**2016 Official NBA Playoffs Thread**

[KC_Connection]

Round 1:

EAST:

#8 Pistons @ #1 Cavs
#7 Pacers @ #2 Raptors
#6 Hornets @ #3 Heat
#5 Celtics @ #4 Hawks

WEST:
#8 Rockets @ #1 Warriors
#7 Grizzlies @ #2 Spurs
#6 Mavericks @ #3 Thunder
#5 Blazers @ #4 Clippers

[dirk digler]

Originally Posted by Al Bundy

It's clear Zilla likes the 80-76 games that are all rebounding hand checking and big guys that can't shoot the rock.

He didn't say one damn word about the Cavs "chucking" 3's in the Eastern conference playoffs. In fact the Cavs have averaged more 3's (33.2) than any team in the playoffs.

GS is 5th in the playoffs in 3's attempted yet they are "chucking" 3's and the Cavs aren't. What nonsense.

[KC_Connection]

Whether you believe it's a good thing or not, it's getting clear back-to-the-basket bigs are slowly becoming a thing of the past and that we're seeing the dawn of a new era in the NBA. The Warriors, Cavs, and Spurs are all examples of this. With as well as these small lineups are doing, you're going to see more and more teams looking to acquire and play athletic players with three point range.

[dirk digler]

Originally Posted by KC_Connection

Whether you believe it's a good thing or not, it's getting clear back-to-the-basket bigs are slowly becoming a thing of the past and that we're seeing the dawn of a new era in the NBA. The Warriors, Cavs, and Spurs are all examples of this. With as well as these small lineups are doing, you're going to see more and more teams looking to acquire and play athletic players with three point range.

Anthony Davis is the perfect player for this new era if he can stay healthy.

[KC_Connection]

Originally Posted by dirk digler

Anthony Davis is the perfect player for this new era if he can stay healthy.

Andrea Bargnani was drafted 10 years too early.

[Pitt Gorilla]

Originally Posted by KC_Connection

Whether you believe it's a good thing or not, it's getting clear back-to-the-basket bigs are slowly becoming a thing of the past and that we're seeing the dawn of a new era in the NBA. The Warriors, Cavs, and Spurs are all examples of this. With as well as these small lineups are doing, you're going to see more and more teams looking to acquire and play athletic players with three point range.

I suppose that is true, but I think Shaq (and Hakeem) would still dominate if playing today. The change is being made due to the available talent. GS is simply exploiting that talent.

Big guys like Steven Adams clearly still have a place, though, just not so much as a scorer.

[KC_Connection]

Originally Posted by Pitt Gorilla

I suppose that is true, but I think Shaq (and Hakeem) would still dominate if playing today. The change is being made due to the available talent. GS is simply exploiting that talent.

Big guys like Steven Adams clearly still have a place, though, just not so much as a scorer.

Oh, they'd definitely still dominate (and there will always be a role for rim protectors/rebounders). I'm just not sure the very best and smartest teams would feed those guys the ball as much as they got it back then, though. NBA teams are slowly coming to the realization that it pays to shoot just about as many 3s as you possibly can during a game.

Shaq shot 58% on his 2s throughout his career (which is the 6th best mark in NBA history on 2PT shots, made even more impressive by the amount of shots he took). But you only need to hit 3s at a 39% clip to get an equivalent amount of points each possession to what Shaq did and there are plenty of guys out there who can do that. There aren't exactly a lot of Shaqs out there waiting to be drafted, but there are certainly JR Smith and Harrison Barnes types all over the place.

If the NBA sees this change as a problem, they could opt to eventually move the line back and make it more difficult to hit such shots (at least for everybody that isn't Steph Curry). But I don't think they do.

[PAChiefsGuy]

Originally Posted by KC_Connection

Oh, they'd definitely still dominate (and there will always be a role for rim protectors/rebounders). I'm just not sure the very best and smartest teams would feed those guys the ball as much as they got it back then, though. NBA teams are slowly coming to the realization that it pays to shoot just about as many 3s as you possibly can during a game.

Shaq shot 58% on his 2s throughout his career (which is the 6th best mark in NBA history on 2PT shots, made even more impressive by the amount of shots he took). But you only need to hit 3s at a 39% clip to get an equivalent amount of points each possession to what Shaq did and there are plenty of guys out there who can do that. There aren't exactly a lot of Shaqs out there waiting to be drafted, but there are certainly JR Smith and Harrison Barnes types all over the place.

If the NBA sees this change as a problem, they could opt to eventually move the line back and make it more difficult to hit such shots (at least for everybody that isn't Steph Curry). But I don't think they do.

As much as I like Curry I'm still taking a prime Shaq over him any day of the week.

I'm not a fan of the way basketball is currently going. It seems more like a 3-pt contest than a sport nowadays. But the ratings are way up recently so obviously most people are enjoying it.

Props to the Warriors though. I'm not taking anything away from them. They are good at it and they went 73-9 and are in the finals again because of their ability to hit 3-pointers. It is not their fault that the 3-pt line is where it is.

[KevB]

Originally Posted by KC_Connection

If the NBA sees this change as a problem, they could opt to eventually move the line back and make it more difficult to hit such shots (at least for everybody that isn't Steph Curry). But I don't think they do.

Last night's game was the highest rated NBA game ever on cable, and that was on a non Sports channel. So I can't imagine the league is in a hurry to change the current landscape.

[Pitt Gorilla]

Originally Posted by KC_Connection

Oh, they'd definitely still dominate (and there will always be a role for rim protectors/rebounders). I'm just not sure the very best and smartest teams would feed those guys the ball as much as they got it back then, though. NBA teams are slowly coming to the realization that it pays to shoot just about as many 3s as you possibly can during a game.

Shaq shot 58% on his 2s throughout his career (which is the 6th best mark in NBA history on 2PT shots, made even more impressive by the amount of shots he took). But you only need to hit 3s at a 39% clip to get an equivalent amount of points each possession to what Shaq did and there are plenty of guys out there who can do that. There aren't exactly a lot of Shaqs out there waiting to be drafted, but there are certainly JR Smith and Harrison Barnes types all over the place.

If the NBA sees this change as a problem, they could opt to eventually move the line back and make it more difficult to hit such shots (at least for everybody that isn't Steph Curry). But I don't think they do.

That Orlando team was built around the idea of hitting 3s. They always got the ball to Shaq, who would either dunk or kick it out to Scott, Anderson, or Hardaway for a 3. That was literally the offense.

[KC_Connection]

Originally Posted by Pitt Gorilla

That Orlando team was built around the idea of hitting 3s. They always got the ball to Shaq, who would either dunk or kick it out to Scott, Anderson, or Hardaway for a 3. That was literally the offense.

The Magic team that went to the finals took 1412 threes (which was 20.5% of their offense, a mark that would be 28th in the league today). The 2016 Golden State Warriors took 2592 threes (for 36.2% of theirs, 2nd in the league behind the analytics heavy Rockets).

The NBA is in the process of changing significantly.

[KC_Connection]

Originally Posted by KevB

Last night's game was the highest rated NBA game ever on cable, and that was on a non Sports channel. So I can't imagine the league is in a hurry to change the current landscape.

You wouldn't think so. People really love the Warriors right now and the league will likely continue to give them what they want.

[OldSchool]

Warriors should actually just let Curry go Iso all of the time from 3 until the other team double teams him. Then he can pass the ball to the open guy for easy makes. That's literally the most efficient way for the Warriors to dominate a game offensively.

His and Klay's 3 pt percentage is far superior to the team's 2 pt percentage.

The last game alone, Steph and Klay from 3. 13/23 56.5%

The team as a whole from 3 was 45.9%.

The team (including Steph and Klay) from within the arc: 20/48 41.6%

[KC_Connection]

Howard: "I felt like my role was being reduced. I went to [Rockets general manager] Daryl [Morey] and said, 'I want to be more involved.' Daryl said, 'No, we don't want you to be.' My response was, 'Why not? Why am I here?' It was shocking to me that it came from him instead of our coach. So I said to him, 'No disrespect to what you do, but you've never played the game. I've been in this game a long time. I know what it takes to be effective.'''

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/15...perman-returns

Dwight shot 62% from the field this year. Instead of giving him more touches, Morey wanted to stick with the 3PT offense instead. The more that analytics/advanced stats take hold at the executive and coaching level, the more you're going to see this.

[KC_Connection]

Originally Posted by OldSchool

Warriors should actually just let Curry go Iso all of the time from 3 until the other team double teams him. Then he can pass the ball to the open guy for easy makes. That's literally the most efficient way for the Warriors to dominate a game offensively.

His and Klay's 3 pt percentage is far superior to the team's 2 pt percentage.

The last game alone, Steph and Klay from 3. 13/23 56.5%

The team as a whole from 3 was 45.9%.

The team (including Steph and Klay) from within the arc: 20/48 41.6%

OKC effectively took away Golden State's #1 form of offense all season, the Steph/Draymond PnR, with their length and athleticism. I'd expect them to go back to that now that they are facing a team that is incapable of guarding that.

[notorious]

Orlando tried it when the 3 line was a lot further away.


If the NBA wants to make the inside game more important again, they will need to move the line back to where it was before.