NBA 2015/2016

[HairOfTheDog]

Cool pic, MS.

KAT is such a great young player and your son is a really good-looking guy.

Your son looks kind of short in the shot, until you consider KAT is almost 7 feet tall. So, your son's actually near 6', I'd guess.

[Midwest Spy]

Cool pic, MS.

KAT is such a great young player and your son is a really good-looking guy.

Your son looks kind of short in the shot, until you consider KAT is almost 7 feet tall. So, your son's actually near 6', I'd guess.

J is right @ 6'.

He said KAT is really cool and humble.

Now, J is off to the Twins game tonight trying to bring some good luck to them as they try to stop their 9 game losing skid to start the year.

[HairOfTheDog]

FAHQTOO's #7-ranked eastern conference Pacers are giving the #2-ranked Raptors a run for their money in Toronto.

The Pacers are up by 8 with three minutes left in the first game of of the eastern conference playoffs. Paul George is really doing it like he needs the money for Indiana.

ETA: Indiana beat Toronto by 10; 100 to 90.

The rest of today's play-off schedule:
Houston vs. Golden State 12:30 PM PST ABC (west)
Boston vs. Atlanta 4:00 PM PST ESPN (east)
Dallas vs. Oklahoma City 6:30 PM PST ESPN (west)

[koko]

Cavs and pistons are about ready to tip off. Let's hope everybody stays healthy this time around!
(All times EST)
Hornets v Heat at 5:30
Grizzlies v Spurs at 8:00
Trailblazers v Clippers at 10:30

MS how cool that your son got to meet KAT, how'd that happen??

[HairOfTheDog]

Yesterday, I pissed the day away watching basketball.

SATURDAY:

1. Indiana Pacers beat Toronto Raptors.

2. Warriors beat Rockets:
The Houston Rockets got slaughtered by the Golden State Warriors yesterday. Steph Curry played a great first half, but was out with an ankle injury for the second half and the Warriors struggled a while until Klay Thompson found his groove, Speights played hard and scored off the bench, and I saw koko's guy Varejao on the court hustling as well. The Warriors beat the Rockets by 26 points, 104 to 78. Houston has James Harden and Dwight Howard, but they don't look coordinated on the court at all.

Curry may be out for game 2 tomorrow night. I hope he's out, even if he wants to play. I'd rather the Dubs struggle or even lose a game to Houston than have Curry re-injure his ankle so early in the play-offs.

3. Thunder best Mavericks:
Dallas Mavericks got pummeled by Kevin Durant and the OKC Thunder yesterday as well -- 108 to 70. The Thunder is a seriously tough team to beat.

4. Hawks beat Celtics:
The closest game yesterday was the Celtics / Hawks match up. The Hawks pulled out a win by one point -- 104 to 103. Unfortunately, Boston's shooting guard Avery Bradley suffered a strained hamstring in the fourth quarter and Coach Stevens said today that it's unlikely he'll be able to play in the rest of the series against the Hawks. Sucks for Boston.

[HairOfTheDog]

I'm only watching the first and last of the 4 games today; that's my plan anyway.

SUNDAY

Today's game 1 play-off schedule:

Detroit Pistons vs. Cleveland Cavaliers (east) -- 12 noon PST ABC
Charlotte Hornets vs. Miami Heat (east) -- 2:30 PST TNT
Memphis Grizzlies vs. San Antonio Spurs (west) -- 5:00 PST TNT
Portland Trailblazers vs. Los Angeles Clippers (west) -- 7:30 PST TNT

[koko]

Yesterday, I pissed the day away watching basketball.

there are worse ways to spend a day

[HairOfTheDog]

Definitely, koko.

But, I've got to finish my personal taxes and get them filed by tomorrow, and it's too beautiful here this weekend to sit at the bar or on the couch watching t.v. all day again. I feel like a slug.

STILL.......I know I can't stay away from the Cavs' game and the Clippers' game. Detroit is looking pretty good against the Cavs in Cleveland so far. Bucket for bucket.

[Midwest Spy]

MS how cool that your son got to meet KAT, how'd that happen??

He met him near Uptown (near downtown Mpls) walking out of a restaurant as KAT was walking in.

This is why he's carrying the food and drinks.

[HairOfTheDog]

Yesterday...

-The Cavaliers beat the Pistons by 5; really good game. I kinda have a crush on Kevin Love.
-The Heat walloped the Hornets, 123 to 91.
-Spurs slaughtered the Grizzlies, 106 to 74.
-Clippers dominated the Trail Blazers, 115 to 95. Blake Griffin is off the injured list; last night he and Paul played full force.

Tonight, the Warriors are playing without Curry. If Draymond Green, Sean Livingston, Klay Thompson, and Andre Igoudala play well, I think we still have a good chance of beating the Rockets, especially if Harden and Howard don't get it together.

[HairOfTheDog]

The Warriors beat the Rockets on Tuesday night without Steph. The series moves to Houston tonight. I actually hope the Rockets play better at home; they have some great players but seem totally disjointed. I also hope we can beat them on their home court and Steph's sits the full game out again. I'm starting to worry a little that the Warriors are downplaying the seriousness of Curry's ankle injury; hope not.

Clippers are 2 and 0 against the Trail Blazers and headed for Portland, Cavs are 2 and 0 against the Pistons and headed for Detroit, Raptors and Pacers are tied at 1 each with the next two games going down in Indiana.

I know a lot of advertising dollars get pulled in during the play offs, but I liked it better when the conference finals were best of 5 instead of best of 7.

[Midwest Spy]

The Warriors beat the Rockets on Tuesday night without Steph. The series moves to Houston tonight. I actually hope the Rockets play better at home; they have some great players but seem totally disjointed. I also hope we can beat them on their home court and Steph's sits the full game out again. I'm starting to worry a little that the Warriors are downplaying the seriousness of Curry's ankle injury; hope not.

Clippers are 2 and 0 against the Trail Blazers and headed for Portland, Cavs are 2 and 0 against the Pistons and headed for Detroit, Raptors and Pacers are tied at 1 each with the next two games going down in Indiana.

I know a lot of advertising dollars get pulled in during the play offs, but I liked it better when the conference finals were best of 5 instead of best of 7.

I agree with your take on the length of these 1^st round playoff series. I believe it holds true for the NHL too. Should be best of 5.

[HairOfTheDog]

Play-off Standings

The Cavaliers and the Spurs eliminated the Pistons and the Grizzlies with 4 / 0 series sweeps this weekend.

The Pacers are doing a lot better against the Raptors than I imagined they would. That series is tied 2 / 2, as is the Hawks vs. Celtics series (that's been a fun one to watch).

Tonight at 4 pm PST is game 4 between Miami and Charlotte; Miami is up 2 to 1 in the series. The Clippers play the Trail Blazers (5:00 PST on TNT); L.A. is up 2 to 1 in the series. And, the Thunder takes on the Mavericks (7:30 PST on TNT); the Thunder is up 3 to 1.

The Warriors trounced the Rockets in Houston yesterday, but Steph Curry slipped on a wet spot and screwed up his right leg in the first half. He was out for the second and it's not clear whether he'll play in game 4 on Wednesday. The Warriors lead the series 3 to 1.

We've got a great bench, but it would be very difficult for the Warriors to win best of 7 in the round two western conference playoffs without Curry, I think. Hopefully, his injury isn't too serious.

[Blindgreed1]

Play-off Standings

The Cavaliers and the Spurs eliminated the Pistons and the Grizzlies with 4 / 0 series sweeps this weekend.

The Pacers are doing a lot better against the Raptors than I imagined they would. That series is tied 2 / 2, as is the Hawks vs. Celtics series (that's been a fun one to watch).

Tonight at 4 pm PST is game 4 between Miami and Charlotte; Miami is up 2 to 1 in the series. The Clippers play the Trail Blazers (5:00 PST on TNT); L.A. is up 2 to 1 in the series. And, the Thunder takes on the Mavericks (7:30 PST on TNT); the Thunder is up 3 to 1.

The Warriors trounced the Rockets in Houston yesterday, but Steph Curry slipped on a wet spot and screwed up his right leg in the first half. He was out for the second and it's not clear whether he'll play in game 4 on Wednesday. The Warriors lead the series 3 to 1.

We've got a great bench, but it would be very difficult for the Warriors to win best of 7 in the round two western conference playoffs without Curry, I think. Hopefully, his injury isn't too serious.

The Warriors still set an NBA record for 3 point shots with Curry on the bench so if any team can do it without their star player its the Warriors.

[HairOfTheDog]

The Warriors still set an NBA record for 3 point shots with Curry on the bench so if any team can do it without their star player its the Warriors.

That's true; that was an impressive showing without Steph.

I don't know if the Warriors could have had the same kind of second half without Steph had they been up against the Clippers or the Spurs though; they're tougher match-ups for the Warriors than the Rockets.

Steph will be out for two weeks, according to the release yesterday. If the Clippers beat the Trail Blazers in the series, it would be very hard for us to take the Clippers down without Curry, I think. That series is now tied up 2 to 2.

[Blindgreed1]

The Warriors still set an NBA record for 3 point shots with Curry on the bench so if any team can do it without their star player its the Warriors.

That's true; that was an impressive showing without Steph.

I don't know if the Warriors could have had the same kind of second half without Steph had they been up against the Clippers or the Spurs though; they're tougher match-ups for the Warriors than the Rockets.

Steph will be out for two weeks, according to the release yesterday. If the Clippers beat the Trail Blazers in the series, it would be very hard for us to take the Clippers down without Curry, I think. That series is now tied up 2 to 2.

I have the Clips taking that match up. They say two weeks. He will be back practicing next week. They always pad time for injuries during the playoffs.

[HairOfTheDog]

I have the Clippers too.

I think it would be a lot easier for the Warriors to start off winning the next round without Curry if we were up against the Trail Blazers instead of the Clippers.

But, I still want the Clippers to win the series and advance. I'd love to see them win a title too.

I hope the Warriors beat Houston and advance tonight; it'll give them some more time to rest, prep, and avoid possible injuries while the Clippers and Trail Blazers fight it out.

[Midwest Spy]

I have the Clippers too.

I think it would be a lot easier for the Warriors to start off winning the next round without Curry if we were up against the Trail Blazers instead of the Clippers.

But, I still want the Clippers to win the series and advance. I'd love to see them win a title too.

I hope the Warriors beat Houston and advance tonight; it'll give them some more time to rest, prep, and avoid possible injuries while the Clippers and Trail Blazers fight it out.

Everyone knows Chris Paul and Blake Griffin are out, right?

[HairOfTheDog]

Everyone knows Chris Paul and Blake Griffin are out, right?

Oh man. I did not know the extent of their injuries until I read your post.

I see that Paul is out for at least 4 - 6 weeks after surgery on his right hand yesterday, and Griffin won't be playing post season at all with a left quad injury.

That's the hugest possible hit for the Clippers and changes everything. Doc Rivers really has his work cut out for him.

[HairOfTheDog]

The Warriors are such a well-rounded and talented team -- so much comradery and very tight on the court, even without Curry. Coach Kerr really knows what he's doing.

The Warriors eliminated Houston tonight with a 30+ lead. Livingston, Klay, Draymond, Iggy, Barnes...all played great. Klay Thompson set another record tonight. He's the first player to hit 7 or more 3-pointers in back to back games. I feel bad for James Harden; he's a great player for the Rockets, but Howard is so inconsistent and there's not a good groove with that team. Harden scored 35 points tonight.

The Clippers lost to the Trail Blazers tonight. Losing both Griffin and Paul to injuries this week majorly sucks. I think the Trail Blazers will probably win the next game and advance to round 2 against the Warriors.