Playoff Thoughts

NBA Finals Fall Out

June 15, 2017 by Harlan Schreiber Leave a Comment

With the end of the NBA Finals, we are left with a bunch of questions, some of which are legitimately interesting and others that are a bit prosaic. Let’s plow ahead and answer all these questions as best we can: Did the Cavs disappoint in the Finals? Objectively, each of the last three Finals had the same basic themes: the Warriors are vastly superior on paper but the Cavs had LeBron James, who was/is still as good as any player in the NBA. The only real difference in the series was … [Read more...] about NBA Finals Fall Out

NBA Finals Quick Thoughts

June 4, 2017 by Harlan Schreiber Leave a Comment

Before the NBA Finals, the consensus was that the Warriors were heavy favorites and that they would dispatch the Cavs in this rematch. After two games, all evidence seems to confirm this consensus. It would be silly to count out that Cavs fully. Just to refresh recollections, here’s how the teams looked after two games last NBA Finals versus the current: Total score of 2015-16 NBA Finals after two games: Golden State 214, Cavaliers 166 (+48) Total score of 2016-17 NBA Finals after two … [Read more...] about NBA Finals Quick Thoughts

Worst Conference Finals Ever?

May 25, 2017 by Harlan Schreiber Leave a Comment

Boy has this been a boring playoffs so far. There have been a few moderately memorable moments. Even worse, the Conference Finals might have been the worst ever in terms of competitiveness. How bad were they? Well, since 1983-84 (when the playoffs were expanded to 16 teams), there have been only two times when the Conference Finals went fewer than 10 total games between the two series. This year, we were one LeBron flu in Game 3 from having two easy sweeps. Moreover, margin of victory … [Read more...] about Worst Conference Finals Ever?

First Round Fall Out, Part 2

May 12, 2017 by Harlan Schreiber Leave a Comment

Fresh off part one of our review of the fallen first round teams, here is part two: 1. Atlanta Hawks: Hard to believe but the Hawks have now made the playoffs ten years in a row. Over that time, Atlanta has done a great job of shifting from a Joe Johnson/Josh Smith team to a Al Horford/Paul Millsap team without any heavy rebuilding/tanking. Alas, these impressive pivots look less promising going forward. Atlanta was 43-39, which doesn’t look terrible but the team SRS of -1.23 was the worst … [Read more...] about First Round Fall Out, Part 2

First Round Fall Out, Part 1

April 26, 2017 by Harlan Schreiber Leave a Comment

It’s time for our annual review of the fallen…so far three teams have been knocked out of the playoffs. Let’s take a look at each and see where the go from here: 1. Portland Trailblazers: The general perception of the Blazers is that they have really fallen from their solid playoff run of 2015-16. But not much has changed if you look at the general numbers: -2015-16: 44-38 (expected W-L, 43-39), Offense 108.8 (6th), Defense 108.0 (20th) -2016-17: 41-41 (expected W-L, 40-42), Offense … [Read more...] about First Round Fall Out, Part 1

NBA Finals MVP Thoughts

June 19, 2015 by Harlan Schreiber Leave a Comment

The NBA Finals started with a bang but sort of petered out with a whimper. That whimper sounded almost exactly the sound of LeBron James’ back and legs giving way to the gravity of carrying an undermanned team against a historically great foe. With the Finals over, this is a good time to take a look at a few lessons learned and interesting issues raised by the series and its outcome. -How good were the 2014-15 Warriors? The regular season numbers absolutely support the Warriors being in … [Read more...] about NBA Finals MVP Thoughts