NBA Playoffs 2018

[Troublemaker]

you'd never know it, if you only saw ESPN's game recap.
anti-Duke bias? Maybe. More likely, Simmons sells.
(not mutually exclusive)

ESPN had a horrendous night covering JJ. A minute into the game, JJ fell awkwardly and had to go to the locker room, and this was completely unremarked upon by ESPN's commentators. Philly subbed in another white guy (Marco Belinelli), and it was as if ESPN was fooled or something.


Jessica Camerato‏Verified account @JCameratoNBCS 7h7 hours ago
Redick on why he had to leave the game: “It was just a really scary moment. I lost vision in my left eye and I don’t know what happened. I went back in the locker room and I just had to wait really until it kind of came back. It’s not a concussion. I don’t know what happened."

[CDu]

And fun night for JJ, particularly, as high point man for the 76ers.

He is such a great pairing with Simmons and Saric. They ran all kinds of fun stuff with those guys. I hope he sticks around there. It is a great fit for him.

As much as it galls me as a Bulls fan to wish good things for LeBron, I really do hope he goes there. The kind of fun things they could run with him and Simmons as passers is amazing to think about.

That said, they are pretty darn fun as is, so even if LeBron doesn’t come, the future is really bright there.

[rsvman]

ESPN had a horrendous night covering JJ. A minute into the game, JJ fell awkwardly and had to go to the locker room, and this was completely unremarked upon by ESPN's commentators. Philly subbed in another white guy (Marco Belinelli), and it was as if ESPN was fooled or something.


Jessica Camerato‏Verified account @JCameratoNBCS 7h7 hours ago
Redick on why he had to leave the game: “It was just a really scary moment. I lost vision in my left eye and I don’t know what happened. I went back in the locker room and I just had to wait really until it kind of came back. It’s not a concussion. I don’t know what happened."

Amaurosis fugax is the medical term for
transient monocular blindness. That's kind of scary. Its associated with transient ischemic attacks, although there are other, more benign causes.
Without more information, I can't speculate as to what happened. Sometimes migraine equivalents can cause this, although I suspect it is usually bilateral.
Not an eye doctor and not a neurologist, so take it with a grain of salt.

[DukeTrinity11]

Jayson Tatum is so good...he's basically dispelled every con that was in his scouting report out of Duke.

Bad Defender? Nope.
Iso Mid Range Only? Nope.
Not athletic? Nope.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

Jayson Tatum is so good...he's basically dispelled every con that was in his scouting report out of Duke.

Bad Defender? Nope.
Iso Mid Range Only? Nope.
Not athletic? Nope.

Tatum fighting like a beast in overtime to try and win this game. Pretty damn entertaining.

[ncexnyc]

I watched some of the Raptor's game yesterday and some of the Cleveland game today, but it's really hard. Is there a whistle that doesn't get questioned by the players?

It's like watching giant kids who throw a tantrum every time the refs make a call. Maybe I feel this way because I don't have a horse in this race, but I think I'll pass on watching. Maybe, I'll change my tune once the finals roll around, but unless there is a compelling story line I doubt it.

[kshepinthehouse]

Go Pacers! Just handed Lebron his first ever round 1 loss!

[darthur]

Well to each their own, but I love the NBA playoffs even more than the NCAA touney!

As someone who lives in the Bay Area and grew up in Toronto, it's been a great week so far.

- Golden State couldn't have asked for better matchups. Assuming no return of Kawhi, San Antonio is the worst WC playoff team IMO, and I'm thrilled to have Utah on the other side of the bracket. GS looked awful after the all-star break and that was only partly due to the injuries. I wasn't sure if they would be able to seamlessly do the switch-flipping thing, but their defense was a thing of beauty vs SA. It's been quite a while since I've been able to say that.

- Toronto got its first #1 seed ever, and broke its waaaay-too long streak of losing game-1s. DeRozan and Lowry again seem to be playing below their regular season form, and I still see Cleveland+Philadelphia as much more likely eastern conference champions, buuut go Toronto! It sucks that Toronto got matched up with Cleveland in R2, but Cleveland looked shockingly bad today.

- So far, I see this whole season as a giant repudiation of Westbrook and/or Donovan. Mr. I-got-no-support has Oladipo leave and become an absolute star, and this year his team hardly improved despite getting PG+Melo. Will be interesting to see how things go in the playoffs.

- Redick is my favorite Duke alum and the 76ers are fun to watch. They also have an easy path to the ECF IMO. But after the rampant tanking this year, I feel a little guilty cheering for them.

- The Boston/Milwaukee ending was incredible.

[CDu]

Go Pacers! Just handed Lebron his first ever round 1 loss!

First ever round 1, game 1 loss. He has lost a first round game before. Just not a playoff opener.

[kshepinthehouse]

First ever round 1, game 1 loss. He has lost a first round game before. Just not a playoff opener.

First since 2012. You’re right.

[LasVegas]

Go Pacers! Just handed Lebron his first ever round 1 loss!

Lebron with a nice game too. Could of shot a bit better but 24/10/12 with 3 TOs is great. If he takes this team to the finals, what an accomplishment that will be. Almost like the 07 finals.

[darthur]

Lebron with a nice game too. Could of shot a bit better but 24/10/12 with 3 TOs is great. If he takes this team to the finals, what an accomplishment that will be. Almost like the 07 finals.

I don't agree with this...

This squad seems far more talented than the 07 team and more than the post-KLove-injury 15 team too. And that 15 team *dominated* the eastern conference. Kevin Love is an absolute stud, Larry Jr is pretty darn good, they still have '15 starters JR Smith and Tristan Thompson, and at least a couple folks who played major roles on other top-10 teams in the last couple years. And oh yeah that LeBron guy too.

The Cavs were the Vegas favorites to win the East as the playoffs began, and have yet to be even slightly challenged by an eastern conference foe since LBJ returned. Toronto, as much I want them to win, has underplayed their seed every year in the playoffs and Boston is on life support. Phillie looks legit but they're also sooo young -- it's not exactly a murderer's row of contenders out there. The Cavs aren't underdogs at all.

[Furniture]

I read today that Amiles contract with the Timberwolves has been converted to a standard NBA contract. Anyone understand what that means for his current salary and the future?

[LasVegas]

I don't agree with this...

This squad seems far more talented than the 07 team and more than the post-KLove-injury 15 team too. And that 15 team *dominated* the eastern conference. Kevin Love is an absolute stud, Larry Jr is pretty darn good, they still have '15 starters JR Smith and Tristan Thompson, and at least a couple folks who played major roles on other top-10 teams in the last couple years. And oh yeah that LeBron guy too.

The Cavs were the Vegas favorites to win the East as the playoffs began, and have yet to be even slightly challenged by an eastern conference foe since LBJ returned. Toronto, as much I want them to win, has underplayed their seed every year in the playoffs and Boston is on life support. Phillie looks legit but they're also sooo young -- it's not exactly a murderer's row of contenders out there. The Cavs aren't underdogs at all.

Not sure what you are disagreeing with. I did say almost. As in they aren’t as bad as the 07 squad. But this would be Lebron’s 2nd worst finals team, IMO. So yeah, I think it would be a heck of an accomplishment considering the Cavs troubles this year. They are the favorites because A) they have Lebron, B) the east isn’t great and C) they have Lebron.

[JasonEvans]

I read today that Amiles contract with the Timberwolves has been converted to a standard NBA contract. Anyone understand what that means for his current salary and the future?

It means he is eligible for the playoffs and will get some kind of playoff bonus. If they win the title, the bonus would be more than $200k. He will also get paid for a couple days of the end of the regular season, likely somewhere in the range of $13-15k. I believe his contract contains nothing guaranteed about next season.

[darthur]

Not sure what you are disagreeing with. I did say almost. As in they aren’t as bad as the 07 squad. But this would be Lebron’s 2nd worst finals team, IMO. So yeah, I think it would be a heck of an accomplishment considering the Cavs troubles this year. They are the favorites because A) they have Lebron, B) the east isn’t great and C) they have Lebron.

I disagree that this team is anywhere close to the `07 team. And while it is always a big accomplishment to make the NBA finals, I don't think doing so this year would rank particularly highly in LBJ's rather impressive list of achievements. If anything, I'd see it as a down year for him if they *don't* make the finals. Life is hard if you're arguably the GOAT.

Rockets/Wolves was entertaining and surprisingly close despite a terrific game from Harden+Capela and a bad game from KAT. Pretty weird/funny play near the end: https://streamable.com/d7o9j I'm still guessing the Rockets roll in the series though. Not sure what to think after Utah/OKC game 1. OKC won reasonably decisively but only because of a stellar shooting night from PG.

[kshepinthehouse]

Not sure what you are disagreeing with. I did say almost. As in they aren’t as bad as the 07 squad. But this would be Lebron’s 2nd worst finals team, IMO. So yeah, I think it would be a heck of an accomplishment considering the Cavs troubles this year. They are the favorites because A) they have Lebron, B) the east isn’t great and C) they have Lebron.

This is laughable and please don’t start the “let’s feel sorry for Lebron because it’s him and four other nobodies” sympathy fest. While it’s true Lebron has taken four nobodies to the finals, it’s not true this year.

First of all, let’s not overreact to a round 1 loss. The Pacers are one of the hotter teams in the NBA anyway, so this wasn’t going to be a cakewalk series.

Second of all, Lebron cries every year that he needs more help, even when he is surrounded by all stars. Jordan didn’t have close to some of the supporting casts that Lebron has had.

Thirdly, the new Cavs GM rescued them at the trading deadline by trading some of their older, washed up players for a surprising haul of better defensive players and seeming players that fit better in their system. If the Cavs don’t win this year I’ll hardly feel sad for Lebron. If the Cavs do make it to the Finals this year I won’t be surprised nor will I list it as one of his major accomplishments.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

Listening to the discussion here of where "LeBron dragging this team to the finals" would land on his legacy listof accomplishments, you might think they won yesterday.

I suspect this discussion will be moot sooner rather than later.

[luburch]

This is laughable and please don’t start the “let’s feel sorry for Lebron because it’s him and four other nobodies” sympathy fest. While it’s true Lebron has taken four nobodies to the finals, it’s not true this year.

First of all, let’s not overreact to a round 1 loss. The Pacers are one of the hotter teams in the NBA anyway, so this wasn’t going to be a cakewalk series.

Second of all, Lebron cries every year that he needs more help, even when he is surrounded by all stars. Jordan didn’t have close to some of the supporting casts that Lebron has had.

Thirdly, the new Cavs GM rescued them at the trading deadline by trading some of their older, washed up players for a surprising haul of better defensive players and seeming players that fit better in their system. If the Cavs don’t win this year I’ll hardly feel sad for Lebron. If the Cavs do make it to the Finals this year I won’t be surprised nor will I list it as one of his major accomplishments.

Ahhh yes, Jordan didn't have any help making the finals. He actually played 1v5 every season. And LeBron wouldn't have been able to survive playing in the 80s or 90s, because the league was so tough back then.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

Ahhh yes, Jordan didn't have any help making the finals. He actually played 1v5 every season. And LeBron wouldn't have been able to survive playing in the 80s or 90s, because the league was so tough back then.

It is interesting. Consensus is the league was tougher (videos of common fouls and on court brawls seems to confirm this opinion) but players today are so much stronger and more physically imposing.