Can't wait to see the Greek freak in the finals.

Um... he's still got some work to do. Or have you forgotten already?

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How does Danny Hart sit down with balls that big?

The only player I'd like to see less in Philly next year than LeBron is Simmons.

Every year the Sixer's faithful are going to keep saying, "Simmons is still young". Then, one day, he'll be a 30-something with no jump shot.

Oh, and Embid is going to eat himself out of the league so if I can pair LeBron with Embid for the two good years they both have left, they might be able to win something.

I'd like to see Hawaii in the finals too but Milwaukee has a deeper team.

Warriors looked like they were just toying with Portland last night. Especially compared to any of the games against the Clippers.

The east is up in the air. The Sports channel talking heads and analysts typically are calling it 60/40 in favor of the Bucks, but the statistical models at 538 ( https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/...ions/?ex_cid=rrpromo ) have the Raptors a 56%-44% favorites.

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Remember - It's important to be comfortable in your own skin... because it turns out society frowns on wearing other people's

I love Raptors basketball, but think Milwaukee will prove to be tough to overcome. also home court advantage. I am in owe each time I see the Raptors fans at the square called Jurassic Park outside the the Air Canada arena. Its looks like world cup atmosphere, very impressive.

The question is also how will Simmons pair with Ball, that makes two "no jump shot" players (Less so for Ball but still). But in the Lakers La La Land everything is possible. It is a vote of confidence for the younger players at the Lakers though, also with Kuzma representing them in the draft draw yesterday. They know that this all AD trade rumors really hurt them.
I really like Embid, I hope he will do well. Butler is a free agent too.

Warriors in five.

I'm really hoping the Raptors win of course but my second interest would be having anyone but Golden State...

any particular reason? or their dominance got to you?

They may take game 1, but still early.

4 days later , and its looking closer to happen.
Are the Blazers (and the Raptors) will bounce back in game 3? do or die.

Quite a lot written about the KD-less Warriors. Whether or not their game is more entertaining without him I sure couldn't say but at least it gives other teams at least a small chance. Their dismantling of Portland through two games notwithstanding. Steph/Klay/KD are brilliant but Ike and DG are what makes them so tough. No one will stop the Freak but Green and Ike can stop any other player Bucks(or Toronto excepting Leonard) have on the court. It's been tipping the scales in Warrior's favor for a long time..Quite a stacked lineup when you can nearly run the table with the best player in basketball on the bench.

KD would/will be a much more critical matchup vs Giannis & the Bucks (or even KL & the Raps if they manage to pull off the upset), but vs Blazers this round it's like 2015 all over again. It's crazy to think the Warriors' 'fallback' plan is to revert to essentially the same roster that went to back-to-back Finals (winning 1) and won 67 & 73 games during those regular seasons, with the league MVP both years (one of which was the first & only unanimous vote ever)...

"Um yeah, let's see, uh... Wait no, I got it ~ we'll just need to have the greatest 3 point shooter ever (and that other guy, who only holds the records for most made 3s in a single game, both RS & playoffs) shoot more 3-pointers. Yeah, let's go w/ that..." That's genius, man.

Seth Curry was quoting as saying that the Warriors are harder to defend without KD It makes sense with all the isolations KD is getting, which is less entertaining to watch for sure. However, they are healthy now (less KD) and play a Blazers team they can easily match. In a physical series it could be a different story. They were not so formidable team during the season and playoff too. I wouldn't write off KD as yet and big brother Curry was smart to say they can win without KD but they need him.

I think the Warriors are more fun to watch without KD. I start with a bias though because I'm firmly in the camp of those who acknowledge that KD is an all-time great, but think he took the cheap way out going to a team that went 73-9 and bounced him from the playoffs after his team had a 3-1 lead. I'm not a Warriors fan, but if KD can't come back that might switch as a Warriors win without him would "prove" that he's just been an extra part this whole time.

A team is never truly in trouble until it loses at home. Raps haven't lost at home yet. They will still need to steal a game in Milwaukee.

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How does Danny Hart sit down with balls that big?

How about Magic's interview with S.Smith yesterday? I don't think of the Lakers as the team most likely to have its very, very dirty linen hung out in full view but Magic seemed like he had some stuff he wanted to get off his chest. Actually, I can still see AD winding up in LA because the Lakers have so much they can offer in return. Kyrie also a possibility? One hears things...But it won't matter; all roads lead through the Bay, with or without KD.

As the Eagles once sang - but the Greeks don't want no freaks...

And it's a best of 3! North over everything!

So I’m Canadian and a bandwagon fan. Who is Norman Powell? He appears to be mostly a bench guy who is stepping up in the play offs.

Maurice

He's a very talented but highly inconsistent player. He's had a few good games lately.

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How does Danny Hart sit down with balls that big?