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2021-22 NBA Thread: Bill Simmons furiously recording 2.5 hour long pod about how Boston is still better than Golden State (1 Viewer)

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Some thoughts on last nights game.  I’m not as doom and gloom for the Warriors are some seem to be. I picked the Warriors in 6 when the series started—but also made clear that I thought that the series could easily go 7 and would not be surprised in the least bit if Boston won.  People made claims that the Celtics hadn’t played a team like the Warriors in the playoffs and they were in for a nasty surprise. I thought the opposite. I felt like the Celtics have played some insane competition so far this playoffs—and the Warriors have had the easier ride.  

One of the key elements in beating the Warriors is discipline on the defensive end—for the entirety of the shot clock.   The Celtics swept a team that required defensive discipline to beat—the Nets.  The Nets have Durant, Kyrie, Seth Curry, Patty Mills, Goran Dragic..etc.  Last night—the Celtics had some defensive lapses in the first quarter—and Steph made them pay.  However—they coupled that with periods of great defensive discipline—which allowed them to stay in the game and eventually pull off the win. 

With that said—I do think that Warriors fans shouldn’t feel like this series is over.  The fact of the matter is that the Warriors entered the 4th quarter up 12 points. For much of the game—they outplayed the Celtics.  Secondly—while everybody looks at 3 point shooting—imo the biggest discrepancy in the game was in regards to points in the paint and team assists.  The Celtics had 8 more points in the paint than the Warriors and they also had 9 more assists than the Warriors (very surprising).   I think that the Warriors may have underutilized Wiggins in game 1 as he’s one of the guys that can find a way to get in the paint and be effective there. Also—the assist discrepancy shows that Golden State was shooting off of the dribble more than usual. Lastly—I think the availability of Gary Payton II could have an impact for the Warriors. He plays bigger than his size and brings the Warriors a toughness that I felt like they were lacking last night. 

 I think the biggest takeaway from last night should be for those of whom thought that this series was going to be some cake walk for the Warriors. I still think that either team can win the series—but last night proved that it’s not going to be a cakewalk for either side. 
Good perspective.  Not sure why anyone thought this would be a Warriors cakewalk.  Anyone who knows basketball OR analytics shouldn’t be surprised by last night.

 
It's funny that everyone thinks the series is over. Dubs need to win Sunday, but the Warriors have won a road game in 20+ series or whatever. It's an NBA record. 

 
Good perspective.  Not sure why anyone thought this would be a Warriors cakewalk.  Anyone who knows basketball OR analytics shouldn’t be surprised by last night.
What surprised me was all of the experts saying Warriors in 6 or 7 and some indicating they wanted to say Warriors in 5, but to be safe said 6.  Like almost nobody picked the Celtics.

It obviously isn't over, but game 1 should be an eye opener to a lot of people.

The Celtics struggled in the 1st quarter and it looked like Tatum had some game 1 jitters for sure.  They were a bit wide eyed and stunned.  However, they also shot the ball well to keep it close in the 1st and then played well in the 2nd and they took that 2 pt lead.  Then came the 3rd, but I think it took a lot of energy out of Golden State and in the 4th, the Celtics played with a lot more energy all over the place.  Another huge key was only 12 TO's.

Both benches played really well. Porter looked like their 2nd best player at times and Poole contributed some points.  Besides White, Pritchard put up 8 pts (3 of 4), 6 rbds & 2 asts in 16 minutes. Grant Williams was OK (0/3/3) and Theis hit a corner 3 and had a block in 6 minutes.

The Warriors have to get more out of Looney & Green.  They combined for 8 points on 3/16 shooting and Draymond fouled out.  If that kind of production continues, Curry/Klay/Poole can't shoot their way to 4 wins.

 
There was a mention on FS1 this morning that GS is 1-8 in their last 9 Finals games without KD. Not sure if that is accurate or not, but I found that surprising. 

 
Updated geeky stat site win probabilities . . .

538 RAPTOR:
BOS - 92%
GS - 8%

538 ELO:
BOS - 86%
GS - 14%

ESPN BPI:
BOS - 93.3%
GS - 6.7%

Basketball Reference:
BOS - 73.8%
GS - 26.2%

The Ringer:
BOS - 79%
GS - 21%

PlayoffStatus.com:
BOS - 61%
GS - 39%

 
Odd/surprising stats:

  • All 5 BOS starters had at least 5 rebounds
  • All 5 BOS starters had at least 1 steal
  • GSW starting frontcourt was 3/16.  BOS starting frontcourt was 13/16. 
  • BOS team shooting percentages (50/51/81) were better than Curry's (48/50/75)
  • GSW had 11 Off-rbds in qtrs 1-3, but only 1 in the 4th (and it was in garbage time)
  • Both teams won 2 quarters, but BOS won both halves
  • Curry had the best game score at 25.7, Draymond had the worst at -0.2
  • White had the best +/- at +25, Poole had the worst at -19
 
The Celtics are very good, but they didn't look like a well oiled machine. The game was pretty much even at the half and the Celtics looked horrible in the 3rd. They had an amazing 4th quarter, but I doubt we see either team win a quarter by 24 points the rest of this series. 
Teams hardly ever win a quarter by 20+ points. Boston has gone on runs for better parts of a quarter throughout the playoffs. In 19 games so far, they have had 14 quarters where they were +10 points or more (including 5 of +15 or more). Once they flipped the switch near the halfway point of the season, they had nights where they were a buzzsaw. They had halftime leads of +26 vs. PHO, +27 vs. PHI, +25 vs. DEN, +23 vs. UTA, +23 vs. MIN when those teams had their mainstays playing. Basically, if Boston doesn't turn the ball over and they make their shots, they are nearly unbeatable.

That being said, the trio of Horford / White / Smart combined might not even get 15 more three pointers in the remainder of the series. But Tatum is unlikely to go 3-17 either. In the playoffs, in games when he scores under 20 points, he's averaged 33 points the next game.

If you told me Tatum would go 3-17 and Steph would set the record for most made three pointers in a quarter, I would have guessed GS would have won by 25 points.

I saw an eye-opening stat this morning. Brown leads all players in most fourth quarter points scored and has made 67% of his 4th quarter shots.

Last night's net ratings per 100 possessions for guys that played 10+ minutes is pretty wild:

Pritchard +87
Smart +55
Horford +38
RWilliams +20
White +15
Brown -13
Tatum -20
GWilliams -27

Porter +42
Iguodala +13
Steph +3
Wiggins +2
Looney 0
Klay -12
Poole -53
Dray -66

If the Warriors don't get more out of Poole and Green, it could be a short series. GS might be best suited to sub someone else in for Poole.

 
Last night's net ratings per 100 possessions for guys that played 10+ minutes is pretty wild:

Pritchard +87
Smart +55
Horford +38
RWilliams +20
White +15
Brown -13
Tatum -20
GWilliams -27
I was trying to find a way to highlight Pritchard's production per minute, but this is probably the best look.  He was fantastic in 16 minutes on both ends of the floor.

 
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humility is the only thing that can get my guys now, that's why the last two series(es?) went seven. when they diggin, the Celtics are almost as special as the team theyre playing was 8 years ago - a defining combination of the shots-stops-steals philosphy that purists have been hoping to see since the Dubs widened the zone a decade ago.

but the instant they start thinking they the ####, they lose what they got. Smaaaat & the Jays' pretty strokes go off-center, they stop going over screens and forget too quickly that, without focus & footwork, theyre the Washington Wizards. and the professionalism which forged the Warriors' two leads last nite will take whatever rope theyre given and tug it BUT hard

best thing about last nite, besides not missing all those times, was the li'l ##### they made of Poole. they stuffed his VinnieJohnsonAss act in a bag and threw it in the bay. Kerr best fish him out and dry him off or his team is in trubbs

 
that announcing team last night has to be the worst of the "prime" teams

i can't take anymore awkward attempts to throw out dated catchphrases.. i'm pretty sure the guy dropped "whazzzzzzzzzzzzup" and "psych!" lines last night.

or Mark Jackson's monotone voice and stilted delivery.  guy sounds like it's his first on-air appearance.

 
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There was a mention on FS1 this morning that GS is 1-8 in their last 9 Finals games without KD. Not sure if that is accurate or not, but I found that surprising. 
I think the one I saw was Curry's Finals records with and without Durant.

With Durant was like 9-1

Without, 8-12

Prob not a completely fair stat, but also shows that a lot of the 'legacy' of this GS run is the Curry/Durant combo.  

 
I think the one I saw was Curry's Finals records with and without Durant.

With Durant was like 9-1

Without, 8-12

Prob not a completely fair stat, but also shows that a lot of the 'legacy' of this GS run is the Curry/Durant combo.  
I went and looked up their 1-8 record in the Finals without KD in their last 9 games . . . with a -8.9 point scoring differential.

L BOS (108-120)
L TOR (110-114)
L TOR (92-105)
L TOR (109-123)
W TOR (109-104)
L TOR (109-118)
L CLE (89-93)
L CLE (101-115)
L CLE (97-112)

 
I went and looked up their 1-8 record in the Finals without KD in their last 9 games . . . with a -8.9 point scoring differential.

L BOS (108-120)
L TOR (110-114)
L TOR (92-105)
L TOR (109-123)
W TOR (109-104)
L TOR (109-118)
L CLE (89-93)
L CLE (101-115)
L CLE (97-112)


The other win against the Raptors was when Durant came back played like 15 minutes and then tore his achilles. 

 
Waking up and seeing that score was quite the surprise for this old man who fell asleep at the end of the third quarter. 


Ditto.  I was out with 2 mins left in 3rd.  I think BOS is better cause of the D.  But I was shocked to wake up and see they won this one.

 
Listening to JJ Redick's Podcast. Horford has defended the most shots in the playoffs . . . and he has the allowed the lowest FG percentage. And he's #2 in 3P% on offense this post season.

Also, Curry only 8 points on 29 possessions when guarded by Smart. Not sure who was on Steph in the first quarter.

 
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“We pretty much dominated the game for the first 41, 42 minutes, so we’ll be fine,” Green said.
I don't think they dominated the game for the first 41, 42 minutes. The Celtics led by 2 at halftime, with 30 minutes completed.

A more accurate statement is that Golden State dominated the third quarter, 38-24. But if it is accurate to say 38-24 = "dominated" then what is the word for 40-16?

I listened to NBA radio some today, and I heard Brian Scalabrini (Celtics guy) say he was surprised that Golden State "let go of the rope" so early. He referenced GS "cockiness," and that they seemed to think the Celtics would "lay down" for them. It might be a bit of hyperbole, but it's not totally off base IMO.

From what I have heard on NBA radio throughout these playoffs, Scalabrini has been pretty accurate in his assessment of the Celtics and their chances in each playoff series so far. He seems to think this series is a lock for the Celtics, and I happen to agree.

 
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Between last season and this season in the post season, Tatum in games after shooting under 25%:

W BRK (+6) - 50 points (16 of 30 shooting)
W MIL (+8) - 30 points (11 of 24 shooting)
W MIA (+20) - 31 points (8 of 16 shooting)

I've also been hearing all day today how Boston will never make 20 pointers in a game again. I looked it up, and that was the 12th time they did that this year. I don't think it's a forgone conclusion they won't have another game with 20 makes.

The takeaway for Warriors fans is Boston hasn't shot as well in game X+1, only going 3-8 in those games. They went from 21.4 made threes (46.7%) to 12.9 made threes (35.5%).

One of those trends (winning in a JT big game vs. losses in fewer threes) will have to give.

 
Ugh.... Based on shot quality BOS should've won 104-92.

It wasn't just the hot steak. 
This actually makes sense to me.  Boston seemed to have a lot of open shots.   When Curry had 21 in the first quarter and GS barely led I told my son “####, we’re in trouble here.”

All along my view was Boston in 6.  Still feel that way.

 
that announcing team last night has to be the worst of the "prime" teams

i can't take anymore awkward attempts to throw out dated catchphrases.. i'm pretty sure the guy dropped "whazzzzzzzzzzzzup" and "psych!" lines last night.

or Mark Jackson's monotone voice and stilted delivery.  guy sounds like it's his first on-air appearance.
Isn't Van Gundy part of that usual crew though?  He's the one that adds some life to the call.   I'm guessing he was sick based on the previous game he called where he sounded like he was going to die on air.

Google confirmed (2 usual guys missing....definitely was the B team for Game 1):

Play-by-play announcer Mike Breen and analyst Jeff Van Gundy will both miss Thursday night's game as they recover from COVID-19, per Andrew Marchand of the New York Post. Mark Jones will handle play-by-play duties in place of Breen and Mark Jackson will be the lone analyst.

 
I don't think they dominated the game for the first 41, 42 minutes. The Celtics led by 2 at halftime, with 30 minutes completed.

A more accurate statement is that Golden State dominated the third quarter, 38-24. But if it is accurate to say 38-24 = "dominated" then what is the word for 40-16?

I listened to NBA radio some today, and I heard Brian Scalabrini (Celtics guy) say he was surprised that Golden State "let go of the rope" so early. He referenced GS "cockiness," and that they seemed to think the Celtics would "lay down" for them. It might be a bit of hyperbole, but it's not totally off base IMO.

From what I have heard on NBA radio throughout these playoffs, Scalabrini has been pretty accurate in his assessment of the Celtics and their chances in each playoff series so far. He seems to think this series is a lock for the Celtics, and I happen to agree.
The funny thing, too, is how many games have we seen over the years where the Warriors were outplayed for much of them, but went ballistic with a stretch of hitting 3s and stole the game?  

Really though, the less people listen to Green, the better, although he has his own podcast now, which is not surprising since his playing is slipping and he needs a reason to stay relevant. 

 
Speaking of podcasts, Jason Timof had some eye opening numbers from Game 1. Rob Williams actually hurt Boston on both sides of the floor. 

For starters, the C’s started out in drop coverage as their base defense against pick and rolls. The problem initially was the big (Timelord) would drop to the foul line, and Curry was getting open threes. As the game progressed, they tried switching with mixed results. 

Eventually, Boston adjusted and pushed the pick and roll plays out beyond the three point line. Throughout the playoffs Boston has had a defensive rating of 98.5 with Rob on the court. In Game 1, that shot up to 116. When they started picking up GS beyond the three-point line with Al as the defending big on pick and rolls, their defensive rating dropped to 40.

A similar thing happened on offense. Throughout the playoffs, Boston has had a 107.5 offensive rating with Timelord on the court. In Game 1, when they opted to go with 5 outside shooters instead, their offensive rating jumped up to 140.

Over the course of the post season, Boston’s offensive rating has been 6.4 points better per 100 possessions without RWilliams on the court. With Rob not at 100%, they actually have been more productive when he hasn’t been on the court. 

Timof went on to say that GS (like MIL) opts to defend the lane and by design will let teams kick out on penetration for open threes. The problem is, Boston can play five guys that can make threes. Timof said the countermove is to play the perimeter defenders further out, but he doesn’t recommend it as guys like the Jays and Smart will slash into the lane. That would get Boston some easy layups and could also still result in good looks outside with good ball movement. Bottom line, GS probably won’t have a  great adjustment and will hope Boston shoots poorly on their outside shots. 

 
Isn't Van Gundy part of that usual crew though?  He's the one that adds some life to the call.   I'm guessing he was sick based on the previous game he called where he sounded like he was going to die on air.

Google confirmed (2 usual guys missing....definitely was the B team for Game 1):

Play-by-play announcer Mike Breen and analyst Jeff Van Gundy will both miss Thursday night's game as they recover from COVID-19, per Andrew Marchand of the New York Post. Mark Jones will handle play-by-play duties in place of Breen and Mark Jackson will be the lone analyst.
JVG is part of the crew, but he and Breen were both out.

 
It's gameday, folks.

Similar to game 1, I have no idea what to expect. Could be a blowout either way or go into OT.

Curious to see what adjustments both sides come up with.

 
I think Boston rides their hot finish and Tatum scores way better and Boston starts the game strong. JT with 20-25 points in the first half. Boston silences the crowd and goes up 15 at the break.

Tatum ends up with 35+, Brown scores better, Grant Williams is the one making threes, the pressure gets to the Warriors and they don’t shoot well. GS rallies a little late but Boston holds on to win by 8 or 10.  

Boston has been +3.5 made threes per game net in the playoffs. GS has been -0.7. Celtics +4.6% on threes in the postseason. All the talk has been that BOS won’t make 20 threes on a game again. Warriors might not make 19 like in Game 1 either. Boston can play loose. All the pressure is on GS. Like always, if BOS doesn’t have a ton of turnovers, they  should be in position to win. 

 
Rewatched game 1. 

Warriors were in control until they weren't. Feel a bit better after all the post analysis made me even more unsure.

In the 4th to take the lead, Brown, White, and Smart hit a bunch of well defended shots. The Dubs definitely need to pay more attention to Horford because he was wide open on a lot of his shots. 

Offense wise, things did get stagnant but the Warriors did stop moving around off the ball. 

Looney's minutes need to match Timelord or If Draymond is playing like doo doo give them to Loon.

Poole needs to play better and match minutes vs Pritchard. Poole lost that matchup last game, but he's more than capable of winning today.

GP2 will be key just as long as he can make an impact on defense. He can take Poole's minutes if Poole is ineffective and Klay's as well. 

Kerr needs to avoid the Dray, Iggy, and Looney together in the 2nd unit. It gave Poole no room to operate. 

I'm not sure if Kerr trusts Moody or Kuminga, but he may need to see what they can do to make better use of the Poole, Iggy, and the 2nd big man minutes. 

I wonder if they switch

Wiggins on Brown. 

Klay on Tatum. 

This way Wiggins can keep up with Brown 1v1. Tatum is slower than Brown, so Klay can play Tatum a bit better and the team doesn't have to help on Tatum drives AND Brown drives.

It'll be a tough game. Anyone can win, but this is a must win game for the Dubs. 

 
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So Quinn Snyder is stepping down and now Mitchell is unsure about his future with the team. As a Piston fan I would love them to make a move fore Mitchell. 

If I am Dallas, Phoenix, Denver, Memphis, Minnesota, Charlotte, Philly, Toronto etc. I am looking into this. He is a difference maker. 

 
So Quinn Snyder is stepping down and now Mitchell is unsure about his future with the team. As a Piston fan I would love them to make a move fore Mitchell. 

If I am Dallas, Phoenix, Denver, Memphis, Minnesota, Charlotte, Philly, Toronto etc. I am looking into this. He is a difference maker. 
Not surprising he stepped down. I thought he'd be the next Lakers coach. Very possible he asked out to take over there and was denied. Bigger market team he likely gets canned with the talent/payroll on that team and their performance. It's not a young team and wasn't going further. 

Agree Mitchell is a difference maker offensively. He's a turnstile defensively though. Suns won't be a player. Bridges is a better fit. Booker's their shooting guard. I think Ayton's good as gone from Phoenix and they will likely do a sign-and-trade. If there's anything there on the end involving Utah, it'll be Gobert.

 
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Hard to imagine the Celtics winning back to back road games here even though they're 8-2 on the road.  They won't get any help from the refs if they do.  If they play to script it will either be a warriors blowout or a celtics romp that ends with a big comeback.

That said, the warriors shut Tatum down and lost by double digits at home.  Do you go away from what worked against Tatum so you can defend Jaylen and Al?  Or do you stick with what worked and just expect that the Celtics shooting cools off?  If I'm coaching, I stick with the good process and wait for the results to come. 

 
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This is the energy and urgency the Warriors should have came out with. Celtic fans should feel good about this because in the last 2 series these were games they threw away. 

 
BS call on Williams, phantom call on Brown and missed shot by Looney to Theis' face at end of quarter.

At least they gave Draymond a T. He was going to push it until they did.

 
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