Live Event The Official 2023 NBA Playoffs Thread presented by Google Pixel (including the Play-Ins)

[peternorth]

After 82 emotional games, spanning 25 weeks, we finally made it here.

The Play in games opens the post season (posted dates USA time)


OKC, Memphis rested their entire roster it seemed. As did Dallas. The Knicks did not.


The Lakers announced the signing of reinforcements today as well:

The Los Angeles Lakers announced Sunday that they have signed guard Shaquille Harrison and power forward Tristan Thompson to bolster their depth for the NBA playoffs.
Little known fact. Shaquille Harrison was named after Shaquille ONeal and the man who raised him, Sgt. Phillip Harrison

This post has a poll.

 

[Elmer_Judd]

Bloody hell

 

[Look2Me4Guidance]

Who put a crown emoji next to the Lakers option peternorth I request an immediate ban of that person

 

[GoEaglesGoSGIO]

Bloody hell

Taurean Prince is such a real one. He still has the GOAT media moment

 

[Look2Me4Guidance]

Udonis Harlem 24 points in 25 mins. Surely has another year in him

 

[GoEaglesGoSGIO]

In all seriousness the Gobert trade will go down in sporting history as the worst one ever done. It will be NBAs Chris Groom for Andrew McLeod

Andrew Mcleod

Age

46

Ht

181cm

Wt

82kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

19.8

5star

K

13.1

5star

HB

6.7

4star

M

3.1

3star

T

2.2

4star

No current season stats available

D

10.8

3star

K

6.8

3star

HB

4.0

3star

M

1.0

1star

T

1.6

4star

moment

I mean we ae 9 months in and Utah Jazz already have the better player in Walter Kessler and that is before the 4 first rounders

 

[Satan]

Surely the lakers will beat wolves who are mentally gone

 

[Dannnnnnnnnn]

In all seriousness the Gobert trade will go down in sporting history as the worst one ever done. It will be NBAs Chris Groom for Andrew McLeod moment

I mean we ae 9 months in and Utah Jazz already have the better player in Walter Kessler and that is before the 4 first rounders

Jesus christ you have some s**t takes

 

[GoEaglesGoSGIO]

Jesus christ you have some s**t takes

Umm what? I didnt event think it was up for debate?

Kessler had the better PER for the season and if you go over the 36 minute averages, Kessler broke even mostly except he was the much better shot blocker which is what Gobert was brought inf or

Gobert - 15.8 pts, 13.7 rebounfs, 1.5 assists, 0.9 steals, 1.6 block
Kessler - 14.4 pts, 13.1 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 0.5 steals, 3.7 blocks

 

[Dannnnnnnnnn]

Umm what? I didnt event think it was up for debate?

Kessler had the better PER for the season and if you go over the 36 minute averages, Kessler broke even mostly except he was the much better shot blocker which is what Gobert was brought inf or

Gobert - 15.8 pts, 13.7 rebounfs, 1.5 assists, 0.9 steals, 1.6 block
Kessler - 14.4 pts, 13.1 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 0.5 steals, 3.7 blocks

Worst trade ever done? Kessler a better player already? It's the hyperbole I take issue with.

No doubt we gave up a lot (too much) and no doubt Gobert hasn't been at the level we hoped. But he's still been super ******* good for this team, especially since Conley came in. He's changed our identity entirely, and the two big lineups have been outstanding late in the season. He's put us on his back and won us games on numerous occasions.

Gobert's blocking hasn't been where we would've liked it this season, but it's not true to say "that's what he was brought in for." He was brought in to rebound the ball, defend the rim, and create some easy buckets. He's done all of that to a much, much higher level than anybody else on the roster. He's not blocking shots but our interior defence has never been close to being this good. The amount of drives that are just completely abandoned is wild.

I'm not going to comment on Kessler because I haven't seen enough to directly compare. But you probably need more than one good season to be called a better player than a three-time DPOY, six-time all-defensive first team and three-time all star.

Like I said, we overpaid, and it's questionable whether it was the right call. It probably wasn't. I can't say he's been at the level I hoped in general. But you don't need the other s**t in there.

 

[GoEaglesGoSGIO]

Worst trade ever done? Kessler a better player already? It's the hyperbole I take issue with.

No doubt we gave up a lot (too much) and no doubt Gobert hasn't been at the level we hoped. But he's still been super ******* good for this team, especially since Conley came in. He's changed our identity entirely, and the two big lineups have been outstanding late in the season. He's put us on his back and won us games on numerous occasions.

Gobert's blocking hasn't been where we would've liked it this season, but it's not true to say "that's what he was brought in for." He was brought in to rebound the ball, defend the rim, and create some easy buckets. He's done all of that to a much, much higher level than anybody else on the roster. He's not blocking shots but our interior defence has never been close to being this good. The amount of drives that are just completely abandoned is wild.

I'm not going to comment on Kessler because I haven't seen enough to directly compare. But you probably need more than one good season to be called a better player than a three-time DPOY, six-time all-defensive first team and three-time all star.

Like I said, we overpaid, and it's questionable whether it was the right call. It probably wasn't. I can't say he's been at the level I hoped in general. But you don't need the other s**t in there.

So trade value doesnt matter when measuring a trade? Overpaid is a pretty big part of all this isnt it and 99% of what im talking about so removing it from the conversation seems ridiculous

Whats a worse trade then that in the NBA? Even the Nets/Celtics ones were better then this

Conley was a very good trade. Kyle Anderson was one of the better free agent pickups. Gobert on the other hand has been crap and T-Wolves would be infinitlely better if they just kept Kessler.

You basically took my comment and removed 80% of it to make a point about the remaining 20% which was odd here. I mean you havnt even mentioned how bloody good Kessler was once and that is a very very major point of mine

 

[nahnah]

The 50 win cavs can’t crack the poll but play in teams can ?
Last time a team won a championship without winning 50 games was 1995

 

[apollo_creed]

The 50 win cavs can’t crack the poll but play in teams can ?
Last time a team won a championship without winning 50 games was 1995

Yep, rather weird.

 

[BEEG]

Udonis Harlem 24 points in 25 mins. Surely has another year in him

He was fresh, 4 years on a bench just needed an opportunity.

 

[Dannnnnnnnnn]

So trade value doesnt matter when measuring a trade? Overpaid is a pretty big part of all this isnt it and 99% of what im talking about so removing it from the conversation seems ridiculous

Whats a worse trade then that in the NBA? Even the Nets/Celtics ones were better then this

Conley was a very good trade. Kyle Anderson was one of the better free agent pickups. Gobert on the other hand has been crap and T-Wolves would be infinitlely better if they just kept Kessler.

You basically took my comment and removed 80% of it to make a point about the remaining 20% which was odd here. I mean you havnt even mentioned how bloody good Kessler was once and that is a very very major point of mine

I didn't remove 80% of your post, you made two key points: that it was the worst trade of all time, and that Kessler is already a better player. You then doubled down with some basic stats and commentary that highlights once again that you don't watch Wolves games (I can't blame you).

There is absolutely no way that the Pierce/Garnett trade was better than this. Literally zero. I imagine you'd struggle to find anyone that has watched the Wolves who thinks that. There are plenty of other examples but I don't actually think you're willing to engage with any of them. My argument was centered around how excellent Gobert has been for us since a shaky start, which refutes your comments about him being "crap."

Re: Kessler - like I said, it's not a part of the debate that I'm equipped to comment on because I've only seen him play a handful of games. Statistically they are at best equal (despite the Wolves' season-long dysfunction and his early struggles), and Gobert has an incredible resume. There is no argument for him being, and I quote, "already (...) the better player."

If you had posted - wow, the Wolves have made a mistake with that trade, so much to give up and Kessler looks amazing, it would be fine. But you didn't. You made two hyperbolic statements and then backed it up with comments that show that you haven't actually watched him play for the Wolves, when you have a history of posting nonsense about them.

 

[GoEaglesGoSGIO]

I didn't remove 80% of your post, you made two key points: that it was the worst trade of all time, and that Kessler is already a better player. You then doubled down with some basic stats and commentary that highlights once again that you don't watch Wolves games (I can't blame you).

There is absolutely no way that the Pierce/Garnett trade was better than this. Literally zero. I imagine you'd struggle to find anyone that has watched the Wolves who thinks that. There are plenty of other examples but I don't actually think you're willing to engage with any of them. My argument was centered around how excellent Gobert has been for us since a shaky start, which refutes your comments about him being "crap."

Re: Kessler - like I said, it's not a part of the debate that I'm equipped to comment on because I've only seen him play a handful of games. Statistically they are at best equal (despite the Wolves' season-long dysfunction and his early struggles), and Gobert has an incredible resume. There is no argument for him being, and I quote, "already (...) the better player."

If you had posted - wow, the Wolves have made a mistake with that trade, so much to give up and Kessler looks amazing, it would be fine. But you didn't. You made two hyperbolic statements and then backed it up with comments that show that you haven't actually watched him play for the Wolves, when you have a history of posting nonsense about them.

I just rate Kessler a absolute s**t ton to be fair. Kesslers end of season was better then anything Rudys done for a long time.

Im not one to watch T-Wolves for obvious reasons but I dont believe you are judging Gobert on a high enough standard. You are worth what people pay for you once traded and if you take into account his wages, his trade value, then yes he has been crap.

At that trade and contract you MUST be a All Star and whatever you think of his incredible resume or his end of season form, he has ultimately been crap.

You cant say "Yeah he is playing well and is a good player" ignoring all outliers, when the league is defined by salary cap and draft assets. I think Gobert this year has been say 5-10th best C and in that list this season, Walter Kessler is thereabouts with him and for me is ahead

On top of this also, the stats I am using help Rudys case heavily. If you go to the past 3 months of the year Kessler blew Gobert out of the water in every stat their is

 

[GoEaglesGoSGIO]

Another reason this trade is so bad is T-Wolves were heading in a good direction and they veered off course into the tree of Rudy Gobert. It was shortsighted and unnecessary.

Unlike the Celtics/Nets trade it took Celtics a while to find value. Jazz found it instantly and they still got the future draft picks to run with too

 

[Mazza1234678]

Another reason this trade is so bad is T-Wolves were heading in a good direction and they veered off course into the tree of Rudy Gobert. It was shortsighted and unnecessary.

Unlike the Celtics/Nets trade it took Celtics a while to find value. Jazz found it instantly and they still got the future draft picks to run with too

It was a horrendous trade given what they gave up in terms of picks and players and taking on that albatross of a deal he is on

Not sure how anyone could argue otherwise

 

[GoEaglesGoSGIO]

It was a horrendous trade given what they gave up in terms of picks and players and taking on that albatross of a deal he is on

Not sure how anyone could argue otherwise

I mean basically right now as it stands the deal is

Kessler + 2023-2025-2027-2029 1st rounder + 200 million dollars for Rudy Gobert

I mean what is beating that as a bad trade ?

 

[kozi]

The 50 win cavs can’t crack the poll but play in teams can ?
Last time a team won a championship without winning 50 games was 1995

My heart says Dubs but my head says Cavs

 

[kozi]

Wolves medico trying to hold down Rudy's hand as they're arguing. She knew that ringless French fist of fury was on its way

 

[Son of Skeletor]

Who put a crown emoji next to the Lakers option peternorth I request an immediate ban of that person

Is there a whistle emoji?

The 50 win cavs can’t crack the poll but play in teams can ?
Last time a team won a championship without winning 50 games was 1995

This is what happens when peternorth gets to write the previews.

The guy who used to write them would have been completely impartial. Probably wouldn't have even bagged the Lakers. Much.

 

[Richard Cranium]

I mean we ae 9 months in and Utah Jazz already have the better player in Walter Kessler

 

[Son of Skeletor]

Also Dannnnnnnnnn - as much as people are making fun of your boys today, they still beat our mob. There's always a bigger train wreck.

Now please beat that purple and gold train wreck.

 

[nahnah]

My heart says Dubs but my head says Cavs

My betr account says warriors