Around The NBA: 2019-20 RESTART

[kodo]

That was fun.

Murray has to pull that out and run out the clock.

That would have been the alltime dumbest play if they lost that game. That was worse than JR Smith.

No lie, I had CJ Watson to Omer Asik flashbacks.

[kodo]

Not going to lie but watching Murray .v. Mitchell was the most fun I had watching basketball since Bulls/Celtics epic 1st rd battle. Only regret is that it is over.

I also had a lot of fun watching the old school Center vs Center battle between Gobert/Jokic. One of the biggest clutch scores in a playoff game 7 was a post-up hook shot, when was the last time we saw that.

I wish DEN was at full strength and better rested for LAC, that would have been an interesting matchup but it's probably not going to be challenging between the injuries and fatigue to DEN now.

[Jeffster81]

Not going to lie but watching Murray .v. Mitchell was the most fun I had watching basketball since Bulls/Celtics epic 1st rd battle. Only regret is that it is over.

I also had a lot of fun watching the old school Center vs Center battle between Gobert/Jokic. One of the biggest clutch scores in a playoff game 7 was a post-up hook shot, when was the last time we saw that.

I wish DEN was at full strength and better rested for LAC, that would have been an interesting matchup but it's probably not going to be challenging between the injuries and fatigue to DEN now.

The whole DEN/UTAH match up was a hell of a fun series. I do agree Gobert/Jokic was a fun battle but watching Murray/Mitchell was all kinds of fun.

[DASMACKDOWN]

I do think the biggest letdown for me was the play of Gobert.

Not because he didnt play well. He did.

But I always walked away from the last few games thinking Rudy should be completely dominating this series. So despite good numbers, it stiil felt like something was missing.

[Hangtime84]

I do think the biggest letdown for me was the play of Gobert.

Not because he didnt play well. He did.

But I always walked away from the last few games thinking Rudy should be completely dominating this series. So despite good numbers, it stiil felt like something was missing.

Jazz wanted Niko i think he would have been able to help.

[MrSparkle]

OK, to be fair... Lowry, FVV and OG/Powell are much lower-tier players than Kemba, Brown, Tatum. I will argue that each of these 3 Celtics would probably be the best player on the Raptors (at least I'd take them over Siakam in a 1:1 basketball decision, MAYBE Jaylen is an even toss-up though I value the SG/SF wing more), let alone having all 3 of them on one team.

I mean, if Boston had Siakam, they'd probably be the favorites to win the chip against the Clippers. Pascal is an excellent player, but he is pretty much Toronto's only prime all-star talent. Lowry has always struggled scoring in post-season, and FVV is a well under-sized and streaky scorer who really has been riding good surf for the last year, but his overall playoff career, he never demonstrated a consistent, elite scoring ability. Like I've said ; look up last year's playoffs. He was atrocious until the end of the Milwaukee series; then he shot very well for the ECFs and Finals. Something clicked and he became a better, more confident player, but he was basically a 1-trick pony, and it especially hurts that he has to square off against Marcus Smart.

Marc Gasol's legs are completely shot, Ibaka's been declining since 6 years ago. TOR had a great year and they are an excellent team assembled from cheap parts, but between their aging roster and the Kawhi rental, it is apparent that their talent level is a significant tier below Boston's.

Boston continues being rated as some kind of B-team because of their growing pains last year, but Brown and Tatum are #3 picks who entirely panned out; two-way all-star wings. Tatum's got serious scoring game. Kemba has been Lillard/Kyrie-lite for years now; first time he's ever played on anything more than a tread-mill team. Smart was a #6 pick who they patiently developed, and frankly should've been a DPOY candidate.

I really don't think positional/style-of-play is the end-factor here. Don't get me wrong, Boston has used small-ball to its advantage for years. But it's also consistently been a problem when they hit the wrong match-up. They're gonna have a hard time against Bam or Giannis, and they'll have an even harder time against any of the remaining Western teams besides HOU. Those guys gobble up boards and move laterally in a way that will not let Boston play small 48/7.

[Leslie Forman]

I do think the biggest letdown for me was the play of Gobert.

Not because he didnt play well. He did.

But I always walked away from the last few games thinking Rudy should be completely dominating this series. So despite good numbers, it stiil felt like something was missing.

Cause he's ultimately just a shot blocking, garbage bucket big.

It's a vastly overrated player archetype. And it's why you should never spend a high pick or tons of cap space on one. Morey went from signing Howard and Capela to deciding it's a waste.

Point guards/forwards who can't shoot, and shot blocking, rim running bigs - I would just completely stay away from them, period.

[MrFortune3]

I do think the biggest letdown for me was the play of Gobert.

Not because he didnt play well. He did.

But I always walked away from the last few games thinking Rudy should be completely dominating this series. So despite good numbers, it stiil felt like something was missing.

Rudy is not an offensively skilled big. He is a defensive anchor who can give good offense but he's not going to be a Embiid type to consistently give you 20 a game.

[DASMACKDOWN]

The Bucks are in serious trouble

[dougthonus]

No lie, I had CJ Watson to Omer Asik flashbacks.

As painful as it was, I love Hubie Brown breaking down that play.

It was something like in a totally serious dead pan voice:

"Now here's something you C.J. Watson just can't do, he delivers the pass to a place Asik simply can't handle it. His hands.".

Why on Earth did ABC replace this absolute legend with Mark Jackson, perhaps the worst analyst in the league.

[Jimako10]

I do think the biggest letdown for me was the play of Gobert.

Not because he didnt play well. He did.

But I always walked away from the last few games thinking Rudy should be completely dominating this series. So despite good numbers, it stiil felt like something was missing.

Cause he's ultimately just a shot blocking, garbage bucket big.

It's a vastly overrated player archetype. And it's why you should never spend a high pick or tons of cap space on one. Morey went from signing Howard and Capela to deciding it's a waste.

Point guards/forwards who can't shoot, and shot blocking, rim running bigs - I would just completely stay away from them, period.

The only problem is that it's difficult to find a big who can be an elite rim/paint defender AND have him be able to shoot efficiently with range. It's what everyone is looking for now, someone who can defend the basket, have the agility to defend pick n roll/guards on switches, and have range to the 3 point line. Only Anthony Davis, Siakam, Embiid (on a good day), maybe Myles Turner and potentially Jaren Jackson can fit that description. That's it.

For what Gobert is able to do though, it's pretty elite. He frustrated Jokic the whole series and he really looks like the best in the league at contesting shots in the paint and rim. That still has a ton of value even though in an ideal world you'd like to have him also be a floor spacer to really maximize his impact.

[Leslie Forman]

The only problem is that it's difficult to find a big who can be an elite rim/paint defender

You really don't need one. The Bulls won 6 titles without one. And that's when it actually mattered a lot more.

Having versatile, switchable guys who can pressure ballhandlers, disrupt passing lanes, and recover quickly is far more important. Look how much just getting back a rusty, out of shape Gary Harris did for Denver.

[Repeat 3-peat]

Derrick Jones would be a very underrated free agent signing this off season.

23 years old, fantastic athlete, very active on defense.

[Grodoboldo]

Cheering for Miami to pull a 2nd round upset and thinking Spoelstra is awesome.
2011 me would not believe this.

[ImSlower]

Agreed. I mentioned somewhere on the GB, this is literally my all time favorite Heat team. I mean it's almost entirely because of Jimmy, but still. He's got his whole team working their asses off.

[FriedRise]

Rooting for Jimmy to beat these Bucks. No way Giannis staying in Milwaukee if they get bounced in the second round.

[DASMACKDOWN]

Wow that was a mistake Jimmy.

[DASMACKDOWN]

oh no Jimmy

[DASMACKDOWN]

Honestly this maybe the most anti clutch moments for Jimmy that I have ever seen. Jimmy is like super clutch.

But I know he is pissed to what he did the last 30 seconds. Bad play and missed a free throw. I think Miami hangs on. Jimmy will be bigtime next game i bet.

[FriedRise]

Yea not the best there Jimmy.. hope it doesn’t come back to bite them.