The conference quarter finals of the 2022 NBA Playoffs are now in full swing. Several teams have stepped to the plate in their respective opening series. Perhaps , none more so than the Golden State Warriors (2-0), who’ve taken 2-0 lead over the higher seeded Denver Nuggets(0-2) . Denver has the reigning NBA League MVP on their roster , Nicola Jokic.
Jokic’s play during the regular seaon has been nothing short of spectacular. There’s also a very good chance that he’ll repeat as League MVP , joining a select group of players to have won the award in back to back seasons .
Denver’s play in this series against Golden State has been disappointing and with a pivotal game three on the horizon , this is a must-win contest for the Nuggets. A third consecutive game loss and the series could come to an abrupt with the Denver Nuggets being swept in four games (0-4). It remains to be seen if the Nuggets can right the ship and win game three.
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https://www.nba.com/playoffs/2022/
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Tophatal's Blog 
The conference quarter finals of the 2022 NBA Playoffs are now in full swing. Several teams have stepped to the plate in their respective opening series. Perhaps , none more so than the Golden State Warriors (2-0), who’ve taken 2-0 lead over the higher seeded Denver Nuggets(0-2) . Denver has the reigning NBA League MVP on their roster , Nicola Jokic.
Jokic’s play during the regular seaon has been nothing short of spectacular. There’s also a very good chance that he’ll repeat as League MVP , joining a select group of players to have won the award in back to back seasons .
Denver’s play in this series against Golden State has been disappointing and with a pivotal game three on the horizon , this is a must-win contest for the Nuggets. A third consecutive game loss and the series could come to an abrupt with the Denver Nuggets being swept in four games (0-4). It remains to be seen if the Nuggets can right the ship and win game three.
…..
https://www.nba.com/playoffs/2022/
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This series between the Denver Nuggets and Golden State Warriors should prove to be very interesting .
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https://www.nba.com/playoffs/2022/west-first-round-3
https://www.nba.com/stats/teams/traditional/?SeasonType=Playoffs&PORound=1&Round1&sort=W&dir=-1
https://www.nba.com/news/
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There’s been some great play from the players during the first round of the NBA Playoffs.
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https://www.nba.com/stats/players/traditional/?SeasonType=Playoffs&PORound=1&Round1&sort=PTS&dir=-1
https://www.nba.com/stats/players/boxscores-traditional/?SeasonType=Playoffs&PORound=1&Round1&sort=gdate&dir=1
https://www.nba.com/stats/players/boxscores-traditional/?PORound=1&Round1&SeasonType=Playoffs&dir=1&sort=TeamMatchUp
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There’s been some great play from the players during the first round of the NBA Playoffs.
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https://www.nba.com/stats/players/traditional/?SeasonType=Playoffs&PORound=1&Round1&sort=PTS&dir=-1
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Last night the Golden State Warriors all but put to rest that the Denver Nuggets had what it takes to put themselves back 8m their series. In allowing the Warriors to put up 70 points in three quarters simply showed that from a defensive standpoint , Denver has no defense.
https://www.nba.com/playoffs/2022/west-first-round-3/
https://www.nba.com/stats/teams/traditional/?Conference=West&SeasonType=Playoffs&sort=PTS&dir=1
https://www.nba.com/stats/teams/traditional/?Conference=West&GameSegment=SecondHalf&SesonType=Playoffs&dir=1&sort=PTS
Tophatal ……
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Nice to see you back Tophat. Changing gears from the NBA, let’s talk about international baseball. I’m mainly referring to MLB and our northern neighbors. Next week the Boston Redsox visit the Toronto Blue Jays with a shortened roster. Why? Mr. Treadeau will not allow non-vaxers to play in Canada. This BS has been mostly cleared in the States. I finally figured out why I root against Canadian teams. Wonder how the Canadian PM was in position for the job? Nepotism comes to mind.
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Ronbets
That series between the Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays should prove to be interesting. From my own perspective I’m still trying to figure out how the Red Sox can remain competitive in the aftermath of the team roster shake up during the off season.
https://www.mlb.com/redsox/schedule/2022-04
https://www.mlb.com/redsox/roster/transactions
Tophatal ..
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Far be it for me to suggest , but when you’ve got close to a double digit lead in a pivotal game three and you’re unable to close out for the victory, then the players and coaching staff have to be questioned as to their mental and physical mindset. For the Denver Nuggets (0-3) their inept performance speaks powerfully as to the lack of fortitude from the this team .
The Golden State Warriors (3-0) now have the Nuggets’ number and then some. Reigning League MVP Nikola Jokic has led by example , but several of his teammates have been nowhere to be seen during the first three games of this series.
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https://www.nba.com/playoffs/2022/west-first-round-3
https://www.nba.com/game/gsw-vs-den-0042100163
https://nba.com/games?date=2022-04-21
https://www.nba.com/stats/team/1610612743/players-traditional/?Period=4&SeasonType=Playoffs&OpponentTeamID=1610612744&LastNGames=1&sort=PTS&dir=1
Tophatal ….
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Tophat,
My bad take on Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra. From backroom video tape operator to head coach. AMAZING! His success shocked the crap outta me. I will never question another Pat Riley move. Maybe DWade is now a believer also.
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The Brooklyn Nets n Nets were unceremoniously knocked out in an astonishing series as they fell to the Boston Celtics (4-0) in four unbelievable games . In a team of highly paid stars led led by Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving on the Nets’ roster. No one expected Brooklyn to succumb to the Celtics so easily.
Kevin Durant in his post-game interview from game four stated that he and his teammates had overthinked the series . The fact that the were swept 4-0 in a best of seven game series was a case study of team basketball against that of two virtuosos and a supporting cast .
In the aftermath of this series’ loss the fallout will be catastrophic. Kyrie Irving will be able to opt of the final year of his contract become a free agent and seek max contract.
Such a deal and would land Irving a contract in excess of $220 million payable over five years. For GM Sean Marks , team owner Joe Tsai and Head Coach Steve Nash , there will clearly be some tough tough decisions ahead .
Brooklyn Nets news
Tophatal …
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Tophat,
No matter how much he tries, Harden is not a team player.
Paraphrasing a JJ Riddick response to “Mad Dog” Russ’s suggestion that Bob Cousy was a better player than Chris Paul. “Bob Cousy played against plumbers and fireman.” CP3 is immediate Hall of Fame material.
Nice to see the NBA realizing the USA doesn’t have a monopoly on superstars. i.e. Luka Doncic and Giannis.
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James Harden has outlived his welcome , wherever he’s been . If things are not going his way, then he has a habit of forcing his way out of a situation by seeking a trade . This off season he is a free agent and will likely be looking for a max contract. Harden isn’t worth a four or five-year deal .
Kyrie Ivring is really of the belief that he and Kevin Durant has what it takes to be the individuals who can be both coach and make decisions as to the player personnel needs of the Brooklyn Nets ? Those two idiots weren’t even productive enough to put the Nets in a position to
compete against the Boston Celtics in their first round playoffs series. Irving can opt out of his final year of his deal and seek to sign a max deal with the Nets or sign a deal with another team.
https://nba.com/playoffs/2022
Tophatal
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Ronbets
I firmly believe we’re now seeing the three best European players now playing in the NBA since Dirk Nowitzki was drafted by the Dallas Mavericks. Giannis Antetokoumnpou, Luka Doncic and Nicola Jokic are the players in question . . While Jokic is likely to repeat as League MVP after an impressive season, my belief was that Antetokoumnpo should be League MVP with him winning it for the third time of his career. He contributed far more than either Jokic or Embiid , by making the Milwaukee Bucks the best team in the Eastern Conference and clearly among the best teams in the entire NBA.
https://www.nba.com/stats/players/traditional?sort=PTS&dir=-1&SeasonType=Regular%20Season
https://www.nba.com/stats/draft/history/?Season=ALL&sort=Year&dir=1
https://www.nba.com/news/history-mvp-award-winners
https://www.nba.com/awards-winners
https://www.nba.com/standings?GroupBy=conf&Section=ab
https://www.nba.com/stats/teams/traditional?SeasonType=Regular%20Season&sort=W&dir=-1
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It’ll be interesting to see how things fare in the semi finals series of games to be played within each conference of the NBA Playoffs.
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https://www.nba.com/stats/teams/traditional?sort=PTS&dir=-1&SeasonType=Playoffs&PORound=1&Round1
https://www.nba.com/schedule?cal=April&pd=ALL®ion=1
https://www.nba.com/stats/players/traditional?sort=PTS&dir=-1&SeasonType=Playoffs&LastNGames=4
https://www.nba.com/news/
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Conference Semi Final round of games should prove to be interesting. The quartet of games if nothing else should prove to be thrilling with the players expected to raise the level of their play.
https://nba.com/playoffs/2022/playoffs
https://www.nba.com/stats/players/traditional?LastNGames=3&SeasonType=Playoffs&sort=PTS&dir=-1&LastNGames=5
https://www.nba.com/stats/lineups/traditional?GroupQuantity=5&SeasonType=Playoffs&sort=PTS&dir=1&Period=4&LastNGames=5
Tophatal ….
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Conference Semi Final round of games should prove to be interesting. The quartet of games if nothing else should prove to be thrilling with the players expected to raise the level of their play.
https://www.nba.com/stats/teams/traditional?PORound=2&Round2&SeasonType=Playoffs&sort=PTS&dir=-1&Season=2020-21
https://nba.com/playoffs/2022/playoffs
https://wwwnm.nba.com/stats/players/traditional?LastNGames=3&SeasonType=Playoffs&sort=PTS&dir=-1
Tophatal ….
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With the Utah Jazz bowing out of the playoffs , there’s likely to be a ,upheaval around their roster and coaching staff . The front office. itself have some serious issues to deal with , most notably as it relates to ,Donovan Mitchell perhaps the best player, on the team.
Utah’s 4-2 series’ loss to the Dallas Mavericks was not only surprising but the lack of real effort was .reflective of a team playing without any real zeal or passion . It’s rumored that either Rudy Gobert or Donovan Mitchell might well seek a than trade rather than remain with the franchise. If Gobert and Mitchell are allowed to leave then it would create more more ;than $48 million in cap room for the Jazz and therein the franchise could start to rebuild afresh.
Tophatal
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The Golden State Warriors (1-0) took the opening game of their conference finals series against the Memphies Grizzlies (0-1). The margin of victory wasn’t wide , but any victory is still a win. This series could be a
highly interesting one on a high array ohigh array of skill-set from both teams . Game one showed of productivity of Warriors’ starters and bench .
Within the Eastern Confrence and the semi finals series we had the Boston Celtics (0-1) falling to the Milwaukee Bucks (1-0) .
NBA schedule for Sunday 1st May , 2022 http://nba.com/games?date=2022-05-01
https://www.nba.com/stats/players/traditional/?PORound=2&Round2&SeasonType=Playoffs&dir=-1&sort=TD3
Tophatal ……
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What happens now with the fallout which has taken place with with regard to the Los Angeles Lakers’ disastrous season. Finger pointing as to the blame has now started with team management directly pointing the fingers towards LeBron James , teammate Anthony Davis Klutch Sports Group , both of whom are clients of , the agency operated by Rich Paul , one of the most power agents operating within the NBA.
To understand the failure of the Lakers this season, you simply have to understand they failed to be competitive within the Pacific Division as well as within the Western Conference, whereby they failed to make the play-in bracket of the NBA Playoffs.
This off season Lakers’ GM Rob Pelinka will be in search of a new Head Coach to succeed Frank Vogel who was fired at the end of the regular season. Several names have been mentioned as possible successors , but many of them are still in current positions with their respective franchises. In terms of free agents it’s all about their seeking seeking to maximize their cap space in the coming years.
It seems highly unlikely that Russell.Westbrook will be re-signed by the Lakers . Yet one can’t lay the blame for the team’s woes on the shoulders of the point guard alone. The assembling of the roster for this past season can provide all the answers with it being the oldestin the league by far .
Los Angeles Lakers news …..
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Tophatal …..
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A great comeback win in game three for the Philadelphia 76ers (2-1) in defeating the Miami Heat (2-1) , with their being some great contributions from the bench as well as starting players. This was all done with Joel Embiid missing the game due to injury. He’s expected to make his return to the lineup for game four .
NBA news …..
Tophatal
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