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Post by Deleted on Apr 27, 2015 21:00:54 GMT -5
With the Toronto sweep whose to blame? I suspect Casey will be fired, but I've always felt Ujiri is a bit of an overrated GM. His big claim to fame is the Carmelo trade, where a lot of people felt he fleeced the Knicks (myself included). I hate to admit it but there has been a lot of teams that have done that. Houston with the Jared Jefferies trade and Chicago with the Eddy Curry trade are just two that come to mind. The Rudy Gay trade seemed pretty obvious to do, but I also suspect Pete D'Alessandro isn't exactly the brightest bulb.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 27, 2015 21:54:41 GMT -5
With the Toronto sweep whose to blame? I suspect Casey will be fired, but I've always felt Ujiri is a bit of an overrated GM. His big claim to fame is the Carmelo trade, where a lot of people felt he fleeced the Knicks (myself included). I hate to admit it but there has been a lot of teams that have done that. Houston with the Jared Jefferies trade and Chicago with the Eddy Curry trade are just two that come to mind. The Rudy Gay trade seemed pretty obvious to do, but I also suspect Pete D'Alessandro isn't exactly the brightest bulb. Is anyone really to blame? Ujiri wanted to bottom out last year, but the Gay trade combined with that horrid division led to an inflated record. They finished about where they should have this year, and it seemed like that crushing loss in game 1 just took the wind out of their sails. The problem for the Raptors is who is the guy that's going to make a jump? Lowry is what he is: a very good point guard, but not elite. DeRozan is a good wing, but he's limited by his lack of a three-point shot. Terrence Ross was supposed to be that guy, but he seriously regressed. I still like him though. Don't see why he can't improve. Their PF position is abysmal. Jonas has kind of plateaued. I guess you get rid of Dwane Casey.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 27, 2015 22:09:43 GMT -5
I tend to agree with their PF issue. It was a problem the year before but rather than acknowledging it they acquire another guard (an area they seem fine at) Lou Williams. Granted he won 6th man of the year, however they don't really have a big man source of scoring. With two upsets in a row I suspect they'll do something drastic. They do have a fair amount of cap space this summer so I guess they could go after a big name free agent.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 27, 2015 22:17:45 GMT -5
I tend to agree with their PF issue. It was a problem the year before but rather than acknowledging it they acquire another guard (an area they seem fine at) Lou Williams. Granted he won 6th man of the year, however they don't really have a big man source of scoring. With two upsets in a row I suspect they'll do something drastic. They do have a fair amount of cap space this summer so I guess they could go after a big name free agent. I'd probably see what I can get for Lowry and DeRozan. Lowry turns 30 next year and isn't getting any better. DeRozan could still get better, but that contract is really cap friendly, which may drive up his value.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 28, 2015 0:01:25 GMT -5
I know our Blazers fans saw that foul call on Green just now. See how Batum locked up? Big men do that all the time. That's basketball. Notice what happened next? Nothing. Batum locked up, but he didn't proceed to pull the shit out of Green's arm. That's what Olynyk did. That's NOT basketball.
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Post by TrailDucker on Apr 28, 2015 9:53:10 GMT -5
Meyers Baby! Going into this series I was hoping Robin Lopez would only average about 24 minutes a game. I knew this isn't a match up for him to shine. We needed Meyers, and small line ups with Aldridge at center for spacing purposes on offense. This obviously was a gamble on Defense. When we were one of the best teams in the league before the first batch of injuries in the season happened our defense went more from Outside-In. Lillard was fighting through screens instead being a magnet to them, Wesley and Batum were being Wesley and Batum and we were shutting down the three point line and funneling guards into the middle where Robin Lopez was waiting. Teams would get a lot of points in the paint int he first quarter and sometimes all the way to the half. But not effectively being set up by their guards the team's usually would begin scrambling and we would pull away and the three headed monster of Aldridge/Lillard/Matthews with some sprinkles of Lopez and/or Batum would prove too much down the stretch. Stotts took the opposite approach going into this series and it took him three games to come out of it. We started games focusing on stopping Gasol and Randolph. Lopez's defense on the bigs were a piller and Lee/Conley had a field day. Eventually our guards would have to focus on them and Gasol and Randolph would drop the hammer in the second half with the improved spacing. It led to three loses and use looking pretty shitty in the process. This last game he did what he has done for three games, once Gasol went out, Stotts put Meyers in for Lopez. I don't know if it was Meyer's move from his normal competent play to dare I say good play, or just giving Lopez an extended rest, but he kept Meyers in longer then usual. What happened? Meyer's was 3 for 3 from 3 in the 2nd and the floor was magically spaced out more then it's been all series for the Blazers! Lillard was back to Lillard cutting up the floor for drives that then opened up his crossover-step back. Batum was roaming (although his shot was off, but he was getting shots none-the-less) and McCollum calmed down from eratic in the first three games to surgical in this game. The dark spots Afflalo still is not 100% and it's painful to watch. Aldridge also had an off night. You know what? WE STILL WON! I really hope Stotts doesn't think of this and an anomaly. It's an obvious gamble on the defensive end but a gamble that worked out for this game. If Meyer's can continue his competent play on Koufos and Gasol then his shooting is a deadly weapon to keep on the floor. It's hard but Stotts has to give RoLo a pat on the back and say "You got us here, now we just need about 20 minutes of face-breaking defense from you a game, and the rest we need the spacing, if we do the unthinkable, we will need you more in the series to come." I would also like to see some spot Alonzo Gee unearthing with him as a stretch 4 (while Wright is still out) and LaMarcus at the 5. Gee is limited but what he can do competently is shoot 3's and defend, then it gives LaMarcus more of that space to get his mojo back while being guarded by a slower player. Then you can be proactive instead of the reactive with you subs and flip the tables on Joerger. He moves Jeff Green to the 4 to chase the stretch 4/5? You go back to your bread and cutter with Lopez and LaMarcus and Aldridge has a field day on Green down low. You then control the series. There are two elephants int he the room: The smaller elephant: Can Meyers Leonard and CJ McCollum sustain this level of play? McCollum hopefully can if he keeps his moments of eratic to a minimum. Leonard is a tricker question and yet it's more important then CJ's play. It's a gamble you have to take at this point, you don't have any more tricks to pull out of your hat and it's literally do-or-die. Also we don't have Wesley, he's not coming back like Conley, so whine all you want Grizzly fans, I'll play my tiny violin. The mama elephant: Conley was injured, calm down dude! If Conley wasn't injured they probably would have won! Well we can't say that for sure, but yes they very well could have won. But we found something that worked, once, we gotta keep going at it and take what we have. If we were able to extend the series enough for Conley to return, that will be an adjustment we have to make. Maybe, just maybe we will have a game where Lillard AND Aldridge both are playing good AT THE SAME TIME! Hasn't happened yet this series, and if it does that could be a monumental momentum shifter. But while we stoke gold, we have to keep chipping away to see if this gold is of the fool kind, or real!
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Post by Mighty Mouse on Apr 28, 2015 9:54:03 GMT -5
If we're voting, I cast my vote for the "fluky injury, no ill intent, Kevin Love is a whiny bitch" category.
Was it a "basketball play"? Uh, yeah? No? I don't know. All I know is players push, shove, grab, yank, scratch, elbow, kick, etc when in the playoffs, especially when chasing a loose ball. You could put together an hour long highlight reel of "non-basketball plays" from just this first round of the playoffs. This shit happens. And 9/10 times nothing gets called. 99/100 times no one gets injured.
Kevin Love should save this "league punishment needs to be swift and just" bullshit because it is not a good look for him.
Cleveland fans have a right to react however they feel, but there is a reason why all the rest of the league's reaction is "damn, bummer, that sucks." Because that is what this is, a sucky bummer. It's just playoff basketball, and people get injured.
What JR Smith did is 100% worse and less "basketball". Kendrick Perkins' "screen" was worse than this. But no one got injured, so no harm, no foul, right?
As far as Toronto goes, they were overachieving to begin with. No one is to blame. Anyone that expected them to be a title contender was delusional. Toronto and their fans need to readjust their expectations. Ujiri and Casey need to keep their eyes on the prize (a championship) and stop worrying about the difference between a 1st round exit and a 2nd round exit.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 28, 2015 12:53:53 GMT -5
If we're voting, I cast my vote for the "fluky injury, no ill intent, Kevin Love is a whiny bitch" category. Was it a "basketball play"? Uh, yeah? No? I don't know. All I know is players push, shove, grab, yank, scratch, elbow, kick, etc when in the playoffs, especially when chasing a loose ball. You could put together an hour long highlight reel of "non-basketball plays" from just this first round of the playoffs. This shit happens. And 9/10 times nothing gets called. 99/100 times no one gets injured. Kevin Love should save this "league punishment needs to be swift and just" bullshit because it is not a good look for him. Cleveland fans have a right to react however they feel, but there is a reason why all the rest of the league's reaction is "damn, bummer, that sucks." Because that is what this is, a sucky bummer. It's just playoff basketball, and people get injured.What JR Smith did is 100% worse and less "basketball". Kendrick Perkins' "screen" was worse than this. But no one got injured, so no harm, no foul, right? As far as Toronto goes, they were overachieving to begin with. No one is to blame. Anyone that expected them to be a title contender was delusional. Toronto and their fans need to readjust their expectations. Ujiri and Casey need to keep their eyes on the prize (a championship) and stop worrying about the difference between a 1st round exit and a 2nd round exit. Except the NBA suspended Olynyk because it was obviously not a basketball play. The NBA ruled on this, and they agreed with me and many others that saw it for what it was: an intentionally reckless act. The argument's over. Those saying it wasn't dirty lost. And why are we comparing JR Smith's and Perk's plays? They were both against the rules, and the NBA agreed. Just because they were worse, doesn't mean Olynyk's wasn't against the rules. I honestly think people feel it was a basketball play because it happened to Kevin Love. People don't like him. If this had happened to Aldridge or Duncan, you'd see a different reaction. It is what it is, at this point. The Cavs are going to have to come up with something. Just a shame because the East was setting up very nicely for them, then this happens. If it was one of those fluke accidental injuries, the pill might be easier to swallow. The fact that the injury was the result of that play makes it far tougher to stomach.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 28, 2015 13:17:40 GMT -5
Remember when this happened?
I do. And I remember the majority of media members saying this wasn't a dirty play. That people only perceived it as dirty because Rondo got hurt. That, of course, was complete horseshit. I watched over and over again, and it's so obvious that it's a dirty play, that I honestly thought I might have been going insane. The ball is nowhere near them. Wade is perfectly balanced. He proceeds to wrap his arm around Rondo, then sweep his leg. That is the dirtiest of the dirty. And yet, no one called him on it. Looks awfully familiar if you ask me.
The ball is out of Olynyk's reach. Love his holding him off with his off arm as is custom in a play like that. Olynyk proceeds to pin down with his right arm, trapping Love, then reaches in with his left to grasp Love's arm and pulls. THAT IS NOT A FUCKING BASKETBALL PLAY! Good Lord, am I going insane? It baffles me how anyone can watch that and come away thinking that's a normal play.
I guess it comes down to how you define dirty. It sounds like the people who say its not dirty define the word as intentionally trying to harm someone. I define dirty as doing something outside of the rules, and not caring about the consequences of that action. What Wade and Olynyk did were intentionally reckless plays. Whether or not they led to injuries is besides the point. It's no different than when Bruce Bowen would stick his foot underneath an opposing jumpshooter. It may not always lead to a foot injury, but you damn sure know that that possibility exists. Wade may not have known Rondo would destroy his elbow, but he damn sure knew something could happen. Same with Olynyk.
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Post by San Diego Scorpions on Apr 28, 2015 14:59:30 GMT -5
Love would've had that rebound if Olynyk didn't hold onto him, he was probably trying to prevent Love from grabbing the ball. I do think it was dirty but I just wanted to point out that it had a reason other than to hurt him.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 28, 2015 15:18:24 GMT -5
All this talk about Olynyk and his "brutality" yet none of the haters are speaking to how much of a piece of trash JR Smith is for his gutless Hammerfist on Jae Crowder. Not to mention he's already well known for being a classless toolbag. only 2 game suspension for this act on another player. (not the first time either) Then clapped as he walked off. What a dirt bag. That's what should be talked about. This whole series was physical and full of non basketball plays. That dude literally punched a guy.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 28, 2015 18:27:54 GMT -5
All this talk about Olynyk and his "brutality" yet none of the haters are speaking to how much of a piece of trash JR Smith is for his gutless Hammerfist on Jae Crowder. Not to mention he's already well known for being a classless toolbag. only 2 game suspension for this act on another player. (not the first time either) Then clapped as he walked off. What a dirt bag. That's what should be talked about. This whole series was physical and full of non basketball plays. That dude literally punched a guy. The argument isn't comparing Olynk to Smith though. Cavs fans, myself included, thought it was a boneheaded thing to do. With that being said, Smith had just gotten hit in the head several times with no foul call. Still doesn't make what he did right. As for Olynk, the consensus is that Olynk isn't a dirty player, but it was a dirty play. For anyone whose played a sport at at least the high school level and been in a position where you know you could hurt someone, you know where the line is. Yes, Love would have easily won the rebound -- KO had no chance -- and that's what makes this a dirty play. It wasn't a play on the ball. It was a play to prevent the other man from getting the ball by any means necessary.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 28, 2015 22:47:23 GMT -5
I've stated several times that I thought what Smith did was well out of line and deserved a multiple game suspension. It's not being talked about more because we are all in agreement. It's like saying, "You know what needs to be talked about more? How water is so wet. That's the real story here." This subject is getting old though, and we've already got our answer. Anyone see the new Clippers' logo? Trash.
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Post by TrailDucker on Apr 29, 2015 8:42:02 GMT -5
I've stated several times that I thought what Smith did was well out of line and deserved a multiple game suspension. It's not being talked about more because we are all in agreement. It's like saying, "You know what needs to be talked about more? How water is so wet. That's the real story here." This subject is getting old though, and we've already got our answer. Anyone see the new Clippers' logo? Trash. Wow that is so horrendous. Me and Mighty could have designed a better logo then that and we are Architects moon lighting as Graphic Designers. So who designed this shit? Those jersey's look like they were designed in MS Paint
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Post by Mighty Mouse on Apr 29, 2015 9:22:53 GMT -5
It looks like an EA Sports video game logo.
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