2023-2024 Playoffs: March Toward _______?

[bushwick_bill]

 

[shoes22]

Donovan Mitchell believes, and I roll with Donovan Mitchell.

 

[Comeback kid]

Tell Dean I have a knee to give him if he needs it..

Do you know any good docs?

 

[mds]

Do you know any good docs?

March of the Penguins is pretty good.

 

[tn819]

Sitting across from us is an opponent and an opportunity like Detroit in the mid-2000s, the clear favorite.

We’re the upstart with no business knocking them off. Boston is mentally weak, they’re not worried about us but they definitely have some trauma and I think if pushed they’d maybe not get back up.

We may not be the ones to disrupt their ride through the east, but I certainly hope that the upside of this Cavs team is reestablished. The bad bench play, poor assertiveness from Garland, Mobley inconsistency, even JBBs periodic foolishness will all be a distant memory if we make this a real series.

I certainly hope we come out like we have something to prove and there is no downside or expectations on this team, which may be weirdly optimal !

 

[Jscc]

Tell Dean I have a knee to give him if he needs it..

I'll be on the bench in case he needs a second one. We can do the transplant in the locker room at halftime or on the sideline in a tent mid-game.

 

[RchfldCavRaised]

Watch this to hold you over until gametime!

 

[buzzdog]

Strus is an absolute pro.

He's a pro at inter-series interviews but tonight on the court with Boston he was just another scrub who let Mitchell down.

 

[buzzdog]

I listened, great job Mr. Smooth!

 

[Smooth]

I listened, great job Mr. Smooth!

Just trying to make RRJ proud..

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

He's a pro at inter-series interviews but tonight on the court with Boston he was just another scrub who let Mitchell down.

He's a glue guy, but that requires the stars to show up.

 

[2 For The Brew]

Do you know any good docs?

Yeah but he’s coaching in Milwaukee. Or at least he was last week.

 

[Comeback kid]

Yeah but he’s coaching in Milwaukee. Or at least he was last week.

I don’t think Smooth wants doc transplanting his knee!!

 

[2 For The Brew]

I don’t think Smooth wants doc transplanting his knee!!

He‘s currently wrecking playoff teams, has to be better in another line of work.

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

There are some really good young teams making a lot of noise in the playoffs. From The Athletic:


The Minnesota Timberwolves are enjoying their best postseason start of all time (6-0). They swept the Suns and surprised everybody by winning Games 1 and 2 of their second-round series with the defending champion Nuggets. It’s been an incredible run, so we’re right to freak out over what Anthony Edwards and company are doing. With that said, holy crap, look at what the Thunder have done so far. They kicked off their semifinals matchup by housing Dallas 117-95.

Nobody should minimize OKC’s dominance during its 5-0 start this postseason. Actually, maybe we should be making a bigger deal of the Thunder’s start despite being so young. Sure, we can compare OKC’s opponents to Minnesota’s. If we did, we could admit the Suns (swept in first round by Minnesota) have more starpower and gravitas than a Pelicans team without Zion Williamson (swept by OKC). The Nuggets are the defending champs and superior to the Mavericks, but the Thunder are blowing opponents out regardless.

Three of their five wins so far this postseason are blowout victories (by 20 or more points). In five games, the Thunder have a plus-85 point differential. That figure is the second-best over any five-game span in team playoff history. It’s also right in line with the Wolves’ plus-93 mark this postseason (trailing only the Celtics at plus-103).

OKC dominated Dallas in the fourth quarter to put Game 1 to bed, but this thing was tucked in most of the night. The Thunder had complete control, which is only magnified more by their poise with such an inexperienced core.

I would throw in the Magic, which could be even younger than the Thunder. Meanwhile, the older teams are breaking down. The Bucks lost Giannis and the Heat lost Jimmy Butler to injuries and were quickly eliminated. The Lakers, led by 39-year-old LeBron James, lost 4-1 to the Nuggets. The Suns, led by 35-year-old Kevin Durant, lost 4-0 to Minnesota. I think we're seeing a changing of the guard here.