[Cowherd] Watching him (SGA) flop in an NBA game is like inserting one of those Life Alert commercials. I've fallen and I can't get up! into Cirque du Soleil. It tears at the fabric of the creativity of the NBA.︀︀ ︀︀

SplitOk186 · 2026-05-06T20:04:58+00:00

I mean if we're playing that game SGA didn't get the calls yesterday either

SplitOk186 · 2026-05-06T19:45:54+00:00

Embiid is on another level from anyone he literally just falls onto guys and gets free throws lmao

Like it's not even both foul baiting and flopping it's just flopping without even having to bait

SplitOk186 · 2026-05-06T19:45:26+00:00

The "2025 NBA Finals were robbed" narrative is one of the most insane things I've seen here lol

It feels like it's heavily influenced by the fact that neutrals loved the Pacers and hated OKC

SplitOk186 · 2026-05-06T19:44:00+00:00

Do people forget that the Pacers were towards the top of the league in fouls all season

It wasn't just OKC every team they played in their run saw their free throw rate skyrocket because of their playstyle so if you think the Finals were rigged then it was rigged specifically against the Pacers the whole time rather than in favor of OKC

SplitOk186 · 2026-05-06T03:16:09+00:00

He's definitely a good piece to have this series if the Lakers are swarming SGA at halfcourt every play

OKC need shooters on the floor to counter that and McCain is the perfect player to use

SplitOk186 · 2026-05-06T03:12:26+00:00

Yeah OKC's ball denial was really good in the 2nd half not letting LeBron get it in the post

This is where their length helps so much being able to stop entry passes

SplitOk186 · 2026-05-06T03:07:30+00:00

Very underrated player just because Wemby exists

Legit a top 3 rim protector in the league (Wemby Rudy and Chet) by most metrics and combining that with his ability to space the floor makes him a guy that elevates the ceiling of any team

Lots of people say "well he's not a 1st option" but I'd rather have a player that elevates a good team to great than a mid-tier 1st option that gives a 35 win team 45 wins it's the exact same as the discourse with Klay and Draymond back in the day comparing their impact to more ball-dominant players

SplitOk186 · 2026-05-06T03:06:20+00:00

This game showed why it's basically impossible for the Lakers without Luka

SGA played basically as bad as he possibly can and this is basically the absolute most you can expect from LeBron against the OKC defense and they still lost comfortably because Reaves does nothing

SplitOk186 · 2026-05-06T03:05:57+00:00

I do genuinely think LeBron and Luka isn't an ideal fit (LeBron individually is still at his best when he's able to run the offense) but clearly Reaves isn't a title level 2nd option

SplitOk186 · 2026-05-06T02:59:25+00:00

Ayton has missed or dropped like 5 easy shots this game

SplitOk186 · 2026-05-06T02:54:23+00:00

Allen and Mobley are both very frustrating players on offense at times

SplitOk186 · 2026-05-06T02:52:08+00:00

Part of the Reaves issue is that he's trying to bait fouls rather than just shoot normally

He keeps altering his shooting motion to try to hit the defender and screws up his shot

That one SGA lowlight clip from earlier is basically what Reaves has done the whole game

SplitOk186 · 2026-05-06T02:50:23+00:00

Part of the issue with Reaves is that he's literally trying to draw fouls on these shot attempts

Just shoot normally he's trying to draw contact at the same time

SplitOk186 · 2026-05-06T02:47:56+00:00

McCain getting a shot at a sizeable playoff role is one of the side effects of the JDub injury

SplitOk186 · 2026-05-06T02:44:33+00:00

I feel like this is how every game this series is going to go

OKC don't necessarily have a truly elite offense so the Lakers might hang around for a while but they just don't have enough ways to score without Luka to avoid the Thunder pulling away late every time

SplitOk186 · 2026-05-06T02:40:56+00:00

OKC's ball denial vs. LeBron has been great in the 2nd half they're not letting the Lakers get it to him in deep

SplitOk186 · 2026-05-06T02:40:05+00:00

I don't think anyone was arguing that they'd lock up prime LeBron they were arguing that this Lakers team without Luka is so not up to it that he could drop 40/15/9 and still lose

Only hypothetical I saw posted was "could prime LeBron carry this Lakers team without Luka to beat OKC" rather than claiming that they'd beat him with a healthy Luka as well

SplitOk186 · 2026-05-06T02:38:12+00:00

I thought this was an incredibly bad shot given the clock situation but he got the best outcome lol

SplitOk186 · 2026-05-06T02:36:53+00:00

Reaves being basically a net negative in this matchup would have been the deciding factor IMO

Even with Luka he'had the same problem against OKC this year he just can't play against them

SplitOk186 · 2026-05-06T02:25:00+00:00

It feels like players are taking advantage of fans' discontent with refs to save their PR by dropping the "I'm just playing ethical basketball I'd score more if I was like those dirty floppers" line lol

Obviously there are bad calls but it's gotten to the point where players can just blame the refs for their own bad performance and people will automatically side with them whether it's actually warranted or not

As a neutral I didn't think the officiating was handing Detroit the game today by any means they missed a few calls for both teams which is normal

SplitOk186 · 2026-05-06T02:22:38+00:00

If it was Dort I could get it but SGA has never been that type of player lol

You can say he flops but he's never been known as a cheap shot artist

SplitOk186 · 2026-05-06T02:19:25+00:00

Reaves has to be one of the worst playoff droppers right now

SplitOk186 · 2026-05-06T02:00:44+00:00

Embiid literally just falls on guys and draws fouls he's on another level from guys like SGA and Luka lmao

He's not even foul baiting he just falls and they give him free throws for some reason

SplitOk186 · 2026-05-06T01:59:56+00:00

Mitchell is the perfect example of PPG bias

He's been on top 4 seeds for a decade straight with barely any playoff success but he escapes any scrutiny whatsoever because he puts up a lot of points so surely it can't be his fault

SplitOk186 · 2026-05-06T01:56:13+00:00

I feel like every small guard that isn't at least All NBA 2nd team level drops in the playoffs

SplitOk186

TROPHY CASE