2023-24 NBA Season Discussion

[Peregrine01]

I thought Murray would either win them the game or lose it if they got a few stops. I felt like he'd keep shooting.

He won it. That's a big time shot over AD.

Ridiculous shot. But still didn’t like the last few possessions from him even as he got hot. AD had 5 fouls and Jokic was scoring on him at will but hardly saw the ball. Felt like the Nuggets could’ve won even more handedly.

I would agree, but he ended up making them this time. He was maybe due for a heater.

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[70sFan]

I just watched DEN vs LAL, what a game! A shame that Lakers didn't manage to win, that would make the series more competitive. I don't expect Lakers to advance from 0-2, but we should expect more great game from that series.

[RCM88x]

The Magic currently have a 90.2 ORTG through two games against the Cavs, what do we think the odds are that they break 100?

I believe the last time a team couldn't manage a 100+ Ortg in a playoff series was Chicago against Milwaukee in 2022, they had a 95.3(!) rating in that series.

[70sFan]

The Magic currently have a 90.2 ORTG through two games against the Cavs, what do we think the odds are that they break 100?

I believe the last time a team couldn't manage a 100+ Ortg in a playoff series was Chicago against Milwaukee in 2022, they had a 95.3(!) rating in that series.

The fun part about this series is that Cavs barely managed to get above 100 themselves.

[RCM88x]

The Magic currently have a 90.2 ORTG through two games against the Cavs, what do we think the odds are that they break 100?

I believe the last time a team couldn't manage a 100+ Ortg in a playoff series was Chicago against Milwaukee in 2022, they had a 95.3(!) rating in that series.

The fun part about this series is that Cavs barely managed to get above 100 themselves.

Truly a throwback series.

Cavs are a -12 relative to their regular season ORTG
Magic are -23(!!) relative to their regular season ORTG

If any of this holds up it's got to be some sort of record.

[IlikeSHAIguys]

Pretty relived we clutched up. Would be really embarrassing to lose that

[parsnips33]

Man LeBron had everything going last night except the layup - how many did he miss at the rim?

I love a series where you have basketball geniuses lining up against each other - nothing better in the whole sport

[Peregrine01]

The Magic currently have a 90.2 ORTG through two games against the Cavs, what do we think the odds are that they break 100?

I believe the last time a team couldn't manage a 100+ Ortg in a playoff series was Chicago against Milwaukee in 2022, they had a 95.3(!) rating in that series.

The fun part about this series is that Cavs barely managed to get above 100 themselves.

Truly a throwback series.

Cavs are a -12 relative to their regular season ORTG
Magic are -23(!!) relative to their regular season ORTG

If any of this holds up it's got to be some sort of record.

You can't really look at these playoff games and think they bear any resemblance to games in the regular season. The difference in the way the game is officiated from RS to PS is wider than it's ever been IMO. Which makes me reluctant to pay much attention to the regular season at all.

[Colbinii]

The fun part about this series is that Cavs barely managed to get above 100 themselves.

Truly a throwback series.

Cavs are a -12 relative to their regular season ORTG
Magic are -23(!!) relative to their regular season ORTG

If any of this holds up it's got to be some sort of record.

You can't really look at these playoff games and think they bear any resemblance to games in the regular season. The difference in the way the game is officiated from RS to PS is wider than it's ever been IMO. Which makes me reluctant to pay much attention to the regular season at all.

Size and defense typically transfer well to the post-season.

High-level offense also does.

Neither the Cavaliers or Magic have what I would consider a "high level" offense creators, though Mitchell is certainly right on the cusp [and at times plays at that level]. Both offenses tend to get bogged down unless Georges Niang is in the game. The Magic were a fun story but the writing was always on the wall for how they would perform in the post-season with how little offense they have.

[CKRT]

Man LeBron had everything going last night except the layup - how many did he miss at the rim?

I love a series where you have basketball geniuses lining up against each other - nothing better in the whole sport

As disappointing as the Lakers are as a franchise/team since they won the title, the last 6 games they've played against the Nuggets have been awesome. LeBron and Jokic going against each other even in LeBron's post prime is still so fun, only negative about it is that if the Lakers were better managed we could've had two longer series.

[Peregrine01]

Man LeBron had everything going last night except the layup - how many did he miss at the rim?

I love a series where you have basketball geniuses lining up against each other - nothing better in the whole sport

As disappointing as the Lakers are as a franchise/team since they won the title, the last 6 games they've played against the Nuggets have been awesome. LeBron and Jokic going against each other even in LeBron's post prime is still so fun, only negative about it is that if the Lakers were better managed we could've had two longer series.

I really think that if the Lakers weren't playing the Nuggets, they'd be favored against the rest of the west. The way that Lebron takes up his game several levels and the way that AD has played, they've looked like the second best team in the west in these playoffs. Looking at the rest of the west, I don't see any other team matching this level of physicality, intensity and high level execution like we've seen in the Lakers-Nuggets series.

[Dutchball97]

Lakers being up by 20 and Denver still turning it around in the second half seems to be the story of the series. AD couldn't be stopped, LeBron had a hell of a game and even D'Lo was redhot, while Murray couldn't buy a bucket to save his life untill the 4th and it still wasn't enough. At this point I have no clue how the Lakers can even get a game here.

[Colbinii]

Lakers being up by 20 and Denver still turning it around in the second half seems to be the story of the series. AD couldn't be stopped, LeBron had a hell of a game and even D'Lo was redhot, while Murray couldn't buy a bucket to save his life untill the 4th and it still wasn't enough. At this point I have no clue how the Lakers can even get a game here.

They simply lack the offensive fire power.

[parsnips33]

Lakers being up by 20 and Denver still turning it around in the second half seems to be the story of the series. AD couldn't be stopped, LeBron had a hell of a game and even D'Lo was redhot, while Murray couldn't buy a bucket to save his life untill the 4th and it still wasn't enough. At this point I have no clue how the Lakers can even get a game here.

Really striking that as AD appeared to run out of gas in the 4th, Jokic seemed to get a second wind

I give him a lot of credit for working on his stamina since the beginning of his career

[Peregrine01]

Lakers being up by 20 and Denver still turning it around in the second half seems to be the story of the series. AD couldn't be stopped, LeBron had a hell of a game and even D'Lo was redhot, while Murray couldn't buy a bucket to save his life untill the 4th and it still wasn't enough. At this point I have no clue how the Lakers can even get a game here.

They simply lack the offensive fire power.

They were a top-5 offense post-ASB and both Lebron and AD are playing at their absolute best right now. They're simply getting worn out and walked down by the Nuggets.

[Colbinii]

Lakers being up by 20 and Denver still turning it around in the second half seems to be the story of the series. AD couldn't be stopped, LeBron had a hell of a game and even D'Lo was redhot, while Murray couldn't buy a bucket to save his life untill the 4th and it still wasn't enough. At this point I have no clue how the Lakers can even get a game here.

They simply lack the offensive fire power.

They were a top-5 offense post-ASB and both Lebron and AD are playing at their absolute best right now. They're simply getting worn out and walked down by the Nuggets.

Yeah but post-ASB numbers are always to be taken with a grain of salt. The Mavericks were incredible post-ASB.

The Pacers had the 2nd best Ortg post-ASB and wet the bed against a Giannis-less Milwaukee team on Sunday.

But you may be right as Denver had a Top 5 post-ASB defense, which is a mitigating factor for the Lakers offense.

[Texas Chuck]

Yeah but post-ASB numbers are always to be taken with a grain of salt. The Mavericks were incredible post-ASB.

And it carried right over into game 1......

But let the Lakers get a home game before we bury them. I mean I have Denver winning that series, but right now just holding serve is all we can say.

[tone wone]

Funnily enough, the Lakers haven't played a home game in 2 weeks. They finished the season with @Mem and @NO. Then stayed in NO for the play in game. Went home for a day then headed to Denver for 2 games.

[rk2023]

Man LeBron had everything going last night except the layup - how many did he miss at the rim?

I love a series where you have basketball geniuses lining up against each other - nothing better in the whole sport

As disappointing as the Lakers are as a franchise/team since they won the title, the last 6 games they've played against the Nuggets have been awesome. LeBron and Jokic going against each other even in LeBron's post prime is still so fun, only negative about it is that if the Lakers were better managed we could've had two longer series.

I really think that if the Lakers weren't playing the Nuggets, they'd be favored against the rest of the west. The way that Lebron takes up his game several levels and the way that AD has played, they've looked like the second best team in the west in these playoffs. Looking at the rest of the west, I don't see any other team matching this level of physicality, intensity and high level execution like we've seen in the Lakers-Nuggets series.

Not MN
LAC / PHX maybe
OKC DAL they beat

[Peregrine01]

As disappointing as the Lakers are as a franchise/team since they won the title, the last 6 games they've played against the Nuggets have been awesome. LeBron and Jokic going against each other even in LeBron's post prime is still so fun, only negative about it is that if the Lakers were better managed we could've had two longer series.

I really think that if the Lakers weren't playing the Nuggets, they'd be favored against the rest of the west. The way that Lebron takes up his game several levels and the way that AD has played, they've looked like the second best team in the west in these playoffs. Looking at the rest of the west, I don't see any other team matching this level of physicality, intensity and high level execution like we've seen in the Lakers-Nuggets series.

Not MN
LAC / PHX maybe
OKC DAL they beat

I don’t think Minny executes well enough on offense to beat these Lakers presuming Bron can keep playing at the pace he’s playing at now.