2025 NBA PLAYOFFS West First Round: #2 Houston Rockets vs #7 Golden State Warriors (GSW leads 3-1)

[Tracymcgoaty]

For **** sakes Ark im just doing some shithousery it's not that deep

And you're right money doesn't play on the pitch. Real Madrid may be putting out the money but the way they've built that squad is not better than Atleticos.

They probably have the worst midfield talent for a top elite level team. They put all their stock into Bappe and Vini being able to work together and they dont have chemistry.

Their wingbacks are either old or injured. Their CB's are injured. Rudiger is overrated as we saw this game in copa del rey.

atletico most def have the talent on the field to win against this version of Real Madrid. This version of Real Madrid lack any type of chemistry and ever since Kroos left they haven't looked the same in central field. Add Modric being ancient and it's a glaring hole.

I placed large bid in 81st minute for Barcelona winning the final in overtime , that’s how confident I was in Barcelona trailing 1-2 with 9 minutes to go ( plus extra time )

Ooooh thats nooooooice. Must have gotten a hefty sum.

Real suck and are pathetic with their complaining. The fact that they said they wouldn't play because of a ref is pathetic. The fact that a club with that kind of history would act like some brat is ridiculous. Always feels good watching them lose.

Felt even better when they lost to us given how crap we are this season

[ArksNetsSince99]

And you're right money doesn't play on the pitch. Real Madrid may be putting out the money but the way they've built that squad is not better than Atleticos.

They probably have the worst midfield talent for a top elite level team. They put all their stock into Bappe and Vini being able to work together and they dont have chemistry.

Their wingbacks are either old or injured. Their CB's are injured. Rudiger is overrated as we saw this game in copa del rey.

atletico most def have the talent on the field to win against this version of Real Madrid. This version of Real Madrid lack any type of chemistry and ever since Kroos left they haven't looked the same in central field. Add Modric being ancient and it's a glaring hole.

I placed large bid in 81st minute for Barcelona winning the final in overtime , that’s how confident I was in Barcelona trailing 1-2 with 9 minutes to go ( plus extra time )

Ooooh thats nooooooice. Must have gotten a hefty sum.

Yes odds was too good to pass on Barcelona , they could easily get counter attacked but I’m a gambler so I did educated bid based on past Barcelona last 15 minutes trailing or drawing , they almost always score no matter if it’s champions league , la liga or friendly game

[Tracymcgoaty]

I placed large bid in 81st minute for Barcelona winning the final in overtime , that’s how confident I was in Barcelona trailing 1-2 with 9 minutes to go ( plus extra time )

Ooooh thats nooooooice. Must have gotten a hefty sum.

Yes odds was too good to pass on Barcelona , they could easily get counter attacked but I’m a gambler so I did educated bid based on past Barcelona last 15 minutes trailing or drawing , they almost always score no matter if it’s champions league , la liga or friendly game

Thats true. Flick really has made Barca a potent offense. They never feel out of a game this season.

[ArksNetsSince99]

Ooooh thats nooooooice. Must have gotten a hefty sum.

Yes odds was too good to pass on Barcelona , they could easily get counter attacked but I’m a gambler so I did educated bid based on past Barcelona last 15 minutes trailing or drawing , they almost always score no matter if it’s champions league , la liga or friendly game

Thats true. Flick really has made Barca a potent offense. They never feel out of a game this season.

Fun fact about seeing Messi first time live for me

Barcelona was playing one of those summer games in US in old Giants stadium, kill me I can’t remember against who it was either Man United or AS Roma , stadium was packed mostly by South American fans and just as game started they all started chanting Messiiii Messiiiii and I’ll admit I didn’t know who he was at the time

I went to the game cause of Ronaldinho mainly or in general to have a good time , so can’t remember but Messi was then like what 16/17 maybe 18 years old ? yet he was so popular in Latinos communities already in USA

Since then Im kind of root for Barca , not a die hard fan , if they loose I don’t cry but I like when they winning trophies

[Tracymcgoaty]

Yes odds was too good to pass on Barcelona , they could easily get counter attacked but I’m a gambler so I did educated bid based on past Barcelona last 15 minutes trailing or drawing , they almost always score no matter if it’s champions league , la liga or friendly game

Thats true. Flick really has made Barca a potent offense. They never feel out of a game this season.

Fun fact about seeing Messi first time live for me

Barcelona was playing one of those summer games in US in old Giants stadium, kill me I can’t remember against who it was either Man United or AS Roma , stadium was packed mostly by South American fans and just as game started they all started chanting Messiiii Messiiiii and I’ll admit I didn’t know who he was at the time

I went to the game cause of Ronaldinho mainly or in general to have a good time , so can’t remember but Messi was then like what 16/17 maybe 18 years old ? yet he was so popular in Latinos communities already in USA

Since then Im kind of root for Barca , not a die hard fan , if they loose I don’t cry but I like when they winning trophies

I dislike barca greatly because of their history with certain players. Eto especially it was disgraceful how he was treated on his way out. I only have 2 players i would probably be considered a superfan for.

R9 made me fall in love with the sport

Messi reminds me why i love the sport. He is old now and clearly not close to being the same player. But i basically grew up watching Messi. The amount of times me and my brother just started laughing at this little dude making world class defenders look like scrubs is forever etched in my mind.

I know 70s fan in this forum has watched plenty of football as well so he can probably name a couple of players he probably rates over messi.

But for me. As an argentina fan as well. Messi is the best player i've ever seen.

Very jealous you got to see him! Even as a youngster this dude was balling out.

[ArksNetsSince99]

Thats true. Flick really has made Barca a potent offense. They never feel out of a game this season.

Fun fact about seeing Messi first time live for me

Barcelona was playing one of those summer games in US in old Giants stadium, kill me I can’t remember against who it was either Man United or AS Roma , stadium was packed mostly by South American fans and just as game started they all started chanting Messiiii Messiiiii and I’ll admit I didn’t know who he was at the time

I went to the game cause of Ronaldinho mainly or in general to have a good time , so can’t remember but Messi was then like what 16/17 maybe 18 years old ? yet he was so popular in Latinos communities already in USA

Since then Im kind of root for Barca , not a die hard fan , if they loose I don’t cry but I like when they winning trophies

I dislike barca greatly because of their history with certain players. Eto especially it was disgraceful how he was treated on his way out. I only have 2 players i would probably be considered a superfan for.

R9 made me fall in love with the sport

Messi reminds me why i love the sport. He is old now and clearly not close to being the same player. But i basically grew up watching Messi. The amount of times me and my brother just started laughing at this little dude making world class defenders look like scrubs is forever etched in my mind.

I know 70s fan in this forum has watched plenty of football as well so he can probably name a couple of players he probably rates over messi.

But for me. As an argentina fan as well. Messi is the best player i've ever seen.

Very jealous you got to see him! Even as a youngster this dude was balling out.

For me always if I have to name one I was the biggest fan of , gun to my head , gotta be Maradona , is he the GOAT , probably not , not enough club success, short playing carrier compared to today’s standards, drug abuse while playing for Napoli but he was World Cup Magician

Never believed any Argentinian can pass him in popularity in his own country , Messi probably did winning last World Cup , honestly I don’t know , gotta ask some Argentinian who’s no1 in their country but then again older folks gonna say Maradona while middle-aged and youngsters will say Messi

[Jta444]

Only player im a fan of is Messi.

Atletico madrid sucks by the way. Cant even beat the worst rendition of real madrid. Little brother forever. What a shame.

That’s kind of stupid statement to be honest and I’m not a fan of either club

Real squad worth its more than double of Athletico at almost 1.5B compared to 668M Athletico

I know money doesn’t play on the pitch but come on it’s not 10 or 20% net worth difference, it’s over 110% difference

In comparison the club you rooting for AC Milan operates at 1,425B very close to what Real operates , what make this Milan if Athletico is little brother ? Sad losers with huge bankroll ?

For **** sakes Ark im just doing some shithousery it's not that deep

I dont watch much soccer. I only watch during World Cup. Fan of Messi that 2022 watch was amazing for me. I personally prefer rugby more. They need to incorporate more rugby elements to basketball. Bring back that 90’s physicality. I wanna see Lebron down on the floor more, wanna see more passion and guts. Stop shooting 3’s bron, drive it to the hole damn it

[Revived]

If the Wolves lose their series and decide to finally give up on the Rudy Gobert experiment, he would make some sense on the Rockets next to Sengun.

The faster you realize the 2 bigs setup does not work, the better for your team. This is the modern NBA, that’s not going to work in the playoffs, long-term.

Don’t both the Thunder and Cavs have “2 bigs setup”? And their both the #1 seeds that soon will have swept their opponents so far?

[Butterfingers1]

Two bigs I think is viable option if at least one shoots 3s and at least one is elite on defense

[Tracymcgoaty]

That’s kind of stupid statement to be honest and I’m not a fan of either club

Real squad worth its more than double of Athletico at almost 1.5B compared to 668M Athletico

I know money doesn’t play on the pitch but come on it’s not 10 or 20% net worth difference, it’s over 110% difference

In comparison the club you rooting for AC Milan operates at 1,425B very close to what Real operates , what make this Milan if Athletico is little brother ? Sad losers with huge bankroll ?

For **** sakes Ark im just doing some shithousery it's not that deep

I dont watch much soccer. I only watch during World Cup. Fan of Messi that 2022 watch was amazing for me. I personally prefer rugby more. They need to incorporate more rugby elements to basketball. Bring back that 90’s physicality. I wanna see Lebron down on the floor more, wanna see more passion and guts. Stop shooting 3’s bron, drive it to the hole damn it

aaaah gotcha.

[Tracymcgoaty]

Fun fact about seeing Messi first time live for me

Barcelona was playing one of those summer games in US in old Giants stadium, kill me I can’t remember against who it was either Man United or AS Roma , stadium was packed mostly by South American fans and just as game started they all started chanting Messiiii Messiiiii and I’ll admit I didn’t know who he was at the time

I went to the game cause of Ronaldinho mainly or in general to have a good time , so can’t remember but Messi was then like what 16/17 maybe 18 years old ? yet he was so popular in Latinos communities already in USA

Since then Im kind of root for Barca , not a die hard fan , if they loose I don’t cry but I like when they winning trophies

I dislike barca greatly because of their history with certain players. Eto especially it was disgraceful how he was treated on his way out. I only have 2 players i would probably be considered a superfan for.

R9 made me fall in love with the sport

Messi reminds me why i love the sport. He is old now and clearly not close to being the same player. But i basically grew up watching Messi. The amount of times me and my brother just started laughing at this little dude making world class defenders look like scrubs is forever etched in my mind.

I know 70s fan in this forum has watched plenty of football as well so he can probably name a couple of players he probably rates over messi.

But for me. As an argentina fan as well. Messi is the best player i've ever seen.

Very jealous you got to see him! Even as a youngster this dude was balling out.

For me always if I have to name one I was the biggest fan of , gun to my head , gotta be Maradona , is he the GOAT , probably not , not enough club success, short playing carrier compared to today’s standards, drug abuse while playing for Napoli but he was World Cup Magician

Never believed any Argentinian can pass him in popularity in his own country , Messi probably did winning last World Cup , honestly I don’t know , gotta ask some Argentinian who’s no1 in their country but then again older folks gonna say Maradona while middle-aged and youngsters will say Messi

I dont think Messi will ever surpass Maradona for Argentina. Diego personified everything it meant to be an argentinian probably. He was an absolute rebel on and off the field.

That 1986 world cup is iconic both for his cheating and his brilliance

And the context of it all. The backdrop being Argentina was a couple of years past the falkland wars and they face England in the quarters was more than a game. It was basically Argentina treating this as their redemption post falkland wars. Hugo Morales calling Maradona a cosmic kite as he's leaving england players in their wake. Watch that stuff on youtube it still gives me goosebumps. Even though i wasn't alive during that time. Reading about it and listening to pods about the 1986 world cup it's clear to me for argentina that WC title will forever be the greatest and Maradona the greatest argentinian to ever do it.

And lets not forget Napoli. Sure Maradona didn't win many titles. But the titles he won with Napoli and Argentina are probably up there as the GOAT titles. Amazing stuff.

Alright then enough of the football talk.

[Raonak]

Steph looked like a attack helicopter launching GP2 shaped missiles at the hoop. That pick and roll completely decimated the rockets.

[Ruma85]

Steph looked like a attack helicopter launching GP2 shaped missiles at the hoop. That pick and roll completely decimated the rockets.

Why did people pick the Rockets to win this series.

[Astaluego]

Thats true. Flick really has made Barca a potent offense. They never feel out of a game this season.

Fun fact about seeing Messi first time live for me

Barcelona was playing one of those summer games in US in old Giants stadium, kill me I can’t remember against who it was either Man United or AS Roma , stadium was packed mostly by South American fans and just as game started they all started chanting Messiiii Messiiiii and I’ll admit I didn’t know who he was at the time

I went to the game cause of Ronaldinho mainly or in general to have a good time , so can’t remember but Messi was then like what 16/17 maybe 18 years old ? yet he was so popular in Latinos communities already in USA

Since then Im kind of root for Barca , not a die hard fan , if they loose I don’t cry but I like when they winning trophies

I dislike barca greatly because of their history with certain players. Eto especially it was disgraceful how he was treated on his way out. I only have 2 players i would probably be considered a superfan for.

R9 made me fall in love with the sport

Messi reminds me why i love the sport. He is old now and clearly not close to being the same player. But i basically grew up watching Messi. The amount of times me and my brother just started laughing at this little dude making world class defenders look like scrubs is forever etched in my mind.

I know 70s fan in this forum has watched plenty of football as well so he can probably name a couple of players he probably rates over messi.

But for me. As an argentina fan as well. Messi is the best player i've ever seen.

Very jealous you got to see him! Even as a youngster this dude was balling out.

I've watched a lot of football (I've been a Valencia member for over 20 years). If someone puts a footballer above Messi... don't believe them. He's the best player in history by a wide margin. It's not a matter of taste, it's simply indisputable. Seeing him live in his prime was totally unreal, and I'm speaking to you as someone who has seen his team violated multiple times and in every possible way by good old Leo. He has had multiple seasons where he's been the top scorer (surpassing historic records) and at the same time, the top assist provider... which is a paradox in itself.
to put into context what I have written and make a simile.
In the 2011/2012 season, Leo scored 73 goals and provided 29 assists (in official matches; if we added the national team and friendlies, the number would increase). The top scorer this year (among competitive leagues) has been Salah with 31 goals and 23 assists.

[Ruma85]

Fun fact about seeing Messi first time live for me

Barcelona was playing one of those summer games in US in old Giants stadium, kill me I can’t remember against who it was either Man United or AS Roma , stadium was packed mostly by South American fans and just as game started they all started chanting Messiiii Messiiiii and I’ll admit I didn’t know who he was at the time

I went to the game cause of Ronaldinho mainly or in general to have a good time , so can’t remember but Messi was then like what 16/17 maybe 18 years old ? yet he was so popular in Latinos communities already in USA

Since then Im kind of root for Barca , not a die hard fan , if they loose I don’t cry but I like when they winning trophies

I dislike barca greatly because of their history with certain players. Eto especially it was disgraceful how he was treated on his way out. I only have 2 players i would probably be considered a superfan for.

R9 made me fall in love with the sport

Messi reminds me why i love the sport. He is old now and clearly not close to being the same player. But i basically grew up watching Messi. The amount of times me and my brother just started laughing at this little dude making world class defenders look like scrubs is forever etched in my mind.

I know 70s fan in this forum has watched plenty of football as well so he can probably name a couple of players he probably rates over messi.

But for me. As an argentina fan as well. Messi is the best player i've ever seen.

Very jealous you got to see him! Even as a youngster this dude was balling out.

I've watched a lot of football (I've been a Valencia member for over 20 years). If someone puts a footballer above Messi... don't believe them. He's the best player in history by a wide margin. It's not a matter of taste, it's simply indisputable. Seeing him live in his prime was totally unreal, and I'm speaking to you as someone who has seen his team violated multiple times and in every possible way by good old Leo. He has had multiple seasons where he's been the top scorer (surpassing historic records) and at the same time, the top assist provider... which is a paradox in itself.

At his peak R9 was right there.

[multo]

Steph looked like a attack helicopter launching GP2 shaped missiles at the hoop. That pick and roll completely decimated the rockets.

Why did people pick the Rockets to win this series.

Majority still picked the Warriors, but many thought youth and size would prevail. And when Butler got injured they thought it was over. Series is still 2-1 so a lot can still happen.

[kazyv]

so what's the deal with brooks? can't GSW just send in the film of him trying to injure curry and get him suspended? like at what point does the league take action?

[michaelm]

so what's the deal with brooks? can't GSW just send in the film of him trying to injure curry and get him suspended? like at what point does the league take action?

Bad blood from the 2022 play-offs when GSW played the Grizzlies in an early round. The Grizzlies claimed Poole deliberately injured Ja Morant from something that looked fairly innocuous and undeliberate to my admittedly biased eyes. Brooks did injure GPII significantly from what was at least a dirty play, he only just made it back to play in the finals. The Grizzlies eventually dispensed with him for which he may blame GSW.

[warriorschamps]

Steph is just that dude. Always have been. People keep talking about his age. I'd much rather be old and great than young and bad.

Two down two more to go.

[Ice Man]

The Rockets are going to have a tough time winning games if they only beat the Warriors 15 to 10 on offensive boards. They're a fast break and putback team, and with fast breaks pretty much shut down in the playoffs that leaves offensive rebounds as their main weapon. They need to dominate that statistic, not just win it.