NBA Season - now 24/25
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the Heat are living and dying by how hard Jimmy Butler carries them.
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crazy finish. Heat had an 11-0 run to get within 2, Butler with the pull up 3 to take the lead...
and it's short. Celtics hang on
Both teams missed some good looks in the last 2.5 minutes.
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@barbarian said in NBA Season - now 21/22:
They almost pinched it in the end! Made the astute call to let Marcus Smart shoot open 3s and he threw up brick after brick.
But the Celtics somehow held on.
Jimmy Butler is a big game player.
Tatum was doing the right thing, hitting the open guy, only for a brick. Reliance on the 3 can be blessing or a curse.
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Arghhhhhh.
I almost threw the remote at the TV when Jimmy pulled up for 3. Everyone will say the right things about that shot because Butler has carried this team big time and he is the man BUT I have a few issues with it:
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you had played 47:40 minutes up until that point, he was running on spare and he had no legs in that shot.
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down 2, you usually only play the 3 on the road…
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you had their centre back peddling, that is either a 17 footer pull-up or if Horford bites, you go around
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you were getting buckets or FTs when you went to the hole
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there was time
Hats off to Miami for their gritty play, particularly on the defensive end and the way they made runs to cut double digit leads. How about that Strus put back dunk and the 3 going to his right from a foot outside the line and a defender right in his grill. That was sweet.
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@ACT-Crusader Yeah I see your point.
But... if he hits that I would put my bottom dollar on the Heat winning. So he puts it all on black and it comes up red. I don't necessarily agree with the option but I can see why he did it.
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@barbarian said in NBA Season - now 21/22:
@ACT-Crusader Yeah I see your point.
But... if he hits that I would put my bottom dollar on the Heat winning. So he puts it all on black and it comes up red. I don't necessarily agree with the option but I can see why he did it.
You play the game for one uncontested shot to win the game. He'd earned the right
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@barbarian I definitely see why he did it but that is not a shot he takes with regularity, in fact I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen Butler ever take a dribble up the court pull up 3. He did a nice catch and shoot 3 from the wing early in the game. If it were Lowry, Herro, Strus, Oladipo, Vincent, I could understand that sort of shot. Was just a strange one for me having watched Butler since he was a freshman at Marquette.
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Really looking forward to this finals series
Both teams will go in super confident.
I think the Celtics have been the best team in the league since about March. They are young, big, athletic, play good D, and still have plenty of scoring options.
And then there's the Warriors. Built around guys who have been there, done that. And they have been lethal in the play offs, challenged but then taking their opposition apart. Seem to have timed their run to perfection. And they defend way better than they are given credit for.
Interesting that i think the Celtics are the team that will live or die by the 3 the most in the series, and it just might be the Warriors lethal mid-range game that will prove the offensive difference.
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@ACT-Crusader said in NBA Season - now 21/22:
@barbarian I definitely see why he did it but that is not a shot he takes with regularity, in fact I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen Butler ever take a dribble up the court pull up 3. He did a nice catch and shoot 3 from the wing early in the game. If it were Lowry, Herro, Strus, Oladipo, Vincent, I could understand that sort of shot. Was just a strange one for me having watched Butler since he was a freshman at Marquette.
He made one from the other side earlier in the game. The guy had played the whole game, he knows his team are banged up. Make the layup or short shot and Boston still get to take the last shot. That's why he's a star. He's willing to take the tough shots
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@mariner4life said in NBA Season - now 21/22:
Really looking forward to this finals series
Both teams will go in super confident.
I think the Celtics have been the best team in the league since about March. They are young, big, athletic, play good D, and still have plenty of scoring options.
And then there's the Warriors. Built around guys who have been there, done that. And they have been lethal in the play offs, challenged but then taking their opposition apart. Seem to have timed their run to perfection. And they defend way better than they are given credit for.
Interesting that i think the Celtics are the team that will live or die by the 3 the most in the series, and it just might be the Warriors lethal mid-range game that will prove the offensive difference.
What a fascinating match up. The Cs vaunted D against Klay Steph and Poole. Draymond and Williams. If Boston can make life difficult for the Ws back court they will need to score in other ways. The Celtics offense is a bit hot and cold, and GS have a very good defenceas well. I think the Ws and their championship experience might win out, but defence does in championships
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@canefan said in NBA Season - now 21/22:
@ACT-Crusader said in NBA Season - now 21/22:
@barbarian I definitely see why he did it but that is not a shot he takes with regularity, in fact I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen Butler ever take a dribble up the court pull up 3. He did a nice catch and shoot 3 from the wing early in the game. If it were Lowry, Herro, Strus, Oladipo, Vincent, I could understand that sort of shot. Was just a strange one for me having watched Butler since he was a freshman at Marquette.
He made one from the other side earlier in the game. The guy had played the whole game, he knows his team are banged up. Make the layup or short shot and Boston still get to take the last shot. That's why he's a star. He's willing to take the tough shots
That shot he made on the other side was not a dribble pull up, it was a catch and shoot. That is a very different shot especially for someone with Jimmy’s shooting mechanics.
I don’t mind him taking a tough shot but at least something that he does - eg a back down spin fadeaway.
Shout out to Horford, he played it perfectly too and gave Butler space almost daring the shot. Speaking of Horford, really pleased to see him in his first Finals. He’s a class act and has been such a good player for the Celts in the second half of the season. After being out for most of last season with the Thunder and not really fitting in with Embiid and Simmons at the Sixers, he’s now an important defensive player and stretch 5.
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@canefan said in NBA Season - now 21/22:
@mariner4life said in NBA Season - now 21/22:
Really looking forward to this finals series
Both teams will go in super confident.
I think the Celtics have been the best team in the league since about March. They are young, big, athletic, play good D, and still have plenty of scoring options.
And then there's the Warriors. Built around guys who have been there, done that. And they have been lethal in the play offs, challenged but then taking their opposition apart. Seem to have timed their run to perfection. And they defend way better than they are given credit for.
Interesting that i think the Celtics are the team that will live or die by the 3 the most in the series, and it just might be the Warriors lethal mid-range game that will prove the offensive difference.
What a fascinating match up. The Cs vaunted D against Klay Steph and Poole. Draymond and Williams. If Boston can make life difficult for the Ws back court they will need to score in other ways. The Celtics offense is a bit hot and cold, and GS have a very good defenceas well. I think the Ws and their championship experience might win out, but defence does in championships
The other thing to consider is the Celtics are surely running on fumes at this point. Two gruelling seven game series in a row, do they have another one in them? Rob Williams is running on one leg, Smart has a dodgy ankle, Tatum has taken some blows.
Meanwhile the Warriors have had a lighter load and may have a bit more in the tank down the stretch of some games.
I think the Warriors might just edge it for that reason, maybe in 6.
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@barbarian yeah i am not sure who the extra day between games helps more, the old Warriors or the banged up Celts
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Statistically the two best defensive teams. But it will likely come down to which trio - Tatum, Brown and Smart vs Curry, Klay and Poole - scores more.
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