2017 playoff discussion

[Guest]

11 minutes ago, JayBirdHawk said:

Have these guys not been paying attention to Al's game? This is excactly who HE IS! Not THAT guy! He's no Karl Malone.

I will be satisfied when they finally assign Horford the appropriate amount of blame for the Hawks' last 2 postseason struggles.  He's skated by so far but with the Seeees falling apart and showing a dearth of leadership, I just want them to pin that on him.

Teague has gotten some blowback.

[Guest]

29 minutes ago, kg01 said:

Teague

Is walking on pins n needles after PG ripped into Miles in game 1 and Lance in game 2....Teague is hiding...:-|

[macdaddy]

The Boston media and public is different than the organization.   I'm sure Ainge and Stevens knew what they were getting with Al and frankly it worked out great for them in the regular season.   Al's assist numbers have been huge.   Stevens obviously wanted the stretch 5 and thought they had enough shooting to overcome a lack of inside presence.   We thought that once.   

[benhillboy]

Millennial Celtic fans aren't your dad's intelligent fan base.  Many actually think that the worst Zeller at the 5 and Al at 4 will make a difference.  He does have a higher rebound rate than Al I'll give him that.

Al's value is now all found in his ability to play great team defense and elite Big passing.  Absolutely nothing else.

Rebounding is very simple: you have to have courage and disregard for getting hit in the head.  Size and anticipation factor in a bit, but it's 90% heart.  Al averaged twice as many OR as a rookie than he does now at the spry age of 30, steadily declining each year.  If Stevens is such a genius how about explain the simple premise to Al that "more rebounds mean more shot attempts, more fouls drawn, more points, so on and so forth.  It's pretty cool, dude."

Al singlehandedly reinvigorated my Hawks fandom, never thought he'd turn into a complete powderpuff (not "Powerpuff," those girls are rough)but that's exactly what has happened.  The pectorals was so long ago and not a valid excuse anymore, we've seen guys go through major organ surgery and still return playing their game.  I wouldn't be surprised if he retired very early.  All he spends his allowance on are those Big & Tall Slim Euro Fit sweaters with the sleeves rolled up anyway.  Anna controls all other finances.

But damn him, y'all know how I feel about Jimmy B.  He's barely broken a sweat against those guys and filling the sheet out.

Edited April 19, 2017 by benhillboy

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Spud2Nique said:

Sometimes it pays to know what a free agent can do for you vs just the thrill of saying you signed a free agent.

 

I honestly believe the Celtics thought Horford was a "good" rebounder. Lol. I mean, talk about having one of the worst scouting in the history of the NBA. I'm sorry but the Celts had seen Horford play against them roughly 60 times since 2007, and they STILL thought he could rebound? 

 

Wow!

When you hear stuff like 'Al in the post is going to open up the floor for our shooters' makes you wonder.  Al has his strengths that ain one.

[Guest]

Bob Rathbun @BobRathbunTV

30k for Fiz

[aali34]

I said something like this could happen. Didn't expect it to happen in the first round tho....

On 11/11/2016 at 1:23 PM, aali34 said:

I've said this over and over again, losing Evan Turner was the worst thing that happened to the Celtics in the short term, maybe Jaylen Brown becomes a star in the future maybe not, but right now, their best player/shooter and only play maker is 5''9. Al horford won't be much help defensively because they don't need help on the perimeter. I don't know much about Amir Johnson's defense, but I'm guessing its not as good as Paul Millsaps. Evan Turner was a guy with good vision who allowed Thomas to be an off-ball scorer. 

I never understood how people believed that they would contend with Cleveland seeing that their two best players who play clearly defined, non-interchangeable positions on the court are clearly undersized. and physically will always be at a disadvantage.

I can picture Isiah Thomas trying to contest a Kyrie Irving fadeaway on the baseline but can barely keep a hand in his face, and then on the next possession seeing Tristan Thompson snatching rebounds out of Horfords hands.

 

I'd also like to add that playing against the best perimeter defender in the eastern conference doesn't help IT at all.

Not to mention that Horford needs a play-maker since he can't create his own shot.

[AHF]

14 minutes ago, JayBirdHawk said:

Bob Rathbun @BobRathbunTV

30k for Fiz

May prove to be well worth it.  Coaches who have complained very publicly in the past have on the whole been rewarded for it with a positive change in the way the games are called for their team.

People like Phil Jackson used to be masters at that type of manipulation.  (Now he just seems woefully inept in the GM seat).

[Diesel]

OK...  I'm laughing after every Boston loss.  Alice is who we thought he was...

[Guest]

36 minutes ago, aali34 said:

I said something like this could happen. Didn't expect it to happen in the first round tho....

I'd also like to add that playing against the best perimeter defender in the eastern conference doesn't help IT at all.

Not to mention that Horford needs a play-maker since he can't create his own shot.

You and me both. I said they'd miss Turner because he was the ball handler for the 2nd unit. He could also play alongside IT to spell him from ball handling duties.

 

[Guest]

17 minutes ago, Diesel said:

OK...  I'm laughing after every Boston loss.  Alice is who we thought he was...

Who, Karl Malone ...

Ha!

16 minutes ago, JayBirdHawk said:

You and me both. I said they'd miss Turner because he was the ball handler for the 2nd unit. He could also play alongside IT to spell him from ball handling duties.

 

Great mines thank alike.  Turner was a defender too.  They thought (not-so)Smart could slide into that role but it appears he has too much 'get minez' in his game.

[macdaddy]

I can't start celebrating boston's woes yet.   i've been burned too many times.

[Thomas]

For some lighter news, South Gwinnett's very own Sweet Lou scored twenty one off the bench to help the Rockets overcome Westbrook's crazy ass numbers. Rockets took it away from the Thunder in the fourth. Yeah I know, we really could use Lou's gun right now.

[Diesel]

Heard an interesting take on Westbrook today.  ESPN Radio... they were talking about how the whole team just sits and watches Westbrook and he likes taking the game over...completely... BUT.. that's why they lose.  Something about having your PG also take over the offense when he wants to causes other players to quit on you.

 

[Thomas]

Curious as to how Al and Tito feel now about the livid Green fans cheering for their team. Careful with the Twitter there Al, they can't see you clap your hands. This quote from July.

“There wasn’t as much motivation for him when he saw all the empty seats when they were winning,” Tito Horford said. “He said to me, ‘Dad, when we were playing Boston, they were down 15 points and they were cheering their team like they were winning the game. They’re so into the game.’ This is special for us, especially for him.

[benhillboy]

17 hours ago, Diesel said:

Heard an interesting take on Westbrook today.  ESPN Radio... they were talking about how the whole team just sits and watches Westbrook and he likes taking the game over...completely... BUT.. that's why they lose.  Something about having your PG also take over the offense when he wants to causes other players to quit on you.

 

I don't think it's an "interesting take."  Its basic basketball philosophy.  I don't blame him, he's always balls-to-the-wall with no concept of pace, inclusion, or efficiency.  Presti and all of his coaches are to blame for condoning his style of play and building a poor roster.  They do have a great duo of Bigs in Adams and Kanter who have basically been neutered by Westbrook constantly going one-on-five.  They don't even roll anymore off screens.  No one outside of Roberson wants to defend when they're an afterthought on offense.  34% shooting on 66 shots through 2 games?  Sounds like an MVP.

The Grizz won a game?  Wha!?

Something is going on with the chemistry of the Raptors.  Combine that with Kidd doing a great job and Giannis ascending to super-stardom and they're in trouble.  Casey is totally confused on his rotations.

I used to be a huge Paul George fan but I can't rock with dude anymore.  He's gotten lazy on both sides while becoming a little more diva than he already was.  Irving and Love sit the whole 4th quarter and he still couldn't lead his team to a win, at home, up 26?  There was a time when the gap between he and Lebron was wide, but steadily closing.  He's drifted to another stratosphere now. 

 

[Thomas]

So the Greek Freak just keeps on keeping on. The Bucks on their homecourt got out of the gate early and destroyed the Raptors. Pretty fun team.

http://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=400950410

[Guest]

20 hours ago, Diesel said:

Heard an interesting take on Westbrook today.  ESPN Radio... they were talking about how the whole team just sits and watches Westbrook and he likes taking the game over...completely... BUT.. that's why they lose.  Something about having your PG also take over the offense when he wants to causes other players to quit on you.

 

That's a wrong take.  They haven't quit on him.  An interesting take would be for the BSPN person to say that the system they run has a shelf-life.  There's only so much they'll be able to do when they force-feed the offense through 1 guy 100% of the time.

Unfortunately, no one on that team besides him is a competent offensive weapon.  The issue is not Westbrook, the issue is Presti.

On another note, can we go ahead and fire Bird and McMillan in IND.  That was unacceptable.

Also, has anyone cost themselves more money than Kial 'Playoff-scared' Lowry?

[Thomas]

14 minutes ago, kg01 said:

On another note, can we go ahead and fire Bird and McMillan in IND.  That was unacceptable.

Yeah, think 99% of folks called that mistake when Vogel was sent packing and then McMillan was hired. Would be surprised if Bird ever disappears from Indy though, probably would have to commit a homicide or something first.

[Guest]

I've come to believe folks who say MIL is in a great position.  To me, their future is brighter than the Seeess and all their unknowns.

MIL can easily trade Parker+ for an elite guard and depth.  Imagine if they shipped Parker+ to POR for Chuk McCollum?  Shiiiiiiiii