The Official NBA Playoffs Thread
- Thread starter dukiejay
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This series SHOULD be another sweep. Kyrie is really rolling in these playoffs.
Kyrie is special. I think he and Lebron are finally starting to be really good together.
Although, I still get sad thinking about 'what could have been' had that 2011 season went as it should. Inserting Kyrie after his injury clearly messed with the mojo....but still, he was one of the top five players in college basketball that season on the SAME team as Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler. As a fan, I still feel robbed that season. Damn.
Definitely feel robbed as well. But what are you going to do, not play him? Not an option. Definitely messed up Nolan, but you were between a rock and a hard place honestly.
I almost feel like I'd have traded no Kyrie in the tournament that year and get him back the following season with Austin and Quinn (if Quinn would have come with KI there). That would have been three straight years of highly competitive Duke basketball instead of two good ones sandwiched around an average season.
That team always gets a bad rap. It ended poorly, but they were the cardiac kids in a lot of games that year. Everyone remembers the Rivers dagger, but they came back in a lot of games, if i remember, the biggest cameron comeback happened that year as well? I think vs. NC State.
Yep.
While the season didn't end well, they did go 8-0 on the road in the ACC. On top of that, the next season, that same team (basically) made it to the Elite Eight. So there was talent there, just unrealized. Hell they were 13-3 that year in the ACC. But postseason play does mean something. And all I was really alluding to was that having Kyrie on that squad could have made them more of a championship-caliber team.
I defend that team and primarily Austin on a regular basis. But their ending was average by Duke standard. Maybe even a little below standard (I think I've read before that Duke all-time averages around 2.5 games in tournament appearances).
Look at team X's year vs. that squad.
Team X - 32-7; 11-3 ACC 9th ranked SOS
2011-2012 - 27-7; 13-3 ACC 7th ranked SOS
Team X is 1990-1991 Duke, viewed as far superior because of roster and postseason excellence. One of those attributes definitely precludes the other. But it just shows that postseason success is a big factor in determining a team's place in lore despite similar regular seasons.
This long-winded post just really boils down to, had Kyrie Irving played with Austin Rivers and Mason Plumlee and Ryan Kelly in 2012, then we may have had title number 6 in 2015.
I'm with you in defending Austin and that team. You get a bad rap bc of the season ending to Lehigh. We shouldn't have lost, we also had a Ryan kelly injury that really hurt that team. I agree, although kyrie was never going to stay another year no matter how many games he played, I definitely wished he and AR who were good friends got to team up in a duke backcourt. Could you imagine in college?!? Kyrie made Mason look great early in his soph season, the mason we were hoping to see, so it's not far fetched. Plus with an older and more experienced Seth and Ryan- wow.
Honestly, Kyrie staying was a little closer than most think. I truly believe had he not played the rest of that 2010-2011 season, his dad would have talked him into staying one more. But I did believe in Santa Claus at one point because somebody told me it was true so there you go.
Haha yeah I remember hearing that he was strongly considering it, but at the end of the day, you look back on it and it seems foolish.
Based on his incredible rookie year, yeah he would have robbed himself if he didn't go.
I am not A Duke alum, I actually grew up in Alaska and went to the University of Alaska Anchorage. Duke has been my favorite team in any sport for as long as I can remember. In Alaska you really don't have any regional connections, so I just picked teams that I enjoyed watching from all over. I was pretty excited when The Alaskan Assassin picked Duke. He was a really big deal when I was in Junior high. I later played Carlos Boozer and Juneau Douglas in highschool, he was their point Center and dunked on me at a camp. It was rude, but I still routed pretty hard for him. He had a lot of skills that weren't really seen on such a stacked Duke team. Anyways, I moved to Utah 6.5 years ago, because my wife is from here, it wasn't anywhere near where I thought I would be, but it turns out that it is amazing here. There is a million national forests and any kind of outdoor activity you can think of. It will be my first summer here, because I normally spend 3 month commercial fishing in Alaska. We had a little one in December and so it looks like I'm full time in Utah for awhile. I would enjoy meeting your son. Though this isn't a hate filled region, Duke fans are still pretty few and far between here. Alaska on the other hand has a lot, I'd say they actually out number NC fans. anyways, I got a little long winded! Go Duke!
Yeah OKC did exactly what they needed to, they were not going to sweep those two home games, so a split is a big win, but that was huge return to form for GSW. Curry was insane in that stretch in the 3rd, in a matter of 3 minutes he turned the game from close to doors blown off. Great response. OKC doesn't want a split at home I believe.
Couldn't care less about Eastern finals, or the eastern playoffs at all for that matter. Anybody doubt CLEV would dominate barring injury?
Couldn't care less about Eastern finals, or the eastern playoffs at all for that matter. Anybody doubt CLEV would dominate barring injury?
So you work in Orem? Where at? I work in Lehi but live in Orem. Weve been here over 2 years now. Theres another guy who lives a few houses down whos a Duke fan too, you just don't meet many of them out here
I was saying before, talent-wise both teams are equals but GSW was the better cohesive unit. If they don't have that going for them, they're beatable. OKC was playing serious D last night.
Even if GS somehow wins the whole thing, I still say the 96 Bulls > '16 Warriors. Not even close.
I am baffled by whatever has happened to GS. The Warriors are not a great team when Curry plays like he did last night because it really affects his teammates play also. Some of the awful mistakes GS made almost looked intentional.
I'm not sure that's quite how it works, but I do agree the '96 Bulls are better. A month ago I wouldn't have conceded that as a done deal.
If someone just starting watching in these playoffs, they would never believe that Green finished in the top ten in the MVP voting. Against OKC he has been nothing short of terrible. Kerr should have lobbied for him to be suspended like he should have been.
I want to vomit everytime I watch Bogut play, he is nothing less than terrible every time I watch him. Just horrible.
There are so many terrible turnovers from GSW and when your on the road, you have to protect the freaking ball. Plus OKC is great at making you pay for turn overs.
The good news for GSW is they are going back home and the 2 of next 3 are at home, so they only need one road win. Go home, get a win behind an energized crowd then take some momentum into OKC and steal a win. Not easy but they can do it.
Also why do people always insist at every other turn making sure to say "See! Not as good as the bulls!" So what? We'll never know and it doesn't matter?
There are so many terrible turnovers from GSW and when your on the road, you have to protect the freaking ball. Plus OKC is great at making you pay for turn overs.
The good news for GSW is they are going back home and the 2 of next 3 are at home, so they only need one road win. Go home, get a win behind an energized crowd then take some momentum into OKC and steal a win. Not easy but they can do it.
Also why do people always insist at every other turn making sure to say "See! Not as good as the bulls!" So what? We'll never know and it doesn't matter?
I think it's a combination of Curry being off/ Green being awful/ and OKC's length. Just watching these games, OKC look's way longer, way more athletic, and quicker to the ball on every play. Not to mention OKC has 2 of the 3 best players in the series.
If OKC's role players continue to play the way they are, this series will be over in 5!
If OKC's role players continue to play the way they are, this series will be over in 5!
Because GS had a historic season; it's fun to compare and debate. A lot of topics on the board are speculative in nature - that's what sports enthusiasts do. We debate the greatest Duke teams of all-time, too. Ultimately, yes, the moment is far more important than what happened in the past. GS is certainly more concerned with the Thunder than the 96 Bulls. But it's just a fun subject to debate. Also, there's a lot of bandwagon Golden State fans, so it's nice to poke fun of them from time to time. I like GS a little myself, but Harrison Barnes kind of ruins it for me.