It wouldn't surprise me if an upset team makes the finals in the East. The Cavs haven't been the Cavs, and in recent times especially, Boston has not been dominating lower teams like they should. Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk
I don't think any of the top teams have been dominating lower teams like they should. It's all about the refs orchestrating a cute drama in each game and avoiding bad calls in the final 2 minutes. That F2M report by the NBA is all about conditioning refs to avoid creating a media situation at the end of the game like they did last year in the playoffs and during the 2015/16 regular season. At least the team foul calls are close to even in every game, amirite?
Haven't been on TGG much..forgot to drop by one of my favorite threads.. What an amazing year Russ had... I'm sure he won't get MVP but man...we are lucky to witness what we are witnessing! That loss to Charlotte put the seal on the deal for Harden IMO... OKC can't win 50 games now.. I feel like we needed that for Russ to get MVP.. still a special year. Get that man some help after Houston unloads the most threes in a playoff series in NBA history on us in a few weeks!
I think Isiah Thomas is being severely overlooked for MVP. He's got them to the 1 seed, and there are no other true stars on that team. Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk
Any other year he would be a viable MVP. If he doesn't get ANY votes, that would overlooking. The homer in me wants him at 3rd in the voting, and i truly believe he should be #3... But he doesn't have the star status of Lebron/Kawai so I am expecting 4th or 5th. From a value standpoint, without IT not only do they win 50 percent less games but they become the worst offensive team in the NBA. How he matches the Celtic personnel is what makes him as valuable as he is.
Well the Celtics didn't show up, always have problems beating the top tier teams. Watching the game with some buddies, it was clear 10 minutes in it was going to be a blow out. On to the next one.
That's too bad. Probably going to lose the 1 seed then. I just want the Cavs to not make the finals for once. Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk
They could still get the 1 seed... But if I had to choose between getting the 1 seed and playing the Pacers, I pick playing the Pacers.
But it's probably going to come down to Cavs vs Celtics, and who has home court can be huge. Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk
Obviously I take any advantage they can get... But the Celtics beating the Cavs to get to the finals would be one of the biggest surprises in NBA history. I'll be happy if they win a playoff series, because in reality they are the 3rd or 4th most talented team in the East. I have never watched a team that is worse at rebounding... And Kelly Olynyk is on the team.
C's fans should be very concerned about this team. It has kind of snowballed since the all star break. They were firing on all cylinders the last 10-15 games before the break, but never got anywhere near that after. And now they are definitely playing their worst stretch of basketball of the season. They just don't have enough depth. Any fan that takes the glasses off knows this team is not the 2nd best team in the East, and a fair expectation is to win 1 playoff series... I would definitely put them on a short lists of potential upsets in the first round regardless of who they play if they don't turn it around fast.
With an amazing performance too. 50 points, 16 boards and 10 assists on 17/32 from the field and only two turnovers in only 37 minutes. That team wins 15 games maybe without him. There's noooo way he's not the MVP. It'd be a crime if he's not. At the very least they would need to co-MVP it for him and Harden. The whole wins thing is slightly overrated. The Rockets don't have 65 wins. They only have 8 more than the Thunder. I would loooove to see Westbrook take down the Warriors or Spurs by himself. I just don't think it'll happen. They have absolutely no firepower other than him. I wonder if they'll find a way to get him help next year. Melo maybe? As much of a ball stopper as he is, they have a good roster setup to add another scorer and that's it.
I've heard Blake would consider it. That would be huge. As for the current. Oladipo is ok, but overrated imo. The stash brothers are both quite good. Roberson is good on defense. Taj was a nice addition. In the end though, there's only 1 star unfortunately. Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk
I'm down to trade Oladipo if we can't find other guys to start and make him our 6th man. I feel he's already reached his ceiling.. he's a decent player but I don't think he'll be getting much better. I would like Gordon Hayward... with him being an all-star this year Utah won't be able to afford him without breaking down it's team first.. he's not going to sign that 17M player option when he's clearly a max-deal talent. He'll become an unrestricted free agent. I think he's the most underrated player in the NBA. Cut singler, trade dipo possibly, free up some space and really go hard for this guy.
Who wants Oladipo at his current contract? That has to be one of the worst in the NBA. $21 million for at best a six man. JR Smith is lightyears better and only averages $14.25 million a year. I understand giving Steven Adams a big deal more than him. Big men are harder to come by. Average 2-guards are a dime a dozen.
