizing his skill set. He's better suited & harder to stop when he's constantly attacking The rim & defenders. And A lot of that is due to the makeup of the team & Coaching. His entire career even back to the days Of KD i watched as Brooks/Donovan run Iso after Iso after ISO. Every now and then a pick & roll for both KD & Westbrook.

Granted Russ goes into moments like lastnight when he's jacking up unneeded contested threes and those kind of shots are all on him. With that said The coaching staff does not lend to him moving the ball because a lot of the gameplan is Iso & kick out despite the roster not being ideal to that.

Players have their habits indeed but calling plays and instilling an offensive system is part of that. Look at the difference in how the Warriors played & how much more they began moving the ball & upping the pace once a new coach came in & instilled that.

this is all facts, but not an excuse. russ is an ELITE player. he has to be able to make an adjustment for the sake of winning at SOME point. last year the storyline was he was carrying scrubs. this year they brought 2 allstars in to co-pilot. you cant say hes carrying scrubs anymore (even tho he really wasnt last year either) but yet he gets the same result and has the same bad habits people said existed only cuz he was by himself. russ doesnt go into "moments" where hes jacking up contested 3s.... hes known for it. dude does it around the clock. granted if hes hot he'll hit some.

and who cares about maximizing his skill set? maximize wins. for example lebron COULD stat chase every game if he wanted. but lebron would rather win than look good in a loss. westbrook would rather look good in a loss. so if russ could facilitate more... AT LEAST in the first half to get his teammates going, he can snap all second half knowing that his teammates gonna put numbers on the board too. its incredible that PG13 has even been able to shine at all under a ball dominant attack first turnover-prone pg on a team that only runs Isos.

 

[Lovetohate3000]

i addressed this literally in the post above yours. unlike most, i dont see lebron as this great facilitator at all. im not impressed by a drive and kick to a waiting shooter in the corner. any and everybody can and does do that. if you cant catch and shoot late in the shot clock, or you cant slash late in the shot clock, you cant play with lebron.

LeBron has a lot of Westbrook in him. He's just has a higher Iq and is a better shooter . The narrative that he makes everyone better is just that , a narrative.
Alot of his teams he's been on have been less then the sum of it's parts.

 

[Vincent Van Goat]

simmons fits into his system. the jazz system depends on mitchell.

if simmons doesnt play well for the 76ers, theyll still win A LOT of games in the east. A LOT. if mitchell doesnt play well, the jazz lose. period.

Yet you could still argue Simmons is the better player

Both are all stars

Folks just finding ways to criticize Simmons to prop Mitchell up when both are special

 

[tekthemaestro]

Simmons is goin to get rings very early in his career plus he’s just better than Mitchell

i think the rings assumption is fair to say cuz simmons has embiid, and redick ilyasova and belinelli sitting on the 3pt line at all times. but. as for being better than mitchell i dunno. mitchell is clearly the better scorer. simmons is a 6'10 forward, who is matched up against point guards. of course hes the better rebounder. and i refuse to say who is better at getting assists because of the difference in talent surrounding them and the fact that... u know.... mitchell is a shooting guard.

an NTer would average 10 apg if hes passing to embiid down low, and redick and co. sitting at the 3pt line. and i truly believe that simmons wouldnt average even half the amount of assists if he was playing on the jazz instead of mitchell.

within the next 2 years simmons will have developed a shot. the jazz will have attracted some talent to play with gobert and mitchell meaning his assists will go up as well

 

[ballinsam23]

This Simmons Mitchell ROY debate sorta similar to the Lebron Melo one back in 04

 

[blakep267]

simmons fits into his system. the jazz system depends on mitchell.

if simmons doesnt play well for the 76ers, theyll still win A LOT of games in the east. A LOT. if mitchell doesnt play well, the jazz lose. period.

Not really. Put them mcconnell at the PG and they win 30 games even with all the other players. Simmons is the gel that makes the system work. You need an elite point guard to drive the car. Not just any would work

Also take Rubio and Gobert off the jazz and they are bums even with mitchell

There’s more to basketball than just scoring. Lebron is hardly the most pure scorer in the league but it’s everything he does. Is AI a better player than dwade because he’s a better scorer, yet wade does much more?

 

[BIG FISH]

simmons fits into his system. the jazz system depends on mitchell.

if simmons doesnt play well for the 76ers, theyll still win A LOT of games in the east. A LOT. if mitchell doesnt play well, the jazz lose. period.

Except they were losing until Gobert came back.
Y’all gotta stop tryna push these false narratives.

 

[ballinsam23]

Also all this BS about Simmons developing a shot in 2 years needs to stop. Players that come into the league who refuse to shoot rarely ever develop a shot.

Every time we get a player that can’t shoot for **** and even refuses to shoot we always say he’s gonna develop a shot. 90% of the time they don’t develop anything consistent.

 

[tekthemaestro]

Except they were losing until Gobert came back.
Y’all gotta stop tryna push these false narratives.

grasping for straws. mitchell switched gears later in the season and started dominating. not only that, but i said what i said. if gobert is playing great, but mitchell averages 4ppg... do they win? can gobert create for himself? how good is rubio at creating for gobert? defenses open up cuz they have to respect mitchell. nobody is opening up to defend gobert. now shhh

 

[hardens beard]

If I’m a Presti I’m doing everything in my power to find a starting PG to play with Russ.

 

[classic94]

Come on now the only reason Mitchell is headed to the second round is because melo and George checked out and didn’t want to contribute for a team they plan to ditch in the off season

 

[tekthemaestro]

Also all this BS about Simmons developing a shot in 2 years needs to stop. Players that come into the league who refuse to shoot rarely ever develop a shot.

Every time we get a player that can’t shoot for **** and even refuses to shoot we always say he’s gonna develop a shot. 90% of the time they don’t develop anything consistent.

simmons has an ego. hes not gonna let everyone talk **** about his broke *** shot all year and not do anything about it. and... simmons is an incredible talent. i dont think its fair to compare him to the run of the mill fresh out of college player who doesnt have a shot. this dude simmons is on a trajectory to be an all time great player if he keeps improving a bit. its not a stretch.

 

[tekthemaestro]

Come on now the only reason Mitchell is headed to the second round is because melo and George checked out and didn’t want to contribute for a team they plan to ditch in the off season

and here i am thinking mitchell is headed to the second round cuz the jazz had more points than okc. can i have PG's number since you talked to him and he told you he doesnt want to contribute to a playoff run cuz he might leave that team?

 

[ballinsam23]

All I know is that in an entire 82 game season he took 0 threes. I wanna know how many jumpers he took outside the 15 foot mark.

If he was gonna do something about his broke *** jumper we’d see maybe a glimpse. We see nothing as the entire season went on. All of Simmons strengths are exponentially increased due to the way their current roster is built.

He really doesn’t have to shoot right now.

 

[Vincent Van Goat]

All I know is that in an entire 82 game season he took 0 threes. I wanna know how many jumpers he took outside the 15 foot mark.

If he was gonna do something about his broke *** jumper we’d see maybe a glimpse. We see nothing as the entire season went on. All of Simmons strengths are exponentially increased due to the way their current roster is built.

He really doesn’t have to shoot right now.

The dude gets to the rim at will, implying that he's a system player is just being hyper critical

 

[equality]

simmons has an ego. hes not gonna let everyone talk **** about his broke *** shot all year and not do anything about it. and... simmons is an incredible talent. i dont think its fair to compare him to the run of the mill fresh out of college player who doesnt have a shot. this dude simmons is on a trajectory to be an all time great player if he keeps improving a bit. its not a stretch.

This is based on nothing substantive and quantifiable. The only thing you can go off is data, and the data says he's gone through his whole basketball career not willing to shoot. Sure, there's a chance he commits 300% to improving his shot and becoming a decent perimeter threat but if you just look at facts the chances are low.

It's like saying Trump has an ego, he's not going to let all the immigrants hate him so he's going to be much more lax about immigration. Sure, there's a chance, but based on pure facts the likelihood is low.

I root for all teams with ties to Australia/New Zealand, so I hope he does improve that part significantly.

 

[hardens beard]

The dude gets to the rim at will, implying that he's a system player is just being hyper critical

To play devils advocate, would he get to the rim at will if he was playing on team with average spacing?

 

[classic94]

It obviously was a issue with the coach/Westbrook George and melo clearly checkedout Carmelo is too good of a player to fold like that he clearly purposely didn’t want to help them win

 

[ballinsam23]

The dude gets to the rim at will, implying that he's a system player is just being hyper critical

Not a system player, but if I had 3-4 deadly shooters on the perimeter at all times, me and you would get to the rim at will too. You can’t even hedge off the shooters, he has a clear lane because of his size and speed.

 

[niceshoes247]

SO WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?