Europeans in NBA playoffs 2020

[Buckalis]

All NBA 1st Team:
LeBron James
Giannis Antetokounmpo
Anthony Davis
James Harden
Luka Doncic

2nd team:
Kawhi Leonard
Pascal Siakam
Nikola Jokic
Damian Lillard
Chris Paul

3rd team:

Jimmy Butler
Jason Tatum
Rudy Gobert
Ben Simmons
Russel Westbrook


There are strange choises in 3rd team. Simmons with no outside shot and 60% FT percentage is there to make people trust in the process is suppose, Westbrook a joke - stats are okay numberwise but with bad shooting percentage and catastrophical 3pt percentage and his usage was huge, but okay. Would change Tatum with Paul, too. Jayson in 3rd team is not okay in my eyes.

Generally 4 Europeans and all together 6 non Americans in best 15 NBA players. Game is changing. Slowly, but it is. There are some Europeans which will knock on this door in the next years for ALL NBA Teams. Porzingis, Sabonis, Schröder, maybe Nurkic, Vucevic, Bogdanovic are coming to mind. Good to see that our Euros are represented. Many people claim that this achievements are worthless, in fact they are right. But in certain ways it gives credit to the basketball school where they've been developed and for them a lot of credit in front of their organizations, media (not for all) and referees (not for all, too).

Vucevic should have been 3rd team and Simmons out IMO... Agree on CP3 instead of WB.
Surely agree that the game is changing but not only as far as non US stars multiplying in the NBA, there is tactical and coaching convergence too.

[Buckalis]

Funny, but I think that accidentially both of you are right in a certain way.

On the one hand the Clippers had serious problems in setting plays and generating open space for shots and almost all of their shots in game 6 and 7 were forced and difficult (even Doc claims differently) especially in the second half. And this is a playmaking problem. Kawhi is not LeBron, Bev and Shamet can't create and so they had to muscle up, spot up and force. Sometimes they fall, sometimes not, in their case they didn't.

On the other hand protecting the paint is elementary still, in both game 6 and 7 Clippers got beaten inside in paint points. The time of muscled snag's that can't shoot seems kinda over but anyways is stopping penetrations a key to winning games still. And there is the major problem of the Clippers. Paint got protected very good, rebounding was great and Clippers had no clue how to make Denver collapse. Generally it has to be mentioned that Denver swarmed very good while ball was cruising along the three point line. I think that a guy with good vision could have helped a lot. Kawhi had Lowry last year, this year not. Shouldn't be unmentioned.

For me also funny that everyone blames Paul George for a horrible series but noone Kawhi who was in last two games unable to lead because of his lacking playmaking abilities and spacing issues in Clippers offense. By the way, Clippers didn't play bad defense in all series, in some moments they played tremendeous defense, with great rotations even Denver moved the ball very good, but the pacechanging of Denver and double-teaming/overhelping with Denver hitting outside shots brought them the losses. Kawhi was not at all NBA team level in this series. Not at all.

Maybe, simply, Denver showed that it is no ideal matchup for Clippers. Generally way to many words about Clippers but way to few about Denver.

Funny... you claim both right, but you only agree with me in everything. Zubac is developing to a very good rim protector, but he is no play-maker, PG is a great wing but he is no play-maker, Kwahi is great 3&D, but again, no play-maker...

All that lack of play-making, makes the Clippers too predictable to defend because a coach has only to match players against other players and doesn't have to worry about the Clippers game tactics changing, because they have no play-making alternative from other positions than the point guard in order to change the tactics.

I believe the Lakers have the same problem... their game is too predictable, it's all "Lebron has the ball and AD is the force in the paint"... I therefore wouldn't bet that they'll win it all this season.

[Buckalis]

You must be the MOST narrow minded person I have ever seen. Rim protection and defense in the paint KILLED the Clippers. Don't look at game 7 just but whole Series. Jokic was beating all the time. Plus, in the game 7 they had to DOUBLE HIM and he found everyone open there!!! If you have a guy that can keep up with him and slow him down as much as possible (impossible to stop anyway), then defending the outside shot and switching is much easier. This way Jokic ATE THEM ALIVE. Go listen to your coach Doc Rivers and what he said about Jokic and Game 7.

The idea of having a great defender inside that protects the rim, is to make the other team look for offense ELSEWHERE. Stoping penetration, defending the post as much as possible, key rebounds etc. This is the key. And yes, this killed the Clippers not playmaking. Playmaker in a classical sense is DEAD in the NBA, as it is up to mostly premium guards and wings to generate their own offense through sets and ISOs. So having a guys to do it for them is not really how it works any more. Guys that thrive off of that play are guys like Klay Thompson, or Steph who work off the ball tirelessly. Then having a playmaker has any real value. Otherwise, not that big of a deal.

Scoring guards like Mitchell etc are running the PnR nowadays at excellent rate, so there is no need for classic playmaking in the NBA. Rim protection and stopping penetration is a must though, as teams more and more attack the rim or shoot threes...

Actually I fully agree that there is "no need for classic playmaking in the NBA" as you are ...wrong (!) to say ...correctly! I'll better rephrase it to make it right then so that you can understand what it means.

It simply means: "if you have (which the Clips don't) players that can playmake in more positions than the PG, then a coach can use their ability in order to apply all different shorts of tactics on the court"

Therefore the phrase should be: "there is a need for as much play-making as possible from more positions than the PG in modern basketball" in order to be correct.

[Katastroika]

Celtics vs Heat 101-106

Dragic 34min, 25/3/5, FG 10/19, 3P 3/7, 2TO, +10
Theis 31min, 6/8/3, FG 2/5, 3P 0/1, 1O, -15
Kanter 10min, 9/6/0, FG 4/4, 1TO, +7

Fantastic second half of Heat lead by Dragic who clutched late in the 4th for the big lead of 2-0 in this series. Good role of Kanter in the 1st half. Miami had some luck in the comeback as wild shots of Crowder and Robinson where falling but that's the heart of the champion. In this situations you are or are not. Dragic reminds me a lot of the young Goran spinning through European defenses. He has another 3-4 years of series basketball in front of him in this form.

[CoachZ]

Nice breakdown of Jokic's all 13 assists from Game 7. He should've probably had another 7-8 if the Nuggets hit the open shots.

[Shawshank]

This miami team is like well trained army soldiers.Every single game they play very hard,no let down doesnt matter they lead 2-0,3-0 they gonna come and compete.That 9 men unit that are very diffrent from each other are comming with you with so manny diffrent things.

One game Butler gonna decide,other Dragic,3rd Hero gonna do his 1vs 1 stuff and in 4th when nothing works offensively Bam gonna win it on defence.

In this playoofs 10-1 and one lose was after overtime damm this is real T-E-A-M . They are winning games when Butler scores 12pts.



Warriors dinasty is resting this year,but Iggy can make his 6th straight nba finals.That Riley move when they got Crowder and Iggy in middseason trade was huge,but nobody took attention to do that. They got 2 extra bodies to put on Giannis and Lebron terminator types.

Celtics lost both games when they were leading like 3querters and thats hurts alot emotionally.We will see can they comeback mentally,but if game is close my money is on miami soldiers to win.

[Katastroika]

Lakers vs Nuggets 126-112

Jokic 25min, 21/6/2, FG 8/14, 4TO, -19

After very good and fluid first quarter of Denver both Murray and Jokic (two quite nonexisting offensive fouls vs Howard) received heavy foul trouble Denver couldn't deal with. Lakers shot 32 (can't remember a similar WCF finals stat in a half) free throws in first half and after Jokic's 4th foul in 2nd minute of 2nd half this game was done. All in all Lakere played hard defense but were let to do so, on the other side Nuggets couldn't hit any open shot in the 2nd half and fell apart. Starters of Denver were wisely benched at the end of the 3rd quarter. It's important to mention how much Denver is dependant on Jokic on Murray, when they went out after 1st quarter together it was +2, series of 11-0 brought Lakerse on track at beginning of second. Often Denver is falling apart with second unit on the field. Malone has to deal with it or figure out how to minimize the damage.

Very good games of Davis 37 points (15 free throws), Howard, Rondo and good game of KCP and LeBron. Lakers have permanent heavy pressure on Murray and Jokic, Nuggets should hit something from outside if they plan to win a game in this series. It was funny how Howard flopped on every contact away from the ball to receive the 5th foul of Jokic. X-Factor KCP, an underestimated upgrade of this Lakers team and a player I always loved watching. 1st one is in the books. Sunday to Monday morning 1h30am CET the second game is taking place. Dominant performance of Los Angeles at game 1.

https://twitter.com/chmorley/status/1307179633826242560?s=19

Foul calls on Jokic

[rajubhaiya]

I agree. Luka is something else, something special. And although I didn't see the game yesterday complete I read (and saw on youtube) that 2nd tech to Porzingis was very hard. On the other hard Kristaps has to be more patient in this situations, as you mentioned, they need him like bread. I read in Serbian forums that Kawhi couldn't do anything in 1 on 1 defense against Luka. Doncic is really on the way to get the best of our players of all time.

[Katastroika]

Lakers vs Nuggets 105 - 103

Jokic 39min, 30/6/9/4, FG 9/20, 3P 1/4, 2TO, -6

Lakers were vulnerable and begged for the loss but Nuggets did too many stupid things to not close the coffin.
Dozier missed 4 free throws late in the 4th in a row, Murray couldn't control the ball before the last inbound. Generally Denver showed that they can play with Lakers and that their knees can shake in front of this young group. LeBron seems tired in 2nd halfs of the games, Davis decided with fantastic 3point buzzer beater and was together with Jokic the best player on the field. Great duel. Much better refs than in 1st game. Great fun to watch this game. Do or die for Denver in the 3rd game tomorrow. They'll go all in for sure. Packing the paint helped in this game and they would be crazy if they don't continue with that also in game 3.

Btw, even after watching the replay of the buzzer beater 5 times I am not sure how this kind of miscommunication can happen between Grant and Plumlee. What I've read in some forums today most people blame Plumlee, I'm nearer to this conclusion even I initially though that Grant missed the switch by watching the game live. Anyways, great offense beats great defense. And great players perform great shots.

[Shawshank]

this hurts alot if im Nuggets .Lakers didnt play that well but still was ahead entire game and finally after Jokic marvelous play in last 4 minutes nuggets managed top get one point lead and you get such dagger straight to your heart...

I would say its seriuos conversation who is best player in Lakers in this playoofs:

L.James 25,6pts+10reb+8,7assist on 54,7% shooting
or
A.Davis 28,7pts+10,7reb+4assist on 57,3% shooting + teams best defender that can switch on every guard or center doesnt matter.

That Shaq and Kobe numbers in early 2000s.


All that Lebron crying because Giannis got MVP. Change Middleton with A.Davis and Giannis would go further in playoofs.

[Katastroika]

Yeah, they are a brutal duo. Yesterday it was obvious that Bron by being played hart had one of the worst PO Q4 in all his career and seriously struggled, Davis carried them through the 4th. But you know, I thought that Lakers have mental toughness to win this game when KCP hit the three by standing (!) on the floor in last second of shot clock for +5 from the corner. Incredible mental toughness of this Lakers group with many "dirty" and experienced players and faces. Carruso played great on the edge of passing lanes all the times, they are constantly fouling, hand checking, trash talking. Denver has to break this mental barier now first because I am sure that they can play with the Lakers. You cannot miss 4 free throws in a row in this situation or "hide" in the crunch. Lakers team is build on experience and trust in their possibility to hit in every situation. Denver has to match this in game 3 to "open" this series. They are human after all and Denver has a very interesting team for the years to come. As I said before the playoffs, one strong shooting guard with points in his hand is dividing them from a prime favourite for the title in the next years. Three big overpaid role player contracts are expiring for Denver and they will have hell of a cap space.

Every Serbian's dream for this free agency is signing of Bogdan Bogdanovic to Denver.

[Shawshank]

For me would be hard to imagine how coach can built top 10 defensive NBA team with Jokic and Bogdanovich in starting 5?

All champions was atleast top 10 in defence, most of them in top 6.

If Nuggets dreams is ring with Jokic and Murray they need team up athletic D and 3s players more.

Giannis had 3 white boys shooters in main rotation in regular season it works superbly, in playoffs their weak and slow defence is punished.

[Katastroika]

Bogdan is a very good defender on both positions 2 and 3, but it's not even the point. They need scoring primarily and keep even now almost all contenders regularly to a good amount of points and play formidable defense. Bogdan plays 1 to 3 in NBA, it could work. Of course, we didn't see him in playoffs until now. Maybe he would suck, but he has a clutch gen and adapts usually very well on all structures. Quite intelligent player.

You mention a lot of times that you think that wings are the only way to success or, if I didn't get you wrong, the easiest. In set piece basketball that Denver plays this is pretty meaningless. Nuggets can't be compared to other teams because they are simply unique.

You see, I told Jokic and Murray have to score 55 together, they scored exactly this amount but their missing scoring makes them so easy to predict. Maybe Bogdan, maybe Bertans, maybe even often mentioned Bradley Beal. They need scoring initially more than defense. Taking away Utah series were Nuggets played awful defense in 3 games receiving 130+ points they play very good defense in rest of the games also yesterday containing good Lakers to 105 points.

[Toruko]

The biggest problem that Denver has is they cant defend any fast break situation. Either they dont run back or if they do they do it too sloppy. Then there are guys like Porter Jr. who is a great talent but lacks defensive fundamentals. Sometimes he is really an eyesore but on the other side a great rebounder. Its a unique talent to grab every ball that you had touched before.

Horrible second half of Lechoke, after a great first half a horrible second one. It was again a proof that these Goat debates are bullshit. Jordan will be always the number one with his berserk attitude.

[CoachZ]

Yeah, they are a brutal duo. Yesterday it was obvious that Bron by being played hart had one of the worst PO Q4 in all his career and seriously struggled, Davis carried them through the 4th. But you know, I thought that Lakers have mental toughness to win this game when KCP hit the three by standing (!) on the floor in last second of shot clock for +5 from the corner. Incredible mental toughness of this Lakers group with many "dirty" and experienced players and faces. Carruso played great on the edge of passing lanes all the times, they are constantly fouling, hand checking, trash talking. Denver has to break this mental barier now first because I am sure that they can play with the Lakers. You cannot miss 4 free throws in a row in this situation or "hide" in the crunch. Lakers team is build on experience and trust in their possibility to hit in every situation. Denver has to match this in game 3 to "open" this series. They are human after all and Denver has a very interesting team for the years to come. As I said before the playoffs, one strong shooting guard with points in his hand is dividing them from a prime favourite for the title in the next years. Three big overpaid role player contracts are expiring for Denver and they will have hell of a cap space.

Every Serbian's dream for this free agency is signing of Bogdan Bogdanovic to Denver.

Speak for yourself. I would not want Bogdanovic anywhere near Denver. The kid is a sixth-man type of player with an ego of an all star. That in itself is a huge issue. If he were to accept a role to be a 25 minute a game player off the bench, with some overlap with starters he could be a good add for Denver. Otherwise, playing with Murray, Bogdanovic, Porter, Grant, Jokic is a SURE FIRE ticket to allow 140+ points every game.

Off the bench he would be great, because he can create for others as well and he will take good shots, get a lot of freedom to attack etc.