NBA Playoffs 2016

ButtersSuki

malistheman wrote: »

Steve Kerr has won coach of the year - one of the most ridiculous decisions in a long time.

I had a feeling they'd give it to him this year for a few reasons; that they didn't last year and because of the record.

BUT it's a farce as he missed so many games. Pop for example won more games coaching this year than Kerr.

astonaidan

malistheman wrote: »

Steve Kerr has won coach of the year - one of the most ridiculous decisions in a long time.

Dear God, what a joke, Lue had as much claim as Kerr. Hes a brilliant coach, but still this was Pops year

ButtersSuki

NufcNavan wrote: »

The national media seems to really be trying to hype the Curry injury as a potential end to the Warriors and their title hopes. Not only is it possible (nearly likely) that he will be back during the second round, but I honestly think they could win the championship without Curry.

But of course, they're going to hype the injury so that when Curry makes his comeback - everyone can be in awe of his greatness

Gotta love NBA coverage. They are the KINGS of marketing. Always keeping things interesting.

Can't see them beating the Spurs without Curry. I just can't. He causes them so many match-up problems and headaches that he is the biggest game changer in the whole Spurs-Warriors dynamic. Without him, it all changes in favour of the Spurs.

Sucks for Chris Paul too. I think with Curry out for at least part of the series, they had a chance against the Warriors. Without him they may not even win the Portland series.

Bonniedog

buyer95 wrote: »

The Sacremento Kings?

He said they were good

scottmcb04

Blake confirmed out for the rest of the postseason, nothing confirmed on Paul yet but I'm assuming he's gone as well... I can see Portland taking them out now!

edit: paul confirmed out for remainder of postseason as well

GoldFour4

The west is wide open now - Okc are worth a few quid imo now with Curry in injury trouble and the Clippers decimated.

buyer95

malistheman wrote: »

The west is wide open now - Okc are worth a few quid imo now with Curry in injury trouble and the Clippers decimated.

LA wern't beating either of the Spurs or Warriors in my opinion anyway. I have a feeling they will rally and might just sneak by the Trailbazers(I think this atleast goes to 7 games) but that's them done then.

nerd69

buyer95 wrote: »

LA wern't beating either of the Spurs or Warriors in my opinion anyway. I have a feeling they will rally and might just sneak by the Trailbazers(I think this atleast goes to 7 games) but that's them done then.

i dont know la had depth issues as it was when you take away there main two guys i think that ends them could see portland sweeping from here to be honest.

i think they had the potential to upset anyone chris paul has been incredible and blake and deandre are stars but for me this has ended them.

i think the spurs are laughing all the way to the bank now okc will always be dangerous and the warriors are still a serious team but if curry is out the spurs have to be favs

ButtersSuki

Pacers up 90-75 in Toronto and lose 99-102. Shocking collapse. Refs missed a huge travel during that stretch though.

Griffin gone for the year now too.

Bonniedog

Pacers last quarter collapse must be a record for play off turnaround? Toronto were 23 - 2 up to last 3 minutes!

Bird looked absolutely disgusted, and rightly so.

ButtersSuki

Bonniedog wrote: »

Pacers last quarter collapse must be a record for play off turnaround?

GS had a bigger one last year.....

http://www.cheatsheet.com/sports/breaking-down-the-best-fourth-quarter-comebacks-in-nba-playoffs-history.html/?a=viewall

Bonniedog

I had forgotten that!

I had fancied Indiana to win last night, and to win the series had they done, but impossible to see them recovering from that. On other side, it will help to get Toronto over their reputation for choking.

astonaidan

Delighted for the Raptors, thought they were dead and buried, if they get over this series maybe they will get over the fear and go back to dominating

ButtersSuki

ButtersSuki wrote: »

Pacers up 90-75 in Toronto and lose 99-102. Shocking collapse. Refs missed a huge travel during that stretch though.

Griffin gone for the year now too.

Fecking joke.... I had the Pacers backed at 12/5 as well.

Pure woeful to throw away two big leads, especially one going into the fourth.

Clippers to lose to Portland is a good bet too, bookies calling it near evens.
They haven't a prayer without Paul alone never mind adding Blake.

Austin Rivers is toxic.

4-2 Blazers I feel.

MrKingsley

Ill be backing the clippers tonight. I think that the blazers will win the series but I fancy a big reaction from LA tonight on the back of that rotten news.

Crawford to go for 30+

Bonniedog

MrKingsley wrote: »

Ill be backing the clippers tonight. I think that the blazers will win the series but I fancy a big reaction from LA tonight on the back of that rotten news.

Crawford to go for 30+

I fancy Portland but they are too short at 4/6. Overs at 195.5 is a decent bet I think.

NufcNavan

Bonniedog wrote: »

I had forgotten that!

I had fancied Indiana to win last night, and to win the series had they done, but impossible to see them recovering from that. On other side, it will help to get Toronto over their reputation for choking.

I still would not consider firing Frank this offseason, but this is the most frustrated I've ever been with him.

That being said, Stuckey completely let his teammates down yesterday. He's paid to be the 6th man, he should be able to play 4th quarter playoff minutes and not completely **** the bed and he **** the bed.

The same conundrum that Frank has had all year: "What do you with Monta in the last 5 minutes of a close game if he can't have the ball in his hands?", but putting the ball in his hands last night once the starters came back was just as bad a decision as playing the bench (which cost us the game)..

mjavi

I might need to watch the Hornets replay as they suddenly became in a position to get to the 2nd round (thanks to Lee's 3). The last time I was interested in them was when LJ and Zo are running the team with a combined temper of 52558 BTU's.

MrKingsley

MrKingsley wrote: »

Ill be backing the clippers tonight. I think that the blazers will win the series but I fancy a big reaction from LA tonight on the back of that rotten news.

Crawford to go for 30+

I said it earlier but I really didn't see the logic in LA being near evens with Portland after losing two star players on top of Portland having momentum.

Doc has done a woeful job thus far, VDN did none the worse of a slightly lower base in terms of bench players.
Players like Kenyon Martin etc contributed and they weren't exactly considered contenders then.

NufcNavan

gilberto_eire wrote: »

I said it earlier but I really didn't see the logic in LA being near evens with Portland after losing two star players on top of Portland having momentum.

Doc has done a woeful job thus far, VDN did none the worse of a slightly lower base in terms of bench players.
Players like Kenyon Martin etc contributed and they weren't exactly considered contenders then.

Doc is the most overrated coach in the league and he's proven to be an even worse GM.

astonaidan

Lakers given permission to speak to Walton, Id like to see him but he wouldnt be my first choice, Id personally like Ollie from Uconn.
Both would help in recruitment in the summer though, Scott Im delighted is gone.

NufcNavan

NufcNavan wrote: »

Doc is the most overrated coach in the league and he's proven to be an even worse GM.

Abysmal considering they gave up a first round pick to get him.
That pick (as well as another they gave up for Stephenson or with Bledsoe?) is now tying their hands from a quick turnaround from this squad.
Tied in now to win or bust with a long bust to come when Paul leaves.

No Coach should ever sign their son unless he's top 25 in the league calibre. Austin isn't anywhere near a second PG on a contender and that's not even getting into the other positions.

ButtersSuki

gilberto_eire wrote: »

Abysmal considering they gave up a first round pick to get him.
That pick (as well as another they gave up for Stephenson or with Bledsoe?) is now tying their hands from a quick turnaround from this squad.
Tied in now to win or bust with a long bust to come when Paul leaves.

No Coach should ever sign their son unless he's top 25 in the league calibre. Austin isn't anywhere near a second PG on a contender and that's not even getting into the other positions.

As a Celtics fan he gets an easier ride than he should from me usually but the Austin thing is a joke and I've been vocal on that for a long time. I've said Austin isn't NBA quality and I stand by it - he would not be in the league if it wasn't for his dad. He's a scrub. He's a joke on the team too by all accounts with everyone taking the piss out of him.

They're in huge trouble. They're built to win now but they won't win anything. They've been unlucky with injuries but they're not good enough to win it all anyway.

They have to do something. Trading Griffin is the likeliest but Paul, Lejon, Melo and Wade want to form Superfriends Part II in a couple of years so maybe he'll (Paul) hang around until then.

It does give new perspective on the VDN era alright.

ButtersSuki

I was bored last night and ended up reading about Gabrielle Union's Twitter rant (and she dies go on a bit to put it mildly!) over the non call on Wade on the last play of the hornets heat game. The responses (mainly referencing how the refs screwed the mavs v heat in 2006, and gave Wade shall we say "a lot" of bogus calls) were pretty funny......

It's on si.com if you're bored.

Carcharodon

Jesus christ, Wade was unreal at the end of that game, he really turned back the clock, love watching him when he gets that killer instinct, some tool of a fan was getting in his face and talking **** from the sideline, he wasn't long shutting him up.
Rivers just got a nasty blow to the face, clippers just can't catch a break.

Walton to coach Lakers next year, fair play to him, I think he will do well there. He will be a better coach than player and was a successful player.

ButtersSuki

Carcharodon wrote: »

Walton to coach Lakers next year, fair play to him, I think he will do well there. He will be a better coach than player and was a successful player.

I don't get the hype for Walton. Average (at best) player who in his best year averaged 11ppg, but for most of his career average 1-3ppg.

If his surname wasn't Walton, he'd not have been in the NBA for as long as he was. Seriously.

That aside and focusing on the coaching, the guy is 36. He has 43 games as interim head coach on the statistically greatest team of all time. A team that if you or I coached, would likely have had a similar outcome.

I don't know Walton personally obviously. He could be the greatest thing ever, but I doubt it.Walton's entire coaching resume is as follows - part of one year as a college assistant (during the lockout), , one year as a D-League development coach for the Lakers’ affiliate, and two years on Kerr’s bench Let me put it this way.....if he was a black coach whose dad wasn't an NBA legend, had 43 games head coaching experience, had spent the vast majority o his career on the bench, do you really think he'd get this job?

Jason Kidd never coached as much as a high school game when he got the Milwaukeee gig. It's the same thing.

Gentry (who was ahead of Walton on the Warrior's coaching roster just 12 months ago) hasn't exactly been a huge success. It's not just about taking a guy from a winning franchise and making him your coach.

I'm not a huge fan of soccer, but at least ex players have to do coaching badges before they get a job. In the NBA it seems you can just rock up and coach a pro team from Day 1.

astonaidan

ButtersSuki wrote: »

I don't get the hype for Walton. Average (at best) player who in his best year averaged 11ppg, but for most of his career average 1-3ppg.

If his surname wasn't Walton, he'd not have been in the NBA for as long as he was. Seriously.

That aside and focusing on the coaching, the guy is 36. He has 43 games as interim head coach on the statistically greatest team of all time. A team that if you or I coached, would likely have had a similar outcome.

I don't know Walton personally obviously. He could be the greatest thing ever, but I doubt it.Walton's entire coaching resume is as follows - part of one year as a college assistant (during the lockout), , one year as a D-League development coach for the Lakers’ affiliate, and two years on Kerr’s bench Let me put it this way.....if he was a black coach whose dad wasn't an NBA legend, had 43 games head coaching experience, had spent the vast majority o his career on the bench, do you really think he'd get this job?

Jason Kidd never coached as much as a high school game when he got the Milwaukeee gig. It's the same thing.

Gentry (who was ahead of Walton on the Warrior's coaching roster just 12 months ago) hasn't exactly been a huge success. It's not just about taking a guy from a winning franchise and making him your coach.

I'm not a huge fan of soccer, but at least ex players have to do coaching badges before they get a job. In the NBA it seems you can just rock up and coach a pro team from Day 1.

You said you dont know Walton personally, but already writing him off, you not think that is incredibly knee jerk reaction.
As for writing him of because he wasnt a star player, what coaching record did Kerr have before rocking in a bad spell in Phoenix in the front office.
The current rising star in Brad Stevens never played in the NBA, never mind playing for the lakers at their height. You also mention black coach not getting this job, if he was black and played for the lakers, I see no reason why he wouldnt get the job, Walton is very popular among Laker fans
You seem to not like the Lakers

ButtersSuki

astonaidan wrote: »

You said you dont know Walton personally, but already writing him off, you not think that is incredibly knee jerk reaction.
As for writing him of because he wasnt a star player, what coaching record did Kerr have before rocking in a bad spell in Phoenix in the front office.
The current rising star in Brad Stevens never played in the NBA, never mind playing for the lakers at their height. You also mention black coach not getting this job, if he was black and played for the lakers, I see no reason why he wouldnt get the job, Walton is very popular among Laker fans
You seem to not like the Lakers

I'm a Celtics fan - of course I don't like the lakers! :pac:;)

Now joking aside, I'll go through each of your retorts example by example....

Kerr served his time in management before getting a head coaching job. And he was a far better player than Walton ever was.

Stephens wasn't an NBA player, yes. But he coached a relatively unknown University programme to back to back NCAA championship games. put simply, he was a coach with LOTS of experience. No-one really doubted Stephens would be a good coach. No-one really knows what Walton would be like.

Not to be pedantic but Walton was a bench warmer when the Lakers were "at their height". He barely played in either of those championship seasons.

Do you need to have been a good player to coach? No. Can you be a good coach without having played at the highest level? Yes. HOWEVER, being an average player and a relatively unknown coaching quantity doesn't mean you should get a head coaching job either.

Last 3 Lakers coaches were Brown, D'Antoni and Scott. All 3 were awful. All 3 were fired. All 3 were hired by the same two people as appointed Walton by the way (Kupchack and Buss).

I just don't get why you've give the reigns to the team to an unknown quantity. They fired Scott to get Walton. Thibs was on the market until last week so they could have moved to get him early if they wanted. Who would you rather trust a troubled franchise to? That Lakers team next year will still be pretty bad btw - with Walton or anyone else. Their roster is very weak and there's a ton of chemistry issues. They'll likely be lottery next year too.

I know it's easy for me to say this, but if I were in Walton's shoes I think I might have hung around GS for a few more years and learn my trade there before making the move into Head Coaching.

ButtersSuki

In other news, Kings reportedly shopping Boogie.......

Make it happen Danny.


4 teams interested in Dwight - though for the life of me I can't understand why. They were Charlotte, Orlando, Milwaukee and Portland for anyone who is interested.

NufcNavan

Carcharodon wrote: »

Jesus christ, Wade was unreal at the end of that game, he really turned back the clock, love watching him when he gets that killer instinct, some tool of a fan was getting in his face and talking **** from the sideline, he wasn't long shutting him up.
Rivers just got a nasty blow to the face, clippers just can't catch a break.

Walton to coach Lakers next year, fair play to him, I think he will do well there. He will be a better coach than player and was a successful player.

The end of that game was great viewing. Kemba and Wade going at it.

Pacers got the job done at least. Players not named Paul George or Myles Turner finally stepped up and helped out. They should have this series won. They have outplayed the Raptors over the 6 games so far but still, game 7 it is.

Good move for the Lakers. Walton is the right guy for them.