Illini in the Pros (Basketball)

#101      
joeybcrazy13
Spurs GIF
 
#104      
WhereDoWeStandWithStorr?
Fly Illini Fly! said:
I hope they come out a bit more inspired in Game 3.

However, when you're the underdogs, getting 1 of 2 on the road is always the goal.

You'll 100/100 times prefer winning one and losing the other by 40 .... than losing both by 1.
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I just don't think what happened in game 1 is going to happen again from a SAS perspective. Especially Fox and Wemby missing all those shots.

San Antonio's the better team. The advantage Minnesota had against Denver of athletic perimeter guards is not an advantage in this series. Those two teams aren't in the same universe in terms of athleticism (San Antonio and Denver).

I think Minnesota wins one more game, if they are lucky. The injury to Ayo doesn't help either.
 
#105      
mattcoldagelli
They need to flip the whistle in this heading back to Minnesota. Not just Wemby around the rim, but McDaniels getting into early foul trouble is a killer.
 
#107      
Emerson Bigguns
ChiefGritty said:
From a calf problem to a heel problem. It ain't rocket science what sits in between those. I'm concerned.


Right, at the end of the day this is the problem.
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SA has been the 2nd best team in basketball all year... I saw that Pop handled the film session after the Game 1 loss... that was an Uh-Oh moment. I knew they would come out on fire.
Minnesota got them to settle for jumpers in Game 1. Not sure we will see that again... With Ant & Ayo at less than 100%, it's not looking great for Illini-North. They really need Ant to be his Superstar self, and his legs just aren't there. Him only being able to play half a game isn't going to cut it. Not against this team.
 
#108      
ChiefGritty
Emerson Bigguns said:
SA has been the 2nd best team in basketball all year
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And given their success against the Thunder, they would argue they aren't 2nd.

Rooting for our guys, but from a neutral perspective this whole season has been building to a Thunder-Spurs showdown and it would be a shame on some level to miss out on it.

That sense of two superpowers coming together at different stages of their championship windows is something the league has sorely missed.
 
#109      
Birdus
Spurs in 6. I hope I am wrong but they are stacked and having lived in San Antonio for some 10 years, I can tell you that those people get stoked for two things. SPURS basketball and SPURS basketball! I love Ayo and TJ but not going to happen this year.
 
#113      
illinitiger
the juiceman cometh said:
I don't actually think this is true.The Lakers have not "figured it out." LeBron and Doncic haven't really gelled in a way that makes them the world beaters you'd expect on paper and the team's efficiency scores are actually better when Luka is on the court without LeBron. I think the Lakers move on from LeBron this offseason and build around Luka and end up a better team as a result.

And the fundamental difference is that Luka, LeBron, Harden, and Mitchell are all capable and eager distributors of the ball, while Ant and TSJ are not. Just look at the assist numbers - they are night and day.


How many times a game is that going to happen? That's not really the path to a bigger role.
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Your point on distribution is spot on.

on lakers... Luka and LeBron played in 52 games together and had over 67% win rate together ....Would have been only behind San Antonio and OKC if they could have stayed healthy together and kept that win rate.

Wolves have alot of pieces...including our Illini....but seems like they have reached their peak.
 
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