Around the League 2020 Playoffs

[MrDollarBills]

Marvin Williams is retiring. He would've been an interesting veteran fit.

Makes me feel old.

I remember when he was at UNC. Now, he’s played 15 seasons and is retiring. Geez...

hell, when I realized that Zion was born in 2000 I was like

[MrDollarBills]

I thought this was a good article breaking down the many things that went wrong with Milwaukee:
https://www.sbnation.com/nba/2020/9/9/21419462/milwaukee-bucks-giannis-antetokounmpo-free-agency-2020-nba-playoffs-miami-heat

Besides the stubbornness of coach Bud, besides the terrible ownership decision not to re-sign Brogdon, I hadn't realised how poor they'd done in the draft since they drafted Giannis.

Giannis will no doubt get better, but given their roster being so locked-in contract wise, aging across multiple positions, and devoid of young talent, it's pretty tempting to think they're just not going to get much better than this, and could easily regress.

At the same time, I could still maybe seeing them come back with a new coach and maybe new GM, and pulling a couple modest-sized rabbits out of the hat. But as a bball fan and a fan of Giannis, I sure hope he doesn't sign the supermax and lock himself into a long-term treadmill situation. I think if that happens, he'll probably just waste a couple more years of brilliance in MIL before inevitably having to be the bad guy and ask out.

Also what caught my eye in that article is the fact that the owners are hedge fund managers who've now tripled their investment in the team and strong-armed the local taxpayers to be on the hook for half the new arena cost. So they've already won what was important to them, while shnookering the locals. Mission accomplished, I guess. :/

Based on what Bucks fans were telling me on their board when I asked about Brogdon, they said that Brogdon didn't want to be in Milwaukee because of how racist the area is, and he didn't get along with Coach Bud also if i recall.

[MrDollarBills]

Pascal Siakam has been a real disappointment. Dude is shooting 28% from the field in an elimination game...if you're a raptors fan you have to wonder what he's being paid for.

[gigantes]

Based on what Bucks fans were telling me on their board when I asked about Brogdon, they said that Brogdon didn't want to be in Milwaukee because of how racist the area is, and he didn't get along with Coach Bud also if i recall.

That's exactly what I read on r/NBA. They were also saying that he wanted a larger role in the offense.

Maybe that one owner made the public statement about not wanting to go deep in the luxury tax as a form of damage control. Maybe they felt it wasn't a good look for the franchise if that other stuff came out.

[therealbig3]

Is there a bigger disappearing act every other game than Kemba Walker? Dude was 2-11 for 5 points in a 3 point loss today. He's been following up every good game with a really bad one.

Of course there's absolutely zero criticism of him after that egg. Getting paid 35 million a year and supposedly better than Kyrie, but gets away scot-free after every single stinker he puts up. Don't think I've ever seen that kind of pass being given to a highly paid All-Star, let alone someone who's been talked up as a top 15-20 player in the league.

[DarkXaero]

Pascal Siakam has been a real disappointment. Dude is shooting 28% from the field in an elimination game...if you're a raptors fan you have to wonder what he's being paid for.

Dude was never a true all star, Raps should have waited before giving him the max.

Also can yall imagine if Kyrie had the type of game that Kemba had tonight? If Celtics lose this series, and Kemba plays subpar again, it'll be funny to see the reactions.

[MrDollarBills]

Pascal Siakam has been a real disappointment. Dude is shooting 28% from the field in an elimination game...if you're a raptors fan you have to wonder what he's being paid for.

Dude was never a true all star, Raps should have waited before giving him the max.

Also can yall imagine if Kyrie had the type of game that Kemba had tonight? If Celtics lose this series, and Kemba plays subpar again, it'll be funny to see the reactions.

Siakam looks garbage without playing next to a hall of fame talent like Leonard. He will be dog food next year for KD.

I will bet cash if Boston loses this series on Friday night there will be fans that drop the N word on Twitter.

Kemba was passive and terrible. Tatum was terrible to me for the most part, that turnover in the 4th was amateur hour stuff and he was unapologetic about it. Brown played excellent defense, but he was horrible offensively, he bricked a ton of shots.

Marcus Smart was Boston's best player tonight on both ends, and Theis was doing a ton of dirty work. This is why I can't agree with people who want to just do away with Jarrett Allen. Allen is a better player than Theis and can you imagine what he would do surrounded by top shelf talent like Theis was?

I really, really wish the Nets had managed to wrangle Smart away from the Celtics that summer that he signed his contract. That guy is a stud two way player.

[MrDollarBills]

Is there a bigger disappearing act every other game than Kemba Walker? Dude was 2-11 for 5 points in a 3 point loss today. He's been following up every good game with a really bad one.

Of course there's absolutely zero criticism of him after that egg. Getting paid 35 million a year and supposedly better than Kyrie, but gets away scot-free after every single stinker he puts up. Don't think I've ever seen that kind of pass being given to a highly paid All-Star, let alone someone who's been talked up as a top 15-20 player in the league.

God forbid Kyrie posts a statline like Walker did tonight in playoff game. the narratives would be relentless.

I don't blame Kemba, I blame the media. They pick and choose their targets.

[MrDollarBills]

Based on what Bucks fans were telling me on their board when I asked about Brogdon, they said that Brogdon didn't want to be in Milwaukee because of how racist the area is, and he didn't get along with Coach Bud also if i recall.

That's exactly what I read on r/NBA. They were also saying that he wanted a larger role in the offense.

Maybe that one owner made the public statement about not wanting to go deep in the luxury tax as a form of damage control. Maybe they felt it wasn't a good look for the franchise if that other stuff came out.

Maybe the owners should be honest. This isn't the first time that we've heard about Milwaukee being a racist **** hole.

Shine a light on the cockroaches. Let it be known that the racism of the city drove a good player away from the franchise. That kind of stuff needs to start being said by white people in general who want to see things change. speak the truth.

Just learning that Brogdon left the team partly because of the racism should serve as a warning. Giannis is giving lip service right now. He's fully aware of what's going on.

[MrDollarBills]

Read on Twitter

Good. I have a ton of respect for my eskimo brother.

[gigantes]

Maybe the owners should be honest. This isn't the first time that we've heard about Milwaukee being a racist **** hole.

Shine a light on the cockroaches. Let it be known that the racism of the city drove a good player away from the franchise. That kind of stuff needs to start being said by white people in general who want to see things change. speak the truth.

Just learning that Brogdon left the team partly because of the racism should serve as a warning. Giannis is giving lip service right now. He's fully aware of what's going on.

Also, from what I understand, after the Bucks walked off in protest of the Jacob Blake shooting, the WI houses of congress had emergency sessions to address the issue. Evidently Republicans in both houses stonewalled any kind of productive response.

Every American with a sense of decency should feel humiliated and ashamed by this stuff.

[Papi_swav]

Based on what Bucks fans were telling me on their board when I asked about Brogdon, they said that Brogdon didn't want to be in Milwaukee because of how racist the area is, and he didn't get along with Coach Bud also if i recall.

That's exactly what I read on r/NBA. They were also saying that he wanted a larger role in the offense.

Maybe that one owner made the public statement about not wanting to go deep in the luxury tax as a form of damage control. Maybe they felt it wasn't a good look for the franchise if that other stuff came out.

Maybe the owners should be honest. This isn't the first time that we've heard about Milwaukee being a racist **** hole.

Shine a light on the cockroaches. Let it be known that the racism of the city drove a good player away from the franchise. That kind of stuff needs to start being said by white people in general who want to see things change. speak the truth.

Just learning that Brogdon left the team partly because of the racism should serve as a warning. Giannis is giving lip service right now. He's fully aware of what's going on.

Wow I knew Milwaukee was racist and it's been noted that it is the most segregated city in the USA , but I didn't think it affected the players that much as it would a regular person. I remember when Henson was on the Bucks and he went to the mall somewhere in Milwaukee to try to purchase a rolex , and they had cops called on him thinking he was a thief, this was like in 2016 or something .

Yea this is not a good look at all when players start coming out and saying this. But like you said, owners and everybody else should be honest a let it be known, only way to move forward. If your this openly racist than you don't deserve to have the top players there. They probably called Giannis all types of names, and him coming from another country I'm not sure if he's used to this or was even aware how bad racism is in this country. But I'm sure he can clearly see now.

[MrDollarBills]

That's exactly what I read on r/NBA. They were also saying that he wanted a larger role in the offense.

Maybe that one owner made the public statement about not wanting to go deep in the luxury tax as a form of damage control. Maybe they felt it wasn't a good look for the franchise if that other stuff came out.

Maybe the owners should be honest. This isn't the first time that we've heard about Milwaukee being a racist **** hole.

Shine a light on the cockroaches. Let it be known that the racism of the city drove a good player away from the franchise. That kind of stuff needs to start being said by white people in general who want to see things change. speak the truth.

Just learning that Brogdon left the team partly because of the racism should serve as a warning. Giannis is giving lip service right now. He's fully aware of what's going on.

Wow I knew Milwaukee was racist and it's been noted that it is the most segregated city in the USA , but I didn't think it affected the players that much as it would a regular person. I remember when Henson was on the Bucks and he went to the mall somewhere in Milwaukee to try to purchase a rolex , and they had cops called on him thinking he was a thief, this was like in 2016 or something .

Yea this is not a good look at all when players start coming out and saying this. But like you said, owners and everybody else should be honest a let it be known, only way to move forward. If your this openly racist than you don't deserve to have the top players there. They probably called Giannis all types of names, and him coming from another country I'm not sure if he's used to this or was even aware how bad racism is in this country. But I'm sure he can clearly see now.

From what I have read, Giannis dealt with discrimination in Greece as well, which is why he is pretty fierce about the issue of racism and injustice here.

I don't want to be out of pocket, because I don't know much about Milwaukee outside of the Bucks and Brewers, but if I were a fan of that team I would want to see ownership getting out in front on the issue, because you don't want to become an undesirable location for players.

[MrDollarBills]

Maybe the owners should be honest. This isn't the first time that we've heard about Milwaukee being a racist **** hole.

Shine a light on the cockroaches. Let it be known that the racism of the city drove a good player away from the franchise. That kind of stuff needs to start being said by white people in general who want to see things change. speak the truth.

Just learning that Brogdon left the team partly because of the racism should serve as a warning. Giannis is giving lip service right now. He's fully aware of what's going on.

Also, from what I understand, after the Bucks walked off in protest of the Jacob Blake shooting, the WI houses of congress had emergency sessions to address the issue. Evidently Republicans in both houses stonewalled any kind of productive response.

Every American with a sense of decency should feel humiliated and ashamed by this stuff.

It's par for the course if you ask me. When it comes to America, keep your expectations low and pessimistic.

[Claud]

Kemba has never been elite, he is who he is though. A very good player/allstar but not superstar/elite.

I blame the media + Celtics fans for all the comparisons. They did it to themselves.

If Kyrie was playing like Kemba, you bet your ass ESPN and all the clowns would be talk ish all day long.

Moving on...

It's crazy how wide opened the East feels. Miami, Boston and Toronto are all top notch ball clubs, well-coached, play smart, good players, etc but they don't feel as tough as the LA teams.

I think next season if things go our way we could easily be challenging for top spot in the conference.

Even watching the Lakers and Clippers play, they don't scare me when I look at our roster.

The biggest question mark will be is KD 100%? 90? 70? etc...

Once that is answered we'll know where we fall in the pecking order.

Even with a 50% KD I expect us to be top 4.

[MrDollarBills]

Kemba has never been elite, he is who he is though. A very good player/allstar but not superstar/elite.

I blame the media + Celtics fans for all the comparisons. They did it to themselves.

If Kyrie was playing like Kemba, you bet your ass ESPN and all the clowns would be talk ish all day long.

Moving on...

It's crazy how wide opened the East feels. Miami, Boston and Toronto are all top notch ball clubs, well-coached, play smart, good players, etc but they don't feel as tough as the LA teams.

I think next season if things go our way we could easily be challenging for top spot in the conference.

Even watching the Lakers and Clippers play, they don't scare me when I look at our roster.

The biggest question mark will be is KD 100%? 90? 70? etc...

Once that is answered we'll know where we fall in the pecking order.

Even with a 50% KD I expect us to be top 4.

KD will be 100%. I'm not even worried.

[Stone]

I thought the Jazz-Nuggets series was the best of the bubble. But depending on how tomorrow's Raps-C's game goes, that could be even be the better series. May the best team win...

I really don't like how all these coaches challenges- reviews are slowing down the game. It is even worse now in the playoffs. Also players complaining after every so called non call is getting old too.

[gigantes]

Watching the Lakers solve the Rockets so easily (currently 95-76, 9min left in 4th), I'm left to wonder...

In the wake of a second consecutive loss to the Golden State Warriors in the postseason, Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com reported, "There is friction between James Harden and Chris Paul." One high-ranking team official told MacMahon: "There's too much damn turmoil. There's some hard feelings right now everywhere."

The root causes of tension between Harden and Paul are "differences in preferred playing styles and personality," team sources told MacMahon. Harden, for instance, thrives in isolation. But as Paul has aged, he prefers to run set plays, unable to athletically beat players one-on-one with as much consistency as in the past. "Chris wants to coach James," a source said. "James looks at him like, 'You can't even beat your man. Just shut up and watch me.'"

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2841466-rockets-rumors-most-explosive-details-on-james-harden-chris-pauls-friction#:~:text=In%20the%20wake%20of%20a,has%20aggressively%20shopped%20the%20Rockets

What if Morey had instead said to D'Antoni and these two: "Nothing that we can trade for is going to approach the high value that Chris brings to the team. You're grown men and veterans; these things happen, and I'm asking you three to work this stuff out."

The Rockets are a really interesting team, and they do pretty great with what they have, but it has to hurt being within a whisker of knocking off one of the greatest teams ever, thereby reaching the finals, to devolving to what looks like a high-level treadmill team for years to come.

I have to think their ceiling (and their future) would have been higher if they'd found a way to work this stuff out, keeping CP3 and probably Capella.

[ecuhus1981]

Watching the Lakers solve the Rockets so easily (currently 95-76, 9min left in 4th), I'm left to wonder...

In the wake of a second consecutive loss to the Golden State Warriors in the postseason, Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com reported, "There is friction between James Harden and Chris Paul." One high-ranking team official told MacMahon: "There's too much damn turmoil. There's some hard feelings right now everywhere."

The root causes of tension between Harden and Paul are "differences in preferred playing styles and personality," team sources told MacMahon. Harden, for instance, thrives in isolation. But as Paul has aged, he prefers to run set plays, unable to athletically beat players one-on-one with as much consistency as in the past. "Chris wants to coach James," a source said. "James looks at him like, 'You can't even beat your man. Just shut up and watch me.'"

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2841466-rockets-rumors-most-explosive-details-on-james-harden-chris-pauls-friction#:~:text=In%20the%20wake%20of%20a,has%20aggressively%20shopped%20the%20Rockets

What if Morey had instead said to D'Antoni and these two: "Nothing that we can trade for is going to approach the high value that Chris brings to the team. You're grown men and veterans; these things happen, and I'm asking you three to work this stuff out."

The Rockets are a really interesting team, and they do pretty great with what they have, but it has to hurt being within a whisker of knocking off one of the greatest teams ever, thereby reaching the finals, to devolving to what looks like a high-level treadmill team for years to come.

I have to think their ceiling (and their future) would have been higher if they'd found a way to work this stuff out, keeping CP3 and probably Capella.

Yup, Harden removed all hope of a championship by demanding that they trade Paul. Morey set the team back an entire decade by complying with his superstar's demand. They gave up so many picks and pick swaps for a vastly inferior player who will not age as well as Chris over the course of their contracts.

[Claud]

Ya'll still down with small-ball?

I think it's a great option to have as a team in case you face an opponent where said strategy provides maximun effect.

But as a main philosophy? I think Houston is exhibit A as to why NOT to make it our sole identity under coach Nash.

I hope Nash appreciates the value of defense because I don't want to become another Houston.

We need guys like the Fro and Jordan to be effective in order for us to suceed.