NBA 2015/2016

[HairOfTheDog]

The Thunder eliminated the Spurs last night, 4 to 2. The Spurs are an excellent team, but I think the Durant and Westbrook, plus the youth of the Thunder, hurt San Antonio in the series.

The first game of the Warriors vs. Thunder western conference finals will take place at 6 pm PST on Monday; should be a fast-paced exciting match up.

If the Raptors beat the Heat in game 6 tonight in Miami, the Heat will be eliminated. If Miami wins, the series will be tied 3 - 3 and game 7 in Toronto on Sunday will determine which team faces the Cavaliers in the eastern conference finals starting next week.

[HairOfTheDog]

Conference Finals are on!

Warriors and Cavs have the home court advantage for the first two games of each series.

Game 1 Golden State Warriors vs. OKC Thunder in Oakland tonight at 6pm PST.
Game 1 of Cleveland Cavs vs. Toronto Raptors in Cleveland tomorrow night at 5:30pm PST.

[HairOfTheDog]

We lost game 1 to OKC last night, at home even. :(

Charles Barkley said last night that he thinks the Cavs are gonna sweep the Raptors (series starts tonight). I think the Raptors will win at least one game.

Barkley believes the Warriors will eliminate OKC and that the Warriors will lose to the Cavs in the finals.

[HairOfTheDog]

The Cavaliers smoked the Raptors last night -- it was ugly. The final score was 115 to 84.

LeBron James hardly missed and scored 24 points in three quarters, Kyrie Irving scored 27. The Cavaliers are now 9 and 0 in the playoffs.

I expect the Warriors to blow the Thunder off the court tonight. We really need to win big at home after losing game 1, especially considering the confidence and dominance of Cleveland. If the finals come down to Cleveland vs. Golden State and everyone stays injury-free through this round 3 series, it's gonna be a hell of a championship showdown.

[Midwest Spy]

HOTD, I think your Warriors have their hands full with this Thunder squad.

Tonight, thus far, OKC has withstood the Dubs initial barrage and are holding their own.

With Adams and Kantner down low rebounding and protecting the rim, the Thunder can close out on the perimeter easier, knowing there's help down low.

Offensively, the Thunder has 2 of the premier players in the league.

This is gonna be good, and OKC may have the last laugh.

[HairOfTheDog]

HOTD, I think your Warriors have their hands full with this Thunder squad.

Tonight, thus far, OKC has withstood the Dubs initial barrage and are holding their own.

With Adams and Kantner down low rebounding and protecting the rim, the Thunder can close out on the perimeter easier, knowing there's help down low.

Offensively, the Thunder has 2 of the premier players in the league.

This is gonna be good, and OKC may have the last laugh.

Yeah, we definitely had our hands full in game 1 and the first half of last night's game. But, we did blow the Thunder away in the second half last night. Final score: 118 to 91.

Adams is a great defender for the Thunder, no doubt. And, Durant and Westbrook are incredibly good offensive players.

I think it will be a good series too, and I'm still betting on the Warriors to win it.

But, yep, it's gonna be tough for the Warriors to win both games 3 ad 4 in Oklahoma City.

[HairOfTheDog]

Did you watch last night's game, MS and Gunnar? Man, the Cavaliers are making mincemeat outta the Raptors.

Sir Charles' predictions might well be right (but I hope not).

Barring another work emergency, I'm going to the casino to watch game 3 of the Warriors vs. Thunder series. I think it's gonna be a close one in Oklahoma City.

[Midwest Spy]

I did not see the game.

The Cavs are healthy and obviously really playing well.

Adding Kyrie and Love to the mix will make either GS or OKC have to work very hard to beat them.

[HairOfTheDog]

That's it, I'm making a move for Barkley's job. Ha!

I'm really glad the Raptors beat the Cavs tonight in Toronto. Sorry koko, I love the Cavs. But I didn't want to see the Raptors eliminated by an embarassing sweep. They worked way too hard to get to round 3 of the semis to go out like that.

Lowry and DeRozan were on fire offensively and Bismack Biyombo was frickin amazing defensively (he had something like 25 rebounds tonight). I hope Biyombo's injury in the final seconds isn't a serious one; I wanna watch him play more.

This is first time the Cavs have lost in the play-offs, they were 9 and 0 post-season.

Warriors / Thunder in OKC tomorrow night - game 3, series tied 1 to 1 -- can't wait.

[HairOfTheDog]

I'm still at the casino recovering from last night's whooping.

The Thunder owned us. They out scored the Warriors by 30 points. :(

And Draymond definitely should be suspended for one game, even though I think that would hurt our chance of winning the series a lot. Draymond is our court glue.

I wish I could post the video, but it's tricky from my phone. There is no way Draymond accidentally kicked Adams in the groin. It was an extremely flagrant foul, in my opinion.

[Duchess]

Is this it, HotD?

[Midwest Spy]

That's it.

HotD was gentle with Draymond.

That's a bitch move, and I'd love to see Steven Adams catch him away from the arena, in the off-season, and beat his ass.

The NBA needs to suspend him, regardless of the circumstance (Warriors down 2-1).

[HairOfTheDog]

Thanks Duchess. That's it alright.

When viewed from the front angle, especially in slow mo, it's obvious to me that Draymond kicked Adams with intent.

My friend agrees that it was a flagrant. But he doesnt think Draymond should be suspended because it's the playoffs. I don't think that should make a difference.

We were arguing about it this morning when Stephen A showed up on ESPN and agreed with everything my friend said. So, he did a little victory dance and took his 'winner' ass down to play poker. Pfft. They're both wrong.

I'm still in bed and waiting for the Cavs vs Raptors game in Toronto.

[Duchess]

I don't think that should make a difference.

I agree. I don't follow b-ball but I would have the same opinion seeing that in the NFL.

[HairOfTheDog]

Well, the NBA officials ruled that Draymond was 'flailing' and not intentionally aiming to nail Adams in the groin. So, it's a flagrant 2, but Draymond didnt lose any time for it. Business is business, I guess.

I love Draymond and want my team to win, but I disagree with the ruling.

[HairOfTheDog]

This is getting exciting.

In the east, the Raptors beat the Cavaliers again in Toronto last night, proving a lot of sports commentators wrong. Some predicted a sweep before the series began; others buried the Raptors after they lost the first two games. The series is now tied 2 to 2. If the Raptors can beat the Cavs in Cleveland tomorrow night, it'll be huge. I don't think that's gonna happen, but I sure don't rule it out. Bismack Biyombo is making it very difficult for the Cavs to keep a rhythm and execute and Lowry and De Rozan looked awesome on offense last night.

In the west, it's 2 to 1 in favor of OKC, with game 4 going down tonight in Oklahoma City. If Westbrook and Durant and Adams keep playing like they did in game 3 and the Warriors don't adjust and step it all the way up, I think OKC is gonna win game 4. OKC fans are devout; I expect them to heckle the shit outta Draymond Green tonight.

Draymond should have been ejected from Sunday's game after he kicked Adams. It was early in the game and the foul warranted it, in my opinion. Then, there wouldn't be so much controversy about him facing no suspension time. Most of the comments I heard on sports radio on my drive home agreed with the league ruling though, many citing the fact that there was no way to prove intent. I get that. And, Draymond says he didn't intend to do it. However, my eyes and brain tell me he absolutely meant to do it. Ah well, what's done is done. Draymond writes a check for $25k and he gets to play. He goes into game 4 tonight with 3 flagrants. If he pulls shit like that again, he'll face mandatory suspension.

[HairOfTheDog]

Jesus Christ, we're getting spanked by the Thunder again tonight. Down by 18 with only 3 minutes left in the game.

OKC looks damned good. Klay got hot in the 3^rd and single-handedly got the Warriors within 8, but Russel Westbrook is on fire for the Thunder, they've shut Curry down, Draymond is a non-factor, and OKC is just plain playing better ball.

We'll be down 3 to 1 when the series heads back to Oakland on Thursday. We better get our shit together.

[HairOfTheDog]

The Cavs are back!

This game is over, for all intents and purposes.

Cavs up by 40 over the Raptors in Cleveland at the end of the third quarter.

[HairOfTheDog]

HOTD, I think your Warriors have their hands full with this Thunder squad.

Tonight, thus far, OKC has withstood the Dubs initial barrage and are holding their own.

With Adams and Kantner down low rebounding and protecting the rim, the Thunder can close out on the perimeter easier, knowing there's help down low.

Offensively, the Thunder has 2 of the premier players in the league.

This is gonna be good, and OKC may have the last laugh.

I took my niece to see Beach Blanket Babylon last night. It's such a fun cheeky show with some amazing singers and dancers on stage. I kept sneaking peeks of the score on my phone though; couldn't help it.

We did not blow OKC away at Oracle last night like Cleveland did to the Raptors earlier this week, but we did win (and a tribute to the Warriors made it in to the stage show finale). When we drove past City Hall on the ride home, it was all lit up in gold and blue.

But, I'm still worried about the points you made in your post above. We've gotta win again on Saturday, back in OKC, just to stay alive. I'll definitely be watching that game and hope Stephen, Draymond, and Klay are the top of their games. OKC is a great team and if we lose it won't be for any reason other than the Thunder out-played the Warriors, no excuses.

I've still got the Warriors winning the series and advancing, but it's a tall order.

[HairOfTheDog]

East: Cleveland eliminated Toronto last night, making LeBron James one of only a handful of players in history to make the finals six seasons in a row. I like the Raptors and hope they make it to the finals next year, but I'm glad Cleveland won.

West: The Warriors are in Oklahoma right now. I'm hoping like hell that we can pull this one out and tie the series 3 - 3 to stay alive for a game 7. I'm a little nervous though.