2019 NBA Playoffs Poll

[33anda3rd]

It's more about the principle. If this is how the league's very best players are going to behave, I'm entirely and totally expletived, and forced to dream of a world where I could just like some of these players and watch them jump high and stuff without investing anything in it.

If the league is just an exhibition, I can't ever get what I've poured a lot of spirit and energy into. And had my heart ripped out a number of times for. Can you relate to that in any way?

I can't relate because I consume the game as entertainment in a different way and it's important and meaningful to me in a way that is different from how it's meaningful to you. I promise you this: when Dame stopped Russ a couple nights ago then flexed on Russ then hit that 31-foot three on the other end, I enjoyed it as much as if not more than most Blazers fans because I love basketball more than most Blazers fans love the Blazers. I feel the same way when Giannis goes from midcourt to rim with one dribble, or when Curry swishes an audacious three or when Kyrie crosses someone over then darts between a couple defenders on his way to the paint or Kawhi appears like an apparition in a horror film from behind a screen to alter a jumpshot he had no business defending. I love the whole thing, I almost never care who wins I just want to see an entertaining game. My wife asks me all the time: "who do you want to win this game?" and it's usually like "eh, don't really care if it's the T-wolves or Mavs, I'm just thrilled to be able to watch Luka against a motivated Towns on the other side." I want to see stars do star stuff and I also want to see random things like Patrick Beverley turning what will eventually be a blowout first-round loss into something entertaining and fun with some kind of metaphysical meaning behind it. I want to see Mario Hezonja, as lunchpail a player as there is, out of nowhere posterize Giannis, then a couple months later do the same to poor Marquese Chriss. I love all that [expletive], and I love it all almost equally.

[33anda3rd]

On the topic of NBA meaning, the league really is a 90-floor skyscraper's worth of metaphysics, just floors on floors of social and sport meaning and narrative. Take that Hezonja dunk on Marquesse Chriss. Here it is:

That's a badass play. The game? Hezonja's Knicks were on Game 17 of an eighteen game losing streak on their way to the bottom. Chriss's Cavs, improbably despite that Knicks streak, had only two more total wins than New York. Two utterly awful teams playing a meaningless game in mid-February. And Hezonja does that.

Stack that with the fact that Hezonja's a guy Orlando took in the lottery but when his rookie deal was up they were like "nah, don't really need you anymore" and let him go. Chriss is a rare bird: lower status than Hezonja. 21 years old and already on his third team. A fair bit of time in the G-League. A guy who couldn't stick around to play minutes in Phoenix, arguably the 2nd worst franchise in professional sports after the Orioles. A guy so low status as a pro athlete that I purposely spelled "Marquese" with a second "s" in the top of this post and no one noticed. Chriss is so low status Hezonja comes into this matchup already with the upper hand and he's just Mario Hezonja.

So what we have here is a lottery bust (5th pick in 2015) cocking back and freaking unloading on another lottery bust (8th pick in 2016) in a meaningless game between two bust team.....just for the hell of it? To excite the crowd? To screw with Marquese Chriss? To get his swag up on local TV? For a girl? Because there was a scout in the building from LA? Why, exactly?

I don't know, but I'll tell you this. Hezonja going up and shaming Chriss on that posterizer is The Pride Of All Meh Players On Tanking Teams manifested into one glorious moment where Hezonja bounces like he's Dominique Wilkins, [expletive] back, and lets Chriss have it. Hezonja is an avatar for all of us in the The NBA Matters All Year crowd and Chriss is the poster boy for the This League Is Dumb It Only Matters In The Playoffs This Guy Isn't Even Trying crowd.

Moments like that give me more of a thrill than if my hometown team wins. They're why the NBA across the board is the most entertaining, fun, and yes competitive league we have.

[Socnorb11]

It's more about the principle. If this is how the league's very best players are going to behave, I'm entirely and totally expletived, and forced to dream of a world where I could just like some of these players and watch them jump high and stuff without investing anything in it.

If the league is just an exhibition, I can't ever get what I've poured a lot of spirit and energy into. And had my heart ripped out a number of times for. Can you relate to that in any way?

I can't relate because I consume the game as entertainment in a different way and it's important and meaningful to me in a way that is different from how it's meaningful to you. I promise you this: when Dame stopped Russ a couple nights ago then flexed on Russ then hit that 31-foot three on the other end, I enjoyed it as much as if not more than most Blazers fans because I love basketball more than most Blazers fans love the Blazers. I feel the same way when Giannis goes from midcourt to rim with one dribble, or when Curry swishes an audacious three or when Kyrie crosses someone over then darts between a couple defenders on his way to the paint or Kawhi appears like an apparition in a horror film from behind a screen to alter a jumpshot he had no business defending. I love the whole thing, I almost never care who wins I just want to see an entertaining game. My wife asks me all the time: "who do you want to win this game?" and it's usually like "eh, don't really care if it's the T-wolves or Mavs, I'm just thrilled to be able to watch Luka against a motivated Towns on the other side." I want to see stars do star stuff and I also want to see random things like Patrick Beverley turning what will eventually be a blowout first-round loss into something entertaining and fun with some kind of metaphysical meaning behind it. I want to see Mario Hezonja, as lunchpail a player as there is, out of nowhere posterize Giannis, then a couple months later do the same to poor Marquese Chriss. I love all that [expletive], and I love it all almost equally.

I love all of that too, 33. I can get all of that from watching re-runs of games from 5 or 10 or 20 years ago, though.

The thing I want to get today that I can't get from watching games that were played 10 years ago is the suspense of the outcome. I want to believe that an underdog has a shot. The Bulls and Spurs won a lot of championships back in the day, but you always felt like they could stumble under the right circumstances. They weren't "jacked up" like the Dubs are. Again, if Larry Bird had joined those Bulls teams, I honestly would have been disappointed. I truly want to watch these guys COMPETE, not just show off their immense talent. It's why I don't really enjoy watching Olympic basketball, even though it's more talent on one court than you'll find anywhere else.

[33anda3rd]

I love all of that too, 33. I can get all of that from watching re-runs of games from 5 or 10 or 20 years ago, though.

I don't believe you can because those re-runs have no element of tension/release and surprise. The reason the above poster dunk from Hezonja is thrilling is because it's a shock, a surprise, one moment he's in the corner the next he's posterizing Chriss. You can't get that on a replay. When Curry stops 32 feet out and you're like "is he gonna...." and before you can finish that thought, swish, is something that is about 400% less thrilling on replay and 600% less thrilling on 2nd replay. Still cool, but tension/release, and the in-the-moment of it goes away.

The Bulls and Spurs won a lot of championships back in the day, but you always felt like they could stumble under the right circumstances.

The 91 Bulls went 15-2 in the playoffs
The 92 Bulls went 15-7 in the playoffs
The 93 Bulls went 15-4 in the playoffs
--that first three-peat they went a collective 21-4 in the first two rounds, which includes a tight 4-3 Knicks series--
The 96 Bulls went 15-3 in the playoffs
The 97 Bulls went 15-4 in the playoffs
The 98 Bulls went 15-6 in the playoffs
--that second three-peat went a collective 21-3 in the first two rounds--
Outside the Knicks in round two of 92 and the Pacers in the East Finals in 98 no one took the Bulls 7 games. 24-11 in the Finals. There wasn't that much doubt who was winning. I don't think anyone outside Phoenix really believe that the Suns that year Barkley won MVP were going to unseat the Bulls.

I agree that a seven-game series of games decided by a handful of points each is very exciting. I agree that Cinderella stories are exciting too. But I also think that love has to be unconditional, and I love basketball when there's a tight Finals, when there's a great Cinderella, and when I get to see a historically unprecedented collection of talent play together. The KD thing, it's fun. He shoots 8 times in Game 2, they blow a big lead to a team they should not blow a big lead to, because they're human. Then, because KD is human-plus, he's like "F it, I'll just shoot over PatBev all night" and he scores 38 and barely breaks a sweat. I don't see how that swing, that shift in performance, is not entertaining.

[Socnorb11]

Durant shot 8 times, and the Warriors still should have won. If Durant decided to spend the rest of the playoffs holding out for a better contract, the Warriors would still be favorites.

If Jordan or Lebron or Magic or Bird or Kobe shot 8 times, their team would have no shot. I always felt like those teams were teetering on the edge of not winning. With the Warriors, I don't feel that at all.

The league as a whole, I love. I enjoy it. I think the Durant thing put a huge damper on it though. Again, I don't know how you can view him as a competitor at this point.

[33anda3rd]

I don't see Durant as a competitor. I see him as an entertainer. There really is no competition if KD decides. Like last night, he was just like "I'll shoot over this pesky little guy instead of passing" and he cooked. There can be drama and entertainment before the very likely, almost certainly predetermined conclusion. Otherwise no one would ever go see a RomCom or a One Guy Kills A Whole Bunch Of Other Guys movie.

[Socnorb11]

I don't see Durant as a competitor. I see him as an entertainer. There really is no competition if KD decides. Like last night, he was just like "I'll shoot over this pesky little guy instead of passing" and he cooked.

Was there competition when he played for OKC? Did he just decide to let GS win?

I get what you're saying. We can agree to disagree on this issue, and still give the NBA a thumbs-up, overall. Personally, I'm rooting for KD to move on, and I think the league will have a whole new level of drama, which I look forward to.

[33anda3rd]

What happens if the Knicks win the lottery and KD and Kyrie go to NY? What is the narrative? The Knicks then have the best pure scorer in history, the best ball-handler in history and they will have joined up with maybe the two most gifted athletes (Zion and DSJ) in the league, plus Kevin Knox. Is KD a big sissy who should have gone to Miami instead and Kyrie is a punk who should have stayed in Boston? You know wherever KD moves on to, if he does, it's going to seismically shift the competitive balance of the league, and there is about a 5% chance he goes to a team that is both non-Knicks and non-currently-in-the-playoffs.

Also we don't talk enough about how much Westbrook probably sucks as a teammate and his role in KD's decision to leave OKC.

[Socnorb11]

What happens if the Knicks win the lottery and KD and Kyrie go to NY? What is the narrative? The Knicks then have the best pure scorer in history, the best ball-handler in history and they will have joined up with maybe the two most gifted athletes (Zion and DSJ) in the league, plus Kevin Knox. Is KD a big sissy who should have gone to Miami instead and Kyrie is a punk who should have stayed in Boston? You know wherever KD moves on to, if he does, it's going to seismically shift the competitive balance of the league, and there is about a 5% chance he goes to a team that is both non-Knicks and non-currently-in-the-playoffs.

Also we don't talk enough about how much Westbrook probably sucks as a teammate and his role in KD's decision to leave OKC.

Won't dispute your last statement at all. In fact, I'm in total agreement.

Kyrie plus Durant would make the Knicks (or SHOULD make them) very good. I don't think Kyrie is close to being on the same level as Curry though (I would disagree that Kyrie is the best ball handler in history). Zion would be a factor, but he'd also be an NBA rookie. That team wouldn't be a lock for anything. They'd probably be fun to watch though.

Edit: I also think it might be a stretch to call Durant the best pure scorer in history, although he definitely belongs in the conversation.

[Tim]

So why are ratings down? All the star power out West? No LeBron? I really like watching Milwaukee