Non-Celtics Playoffs 2024

Donovan drops a 50 piece and they still lose. He was limping a bit. Cavs are going to need Allen to close this one out.

Magic have yet to win on the road.

Looks like Denver is going to lose, Minny shooting like crazy, Edwards with 39. My my

Rosalie

This one has the makings of a 7 game series. During the regular season each team won on the others home court.

Denver has lost the home court advantage. Now they must win game 2 at home and get one in Denver. Jocic is playing 40 MPG and may get worn down by the KAT/Cobert tag team. Look for some of the lesser players on both team become decisive factors.

I don't know Dboss, I have a funny feeling about this Minny team, Edwards and Towness are playing like beasts! Kind of scary! come on KP, miraculous recovery please

RosalieTCeltics wrote:I don't know Dboss, I have a funny feeling about this Minny team, Edwards and Towness are playing like beasts!  Kind of scary!  come on KP, miraculous recovery please

I think it is going to more than Edwards/Townes or Jocic/Murray to win the series. It seems to always come down to secondary players. Last night Edwards was fantastic but it was Naz Reid off the bench that was the difference maker.

Orlando licking it's chops for a shot at Celtics!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! These young teams are the future of the NBA

Rosalie

I am very impressed with several up and coming teams and their quality young stars.

That is what happens when you finish at the bottom for so any years and get shots at #1, 2, 3 rated players or more. These teams are loaded with young rising stars. Not backloaded with veteran's We will see. Right now Orlando up by 6

sorry, this game is over, Mitchell taking over I really do not want to play him, If Orlando comes back I will be shocked

Experience really matters as we can see in the Cavs/Magic game.

Wolves Are Howling



The coronation of Ant

Anthony Edwards is here to take your shoot. There may be something you can do about it now, but you’ll be helpless pretty soon. By then, you’ll complain about superstar calls, league favoritism and echo chambers – all the whiny stuff people throw out when someone is simply better than everybody else. And, while the Wolves stole Game 1 of their semifinals series against the defending champion Nuggets with a 106-99 victory, I’m not sure anybody knows what to think about this series right now.



I had five different group chats making wild declarative statements throughout the game. Let’s go take by take:

“The Nuggets can’t deal with the size of the Wolves.”
“Minnesota showing they’re too green to keep this going against Denver.”
“Karl-Anthony Towns isn’t tough enough for this series.”
“The Nuggets have no answer for KAT.”
“I’m not sure Aaron Gordon can be effective in this series.”
“The Nuggets really can’t deal with the size of the Wolves.”
“Minnesota figured out how to neutralize Jokić.”
OK, everybody, let’s calm down here just a little bit.


The one declarative statement everybody seemed to agree on? Ant is that guy. On Saturday, he scored 43 points on 17-of-29 shooting. He was not irrationally hot from 3-point range nor living at the free-throw line; the 22-year-old was just handing out buckets to every Nuggets defender unfortunate enough to have the assignment. Ant's current ascension is reminding everybody of Michael Jordan's rise.


The Wolves have been great all season and deserve to relish the territory they’ve experienced only once before (2004, when Minnesota advanced out of the first round and reached the Western Conference finals). But the brakes, they must be pumped, because we have to remember the Wolves are facing the defending champion Nuggets with Nikola Jokić, who is likely to win his third MVP in four years when it’s announced this week. So, let’s see if those declarative statements hold water.


Can Denver deal with Minnesota’s size? In a word, yes, but it’s not easy. The Nuggets need to wear the Wolves’ bigs out by running as much as possible on missed shots and live turnovers. But also, Aaron Gordon and Michael Porter Jr. have good size to them.


Is Minnesota mature enough to keep Denver at bay? The Wolves were up big, let the lead go and showed poise in controlling the final couple minutes with the result up in the air. But once again, the Wolves can’t turn the ball over. In Game 1, they allowed 26 points off 14 turnovers.


Is Towns tough enough for this series? Towns was fine in the first half, but he was killer in the third quarter by scoring 11 of his 20 points in that period. The Wolves need him to stay out of foul trouble and be the threat on the floor Denver is afraid to help from.


Do the Nuggets have an answer for KAT? This is where the Nuggets have to match physicality and confuse the Wolves’ defense with movement. Minnesota was physical and took Denver out of its flow. The Wolves can get it back by pressuring Towns with the point of attack and get him into foul trouble. Then, attack Towns’ dribble when he puts it on the floor.


Can Gordon be effective in this series? He has to be, and yes, he can. His defense must be better. He can’t let Towns and Reid torch him. On offense, he has to find an alternative location to the dunker’s spot.


Did the Wolves really neutralize Jokić? Not at all. They forced some turnovers, and Jokić didn’t have the assists you’d expect, but he was still excellent. Jokić joked he needs to clone himself, but in reality, he can get the Wolves into foul trouble. That will change how they defend.


Time to overreact and change my prediction? I said I wanted to pick Wolves in six but was too cowardly to do it, so I picked the Nuggets in six. Guess what? We’re changing to Wolves in six! There’s no way this comes back to bite us!


Bob
MY NOTE:  A great win by Minny in Denver, for sure, but all it has done is to switch home court advantage to the Wolves, nothing more.  They had to win one on the road, and they did.  They didn't need it to be Game 1, but they put the pressure on Denver right away by doing so.  They're both good teams at home (Denver slightly better @ 33-8 for Denver vs 30-11 for Minny) but Minny is the better road team (26-15 for Minny vs 24-17 for Denver).  Neither are as good as our 27-14, but they're close (and we slacked off a bit at the end because we were in coast mode.  Joe was playing our bench a lot the final week or two.  Our road record would be even better if our Conference had been close.  Denver and Minny and OKC were battling to the final games.  No deep bench play for them).

The Nuggets and Wolves split their 4 regular season games, with both of them winning on the other team's home court and winning once on their own.

Minny's playing very well.  They're VERY good defensively and they are BIG, but it has been a long time since any player has put this much fear in me as Jokic has.  Denver has beaten us twice, we split with Minny and the game we lost in Minny was very close.  If I have to choose I'd rather face Minny than Denver.


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bobheckler wrote:
MY NOTE:  ....  If I have to choose I'd rather face Minny than Denver.


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Hi,
My sentiment exactly.

Thanks for the article.

AK

Anybody watching Nuggets getting dismantled by Wolves right now? Anthony Edwards doesn’t even have to have a great game. Their defense is taking apart the Nuggets, their bigs are dominating this series with defense. Defending champs are gonna be down 0-2 with no answers.

I just realized Wolves are doing this without Rudy Gobert? Really can’t believe this…!!!

Anthony Edwards had like 5 points while they were building a 30 point lead, now in 4th he’s going full Jordan mode, just finishing Nuggets off.

This whole Denver team is shocked as are their fans.

Wow! What a beat down by Minny! That was some focused and motivated basketball! Amazing defense.

These playoffs have been so good to watch.

2-0 Minny. Who'da thunk it?

Barkley said that, now that Minny is up 2-0, they're going to sweep Denver. Look for Denver to rally now since Charles Barkley's predictions are almost always wrong. He's as reliable as a thermometer, upside down.

It would be nice if they did rally. Slow Minny down a bit, beat them up, and then a nice, long brutal 7 game series with OKC.

Meanwhile, we take care of business with Cleveland and then it's the winner of Indy/NY. This might be the easiest road to the Finals for us in a very long time. We just need to play hard all the time, we have the talent.


Bob


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Turn on the national news this morning, boy are they dying for NY to win!!! this would be something else, Denver already down 2 and losing on their home court???? Scary stuff, I almost wish Denver would rally a bit and come back and take 2 in Minny!! Right now? I am just concerned with Boston. Need to come out, take care of business and not drop the ball. 2 at home, 2 wins, period

Well, DEN looks just like us in the ECF last year.  What has happened to the dynamic duo Jokic and "Heating Pad Throwing" Murray?!!  No more beautiful pick and roles?!!  Starting to look a lot like a paper champion, IMHBAO.  And all that sans Gobert?!!  Yeah, at least we made it to G7 vs. Heat until the big injury to Tatum at the start of that game.  

Jimmy Butler is an idiot and may just have sown up any chance of him retiring with a title.  We said nothing after G7 last year, both teams knowing we would have crushed MIA to a fine powder in G7 had Tatum not rolled his ankle at the start of that game.  And he mouths off like that?!!   All the sudden, I like Pat Riley!   Send him to Charlotte, Pat!

db