It is the 2018-19 NBA Playoffs discussion thread for hoops friends ONLY

steph curry more like chef? hurry! (you are taking to low to cook food*)

*make basketball points

klay thompson more like nay, not fun

kerr more like burr

warriors more like worriers

Complacency is real. Happens to every team that rules this long. They still have enough talent to win it all obv but gotta dig deeper. The bench getting thinner every year has been understandable they got older and have less money to spend every year. Bogut was fine but he’s not gonna play in this series. The boogie injury has ended up being a pretty big blow. Rest of the league got better and more used the dubs system every year. This rockets team is not as good as last year but neither is the warriors so it’s a wash, a coin toss series imo. Splash bros being cold from three and the randos like rivers/shump is the difference. Also pj Tucker’s hustle is inspirational.

tucker is this years "guy every team wld like to have"

Splash bros

more like crash bros

mike brown more like psyche blown

Chris Paul antics this game were so over the top

Worth noting that harden was incredible tonight. He cooked everyone with ease. Didn’t try and fish for fouls as much just played natural hoop.

Through four games:

Warriors: 448 points
Rockets: 447 points

2-2. We got a series, folks.

— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) May 7, 2019

cool that three of four series are best 2 out of 3

crazy, and every game was close

dubs had so many opportunities in the 4th q to flip the game before the run at the end but they just couldn't get enough stops

it feels like they're playing with 4 men but when push comes to shove KD, steph and klay have come thru too many times. even MJ's teams were tested pretty seriously in one or two series per playoffs.

steph seems pretty banged up

Klay and steph not moving as sharp as normal for sure but that doesn’t excuse the bad 3 p shooting

Houston just makes them work so hard on defense too. Steph has to navigate through/around like 4-5 screens on every possession with them trying to get him switched onto harden

its really too bad the celtics didnt win cos having all series 2-2 woulda been sweet

feel like the Dubs are trying to execute the most grudging-ass championship in league history. this series will go 7 and they'll win the decider by 20. they'll drop the first two on the road in the Finals vs. Milwaukee and then reel off four straight.

ha possible def, perfect conclusion to the year of passive aggressive nba

I beg to differ. the perfect conclusion would be the blazers or nuggets taking the chip.

that wld be good but not as thematically coherent

twist ending

Who do you guys like in a Houston vs. Denver/Portland scenario?

I mean, predictions-wise.

houston should be a slight favorite vs both those teams i think

they’d be a huge favorite vs denver imo

i don't think the dubs aren't trying i just think they're thinned out and playing a good team

but i've said all season that i think they're going to lose in the finals to whoever wins the east so i think the tank will hit E eventually just not now...

i would not trust the sixers to be able to beat them

feel like Portland is just a less-good version of Houston -- ball-dominant guards, athletic wings who you hope can make an open 3 from time to time. they wouldn't be able to play Capela off the court so that's a bonus for the Rockets too. unless Harden flamed out I don't think Denver could handle them either -- Nugs just have a lot of B-/B guys and even Jokic isn't the kind of guy who can match the Beard point for point, and I don't think they're defensively sound enough to slow him down.

i don't see how either team guards harden really

one reason why i like the esat teams this year is that i think the big 4 are pretty deep in the backcourt/wing... they all will have a lot of bodies to throw at the warriors guys and harden. you can't really say that for the blazers or nuggets

embiid and especially giannis cld cause big problems for both the rox/dubs too

they are both pretty much problems in general (at least when embiid is playing well he is)

big piece on The Ringer about Embiid made me realize he's 25, which isn't a shock when you really think about all the time he missed but if you'd just made me guess off the top of my head I would have probably put him at 23. what's really wild is that Giannis is younger than Joel.

i feel like i post a reminder that embiid is older than you think like once a month on here

this year people finally stopped talking about him as if he's a prospect tho

sixers are getting smoked

And Kawhi not even having that good of a game

embiid calling in sick again tonight lol

2 sick jams by kawhi tonight tho

(still feel like this comes back to toronto)

this has been a real yo yo of a series so far

Except for playing to the home crowd, there's not much reason for the raptors to keep the starters in with a 32 point lead.

jokic has zbo like touch around the rim, so soft. just get it up around the rim and it drops in most the time.

he’s a god and I love him

dame made plumlee the fool

the side step three is kind of unfair lol im not sure how i feel about it being the hot new move