OT: What is the most brutal way to be knocked out of the playoffs?

[Dr Aki]

How could I forget this one

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[SlimShady83]

That's better Op

How could I forget this one

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[Iwasawitness]

So what if it just happened, again it's a basketball forum

Go whine somewhere else. We don't care what you think this forum is for. It's called "OT" for a reason.

Cool ok buddy have fun, wait haven't you been banned b4, ok cool have fun.

Edit: put me on your ignore list, because i have no further interaction with you, don't care what you have to say any further and i've never really done no harm to you in anyway of your posts, so goodbye.

Haven't been banned once. You're acting irrational for no reason.

[SlimShady83]

Haven't been banned once. You're acting irrational for no reason.

GOODBYE

[UcanUwill]

One of the worst for me Lithuanian fan was I believe 2000 Olympic semi finals vs USA. Šiškauskas needed to hit 2 FTs to maybe close the game, he missed both and USA won. People remember 2004 Argentina as this giant that won Olympic gold and knocked out USA, but that could have been us twice. in 2000 we lost that dramatic semi, and in 2004 we were huge favorites against Italy in a semi, we were just as good as Argentina, Argentina already beaten USA, we just had to take care of business, and Italy just came out from the future and bombarded us with avalanche of 3s.

20 years plus that still hurts.

Another one that hurt a lot was 2011 quarterfinal vs Macednonia. We had 2 point lead but Macedonia had the ball with 20 seconds to go. They took a two pointer, missed, grabbed offensive rebound, kicked the ball out to Ilievski and he hit a 3. SInce then, I probably foul while up two, f it...

[DavidSterned]

Speaking of the 1994 World Cup, I think the Andres Escobar own-goal against the USA is probably the worst ever elimination situation. Colombia lost the match 1-2 which ultimately led to their elimination.

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Of course he was murdered for this a week later, which definitely adds a literal layer to "most brutal" and set a pretty horrific precedent for sports violence.

[maxpower8888]

How could I forget this one

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This! After LeBron played his ass off to get them that win, to have that happen must have been heart wrenching.

[-Luke-]

Manchester United vs. Bayern Champions League Final 1999.

Edit:
While we are at it with football/soccer: Not a playoffs/knockout situation, but definitely brutal. Last match day of the 2000-2001 Bundesliga season in Germany. Bayern and Schalke 04 can win the title, but Schalke needed to win while Bayern had to lose for Schalke to win the first title since 1958. In the last game, Schalke is trailing 0-2 and it looks like the title race is over. But they turn the game around and win 5-3. Bayern concedes a goal in the 90th minute of their game against Hamburg, which would have made Schalke the champions.

Here comes the brutal part. The match in Schalke is over. Some journalist or cameraman (don't quite remember) tells the Schalke manager that the Bayern match is over as well and that Schalke won the title. This was before smartphones and stuff, so radio was the only chance to know what was happening at the other stadium. The news spreads like wildfire in the Schalke stadium, fans are in tears and celebrate what is (supposedly) their first championship in more than 40 years. Fans rush onto the field and celebrate.

Suddenly, the live broadcast of the Bayern game appears on the big scoreboard. The news that the game was already over was false; the game is still in progress. In the very last situation of the game, Bayern is awarded a free kick in the penalty area (this happens when the goalkeeper picks up the ball with his hands after a pass from one of his own players). Bayern scores in the 94th minute and wins the title. The Schalke fans, who were already on the pitch celebrating the title, had to watch it all unfold live. That was brutal, even as a neutral fan.

[Mr Peanut]

I imagine the worst would be a dominant 1st seed with championship aspirations getting swept my a mid 8th seed? Can't recall this specific scenario ever happening though.

[chilluminati]

It has to be facing a situation out of your control. Injury or Ref related.

Haliburton's injury last year is a good example. Legendary playoff run, clutch performance after clutch performance, team exceeded expectations drastically, then he gets hurt in the finals.

Also sucks when the refs miss a call on a pivotal play that ends up becoming a decider for the series. We got a taste of it last year against the Knicks when the refs missed the foul on THJ in game 4.

[nomansland]

Brazil losing 7-1 to Germany in the world cup semi-final, at home, after being previously undefeated seems pretty brutal. Yeah they lost players to injuries and yellow cards, but NOBODY expected that result.

[-Luke-]

Brazil losing 7-1 to Germany in the world cup semi-final, at home, after being previously undefeated seems pretty brutal. Yeah they lost players to injuries and yellow cards, but NOBODY expected that result.

After the 2-0 I went to the kitchen and got something to eat and to drink pretty quickly. When I came back, the score was 4-0. The camera showed the Brazilian fans in the stands. Everyone was in a state of shock.

[nomansland]

The way Philly got knocked out by Toronto I’d imagine is the worst way to go out.

It was an amazing shot in a very close series, and Philly defended the play pretty well. I'd feel worse getting swept.

[KGtabake]

Haliburton's torn ACL on the game 7 of the Finals.

[The_Ghost_of_JB]

The way Philly got knocked out by Toronto I’d imagine is the worst way to go out.

It was an amazing shot in a very close series, and Philly defended the play pretty well. I'd feel worse getting swept.

I think I would rather have my team get swept honestly.

[Bornstellar]

I can't think of anything more brutal as a Spurs fan than the 2013 NBA Finals

2006 semis were close. Game 7, Spurs down almost the entire game, fight to come back and take the lead at the very end only for Manu to commit an incredibly stupid foul that allowed Dirk to force OT and the rest is history. Wasted a 40 piece from Duncan on one foot too. Not as bad as 2013 since it was only the semis but I'm fairly confident Spurs would have won the title that season had they got past Dallas. Bugs me a lot more than Fischer's shot in 2004

[Bankai]

Imagine being down 1 in a Game 7 and botching a series winning layup or free throws. That sounds pretty brutal to a Team.

That or in a Game 7 and one of the Team just starts dropping like flies due to accidental injuries. That would sting that Fanbase hard.

[Canadafan]

Lebronto

[Anticon]

Lebronto

You really have to give something away for it to fall into this category. That was just an otherworld pummeling.

[Doctor MJ]

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This was my first thought actually. I was a kid who had chosen to support Michigan because of their football helmet and was cheering the Fab Five on with my heart and soul, and I just couldn't believe it.

In the RealGM era, probably the most brutal one to me was the 2007 Suns-Spurs series where Spur Horry committed an egregious foul on Nash, and when Nash's teammates reacted in the moments like human beings, it ran afoul of a ridiculous rule, and NBA leadership chose to literally enforce that rule, essentially handing the series - and the eventual championship - to the Spurs. This would then result in NBA people convincing Suns ownership to give up on pace & space while those of us analytically inclined already knew it wasn't a gimmick but the way forward for NBA offensive strategy.

In the years since, in all similar situations, the NBA has made the opposite call despite not actually changing the rule, further illustrating that the 2007 playoffs were determined by a blip of reasoning more concerned with not having to admit they made a bad rule than ensuring the best basketball.