National Basketball Association

[FighttheGoodFight]

My head might have exploded last night if I was a Bucks fan. Up 16 on your home court and let the Heat beat you. Ouch.

Bud should have been fired at half time. Terrible coaching. Nick Nurse about to be the next Bucks coach.

[Boop]

Bud should have been fired at half time. Terrible coaching. Nick Nurse about to be the next Bucks coach.

Bud is not getting fired and there is nothing special about Nurse so Bucks are not going to hire him

[Mississippi Blues]

The Nets are to NYC what the Clips are to LA.

In a lot of ways for sure, but they have at least been in the shadow of NYC for their entire existence and even won their ABA championships while playing on Long Island as the New York Nets. The Dr. J jersey is one of goated streetball tops as well in my opinion. Despite their tiny following relative to the Knicks, I think they’ve done a better job of trying to integrate into Brooklyn than the Clippers have done with LA, though the Clippers have been doing a much better job than before in recent years. I feel like they also have an advantage with being able to claim a borough as their home rather than sharing a geographic name with the most popular/successful basketball team in the world. If the Clippers had moved to LA with the intention of claiming Inglewood/Hawthorne/Watts/South Central, things might be somewhat different today, though I doubt it since the Clippers have been a horribly run franchise prior to Ballmer. I think LA’s rejection of the Clippers has as much to do with their awful basketball history as it does with people in LA genuinely only liking the Lakers.

None of that is to say the Nets will ever gain popularity anywhere near the level of the Knicks, especially in NYC. But there are reasons that I think the Nets mix better into NYC than the Clippers ever have in LA.

[okatty]

Bud is not getting fired and there is nothing special about Nurse so Bucks are not going to hire him

This one didn’t age well - Bud is gone.

[April in the Plaza]

This one didn’t age well - Bud is gone.

i don't really watch nba unless the thunder are playing, but wasn't giannis hurt for basically the whole series?

not sure i would have fired Budenholzer if the best player in the world was hurt. Milwaukee isn't going to do much better than him, imo.

[okatty]

Giannis was openly critical of how they played Butler in the series. Probably didn’t help him any.

[Anonymous.]

8 seed beating you at home in 5 games is definitely grounds for firing.

[FighttheGoodFight]

This one didn’t age well - Bud is gone.

Now if they hire Nick Nurse I'll be double right!

[Boop]

8 seed beating you at home in 5 games is definitely grounds for firing.

I disagree since Giannis was hurt, if Giannis was healthy then I would agree

[okatty]

Philly has won a couple of tight games v Celtics. Pretty entertaining series.

[dcsooner]

Philly has won a couple of tight games v Celtics. Pretty entertaining series.

IMO, The late calls against the Celtics “gifted” that game to Philly. A whole lotta flopping (JE)

[Rover]

IMO, The late calls against the Celtics “gifted” that game to Philly. A whole lotta flopping (JE)

Yes, Smart flops a lot, and Tatum falls into it sometimes too, but Philly won anyway.

[okatty]

How the Denver/Suns series has turned…Spurs had OKC down 2-0 and Thunder/KD came back and won that 4-2. He may do it again - but I doubt it. This one might go 7.

[Mississippi Blues]

How the Denver/Suns series has turned…Spurs had OKC down 2-0 and Thunder/KD came back and won that 4-2. He may do it again - but I doubt it. This one might go 7.

I wouldn’t really say has turned. Maybe a bit more even than what some thought when Denver was up 2-0, but as the saying goes, a series doesn’t begin until someone wins on the road.

[okatty]

^Well, the momentum has and pressure is back on Denver. I’d have guessed they might split in Phoenix and go back up 3-1. A game 7 would be must watch. Booker has been something the last two games.

[Mississippi Blues]

Momentum, sure. A win is a win and a loss is a loss but I think Phoenix is probably feeling a bit of pressure from how the series played out in Denver while Denver played pretty closely for the most part in Phoenix excluding the 2nd quarter in Game 3. It’s still been a pretty competitive series in general, but with Denver having home court I think they’re in control until they lose at home, barring injuries.

Booker has been pretty good this series for the most part. His worst game was Game 1 and that still wasn’t a horrible game. The deal with Booker is when he’s hot, he’s arguably the best shooter in the league, but if his shot isn’t dropping consistently, he’s as much of a threat as any other jump shooter without a jump shot. He is polarizing in that way. He may average 50 ppg to close out the series or he might single-handedly shoot them out of the series on 30% shooting.

[dankrutka]

i don't really watch nba unless the thunder are playing, but wasn't giannis hurt for basically the whole series?

not sure i would have fired Budenholzer if the best player in the world was hurt. Milwaukee isn't going to do much better than him, imo.

I disagree since Giannis was hurt, if Giannis was healthy then I would agree

The only game Giannis missed, the Bucks won. Relatively speaking (a lot of players are nursing injuries at this point in the season), Giannis was fine. Bud has been a good coach, but he made massive mistakes during the season, including on very easy things like calling a timeout to advance the ball. He literally cost his team a shot at a winning shot.

Having said that, it's a tough profession. Three championships coaches—Vogel, Nurse, and Bud—have lost their jobs within a 2-3 seasons of winning a title.

[dankrutka]

Booker has been pretty good this series for the most part.

This is the understatement of the century. Booker has been the best player of the playoffs, and is having one of the best opening tears to the playoffs in NBA history. Surely, he'll cool down, but what he's done over 9 games is unreal.

Over his past two games, Booker has racked up 83 points with only nine missed shots.

When you zoom out, Booker's postseason scoring exploits not only have him standing alone atop the playoff leaderboard, but also alongside some NBA legends.

Averaging 36.8 points through nine playoff games, Booker ranks fourth in NBA history in points per game among all players who have played in at least eight postseason games, trailing only Elgin Baylor (38.1 in 1961 and 38.2 in 1962) and Jerry West (40.6 in 1965).

Source: https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nba/...o2jb6nvg9aobbx

[BoulderSooner]

This is the understatement of the century. Booker has been the best player of the playoffs, and is having one of the best opening tears to the playoffs in NBA history. Surely, he'll cool down, but what he's done over 9 games is unreal.

he has been historically good ... and out of his mind the last 2 games ... and phx has needed every bit of it ..

[dankrutka]

he has been historically good ... and out of his mind the last 2 games ... and phx has needed every bit of it ..

Which still makes me think Denver will win the series in the end. They've been making these games close even with Booker's performances... you gotta think Booker will return to the mean at some point and Denver will take advantage.

[BoulderSooner]

Which still makes me think Denver will win the series in the end. They've been making these games close even with Booker's performances... you gotta think Booker will return to the mean at some point and Denver will take advantage.

agree even if booker goes down to 50% shooting (instead of the 75% and 77.8% the last 2 games) i think Denver wins ..

[Mississippi Blues]

This is the understatement of the century. Booker has been the best player of the playoffs, and is having one of the best opening tears to the playoffs in NBA history. Surely, he'll cool down, but what he's done over 9 games is unreal.



Source: https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nba/...o2jb6nvg9aobbx

Is “pretty good” usually seen as an insult or something? I was specifying to the context of this series to say that he was doing good before Game 3+4 and even his worst game, Game 1, was still a good game.

[okatty]

Was surprised the Lakers came back and won for the 3-1 lead. Lonnie Walker with 15 in the 4th. GS in trouble.

[CCOKC]

I couldn't stay up for the second half of that game. The Lakers and the Warriors are my 2 least favorite teams and really don't want either of them to win. I may be wrong, but to the naked eye I don't think either team can win the West at this point.

[okatty]

Lakers now +300 title favorites
@CaesarsSports

Sixers +325
Nuggets +425
Celtics +450
Suns +650
Heat 12-1
Warriors 16-1
Knicks 90-1