2025 NBA Post-Season thread!!!

[sportzluvr1]

Draymond thuggin’ hard again tonight.

[Onepocketj]

Not anymore I guess

[mfw13]

The delays to review dead ball pushing & shoving are killing the game (not just this one)....it took over TEN MINUTES of real time to review those two incidents, and they got both wrong.

There shouldn't have been a tech called on Green in the first one, but he should have gotten a tech for the second one.

Instead, the refs have to come up with the "flagrant 1" call to keep Green in the game on the second incident because they wrongly gave him a technical on the first one. Otherwise there would have been a riot, and they probably would have had to kick Kerr and half the Warriors bench out for protesting.

[mfw13]

And with the game on the line, Draymond stops Sengun and Jimmy grabs the rebound in traffic.

[blackvodka]

Miami was at least somewhat competitive in games 1-2. Games 3-4? Yuck.

The Warriors were able to hold on. It was interesting to see that Curry didn't need an offensive explosion for GS to secure the win.

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[mfw13]

Couple of other interesting tidbits....

- Warriors did not commit a single turnover the entire second half.

- After picking up his 5th foul early in the third quarter and sitting for about twelve minutes, Dray played about eight 4th quarter minutes without picking up his 6th foul.

- Difference in the game was the Rockets inability to hit free throws.

[mfw13]

Originally Posted by blackvodka

It was interesting to see that Curry didn't need an offensive explosion for GS to secure the win.

Well, playoff Jimmy showed up, Buddy Hield had his second straight strong game, and the Warriors got valuable contributions from there three most recent draftees.

Note that Podziemski has the 4th most Win Shares in the 2023 draft class despite being the 19th pick (he's ahead of Wemby despite playing roughly the same number of career minutes).

Post has the 14th most Win Shares in the 2024 draft class despite being the 52nd pick and playing far fewer minutes than everyone ranked above him.

Two home run draft picks made a huge difference tonight for the Warriors.

[rhigh2390]

It's looking like most of Blowout was right about wanting to get matched up with Houston. They just aren't very good. I still lean towards the winner of the LAL/MIN series beating whoever takes the GS/HOU series, but it will be a decent matchup.

[blackvodka]

Originally Posted by rhigh2390

It's looking like most of Blowout was right about wanting to get matched up with Houston. They just aren't very good. I still lean towards the winner of the LAL/MIN series beating whoever takes the GS/HOU series, but it will be a decent matchup.

This is Houston''s growing pains year. Guys like CVV, Brooks and Adams have playoff experience, but not together. The rest of their guys are young. The smart bet was GS in 6.

I enjoy watching the Rockets play. I'm mostly optimistic about their future. Of all the teams right now that are down 3-1, the Lakers are the only one with a small chance.

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[Nomad]

Whatever team Dillon Brooks is on, I just enjoy watching them lose. A big reason I got over the Grizz.

[Bosoxfan5990]

Originally Posted by mfw13

It's make for a VERY interesting offseason, since this pretty much eliminates any chance the Bucks have of contending next years (which wasn't very high to begin with in all fairness).

So does Giannis request a trade?

And what happens with Ja in Memphis, Zion in New Orleans, KD in Phoenix, and Embiid in Philly?

You could have a LOT of big names on the move, and OKC still has a huge stash of firsts they could package in a deal for a superstar.

Can you imagine them acquiring Giannis coming of a 68-win regular season?

Hot take: none of these guys would make a fringe team into a contender.

[Asian62150]

Originally Posted by blackvodka

This is Houston''s growing pains year. Guys like CVV, Brooks and Adams have playoff experience, but not together. The rest of their guys are young. The smart bet was GS in 6.

I enjoy watching the Rockets play. I'm mostly optimistic about their future. Of all the teams right now that are down 3-1, the Lakers are the only one with a small chance.

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KD is the guy they should go after this summer. They need someone who can just get a bucket when things grind to a halt.

But the Rockets D and rebounding is top notch.

[mfw13]

Originally Posted by Bosoxfan5990

Hot take: none of these guys would make a fringe team into a contender.

True....but you've got contenders like OKC who still have tons of 1st-round draft picks available to trade...

[mfw13]

Originally Posted by Asian62150

KD is the guy they should go after this summer. They need someone who can just get a bucket when things grind to a halt.

But the Rockets D and rebounding is top notch.

It is, but their poor free throw shooting is killing them....Sengun is at only 60% for the series, and the Rockets were the worst free-throw shooting team in the league in the regular season.

[mfw13]

Originally Posted by rhigh2390

It's looking like most of Blowout was right about wanting to get matched up with Houston. They just aren't very good. I still lean towards the winner of the LAL/MIN series beating whoever takes the GS/HOU series, but it will be a decent matchup.

IF it's Minnesota-Golden State, I think the key matchup will be Gobert vs Quinten Post.

The Warriors have had a lot of success in the past dragging Gobert out of the key via pick & rolls, and now they also have Post, a stretch five who can both drag Gobert out to the perimeter and shoot the rock (he's a 40% three-point shooter).

[tjforce]

This has gotta be rough for the Houston fans who thought they were in the same circle as OKC and Cleveland.....

They may get to sit at the lunch table with them, but when the weekend comes they aren't getting invited to the parties.

[kipgen]

Originally Posted by tjforce

This has gotta be rough for the Houston fans who thought they were in the same circle as OKC and Cleveland.....

They may get to sit at the lunch table with them, but when the weekend comes they aren't getting invited to the parties.

First playoffs in six years and it's a young team with room to grow, I'm fine with it

Besides as long as the warriors lose I don't really care who wins

[eastbayak]

Originally Posted by tjforce

This has gotta be rough for the Houston fans who thought they were in the same circle as OKC and Cleveland.....

They may get to sit at the lunch table with them, but when the weekend comes they aren't getting invited to the parties.

The series isn't over yet, anything can happen.

With that said, the Rockets remind me of the Mitchell/Gobert-led Jazz. Look good during the regular season but disappear during the playoffs. It'll be interesting to see what offseason move(s) they make but they definitely need to make one (need a reliable/clutch scorer).

They don't even get to sit at the lunch table, they just stand at the end of it....right next to the trash can.

[tjforce]

Originally Posted by kipgen

First playoffs in six years and it's a young team with room to grow, I'm fine with it

Besides as long as the warriors lose I don't really care who wins

Good perspective....

But I understand as a Cavs fan two years ago how much of a letdown it can be to come into a series as favorites, only to get it handed to you.

Hopefully they keep the course, make smart moves, and use this as a stepping stone like the Cavs did, rather than going the Atlanta Hawnks route and watching it all disintegrate.

[mfw13]

Originally Posted by kipgen

First playoffs in six years and it's a young team with room to grow, I'm fine with it.

The question for young teams like the Rockets is whether or not they are building around the right players. We've seen plenty of teams never make that last leap to "consistent title contender" because they've built around players who weren't quite good enough to get them there (KD, Harden, Embiid, PG13, KAT, Ja, etc.), as well as teams who failed to achieve their potential because their key player is always hurt (New Orleans with Zion, Philly with Embiid, etc.).

In Houston's case, Sengun is clearly a stud, and FVV and Adams are solid role players, but Brooks is a destructive cancer, and Jalen Green is NOT someone to build around. If they can package the latter two and some of their 1st round draft picks to bring in a superstar go-to scorer, and if Amen Thompson continues to develop offensively, they could take the next step.

But right now, they're just a middle-of-the-pack team in the West, who could just as easily fade into irrelevance a la Memphis if they don't play their cards well.

[Nomad]

Let's talk Pacers - Cavs for a second... who do you like positionally in the prospective matchups?

Or do we need to wait for the official Bucks exit for that?

I can talk Giannis all day.

[kipgen]

Originally Posted by mfw13

The question for young teams like the Rockets is whether or not they are building around the right players. We've seen plenty of teams never make that last leap to "consistent title contender" because they've built around players who weren't quite good enough to get them there (KD, Harden, Embiid, PG13, KAT, Ja, etc.), as well as teams who failed to achieve their potential because their key player is always hurt (New Orleans with Zion, Philly with Embiid, etc.).

In Houston's case, Sengun is clearly a stud, and FVV and Adams are solid role players, but Brooks is a destructive cancer, and Jalen Green is NOT someone to build around. If they can package the latter two and some of their 1st round draft picks to bring in a superstar go-to scorer, and if Amen Thompson continues to develop offensively, they could take the next step.

But right now, they're just a middle-of-the-pack team in the West, who could just as easily fade into irrelevance a la Memphis if they don't play their cards well.

My theory is Jalen and FVV get packaged and traded to Phoenix for Booker so that Phoenix can get their picks back from us

[Scottish Punk]

For the Rockets, the first order of business is to not pick up the club option on FVV at 45 million. He isn't worth anywhere near that. He made 43 million this year. Rockets can parlay that into a big free agent if available. I would agree, getting off of the Brooks deal would be a good thing. Swap those two out with a legit number one scorer and another good role piece, and you are on your way.

[kipgen]

Originally Posted by Scottish Punk

For the Rockets, the first order of business is to not pick up the club option on FVV at 45 million. He isn't worth anywhere near that. He made 43 million this year. Rockets can parlay that into a big free agent if available. I would agree, getting off of the Brooks deal would be a good thing. Swap those two out with a legit number one scorer and another good role piece, and you are on your way.

I'd be fine holding onto DB, he's a good role player, one of our best shooters (shot 40% from three this year) which is a big deal because of how bad the rockets are at shooting, and he's not all that expensive

The biggest things are moving on from FVV and Jalen, or at least FVV and moving Jalen to the bench

[tjforce]

Originally Posted by Nomad

Let's talk Pacers - Cavs for a second... who do you like positionally in the prospective matchups?

Or do we need to wait for the official Bucks exit for that?

I can talk Giannis all day.

Cavs have a better backcourt, frontcourt, and bench. A rest advantage and home court advantage too. They won 14 more games in the regular season and are coming off the biggest playoff blowout ever.

Should be a pretty smooth series for the Cavs.