The Official NBA Playoff Thread—-20/21 Edition

[KhalDrogo]

Originally Posted by daeve

It was bad - and I didnt 'save it for 3 years' - I just know how to use the search function.

anyway - I knew I was right - and a bunch of you were really upset that I was making your investments look dumb, just hope those of you who bought Ben at the peak got out long before today.

I’m old enough to remember when that Exquisite t-shirt auto was a $20k card for a PSA 10. Wonder how it’s doing today.

[jswest18]

Originally Posted by Spacemanspif

so not to piss on the parade, but Dame was always my comp for Trae. The Curry comps always irked me as a Warriors fan, because... well, nobody is Steph. The best-in-the-league off-ball movement and best-shooter-ever thing are not things you can just gloss over.

anyway, it's great to see the Hawks progress this far so quickly, but their salary cap situation is going to get hairy pretty soon. They're already locked into $93M in 2021-22 before re-signing Collins, and assuming he gets a big deal, you're looking at being well over $100M before giving Trae the max and Huerter a big deal. AND THEN you have Hunter / Reddish... I think the ATL experts could chime in on the long-term plan, but I'm thinking you have to jettison Gallo, and one of either Bogey or Capela next summer, if the plan is to keep a core of Trae / Huerter / Hunter / Collins

Trae got/gets the Steph comps because they are both small PG who are quick, good scorers, and shoot 35 ft 3s. There's justification behind the comps but when you boil it down they are very different players. You highlighted the two big differences where Steph is much better than Trae. Steph is obviously the better shooter and Trae doesnt do well without the ball where Steph is fantastic at it. I think the main reason Trae doesn't is because he's not able to comfortably hit shots in tight spaces coming off a screen. Steph is nails there. Trae is a much better passer and facilitator. Steph is the offense for GS but Green runs the offense basically. Trae is quicker than Steph as well and able to get into the paint easier. So while they are similarities their games are a lot different.

It remains to be seen how Schlenk handles the future. Collins will obviously be the first big decision. There's been a ton of mixed signals on how they will handle him. They didn't think he was a max player coming into the season. I don't think this season has helped Collins prove he is that player from a raw numbers standpoint but they don't tell the whole story and Schlenk is smart enough to see that. I don't think he gets a max but I think they get a deal done eventually. Collins wants to be in ATL for his whole career, he's a vocal leader in the clubhouse and he's got a skill set that fits Trae well and is not easily found through draft or FA.

Before the playoffs I think Huerter was pretty expendable. Not that he hasn't been good down the stretch in the reg season but with Bogi he was clearly a rotation player and that was even more obvious with Hunter healthy. He and Reddish were the two "core" guys who were most likely to get moved. I think the Hawks will resign him now though but I don't think it will be a big deal. Huerter knows what his role as well so I don't think he's going to expect to be paid like a starter.

I think Gallo will be moved before or during the 3rd year of his contract. He doesn't fit long term with his age and there's only $5 mil in dead cap that year for his contract. Capela has been crucial to the defense this year and won't be going anywhere next year but I could see him being moved the year after as well. Okongwu is already as good offensively as Capela and, although it was in limited minutes, he has been really good defensively in the playoffs. He's not the rebounder Capela is and still has a ways to go before being compared to Capela but if his development stays on track with how it has gone this year then he will be able to take Capela's spot sooner than later. Age wise he fits best with this roster long term and if the Hawks decide to move on from Collins then I could see them sticking with Capela. I think Bogi would be the hardest to replace and is most likely to be part of the Hawks long term plans. So much depends on what they do with Collins this year though and I don't think anyone knows that answer, even Schlenk.

[jcardstore]

Originally Posted by daeve

lol that's just wrong.... his same weakness then = "can't shoot" is his same weakness now, just with years of ptsd baked in now to the point where he passes up open dunks because he's so deathly afraid of being put on the line.

believe me, you weren't the only one - just the times you quoted me were when I was specifically spot-on in my assessments of Beenjammin

Dude he shot 70% from the FT line in 2018. So no, it's not just the same.

He was aggressive offensively most importantly.

[bkcardcollector]

,,,

budenholzer takin on his ex-hawks after seeing what they did to doc



interim head coach as cool as ice ... trae

[daeve]

Originally Posted by KhalDrogo

I’m old enough to remember when that Exquisite t-shirt auto was a $20k card for a PSA 10. Wonder how it’s doing today.

if twitter/reddit are any indication I'd say "not good"

[brock]

Where is gomiamigo?!!

Oh right... serving a 3-5 years to LIFE in the Benitentiary.

[The_Reverend]

Originally Posted by daeve

if twitter/reddit are any indication I'd say "not good"

This is savage…wow….he will get roasted all off-season. He cannot survive in Philly. They have to move him, if his career is going to recover. The no-dunk pass was the kill shot. Wow….Trae scared him…lol

[daeve]

[imbluestreak23]

Does Doc survive?

[rhigh2390]

Originally Posted by imbluestreak23

Does Doc survive?

I say so. If someone is going to be gone next year, I'd say it's Ben. Doc will at least get another year.

[daeve]

Originally Posted by rhigh2390

I say so. If someone is going to be gone next year, I'd say it's Ben. Doc will at least get another year.

Yep, it wasn't Doc jerseys they were burning on the sidewalks on their way out of the arena last night

[Dame]

Originally Posted by jcardstore

Revisionist history is fun. In 2018 when I said that it wasn't a bad take, I stand by that regardless of what you say. He was good in the playoffs for 2 years and then in the last 2 seasons has just regressed to the point he's at now which is flat out bad.

The drop in his performance in the playoffs since 2018 has been dramatic.

You've been a Simmons hater forever. If I recall correctly you called him a slightly taller Evan Turner if we're talking about bad takes.

I've sold like 2 Ben cards in my entire life.

Evans Turner is definitely not a good Ben comp, agree with you. That man had a career high 29 FGA lol

[abidtsteele]

No game tonight. Guess I'll just look at my cards tonight

[Dame]

Originally Posted by rhigh2390

I say so. If someone is going to be gone next year, I'd say it's Ben. Doc will at least get another year.

For sure, Doc has a strong relationship w/ Elton Brand. He’ll get another year with the core minus Benjamin.

[KhalDrogo]

Looks like gomiamigo has ghosted us!

[brothertona]

To me I love what Danilo offers but I think he is the tradeable asset. You combine him with Reddish and Dunn and you've got 35 million if a star becomes available. I think Danilo and Capela are your moveable contracts - and Hunter/Huerter/JC/Trae/Onyeka are your core.

Originally Posted by jswest18

Trae got/gets the Steph comps because they are both small PG who are quick, good scorers, and shoot 35 ft 3s. There's justification behind the comps but when you boil it down they are very different players. You highlighted the two big differences where Steph is much better than Trae. Steph is obviously the better shooter and Trae does well without the ball where Steph is fantastic at it. I think the main reason Trae doesn't is because he's not able to comfortably hit shots in tight spaces coming off a screen. Steph is nails there. Trae is a much better passer and facilitator. Steph is the offense for GS but Green runs the offense basically. Trae is quicker than Steph as well and able to get into the paint easier. So while they are similarities their games are a lot different.

It remains to be seen how Schlenk handles the future. Collins will obviously be the first big decision. There's been a ton of mixed signals on how they will handle him. They didn't think he was a max player coming into the season. I don't think this season has helped Collins prove he is that player from a raw numbers standpoint but they don't tell the whole story and Schlenk is smart enough to see that. I don't think he gets a max but I think they get a deal done eventually. Collins wants to be in ATL for his whole career, he's a vocal leader in the clubhouse and he's got a skill set that fits Trae well and is not easily found through draft or FA.

Before the playoffs I think Huerter was pretty expendable. Not that he hasn't been good down the stretch in the reg season but with Bogi he was clearly a rotation player and that was even more obvious with Hunter healthy. He and Reddish were the two "core" guys who were most likely to get moved. I think the Hawks will resign him now though but I don't think it will be a big deal. Huerter knows what his role as well so I don't think he's going to expect to be paid like a starter.

I think Gallo will be moved before or during the 3rd year of his contract. He doesn't fit long term with his age and there's only $5 mil in dead cap that year for his contract. Capela has been crucial to the defense this year and won't be going anywhere next year but I could see him being moved the year after as well. Okongwu is already as good offensively as Capela and, although it was in limited minutes, he has been really good defensively in the playoffs. He's not the rebounder Capela is and still has a ways to go before being compared to Capela but if his development stays on track with how it has gone this year then he will be able to take Capela's spot sooner than later. Age wise he fits best with this roster long term and if the Hawks decide to move on from Collins then I could see them sticking with Capela. I think Bogi would be the hardest to replace and is most likely to be part of the Hawks long term plans. So much depends on what they do with Collins this year though and I don't think anyone knows that answer, even Schlenk.

[eastbayak]

Originally Posted by brock

Where is gomiamigo?!!

Oh right... serving a 3-5 years to LIFE in the Benitentiary.

Originally Posted by KhalDrogo

Looks like gomiamigo has ghosted us!

Poor guy.

First, KD's superteam gets eliminated.

Days later, the 76ers get eliminated (losing a second Game 7 in like 3 seasons).

Gomi talked a lot about his teams but talk is cheap.

[cboog3105]

Originally Posted by KhalDrogo

Looks like gomiamigo has ghosted us!

his stat comparisons while correct somehow still didnt make a difference lol

its not a 1s and 0s tho so...

The Atlanta Hawks defeated the 76ers despite averaging less points, rebounds, assists, blocks, steals, FG% and 3PT% overall.

[jswest18]

Originally Posted by brothertona

To me I love what Danilo offers but I think he is the tradeable asset. You combine him with Reddish and Dunn and you've got 35 million if a star becomes available. I think Danilo and Capela are your moveable contracts - and Hunter/Huerter/JC/Trae/Onyeka are your core.

The biggest questions for me are whether Huerter becomes a starter or whether he remains the 6th man and whether the Hawks sign JC long term. Huerter and Bogi are really good comparisons as they are very similar versions offensively. Both have the ability to create and can shoot at any level. I think Bogi is the better version of Huerter offensively right now though. Defensively Huerter has the edge. If Huerter can show the ability to put together games like last night more often then it becomes much easier to see him as part of the core and easier to move on from Bogi at some point.

[jswest18]

Originally Posted by cboog3105

his stat comparisons while correct somehow still didnt make a difference lol

its not a 1s and 0s tho so...

Games 2 and 3 skewed those overall stats some because Philly completely dominated them.

[BeastMode27]

Hunter can be great, but I am not making moves to keep him unless I have more than a year straight of heathy knees. Even then he scares me more than anyone of that core to give a long term contract to. Could ruin a possibly great thing. Not worth the risk.

[imbluestreak23]

Was it go that said Ben was > / = Giannis?

Man oh man, bad take there

[bigjbasketball]

Simmons is one of those guys that drives people so crazy because all the physical tools are there. He’s proven he is an elite defender. He’s a 6’10” ball handler with an NBA body. He used to be able to shoot free throws. It’s all there, ripe for the taking, but he just can’t get it together. That pass to Thybulle when he had an easy dunk is probably the most disappointing play of this entire season.

Could he make a leap and become the star that he was hyped up to be? I remember one of Bill Simmons’ trade value columns a few years ago, he listed the ceiling for all the young guys in his list. Ben’s ceiling was NBA MVP. I think we can all agree that’s never happening. But, he still has the potential to be a perennial All-Star/All-NBA player. Will he live up to that? Ehh…it’s not looking so good anymore. Even if he plays well in the first half of the regular season next year, I can’t see him making the All-Star team, because people will still be thinking of this playoff collapse. All-NBA is completely out of the question until he can get over his fear of shooting the ball.

[KhalDrogo]

Originally Posted by bigjbasketball

Simmons is one of those guys that drives people so crazy because all the physical tools are there. He’s proven he is an elite defender. He’s a 6’10” ball handler with an NBA body. He used to be able to shoot free throws. It’s all there, ripe for the taking, but he just can’t get it together. That pass to Thybulle when he had an easy dunk is probably the most disappointing play of this entire season.

Could he make a leap and become the star that he was hyped up to be? I remember one of Bill Simmons’ trade value columns a few years ago, he listed the ceiling for all the young guys in his list. Ben’s ceiling was NBA MVP. I think we can all agree that’s never happening. But, he still has the potential to be a perennial All-Star/All-NBA player. Will he live up to that? Ehh…it’s not looking so good anymore. Even if he plays well in the first half of the regular season next year, I can’t see him making the All-Star team, because people will still be thinking of this playoff collapse. All-NBA is completely out of the question until he can get over his fear of shooting the ball.

If he would commit himself to learning how to shoot the ball, his ceiling would still be MVP. But he got his money, and now he doesn’t appear to care.

[yiguiri2002]

Originally Posted by brock

Where is gomiamigo?!!

Oh right... serving a 3-5 years to LIFE in the Benitentiary.

There's cold, Ice Trae cold and you. Damn.