Playoffs Round Two

[WildBillPicks7]

Hey Pop, can we get a little more McGrady? That was fun!



Jason Kidd has not scored a point since April 23. Eight games, scoreless. Nice to know you can play 5 on 4 when he is on the floor...


The Pacers have never lost a series up 3-1 and the Knicks have never won one down 3-1.

HH, when I heard McGrady was signed by the Spurs in the last month of the season, I was taken aback as I thought he was finished since his last surgery. He looked like he had no reoccurence of any pain and ran freely. It's scary to think how good he will be once he has a camp to get himself back into shape going into next year for sure. He's one of the few players I've lost track of over the years and it was a pleasant surprise to see him back in an NBA uni, albeit for the Spurs!!

Thanks!

 

[Happy Hippo]

He's one of the few players I've lost track of over the years and it was a pleasant surprise to see him back in an NBA uni, albeit for the Spurs!!

The 13 points in 33 seconds is probably the best clutch personal performance in history, and the fact that he now plays for the team he did it against is cool, and funny!

Cheers

 

[margwellus]

Hippo, the Spurs FINALLY looked like the Spurs for the first time in a while and looked like the Spurs team we have all known and feared over the years. But can they sustain? If they can they can beat ANYONE, but I'm not convinced just yet....As for McGrady, he's more done than Richard Jefferson is but Jackson squeezed a few good things out of him last game.. i cringe when I see him on the floor now. Parker and Ginobilli stepped up their games, Warriors gave little help D when parker blew by his defender and they like Marc Jackson said to his team "are a championship team"..we'll see...

 

[Happy Hippo]

Hippo, the Spurs FINALLY looked like the Spurs for the first time in a while and looked like the Spurs team we have all known and feared over the years. But can they sustain? If they can they can beat ANYONE, but I'm not convinced just yet....As for McGrady, he's more done than Richard Jefferson is but Jackson squeezed a few good things out of him last game.. i cringe when I see him on the floor now. Parker and Ginobilli stepped up their games, Warriors gave little help D when parker blew by his defender and they like Marc Jackson said to his team "are a championship team"..we'll see...

The Spurs looked like the "Spurs", and the Warriors weren't overachieving as they have been for most of the post-season. A combination of both, but if I had to say that one was more of an outlier than the other, it would be the continuous over-achievement of this Warriors team in the postseason. Super impressive, for sure. I like both teams, and I think this has been a great series. Ultimately, I just think the Spurs are a lot better. Funny that they are only up 3-2 and yet they are more heavily favored to win their series than either the Pacers or Grizzlies, who are both up 3-1. Greater dichotomy.

Cheers

 

[ldabdou]

Odds makers right now @ this moment r basically saying the knicks have a better chance @ winning the series than the warriors. I don't see it

 

[Happy Hippo]

Odds makers right now @ this moment r basically saying the knicks have a better chance @ winning the series than the warriors. I don't see it

The Spurs have the Warriors figured out. They are going hard at Curry when he is playing defense, and wearing him out. They are taking him and Klay out of the game offensively, and guarding everyone tight on the perimeter, making them drive to score (which is not their game).

I don't see the Knicks coming back from a 3-1 deficit, and although it is odd, I would say they have a better chance of doing that, than of the Warriors winning the last two games in this series. The Spurs are just heads above better. The Knicks can get hot.

This is the grandmaster executing his final moves. Let's not forget all the times that Pop rested players early in the season so that they would have the energy to withstand the playoffs. Even when they played, Pop used his depth to give them rests - the Spurs don't have any player that logged in the top 50 in minutes per game, whereas the Warriors have 3 players that logged in the top 25, and Curry was seventh overall. It is surely showing now down the stretch.

 

[Happy Hippo]

Gasol and Allen played together for 29 minutes last night, and when they did, the team had a defensive efficiency rating of 65.6

 

[Happy Hippo]

Like the Heat have done this year, there have been 5 teams that have started the playoffs by losing one or no games in the first two rounds since the league switched to the 7 game format. None of them have a ring to show for it.

RESULTS:

2004-5 Heat - lost in ECF
2008-9 Cavs - lost in ECF
2009-10 Magic - lost in ECF
2011-12 Thunder - lost in finals
2011-12 Spurs - lost in WCF

 

[Happy Hippo]

Odds makers right now @ this moment r basically saying the knicks have a better chance @ winning the series than the warriors. I don't see it

I actually think the Knicks will win pretty handily tonight. A matter of coming out a little flat emotionally vs a super inspired team. I think with the defensive team snubs and the two home games, the Pacers executed great game plans, but also spent a lot of emotion in those two wins.

 

[margwellus]

Thought the same about the Thunder last night Hippo, that they would win the game handily (as you say the Knicks will) but Scott Brooks showed why he's a 2nd rate coach....Think the Knicks are done..perhaps they'll win tonite but they are not really a team..they're success has been when one player gets hot and the energy and confidence gets contagious. I don't see that chemistry any more. I see j Kidd and JR Smith disappearing and all of the pressure o Melo and Felton. That said they could win tonite and "get it up" one last time, but this is clearly NOT a championship caliber team. Would love to see Indiana play memphis in the finals..That would be a great matchup, but think it will be Spurs/Heat which will also be a great one. Popovich as you pointed out is a MASTER (2nd in my opinion to Phil Jackson as the best coach of our time) and he does have the Warriors figured out. You can tell a lot about coaches and how they make adjustments as the series gets deeper. Coaches like DelNegro and Brooks failed to make adjustments and now they're golfing and fishing..Gotta give Thibodeau credit for doing what he did with his 3 of his starters out....pretty amazing he squeezed what he did out of that squad... While I wish I could say the Warriors will force a game 7 I think it ends tonite in oakland..A great season falling just short...As for the Knicks, at -750 to win the series I think that's the best $$$ on the board if you have the length to lay that wood. ENjoy the games!

 

[Happy Hippo]

Besides the emotional factors, Woodson says he is most likely going back to the small line-up, and that is also why I like the Knicks tonight. If they move Melo back to the four and start Prigioni, they can win. I don't think they can win with Melo playing extended minutes at the three, and it was a disaster in the last game starting K-Mart. Their floor spacing is all messed up with two bigs, and they just have to counter with a smaller line-up and play faster like they did in game two. Can they win the next three? No, I don't think so, but I think they could get one tonight. Woodson is a notch above Brooks, and although I haven't been impressed with his adjustments in this series, maybe he has some tricks yet to pull. You never know - maybe Kidd will score a basket tonight!

Going to make sure the Spurs win this series before delving into the next matchup, but Pop is certainly a master, no doubt about that. Thibodeau carried that team as far as he could - it was an impressive standing by the Bulls, as so many people doubted they could even get out of the first round, and probably they should not have given their line-ups.

Cheers

 

[margwellus]

Love kicking it around with you Hippo and love your insight....I sure hope Kidd can hit a shot and that JR being back home can shoot his way out of a slump (please let's not have another STARKS-ian performance), but even still, the Knicks just don't seem to want it as badly as Indiana does...I think tonite also depends somewhat on Shumpert's abaility to go...any word on if he will be playing?????and yes it would be good to see the Spurs play a few games in a row as the Spurs we once knew them to be to think they can play at that high level consistently, which is what it will take to beat a tough memphis club.

 

[Happy Hippo]

margwellus - love the discussions as well, you add some great points to think about. The Pacers did come out completely flat last night, I think Hibbert summed it up with his comments after the game, lol!! That guy cracks me up - he is so serious most of the time, and then drops great lines like that. Woodson also finally made great adjustments, going with a smaller lineup and leaving Stoudemire and Kidd on the bench in the second half.

Kidd ALMOST scored! Wide open lay-up on a fast break...brick, haha.

Still thinking about this Spurs series - if the Spurs play up to their potential, they have a great shot here. I have good value on the future I took before this series with Memphis, but I think this is going to be very close. Both these teams have been playing superb basketball in the last few games. The Spurs are so fundamentally textbook and yet have a lot of creativity within their sets. Their ball movement is some of the best in the league, and they can break down tough defenses. This might be one of the last chances for Duncan, and I'm not going to discount the emotional aspect of this series. Should be some great games - someone on my twitter feed said:

Shaun Powell (@Powell2daPeople)
Fundamentalists and insomniacs can't wait for the Spurs-Grizzlies series to start.


and I definitely laughed, because those phrases totally describe me!

 

[Happy Hippo]

Zig-zag on home favorites coming off a loss now 5-1 in last six. Probably due for a few losses, but I'm still going to ride it (with qualifications) since it has been great in this round.

Pacers qualify in the next game, plus teams that are down 3-2 in series are 36-55-1 ATS over the last ten season, and 37-52 O/U. When playing as a road dog, teams are 6-24 SU, losing by over 7 ppg.

A little worried here about Hill - Augustin was a fish out of water in the last game. He can't guard anybody, and the Knicks exploited him heavily in their pick n' rolls. Without the length of Hill, Felton is going to have a field day getting the Knicks into sets. The Pacers biggest weakness is their bench - they rely very heavily on their starters, and it showed with Hill out and Hibbert in foul trouble early in the game.

 

[WildBillPicks7]

Zig-zag on home favorites coming off a loss now 5-1 in last six. Probably due for a few losses, but I'm still going to ride it (with qualifications) since it has been great in this round.

Pacers qualify in the next game, plus teams that are down 3-2 in series are 36-55-1 ATS over the last ten season, and 37-52 O/U. When playing as a road dog, teams are 6-24 SU, losing by over 7 ppg.

A little worried here about Hill - Augustin was a fish out of water in the last game. He can't guard anybody, and the Knicks exploited him heavily in their pick n' rolls. Without the length of Hill, Felton is going to have a field day getting the Knicks into sets. The Pacers biggest weakness is their bench - they rely very heavily on their starters, and it showed with Hill out and Hibbert in foul trouble early in the game.

Waiting on Hill decision too, HH!! Makes a 5-6 pt difference easily..

Like home court, but also a dog with a fight left, is a dangerous dog.

Will wait to get 3 1/2 or 4 on this one tomorrow or buy it down, or just go ML!!

GL with it!!


:toast:

 

[Happy Hippo]

Interesting article on Hill and concussions.