2023 NBA Playoffs Thread

[ClemmonsDevil]

He is a joy to watch. Seemingly slow, seemingly not athletic, totally in control and highly effective. I can't think of a modern era comparison for him.

Going off on a tangent, one of my sons and I were in Belgrade, Serbia in about 2014. He is an old Eastern Europe hand, having served in the Peace Corps in Bulgaria, a human rights organization in Budapest and many Roma (Gypsies as they are sometimes described) education, human rights and human trafficking initiatives throughout Eastern Europe.

We really liked Belgrade in the summer. Definitely a cafe society with people eating and drinking at outdoor cafes well into the night.

We ended up at a brewpub called "Miner's" three nights in a row. Owned and operated by a bunch of young Serbian guys who grew up in a mining town. They were huge basketball fans and kept telling us about this guy Jokic.

More tangential, it was really interesting to see the pride they had and the longing they had for the old Yugoslavia. They were so engaged with old Yugo pop music (which we got into), Yugo punk rock and Yugoslavian sport dominance. It was a lot of fun.

They recommended restaurants and we got great grilled meats and Serbian food and wine for a very nominal price.

Anyhow, I get Jokic's pride in being a Serbian. I have a friend from Kosovo so I understand the other side of that conflict.

Go Nuggets! Go Jokic! Beat those South Beach dandies.

Very cool! Thanks for sharing!

[kidA]

This will be tangential but not OT. I thought last night was going to be the same as game one, so I left the game at halftime. I also stopped the DVR recording to save space… So today I was thrilled that NBA TV is showing a condensed replay of game two. Holy wanker! They cut out major portions of the game, fives of game minutes at a time, which is fine because that’s how you get a three hour game into a two hour time slot. But they kept and showed the referees reviewing a contested play! And they showed the analysts bantering back-and-forth during a dead ball situation! I mean, there are lots of things to cut (eg, made free throws) and things to keep, and the keepers are probably where the debates lie in a condensed game broadcast. But certainly watching the refs review and disputed play is not one to keep. oh yeah and the call…

[rsvman]

You agreed with the call on Carter Jr that it was a block?!
https://twitter.com/TheSportsPoller/...63676933623809

I mean, it's a judgment call certainly, but I think it's clearly a charge ... (and this was the "old" rules).

Definitely not the worst call against us ever. But very costly for sure. Gah, if only Grayson's bucket at the end of regulation would have gone down instead of in and out...

We lost that game when Duval foolishly went for a steal instead of staying home and actually guarding the three-point shooter. If he stays home, nothing that happened thereafter would have mattered. We could not have lost that game without allowing that wide-open three.

It was a freshman mistake, but it cost us a trip to the final four.

Now if he had stayed home and they had made a difficult, contested three, then the in-and-out shot and the incorrect blocking foul once again loom large.

[Dwight]

Denver is clearly the better team. But if Miami can take away Jokic's playmaking and hit half their threes, it gets interesting.

Miami's zone disrupted Denver's preferred passing lanes. It's not easy to pull off, so credit the focus and discipline of Miami's players, who are collectively outstanding when it comes to not making mistakes.

But yes, the major factor is Miami's 3 point shooting. Whether it's an aberration or not, and I think it is to some degree, they only need to keep it up enough for 3 more wins. Their postseason offense reminds me of the 2014 Spurs, who just blitzed teams with their spacing and shooting.

[mkirsh]

Is the Taylor Swift curse going to doom Denver?

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

Any predictions for tonight?

Heat at home. Nuggets having been called out for effort.

I suspect Jokic is more of a facilitator tonight. And the Heat come out playing out of their minds at home. This should be a great game and may tell us a lot about the rest of the series.

[AGDukesky]

Any predictions for tonight?

Heat at home. Nuggets having been called out for effort.

I suspect Jokic is more of a facilitator tonight. And the Heat come out playing out of their minds at home. This should be a great game and may tell us a lot about the rest of the series.

This is a chance for Denver to grow up quickly or collapse. The Nuggets don’t have championship experience and haven’t faced real pressure this postseason. Miami might just crush all hope tonight and send Denver reeling. At the end of the day it seems to come down to 3-point shooting for Miami and dominating the 4th quarter. I don’t think Denver is ready but hope I’m wrong. Winner takes the series…

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

This is a chance for Denver to grow up quickly or collapse. The Nuggets don’t have championship experience and haven’t faced real pressure this postseason. Miami might just crush all hope tonight and send Denver reeling. At the end of the day it seems to come down to 3-point shooting for Miami and dominating the 4th quarter. I don’t think Denver is ready but hope I’m wrong. Winner takes the series…

I'm inclined to agree that this is a very important game for both teams. I think Denver felt bulletproof at home, and clearly that wasn't true. Now they have to steal a game in Miami if they want to win this series.

Miami on the other hand - if they get two in a row in Games Two and Three - they suddenly look like favorites, even as an 8 seed.

This is all just mumbo jumbo narrative talk and not Xs and Os.

But I still think the key is Jokic as facilitator. If Miami is really as good at closing out passing lanes as they looked in Game 2, they have a very good shot at winning, as long as they get enough offense to keep Denver on their toes.

[Matches]

Whoever wins tonight wins the series. #hottake

That should be Denver. But.. well, you know…

[Steven43]

Whoever wins tonight wins the series. #hottake

That should be Denver. But.. well, you know…

Hmm. You don’t think that if Denver loses tonight but wins game 4 that they can then go on to win the series, particularly since they will have regained homecourt advantage?

[Matches]

Hmm. You don’t think that if Denver loses tonight but wins game 4 that they can then go on to win the series, particularly since they will have regained homecourt advantage?

If Denver loses tonight, I don’t think they will win Game 4.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

If Denver loses tonight, I don’t think they will win Game 4.

You could argue that this game is more important for the Nuggets than the Heat. The Heat have played from behind for the entire postseason.

[Steven43]

If Denver loses tonight, I don’t think they will win Game 4.

I can’t argue with that logic!

[azzefkram]

The Heat have played from behind for the entire postseason.

How so? As an 8th seed, they could be viewed as underdogs but they grabbed HCA from both the Knicks and the Celtics in the prior 2 rounds.

[SouthernDukie]

You could argue that this game is more important for the Nuggets than the Heat. The Heat have played from behind for the entire postseason.

It for sure is. If the Nuggets lose tonight, I think they are done. But even if Denver wins tonight, the series is not over. Miami is fully capable of winning three of the last four. But I just don’t think Denver is capable of winning three of the last four.

[rsvman]

Any predictions for tonight?

Heat at home. Nuggets having been called out for effort.

I suspect Jokic is more of a facilitator tonight. And the Heat come out playing out of their minds at home. This should be a great game and may tell us a lot about the rest of the series.

Denver by double digits.

[tommy]

I'm inclined to agree that this is a very important game for both teams. I think Denver felt bulletproof at home, and clearly that wasn't true. Now they have to steal a game in Miami if they want to win this series.

Miami on the other hand - if they get two in a row in Games Two and Three - they suddenly look like favorites, even as an 8 seed.

This is all just mumbo jumbo narrative talk and not Xs and Os.

But I still think the key is Jokic as facilitator. If Miami is really as good at closing out passing lanes as they looked in Game 2, they have a very good shot at winning, as long as they get enough offense to keep Denver on their toes.

Well, the X's and O's matter a lot. Miami doubling Jokic more often than they did in Game 1 forced the ball out of his hands and limited his ability to facilitate. The way they played ball screens was different and more aggressive. At the other end, Denver regularly screwed up on how it was defending Miami's screening actions, leaving shooters wide open. Miami shot a high percentage from 3 in that game, but an awful lot of them were simply wide open shots. Maybe it was effort, as Malone indicated, but there was a lot of indecision and simply mental mistakes in how they were defending the Heat's ball screen actions that doomed Denver in that game.

[Rickshaw]

Well, the X's and O's matter a lot. Miami doubling Jokic more often than they did in Game 1 forced the ball out of his hands and limited his ability to facilitate. The way they played ball screens was different and more aggressive. At the other end, Denver regularly screwed up on how it was defending Miami's screening actions, leaving shooters wide open. Miami shot a high percentage from 3 in that game, but an awful lot of them were simply wide open shots. Maybe it was effort, as Malone indicated, but there was a lot of indecision and simply mental mistakes in how they were defending the Heat's ball screen actions that doomed Denver in that game.

Agreed. Miami 3 pt shooting won game 2.
Also put them way ahead of the bumbling Celtics. ( then bout bumbled their selves ).
Don’t think Denver will let them shoot like that for 3 more games.

[SouthernDukie]

If the game is going to be officiated this way, in favor of Miami, just give them the trophy tonight. That was one of the worst so-called defensive fouls on the 3 point shot of ever seen. The Miami player kicked his leg backwards creating the smallest amount of contact. Absolutely horrible stuff.

[AGDukesky]

If the game is going to be officiated this way, in favor of Miami, just give them the trophy tonight. That was one of the worst so-called defensive fouls on the 3 point shot of ever seen. The Miami player kicked his leg backwards creating the smallest amount of contact. Absolutely horrible stuff.

Totally agree on the Vincent 3- terrible call and the ref should be embarrassed for falling for the flop.