The Indy Talks To Himself (NBA) Thread.

Didn’t they get their only win of the series against the Heat last year without Giannis? I think you’re being a little too soon and gloom here. If Trae’s out, the Bucks still have the best two players in the series. They’ll have a tough time winning it without Giannis if Trae plays, but even that doesn’t seem unattainable. Atlanta just isn’t that good.

Zero shot at a title without Giannis though.

 

Any team in the NBA can win one game on occasion, which is why even the shittiest team in league history won 9 or 10 games. So, it's possible they could pull out one, but Holiday and Middleton have themselves only showed up in 25% of the games as the most inconsistent "stars" in the league and they'll just jack up more threes than normal. Trae being out may also be a plus for Atlanta in the short term as he sucks the oxygen out of the room for them. They were way more balanced tonight than any previous games.

No, the Bucks are done. And, this was it, our shot. The Ring Chasers will have all their mercenaries back next year, making the East unattainable for anyone else. The path was wide open now, for this short window, just as it was in 2019. Blew both chances. Life as a Bucks fan.

 

So are we still pretending the injuries this season are "normal?"

 

You sound like you're letting your bias get the best of you. Your team losing its best player spells disaster, but your opponent losing its best player is a good thing for them? Come on.

I'll stand by what I said. If Giannis and Trae are both out, I think the Bucks win the series. If Giannis is out and Trae comes back, it will be a toss up.

 

Hawks won without Trae as others step up. Clips winning without Leonard right? It is interesting that more often than expected, subs and other players play better and with more confidence when a key starter is out. Longterm it may not work out, but I often see better team play when it happens, especially if you have a volume shooter or a player who has the ball a lot as others stand around and ball watch.

 

It was a 10 point game mid-way through the 3rd when Giannis got hurt. It's not telling the whole story to just say "Hawks won without Trae."

Clippers are down 3-2 to the Suns and won Game 5 on the back of a 41-13-6 performance (75% from the field, 50% from 3, and 100% from the FT line) from PG13.

I'm sure there is plenty of anecdotal evidence about better "team play" when a star goes down, but you're going to have a hard time making a legitimate case that individual teams are better when a star goes down, even for a single game or 2.

 

Ok. Didnt know all of that. Just saying pros are pros and oftentimes step up when it's their turn, especially when everybody gets touches they dont normally get. Basketball and football especially.

 

The Hawks did win without Trae and I explained why it could be fine in the short term for Atlanta with him out. My "bias" has nothing to do with my opinion. He shoots them into games (Game 1) and he shoots them out of games (Game 2). The team, though, played their best game without him. Now, over the longer stretch, not having Young would definitely be a negative. The Clippers won because George is one of the two Clippers superstars and a 7-time All-Star, so they have the luxury of having two of those type of guys in case one of them gets hurt. Of course, I didn't make the argument the Clippers were better without Kawhi in the short term.

If the Bucks demonstrate the same sort of elevation of play without Giannis, it would be a first in watching this team far more closely than any of you all have. I hope they have it in them. It would be a pleasant surprise. But, they have been pretty underwhelming when he goes out. Relative to their team, there isn't a more important player in the NBA than Giannis to the Bucks.

 

Big moment for CP3, and a huge opportunity for him in the finals. A title would really help cement his legacy as one of the best point guards of all time.

 

https://www.espn.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/010509a

 

This is a quality call-back.

 

Interesting and never heard of the Ewing effect. Anecdotally, I have seen it for a long time, including old playing days when our ball hog sat as we made a surprise run to the state champ game vs Melrose. Stopping 7'0 and 7'1 highschoolers William bedford and Dwayne Bailey proved to be too much for a team with 6'3 as the tallest player.

 

Is this a subtle Dwight Howard > Patrick Ewing post?

 

The Bucks simply cannot shoot. They have to score in the paint and are doing a good job so far, although they have pissed away a potential 20+ point lead with some dumb shit. Good effort, still, without Giannis. I hope they have enough in the tank for the last quarter.

 

Like I said:

Bucks - Giannis > Hawks - Trae

Might even be better than the Hawks with Trae.

Either one will lose to Phoenix, unless Giannis comes back.

 

It took career games from Portis and Lopez to pull it off and I don't think they'll all four go off again together like tonight, but I appreciate the effort from the guys in this one. There will be a game 7 and I wonder who will be available for those games for both teams.

 

Giannis gonna pull a Willis Reed in Game 7.

 

[uck fay] me, they are going to blow a 20 point 4th quarter lead with the NBA Finals on the line. Why do I subject myself to this?

 

Lol

 

My goodness. I've waited 40 years for this. Suffered through being perpetually the 2nd or 3rd best team in the East for the 80s, a Game 7 loss to Iverson's 76ers before stupidly trading away Ray Allen, blowing a title to Toronto in mind blowing choke fashion, Giannis going down.....All to finally get my Bucks in the Finals. They had to kill my nerves one last time to do it, but finally. Finally!