Board 8 > NBA Discussion - can this regular season just end now

(+) Yeah! (+)

Mind blowing what can happen when one of your all-star players scores more than zero points.

Game 1 Raptors are legitimately a lottery team.
---

spurs up 20 goo spurs
---

Man I wish I could fake excitement about at least getting to fire Billy but I have no idea of any coach good enough to fix us
---

Jager is available!
---

Fully expected the Magic to lose last night, just didn't think it would be as bad as it was. My family are visiting from England for the first time since I emigrated and that was their first exposure to the Magic. Welp.

On the plus side, any Magic fan would have bitten your hand off at taking 1-1 back to the Amway. I would love to go 2-0 at the Amway but I think 1-1 is realistic and then we would at least get the chance to try win on home court to try force a game 7.

What I found to be an absolute joke was the flagrant foul called on Carter Williams against Lowry. You cannot call that a flagrant when you let Lowry bust open Carter Williams face the game before and gave no call.

I still hate the lack of consistency by the refs (both ways) in this series.

MCW is on the Magic these days? How many teams has that guy played for already? Must be a record for a RotY this early in his career
---

Yeah we picked him up on a 10 day contract after Isaiah Briscoe got injured. We then gave him another 10 day contract and then converted it to a full deal to make him playoff eligible.

He has actually played extremely well for us since we got him. Probably partly because as he has acknowledged himself, he is basically playing for his career at this point as he might not get another shot.

I think it's quite likely we retain him next season too. Feel bad for Briscoe as he's likely the odd man out after playing really well for us (your typical scrappy bulldog type player off the bench). Since I think our PG situation next year will be Augustin, Fultz (presumably he's clear to play) and MCW.

is blake not playing this series at all
---

ScareChan posted...

is blake not playing this series at all

Yahoo said no but official Piston statement is day to day.
---

Pistons scoring points in the 1st!

But so are bucks v_v
---

al horford playing through illness and it shows
---

Tatum looks so tired but he is pulling out some amazing athletic feats
---

he's so good
he's so good
he's so good
he's so good
---

Kyrie is in full mamba
---

Halftime score

Pistons 59
Bucks 58

Andre + 4 guard lineup working well against Milwaukee
---

incredible choking + bad luck by indy down the stretch
---

GREEN MAMBA

can we call him that please
---

its less than a minute in and Houston has won

lmao
---

Blake may not be playing but he sure can get technicals while on the bench
---

Outscored by 18 in the 3rd RIP
---

Harden is just hilarious
---

Final score

Pistons 99
Bucks 120

ninkendo posted...

My poor pistonz

---

derrick whiteeeee
---

Marc Gasol is quickly becoming my least favorite player (because of him being so good)

Vucevic's stats against the Raptors this season. Want to take a stab at when Raptors got Gasol?

Game 1 14/18/4 (+8)
Game 2 30/19/8 (+33)
Game 3 23/12/5 (+5)
Game 4 13/13/3 (-13)
Game 5 11/8/3 (+2)
Game 6 6/6/3 (-19)
Game 7 5/4/3 (-6)

Lowry flopping and getting calls is getting old too.

Love to see Vucevic be made the Raptors bitch
---

Raptors with 4 free throws 75% through the game, which is exactly what I expect from this ref crew.
---

Very confident about Raps in 5 now. Refs can throw Orlando jerseys on and it still wouldn't make a difference.
---

You got this not called travelling when it really mattered at the death. Not sure you can complain about refs

https://twitter.com/i/status/1119414223342227456

Not saying Raptors didn't deserve it, they did, but refs were not a reason.

I will never understand why Clifford does not have Isaac in at the death as well. He's our best defender, clearly the future and yet he's on the bench when it matters.

What won it for the Raptors was the court awareness at the end. Magic not getting that rebound that they should have was a backbreaker and it was all down to Magic players not snagging it. Inexperience or just lost in the moment, I don't know, but they had to grab that and they all just watched it

Did not mean to come off aggressive in that last post. This Leafs series is incredibly stressful so I need to fall back on the Raptors as a way to balance it out.
---

there's too much salt in this topic
---

It would be much easier to be swept!
---

Also I just want to highlight that for as much as fans complain about refs either way (and there has been bad calls both directions), the refs are calling it pretty much in line with the season averages

Magic give an average of 18.6 fouls per game. Against the Raptors this post season they have given 19, 18 and 17 fouls for an avg of 18 fouls. T

The Raptors avg 21 fouls per game. Against the Magic they have given 19, 23, 23 for an average of 21.6 per game.

People always look at the FT discrepency but really it's the total fouls that show a clearer picture

ShatteredElysium posted...

I will never understand why Clifford does not have Isaac in at the death as well. He's our best defender, clearly the future and yet he's on the bench when it matters.

Seems other people are questioning this too.

Jonathan Isaac played 40 minutes in the Game 1 win. 23 minutes and 29 minutes in the Game 2 and 3 losses, respectively

Siakam, who went for 30 points 10 rebounds was 4/10 shotting when matched against Isaac. He was 9/10 when matched with anyone else.

I know absolutely nothing about the Magic. Are these odd personnel decisions a result of bad coaching? Management? Is there something more than just the raw numbers you're pulling that makes more sense?

If it's so clear, there has to be a reason why it isn't happening.
---

Clifford is a stickler for sticking to his rotations regardless of what happens on the court. Doesn't matter how well or how badly someone plays or what may change in game, he is sticking to his rotations

It's no coincidence that the one game we won is when he played Isaac way more and it was a massive surprise that he did because he never does that even though Isaac has arguably been our best player since the all star break. There must have been an injury we didn't know about

*sees Blake back down and score on Giannis*

Do we have a series hmmmm

*8 point lead by bucks after 1 with Giannis being scoreless*

Maybe not! but lets see
---

IfScareChan posted...

Do we have a series hmmmm

If Pistons had been healthy from the beginning I would have taken them over any team in the East....except Bucks v_v
---

Need more "REF YOU SUCK" chants though
---

boy drummond is just terrible
---

At the very least the Pistons might be able to break a record after their next game as they'll have the record for consecutive postseason losses at 14.
---

Going to the Magic game tonight. Hopefully we can get the win and at least force a game 6 so I can go to another playoff game too.

I'm at the Magic game.
---

TheRock1525 posted...

I'm at the Magic game.

I'm at the baseline bar on 1st floor in an isaac Jersey

I'm in section 212 because I wasn't gonna spend more than $30 on this game.
---

Yay Pistons not the first team eliminated
---

I brought all the Pistons stink to the Magic.

My bad.
---

Jakyl25 posted...

Yay Pistons not the first team eliminated

I was ecstatic to see the Pacers get dead
---

I need the Raptors to be good following the immeasurable disappointment that is the Leafs.
---