NBA discussion thread

Who would win this year (2024/25) ?

  • Philadelphia Sixers

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • LA Clippers

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • San Antonio Spurs

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Milwaukee Bucks

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • New Orléans Pelicans

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Toronto Raptors

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Utah Jazz

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Portland Trail Blazers

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Orlando Magic

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Memphis Grizzlies

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Indiana Pacers

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Atlanta Hawks

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Sacramento Kings

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    37
2021 NBA Playoffs - Day 14

1st Round/Conference Quarterfinals
Eastern Conference

(1) Philadelphia 76ers VS (8) Washington Wizards
Game 1: 76ers 125 Wizards 118 | F
Game 2: 76ers 120 Wizards 95 | F
Game 3: 76ers 132 Wizards 103 | F
Game 4: 76ers 114 Wizards 122 | F
Game 5: 76ers 129 Wizards 112 | F
76ers wins series 4 - 1
(2) Brooklyn Nets VS (7) Boston Celtics
Game 1: Nets 104 Celtics 93 | F
Game 2: Nets 130 Celtics 108 | F
Game 3: Nets 119 Celtics 125 | F
Game 4: Nets 141 Celtics 126 | F
Game 5: Nets 123 Celtics 109 | F
Nets wins series 4 - 1
(3) Milwaukee Bucks VS (6) Miami Heat
Game 1: Bucks 109 Heat 107 | F/OT
Game 2: Bucks 132 Heat 98 | F
Game 3: Bucks 113 Heat 84 | F
Game 4: Bucks 120 Heat 103 | F
Bucks wins series 4 - 0
(4) New York Knicks VS (5) Atlanta Hawks
Game 1: Knicks 105 Hawks 107 | F
Game 2: Knicks 101 Hawks 92 | F
Game 3: Knicks 94 Hawks 105 | F
Game 4: Knicks 96 Hawks 113 | F
Game 5: Knicks 89 Hawks 103 | F
Hawks wins series 4 - 1
Western Conference
(1) Utah Jazz VS (8*) Memphis Grizzlies
Game 1: Jazz 109 Grizzlies 112 | F
Game 2: Jazz 141 Grizzlies 129 | F
Game 3: Jazz 121 Grizzlies 111 | F
Game 4: Jazz 120 Grizzlies 113 | F
Game 5: Jazz 126 Grizzlies 110 | F
Jazz wins series 4 - 1
(2) Phoenix Suns VS (7) Los Angeles Lakers
Game 1: Suns 99 Lakers 90 | F
Game 2: Suns 102 Lakers 109 | F
Game 3: Suns 95 Lakers 109 | F
Game 4: Suns 100 Lakers 92 | F
Game 5: Suns 115 Lakers 85 | F
Game 6: Suns 113 Lakers 100 | F
Suns wins series 4 - 2
(3) Denver Nuggets VS (6) Portland Trail Blazers
Game 1: Nuggets 109 Trail Blazers 123 | F
Game 2: Nuggets 128 Trail Blazers 109 | F
Game 3: Nuggets 120 Trail Blazers 115 | F
Game 4: Nuggets 95 Trail Blazers 115 | F
Game 5: Nuggets 147 Trail Blazers 140 | F/2OT
Game 6: Nuggets 126 Trail Blazers 115 | F
Nuggets wins series 4 - 2
(4) Los Angeles Clippers VS (5) Dallas Mavericks
Game 1: Clippers 103 Mavericks 113 | F
Game 2: Clippers 121 Mavericks 127 | F
Game 3: Clippers 118 Mavericks 108 | F
Game 4: Clippers 106 Mavericks 81 | F
Game 5: Clippers 100 Mavericks 105 | F
Game 6: Clippers 106 Mavericks 97 | F
Game 7:
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2nd Round/Conference Semifinals
Eastern Conference

---

(1) Philadelphia 76ers VS (5) Atlanta Hawks
Game 1:
Game 2:
Game 3:
Game 4:
(2) Brooklyn Nets VS (3) Milwaukee Bucks
Game 1:
Game 2:
Game 3:
Game 4:

Western Conference
---

(1) Utah Jazz VS

(2) Phoenix Suns VS (3) Denver Nuggets
Game 1:
Game 2:
Game 3:
Game 4:

Conference Finals
Eastern Conference

---
Western Conference
---

NBA FINALS

---
NBA 2020-21 Season Awards

Most Valuable Player/MVP -
Coach of the Year/COTY -
Rookie of the Year/ROTY -
6th Man of the Year/6MOTY - G Jordan Clarkson (Utah Jazz)
Defensive Player of the Year/DPOY -
Most Improved Player/MIP - F/C Julius Randle (New York Knicks)
Executive of the Year/EOTY -

All-NBA 1st Team -
All-NBA 2nd Team -
All-NBA 3rd Team -

All-Rookie 1st Team -
All-Rookie 2nd Team -

All-Defensive 1st Team -
All-Defensive 2nd Team -






 

Jiihad

Survivors Guilt
Lol. Which one y’all were trying to say that Kawhi was not the best player in this series?
Everyone who knows basketball Lmaoooo. @ZenZu was we not JUS talking bout prisoner of tha moment ass ***** yesterday lol

Like you jus finna post this after Kawhi has a career high? Kawhi scored 40pts 2x this series....Luka has done it 2x as well. And that’s jus scoring, Luka has double digit assists 3 of tha 6 games so far. Kawhi has had 0(most he’s had is actually 5....), Luka has had atleast 6 rebounds in every game this series. Kawhi is atleast 5 in all 6 games

Kawhi had a game, respect to em for it. Luka been DOMINATING this series
 

ZenZu

The only one who can beat me is me
Kawhi was a monster, tbh Kawhi usually is, he's a robot who hardly misses.

Finally a good adjustment by Tue Lue hard hedging/ doubling off those screens. Forced Luka to be passive af. The greats usually adjust though. Luka is smart he should watch tape and learn how to attack better next game. Game 7 finna be lit.

How funny would it be if a series ended with the home team losing every game lmao?
 
Lol. Which one y’all were trying to say that Kawhi was not the best player in this series?
its still Luka (34 PPG 9.67 AST 8.0 REB | 47.5% FG 40% 3PT 50.0% FT) slightly better atm over Kawhi stats wise (32.8 PPG 3.83 AST 7.5 REB | 60.6% FG 43.2% 3PT 88.1% FT ), and ofc that can change by game 7. Both guys have played well on the road but not as well at home, so it will be interesting to see who will show up more on Sunday.
 
Kawhi had a game, respect to em for it. Luka been DOMINATING this series
Kawhi has too. Don’t get it twisted. I’m not coming out and saying this just because of this game. Kawhi has been killing it on both ends of the floor this series.

You bring up those stats, but you ignoring defense. Kawhi has been much better on that end than Luka. We not gonna talk about how Kawhi was actively seeking Luka on the switches so he could go at him 1 v 1 down the stretch? Like I said, Luka is definitely a better playmaker than Kawhi. But all around offense/defense + experience, Kawhi is the better player to me.

From what I see Luka is only really kicking Kawhi’s ass at playmaking/assisting, and that’s not even what Kawhi is asked to do. Kawhi is asked to put the ball in the hole and lockdown on defense and he does that better than anyone in the league. Period.
 

ZenZu

The only one who can beat me is me
Kawhi has too. Don’t get it twisted. I’m not coming out and saying this just because of this game. Kawhi has been killing it on both ends of the floor this series.

You bring up those stats, but you ignoring defense. Kawhi has been much better on that end than Luka. We not gonna talk about how Kawhi was actively seeking Luka on the switches so he could go at him 1 v 1 down the stretch? Like I said, Luka is definitely a better playmaker than Kawhi. But all around offense/defense + experience, Kawhi is the better player to me.

From what I see Luka is only really kicking Kawhi’s ass at playmaking/assisting, and that’s not even what Kawhi is asked to do. Kawhi is asked to put the ball in the hole and lockdown on defense and he does that better than anyone in the league. Period.
Yea but where is that getting Kawhi? He's in a game 7 against a team far inferior in terms of talent. He's still on the verge of elimination.

Playmaking holds too much weight in todays NBA. A player like Luka can force a Game 7 against much greater talent, despite Kawhi putting up video game numbers and apparently being a lockdown defender. Clearly their skillsets don't even out in terms of impact, otherwise we wouldn't be seeing a game 7. Still a 5v5 sport overall impact on your team is what matters most at the end of the day.

Not saying you can't make an argument (both are top 5 caliber), you're free to believe whatever you want, especially given how well Kawhi's playing, but I think the difference is Luka's getting the most out of his parts dragging them to their position, while Kawhi doesn't optimize his team the same way.

If we're talking about loads, Luka is carrying way heavier of a load than Kawhi being the sole star and really only creator on his team, so let's not go there.
 

Jiihad

Survivors Guilt
Kawhi has too. Don’t get it twisted. I’m not coming out and saying this just because of this game. Kawhi has been killing it on both ends of the floor this series.

You bring up those stats, but you ignoring defense. Kawhi has been much better on that end than Luka. We not gonna talk about how Kawhi was actively seeking Luka on the switches so he could go at him 1 v 1 down the stretch? Like I said, Luka is definitely a better playmaker than Kawhi. But all around offense/defense + experience, Kawhi is the better player to me.

From what I see Luka is only really kicking Kawhi’s ass at playmaking/assisting, and that’s not even what Kawhi is asked to do. Kawhi is asked to put the ball in the hole and lockdown on defense and he does that better than anyone in the league. Period.
Kawhi is an ALL-TIME great perimeter defender and Luka is still avg 34ppg this series. We all know Luka us a turnstile on defense, but what he does as far as overall team impact is way way more impactful than what Kawhi does

Kawhi isn’t asked to play make cause it’s not one if his strengths lol, you better not dare try to argue that Kawhi could do anything close to what Luka does as far as creating for others

So Kawhi is tha better offensive and defensive player with much more experience, yet he was down 3-2 against a massively inferior team and had to have an all time great game in combination with Luka being unusually passive to force a game 7......
 
Yea but where is that getting Kawhi? He's in a game 7 against a team far inferior in terms of talent. He's still on the verge of elimination.

Playmaking holds too much weight in todays NBA. A player like Luka can force a Game 7 against much greater talent, despite Kawhi putting up video game numbers and apparently being a lockdown defender. Clearly their skillsets don't even out in terms of impact, otherwise we wouldn't be seeing a game 7. Still a 5v5 sport overall impact on your team is what matters most at the end of the day.

Not saying you can't make an argument (both are top 5 caliber), you're free to believe whatever you want, especially given how well Kawhi's playing, but I think the difference is Luka's getting the most out of his parts dragging them to their position, while Kawhi doesn't optimize his team the same way.

If we're talking about loads, Luka is carrying way heavier of a load than Kawhi being the sole star and really only creator on his team, so let's not go there.
Are the Mavs really that less talented than the Clippers? Take away Luka from the Mavs and Kawhi from the Clippers, you’re telling me that the Clippers are way better? This is a 4/5 seed matchup, you talking like this is a 2/7 seed matchup. It’s supposed to be a close series.

Today’s NBA? Kawhi carried his team to championship just a few seasons ago lol. He’s already proven he can be the best player on a championship team, twice. Luka hasn’t.

At the end of the day defense is a 5 man job, no matter how good of a perimeter Kawhi is, he can’t shut down a whole team. I’m only comparing his individual defense to Luka’s because we are comparing only Kawhi and Lukas skill set.

If you want to argue Luka is more impactful or Luka would be better at carrying a lottery team, you can make a good argument and id maybe agree. But I’m comparing them as individual players. When I look at every facet of the game from offensive skills, to defense, to experience, I think Kawhi simply is better than Luka in more categories than Luka is better than Kawhi in.
 

Jiihad

Survivors Guilt
Are the Mavs really that less talented than the Clippers? Take away Luka from the Mavs and Kawhi from the Clippers, you’re telling me that the Clippers are way better? This is a 4/5 seed matchup, you talking like this is a 2/7 seed matchup. It’s supposed to be a close series.
LMFAOOO!!! Yes, 1000%. Tha clippers are absolutely more talented than tha Mavs. Sure let’s subtract Luka and Kawhi. That leaves us Paul George and Porzingis. George avg 24ppg, Kristaps avg 20ppg. And in case you forgot, PG was a legitimate MVP Candidate in OKC....like he finished top 3-4, Porzingis has NEVER even brought up on tha convo. Add in he’s always fuckin injured. It’s not close between PG and Porzingis at this point-oh last point on Zingis vs PG. Porzingis is avg 13ppg 4rpg and 1assts this series and PG is avg 24ppg 9.5rpg and 5assts this series, a literal one sided massacre lol

And that’s tha number 2’s lol, Reggie Jackson gave em 25 tonight they still have Rondo, Batum, Morris, Kennard etc. they are a clearly more talented team than Dallas, Luka jus makes everyone better

Also, let’s give all tha facts. Sure it SAYS this a 4/5 matchup. But tha Clippers tanked to dodge tha Lakers and Kawhi and PG missed 38 games combined this year. They ain’t no fuckin 4 seed
 

ZenZu

The only one who can beat me is me
Are the Mavs really that less talented than the Clippers? Take away Luka from the Mavs and Kawhi from the Clippers, you’re telling me that the Clippers are way better? This is a 4/5 seed matchup, you talking like this is a 2/7 seed matchup. It’s supposed to be a close series.

Today’s NBA? Kawhi carried his team to championship just a few seasons ago lol. He’s already proven he can be the best player on a championship team, twice. Luka hasn’t.

At the end of the day defense is a 5 man job, no matter how good of a perimeter Kawhi is, he can’t shut down a whole team. I’m only comparing his individual defense to Luka’s because we are comparing only Kawhi and Lukas skill set.

If you want to argue Luka is more impactful or Luka would be better at carrying a lottery team, you can make a good argument and id maybe agree. But I’m comparing them as individual players. When I look at every facet of the game from offensive skills, to defense, to experience, I think Kawhi simply is better than Luka in more categories than Luka is better than Kawhi in.
That's not how I judge players otherwise I'd be saying things like Paul George > Curry. Impact is what matters at the end of the day.

I'll remind you Kawhi came onto a team that took the KD Warriors to 6 games without Paul George in it. They had 2 6moty candidates off the bench, added Kawhi and PG, and got taken to 6 games by Luka alone last year, and then eliminated by Jamal Murray while being up 3-1.

Let's not talk about talent. Clippers were in the playoffs before Kawhi and PG even stepped foot onto the team. Mavs were a lottery team prior to Luka.
 
Kawhi is an ALL-TIME great perimeter defender and Luka is still avg 34ppg this series. We all know Luka us a turnstile on defense, but what he does as far as overall team impact is way way more impactful than what Kawhi does
Tbf Kawhi hasn’t been the primary defender on Luka for most the series. (Don’t know what Tyrone Lue was thinking). They just really started putting Kawhi on Luka and plus Luka is calling for picks to get a switch whenever Kawhi is guarding him anyway.

If you admit that Luka is bad at defense and you agree that Kawhi is an all time great defender than how is that not an argument against Luka? If we are comparing them as individual players why should we ignore that Luka is ass at defense? We also gonna ignore that Luka is ass at free throws? Kawhi on the other hand, has no glaring hole in his game. KD himself said it. Kawhi has the longest list of strengths on the scouting reports.
Kawhi isn’t asked to play make cause it’s not one if his strengths lol, you better not dare try to argue that Kawhi could do anything close to what Luka does as far as creating for others
Nah. I won’t say that lol. Luka is a Lebron tier playmaker imo.
So Kawhi is tha better offensive and defensive player with much more experience, yet he was down 3-2 against a massively inferior team and had to have an all time great game in combination with Luka being unusually passive to force a game 7......
Team game. You say the Clippers full team are way more talented, but they ain’t playing like it lol. If PG plays to his “full potential” maybe we don’t have a game 7. If Batum or Rondo plays better, same thing. Kawhi has done his job, check the numbers lol. A man can score 80, if the rest of his team ain’t picking up the slack, he still losing. And once again, what’s so bad about a game 7 between a 4/5 seed. You acting like the Clippers are 2 seed and the Mavs are 7 or something.
 
Zenzu is still mad at Kawhi for leaving his dear Raptors 😂

He has a point though, Kawhi is probably the least criticized superstar, he always gets a pass from the media

Shut it bruv. Man was looking human for once, a healthy Lebron is a guranteed Finals Appearence assuming he has a healthy AD and a competent squad around him.
:gokulaugh:Its over.

In all seriousnes, father time is catching up. Lebron cant take over games like before.
 

Jiihad

Survivors Guilt
Tbf Kawhi hasn’t been the primary defender on Luka for most the series. (Don’t know what Tyrone Lue was thinking). They just really started putting Kawhi on Luka and plus Luka is calling for picks to get a switch whenever Kawhi is guarding him anyway.

If you admit that Luka is bad at defense and you agree that Kawhi is an all time great defender than how is that not an argument against Luka? If we are comparing them as individual players why should we ignore that Luka is ass at defense? We also gonna ignore that Luka is ass at free throws? Kawhi on the other hand, has no glaring hole in his game. KD himself said it. Kawhi has the longest list of strengths on the scouting reports.
You don’t think that’s for a reason? You really think Tyron Lue is an incompetent coach and hasn’t thought of putting his best perimeter defender(one of tha best to ever do it) on a guy who is demolishing his team at will.......

Paul George is a better package of offense and dense than James Harden, you gone tell me Paul George>James Harden?

Team game. You say the Clippers full team are way more talented, but they ain’t playing like it lol. If PG plays to his “full potential” maybe we don’t have a game 7. If Batum or Rondo plays better, same thing. Kawhi has done his job, check the numbers lol. A man can score 80, if the rest of his team ain’t picking up the slack, he still losing. And once again, what’s so bad about a game 7 between a 4/5 seed. You acting like the Clippers are 2 seed and the Mavs are 7 or something.
Yea they ain’t playing like it and as tha best player on tha team. A chunk of that blame falls on Kawhi Leonard. As a GREAT basketball player your job is to make your team better. Kawhi doesn’t do that, he does his job and goes home, that could work in San Antonio and Toronto since they were organizations that had winning cultures and had identities and such. For tha Clippers that don’t work

If Luka isn’t extra passive in game 6, maybe Kawhi doesn’t get to see game 7. See how that works

It’s “bad” cause they aren’t actually a 4 seed lol. They a top 3 seed. I’ll reiterate, Kawhi and PG missed a COMBINED 38 games. Dawg tha season was only 72 games. They missed half tha season and they was still tha 4 seed and they purposely lost games so they wouldn’t have to play tha Lakers and still got a Top 4 playoff seed
 
That's not how I judge players otherwise I'd be saying things like Paul George > Curry. Impact is what matters at the end of the day.
How would you say that? Curry is more impactful and he’s a better individual player than Paul George. This isn’t the case with Kawhi and Luka.
Let's not talk about talent. Clippers were in the playoffs before Kawhi and PG even stepped foot onto the team. Mavs were a lottery team prior to Luka.
Because they also had very good players like SGA and Gallanari, who they traded for PG. Let’s not act like last years team minus PG and Kawhi was the team that took the KD Warriors to 6 games. Why you acting like Luka is the only reason they are a better team than when they were lottery team. They didn’t have Porzingis, they didn’t have THJ and Finney Smith stepping up like this either. Luka isn’t the only reason they are good. He’s the engine, but Dallas got some talented players man.
 

ZenZu

The only one who can beat me is me
How would you say that? Curry is more impactful and he’s a better individual player than Paul George. This isn’t the case with Kawhi and Luka.

Because they also had very good players like SGA and Gallanari, who they traded for PG. Let’s not act like last years team minus PG and Kawhi was the team that took the KD Warriors to 6 games. Why you acting like Luka is the only reason they are a better team than when they were lottery team. They didn’t have Porzingis, they didn’t have THJ and Finney Smith stepping up like this either. Luka isn’t the only reason they are good. He’s the engine, but Dallas got some talented players man.
Ok...my bad I forgot to mention how SGA + Gallanari were replaced by Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, while the core of the team Lou Williams, Montrez Harrell, Pat Bev and Doc Rivers were still around.

😂 what are we talking about here? You can't be serious. We're really talking about Gallanari rn? When Kawhi and PG more than make up for that "loss"?

Compare that to Porzingis playing 43 games this season, and being injured last year in the playoffs. He might as well be injured this year too the way he's been ghost.

Luka carries this teams entire offense on his back night in, night out. Kawhi can rest half a year and still be in the playoffs with his squad.
 
It’s “bad” cause they aren’t actually a 4 seed lol. They a top 3 seed. I’ll reiterate, Kawhi and PG missed a COMBINED 38 games. Dawg tha season was only 72 games. They missed half tha season and they was still tha 4 seed and they purposely lost games so they wouldn’t have to play tha Lakers and still got a Top 4 playoff seed
Damn that’s good point. Not even gonna lie....

But Porzingis also only played 43 games this season so maybe Dallas should be higher than the seed they are too :kayneshrug:
At the end of the day, you saying the Clippers have a more talented team but if those “more talented“ players aren’t playing to their potential than I’m not gonna put that on Kawhi lol.

@Jiihad @ZenZu

I hear what y’all are saying and I agree that Luka would be better than Kawhi at carrying a lottery team team into the playoffs for example. But when I look at the two of them as individual players Kawhi just seems like the full package to me. No holes in his game, offensively or defensively. I guess Luka skill set is just more fit to “carry a team“. But we’ll have to see if “Luka’s system” results in championships.

Again Kawhi has already proved he can be the best player and most impactful player in an actual championship winning team.
 
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