DLeethal wrote:Do you guys all not care about matching up against Philly in round 1 or just not thinking that through?
Philly is the only Eastern Conference playoff team we have 3 wins against.
Embiid staying healthy for the first round also isn't a sure thing. If there's one thing we know about this guy, as much as he dominates, he also misses games.
gradyandrew wrote:DLeethal wrote:Do you guys all not care about matching up against Philly in round 1 or just not thinking that through?
Philly is the only Eastern Conference playoff team we have 3 wins against.
Embiid only played one game against us this year, while we were absolutely torrid with Randle/OG and everyone humming.
I'm old enough to remember when we went 3-1 against ATL in the reg season and get embarrassed in the first round.
VDesai wrote:Embiid staying healthy for the first round also isn't a sure thing. If there's one thing we know about this guy, as much as he dominates, he also misses games.
Don't think that is something we should be banking on ... lol
martin wrote:DLeethal wrote:Do you guys all not care about matching up against Philly in round 1 or just not thinking that through?
I think we match up well against Philly.
Lots of guys to throw at Maxey, lots to get touch fouls called on by refs with Embiid
We do match up well against them, but not well enough that we should go out of our way to play them instead of ORL, IND, CLE. It makes no sense to run our guys further into the ground to try and catch the 2 seed just so we can get a tougher matchup.
I think I've said enough on this topic so I don't want to keep beating a dead horse. Was just caught off guard by the posts last night about "let's run the table" "we can get 50 wins!". We are missing our all NBA PF, we should be trying to find an optimal matchup, no need to win out.
50 wins a special milestone though. We have only gotten to 50 wins once since the 90s? I mean that's absurd. Its kind of a baseline for a contender in this league and being at 50 wins 2-3 seasons in a row is meaningful towards establishing your rep as a real contender.
martin wrote:DLeethal wrote:Do you guys all not care about matching up against Philly in round 1 or just not thinking that through?
I think we match up well against Philly.
Lots of guys to throw at Maxey, lots to get touch fouls called on by refs with Embiid
this is my thought. #1 dont want see is Boston. After that Mia/Milw are tied for pain in the ass. I would put Phili slightly higher then the rest because they are talented but any of these East teams can be a problem. Indy has a great line up. .. Just gotta go play and let things end up where they end up. There are so many teams bunched and so many possible tie breakers etc it's not worth even trying for one match up or another. Mia could move up and we get them in round 1 as a 3 seed. That would suck... I think I would rather have Phili than Mia in round 1
DLeethal wrote:martin wrote:DLeethal wrote:Do you guys all not care about matching up against Philly in round 1 or just not thinking that through?
I think we match up well against Philly.
Lots of guys to throw at Maxey, lots to get touch fouls called on by refs with Embiid
We do match up well against them, but not well enough that we should go out of our way to play them instead of ORL, IND, CLE. It makes no sense to run our guys further into the ground to try and catch the 2 seed just so we can get a tougher matchup.
Oh yeah for sure. Avoid Miami, Philly in the first if you can
I think we can beat Miami this year, but then I again I thought that last year. In general no one wants to play Miami, because they've established themselves as a team that knocks out high seeds, and more importantly, come playoff time they are going to make you work really hard for every win. Knicks probably in the same category for teams right now, but I think Miami really wears you down.
fishmike wrote:martin wrote:DLeethal wrote:Do you guys all not care about matching up against Philly in round 1 or just not thinking that through?
I think we match up well against Philly.
Lots of guys to throw at Maxey, lots to get touch fouls called on by refs with Embiid
this is my thought. #1 dont want see is Boston. After that Mia/Milw are tied for pain in the ass. I would put Phili slightly higher then the rest because they are talented but any of these East teams can be a problem. Indy has a great line up. .. Just gotta go play and let things end up where they end up. There are so many teams bunched and so many possible tie breakers etc it's not worth even trying for one match up or another. Mia could move up and we get them in round 1 as a 3 seed. That would suck... I think I would rather have Phili than Mia in round 1
I believe we can matchup with anyone this year and that we are probably the 2nd best team in the East, record aside. Ready to hit the other team with bats for 48 minutes.
VDesai wrote:I think we can beat Miami this year, but then I again I thought that last year. In general no one wants to play Miami, because they've established themselves as a team that knocks out high seeds, and more importantly, come playoff time they are going to make you work really hard for every win. Knicks probably in the same category for teams right now, but I think Miami really wears you down.
By injuring someone
I'd think Philly and Embiid would not be thrilled to see knicks throw iHart, Mitch, and OG.
Lets see of Joel even holds up thru next 4 game plus play in.
Same for us going after BAM. Jimmy Buckets will get his but they also have to contend with our back court.
Josh on Jimmy? Deuce in Jimmy? Duncan Rob will get hot and Im not saying its an easy series but we gonna mess up teams in a series.
VDesai wrote:I think we can beat Miami this year, but then I again I thought that last year. In general no one wants to play Miami, because they've established themselves as a team that knocks out high seeds, and more importantly, come playoff time they are going to make you work really hard for every win. Knicks probably in the same category for teams right now, but I think Miami really wears you down.
I worry about our offense against MIA. I think we could beat them but I could also see it going like last year.
I don't think we beat PHI, when they've had Embiid they've been by far the second best team in the East and perform at a 60 win pace.
I think we beat ORL, IND, CLE and possibly easily beat them.
If we're being honest we haven't looked good lately though. One good half against a plummeting MIL team doesn't change that completely. Hart has an injured shooting wrist and OG's mechanics look way off, barely hitting front rim on his 3s. We've had stretches where we look awful on offense. We got beat down by Chicago whom Orlando wiped the floor with days later. I love the heart and soul of this team but I think there is some unwarranted optimism about our ability to beat anyone in the playoffs right now.
martin wrote:VDesai wrote:I think we can beat Miami this year, but then I again I thought that last year. In general no one wants to play Miami, because they've established themselves as a team that knocks out high seeds, and more importantly, come playoff time they are going to make you work really hard for every win. Knicks probably in the same category for teams right now, but I think Miami really wears you down.
By injuring someone
Can't forget Bam stomping Brunson's ankle. Bush league.
My philosophy would be stay the course. You certainly don’t try to lose games. Health and readiness for the roster are priorities, along with avoiding the play in. An attempt to manipulate the outcome with an irregular approach could backfire and make your brain explode trying to figure it out.
martin wrote:I cant keep track
I think that's wrong too - Bucks own tie breaker on us 3-2; a tie would have them at 3 and us at 4.
Although I'd happily take the rematch with Cleveland.
KnickDanger wrote:My philosophy would be stay the course. You certainly don’t try to lose games. Health and readiness for the roster are priorities, along with avoiding the play in. An attempt to manipulate the outcome with an irregular approach could backfire and make your brain explode trying to figure it out.
Agreed. My viewpoint is keep winning and if you have an opportunity to lock in 3 or 4 and rest the final 1-2 games (forgoing a push for #2) then that's what you do. But for now we should still be fighting for HCA.
martin wrote:I cant keep track
If Indy goes 2-1 it gets pretty easy. They will hold 6th because they own tiebreakers on MIA and PHI, and we will want to shoot for 3rd to get a good matchup in round 1 and avoid Boston until round 3.
