Ohonsi's NBA Blog

The Lakers should NOT give Cousins starters minutes. His lack of mobility is too much of a liability on defense and he's nowhere near the star he once was as the most offensively gifted big man to ever play (yeah I said it) so he can't make up for his defensive issues like LeBron, for example, can on offense. Their best lineup is LeBron, Davis, Kuzma, Green, and Caldwell-Pope because that offers the most balance between offensive and defense (because of their ability to switch on defense). However, it might be better to put Rondo in for Caldwell-Pope to give them another perimeter player that can create offense for others to lighten LeBron's load in that aspect. I had to say all of this because there's a lot of noise that Cousins should be starting.

The Warriors couldn't afford to lose KD for nothing so I understand getting an all-star in return but Russell poses a serious issue for Golden State. Their only 3 legit perimeter defenders (Durant, Klay and Iggy) are gone next season or won't play for most of the following year. Dray works best as a safety and a post defender on defense. And Steph is already a liability on defense. Even if they want to use Russell (who's not known for his defensive prowess) as a 6th man, he and curry are still gonna have to play significant minutes together if they want to win as much as possible because it's hard to win with only one star.

The Rockets should be targeting a guy like Tobias instead of Jimmy. Butler is a much lesser 3-point shooter (he's about average from beyond the arc) and a ball-dominant player. Harris is elite from that range, proved that he's a star on the Clippers (they were a playoff team in the much tougher western conference when he was there last season), and is a far more natural off-ball player than Jimmy. So Tobias is much better suited to play next to ball-dominant guards in CP3 and  Harden. The chemistry issues surrounding Jimmy aren't a concern despite what everyone else is saying. So Houston shouldn't not sign him because they're worried about a potential rift in the locker room and/or the court. Kobe and Shaq probably had the biggest beef of any star teammates in NBA history...and they 3-peated. LeBron and Kyrie (two ball-dominant perimeter players) didn't see eye to eye, but they made 3 straight finals and won a title by beating the Warriors who had the most ...

The Warriors shouldn't be concerned because they hung with the Raptors for long enough to prove that when they're healthy (or at least have Klay back), they have a very legit shot at winning the title. However, their defense in the 1st and 3rd quarters was absolutely horrendous so they gotta fix that no matter who's playing. Also it seemed like every Raptor that played significant minutes performed really good. That's highly unlikely to happen again. And the fact that that ne eded to happen to beat literally a one man team isn't encouraging. Side note: the Warriors need to retire their strength in #'s mantra and I've been meaning to say that for a while. The lack of talent outside of their big 3 (not including the overrated Draymond), even during the regular season, is glaring. In fact, the last time they had meaningful depth was before KD came.

I'm still trying to digest the most ugly quarter (4th) of offensive basketball I've seen in a while (from both teams). It seemed like the only NBA players were Kawhi and Steph. Everyone else looked terrified to make plays. So if Klay's injury prevents him from playing or compromises him significantly, the Warriors have no chance if KD doesn't play. Furthermore, Thompson is one of the 2 primary Leonard defenders and the other is Iguodala who's also dealing with a major injury.  Looney is also really important because of his ability to guard perimeter players and he's very active/mobile on both sides of the ball, none of which can be said about the other plodding/ground-bound Golden State centers (Cousins/Bogut). Anyway, I love the box-and-1 defense (a 4 player zone with one guy in a man defense) that Toronto played because as I said, the non-Steph players looked lost. The Raptors should do this is a lot if ONLY ONE of Curry, Klay, or KD is on the floor. (Playing ...

The Warriors don't have an Embiid-level defensive player whose much bigger and taller than Siakam. I know I was highly critical of him early in the bucks series but he's still a very good player and he should have a great series because Golden State doesn't have anybody that can make him uncomfortable (his footwork, post scoring skills, willingness to seek contact on drives, and tremendous length makes him a huge problem for defenses). I thought Draymond would slow him down b ecause they're the same height but he's a lot stronger and a very physical as well as talented defender. Also it was really puzzling that basically everyone was so quick to pick the Warriors to win the series since Toronto clearly has a better roster because of KD's absence. I know it's extremely easy to pick Golden State because of their history and Toronto's lack thereof but it's plainly obvious that outside of Steph and Klay there's almost nothing and it showed in game 1....

I'm not saying this just because Milwaukee lost because I've long held this belief that they don't use Giannis nearly enough as a post up player and screener (i.e. a traditional big man). The Bucks were able to get away with this in the regular season and all the way until game 2 of this round. The reason is because the regular season is the regular season and in the postseason the teams they've faced are far inferior (Detroit) or played like a much lesser team (Boston; Toron to against Philly and vs Milwaukee the 1st 2 games). Even as talented and physically overwhelming as Giannis is, it's still very hard for him to consistently attack a set defense waiting for him with a really subpar jumpshot. But for the most part, he's made it look easy. For years, he's been very underrated as a post player where he can receive the ball much closer to the rim at an angle that offers a greater risk for the defense if they send help. And it seems like Toronto doubles him...

Game 3: Giannis: 12 pts, 5-16 fg Middleton: 9 pts, 3-16 fg Bledsoe: 11 pts, 3-16 fg  Kawhi 36 pts, 11-25 fg Siakam: 25 pts, 9-18 fg But at HOME, Toronto needed TWO overtimes to win despite 3 of Milwaukee's 4 best players playing god awful and the Raptors 2 best players playing great. I knew long before this series that the Bucks are clearly better and nothing changed after game 3. This point builds off my game 1 article.

I can't remember seeing nearly as great a defensive performance than I saw from the Warriors. This was very clear even without looking at Dame and CJ's stats. Combined with their never before seen offensive potency, that level of ferocity on defense would make them title favorites WITH KD. Even if Golden State wins it all without him, the very popular notion that they're better without him is complete nonsense. In these playoffs Durant is averaging (clears throat) 34.2 points  on 51.3% from the field and 41.6% from 3 on 7 attempts. And a team is supposed to be better WITHOUT that? Nope, basketball simply doesn't work like that. And yes, the ball moves way more without him but when an offensive system is struggling to produce good shots, that's when having an ultimate bail out option like KD becomes even more important. Remember the last 2 finals? That's one of the countless examples that highlight his importance. (The basketball purists who make these kinds of a...

Sabonis is a highly underrated candidate who has a very legit case for this award. He's a good post scorer and was dominant on the block at Gonzaga because he got far more opportunities there. Domantas is also a good mid range shooter and absolutely tremendous on the glass. In fact, he's in the Reggie Evans/Ed Davis Hall of Fame (which doesn't exist lol) which inducts players who get a boat load of rebounds in about 25 min or less. In 24.8 min he averaged 14.1 points, 9.3 reb ounds on 59% shooting while playing on a 48 win team. Lou will probably win it and a significant reason why is because he has the major popularity advantage over Domas which was the case even before the playoffs. But Williams would get my hypothetical vote because he's far more of an offensive fulcrum than Sabonis and Domantas doesn't have nearly enough of a defensive impact to lessen that gap.

Kawhi was way too passive in the 1st half. This was very clear even when I didn't know that he only took 5 shots before halftime. It's likely that fatigue, from the immense load he's had to carry for much of the playoffs, really kicked in and/or Leonard wanted to give a lot more opportunities and thus confidence to his teammates. (More confidence gives them more of a green light to make plays to help Kawhi, especially at the end of close games). Toronto absolutely can't affor d the 1st scenario because of the lack of consistent help he has which makes his potential selfishness unnecessary (2nd scenario). Kawhi picked up his aggressiveness greatly in the 3rd quarter but they were in too big of a hole so his scoring during that time didn't mean as much as it normally would've. And that hole probably doesn't exist if he played like an MVP from the start. Also, Lowry had 15 points on 4/13 shooting. Who could've seen that coming? Answer: everyone.

I don't remember Dame taking any shots in the paint (I'm sure he did but if so, Lillard took very few attempts). This is because the Warriors trapped his pick n rolls which led him into a ton of very deep 3's because the screeners' defenders were excellent at not letting Damian get by them to the rim. (I remember OKC struggling in game 3 of the 1st round with this when Lillard exploded in the 3rd quarter). Although he hit a lot of those Steph range 3's at a good % in game 2,  Portland has absolutely no chance of winning this series if Dame isn't consistently getting to the basket. Especially since CJ hardly draws fouls and is far more content shooting pull up jumpers and floaters instead of going strong all the way to the rack. Side note: D'Angelo Russell plays like this which will probably prevent him from becoming a superstar (he's a star right now) and maybe getting a max deal (Russell will probably get one this off-season as a restricted free agent o...

Lowry had 30 on 10-15 shooting in a playoff game. For him, this happens once like every few weeks in each postseason. And they still lost with Giannis scoring only 24 and Middleton dropping 11. Milwaukee has a far more balanced attack while Toronto depended way too much on Kawhi vs Philly especially in game 7 when he took 39 shots to get only 41 points. It was even more troubling that the raptors only scored 92 points in that game which is WAY below average for an NBA offense . Even though Lowry and Gasol have all star status, they're no longer all star level players largely because both are usually far too passive. Marc rarely posted up a much smaller Tobias in round 2 and too often this season Lowry is content with standing around and shooting 3s every once in a while. Plus Kyle is way too inconsistent come playoff time. And all the Siakam hype needs to end. He's good but not as good as a lot of fans think. After game 1 vs the 76ers, Embiid guarded him for much of the series....

Kanter's defense defending Steph in the pick n roll was an absolute horror show. I understand giving a ton of space to the subpar/non-shooting players that set screens for Curry to slow what probably is the most lethal offensive system in NBA history. But when Steph got around the screen, the trailing defender couldn't close enough space between him and Curry which made it far too easy for him to launch very comfortable 3's especially since Enes was so far back from Steph defending in no mans land. If this continues to be a consistent trend, Portland has literally zero chance of winning even if Dame and CJ play like stars which they didn't. This isn't Kanter's fault if this is the coach's strategy which needs to change quick, fast, and in a hurry.

What an absolutely embarrassing finish offensively for Philly late in the 4th. They executed like a pickup team and this has often been the case all season at any point in games. The 76ers might be the most stagnant team in the NBA and since they arguably have the most talented starting lineup in the league, Philadelphia was able to get by with 51 wins and g ive the impression to some that they were a championship contender, which Philly was far from. They waste too many possessions aimlessly dribbling and passing, praying that they get at least a decent shot. (Butler is a great player but it was clear all series, even when he and the team were playing exceptionally well, that Jimmy isn't good enough to be spending basically all game playing point). A huge part of that problem is having to play Embiid and Simmons so much time together. This has always been a bad fit which became more problematic when Butler, a ball dominant wing that's a below average 3-point shooter, came. The...

Houston won but CP3 has to be way more involved (he only took NINE shots), especially late in the 4th where it's too easy for the defense to set and wait for Harden to dribble out most of the clock before taking a very predictable and heavily contested step back 3 or drive into a defense waiting for him. That has been a problem for the rockets during the past 2 seasons at any point in a game, which is why I picked the Warriors to win against them in 2018 and this series. If J ames makes decisions (to drive) a whole lot quicker more often, he can unlock his other lethal options (passes for 3's, lobs/dunks/layups, and dribble penetration from others after they've been run off the 3 point line) with far more time if Harden doesn't get a quality look. Also, all series Houston has done a fantastic job forcing KD into extremely tough jumpers in single coverage so they should keep doing that to prevent open 3's, from Steph and Klay specifically. So if Durant is hot, it onl...

Portland won but I don't know why they didn't post up Kanter (who's long been very good on the block) way more in the 4th, especially because Jokic had 5 fouls and Enes is their only source of back to the basket scoring. Also, Lillard has to improve his shot selection when he shoots a poor % like tonight (like Kyrie should after his game 2 brick-fest against Milwaukee). Dame didn't get nearly as many layup attempts compared to game 1. Denver's defense deserves credit for that  but he can't settle for very contested deep jumpers, including long 2's, too often if he isn't on fire (same goes for Irving). Damian hit OKC's defense, which was pretty damn good, with a steady diet of those kind of shots. And I highly doubt the blazers beat the thunder if he and CJ don't shoot a ridiculously good %, including from 3, considering all the extremely tough jump shots they took. But I give them credit for being as talented as they are, so I'm not diminishi...

The lack of offensive talent the Jazz have had outside of Donovan Mitchell will continue to prevent them from the conference finals and in most cases the 2nd round. Joe Ingles is nowhere near qualified to be the 2nd best offensive player on a team looking to challenge squads like Golden State and Houston, especially like tonight when Donovan goes 4-22 from the field with 12 points.  Great defense, coaching, and team play offensively without enough talent can easily be overcome in the regular season. But this is the playoffs, and Utah has to build a team for the postseason. Otherwise there's a good chance Mitchell won't be around for much longer, which would really hurt a small market team that doesn't get much national recognition like Utah, making it harder for them to attract star players.

We got the win but Demar and LaMarcus can't keep settling for contested mid-range jumpers (by far the most inefficient shot in basketball) when they're struggling this badly. Their first priority needs to be getting to the rim for layups and free throws (for Aldridge that means getting to the middle of the paint on post ups instead of turning baseline so damn much for a fadeaway). In Toronto, DeRozan was one of the best in the NBA at getting to the free throw line so he needs  to get back to that. On the bright side, our bench really played well which has been the case all season. For basically this whole decade, we've had one of the best benches (if not the best) each season. If our reserves continue to play this well, we will do some very serious damage in the playoffs cause our stars are going to play like stars really soon.

1st G - Damian Lillard (Blazers) G - James Harden (Rockets) (My MVP) F - Paul George (Thunder) F - Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks) C - Joel Embiid (76ers) 2nd G - Stephen Curry (Warriors) G - Kyrie Irving (Celtics) F - Kawhi Leonard (Raptors) F - Kevin Durant (Warriors) C - Nikola Jokic (Nuggets) 3rd G - Kemba Walker (Hornets) G - Russell Westbrook (Thunder) F - LeBron James (Lakers) F - Blake Griffin (Pistons) C - Karl-Anthony Towns (Wolves) This year's All-NBA spots, mainly the guard position, have way more competition than usual. So I spent a lot more time thinking about this than in past years...which makes it even more fun!!! Deciding, between the 6 forwards (there are no other deserving forward candidates), who's best suited for each team was also more challenging than usual. Embiid, Jokic, and Towns are the only deserving center candidates and their spots aren't debatable. Harden, Giannis, and Embiid are the only 1st team locks.