2017-18 NBA Playoffs - Week 2

[Thugger HBC]

It's the reason Cavs beat them in the finals and why OKC and Houston had success against them this year. But hey...What do I know.

GS took the whole regular season with the urgency of training camp.

Sad part is they are barely taking the playoffs seriously at this point. There is a small chance but that might be their downfall. They just haven’t looked focused all year and they might try to turn it on too late.

Haven't had a reason to. could have easily swept SA, but I think they didn't to buy time for Curry to return. Pelicans have no shot at all.

Houston gotta come with the flamethrowers to beat GS, literally lights out every game. Possible, but unlikely.

[NBA Fan 1234]

I will be content if Frank becomes a 6'5 7'1 wingspan version of Pablo Prigioni.

But it is delusional to say that we didn't miss out on Mitchell. People have the right to be upset and their opinions should be respected.

Fans are allowed to their opinions, ie it would be great to have Mitchell on our team because now we all see how good he is. What I am not going to respect is Monday morning quarterbacking. I don't respect people who said things like "We should have gotten Smith" then after seeing Smith didn't have a stellar campaign and Mitchell did decide that because they liked Mitchell after Smith, that now "Phil screwed us by taking Frank instead of Mitchell." That's a fake fan and a fool. If Smith was your pick, ride that out, that's your pick. Frank was supposed to be a project. His expectation was never ROY.

Did we miss out on Mitchell? What does that mean? Do I wish we could re-draft and take Mitchell? I don't know, at this point it would look like the smart move. In five years Frank could be playing like Jason Kidd and Mitchell could be Brandon Roy. What if in 2 years Smith plays like MVP Rose? Do we lament that? Then in 2 years past that he blows out his knee and looks like Knicks Rose do we find a new thing to lament if Frank "only" becomes George Hill 2.0?

Your opinion should be respected.

But fans do not have the same access to resources when it comes to draft prospects like the management do. Fans can hold the front office personnel to the highest standard. I don't think this can be argued.

You're right that resources aren't the same, but that doesn't matter that much. For example, I wrote a few scouting pieces on my blog. I spoke with someone from the Clippers April 2nd or 4th, forgot the day, but he said my writeup was better than some of the reports even THEY do.

[fatalogic]

GS took the whole regular season with the urgency of training camp.

Sad part is they are barely taking the playoffs seriously at this point. There is a small chance but that might be their downfall. They just haven’t looked focused all year and they might try to turn it on too late.

They've looked damn good actually. #2oRTG #1 dRTG, #1 point differential by 4, and they've looked WAY better than they did really at any point this year...and this is without Steph, which is scary.

They don’t look good by their standards. Just really sloppy. Even though last game was a blow out I know Kerr wasn’t 100% happy with their execution. I expect them to actually have to play well against the Rockets.

[god shammgod]

Anyone who thinks the Cavs are making the finals this year are smoking crack.

Who’s stopping them?
The Craptors?
The Celsh*ts?
Philly ain’t ready. Need 1 more year. Next year they got it.

i think philly got a chance but i tend to agree with you. a rookie and a 2nd year player leading their team to the finals in their first post season ? that kind of thing has never happened. the cavs are gonna have a real tough time with embiid though. they got nobody who can match up with him.

[Worst_to_First]

Fans are allowed to their opinions, ie it would be great to have Mitchell on our team because now we all see how good he is. What I am not going to respect is Monday morning quarterbacking. I don't respect people who said things like "We should have gotten Smith" then after seeing Smith didn't have a stellar campaign and Mitchell did decide that because they liked Mitchell after Smith, that now "Phil screwed us by taking Frank instead of Mitchell." That's a fake fan and a fool. If Smith was your pick, ride that out, that's your pick. Frank was supposed to be a project. His expectation was never ROY.

Did we miss out on Mitchell? What does that mean? Do I wish we could re-draft and take Mitchell? I don't know, at this point it would look like the smart move. In five years Frank could be playing like Jason Kidd and Mitchell could be Brandon Roy. What if in 2 years Smith plays like MVP Rose? Do we lament that? Then in 2 years past that he blows out his knee and looks like Knicks Rose do we find a new thing to lament if Frank "only" becomes George Hill 2.0?

Your opinion should be respected.

But fans do not have the same access to resources when it comes to draft prospects like the management do. Fans can hold the front office personnel to the highest standard. I don't think this can be argued.

You're right that resources aren't the same, but that doesn't matter that much. For example, I wrote a few scouting pieces on my blog. I spoke with someone from the Clippers April 2nd or 4th, forgot the day, but he said my writeup was better than some of the reports even THEY do.

I think having the ability to interview the players prior to the draft is key.

[3toheadmelo]

Who’s stopping them?
The Craptors?
The Celsh*ts?
Philly ain’t ready. Need 1 more year. Next year they got it.

if kyrie was healthy, they would take out lebron imo

I agree. It's a damn shame he went down.

it really is. welp

boston is gonna be much scarier next year though. with kyrie and hayward coming back, tatum and brown progressing in their development they might get 60 wins in this weak east

[NBA Fan 1234]

Your opinion should be respected.

But fans do not have the same access to resources when it comes to draft prospects like the management do. Fans can hold the front office personnel to the highest standard. I don't think this can be argued.

You're right that resources aren't the same, but that doesn't matter that much. For example, I wrote a few scouting pieces on my blog. I spoke with someone from the Clippers April 2nd or 4th, forgot the day, but he said my writeup was better than some of the reports even THEY do.

I think having the ability to interview the players prior to the draft is key.

Which is what the Pacers scout I spoke to a week before that told me. Specifically in reference to something I said about WCS.

[Thugger HBC]

Fans are allowed to their opinions, ie it would be great to have Mitchell on our team because now we all see how good he is. What I am not going to respect is Monday morning quarterbacking. I don't respect people who said things like "We should have gotten Smith" then after seeing Smith didn't have a stellar campaign and Mitchell did decide that because they liked Mitchell after Smith, that now "Phil screwed us by taking Frank instead of Mitchell." That's a fake fan and a fool. If Smith was your pick, ride that out, that's your pick. Frank was supposed to be a project. His expectation was never ROY.

Did we miss out on Mitchell? What does that mean? Do I wish we could re-draft and take Mitchell? I don't know, at this point it would look like the smart move. In five years Frank could be playing like Jason Kidd and Mitchell could be Brandon Roy. What if in 2 years Smith plays like MVP Rose? Do we lament that? Then in 2 years past that he blows out his knee and looks like Knicks Rose do we find a new thing to lament if Frank "only" becomes George Hill 2.0?

Your opinion should be respected.

But fans do not have the same access to resources when it comes to draft prospects like the management do. Fans can hold the front office personnel to the highest standard. I don't think this can be argued.

You're right that resources aren't the same, but that doesn't matter that much. For example, I wrote a few scouting pieces on my blog. I spoke with someone from the Clippers April 2nd or 4th, forgot the day, but he said my writeup was better than some of the reports even THEY do.

I can believe this. Outside of workouts, which I would think a player would put on their best impression what exactly do scouts have available that's infinitely better than the media age that the sports fan has at their tips today?

This isn't like 20-25 years ago when all we had was the paper, TV and Sportingnews magazine.

[Phish Tank]

Anyone who thinks the Cavs are making the finals this year are smoking crack.

Who’s stopping them?
The Craptors?
The Celsh*ts?
Philly ain’t ready. Need 1 more year. Next year they got it.

i think philly got a chance but i tend to agree with you. a rookie and a 2nd year player leading their team to the finals in their first post season ? that kind of thing has never happened. the cavs are gonna have a real tough time with embiid though. they got nobody who can match up with him.

yeah I think Cleveland will just capitalize on Philly's mistakes and it could eventually be a big problem. And LeBron's pretty much willing to score 50 to try to win

[3toheadmelo]

milwaukee might be a dark horse team to the ecf next year if they get bud as their coach

[NBA Fan 1234]

Your opinion should be respected.

But fans do not have the same access to resources when it comes to draft prospects like the management do. Fans can hold the front office personnel to the highest standard. I don't think this can be argued.

You're right that resources aren't the same, but that doesn't matter that much. For example, I wrote a few scouting pieces on my blog. I spoke with someone from the Clippers April 2nd or 4th, forgot the day, but he said my writeup was better than some of the reports even THEY do.

I can believe this. Outside of workouts, which I would think a player would put on their best impression what exactly do scouts have available that's infinitely better than the media age that the sports fan has at their tips today?

This isn't like 20-25 years ago when all we had was the paper, TV and Sportingnews magazine.

Synergy video to create quick tapes, ability to go to practices and talk with coaches, talk with teachers (which they do), etc. It still comes down to what people see, but they do have more resources at their fingertips.

Edit -- I think I misread your post. I just thought it was odd that my report was more in depth than professional scouts.

[Capn'O]

If you're having steak, have steak fries. Otherwise, why mess with a good thing. Regular "chips" is where it's at.

[god shammgod]

Who’s stopping them?
The Craptors?
The Celsh*ts?
Philly ain’t ready. Need 1 more year. Next year they got it.

i think philly got a chance but i tend to agree with you. a rookie and a 2nd year player leading their team to the finals in their first post season ? that kind of thing has never happened. the cavs are gonna have a real tough time with embiid though. they got nobody who can match up with him.

yeah I think Cleveland will just capitalize on Philly's mistakes and it could eventually be a big problem. And LeBron's pretty much willing to score 50 to try to win

yep. it's possible though. i give them a chance. the last young star tandem to make it to the finals so early that i can think of is shaq & penny. but it was like shaq's 4th year and penny's 2nd so they had a little more experience. also, jordan wasn't back to 100 percent yet.

[Thugger HBC]

You're right that resources aren't the same, but that doesn't matter that much. For example, I wrote a few scouting pieces on my blog. I spoke with someone from the Clippers April 2nd or 4th, forgot the day, but he said my writeup was better than some of the reports even THEY do.

I can believe this. Outside of workouts, which I would think a player would put on their best impression what exactly do scouts have available that's infinitely better than the media age that the sports fan has at their tips today?

This isn't like 20-25 years ago when all we had was the paper, TV and Sportingnews magazine.

Synergy video to create quick tapes, ability to go to practices and talk with coaches, talk with teachers (which they do), etc. It still comes down to what people see, but they do have more resources at their fingertips.

Comes back to the eye test. Just get to watch more. I'm not trying to sell them short, don't want to portray a view like that, but drafting is such a crap shoot. A team "nailing a pick rate" usually aint that good outside of top picks.

[NBA Fan 1234]

We have to be closing in on the 10th time they've shown this facebook commercial.

[Phish Tank]

milwaukee might be a dark horse team to the ecf next year if they get bud as their coach

they were a good coach away from beating the celtics in 5

[Worst_to_First]

Rockets caught a break with Ricky Rubio injured.

[god shammgod]

If you're having steak, have steak fries. Otherwise, why mess with a good thing. Regular "chips" is where it's at.

chips in england are actually often steak fryish. a little smaller but......you haven't helped.

[Phish Tank]

i think philly got a chance but i tend to agree with you. a rookie and a 2nd year player leading their team to the finals in their first post season ? that kind of thing has never happened. the cavs are gonna have a real tough time with embiid though. they got nobody who can match up with him.

yeah I think Cleveland will just capitalize on Philly's mistakes and it could eventually be a big problem. And LeBron's pretty much willing to score 50 to try to win

yep. it's possible though. i give them a chance. the last young star tandem to make it to the finals so early that i can think of is shaq & penny. but it was like shaq's 4th year and penny's 2nd so they had a little more experience. also, jordan wasn't back to 100 percent yet.

Yeah that last sentence was a big deal. If Reggie didn't score 8 points in the final minute....

Either way, I think the Knicks would have gotten trampled down by the Magic anyways. The younger teams were starting to give the older Knicks a big problem even dating back to the Riley days.

[Worst_to_First]

You're right that resources aren't the same, but that doesn't matter that much. For example, I wrote a few scouting pieces on my blog. I spoke with someone from the Clippers April 2nd or 4th, forgot the day, but he said my writeup was better than some of the reports even THEY do.

I can believe this. Outside of workouts, which I would think a player would put on their best impression what exactly do scouts have available that's infinitely better than the media age that the sports fan has at their tips today?

This isn't like 20-25 years ago when all we had was the paper, TV and Sportingnews magazine.

Synergy video to create quick tapes, ability to go to practices and talk with coaches, talk with teachers (which they do), etc. It still comes down to what people see, but they do have more resources at their fingertips.

Edit -- I think I misread your post. I just thought it was odd that my report was more in depth than professional scouts.

Most important resource is time.

These front office guys and scouts get paid for what they do while fans have to do their day jobs.