Let's talk basketball!

Tony Allen was balling in the first half. Warriors are looking like they're about to come back though. IDK if Memphis can actually hold them off now that GS is doubling the post.

Derrick Rose makes Kyrie Irving look like lieutenant Dan from Forest Gump. One point for untimely pop culture reference.

@csl316: There are a lot of factors, but to me, they are slowing the game down to their pace. Warriors play to the fastest pace in the league and benefit and thrive getting transition threes, for example. They aren't getting them vs Memphis. Memphis was near the last in the league in pace and because they are slowing the game down like this, they are making the Warriors play their game and they seem no really capapble of it. The pace is emphasizing the post players and GSW best big is a guy who hangs out at the three point line.

Speaking of which, Green isn't even playing well but when he's not playing the Warriors are getting outscored at a very high rate. So they aren't playing to well with him on the floor and are playing terribly with him off of it.

I would not be positive if I was GS, or a fan of them. But long series and all that. I just think they don't look like they can deal with the kind of Playoff basketball that a team like Memphis will create.

Pulling for Memphis as I think they've gotten screwed for years in the Playoffs and I like how they play.

Long time Spurs fan from Scotland here. Sadly, don't get to catch most games live and it's hard for me to catch up here as I don't have cable. I try my best at the weekends to stay up late and watch the streams online, though.

Immensely enjoyed the Clippers/Spurs 1st round play off. Best one I've seen in a while. Sad the Spurs are out and I think the Clippers got a little lucky near the end of Game 7, especially with the foul that was called on Duncan. However, they deserved to win purely on the performance of Chris Paul. Even with his injury, he was the best player on the court. I am also sad at the prospect of losing the great trio of Duncan, Manu and Parker. Those guys have been truly phenomenal to watch.

Haven't really decided who I'm rooting for now my team is out but I really like Stephen Curry even though he is in a bit of a rut at the moment.

Hoping to catch some more play off games before the final.

Kyrie running on one wheel right now, but he's got to find a way to overcome. Some combo of Shump/Delly is not going to get this team past this series much less to the promised land.

Salty much Lebron?

Calls flopping on dunleavy after game winner. Might be best series I've seen in awhile.

It was a flop, and the Noah one, plus he got fouled going to the rim before the game winner. I get why he's mad. Can't stand flops getting rewarded in key points of the game near the end.

Kyrie has been a no show. He needs to get it together. Cleveland can win regardless if other guys step up but the Finals will be really tough. Personally I'm not that impressed by Chicago. Noah has been terrible. Butler and Rose are playing well but I don't think they have enough.

I have given Blatt the benefit of the doubt up until the post season, but it just doesn't seem like he runs an offense. Reminds me of the Mike Brown Cavs teams, vs what Spolestra did with LeBron. Also could have lost the Cavs the game by calling a TO when he didn't have one.

Also, nice box out by Noah on the last play:

Lebron gets bailed out by the refs again.

So this happened too. Blatt was really on fire at the end of the game:

@artisanbreads said:

@i_stay_puft said:

Salty much Lebron?

Calls flopping on dunleavy after game winner. Might be best series I've seen in awhile.

It was a flop, and the Noah one, plus he got fouled going to the rim before the game winner. I get why he's mad. Can't stand flops getting rewarded in key points of the game near the end.

@stryker1121 said:

Kyrie running on one wheel right now, but he's got to find a way to overcome. Some combo of Shump/Delly is not going to get this team past this series much less to the promised land.

Kyrie has been a no show. He needs to get it together. Cleveland can win regardless if other guys step up but the Finals will be really tough. Personally I'm not that impressed by Chicago. Noah has been terrible. Butler and Rose are playing well but I don't think they have enough.

I have given Blatt the benefit of the doubt up until the post season, but it just doesn't seem like he runs an offense. Reminds me of the Mike Brown Cavs teams, vs what Spolestra did with LeBron. Also could have lost the Cavs the game by calling a TO when he didn't have one.

Also, nice box out by Noah on the last play:

Kyrie is playing with a pretty bad injury.

Missed the game, but I can say that Derrick Rose has an adorable kid.

lol the rim just had the block of the year on corey brewer

Blatt's going to take some stick here in the CLE for James "scratching" the play, as well as the aborted time-out. Nor do I know what he was doing on the out of bounds play where Cleveland wasted two timeouts. Seemed James and Irving were hanging under the hope and nobody was running to the ball.

What worries me as a Cavs fan is Blatt is basically learning on the job while dealing with some very serious injury issues. The Cavs are at their best when moving the ball, but with Love gone and Kyrie struggling the Bulls are packing the lane. It's painful (literally on that one play) watching James plow into the defense, but that's preferable to him hoisting threes. Get James back in the post and let him back down Butler if the drive isn't there. That will at least get our good three-point shooters open on the inevitable double-teams.

That's the biggest issue to me with Blatt. There are all these mistakes that seem like new coach mistakes, but overall it seems like he hasn't made any adjustments to how things have gone. It's still the same iso offense and with Kyrie hurt (nod to the poster above, although he is out on the court playing minutes, so I think he could be playing better) there's really only the LeBron isos. That all works better when you have Love out there spacing the floor but he isn't there anymore.

An example is late in the game, they were running pick and rolls for LeBron, but they were setting the pick at or outside of the three point line with Mozgov, a player who is only a threat to score rolling to the rim, which seems like a basic mistake for me a good coach would correct. At some point, yes, LeBron is LeBron and you give him the ball and let him make plays, but I think when we saw Miami we saw a team with a coach that worked a scheme in around LeBron.

As a Cavs fan, the good news has to be with LeBron not playing very well, Kyrie hardly contributing, Shumpert playing poorly, you still win the game on the road. That's big. I can't imagine Kyrie doesn't have a good game and LeBron doesn't bounce back more here in the next games.

The high pick-and-roll is their bread and butter play. But again with the injuries, LeBron ends up on the wing, jab-steps and fires up a jumper. That's him just freelancing out there, and when Kyrie was right he'd often do the same thing, though he's so quick he's able to create space for a shot.

Problem with Mozgov on those rolls is his hands aren't the greatest, and he brings the ball down if the pass is not perfect. If Varejao were healthy the Cavs would be running that p & r play til it broke.

I don't think it's much of learning on the job cause he has what 20-30 years of head coaching experience in Europe and on the Olympic nation scene. This is just really first time dealing with players who I hate to say it "Is literally above what the coaches say". Lebron is Lebron and Blatt is Blatt so rightfully so. I know if Thibs was coaching the cavs right now I bet Lebron would give Thibs the benefit of the doubt but I bet he'd still call his own shot. Also anybody hearing that Blatt was trying to call a timeout when he had no timeouts left?

He did. Wow that would of been a colossal Chris Webber fuck up if he did and got a technical. From what it sounds like Tyrone "Allen Iverson is just gonna walk over you" Lue is the defacto head coach even though he's an assistant. Look at him pull Blatt to the side with some vigor. If he only did that when Iverson walked over him his playing career might not have been defined by A.I.

Also don't pay too much attention to Lebron inbounding the ball, they could of very well been setting up a play where Lebron inbounded and received the ball right back after for the game winner if he was open. I remember the Sonics pulled off that play back in the early 2000's where Chuck Person hit the game winning 3 after being the inbounder.

@stryker1121: The high pick and roll was great with Love but Mozgov can only roll to the rim and try to dunk, so I don't see why he's setting the play up as if Love is running it. If the pick was closer in, immediately after the pick Mozgov could be a threat to the defense. As is, he has to move pretty far to get into the paint and be any threat. That's kind of what I mean with the adjustments. It feels like they are running the same plays without the guy who the play was really designed around (Love and his shooting).

I'm a Celtics fan and saw Love kill off that play so I know why it's there but it shouldn't be run like that without him.

You have to remember that when Mozgov first joined the Cavs this was his play while Love primarily played the stretch 4 in the corner. You really can't just call play sets where it's just Lebron and Irving dribbling the ball and everyone clearing out especially when Irving is hobbled. Mozgov is a decent foul shooter currently at 87% this postseason so this isn't a DeAndre Jordan issue where he'll miss free throws if fouled.

So Clips and Rockets... kinda zoned out after awhile. Daryl Morey and his spreadsheets LOOL, like Billy Beane can get to the big dance but never the prom queen.

Just an embarrassing display by the rockets this round. this team has no heart.

As far as the Rockets go, I think the team greatly overachieved all year and it's why I think Harden was the MVP (meant everything to his team). I don't buy that the team has much talent, personally. That plus injuries to a few contributors (particularly Beverly, who meant a lot on D) and I'm not surprised.

@i_stay_puft: I agree that they should not be isoing. I'm definitely not in favor of it, though with Love you can understand why it works better (pulling a big man to the three point line to cover Love). I just think there's a clear lack of adjustment. I don't get why the screen is so high for Mozgov. I like the screen play but they should be running it around the foul line, not past the three.

I don't see how a coach can't deal with that.

A good coach could do more too, but that's just an obvious adjustment even I can see, as a fan. I don't think you need to run some complex offense with LeBron, but you should set up the supporting cast to be in areas where LeBron can find them and they can contribute.

Pretty much. The Cavs mismanaged their timeouts and were given one anyways to draw up a play. Meanwhile, their coach tried calling a timeout and wasn't penalized. At best, the Bulls could have won with a free throw and possession, at worst, this game should have gone into overtime.

Too bad Paul Pierce couldn't recreate his miraculous shot from Game 3 last night, but seeing Will Bynum of all people blowing through the lane and getting layups was just amazing. If only Gortat didn't pick that night to go stone cold, the Wizards might even have gotten away with a win. Credit to Teague and Millsap for shrugging off their own funk from the previous games though.

I'm gonna practice my leg locks this summer, being a quality basketball maneuver and all.

via @johndrake

Amazing game from LeBron tonight. 38 pts, 0 turnovers, 3 blocks (including one to save a tie) and 3 steals. So fun to watch at his peak.

Also encouraging signs from Kyrie, even hobbled, he played tough and well, did work as a spot up shooter. Shumpert is also very impressive in his role on this team.

Fun game to watch. Bulls played tough. Butler was fantastic. Didn't feel like they had any business still being in the game and I felt like he was a big part of it on offense.

The thing about Gibson, it kind of seemed like a positive for the Bulls, to me. Not that I agree with an ejection, but with him out they spaced the floor and let their shooting get them back in the game. With him out there I don't know if they come back how they did.

@sergio: Yep.

Good game, close finish. My friends are complaining about the refs, but there were blown calls on both sides (no Cavs technical in that leg lock was an atrocity, though. Hell, Thibs even called it bizarre).

But apparently when Joey Crawford officiates Lebron games in the playoffs, he's 28-3. Just saying. I've never seen the CSN Chicago crew this openly pissed about the officials, and they usually waive that off as something to ignore. (see Perdue believes Gibson shouldn't have been ejected).

Excited for game 6, hopefully both teams are at full strength.

If the Cavs win the title this year, I'm pretty sure David Blatt will be the worst NBA head coach to win a championship in the history of the league. Seems like every game someone on the Bulls gets on a huge hot streak, and Blatt makes no adjustment whatsoever. Today it happened to be Dunleavy, but it's occurred in every single game except Game 2, and every single time this guy just shrugged and let it happen.

The Cavs should've won both Games 4 and 5 handily, but that idiot kept letting the Bulls get right back in the game. And that's not even considering his phantom timeout. I mean, as a Bulls fan I'm grateful, but my God how did this man get this job? This guy is coaching the greatest player in the world, and he doesn't have a clue!

@kevin_cogneto: It's tough to wrangle that title away from Erik Spoelstra. The guy won 2 championships, went to 4 finals in 4 years and isn't even considered one of the best coaches in the NBA primarily for the way he handled last years finals and him possibly playing a factor in Lebron leaving Miami. I just get the feeling that before Lebron's career is done he might just be the first player since maybe Lenny Wilkins in the 70's to become a player-coach. I think there's certain stipulation in the bargaining agreement that tries to prevent this but you never know with Lebron. Might just insert Tyrone Lue as head coach and have Lebron still call the plays.

Genuinely surprising to read that Spolestra isn't a good coach. He did a fantastic job with LeBron, I thought. I loved Miami's scheme when they had him and he found a great way to use Wade with LeBron (not an easy feat. Look at the struggles with Kyrie and LeBron and Kyrie can shoot, way more of a natural fit). Also the difficulties of adapting Bosh into the system, which was hard. Miami's defense was great in the LeBron era without a real center on the roster. He used an awesome trapping and rotating defensive scheme that managed to hide the almost complete (Birdman! but he's a help defender) lack of good defensive bigs on the roster in a very impressive way (a scheme that was also well copied, especially a few years ago). That's the kind of system and adjustments that show a good coach.

He had the best player in the league, but also had that best player put up his most efficient seasons because he's the best coach he's played for. A forward who is perimeter oriented almost shooting 60% on a season.

I'm not saying he's top 5, he's certainly top 10. Spolestra is really well regarded around the league and in the media.4 finals in 4 years and two titles is awesome. Also: he had to make adaptations virtually every year there and always did. Each team was a bit different. I find that impressive. Good coaches make adjustments and take whatever players they are given and figure it out. Yes MIA had awesome talent, but the roster is very odd if you actually look at it.

Blatt isn't in the same league, from what I've seen so far. He mostly just runs isolation. To be fair, Spolestra took some time to figure out Miami and I think you could say there was too much iso in that first year too, but the things I see from Blatt are deeper issues, in my mind. We will see.

Also: if anyone played a big factor in LeBron leaving in the Heat organization, it was Riley, who publicly criticized LeBron. The Cleveland opportunity is what caused LeBron to leave though. He loves Cleveland.

Paul Westhead is easily the worst coach to win a title.

The reality is the coaches that have won titles are almost all good ones. Not an easy feat.

Well, after Games 1 and 2 I figured the Rockets would lose in 5, so hats off to a Houston sports team for doing something marginally positive in the playoffs

Paul Pierce hits a 3 to lead with 8 seconds left, Nene makes a rookie mistake and forgets to box out Al Horford just as he practically flattens him before popping the ball in the net. Game. Fuck hope.

For me, it was also a bit of a disadvantage for the Bulls since if Thibs could have closed out the game with Gibson and Mirotic like in Game 3, we wouldn't see "point Noah" committing a lot of turnovers with errant passes. He hasn't looked like himself with that bum knee. He's lost a step and his lateral movement is nowhere near the same level as last year. The Bulls pretty much lost the series the moment they lost game 4 and from the looks of things there is no way for them to win in Cleveland again in Game 7. It'll take a miracle for it to happen and its disheartening to say that as a Bulls fan.

I really feel bad for Dave Blatt. He hasn't ever coached a game in the NBA before this season but to be undermined constantly by LeBron, you can't help but feel disrespected if you were in his shoes. I hope he gets another shot with a young team if he does end up leaving Cleveland.

Lastly, Coach Spo is great. Before LeBron, he and Wade managed to make it to the Playoffs in the post-Shaq years with a bare bones roster. I'd probably say that next year with the roster that they have barring any injuries, they're easily a contender.

Oh, Spoelstra... I used to think he was some Miami pretty-boy given a superstar roster, but I eventually started to respect the dude. Lebron or not, balancing those egos and building up role players into a cohesive team isn't an easy task. And over the course of four different years with four different teams? I think he did his job with those rosters as best as anyone could.

He also started as a video coordinator and worked his way up the organization. Gotta respect the work ethic and commitment. Plus, he was born less than an hour from me. Dude's ok.

Glad to see people like Spolestra. I think he's great and I love his story, working up from a video guy. Riley could have gone with a big name but it's cool that he trusted him and saw something in him.

That's fair, because you need one big at least and Noah has been pretty terrible. I just thought the shooting spaced the floor and it allowed Dunleavy for example to hit multiple big shots.

Kinda sad to hear that the public spat between Chris Webber, Jalen Rose and the Fab Five is still ungoing. Hopefully all the animosity will clear the air and we'll see a reunion of sorts. I heard on the Dan Patrick show Webber is writing a book about the Fab Five which will hopefully clear the air and give people his point of view. If you don't remember the other 4 executive produced a really good documentary for "30 for 30" but unfortunately C-Webb wasn't included.

Man.... the anticipation!

Chicago Bulls are falling apart by the seams.

Cleveland's other guys are stepping up.

That and the Bulls can't buy a basket. And it's not really all due to the Cavs defense. You can't miss that many open shots and expect to win. At least the Cavs misses were challenged shots, but the Bulls couldn't even take advantage of that drought.

LeBron needs at least four more titles for that wink to Scottie Pippen to mean anything to him.

While I'd love the Bulls to go on a run in the fourth, I think this series is done. I don't think the Cavs will win it all though; too many injuries.

The curse of Pippen's wink AKA Pipwink. You heard of the Wringley Field and the Goat? Well this is United Center and Pippen's wink to Lebron.

While I'm holding out hope Bulls will pull through this looks like a win for Cleveland. With that said do you think management is going to fire Thibs?

Infinite sadness........

Hey man if it makes you feel any better my home team moved to Oklahoma City.

Tough decision. Clearly he's a good coach, and I'm sure a team will snatch him up if he is let go. On the other hand, a change might be warranted.

Go Blackhawks!

Pretty damn excited by Cavs taking this series despite injuries. Always thought the Bulls would be their biggest obstacle to the Finals. Get CLE those five days off while ATL-WSH wear each other down.

Unbelievable series for Dellavedova. He's kind of a scapegoat around here, but he has another gear I did not expect. He knocked down some huge shots tonight when nobody could hit shit, including LeBron.

Pretty bummed to watch the last Rockets game of the year tonight :(

To be honest, there were a ton of new pieces and multiple players working their way back form rehab. The chemistry never got there, but this almost felt like a first-year project. But there was too much inconsistency, whereas previous years they'd always go 110% with less talent. So I don't know if the new guys just didn't fit, or if Thibs just got tuned out. It's really strange for a team that would always come through adversity. Granted, lots of injuries and little time to gel with the starters.

I like him a whole lot as a coach, but I can see them bringing someone new in. Like when Phil Jackson was brought in to take the Bulls to the next level.

HOWEVER. This was a close series, and several of the games could've gone either way. You can't win them all, and you can't say Thibodeau's at fault for a buzzer beater, or a stupid call, or a couple missed layups. Seeing the Bears go through an entire collapse last year, I could understand the need for a new coach. But the Bulls are in a way better position with a bunch of bright young players. I don't see a new coach turning things around on a team that doesn't need to go in a completely different direction. Unless they want to bring in some offensive genius, but if guys are missing open looks I don't think having another guy calling plays will fix that.

Someone needs to tell the Rockets they aren't winning with Josh Smith's 3 point shooting!