[Western Conference Finals] (1)Golden State vs. (3)Portland

That paul george made 3 in game 82 really affected western finals nba bottom line. This series is over. Nba could have had a rockets warriors wcf if that shot is missed.

Rockets clearly better than the rest of the nba. Just sucks its during the warriors era.

 

Yeah but it was already broken with Curry. Adding Durant just made it stupid even if helped the rockets. Against most matchups teams still double Curry but are less likely to stop the Durant iso like the rockets can

 

Except if you take off harden and Curry, I think the rockets win. Draymond can't shoot at all and Klay does his action off ball. Without Curry it won't be great

 

Blazers lost by 22. Rockets 4 losses to the Warriors were by a COMBINED 20 points.

 

I didn't watch the game, but we should all know better than to think the first game of the series means anything.

 

Difference? We had an opportunity and didn't capitalize.

 

Difference is a western conf finals appearance vs second round exit. No one will talk about circumstsnce but believe me all youll hear is how many western finals and theyll consider this an early exit.

Im eager to see the lillard hate for “choking” when the blazers lose. Of course there wont be any. Only the rockets get blitzed for losing to gs.

Got people like max kellerman saying harden isnt a top player in the nba because he hasnt won it all, but then will probably say anthony davis is in the top 5 despite never doing anything.... ever.

 

Sad thing is that Golden State has already threaded the needle by beating us. It'll be easy sailing all the way to the finals. Raptors or Bucks don't stand a chance.

 

It also set up the easiest path to a Championship for us. 2-2 series tied heading into the 4th quarter with game 5 up for grabs and no Durant the rest of the way? What more could we have possibly asked for? That was the chance.... of a lifetime. We’ll never see an opportunity like that again.

If we were really bout it bout it we would’ve taken game 5 and series control. We didn’t. Okay fine. At least get the job done at home and push it to game 7. We couldn’t even do that.

Just because we couldn’t beat the Warriors without Durant and blew the opportunity of a lifetime does not mean they’re better without Durant. Just because they beat the blazers without Durant in game 1 at home exactly like they were supposed to does not mean they’re better without KD.

They look like a better team cause they play a more team oriented style with better ball movement and guys stepping up and fulfilling their roles but ultimately when it comes down to it and he’s actually NEEDED... which they do need him. KD puts them over the top. There’s a difference between looking like a better team and actually being better. You’d be kidding yourself if you actually believe they’re better without KD.

If you forgot and need a reminder on just how much better KD makes the Warriors and puts them over the top look at the 2016 Finals vs 2017 finals. Those series can actually be used as measuring sticks as opposed to basing judgement off these last 2 games without KD when they didn’t even need him.

2016 Warriors historically speaking they were the greatest regular season team ever. 73 wins. In the playoffs they were down 3-1 to OKC and on the brink of elimination. They ultimately lost to Lebron in 7. Next year with KD on the team they faced The Cavs again. Lebron played out of his mind (again), Kyrie played well and this time other teammates stepped up as well yet they still got finished in 5. Durant hit like every single big shot, anytime Cavs looked like they’d get momentum KD ended that right away. Durant literally was a killjoy for any basketball fan that wasn’t cheering for the Warriors.

“NBA is unfair since the Warriors have KD.” “No reason to even play the games anymore.” “**** KD for going to the Warriors.” “The only hope is if he ever leaves.”

How quickly people forget.

 

The Clippers' defense was worse than Portland through the regular season. But they matched up well with the Warriors and made better adjustments through the series.

 

I dont think you replied to the right person. I never mentioned gs with/without durant. I wasnt in that convo

 

You’re right... but popular belief here lately is that the Warriors are better without KD which was why they beat us and won game 1 against the Blazers. All I’m saying is we couldn’t have asked for a better path to win it all since KD was out.

 

Rockets should have beaten the Warriors! MDA was the cause of losing the series. My conspiracy theory is that MDA was in the Warriors' pocket, since he was the one that help the Warriors their first year winning the Chip as a consultant.

 

I wonder how they'd react if harden scored 19pts? (Lillard) Ahhh that's right he has to avg 45 to not be frowned upon. ****ing delusional hating ass espn, nba tv, fox sports..hope y'all enjoy the wcf!

 

I guess you didn't notice all the 31-4 or winning 28 of the last 29 records they were splashing everywhere during the ESPN broadcast. It's not just a belief, it's an attempt to explain counter-intuitive facts.

https://clutchpoints.com/warriors-n...en-kevin-durant-sits-and-stephen-curry-plays/
https://www.sfgate.com/warriors/art...rail-Blazers-Kevin-Durant-return-13846145.php

 

Warriors are great and they’ve shown they can win a championship without KD. They’ve also shown they can be beaten without KD. Their finals record is 1-1 without KD. With KD they’re 2-0 and they made it look easy both times. I don’t care about regular season wins or conference playoff wins. In the finals they are a different animal with KD.

Let’s pretend KD is out for the rest of the playoffs. Will GSW have any problem advancing past Portland? I don’t think so. You don’t think so either l, right? K cool.

When GSW get to the finals and face either the Raptors or Bucks without KD can you honestly say they’re gonna win a Championship for sure? I can’t. I’d honestly say it would be toss-up and a very competitive series with no clear cut favorite.

Now with a healthy Durant back as expected I’m gonna say he kinda changes things and I’m favoring the Warriors and I’d be shocked if they didn’t win. That’s just me though.

 

Vs the bucks, teams will need more bigs, so KD will help. Same in 2016 - the 73-9 team is supposed to win if they maintained their level of play in the finals. However, the Green suspension and Bogut injury threw off their team's balance, couple that with banged up bodies of Curry & others, they did not perform anywhere near their peak during the finals.

But there is a thing to be said about ball-movement and team play. I found this episode of bballbreakdown telling :



point is, these guys are talking not only based on belief, but a phenomenon they observe.

 

so we suck much less. i still think warriors will contend for at least 2 more years after this.

 

First offensive possession, Curry missess a three after Bogut grabbing Lillard while screening - no whistle.

On the other end, Kanter gets a rebound and gets hammered by Bogut while going up - no whistle.

I turned off the TV and returned to the game later only because I had to write a summary about it.

I'm disgusted at the way refs always turn a blind eye towards GSW.