2019 NBA Playoffs

Playoffs start in 5 minutes. I'm rooting for a Nets upset esp with it looking like Embiid may not play in the first round. Milwaukee sweep of the Pistons, any other predictions?

SATURDAY, APRIL 13TH​
Brooklyn Nets	at	Philadelphia 76ers	Round 1 - Game 1	2:30 PM ET	TSN3
Orlando Magic	at	Toronto Raptors	Round 1 - Game 1	5:00 PM ET	SN1
LA Clippers	at	Golden State Warriors	Round 1 - Game 1	8:00 PM ET	TSN4
San Antonio Spurs	at	Denver Nuggets	Round 1 - Game 1	10:30 PM ET	NBAC
SUNDAY, APRIL 14TH​
Indiana Pacers	at	Boston Celtics	Round 1 - Game 1	1:00 PM ET	TSN2
Oklahoma City Thunder	at	Portland Trail Blazers	Round 1 - Game 1	3:30 PM ET	TSN3
Detroit Pistons	at	Milwaukee Bucks	Round 1 - Game 1	7:00 PM ET	SN1
Utah Jazz	at	Houston Rockets	Round 1 - Game 1	9:30 PM ET	TSN1/4

Embiid available to play. He's dressed and playing in warm-ups, probably won't start but I'd expect him to play.

Embiid starting.

Nets win 111-102 despite Embiid being able to play. DLo with 26 17 in the second half. Butler with 36 in a losing effort. Sixers fans booed their team through the game.

It's early but if the Nets manage to win this series expect Brown to be the next coach fired and a shakeup of that roster. Their owner is on record that an early playoff exit would be a problem if it happens. Though Embiid didn't show it, I think the injury hampered him and he may not be able to play some games in the remainder of the series with the Nets.

tiger0330 said:

Nets win 111-102 despite Embiid being able to play. DLo with 26 17 in the second half. Butler with 36 in a losing effort. Sixers fans booed their team through the game.

It's early but if the Nets manage to win this series expect Brown to be the next coach fired and a shakeup of that roster. Their owner is on record that an early playoff exit would be a problem if it happens. Though Embiid didn't show it, I think the injury hampered him and he may not be able to play some games in the remainder of the series with the Nets.

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The Sixer fans were booing? I don?t get it.

Great game in TOR 6 ties and 7 lead changes in the 4th qtr with a 7th tie after a DJ layup. DJ Augustin takes a 3 with 3 seconds left and makes it. Magic up 104-101. Kawhi misses his try to tie it and the Magic pull the 2nd upset of the day beating the Raptors on their home floor.

Dubs took care of business in Oracle. Steph becomes the all-time playoff 3 pt shot leader with 386 passing Ray Allen. 38pt 15RB night for him. The future Knick KD had a good game with 23 pts but got ejected late with 2 techs.

Brooklyn Nets put Barkley Center in the House by winning the first game of the post-season over the 76er's All-Star starting-5 lineup.
Embiid shooting 5-15 fga, and the 76er's team shooting 3-25 from the 3-ball line .... D'Angelo Russel dynamic postseason game performance makes Magic Johnson decision to quit, and the firing of Luke Walton a good decision for the Lakers.
Head coach Kenny Atkinson strategic-move and 10 Man rotation out-coached Philly coach Brett Brown throughout all 4 quarters of the game for a 111 - 102 Brooklyn Nets win.

Hold-On .. we had more under-dog wins in the postseason games today by the Orlando Magic 104 -101 win over the Toronto Raptors .. than the experience Spurs grabbed a 101 - 96 win over the Denver Nuggets in their first game showdown.

tiger0330 said:

Dubs took care of business in Oracle. Steph becomes the all-time playoff 3 pt shot leader with 386 passing Ray Allen. 38pt 15RB night for him. The future Knick KD had a good game with 23 pts but got ejected late with 2 techs.

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All-time 3 point playoff record for a guy who is only 31 years old. Testament to how the game has changed, the Warriors? dominance, and of course, Curry?s generational talent.

htr10 said:

All-time 3 point playoff record for a guy who is only 31 years old. Testament to how the game has changed, the Warriors’ dominance, and of course, Curry’s generational talent.

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They were discussing how he's the greatest shooter in NBA history with Breen, MJ and JVG all agreeing he is. Unlimited range is what set's him apart from any other player that has played the game. We've seen him make 30 40 even 75 ft shots in his career.

Kanter with 20 points and 18 rebounds in Portland game 1 win. Good for him.

htr10 said:

Kanter with 20 points and 18 rebounds in Portland game 1 win. Good for him.

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Didn't watch because I was watching my namesake Tiger Woods win at the Masters. What a great moment in sports for the guy to win the Masters at 43. That image they showed of him hugging his father when he won he won his first Masters in 1997 and now hugging his son in winning his 5th Masters 22 years later was truly moving to me.

Going to catch the OKC/POR game later but POR made the right move getting Kanter for depth at C before the Nurkic injury. I was one of the few around here that wanted to keep him if we could have signed him for a reasonable contract. I hope he helps POR make it to the second round.

Today's game was all about Enes it seems.


PORTLAND, Ore. -- When TNT's cameras caught Oklahoma City Thundercoach Billy Donovan apparently saying "Can't play Kanter" about then-Thunder center Enes Kanter during Game 1 of the Thunder's 2017 first-round series loss to the Houston Rockets, it captured popular sentiment about Kanter's defensive limitations in the playoffs.
In another Game 1 on Sunday, playing for the Portland Trail Blazers against Oklahoma City, Kanter replaced that memory with a more positive playoff moment. Kanter's 20 points and game-high 18 rebounds, the latter a postseason career high, were critical to Portland's 104-99 win over the Thunder to take a 1-0 lead in their best-of-seven series and snap a 10-game Blazers playoff losing streak that dated back to 2016.
"I'm not considered a great defender (either)," said Portland All-Star Damian Lillard, "but I think when the effort is there, when your focus is there and you care enough -- the desire is there -- you can do something for the team. I think that's shown since (Kanter) has been on our team and it showed tonight."

Donovan explained after the infamous clip that he was talking about playing Kanter in certain defensive coverages, not putting him on the floor at all, and Kanter said Sunday he believed Donovan's explanation. Nonetheless, Kanter played just 29 minutes off the bench over the final four games of the series -- his last for the Thunder before being traded to the New York Knicks as part of the 2017 trade that sent Carmelo Anthony to Oklahoma City.
With New York, Kanter's ability to stay on the court in the playoffs was immaterial. But the Knicks waived Kanter after the trade deadline and he subsequently signed with the Blazers for the stretch run, a move he told Portland GM Neil Olshey after Game 1 was a good decision.
"I was on the worst team in the league and I wasn't even playing because they thought I was too old to play," Kanter said. "The situation and all the drama, it was so frustrating because all I wanted to do was go out there and just win. A couple of days ago, I looked in the mirror and said, 'Man, I'm blessed to be here with an amazing organization and amazing teammates that trust in me.' It definitely feels amazing and it's definitely a blessing."
Originally, Kanter was signed to provide frontcourt depth in Portland. His role changed suddenly on March 25 when center Jusuf Nurkic suffered a compound fracture of his left leg that ended his season, thrusting Kanter into the starting lineup and a key role in this series against his former team.
The Blazers went 6-2 with Kanter starting at center the rest of the regular season, but largely against lottery-bound teams. This was the toughest test of Kanter's defense, and he more than held his own. Portland was a game-high plus-15 in Kanter's 34 minutes, and he blocked a pair of shots. Oklahoma City scored just .81 points per chance in 27 pick-and-rolls involving Kanter according to Second Spectrum tracking, as compared to the Thunder's average of .91 points per chance during the regular season.
"I think it's unfortunate a lot of times you get a reputation and that reputation kind of sticks with you, whether you deserve it or not," said Blazers coach Terry Stotts. "I think Enes has been really good for us defensively. He gives great effort."
"He works, that's the biggest thing," echoed Portland guard CJ McCollum. "He puts the effort forward, he communicates, he moved his feet tonight. Obviously, Russ (Westbrook) coming downhill, PG (Paul George) coming downhill, (Dennis) Schroder coming downhill, those are tough covers for any big man in the league and I thought he held his ground well.

"He held his ground against Steven Adams and showed his versatility. I think he's done a good job for us, and obviously he's been a key acquisition for us with Nurk going down. We need him producing at a high level."
For Kanter, the chemistry and trust he's quickly built with his new teammates was key to his success defensively.
"I think defense is all about communication for us," he said. "I think we did a very good job communicating on the pick-and-rolls and trusting each other. I know every time I got beat or somebody else got beat, my teammates have got my back and I've got their back."
As a result, on Sunday the Blazers not only could play Kanter, they needed him on the court to beat the Thunder.

tiger0330 said:

Didn't watch because I was watching my namesake Tiger Woods win at the Masters. What a great moment in sports for the guy to win the Masters at 43. That image they showed of him hugging his father when he won he won his first Masters in 1997 and now hugging his son in winning his 5th Masters 22 years later was truly moving to me.

Going to catch the OKC/POR game later but POR made the right move getting Kanter for depth at C before the Nurkic injury. I was one of the few around here that wanted to keep him if we could have signed him for a reasonable contract. I hope he helps POR make it to the second round.

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How u missed the number #1 match-up game in the first round to watch a sucker like tigerwoods SMH.
Westbrook and Lilard are one of the NBA Top-5 best leadership/complimentary PG in the business .. these two PG would have made all the bum head-coaches that just got fired get an extension to their contracts if they were their head-coaches.
The Match-up of Westbrook vs Lillard are a must watch series just like the match-up of Curry/Klay vs CP3/Harden !!!

I mention when dum-dum Fizdale took Kanter out of the starter lineup .. that Kanter were a 24 minute double-double center that will be welcome in any winning rotation team .. KEEPER!
I recall Denver Nuggets wanting the Nets Lopez for the trade of Melo, we got Kanter for Melo a much better rebounder than Lopez.

The Knicks front-office has a bad habit of never thinking long-term .. starting the 2019-20 season having Kanter/DJ/and a 2nd-season MitchRob for a 82 game season would've gave the Knicks a nice 2-Way big front-court rotation to rely on throughout a season or two.
It would have looked interesting to one or more of the off-season Star FA if the Knicks worked out a early deal to resign both FA veteran centers DJ and Kanter to a reasonable signing deal.
Hoping for a thousand and one odds of the Knicks signing 2 star FA in the off-season, plus Knicks receiving the number #1 pick are more than optimistically .. it's .......

Cuz just went down chasing a loose ball. Looks like it might be that left Achilles again. He went back to the locker room with a noticeable limp on his left leg the same leg he had the Achilles on. Guy is headed to FA again with what may be that Achilles again.

tiger0330 said:

Cuz just went down chasing a loose ball. Looks like it might be that left Achilles again. He went back to the locker room with a noticeable limp on his left leg the same leg he had the Achilles on. Guy is headed to FA again with what may be that Achilles again.

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Left quad injury and not an Achilles, will undergo an MRI tomorrow.

In the early Sixers/Nets games Sixers blew the game open in the 3rd with a record setting 51pts in the 3rd qtr. Sixers led 65-64 going into the half but Brooklyn did not hit a 3 in the 3rd after hitting 10 in the 1st half. Boban was money with that 15 ft shot he took for his 16 pts.

Didn't see it because I fell asleep but the Clips set a second record along with the Sixers who earlier set the 3rd qtr scoring record in the early game. Clips in their 135-131 win set the record for the biggest comeback in playoff history coming back from a 31 pt deficit to beat the Dubs, the prior record was 29pts set by the Lakers beating Seattle in 1989.

tiger0330 said:

Left quad injury and not an Achilles, will undergo an MRI tomorrow.

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Kerr called Cuz's quad injury a significant injury so they suspect a torn quad and not a strain. Obviously if his MRI reveals a torn quad Cuz is done for the year.