[NBA] East Playoffs, Round Two

You sure about that? Cuz the Kings couldn’t even beat this same NYK squad in April that was missing the same exact players

No Donut boy, nein, niente, negatory. Primadonna maximus.

Yah this board would have some legendary takes if that were to happen. You know… you can’t win in the playoffs with a pass first PG like Hali. And Luka is a whiny punk, glad we don’t have him on our team

Yeah, I was hoping for Jackson Jr actually - and coulda shoulda woulda

You REALLY wanted this Pacers run to make the Kings look bad.

But unfortunately for you, it turned out to be Mickey Mouse.

Yah that’s it. Very unfortunate for me that I’m a King fan amongst a bunch of spin masters cuz we haven’t won a series in decades and we want to make ourselves feel better when we trade players that are actually making deep playoff runs. Yah that’s exactly it

Why is it so hard to give a winning team credit for what they are doing? Before the Haliburton injury, the Pacers were one of the best stories in the league. Now they're making a run without him being back to near 100% of what he showed before the injury.

They will be a factor for years to come. So will the Knicks

The hate and trolling that Hali gets on this board is insane. For an ex King who showed nothing but love for the team and city, to then get these hot takes about being soft, too pass focused, Fox is far superior, etc etc makes no sense. Most people will agree that it was a win-win trade, but to then openly root against him is psychotic

But he was hurt by the trade and kept talking (and talking), so it’s open season.

Yep and people act like if their bosses told them they were a core part of their future plans and to expect big rewards if they stayed patient, but then they get laid off the next day…. That they would just shut up and accept it. Yah that’s exactly how they would act in those circumstances

Look man, I get it. I was doing the same thing when the Kings were doing their normal 28 win shenanigans and Luka was being generational at the age of 21 while Bagley was pouting on the bench.

But the Pacers Mickey Mousing just ain't the same thing.

Hell, even the Celtics should they draw this Pacers team it's gonna be Mickey Mouse because they're so underwhelming. They're making other squads Mickey Mouse by proxy!

But here’s the thing. If Pacers advance (and that is still a big if), they make it to the Eastern conference finals. We over here are talking about a 5 year plan to get there. Pacers went full steam ahead, got to at least 2nd round in Hali’s 2nd full season with the team, and made some big moves like getting Nesmith and Siakam. They’re showing us in real time how to construct a complementary team that has arguably more chemistry than talent and how to win when it matters the most. Regardless if they get to the next round and get curb stomped, they will have accomplished something we hope to get to in 3-5 years

Taking shots at the Pacers is foolish. That roster is going to be a problem for a good while. Even Nembhard is a good piece for them and Mathurin obviously has a lot to offer when he comes back.

I wish the Kings had an equivalent roster

the pacers literally only won one more game than the Kings this season despite playing in the weaker division. Their roster probably isn't all that better than the Kings as is.

Celtics having the Kingsiest performance of the postseason. Currently struggling against a Cavs team without Donovan Mitchell.

Strus fouling is terrible, what is he thinking!

What are we doing up here, if the Kings played in the East they'd have been securely in the playoffs, and likely would have won 5-10 more games on top with the schedule difference. And would possibly be media darlings if their games started at prime time for the East Coast media.

If we traded Haliburton to say, Portland, and they went from the lottery to threatening to make the WCF we could gripe. Kings had a great regular season even if it wasn't good enough for the playoffs this year. It was still maybe the 6th best record I think all time in almost 40 years in Sac. They made the playoffs several times with losing records and yeah, the time Mitch's team made the playoffs was maybe more "fun" than this season, that's because there were no expectations. anyone remember what the season AFTER that one was like? I do.

Kings and Pacers are both likely to be good teams for the next 5+ years.

This game 5 the Pacers are reminding me of the Twolves in game 3.......they didn't come to play whatsoever.....looks rigged. half the players are putting out C- effort in a playoff game.

So not to push any buttons here but if game three and game four were all Tyrese, would that make tonight’s dud also all Tyrese or are we only supposed to attribute the Pacer’s success to him? (For my money, it has more do to with Carlisle being a bad coach whose been grifting off of a championship in a Mickey Mouse season for a decade plus but just asking)

so, apparently the Domas-Tyrese trade was a lose-lose for everyone involved if KOC is to be believed

I hate this for Tyrese. Kind of predictable unfortunately. Media loves to build you up to tear you down.

Hart probably gonna take a cortisone shot before the next game in the abdomen.

looks like playing 48 minutes every game has finally caught up with Hart's abdomen

Like so many injuries (in sports or not) the event looks fairly benign, but the muscle certainly damaged - doesn't take much. Quick search shows at least 2 weeks healing time....my guess is he plays through it with meds. His injury is likely a setback for their chances on Sunday.. Like the TWolves and Edwards, no way the Knicks can win with Brunson having a subpar game with their personnel situation.

with the way Thibs demands so much from his players and the minute distribution, his players are falling one by one

Tyrese is smoking hot right now!

Maybe NY can have someone else bring the ball up so that Brunson doesnt have to work so hard…..I mean their offense isn’t very dynamic

Pacers are going off offensively to start