2022-23 NBA Season Thread

[WilyWestbrook0]

Welp he stepped up big time! Tatum and the Celtics really stepped up big in the second half, starting in the third quarter. Tatum cut down on the TOs and really knocked down shots, as did the rest of the guys. Helped that Miami finally went cold from 3 and the Celtics got a lot of good blocks. Unlike the Lakers they managed to avoid the broom.

[WilyWestbrook0]

Celtics dominant 1st quarter. They have found their rhythm offensively with good shots and are playing much harder on d, forcing TOs, and being the aggressors on both ends.

I've read a lot of talk on various basketball online forums that if any team could be the first to come back from 3-0 and win a series, it's Boston in this one. Miami has admittedly overachieved this entire playoffs -- the fact that they were even up 3-0 was remarkable. But the Celtics are indeed more talented on paper, and with a number of injuries to the Heat (including Vincent tonight), Miami might finally be wearing down.

Either way the Nuggets have got to be the favorites IMO. I started thinking this was their year when they showed such poise in the Lakers series. They'll beat up on an exhausted Celtics or Heat opponent.

[WilyWestbrook0]

What an exhausting game six.

Miami looked to come back and get it done, but then Derrick White snuck that tip-in with just enough time left on the clock to force a game seven.

What's interesting is Boston hasn't been that great at home so Miami can still win this series. But if they don't, it's the biggest collapse in playoff history. Jimmy Butler's playoff reputation is also on the line; he hit big FTs tonight, but he was awful most of the game. If he has another clunker in game seven and Miami loses, no one will care about his previous big playoff performances.

[qman316]

What an exhausting game six.

Miami looked to come back and get it done, but then Derrick White snuck that tip-in with just enough time left on the clock to force a game seven.

What's interesting is Boston hasn't been that great at home so Miami can still win this series. But if they don't, it's the biggest collapse in playoff history. Jimmy Butler's playoff reputation is also on the line; he hit big FTs tonight, but he was awful most of the game. If he has another clunker in game seven and Miami loses, no one will care about his previous big playoff performances.

agree with you on all points. My goodness what a crazy finish to that game! Miami blew it, doesn’t look great for a game 7 win but like you said can’t completely rule it out.

[pwaldo]

I always think it’s funny when people say oh the players are way more athletic today, I don’t think that is necessarily true but even if it was, anyone who has ever played basketball knows there is more to the game than athleticism!

I know a guy on another forum and he made an amazing thorough and detailed argument for why the who notion that people are getting faster and stronger every year is bunk in basketball. He must be old enough to have seen the greats in the 70s play because he is very knowledgeable about the game from that point to now and his research/point was basically that you had a huge spike in the beginning of the 90s but that was attributed to so many other things like money being pumped into the game, international expansion, the rise of the Internet and video scouting etc that yes you had a large jump from 1990 to 1999 in terms of progress of the graph line if you will but outside of that the increase basically stays the same course it was before. And that is very level.

I'll try and see if I can convert all the work he did into a thread on here but he had video, images, etc that I had never seen before of guys like Wilt, Moses, Kareem, etc. that would have to accompany all his words for the point to work. That was a little while back and Youtube and places have been cancelling videos and images like crazy so hopefully it is still all available.

[WilyWestbrook0]

I know a guy on another forum and he made an amazing thorough and detailed argument for why the who notion that people are getting faster and stronger every year is bunk in basketball. He must be old enough to have seen the greats in the 70s play because he is very knowledgeable about the game from that point to now and his research/point was basically that you had a huge spike in the beginning of the 90s but that was attributed to so many other things like money being pumped into the game, international expansion, the rise of the Internet and video scouting etc that yes you had a large jump from 1990 to 1999 in terms of progress of the graph line if you will but outside of that the increase basically stays the same course it was before. And that is very level.

I'll try and see if I can convert all the work he did into a thread on here but he had video, images, etc that I had never seen before of guys like Wilt, Moses, Kareem, etc. that would have to accompany all his words for the point to work. That was a little while back and Youtube and places have been cancelling videos and images like crazy so hopefully it is still all available.

Wow sounds fascinating!

Well now we have a Finals matchup of Heat and Nuggets and the Heat I think had the lowest PPG in the league lol and Jokic of course is a guy not known for his athleticism, so this shows it's not about speed or strength but team based skills. The Heat have a ton of undrafted guys who don't look like the fastest or strongest, and they didn't have the star power of the Celtics, but they beat them.

I can't wait for this matchup as a basketball purist. I'm rooting for the Heat bc I'm a Love fan but I wouldn't mind at all if Denver won

[qman316]

What a crazy series… looking forward to the finals!

[pwaldo]

Should be a great series win for either team unless the Nuggets back into a Game 7 victory or something. Outside of that win the Nuggets will win their first NBA championship looking real strong or you will have the Heat win with probably the most improbable run in NBA history. If they beat the Nuggets that's a pretty good bunch of teams that they would have knocked off all while being an "8 seed".

[WilyWestbrook0]

Nuggets with a decisive game one win. Led most of the way; Heat rallied a bit in the 4th, but Jokic took over again and the rest is history.

Heat had a very poor shooting effort, especially from Strus, and also from Martin. They did get some decent looks, but missed a lot. There's absolutely no way they can win the series unless they bring back the great shooting from the Celtics series, and Butler steps up more. Bam played very well, and they had some nice contributions from Highsmith, Vincent, and Lowry, but the rest was lacking. They have to win a road game to even have a chance in this series given that Denver has homecourt, so game two is especially important. Herro might play from what I've read -- this is the series where they will need him the most (Strus has been poor as of late, not just last game but even in the Boston series), so we'll see if he can make a difference.

[pwaldo]

I know you can't really blame him since he is the reason why the Heat are where they are but ever since guaranteeing that victory against the Celtics Jimmy Butler has been noticeably quiet. Is he hurt? Or is he just running out of gas?