NBA Regular Season & Playoffs 2018-19 Thread

Hitch2222

leggo wrote: »

See I think a large part of what happened last night was that Toronto anticipated that GSW would try lock down Kawhi and made their peace with it in piling on responsibility to role players. If you look at a lot of Siakam’s open looks (and some of Green’s too), Kawhi is just hanging out disinterested in the corner or on the edge of the 3 taking up coverage, only drifting in if needed for the rebound. You’re right when you say that Siakam was the one who happened to perform on the night, so yeah they mightn’t need to specifically adjust for him, but if not him then Lowry or FVV or Green could be the guy on Sunday. Now they need to respect the Raptors’ role players and can’t go all-in on Kawhi because Toronto have shown they can win even with him at half-speed. So the flip side of that is less attention on Kawhi means risking opening him up.

I’m starting to convince myself Toronto will do this if KD doesn’t come back on time!

Understand your hypothesis on it but I think that's common knowledge across both teams, Nurse knows they're gunning for Kawhi and Kerr knows Nurse knows.
Coaching is a game of levels, they're aware of what's happening.

My point would be to this point everyone has prepared for the Raptors the way in which GSW did, Kawhi is the go to, lock him down, put the ball in Lowry/Siakam/Gasols hands, we can deal with that. The issue is nobody has been able to lock down Kawhi using this strategy, I think the Raptors have certainly trusted the role players more as the playoffs have progressed.

That said, everyone else has thought the same but failed to implement, now one game is a nothing sample but based on last night, I simply saw more that would suggest a Siakam regression above a Kawhi improvement.
The simple fact that GSW had Curry on Siakam for chunks of the game suggests they're happy to let him have it.

I think GSW respect those guys just as much as anyone else has, maybe even more because they've played a bigger role as time has gone on but even then none of those guys scare GSW.
GSW respected but didn't fear Love, largely didn't fear Kyrie alot, didn't fear Westbrook, didnt fear CP3.
They feared LBJ, Harden, Durant but they know if we can stop this guy doing X, we can live with everything else..
It's the same as Kawhi here, live with Gasol firing 4 3s a game, Siakam shooting 17 shots.

I'd love to see Toronto win but as things stand, last night was as much an indication of why I suspect them to win than anything else (assuming KD is back).

ButtersSuki

Just watched the game back in full (I can't do midweek stupid o'clock games - I can barely do weekend ones anymore either if I'm being honest). If I'm Golden State, I'm happy with that after a 9 day lay off, for a number of reasons:

The Raptors hit a lot of shot clock beating type, heaves, bricks/semi-bricks, and shots you wouldn't normally expect to go in at that frequency level......unlikely to happen again.

GS played relatively poorly by their standards, unlikely to happen again.

I'm not saying GS were hosed, but the refs favoured Toronto IMO. Expect this to swing the other in Games 2-4 at least.

I can't see Siakam scoring like that again, and I can't see anyone else bar Leonard scoring 30+/

GS scored 108. Chris Vernon has long said the way to beat them is to hold them to under 110, ideally under 100.

KD or not, just playing a game and getting some rhythm back will help GS.

shamrock55

simongurnick wrote: »

Drake is the man! Dell Curry shirt, sidestepping iggy and not taking any crap from draymond. The bucks hated him. It's just one more little thing to put the opposition off and make it uncomfortable to play in Toronto.

I don't agree with it, it's embarrassing I think with his chair on the edge of the court, no need for it, raps win a game and that tit gets all the headlines, kick his ass out I say, toronto don't need him

shamrock55

Kawhi won't be as quiet in game 2 as he was last night, he's just too good a player to keep down for long period

ButtersSuki

shamrock55 wrote: »

I don't agree with it, it's embarrassing I think with his chair on the edge of the court, no need for it, raps win a game and that tit gets all the headlines, kick his ass out I say, toronto don't need him

Honestly think it's gone way too far and he's being given far too much leeway on this shoyte. The Nick Nurse shoulder massage thing was weird, and the chest bumping with players is embarrassing IMO. Was talking to my brother (who lives there) and he said the city is mostly supportive of Drake, but there's a large group who also hate him. Brother isn't into hoops though......:(

For Forks Sake

KD out of game 2: https://apnews.com/de31cdce218b44559b74721d5ba6a707

Blinky Plebum

ButtersSuki wrote: »

Honestly think it's gone way too far and he's being given far too much leeway on this shoyte. The Nick Nurse shoulder massage thing was weird, and the chest bumping with players is embarrassing IMO. Was talking to my brother (who lives there) and he said the city is mostly supportive of Drake, but there's a large group who also hate him. Brother isn't into hoops though......:(

There was also the extremely creepy thing with Doris Burke a couple of years ago which really should have been the straw that broke the camels back and the Raptors told him to cop himself on.

leggo

If Toronto win the Finals, Drake is the reason they become hated. That’s going to be his legacy in basketball: the lad who made one of the most likeable franchises in the league insufferable.

Legion.

Totally understand people not liking the Drake thing but again by giving out about that, and not discussing the actual basketball you're feeding into the whole problem again.

On the actual game, can't really believe we've won a finals game. Huge Siakam game. I think after spending the last two series being guarded by Giannis and Embiid, Draymond is a great change. As good a defender is he is, he's not freakishly tall or fast and so even as players adjust there will be times when Siakam has a bit too much for him or will fancy his chances. Without Durant in the lineup the Ws have no way to stop both Siakam and Kawhi, so they picked their poison.

Was delighted to see Gasol have a great game too. Plenty of people thought he'd be run off the floor from the tip but if the Ws are going to try and double/trap Kawhi then Gasol will have a field day. There isn't any player in the league except maybe Jokic to get the ball at the top of the key and make a quick read. Be interesting to see how this progresses, although I think the Raptors can hang playing Siakam at the 5 if it ends up being a small ball series.

ButtersSuki

Blinky Plebum wrote: »

There was also the extremely creepy thing with Doris Burke a couple of years ago which really should have been the straw that broke the camels back and the Raptors told him to cop himself on.

I have a vague recollection of this but perhaps refresh my memory?

Creepiest thing I've seen is Drake wear the face off some 16year old girl that he brought onstage at a concert - AFTER he found out she was 16.

ButtersSuki

Legion. wrote: »

Totally understand people not liking the Drake thing but again by giving out about that, and not discussing the actual basketball you're feeding into the whole problem again.

On the actual game, can't really believe we've won a finals game. Huge Siakam game. I think after spending the last two series being guarded by Giannis and Embiid, Draymond is a great change. As good a defender is he is, he's not freakishly tall or fast and so even as players adjust there will be times when Siakam has a bit too much for him or will fancy his chances. Without Durant in the lineup the Ws have no way to stop both Siakam and Kawhi, so they picked their poison.

Was delighted to see Gasol have a great game too. Plenty of people thought he'd be run off the floor from the tip but if the Ws are going to try and double/trap Kawhi then Gasol will have a field day. There isn't any player in the league except maybe Jokic to get the ball at the top of the key and make a quick read. Be interesting to see how this progresses, although I think the Raptors can hang playing Siakam at the 5 if it ends up being a small ball series.

I'd be willing to bet a large amount of money Siakam won't have another Finals game like that (this year).

LuckyLloyd

Love what Drake is doing. He’s just a mascot / cheerleader like. And the team probably all too happy for him to suck up media attention away from them.

Blinky Plebum

ButtersSuki wrote: »

I have a vague recollection of this but perhaps refresh my memory?

Creepiest thing I've seen is Drake wear the face off some 16year old girl that he brought onstage at a concert - AFTER he found out she was 16.

He went on TV and said he much he loved Doris and wanted to take her out for dinner and wore a stupid t-shirt with her face on it.

It struck me as really creepy way to be acting like that so publicly towards a female NBA broadcaster, I suspect had she been closer to his age people wouldn't have looked upon it so kindly.

https://ftw.usatoday.com/2016/12/doris-burke-drake-comments-toronto-raptors-shirt-dinner-hearts

Legion.

ButtersSuki wrote: »

I'd be willing to bet a large amount of money Siakam won't have another Finals game like that (this year).

I don't think its at all unlikely that he'll be able to get at least into the high 20s again. Unlikely to be as efficient but like I said, without Durant the matchup is pretty nice for him.

kmart6

That start to 3rd killed the Raptors, was a 20 point Warriors run when you count the last points of the 2nd. 4th was very sloppy, game in general had that feel to it. Warriors only getting 10 minutes out of Looney before getting injured (sprained collar bone/bruised chest) and then Thompson (hamstring), Bogut and Cook came up big.

Be interesting to see what affect the injuries from tonight will have on Game 3.

Watched the game on TSN, fcuking hell the bias was gas. Even now watching their Sportscenter now you'd swear they won with the excitement that they are going through the highlights with.

kmart6

ButtersSuki wrote: »

I'd be willing to bet a large amount of money Siakam won't have another Finals game like that (this year).

Don't think anyone would have argued with you on that. 5/18 for for 12 points (2FTs)....one highlight reel dunk but got shut down for the majority.

Blinky Plebum

Clutch shot from Iguodala to finish the game.

Golden States brilliant start to the 3rd quarter won the game for them but Toronto must be sick. To lose when Kevon Looney and Klay Thompson miss large parts of the game and with Curry clearly suffering form illness in the first half they really blew a great chance to put themselves in pole position in the series.Golden State won despite playing a cobbled together line up for most of the 4th quarter, their bench has been criticized this year but when they've needed to step up they have.

shamrock55

Didn't see it but poor 3rd obviously cost the raps, opportunity lost

leggo

If I was a Raptors fan, I'd be so frustrated. So many open looks wasted last night. Kawhi felt like he was trying too hard to do it all himself at times too. It was all a bit scattershot...and yet, they were within two in the dying seconds and withstood an 18-0 Warriors run.

Klay's injury situation could be interesting. He says he'll be fine for game 3 but even Kerr seems to be taking that self-diagnosis with a pinch of salt. If they have to go without Klay and KD, it's a big ask. That Curry/Green pick and roll is awesome and all, but I don't know if it's enough to win a Finals game by itself, and telling me that Quinn Cook is going to save the day wouldn't fill me with confidence if I was a GSW fan either!

Great setup though to what could be a classic series. I could see it going back to Golden State and them going 3-1 up in two blowouts. But I could just as easily see the injury situation overwhelming them and bringing an end to the Warriors dynasty as we know it. When you think about it, especially with how injury prone Steph used to be, they've gotten quite lucky over the past few years with injuries in the Finals. Is this the year their luck ran out? Could it be a Heat/Spurs-style series where we went into it thinking the Heat were at the height of their powers and left it realising it was all over?

Legion.

Really frustrating game. Played a pretty bad second half, brutal 3Q especially but somehow were right there at the end. Bricked a tonne of open threes too. Margin for error against this team is so small definitely feels like a massive opportunity lost. That said, I really don't think there's any reason why the Raptors can't steal a game at Oracle.

Angliru

Raptors had to win last night to have any chance I feel. I think Durant will be back next game and Boogie will play more too. Their team is just way too stacked.

LuckyLloyd

Cousins back a huge positive. He played well too, big game on the glass and defended well. Raps should have tried to make him defend more imo.

You would feel like a huge opportunity was wasted, but Klay being out would be huge again so that is the key storyline for this week.

LuckyLloyd

Also Iggy is so ice like, real Championship player. Played great D last night and his points were generally key scores.

leggo

Angliru wrote: »

Raptors had to win last night to have any chance I feel. I think Durant will be back next game and Boogie will play more too. Their team is just way too stacked.

I dunno I don’t think it’s over yet, especially when you consider Klay is having an MRI today. If Durant is back Wednesday, it definitely swings things in GSW’s favour, but also that’s assuming he’s at 100% from the get-go. If Toronto made 2-3 of those open looks last night, they’d have won. It was an extraordinarily poor shooting night in the end and it’s very unlikely Kawhi, Lowry and Green will all miss great opportunities consistently in the same game. If they can split the next two games, it’s still all to play for and they’ve 2vs1 at home after that. And, if both Klay and KD are forced to sit Wednesday, it’s Toronto’s to lose for me. Golden State are top heavy but have no depth and you can’t rely on Boogie to have a huge game like that every night, or Quinn Cook and Looney to contribute as they did.

kmart6

Looney being out now with a fractured collarbone puts a lot of pressure on Cousins to keep up his game and more so on Bogut.

Carcharodon

Warriors 5pt favorite, kind of surprising with the injuries they have, Klay is listed as active but no sign of him warming up yet, could be mind games between coaches

shamrock55

What channel is this on

Hoboo

shamrock55 wrote: »

What channel is this on

Sky arena

DreamsBurnDown

Warriors in serious trouble. Raptors have to take advantage unlike game 2.

Carcharodon

Raptors should put this one away, Curry only one scoring for Warriors