2014 NBA Playoffs Thread

[theAlaskanBear]

First game is Toronto raptors vs Brooklyn nets. A good game so far, but Mason has been ineffective and in foul trouble. And as I write this he scores his first bucket but gets his 5th foul. 334 left in the third.

[sagegrouse]

Mods, feel free to move/merge this thread, but I figured we could use this.


First game is Toronto raptors vs Brooklyn nets. A good game so far, but Mason has been ineffective and in foul trouble. And as I write this he scores his first bucket but gets his 5th foul. 334 left in the third.

Announcers did say, "The Nets will miss Mason when he goes out," followed shortly by "the energy level really goes up when he [Mason] is in the game."

[nmduke2001]

Announcers did say, "The Nets will miss Mason when he goes out," followed shortly by "the energy level really goes up when he [Mason] is in the game."

Mason needs to stay out of foul trouble. Brooklyn is dominating when he is on the court.

[theAlaskanBear]

Mason is playing good D and battling for rebounds, he matches up with Toronto/valanciunas well, but he doesn't help them on the bench. Nice to she they have the shot clocks back. Would hate to see a shotclockgate

Next game is Golden State Warriors vs the LA Clippers at 330 on ABC.

[theAlaskanBear]

Looks like Brooklyn will squeak by. Shame to see Hansbrough lose to Plumlee

Now...to LA and watching JJ Redick be relevant in the postseason finally.

[kAzE]

JJ is doin work . . . 22 points already and it's still 3rd qtr

[left_hook_lacey]

Didn't see a thread started on this, but the NBA playoffs are underway. So far, Duke and the ACC have been represented well.

JJ had a nice game in a losing effort for the Clippers finishing with 22 points. Even more impressive is the fact he shot 72% from the field with 5 of his 11 attempts from 3.

HWNWSNM came up big in spots for the Warriors. There was an awesome 3-4 minutes of basketball early in the 3rd where he, JJ, and Steph Curry were draining everything they put up every trip down the floor. With Paul running the point for the Clippers and Curry for the Warriors, this is going to be an awesome series and a great chance for JJ to show off. It's already off and running on both accounts. I think JJ is an awesome fit for this team.

Jeff Teague shredded the floundering Pacers last night. They simply could not find a way to keep him out of the lane. Maybe put George on him and make someone else beat you?


And call me crazy, but I'm really excited about the Heat/Bobcats game today. A true David v. Goliath with plenty of Duke blue for your viewing pleasure. I really love Shane, but I hope the Bobcats can pull of the miracle. I'd love to see the Bobcats(soon to be Hornets again, and all will be right in the world) get some good exposure on the national stage with G and McRoberts leading the way. I'm just tired of the decision and everything that came with it. I'm ready for that team to be split up and new rivalries started. I'd love the story line if James went back to Cleveland to try and win them a title.

Enjoy your Easter Holiday, and the playoffs!

[theAlaskanBear]

Day 1 Roundup:

New Jersey Nets def. Toronto Raptors -- a close, fun game to watch with a special oddity: all stadium shot clocks ceased to function, even the backups, and they played the last half with the PA announcer announcing the shot clock from a scorer table stopwatch. Mason was in foul trouble nearly the entire game and only played 11 minutes, scoring 2 points and grabbing 3 rebounds.

Golden State Warriors def. LA Clippers -- Foul trouble by Blake Griffin bailed the Bogut-less Warriors out. Good games from CP3 and JJ could not stop them. Redick had 22 points on 8-11 shooting from the floor.

Atlanta Hawks def. Indiana Pacers -- the reeling Pacers continue to reel. Elton Brand played 20 minutes and put up 5 rebounds and 3 blocked shots. Love the way the Hawks played in this one, stealing home court from Indiana. I hope they can keep it up!

OKC Thunder def. Memphis Grizzlies -- OKC came out hot, and wrapped up the first without too much difficulty, although Memphis played much of the second half within striking distance, they just couldn't get anything reliably going.

Day 2 Preview:

Dallas Mavericks vs SA Spurs at 1pm on TNT
Miami Heat vs Charlotte McBobcats at 3:30 on ABC (Battier, Henderson, McRoberts)
Chicago Bulls vs Washington Wizards at 7pm on TNT (Boozer, Dunleavy)
Portland Trailblazers vs Houston Rockets at 9:30 on TNT

[pfrduke]

The Horbobnetcats may have lost, but McRoberts had the dunk of the first weekend when he posterized the Birdman.

[Billy Dat]

The Horbobnetcats may have lost, but McRoberts had the dunk of the first weekend when he posterized the Birdman.

This was my favorite tweet related to that dunk:

@Dameshek, "Even with Jesus Shuttlesworth on the same floor, Josh McRoberts wins the award for showing the most Easter spirit." (in reference to McRoberts' 'Jesus'-like hair and beard)

I also want to mention the very moving moment when Craig Sager Jr., standing in for his ailing (Acute Myeloid Leukemia) father, interviewed famously surly and abrupt (during in-game interviews only) Gregg Popovich, and the coach showed his true generous self:
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2...l-in-interview

As for the games, I saw bits and pieces of a bunch of different stuff. I only saw the 4th quarter of the Heat v Bobcats and was astonished at how horrendous Al Jefferson looked until I heard that he'd gotten hurt. If he's not effective then they are probably done. The Heat also buried them with some hot shooting. I was bummed to see Shane not get any 4th quarter run, but I understand that the rotation has been pretty fluid outside the primary players. Gerald wasn't asserting himself much, but it is amazing what a huge part of the team Josh is, they run tons of the offense through him.

As for the Nets, it was classic to see Pierce hit all the big shots in the final few minutes. We'll see if they have enough in the tank to make a run.

Other than that, I only saw bits and pieces, but I am glad we've got this thread up and running and I looked forward to chopping it up with you guys for the next two months. Alaska, the only criticism I have of one of your original posts is that JJ played really meaningful minutes in the Magic run to the NBA Finals a few years ago - he was a beast checking Ray Allen and made major contributions that that squad.

[rsvman]

Mountain Man McBob was surprisingly effective from beyond the arc.

Maybe my memory is fading, but did he knock down that shot with any kind of regularity when he was at Duke? My memories of Josh were mostly of spectacular alley-oop dunks.

[CDu]

Mountain Man McBob was surprisingly effective from beyond the arc.

Maybe my memory is fading, but did he knock down that shot with any kind of regularity when he was at Duke? My memories of Josh were mostly of spectacular alley-oop dunks.

No. That's one of the areas in which McRoberts has improved vastly since going pro. He's now a very solid perimeter shooter, whereas at Duke he was a terrible shooter outside of 5 feet.

[CDu]

Disappointing start for the Bulls. Boozer played very well. Actually, both of Chicago's PFs played well, combining for 23 points, 15 rebounds, and 3 blocks while shooting 9-16 from the field). Dunleavy did not fare so well, shooting just 4-12 and losing track of Ariza on numerous occasions.

Ultimately, though, it was the Bulls' inability to defend Nene and Gortat (39 points, 21 rebounds, 17-27 FG) inside and Andre Miller (5-7 FG) outside that did them in.

They'll look to recover on Tuesday in essentially a must-win game (can't go down 2-0 at home and hope to survive).

It's not looking good for the Bulls though. Washington is a terrible matchup as they have terrific interior play to mitigate the Bulls' usual edge inside.

[JasonEvans]

Disappointing start for the Bulls. Boozer played very well. Actually, both of Chicago's PFs played well, combining for 23 points, 15 rebounds, and 3 blocks while shooting 9-16 from the field). Dunleavy did not fare so well, shooting just 4-12 and losing track of Ariza on numerous occasions.

Ultimately, though, it was the Bulls' inability to defend Nene and Gortat (39 points, 21 rebounds, 17-27 FG) inside and Andre Miller (5-7 FG) outside that did them in.

They'll look to recover on Tuesday in essentially a must-win game (can't go down 2-0 at home and hope to survive).

It's not looking good for the Bulls though. Washington is a terrible matchup as they have terrific interior play to mitigate the Bulls' usual edge inside.

I know it is just one game in each series... and there is every chance that the #1 and #4 seeds will come back to take the series... but there is at least a somewhat decent chance at this point that Atlanta or Washington will be playing for the Eastern Conference Championship in a couple weeks.

Coulda made big big big money in Vegas on that bet a few months ago!!

-Jason "the East is so much worse than the West, it is just sad" Evans

[JBDuke]

Disappointing start for the Bulls. Boozer played very well. Actually, both of Chicago's PFs played well, combining for 23 points, 15 rebounds, and 3 blocks while shooting 9-16 from the field). Dunleavy did not fare so well, shooting just 4-12 and losing track of Ariza on numerous occasions.

Ultimately, though, it was the Bulls' inability to defend Nene and Gortat (39 points, 21 rebounds, 17-27 FG) inside and Andre Miller (5-7 FG) outside that did them in.

They'll look to recover on Tuesday in essentially a must-win game (can't go down 2-0 at home and hope to survive).

It's not looking good for the Bulls though. Washington is a terrible matchup as they have terrific interior play to mitigate the Bulls' usual edge inside.

Actually, I think Nene did more perimeter scoring than Miller. Nene was playing the high post a lot and got a bunch of FT-line range jumpers. Most of Miller's scoring seemed to come up layups and cuts, with a short jumper and a fadeaway thrown in. The two were working a nice give-and-go in the early 4th quarter last night.

And credit to the Wizards - they played some hard-nosed Chicago style defense. They outrebounded the Bulls and stayed close in the turnover count.

As a Wizards fan, it was a lot of fun to watch. Great comeback, and the Wiz didn't fold down the stretch. And it was the veterans - Nene, Gortat, Miller, and Ariza - that really carried the load. The highly-regarded but young and playoff-inexperienced Washington backcourt was 7-25.

[CDu]

I know it is just one game in each series... and there is every chance that the #1 and #4 seeds will come back to take the series... but there is at least a somewhat decent chance at this point that Atlanta or Washington will be playing for the Eastern Conference Championship in a couple weeks.

Coulda made big big big money in Vegas on that bet a few months ago!!

-Jason "the East is so much worse than the West, it is just sad" Evans

I agree. Remember when folks were talking up Roy Hibbert? Well, since the calendar reached 2014, he's averaged just 9.5 ppg and 5.6 rpg (for perspective, Joakim Noah has averaged more assists per game than Hibbert has rebounds in 2014). And in April, he's averaged 5.3 ppg and 3.2 rpg while shooting 23.5% from the field. Very strange. I felt he was a bit overrated based on his playoffs last year, but I didn't think he'd disappear this much.

Without him being a force inside, Indiana is a pretty pedestrian team by Playoffs standards. Now, I still think Indiana will beat Atlanta, but I don't think Indiana gets past either Chicago or (more likely) Washington.

My guess is that Washington beats Chicago and then beats Indiana. The Bullets, with a healthy Nene, are suddenly a very interesting team in the East.

But I completely with you that the East is a joke compared to the West, especially now that Indiana looks so shaky.

[Billy Dat]

But I completely with you that the East is a joke compared to the West, especially now that Indiana looks so shaky.

So what happened to the Pacers? I have heard numerous theories including:

-The Granger/Turner trade was bad for locker room chemistry
-Paul George's alleged paternity scandal and catfish scandal was a huge distraction
-Hibbert and George are feuding over who gets shots and who is THE MAN
-The team thought, based on last year's run, that it had achieved something and lost their hunger
-Bird doesn't like Vogel and that tension is seeping into the rest of the team
-Stephenson, playing for a contract, is not playing smart
-The bench is weak after dealing away Psycho T and Gerald Green - they aren't getting what they wanted from Scola


Anyone else hearing this stuff? Anyone have a different theory?

[Duvall]

So what happened to the Pacers? I have heard numerous theories including:

-The Granger/Turner trade was bad for locker room chemistry
-Paul George's alleged paternity scandal and catfish scandal was a huge distraction
-Hibbert and George are feuding over who gets shots and who is THE MAN
-The team thought, based on last year's run, that it had achieved something and lost their hunger
-Bird doesn't like Vogel and that tension is seeping into the rest of the team
-Stephenson, playing for a contract, is not playing smart
-The bench is weak after dealing away Psycho T and Gerald Green - they aren't getting what they wanted from Scola


Anyone else hearing this stuff? Anyone have a different theory?

- The loss of Miles Plumlee finally caught up to them.

[pfrduke]

-The bench is weak after dealing away Psycho T and Gerald Green - they aren't getting what they wanted from Scola

The funny thing on the bench point is that last year's bench was criticized as being cripplingly weak. The pitch on the Pacers was that their starting 5 as a unit was better than everyone else but that the bench killed them. DJ Augustin was awful (his resurgence this year with Chicago being all the more surprising). Gerald Green was not good (his resurgence this year with Phoenix being all the more surprising). Sam Young played (way too many) meaningful minutes. Tyler Hansbrough was their only semi-effective bench player, which is just not good.

The offseason moves all were meant to address that. Scola and Watson were supposed to be big upgrades on Hansbrough and Augustin (respectively); Granger coming back (and, ultimately, Evan Turner) was supposed to be a big upgrade on Gerald Green. Chris Copeland was supposed to provide some stretch 4 versatility.

Well, the bench stunk again. CJ Watson has been an improvement as a backup point guard, but the rest of the team is not chipping in. It turned out to be just a lot of shuffling deck chairs.

[CDu]

The funny thing on the bench point is that last year's bench was criticized as being cripplingly weak. The pitch on the Pacers was that their starting 5 as a unit was better than everyone else but that the bench killed them. DJ Augustin was awful (his resurgence this year with Chicago being all the more surprising). Gerald Green was not good (his resurgence this year with Phoenix being all the more surprising). Sam Young played (way too many) meaningful minutes. Tyler Hansbrough was their only semi-effective bench player, which is just not good.

The offseason moves all were meant to address that. Scola and Watson were supposed to be big upgrades on Hansbrough and Augustin (respectively); Granger coming back (and, ultimately, Evan Turner) was supposed to be a big upgrade on Gerald Green. Chris Copeland was supposed to provide some stretch 4 versatility.

Well, the bench stunk again. CJ Watson has been an improvement as a backup point guard, but the rest of the team is not chipping in. It turned out to be just a lot of shuffling deck chairs.

I actually think the bench this year is slightly better than their bench last year. But it certainly isn't worlds better. Scola and Turner have been solid reserves, but have probably only matched Hansbrough and Green. Watson has been better than Augustin was, but not by much.

The biggest problem I see is that their PG play has regressed a bit, West has gotten a bit worse, and Hibbert has regressed A LOT. Really the last one seems to be the biggest issue. Hibbert has been nonexistent in 2014.