Some saltiness

https://us.yahoo.com/sports/warriors-hurt-questionable-bad-calls-073909883.html

Pumpkinhead said:

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Caruso played Curry about as well as you can play him tonight. Was the 3rd most impactful guy for the Lakers tonight after AD and LeBron. He is going to get a ton of minutes this playoffs (got 30 tonight), as the Lakers are actually leaning on him quite a bit now.

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Caruso's development is probably the reason why they didn't want Rondo back.

EastSideAg2002 said:

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Some saltiness

https://us.yahoo.com/sports/warriors-hurt-questionable-bad-calls-073909883.html

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That's exactly the play I was referring to by Lebron's arrogant mistake the refs saved him from.

LeBron clearly putting the ball in play there.

EastSideAg2002 said:

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Some saltiness

https://us.yahoo.com/sports/warriors-hurt-questionable-bad-calls-073909883.html

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The missed call on the Poole dunk was the most egregious to me. But watching the earlier game, it looked like the refs had decided to just let the teams all play hard. The weird thing about the Lakers/Warriors game was that they suddenly started calling more late. Didn't like that at all.

Poole dunk for reference

POOLE NEARLY GOT BRON 😳 pic.twitter.com/QMnP6SwBcx

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 20, 2021

Draymond's illegal screen was bad too

Illegal screen on Draymond? Nope, no way, negative, no chance, definitely not pic.twitter.com/Yxamam72h0

— Drew Shiller (@DrewShiller) May 20, 2021

The Washington Wizards were 17-32 on 4/7 before winning 17 of their final 23 games to finish the regular season 34-38. After a 142-115 rout of the Indiana Pacers, the Wizards completed an improbable run from 17-32 to the NBA playoffs. The home team has won all 5 of the NBA play-in games so far.

EastSideAg2002 said:

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Some saltiness

https://us.yahoo.com/sports/warriors-hurt-questionable-bad-calls-073909883.html

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It's funny that any Warriors fan would write anything related to conspiracy when they would be a franchise that would benefit from any NBA conspiracy over all but 1-2 teams in West.


I wonder if they win tonight over Memphis, if they will point out the calls they benefitted from.

The refs have stepped up to drag Golden State's rotting corpse back into this game. 5 FT attempts on questionable fouls in 32 seconds.

The cameras showing the crowd streaming out with 4.5 seconds left.

GiveEmHellBill said:

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The cameras showing the crowd streaming out with 4.5 seconds left.

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Wearing their Curry jerseys

I am disappointed that the Golden State Warriors lost two play-in games after winning 8 of their last 9 regular season games, including a season-ending 6-game winning streak. It was heartbreaking to watch the Warriors blow a 55-42 halftime lead to lose their first play in game to the Los Angeles Lakers 103-100, but even more disheartening to watch the Warriors squander another play-in opportunity in a home game against the Memphis Grizzlies. I am proud of the Warriors for not giving up when they trailed for most of the game and double digits for significant portions of it. They trailed 95-85 with 3:36 left to tie the game at 99 and force overtime, but they fell short in overtime 117-112.

Warriors first team in NBA history to lose a play in game on their home court.

CFTXAG10 said:

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PascalsWager said:

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Should do we picks on this thread?

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Here is the site we usually use each year linked below. I created the group. Password required.

Link

Group: TexAgs NBA Playoff Pick Em 2021
Password: gigem

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Bumping this again for those posters who rarely venture outside their "safe spaces" on the team threads, and just happen to stumble on this this morning.

Greek Freak down the stretch in the post-season makes James Harden look like Michael Jordan.

4 missed free throws, a turnover, and 2 missed shots from about 3 feet in the final 3 minutes of the fourth quarter to get the Heat to OT

Durant, Harden, and Irving a combined 5 for 22 in the first quarter vs. the Celtics.

Boo Butt is tearing **** up tonite.

The bald mamba, Khris Middleton, and Robert Williams. The Ags are showing up in the playoffs

So what option is Greek Freak when Milwaukee needs a last-second shot in the playoffs? Maybe third behind Middleton and Holiday?

Johnsy3 said:

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Robert Williams with 11/9/1/9 blocks in 23 min

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Almost got a pretty rare triple double using blocks.

I wonder how often someone has gotten a triple double using blocks.

Fat Bib Fortuna said:

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So what option is Greek Freak when Milwaukee needs a last-second shot in the playoffs? Maybe third behind Middleton and Holiday?

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Giannis, especially in the playoffs, just doesn't really seem to have that clutch factor. Every single Mavs fan in the world would want the ball in Luka's hands with 5 seconds remaining and the Mavs down 1. I seriously doubt every Bucks fan could say the same about Giannis.

Lakers were down 15 before LeBron got his first "LeBron" free throw. Interesting to see how much he goes to the line the rest of the way.

Ideal round 2 in the west?

Mavs vs. jazz

Blazers vs. suns

The Memphis Grizzlies went from winning two-play in games to upsetting the No. 1 Utah Jazz, who finished a league best 52-20 in the regular season, on the road. This was also Grizzlies' 2nd road game in 3 days, and the Utah Jazz had 6 days of rest since playing their last regular season game a week ago. But the Grizzlies carried their determination and momentum from San Francisco to Salt Lake City, while the Jazz looked rusty. The Grizzlies join the Portland Trailblazers, Dallas Mavericks, and Atlanta Hawks to win a Game 1 on the road.

Wonder how they'll fare when Spida returns.

Lots unbelievable shooting in game 1s that should come back down to normal.

Miami outshot Milwaukee by 23% from 3 on higher volume. And still LOST! Doesn't bode well for them going forward.
Dallas outshot the clippers by 20% from 3 on similar volume. That won't last.
Portland outshot Denver by 17% from 3 on similar volume. Seems unlikely to sustain.
Memphis outshot the Jazz by 10% on much lower volume. Utah should give them the gentlemen's sweep.

The Celtics outshot Brooklyn on similar volume on 3 and still lost by 11; but no one cares.

Look, I admit this might be taking things too far, but...

Some people have compared Rudy Gobert to Bill Russell.

Bill Russell held a basketball clinic in Mississippi despite threats from the KKK.

Rudy Gobert: https://t.co/IIJcWtKvyL

— Pro Hoops History (@ProHoopsHistory) May 24, 2021

Refs have completely lost control of the Denver-Portland game. Some atrocious calls.

If Dallas shoots this well they win the title 16-0. If Lebron and Davis are traded to the Nets for a future 2nd rounders tomorrow, the Mavs still win the NBA Finals 4-0.

I'm not a Dallas fan, but I am rooting for them and enjoy watching Luka. But man for an average shooting team (17th in the league in 3 point shooting) the return to the mean is going to be swift and hard. I wouldn't count out the Clippers in this series yet. Despite their incredible shooting, they're not winning by good margins. Hopefully homecourt with a sellout will help.

If it doesn't happen, nothing else matters. If on high volume you shoot over 50% from 3 for the playoffs, you win the title. Not even Steph and Klay and KD could manage that.

PascalsWager said:

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If Dallas shoots this well they win the title 16-0. If Lebron and Davis are traded to the Nets for a future 2nd rounders tomorrow, the Mavs still win the NBA Finals 4-0.

I'm not a Dallas fan, but I am rooting for them and enjoy watching Luka. But man for an average shooting team (17th in the league in 3 point shooting) the return to the mean is going to be swift and hard. I wouldn't count out the Clippers in this series yet. Despite their incredible shooting, they're not winning by good margins. Hopefully homecourt with a sellout will help.

If it doesn't happen, nothing else matters. If on high volume you shoot over 50% from 3 for the playoffs, you win the title. Not even Steph and Klay and KD could manage that.

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Law of averages, they will come down at some point. That being said, the Clippers defense really sucks. They were letting Luka dissect their defense at will; there's no fight in that team. They really miss having Doc calling the shots; Tyronn Lue is way over his head in trying to find an answer for him. Maybe the Clips really are cursed!

I love watching Luka play; I don't see how the Mavs lose with him playing this well.

GrayMatter said:

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PascalsWager said:

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If Dallas shoots this well they win the title 16-0. If Lebron and Davis are traded to the Nets for a future 2nd rounders tomorrow, the Mavs still win the NBA Finals 4-0.

I'm not a Dallas fan, but I am rooting for them and enjoy watching Luka. But man for an average shooting team (17th in the league in 3 point shooting) the return to the mean is going to be swift and hard. I wouldn't count out the Clippers in this series yet. Despite their incredible shooting, they're not winning by good margins. Hopefully homecourt with a sellout will help.

If it doesn't happen, nothing else matters. If on high volume you shoot over 50% from 3 for the playoffs, you win the title. Not even Steph and Klay and KD could manage that.

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Law of averages, they will come down at some point. That being said, the Clippers defense really sucks. They were letting Luka dissect their defense at will; there's no fight in that team. They really miss having Doc calling the shots; Tyronn Lue is way over his head in trying to find an answer for him. Maybe the Clips really are cursed!

I love watching Luka play; I don't see how the Mavs lose with him playing this well.

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If the coming back to their average (36%) then they have a shot.

If the regression (which you'd expect after being way above their average) is down to ~18% from 3 on high volume, I don't see how they can win.

Defense is unproven to have much effect on 3 point shooting. I'm not saying it doesn't matter at all. But at the very least it doesn't matter as much as it does close to the basket. Tim Hardaway Jr. wouldn't shoot 75% on 3s in an open gym.

Shoot like they did 14 more times and they win the title. Doesn't matter if the opponent is the 1992 dream team.

GrayMatter said:

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PascalsWager said:

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If Dallas shoots this well they win the title 16-0. If Lebron and Davis are traded to the Nets for a future 2nd rounders tomorrow, the Mavs still win the NBA Finals 4-0.

I'm not a Dallas fan, but I am rooting for them and enjoy watching Luka. But man for an average shooting team (17th in the league in 3 point shooting) the return to the mean is going to be swift and hard. I wouldn't count out the Clippers in this series yet. Despite their incredible shooting, they're not winning by good margins. Hopefully homecourt with a sellout will help.

If it doesn't happen, nothing else matters. If on high volume you shoot over 50% from 3 for the playoffs, you win the title. Not even Steph and Klay and KD could manage that.

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Law of averages, they will come down at some point. That being said, the Clippers defense really sucks. They were letting Luka dissect their defense at will; there's no fight in that team. They really miss having Doc calling the shots; Tyronn Lue is way over his head in trying to find an answer for him. Maybe the Clips really are cursed!

I love watching Luka play; I don't see how the Mavs lose with him playing this well.

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As much as they miss Doc, I think they miss having Montrez Harrell more. Luka/Hardaway/Brunson wouldn't be getting as many drives to the basket if Montrez was there beating them to a pulp each time they drove. His physical play and tough guy energy really played a role last year. I think we all remember "Beech Ass White Boy"

PascalsWager said:

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GrayMatter said:

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PascalsWager said:

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If Dallas shoots this well they win the title 16-0. If Lebron and Davis are traded to the Nets for a future 2nd rounders tomorrow, the Mavs still win the NBA Finals 4-0.

I'm not a Dallas fan, but I am rooting for them and enjoy watching Luka. But man for an average shooting team (17th in the league in 3 point shooting) the return to the mean is going to be swift and hard. I wouldn't count out the Clippers in this series yet. Despite their incredible shooting, they're not winning by good margins. Hopefully homecourt with a sellout will help.

If it doesn't happen, nothing else matters. If on high volume you shoot over 50% from 3 for the playoffs, you win the title. Not even Steph and Klay and KD could manage that.

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Law of averages, they will come down at some point. That being said, the Clippers defense really sucks. They were letting Luka dissect their defense at will; there's no fight in that team. They really miss having Doc calling the shots; Tyronn Lue is way over his head in trying to find an answer for him. Maybe the Clips really are cursed!

I love watching Luka play; I don't see how the Mavs lose with him playing this well.

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If the regression (which you'd expect after being way above their average) is down to ~18% from 3 on high volume, I don't see how they can win.

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It's not necessarily the shooting that is beating the Clips, it's the pick and roll offense that's dismantling their defense. The Clippers do not have any defensive chemistry at all. You're right, I think they are missing Montrezl who has the energy to defend those pick and roll situations.

It's going to be interesting to see what the Clippers are going to do with the pick and roll because they were content with leaving Zubac on an island and there was no backside help when players dove for the basket. Kawaii was also caught sleeping going underneath a pick and roll freeing up Luka for a 3. Why oh why are you going to go underneath the screen when Luka has the ball?

There isn't a defensive presence when they set up a pick giving Luka and the Mavericks free looks from anywhere they wanted. So all Dallas has to really do is keep running the same pick and rolls until the Clippers stop them. You can't let Luka set up comfortably in the offense otherwise it's going to be Game 1 all over again.

I think the Clippers are in trouble anyway because the series is headed to Dallas and I don't see the Clippers winning both games there.

So it's obviously ****ty for a fan to dump popcorn, or anything else, on a player...but Westbrook clearly never learned how to live in society like the rest of us. A lot of how he talks makes it clear he would probably have multiple felony assault charges if he hadn't made it into the NBA.

Saint Pablo said:

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Wonder how they'll fare when Spida returns.

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The return of Donovan Mitchell has made a big difference. Yes, the Memphis Grizzlies trailed by 22 before cutting it to 93-91. The Utah Jazz were able to put the game away and tie the series at 1-1 before the series goes to Memphis for Games 3 and 4.