2022 OFFICIAL NBA PLAYOFF THREAD - NBA FINALS TIME - GS 4-2 - STEVE GETS #4……ON NT - SUMMER JAM SCREEN RECEIPTS INCOMING……

[Kierris]

You can't make this **** up

Steph is the most protected superstar ever. Imagine this was Bron or KD who went ghost in the clutch.

 

[g-time]

Anyone who makes a comment like that has emotional problems.

...probably can't admit it to himself.

Guy has been radio silence since those quotes got brought back up.

 

[B Sox]

Don't understand how Meth wouldn't ban dude immediately.

 

[Davey Magoo]

Guy has been radio silence since those quotes got brought back up.

Shame is a powerful thing.

 

[Brosizzlew30.23]

Come on. seriously? the Bucks and Giannis already showed that in the most efficient and effective way. that is the same Bucks team that made your Lakers look washed.

Yes, seriously. Bucks are a completely different team without Middleton, whose mid range game and clutch ability adds a whole new dimension to the Bucks' offense. Ntm Middleton's presence takes huge pressure off of Jrue to have to constantly make plays on offense.

But I will stay quiet about Bron and AD for now cause IMO these Celtics would struggle against the 2020 Lakers who not only were healthy but had all kinds of wi g defenders with size, length, and speed (Kuzma, Caruso, KCP, and Kieff) plus all thr bigs to give Horford and Timelord fits (AD, Javale, Dwight, and Bron). Bron and AD just gotta stay healthy for a full season.

I'm not that impressed with the Celtics at all.

 

[sharpshooter718]

Why did Jordan Poole look like he couldn't moved with or without the ball?

Is it me or does everyone handles look suspect with this new ball they been using this year .. lots of carries and slip balls... I think the league should look into it .I see a lot of sloppy handles by guys that have or had decent handles ..

 

[lawdog1]

Guy has been radio silence since those quotes got brought back up.

The silence is probably more because the Warriors lost than anything.

He’s been called out on those comments before, showed no remorse and continued to be abrasive.

 

[Brosizzlew30.23]

Can we double our bet

Watchu talmbout man, you dam well know you can't be changing terms of the bet after series has started.

But....we can introduce a new bet....

$50 says Klay scores 25 plus in Game 2 and GSW outscores Boston in the paint

Another $50 says Horford scores less than 20 in game 2

 

[BIG LEEMELONE]

Watchu talmbout man, you dam well know you can't be changing terms of the bet after series has started.

But....we can introduce a new bet....

$50 says Klay scores 25 plus in Game 2 and GSW outscores Boston in the paint

Another $50 says Horford scores less than 20 in game 2

If you scared just say that

 

[friscostylez]

Quite interesting to see the same people who told NT dub nation to not get too excited after winning G1s this post season do exactly just that when dubs lost G1

 

[QU!K]

I don’t want to bring up personal matters, but if I’m not mistaken, if it’s who I THINK it is, shouldn’t he be sensitive to such comments because his father passed away?

 

[Brosizzlew30.23]

If you scared just say that

Lmao. That's a great way of avoiding the new bet. Did I scare you off

 

[picasso swerve]

Explain brother... People are free to root for whoever just like I'm free to call them out for being bandwagon fans

Steph, Dray, Klay brought in new fans. Same as when MJ brought in new fans, same as when Kobe, same as Lebron, same as any team with stars that are achieving. Nothing new. You dont need to be a fan of a team from the beginning or when they were trash to be a “real fan”.

 

[NickFolarin]

I actually think GS takes game 2. If I'm being truthful. I think they respond well and will make the adjustments.

The HATER IN ME thinks the pressure of going down 2-0 will make them fold

Another man of balance

 

[aepps20]

The thing about NT is that there is a baseline level of respect that we have for each other. That comment crossed that line and speaks to that person's character or lack thereof.

 

[akajae]

Good morning San Francisco!

 

[Kierris]

Steph, Dray, Klay brought in new fans. Same as when MJ brought in new fans, same as when Kobe, same as Lebron, same as any team with stars that are achieving. Nothing new. You dont need to be a fan of a team from the beginning or when they were trash to be a “real fan”.

You did all that rambling hey yo agree with my point that they have no idea who biedrins or Monta is

 

[picasso swerve]

You did all that rambling hey yo agree with my point that they have no idea who biedrins or Monta is

The bigger point is why you gatekeeping? Dont avoid the bigger picture and keep going at that one part. So what if they dont know the we believe team, or Monta.

 

[WASHED KING]

They can root for whoever they want to root for whenever they choose to. Doesn't make them any less a fan in my book.

WE welcome new members with open hearts over here to join team KLUTCH and accept KING JAMES as your ONE TRUE GOAT.

 

[Kierris]

The bigger point is why you gatekeeping? Dont avoid the bigger picture and keep going at that one part. So what if they dont know the we believe team, or Monta.

I have no power to gatekeep anything. You're not making any sense.

 

[Maximus Meridius]

But hey, at least he didn't say anything racist!

That's worth taking a flight

 

[Air Pope]

That's worth taking a flight

My literal thoughts

 

[antidope]

We really need to pause the basketball talk for a second, cause I just read those posts again. Methodical Management not telling you what to do, but that is 100% worth a ban for life.

 

[picasso swerve]

I have no power to gatekeep anything. You're not making any sense.

Ok.

 

[antidope]

Stephen Curry was elite in Game 1. The Warriors must lean on him even more

The Warriors have often survived the moments when Curry sits, but against the relentless Celtics defense, Golden State will need more Steph.

theathletic.com

It feels like I wrote this.

Spoiler: Article

SAN FRANCISCO — The Warriors are in the NBA Finals because when Stephen Curry takes his seat, they have been just fine.

Sure, they lose a stint here and there. But, generally, the ball was in Jordan Poole’s hands. Klay Thompson was free to hunt for shots and find a rhythm. Players like Otto Porter Jr., Gary Payton II and Nemanja Bjelica made enough timely plays on either end. And Draymond Green, the defensive anchor and vocal leader, made sure it all worked.

For most of the season, and well into these playoffs, that was enough. For up to six minutes, coach Steve Kerr and his superstar could be patient and confident while Curry sat with a towel over his head. The “others,” as Shaquille O’Neal calls them, could be counted on to hold it down.

But after Game 1, that doesn’t seem to be so sure a bet. Not against this Boston defense. Not when the Celtics are countering with Jayson Tatum or Jaylen Brown on the court at all times.

This new reality — and requisite urgency — was highlighted by Curry following the Warriors’ epic fourth-quarter collapse that led to a 120-108 loss to Boston. All season, he’s trusted the rotation patterns, put his faith in his teammates to come through and took advantage of the rest. But now, he sounds like sitting on the sidelines for too long won’t cut it.

“At most,” Curry said, “we got six games left. Make the necessary adjustments.”

That’s as close as he’ll come to saying he’s ready to play 40 minutes. Or 42. Or 45. Whatever it takes. Against this daunting matchup, he may have to.

It’s less about getting Curry on the court as it is about the need to apply constant pressure. This is the best defense the Warriors have faced in these playoffs. The Celtics’ resistance is configured ideally against the Golden State’s attack.

Golden State felt some of this against Memphis. But there were weak points to attack. There were smaller defenders who could be overpowered. The Grizzlies had some defensive deficiencies eventually surface. But Boston is a relentless bunch. They punish finesse. Beating them requires a responding certainty, a strength to lean on against theirs. The Warriors don’t have many options to go against that. So they’ll need more Curry.

It takes great offense to beat great defense. It takes exceptionalism to discombobulate this Boston. And what was clear from Game 1 is that Curry is the Warriors’ lone disruptor. He torched Boston in the first quarter, punishing the Celtics’ drop coverage and the space they gave him to the tune of 21 first-quarter points. Normally, that’s enough to loosen up a defense. But the Warriors let off the gas a couple of times Thursday, and it cost them.

Now they’re facing a must-win game on Sunday. They can convince themselves they still have home-court advantage considering they always win a road game in a series. But losing two home games to start a series is a hole that may be too deep for them to climb.

“Well, it’s never fun and it hurts on the biggest stage, obviously,” Thompson said. “But like Draymond said, there’s no reason to panic. I like our chances still, and we’ll go home and we’ll digest what happened. I know we’ll be better Game 2.”

The urgency is turned up. The Warriors can no longer wait for things to fall apart to adjust. They can’t steal as many minutes and hang on passively. They can’t afford to keep two non-shooters on the floor for too long.

Against Boston, settling only feeds them. The Celtics are bullies on defense. They crawl into jerseys. They prod the toughness of their opponents, attack their composure. The best response to aggressiveness is aggression.

When Curry played all 12 minutes of the first and third quarters, giving the Celtics no break, the Warriors scored 28 and 38 points, respectively. Curry took 17 shots in those two quarters, and the open looks abounded for the Warriors. Porter took advantage, making his first four 3s. In the third quarter, Wiggins capitalized, scoring 13 points as the Warriors built their 15-point lead.

Golden State only scored 22 points in the second quarter and 16 in the fourth quarter. It’s not a coincidence Curry took a total of eight shots in those two quarters.

“Obviously, we made adjustments, but it was also, we got a little rushed,” Curry said. “And I don’t think we were smart enough in some of those situations to try to find the right matchups and try to create the right shots. And then it’s also tough because you’re taking the ball out of the basket the way that they were shooting the ball. So it was combination of both.”

It’s not just that Curry starts those quarters on the bench. Even when he returns, he has to work himself back into rhythm, which puts the onus on his teammates to be the creators, the aggressors.

But Poole has been bothered by physicality all postseason, and good rim protection thwarts his drives. He isn’t the same potent creator yet against these stout defenses. He was 2-for-7 with nine points and four turnovers.

And Green doesn’t have quite the advantage against these long and athletic Celtics defenders. When he’s getting the rebound and pushing it in transition, he’s not getting the separation he did against other teams. Boston tracked him down in Game 1, meeting him at the rim. He was 2-for-12.

And Thompson is being forced off the 3-point line — sometimes being pushed way out past it — by the Celtics’ pressure. It’s forcing him to create his own shots and dribble to spots, which has proven to be suboptimal for Thompson throughout these playoffs. He was 3-for-7 inside the arc and the same behind it.

The Warriors don’t just need more Curry; they need him constantly putting pressure on Boston. The attention he draws, especially after the Celtics got a dose of what happens when they don’t ring the alarm with him, is the crack in the door the other Warriors need on offense. If they are playing against a straight-up Boston defense, advantage Celtics. But if they are playing against a Boston defense reacting to Curry, advantage Warriors.

“They have got good size and athleticism at every position, pretty much,” Kerr said. “They put a lot of pressure on you. But I thought we had some really good moments. We had 38 in the third quarter. We had a good run there. It was mainly the fourth quarter that got us. So we feel confident with our ability to score against them.”

The blueprint to beat the Celtics was laid in previous series. Greatness gives them problems. Greatness with support beats them. In the Eastern Conference finals, Miami’s Jimmy Butler put constant pressure on Boston’s defense. He just didn’t have much help. When he wasn’t on, the Heat didn’t have much of a chance, save for Game 3 when Bam Adebayo dominated. In the East semifinals, it was Giannis Antetokounmpo breaking down the defense to set up his teammates. When Jrue Holiday was productive, Milwaukee won.

The Celtics’ six losses this postseason have come at the hands of superstar performances. Antetokounmpo and Holiday averaged a combined 52 shots in the three Milwaukee wins. Two of Miami’s three wins over Boston came when Butler launched 41 and 47 shots, respectively. The other featured 31 attempts from Adebayo.

When the Warriors’ offense did not have Curry attacking, it simply wasn’t as potent. Curry was scorching in the first quarter. But he sat for the first six minutes of the second quarter and took just one shot over the first seven minutes. And by the time he took it, the Warriors’ lead was down to two. His hot start was squandered as Boston went to the half with a lead.

The beginning of the end came with Curry sitting to start the fourth. He sat the first 2:25. That’s all it took for the Warriors to lose control of the game and ultimately home-court advantage in the series.

Four possessions to start the fourth quarter fueled the Celtics and sparked the revolution of a game the Warriors’ controlled. A missed Thompson 3. A missed Poole 3. A missed Andre Iguodala fadeaway at the end of the shot clock. Then, with the offense stagnant, Poole did the right thing by trying to drive. But even when Poole got a step on Payton Pritchard, Robert Williams loomed in the paint. With Green and Iguodala on the court, the Celtics had two players to sag off and could pack the paint without fear. Poole tried to pass out after he was stopped in the lane, but it landed out of bounds.

During that stretch, the Celtics got two Jaylen Brown jumpers, the latter a 3, and a Williams dunk. The Warriors’ 12-point lead to start the fourth was down to 92-87 in what seemed like the blink of an eye. Curry came back in, much earlier than normal, but the momentum was already spilling away. Plus, nine seconds after Curry checked back in, Iguodala committed another turnover that led to a Pritchard layup. Three-point game.

Certainly, we’ve seen the Warriors’ offense sputter with Curry. He’s not above turnovers or missing shots. But Thursday, he was elite and the Warriors needed more of him. Maybe starting him in the fourth, and having him attack, was the move when Boston signaled it was going for one last push by starting the quarter with its best five.

The other option is for Poole to find his footing. That’s certainly possible. It just doesn’t feel plausible how these playoffs have gone. If that changes, it would be a huge boon for the Warriors.

Until then, book Curry for 40 minutes and up. His greatness is the Warriors’ best medicine for the migraine that is the Celtics. The Warriors have spent most of this season securing the time when he checks out. But they can no longer afford to sit him for too long.