NBA playoffs: greatest show on Earth

[Trueblue25]

I thought Doc was going to leave the Clippers and get the 76ers job to appeal to LeBron.

The Clippers extended his contract so now it will be Brent Brown leading the LeBron to Philly presentation.
The more it appears the 76ers aren't really the favorite I thought. Also I can't see LeBron going to Houston. He doesn't fit with Harden.

It looks more and more like the Lakers or I can't see where else.

Would it be him and pgIII or him and kawhi?

 

[HakAttack]

Credit to Mike D. He played it like a game 7. Basically a 6.5 man rotation, aka the JB special, to get this win. I would guess Gerald Green will play a bit better at home, but I think Mike D is riding this rotation for the rest of the series.

I know the Dubs have cap issues, but the imbalance of their roster to have so many centers and not wings is mind boggling.

Finally, going to say it again, when Steph is on fire, it's the most fun I've maybe ever had watching basketball. It is really like NBA Jam in real life.

This is basketball at it's very, very best. There are six HoFers on the floor and Kerr will likely get into the HoF as a coach. If Houston were to win, Mike D could be in the running as well.

I only count five.

CP3
Harden
Klay
Steph
Durant.

you're certifiably INSANE if you think Draymond is a HOFer. Shawn Marion did for the better part of a decade what Draymond's done for 4 years or so, and he's not a lock to get into the hall.

 

[Alsacs]

Would it be him and pgIII or him and kawhi?

Lakers could get all 3.
They can sign 2 max guys. LeBron and PG13 as FAs.

Then they could deal Randle in a sign/trade, one of Ball/Ingram for Leonard.

 

[Knicks411]

I only count five.

CP3
Harden
Klay
Steph
Durant.

you're certifiably INSANE if you think Draymond is a HOFer. Shawn Marion did for the better part of a decade what Draymond's done for 4 years or so, and he's not a lock to get into the hall.

I think Green is working on a HOF career. Still too early to tell probably on both him and Klay, tbh.

It's a fair point on Marion, but Dray is probably going to retire with 3 or 4 rings. If Marion had that many i would like his odds a lot more.

 

[Trueblue25]

Lakers could get all 3.
They can sign 2 max guys. LeBron and PG13 as FAs.

Then they could deal Randle in a sign/trade, one of Ball/Ingram for Leonard.

Lot of studs at the same position, theoretically. Imagine point guard lebron hahah

 

[Alsacs]

I only count five.

CP3
Harden
Klay
Steph
Durant.

you're certifiably INSANE if you think Draymond is a HOFer. Shawn Marion did for the better part of a decade what Draymond's done for 4 years or so, and he's not a lock to get into the hall.

Iso Joe Johnson is a borderline HOFer. 7 time all-star. All NBA two times.

 

[Knicks411]

Lakers could get all 3.
They can sign 2 max guys. LeBron and PG13 as FAs.

Then they could deal Randle in a sign/trade, one of Ball/Ingram for Leonard.

I don't think they can sign 2 max FA without renouncing the cap hold on Randle. ($12.4 million).

I also don't think, but am not sure, that you can combine others players in a sign and trade.

 

[Alsacs]

I don't think they can sign 2 max FA without renouncing the cap hold on Randle. ($12.4 million).

I also don't think, but am not sure, that you can combine others players in a sign and trade.

You probably right. I had heard the Lakers could get all 3 but I guess that is wrong unless they could move Deng's contract.

 

[HakAttack]

Iso Joe Johnson is a borderline HOFer. 7 time all-star. All NBA two times.

And that's the problem with the NBA and the HOF. Their standards are pretty low. Joe Johnson is NOT a HOFer. And IMO, neither is Joe Dumars. I think it's fair to say that Klay's not there yet, but he's pretty close.

 

[Melancer46]

I only count five.

CP3
Harden
Klay
Steph
Durant.

you're certifiably INSANE if you think Draymond is a HOFer. Shawn Marion did for the better part of a decade what Draymond's done for 4 years or so, and he's not a lock to get into the hall.

Draymond has already accomplished more through 6 years than Marion did in 16.

Marion:
- 4 All Star appearances
- 2 3rd team All-NBA appearances
- 1 Title as a starting role-player

Draymond:
- 3 All Star appearances
- 1 2nd team All-NBA appearance
- 1 3rd team All-NBA appearance
- 1 Defensive Player of the Year
- 3 1st team All-Defense appearances
- 2 titles as an all-star caliber player (and likely a 3rd this season)

 

[Knicks411]

And that's the problem with the NBA and the HOF. Their standards are pretty low. Joe Johnson is NOT a HOFer. And IMO, neither is Joe Dumars. I think it's fair to say that Klay's not there yet, but he's pretty close.

Pedant alert, but there's no NBA HOF. just basketball.

My gut says Marion is not a HOF caliber guy. Very good player though

 

[Melancer46]

I don't think they can sign 2 max FA without renouncing the cap hold on Randle. ($12.4 million).

I also don't think, but am not sure, that you can combine others players in a sign and trade.

You probably right. I had heard the Lakers could get all 3 but I guess that is wrong unless they could move Deng's contract.

The part re: combining other players in a sign-and-trade is true. Regarding signing 2 max FAs, they can probably pull it off if they want to; would just require attaching an asset to Deng for example in all likelihood. That would get them down to $60-65 million in cap space depending on what they attach to Deng while still keeping Randle's cap hold. They could also theoretically sign Randle at a rate lower than the cap hold and carve out a little extra room that way. His cap hold is about $12.5 million and given how few teams can offer that much money, it wouldn't surprise me if Randle just signs his qualifying offer and frees up another $7 mil in cap space for them. They could be pretty reasonably end up with over $70 million in cap space if they play their cards right.

 

[Knicks411]

The part re: combining other players in a sign-and-trade is true. Regarding signing 2 max FAs, they can probably pull it off if they want to; would just require attaching an asset to Deng for example in all likelihood. That would get them down to $60-65 million in cap space depending on what they attach to Deng while still keeping Randle's cap hold. They could also theoretically sign Randle at a rate lower than the cap hold and carve out a little extra room that way. His cap hold is about $12.5 million and given how few teams can offer that much money, it wouldn't surprise me if Randle just signs his qualifying offer and frees up another $7 mil in cap space for them. They could be pretty reasonably end up with over $70 million in cap space if they play their cards right.

yeah I suppose it's possible they can make the space for 2 max guys. I actually think someone is going to make Randle a pretty solid offer though. His market will be interesting though

 

[OrangeDW]

biggest mystery to me of the entire game is how the refs pulled 0.5 seconds our of their asses to put back on the clock. at 0.5 seconds the ball was just corralled by the Rocket player and it was at least another 1/3-1/2 sec for livingston to react..and then you have to account for human reaction time to actually call the foul...i mean why isn't human reaction time factored in during such situations?

It was ridiculous. They should not have put any time back on the clock. That would’ve been incredibly controversial if Curry hit that 3 to tie it.

 

[Knicks411]

Here's another thing though, the fact that a lot of teams don't have cap room to make a big offer to Randle can help the lakers, but doesn't it also hurt them trying to dump Deng? Who has the cap space to take Deng? And what are you attaching to him?

 

[OrangeDW]

I think Green is working on a HOF career. Still too early to tell probably on both him and Klay, tbh.

It's a fair point on Marion, but Dray is probably going to retire with 3 or 4 rings. If Marion had that many i would like his odds a lot more.

If Dumars is in, Klay will be in IMO. Pretty much the same thing...great complimentary star players on multiple time champions, shooters, good defense.

 

[Melancer46]

yeah I suppose it's possible they can make the space for 2 max guys. I actually think someone is going to make Randle a pretty solid offer though. His market will be interesting though

He's really impressed me this year. I thought he was pretty much value-less early on but he's improved significantly on both sides of the ball and is just a pretty good all-around player at this point. This year's free agency is going to be so tricky though. These are the only teams currently expected to have enough cap space to offer more than the $12.5 million cap hold:

Atlanta - roughly $30 mil in space
Brooklyn - roughly $14 mil in space
Dallas - roughly $17 mil in space
Indiana - roughly $32 mil in space
Lakers - roughly $60 mil in space
Philly - roughly $23 mil in space

Atlanta doesn't really make sense with John Collins there.
Brooklyn makes some sense
Dallas could make sense but I think they're aiming higher.
Indiana probably doesn't make sense given the presence of Thaddeus Young, Sabonis, and TJ Leaf.
Philly doesn't really make sense.

Brooklyn seems like the only real threat to me; MAYBE Dallas if they strike out on their other targets. That's why I think the qualifying offer might be an attractive option to him. He'd be unrestricted the following year and there will likely be a lot more money to go around.

Here's another thing though, the fact that a lot of teams don't have cap room to make a big offer to Randle can help the lakers, but doesn't it also hurt them trying to dump Deng? Who has the cap space to take Deng? And what are you attaching to him?

If they're theoretically bringing in Lebron and Kawhi/PG13, I wouldn't hestitate to attach Brandon Ingram to him to get the contract off the books and make it happen.

 

[Knicks411]

He's really impressed me this year. I thought he was pretty much value-less early on but he's improved significantly on both sides of the ball and is just a pretty good all-around player at this point. This year's free agency is going to be so tricky though. These are the only teams currently expected to have enough cap space to offer more than the $12.5 million cap hold:

Atlanta - roughly $30 mil in space
Brooklyn - roughly $14 mil in space
Dallas - roughly $17 mil in space
Indiana - roughly $32 mil in space
Lakers - roughly $60 mil in space
Philly - roughly $23 mil in space

Atlanta doesn't really make sense with John Collins there.
Brooklyn makes some sense
Dallas could make sense but I think they're aiming higher.
Indiana probably doesn't make sense given the presence of Thaddeus Young, Sabonis, and TJ Leaf.
Philly doesn't really make sense.

Brooklyn seems like the only real threat to me; MAYBE Dallas if they strike out on their other targets. That's why I think the qualifying offer might be an attractive option to him. He'd be unrestricted the following year and there will likely be a lot more money to go around.

I agree on Randle too, I wasn't a huge fan of his game prior to this year, he proved me wrong.

There are teams who could create some space and make a run at him. I have no idea, of course. I could see Atlanta in addition to Brooklyn.

I think I made this joke before, but you know who would be a great fit for the Pacers? Paul George!

 

[Melancer46]

Also, related to this cap space talk, there's gonna be a lot of solid players stuck signing for the MLE I think. For example, if Philly plays its cards and ends up getting a max guy, I think a guy like JJ Redick could end up considering signing with Golden State for the MLE. Can you imagine how depressing it would be if you're an opposing SG and you're stuck chasing Klay around screens all game and then when you're supposed to get a breather, you have to chase JJ?

Someone like Brook Lopez could be forced to sign for the MLE too; I could see him potentially being a target for the Milwaukee Bucks. Not many C's provide the rim protection and 3 point shooting that Brook does and that would be a very valuable thing to have with Giannis as the PF.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Trevor Ariza, Derrick Favors (who I think is another logical target for Milwaukee), Avery Bradley, Nerlens Noel, Tyreke Evans, Dwyane Wade...all these guys could easily be forced to sign for the MLE somewhere.

 

[Cusefan0307]

It was ridiculous. They should not have put any time back on the clock. That would’ve been incredibly controversial if Curry hit that 3 to tie it.

I thought his foot was on the line when he shot it anyway.

 

[Knicks411]

I thought his foot was on the line when he shot it anyway.

I never saw another replay (I was tired, I wanted to go to bed!) but my first thought was i didnt think he got it off in time, and my second thought was his foot may have been on the line

 

[OrangeDW]

I never saw another replay (I was tired, I wanted to go to bed!) but my first thought was i didnt think he got it off in time, and my second thought was his foot may have been on the line

I also didn’t think he got it off watching it live. But was really glad they didn’t tie the game with a chance they didn’t deserve.

 

[Cusefan0307]

I also didn’t think he got it off watching it live. But was really glad they didn’t tie the game with a chance they didn’t deserve.

If he didn't get it off I think we need to retroactively take Derek Fisher's game winner away from 2004 against the Spurs as well .

 

[OrangeDW]

If he didn't get it off I think we need to retroactively take Derek Fisher's game winner away from 2004 against the Spurs as well .

Lol. I was in college and was very, very drunk that night and amazingly remember so much about it. After he made it, I ran out of the house and sprinted down the street going nuts...and then I kept running straight to the bars. I had a friend that was a huge Spurs fan that was already at the bar...I found him and was really letting him have it that night. I was going up to random people in the bar and high fiving them and making them watch the highlights every time they showed it, like “hey, did you see this! Best shot ever! Watch!” Yeah, I was that guy. Basically deliriously happy for like an hour after the shot.

Point being, they can retroactively take it away but the awesome time I had that night will still stand!

 

[MikeSU02]

Draymond has already accomplished more through 6 years than Marion did in 16.

Marion:
- 4 All Star appearances
- 2 3rd team All-NBA appearances
- 1 Title as a starting role-player

Draymond:
- 3 All Star appearances
- 1 2nd team All-NBA appearance
- 1 3rd team All-NBA appearance
- 1 Defensive Player of the Year
- 3 1st team All-Defense appearances
- 2 titles as an all-star caliber player (and likely a 3rd this season)

Yep. Barring injury, Draymond is going to get in.