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2024-25 NBA Thread: Big weekend for Halliburtons (85 Viewers)

Yo Mama said:
Oh man, I just saw Aaron Gordon might miss game 7 due to a hamstring strain that was bugging him at the end of game 6. Would be a big loss for Denver.
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Saw that. I'm hoping it's gamesmanship like the suggestion that Jamal might miss game 6 the other day. We'll find out Sunday but sure am hoping he plays.
 
Major said:
It was kind of funny to hear the narratives about if the Celtics were a better team without Tatum and if they made a run how it could stain his legacy. Turns out he's pretty valuable
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He's an incredible player, sucks to hear people pick him apart.
He has a ring already, he likely will be playing for a couple more in his career
I don't have a lot of hatred towards him, but then he wears a Celtics jersey and that part sucks
 
Jayrod said:
Heartless effort by Boston. Don't expect the shots to all fall, but that effort was just unacceptable.

Will be an uphill climb next year.
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Really disappointing way to end the season. All year, signs were pointing toward a BOS v. CLE showdown with a likely BOS Finals visit. Instead we get IND v. NYK. The Playoffs are just a different beast.
 
You could kind of see this result coming for Boston this season when they failed to maintain last year's championship core.
 
One thing I love about the Knicks is that it's really the only team in NYC that unites the city as there is so much division in other sports with the Yanks/Mets, Giants/Jets, etc. ( I don't really count that pygmy thing in Brooklyn). Crazy reaction to advancing to the ECF though. You'd think these guys just won their first championship since 73: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rznU-tJ1BS0
 
Major said:
One thing I love about the Knicks is that it's really the only team in NYC that unites the city as there is so much division in other sports with the Yanks/Mets, Giants/Jets, etc. ( I don't really count that pygmy thing in Brooklyn). Crazy reaction to advancing to the ECF though. You'd think these guys just won their first championship since 73: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rznU-tJ1BS0
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speaking of that 73 championship, they beat the lakers in 5. chamberlain’s last season, i think his 14th. wilt played every minute of every game, but only took 41 shots in total, which was actually higher than his regular season average. his FTs were a mess. he shot 73% from the field during the regular season. seems west, mcmillan and goodrich were the shooters.
 
MAC_32 said:
MAC_32 said:
Jayrod said:
MAC_32 said:
Jayrod said:
identikit said:
Oh Max
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Role players need to be role players. When your 28 year old #7 guy with a negative career BPM is trying to be the vocal leader that's not a good sign.
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Yep, but role players feel like they need to go over their skis when the core is pillow soft.
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Is Donovan Mitchell just not liked or is he scared to lead? He's clearly "the guy" on that team, but maybe he's not a leader?

Not everyone has it in them to lead others. I feel like Atkinson has been overblown as a coach prior to this as well. Maybe its on him? NBA culture is difficult to navigate, IMO. If you don't have a rep that precedes you (like Pop or Kerr) you have to either be a player's coach or some kind of X's & O's genius to get the players to buy in. But the players make the team. Maybe it doesn't matter who the coach is. The Bucks won because of Giannis & Jrue, not Bud. Vogel won because of LeBron & AD, not him. Players can overcome a coach, but I don't think the opposite is true.
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Tl;Dr - Donovan ain't the problem

I'll unpack all my thoughts sooner vs later, but workload says that's probably not this week.
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Alright, found some time this morning - so what made this team different than the Bickerstaff Cavs was this truly was a team. Atkinson used data to demonstrate to Donovan that their hitting a wall late in the season was very predictable. He took on too much of the workload, which resulted in diminishing returns as both individual games and the season went on. In order for this team to unlock the next level, he needed to cede some of this work to others. Give others opportunities to run the show, whoever the hot hand was that night, let them run with it, then he picks and chooses his spots to be alpha, but he does so fresh. No one could've predicted it'd result in such a hot start, but that's what happens when you roll it back. This is a group that genuinely gets along well together, they didn't need time to gel, and Donovan bought into what Kenny was selling. They all played less minutes than prior seasons, resulting in better health, and with Mitchell delegating more work to others he didn't burn out. 'Cavalance' became a fun schtick this season, but the above is why it was so frequent. The opposition never knew where it'd come from on any one given night.

I don't recall exactly when the team started managing minutes, but it was sometime in early March, probably on the heels of the 3rd extended winning streak. The objective was to ensure these guys were fresh mid-April unlike previous iterations when Donovan routinely played 40+ minutes in the lead-up to the postseason. I didn't put much stock into the 8-8 finish and thought that was confirmed when they steam rolled a checked out Miami team +122. So what changed? And while health played a role, the Pacers season going down like it did was way bigger than that.

They weren't mentally prepared to deal with this team. How that played out in each game varied, but all the bad habits this team used to have returned. When things tightened up, Jarrett Allen played small - 6 rebounds in the final 2 games is inexcusable and he was a non-factor on offense. When things tightened up, and despite him playing well, Mobley didn't demand the ball. When things tightened up, so did Darius. I salute what the Pacers did to Hunter, they got in his head, and it impacted his performance. As a result, Donovan was asked to do too much. Then the others (Max, Jerome, Merrill, etc) were put in position in which they had to do more than just their role, instead of what they were accustomed to - if you're on, run with it, if you're not, defer. Combine that with the Pacers style of play and this team's head was in a blender from the outset and when the going got hard, they folded.

And that last part is why this is on the players. It's not a perfect copy-and-paste, but this series went remarkably similar to the one against the Kicks in 2023. They got bullied early, waxed when they got to the pivot point of the series, and went down in 5 on their home court with Donovan feeling like he had to play hero ball because everyone else around him got small. This is a soft team. Soft teams can win in the regular season with enough talent, but they're dead men walking now. The problem is...nothing can be done about it. While I think I am very well adept at the NFL salary cap, to say I'm under-informed with the NBA's is a vast under statement. That said, I now have cliff notes on what it means to be in the second apron, which is apparently where the Cavs are. And due to that, nothing can be done about this roster. We're stuck with this pillow soft talented team and all we can do is hope they learn how to develop toughness (mental much more than physical) over the next 11 months. I'm writing this thinking that unlike the last few regular seasons, the 25-26 may not be enjoyable, which sucks...hard, because nothing they do until round 2 next year matters. And I've lost faith they can overcome whoever they face when that time comes.

Fin
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It's on the players this year and it was on the players last year.
 
So I just sat down with a beer and hand and was ready to watch a game 7.

Then I discovered the game is tomorrow and not today.

Very anti-climactic. I'm kind of wandering around the house mumbling to myself now. It isn't pretty.
 
Jayrod said:
So I just sat down with a beer and hand and was ready to watch a game 7.

Then I discovered the game is tomorrow and not today.

Very anti-climactic. I'm kind of wandering around the house mumbling to myself now. It isn't pretty.
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I hear hockey is a close second to the NBA playoffs. Maybe turn on one of those games.
 
Kev4029 said:
So not only is Tatum out for next year, probably, but Brown has a torn meniscus.

Not that I wish injuries on any of the Celtics, but it is nice to see every team in Boston being ****ty at the same time for once.
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Watch how whiny the fans get.

Boston and NY have switched places. Boston fans now have outrageous expectations, NYers in the streets like it's New Years Eve after winning a playoff series.
 
Aaron Gordon extremely unlikely to play. Kind of puts a damper on this game, especially for us Nuggets fans. Per Rotoworld:

ESPN’s Shams Charania reports that Aaron Gordon (hamstring) has been diagnosed with a left hamstring strain and is doubtful to play in Sunday’s Game 7 against the Thunder.

According to Shams, Gordon will need several weeks to recover from the injury. He’s been looking for ways to play on Sunday, “but it is becoming physically improbable to do so.” Gordon hasn’t officially been ruled out, but there’s little chance he takes the court, which is a devastating blow for Denver. Gordon has averaged 16.8 points and 7.3 boards in the 2025 postseason, and his production will likely be picked up by a committee of Russell Westbrook, Julian Strawther and Peyton Watson.
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John123 said:
Aaron Gordon extremely unlikely to play. Kind of puts a damper on this game, especially for us Nuggets fans. Per Rotoworld:

ESPN’s Shams Charania reports that Aaron Gordon (hamstring) has been diagnosed with a left hamstring strain and is doubtful to play in Sunday’s Game 7 against the Thunder.

According to Shams, Gordon will need several weeks to recover from the injury. He’s been looking for ways to play on Sunday, “but it is becoming physically improbable to do so.” Gordon hasn’t officially been ruled out, but there’s little chance he takes the court, which is a devastating blow for Denver. Gordon has averaged 16.8 points and 7.3 boards in the 2025 postseason, and his production will likely be picked up by a committee of Russell Westbrook, Julian Strawther and Peyton Watson.
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Jokic is playing every minute of this game.
 
Someone remind incase I can't recall, but this has to be the most injury plagued postseason for the NBA in 20 + years.

Mitchell - pulled out of game and played his last game very limited
Garland, Hunter, Mobley all missed at least one game
Tatum, Porzingus and Brown
Lillard
Isaiah Stewart
Gordon
Butler, Steph
Morant
 
msudaisy26 said:
Someone remind incase I can't recall, but this has to be the most injury plagued postseason for the NBA in 20 + years.

Mitchell - pulled out of game and played his last game very limited
Garland, Hunter, Mobley all missed at least one game
Tatum, Porzingus and Brown
Lillard
Isaiah Stewart
Gordon
Butler, Steph
Morant
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LeBron also hurt but the Lakers got bounced so it didn’t matter.
 
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