2021 NBA Playoffs Thread

[budwom]

I just read the post-game comments and Embiid says he could not jump and that he wanted to dunk that last shot but got no lift. Not a good omen for the rest of the series or playoffs.

I think he was 0 for 12 from the field in the second half...his quick, premature three (maybe it was a long two) attempt in the last minute or so was really a bad move...

[DoubleBlue]

I think he was 0 for 12 from the field in the second half...his quick, premature three (maybe it was a long two) attempt in the last minute or so was really a bad move...

The Sixers had an 18-point lead in the first half and had Rivers foreseen Embiid's second-half meltdown he could have made adjustments. Dwight Howard can still get rebounds and play defense. Other scorers can step up. But it appears that Embiid's knee is giving him pain and even if he can work through it, his role may need to be reduced.

[luvdahops]

I just read the post-game comments and Embiid says he could not jump and that he wanted to dunk that last shot but got no lift. Not a good omen for the rest of the series or playoffs.

He was clearly not right physically in the 2nd half. But kept trying to force things on offense, at least partially because of the passiveness of Simmons, Harris and Seth. Credit to the Hawks for fighting back and finding a way to pull it out. But the Sixers should really be kicking themselves. 2-2 feels a lot worse than up 3-1 when there are question marks about your best payer's health.

[dukelifer]

He was clearly not right physically in the 2nd half. But kept trying to force things on offense, at least partially because of the passiveness of Simmons, Harris and Seth. Credit to the Hawks for fighting back and finding a way to pull it out. But the Sixers should really be kicking themselves. 2-2 feels a lot worse than up 3-1 when there are question marks about your best payer's health.

Basketball like football has become a championship of attrition. Whatever team is most healthy wins.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

Basketball like football has become a championship of attrition. Whatever team is most healthy wins.

And in a compressed season following a very short off-season... hard to imagine people didn't see this coming.

[wilson]

I agree with the preceding comments about team health having a clear impact on this year’s playoffs. I think it will stretch into next season as well…the ripple effects of the pandemic warping annual schedules are gonna do that for another while in both basketball and soccer, especially since so many elite footballers are also playing in this summer’s European Championships…I don’t understand how there aren’t hamstrings just exploding all over the place.

Anyway, from my typical Atlanta-slanted viewpoint, tomorrow night looks an awful lot like one of the biggest Hawks games since 1994. In that season, the Hawks were the Eastern Conference’s #1 seed in Michael Jordan’s absence, but were eliminated in Round 2 of the playoffs by a red-hot Reggie Miller and the Pacers.
Since that season, the Hawks have won a grand total of 10 playoff series in 27 seasons, only one of those series in the second round. The one time the Hawks won a conference semifinal was in the rather fluky 2014-15 season, when they won 60 regular-season games but were at no point taken seriously as a threat to LeBron and the Cavaliers, who sure enough swept them in the Eastern Conference Finals. All along, that Hawks team felt like a short term spare parts deal, with several contracts expiring and veterans getting one last high-level run. The next year, they regressed to 48 wins, starters Al Horford and Kyle Korver left, and the team had bottomed out by 2017.
This year, the hope coming into the season was that the team could just get into the playoffs. They’ve arrived a little early in terms of really competing in the playoffs, and with Embiid looking hobbled in last night’s second half and the Nets in all kinds of injury trouble too, tomorrow night feels like a gigantic opportunity for the team not only to really do some things this year, but also to lay some great foundation for a squad that is by no means finished growing.

[JasonEvans]

Now, how at DBR do we scientifically measure fanbase sizes? 😉 .

I mean, the answer seems obvious to me...

[JasonEvans]

Woj bomb... Harden is now listed as "doubtful" for game 5. While that may not seem like good news for Nets fans, it is a upgrade from "out."

https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1404797652072648709

If the Nets can get Harden or Kyrie back, I think they are the favorite to win it all. If they get them both...

[JasonEvans]

Woj bomb... Harden is now listed as "doubtful" for game 5. While that may not seem like good news for Nets fans, it is a upgrade from "out."

https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1404797652072648709

https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1404799057361506309

Harden is expected to test his hamstring in shoot-around today and has been determined to try and find a way to get cleared to play Game 5, sources tell ESPN. There are no guarantees on his status but Harden is trying to play with series 2-2.

[heyman25]

LA Clippers have Dahntay Jones as a development coach and Corey Maggette as a post game color analyst.(Besides SG Luke Kennard.)

[Indoor66]

I mean, the answer seems obvious to me...

Yeah, but the floor is the roof, or something.

[wilson]

Kyrie out for Brooklyn tonight, with Harden hoping to play but not definite.
Embiid downgraded to questionable for tomorrow night vs. the Hawks.
Pivotal game 5s in both series. Injuries are really affecting this year’s playoffs.

[JasonEvans]

Kyrie out for Brooklyn tonight, with Harden hoping to play but not definite.
Embiid downgraded to questionable for tomorrow night vs. the Hawks.
Pivotal game 5s in both series. Injuries are really affecting this year’s playoffs.

Don't forget Jamal Murray. I'm pretty sure Denver does not get swept out in round 2 if he was able to play.

Hawks without DeAndre Hunter for the duration of the playoffs. He's a really underrated 3 & D player who seems to be getting better every few months. Losing him really messed with Atlanta's rotations (Hawks are better when Heurter is giving some punch to the second unit, but starting Solmon Hill or Tony Snell has been something close to a disaster.

[DoubleBlue]

Don't forget Jamal Murray. I'm pretty sure Denver does not get swept out in round 2 if he was able to play.

Hawks without DeAndre Hunter for the duration of the playoffs. He's a really underrated 3 & D player who seems to be getting better every few months. Losing him really messed with Atlanta's rotations (Hawks are better when Heurter is giving some punch to the second unit, but starting Solmon Hill or Tony Snell has been something close to a disaster.

Trae Young is nursing a sore right shoulder... is that a factor too?

[wilson]

Trae Young is nursing a sore right shoulder... is that a factor too?

He says he feels fine and just got a bump in Game 3, but yes, add that to the list.
He did seem to have good touch on his floater late in Game 4, and he had a remarkably productive floor game.

[SouthernDukie]

If Harden can play well tonight, at least it gives the Nets a fighting chance.

[SouthernDukie]

If Joe Harris doesn’t find his stroke, it won’t matter if Harden is back. The Nets will lose. He has been unexpectedly horrible in this series.

[dukelifer]

If Joe Harris doesn’t find his stroke, it won’t matter if Harden is back. The Nets will lose. He has been unexpectedly horrible in this series.

Gonna take more than Harris- they look done

[moonpie23]

HArden 0-6

[Duke79UNLV77]

Harden has been the worst player on the court so far. He's a long way from 100%