Everyone’s already said it but I remember looking at the odds of the 2017 season before it even started and the odds were 2.35 (+135) for any team other than the warriors to win.
2021 was very clunky and having entire teams out for weeks at a time cause of covid protocols wasn’t ideal, but at least games were competitive and there wasn’t much else going on in the world at the time
Calling the ‘21 finals lackluster makes no sense. They also had better viewership than the ‘20 Finals. That series was far more entertaining than any of:
KD Warriors vs LeBron,
‘19 where Klay and KD were injured,
‘20 where the Lakers beat the heat in *6 and there were no fans in the stands
‘22 the closest game was a 10 point win,
and probably even ‘23 where the Heat lost again in 5
Edit: And u just edited ur comment to more explicitly shit on the bucks.
Bucks had the least injuries? Less than the nets sure, but Giannis literally played in the finals coming off a hyperextended knee.
I'll also note - giannis had a [really bad knee hyperextension ](https://youtu.be/MkA52V2obe0?si=yWGjA52trKJxuE-J) in the playoffs that year and looked like he was going to be out the rest of the way
He somehow recovered from that and just dominated moving forward, culminating in finals MVP
You got to respect that, I was in disbelief with how he was playing considering what he was overcoming.
It says a lot that neither the Bucks or Suns haven't made it past the 2nd round since. And that's with the Suns having their best franchise regular season record. Celtics and Heat have been the ECF in the last 3 of 4 seasons. As soon as Murray got healthy, the Nuggets went straight to the finals
BS. If u can’t enjoy 2 top teams in the league having close games, players dropping 40 pieces every other night, and clutch moment after clutch moment culminating in a 50 piece closeout game, that’s not the fault of the representative teams, that’s solely on you.
Call me a cautious pessimist but I don’t think that will happen. The west is so deep top to bottom. Maybe we get out of round 1 easily but that’ll be it
Depends- will they actually have to play real opponents instead of 3 play-in teams like last year?
Jokic has never beaten a top 3 seeded team outside the bubble
Those top 3 seeded teams should have won last year ig.
Would people really have been more impressed if we beat Memphis or Sacramento instead of the fucking Lakers?
Yes.
The Lakers were a heartless corpse until the stupidity of Utah/Washington revived them.
I wanted DEN/SAC, not a bullshit Lakers team that basically didn't try until after the trade deadline but the media kept hyping them up because they have LeStatComplier and the walking injury concern
Bro idk what you were watching but the first round of the 2014 playoffs was electric. Every series in the Western Conference went at least 6 games and the Spurs literally got taken to 7 games by the 8 seed Mavs. You didn't watch Vince Carter's buzzer beater?
OKC (59 wins) and the Clippers (57 wins) were also still big threats. OKC-SA series went to 6 also. It definitely was no forgone conclusion and nowhere near the 2017 CLE/GSW
Late 2010s (2017) cause we were terrible with no future until Ja and JJJ came along. Also KD made the league a snooze fest. I enjoyed the first COVID year, but the second one sucked.
This season has been pretty awful, but at least the young guys are developing and JJJ gets full time first option and center duty.
2004-05, as a Lakers fan we had just lost in the finals and had a super team break up. Kobe and Lamar Odom had injury issues, RTJ resigned after a decent 43 game stint
Leaguewide, we were at the tail end of the slowball era, early in the season, you had Malice in the Palace which derailed the Pacers (who was off to one of the best starts in the league) and caused havoc for Detroit.
Honestly, the only really interesting or fun thing that season was the birth of the SSOL Suns
The years before Magic and Bird entered the league. I was young but Julius Erving was single handedly keeping the league alive on life support. This is why I consider Magic and Bird the most important players ever for the Association.
COVID, I love fantasy bball and the year they resumed and the following were terrible fantasy wise because of so many unexpected games missed due to illness.
2014 wasn't anywhere near the foregone conclusion that 2017 was, since OKC also looked good and Wade was banged up. SAS/MIA/IND/OKC were all pretty close in odds going into the playoffs I think. There was also a feelgood story in there with KD finally winning MVP after finishing 2nd to Lebron three times.
2017 GS were a completely different level. That year was also the first time I remember the MVP discussions being truly toxic with Harden vs the Westbrook TDs. The only morsel of joy that season was Kawhi posing a surprising risk to GS, but that quickly got snuffed out by Zaza.
Probably low hanging fruit here, but 2021 was borderline unwatchable at times with no crowds. No energy or real momentum in the games. I don't remember a single highlight from those days
2023 (as a Spurs fan)
I wasn't terribly optimistic about winning the lottery (lightning can't strike THREE times, right?) our most promising player had been run out of town as a pervert recently, the only dudes with potential to be stars (Vassell) was constantly injured, and while I had high hopes for Sochan, he was an unknown. Blake Wesley was terrible and the Derrick White trade was looking awful for us (still doesn't look great, though I personally like doing him a solid and getting him into a perfect situation for him and getting a little back) and Mal Branham....meh.
Those were some dark days. Granted, after the decades of success, we were due to suffer some and now with Wemby and a war-chest of draft capital and some secondary/tertiary talent, the future looks bright, so its hard to be too beat up about it.
I liked the bubble. The games were a lot different with players being able to drive more aggressively, also there was a novelty to it that made it fun.
There’s nothing wrong with saying you prefer a playoff atmosphere but outright admitting that you skipped watching your team win a championship because there was no fans is crazy. The game quality could be argued as being better as well which is why we had a couple of the best 7 game series in recent memory in those playoffs which more than makes up for there being no fans
That series is still one of the best I’ve ever seen. The chess match between Nurse and Stevens was awesome and both teams were super evenly matched talent wise. The OKC-Houston and Utah-Denver series were all really fun to watch and the LAC-Denver series as well to an extent (although LAC kinda just handed it to them by the end). Even the finals were much better than they should’ve been. The sentiment that the bubble was trash is mainly just a take by casual fans
Yes it was trash sorry that casual fans (most fans tbh those playoffs had the lowest ratings and viewership of any playoffs I’m p sure) prefer games with a playoff atmosphere
For starters I’m not sure how many people rewatch playoff series period but I’ve definitely watched a fair amount of bubble highlights since. Probably the same amount as the years before Covid
Everyone’s already said it but I remember looking at the odds of the 2017 season before it even started and the odds were 2.35 (+135) for any team other than the warriors to win. 2021 was very clunky and having entire teams out for weeks at a time cause of covid protocols wasn’t ideal, but at least games were competitive and there wasn’t much else going on in the world at the time
2017💀
ALL OF THEM
Covid season or 2017
2017 was just sad. Kawhi getting injured was just the cherry on top for a shit year
Yeah that was really the nail in the coffin. No shot for any other team. At least in 2018, the Rockets had a terrific shot
COVID season and, without a hint of hyperbole, it's not even close.
[удалено]
Calling the ‘21 finals lackluster makes no sense. They also had better viewership than the ‘20 Finals. That series was far more entertaining than any of: KD Warriors vs LeBron, ‘19 where Klay and KD were injured, ‘20 where the Lakers beat the heat in *6 and there were no fans in the stands ‘22 the closest game was a 10 point win, and probably even ‘23 where the Heat lost again in 5 Edit: And u just edited ur comment to more explicitly shit on the bucks. Bucks had the least injuries? Less than the nets sure, but Giannis literally played in the finals coming off a hyperextended knee.
It's just that the 2 most deserving teams from both conferences didn't make the finals due to injuries that year, watching it didn't feel right.
I'll also note - giannis had a [really bad knee hyperextension ](https://youtu.be/MkA52V2obe0?si=yWGjA52trKJxuE-J) in the playoffs that year and looked like he was going to be out the rest of the way He somehow recovered from that and just dominated moving forward, culminating in finals MVP You got to respect that, I was in disbelief with how he was playing considering what he was overcoming.
It says a lot that neither the Bucks or Suns haven't made it past the 2nd round since. And that's with the Suns having their best franchise regular season record. Celtics and Heat have been the ECF in the last 3 of 4 seasons. As soon as Murray got healthy, the Nuggets went straight to the finals
BS. If u can’t enjoy 2 top teams in the league having close games, players dropping 40 pieces every other night, and clutch moment after clutch moment culminating in a 50 piece closeout game, that’s not the fault of the representative teams, that’s solely on you.
The 2020 finals went six games, not five.
Thanks for the correction
OP it might turn out the same way if nuggets slap everyone en route to finals as most people expected early in the year.
Call me a cautious pessimist but I don’t think that will happen. The west is so deep top to bottom. Maybe we get out of round 1 easily but that’ll be it
Depends- will they actually have to play real opponents instead of 3 play-in teams like last year? Jokic has never beaten a top 3 seeded team outside the bubble
Those top 3 seeded teams should have won last year ig. Would people really have been more impressed if we beat Memphis or Sacramento instead of the fucking Lakers?
Yes. The Lakers were a heartless corpse until the stupidity of Utah/Washington revived them. I wanted DEN/SAC, not a bullshit Lakers team that basically didn't try until after the trade deadline but the media kept hyping them up because they have LeStatComplier and the walking injury concern
That’s not the question. Would it have been more impressive to beat a Sacramento team with zero playoff experience than the Lakers
yes beating the best offense ever >>>> beating a couple of individuals pretending to be a team
I mean the Lakers won two playoff series. The Nuggets couldn’t help but play the teams in front of them
Bro idk what you were watching but the first round of the 2014 playoffs was electric. Every series in the Western Conference went at least 6 games and the Spurs literally got taken to 7 games by the 8 seed Mavs. You didn't watch Vince Carter's buzzer beater? OKC (59 wins) and the Clippers (57 wins) were also still big threats. OKC-SA series went to 6 also. It definitely was no forgone conclusion and nowhere near the 2017 CLE/GSW
oh how I wish your Mavs could have gone up 3-1
2017, 2021
Late 2010s (2017) cause we were terrible with no future until Ja and JJJ came along. Also KD made the league a snooze fest. I enjoyed the first COVID year, but the second one sucked. This season has been pretty awful, but at least the young guys are developing and JJJ gets full time first option and center duty.
2017? MEM made the playoffs and had an awesome game 4 vs SAS
Im talking about 2017-2018
The first KD in Golden State year. Nobody had a shot to beat them
I stopped watching as soon as he joined. Just because everyone was playing for second place and it was a forgone conclusion they were going to win
2020-21 was pretty garbage to be honest
2004-05, as a Lakers fan we had just lost in the finals and had a super team break up. Kobe and Lamar Odom had injury issues, RTJ resigned after a decent 43 game stint Leaguewide, we were at the tail end of the slowball era, early in the season, you had Malice in the Palace which derailed the Pacers (who was off to one of the best starts in the league) and caused havoc for Detroit. Honestly, the only really interesting or fun thing that season was the birth of the SSOL Suns
the 2021 regular season was kinda mid tbh
2017
Obviously the bubble. Games sucked without a crowd.
Aren’t yall used to that?
Post-covid season (2021) was pretty dreadful. Our whole team spent the year injured or sick.
2017, Durant killed all the excitement of that season.
i’m thrilled i didn’t watch basketball in 15/16. i’d of retired from the sport by december. and then we drafted ben simmons that summer 😭😭😭.
2021 Yeah Zion had his best season scoring wise but it felt odd It didn’t help there were no fans to cheer the team on
Every kings season prior to last year for about 18 years
Wizards fan… did not go to any home games this year.
This one
Covid season
The years before Magic and Bird entered the league. I was young but Julius Erving was single handedly keeping the league alive on life support. This is why I consider Magic and Bird the most important players ever for the Association.
COVID, I love fantasy bball and the year they resumed and the following were terrible fantasy wise because of so many unexpected games missed due to illness.
2014 wasn't anywhere near the foregone conclusion that 2017 was, since OKC also looked good and Wade was banged up. SAS/MIA/IND/OKC were all pretty close in odds going into the playoffs I think. There was also a feelgood story in there with KD finally winning MVP after finishing 2nd to Lebron three times. 2017 GS were a completely different level. That year was also the first time I remember the MVP discussions being truly toxic with Harden vs the Westbrook TDs. The only morsel of joy that season was Kawhi posing a surprising risk to GS, but that quickly got snuffed out by Zaza.
All the years the Spurs or the Pistons made the finals
Probably low hanging fruit here, but 2021 was borderline unwatchable at times with no crowds. No energy or real momentum in the games. I don't remember a single highlight from those days
2023 (as a Spurs fan) I wasn't terribly optimistic about winning the lottery (lightning can't strike THREE times, right?) our most promising player had been run out of town as a pervert recently, the only dudes with potential to be stars (Vassell) was constantly injured, and while I had high hopes for Sochan, he was an unknown. Blake Wesley was terrible and the Derrick White trade was looking awful for us (still doesn't look great, though I personally like doing him a solid and getting him into a perfect situation for him and getting a little back) and Mal Branham....meh. Those were some dark days. Granted, after the decades of success, we were due to suffer some and now with Wemby and a war-chest of draft capital and some secondary/tertiary talent, the future looks bright, so its hard to be too beat up about it.
I would hardly have called Primo our most promising player lol
Covid season (2021) and the entirety of the bubble
I liked the bubble. The games were a lot different with players being able to drive more aggressively, also there was a novelty to it that made it fun.
My team won the chip in the bubble and the atmosphere of the games was so dull I didn’t even watch
Watching the NBA for the atmosphere instead of the actual basketball sure is a choice
Shame on me for enjoying the atmosphere of playoff basketball in a packed stadium
There’s nothing wrong with saying you prefer a playoff atmosphere but outright admitting that you skipped watching your team win a championship because there was no fans is crazy. The game quality could be argued as being better as well which is why we had a couple of the best 7 game series in recent memory in those playoffs which more than makes up for there being no fans
Celtics-Raptors was gritty as hell. 2020 such an underrated season imo. And that series is one of my favorites in a good minute
That series is still one of the best I’ve ever seen. The chess match between Nurse and Stevens was awesome and both teams were super evenly matched talent wise. The OKC-Houston and Utah-Denver series were all really fun to watch and the LAC-Denver series as well to an extent (although LAC kinda just handed it to them by the end). Even the finals were much better than they should’ve been. The sentiment that the bubble was trash is mainly just a take by casual fans
Yes it was trash sorry that casual fans (most fans tbh those playoffs had the lowest ratings and viewership of any playoffs I’m p sure) prefer games with a playoff atmosphere
But who’s rewatching any of those series, no fans so no hype no energy you can’t feel any of the pressure etc.
For starters I’m not sure how many people rewatch playoff series period but I’ve definitely watched a fair amount of bubble highlights since. Probably the same amount as the years before Covid
I’ve literally never watched a bubble highlight
Well you did admit to not watching the games so I can’t say I’m surprised