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2021 NBA playoffs thread

heitclone said:
It's interesting to see a different strategy succeed, these two teams are very well coached and have a strong team culture. Teams like the Bucks and Clippers simply trying to outspend everyone hasn't worked out as planned. The super team strategy won't ever go away but teams like the Hawks and Suns this year and the Raps two years ago are proving it isn't a guaranteed ring.
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Add to that drafting well and having a young core that is (1.) generally healthy and (2.) cheap so you can fill out the roster with quality veteran pieces and have depth and flexibility.

Contrast that with the super-teams built around 2-4 superstars on super expensive contracts and then whatever scraps of has-beens and never-weres you see elsewhere. Interesting to see the two team-building strategies play out, but it seems the patient one is the one working right now.

That super-team strategy can work (see LA last year, even if the bubble was a weird situation), but these playoffs are one of the greater youth movements I can remember in league history. The "teams of the future" are quickly becoming teams of the now, and some of the best players under 25 are starting to outplay who we usually think of as stars, though ones now just slightly past their apex period of production.

The top eight guys by minutes on the Hawks are...

22
22
26
23
29
28
32
29

AVG = 26.4

The top eight guys by minutes on the Nets was...

29
28
34
24
23
31
32
32

AVG = 29.1
 
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Sigmapolis said:
Add to that drafting well and having a young core that is (1.) generally healthy and (2.) cheap so you can fill out the roster with quality veteran pieces and have depth and flexibility.

Contrast that with the super-teams built around 2-4 superstars on super expensive contracts and then whatever scraps of has-beens and never-weres you see elsewhere. Interesting to see the two team-building strategies play out, but it seems the patient one is the one working right now.

That super-team strategy can work (see LA last year, even if the bubble was a weird situation), but these playoffs are one of the greater youth movements I can remember in league history. The "teams of the future" are quickly becoming teams of the now, and some of the best players under 25 are starting to outplay who we usually think of as stars, though ones now just slightly past their apex period of production.

The top eight guys by minutes on the Hawks are...

22
22
26
23
29
28
32
29

AVG = 26.4

The top eight guys by minutes on the Nets was...

29
28
34
24
23
31
32
32

AVG = 29.1
Click to expand...


The big advantage the Suns and Hawks have is that a PG who is elite in the high ball screen is the ultimate equalizer. CP3 has been unstoppable and even in his down games, Trae goes for 25 with double digit assists. Teams just don't know what to do with him, he embarrassed Milwaukee last night and he made Philly, a great defensive team, look slow and flat footed.

I think the rule changes to open the game up have been an advantage for young players. You have guys who came up developing their skill set to the way the NBA is played now.

Young is the best example of that, he's THE prototype modern PG, he shoots like Steph and Dame but runs the high ball screen like CP3 and Nash. Its obvious no one has a clue how to stop him yet.

I still think the Bucks will end up beating ATL but they have been exposed defensively, if they can't figure out how to slow down the high ball screen against the Hawks, CP3 is going to eat them alive. They got really lucky that Kyrie and Harden were banged up last series, that basically took the PnR out of the Nets playbook It's not a coincidence the Bucks were only able to hang once those two went down and KD had to play 1 on 1 all night. The injuries made the Nets a great matchup for them.
 
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heitclone said:
The big advantage the Suns and Hawks have is that a PG who is elite in the high ball screen is the ultimate equalizer. CP3 has been unstoppable and even in his down games, Trae goes for 25 with double digit assists. Teams just don't know what to do with him, he embarrassed Milwaukee last night and he made Philly, a great defensive team, look slow and flat footed.

I think the rule changes to open the game up have been an advantage for young players. You have guys who came up developing their skill set to the way the NBA is played now.

Young is the best example of that, he's THE prototype modern PG, he shoots like Steph and Dame but runs the high ball screen like CP3 and Nash. Its obvious no one has a clue how to stop him yet.

I still think the Bucks will end up beating ATL but they have been exposed defensively, if they can't figure out how to slow down the high ball screen against the Hawks, CP3 is going to eat them alive. They got really lucky that Kyrie and Harden were banged up last series, that basically took the PnR out of the Nets playbook It's not coincidence the Bucks were only able to hang once those two went down and KD had to play 1 on 1 all night. The injuries made the Nets a great matchup for them.
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I'm not sure the Bucks have the coaching to adjust defensively.
 
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nfrine said:
Really didn't have any of the 4 conference finals teams on my radar...
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Bucks yes with Giannis.

Maybe the Clippers but certainly not in the way they are now -- more just a generic "LA teams have money they're generally going to be good" rather than anticipating this specific roster.

You could anticipate the Hawks and Suns were going to have talented young rosters a few years ago, and maybe even some future stars, but they're putting things together really quickly.
 
You also have to account for the short turn-around between last season and this season. I believe that has added to the stress on older players. I think the just-younger-than-prime players who have the strength and conditioning of almost-peak years combined with the recovery of youth will overperform in these playoffs as a result of the unique conditions of this season.
 
CycloneWanderer said:
You also have to account for the short turn-around between last season and this season. I believe that has added to the stress on older players. I think the just-younger-than-prime players who have the strength and conditioning of almost-peak years combined with the recovery of youth will overperform in these playoffs as a result of the unique conditions of this season.
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The season started two months later, only a couple of teams had a shortened offseason. It may have impacted the normal offseason routine guys had but most teams still had the usual 4 or 5 months off, some had up to 9. The only teams with an abnormal offseason were the Lakers and Heat, everyone else had at least 3 months off.
 
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JP4CY said:
Wasn't expecting that. Not a bad job but not a Celtics level job either
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It seems like a pretty bad job to me. Not enough there you're going to be real competitive any time soon, but enough there you aren't getting high lottery picks. Sabnois is a good player but doubt he ever becomes great. Lavert and Turner and decent pieces. But it seems to me they are stuck in that 9-15 range that can keep a program stuck in mediocrity.
 
Clonefan32 said:
It seems like a pretty bad job to me. Not enough there you're going to be real competitive any time soon, but enough there you aren't getting high lottery picks. Sabnois is a good player but doubt he ever becomes great. Lavert and Turner and decent pieces. But it seems to me they are stuck in that 9-15 range that can keep a program stuck in mediocrity.
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I think if Brogdan is healthy, they are a little better than that but not good enough to advance past the first round of the playoffs. I feel like RC could get a better gig though.
 
Here's a little more detailed write-up of game 2 Suns vs. Clippers, and some more info on Young, most of it already covered. But I found this quote interesting:
" Want more? Young is the only player in NBA history to record a 45-point, 10-assist conference finals game, and the second-youngest player in history to do so in any playoff game, trailing only Luka Doncic. That these guys were traded for one another on draft night in 2018 is wild."
NBA Star Power Index: Trae Young joins LeBron James, Kobe Bryant in history; Ben Simmons fake trades flying (msn.com)

Also a really good clip of: "The most underrated part of the Phoenix Suns winning basket was DeAndre Ayton literally grabbing Zubac by the jersey and pulling him into Devin Booker’s screen. #WeAreTheValley ", this being the 4th or 5th vid clip down.
 
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Suns being super weak at the rim, Clips being really strong at the rim. That’s the difference in this game for me.
 
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