The LeBron James- 23-24 NBA Playoffs & Off-Season Thread -(NO PERSONAL ATTACKS & BAITING)

[jalengreen]

Not having a timeout & AD injury a shame. Oh well, thank god they didnt get swept lol.

[Colbinii]

Lakers losing Game 2 cost them the series here.

It's funny because LeBron teams always figure out how to win these series but he just doesn't have that extra gear anymore.

Props to Jokic/Murray though, Jokic knows how to make an imprint on a game.

[VanWest82]

27 to 9 FTA advantage, including some suspect calls down the stretch. Refs tried.

15 Fouls for Denver and 12 Fouls for Lakers

Not a huge discrepancy.

What calls were suspect? I thought Jokic was just as physical to AD as AD was to Jokic--seems like some great 1990s physicality

Even though the contact was exaggerated, I thought Bron fouled Jokic with under a min to go. AD arguably also fouled Jokic on the drive that was overturned because of the stuff. There were other calls throughout the game that seemed a little one-sided. Jokic shot zero free throws fwiw.

Edit: I will say that the series as a whole was better officiated than I would've thought coming in.

[GSP]

One thing is for sure prime Bron is def levels ahead of Jokic. Fact that Las gameplan was to attack Jokic in the paint and pick and roll as successfully as they did was obvious.

This couldve easily been 4-1 La like the 20 series if it was prime Bron. 3-2 La at worst.

[ardee]

Lakers losing Game 2 cost them the series here.

It's funny because LeBron teams always figure out how to win these series but he just doesn't have that extra gear anymore.

Props to Jokic/Murray though, Jokic knows how to make an imprint on a game.

Like I said to GSP, he still looked like a top 5 player in the Playoffs. He can absolutely still lead a better organization to another title.

[Colbinii]

Lakers losing Game 2 cost them the series here.

It's funny because LeBron teams always figure out how to win these series but he just doesn't have that extra gear anymore.

Props to Jokic/Murray though, Jokic knows how to make an imprint on a game.

Like I said to GSP, he still looked like a top 5 player in the Playoffs. He can absolutely still lead a better organization to another title.

Yeah, I mean outside of Jokic, who are you taking in a 7-game series over LeBron right now?

The real shame in all this was 2021. The 2021 Lakers cruise to the Finals if he doesn't get hurt by someone diving near his legs.

Then the Lakers [even with a deep run in 2021 without a title] don't trade for Westbrook.

[GSP]

Not having a timeout & AD injury a shame. Oh well, thank god they didnt get swept lol.

They won the challenge but couldnt score on the possession..........that was rough w/ no timeouts left i think it was tied then

[homecourtloss]

What a painful series bro..........might be the most painful Ive experienced as a Bron fan honestly

they **** outplayed them 70% of the series...........if they pulled it out they win game 6. Goat James game 7 record speaks for itself

**** man.........i really believed the 0-3 was possible specially after Murray injury news

Murray basically had his best game in the series tonight.

Basically the 8th time in 9 playoffs games you get an identical game, pretty amazing. Lakers role players are just too ass for this to be a contender. Pretty impressive effort though all things considered, Denver atleast looked mortal in this series where last year it didn't really appear that way.

Never seen this before. Nuggets only led for like 55 minutes the entire series.

[CKRT]

Lakers losing Game 2 cost them the series here.

It's funny because LeBron teams always figure out how to win these series but he just doesn't have that extra gear anymore.

Props to Jokic/Murray though, Jokic knows how to make an imprint on a game.

Like I said to GSP, he still looked like a top 5 player in the Playoffs. He can absolutely still lead a better organization to another title.

That’s the craziest takeaway for me. This team is likely a title winner this year if they made any kind of move to upgrade just a bit. I am really not sure who I would take over him right now besides Jokic.

[Todeasy]

Lakers losing Game 2 cost them the series here.

It's funny because LeBron teams always figure out how to win these series but he just doesn't have that extra gear anymore.

Props to Jokic/Murray though, Jokic knows how to make an imprint on a game.

Like I said to GSP, he still looked like a top 5 player in the Playoffs. He can absolutely still lead a better organization to another title.

Yeah, I mean outside of Jokic, who are you taking in a 7-game series over LeBron right now?

The real shame in all this was 2021. The 2021 Lakers cruise to the Finals if he doesn't get hurt by someone diving near his legs.

Then the Lakers [even with a deep run in 2021 without a title] don't trade for Westbrook.

Maybeeee AD?

[Colbinii]

27 to 9 FTA advantage, including some suspect calls down the stretch. Refs tried.

15 Fouls for Denver and 12 Fouls for Lakers

Not a huge discrepancy.

What calls were suspect? I thought Jokic was just as physical to AD as AD was to Jokic--seems like some great 1990s physicality

Even though the contact was exaggerated, I thought Bron fouled Jokic with under a min to go. AD arguably also fouled Jokic on the drive that was overturned because of the stuff. There were other calls throughout the game that seemed a little one-sided. Jokic shot zero free throws fwiw.

Edit: I will say that the series as a whole was better officiated than I would've thought coming in.

Yeah, Lakers really need the 1998 Refs though to get through this one.

Game 4
Chicago 4Q FTA: 24
Utah 4Q FTA: 3

Chicago wins by 4 points

[PistolPeteJR]

27 to 9 FTA advantage, including some suspect calls down the stretch. Refs tried.

VanLeast, long time.

[jalengreen]

Not having a timeout & AD injury a shame. Oh well, thank god they didnt get swept lol.

They won the challenge but couldnt score on the possession..........that was rough w/ no timeouts left i think it was tied then

Yeah, Reaves missed corner 3 IIRC and then Jokic scored on the other end.

I didn't know that a successful 2nd challenge means you lose the timeout regardless.

[Colbinii]

Like I said to GSP, he still looked like a top 5 player in the Playoffs. He can absolutely still lead a better organization to another title.

Yeah, I mean outside of Jokic, who are you taking in a 7-game series over LeBron right now?

The real shame in all this was 2021. The 2021 Lakers cruise to the Finals if he doesn't get hurt by someone diving near his legs.

Then the Lakers [even with a deep run in 2021 without a title] don't trade for Westbrook.

Maybeeee AD?

Yeah AD is a good thought. Depending how Tatum/SGA/ANT do are also in consideration at the moment, same with Luka.

[PistolPeteJR]

Rui killed me man. Horrid, horrid IQ.

[GSP]

What a painful series bro..........might be the most painful Ive experienced as a Bron fan honestly

they **** outplayed them 70% of the series...........if they pulled it out they win game 6. Goat James game 7 record speaks for itself

**** man.........i really believed the 0-3 was possible specially after Murray injury news

Murray basically had his best game in the series tonight.

Basically the 8th time in 9 playoffs games you get an identical game, pretty amazing. Lakers role players are just too ass for this to be a contender. Pretty impressive effort though all things considered, Denver atleast looked mortal in this series where last year it didn't really appear that way.

Denver had reliable role players and depth last year in Bruce Brown and Jeff Green. They didnt hesitate to mix in lineups that wasnt just their great starting 5. Theyve played those 5 together alot more b/c players like Reggie, Watson, Holiday, Braun were sinking them this series. Thats why i thought La had a shot.

[Slava]

Need a new coach if they run it back with Lebron and Davis.

[zimpy27]

What a painful series bro..........might be the most painful Ive experienced as a Bron fan honestly

they **** outplayed them 70% of the series...........if they pulled it out they win game 6. Goat James game 7 record speaks for itself

**** man.........i really believed the 0-3 was possible specially after Murray injury news

Murray basically had his best game in the series tonight.

Basically the 8th time in 9 playoffs games you get an identical game, pretty amazing. Lakers role players are just too ass for this to be a contender. Pretty impressive effort though all things considered, Denver atleast looked mortal in this series where last year it didn't really appear that way.

Denver had reliable role players and depth last year in Bruce Brown and Jeff Green. They didnt hesitate to mix in lineups that wasnt just their great starting 5. Theyve played those 5 together alot more b/c players like Reggie, Watson, Holiday, Braun were sinking them this series. Thats why i thought La had a shot.

LA were ahead like 80% of the series.. They just couldn't time their runs well enough and that's it.

[IG2]

They kept spamming the Jokic/Murray pick n roll the latter half of the 4th and there's just no answer to it. Most unguaradable play in the game. Easy to see why they're so ridiculously good in the clutch.

The AD injury in the 3rd changed the game. Definitely going back to LA for Game 6 otherwise. Oh well, I don't think any team plays Denver as tough from here on out. They'll win another championship.

[rk2023]

Riding with James and Davis till the wheels fall off.. Same outcome, same team - but idk what moves they can make to beat Denver. Still a T3 playoff team in the West, but it’s moot if you can’t beat Denver.

Hoping they stay and retire here, but who knows at this point and who trusts their ownership & brain trust at this point. We’ll see. Genuinely thankful I got to witness the last 5 years of Bron and AD hoops for us if that was the end.