Finishing the 2019-20 NBA season ----- **SPOILERS**

Makes for some interesting first round series for sure.

I rewatched the Porzingis incident and yeah "charged in" is the wrong terminology certainly. Still looks like a fairly standard tech to me. He came from a good dozen feet away, initiated the contact and was in the midst of the "scrum" the ensued.

There is almost always a double tech for that and who else were you giving it to on the Mavs side?

I get sticking up for your teammate, but, what really happened? Morris hugged Doncic, Doncic looked like he talked some shit, Morris stopped and talked shit back, Doncic sort of walked near Morris, then Porzingis comes in bumping and a bit of pushing and it escalates from there. I see where Morris grabs Doncic to foul him but can't see him grab him at all after that.

It's just a dumb play from a guy already with one tech. You can call it a soft call, I call it dumb play and I don't have time for dumb!

Now, if Morris had say, hit Doncic, I'm all for get in there and flatten him and get your ejection's worth! But, that was just pointless I am pretty sure Doncic didn't need any help.
 
Makes for some interesting first round series for sure.

I rewatched the Porzingis incident and yeah "charged in" is the wrong terminology certainly. Still looks like a fairly standard tech to me. He came from a good dozen feet away, initiated the contact and was in the midst of the "scrum" the ensued.

There is almost always a double tech for that and who else were you giving it to on the Mavs side?

I get sticking up for your teammate, but, what really happened? Morris hugged Doncic, Doncic looked like he talked some s***, Morris stopped and talked s*** back, Doncic sort of walked near Morris, then Porzingis comes in bumping and a bit of pushing and it escalates from there. I see where Morris grabs Doncic to foul him but can't see him grab him at all after that.

It's just a dumb play from a guy already with one tech. You can call it a soft call, I call it dumb play and I don't have time for dumb!

Now, if Morris had say, hit Doncic, I'm all for get in there and flatten him and get your ejection's worth! But, that was just pointless I am pretty sure Doncic didn't need any help.

maybe should have been wary with the tech already sure, I guess I just long for the 90’s where it’s not all airy fairy flops trying to exploit a loophole in a rule and soft calls for fouls, it’s the playoffs let em play a bit and earn a damn ejection!

regardless, after the Mavs went down early it was great to see them fight back and challenge all the way til the end, gonna be. A good series. And after the Lakers Blazers game today that will too. And the Magic win. It’s so good to have bball back.
 
Here's a jeopardy question for you all. 😋
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maybe should have been wary with the tech already sure, I guess I just long for the 90’s where it’s not all airy fairy flops trying to exploit a loophole in a rule and soft calls for fouls, it’s the playoffs let em play a bit and earn a damn ejection!

regardless, after the Mavs went down early it was great to see them fight back and challenge all the way til the end, gonna be. A good series. And after the Lakers Blazers game today that will too. And the Magic win. It’s so good to have bball back.

Yeah, I am definitely with you on the “earn a damn ejection” point.

If Morris and clocked Doncic then by all means step in knock him on his butt and earn your tech but to put yourself in the position to get such a soft ejection is what is so dumb and irresponsible in my eyes.

Essentially as a player you are hanging your team’s chances on a hope that the refs will decide that because you are the second best player on your team and already have a tech we won’t give you another. Just seems a dumb risk to take.

Everyone is bashing the refs but bear in mind their performances are all graded by the league office not the court of public opinion. If the league has mandated in confrontations like that there are a set of guidelines for what constitutes a tech and Porzingis breached one of them then the refs would be marked down for not T-ing him up.
 
Yeah, I am definitely with you on the “earn a damn ejection” point.

If Morris and clocked Doncic then by all means step in knock him on his butt and earn your tech but to put yourself in the position to get such a soft ejection is what is so dumb and irresponsible in my eyes.

Essentially as a player you are hanging your team’s chances on a hope that the refs will decide that because you are the second best player on your team and already have a tech we won’t give you another. Just seems a dumb risk to take.

Everyone is bashing the refs but bear in mind their performances are all graded by the league office not the court of public opinion. If the league has mandated in confrontations like that there are a set of guidelines for what constitutes a tech and Porzingis breached one of them then the refs would be marked down for not T-ing him up.

all fair points, but when they cross to the NBA ex-ref in the booth it's a rare ocassion when he goes against the call.....................gotta SUPPORT THE BOYS!!!!
 
Great to see Dallas tie it up.

Would be even better to see them end that turncoat Kawhi's season..😋

Clippers bigs are extremely weak defensively, could spell trouble for them.
 
Great to see Dallas tie it up.

Would be even better to see them end that turncoat Kawhi's season..😋

Clippers bigs are extremely weak defensively, could spell trouble for them.

Are you by any chance secretly my brother just pretending to be from Queensland?

He is also a diehard Spurs fan who also now detests Leonard with passion and can not resist having a dig at him wherever possible!

I think Toronto winning last season may have been the most painful thing he has ever seen.

(I must say I really liked it since they actually showed some balls and went after a guy who they felt would put them over the top even though they knew no matter what he was most likely going to leave because heaven forbid they are not based in Los Angeles.)

With Leonard; I wonder if there is a player who has left two better scenarios than him with forcing his way out of the Spurs then bolting Toronto after winning the title?

I guess recently Irving forced his way out of a Cavs team that was one year removed from winning the title and having been to 3 straight finals. However, I don’t think Boston is quite as good as the other teams here.

I guess every team LeBron leaves is a champ/finalist but, well, LeBron!
 
Are you by any chance secretly my brother just pretending to be from Queensland?

He is also a diehard Spurs fan who also now detests Leonard with passion and can not resist having a dig at him wherever possible!

I think Toronto winning last season may have been the most painful thing he has ever seen.

(I must say I really liked it since they actually showed some balls and went after a guy who they felt would put them over the top even though they knew no matter what he was most likely going to leave because heaven forbid they are not based in Los Angeles.)

With Leonard; I wonder if there is a player who has left two better scenarios than him with forcing his way out of the Spurs then bolting Toronto after winning the title?

I guess recently Irving forced his way out of a Cavs team that was one year removed from winning the title and having been to 3 straight finals. However, I don’t think Boston is quite as good as the other teams here.

I guess every team LeBron leaves is a champ/finalist but, well, LeBron!

The Raps didn't do anything ballsy. They were gonna blow it up anyway as they knew they couldn't get over the hump with the Lowry/DDR combo.

I enjoy watching Kawhi go to work. I love watching him still. But if he loses I won't feel bad at all. He should have stayed a Spur.

Although I'm sure he's done better with the endorsements since going to La.

I would have loved to have seen him stay a Spur and convince someone else to join like he did PG. I'm also big on once club players.

But ah well. I'll have to stick with Lonnie Walker for now. 😊
 
Sure the Raptors were ballsy. How many other teams have traded that much for a one season rental who they knew they most likely weren't keeping? There was also the potential of him barely playing if he claimed injury still.

Sure DeRozan has a bad contract (I bet Toronto regretted that from the moment they handed it to him!) but he was loved in Toronto (remember the out cry when the trade happened?) and they still had a good team. Their hump had been LeBron having lost to the Cavs in the playoffs the last 3 years and he was now in the West...

So many teams would have used that as an excuse, if not to sit pat, then at least only to tinker around the edges while convincing themselves they could win.

The trade did allow them the potential leeway to blow it up if (and most likely when) Leonard left and getting off DeRozan's contract was a God send in my eyes, but, anytime you push your chips all in it is ballsy.
 
Sure the Raptors were ballsy. How many other teams have traded that much for a one season rental who they knew they most likely weren't keeping? There was also the potential of him barely playing if he claimed injury still.

Sure DeRozan has a bad contract (I bet Toronto regretted that from the moment they handed it to him!) but he was loved in Toronto (remember the out cry when the trade happened?) and they still had a good team. Their hump had been LeBron having lost to the Cavs in the playoffs the last 3 years and he was now in the West...

So many teams would have used that as an excuse, if not to sit pat, then at least only to tinker around the edges while convincing themselves they could win.

The trade did allow them the potential leeway to blow it up if (and most likely when) Leonard left and getting off DeRozan's contract was a God send in my eyes, but, anytime you push your chips all in it is ballsy.

Dude there's some diehard Raptors fans that spoke about this at the time. The talk was they were giving it one or 2 more seasons and then blowing it up. It was not a risk for the Raptors to go for that. They gave up nothing they wanted to keep, hence they refused to add Siakam to the deal.

They didn't go all in. At all. They gave up Poetl who was hardly playing.

They took a calculated risk on a Superstar, something that the Raptors just don't get a chance on usually.

This was all discussed at the time. You obviously missed all that.
 
Of course I missed it — I wasn't here.

Maybe we differing on terminology, but, whenever you see a "superstar" traded so many teams refuse to even bet on themselves because the star wont resign there.

Toronto made a move that changed their entire identity knowing full well the chances of Leonard ever resigning were close to zero — heck, they probably were zero given they won the title and could bring back the exact same team and he still didn't sign.

Yeah, they didn't mortgage their future like Houston or the Clippers have but you also talk about one of two more seasons of deep playoff runs and a potential finals appearance without LeBron in the East anymore like it is nothing. Most teams would love to be in the position Toronto was in and they were willing to risk that on a guy who could give them that championship edge if he even played at all and only for one season if he did.

You talk like there was no downside, that everyone knew Leonard was going to magically show up be the same guy he was before the injury. You act like their was no concerns about his character/demeanor and whether he would accept playing in Toronto. You act like his workload did not have to be massively managed and require and entire organisational philosophy shift that Leonard had to be convinced they were capable of. You act like their were no concerns that other teams members would have to buy into this management and treatment of one guy that was so much different to what any of them had ever received. You act like not only did the team members need to accept this guy was going to be treated different but he was replacing a guy who was by all accounts a great team mate who did not require this level of management.

There were massive downside risks in terms of performance. Yes, you can say these downsides just helped to accelerate a rebuilding timeline that was already on the horizon, but, risking two years of playoff runs is still a large risk that should not be just ignored.

Any move that alters the shape and identity of an entire team/franchise while requiring is a ballsy move especially if the alternative is still being a very good team.

I liked the move at the time, I though they had no chance to win with what they had. However, as a fan it is easy to think in black and white — ie win championship = good anything else = bad — but in reality for a team deep down it is a sliding scale. It does take balls to make a move that marginally improves your championship odds while also potentially significantly lowering your floor.

It is why Houston was not roundly 100% applauded for trading for Westbrook.

Does the best case scenario of Westbrook and Harden slashing to the rim and everyone raining holy fire from three around them while playing scrappy-switch-everyone-help-D and gang rebounding provide a scenario that wins a championship? It is a heady thought.

However, the downside is Harden and Westbrook do not gel, bicker over who gets the ball, Westbrook's jumper couldn't hit the broadside of a barn and both get sick of it and mope around on defense leading to a first round lass then Houston needing to somehow find more draft picks to attached to Westbrook to move him to get yet another side kick for Harden so they don't spiral into lottery hell but without any picks for the next 27 years.

Or you could keep Paul, keep your picks have a team that compliments Harden better is going to be very good and if you get some breaks could win a title. However, it is never going to be snarling-rim-running-out-in-transition-Russ, raining-fire-on-open-threes-Harden, wreck-the-world-title-team ceiling.

Yes, Toronto did not mortgage their future anywhere near the extent others have and yes they got the best case scenario outcome so it is easy to look back and say it was a simple trade for them to make.

However, if Leonard only played 26 games, they never found cohesion, lost in the first round and then he walked off to LA in the off season then I can guarantee there would be Raptors' fans who would want a do-over (and maybe even the team would too!).
 
I thought I liked typing @Dodgydave haha - epic writing mate I’ll have a read through it when I have time :lol:

Ha, I don't have a computer at home so need to get my typing out while at work!

Plus, I don't really know anyone else other than my brothers who I can have a decent NBA discussion with so this can be my avenue to vomit ideas out!
 
Game 2 Blazers v Lakers - that alley right there AD to Lebron will be on a basketball card, if someone caught the shot. How many photographers down there in the bubble?
 
Lakers back to themselves pretty quickly.

I got some $$$ down on them for the title at 6 to 1 odds. I figure they'll roll through POR and HOU from here. Then hopefully they face DAL as that will be a great series. So will them vs LAC. But I'm loving the Luka hype.
 
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