2019 NBA Playoffs

[wilson]

Time to crank this one up. To me, this year's playoffs look like a bit of a script-flip vis-à-vis the last ~5 years: instead of the Warriors being the best overall team and having a tough West to fight through with Cleveland clearly topping a weak East, it’s now Golden State topping a weak(er) West (though I don’t think this GS is as good as their best vintages), and the East the deeper conference in my opinion, plus I don’t think it would be outlandish to call Milwaukee the best team in the league over the Warriors.
It’ll also be interesting to see who, if anyone, gels and has good team performances...fractured chemistry has been something of a league theme this season.
Lastly, a nice Duke-related tidbit from ESPN.com’s playoff preview. Under “Get to Know” for the Warriors, the Worldwide Leader lists Quinn Cook, praising his team play and strong shooting and concluding that “Cook has the ability to be a difference-maker in short bursts.”
http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/2...yoffs#warriors

My picks: The Warriors get tested by Denver and perhaps a nudge (if not a push) from Houston in the Conference Semis, and the Bucks take a brawl of a series over Toronto in the Eastern Conference Finals. Ultimately, I think the Warriors are still better than everyone else and they take the Finals in 6. But I also think their margin atop the league is narrowing and could be gone as soon as next season.

[pfrduke]

Duke players on playoff teams (not 100% sure everyone will be on the postseason roster):

Golden State - Quinn Cook
Denver - Mason Plumlee
Portland - Seth Curry, Rodney Hood, Gary Trent
Houston - Austin Rivers, Trevon Duval
Utah - Grayson Allen

Philadelphia - J.J. Redick
Boston - Kyrie Irving, Jayson Tatum, Semi Ojeleye*
Orlando - Amile Jefferson
Detroit - Luke Kennard

*I know, I know, I've heard all the arguments. He played at Duke.

[fc3]

Happy to have the Nuggets in the playoffs, really like their team and their style, and having a Plumlee is an added bonus. But I think they will be tested by any team with veterans and playoff experience, and a savvy head coach. IE, I am not optimistic that they will make it past the Spurs in the first round.

The Jazz seem to fly below the radar due to lack of superstar talent (and location?) but they could give any team they encounter trouble.

Overall with the exception of the clippers, I think any of the lower seeds in the Western conference has a chance at pushing through to the finals but no one is beating Golden State.

Don't watch as much Eastern conference but looking to see if the Bucks can keep their regular season success rolling.

[Skydog]

Happy to have the Nuggets in the playoffs, really like their team and their style, and having a Plumlee is an added bonus. But I think they will be tested by any team with veterans and playoff experience, and a savvy head coach. IE, I am not optimistic that they will make it past the Spurs in the first round.

...

Against everyone in the WC but the Warriors the Nuggets have the home court advantage. That's a big deal for any team - but it's gigantic for the Nuggets because of the altitude differential. Denver was 34-7 at home this season, best in the NBA. As for the Spurs - Pops is a genius but they were 16-25 on the road this season.

[JasonEvans]

First round picks:

Milwaukee (60-22) vs Detroit (41-41): Has a 60-win team ever lost to a team that was not above .500? Milwaukee won all 4 regular season matchups. Bucks in 4.

Toronto (58-24) vs Orlando (42-40): I saw some dude on ESPN pick Orlando this morning. He might be on drugs. It is worth noting that Orlando did really well against good teams and poorer than expected against bad teams this year an that they went 2-2 against the Raptors during the regular season. But there is a reason Kawhi is one of the 5 best players in the game. Raptors in 6.

Philly (51-31) vs Brooklyn (42-40): What a great story that the Nets made the playoffs for the first time in 139 years. I think they will show more than just being happy to be here. I suspect this is where folks start really talking about how limited Ben Simmons is because of his shooting. 76ers in 7.

Boston (49-33) vs Indiana (48-34): Team dysfunction vs Team Noladipo. If their best player was playing, I might be tempted to take Indiana because it sure feels like Boston is trying to tear itself apart. But without him, I just don't see it, even with Marcus Smart missing for Boston (I think he is their 4th most important player). Celtics in 6.

Golden St (57-25) vs LA Clippers (48-34): I figured LA would make the playoffs, but not this LA team. The Clippers have a really bright future with a good cap situation and some fine young pieces... but the Warriors are the present and I suspect they will really turn it on once the playoffs start. Warriors with the sweep.

Denver (54-28) vs Spurs (48-34): Full credit to Pops for getting this team to 48 wins. Really impressive. But I think Denver is on a mission to announce themselves to the league. Nuggets in 5.

Portland (53-29) vs OKC (49-33): Upset time! The Thunder won all 4 of the regular season matchups between these two teams and clearly have the two best players on either team. Thunder in 6.

Houston (53-29) vs Utah (50-32): I love the Jazz and want to pick them, but Houston went 20-3 down the stretch and are arguably playing the best ball of any team in the league. Rockets in 5.

-Jason "sorta dull, I know.. sorry, that is just how I see it" Evans

[luburch]

My playoff predictions:

East Round 1:
76ers over the Nets in 6
Raptors over the Magic in 4
Celtics over the Pacers in 6
Bucks over the Pistons in 5

West Round 1:
Warriors over the Clippers in 4
Nuggets over the Spurs in 6
Thunder over the Blazers in 7
Rockets over the Jazz in 6

East Round 2:
Toronto over the 76ers in 6
Bucks over the Celtics in 7

West Round 2:
Warriors over Houston in 5
Thunder over the Nuggets in 7

East Round 3:
Toronto over the Bucks in 7

West Round 4:
Warriors over the Thunder in 6

Finals:
Warriors over Toronto in 6

[JasonEvans]

My playoff predictions:

East Round 1:
76ers over the Nets in 6 *
Raptors over the Magic in 4 *
Celtics over the Pacers in 6 *
Bucks over the Pistons in 5

West Round 1:
Warriors over the Clippers in 4 *
Nuggets over the Spurs in 6 *
Thunder over the Blazers in 7 *
Rockets over the Jazz in 6 *

East Round 2:
Toronto over the 76ers in 6 *
Bucks over the Celtics in 7

West Round 2:
Warriors over Houston in 5
Thunder over the Nuggets in 7 *

East Round 3:
Toronto over the Bucks in 7 *

West Round 4:
Warriors over the Thunder in 6 *

Finals:
Warriors over Toronto in 6 *

*= games where road team wins elimination game

You must hate home crowds.

[JNort]

My playoff predictions:

East Round 1:
76ers over the Nets in 6
Raptors over the Magic in 4
Celtics over the Pacers in 7
Bucks over the Pistons in 4

West Round 1:
Warriors over the Clippers in 4
Nuggets over the Spurs in 6
Thunder over the Blazers in 7
Rockets over the Jazz in 6

East Round 2:
Toronto over the 76ers in 6
Bucks over the Celtics in 7

West Round 2:
Warriors over Houston in 5
Thunder over the Nuggets in 6

East Round 3:
Toronto over the Bucks in 5

West Round 4:
Warriors over the Thunder in 4

Finals:
Warriors over Toronto in 5

[bundabergdevil]

Fivethirtyeight's projections for the NBA play-offs. No surprise the Warriors remain the overwhelming favorites. Raptors slightly ahead of Bucks for coming out of the East.

Joel Embiid listed as doubtful for today's game. Haven't seen an official diagnosis but discussion of tendonitis in his left knee. Given his injury history and size, I wonder about Embiid's longevity. There's a lot of speculation about this in Philly and belief that Embiid's potential short shelf life is why the 76ers went out and got Butler and Tobias Harris. They have a short window and need to win now before Embiid declines too much.

[YmoBeThere]

Fivethirtyeight's projections for the NBA play-offs.

No surprise to see the Spurs with a 1 in 8 shot of advancing in the playoffs. Just not enough talent on the team. What might have been. They'll continue to coax enough out of what they have to make the playoffs as long as Pop is around, 22 years and counting. I think the city populace recognizes this and are slowly moving on accordingly.

[Troublemaker]

Warriors over Raptors in 7. Thought hard about Raptors over Warriors in 6.

[devildeac]

Warriors over Raptors in 7. Thought hard about Raptors over Warriors in 6.

Paging richardjackson199...

"I'll take the Warriors right now to win these NBA Playoffs. You get the field. Winner gets a pie. Anybody wanna play?" (quoted from rj himself in post #3 in Ymm, Pie)

[richardjackson199]

Paging richardjackson199...

"I'll take the Warriors right now to win these NBA Playoffs. You get the field. Winner gets a pie. Anybody wanna play?" (quoted from rj himself in post #3 in Ymm, Pie)

Getting no action on that bet proves how lame the NBA Playoffs are compared to the NCAAT. And the NBA obviously has a much, much higher level of basketball. The NCAAT gets great ratings because the sudden death nature of every game creates so much drama and suspense.

The playoffs by contrast are just starting and the only real question is how many games it will take the Warriors to win each series. That they will win it all is a foregone conclusion unless they suffer a serious injury. The Warriors could spot 2 games to the Clippers and still have no worries in that series. They're just too good and they're going to win. Yawn.

[Troublemaker]

Getting no action on that bet proves how lame the NBA Playoffs are compared to the NCAAT.

I didn't see the offer, but fyi, the Warriors are definitely a strong favorite against the field. At most books, you can get close to 2 to 1 to bet on GSW *not* winning it all. So, a 1-for-1 pie bet isn't fair :-)

[devildeac]

I didn't see the offer, but fyi, the Warriors are definitely a strong favorite against the field. At most books, you can get close to 2 to 1 to bet on GSW *not* winning it all. So, a 1-for-1 pie bet isn't fair :-)

Maybe I should change my name to TroublemakerII for stirring this pot...


(Oops, I mean soup or stew as I've learned I should not use the word "pot" if/when richardjackson199 is involved .)

[richardjackson199]

Maybe I should change my name to TroublemakerII for stirring this pot...


(Oops, I mean soup or stew as I've learned I should not use the word "pot" if/when richardjackson199 is involved .)

Just make sure your beer is stirred and not shaken, Troublemaker 2.

[BD80]

Maybe I should change my name to TroublemakerII for stirring this pot...


(Oops, I mean soup or stew as I've learned I should not use the word "pot" if/when richardjackson199 is involved .)

Do I sense a pot pie bet?

[bundabergdevil]

Tough day for JJ. 5 points and just fouled out. The booing has begun in Philadelphia. Embiid looks like the opposite of whatever spry is.

[jimsumner]

The booing has begun in Philadelphia.

Santa Claus must be there.

[devildeac]

Santa Claus must be there.

Or Mike Schmidt...