NBA Play-In Tournament 2024

I will wait on that dross I have become disappointed in Silver not stepping on these refs they hold players to a high moral code these guys are getting paid to do a job teams in first or last place deserve the same respect It has been an awful year for refs and this is not just from A Celtic fan point of view too many questionable calls and that darn last two minute report Big deal the damage is done I bet many many teams feel the same way fine them like you fine players maybe that would clean it up a little!!!!

Adam Silver directed the refs to swallow their whistles right after the A-S break.  The goal was parity.  Look at the final W-L records at season's end and you will see the results.  You could say the goal was accomplished.

Two points:

1.  The ends do not justify the means.  Basketball 101 dictates "Take it to the hoop!!"  It often leads to trips to the frito line and/or results in foul trouble for the other team.  That concept is now gone, pitched into the waste can of history.  It is now down to "Make or Miss", and that's about it.

2.  The "Swallow the Whistle" did not affect the Lakers.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nba/lakers-are-lapping-the-field-in-free-throw-disparity/ar-BB1kvX6H



Are the refs overcompensating because of this:

Sorry this repulses me we can yell at Tatum all we want but when he goes to the rim 6 out of ten times he gets fouled I know he whines a lot but really? These numbers shock the heck out of me the one that surprises me is Giannis I would have had him much higher oh well Bill Russell is not walking thru that door so I guess they have to suck it up

MIA(-1.5) vs. CHI is the respect for MIA. MIA is in until MIA is out. Now things shift to the sidelines and Coach Spo. Can he pull another rabbit out of his ass? He almost did it with a hobbled PHI. But I think the revenge for CHI will outweigh everything else and CHI will come out on top.

Either way, Boston should not start licking their chops because every time a situation comes up like this, we play down. That crap has to go and there had better not be any semblance of it throughout the playoffs. Anything less than a Gentleman's sweep against either team as currently constructed will not be received well here.

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Much as i hate to admit it, Herro has killed us at times, can take over a game scoring. If Terry Rozier is any way healthy, this is not a team to be take lightly. Bam is still the star on that team and would love to upset the Celtics again. So…beware boys, they are plotting for you, Chicago or Miami, whoever. All in, period

Absolutely, correct, Rosalie.  No time for lapses or skipping a game and dragging series out like we did vs. ATL last year.  MIA is like the Terminator.  You kill it and it shape-shifts into something else more powerful.  It seems impossible but as much as I hate the way they play regular season vs. playoffs, their coach is right.  They like to play in the mud.  If we think for one second things will be ANY easier sans Butler, let's just give them the broom and break for the summer.  I'm sick of MIA already and we haven't even played them yet.  

GO CHICAGO!!!

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Here's a link for the game that affects us.

How much of an advantage to the Heat for home court?

https://www.espn.com/nba/game/_/gameId/401654660/bulls-heat

The Heat are up, 23-11. 5:13 in the first quarter.

After one, the Heat lead 34-17.

The Bulls close to within 10 points at halftime, 47-37.

The Heat stretched the lead back up to 22 and lead after three quarters, 82-60.

Da Bulls hopes are fading . . .

Da Bulls can't stand the Heat, leave the kitchen to go on vacation.

Heat win, 112-91.

See Ya On Sunday!!!

Can’t wait for the matchup against the Heat. Was hoping that they get #8. Also hoping that JB breaks Duncan Robinson this time if get gets grabbed again.

Be careful what one wishes for.  When you play the Heat in the playoffs, you play Erik Spoelstra, and like him or not, he's the smartest man in the room.  During the regular season, you play a very shitty, mediocre, sub-par basketball team..like an 8th seed.  That's not what you get in the playoffs.    

Last year, Joe lost that matchup vs. Spoelstra.  This year, Joe's ready for the task at hand and while Spolestra will still have an edge in the coaches matchup, we have enough to counter.  Joe has come a long way  We have the horses in the barn this year to crush the zone or blob, but they almost took Embiid out to the woodshed, so bear that in mind.  KP needs to be just far enough off not to bang with Yabba "Dabba" beyo.  Erik has already shown how he's going to play us.  Please refer to the Play-In Game Heat vs. 76ers.  All zone, all the time other things equal and barring a change MIA sees that is necessary until we solve the problem at hand, i.e. we've solved the zone and that it's hurting the Heat's chances to win.  We didn't solve it last year and he will double down until we do or cry Uncle once again.    

I've said before that if we were to face them, our attack on the Heat needs to be relentless, heartless and demoralizing for 48 minutes a game.  There is no other way to beat this team and its coach.  Others will say all we need to do is win 4 games by one point.  Very true.  But Kryptonite comes at a cost.  And if we have a performance that even comes remotely close to last year's playoff series display (i.e. losing G1, bricking the blob, shopping mall construction from 3-ville, etc.) vs. the Heat, we're done in the first round, and this time it will be a sweep just like the Bucks faced last year.

Cannot stress this enough.  Do not be deceived.  Just because Jimmy and Terry are out, really means absolutely nothing.  Zero.  Probably less than zero.  Just ask CHI who should have won that game going away on revenge alone.  CHI is just another victim of shortsightedness and total lack of preparation. We will not be unprepared. Ours will come down to execution.  

Celtics, Celtics fans and coaching staff Please!  For the Love of God, prepare with GREAT, GREAT PRECISION & CAUTION vs. MIA.  Have Plans B, C, D, E, F, & G airtight, lined up and ready to execute with Norman Schwarzkopf Gulf War precision.  CHI had one plan.  Revenge.  That plan resulted in a 21-point AW loss.  They had one plan, got punched in the mouth and Billy Donovan had no game plans or answer(s) after that. Thank God our coach has prepared like Rudy Ruettiger for this matchup.  Maybe more so than Eric.  That Grand Canyon Gap has been greatly reduced and quite possibly superseded.           

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