2022 NBA Playoffs thread

Part of me as a Cavs fan feels cheated only getting one title while having LeBron James and Kyrie Irving, a pairing in other eras that would’ve been its own dynasty. Then I realize it’s amazing they got a title at all in the face of this monster the Warriors have constructed.

 

^Swiping this from the US Open thread to say Frank Isola and Brian Calabrine from the Starting Lineup at Sirius NBA Radio are the best sportstalk duo in the country. I can listen to those guys rattle on about NBA and their lives for hours.

 

Calabrine seems sharp and is willing to talk about any aspect of the NBA.

 

And somehow his laugh always seems genuine

 

How can you not like Steve Kerr? Interview yesterday after touchdown in the Bay area.

 

I had some login issues when this actually happend, but this take was silly and hilarious.

 

It's true though? Even championship teams need average players.

 

Yeah, championship teams are what they are because they have a bunch of average players after the stars and not blackholes of suck.

 

But it's not, unless you have a sort of limited view of the NBA and a really expansive view of the word "average."

If you put "average" players as the first defender on first-team All-NBA players in the playoffs, they probably just get their asses kicked instead of doing a good job in helping slow those players.

If you tell an average player "go bully your way to some tough buckets because the offense is a bit bogged down" against the best defense in the league, they're probably not doing it.

"Average" players don't put up 17 points per game that often, even on bad teams. There are just a lot of NBA players out there. Average players aren't very good defensive wings that can play a key role in top-2 defenses.

Then there's the interesting question of being a functional playoff guy. There are some great players who just struggle in those spots, and being a guy who can hang in deep run postseason rotation is a skill in itself (albeit one that spans roles).

I wouldn't call Wiggins a great player, but he's got B/B+ quality offense and A-/A quality defense. That makes him probably a top-10 two-way wing. Not All-NBA, but much better than average.

(There's an interesting question about needing average players. Some of it depends on role. Otto Porter is a below average third guy, above average 8th guy. Gary Payton is All-Defensive Team quality, but needs the right ecosystem to not be a drag on offense. Some teams, like the 2020 Lakers are weird, where guys 3-7 were probably below average for their spot on a contender, but most had that basic two-way ability that lets them be 16-game players. Then you have guys like Klay and Draymond this postseason. Klay was 19 PPG, but pretty inconsistent and had a bad time defending guards. Green was at times a mess on offense and had some defensive lapses, but on balance was able to oversee and facilitate on both sides of the ball. Is Klay shooting 43% and being a middling defender average? Much above average?)