ATL - Bane to Orlando for 4 FRP+

[blazza18]

Unethical hoops going on and the basketball gods aren't rewarding it with made free throws.

[Profound23]

Brunson with five fouls in one quarter last night, SGA with four fouls in the first half tonight.

Not saying they were or weren't valid, but you know if Boston or Denver were leading the series there is no way the refs allow that. Kind of sad

[BUCKnation]

Flopping is out of hand in this one

[Plossum]

Jalen Dub has been looking a tad shaky again this series. Becoming a tad concerning for the Thunder that he seems to shrink a tad as the pressure rises (his excellent game 3 notwithstanding).

[BUCKnation]

Jalen Dub has been looking a tad shaky again this series. Becoming a tad concerning for the Thunder that he seems to shrink a tad as the pressure rises (his excellent game 3 notwithstanding).

Been rough this game and that was before the missed dunk just now

[smuckersbrah]

Chet is so mid

Sent from my SM-S928U using RealGM mobile app

[blazza18]

Something like a 26 point turnaround since there was 2 minutes left in the second quarter.

[Profound23]

Chet is so mid

Sent from my SM-S928U using RealGM mobile app

Yeah I've seen a lot of trade offers of Giannis for Chet/Jalen Williams and I think they are great as 2nd, 3rd options...but making them first/second options consistently would be mediocre at best.

[Matches Malone]

Denver has done a good job supplementing their roster with their draft and scouting. Targeting guys like Strawther and Watson late in the draft and developing them makes me jealous. Wish the Bucks had a competent scouting department.

[BUCKnation]

Denver has done a good job supplementing their roster with their draft and scouting. Targeting guys like Strawther and Watson late in the draft and developing them makes me jealous. Wish the Bucks had a competent scouting department.

AJ Green is better than both of them

[Wooderson]

Denver has done a good job supplementing their roster with their draft and scouting. Targeting guys like Strawther and Watson late in the draft and developing them makes me jealous. Wish the Bucks had a competent scouting department.

AJ Green is better than both of them

Problem is Greens like their 3rd best player as opposed to 7th/8th

[Matches Malone]

Denver has done a good job supplementing their roster with their draft and scouting. Targeting guys like Strawther and Watson late in the draft and developing them makes me jealous. Wish the Bucks had a competent scouting department.

AJ Green is better than both of them

You could make a case that Watson is better overall than Green, but regardless, I just hope they can find more contributing rotation players. Denver has hit on plenty of good rotation pieces later in the draft (Braun is another). One AJ Green is nice, but we could use a few more playable guys in the playoffs. I get Horst wants to hit a home run with his picks, but a few doubles could have been helpful.

[engelmartin]

Jalen Dub has been looking a tad shaky again this series. Becoming a tad concerning for the Thunder that he seems to shrink a tad as the pressure rises (his excellent game 3 notwithstanding).

Been rough this game and that was before the missed dunk just now

The smart money is on Caruso

[PintSizedBox10]

I'm going to game 7 in OKC. Let's go Thunder!!

[Ron Swanson]

I still think OKC wins but I'd be awful nervous about having to face Jokic in a Game 7.

[DingleJerry]

In a way Denver being able to do this shows the massive advantage having a truly elite elite player. Jokic/Giannis are a huge notch above all other players, the only two true "superstars" right now. Sure Denver has a better supporting cast in Murray/Gordon but its not like those guys are all nba guys, and the East is also trash compared to the west (with Bos and likely Cle down a notch next year). I think this pushes me further into the route GoS is talking about the last few days. Having Giannis/Jokic makes up for so much else that you can compete and have a punchers chance if you can make a few smart moves and get competent coaching. Since you don't own your picks I think that's the way to go if Giannis is down, you can still win 45+ games and make the 2nd rd and hang with almost anyone purely because of Giannis

[Bernman]

In a way Denver being able to do this shows the massive advantage having a truly elite elite player. Jokic/Giannis are a huge notch above all other players, the only two true "superstars" right now. Sure Denver has a better supporting cast in Murray/Gordon but its not like those guys are all nba guys, and the East is also trash compared to the west (with Bos and likely Cle down a notch next year). I think this pushes me further into the route GoS is talking about the last few days. Having Giannis/Jokic makes up for so much else that you can compete and have a punchers chance if you can make a few smart moves and get competent coaching. Since you don't own your picks I think that's the way to go if Giannis is down, you can still win 45+ games and make the 2nd rd and hang with almost anyone purely because of Giannis

Murray is all-NBA in the playoffs. We can't duplicate that w/out Dame or replacement. We at least needed a Middleton-level perimeter player. Our superpower was our core, and 2/3 of it numerically is gone, w/ no compensation. We actually conceded more core potential.

As for MPJ, he isn't that guy, but there's a cast of really good role players, he's part of, it'd be tough for us to acquire anytime soon. We can hardly put fits around Giannis and duplicate Denver. It'd have to be a completely different animal. We'd have to squint to think it'd work beyond 50+ win team in the east, competitive team in the playoffs level. For Denver their formula is much more classic.

[DingleJerry]

In a way Denver being able to do this shows the massive advantage having a truly elite elite player. Jokic/Giannis are a huge notch above all other players, the only two true "superstars" right now. Sure Denver has a better supporting cast in Murray/Gordon but its not like those guys are all nba guys, and the East is also trash compared to the west (with Bos and likely Cle down a notch next year). I think this pushes me further into the route GoS is talking about the last few days. Having Giannis/Jokic makes up for so much else that you can compete and have a punchers chance if you can make a few smart moves and get competent coaching. Since you don't own your picks I think that's the way to go if Giannis is down, you can still win 45+ games and make the 2nd rd and hang with almost anyone purely because of Giannis

Murray is all-NBA in the playoffs. We can't duplicate that w/out Dame or replacement. We at least needed a Middleton-level perimeter player. Our superpower was our core, and 2/3 of it numerically is gone, w/ no compensation. We actually conceded more core potential.

As for MPJ, he isn't that guy, but there's a cast of really good role players, he's part of, it'd be tough for us to acquire anytime soon. We can hardly put fits around Giannis and duplicate Denver. It'd have to be a completely different animal. We'd have to squint to think it'd work beyond 50+ win team in the east, competitive team in the playoffs level. For Denver their formula is much more classic.

Yea I said you have to hit on a couple moves. The balance is also that the East is trash. I'm not saying a title is realistic, just that having an entertaining team that can win a round or two, while generally hanging with anyone in the East is not that hard due to the ridiculousness of Giannis. West would probably alter the discussion a bit

[German Athens]

I really think the West being considered much better than the east is overblown.

The west has a little more depth, but not in a way that I think matters a lot. I think they had 8 good to very good teams this year, and the east had 7.

Of the squads left out from the playoffs, I’d lean west, but I also don’t think sac or dal are good.



Houston was the 2 seed in the west, and Sacramento was a 2 or 3 a couple seasons ago. I think if Orlando had played Houston in the first round, as the 2-7 matchup, the 7 probably would have won again.

Indy and NY are very much in the Minny tier, who was in the conference finals last year also.

The conferences aren’t dramatically different, or at least weren’t this year, maybe the spurs make a big jump next year, and Phx returns as a competitive team, but who really knows.

[paulpressey25]

Yeah I've seen a lot of trade offers of Giannis for Chet/Jalen Williams and I think they are great as 2nd, 3rd options...but making them first/second options consistently would be mediocre at best.

Still think some of the board is in a denial stage on this matter. We aren’t getting back a legit #1 option in a trade for Giannis. There aren’t many of those guys out there, and if a team has one, they aren’t dealing him.

So the question is do you try to get two really good 2/3 guys and hope some picks you get work out. That’s why a Chet/Jalen or Amen/Sengun situation are appealing to me. (assuming Flagg is not dealt)