NBA Playoffs 2019 (4 Viewers)

[SaintsFanInLA]

That Damion Lillard step-back 3 was BANANAS!

 

[efil4stnias]

Maybe, but Embid looked good in the closeout game against Brooklyn. I think he'll be fine. 6ers vs Raptors is gonna be a fun series to watch, I think.

i think it was a combo of Bkln not really playing at 100% and 76ers just playing really good bball.

With that said, it will be a good, hard fought series for sure. Raptors adding Leonard will be key in this series.

 

[DaveXA]

i think it was a combo of Bkln not really playing at 100% and 76ers just playing really good bball.

With that said, it will be a good, hard fought series for sure. Raptors adding Leonard will be key in this series.

I agree, I'm a Spurs fan and I hated that Leonard left. I get that he wasn't happy there, but it still hurt a lot to lose him.

 

[efil4stnias]

That Damion Lillard step-back 3 was BANANAS!

every camera angle - bananas indeed

 

[efil4stnias]

I agree, I'm a Spurs fan and I hated that Leonard left. I get that he wasn't happy there, but it still hurt a lot to lose him.

yeah if Leonard finds his stroke and gives Simmons fits ( as he has done this year ) its gonna be tough for 76ers. They need Simmons involved.

 

[superchuck500]

every camera angle - bananas indeed

I only saw the first half of that game but he was clearly in the zone - making crazy contested shots all over the floor. He had 34 in the first half. Finished with 50.

 

[XLR8]

Amazing a guy that small was able to get it over George so easy. Dame! It was not a bad shot Paul George!

 

[efil4stnias]

Amazing a guy that small was able to get it over George so easy. Dame! It was not a bad shot Paul George!

its a testament to his bball IQ.

the reason PG couldnt do much is because he was defending against a drive. DL knew this and knew that soon as he went to shoot, the spacing was too much for PG to close down in .5 seconds.

situational awareness. Further, he misses...and they go to OT ( not lose from that shot ) So it was a win/win for DL.

 

[superchuck500]

its a testament to his bball IQ.

the reason PG couldnt do much is because he was defending against a drive. DL knew this and knew that soon as he went to shoot, the spacing was too much for PG to close down in .5 seconds.

situational awareness. Further, he misses...and they go to OT ( not lose from that shot ) So it was a win/win for DL.

And he was money from back there all night. (Well, maybe not quite that deep )

 

[crosswatt]

 

[RazorOye]

@Oye do you have the stomach for the 6ers matchup? I think Toronto is the better team but I think the 6ers have a ton of firepower. I lost money last season when I picked Toronto over Cleveland. I am not a raptors fan but I dig their entire vibe. The raptors are the 80s/90s bills/broncos of the Eastern conference.

Another topic.. y'all want AD back or nah? Cuz I sure tf don't.

answering this post here, since I don't want to muddy up the Pels-specific and AD-oriented talk in the Pels thread

The Raptors are - and I know I am biased - a helluva lotta fun. The temperature in the city is really interesting around basketball now. There are Canadians all over the NCAA. Prominent Canadian, and specifically Toronto-area talent, is incredible.

I've seen a lot of growth in just my 6 years of coaching high school basketball here - it's wild.

Hockey still has a grip on the city, but basketball is growing. And everyone is thirsty for playoff success. Drake (I wouldn't call myself a fan of his) has been a presence and even his OVO stuff is really nice and has given the team even more popular appeal. I've got an OVO-inspired hoodie myself. And I'm a suburban square.

They've disappointed the last couple of years. Their playoff performance isn't on par with their regular season record. A lot of this has to do with, imo, Demar, Jonas Valenciunas and the coaching of Dwayne Casey. JV was where offensive sets went to die. I hated watching the stale, 2-man show between Derozan and Jonas. I was glad they all left.

This team is exciting to watch. It's a young, hip group that embrace the city and the city embraces them in return. So they need to have some real, bonafide post-season success and I think that means getting past Philly.

I don't know that they will. The Sixers have a lot of top tier talent, but Toronto is deeper. Toronto got a bit lazy with the ball and live ball turnovers killed us in games, though not enough to lose. Against a better team, that can't happen.

 

[guidomerkinsrules]

That Damion Lillard step-back 3 was BANANAS!

In grad school at NC we had this noon pick up game in the athletic dept
One of the guys had been the ‘ball boy’ for the Washington Generals - he never really talked to much about what he did but he could hit some crazy shots
We were playing an intramural game and he had the ball with 10 sec left at top of the key and he just kept slowly dribbling backwards until it was one sec right at half court and he just launched it
NET
Until Dame’s shot, that was the weirdest end to a b-ball game I had seen

 

[RazorOye]

That finish was nuts. Lillard with the step back 3 pointer from what looked like 35-40 feet for the game winner. That and Blazers looked dead in the water with 4-5 minutes left.

and he quoted Sun Tzu after the game:

 

[El Caliente]

The Raptors beating the 76ers has more to do with that Paskal (sp) kid showing up in this series like he did vs Orlando. That kid is the “X” factor. For all the talk about D’Angelo being the MIP, Paskal has been just as impressive.

 

[RazorOye]

The Raptors beating the 76ers has more to do with that Paskal (sp) kid showing up in this series like he did vs Orlando. That kid is the “X” factor. For all the talk about D’Angelo being the MIP, Paskal has been just as impressive.

Siakam is incredible. "Spicy P" (I don't think he has embraced that nickname... and I don't blame him) is considered the MIP frontrunner here - but of course there is bias. And he is a top priority to re-sign. And if Leonard leaves in the offseason, he becomes the top priority.

He's also one of the ones I was talking about when I said players have embraced the city.

He's great on an off the court - he was the NBA Cares Community Assist Award recipient for February and is one of 10 finalists for the season long award.

Toronto Raptors’ Pascal Siakam Receives February NBA Cares Community Assist Award Presented By Kaiser Permanente - Los Angeles Sentinel

NBA and Kaiser Permanente to Donate $10,000 to Right To Play

lasentinel.net

Siakam visits numerous schools in Toronto and throughout Canada as an ambassador for Right To Play, encouraging students to rise above adversity through sports and education. As a representative for the Sun Life Dunk for Diabetes program, he also inspires children to lead healthy and active lives. Utilizing his fluency in English and French, he has empowered youth in many marginalized communities to overcome obstacles and become leaders.

In August, the Cameroon native played in the NBA Africa Game 2018 in Johannesburg, South Africa and visited the 16th edition of Basketball Without Borders (BWB) Africa, where he mentored campers in oncourt development and life skills training as an alumnus of the program. Throughout the week, Siakam participated in a series of events that left a lasting impact in Johannesburg, including a Habitat for Humanity service project, a training camp for the Jr. NBA World Championship Africa & Middle East teams and a visit to the Nelson Mandela Centre for Memory. In December, he represented Cameroon at the Giants of Africa Gala in Toronto, part of a two-day celebration honoring Nelson Mandela and his vision that sports have the power to inspire and change the world.

incredible international work