I’d have said Bucks in 4 or 5 before the Pacers series, but Boston looked good in it. So, why not Bucks in 6?
Rockets Warriors today. Funny how it feels like all 82 games, the preseason, draft, trades: all boil down to these next 4 or more games. Can’t wait. Rockets in 6, as I don’t think this Warriors team is anywhere near as dominant as the past few.
I had a feeling the Celtics would win this first game — I swear! Al Horford came ready to defend Giannis. This one could easily go to seven, as could the Rockets-Warriors. So could Portland-Denver, for that matter. I think only the Raptors will have an easy time getting through this round.
Especially since both Curry and Thompson have ankle sprains. GS has a really deep bench, but having both of them sidelined is a problem.
Rockets made public a statistical analysis showing how the NBA officiating favors the Warriors. This isn’t some sore-loser whining, either; they make detailed analysis of 81 officiating errors (including some that favored Houston.)
Let me know when snipers stop getting Harden in the chin from the rafters, then I’ll give a shit about what the Rockets think regarding officiating.
ETA: The “memo” is from LAST year, the final game of the Western Conference Finals. It’s cherry-picking at it’s finest.
Yeah, it is. The NBA has ‘politely disagreed’ with Houston’s methodology.
Portland looked somewhat overwhelmed in their opener with DEN, although the score remained fairly close throughout. McCollum started hot and kind of fizzled. Good to see Kanter able to play, as this would have been a rout without him. Hood actually showed up for a change, but was tending to run and gun whenever he was in, which meant that Seth Curry rarely touched the ball. They’ve got some adjusting to do if they’re going to make a good showing in this series.
Portland stole one at Denver last night, despite the Blazers’ horrible rebounding (Denver had 23 offensive rebounds). They were able to limit Jokic to 16 points and Denver had a lousy second quarter. An accidental collision sent Craig out with what appeared to be a broken nose, although he returned. A second collision between he and Kanter (Kanter was pushed into him by Jokic) sent Craig to the floor and caused a scuffle on the floor resulting in offsetting technicals. For Portland, Harkless sprained an ankle. Hopefully it doesn’t sideline him.
Anyway, if PDX can fend them off for two home games, they may actually win this thing.
The only reason the Nuggets had to many offensive rebounds is because they missed sooooo many shots. The fact that Denver couldn’t capitalize on Lillard’s off night, and at home, does not bode well. I figured this series for 7 games, but who knows.
What the first round generally lacked in good playoff basketball, the second round giveth in spades. Three of four series are already tied and shaping up to be fantastic, and they all have their own storylines to follow. We get the Raptors and 76ers again tonight, and I’m interested to see how the Leonard/Simmons matchup continues.
Ben Simmons slams an elbow into Kyle Lowry’s nuts - no foul.
Pascal Siakim raises a leg after getting mauled to the ground by Embiid - flagrant 1.
If Simmons doesn’t get at LEAST a retroactive F1 for this, it’s a fucking joke.
The Raps were handily beaten tonight as the Sixers go up 2-1. Raps defense fell apart.
Cool that Lowry took the high road, afterwards, about getting bagged:
“It was nothing. He said he didn’t mean to do it. I’m not gonna dwell on something that wasn’t called. It is what it is. It’s not a big deal.”
Heh - maybe after the next game they might rendezvous in the hall.
This. And the same thing happened after Siakim’s kick, as well. It was pretty obviously a heat of the moment thing, for both incidents. That one was ignored and the other called reeks of poor officiating, to me. Not like that hasn’t been a brutally consistent refrain for most NBA fans this season. :rolleyes:
I mean, in game 2 the Raptors’ coach got a tech after his discussion with a ref was over and he’d turned away and was walking back to his bench, whereas the 76ers’ coach was allowed to run onto the court during play and the refs just ignored him, so…
He probably muttered something like “fucking asshole” while he was walking away, and the ref heard it.
Loved seeing Philly go up 2-1. They really turned their season around after a seemingly lackluster start.
From the view available to us in San Antonio, seeing Kawhitter down 2-1 is quite awesome. #Philly
They were pretty far apart by that point. I kinda got the feeling that the ref had already decided to give the tech but didn’t want to do it while he and the coach were in each other’s faces. I’m not sure if that’s standard procedure or not – it may be a deescalation thing they’re trained to do.
It was still frustrating to see the 76ers’ coach get off scott free for a far worse infraction. Wouldn’t any player get a suspension if he left the bench and stepped onto the court? I see to recall Phoenix being screwed by such a rule years ago in the playoffs against the Spurs.
Done. Just announced on radio. No link, sorry.
Lowry always seems to play poorly in the playoffs… If they go out in the 2nd round, will Kahwi stay?
Here you go.