Re: NBA 2019-20: Who wins the bubble?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
BuckeyeRed27
I just hope Utah gets through the season healthy. I like Quin Snyder a lot, I think he's one of the better coaches in the league. If they have their starting 5 and can add to Clarkson and Ingles off the bench with one more reliable piece, I think they are much more than just a playoff team.
I'm not discounting Portland's injuries this year and obviously having Lillard is huge, but they are pretty weak on the wings without any real way to improve that substantially. I'm not saying Portland will be bad next year, but Golden State is going to be a playoff team, so someone is going to miss out and teams like Phoenix, Memphis and Sacramento are going to be right in that playoff fight too. If I had to choose 2 teams that made the West playoffs this year that aren't going to next year I'd choose Portland and OKC.
You're right, the West is going to be tough next year. It should make for some fun basketball (and offseason as most front offices know standing pat ain't going to cut it).
My concern with the Jazz is where do they get better. Getting Bogdonavic back certainly helps. But if they want to keep Clarkson, they're going to have to PAY him (in what will likely look like a bad contract three years down the road). Conley didn't really help (and he's starting to decline). We know what Gobert is. We more or less know what Mitchell is at this point. Ingles is a nice aging complementary player. I like Royce O'Neal a lot, but he's not a guy that's going to swing a series. Tony Bradley has some promise. They don't have any real money to spend. I don't see how they get off the 5- or 6-seed treadmill. And as consistent as they have been in locking in those spots, the 5/6 seed are going to be extra competitive this year.
Like the team a lot. They're fun to root for, but I just don't see a ton of upside.
Re: NBA 2019-20: Who wins the bubble?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
BillDoran
You're right, the West is going to be tough next year. It should make for some fun basketball (and offseason as most front offices know standing pat ain't going to cut it).
My concern with the Jazz is where do they get better. Getting Bogdonavic back certainly helps. But if they want to keep Clarkson, they're going to have to PAY him (in what will likely look like a bad contract three years down the road). Conley didn't really help (and he's starting to decline). We know what Gobert is. We more or less know what Mitchell is at this point. Ingles is a nice aging complementary player. I like Royce O'Neal a lot, but he's not a guy that's going to swing a series. Tony Bradley has some promise. They don't have any real money to spend. I don't see how they get off the 5- or 6-seed treadmill. And as consistent as they have been in locking in those spots, the 5/6 seed are going to be extra competitive this year.
Like the team a lot. They're fun to root for, but I just don't see a ton of upside.
I think Utah's upside is Mitchell's playoff form carries into the next season and Bogdanovic comes back to score 20+. They still could use a dynamic two-way wing and for Mike Conley to revert to his former self, but they can get more from their top two than they did in the playoffs (one of whom wasn't even there). They probably need to shuffle the supporting case and I suspect Bogdanovic really should be a Ray-Allen-on-the-Celtics 3rd option if they want to make a run at a title.
The Lakers and Clippers will be doing a lot of shuffling around their two-man cores. I suspect the Lakers will strengthen their guard positions while the Clippers may be willing to sign-and-trade Trez for a shooter. Denver just gets better by aging a little bit. I have no idea what's coming down the road with Houston. Anything could happen with that team. Hard to believe OKC doesn't rebuild with Gallinari a free agent and CP3, Schroder and Adams candidates for trades. Dallas will be looking to get Luka more help.
I actually don't put a lot of weight on the Blazers' injuries. Everyone knew Nurkic was going to be out. The four-month season suspension gave him more time to recover. That was probably a better version of Nurk than if the season had just progressed normally. Rodney Hood is a journeyman, and it's almost certainly a lesser version of him coming back from an Achilles tear. Zach Collins is still trying to figure out how to be useful (totally agree he's really a small ball 5 in the Daniel Theis vein). Yet their defense is a fatal flaw. They got outscored and they can't stop anyone on the wings (or the backcourt, but at least there's a scoring tradeoff there). They have to fix that, and I still love your Rondae Hollis-Jefferson suggestion. I'll toss JaMychal Green (would have to trade for him) in there as well.
Re: NBA 2019-20: Who wins the bubble?
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Originally Posted by
M2
They showed they could get steamrolled by the Lakers.
Every year they figure out a way to lose...they must be still learning how to win!!!
Re: NBA 2019-20: Who wins the bubble?
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Originally Posted by
Kingspoint
They were devastated by injuries going into the series. That was the most lopsided officiating in the history of the NBA. You're blind as a bat and living in la-la-land if you can't see that.
Dude...it's always the officiating with you!!!
Re: NBA 2019-20: Who wins the bubble?
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Originally Posted by
adkindo
it is only called "ballsy" if it goes in....if he misses, there would be many different types of descriptions for the decision :)
Doubtful...he has been their best 3 PT shooter in the playoffs. Which is surprising, because at IU shooting wasn't even close to being his strong point!
Re: NBA 2019-20: Who wins the bubble?
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Originally Posted by
dubc47834
Every year they figure out a way to lose...they must be still learning how to win!!!
To be fair, 29 of 30 teams lose every year.
Re: NBA 2019-20: Who wins the bubble?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
dubc47834
Doubtful...he has been their best 3 PT shooter in the playoffs. Which is surprising, because at IU shooting wasn't even close to being his strong point!
We've gotten some more information on it. Seems like Anunoby was the 3rd option and Jaylen Brown missed the switch option on him. So we probably ought to credit Kyle Lowry for making a perfect pass over Tacko Fall.
Re: NBA 2019-20: Who wins the bubble?
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Originally Posted by
BillDoran
To be fair, 29 of 30 teams lose every year.
True...but I don't think they have made a Finals appearance tho. If Dame goes his whole career without going to the Finals, he then becomes a whatcouldabeen guy...in my opinion!!!
Re: NBA 2019-20: Who wins the bubble?
The Bucks just COLLAPSED.
Re: NBA 2019-20: Who wins the bubble?
Wow that's some 4th quarter collapse for Milwaukee. Miami up 3-0. This series is over.
Re: NBA 2019-20: Who wins the bubble?
4th quarter
Miami: 40
Milwaukee: 13
Yikes.
NBA 2019-20: Who wins the bubble?
Westbrook is so painful to watch.
Re: NBA 2019-20: Who wins the bubble?
Old boxing adage: styles make fights. The Rockets have a very tough style for the Lakers. Doesn't mean the Lakers can't bounce back and win the series (or even this game if they get insanely hot), but they're going to need to dig deep to beat Houston.
Re: NBA 2019-20: Who wins the bubble?
You look at these Rockets matchups on paper and think that bigs are gonna feast on them, but the ability of PJ Tucker and co to play and defend so much bigger than they are is impressive.
Re: NBA 2019-20: Who wins the bubble?
I think most Lakers fans were concerned if not outright expect the Lakers to lose tonight. A week off....they were going to return with rust. I expect the Lakers to win in 6....Lebron and AD will have to take it to the Rockets defense and be more aggressive in Game 2.