Giannis is getting an MRI on his knee.

[fourkicks44]

Damn....

If Giannis is done, means the East is wide open.

[AirBonner]

Damn....

If Giannis is done, means the East is wide open.

It is wide open regardless

[Axe]

"no giannis = first round exit"

Brace yourselves. I'm betting comments like these will come sooner than later.

[highwhey]

Tbh, i don't expect the bucks to make it to the finals regardless. Giannis is a regular season superstar that gets shut down in the playoffs bc he doesn't have a reliable signature move(jumper). Or any shot for that matter.

He's like a bowling ball that rolls into the paint with brute force. Gets away with it in the reg season, but it doesn't work in the playoffs.

I wish him good health, but he probably needs to pray to learn how to shoot more importantly.

[Axe]

Giannis is a regular season superstar that gets shut down in the playoffs bc he doesn't have a reliable signature move(jumper).
Sounds like you're basically saying he is similar to james harden, the bearded shooter who does better in the regular season then chokes in the playoffs.

[fourkicks44]

It is wide open regardless

:lebronamazed:

Bloodbath

[Real Men Wear Green]

I didn't watch last night but I never saw a highlight that showed a bad knee bend or whatever. I think/hope he'll be fine, maybe miss a game or two but a major injury would have showed some kind of sign in the game, no?
He's like a bowling ball that rolls into the paint with brute force. Gets away with it in the reg season, but it doesn't work in the playoffs. The playoffs aren't some magical place where things that used to work suddenly don't. It's more about personnel. If you have multiple big defenders with good mobility to throw at him you can slow him down enough to make his team beatable. If you don't he's going to light you up, playoff or regular season. Andthe better the shooters are around him the more impossible it becomes to swarm him the way you have to swarm him in the paint.

[BarberSchool]

Boston Celtics make the finals.

Then proceed to lose to a healthy "well-load-managed" Clippers in the finals.
Lou hits some big shots.
Beverly gets some key steals/no-calls and overstates his real impact by yelling and banging his chest.
George Paul hits all his 4th quarter FT, and defensively frustrates all young boston swingmen.
Kawhi leads Clips in PTS/RB/STL and wins his 3rd FMVP.
DOC does his best Tom Waits impression in press conference.

Celts look great going into 2021.

[Axe]

Wonder what coach bud will do in case this one escalates but hopefully not.

[fourkicks44]

It didn't look good that's for sure.


https://youtu.be/s_4DB8GnsuE

[John Connor]

The playoffs aren't some magical place where things that used to work suddenly don't. It's more about personnel.

Yes, they kind of are though. I get what you're saying, at the end of the day it's still NBA basketball and it's played at an incredibly high level regardless, but... teams potentially having a week to focus their collective focus and energy on ways to disrupt your go to strategy & tactics as an individual and as a team.. and as such your play being less effective. well it happens. Does it happen in every playoff series ever? No. But it happens a lot.

But when you give guys like Poppovich, LeBron, etc... time, possibly a week, to truly game plan against you? You can easily and handily lose a playoff series badly that you might have won in the regular season.

Hell, it even happened to LeBron James himself against the Mavs in 2011(though in this case the Mavs actually did win the regular season 2 to 0) .

[tontoz]

Giannis wasn't exactly struggling in the playoffs last season. He was doing fine until he ran into Kawhi.

Against Boston he averaged 28.4 ppg with a 62.5% TS.

[Real Men Wear Green]

Yes, they kind of are though. I get what you're saying, at the end of the day it's still NBA basketball and it's played at an incredibly high level regardless, but... teams potentially having a week to focus their collective focus and energy on ways to disrupt your go to strategy & tactics as an individual and as a team.. and as such your play being less effective. well it happens. Does it happen in every playoff series ever? No. But it happens a lot.

But when you give guys like Poppovich, LeBron, etc... time, possibly a week, to truly game plan against you? You can easily and handily lose a playoff series badly that you might have won in the regular season.

Hell, it even happened to LeBron James himself against the Mavs in 2011.Antetokuonmpo took it to the Pistons and Celtics last year when they got to the ECF. They got bounced and he struggled because TO had possibly the best defender in the game in Leonard.

[highwhey]

I didn't watch last night but I never saw a highlight that showed a bad knee bend or whatever. I think/hope he'll be fine, maybe miss a game or two but a major injury would have showed some kind of sign in the game, no?The playoffs aren't some magical place where things that used to work suddenly don't. It's more about personnel. If you have multiple big defenders with good mobility to throw at him you can slow him down enough to make his team beatable. If you don't he's going to light you up, playoff or regular season. Andthe better the shooters are around him the more impossible it becomes to swarm him the way you have to swarm him in the paint.

Nick Nurse drew up the blueprint to contain Giannis. Heat smothered him the other night. You don't need Kawhi to stop him, but a pretty good wing defender will do wonders.

[Real Men Wear Green]

Nick Nurse drew up the blueprint to contain Giannis. Heat smothered him the other night. You don't need Kawhi to stop him, but a pretty good wing defender will do wonders.

The Heat have Bam Adebayo, a strong big with mobility. Nurse's blueprint might not work so well with Toronto now that Leonard is gone. Kawhi isn't a big but he has a big wingspan and had the strength of a big as well. In the postseason you are more likely to encounter a team with that kind of player but Antetokuonmpo would not be averaging 30 in 33 minutes if Nurse had employed a strategy that any team can pull off.

[Uncle Drew]

Probably just a hyper extension.

[Axe]

The Heat have Bam Adebayo, a strong big with mobility. Nurse's blueprint might not work so well with Toronto now that Leonard is gone. Kawhi isn't a big but he has a big wingspan and had the strength of a big as well. In the postseason you are more likely to encounter a team with that kind of player but Antetokuonmpo would not be averaging 30 in 33 minutes if Nurse had employed a strategy that any team can pull off.
I thought it was actually Iggy that helped them shut down giannis last time since he was a good defensive player i think.

[highwhey]

The Heat have Bam Adebayo, a strong big with mobility. Nurse's blueprint might not work so well with Toronto now that Leonard is gone. Kawhi isn't a big but he has a big wingspan and had the strength of a big as well. In the postseason you are more likely to encounter a team with that kind of player but Antetokuonmpo would not be averaging 30 in 33 minutes if Nurse had employed a strategy that any team can pull off.

For the record, i fully expect bucks to decimate the raps.

I'd say only the heat (darkhorse team), celtics and 6ers(if healthy) are the only capable teams of beating him in the east.

Just saying, he's not unbeatable. Just gotta be smart about it.

[Axe]

Just saying, he's not unbeatable. Just gotta be smart about it.
Of course not, captain obvious. Kawhi already made a big testament to this during the ecf last year.

[BarberSchool]

It didn't look good that's for sure.


https://youtu.be/s_4DB8GnsuEThere was ALOT of weight/inertia/pressure pushing UP & FORWARD from behind the lower half of his left patella.
Could be a combo of Patella ligament & meniscus strain/slight damage.

[Keno]

Bucks are undefeated without Ginnias anyways, wouldn’t miss a beat.

[EllEffEll]

There was ALOT of weight/inertia/pressure pushing UP & FORWARD from behind the lower half of his left patella.
Could be a combo of Patella ligament & meniscus strain/slight damage.

He kind of bounced against it. It looked pretty ugly, and he was wincing afterward. I wouldn't be surprised if there is something damaged (or isn't).

It would be a shame if he is hobbled or can't play in the playoffs. The Bucks have had a great season, and it's been so long since they have been playing at such a high level, especially being one of the smaller market teams. Since he did continue playing, I'm betting he can heal before the playoffs begin if they let him.