Oh my. I am REALLY rooting for the Pacers and actively dislike JeBron Lames, but damn…you’ve gotta give it up to his performance tonight. Not only did he have 44 points, 8 assists and 11 boards (plus a few blocks), he single-handedly orchestrated that win in the end.
Had the incredible block on Oladipo, called time with 3 seconds left in the game and banged a buzzer beater 3 for the win in a tie game. That was impressive.
The worm has definitely turned against Indiana. Even if they manage to win game 6 in Indy, a game 7 in Cleveland against JeBron Lames is pretty daunting. I’ve been reluctant to admit it, but he is the closest thing this generation has to Jordan. He’s utterly dominant when the chips are down.
That’s now TWO losses where the Spacers had a super close game for the taking and couldn’t get it done. Frankly I was surprised they even came back and tied it the way they played in the middle of the game with back to back shot clock violations, terrible rebounding and shot selection.
Just wow to that ending though. Dude’s like the Megatron of basketball.
Heh - after the Raptors went up 2-0, I’m stupidly thinking - “well, better get the broom ready”. Now, with the Raptors squeaking out a too-close-for-comfort game 5 win, I see that this series is nowhere near over, and would be quite surprised if the Raps take game six in DC, the way this series is looking, with the Raps turning the ball over more than MLS players getting constantly dispossessed/coughing it up. If it wasn’t for bencher Delon Wright scoring seven straight, right at the end, I don’t think the Raps would’ve won last night. And speaking of benches - to have to rely on a still-injured Freddie Van Vleet is a pretty sad statement for the team. Role players like CJ Miles have to pick it up.
The game changed in Game 5 wasn’t Delon Wright as much as it was JV, whose arrival in the 4th quarter - his first 4th quarter minutes of the series - tilted the court. Dwayne Casey seemed unwilling to deviate from his first/second unit arrangements despite the absence of Van Vleet, and his finally responding to that changed the game.
Don’t be surprised if in Game 6, Serge Ibaka doesn’t start. I love Serge Ibaka like I’m his wife, but he’s been very poor for three games now, and looks tentative. I would like to see Pascal Siakam replace him in the first unit (Miles would work too) and use Ibaka in the second unit, which I think will re-energize him.
Toronto is up 3-2 despite playing pretty badly by their standards. That is a good thing to be able to say. If you go up 3-2 playing shitty, your ceiling is high. They’ll be fine.
The way LeBron has been playing recently, it’s starting to seem superfluous to worry about what other teams in the East will advance. But, things could change. I am eagerly awaiting the Pelicans v Warriors series in the West.
Cleveland still isn’t the best team in the East. Again, consider how things have gone versus the results and then ask if a decline or an improvement is likely?
Cleveland is getting LeBron James at his absolute best, and they’re just a TINY bit better than the Indiana Pacers.
Van Vleet returned to really galvanize the bench, especially Siakim.
Glad that the Raptors put an end to their all-time play-offs 0-23 record after trailing at half time on the road.
Reassuring if the Raptors can win like this with Derozan getting just 16 points.
Both Lillard and McCollum are short for today’s guards, especially the latter. Fancy dribbling and speed help, but can’t compensate for length. Lillard even had the embarrassment of having one of this three pointers blocked.
Shame the Pacers had to go out like that, but…it’s LeBron. The Pacers need to add a solid piece or two and they win that series. It’s really too bad they don’t have the Horford that is playing now rather than the one they used to have. Maybe they add a star SG. Letting Paul George go was tough, but they got Oladipo out of it, so…eh, it’s a wash.
Still…damn. They kept playing the Cavs close in these games but just can’t quite pull it off.
We didn’t get blown out in Game 7; we can take pride in that. I remember in '95 when we stretched the Orlando Magic to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals, and then they just dominated us.
"Pretty simple, Ty Lue is a terrible coach. This set of players played really well at two points this season; 1.) Right after the trade before they had any practices or exposure to Lue’s coaching. 2.) When Lue was out for 10 games.
The Raptors just straight up choked Game 1. There’s no way around it; they missed 15 of their last 18 shots and missed key rebounds to boot. They were the best team on the floor, had the game in hand, and just plain choked. Miss 14 out of 18, they win the game. It was a sad performance.
They win two out of the next three or
It’s over, and
Dwayne Casey will be seeking employment elsewhere.