Non-Celtics Playoffs 2024

NBA on ESPN @ESPNNBA
James Harden is the first player in NBA history to have a 30-point game with five different franchises in the playoffs pic.twitter.com/G64JPo3f9O – 8:01 PM


Bob
MY NOTE: And zero rings, and the team he played on in OKC with KD and Westbrook and Steven Adams and him all in their primes was a superstar team.


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The Suns will be the only team that got swept in the 1st round until OKC squishes NOLA. 

All year when I looked at this team my thought was how poorly constructed they were.  The guy that should get fired is the guy who put this team together.

Their big 3 probably will have to be broken

Anthony Edwards definitely has some Michael Jordan in him.  The amazing thing is that he is only 22 years old!

Tabias Harris is not very good.  

Jalen Brunson shoots the ball too much  (29 FGA per game)  yes he has been scoring a lot of points but from what I can see is is really about his ability to get to the line (9.5 FTA and 7.8 FTM)  If you dig down a bit you will see that he is only shooting 40.5% from the field and a ghastly 25.9% from deep.  Josh Hart is 2nd on the team in FGA with only 12.8   It certainly looks like the Knicks will be sending the Sixers off to an early vacation.

As the Bucks playoff hopes slip away, there is little doubt that they cannot compete without Giannis.  They miss Dame as well but Giannis is the difference maker.  Their crappy defense cannot stop the Pacers from scoring.    Must win game for them on Tuesday.

Congratulations to the Lakers for winning a game.  Look for Denver to finish them off in game 5.

Both teams look spent in the Mavs/Clippers series.  The younger/healthier team will win that series.

Mark Daigneault won COY and it was a well deserved reward.  I continue to be amazed by how well that OKC teams plays given both their youth and lack of experience.  Bill Russell once said that a player has to be available to be considered great.   Zion is not a great players.  SWEEP coming!

I have not watched one minute of the Cavs/Magic series.  It looks like the Magic have broken out offensively in the last 2 games.  It is really hard to believe that the Cavs have averaged only 91 PPG in 4 games.  Four straight games under 100 points including their 2 wins.  The great Max Strus is averaging 6.3 PPG while shooting a meager 17% from deep.  Which ever team scores 100 points will win the next game.  Fake vs Fake = FAKE.

Yesterday's results and Today's games:

https://www.espn.com/nba/schedule

Okay, the Pels, Suns and Lakers are out (Yay!!) and the next round (Conference Semifinals) of the bracket is starting to fill up:




https://www.nba.com/playoffs/2024

This is the Game Flow graph of the 4th quarter of the Denver-LAL game:




Very close game. It could easily have gone to OT.

The Knicks just blew the lead in the 4th quarter and lost in OT.

Josh Hart goes to the line for two Fritos with a two point lead late in the fourth. Misses the first, hits the second. Sixers tie it with a three. OT.

Back to Philly for game 6.

Joel turned the ball over 9 times and they still beat the Knicks.  Maxey with 46 points.

Cavs go up 3-2 with win over Magic.

Yesterday's results and Today's games:

https://www.espn.com/nba/schedule

Michael Scotto: New York Knicks forward Bojan Bogdanovic will have season-ending surgeries to address his foot and wrist injuries, league sources told @hoopshype. Another tough loss for the Knicks who are already missing Julius Randle this postseason.
Source: Twitter @MikeAScotto


Bob
MY NOTE: Both the Knicks and the Sixers are staggering towards the finish line. The winner of the Bucks/Pacers series (Indy is up 3-2) will be getting a short-handed opponent. Maxey is on fire for Philly, but Embiid is clearly limited and the Knicks are dropping like flies.

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If you missed it here's the end of the Knicks-Sixers game @ MSG.  An absolutely crazy end to a game.

The Knicks were up 6 in regulation with 28.2 seconds left.  A Sixer timeout, a Maxey +1, Knick Josh Hart hit's one frito out of two, and then Maxey for a 4 point play.  A 7-1 run in 28.2 seconds to get to OT.






And now, the cherry on top.  Die-hard Knick fan Stephen A(sshole) Smith's reaction to the Knicks' implosion.  I get a very satisfying, albeit karmically-negative, feeling of schadenfreuden watching Steven A. Smith give himself a migraine.




Bob


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These playoffs have been so entertaining. So many close and hard fought games!

And the damn league has the nerve to come out with that silly 2 minute report and said that Maxey’s should should not have counted, he travellled (don’t they all travel? Heck, Bam did it the whole series along with his buddy Herro)

Last 2-Minute Report says Maxey traveled before 4-point play in Game 5 OT win


Noah Levick
Wed, May 1, 2024, 7:34 PM PDT·2 min read



Another Sixers-Knicks playoff game, another Last Two-Minute Report to sort through the next day.

The Sixers felt aggrieved after their Game 2 loss at Madison Square Garden. Following that game, the NBA’s L2M said Tyrese Maxey was fouled twice during the wild sequence leading to Donte DiVincenzo’s go-ahead three-pointer.

After Maxey rescued the Sixers from elimination Tuesday night by scoring 46 points in a thrilling Game 5 overtime win, the L2M detailed three wrongly called plays that hurt the Knicks.

Here are the four plays — three against New York, one against the Sixers — that the report says were not correctly officiated over the final two minutes of regulation and the final two minutes of overtime:

• Maxey should’ve been whistled for traveling right before his four-point play with 25.4 seconds left.

Per the report, Maxey “gathers the ball on his left foot, takes two legal steps, and then moves his right foot again just before he is fouled on his shot.”


• Instead of the fourth-quarter clock running out, the Knicks should've had a baseline out-of-bounds chance with 0.4 seconds left. That’s because, after Nicolas Batum blocked Jalen Brunson’s runner, the ball “goes directly behind the backboard and is therefore out of bounds.”

• Brunson got away with an offensive foul on Batum in overtime, since he “hooks Batum's arm to create the illegal contact between the two players.”

As soon as the call went against him, Batum voiced his strong objection to it.


• Josh Hart was not out of bounds as he pursued Brunson’s miss with 41.5 seconds remaining in OT, so the Knicks should have retained possession. It’s impossible to know how that would have played out, but Hart tipped the ball to Isaiah Hartenstein near the rim.


In the end, the record will still show that Maxey’s magnificent night lifted the Sixers to a Game 6.


Bob
MY NOTE:  I'm all in favor of transparency, and I commend Da Commish for trying to be that, but do these L2M reports affect the quality of the officiating?  There are A LOT of mistakes in this L2M report, more than usual it appears.  The refs look bad, the heads of the fans in NY are exploding but what is the productive result of this?  Will it make the refs make better calls?  They're already trying their best.  How can we improve their best? That's how this L2M report is relegated to the status of 'housekeeping', and not an 'indictment'.


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https://us.yahoo.com/sports/philadelphia-76ers-ownership-buys-2-115503753.html



Philadelphia 76ers ownership buys 2,000 tickets ahead of crucial Game 6 to prevent second invasion from Knicks fans


Sam Joseph, CNN
Thu, May 2, 2024 at 4:55 AM PDT·4 min read



After the Philadelphia 76ers’ Wells Fargo Center was overrun with New York Knicks fans last week, the team’s ownership has taken action to guarantee it doesn’t happen again.

Sixers managing partners Josh Harris and David Blitzer, along with limited partner David Adelman and Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin, have purchased over 2,000 tickets for Philadelphia’s pivotal Game 6 on Thursday of its first-round series against New York to firmly establish a home-court advantage.

Sunday’s Game 4 took place in Philly, though traveling Knicks fans packed into the arena and made it feel like anything but a home game for the 76ers squad. The New York contingent serenaded its star point guard Jalen Brunson with MVP chants from the stands and made its feelings on Sixers superstar Joel Embiid very clear before the game with expletive-laden chants.

New York took Game 4 97-92 to grab a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series, with Embiid saying after the game that he had “never seen” an atmosphere like it.

“Disappointing. I love our fans, think it’s unfortunate,” the defending NBA MVP said. “I’m not calling them out, but it is disappointing… I’ve been here for 10 years, kind of pisses me off.”

Philadelphia stole Game 5 on the road to leave the series delicately poised at 3-2, with Rubin – formerly part of the ownership group – revealing on social media that steps had been taken to prevent another New York takeover with Philly in a win-or-go-home situation.

“Josh Harris, David Blitzer, David Adelman and I just bought more than 2,000 tix for Sixers Game 6 – we absolutely CANNOT let Knicks fans take over our arena again!!!” he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Giving them to first responders, health care professionals and other local Philadelphia-based organizations once we know they’re legit Sixers fans and not imposters!! Let’s go Sixers – we can do this!!”

A masterful 46-point performance from All-Star guard Tyrese Maxey saved the day for Philly on Tuesday, hitting two clutch triples to send the game into overtime and eventually escape Madison Square Garden with a stunning victory.

Only 13 teams in NBA history have successfully overturned a 3-1 series deficit, so the 76ers will be needing all the support they can get from their home fans, from courtside to the bleachers.

Sixers fans, such as South Carolina women’s basketball head coach Dawn Staley, have urged season ticket holders to not sell their seats to Knicks fans.


Bob


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If the product on the floor is so bad that you have to give away tickets to a playoff game to keep the opposition fans from taking over your arena, that says a lot about how the fans really feel about the team.

Also, if a person owns tickets and does not want to go to the game, the tickets may be put back into play for resale and the ticket owner has no control over who buys them. Ms. Staley does not understand the ticket resale process at all.

Process is as Process does. Eventually, the fanbase tires of the whole thing.

gyso wrote:If the product on the floor is so bad that you have to give away tickets to a playoff game to keep the opposition fans from taking over your arena, that says a lot about how the fans really feel about the team.

Also, if a person owns tickets and does not want to go to the game, the tickets may be put back into play for resale and the ticket owner has no control over who buys them.  Ms. Staley does not understand the ticket resale process at all.

Process is as Process does.  Eventually, the fanbase tires of the whole thing.

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And it's kind of a damned if you do and damned if you don't situation.  Either you have a bunch of NY fans there when they take the series, or a bunch of angry Philly fans who burn down the arena or something.  If the Sixers win, they either can rub it in the face of the Knicks fans, or still face a bunch of angry Philly fans who will find some reason to boo them.

Yesterday's results and Today's games:

https://www.espn.com/nba/schedule

Knicks already being crowned the beasts of the east

NBA is dying for them to win and face the Celtics

RosalieTCeltics wrote:Knicks already being crowned the beasts of the east  

NBA is dying for them to win and face the Celtics

I'd rather play the Knicks over the Pacers.

NBA playoffs: Bucks G Patrick Beverley chucks ball at multiple Pacers fans amid elimination



Jack Baer·Staff writer

https://us.yahoo.com/sports/nba-playoffs-bucks-g-patrick-beverley-chucks-balls-at-multiple-pacers-fans-amid-elimination-020529809.htmlUpdated Fri, May 3, 2024 at 7:29 AM PDT·3 min read



Key takeaways from Yahoo

Patrick Beverley's actions towards fans during the Milwaukee Bucks' playoff loss to the Indiana Pacers have sparked controversy and will likely result in NBA discipline.

Beverley's behavior extended beyond the court, as he refused to answer questions from a female reporter who did not subscribe to his podcast, leading to further criticism.

The Bucks' elimination from the playoffs, coupled with Giannis Antetokounmpo's absence due to injury, leaves the team facing a challenging offseason with tough decisions ahead.

The Milwaukee Bucks' elimination by the Indiana Pacers in the first round of the NBA playoffs was ugly. Patrick Beverley made it so much uglier.

In the final minutes of the Bucks' series-deciding 120-98 loss in Game 6, Beverley was seen on the TNT broadcast chucking a ball at a female Pacers fan and hitting her in the head. He then requested the ball from a different fan and harshly threw it back at him.

Beverley proceeded to jaw with the fans behind him as his Bucks teammates and coaches and security dealt with the situation.


Beverley will almost certainly be disciplined by the NBA. He was not ejected for the incident, but did not appear in the game again.

Beverley scored six points on 3-of-11 shooting with five assists, two rebounds and zero turnovers. He posted a message of congratulations to the Pacers after the game, then responded to the brewing backlash hours later by complaining that the Bucks had "exchanged" with a fan during the game and that calling the situation "not fair."

It is unclear if either the man or woman Beverley hurled the ball at were the fan in question. He did not apologize.


Patrick Beverley kicks reporter out of scrum for ... not subscribing to his podcast

Beverley didn't make friends in his postgame media availability either, as he bizarrely refused to answer questions from ESPN's Malinda Adams because she admitted to not subscribing to his podcast.

After taking a question from a different reporter, Beverley then demanded the reporter leave the scrum. CBS Sports' Jack Maloney noted that Beverley has done this with all reporters since he was sent to Milwaukee at the trade deadline.


ESPN's Brian Windhorst and Marc Spears were among the voices criticizing Beverley for his behavior, with Spears noted that Beverley had previously disrespected NBPA executive director Michele Roberts in 2020.


It was a rough night for the Bucks overall, as the Pacers took control quickly and led by double digits for the entire fourth quarter. Milwaukee entered the game with renewed hopes of staving off elimination after its big win in Game 5 and the return of Damian Lillard, but were still shorthanded. Giannis Antetokounmpo wound up missing the entire series due to a calf injury sustained late in the regular season.

The Pacers will face the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference semifinals while the Bucks will head straight into an offseason with a number of tough questions after a midseason coaching change. Beverley is a pending free agent.


Bob
MY NOTE:  Here's the video of Beverly throwing a ball at the fans.  He threw the first ball, hit a woman first and then, when a guy lobbed the ball back at him he fired it at the guy.  Beverly is on the right side of the bench, so focus your eyes on the first to see the first throw by him.




And here's the video of Beverly kicking a reporter out of the scrum for not subscribing to his podcast.  This is one him.  Any media that is accredited and is allowed into the locker room is there, with the approval of the league, to interview any and all players and coaches there.



He's going to be 36 years old next year, and he's an unrestricted free agent.  He doesn't have the game he used to have, and he's not a role model in the locker room like Al Horford is.  I think this might be his last hurrah, GMs don't want or need this reflecting on their teams or franchises. PatBev has always been a nasty cuss, like Dillon Brooks, but the league is going to do something about this. There is no way I see Adam Silver letting a player at the end of his career treat fans like that without using him to make a very sharp point about acceptable behavior.


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Orlando closes out strong in the fourth quarter after a close game.

Orlando at Cleveland, Game 7 on Sunday.  We play the winner on Tuesday!!

Good, 2 more days of rest.

Pete