The Official NBA Playoff Thread—-20/21 Edition

[Akphillips86]

Originally Posted by ninjacookies

DWade enjoying the mirror match from the sidelines. There is no other comp for him atm. Hoping he can eventually win the ship so he can join him in that rare air.

Loving D Wade being part of the organization. I’m seeing big things in the future for Mitchell and Utah regardless of this year’s outcome.


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[rustywest]

JoJo rattled with 40

In regards to winning this series, if I were a Hawks fan I'd be extremely concerned with the teams play in the back end of the games when that Philly D really clamps down.

Going home might help that. Its going to be a fun 2 games. Look for the 76ers to pick up that split...

[Grizzkid12]

Just catching up on this thread from today.

Is it just me or does it seem like there has been a major change in this thread in the past couple weeks?

Seems the vast majority of lurkers or people without a dog in the fight are rooting for the Hawks based on posts during gameplay.

A couple weeks ago it was like Philly & 29 other teams that got mentioned once in a blue in here, but now it seems most random posters are rooting against the Sixers during the game.

Of course you get the same old cast of reg Philly fans talking up their team and hating on the Hawks, but I'm loving what I'm seeing in here.

You Philly fans really are super unlikeable and it seems people have noticed.

[rman112]

Originally Posted by ballhawkdawk

76ers by double digits tonight. 15+ if they keep on the throttle and don’t let Atlanta close the gap in garbage time.

I hope you bet on this.

[ballhawkdawk]

Originally Posted by rman112

I hope you bet on this.

I didn’t. I leave that to the degenerates. I’m here for the glory. And to watch grizzkid unravel as the series continues.

Respectfully,

Unlikable 76ers fan

[ballhawkdawk]

Originally Posted by IceTrae11

Idk man, I'd think you'd be in a lot of trouble getting punked as a 1 seed at home in your first game. But Philly do Philly I guess

Series gonna be 4-1 and Hawks fans gonna be like, “but remember game 1?!?”

[ballhawkdawk]

Originally Posted by jswest18

Tonight was bad overall from the Hawks starters and the bench has been a big advantage for the Hawks in the first two games but let’s not pretend that the Hawks starters didn’t outplay Phillys starters pretty much the whole 1st game. They are a young inexperienced team that got sloppy the last 4:30 of that first game and let the big lead the pressure D late almost lose them the game but Trae was +3 until that 4:30 mark in the 4th. I havent looked at the rest of the starters but in sure it’s would be a similar number.

And it’s honestly not really the starters that are making the big difference. It’s Embiid. Which is not surprising as he’s great and a matchup nightmare for the Hawks. He should be dominating. Take Embiid out of this series and the Philly would be lucky to win 2 games though.

It’s hurting not having Hunter starting in place of Hill. Hill is not a great shooter and is limited defensively compared to Hunter. If Hunter is able to play it will cut down that point of attack penetration which is hurting the Hawks and will force more perimeter scoring.

Take the best player off a team and they won’t have as much success. Scorching hot take. How many games do the Hawks win without Trae?

[blackbears86]

Originally Posted by ballhawkdawk

I didn’t. I leave that to the degenerates. I’m here for the glory. And to watch grizzkid unravel as the series continues.

Respectfully,

Unlikable 76ers fan

Very nice call Ballhawk.



It was looking rough late in the third, but they pulled it out.



Your thoughts on game 3?

[blackbears86]

Originally Posted by PKIPP

Keep sleeping on them Spida Mitchell rc’s boiz.


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Just stop.




There are still some bargains to be had and we don't need people flocking to Spida like Luka.

[spurs50fan]

Hawks got the split and Atlanta got the split last night lol

The next games per cliche are gonna be key. It is interesting how the see-saw of “they’ll never shoot that well or poor again” moves between fans lol

[sigmachi]

i tuned in to the NBA Channel's XM show on the way to work hoping to hear them talk about the 2 games last night....was 12 minutes of Kevin Durant talk about how he's thin skinned and mad at Jay Williams for comparing him to Giannis. We get one of the better games of the playoffs so far last night between Utah and LAC and that's what they'd rather talk about?

[daeve]

With 8:57 left in the second quarter and Utah down 10, Rudy Gobert was called for a charge while making a layup. Quin Snyder challenged it, and won the challenge. It turned into a 3 point swing and took a foul away from Rudy. Utah won by 3 and Gobert ended up with 5 fouls

Quin so clutch

[Dame]

I was thinking why D Wade was giving Mitchell instructions on the sideline. Wade hates someone from the Clips or something?

Then I remembered he has ownership stake with the Jazz lol. Cool moment there especially since I see flashes of Wade in D Mitch game.

[brothertona]

Such a baller move right here

https://twitter.com/espn/status/1402...311447561?s=20

[gomiamigo]

Originally Posted by tjforce

Didn't get to see the second half but it seems the 76ers wrapped this one up pretty easily.

The story of the series so far seems to be the Philly starters owning the court vs the Atlanta starters, and the Atlanta bench blowing the Philly bench off the court.

+/- through 2 games:
Starters:
Curry +29
Embiid +27
Tobias +20
Green +17
Simmons +14

Bogdanovic -10
Collins -21
Trae Young -22
Hill -28
Capela -29
...

Maxey: -13
Korkmaz: -23

Yeah, time for Doc to shrink the rotation to 9 guys, and only play Maxey and Korkmaz in blowouts or when you absolutely need a 3pt shooter out there at the end of a Q/Half.

Love Maxey but he ain't ready yet and it's not the Wiz anymore.


Nice win for the Jazz!

[gomiamigo]

Originally Posted by jswest18

Tonight was bad overall from the Hawks starters and the bench has been a big advantage for the Hawks in the first two games but let’s not pretend that the Hawks starters didn’t outplay Phillys starters pretty much the whole 1st game.

Hawks starters outplayed Philly in just one half so far - first half of G1 [+20 Hawks], since then they've been absolutely shredded in the three other halves, really badly. Just check the stats. Philly +16 in H2 of G1, then Hawks starters only scored 23 points total in H1 last night, and Sixers were +16 in H2 again.

76ers starters net rating is +30.2, with a 72% TS% in this series.

And it’s honestly not really the starters that are making the big difference. It’s Embiid. Which is not surprising as he’s great and a matchup nightmare for the Hawks. He should be dominating. Take Embiid out of this series and the Philly would be lucky ....

Yes, if you take the best player in the NBA off the 76ers, they'd not be nearly as good starting Dwight Howard. They were a .500 team without him.

If you took the best player off any playoff team - Booker, Mitchell, Jokic, Durant, Kawhi, Giannis, Embiid - the team would be significantly worse. This is not news.

[gomiamigo]

Originally Posted by rustywest

JoJo rattled with 40

In regards to winning this series, if I were a Hawks fan I'd be extremely concerned with the teams play in the back end of the games when that Philly D really clamps down.

Going home might help that. Its going to be a fun 2 games. Look for the 76ers to pick up that split...

I mean, the Hawks starters got outscored 57-23 in the first half last night, it's not just the 4th Q they should be worried about.

[jswest18]

Originally Posted by tjforce

Take the team's best player off the team and they would lose a second round series.

I agree.

Can you name a team in this round who would be winning if they didn't have their best player?

-Brooklyn with Durant maybe?

But Atlanta without Trae... no
Bucks without Giannis... no
Denver without Jokic.. starters wouldn't even be in the fourth quarter
Clippers without Kahwi.... PG13 isn't going to carry them
Jazz without Mitchell.... we saw how that went Game 1 vs Memphis
Suns without CP3... weren't a playoff team last year without him

So yes, I agree. Take away Philly's best player and they won't make the Conference Finals.

Yes I realize that goes without saying for most of us. I wasn't trying to make an earth shattering statement. That was just pointed out in response to those on here who said Hawks had no shot even if Embiid didn't play. I thought that was ridiculous before the series started and there's been nothing so far in the first two games that would show otherwise.

[jswest18]

Originally Posted by ballhawkdawk

Take the best player off a team and they won’t have as much success. Scorching hot take. How many games do the Hawks win without Trae?

I don't feel like going back through the rest of the thread so I'm not sure if you were one or not but there was more than one person who said the Hawks had no shot even if Embiid was out for the series. So apparently it was a hot take for some. As I just posted, I realize that without Embiid the 76ers are not a huge threat. I thought that would be obvious but it wasn't apparently.

[jswest18]

Originally Posted by gomiamigo

Hawks starters outplayed Philly in just one half so far - first half of G1 [+20 Hawks], since then they've been absolutely shredded in the three other halves, really badly. Just check the stats. Philly +16 in H2 of G1, then Hawks starters only scored 23 points total in H1 last night, and Sixers were +16 in H2 again.

76ers starters net rating is +30.2, with a 72% TS% in this series.



Yes, if you take the best player in the NBA off the 76ers, they'd not be nearly as good starting Dwight Howard. They were a .500 team without him.

If you took the best player off any playoff team - Booker, Mitchell, Jokic, Durant, Kawhi, Giannis, Embiid - the team would be significantly worse. This is not news.

Correct it is not. You learning how read a team's schedule and scores correctly would be though.

[Siberian13]

Well didn’t think the Hawks would have a chance in game 2. Hopefully they can get through the home games 2-2. Embiid was great.

[ballhawkdawk]

Originally Posted by jswest18

I don't feel like going back through the rest of the thread so I'm not sure if you were one or not but there was more than one person who said the Hawks had no shot even if Embiid was out for the series. So apparently it was a hot take for some. As I just posted, I realize that without Embiid the 76ers are not a huge threat. I thought that would be obvious but it wasn't apparently.

I was very concerned without Embiid. I figured it'd go 7 if he was shut down for the series. I'd be concerned even without Simmons or Tobias Harris. I think Philly is the kind of team that needs all of their pieces to really fire, regardless of how much they lean on Embiid. With Embiid, I figured 5 games, 6 tops.

And I think this whole thing depends on context... you said the 76ers would be lucky to win 2 games without Embiid, which I think is a reach, but I see where you're coming from as I do recall some were calling for a 76ers rout of the Hawks regardless.

[tjforce]

Originally Posted by Grizzkid12

Just catching up on this thread from today.

Is it just me or does it seem like there has been a major change in this thread in the past couple weeks?

Seems the vast majority of lurkers or people without a dog in the fight are rooting for the Hawks based on posts during gameplay.

A couple weeks ago it was like Philly & 29 other teams that got mentioned once in a blue in here, but now it seems most random posters are rooting against the Sixers during the game.

Of course you get the same old cast of reg Philly fans talking up their team and hating on the Hawks, but I'm loving what I'm seeing in here.

You Philly fans really are super unlikeable and it seems people have noticed.

I've pointed this out before...

Panini's huge production numbers mean that nearly everyone around here has some investment in Trae.

Heck, I have more sports card value tied up in Trae than I do the entire Philly roster.

[ballhawkdawk]

Originally Posted by blackbears86

Very nice call Ballhawk.



It was looking rough late in the third, but they pulled it out.



Your thoughts on game 3?

Admittedly, I was a little nervous in the third. The Hawks were hanging around, the 76ers bench was garbage, and if the 76ers didn't get it together the Hawks could've possibly eeked it out.

Game 3 I'm going 76ers in a tough one (single digits), but I really don't know. With game 2 I was fairly confident the 76ers would make the defensive adjustments necessary and avoid getting punched in the mouth like they did in the first half of game 1. I think game 3 depends on what kind of adjustments the Hawks can make to free up Trae to get the offense in more of a rhythm. With the 76ers, the answer was easy... switch Ben onto Trae instead of having Danny Green defend him. I don't know what the Hawks can do differently to get Trae going if Ben is locked onto him. The Hawks are also missing Hunter, which makes stopping Seth and Tobias Harris even more difficult. I don't think that alone would change the series outcome, but it would make a difference as both are averaging 20+ PPG with efficiency.

I'm curious what others are seeing as far as adjustments the Hawks can make. On paper they're simply overmatched. I'm not a savvy enough basketball fan to know where the Hawks go from here. Bank on home court and high energy?

[ballhawkdawk]

Originally Posted by tjforce

I've pointed this out before...

Panini's huge production numbers mean that nearly everyone around here has some investment in Trae.

Heck, I have more sports card value tied up in Trae than I do the entire Philly roster.

I also have a few Trae cards that I've had for a while now. I'm a fan. I'm one of four posters with 100+ posts in the Trae thread. I love his game and his swagger and am normally rooting for him, but not this series.