**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

[PAChiefsGuy]

Originally Posted by KC_Connection

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.

I don't know.. Curry is a once in a generation talent. He is the best 3-pt shooter of all-time. You really can't copy that. Other teams are going to have to figure out their own form of success.

And as good as the Warriors are they came very close to losing this series. It's not like they dominated the Thunder, they didn't. Who knows how they will do against the Cavs.

[KC_Connection]

It isn't just Golden State experiencing this kind of success shooting this many 3s, though. The Cavs shoot them at about the same rate as well.

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by dirk digler

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.

You keep acting like I'm making excuses for the Cavs when in this entire thread, I've probably been the most critical about the Cavs' style of play.

I'm not crazy about the Cavs' style of play. I liked it a hell of a lot better last year when they played two ways at a slower pace.

[the Talking Can]

per 538, thunder had a 96% chance of winning series going into the 4th quarter of game 6

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by -King-

And Iverson was one of the best dribblers and cross over artists in the game. If the game turned into a bunch of players trying to cross each other over, if would suck to watch.

And are you trying to say shooting 3 pointers isn't fundamentals?
Posted via Mobile Device

And Iverson ushered in a completely insufferable era of ballhog point guards like Starbury that made the game almost completely unwatchable for many years. Be careful what you wish for.

What Curry does is incredible. And 99.9% of people can't do it. For those 99.9% of people, I don't want to see them playing iso ball and dribbling for 15 seconds before taking a wildly contested shot. In fact, I slammed Durant for playing hero ball all series long. If you root for GS, I get why you'd enjoy it. I enjoy it when JR Smith does the iso heaves when it works, even though I know it's part-crap. But as PAChiefs said... this game is evolving into a 3-point chuck fest and it's just not as enjoyable to me as, say, a Spurs/Heat series a few years ago where you have two 2-way teams who move the ball outstandingly well on offense. Maybe I'm a purist.

[Pitt Gorilla]

Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501

And Iverson ushered in a completely insufferable era of ballhog point guards like Starbury that made the game almost completely unwatchable for many years. Be careful what you wish for.

What Curry does is incredible. And 99.9% of people can't do it. For those 99.9% of people, I don't want to see them playing iso ball and dribbling for 15 seconds before taking a wildly contested shot. In fact, I slammed Durant for playing hero ball all series long. If you root for GS, I get why you'd enjoy it. I enjoy it when JR Smith does the iso heaves when it works, even though I know it's part-crap. But as PAChiefs said... this game is evolving into a 3-point chuck fest and it's just not as enjoyable to me as, say, a Spurs/Heat series a few years ago where you have two 2-way teams who move the ball outstandingly well on offense. Maybe I'm a purist.

a purist would seemingly long for no shot clock or 3 point shot. You're about half way there.

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by KC_Connection

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.

A few things have happened....
-You have Centers who have become complete liabilities on the free throw line
-Overly lax enforcement of illegal screens
-Still overly strict rules on hand checking

Centers have more and more been taken out of the game. While I don't want Centers to dominate the game, I do wish for a much more balanced game between post and perimeter. This reminds me of the baseball home run era... maybe I'm just boring, but I'd rather watch an all-around well played game than watch a bunch of roided out players jack up 70 home runs and play no defense.

[notorious]

Originally Posted by the Talking Can

per 538, thunder had a 96% chance of winning series going into the 4th quarter of game 6

And 100% chance of Durant choking it away.

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by Pitt Gorilla

a purist would seemingly long for no shot clock or 3 point shot. You're about half way there.

I want to see inside/outside balance
I want to see ball movement and team offense
I want to see 2-way play where players play hard on both offense and defense

I thought the NBA was doing that really effectively but as PAChiefs has said, recently it's starting to turn into a 3 point chuck fest and my Cavs are included. Hell, Mozgov literally never plays anymore. It's not a direction I'm that excited about even if my own team is starting to thrive at it. And yes, I absolutely fear that the next generation of players is today chucking up half court shots at practice and taking an immediate 3 point shot instead of setting up an offense. Not a direction I'm terribly excited about.

[Pitt Gorilla]

Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501

I want to see inside/outside balance
I want to see ball movement and team offense
I want to see 2-way play where players play hard on both offense and defense

I thought the NBA was doing that really effectively but as PAChiefs has said, recently it's starting to turn into a 3 point chuck fest and my Cavs are included. Hell, Mozgov literally never plays anymore. It's not a direction I'm that excited about even if my own team is starting to thrive at it. And yes, I absolutely fear that the next generation of players is today chucking up half court shots at practice and taking an immediate 3 point shot instead of setting up an offense. Not a direction I'm terribly excited about.

It sounds like you prefer a high assist-per-possession team, like Atlanta or San Antonio, or...

[-King-]

Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501

And Iverson ushered in a completely insufferable era of ballhog point guards like Starbury that made the game almost completely unwatchable for many years. Be careful what you wish for.

What Curry does is incredible. And 99.9% of people can't do it. For those 99.9% of people, I don't want to see them playing iso ball and dribbling for 15 seconds before taking a wildly contested shot. In fact, I slammed Durant for playing hero ball all series long. If you root for GS, I get why you'd enjoy it. I enjoy it when JR Smith does the iso heaves when it works, even though I know it's part-crap. But as PAChiefs said... this game is evolving into a 3-point chuck fest and it's just not as enjoyable to me as, say, a Spurs/Heat series a few years ago where you have two 2-way teams who move the ball outstandingly well on offense. Maybe I'm a purist.

How the hell is Iverson responsible for Stephen marbury when they're from the same era? Iverson is also responsible for inspiring Curry, Westbrook, Rose, LeBron, and a bunch of other players today that make the game great.

If you think the game is worse off because of Iverson you're out of your mind just like you're out of your mind for thinking Curry and his style of play will make the game worse off in the future.
Posted via Mobile Device

[KC_Connection]

Originally Posted by the Talking Can

per 538, thunder had a 96% chance of winning series going into the 4th quarter of game 6

OKC had a 7 point lead with 5 minutes left, so I'm assuming that was even higher at that point.

We witnessed one of the worst collapses in NBA history in both that game and series.

[OldSchool]

Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501

And Iverson ushered in a completely insufferable era of ballhog point guards like Starbury that made the game almost completely unwatchable for many years. Be careful what you wish for.

What Curry does is incredible. And 99.9% of people can't do it. For those 99.9% of people, I don't want to see them playing iso ball and dribbling for 15 seconds before taking a wildly contested shot. In fact, I slammed Durant for playing hero ball all series long. If you root for GS, I get why you'd enjoy it. I enjoy it when JR Smith does the iso heaves when it works, even though I know it's part-crap. But as PAChiefs said... this game is evolving into a 3-point chuck fest and it's just not as enjoyable to me as, say, a Spurs/Heat series a few years ago where you have two 2-way teams who move the ball outstandingly well on offense. Maybe I'm a purist.

Because Golden State is full of guys who don't pass the ball around and just play Iso all of the time.

And they're also not the team that led the league in Assists this season.

Get outta here, lol. If anything, Curry should be more of a ball-hog/Iso player. He's just that good and consistent.

[dirk digler]

Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501

You keep acting like I'm making excuses for the Cavs when in this entire thread, I've probably been the most critical about the Cavs' style of play.

I'm not crazy about the Cavs' style of play. I liked it a hell of a lot better last year when they played two ways at a slower pace.

You know I respect your opinion but you are kind of all over the place. You say you don't like all the 3's and then just a few posts down say you like when JR does it.

Regardless Curry is an elite talent and he just don't stand back there and "chuck" 3's all day. Here is a great article that shows how he is dominating in the paint among both guards and big men.

http://thesportsquotient.com/nba/201...ates-the-paint

Or maybe you would like these stats

1) In the lane: Curry wasn't just an elite shooter from 3 this season. He somehow led the league in field goal percentage on layups this season at 68.7 percent (minimum 150 attempts).

2) In the corners: Curry's effective FG% on corner 3s was an eye-popping 71.9 percent, tops among all point guards and third-best in the NBA, behind J.J. Redick (82.5 percent) and Kyle Korver (72.1 percent).

3) From way downtown: Curry made 51.6 percent of shots between 28 feet and the half-court line (47 feet) in 2015-16. The rest of the NBA hit 20.8 percent. Curry made more deep 3s than 10 NBA teams combined.
Better efficiency than making 100% of your 2s

4) #1 in pts off pick and roll

[Hammock Parties]

There will always be hate for jump shooters from "basketball purists" or whatever the **** these people self identify as.

If you're not bringing the rock to the hoop you're not playing real basketball hurr durr. It was the same when Nowitzki won a championship. No respect.

Meanwhile you can probably count the number of jumpers LeBron hit in the ECF on one hand. Sickening lack of ability for a guy who has had 10+ years to develop his game. And he won't do shit to stop Curry for the 2nd year in a row.