2019 NBA Playoffs Thread

[TrueYankee26]

So we have a series after all. Can the Raptors steal a game in MKE now?

[dfwabel]

10 hours ago, TrueYankee26 said:

So we have a series after all. Can the Raptors steal a game in MKE now?

Not a series until a home team loses.

 

That said, until tonight, Milwaukee was 22-1 after a loss.

[IceCap]

On 5/20/2019 at 9:34 AM, Discrimihater said:

So enjoy the Raps' last victory of the season.

About that...

 

We the North.

[FiddySicks]

I hope these two teams beat each other up. 

 

I’m also way less scared of Toronto than I am Milwaukee. Kawhi is VERY good, but the rest of that team is basically Blazers East in terms of a matchup for the Warriors. 

 

[TrueYankee26]

13 minutes ago, Bucfan56 said:

I hope these two teams beat each other up. 

 

I’m also way less scared of Toronto than I am Milwaukee. Kawhi is VERY good, but the rest of that team is basically Blazers East in terms of a matchup for the Warriors. 

 

Basically why if they meet in the finals, I say 5 games. Raptors take game 3 or 4 at home and lose the rest.

 

Warriors-Bucks go 7.

[_DietDrPepper_]

Why are we all kidding ourselves, we know the warriors win. And I don’t even think it would be close, Bucks would be a 6 game series max, Raptors would be a 5 and let’s hope something bad doesn’t Kawhi, we all know the last time he played a playoff series against golden state and how that turned out

[dont care]

6 hours ago, Bucfan56 said:

I hope these two teams beat each other up. 

 

I’m also way less scared of Toronto than I am Milwaukee. Kawhi is VERY good, but the rest of that team is basically Blazers East in terms of a matchup for the Warriors. 

 

I think you mean the raptors are blazers north. Actually that doesn’t work.

[Discrim]

9 hours ago, Ice_Cap said:

About that...

 

We the North.

Fair enough... thought I learned my lesson years ago, guess not.

[Digby]

Can we please resolve to stop confidently announcing how a series will end every time a game finishes, and instead just enjoy the damn basketball series???

[tigerslionspistonshabs]

I think the Bucks are better suited for the Warriors, but if this thing goes 7, they`re gonna be too beaten up anyways. 

[dfwabel]

More Sports Media thread related, but it'll get more eyeballs here.

East Coast Bias rears its ugly head again, this time with Adam Silver.

 

From the Today Show this morning:

Quote

"When you look at the league from a national standpoint, it may make sense to play a little bit earlier in the West. And that’s something we’re going to talk to our teams about this summer."

 

More here:https://awfulannouncing.com/nba/adam-silver-nba-start-times-west.html

 

I've lived on the west coast for the last 13 years and lived in the Central Time zone the previous decade, so I really haven't had to stay up really late for playoff games since college, but I can't imagine traffic around the new Chase Center (or Staples) for a 6:30 or 7PM tip.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

I get that 10 pm is too late to watch a basketball game tip on a Tuesday, but 4 pm is too early on the west coast. Let's give a little to get a little, huh?

 

It is interesting, though not surprising, that LeBron James has affected ratings. Giannis might be a top jersey seller, but he's not there yet in national consciousness.

 

One other thing that might help is if game started at scheduled times. It's really annoying to tune into ESPN at 7 p.m. for a Warriors/Rockets game, only to see "21:44 to tip!" on the screen. TNT doesn't have that problem, and they have people in-studio I'd actually want to hear.

[Digby]

I hope this concern will at least put any "let's put a team in Europe" nonsense to bed.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

10 minutes ago, Digby said:

I hope this concern will at least put any "let's put a team in Europe" nonsense to bed.

 

The only way I'll support a team in London (or Madrid or Barcelona) is if Seattle gets one too.

 

Otherwise, no way.

[PrimalCookie]

I understand making start times reasonable on the west coast, but I don't think we (east coast) should have to stay up until around midnight or 1 AM just to watch the end of a playoff game. 

[Digby]

This also strikes me as less of an issue in basketball, where games take roughly the same amount of time and it's a reasonable length at that. I don't really think about it as a problem on par with the interminable late nights of the World Series, for example.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

28 minutes ago, Digby said:

This also strikes me as less of an issue in basketball, where games take roughly the same amount of time and it's a reasonable length at that. I don't really think about it as a problem on par with the interminable late nights of the World Series, for example.

 

Some of those World Series games ended too late for the west coast even. That was crazy.

 

West coast sport watching is generally the best, but again, those 7pm east coast start times should be pushed to 8pm to benefit those of us who work out here. And even then, a 5pm start is pretty crappy.

[Digby]

10 minutes ago, DG_Now said:

 

Some of those World Series games ended too late for the west coast even. That was crazy.

 

West coast sport watching is generally the best, but again, those 7pm east coast start times should be pushed to 8pm to benefit those of us who work out here. And even then, a 5pm start is pretty crappy.

 

I don't envy the West Coast during European soccer mornings, though!

 

There's no good way to do it; you're either going to be bad for West Coasters who are getting out of work, or bad for East Coasters who want to go to sleep. I am inclined to lean Eastward because there are more people, and early West Coast games are slightly worse for in-person watchers than TV watchers and I'll be damned if I'm expected to feel sympathy for the tech-bro dweebs who have GSW Finals tickets. Hail an Uber hover-car or something.

 

But really this is just more evidence that a.) everyone should move to the Midwest and b.) no sporting event should go beyond 2.5 hours in regulation time, and frankly that's even pushing it.

[dfwabel]

2 hours ago, DG_Now said:

I get that 10 pm is too late to watch a basketball game tip on a Tuesday, but 4 pm is too early on the west coast. Let's give a little to get a little, huh

 

It is interesting, though not surprising, that LeBron James has affected ratings. Giannis might be a top jersey seller, but he's not there yet in national consciousness.

 

One other thing that might help is if game started at scheduled times. It's really annoying to tune into ESPN at 7 p.m. for a Warriors/Rockets game, only to see "21:44 to tip!" on the screen. TNT doesn't have that problem, and they have people in-studio I'd actually want to hear.

2

Agreed.  At least the NFL has times we know game time is set.

 

As for the west coast starts, The early NBA doubleheader is a game I don't necessarily have to miss due to work as my office closes at 4:30* and if I hit the gym in the morning, I can go directly home and get there before 5PM. 

 

*-I learned early at this job, unless you have a meeting, you shouldn't stay past 5PM.  A few summers, to reduce energy costs, there was the option of an 8-4:30 workday or 7-3;30.  Most Fridays, 75% of the staff was out the door by 3:30.

[SFGiants58]

On 5/20/2019 at 12:17 AM, Bucfan56 said:

So, are watching Draymond Green start to grow up a little bit? He had this to say after the game last night, which is about as self aware as I’ve ever seen from him: 

 

He’s been kind of noticeably more level headed this round, and it’s reflecting in his game. It’s almost like something finally clicked with him. I LOVE Draymond (I get why others don’t, though), but there are simply points where he’s just been so self destructive that it hurts everything else the Warriors are trying to do. You could say that a big part of why they fell apart in 2016 is because of the suspension he took in the Finals. He’s amazing, but has always been a head case. 

 

If he’s truly realized this, which I think he has (or at least, is starting to), the rest of the league should be absolutely TERRIFIED. His talent and value to the Warriors is absolutely underrated. 

 

I've heard people compare him to a less bulky Anthony Mason. As somebody who wasn't into basketball when Anthony Mason was playing (I know him more for "Story to Tell" and his habit of punching people at nightclubs), how accurate is that assessment?