[NBA] The 2025 Finals

Who Ya Got?


  • Total voters
    18
  • Poll closed .

Hate to be that guy, CD, but the only guy to really manage to come back from an Achilles and not look too dismissed is KD and a lot of that is because he’s 6’11” with a huge wingspan and also a top 20 player all time.

There’s a reason people decided the Celtics window was shut the second Tatum’s Achilles went.

Hali has a good chance to come back and pick up where he left off since he is who he is almost purely on skill and bball intelligence. Not a player whose speed or physical athleticism are a major catalyst for his overall game.

Not insignificant since he isn’t a particularly slow unathletic player so he might become a larger liability defensively if he loses mobility as expected with those injuries…but his ability to drive an offense to a high level should still be there.

I’d be more concerned that Tatum will be a different player.
 
Let's not forget that OKC are not only the champions, but they own up to 16 first round picks in the next 7 drafts.

Yeah, we better hope they just don't decide "You know what, a SGA+Giannis window for the next 5 years sounds good" and just pile those picks into Giannis. Even if they had to deal Jdub or Chet, they'd be able to easily get Giannis package done.
 
Wow what is the distribution?
2025: #15, #24
2026: UTA (9-30), PHI (5-30), best two of OKC/LAC/HOU (5-30)
2027: Best of OKC/LAC (6-30) [PHI (5-30, if not conveyed in 2026)]
2028: Best of OKC/DAL
2029: OKC
2030: OKC
2031: OKC

Then there's DEN, which is complicated. DEN owes either 2027 (6-30), 2028 (6-30), or 2029 (6-30), but if Denver conveys that pick in 2027, then DEN ALSO owes 2029 (6-30) or 2030 (6-30), so that's a maximum of two picks from DEN.

Actually, overall that's only 13 picks max, not 16, but several picks that have been listed as outright traded appear to actually be swaps on close examination.
 
Yeah, we better hope they just don't decide "You know what, a SGA+Giannis window for the next 5 years sounds good" and just pile those picks into Giannis. Even if they had to deal Jdub or Chet, they'd be able to easily get Giannis package done.
That is 100% what they should do. They built up all those picks to shoot their shot, and Giannis is that shot, for sure.
 
Brutal way for Tyrese to see his season end, but one helluva run for the Pacers. Can't really complain about their performance.
OKC just showed why they were the best team throughout the entire 2024-2025 season. The best team absolutely won in the end.
 
perfect season complete by OKC. rough ending for Hali there, for a little while his teammates kept fighting and hanging in there but the tank ran dry and that was it. There currently are no players in the league that are on a tier on their own since Curry & Bron's reign over the NBA finals is complete meaning that we could potentially see more first time champions since the league is wide open at the moment. Pacers put on a clinic on how to defend FTA, teams will take notice.
 
Congrats to the Thunder! SGA-JDub is probably the best scoring duo out there, and when you surround them with elite defense and elite 3pt shooting they’re pretty unstoppable. JDub is the dual threat scorer we could really use.

Pacers had an amazing season and proved a ton of people wrong, especially on this board (and they still have doubters as they play in the “weak” eastern conference). Hope Hali can come back strong in 2027 as he’s the heart and soul of that team. If the impact he has on the team wasn’t already apparent, you probably didn’t watch the 2nd half and didn’t notice how much slower and sloppier they played. Dude is a beast and glad he shut a lot of people up with his epic postseason
 
Arenas said Tatum and Dame both had calf tightness prior to their respective injuries. Vecenie said teams will likely be more conservative with those injuries but what are players/teams supposed to do in the playoffs?
 
Arenas said Tatum and Dame both had calf tightness prior to their respective injuries. Vecenie said teams will likely be more conservative with those injuries but what are players/teams supposed to do in the playoffs?

I say let the players eventually decide but before that, mention that there are potential risk for further injury and extended time missed as a consequence that they will have to live with
 
Arenas said Tatum and Dame both had calf tightness prior to their respective injuries. Vecenie said teams will likely be more conservative with those injuries but what are players/teams supposed to do in the playoffs?
It’s an awkward one because both the team and player will want the best chance to win game seven and the championship. However, if there was a concern that this could be an Achilles injury, or it’s a warning signing that could lead to one, then should the player have a scan before they decide whether he plays or not? I presume that a scan would reveal if there’s something wrong?

Or should the team air on the side of caution and say to the player that they aren’t playing?The issue there is it could create animosity between the player and the team, but at the same time they’d be doing right by the player in protecting them.

Fingers crossed Hali can return strong from this injury. Others have returned from this kind of injury and his playing style should still work.
 
I say let the players eventually decide but before that, mention that there are potential risk for further injury and extended time missed as a consequence that they will have to live with
The only issue with putting it in the player’s court is that most will play and not take their health into consideration. They’ll see it as their chance to lead their team to glory and will potentially feel they won’t get another or a better chance. The injury might happen, but it might not happen. So they’ll take the risk and that can have a big knock on effect to them and their longevity, but also impact the team long term due to not being available.
 
The only issue with putting it in the player’s court is that most will play and not take their health into consideration. They’ll see it as their chance to lead their team to glory and will potentially feel they won’t get another or a better chance. The injury might happen, but it might not happen. So they’ll take the risk and that can have a big knock on effect to them and their longevity, but also impact the team long term due to not being available.

absolutely most will still choose to play because it will show their character which is why I would have them sit down with a physician and the front office and discuss the potential consequences leaving no regrets or contempt towards the franchise
 
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