NBA Season 2023-24: Get Hoop’d

[blueharvest]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1791620182370333183

 

[blue scholar]

Mavericks punching above their weight and knocking out the higher seeds.

I'm on their bandwagon these playoffs and hope they win the championship

 

[STARMAN]

Tough the way it ended but the Knicks playoffs reminded me of what I've been missing these many years. The highs of getting your hopes up and the lows of crashing back down to earth.

 

[InCali]

Other than the Celts getting their asses handed to them, there are few things more enjoyable than seeing Jokic get stuffed with 3 1/2 left to play and see the Wolves open it up to 10.....latest updates to follow on KRZY, FM 101.1....

EDIT: News at, almost, 11......maybe there is a god, but only if the Pacers smackdown Boston.

 

[MarvelFan]

We are down to 4 teams left standing!

East: Boston vs Indiana
West: Minnesota vs Dallas

Prediction:
Celtics in 6
Wolves in 6
To set up the interesting matchups in the Finals between Boston vs Minnesota!

 

[antsman41]

Greatest game of hoops I’ve ever watched;


KAT!!!!! ANT!! Uncle Mike!! FINCH! MCDANIELS!!!

I love this guys.

First Game 7 win in 20 years, since KG (which today was KG’s birthday) is magical.

 

[MarvelFan]

And eventhough they got eliminated, just want to give props to OKC Thunder.

They were the youngest team to ever reach the no.1 seed (in the West, no less!!) and looking at how they played in the elimination game yesterday, they are showing endless potentials for the years to come. Their future is bright with their young core.

I am sure the Clippers probably regret trading SGA for PG13 now...pretty sure they can't help but look at what he has become and wonder what if, haha.

 

[InCali]

We are down to 4 teams left standing!

East: Boston vs Indiana
West: Minnesota vs Dallas

Prediction:
Celtics in 6
Wolves in 6
To set up the interesting matchups in the Finals between Boston vs Minnesota!

I think if Indy (a very underrated team IMO) is to have a chance, 2 things are going to have to happen.

First off, Porzingas will have to suffer some after effects of his injury. I can't, and never will be able to, stomach Boston, but they are really, really good when healthy. Even without him, they are a match for any team in the league.

Secondly, the Pacers are going to have to get off to a really good start and win, at the very least, one of the first two games if they are going to have any chance at all. The Pacers are a very deep team, but in the playoffs, I think that's a lesser advantage than it is over the 82 games of the regular season.

I think your predictions look about right......and I hate to admit that about the first one....

 

[Ghostrider87]

Well, a huge disappointment for the Knicks since they couldn't reach the third round which realistically this season would be the furthest they get in the NBA Playoffs. Another reason it's a huge disappointment is because the 1999 season was the last time the Knicks were in the NBA Playoffs' Third round.
It's not surprising because a pretty good Pacers team doesn't have the injury flaw so in 2 consecutive games the Knicks got outplayed by a pretty good Pacers team that played great including a high shooting percentage, strong defense, and made less mistakes.

Hat's off to the fearless Timberwolves who played great in a challenging game 7 in Denver to advance to the NBA Playoffs third finally for the first time.
So the TimberWolves fans can feel slightly optimistic that this might be the season they see the TimberWolves reach the NBA Finals.

 

[MarvelFan]

Hat's off to the fearless Timberwolves who played great in a challenging game 7 in Denver to advance to the NBA Playoffs third finally for the first time.
So the TimberWolves fans can feel slightly optimistic that this might be the season they see the TimberWolves reach the NBA Finals.

Actually this is the 2nd time the Wolves had reached the Conference Finals, the first time they did it was 20 years ago during the Kevin Garnett era (they lost to Shaq-Kobe-Malone-Payton Lakers)

 

[MarvelFan]

East Finals starts tomorrow!
Gotta wake up early for the next few days😆

 

[MarvelFan]

For this year's East Finals will be broadcasted by ESPN/ABC, this is only my small nitpick, but I hope ESPN would change their main commentators team for the Finals (if it is too late now then hope they're doing it next season!)

Mike Breen is still the goat, no issue here..but they really should considering to sub Doris Burke and JJ Redick as color commentators, nothing against them, but I can't help but felt empty when these two were calling the game, lack energy, lack of humor, and lack enthusiasm from both of them, and sometimes they were confused and didn't know how to follow Breen. Doris is stiff sometimes, and JJ is way too serious. Felt that ESPN should've kept J.Van Gundy and Mark Jackson as their chemistry and their dynamic with Mike Breen had been amazing and makes them so much fun to watch during the games. And I also prefer Cassidy Hubbard as side line reporter than Lisa Salters.

That is why I am enjoying the TNT team more than the ESPN one...they are definitely more fun and more energetic when calling the games. Kevin Harlan is my second favorite commentator after Mike Breen.

 

[Ghostrider87]

NBA Playoffs Third Round

Pacers Celtics
I don't see a pretty good Pacers team outplaying a great Celtics team that are stacked with players that can make threes, usually score over 100 points, and an offense that is usually reliable for high shooting percentage.
All factual reasons why it's a high-bar accomplishment if a pretty good Pacers team with no injuries flaw right now is able to get this slight mismatch to 6 games.


Mavericks TimberWolves
While the Mavericks are playing great this just might be the year the TimberWolves feel great reach to the NBA Finals. The TimberWolves with home-court advantage play slightly better in a thrilling competitive Playoff series.

 

[Ninjablade]

Celtics are not good for my anxiety!

 

[InCali]

Celtics are not good for my anxiety!

Mine neither, but I think probably for entirely different reasons.

 

[InCali]

I think if Indy (a very underrated team IMO) is to have a chance, 2 things are going to have to happen.

First off, Porzingas will have to suffer some after effects of his injury. I can't, and never will be able to, stomach Boston, but they are really, really good when healthy. Even without him, they are a match for any team in the league.

Secondly, the Pacers are going to have to get off to a really good start and win, at the very least, one of the first two games if they are going to have any chance at all. The Pacers are a very deep team, but in the playoffs, I think that's a lesser advantage than it is over the 82 games of the regular season.

I think your predictions look about right......and I hate to admit that about the first one....

Hmmmmmm.....Ummmm.......well........

 

[MarvelFan]

If Hali isnt gonna play in Game 3, then its a wrap...

For DAL-MIN, if the Wolves can steal game 3 then they still have a chance but if Mavs win again in G3 at their home court, then its also a wrap...

It looks like it will be a Boston vs Dallas Finals.

 

[MarvelFan]

There will be a lot of drama if we are indeed getting a BOS-DAL Finals.

Kyrie playing against his former team (expect the heavy boos again when he plays in Boston haha)
KP playing against his former team
2 established young stars in their prime (Tatum and Luka) looking for their first championship.

Lets see if the Mavs and the Celtics can seal two more win to get there.

 

[Ninjablade]

Much respect to the Pacers. They guys played their hearts out. Their offense is freaking good, youth/inexperience just got to them.

Assuming the Mavs close it out tonight, Celtics/Mavs should be a fun matchup.

 

[antsman41]

Time to win the next for games… WOLVES BACK IN 7.

 

[InCali]

Time to win the next for games… WOLVES BACK IN 7.

I like your optimism.

Seriously though, and I've been thinking about posting this for awhile, the Wolves just BAFFLE me. I'm usually pretty good at figuring out the strengths and weaknesses of team and figuring out who will win, but how in the world can a team look like they did in the first 2 games of the Nugget series (in DENVER no less), and then lose 6 of their next 8 games?!?!?!? They are WAY too good for that kind of S***.

 

[antsman41]

I know. The way KAT has evaporated… but our defense is getting neutered with bs calls.

Luka gets to flop and cry while getting every call in his favor and we get man-handled in the paint with zero benefit.

Outside of KAT, finch not being on the frontlines is hurting our play calling in the offensive zone.

 

[Ghostrider87]

It is hilarious and priceless that a friend told me he called it that the Celtics would defeat the Pacers in this third-round playoff series because that's a very safe bar prediction for what is most likely to happen. In other words, it's not going out on a limb since it's common knowledge that a pretty good Pacers team won't eliminate the great Celtics.
He also told me the Knicks wouldn't have played better if they played the Pacers which also isn't some revelation since it's also common knowledge the Knicks this year aren't an NBA title contender, and Stephen A Smith predicted the furthest the Knicks go in the Playoffs is the third round since this season they are not title contenders while the Celtics are Chess Kings aka a great team very few weaknesses the Knicks could exploit.

The Mavericks are outplaying the Timberwolves so it won't be surprising when the Mavericks most likely sweep the Timberwolves tonight. The Timberwolves team still has growing pains for the NBA Playoffs third round.
It's most likely to be another disappointing Playoffs season for the Timberwolves fans because the Mavericks are a team that continues to be dynamite which is why it's fruitless that the Timberwolves have repeatedly successfully kept the games close since they haven't succeeded by closing to win challenging competitive games.

Timberwolves fans most likely will again be hoping in the future that the TimberWolves finally get to the NBA Finals since it's a challenging longshot for the TimberWolves to win 4 consecutive games vs a dynamite Mavericks team.

 

[Ghostrider87]

Well, Kyrie Irvin is no longer undefeated for close-out games because the Timberwolves had a great performance to defeat the Mavericks in a high-scoring game. This is the law of averages so it's unsurprising that Kyrie Irvin couldn't remain undefeated for that stat.
Also, tonight was a high-bar achievement for the Timberwolves who got their first win in the NBA Playoffs 3rd Round.

TimberWolves fans can feel great before the challenging game 5 Thursday.

 

[InCali]

Well, I have no words or, even, adjectives that can compare.......