2018 NBA Catch-All - LeBron Fallout Edition

Even though they’re leading at the half, man is OKC’s offense tough to watch. So much isolation. Towards the end of the half Melo shot into a mess of defenders (3 or 4) that had converged on him. I assume because it was his turn to shoot or something?

I assume because it was his turn to shoot or something?

IMAGE(https://i.pinimg.com/originals/56/6b/84/566b845b8aa48c914a26fd5e3716047d.jpg)

Excellent game by George. He was unconscious.

https://twitter.com/iamHectorDiaz/st...

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Jabari Parker played for 14 out of 53 possible minutes.

The Bucks with Parker On:
OffRtg 64.5
DefRtg 110.1
NetRtg -45.6

The Bucks with Parker Off:
OffRtg 111.2
DefRtg 100.1
NetRtg +11.1

— Dean Maniatt (@AllTheBucks) April 15, 2018

So far so good!

It seemed like Playoff Raptors showed up for a bit tonight, especially in the 3rd quarter. I was getting nervous and I'm starting to wonder if Siakam and Poetl can stay on the floor. No VanVleet probably hurts the bench a fair bit though.

Beal looked awful tonight. Wall made up for game 1 and put the Wiz on his back (at least that's what I saw but I'm terrible at watching sports and figuring stuff out).

Pelicans with the strong finish.

Wow.

The Pelicans have so many role players that are better than Portland’s starters. And Jrue Holliday might be better than Lillard. What an awesome showing for the Pelicans and what an awful team Portland has built.

Such hyperbole

There is no room for hyperbole in sports talk! Next thing you know there will be crying in baseball.

Nobody in our entire existence has ever had the slightest or even most remote inkling to hint at a whisper of the letter "h" in hyperbole in this thread...

Also that’s my team and it really does look like they locked in a bunch of young, mediocre talent that will roll off the books just in time for Lillard to go somewhere else.

Getting beat twice at home to start a first round series is something else.

So uh, yeah... Donovan Mitchell.

DSGamer wrote:

Also that’s my team and it really does look like they locked in a bunch of young, mediocre talent that will roll off the books just in time for Lillard to go somewhere else.

Now imagine that, except your star point guard has one season left under contract instead of three. And instead of being a three seed in the playoffs, your team missed the playoffs but won just enough games to slide out of the blue chip section of the lottery.

Welcome to Charlotte! I'm sure you, as a former Blazers fan, agree that Nic Batum is worth $25m per year.

Blind_Evil wrote:
DSGamer wrote:

Also that’s my team and it really does look like they locked in a bunch of young, mediocre talent that will roll off the books just in time for Lillard to go somewhere else.

Now imagine that, except your star point guard has one season left under contract instead of three. And instead of being a three seed in the playoffs, your team missed the playoffs but won just enough games to slide out of the blue chip section of the lottery.

Welcome to Charlotte! I'm sure you, as a former Blazers fan, agree that Nic Batum is worth $25m per year.

Or that your team has a generational, unicorn talent that can play all five positions and you waste every mid to high first round draft pick since and they tie up over $42M in multi-year contracts to the combo of Tony Snell, John Henson, Dellavedova, and Teletovic. Not to mention how poorly ownership bumbled the GM hiring so badly last summer that they were stuck with a underqualified assistant to the GM that they forced out the door (and who didn't even apply for the position). No confidence that they will make a good hire for Head Coach and they will probably throw money at the clueless, no hustle, defensive phobic player that is Jabari Parker. Hey, but there is a new arena next year!

I think the Pelicans are just a bad matchup for Portland. I am surprised how easily they have been handled and I bet the Portland players are pretty frustrated. Might be time for Stotts to go but I don’t know who you would get to replace him.

I think the Pelicans are a better team. 3-8 were really tight record-wise. I don’t know if I consider it an upset really. Davis is a nightmare when he can roll to the rim unimpeded and his ability to defend guards is the main thing that’s shocked me.

Portland won one more game than New Orleans. Health has always been the biggest issue with the Pelicans. Davis and Holiday have been hurt a lot, but they’re healthy now. Davis is a monster, and Holiday is making a case for next year’s Defensive Player of the Year award.

Also, Philly has 2012 Thunder vibes. They’re young but damn are they good.

Hell of a comeback Pacers.

Selfish attempt by JR "Chucker" Smith to seal it.

The Playoffs Raptors live!

On a downer it was really sad to hear about Popovich's wife.
My dad lost my mom a year and a half ago so I can really empathize.

fangblackbone wrote:

On a downer it was really sad to hear about Popovich's wife.
My dad lost my mom a year and a half ago so I can really empathize.

Yeah. That was a gut punch for me, having lost my mom over a year ago. I still vividly remember how my dad was in the days immediately after.

Bucks dropped streamers and confetti after a game three win in a first round series they still trail 2-1.

Trophy Husband wrote:

Bucks dropped streamers and confetti after a game three win in a first round series they still trail 2-1.

The Blazers drop streamers after every win. When you’re at the game you can see workers with brooms sweeping them up as they’ve barely hit the ground. It’s amateur nonsense that respectable NBA franchises (which Portland isn’t one) shouldn’t do.

Pretty much. Bucks do that most games.

Looks like injuries in Miami after a loose ball. Damn.

DSGamer wrote:

It’s amateur nonsense that respectable NBA franchises (which Portland isn’t one) shouldn’t do.

Wikipedia says:

"The team has qualified for the playoffs in 34 seasons of their 48-season existence, including a streak of 21 straight appearances from 1983 through 2003, tied for the second longest streak in NBA history.[11][12] The Trail Blazers' 34 playoff appearances rank third in the NBA only behind the Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs since the team's inception in 1970.[13]"

Pretty respectable!

Blind_Evil wrote:
DSGamer wrote:

It’s amateur nonsense that respectable NBA franchises (which Portland isn’t one) shouldn’t do.

Wikipedia says:

"The team has qualified for the playoffs in 34 seasons of their 48-season existence, including a streak of 21 straight appearances from 1983 through 2003, tied for the second longest streak in NBA history.[11][12] The Trail Blazers' 34 playoff appearances rank third in the NBA only behind the Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs since the team's inception in 1970.[13]"

Pretty respectable!

I know. It makes it all the more perplexing.

Oh, and we hoisted a division champion banner a few years ago. That was also a low point if you want your team to act like they belong in The Association.

Well we don't have to talk about Portland anymore this season.

Stele wrote:

Well we don't have to talk about Portland anymore this season.

True.