• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

2021 NBA Playoffs

Hinedorf

Banned
Cant hate on Paul George too bad for this one - he scored their last like 10 points.
All the ref reviews lost the clips the game at the end - gave suns a chance to draw up plays and they had no timeouts.
Disagree, the one review that actually bought Monty time to draw up the game winner happened because Patrick Beverly requested they review an out of bounds ball which should've gone to the Suns, instead because of slow motion review even though Beverly was the culprit in forcing the ball out Clippers retained and the rest is history. Blame Beverly, blame PG, but don't blame the reviews.
 

Cutty Flam

Banned
Cant hate on Paul George too bad for this one - he scored their last like 10 points.
All the ref reviews lost the clips the game at the end - gave suns a chance to draw up plays and they had no timeouts.
He could have scored 20 pts before those fts, the fact remains that he still missed two fts in a row that could have iced the game essentially. I’ve seen Sasha Vujacic come in clutch during a game 7 situation versus a historical rival team in the Boston Celtics, 2/2 to finish off game 7. What is the excuse for a supposed superstar like Paul George?

Clippers lost that game, not the refs. In fact, Scott Foster decided to make one of the most controversial calls late in game during the WCF that I’ve seen in decades. One that put the Suns at disadvantage and probably could have and maybe should have gone their way. But I respect the call, it was the right one and rewarded Beverly’s defense. Suns won that game by their own merit

Tyronn Lue tried to pull a fast one and sub out Nicholas Batum for Reggie Jackson during all that reviewing. That was a nice try. Very high IQ move there on Lou’s part if it was intentional. But Scott Foster made sure Batum was checked back into the game to resume where the play ended. There was no time out, so no players were allowed to be subbed in/out

That was one very exciting game. I think that might be the catalyst for the Suns season. This game shifted momentum drastically for both teams even if this is a game by game series with two top contenders. It’s only 2-0 right now, but after a game like that? Who knows if a player like Playoff P can recover mentally from such a monumental disappointment
 

Amiga

Member
Suns are good but are having a lucky run. the west is lightweight. strongest team are the Bucks right now.
 

Cracklox

Member
Been some good ass basketball these playoffs. Living in Aus its not always easy to watch live but I recently checked the Bucks/Nets games 7 and the first two WCF games live, and all good close stuff. Great game today.

Was so happy to see the Nets get done too in a pretty crazy game. Also good to see we'll see someone new crowned champ. I think of the teams left the last one to win a championship was the Bucks back in the Lew Alcindor days. Unless I'm mistaken.

He could have scored 20 pts before those fts, the fact remains that he still missed two fts in a row that could have iced the game essentially.

Classic case of ball don't lie I say. He shouldn't of even had those free throws. That out of bounds call before it wouldn't be reviewed at any other juncture. It was pretty damn nit picky and only something you'd see in slow mo. It was probably of Book last, but Pat Bev clearly knocked it out of there. That call will go the other way 99% of the time if you don't watch it in super slow mo.

Anyway, I just hope the Clippers don't get my hopes up again that they'll be bundled out after losing the first 2 games and coming back to win the series. Again.
 

Cutty Flam

Banned
It was probably of Book last, but Pat Bev clearly knocked it out of there. That call will go the other way 99% of the time if you don't watch it in super slow mo.
Agreed. Scott Foster was really getting on my nerves. If he doesn’t call a fair game in LA them I’m going to be livid. Suns were practically robbed of homecourt advantage there. If he’s going to call that strictly he needs to do the exact same towards the Clippers on their home floor
 

Hinedorf

Banned
Agreed. Scott Foster was really getting on my nerves. If he doesn’t call a fair game in LA them I’m going to be livid. Suns were practically robbed of homecourt advantage there. If he’s going to call that strictly he needs to do the exact same towards the Clippers on their home floor

With CP3 back and Kawhi out this is the Suns (not game) sweep to lose. That dunk at the buzzer reminded me a lot of the Cavs following JR forgetting the score with the ball in his hands in the last moment of the game, they never recovered emotionally from that. The only expectation for a victory for the Clippers is to have a bunch of mid level players have the best games of their careers, good luck with that......

yEwbdVG.jpg
 

Hinedorf

Banned
With CP3 back and Kawhi out this is the Suns (not game) sweep to lose. That dunk at the buzzer reminded me a lot of the Cavs following JR forgetting the score with the ball in his hands in the last moment of the game, they never recovered emotionally from that. The only expectation for a victory for the Clippers is to have a bunch of mid level players have the best games of their careers, good luck with that......

yEwbdVG.jpg
bgZMjhu.jpg
 

Hinedorf

Banned
I can’t stand seeing the Clippers win
I talked enough shit I should stop but that wasn't a clippers win, that was a Suns catastrophe, it wasn't the Clippers outhustling as Coach Monty kept saying.....it was basically 2 things

On Shooting: 1. Chris Paul 5-19 2. Devin Booker 5-21

Nobody wins shooting like that on the road
 

Cutty Flam

Banned
I talked enough shit I should stop but that wasn't a clippers win, that was a Suns catastrophe, it wasn't the Clippers outhustling as Coach Monty kept saying.....it was basically 2 things

On Shooting: 1. Chris Paul 5-19 2. Devin Booker 5-21

Nobody wins shooting like that on the road
They had a 3:30 drought with no points scored. You hit it right on the head, they weren’t going to win playing like that
 

Shy-Gamer

Neo Member
Feel like the Suns are the heavy favorite now. PG is not gonna win the Clippers three games in a row, and the Suns match up pretty great against the Bucks. Ayton is gonna do a lot of what Griffin did against Giannis but better, Mikal will give Middleton more trouble than any Hawks defender and Jrue was never the take-over-the-game kind of guy.
 

Ixion

Member
I'm a Knicks fan, but I've been really loving this Clippers run. Coming back from big deficits in each series is really impressive and shows a lot of heart. Paul George was one of my favorite players when he first started hitting his prime since his offensive game is smooth as hell while he also plays elite defense (and as a Knicks fan I saw firsthand how lethal he was in the playoffs), then he snapped his leg in half and I thought he would never be the same. So to see him years later leading a hard nosed Clippers team in the conference finals is really cool to see. People also thought Reggie Jackson was done, and now he's out there playing the best basketball of his career, and clutch as hell too. And PatBev is just so high-energy and hilarious, I can't help but love him.

Ty Lue is another one. Thought of as a coach who just rode Lebron's coattails, and he's been making brilliant adjustments throughout these playoffs with a depleted roster.

Just a really cool story all around. I hope PG & co can take this to the finals, then Kawhi comes down from his suite and they win it all. Would be the most gangster shit of all time.
 

StreetsofBeige

Gold Member
Pretty lousy if Hawks lose due to Young's foot injury. Out for game 4. Ref should had got out of the way as his foot was in the court.
 

Rickyiez

Member
Feel like the Suns are the heavy favorite now. PG is not gonna win the Clippers three games in a row, and the Suns match up pretty great against the Bucks. Ayton is gonna do a lot of what Griffin did against Giannis but better, Mikal will give Middleton more trouble than any Hawks defender and Jrue was never the take-over-the-game kind of guy.
I feel like if the Suns struggling to close a series against a Kawhi-less Clipper , they will have big issue matching against to Bucks .

Never mind at this point everyone is so depleted and limping till the finish line I don't know anymore :messenger_tears_of_joy:
 
Last edited:

Cutty Flam

Banned


Once you see the replays, you feel his pain. Extremely painful painful looking, a warning to those who might feel weak while watching this kind of stuff

Left knee hyperextention coming down in the restricted area, it's bad
 

Hinedorf

Banned
There's one person above all I'm proud of right now following that Suns Clippers finish and that's Pat Beverly...

Getting your ass whipped on the court and pushing a guy in the back from behind. I hope your career is further mired in failure you little bitch of a man.

Rooting for the Suns to win it all
 

Ixion

Member
The Clippers fought so hard these playoffs and Pat Bev was playing intense without going over the line, and then does a total bitch move at the end. Shame.

All in all, it was great to see PG step up and take the Clippers to their first conference finals, putting up at least 20+ points every night in the playoffs. On the other hand, I’m not a Chris Paul fan, but the dude straight up closed it out tonight.

Hard to say who will win it all at this point since there’s a slim chance Giannis could return. If he doesn’t, I hope Trae is healthy and the Hawks make it. Hawks/Suns match up really well. But I see the Suns edging out that series.
 
Last edited:

Celcius

°Temp. member
The Suns take game 1. I really hope they can finish the Bucks off quickly and not let the series drag out.
 

Rickyiez

Member
Well played Suns . The way Giannis recovered and made some plays in this game was downright amazing . No wonder he's the Greek freak
 

Cutty Flam

Banned
Wow I can't believe this, the Bucks are actually in command now. Looks like Booker's inexperience is finally surfacing again. His ability to protect and secure the basketball has always been terrible

Very impressive basketball being played on both sides but the Suns have sort of lost that same energy we've seen from them since the very beginning of the playoffs
 

Naked Lunch

Member
Dru Holiday owned the fuck out of Devin Booker tonight.
Booker was even whining to the revs about Holiday's defense while dribbling the ball up the court with 4min left in the game.

Holiday's steal at the end and the lob to Giannis - who almost got decapitated by the backboard. Giannis was not afriad of the moment on that play - 100% went for it. A legendary basketball play.
 
Last edited:

Orpheum

Member
Suns blew it hardcore... i really hope they get it together for game 6 but something in me tells me they'll drop it and the Bucks win in 6. Shame really...
 

Ixion

Member
All in all, this has been a very refreshing finals to watch. Two smaller market teams with passionate fanbases, filled with players who never really played in the finals before, among those being some upcoming young stars who are really fun to watch. Hopefully the series ends with a bang too.
 

Celcius

°Temp. member
Looks like the Bucks are the 2021 Champs. Giannis had 50 pts and 14 rebounds in game 6. I've never been a Giannis fan but I have to give him and his team their props. Congrats to the Bucks!
I can't believe the Suns went up 2-0 and then lost 4 straight. That's definitely going to put a dent in CP3's legacy. I had a bad feeling when I heard that Scott Foster was going to be a ref tonight too.
 

German Hops

GAF's Nicest Lunch Thief
I can't believe the Suns went up 2-0 and then lost 4 straight.
Oy, I had to suffer through this in 2006 when the Mavericks lost four straight to the Heat.
It's heart wrenching, for sure.
Congrats to the Bucks, though.
I think the only NBA pundit on their side was Charles Barkley. :messenger_grinning_smiling:


Giannis, that dude was beastin' and feastin'

200.gif
 
Last edited:

CrustyBritches

Gold Member
The Bucks were just too big and too hungry for the Suns. This last game showed me 2 things:

1. How good Giannis could be if he was more consistent with free throws

2. Middleton is perhaps the most underrated player in the NBA
 

SpiceRacz

Member
I really thought the Suns had this. Giannis didn't quite look 100% the first 2 games, but after that he was basically unstoppable. The Suns had no answer. He was just getting to the rim at will. Would have been interesting to see the Clippers at 100% against the Bucks. Kawhi shut Giannis the fuck down during that Raptors run in the playoffs.
 

Hinedorf

Banned
CP3 showed his age and size but for me the biggest shock was Booker afraid to shoot when they needed 3's in the last 2 games, continuously looking to pass out of shots he'd routinely take.
 

Shy-Gamer

Neo Member
Middleton makes max-level money, is way too inconsistent and you only have to go back a few games to see how he almost cost the Bucks this title more than once. Yeah, he definitely delivered in this series and deserves his due, but let's not get carried away. His reputation is fine for what he is.

My takeways, other than Giannis's obvious greatness:

1-Ayton is amazing but Giannis was too much for him, maybe that will change once he gets more playoff reps.

2-Like people are saying, the Suns lacked size. They felt it most when other players were on Giannis(6'6 Crowder and 6'6 Bridges were their tallest players barring Ayton) and they felt it with the ridiculous difference in rebounds all series long.

3-Jrue's defense really mattered in this series.
 

Naked Lunch

Member
As I posted when the playoffs started, the Suns were too young - but the Bucks were also too good.
Giannis was unstoppable. No answers. The game 4 block and game 5 alley oop will go down in history as some of the all time great finals plays - and then to play the best game of your career in a finals closeout - cemented.

Devin Booker still has a lot to learn - just not his time. Jrue Holiday exposed Booker a bit.

Middleton makes max-level money, is way too inconsistent and you only have to go back a few games to see how he almost cost the Bucks this title more than once. Yeah, he definitely delivered in this series and deserves his due, but let's not get carried away. His reputation is fine for what he is.
Are you forgetting when Giannis missed the second half of the Hawks series and Middleton carried the Bucks to the Finals?
 
Last edited:

Shy-Gamer

Neo Member
Are you forgetting when Giannis missed the second half of the Hawks series and Middleton carried the Bucks to the Finals?
No. Are you forgetting the meaning of the word "inconsistent"?

First of all, he didn't "carry" anyone. The Bucks won those two games because he AND JRUE played well, and in game 5 in particular, so did Lopez and Portis. (also because Atlanta's best player was hobbled and they had less offensive output to fall back on, but that's besides the point)

More importantly, the only reason that series got to game 6 in the first place is because oh-so-glorious Middleton played like SHIT in their two losses against Atlanta - 15 points on 26 FG% and ZERO 3P%(0\9) in game 1, 16 points on 35 FG% and ZERO 3P% (0\7) in game 5. If you don't think that shows inconsistency I don't know what else to tell you.
 
Top Bottom