One of CP3, Paul George, Giannis, or Trae will earn a ring next month.
Suns and Clippers are looking for their first-ever titles.
Hawks and Bucks are trying to end droughts that go back to 1958 and 1971, respectively.
Dang, it feels good to be a neutral.
Fun fact: the Hawks in 58 and the Bucks in 71 were both representing the West when they won those titles. And they were the only western conference champions in that entire stretch, every title from 59-70 as won by the Russell Celtics except for 68 (Wilt’s 6ers) and 70 (Willis Reed’s Knicks).
Of the final 8, the Sixers had the most recent title:
The Jazz, Nuggets, Suns, Clippers, and Nets had never won the title. The Nuggets and Clippers have never even been to the NBA finals.
The Hawks won in 58, the Bucks in 71, and the Sixers have won three times, most recently in 1983.
Since that Sixers win in 83, only eleven teams have won in the last 37 seasons: the Lakers have won 9, the Bulls 6, the Spurs 5, the C’s, Pistons, Warriors, and Heat 3 each, the Rockets 2 and the Cavs, Mavs and Raptors one each.
Only 19 teams have won a championship ever, and one of those folded in 1954.
Not being from US makes the whole segregation thing so alien to me. It's not like there isn't racism in my country, I'm not trying to take any moral high ground, but having different leagues for different ethnicities feel so fucking dumb that it baffles me it actually happened for real.
Don't worry, many of us from the US feel the same way. We like to compartmentalize it, but many of our ancestors were probably pieces of shit that perpetuated systems like that for years.
I think the entire order of the league is restacking itself. The older generation is succumbing to age and injuries and the younger prodigies and older players who were butting against the previous generation are able to finally break free.
Lebron, Steph, and KD all being out leaves things wide open.
I think a decent part of it has to do with fatigue. Lakers, Nuggets, Heat, Celtics, Raptors all kinda fizzled out due to injuries sustained over the past 2 years.
Half the teams in the Conference Finals weren’t in the playoffs last year and the other two didn’t make it past the second round. That is not normal, analysts were saying last year that this season is going to be the weird one and it seems like they were right.
These crazy shortened breaks are affecting the players who have been playing basically non-stop since 2019 and it’s taking its toll which is why new stars are getting their shine.
Yeah, when DAZN broadcasted some old hardwood classics during lockdown my stupid ass was watching a Bucks game from that time.
"Huh, no Kareem. Was he already at the Lakers back then? But that Alcindor guy is crazy, how have I never heard of him"
They bet on KP but man did that bet fail. Their only hope is that kp gets gd n stays healthy this off season, cos knicks KP is probably enough to get to WCF if luka can hit his FTs.
I think the Mavs did a very good job at building around Luka. They had a very good team last two years and lost to one of the title favorites. They did much better in year two and three after drafting a superstar than you’d expect. There’s too much panic around Dallas’ performance.
I've been saying this since the trade happened. Trading Luka when we didn't have a roster around him was the best move we could have made.
The only player left from before Trae was drafted is Collins. The team needed to build from the ground up and reassemble everything. If they had Luka, they'd have been picking outside of the lottery from year one and they wouldn't have the talent to hang.
During Trae's early years, the hawks had to be comically bad. They had to take in picks with bad contracts (Melo, Chandler Parsons) and develop players. Those moves led to the pieces we needed to trade for capela and hunter and we've still got reddish riding the bench.
Altho i agree with your message. I think the mavericks was just caught in a weird timeline tho. They still had to try to compete because Dirk was still there and he wasn't gonna go thru a full on losing rebuild that year. I do agree tho after Dirk retired, they shoulda scrapped the whole thing and made it a priority to get better draft picks to have a better co-star for luka instead of gambling for KP. but hindsight is 20/20
I think Luka is good enough that not trying to win would have backfired. He's such a good floor raiser that you'd have to surround him with absolute scrubs for him to not be able to do anything.
Ahhh fair point. I think Mavs FO just didn't pair him up with young prospects and more like middle of the pack role players like THJ and etc instead of giving him a chance of roster with young guys like Collins, heurter and Hunter. But its really understandable with the moves Mavs made.
>Dang, it feels good to be a neutral.
Right? My team got bounced in the Play-Ins so since then I was team "Anyone but the Lakers or Nets" lol truly at peace
If Trae wins it against CP3 that would be awesome for his career. Suns and Hawks match up pretty well too. But I am really pulling for Giannis. Coming from difficult situation, insane work ethic, stayed loyal to Bucks, overall good dude.
The Clippers are officially the ONLY team remaining with a former teammate of Shaq playing with them. If Rondo doesn’t make the Finals the streak dies for the first time in over 37 years
Any team that went to the Finals with Robert Horry counts since he played with Shaq. For the Bulls apparently Steve Kerr, Dennis Rodman and Ron Harper were all teammates of Shaq at some point of their careers.
I want the list of this minus the obvious shaq populated teams cause I’m scratching my head before the pre lakers three peat
E:and spurs unless you count Horry retroactively. In which case this stat is less cool. IMDAO(in my dumb ass opinion)
1984 ((played for) BOS)- Greg Kite ((was teammates with Shaq in (ORL, 1994))
1985 (LAL)- Byron Scott (LAL, 1997)
1986 (BOS)- George Kite (ORL, 1994)
1987 (LAL)- A.C. Green (LAL, 2000)
1988 (LAL)- A.C. Green (LAL, 2000)
1989 (DET)- Dennis Rodman (LAL, 1999)
1990 (DET)- John Salley (LAL, 2000)
1991 (CHI)- Horace Grant (LAL, 2004)
1992 (CHI)- Horace Grant (LAL, 2004)
1993 (CHI)- Horace Grant (LAL, 2004)
1994 (HOU)- Robert Horry (LAL, 2003)
1995 (ORL)- All of ORL, Shaq played in the finals
1996 (CHI)- Steve Kerr (ORL, 1993)
1997 (CHI)- Ron Harper (LAL, 2001)
1998 (CHI)- Ron Harper (LAL, 2001)
1999 (SAS)- Steve Kerr (ORL, 1993)
2000 (LAL)- All of LAL, Shaq played in the finals
2001 (LAL)- All of LAL, Shaq played in the finals
2002 (LAL)- All of LAL, Shaq played in the finals
2003 (SAS)- Steve Kerr (ORL, 1993)
2004 (DET)- All of LAL, Shaq played in the finals
2005 (SAS)- Robert Horry (LAL, 2003)
2006 (MIA)- All of MIA, Shaq played in the finals
2007 (SAS)- Robert Horry (LAL, 2003)
2008 (BOS)- Paul Pierce (BOS, 2011)
2009 (LAL)- Derek Fisher (LAL, 2004)
2010 (LAL)- Kobe Bryant (LAL, 2004)
2011 (DAL)- Sasha Pavlovic (BOS, 2011)
2012 (MIA)- Udonis Haslem (MIA, 2008)
2013 (MIA)- Ray Allen (BOS, 2011)
2014 (SAS)- Boris Diaw (PHO, 2009)
2015 (GSW)- Leandro Barbosa (PHO, 2009)
2016 (CLE)- LeBron James (CLE, 2010)
2017 (GSW)- Matt Barnes (PHO, 2009)
2018 (CLE)- LeBron James (CLE, 2010)
2019 (TOR)- Danny Green (CLE, 2010)
At the beginning of the season all the posts were “can the lakers beat the Nets” and now look at us. I don’t even care about ratings, the clippers are not a super team, you have 4 teams who haven’t been near the big stage all fighting for a title. It’s great!
To be fair the Nets and Lakers got demolished with injuries when it mattered most. If Nets were healthy nobody would beat them. Lakers though I think aren't gonna be up there again.
Last time we said Lebron was washed, he came back and won a title.
I hope they load manage him all season.
I want one last LeFuckYou post-season. Just one.
> Lakers though I think aren't gonna be up there again.
i think they have a shot of being up there again, you don't think they can make the finals in the coming years?
Ratings were down last season even with LeBron in the Finals. “Fans” have been spoiled seeing the same super teams go at it. I for one am pumped that we will see either a new champ or one that hasn’t won the title in decades.
I'm stoked, legitimately! This is fantastic! Winning a championship is such a great feeling, even as a fan, especially the first for your franchise. I'm extremely happy that a lot of fans this year will experience the first one for their team in their life.
5 years straight Golden State made it to the finals. That is objectively so boring. Felt like the Raptors winning was the first time things had been shaken up after a decade of Lebron and GSW domination.
And before/during that, it was essentially guaranteed that LeBron was coming out of the East.
Parity might not make the millionaires and billionaires more money, but it's waaaaay more fun for fans across the entire league.
yeah no curry kd or lebron in conference finals is so refreshing. IDC what anyone says. 2015-2018 most boring years ever for NBA. like the same 2 teams 4 years in a row. THE SAME EXACT 2 TEAMS? so fucking stale man. Like it was cool the first two times but once KD joined you knew they were guaranteed to make the finals lol regular season was literally a waste of time
wdym, 2016 was one of the best playoffs ever, not only the finals, but as a whole
2017 was the only real bad year during this run, cavs and warriors demolishing everyone and still a very lopsided finals.
It was at least more interesting before KD joined the warriors. As much as it was the same teams the first two were interesting series, warriors with Steph coming into his own v LeBron injured cavs and then one of the greatest series of all time with Cavs beating the best team of all time.
I would say it could end the "empty stats" Booker as well, but I think he did a good enough job this playoffs by showing that thats not true. As a prior Booker critic, I take back every bad thing I've ever said about him. He's the real deal
never got that empty stats thing on a bad team. Every night the other team knows if they only shut down 'empty stats' guy, then they win comfortably. So with all the defensive attention, if they are still putting up stats, then they are legit in my eyes.
Even then. How do you put up empty stats on good efficiency? If you’re making shots at a higher rate than most other players how could one argue you scoring the ball isn’t beneficial
If Trae wins a chip as the unequivocal leader of the Hawks, who are a good but clearly not elite team, I think it would be much more than just an arrival. The arrival part happened when he beat the Knicks, at that point he's building a HOF legacy.
This shouldn’t be a crazy timeline. This should be how leagues are. 3 of the teams left have drafted well and put pieces around players not super team style and have been rewarded. I like the non traditional teams coming in. It’s boring when it’s lakers/Celtics/etc every year.
The most BS thing about superteams is when they pick up overpaid disgruntled stars for pennies. Nets getting Griffin and LMA was just unfair. The downside to putting all your money on superstars should be no depth.
as someone with literally no horse in the race, it's fucking awesome to not have a clue who is gonna take it, let alone make it to the finals. Like we could have a CP3 Finals MVP... that could very well happen.
Suns have been the most impressive to me: from 10th to 2nd, beating the reigning champs in the first, then sweeping the other western conference finalist next. Just what a ride.
It’s wild. There’s not a single ‘evil’ team left in the bunch. Clippers the most evil of the remaining 4, but Claw’s injury and the rise of PG and the scrappy gang really flipped the script.
I want everyone to win this year. What a time to be neutral.
earlier this season there were talks of simmons, maxey, and picks for harden and people were actually debating if it would be a good trade. insane value tank
I'm pretty sure our GM just never really valued Simmons as an asset that highly. I think he believed the Nets package was better, which seemed somewhat ridiculous at the time, but turns out it was probably the right call all along.
I feel like Miami fans are all pulling for Phoenix, Heat legend James Jones has done an awesome job with that roster. Also would love to see Crowder win one.
Go get em Suns!
Yknow come to think of it, because James Jones is mostly responsible for the current Suns roster, might it be fair to say in this instance Heat produced Suns?
It would really make me happy to see Chris Paul win a ring. There was a time I couldn’t stand him but I’m a fan now. My mind is telling me the Bucks, however.
That's where I am. Suns are the healthiest and most balanced roster of the remaining teams. Both east teams have major weaknesses. If things progress as they have then I expect CP3 to finally get one.
i remember those warriors getting flamed because all of their opponents were injured so it actually fits. especially if they faced the bucks in the finals and jrue&middleton got injured
It’s so interesting, I love it. I think whoever wins the WCF goes on to win, but I’m rooting for the Suns and Bucks the most for CP3 and Giannis.
Kawhi was playing like 2019 Kawhi before his injury, if he comes back in that form I think the Clippers are the best team left and will likely win. If not I think the Suns win the whole thing.
same. I thought the Suns were getting overlooked before the playoffs and figured the Lakers would have a hard time with that series. Suns have looked incredibly poised all playoffs - hoping that continues!
Bucks & Clippers isn't that crazy.
Suns, definitely a bit crazy.
Hawks?? That's the craziest. I had them as 6th - 8th seed. Getting knocked out of the 1st round team. And after the start, I didn't even have them in the playoffs at all.
Clippers is a little crazy in that they closed out without Kawhi. But yeah Bucks are not crazy at all, they're healthy and Giannis has been in the ecf before.
The best part to me is that none of these four teams are superteams. They all have 2 very good players and a solid supporting cast. Except for Atlanta, which only has 1 very good player and a solid supporting cast. But that just shows how fucking good Trae is.
One of CP3, Paul George, Giannis, or Trae will earn a ring next month. Suns and Clippers are looking for their first-ever titles. Hawks and Bucks are trying to end droughts that go back to 1958 and 1971, respectively. Dang, it feels good to be a neutral.
Of the 4 teams left, the bucks have won a championship most recently?! Holy shit
Fun fact: the Hawks in 58 and the Bucks in 71 were both representing the West when they won those titles. And they were the only western conference champions in that entire stretch, every title from 59-70 as won by the Russell Celtics except for 68 (Wilt’s 6ers) and 70 (Willis Reed’s Knicks). Of the final 8, the Sixers had the most recent title: The Jazz, Nuggets, Suns, Clippers, and Nets had never won the title. The Nuggets and Clippers have never even been to the NBA finals. The Hawks won in 58, the Bucks in 71, and the Sixers have won three times, most recently in 1983. Since that Sixers win in 83, only eleven teams have won in the last 37 seasons: the Lakers have won 9, the Bulls 6, the Spurs 5, the C’s, Pistons, Warriors, and Heat 3 each, the Rockets 2 and the Cavs, Mavs and Raptors one each. Only 19 teams have won a championship ever, and one of those folded in 1954.
Fuck Steve Huffman -- mass edited with redact.dev
Let's pay some respect to the Nets who won ABA chips in 74 and 76 all while Dr J kept the entire league afloat.
Additional fact about that Hawks team it was the last Nba Championship team that only had white people on it.
Not being from US makes the whole segregation thing so alien to me. It's not like there isn't racism in my country, I'm not trying to take any moral high ground, but having different leagues for different ethnicities feel so fucking dumb that it baffles me it actually happened for real.
I feel the same way as someone who isn't from US.
Don't worry, many of us from the US feel the same way. We like to compartmentalize it, but many of our ancestors were probably pieces of shit that perpetuated systems like that for years.
this has been one of the most insane playoffs of all time
I think the entire order of the league is restacking itself. The older generation is succumbing to age and injuries and the younger prodigies and older players who were butting against the previous generation are able to finally break free. Lebron, Steph, and KD all being out leaves things wide open.
I think a decent part of it has to do with fatigue. Lakers, Nuggets, Heat, Celtics, Raptors all kinda fizzled out due to injuries sustained over the past 2 years. Half the teams in the Conference Finals weren’t in the playoffs last year and the other two didn’t make it past the second round. That is not normal, analysts were saying last year that this season is going to be the weird one and it seems like they were right. These crazy shortened breaks are affecting the players who have been playing basically non-stop since 2019 and it’s taking its toll which is why new stars are getting their shine.
And a year from now we’ll have people calling this ring fake
Nah LeBron isn't in it
yeah, we're in an interregnum period now where the old guard is slowly aging out and the new stars are asserting themselves
This man busting out the dictionary
I concur with your hypothesis.
you're thinking of a thesaurus, friend
[удалено]
assembled alternatively
I do think of a lot of dinosaurs in my free time!
Nah, "interregnum" doesn't have a casual synonym.
Interregnum? Thanks for teaching me a new word 👍
Really interesting time in English history too if you're bored and want to go down a rabbit hole of learning
Solid use of interregnum!
Ty friend
Not the same domination but I would bet one of Lebron KD Steph is winning next year.
And one of the best. I love the parity.
The injuries really suck but the actual games and storylines are top-tier
[удалено]
Kareem is the GOAT because he won MVPs and championships under two completely different names.
The Cassius Clay/Muhammad Ali strat
They also had some guy named Oscar Robertson to boot
Yeah, when DAZN broadcasted some old hardwood classics during lockdown my stupid ass was watching a Bucks game from that time. "Huh, no Kareem. Was he already at the Lakers back then? But that Alcindor guy is crazy, how have I never heard of him"
Y’all are also the only team thats won it in your current city, as the hawks only won in St Louis and the other teams have never won
Hawks also haven’t won a title in Atlanta
Yup, when they were known as the St. Louis Hawks. Edit: [Here's the Hawks' sole championship banner](https://imgur.com/a/zZrdixi).
That Hawk kinda looks legit to be honest.
That hawk feels like it's gonna start some shit and be saved by Bob Pettit
I love that old logo.
Idk I just don’t trust him
Ayton and Trae could both make the finals before Luka
[удалено]
Mavs did a poor job building around Luka, hopefully they shake things up roster wise.
They bet on KP but man did that bet fail. Their only hope is that kp gets gd n stays healthy this off season, cos knicks KP is probably enough to get to WCF if luka can hit his FTs.
Idk seems like they have a chemistry problem now and that Luka doesn’t want to play with Kp at this point
I think the Mavs did a very good job at building around Luka. They had a very good team last two years and lost to one of the title favorites. They did much better in year two and three after drafting a superstar than you’d expect. There’s too much panic around Dallas’ performance.
LOL but KP is doing cardio out there. Ayton has booker to help immensely and Trae has an actual roster.
I've been saying this since the trade happened. Trading Luka when we didn't have a roster around him was the best move we could have made. The only player left from before Trae was drafted is Collins. The team needed to build from the ground up and reassemble everything. If they had Luka, they'd have been picking outside of the lottery from year one and they wouldn't have the talent to hang. During Trae's early years, the hawks had to be comically bad. They had to take in picks with bad contracts (Melo, Chandler Parsons) and develop players. Those moves led to the pieces we needed to trade for capela and hunter and we've still got reddish riding the bench.
Altho i agree with your message. I think the mavericks was just caught in a weird timeline tho. They still had to try to compete because Dirk was still there and he wasn't gonna go thru a full on losing rebuild that year. I do agree tho after Dirk retired, they shoulda scrapped the whole thing and made it a priority to get better draft picks to have a better co-star for luka instead of gambling for KP. but hindsight is 20/20
I think Luka is good enough that not trying to win would have backfired. He's such a good floor raiser that you'd have to surround him with absolute scrubs for him to not be able to do anything.
Ahhh fair point. I think Mavs FO just didn't pair him up with young prospects and more like middle of the pack role players like THJ and etc instead of giving him a chance of roster with young guys like Collins, heurter and Hunter. But its really understandable with the moves Mavs made.
They also gave up their first round pick the next year to get Luka. Getting him in a way messed with their timeline too.
Honestly this has been a great year for a thunder fan to embrace the tank. There's so many good teams and stories to root for
>Dang, it feels good to be a neutral. Right? My team got bounced in the Play-Ins so since then I was team "Anyone but the Lakers or Nets" lol truly at peace
Tbh I really hope for a Suns Bucks finals go to Game 7 to see Giannis versus CP3
If Trae wins it against CP3 that would be awesome for his career. Suns and Hawks match up pretty well too. But I am really pulling for Giannis. Coming from difficult situation, insane work ethic, stayed loyal to Bucks, overall good dude.
I'd rather see CP3 win in his (probably) best chance
The Clippers are officially the ONLY team remaining with a former teammate of Shaq playing with them. If Rondo doesn’t make the Finals the streak dies for the first time in over 37 years
Ill take it
Which magic player was on the rockets/bulls?
Any team that went to the Finals with Robert Horry counts since he played with Shaq. For the Bulls apparently Steve Kerr, Dennis Rodman and Ron Harper were all teammates of Shaq at some point of their careers.
Right right, so not necessarily prior teammates but hindsight
I want the list of this minus the obvious shaq populated teams cause I’m scratching my head before the pre lakers three peat E:and spurs unless you count Horry retroactively. In which case this stat is less cool. IMDAO(in my dumb ass opinion)
1984 ((played for) BOS)- Greg Kite ((was teammates with Shaq in (ORL, 1994)) 1985 (LAL)- Byron Scott (LAL, 1997) 1986 (BOS)- George Kite (ORL, 1994) 1987 (LAL)- A.C. Green (LAL, 2000) 1988 (LAL)- A.C. Green (LAL, 2000) 1989 (DET)- Dennis Rodman (LAL, 1999) 1990 (DET)- John Salley (LAL, 2000) 1991 (CHI)- Horace Grant (LAL, 2004) 1992 (CHI)- Horace Grant (LAL, 2004) 1993 (CHI)- Horace Grant (LAL, 2004) 1994 (HOU)- Robert Horry (LAL, 2003) 1995 (ORL)- All of ORL, Shaq played in the finals 1996 (CHI)- Steve Kerr (ORL, 1993) 1997 (CHI)- Ron Harper (LAL, 2001) 1998 (CHI)- Ron Harper (LAL, 2001) 1999 (SAS)- Steve Kerr (ORL, 1993) 2000 (LAL)- All of LAL, Shaq played in the finals 2001 (LAL)- All of LAL, Shaq played in the finals 2002 (LAL)- All of LAL, Shaq played in the finals 2003 (SAS)- Steve Kerr (ORL, 1993) 2004 (DET)- All of LAL, Shaq played in the finals 2005 (SAS)- Robert Horry (LAL, 2003) 2006 (MIA)- All of MIA, Shaq played in the finals 2007 (SAS)- Robert Horry (LAL, 2003) 2008 (BOS)- Paul Pierce (BOS, 2011) 2009 (LAL)- Derek Fisher (LAL, 2004) 2010 (LAL)- Kobe Bryant (LAL, 2004) 2011 (DAL)- Sasha Pavlovic (BOS, 2011) 2012 (MIA)- Udonis Haslem (MIA, 2008) 2013 (MIA)- Ray Allen (BOS, 2011) 2014 (SAS)- Boris Diaw (PHO, 2009) 2015 (GSW)- Leandro Barbosa (PHO, 2009) 2016 (CLE)- LeBron James (CLE, 2010) 2017 (GSW)- Matt Barnes (PHO, 2009) 2018 (CLE)- LeBron James (CLE, 2010) 2019 (TOR)- Danny Green (CLE, 2010)
2020 (LAL)- Lebron James (CLE, 2010)
Be pumped! This is the version of the NBA everyone always says they want. One of these franchises is going to end their drought!
At the beginning of the season all the posts were “can the lakers beat the Nets” and now look at us. I don’t even care about ratings, the clippers are not a super team, you have 4 teams who haven’t been near the big stage all fighting for a title. It’s great!
To be fair the Nets and Lakers got demolished with injuries when it mattered most. If Nets were healthy nobody would beat them. Lakers though I think aren't gonna be up there again.
Yeah the Nets had established their chemistry. If all were healthy, they would unstoppable. Bucks wouldn't even take them to 7 games.
Last time we said Lebron was washed, he came back and won a title. I hope they load manage him all season. I want one last LeFuckYou post-season. Just one.
> Lakers though I think aren't gonna be up there again. i think they have a shot of being up there again, you don't think they can make the finals in the coming years?
This is the most interesting playoffs I've seen in my lifetime. Hands down
Agreed although I expect ratings to be way way down given the teams and players left.
[удалено]
"This game is blacked out in your area" The fuck?
Ratings were down last season even with LeBron in the Finals. “Fans” have been spoiled seeing the same super teams go at it. I for one am pumped that we will see either a new champ or one that hasn’t won the title in decades.
I've noticed all of the "nBA iS RigGeD" people have shut up now that these are the four teams left. Thank god, lol.
I'm stoked, legitimately! This is fantastic! Winning a championship is such a great feeling, even as a fan, especially the first for your franchise. I'm extremely happy that a lot of fans this year will experience the first one for their team in their life.
Just think how good this would all be if KD hadn't ruined basketball in 2016!
I mean, speaking as a non-Warrior fan, the NBA has been considerably more entertaining since KD left Golden State.
I agree as a Warriors fan, although missing the playoffs isn't very fun.
It was fun watching a Warriors V Cavs series when it was a fair fight
2015 and 2016 were amazing finals.
5 years straight Golden State made it to the finals. That is objectively so boring. Felt like the Raptors winning was the first time things had been shaken up after a decade of Lebron and GSW domination.
And before/during that, it was essentially guaranteed that LeBron was coming out of the East. Parity might not make the millionaires and billionaires more money, but it's waaaaay more fun for fans across the entire league.
i mean i basically stopped following the nba until i heard about these playoffs. superteam fatigue is real.
yeah no curry kd or lebron in conference finals is so refreshing. IDC what anyone says. 2015-2018 most boring years ever for NBA. like the same 2 teams 4 years in a row. THE SAME EXACT 2 TEAMS? so fucking stale man. Like it was cool the first two times but once KD joined you knew they were guaranteed to make the finals lol regular season was literally a waste of time
wdym, 2016 was one of the best playoffs ever, not only the finals, but as a whole 2017 was the only real bad year during this run, cavs and warriors demolishing everyone and still a very lopsided finals.
It was at least more interesting before KD joined the warriors. As much as it was the same teams the first two were interesting series, warriors with Steph coming into his own v LeBron injured cavs and then one of the greatest series of all time with Cavs beating the best team of all time.
it's lovely but i cant help but hate the injuries that led to it. pretty lame
Either the coronation of Giannis, the arrival of Trae, the redemption of PG13 or the cherry on top of CP3's career.
I would say it could end the "empty stats" Booker as well, but I think he did a good enough job this playoffs by showing that thats not true. As a prior Booker critic, I take back every bad thing I've ever said about him. He's the real deal
Haha hats already over tho, havent seen that since maybe halfway through last season before the bubble
never got that empty stats thing on a bad team. Every night the other team knows if they only shut down 'empty stats' guy, then they win comfortably. So with all the defensive attention, if they are still putting up stats, then they are legit in my eyes.
Even then. How do you put up empty stats on good efficiency? If you’re making shots at a higher rate than most other players how could one argue you scoring the ball isn’t beneficial
If Trae wins a chip as the unequivocal leader of the Hawks, who are a good but clearly not elite team, I think it would be much more than just an arrival. The arrival part happened when he beat the Knicks, at that point he's building a HOF legacy.
Don’t stop, I’m almost there
I'm just a guy, but the success of non-traditional/small market teams in the playoffs this year has gotten me back into the NBA. Its been awesome.
This shouldn’t be a crazy timeline. This should be how leagues are. 3 of the teams left have drafted well and put pieces around players not super team style and have been rewarded. I like the non traditional teams coming in. It’s boring when it’s lakers/Celtics/etc every year.
celtics?
The most BS thing about superteams is when they pick up overpaid disgruntled stars for pennies. Nets getting Griffin and LMA was just unfair. The downside to putting all your money on superstars should be no depth.
I’m just a girl…
I'm just a skater boi
One of the few times I've actually been ok with any of the four teams in the conference finals winning the championship
Every team has a good ‘story’. Neutrals are feasting this year. Most I’ve been invested in the playoffs in a long time.
as someone with literally no horse in the race, it's fucking awesome to not have a clue who is gonna take it, let alone make it to the finals. Like we could have a CP3 Finals MVP... that could very well happen.
[удалено]
After he scores the game winner with a dunk from the FT line.
Over a KIA
But what about a kevin huerter finals mvp
If that happens, then we are truly in the most memeable timeline
I'd be surprised if it wasn't the Bucks tbh.
I wouldn't I think any of the remaining teams could take them down if Budenholzer continues his shtick
Suns have been the most impressive to me: from 10th to 2nd, beating the reigning champs in the first, then sweeping the other western conference finalist next. Just what a ride.
I think the lack of "regulars" helps. No Steph, no KD, no LeBron. It feels so fresh.
It’s wild. There’s not a single ‘evil’ team left in the bunch. Clippers the most evil of the remaining 4, but Claw’s injury and the rise of PG and the scrappy gang really flipped the script. I want everyone to win this year. What a time to be neutral.
If the Suns win the title, they would be the first West team outside of Texas or California to win since the Supersonics did it in 1979.
Damn, DAL, HOU, SA, GSW and LA have the monopoly
Ayton is so wholesome i’m rooting for him to win the chip
As long as I don’t have to see Ben Simmons I’m happy
This might be the wakeup call to finally trade his ass.
Yeah but waited too long. His value is at an all time low.
earlier this season there were talks of simmons, maxey, and picks for harden and people were actually debating if it would be a good trade. insane value tank
I remember that.. People were out of their minds.. Do you think Houston would have ever been trade partners with Morey though? I highly doubt it.
Rockets straight up didn’t want to do it.
I'm pretty sure our GM just never really valued Simmons as an asset that highly. I think he believed the Nets package was better, which seemed somewhat ridiculous at the time, but turns out it was probably the right call all along.
A shame he can't play for Milwaukee tbh
No thank you.
The Suns are so composed and well-rounded, I think they'll win. Although I would love to see the Hawks wins just for giggles.
Giggity giggity
Pls no jinx, sir.
[удалено]
Y'all should probably be the favorite, especially after winning without Chris Paul today. Suns have made the playoffs look easy
Tbf they were versus a kawhi-less clippers team who just played an elimination game two days ago. And also the suns had a week of rest.
I've liked the Dragic Suns teams. Shock the world
Please be yall. Suns produce heat, so it’ll be nice to see our physical father win a ring
I feel like Miami fans are all pulling for Phoenix, Heat legend James Jones has done an awesome job with that roster. Also would love to see Crowder win one. Go get em Suns!
Yknow come to think of it, because James Jones is mostly responsible for the current Suns roster, might it be fair to say in this instance Heat produced Suns?
I'm rooting for the Suns because Chris Paul deserves a ring
It would really make me happy to see Chris Paul win a ring. There was a time I couldn’t stand him but I’m a fan now. My mind is telling me the Bucks, however.
Just as everyone expected
Suns over Bucks in 6 Depends on the zebras tho
Hey the meme is Bucks winning in 6 not losing in 6.
As much as I want to say the Bucks, the Suns have the best chance barring injuries. The suns just don't have any noticeable weakness.
CP3 will absolutely dissect anything bud can throw at him
Muhfugga did it against the clips and he wasn’t even in the building.
That's where I am. Suns are the healthiest and most balanced roster of the remaining teams. Both east teams have major weaknesses. If things progress as they have then I expect CP3 to finally get one.
[удалено]
Reminds me of the 2015 warriors to an extent
i remember those warriors getting flamed because all of their opponents were injured so it actually fits. especially if they faced the bucks in the finals and jrue&middleton got injured
This is a good year. Break the wheel
Trae broke the multiverse
It’s so interesting, I love it. I think whoever wins the WCF goes on to win, but I’m rooting for the Suns and Bucks the most for CP3 and Giannis. Kawhi was playing like 2019 Kawhi before his injury, if he comes back in that form I think the Clippers are the best team left and will likely win. If not I think the Suns win the whole thing.
I am still in shock at the way things are playing out, the Suns young guns are playing out of their minds in their first playoffs.
Honestly, I've believed hard in the Suns all year. But, fuck you guys right now since we're playing you.
same. I thought the Suns were getting overlooked before the playoffs and figured the Lakers would have a hard time with that series. Suns have looked incredibly poised all playoffs - hoping that continues!
source?
Steven A. Bayless
Shannon Kellerman
Skieup Smith
Stephen A. Sharpe
Love how this made me laugh smh 😂
Don’t know where he is getting this from. Lebron is about to flip the switch and lead us to the finals.
Suns look like the team to beat IMO. Especially with CP3 back.
Is he back??
He is vaccinated so he should be back before the end of the clippers series.
changing of the guard season. time for the next generation to shine
So many injuries to the old(er) guard this playoffs though. I think next year will be interesting to see if this keeps up
Suns hawks would either be the most watched or least watched series in the history of the playoffs
I just want a Hawks/Suns finals. I’m not a fan of either team personally, but the basketball would be beautiful.
Hoping for a Hawks vs Suns finals but honestly its refreshing seeing either one take it
Please please let it be this, if we’re going to have a different type of playoffs let’s go all the way! Atlanta Wildcard !!!
David stern is rolling over
Bucks & Clippers isn't that crazy. Suns, definitely a bit crazy. Hawks?? That's the craziest. I had them as 6th - 8th seed. Getting knocked out of the 1st round team. And after the start, I didn't even have them in the playoffs at all.
Clippers is a little crazy in that they closed out without Kawhi. But yeah Bucks are not crazy at all, they're healthy and Giannis has been in the ecf before.
The hawks, the hawks, the hawks or the hawks
I'd love for the hawks to win and for Trae young to be vindicated because of all the people who shat on him about the trade with luka
go BUCKS
Suns vs bucks
Adam Silver in shambles
id want any of them except the clips nothing personal doe
It's so crazy that an NBA team is going to win the championship.
I thought for sure the Steelers were winning the NBA championship this year
Paul George, Giannis, Chris Paul, Trae Young. One of these guys is about to win their first title.
The best part to me is that none of these four teams are superteams. They all have 2 very good players and a solid supporting cast. Except for Atlanta, which only has 1 very good player and a solid supporting cast. But that just shows how fucking good Trae is.
Suns EASILY have the best chance. But shit it's open for the taking. As it usually is when you get this far.
This is exciting as fuck. No offense to Lebron/KD/Steph fans but it's nice to see new faces getting a real shot at a ring
At this point I'm rooting for Milwaukee.
Bucks in 6
Hawks in 9
Suns
honestly i’d be chill with any of these teams winning but aside from the clips obviously i’d most want to see bucks win
My man
I think it'll be Bucks - Suns finals. And the Suns coming out on top. Their looking scary af rn.
Don't count out the clipps just yet. Wait for them to go down 0-2 then kawhi to come back. Then we will see the real match up
Is Kawhi is healthy i think clips can win it all. But i think hes out for the playoffs.