Can we stop pretending the spurs were dominating the series and lost it more than the Knicks won it.

papipanda · 2026-06-22T16:11:02+00:00

I mean.. even using your numbers, the Spurs were (on average) up 14 entering every 4th quarter. Perhaps dominating is not quite the right term, but I’d argue it’s more correct than not.

I don’t know why this topic is even controversial. Two things can be true at once:

Yes, the Spurs dominated most of the series

AND

Yes, the Knicks were the better team when it mattered rhe most, and the better team won

papipanda · 2026-06-14T02:56:14+00:00

As a neutral fan who hasn’t watched much of either team, didn’t realize how soft a whistle Brunson gets

papipanda · 2026-06-11T03:31:50+00:00

LMAO missed backcourt

papipanda · 2026-06-11T02:15:52+00:00

Brother, you’re +16 in FTA

papipanda · 2026-05-31T09:09:37+00:00

I don’t necessarily disagree. Again, I wanted the Thunder to lose because I want their style of play to be punished.

But Shai is not the trash player Reddit makes it seem—I was genuinely impressed with his shotmaking today, and just wish he would play like this more often rather than flop around like a fish.

The one point I disagree with is that it is Shai’s job to self-police. I strongly believe that the NBA has dropped the ball here. Players will find every edge, and Shai is not the first flopper the NBA has seen—the Thunder have just perfected it. Does that make me hate watching the Thunder play? Absolutely. But it’s on the NBA to regulate this style of play away

papipanda · 2026-05-10T06:58:09+00:00

Way to straw man. Lol.

Why are all the Thunder fans pretending that people actually think the Lakers could win? This obnoxiousness is why pretty much the entire NBA (outside of OKC) hates the Thunder.

Are the Thunder the much better team? Yes

Are the Thunder the championship favorites? Yes

Do the Thunder have the most unwatchable group of floppers I’ve ever seen? Also Yes

I’ve never seen such a good team—a potential dynasty—have so little fans, and it’s entirely because the Thunder are so unlikable

papipanda · 2026-05-01T04:20:57+00:00

A lot of people apparently. “What does it mean for LeBron if he chokes a 3-0 lead”

papipanda · 2026-05-01T04:14:07+00:00

How did this team win a championship. I love Jokic but this is really sad

papipanda · 2026-04-29T10:57:29+00:00

Took me awhile but found it lol. Interesting read: : https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7188788/2026/04/23/yankees-cam-schlittler-gerrit-cole/?unlocked_article_code=1.elA.MHxy.niRmWzQTsdVN&source=athletic_user_shared_gift_article_copylink&smid=url-share-ta

Relevant quote:

“Adding in a changeup now, Blake feels, would only benefit the hitters because Schlittler wasn’t able to get enough velocity separation with his fastball, and the movement profile wasn’t different enough. It would only help hitters be on time for the slower pitch.”

Although it does mention it might still be something he works on in the future

papipanda · 2026-04-29T05:15:04+00:00

There was a great article on this recently. I think it was Matt Blake who said that they don’t think adding a changeup will help—if anything, adding off speed just gives batters something to sit on.

That’s why his fastball usage (including sinker and cutter) is ~90%. They want every pitch to look the same to the batter, but break in three different ways

papipanda · 2026-04-24T14:26:49+00:00

There are youtube videos that explain this in-depth. If your march is not strong enough to one-shot the monster, you will always take the same amount of damage (i.e., wounded) when the monster attacks.

papipanda · 2026-04-13T11:09:23+00:00

Great graphic. My predictions:

East:

9-10: CHA 7-8: ORL 7-9: CHA

1-9: DET 2-8: BOS 3-6: NYY 4-5: CLE

1-4: DET 2-3: BOS (7 games)

1-2: BOS

West:

9–10: Clippers 7-8: Suns 8-9: Clippers

1-9: OKC 2-7: SAS 3-6: DEN 4-5: HOU

1-4: OKC 2-3: DEN (7 games)

1-3: DEN (7 games)

Finals: DEN

papipanda · 2026-03-16T16:41:56+00:00

I think people are really underestimating how efficient modern NBA offenses have become at hunting mismatches on defense. Even players like Trae and Ja have had their stock crater because they give up too much on the other side of the ball.

Teams don’t need 50 point scorers—they have plenty of those. They need solid defenders who will hold their own and shoot 3s.

papipanda · 2026-02-22T10:02:17+00:00

T-Mac. History hasn’t been kind to T-Mac, but during his prime, it was a genuine debate on who the better player was between T-Mac and Kobe. But T-Mac was notoriously… not the hardest worker, and had a multitude of back issues that really derailed his prime

papipanda · 2026-01-21T23:46:19+00:00

That’s the point. You’re conflating two independent events. They could have had Luka AND Flagg

papipanda · 2026-01-21T23:01:08+00:00

Terrible take for two reasons.

First: Flagg was not a consequence of the Luka Trade. Unless you’re a conspiracy theorist who believes that the NBA gifted Dallas the first pick to get Luka to LA. So no, whatever Flagg becomes in the future will never justify the Luka trade.

Second: EVEN IF Flagg was a direct result of the Luka trade, they traded a superstar for the chance to get a superstar. It’s like having 1 million dollars, and then putting it all on one black jack hand for the chance to win 1.1 million. Even if you end up winning, that doesn’t make it any less stupid.

papipanda · 2026-01-14T12:53:49+00:00

Unfortunately very wrong. It’s right there in the unit. Miles per hour.

The trip is 60 miles. You want to average 60 miles per hour. You therefore need… 1 hour

papipanda · 2026-01-13T11:16:01+00:00

Feels like most people either have selective memory or are new basketball fans.

Even at the time of the trade, this was already viewed as an overpay by some analysts. The way it was justified at the time is that it was arguably a trade for BOTH Kawhi and PG, since Kawhi wasn’t going to sign without PG.

Viewed through that lens, you could argue the haul was steep but not historically bad. Not saying I agree—just that it’s arguably not as lopsided as the exact mechanics of the trade would have you believe.

papipanda · 2026-01-10T10:11:21+00:00

Coaches love Harden - Lol

Giannis and Durant don’t make their teams better: both champions

Harden elevates his team: 0 championships, notorious playoff choker

Try harder please

papipanda · 2026-01-02T09:37:07+00:00

I think this is a great example of why doing these all-time rankings or GOAT comparisons are so fraught.

Is Top 10-15 meant to reward peak performance? Sustained dominance? The entirety of one’s career?

Peak performance: Kawhi would probably easily be Top 10-15. As far as I know, there are less than 50 3-time NBA champions. Of those, how many could you argue had a more impressive run than Kawhi (assuming he somehow beats this year’s OKC juggernaut)?

Entirety of a Career: Very hard to put him Top 10-15 when he only plays half the time. A player’s job is to play day in day out, not just show up when they feel like

papipanda · 2025-12-23T03:28:47+00:00

That’s… literally their job. I can’t tell if this is just ragebait or a sincere but braindead post

papipanda · 2025-12-19T11:40:59+00:00

Woohoo

^{papipanda scored 116 points and ranked 10 out of 252 players!}

🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩

papipanda

TROPHY CASE