[NBA] West Finals

Who ya got?


  • Total voters
    28
  • Poll closed .
I would just like to point out that coach Malone is the first Denver coach to get a team into the NBA finals. He was fired by the Sacramento Kings and pretty much replaced by George Karl who had been fired by Denver because he couldn't get a Denver team into the NBA finals.
 

kingsboi

Hall of Famer
with Denver taking care of business, they will now have 9 days before the Finals. It's like having another All-Star break. Jokic finally has an opportunity to showcase himself on the ultimate basketball stage. Bam is going to be a problem for him. He is not only quick but strong too.
 
SportsCenter finding more Kings droughts to highlight even when it isn’t really relevant.

Kings comfortably lead the longest NBA finals drought standings at 73 years since their last appearance. 10 games up from Atlanta and the third is Clippers. Denver wasn’t even top 3 to justify such a graphic
 
SportsCenter finding more Kings droughts to highlight even when it isn’t really relevant.

Kings comfortably lead the longest NBA finals drought standings at 73 years since their last appearance. 10 games up from Atlanta and the third is Clippers. Denver wasn’t even top 3 to justify such a graphic
Denver was in the top 5 - very much so justified, and the discussion very much so relevant as well.
 
I would just like to point out that coach Malone is the first Denver coach to get a team into the NBA finals. He was fired by the Sacramento Kings and pretty much replaced by George Karl who had been fired by Denver because he couldn't get a Denver team into the NBA finals.
Just Vlade doing Vlade things. He upstaged that by hiring Luke Walton.
 
Denver on paper bit superior playoff roster overall than Miami. If their second regular season scorer Herro returns to action title series might call it even. Miami has truly great NBA head coach destined for HOF. Better than Denver's coach who is no slouch. Miami has amazing Playoff Jimmy but Denver has The Joker as their ultimate answer. I have no idea who wins NBA championship but would not be surprised knockdown drag out 7 game nail biter.
 
with Denver taking care of business, they will now have 9 days before the Finals. It's like having another All-Star break. Jokic finally has an opportunity to showcase himself on the ultimate basketball stage. Bam is going to be a problem for him. He is not only quick but strong too.
Adebayo is not nearly as good a shot blocker as Davis, (best in the league) but he is a better athlete by a good amount than Jokic. How is Denver gonna handle players 4, 5 , 6, 7, 8 of the Heat, who have been playing so well. How Bowen, Braun, Pope, Green, Porter Jr all play matters a bunch. The Heat have shown the ability to ' take a licking and keep on ticking'. Lowry is gonna get alot more minutes I think.....he plays well on both ends of the floor......I bet he covers Murray some although I think he likes guarding bigger players. Love will probably guard Jokic some and get torched.
 
Adebayo is not nearly as good a shot blocker as Davis, (best in the league) but he is a better athlete by a good amount than Jokic. How is Denver gonna handle players 4, 5 , 6, 7, 8 of the Heat, who have been playing so well. How Bowen, Braun, Pope, Green, Porter Jr all play matters a bunch. The Heat have shown the ability to ' take a licking and keep on ticking'. Lowry is gonna get alot more minutes I think.....he plays well on both ends of the floor......I bet he covers Murray some although I think he likes guarding bigger players. Love will probably guard Jokic some and get torched.
The ultimate defensive vs. offensive big battle could await. For the Heat they need to just keep running pnr right at Jokic. The Lakers weren't really great at that to begin with. Their best pick and roll guy is LeBron and he's more of a muscle through type. The Nuggets have historically kind of struggled against the small spreader teams.
 

Tetsujin

The Game Thread Dude
Adebayo is not nearly as good a shot blocker as Davis, (best in the league) but he is a better athlete by a good amount than Jokic. How is Denver gonna handle players 4, 5 , 6, 7, 8 of the Heat, who have been playing so well. How Bowen, Braun, Pope, Green, Porter Jr all play matters a bunch. The Heat have shown the ability to ' take a licking and keep on ticking'. Lowry is gonna get alot more minutes I think.....he plays well on both ends of the floor......I bet he covers Murray some although I think he likes guarding bigger players. Love will probably guard Jokic some and get torched.
Bam might not be the shot blocker Davis is but he's the perfect modern defensive big. The guy can switch onto the perimeter without much issue plus it's not like AD's shot blocking was having a huge effect on Joker anyways.
 
Bam might not be the shot blocker Davis is but he's the perfect modern defensive big. The guy can switch onto the perimeter without much issue plus it's not like AD's shot blocking was having a huge effect on Joker anyways.
I've kinda wondered if Bam has ever been interested in reuniting with Swipa and MM and whether those guys have ever talked about it.

W/O a trade it couldn't happen in the next few years, but down the road if the two besties stay together here in SAC it would be super cool to see Bam possibly join up. Perhaps if we're still winning in 3-4 years.
 
I would just like to point out that coach Malone is the first Denver coach to get a team into the NBA finals. He was fired by the Sacramento Kings and pretty much replaced by George Karl who had been fired by Denver because he couldn't get a Denver team into the NBA finals.
Well, in his defense, he was saddled with Carmelo Anthony on the roster as one of his supposed star players. No NBA HC won a thing with Carmelo on their roster. So there's that.

Karl did get them to the WCF's despite the albatross of Carmelo but lost to Kobe/Pau.
 
Well, in his defense, he was saddled with Carmelo Anthony on the roster as one of his supposed star players. No NBA HC won a thing with Carmelo on their roster. So there's that.

Karl did get them to the WCF's despite the albatross of Carmelo but lost to Kobe/Pau.
And while Karl took some heat for basically saying he's going to go down playing his way rather than adjust or something, he was way ahead of the trend. He knew this modern style of ball was coming and in the end, he was right. No doubt.
 
Will the Lakers get desperate and ship a package out for Kyrie? Considering the age of Bron, the uncertainty of the Brow in both play and availability, can they just run it back? Did they just run into a Denver buzz saw?
 
The ultimate defensive vs. offensive big battle could await. For the Heat they need to just keep running pnr right at Jokic. The Lakers weren't really great at that to begin with. Their best pick and roll guy is LeBron and he's more of a muscle through type. The Nuggets have historically kind of struggled against the small spreader teams.
I also reckon there might not be a better match up one on one vs Butler (other than Lebron/Leonard) than Gordon, he's bigger more athletic and won't be bullied in the post as bad as Butler has smashed everyone. The Heat have been beyond insane this playoffs.
 
I also reckon there might not be a better match up one on one vs Butler (other than Lebron/Leonard) than Gordon, he's bigger more athletic and won't be bullied in the post as bad as Butler has smashed everyone. The Heat have been beyond insane this playoffs.
That's the thing about Butler - he's just gonna goto fade-aways, or longer shots.....his play is post-lite. He probes down to get closer to the basket for the fade-away. Michael Jordan played a similar style especially during later years, which is kinda where Butler is now. I'll bet Nuggets run a hard double at Butler if gets on a smaller player. in the paint. Reason Lakers couldn't win games is the fall-off from their end-starters into the bench. They got consistent scoring from Reaves but no one else. I think the Heat are ready to avoid that. I'd be shocked if there was a sweep in the finals
 

kingsboi

Hall of Famer
There's certainly a reason they made the moves they did. I'm sure LeBron is going to put all kinds of pressure on the Lakers now with his impending "retirement" lol. If the Lakers fizzle that would be a HUGE thing for a team like the Kings.
maybe my eyes were playing tricks on me, but I could of sworn that I saw Kyrie at the game last night sitting right behind the basket, front row, on the Lakers side with camo pants and jacket with a cap but I cannot 100% confirm
 
Jokic and Murray and really good together. Stellar. All NBA. It is hard for people to believe, but they are better than AD and an aging James.
Denver plays fast and pushes everything. That is how you beat aging teams. Their defense is pretty good due to their coach. Defense wins championships. The Kings would have made the playoffs sooner if they had kept Malone.

Jokic is so humble and team oriented he stands out even more. Like the old days. I love the guy. He respects the game and is the perfect player to build a franchise around.