The Around The NBA Thread

[WindyCityBorn]

Butler is killing it. MVP level performance.

[Andi Obst]

Bucks vs Nets could be great. The Nets have nobody to stop Giannis from getting to the rim, I actually like the matchup for the Bucks.

Heat and Celtics getting swept? Could mean interesting offseasons for both teams.

[Andi Obst]

Remember when Tyler Hero was a future All-Star and Jimmy Butler could be a #1 player?

...and how adding Victor Oladipo would make a championship team.

Did anybody actually say this?

[jc23]

i feel like 3 of the 4 best teams in the NBA reside in the east.

[Michael Jackson]

i feel like 3 of the 4 best teams in the NBA reside in the east.

It looks that way right now to me too. Denver with Murray though would make it a top 5. Mavs are a move away from being a top team too. Clippers are likely a PG away too. Next round will tell us if the Bucks and the Nets are as good as they look though. I think they are .

[MrSparkle]

The Eastern 1st round is like a rec league exhibition. I think the top-3 seeds could’ve won with their stars resting. Miami is obviously very broken, and not even worth comparing to last year’s squad.

Meanwhile, the play-in eliminated Warriors and Spurs would’ve given any East seed a much harder time.

I think the Western seeds are a bit better, besides Brooklyn, which has the most talent in the league. Philly and Milwaukee look locked in, but I’m not drawing any conclusions based on this first round.

The Bucks, Jazz, Nuggets, Mavs and Sixers are all about on par. High-ceiling stars with good teams. Grizz, Hawks and Knicks are exciting and scrappy teams, who lack experienced superstars. Suns had the misfortune of landing Lebron, thus getting eliminated in rd 1 instead of 2.

Nets and Lakers are the two most elite teams, but will need their superstars to be healthy. Still think that’s where we end up a month from now, unless Lebron actually gets injured.

Clippers look broken, like the Heat. Not over yet, but just looks like their roster sucks after the big-2. Anyway, this year is as open as last year, but it still hinges on Lebron and Durant’s health.

[kodo]

Remember when Tyler Hero was a future All-Star and Jimmy Butler could be a #1 player?

...and how adding Victor Oladipo would make a championship team.

Did anybody actually say this?

After last year's playoffs people were saying the Heat were close to championship material even without any significant additions based on Bam, Herro, and Robinson all rising up another level. Dipo would just be even more talent.

The amount of Heat love after last year's playoffs was obnoxious.

[Chi town]

Did anybody actually say this?

After last year's playoffs people were saying the Heat were close to championship material even without any significant additions based on Bam, Herro, and Robinson all rising up another level. Dipo would just be even more talent.

The amount of Heat love after last year's playoffs was obnoxious.

Losing Crowder hurt them

[Jeffster81]

I agree...Russ is such a diva...

At the same time we are living in a very sensitive world. Undisputed on FS1 today spent more than 10 minutes talking about it...

Its popcorn!!!!!

No, its not right but Russ overreacted as he always does...

I can see the day Benny the Bull will be suspended for life for throwing popcorn on the fans...Gosh, I miss the 80s and 90s. People are so soft nowadays.

I concur. Players should be protected from fans, I get that, but Russ's overreaction made him a little b*tch, in my eyes.

[CobyWhite0]

Did anybody actually say this?

After last year's playoffs people were saying the Heat were close to championship material even without any significant additions based on Bam, Herro, and Robinson all rising up another level. Dipo would just be even more talent.

The amount of Heat love after last year's playoffs was obnoxious.

And now the best they can do is $27 million in cap space to go with:

Jimmy
Bam
Herro
Robinson (cap hold, still has to be paid)
Okpala
Achiuwa

And no draft pick this summer.

They're certainly in no better shape than the Bulls this summer.

[TheStig]

After last year's playoffs people were saying the Heat were close to championship material even without any significant additions based on Bam, Herro, and Robinson all rising up another level. Dipo would just be even more talent.

The amount of Heat love after last year's playoffs was obnoxious.

And now the best they can do is $27 million in cap space to go with:

Jimmy
Bam
Herro
Robinson (cap hold, still has to be paid)
Okpala
Achiuwa

And no draft pick this summer.

They're certainly in no better shape than the Bulls this summer.

If you can't make a basketball point, don't bother bother replying, this does nothing but serve to insult people -Doug

[dougthonus]

The Eastern 1st round is like a rec league exhibition. I think the top-3 seeds could’ve won with their stars resting. Miami is obviously very broken, and not even worth comparing to last year’s squad.

Meanwhile, the play-in eliminated Warriors and Spurs would’ve given any East seed a much harder time.

I think the Western seeds are a bit better, besides Brooklyn, which has the most talent in the league. Philly and Milwaukee look locked in, but I’m not drawing any conclusions based on this first round.

The Bucks, Jazz, Nuggets, Mavs and Sixers are all about on par. High-ceiling stars with good teams. Grizz, Hawks and Knicks are exciting and scrappy teams, who lack experienced superstars. Suns had the misfortune of landing Lebron, thus getting eliminated in rd 1 instead of 2.

Nets and Lakers are the two most elite teams, but will need their superstars to be healthy. Still think that’s where we end up a month from now, unless Lebron actually gets injured.

Clippers look broken, like the Heat. Not over yet, but just looks like their roster sucks after the big-2. Anyway, this year is as open as last year, but it still hinges on Lebron and Durant’s health.

The Nets and Lakers are clearly the top teams. The Bucks/76ers/Jazz are all similar in tier to me and one slot below. Everyone else is more or less junk this year. The Clippers look broken, the Nuggets are missing Murray, the rest of the east is junk, and the mavs/suns are too young.

[sco]

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/daniel-gafford-agrees-scott-brooks-182843849.html

[Leslie Forman]

What Miami is really proving right now is how important competent two-way players are in the playoffs. They are completely devoid of them outside of Jimmy and Bam. Dragic is old, Robinson is one-dimensional, Herro is completely useless, and Ariza and Iggy are totally washed up. The loss of Crowder is huge and the Oladipo trade was a disaster.

This means Bam and Jimmy basically have to create all of the offense but also provide all of the defense. Really, really poor from their front office. Especially if they really turned down a Harden deal.

[johnnyvann840]

Butler is killing it. MVP level performance.

Jimmy wasn't great (neither was Bam) but look at the rest of the team last night....

Butler - 19 pts., 8 rebs, 6 assists. 1 stl
Bam- 17 pts, 8 rebs, 4 assists
---------
Ariza- 0-4 (0 pts, 6 rebs)
D Robinson- 1-6 (2 pts, 3 rebs, 0 assists)
Dragic- 3-14 (8 pts, 1 reb, 2 assists)
Iggy- 1-3 (3 pts, 1 reb, 0 assists)
Dedmon 1-4
Herro- 4-10 (1-5 from 3pt)
Nunn- 2-4 (4 pts)

[WindyCityBorn]

Butler is killing it. MVP level performance.

Jimmy wasn't great (neither was Bam) but look at the rest of the team last night....

Butler - 19 pts., 8 rebs, 6 assists. 1 stl
Bam- 17 pts, 8 rebs, 4 assists
---------
Ariza- 0-4 (0 pts, 6 rebs)
D Robinson- 1-6 (2 pts, 3 rebs, 0 assists)
Dragic- 3-14 (8 pts, 1 reb, 2 assists)
Iggy- 1-3 (3 pts, 1 reb, 0 assists)
Dedmon 1-4
Herro- 4-10 (1-5 from 3pt)
Nunn- 2-4 (4 pts)

I was kinda joking. It’s obviously not all on Butler, but they do actually need him to play like a MVP to even have a chance of doing anything. They don’t look like they belong on the same court as Milwaukee. Miami front office may gotten too comfortable after what looks like a fluke playoff run last season.

[jordanwilliams6]

It’s pretty crazy watching Rose in a playoff series as the number one option. I know that Randle is their best player but I get the feeling that Rose will be their best scorer, especially at the end of games.

[BullChit]

It’s pretty crazy watching Rose in a playoff series as the number one option. I know that Randle is their best player but I get the feeling that Rose will be their best scorer, especially at the end of games.

I can't put into words just how happy I am for the guy...

Sent from my CPH1979 using Tapatalk

[Leslie Forman]

Miami front office may gotten too comfortable after what looks like a fluke playoff run last season.

They obviously did, but that wasn't a fluke. A team doesn't just steamroll through 3 of the top 4 seeds like that because of a fluke. Don't really understand why people keep saying that.

But just like the '07 Heat and '14 Heat, they needed to make reinforcements and they didn't. They needed to do something just like the '95 Rockets did.

They really deserve much, much more scorn for not being willing to give up a pile of crap for Harden.

Nunn
Harden
Jimmy
Blake Griffin?
Bam

That would have gone right back to the Finals, IMO. I don't know what they were thinking. Tyler Herro and Duncan Robinson? A bunch of late first round picks? Who gives a flying F? Were John Paxson and my husband running the team?

[HomoSapien]

Someone in Trae Young's circle needs to tell him to just shave his hair. It's so bad.