No Love, No Lackin - Bulls vs Cavs Semi-ECFs Thread

[Malta]

So were going to talk about game 1 and ignore the next 3? He has tendinitis in his left knee and sprain in high right foot and last game he actually asked his teammates if they wanted him on the court.

He had 21 in game 2, so you must mean the next 2 He's had more good games with those injuries than he's had bad, the issue is the Bulls are good defensively ontop of his nagging injuries.

I didn't say DeAndre is a great rim protector. I said he's better than Noah. The Bulls aren't getting any resistance at the rim on James. The Clips also had to resort to Blake on Timmy at times which didn't work out well but they still managed to win the series. I agree there are matchup problems with Cleveland or Chicago on the wing, but you're ignoring/downplaying the front court match ups which heavily favor LA.

The Gibson / Pau / Noah frontline is better defensively than DeAndre, nevermind the fact they have an elite wing player to keep James in check

Blake on Duncan is not the same as Blake trying to defend a perimeter player that will pull him from the rim and attack the paint all while looking to score or assist the 3. The differences on the wing are bigger than the ones in the paint, I'm not ignoring them or downplaying them, you just refuse to acknowledge that the Bulls/Cavs have major advantages on the wing.

Bucks were also a bottom five offensive, .500 team in the East who got worse defensively when they traded Knight for MCW.

And? The Bucks averaged 89ppg on 42% shooting during that series, what exactly is your point about Knight? They won games vs the Bulls by playing stifling defense on the perimeter (Middleton / Giannis) and having a rim protector (Henson) in the paint, so what's your point?

What are you basing this on? The Spurs defense is/was way better defensively than Chicago and they couldn't do anything with Blake, DeAndre shot 70% in that series and the Bulls don't have a Tim Duncan to make them work on the other end. Statistically on the year Chicago's defense was a shade ahead of the Clips and they played in the weaker conference.

More Pau is just as good on offense if not better than a 39 year old Duncan, so what do you mean they don't have anyone to make the Clippers work. They have guys that can make them work in the paint and on the wing, the Spurs comparison is moot, Parker and Manu are done, that wasn't a case of the defense being too much for them, they both looked the entire season.

 

[HoopLife]

Kyrie's injuries are a strained foot and sore left leg, he was able to score 30pts in game 1 with those lingering problems.




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Kyrie's is not going to magically get healthier with Blatt playing him 40mins a game ultimately

 

[Microfracture]

Kyrie's is not going to magically get healthier with Blatt playing him 40mins a game ultimately

Delly has been decent enough to where I'd be okay with him getting 8-10 more of Kyrie's minutes. Lebron is handling the ball on most of the possessions anyway. Just have to make sure he's out there with Lebron & JR/Shump at all times.

 

[Sypress]

I dunno - there were fools letting their true feelings known right here on this thread:

What I said had nothing to do with Lebron almost getting injured

 

[ghostwriterx]

He had 21 in game 2, so you must mean the next 2 He's had more good games with those injuries than he's had bad, the issue is the Bulls are good defensively ontop of his nagging injuries.

The last two games he couldn't move.

"For me it's just about the mental toughness and just willing myself and counting down the minutes and getting the stops that we need," Irving said. "That's a great team over there so you have to pick and choose your spots, especially on the offensive end.

"They corralled me to the sideline knowing I can't really escape it or anything like that. I just tried to use the pass and space out and use myself as a decoy the best I can. That's the best thing I can do. If I get an open look I'm still going to shoot it. Those guys still trust me and still want me out there."

The Gibson / Pau / Noah frontline is better defensively than DeAndre, nevermind the fact they have an elite wing player to keep James in check

And yet statically Clips and Bulls were about the same this season despite LA having no perimeter defender while playing in the better conference.

Blake on Duncan is not the same as Blake trying to defend a perimeter player that will pull him from the rim and attack the paint all while looking to score or assist the 3. The differences on the wing are bigger than the ones in the paint, I'm not ignoring them or downplaying them, you just refuse to acknowledge that the Bulls/Cavs have major advantages on the wing.

Obviously Barnes will guard Butler and/or Lebron and the Bulls/Cavs will win that matchup, look at Harden in their series.

And? The Bucks averaged 89ppg on 42% shooting during that series, what exactly is your point about Knight? They won games vs the Bulls by playing stifling defense on the perimeter (Middleton / Giannis) and having a rim protector (Henson) in the paint, so what's your point?

My point was the Bucks were a mediocre team with a horrible offense whose strength (defense) got worse when they traded Knight.

More Pau is just as good on offense if not better than a 39 year old Duncan, so what do you mean they don't have anyone to make the Clippers work. They have guys that can make them work in the paint and on the wing, the Spurs comparison is moot, Parker and Manu are done, that wasn't a case of the defense being too much for them, they both looked the entire season.

Hm, not sure if trolling or hacked. No way you believe this. Gasol is avg. 13 and 6 this series.

The Spurs offense and defense was better than Chicago's this year and the Clippers beat them. Clippers defense and offense was also better than the Cavs who the Bulls are currently struggling with. Clips currently up 3 to 1 on the Rockets despite 24 9 and 5 on 45% shooting from the all-nba wing Harden.

I respect your knowledge on the game, definitely one of the smartest cats on the board when it comes to bball, but I'm really struggling o follow your logic here, this Bulls team is not elite and neither is the Cavs w/o Love, banged up Kryie.

 

[Malta]

The last two games he couldn't move.

"For me it's just about the mental toughness and just willing myself and counting down the minutes and getting the stops that we need," Irving said. "That's a great team over there so you have to pick and choose your spots, especially on the offensive end.

"They corralled me to the sideline knowing I can't really escape it or anything like that. I just tried to use the pass and space out and use myself as a decoy the best I can. That's the best thing I can do. If I get an open look I'm still going to shoot it. Those guys still trust me and still want me out there."

So on one hand, you're saying he was injured, on the other hand you're refusing to accept the fact Manu & especially Parker were done and hampered by injuries.

And yet statically Clips and Bulls were about the same this season despite LA having no perimeter defender while playing in the better conference.

Jimmy Butler missed 17 games, act like that has no bearing on their season ranking. The Bulls are a better defensive team than the Clippers, PERIOD.

Obviously Barnes will guard Butler and/or Lebron and the Bulls/Cavs will win that matchup, look at Harden in their series.

The Rockets don't have any secondary scorers on the wing Stop using Harden and the Rockets as an example.

My point was the Bucks were a mediocre team with a horrible offense whose strength (defense) got worse when they traded Knight.

The Bucks are an elite defense no matter how you slice it, great defenses can keep teams in games.

Hm, not sure if trolling or hacked. No way you believe this. Gasol is avg. 13 and 6 this series.

Just a heads up, his "stats" from this series are 13/6 because he got hurt in Game 3 and didn't return. On the actual season he averaged 19ppg on 48%, but why let that get in the way of things.

The Spurs offense and defense was better than Chicago's this year and the Clippers beat them. Clippers defense and offense was also better than the Cavs who the Bulls are currently struggling with. Clips currently up 3 to 1 on the Rockets despite 24 9 and 5 on 45% shooting from the all-nba wing Harden.

The Spurs offense was hampered in the playoffs by two ineffective players (Parker/Manu), how anyone could watch that series and not see them being is beyond me. Also, the Cavs defense prior to the Mozgov trade was 24th in the league, they went to 18th on the season with him, meaning they were playing top 10 defense after they traded for him which is why I said the Clippers have the worst defense in the playoffs. Still using Harden how different would this series look if the Rockets had Derrick Rose playing with Harden, ask yourself that question and then maybe you'll understand why the Bulls/Cavs could beat them.

I respect your knowledge on the game, definitely one of the smartest cats on the board when it comes to bball, but I'm really struggling o follow your logic here, this Bulls team is not elite and neither is the Cavs w/o Love, banged up Kryie.

You really are struggling with my logic since you keep bringing up what Harden is doing vs the Clippers

This Cavs team without Love handled the Clippers before...in LA and historically this Clippers team has done an awful job with defending multiple wing scorers.

 

[ghostwriterx]

So on one hand, you're saying he was injured, on the other hand you're refusing to accept the fact Manu & especially Parker were done and hampered by injuries.

I don't know why you keep bringing up Parker and Manu. Manu's been done, Parker's been gimpy all year and Mills missed 30 games. Spurs still had one of the best offenses in the league this year.

Jimmy Butler missed 17 games, act like that has no bearing on their season ranking. The Bulls are a better defensive team than the Clippers, PERIOD.

Act like playing in the East has no bearing on their season ranking.

The Rockets don't have any secondary scorers on the wing Stop using Harden and the Rockets as an example.

You're right, the Rockets getting ran through despite Harden going off is irrelevant. Let's also just ignore CP3 who can defend and make Rose work.

The Bucks are an elite defense no matter how you slice it, great defenses can keep teams in games.

Fair point, I just don't think an elite team loses twice to them.

Just a heads up, his "stats" from this series are 13/6 because he got hurt in Game 3 and didn't return. On the actual season he averaged 19ppg on 48%, but why let that get in the way of things.
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He's not better than Duncan offensively and no question he's much worse defensively.

The Spurs offense was hampered in the playoffs by two ineffective players (Parker/Manu), how anyone could watch that series and not see them being is beyond me. Also, the Cavs defense prior to the Mozgov trade was 24th in the league, they went to 18th on the season with him, meaning they were playing top 10 defense after they traded for him which is why I said the Clippers have the worst defense in the playoffs. Still using Harden how different would this series look if the Rockets had Derrick Rose playing with Harden, ask yourself that question and then maybe you'll understand why the Bulls/Cavs could beat them.

Hmm, I think you're math is off on that. The Cavs have been better with Moz, but top 10? Anything to back that up?

How anyone can watch the Clippers Rockets series and conclude that Houston's defense is not the worst in the playoffs is beyond me.
Rockets are losing that series on the defensive side of the ball. You think Rose would help that?

You really are struggling with my logic since you keep bringing up what Harden is doing vs the Clippers

Is Harden not a perimeter player? I understand Ariza is not great, but he is a serviceable wing scorer you can't just completely discount whats happening in that series.

This Cavs team without Love handled the Clippers before...in LA and historically this Clippers team has done an awful job with defending multiple wing scorers.

We really going to draw conclusions from a one game sample where Tristan Thompson went 10-12 from the field and cP3 wen 4-15 in a game decided by 5 points?

 

[Malta]

I don't know why you keep bringing up Parker and Manu. Manu's been done, Parker's been gimpy all year and Mills missed 30 games. Spurs still had one of the best offenses in the league this year.

Because the Spurs are at their absolute best when Parker is effective, when they only have 1 viable offensive weapon on the perimeter they aren't going to win.

Act like playing in the East has no bearing on their season ranking.

Good defense is good defense, act like a team losing it's best defender for 17 games has no bearing.

You're right, the Rockets getting ran through despite Harden going off is irrelevant. Let's also just ignore CP3 who can defend and make Rose work.

Bruh, this is like proof that you don't understand what we're talking about. Having more than 1 wing player that can score means there's no place to hide Barnes or Reddikk, it also puts pressure on CP3 to defend if one of them is a PG. In the Bulls and Cavs case, they would have to use Barnes and CP3 to check Rose/Irving Bron/Butler since Butler is too big for Reddikk.

Fair point, I just don't think an elite team loses twice to them.

The Celtics in 08 lost to the Hawks 3 times and the Cavs 3 times

He's not better than Duncan offensively and no question he's much worse defensively.

He was better than Duncan on offense this season And that is besides the point, the Bulls have a interior scorer and two wing scorers.

Hmm, I think you're math is off on that. The Cavs have been better with Moz, but top 10? Anything to back that up?

How anyone can watch the Clippers Rockets series and conclude that Houston's defense is not the worst in the playoffs is beyond me.

Or how about this? Before the recent nine-game winning streak, opponents were shooting .471 vs. the Cavs. That was the second-worst defense in the NBA.

In the last nine games, it's dropped to .424 -- second best in the NBA.

Their defensive rating with Mozgov on the floor is 102.6, that would be 5th in the league .

Rockets are losing that series on the defensive side of the ball. You think Rose would help that?

Yes, because that means Jason Terry doesn't start and Pablo Prigioni doesn't get minutes I mean, how can you watch Austin Rivers constantly get by Pablo/Terry and not think Rose could help.

Is Harden not a perimeter player? I understand Ariza is not great, but he is a serviceable wing scorer you can't just completely discount whats happening in that series.

Ariza is not Jimmy Butler or Kyrie, he occupies the same role as Dunleavy and JR Smith, being serviceable and being an elite scorer are entirely two different things. Butler & Kyrie can take over a game when Rose/LeBron are off, Ariza cannot

We really going to draw conclusions from a one game sample where Tristan Thompson went 10-12 from the field and cP3 wen 4-15 in a game decided by 5 points?

Well, we can't draw conclusions from the other game in which they were down 30 and completely incapable of defending LeBron, since Love was there. We can point out that both times they had no answer for the pressure applied to them by LeBron and Kyrie, they had no answer for Russ and KD last year, in a series in which the 3rd highest scorer on the Thunder had 11ppg. They also had no answer for Kyle Lowry and Demar Derozan this year, or Curry and Klay......

 

[Dr. Narcisse]

The Jordan face
@3Rivers

 

[Gil Scott-Heroin]

@Malta I think the rest that Kyrie needs isn't manageable in this playoff window. It's a wrap for my mans.

 

[Dr. Narcisse]

@Malta I think the rest that Kyrie needs isn't manageable in this playoff window. It's a wrap for my mans.

LeBron really should have closed that 1st or 3rd game

Needed this series to end in 5 and for ATL/Wash go 7

 

[Malta]

@Malta I think the rest that Kyrie needs isn't manageable in this playoff window. It's a wrap for my mans.

We'll see how he looks in Cleveland, if they can get by the Bulls and make short work of the Hawks/Wiz there's always the chance since that WCF is going to be murderous


I think the Grizz are going to win the title though

 

[red222]

We'll see how he looks in Cleveland, if they can get by the Bulls and make short work of the Hawks/Wiz there's always the chance since that WCF is going to be murderous


I think the Grizz are going to win the title though

Bulls vs Grizz

 

[Dr. Narcisse]

We'll see how he looks in Cleveland, if they can get by the Bulls and make short work of the Hawks/Wiz there's always the chance since that WCF is going to be murderous


I think the Grizz are going to win the title though

LeBron would barely score over 20 against the Grizz imo.

Best hope is if the Clippers get there.

I'm worried with a banged up Kyrie of them playing the Hawks

Just dont like that matchup with a 40% Kyrie and no Kevin Love.

 

[Malta]

Bulls vs Grizz

They're built for yall as well