The Official NBA Playoff Thread—-20/21 Edition

[jswest18]

Originally Posted by tjforce

I'd be surprised if they did. They 6ers were 10-11 without Embiid this year, and IIRC, a few of those games were without some other heavy hitters as well.

Plus, Washington is missing Bertans for the rest of the series. One of the Wiz biggest weaknesses is depth, and they just lost one of their biggest bombers.

Regardless tho, a comeback is at least on the table. Props to Westbrook for playing on a sprained ankle down 0-3. I know it's a Lillard lovefest right now, but I won't forget that they guy left the bubble last year down 1-3 vs the Lakers once he tweaked his hammy.

If you're not sure just ask gomiamigo. He's got a good handle on Philly's schedule this year.

[NeedChapmans]

Originally Posted by Dame

Yeah, that meniscus tear isn't going to be day to day with Embiid's history. Last player I remember coming back so quick from that was Ron Artest, and it took him a couple of weeks and his mobility was never the same.

Correct.

Embiid has two choices. Either not play, or play in fear & at reduced efficacy that the next land will be a full tear and a missed '21-22 season.

Philadelphia is off the board. Guaranteed.

[rustywest]

Originally Posted by tjforce

I'd be surprised if they did. They 6ers were 10-11 without Embiid this year, and IIRC, a few of those games were without some other heavy hitters as well.

Plus, Washington is missing Bertans for the rest of the series. One of the Wiz biggest weaknesses is depth, and they just lost one of their biggest bombers.

Regardless tho, a comeback is at least on the table. Props to Westbrook for playing on a sprained ankle down 0-3. I know it's a Lillard lovefest right now, but I won't forget that they guy left the bubble last year down 1-3 vs the Lakers once he tweaked his hammy.

Sure, when Bertans makes triples, the Wizards are much more dangerous. Trouble is, he has long droughts and we have witnessed much more cold than hot Davis this year. I heard somewhere the other day his career playoff 3% was below average or much worse than his regular season average... I forget which but it wasn't pretty for a guy getting paid 16 mill to solely hit 3's. The real trouble with Davis is that if he isn't making 3's he can't contribute in any other facet of the game and is an absolute turn-style on D, fouling dumb and often at an alarming rate...

Who knows what Scotty gonna do with the Starters. First cab off the rank for me would be Hutch for his size & athleticism, next cab would be Garrison for his all energy grit and in theory he can hit 3's but these two guys have hardly played all series. Scotty will probably go with Gill or bust out a fruity all guard lineup

[tjforce]

Originally Posted by rustywest

Sure, when Bertans makes triples, the Wizards are much more dangerous. Trouble is, he has long droughts and we have witnessed much more cold than hot Davis this year. I heard somewhere the other day his career playoff 3% was below average or much worse than his regular season average... I forget which but it wasn't pretty for a guy getting paid 16 mill to solely hit 3's. The real trouble with Davis is that if he isn't making 3's he can't contribute in any other facet of the game and is an absolute turn-style on D, fouling dumb and often at an alarming rate...

Who knows what Scotty gonna do with the Starters. First cab off the rank for me would be Hutch for his size & athleticism, next cab would be Garrison for his all energy grit and in theory he can hit 3's but these two guys have hardly played all series. Scotty will probably go with Gill or bust out a fruity all guard lineup

Yes, and the only game they've won was in part due to Bertans playing well, scoring 15 pts in 23 mins on 7 shots.

As a matter of fact, the only 2 games they've been competitive were the games he played well, 1 and 4. He only scored 8 pts in games 2 and 3 combined, and those were blowouts. It's a set back losing him. Not as big as losing Embiid, but it doesn't help.

[The Accountant]

Yeah, I think we're (the 76ers) pretty much toast. That is terrible news. It's too much risk for Embiid to play through and you can't give away the future for it. He's going to have to sit and likely get it operated on... ughhhh

[gomiamigo]

Originally Posted by yiguiri2002

I'm pretty sure the Sixers can win 1 of the next 3 games against the Wizards without Embiid. They better hope the Knicks start balling too so that series can go 7.

Regardless of who they face, I think they can be confident sitting Joel for the first 2 games. Hell, if it's tied after 2, sit him for the 3rd one.

Totally agree with this. 76ers are -250 favorites as of an hour ago to win tonight.

Rest him as long as you can afford it. How 'small' is a small tear? These are the things we're not going to find out. If it was going to be weeks though, I'd be shocked they'd tell the fans 'day to day,' would just piss all of us off.

So many injuries to so many good teams this year, it's sad.

[gomiamigo]

When Joel missed 10 games the 76ers:
beat SAS
beat NYK
Loss MIL in OT
beat SAC
beat @NYK
beat @GSW no Steph
beat @LAL no Lebron nor AD
loss @LAC
loss @DEN
win @ Cle

If they can play like that, they'll make the ECF but obviously not going past without Embiid.

[The Accountant]

Originally Posted by gomiamigo

Totally agree with this. 76ers are -250 favorites as of an hour ago to win tonight.

Rest him as long as you can afford it. How 'small' is a small tear? These are the things we're not going to find out. If it was going to be weeks though, I'd be shocked they'd tell the fans 'day to day,' would just piss all of us off.

So many injuries to so many good teams this year, it's sad.

Do you think Ben becomes the focal point or Tobi?

I'd also love to see Maxey see some serious minutes.

[KhalDrogo]

Originally Posted by gomiamigo

Once again, you don't speak for the majority of NBA fans nor NBA HQ, and you also said nobody would want to see LA Clippers vs Brooklyn Nets.

I'm sure NYC v LA would do very well in the ratings.

The two lesser teams in each city. Good luck with that!

[Grizzkid12]

Originally Posted by jswest18

If you're not sure just ask gomiamigo. He's got a good handle on Philly's schedule this year.

hahahahah. If different members could just keep randomly roasting this guy, that would be great.

[tjforce]

Originally Posted by The Accountant

Do you think Ben becomes the focal point or Tobi?

I'd also love to see Maxey see some serious minutes.

This is the big question....

They've restructured this team this season to focus more on Embiid and Tobias as a scorer than in previous year, with Simmons being more of the guy that sets up the half court offense, sets screens, etc.

And then when Simmons and Embiid hit the bench, it's been Tobias' turn to have the offense revolve around him.

I have to imagine that they run the offense around Simmons while he's in for the first 3 quarters, then turn it over to Tobias in the 4th. Maybe I'll be surprised, but I don't think Tobias is good enough to run the offense through him for 4 quarters. He's a very good 1 on 1 scorer, but he's one of the worst passers/playmakers I know of.

[gomiamigo]

Korkmaz should probably start to surround Ben with shooting, and then Hill/Maxey should lead the bench units with Matisse and Dwight and obviously some starters mixed in as well.

[packman80]

Joel Embiid is one big broken glass factory. Guy probably gets hurt if you look at him the wrong way.

[Dame]

Originally Posted by gomiamigo

When Joel missed 10 games the 76ers:
beat SAS
beat NYK
Loss MIL in OT
beat SAC
beat @NYK
beat @GSW no Steph
beat @LAL no Lebron nor AD
loss @LAC
loss @DEN
win @ Cle

If they can play like that, they'll make the ECF but obviously not going past without Embiid.

Playoffs be different tho. We’ll see what kind of adjustments they’ll make. 76ers is still a much better constructed team, I would be surprised if the Wiz wins another game BUT history has a funny way of repeating itself.


That said, being a DC native, I’ve seen less than a dozen local games this year. Not sure which Wizards would show up tbh lol.

[Dame]

Originally Posted by NeedChapmans

Correct.

Embiid has two choices. Either not play, or play in fear & at reduced efficacy that the next land will be a full tear and a missed '21-22 season.

Philadelphia is off the board. Guaranteed.

Surprisingly, plenty of people still have them winning against ATL and it’s not just on this board.

[KhalDrogo]

Originally Posted by Dame

Surprisingly, plenty of people still have them winning against ATL and it’s not just on this board.

That is surprising. I’ll have to lay some money on Atlanta if Embiid is out and Vegas actually favors Philly.

[NeedChapmans]

Originally Posted by Dame

Surprisingly, plenty of people still have them winning against ATL and it’s not just on this board.

I think they can absolutely beat Atlanta without Embiid. Certainly well inside the realm of possibility, will likely to be favored IMHO to win the series (or a very slight dog).

But against MIL or BRO, there's just nothing there.

[hairyangryfella]

Originally Posted by pingbling23

Here’s a few factors. Lebron has more miles on him then anyone in the league, he’s 80 in basketball years, his injury earlier this year that still hasn’t healed has obviously wrecked his endurance and conditioning, he played almost the full first quarter and most of the second at that point which his conditioning isn’t use to that at this point in his career, he was obviously frustrated with his team getting thumped, there have been a hundred superstars/leaders that haven’t ran back on a play. Once again we are using a different set of rules and expectations for Lebron, it is what it is. Do you think jokic gives up on his team? I don’t, but I can easily find some anecdotal evidence that he has.

Holy excuses, Batman!

LeBron came out and said he needed to put this team on his shoulders.
While he had an ok game (and the rest of his team SUCKED), you can't talk a big game, fail to deliver and then leave early. Nothing to do with age, this is why people dislike him.

[alwayson22]

Granted, the Lakers' supporting cast was horrific yesterday, but either: (1) Lebron can't just turn it on whenever he wants like a few years back, or (2) he's still not over the ankle injury. I tend to lean towards the ankle injury because it was only 8 months ago he was playing 42 minutes in back to back Finals games while putting up 68-27-17 in those games.

IMO, the time off in Spring 2020 really worked to the Lakers advantage in terms of staying fresh and healthy for that championship run. I also think the short offseason, impacted schedule, and roster turnover negatively affected them in 2021.

EDIT: The number of teams suffering injuries to star players seems extraordinarily high this year. I don't have any data to cite in support, but it feels like every playoff team has dealt with lengthy absences from key players.

[pingbling23]

Originally Posted by alwayson22

Granted, the Lakers' supporting cast was horrific yesterday, but either: (1) Lebron can't just turn it on whenever he wants like a few years back, or (2) he's still not over the ankle injury. I tend to lean towards the ankle injury because it was only 8 months ago he was playing 42 minutes in back to back Finals games while putting up 68-27-17 in those games.

IMO, the time off in Spring 2020 really worked to the Lakers advantage in terms of staying fresh and healthy for that championship run. I also think the short offseason, impacted schedule, and roster turnover negatively affected them in 2021.

EDIT: The number of teams suffering injuries to star players seems extraordinarily high this year. I don't have any data to cite in support, but it feels like every playoff team has dealt with lengthy absences from key players.

I think it’s a culmination of those things. At this age Lebron isnt going to be able to carry everyone the whole game especially not at 100%. He looks like he’s carrying a little more weight on him then what’s normal for this time of the season. I think the ankle injury wrecked his conditioning and endurance.I honestly didn’t think Lebron had another fmvp in him before last year, I thought AD would take over the reins. All these injuries suck, we all want to see the best teams at 100% duke it out.

[mfw13]

Originally Posted by NeedChapmans

I think they can absolutely beat Atlanta without Embiid. Certainly well inside the realm of possibility, will likely to be favored IMHO to win the series (or a very slight dog).

But against MIL or BRO, there's just nothing there.

I'd take Atlanta over them for one reason....it's pretty hard to rejigger your offense on the fly when its focal player gets hurt.

[AdW2356]

Atlanta just got a ticket to the ECF. Hopefully, the Nets or Bucks show up tired after a 7 game slugfest. Go Hawks!

[mfw13]

Originally Posted by alwayson22

Granted, the Lakers' supporting cast was horrific yesterday, but either: (1) Lebron can't just turn it on whenever he wants like a few years back, or (2) he's still not over the ankle injury.

It's both.

You also have to consider that having won the title last year, he may not be as motivated to chase another this year.

[AdW2356]

Originally Posted by NeedChapmans

I think they can absolutely beat Atlanta without Embiid. Certainly well inside the realm of possibility, will likely to be favored IMHO to win the series (or a very slight dog).

But against MIL or BRO, there's just nothing there.

Have you had the chance to watch the NY/ATL series? Atlanta will dominate an Embiidless Sixers squad IMO.

[NeedChapmans]

Originally Posted by AdW2356

Have you had the chance to watch the NY/ATL series? Atlanta will dominate an Embiidless Sixers squad IMO.

There is a false sense of glamour with the Hawks in this thread as it relates to beating Philadelphia w/o Embiid.

Thinking a team w/ very little post-season experience is going to beat a team with a lot of it, even a team without it's best player healthy (or even playing) just isn't how the NBA usually works. Grit finds a way to win; a lot. First, let me see ATL beat the Knicks tonight (and PHI beat WAS). We're putting the cart before the horse a bit and there's still a very good chance both of these teams aren't clinching in game 5.

ATL + PHI ML parlay tonight pays 2-1. Odds are well against.