“The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane.”― Marcus Aurelius
Butler and Crowder were both coached by Buzz Williams, as was Wes Matthews, who is another really smart, really hardworking over achiever who has been around forever.
I'm not so sure that we won't see Porter Jr as a small ball 5 in this series when A.D rests. Then again, Vogel will simply counter with Morris as small ball 5 and sit Howard and McGee. Regardless, I can't envision Denver pulling this series out, let alone pushing it to six games, without Porter Jr as a major factor. But the Nuggets have proven me wrong before. But the Lakers are an entirely different animal.
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Whatever you do, do your best to not allow the struggles of life to interfere with the pleasures of living.
Whatever you do, do your best to not allow the struggles of life to interfere with the pleasures of living.
M2 (09-18-2020)
"One problem with people who have no vices is that they're pretty sure to have some annoying virtues."
“The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane.”― Marcus Aurelius
The Lakers attempted only 9 more throws than the Nuggets overall for the reasons that you mentioned. LeBron scored 0 points in the second half, albeit with 7 assists, in which the halftime lead significantly lengthened.
Zero.
Points.
Captain Obvious statement: The Nuggets have nobody to blame for this loss except themselves.
Whatever you do, do your best to not allow the struggles of life to interfere with the pleasures of living.
M2 (09-19-2020)
The Celtics just can't handle the pressure of playing at home.
I'm not a system player. I am a system.
Bourgeois Zee (09-20-2020),Revering4Blue (09-20-2020)
A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor!
Leonard laid an egg in Game 7 and pretty much all across the last three third and/ or fourth quarters. Especially defensively. He deserves some condemnation, though not as much as George.
That said, neither of those guys are the reason the Clippers lost. They lost because Montrezl Harrell was remarkably putrid defensively and neither he nor Lou Williams could get anything going offensively (until Game 7). When two of your four best players absolutely suck (and they both absolutely sucked), it's hard to win. Harrell went from a guy who could have gotten some serious coin to someone exposed, IMO, as a system All-Star. He gets points and stops largely because he's surrounded by better players who pick up the slack and make plays for him. (Clint Capela is another example of a system All-Star. Dude should have given James Harden half his salary and Chris Paul a quarter of it. I suspect Tyler Herro may be another one.)
My System All-Star First Team:
C Montrezl Harrell
PF Duncan Robinson
SF Tim Hardaway
SG Jordan Clarkson
PG Eric Bledsoe
dubc47834 (09-21-2020)
Having Gordon Hayward, even a gimpy, Gordon, fixes a lot of issues. 3 steals was a surprise, but the ball movement (and insistence of post play) was the key. Brown and Kemba rediscovered their shots, and Tatum did his best LeBron impersonation.
Still, Miami missed a lot of shots it typically makes. (Both Crowder and Dragic struggled from the floor, and the Heat bench was 5 - 20 from 3-point range. That's unlikely to happen again.) Boston still has no answer for Bam inside.
The surprise (to me) was Butler's reluctance to just take over the game and be aggressive in hunting shots against Brown and especially Hayward. Were I Spo, I'd have tested Gordo's ankle nearly every time down court. Made him stop and start, pushed him hard. I get that Miami's focusing on Kemba (who's been Isaiah Thomas level bad defensively in this series).
Boston has figured out their rotations on Bam's top of the key play maker dribble hand off. They're playing the passing lanes and letting the big guy play one-on-one. That'll lead to big points for Adebayo, but far fewer for Butler and company. That's a smart play. Butler needs to own the ball rather than being a spoke in the wheel. Late and close, he needs to be the hub around which everyone else plays.
Herro looked great attacking, but settled for far too many shots from deep. Most were good shots that just didn't go in. You can live with that, btw, if you're Boston. Let the 20-year-old beat you. Let Crowder prove himself in every game. If I'm Miami, I'm not sure if I'm also okay with that. Herro's play-making instincts are excellent. He should have had a bunch more assists if teammates hit shots they normally do. Stevens did a great job directing the offense to attack him defensively, and, more importantly, keeping him off the offensive boards. (Jaylen Brown blocked him out just about every time down the court.) As a result, Boston owned the boards, 50 - 42.
dubc47834 (09-21-2020),M2 (09-20-2020),Revering4Blue (09-20-2020)
AD with the game winner as time expires.....
“The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane.”― Marcus Aurelius
dubc47834 (09-21-2020),Kingspoint (09-22-2020)
Notes on the Western Conference Finals (so far):
- Davis and LeBron being better than Murray and Jokic has been the story of that series.
- Playoff Rondo continues to defy age and expectations. 9 assists per game against the Nuggets. More importantly, a 3.4 steal rate percentage and a total +/- of +19. His 7.8 Game Score tops all Nuggets secondary guards by a pretty massive amount. When considering that he only plays about half the game, that's a huge impact. If he could do this over the course of a full season, Rondo would garner some serious consideration as a 6th Man of the Year contestant. In the right spot, he could do this for another five or six years. The league is better and far more interesting for having him in it-- and relevant.
- Paul Millsap is rebounding well and provided solid D, but the lost step due to Father Time is showing itself in his shooting. He's just not finishing. At all. And he's a smart player. He knows he's struggling, so he doesn't take the shots he needs to in order to make the Denver offense hum. It's an issue that has infected three of Denver's five starters. Jerami Grant continues to turn down multiple open looks from distance and refuses to drive to the hoop. (With good reason-- he's a turnover waiting to happen.) Gary Harris has been, at best, bad. (More on him in a minute.)
- Michael Porter doesn't seem to share that reluctance to shoot. But we knew that already. What's been more surprising is the maturity in his game. He's got Old Man Skills right now. He's a willing shooter, but a smart rebounder. He passes very well and, more importantly, understands what a defense gives him and how he needs to pace himself. Having an innate sense of timing should serve him well as a scorer. But to be a superstar, Porter's going to have to play some defense. Part of that is his frailty. He just needs some more junk in his trunk. The other part is a willingness to scrap. He has a nose for the ball-- it'll be interesting to see how the mean streak progresses. That will go a long way in determining whether Denver has a championship squad or a dangerous three seed moving forward.
- How much better would this series be with Will Barton in it? Sigh. It's 2020, and we can't have nice things.
- If Dwight Howard can stay out of foul trouble, the Lakers may sweep. He's been outstanding as a defender (when he's not hacking away) and as a finisher, few are his equal. But he has to stay out of foul trouble to be effective. Five fouls in 10 minute is Birdman Chris Anderson all over. He and Rondo as late-career journeymen reserves are great stories. Both could play for a long time and obviously relish the competition. (Neither needs to money, after all.) I can see the appeal of championship chasing and love the possible stories every season brings.
- Gary Harris has had a horrible playoffs. Two games against Utah, he was unplayable (despite getting 25 mpg). He shot much better against LA, but the guys he guarded were almost always responsible for LA's sole offense. Still, Malone would be overjoyed if that adequate Harris showed up against the Lake Show. So far, he's been well below replacement level. He can't guard anyone-- KCP has given him fits as has Alex Caruso. (Alex Caruso?!) Denver cannot win if they're playing four on five.
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