Last night the Thunder traded Serge Ibaka to the Orlando Magic for Victor Oladipo, Ersan Illyasova, and the 11th Pick in the draft, Domantas Sabonis. While I was initially apprehensive of the Thunder shopping Ibaka, this trade helps provide the Thunder with more salary flexibility as Steven Adams looks prime for his raise, and it was clear that Ibaka was growing unhappy with his role. With the ability to walk next year, I think OKC ended up making the right decision and it surprises me that Orlando gave up so much for a guy they might be renting for a year. Continue reading
Tag Archives: nba
NBA Finals: Closeout Time
Game 4 went about as expected. The score belies how close the game was. However, that’s the thing with the Warriors – you can’t let them stay close. They either get blown out or they win. If you thought their 38.6 clutch rating in the regular season was insane, try wrapping your head around a 49.3 rating in the playoffs (For those who don’t know, a 49.3 rating means that the Warriors would outscore a team by 49.3 points if they played at that level for 100 possessions, the average amount of possessions in an NBA game). They just don’t lose close games. The Cavs did not play a particularly terrible game, in fact, during the quarter where the flow shifted, they held the Dubs to 36% shooting (giving up 6 threes to the Splash Bros will do that to you…). But to beat the Warriors, you have to play great for 48 minutes. And sometimes, even that’s not enough. Now the Cavs face a closeout game in Oakland – where the Warriors have lost only once during the playoffs and three times during the entire season to this point. What do they need to clean up to get a win? Continue reading
NBA Playoffs: Conference Finals Predictions
Well we’ve made it. Things are about to get serious. Cavs v Raptors. Warriors v Thunder. I’m going to jump right into it and predict both series will go five games and chalk. Here are my quick thoughts for each series. We’ll start East: Continue reading
NBA Playoffs: 10 Thoughts for 10 Days
We’re ten days into the NBA Playoffs and here are some key things to consider as Round 1 wraps up. If you want to see how my original predictions, here you go. Continue reading
First Round NBA Playoff Predictions
My favorite time of year is upon us. The NBA Playoffs start today and so many questions are out there to be answered: Will the Warriors continue their year of dominance? Can LeBron finally “win one for the ‘Land?” Is this KD and Russ’s last stand? In a year where the conferences are top heavy, will there be any reason to watch any first round games? Starting with the Western Conference, here are my predictions for the first round, the Playoffs overall, and some thoughts on this year’s postseason. Continue reading
MJ, the 73-9 Warriors, and the Greatness of Kobe
April 13, 2016 was the best night of basketball of my life. I’ll need to write that down. As a fan of the NBA and the game of basketball in general, this was probably the most compelling evening of the sport that I had ever seen. I’ve been watching since I was five years old – I’ve seen MJ live! – but the evening of April 13 was a beautiful representation of what the NBA has evolved into over the last few decades.
The Quest for 73: Five Reasons the Record is not Worth It
With the end of the NBA regular season in sight and my Golden State Warriors the (arguable) favorite to repeating as champs, I felt it was time to grace the MBP page with a post on my two favorite topics: NBA Basketball and the Golden State Warriors.
After last night’s loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, the likelihood (according to FiveThiryEight’s website) of the Warriors breaking the all-time record for regular season wins has dropped to 13.4%. With that in mind, it might be time for the team to move on from the idea that they should push for every game and start thinking about making sure the team is in the best condition for the playoffs. Here are five reasons 73 wins might not be worth going for.