That was a great game last night. Some fans here in Mass liked to rip "Average" Al Horford on sports talk radio but he definitely played like a Max contract guy in that game. Hopefully Jaylen Brown is ready to go by monday night.
@cecropiamoth Don't feel too bad, Giannis is about two years away from owning the NBA. He seems like a very humble kid and probably not the type to go chasing money or rings elsewhere. Milwaukee's GM just needs to find a way to bring in that second star and turn the Bucks into a destination team.
Well...I missed game 7 of the Pacers/Cavs series. Looks like it was a good game by the score. Will be rooting for the Raptors now and the 76er's in the other series.
@DIMEMAN said:
Well...I missed game 7 of the Pacers/Cavs series. Looks like it was a good game by the score. Will be routing for the Raptors now and the 76er's in the other series.
@DIMEMAN said:
Well...I missed game 7 of the Pacers/Cavs series. Looks like it was a good game by the score. Will be routing for the Raptors now and the 76er's in the other series.
@DIMEMAN said:
Well...I missed game 7 of the Pacers/Cavs series. Looks like it was a good game by the score. Will be routing for the Raptors now and the 76er's in the other series.
I hope the Raptors & 76ers get routed too
You should know by now about my spelling problem.
Isn't it sacrilegious for a Dallas fan to root for any Philly team?
@DIMEMAN said:
Well...I missed game 7 of the Pacers/Cavs series. Looks like it was a good game by the score. Will be routing for the Raptors now and the 76er's in the other series.
I hope the Raptors & 76ers get routed too
You should know by now about my spelling problem.
Isn't it sacrilegious for a Dallas fan to root for any Philly team?
**You can't brag about the guy's physicality all the time then complain when a team gets physical with him **
I'm not inclined to look to see where I "bragged about his physicality" in a post, I think all I said was that he's so big and strong that he doesn't get calls that a smaller player would, because he plays through contact rather easily. but whatever, I will just say that you win.
I figure the Pacers overplayed their hand in Game 6. when the Cavs conceded defeat and pulled the starters at the beginning of the 4th quarter it might have been a good idea for Indiana to do the same, but they chose to leave them in until about the three minute mark and ran things up a little. the result is that they inadvertently called the pride of the Cavs into question, especially Lebron James. there are players in the NBA like Westbrook and Harden that you shouldn't do that with.
Lebron made them pay today.
another big factor are the shooting stats for the Pacers:
Game 6 --- .563 overall and .500 from three.
Game 7 --- .450 overall and .323 from three.
the facts are simple from Game 6, the Pacers shot lights out and the Cavs were cold as ice. the stats in the NBA may be more relevant than they are for the NFL or MLB. in the NBA a Team will typically shoot 45-47% overall and 35% from three, that's generally the way it goes. the winner is typically the one with the fewest turnovers(most possessions) that makes the most foul shots.
again, that played out here as the Pacers actually had a slightly higher percentage in overall shooting and foul shooting, but the Cavs MADE 12 more foul shots, that was the difference.
it was a good, competitive series. Indiana needed career playoff games from guys on its Team, the Cavs needed three 40+ games from Lebron James. I don't know how far the Cavaliers can go this season but right now I would say that, based on how they played against the Pacers, they cannot win against whoever the opponent would be from the West. I think they should beat Toronto unless the Raptors payed attention to what Indiana did and if Cleveland insists on waiting for Kevin Love to show up. after that, they probably would be competitive against the Celtics but I think the 76'ers would overwhelm them.
No one was surprised by that win earlier today,we all knew Lebron would have the type of game that he did. Getting big games from Thompson & Hill were just as big as Lebron's 45pts. The Cavs going to the line more than Indy was no surprise either,they were at home and were gonna get the benefit of the calls. They'll still make the ECF finals as expected,Toronto was great this year but they've been sent home two years in row by the Cavs. Last year they got swept,if Cleveland can steal a win early I could see that series not lasting as long as some might think.
Philly will probably be the favorite in their series with Boston but if Jaylen Brown is a go without much hindrance from his injury i like their chances. Boston will probably use the same gameplan on Simmons that they used on Giannis,throwing multiple defenders at him to cut him off from the basket. One thing that works in the C's favor is Simmons is a horrible outside shooter so i doubt he hurts them like Giannis did from the midrange out to the three point line. Horford will have his hands full with Embid but that goes both ways. Should be an entertaining series either way.
they were at home and were gonna get the benefit of the calls
this tells me you must not have watched the game and maybe not the series, they weren't given the "benefit" of anything. I'll even go so far as to say that the Pacers were getting the "benefit" of the calls in the last two minutes but it doesn't pay to discuss facts with you.
enjoy the series against Philly because it will probably be a good one and go the distance. if Boston can win on the road they will probably take the 76'ers down.
LeBron is arguably playing the best ball of his life, and Cleveland will go as far as he can take them, period. He scored 241 points in the Indy series, with his next closest teammate at 80 (Love). Unreal. He is strapping the team on his back and a part of me feels for him.
Toronto hasn't proven to be a match for the Cavs, so they might be able to skate by the baby dinosaurs. But then it's going to be a tall order from there on out. I predict they'll play the Sixers next, but I don't foresee them being able to hang. If they somehow manage to make it to the finals against either Hou or GS, it will get ugly fast and be a very anticlimactic series. But it won't be because of the King. He is playing a special brand of basketball right now and I hope everyone who is watching appreciates it.
Cleveland should be able to beat Toronto but unless they figure a few things out that's as far as they'll go. primarily, Tyronne Lue needs to make the hard decision and keep a short leash on Kevin Love. in a nutshell, Love is there to make three's and grab rebounds but he hasn't been successful with either part of his game. also, he can't elevate like Thompson so he doesn't block shots and had several shots blocked by the Pacers. there are other players like Tristan Thompson and Larry Nance, Jr. who can protect the rim and score in the paint, so if Love is cold to start they need to get him out.
also, Kevin Love is conspicuously slow afoot and affects the defense in very negative way in transition on the fast break.
Coach Lue gets a lot of criticism so it is only fair that he be given credit when it is due him. the decision to start the lineup he used in Game 7 is a good example of that. he started a more experienced group of players and they responded well, they supported Lebron early when he was going off and the defense improved. Lue has used several different groups of starters and I don't see that changing. it seems that the result of one game dictates the decision in the next. I see him using James/Love/Thompson/Smith/Hill if he's healthy or Korver if he isn't. depending on how he plays, I would expect that Love might be replaced by Larry Nance, Jr.
Toronto has quick guards that can score but I don't think they'll have the success driving like Oladipo had. Victor really broke out once he got to Indiana and I suppose they'll draft to support him. I think that series wasn't really an indictment of Cleveland as much as a warning to the League to watch out for Indiana next year. the top Teams next year may well be Philadelphia, Indiana and Boston. Cleveland will be in the mix if they retain James and draft right.
@keets said: they were at home and were gonna get the benefit of the calls
this tells me you must not have watched the game and maybe not the series, they weren't given the "benefit" of anything. I'll even go so far as to say that the Pacers were getting the "benefit" of the calls in the last two minutes but it doesn't pay to discuss facts with you.
enjoy the series against Philly because it will probably be a good one and go the distance. if Boston can win on the road they will probably take the 76'ers down.
have a nice day.
I actually did watch the game and 5 total in the series. Cavs absolutely did get the benefit from the refs because they were at home. Not only did Indy's starting center foul out so did his backup and Bogdanovich was one Lebron drive to the basket away from fouling out as well. How about Lebron not getting called for TWO fouls on one play when Sabonis gets hacked taking a shot under the basket,James ends up with the ball then tackles Sabonis to get by him before he's even taken a step.
It is what it is at this point,that entire game went as expected and the Cavs moved on like they were supposed to.
enjoy the series against Philly because it will probably be a good one and go the distance. if Boston can win on the road they will probably take the 76'ers down.
Boston doesn't need to win on the road to win this series but i don't think they will win on it.
Lue didn't do anything out of his norm, it helped he had his star go for 26+ in the first half. It also helped that he had Thompson & Hill both in the lineup where he's able to juggle who starts. Thompson had three DNPs and played just 23minutes total over the first 6games. Hill also missed multiple games as well. It's pretty easy for a head coach when he's got his full rotation of players healthy to work with.
like I said, when he deserves to be criticized he should be, when it needs to be acknowledge that he did something right, it should be. he did something right.
The head coach for the Pacers pulled a boner by playing his starters so late in the game 6 blowout. It probably cost them the series. Not only did it give the Cavs more motive...it also took more energy out of the Pacers starters. Plus it would have given some needed time for the bench players. Real bad move.
This isn’t a very good Cavs team as compared to recent years past . But as E said they will go as far as James can take them. I gotta figure he will run out of steam sooner or later. He’s been unreal so far but that was 7 hard games. He’s never had to do that before in the first round. Cleveland usually coasts into the Finals with no miles on them.
mark
Walker Proof Digital Album Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
He’s never had to do that before in the first round. Cleveland usually coasts into the Finals with no miles on them
back in 2007 he carried the Cavs all the way to the Finals and the result was ugly, swept in four games. they were hard games to listen to since I was working second shift back then.
I remember sometime around 1988-90 the Cleveland Plain Dealer had an Article and Poll Question about which local Pro-Team would win a Championship first. it was almost unanimous:
Cleveland Browns.
Cleveland Indians.
Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Cavs really miss Kyrie Irving. His leaving left a big hole to fill and so far they have not been able to accomplish that. I think if Kyrie had stayed not only would Cleveland be a much better team but Kyrie would have a much more productive career. BTW I may have been watching with Wine colored glasses but the majority of bad calls or bad failure to make calls went in favor of the Pacers.
Brick, there were a few calls that really were strange.
watching the game tonight it seems the big difference is the three-point shooting, Boston is shooting over 40% and Philly around 20%, surprising because Redick is usually pretty good. the Celtics have been able to keep Embid in check while Simmons looks tentative.
Tatum, Rozier and Horford have been able to score seemingly at will.
The Celtics are going to be very very good for a very very long time. Love their coach and Ainge is a draft bandit
mark
Walker Proof Digital Album Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
@Brick said:
The Cavs really miss Kyrie Irving. His leaving left a big hole to fill and so far they have not been able to accomplish that. I think if Kyrie had stayed not only would Cleveland be a much better team but Kyrie would have a much more productive career. BTW I may have been watching with Wine colored glasses but the majority of bad calls or bad failure to make calls went in favor of the Pacers.
Kyrie Irving is long gone and he can't be the cause of all Cleveland's problems. Boston has two 20+ppg All-Stars sitting on IR and they're playing like they haven't missed a beat especially without Kyrie. Their offense is built on making the extra pass and hitting the open man,Cleveland's offense is all Lebron dominating the ball when he has decent young talent around him. Some Cavs fans probably won't admit it but Hood,Hill Clarkson & Nance are all solid role players and its all on Lebron & Lue for not finding a way to get the most out of them.
Boston was down 3 of their top 4 players tonight and still found a way to beat the hottest team in basketball without them.
That's the equivalent of Cleveland playing without Lebron,Love & Smith,we all see how hard it was for them to win with these players just imagine what it would be like playing without them.
Cleveland's offense is all Lebron dominating the ball when he has decent young talent around him
that's partly true and partly false.
James played the amount of iso-ball in the series that he did out of necessity, the rest of the Team was cold so he stepped up. the new players are just that, new to the Team and George Hill was injured for half the series. "Lebron and Lue" did find a way to improve overall Team play by juggling the line-up.
it is peculiar that Lebron James is almost the career NBA leader in assists yet he gets accused of being a ball hog when he takes over to help a cold-shooting Team. Russell Westbrook steps up in Game 5 of the OKC series, plays iso-ball and saves his Team for one more game and is some sort of hero.
that's just what great players do when they have to. Lebron James leads in assists because it's his nature to be generous with the ball, he always has been throughout his career. but he will also step up when needed to dominate a game. the Team isn't bad because of him, they won the series because of him.
eric should go back and look at some game film from 2007.
--- I would add that EVERY Team will go to the hot hand, Boston did it for a brief stretch last night. they fed Al Horford inside during a stretch cause the guy was unstoppable. it's smart BB.
@keets the ball dominating remark was not about James being a ball hog,its about not moving the ball around until they find the right shot which Boston does as good as anybody,not so much Cleveland. Boston's leading assist guy can change from night to night because they don't have one guy that runs everything thru him like Lebron. I will say this though,when Kyrie is healthy,the C's offense doesn't run like last night's did.
And you want to keep mentioning it was the three's falling that was the difference in that game last night when that is only part true, its Boston's defense that is their benchmark and wins them most games even when they're not hitting their shots. Its Boston's defense that gives them the ability to overcome 20-30pt deficits when their dealing with cold shooting. You know what gets them past cold shooting? Creating offense from their defense and taking it to the basket even when the shooter doesn't have the hot hand. The Cavs coaching staff should be telling everyone not named Lebron to attack the basket on offense if their outside shots aren't falling that night. Worst case they miss some layups,Best case they're getting baskets & getting to the foul line more, generating offense on "cold" nights.
Its always a "Catch 22" with you Cavs fans because Lebron never has enough help when he loses and its all him when he wins. This is the first postseason in years that he didn't have multiple All Star teammates. Technically Cleveland did go out and get him 3 current/former All-Stars in Wade,Rose & IT during this past offseason after dealing Kyrie away but Lebron couldn't win with them. They were too old & slow on defense,so what does the Cavs GM do? trades them all for young athletic role players and now when the Cavs struggle its all about Lebron doing it alone.
Its funny how Boston keeps winning with no stars on the floor and role players with much less experience than the group the Cavs put out there and spare me the "Hill & Thompson were hurt" crap. Its called next man up even if its a 2nd round rookie playing more minutes like Semi Ojeleye or a kid who was playing in Europe last season because no NBA team wanted him in Shane Larkin.
I could go back and see any game you choose for me but I bet i'd have a totally different viewpoint of that game than you did after and mine wouldn't be based on the postgame boxscore.
@galaxy27 said:
just perused the box score since i missed the game. 17-35 from downtown? one missed FT the entire game? dayum Boston, go on with your bad self!
i think a group of guys felt slighted and came out pissed lol
Boston's defense came to play. Pretty much made Simmons less effective running their offense and made Philly's 3pt shooter's go 5-26 from outside. Kept the 76ers 17pts under their playoff average of 114ppg and that was with Jaylen Brown not playing at all too. It was a great start to the series,hopefully they keep it up.
Keets you keep mentioning Lebron's 2007 team that was good enough to make it to the NBA Finals yet lost to a better team that had three eventual HOF players & a HOF coach. So what exactly is your point here?
Its always a "Catch 22" with you Cavs fans because Lebron never has enough help when he loses and its all him when he wins
I don't know where that comes from but it isn't my perspective.
Boston and Cleveland are more alike than you might want to admit, the biggest exception being that Boston doesn't have one player like the Cavs do in Lebron James. past that, both have a number of younger players and both have struggled with injuries this year. Boston has BETTER young players at this point and that's the difference. they are playing very well despite the injuries while the Cavs have struggled with them over the whole season. that does make a difference. add to that a simple fact --- the Celtics overwhelmed the Cavs in last summer's trade, they got what I consider a future HOF'er and gave us a guy who may be out of the League in a year or two. Thomas was very disruptive and Clevelands problems really developed when he was healthy.
that's a really weird truth, when he returned to the line-up the Team played worse. the young players the Cavs got in the trades weren't meant to come in as starters although they have filled that role at times. Hood and Hill have started but typically come in later.
also, I do reference the stats but only because they tell the story. I won't argue about defense, but Philly had enough clear three point shots, they just didn't make them. I accept that at times the defenders affect shots but it isn't a case of a guy shooting and missing so the defense was good. sometimes the shooters are just off.
last night Philly shot 19% from three, 19%!!! Boston shot 47% because Rozier was light out and made the difference in the game. absent him they were an average 37%. the stats don't lie. Boston won't shoot 47% and Philly won't shoot 19% from three for the series. if they both do it'll be over in four games.
just like in the 30 point blow-out by the Pacers, last nights game isn't an example of how much better the Celtics are than the 76'ers. you have to remember that they went to 7 Games against the weaker 7th seed, so they have their flaws. in my mind, the Team that can win in the visiting arena will win the series. I also think these Teams learn from each game and Philly should have learned that they need to contest at the arc. they weren't even running at Boston, they just stood there and watched the ball go in. I would also expect them to post Embid more but Horford is a good defender so that in itself won't solve things.
Rozier, in keeping with what was probably his best overall playoff game, led his Team and all players but Embid in rebounds!! that's a little crazy, he shouldn't be able to get to the glass like that but was rewarded for his hustle.
This is the first postseason in years that he didn't have multiple All Star teammates.
partly true. I think it 14-15 when Kelly Olynik pulled Kevin Love's arm hard enough to break it and later Kyrie Irving went down with his first pro knee injury. that forced Lebron to finish the GSW series by himself, an untenable task.
The catch 22 remark was a reference for literally all Cavs fans on any NBA site after a game where Lebron's team loses. Brick's comment about not having Kyrie is what brought it on.
You may think these two teams are more alike than i do but Boston doesn't have the best basketball player on the planet. Sure they have some great young talent but lets not act like its Lebron and a bunch of kids from the Y.
Love,Thompson,Korver,Jr Smith,Green & Hill all have more Finals experience than Boston's current active roster has playoff experience outside of Al Horford.
Who starts for who when players get hurt is no different from any other team in the league, next man up. You mention the Cavs "fill-ins" not getting it done but Boston has had the same problems as Cleveland in that regard. Their players look great after wins & bad after losses.
Rozier has looked like an All-Star at times during these playoffs but he's also looked like Boston's #3 point guard/5th best guard that he was when he started this season. He's played great in their playoff wins and horrible in their playoff losses especially his shooting percentage. His rebounding is a plus but thats no different than most other point guards who get taught to hang around the basket after a shot goes up to bring the ball up the court after a miss or score.
The Kyrie trade has ZERO to do with these current playoff games. He's not playing for Boston right now as Isaiah Thomas & Crowder aren't currently playing for Cleveland so there is zero relevancy here.
@keets said:
also, I do reference the stats but only because they tell the story. I won't argue about defense, but Philly had enough clear three point shots, they just didn't make them. I accept that at times the defenders affect shots but it isn't a case of a guy shooting and missing so the defense was good. sometimes the shooters are just off.
last night Philly shot 19% from three, 19%!!! Boston shot 47% because Rozier was light out and made the difference in the game. absent him they were an average 37%. the stats don't lie. Boston won't shoot 47% and Philly won't shoot 19% from three for the series. if they both do it'll be over in four games.
Boston was the #1 ranked defense covering the three this year and their length on D affected the majority of those threes last night as well as disrupted the whole flow of Philly's offense. Unless you've actually seen how these two teams have been playing on offense & defense in these playoffs you would know how Boston kept them from doing what they do best. Its much more than looking at the postgame percentages.
@keets said: Its much more than looking at the postgame percentages
I watched the entire game.
As did I and we both viewed how that game was won differently. For you it came down to one team hit their threes while the other didn't, for me it was won on defense by preventing Philly's offense from playing their run & gun style of game.
with Philly shooting and missing so many three's it allowed Boston more transition offense and vice versa for Philly. they had less opportunity to run their fast break. I know you won't agree with me, but the poor shooting affects the whole game. Philly shot poorly even at the line so Boston didn't worry about playing tight, while Philly had to play looser because they got killed at the line. the Celtics were almost perfect.
when you consider that each Team usually has almost the same amount of possession it becomes really important to make all the foul shots and to score as close to 50%, boston did that so it's no surprise they won.
I'm not making any argument that the Boston defense isn't good and wasn't good last night, but you can't dismiss my look at the statistics and then use statistics to prove your point. I saw Philly having enough clear shots to make a difference in the game and they couldn't buy a bucket. at the other end, I don't know what they were thinking unless they hoped Rozier would eventually miss. he almost never did. look at Redick, he's a highly proficient three point shooter. his career is .415 and this year he shot .420, but last night he went 2/7 for .285, well below his average.
I'll go out on a limb and say that whoever wins Game 2 in this series will win the series.
My whole point with the postgame comment just came down to they did so many things that doesn't show up in the box score after the game that were pivotal in winning last night,thats all. They basically left Baynes alone on Embiid,clogged the passing lanes on Simmons and disrupted Philly's natural flow on offense as much as possible which is their hallmark. This Boston team is built on perimeter defenders and they were able to be switch off on the pick & rolls without getting burnt by the Sixers shooters. Tatum has 4 inches & a 7' wing span on Redick which caused problems for him all night. When it wasn't Tatum on him,it was guys like Smart,Morris & Ojeleye ,who all could pass for inside linebackers, bumping and chipping Redick coming off the screens. They did the same with Belinelli & Covington even though all did miss some open shots and it was the difference in the game.
The biggest question for Boston going into this series was how were they going to stop Philly's offense which has been a juggernaut for most of the past two months and they found a way to do it. For Boston to make it into ECF they have to keep playing like they did last night regardless of their own shots from three falling for them or not. Outside of Tatum,Boston's shooters are very streaky especially Rozier and there will be games in the next week that don't look like last nights game.
This series still has a long way to go so i'll end this all here. We have all day tomorrow to argue your Cavs
I will and I'll actually be rooting for them. I'm still holding out hope that Boston meets up with Cleveland in the ECF,I want to see how this current team without Kyrie matches up against Lebron.
Can't believe I'm about to say this, but I'm siding with keets on this offense vs. defense debate
If you follow the NBA, then you know that Boston is notorious for being able to clamp down on d. They ended the reg season with 4 out of the top 12 players in defensive win shares, which translated into #2 in opponents' FG PCT and #1 in opponents' 3PT PCT. So naturally I expect them to make it tough on Philly to put the biscuit in the basket, because that's how they roll.
But almost 50% shooting for the game? 18-19 from the line? 17-35 from deep? And here's the catcher -- against a team in the Sixers that was #2 in opponents' FG PCT and the very best in opponents' 3PT PCT? When you lose three of your best players -- especially your all-world PG who sets the table -- that's typically where execution on offense goes to die. Yet the Celtics have been completely impervious to this, and obviously that carried over into last night's game when they scorched one of the best defensive teams in the association. That, my friends, is where the game was won.
I fully expect a regression toward the mean on Thursday night. Or should I say, I hope it does, otherwise my pick in this series will go up in flames. lol
@galaxy27 said:
Can't believe I'm about to say this, but I'm siding with keets on this offense vs. defense debate
If you follow the NBA, then you know that Boston is notorious for being able to clamp down on d. They ended the reg season with 4 out of the top 12 players in defensive win shares, which translated into #2 in opponents' FG PCT and #1 in opponents' 3PT PCT. So naturally I expect them to make it tough on Philly to put the biscuit in the basket, because that's how they roll.
But almost 50% shooting for the game? 18-19 from the line? 17-35 from deep? And here's the catcher -- against a team in the Sixers that was #2 in opponents' FG PCT and the very best in opponents' 3PT PCT? When you lose three of your best players -- especially your all-world PG who sets the table -- that's typically where execution on offense goes to die. Yet the Celtics have been completely impervious to this, and obviously that carried over into last night's game when they scorched one of the best defensive teams in the association. That, my friends, is where the game was won.
I fully expect a regression toward the mean on Thursday night. Or should I say, I hope it does, otherwise my pick in this series will go up in flames. lol
There's no wrong answer here,it came down to both their D & hitting their shots to win that game. One was just as important as the other.
agree that both ends of the floor are equally important. but when one aspect is generally expected (sound defense) and one comes out of nowhere (lighting up one of the best defensive teams in the league sans three starters), i personally gravitate toward the unexpected outcome to explain away why last night's game transpired the way it did.
if you want to focus on the defense, that's your prerogative. but in my mind that's the equivalent of the Rockets winning 85-78 tomorrow night and me being transfixed on the shots they made after the game
@galaxy27 said:
agree that both ends of the floor are equally important. but when one aspect is generally expected (sound defense) and one comes out of nowhere (lighting up one of the best defensive teams in the league sans three starters), i personally gravitate toward the unexpected outcome to explain away why last night's game transpired the way it did.
if you want to focus on the defense, that's your prerogative. but in my mind that's the equivalent of the Rockets winning 85-78 tomorrow night and me being transfixed on the shots they made after the game
We can agree to disagree then, I'm not gonna go thru this all again. Last night Boston had everything going for them outside of Brown going down and he'll be one hammy tweak from being done for the year. Once they get to Philly they're gonna need to do it all because those games will probably turn into a trackmeet.
Boston’s ball rotation was spectacular last night. That alone can cause you to look great on the other end. Philly was chasing leprechauns all night
m
Walker Proof Digital Album Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
I know this will be very distressing for erik but the Cavs are losing mainly because of poor shooting and not good Raptor defense. in the first quarter and early second I believe Cleveland missed 6-7 easy lay-ups under/in front of the hoop. that's ridiculous. also frustrating for erik must be the way that James controls the ball, draws the defense to him and then will pass to the open man. that's what brought the score close, open shots from the arc.
Derozan is amazing for the Raptors, very quick and a dead shot. the game changed a little when Cleveland started to double him --- and --- the Cavs drove the lane and started to pressure the Raptors into fouling. that will open the game for Cleveland, or should.
am I the only one who can't understand why Barkley hates Lebron James so much?? he is such a douche-bag.
--- I hate to say it, erik, but the difference at the half is free throws!!
what did everyone think of the pace of the game?? after the better part of the first quarter I thought it was very up-tempo from both Teams. of course the Raptors are quick and like to run, but when the Cavs have Lebron James and JR Smith on the court teamed up with Clarkson and Hood they really pick it up.
as said earlier in the thread, Kevin Love is very slow afoot, so if he isn't scoring they need to get him off the floor.
Comments
That was a great game last night. Some fans here in Mass liked to rip "Average" Al Horford on sports talk radio but he definitely played like a Max contract guy in that game. Hopefully Jaylen Brown is ready to go by monday night.
@cecropiamoth Don't feel too bad, Giannis is about two years away from owning the NBA. He seems like a very humble kid and probably not the type to go chasing money or rings elsewhere. Milwaukee's GM just needs to find a way to bring in that second star and turn the Bucks into a destination team.
Eric
Erikthredd’s MJ Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/publishedset/395035
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Well...I missed game 7 of the Pacers/Cavs series. Looks like it was a good game by the score. Will be rooting for the Raptors now and the 76er's in the other series.
I hope the Raptors & 76ers get routed too
Eric
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You should know by now about my spelling problem.
Isn't it sacrilegious for a Dallas fan to root for any Philly team?
Eric
Erikthredd’s MJ Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/publishedset/395035
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No, just the Eagles.
**You can't brag about the guy's physicality all the time then complain when a team gets physical with him **
I'm not inclined to look to see where I "bragged about his physicality" in a post, I think all I said was that he's so big and strong that he doesn't get calls that a smaller player would, because he plays through contact rather easily. but whatever, I will just say that you win.
I figure the Pacers overplayed their hand in Game 6. when the Cavs conceded defeat and pulled the starters at the beginning of the 4th quarter it might have been a good idea for Indiana to do the same, but they chose to leave them in until about the three minute mark and ran things up a little. the result is that they inadvertently called the pride of the Cavs into question, especially Lebron James. there are players in the NBA like Westbrook and Harden that you shouldn't do that with.
Lebron made them pay today.
another big factor are the shooting stats for the Pacers:
Game 6 --- .563 overall and .500 from three.
Game 7 --- .450 overall and .323 from three.
the facts are simple from Game 6, the Pacers shot lights out and the Cavs were cold as ice. the stats in the NBA may be more relevant than they are for the NFL or MLB. in the NBA a Team will typically shoot 45-47% overall and 35% from three, that's generally the way it goes. the winner is typically the one with the fewest turnovers(most possessions) that makes the most foul shots.
again, that played out here as the Pacers actually had a slightly higher percentage in overall shooting and foul shooting, but the Cavs MADE 12 more foul shots, that was the difference.
it was a good, competitive series. Indiana needed career playoff games from guys on its Team, the Cavs needed three 40+ games from Lebron James. I don't know how far the Cavaliers can go this season but right now I would say that, based on how they played against the Pacers, they cannot win against whoever the opponent would be from the West. I think they should beat Toronto unless the Raptors payed attention to what Indiana did and if Cleveland insists on waiting for Kevin Love to show up. after that, they probably would be competitive against the Celtics but I think the 76'ers would overwhelm them.
No one was surprised by that win earlier today,we all knew Lebron would have the type of game that he did. Getting big games from Thompson & Hill were just as big as Lebron's 45pts. The Cavs going to the line more than Indy was no surprise either,they were at home and were gonna get the benefit of the calls. They'll still make the ECF finals as expected,Toronto was great this year but they've been sent home two years in row by the Cavs. Last year they got swept,if Cleveland can steal a win early I could see that series not lasting as long as some might think.
Philly will probably be the favorite in their series with Boston but if Jaylen Brown is a go without much hindrance from his injury i like their chances. Boston will probably use the same gameplan on Simmons that they used on Giannis,throwing multiple defenders at him to cut him off from the basket. One thing that works in the C's favor is Simmons is a horrible outside shooter so i doubt he hurts them like Giannis did from the midrange out to the three point line. Horford will have his hands full with Embid but that goes both ways. Should be an entertaining series either way.
Eric
Erikthredd’s MJ Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/publishedset/395035
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they were at home and were gonna get the benefit of the calls
this tells me you must not have watched the game and maybe not the series, they weren't given the "benefit" of anything. I'll even go so far as to say that the Pacers were getting the "benefit" of the calls in the last two minutes but it doesn't pay to discuss facts with you.
enjoy the series against Philly because it will probably be a good one and go the distance. if Boston can win on the road they will probably take the 76'ers down.
have a nice day.
LeBron is arguably playing the best ball of his life, and Cleveland will go as far as he can take them, period. He scored 241 points in the Indy series, with his next closest teammate at 80 (Love). Unreal. He is strapping the team on his back and a part of me feels for him.
Toronto hasn't proven to be a match for the Cavs, so they might be able to skate by the baby dinosaurs. But then it's going to be a tall order from there on out. I predict they'll play the Sixers next, but I don't foresee them being able to hang. If they somehow manage to make it to the finals against either Hou or GS, it will get ugly fast and be a very anticlimactic series. But it won't be because of the King. He is playing a special brand of basketball right now and I hope everyone who is watching appreciates it.
galaxy, I agree wholeheartedly.
Cleveland should be able to beat Toronto but unless they figure a few things out that's as far as they'll go. primarily, Tyronne Lue needs to make the hard decision and keep a short leash on Kevin Love. in a nutshell, Love is there to make three's and grab rebounds but he hasn't been successful with either part of his game. also, he can't elevate like Thompson so he doesn't block shots and had several shots blocked by the Pacers. there are other players like Tristan Thompson and Larry Nance, Jr. who can protect the rim and score in the paint, so if Love is cold to start they need to get him out.
also, Kevin Love is conspicuously slow afoot and affects the defense in very negative way in transition on the fast break.
Coach Lue gets a lot of criticism so it is only fair that he be given credit when it is due him. the decision to start the lineup he used in Game 7 is a good example of that. he started a more experienced group of players and they responded well, they supported Lebron early when he was going off and the defense improved. Lue has used several different groups of starters and I don't see that changing. it seems that the result of one game dictates the decision in the next. I see him using James/Love/Thompson/Smith/Hill if he's healthy or Korver if he isn't. depending on how he plays, I would expect that Love might be replaced by Larry Nance, Jr.
Toronto has quick guards that can score but I don't think they'll have the success driving like Oladipo had. Victor really broke out once he got to Indiana and I suppose they'll draft to support him. I think that series wasn't really an indictment of Cleveland as much as a warning to the League to watch out for Indiana next year. the top Teams next year may well be Philadelphia, Indiana and Boston. Cleveland will be in the mix if they retain James and draft right.
I actually did watch the game and 5 total in the series. Cavs absolutely did get the benefit from the refs because they were at home. Not only did Indy's starting center foul out so did his backup and Bogdanovich was one Lebron drive to the basket away from fouling out as well. How about Lebron not getting called for TWO fouls on one play when Sabonis gets hacked taking a shot under the basket,James ends up with the ball then tackles Sabonis to get by him before he's even taken a step.
It is what it is at this point,that entire game went as expected and the Cavs moved on like they were supposed to.
Eric
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enjoy the series against Philly because it will probably be a good one and go the distance. if Boston can win on the road they will probably take the 76'ers down.
Boston doesn't need to win on the road to win this series but i don't think they will win on it.
Lue didn't do anything out of his norm, it helped he had his star go for 26+ in the first half. It also helped that he had Thompson & Hill both in the lineup where he's able to juggle who starts. Thompson had three DNPs and played just 23minutes total over the first 6games. Hill also missed multiple games as well. It's pretty easy for a head coach when he's got his full rotation of players healthy to work with.
Eric
Erikthredd’s MJ Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/publishedset/395035
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like I said, when he deserves to be criticized he should be, when it needs to be acknowledge that he did something right, it should be. he did something right.
have a nice day.
The head coach for the Pacers pulled a boner by playing his starters so late in the game 6 blowout. It probably cost them the series. Not only did it give the Cavs more motive...it also took more energy out of the Pacers starters. Plus it would have given some needed time for the bench players. Real bad move.
and Jon, we agree on something. it's typically called "fodder for the bulletin board" around here when players say stuff or do stuff like that.
This isn’t a very good Cavs team as compared to recent years past . But as E said they will go as far as James can take them. I gotta figure he will run out of steam sooner or later. He’s been unreal so far but that was 7 hard games. He’s never had to do that before in the first round. Cleveland usually coasts into the Finals with no miles on them.
mark
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
He’s never had to do that before in the first round. Cleveland usually coasts into the Finals with no miles on them
back in 2007 he carried the Cavs all the way to the Finals and the result was ugly, swept in four games. they were hard games to listen to since I was working second shift back then.
I remember sometime around 1988-90 the Cleveland Plain Dealer had an Article and Poll Question about which local Pro-Team would win a Championship first. it was almost unanimous:
Cleveland Browns.
Cleveland Indians.
Cleveland Cavaliers.
No Jaylen Brown for game one
Eric
Erikthredd’s MJ Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/publishedset/395035
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The Cavs really miss Kyrie Irving. His leaving left a big hole to fill and so far they have not been able to accomplish that. I think if Kyrie had stayed not only would Cleveland be a much better team but Kyrie would have a much more productive career. BTW I may have been watching with Wine colored glasses but the majority of bad calls or bad failure to make calls went in favor of the Pacers.
http://www.unisquare.com/store/brick/
Ralph
Brick, there were a few calls that really were strange.
watching the game tonight it seems the big difference is the three-point shooting, Boston is shooting over 40% and Philly around 20%, surprising because Redick is usually pretty good. the Celtics have been able to keep Embid in check while Simmons looks tentative.
Tatum, Rozier and Horford have been able to score seemingly at will.
the score has been a 10-14 point lead for quite a while, but it seems like Boston is really outplaying the 76'ers.
The Celtics are going to be very very good for a very very long time. Love their coach and Ainge is a draft bandit
mark
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
Lets hope the ghost of Red Auerbach shows up on Lottery night with that Lakers 2-6 pick
Eric
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Kyrie Irving is long gone and he can't be the cause of all Cleveland's problems. Boston has two 20+ppg All-Stars sitting on IR and they're playing like they haven't missed a beat especially without Kyrie. Their offense is built on making the extra pass and hitting the open man,Cleveland's offense is all Lebron dominating the ball when he has decent young talent around him. Some Cavs fans probably won't admit it but Hood,Hill Clarkson & Nance are all solid role players and its all on Lebron & Lue for not finding a way to get the most out of them.
Boston was down 3 of their top 4 players tonight and still found a way to beat the hottest team in basketball without them.
That's the equivalent of Cleveland playing without Lebron,Love & Smith,we all see how hard it was for them to win with these players just imagine what it would be like playing without them.
Eric
Erikthredd’s MJ Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/publishedset/395035
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Cleveland's offense is all Lebron dominating the ball when he has decent young talent around him
that's partly true and partly false.
James played the amount of iso-ball in the series that he did out of necessity, the rest of the Team was cold so he stepped up. the new players are just that, new to the Team and George Hill was injured for half the series. "Lebron and Lue" did find a way to improve overall Team play by juggling the line-up.
it is peculiar that Lebron James is almost the career NBA leader in assists yet he gets accused of being a ball hog when he takes over to help a cold-shooting Team. Russell Westbrook steps up in Game 5 of the OKC series, plays iso-ball and saves his Team for one more game and is some sort of hero.
that's just what great players do when they have to. Lebron James leads in assists because it's his nature to be generous with the ball, he always has been throughout his career. but he will also step up when needed to dominate a game. the Team isn't bad because of him, they won the series because of him.
eric should go back and look at some game film from 2007.
--- I would add that EVERY Team will go to the hot hand, Boston did it for a brief stretch last night. they fed Al Horford inside during a stretch cause the guy was unstoppable. it's smart BB.
just perused the box score since i missed the game. 17-35 from downtown? one missed FT the entire game? dayum Boston, go on with your bad self!
i think a group of guys felt slighted and came out pissed lol
@keets the ball dominating remark was not about James being a ball hog,its about not moving the ball around until they find the right shot which Boston does as good as anybody,not so much Cleveland. Boston's leading assist guy can change from night to night because they don't have one guy that runs everything thru him like Lebron. I will say this though,when Kyrie is healthy,the C's offense doesn't run like last night's did.
And you want to keep mentioning it was the three's falling that was the difference in that game last night when that is only part true, its Boston's defense that is their benchmark and wins them most games even when they're not hitting their shots. Its Boston's defense that gives them the ability to overcome 20-30pt deficits when their dealing with cold shooting. You know what gets them past cold shooting? Creating offense from their defense and taking it to the basket even when the shooter doesn't have the hot hand. The Cavs coaching staff should be telling everyone not named Lebron to attack the basket on offense if their outside shots aren't falling that night. Worst case they miss some layups,Best case they're getting baskets & getting to the foul line more, generating offense on "cold" nights.
Its always a "Catch 22" with you Cavs fans because Lebron never has enough help when he loses and its all him when he wins. This is the first postseason in years that he didn't have multiple All Star teammates. Technically Cleveland did go out and get him 3 current/former All-Stars in Wade,Rose & IT during this past offseason after dealing Kyrie away but Lebron couldn't win with them. They were too old & slow on defense,so what does the Cavs GM do? trades them all for young athletic role players and now when the Cavs struggle its all about Lebron doing it alone.
Its funny how Boston keeps winning with no stars on the floor and role players with much less experience than the group the Cavs put out there and spare me the "Hill & Thompson were hurt" crap. Its called next man up even if its a 2nd round rookie playing more minutes like Semi Ojeleye or a kid who was playing in Europe last season because no NBA team wanted him in Shane Larkin.
I could go back and see any game you choose for me but I bet i'd have a totally different viewpoint of that game than you did after and mine wouldn't be based on the postgame boxscore.
Eric
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Boston's defense came to play. Pretty much made Simmons less effective running their offense and made Philly's 3pt shooter's go 5-26 from outside. Kept the 76ers 17pts under their playoff average of 114ppg and that was with Jaylen Brown not playing at all too. It was a great start to the series,hopefully they keep it up.
Eric
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Keets you keep mentioning Lebron's 2007 team that was good enough to make it to the NBA Finals yet lost to a better team that had three eventual HOF players & a HOF coach. So what exactly is your point here?
Eric
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Its always a "Catch 22" with you Cavs fans because Lebron never has enough help when he loses and its all him when he wins
I don't know where that comes from but it isn't my perspective.
Boston and Cleveland are more alike than you might want to admit, the biggest exception being that Boston doesn't have one player like the Cavs do in Lebron James. past that, both have a number of younger players and both have struggled with injuries this year. Boston has BETTER young players at this point and that's the difference. they are playing very well despite the injuries while the Cavs have struggled with them over the whole season. that does make a difference. add to that a simple fact --- the Celtics overwhelmed the Cavs in last summer's trade, they got what I consider a future HOF'er and gave us a guy who may be out of the League in a year or two. Thomas was very disruptive and Clevelands problems really developed when he was healthy.
that's a really weird truth, when he returned to the line-up the Team played worse. the young players the Cavs got in the trades weren't meant to come in as starters although they have filled that role at times. Hood and Hill have started but typically come in later.
also, I do reference the stats but only because they tell the story. I won't argue about defense, but Philly had enough clear three point shots, they just didn't make them. I accept that at times the defenders affect shots but it isn't a case of a guy shooting and missing so the defense was good. sometimes the shooters are just off.
last night Philly shot 19% from three, 19%!!! Boston shot 47% because Rozier was light out and made the difference in the game. absent him they were an average 37%. the stats don't lie. Boston won't shoot 47% and Philly won't shoot 19% from three for the series. if they both do it'll be over in four games.
just like in the 30 point blow-out by the Pacers, last nights game isn't an example of how much better the Celtics are than the 76'ers. you have to remember that they went to 7 Games against the weaker 7th seed, so they have their flaws. in my mind, the Team that can win in the visiting arena will win the series. I also think these Teams learn from each game and Philly should have learned that they need to contest at the arc. they weren't even running at Boston, they just stood there and watched the ball go in. I would also expect them to post Embid more but Horford is a good defender so that in itself won't solve things.
Rozier, in keeping with what was probably his best overall playoff game, led his Team and all players but Embid in rebounds!!
that's a little crazy, he shouldn't be able to get to the glass like that but was rewarded for his hustle.
This is the first postseason in years that he didn't have multiple All Star teammates.
partly true. I think it 14-15 when Kelly Olynik pulled Kevin Love's arm hard enough to break it and later Kyrie Irving went down with his first pro knee injury. that forced Lebron to finish the GSW series by himself, an untenable task.
The catch 22 remark was a reference for literally all Cavs fans on any NBA site after a game where Lebron's team loses. Brick's comment about not having Kyrie is what brought it on.
You may think these two teams are more alike than i do but Boston doesn't have the best basketball player on the planet. Sure they have some great young talent but lets not act like its Lebron and a bunch of kids from the Y.
Love,Thompson,Korver,Jr Smith,Green & Hill all have more Finals experience than Boston's current active roster has playoff experience outside of Al Horford.
Who starts for who when players get hurt is no different from any other team in the league, next man up. You mention the Cavs "fill-ins" not getting it done but Boston has had the same problems as Cleveland in that regard. Their players look great after wins & bad after losses.
Rozier has looked like an All-Star at times during these playoffs but he's also looked like Boston's #3 point guard/5th best guard that he was when he started this season. He's played great in their playoff wins and horrible in their playoff losses especially his shooting percentage. His rebounding is a plus but thats no different than most other point guards who get taught to hang around the basket after a shot goes up to bring the ball up the court after a miss or score.
The Kyrie trade has ZERO to do with these current playoff games. He's not playing for Boston right now as Isaiah Thomas & Crowder aren't currently playing for Cleveland so there is zero relevancy here.
Eric
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Boston was the #1 ranked defense covering the three this year and their length on D affected the majority of those threes last night as well as disrupted the whole flow of Philly's offense. Unless you've actually seen how these two teams have been playing on offense & defense in these playoffs you would know how Boston kept them from doing what they do best. Its much more than looking at the postgame percentages.
Eric
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Its much more than looking at the postgame percentages
I watched the entire game.
As did I and we both viewed how that game was won differently. For you it came down to one team hit their threes while the other didn't, for me it was won on defense by preventing Philly's offense from playing their run & gun style of game.
Eric
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part of that comes down to missed shots.
with Philly shooting and missing so many three's it allowed Boston more transition offense and vice versa for Philly. they had less opportunity to run their fast break. I know you won't agree with me, but the poor shooting affects the whole game. Philly shot poorly even at the line so Boston didn't worry about playing tight, while Philly had to play looser because they got killed at the line. the Celtics were almost perfect.
when you consider that each Team usually has almost the same amount of possession it becomes really important to make all the foul shots and to score as close to 50%, boston did that so it's no surprise they won.
I'm not making any argument that the Boston defense isn't good and wasn't good last night, but you can't dismiss my look at the statistics and then use statistics to prove your point. I saw Philly having enough clear shots to make a difference in the game and they couldn't buy a bucket. at the other end, I don't know what they were thinking unless they hoped Rozier would eventually miss. he almost never did. look at Redick, he's a highly proficient three point shooter. his career is .415 and this year he shot .420, but last night he went 2/7 for .285, well below his average.
I'll go out on a limb and say that whoever wins Game 2 in this series will win the series.
My whole point with the postgame comment just came down to they did so many things that doesn't show up in the box score after the game that were pivotal in winning last night,thats all. They basically left Baynes alone on Embiid,clogged the passing lanes on Simmons and disrupted Philly's natural flow on offense as much as possible which is their hallmark. This Boston team is built on perimeter defenders and they were able to be switch off on the pick & rolls without getting burnt by the Sixers shooters. Tatum has 4 inches & a 7' wing span on Redick which caused problems for him all night. When it wasn't Tatum on him,it was guys like Smart,Morris & Ojeleye ,who all could pass for inside linebackers, bumping and chipping Redick coming off the screens. They did the same with Belinelli & Covington even though all did miss some open shots and it was the difference in the game.
The biggest question for Boston going into this series was how were they going to stop Philly's offense which has been a juggernaut for most of the past two months and they found a way to do it. For Boston to make it into ECF they have to keep playing like they did last night regardless of their own shots from three falling for them or not. Outside of Tatum,Boston's shooters are very streaky especially Rozier and there will be games in the next week that don't look like last nights game.
This series still has a long way to go so i'll end this all here. We have all day tomorrow to argue your Cavs
Eric
Erikthredd’s MJ Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/publishedset/395035
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am I arguing, I thought this was a discussion??
Oh boy,you're gonna start with this stating the obvious stuff again?
Have a good day!
Eric
Erikthredd’s MJ Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/publishedset/395035
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C'mon, man, I am the "Captain" and I even winked at you!!!
will you be watching the Cavs game?? I had plans and had intended to just watch the second half but I gotta see the whole game.
I will and I'll actually be rooting for them. I'm still holding out hope that Boston meets up with Cleveland in the ECF,I want to see how this current team without Kyrie matches up against Lebron.
Eric
Erikthredd’s MJ Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/publishedset/395035
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Can't believe I'm about to say this, but I'm siding with keets on this offense vs. defense debate
If you follow the NBA, then you know that Boston is notorious for being able to clamp down on d. They ended the reg season with 4 out of the top 12 players in defensive win shares, which translated into #2 in opponents' FG PCT and #1 in opponents' 3PT PCT. So naturally I expect them to make it tough on Philly to put the biscuit in the basket, because that's how they roll.
But almost 50% shooting for the game? 18-19 from the line? 17-35 from deep? And here's the catcher -- against a team in the Sixers that was #2 in opponents' FG PCT and the very best in opponents' 3PT PCT? When you lose three of your best players -- especially your all-world PG who sets the table -- that's typically where execution on offense goes to die. Yet the Celtics have been completely impervious to this, and obviously that carried over into last night's game when they scorched one of the best defensive teams in the association. That, my friends, is where the game was won.
I fully expect a regression toward the mean on Thursday night. Or should I say, I hope it does, otherwise my pick in this series will go up in flames. lol
There's no wrong answer here,it came down to both their D & hitting their shots to win that game. One was just as important as the other.
edit: Boston was 1st in OPP 3pt PCT with Philly 2nd. Then Philly 1st,Boston 2nd in OPP FG PCT.
http://www.espn.com/nba/statistics/team/_/stat/defense-per-game/sort/threePointFieldGoalPctOpponent/seasontype/2
edit #2: hah,brainfart...see you already mentioned that above.
Eric
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agree that both ends of the floor are equally important. but when one aspect is generally expected (sound defense) and one comes out of nowhere (lighting up one of the best defensive teams in the league sans three starters), i personally gravitate toward the unexpected outcome to explain away why last night's game transpired the way it did.
if you want to focus on the defense, that's your prerogative. but in my mind that's the equivalent of the Rockets winning 85-78 tomorrow night and me being transfixed on the shots they made after the game
We can agree to disagree then, I'm not gonna go thru this all again. Last night Boston had everything going for them outside of Brown going down and he'll be one hammy tweak from being done for the year. Once they get to Philly they're gonna need to do it all because those games will probably turn into a trackmeet.
Eric
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Boston’s ball rotation was spectacular last night. That alone can cause you to look great on the other end. Philly was chasing leprechauns all night
m
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
Is there a team in the East with a snowballs chance in hell of winning it all?
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Ralph
I know this will be very distressing for erik but the Cavs are losing mainly because of poor shooting and not good Raptor defense. in the first quarter and early second I believe Cleveland missed 6-7 easy lay-ups under/in front of the hoop. that's ridiculous. also frustrating for erik must be the way that James controls the ball, draws the defense to him and then will pass to the open man. that's what brought the score close, open shots from the arc.
Derozan is amazing for the Raptors, very quick and a dead shot. the game changed a little when Cleveland started to double him --- and --- the Cavs drove the lane and started to pressure the Raptors into fouling. that will open the game for Cleveland, or should.
am I the only one who can't understand why Barkley hates Lebron James so much?? he is such a douche-bag.
--- I hate to say it, erik, but the difference at the half is free throws!!
what did everyone think of the pace of the game?? after the better part of the first quarter I thought it was very up-tempo from both Teams. of course the Raptors are quick and like to run, but when the Cavs have Lebron James and JR Smith on the court teamed up with Clarkson and Hood they really pick it up.
as said earlier in the thread, Kevin Love is very slow afoot, so if he isn't scoring they need to get him off the floor.
the second half should be good.
please take n Love out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!