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Poll: Boston Celtics Vs. Philadelphia 76ers

May 1st, 2018 at 2:21pm CST by Luke Adams

On Monday, we asked you to make your pick for the Eastern Conference Semifinal that pits the top-seeded Raptors against the LeBron James-led Cavaliers. As I noted in that story, the Warriors and Rockets are significant favorites to advance in the West, and Boston’s injury-plagued roster makes the Sixers a big favorite in the other Eastern series.

However, in Game 1 of that Celtics/Sixers series on Monday night, Boston certainly didn’t look like an underdog. The C’s controlled the game, racking up 17 three-pointers and giving the Sixers’ offense problems on the other end of the court. Led by Jayson Tatum, Terry Rozier, and Al Horford, the Celtics won Game 1 in convincing fashion despite missing Kyrie Irving, Gordon Hayward, Jaylen Brown, and Daniel Theis.

Even after the Celtics’ Game 1 win, the Sixers are still favored by oddsmakers to win the series. In fact, the Celtics – up 1-0 in the series – are viewed as a longer shot to advance to the next round than the underdog Cavs are in the other Eastern Semifinal, which hasn’t yet started.

Those odds make sense — the Sixers may have been rusty after their long layoff between games, and we should expect point guard Ben Simmons to play better than he did in Game 1 (seven turnovers). Philadelphia probably won’t shoot 5-of-26 on three-pointers again either.

Still, the Celtics, led by Brad Stevens‘ inventive schemes, showed they won’t be pushovers. With Brown hoping to return soon and the C’s holding home court advantage for now, a long series looks like a distinct possibility.

What do you think? Will the Sixers bounce back and advance to the Eastern Finals, or will the Celtics build on Game 1’s win and maintain control of the series going forward?

Vote in our poll, then head below to the comment section to share your thoughts on the series!

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Poll: Toronto Raptors Vs. Cleveland Cavaliers

April 30th, 2018 at 1:27pm CST by Luke Adams

Although there’s plenty of intrigue among the NBA’s four Conference Semifinal matchups this spring, most of those series look like they have clear favorites.

A panel of nearly two-dozen ESPN experts unanimously selected the Rockets and Warriors to earn spots in the Western Conference Finals by defeating the Jazz and Pelicans, respectively. Utah and New Orleans looked great in the first round and could still give the favorites a run for their money, but their Game 1 performances didn’t inspire a ton of confidence.

In the East, ESPN’s panel heavily favors the Sixers over the Celtics in the first of two Eastern Conference series. If Kyrie Irving and/or Gordon Hayward were healthy, this would be a more fascinating matchup, but as well-coached as the Celtics are, they may not have the talent to keep up with Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid for seven games. Despite holding home court advantage, Boston enters the series as a major underdog, with 18 of 21 ESPN experts picking the 76ers to win.

That leaves one series, the Raptors vs. the Cavaliers, as a potential toss-up. The analytics data – along with each team’s performance in the regular season and first round – favors the Raptors, but history favors the Cavs. After all, Cleveland has eliminated Toronto in each of the past two postseasons, winning eight of 10 games over the Raptors in those two series.

There’s reason to believe that this year’s Raptors squad can end that streak. The club is deeper than ever, featuring the NBA’s best five-man bench unit. Additionally, star guards Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan have bought into an offensive system that features more ball movement and less isolation play. That system has been a huge success all season long, including against the Cavs — the Raps averaged nearly 123 points per game vs. Cleveland in three regular season contests.

Still, the Cavs won two of those three games during the regular season. While LeBron James‘ play keyed those victories – particularly in a 35-point, 17-assist, 0-turnover performance in March – Cleveland’s supporting cast came up big too. Kevin Love, Jose Calderon, and Jeff Green played particularly well in the Cavs’ two wins over Toronto, and George Hill racked up 22 points in March’s game. If Cleveland’s role players can keep up that sort of production against the Raps in the postseason, it would take a huge load off James, who carried the team to a first-round win.

This will be a fascinating series to watch. Does LeBron still have Toronto’s number? Will he get more help vs. Toronto than he did against Indiana? Will the Raptors’ home-court advantage be a deciding factor? (Both of their regular-season losses to the Cavs came in Cleveland).

ESPN’s experts favor the Cavs by a 12-7 margin, but the oddsmakers at Bovada.lv view the Raptors as a 2-to-1 favorite. Which side do you fall on? Is this the year the Raps dethrone the King and end James’ streak of seven straight NBA Finals appearances, or will LeBron and the Cavs eliminate Toronto for a third straight season?

Vote below in our poll, then jump into the comment section to share your thoughts!

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Poll: Breaking Up The Wizards’ Backcourt

April 27th, 2018 at 9:06pm CST by Arthur Hill

After winning their division and taking the Celtics to the brink in a second-round series last year, the Wizards entered this season among the favorites in the Eastern Conference. Instead, they settled for an eighth seed and a first-round elimination.

It appeared Washington might miss the playoffs altogether when John Wall underwent knee surgery at the end of January. However, the Wizards managed a 15-12 record in his absence, sparking whispers that the team was better without him because of better ball movement.

Backcourt mate Bradley Beal, who has been beset by injury problems in the past, played all 82 games for the first time. He emerged as a team leader in Wall’s absence, averaging 22.6 points per game and posting career-best marks in rebounds (4.4 per game) and assists (4.5).

Washington has its All-Star backcourt locked up for the foreseeable future, but at a very expensive price. Wall will make nearly $19.2MM next season, then will start enjoying the benefits of a supermax extension that pays him $170MM over four years. Beal is owed nearly $81.3MM over the next three seasons.

With Otto Porter also getting a rich new extension last summer, the Wizards have extreme cap concerns over the next three years. They are already nearly $15MM over next season’s cap without counting possible player options for Jason Smith ($5.45MM) and Jodie Meeks ($3.45MM).

Operating so close to the luxury tax, the Wizards are limited in their ability to shake up the roster without a major trade. We’re asking our readers if they think it’s time to consider moving Wall or Beal as a potential cap solution. Please vote in our poll and give us your opinion on how Washington should handle the offseason.

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Poll: Should The Heat Trade Hassan Whiteside?

April 25th, 2018 at 7:23pm CST by clarkcrum

One season after going 41-41 and missing the playoffs by virtue of a tiebreaker with the Bulls, the Heat improved by three games in 2017/18 and made the playoffs as the No. 6 seed with a record of 44-38.

However, the Heat were faced with a difficult first-round matchup against the red-hot Sixers, who finished the season 16-0 and, just last night, eliminated the Heat from the playoffs in five games. Earlier today, we asked for your thoughts on Miami’s offseason outlook with a Community Shootaround post. Now, we want to know specifically whether you believe the Heat should trade Hassan Whiteside.

With over 20% of the team’s guaranteed salary for next season owed to Whiteside, the Heat dangerously close to the luxury tax in 2018/19, Whiteside’s playing time dwindling dramatically in the later part of the regular season and into the postseason, and Whiteside’s publicly voiced displeasure with his new role, President Pat Riley may need to decide this summer whether Whiteside is worth the headache and, if not, whether he can find a suitable trade partner for the big man.

Unfortunately for the Heat, they do not have a first-round pick this summer to attach to Whiteside’s contract which may make it difficult to entice a team to take on his contract. However, the Heat do have their 2019 first-round selection to deal if they so choose. Regardless, assuming a deal is tenable, what do you think?

If you were Pat Riley, would you trade Hassan Whiteside or would you keep him with the hopes that he can return to his 2016/17 form? Vote below in our poll, then jump into the comment section to share your thoughts.

Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote.

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Poll: Will Eastern Favorites Survive Round One?

April 24th, 2018 at 12:43pm CST by Luke Adams

On Monday night, the Rockets and Jazz took commanding leads in their respective first-round series, joining the Warriors among the Western teams holding a 3-1 edge. In the fourth Western Conference series, the Pelicans have already advanced, so barring an unlikely comeback by the Timberwolves, Thunder, or Spurs, it looks like we may not get much more drama out west in round one.

The same can’t be said for the Eastern Conference though. Heading into Tuesday night, three of four series are tied at two games apiece, and the Sixers/Heat matchup – where Philadelphia holds a 3-1 lead – has also been entertaining and competitive.

While the Raptors, Cavaliers, and Celtics are still the favorites to advance to the second round, there are areas of concern for all three clubs heading into Game 5. The Raps fell back on same old playoff habits in Game 4 when they failed to move the ball as effectively as they have for much of the season; the Cavs’ supporting cast around LeBron James has been inconsistent; and the C’s have just been hit hard by injuries, though Marcus Smart‘s return appears imminent.

Meanwhile, the opponents in those three series are flawed, but dangerous. The Wizards are led by a pair of All-Stars in John Wall and Bradley Beal, and that backcourt can be hard to stop when it gets going; the Bucks have one of the NBA’s best players in Giannis Antetokounmpo; and the Pacers are a deep and well-coached squad headed by a potential All-NBA guard in Victor Oladipo.

We’ve essentially got a trio of best-of-three series on our hands in the East, and while it’s still possible that we won’t get any upsets, the underdogs have proven that they’ll make things difficult for the conference’s top seeds.

What do you think? Will the Raptors, Celtics, and Cavaliers all survive their first-round scares or will one or more of those teams get bounced in the first round? Vote below in our poll, then jump into the comment section to share your thoughts!

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Poll Results: 2018 All-NBA Teams

April 23rd, 2018 at 10:10am CST by Luke Adams

In an NBA season packed with incredible performances and remarkable statistical achievements, we wanted to let you make the call on which 15 players are most deserving of All-NBA recognition.

Last Monday, we opened voting for the All-NBA First Team. We moved on to the Second Team on Wednesday, and then opened the polls for the Third Team on Friday. The results of all those polls are in, so let’s check them out.

All-NBA First Team

All-NBA Second Team

All-NBA Third Team

Your top vote-getters in the final round of polling that didn’t quite earn spots on the Third Team: DeMar DeRozan (Raptors), Kyrie Irving (Celtics), Jimmy Butler (Timberwolves), Al Horford (Celtics), and Nikola Jokic (Nuggets).

My personal All-NBA choices would look pretty similar to yours, albeit with a few small changes. Booker was an out-of-left-field choice for the Third Team here, and I’d expect DeRozan or Irving to take his place in the actual voting. I’d want to make room for Oladipo on the Second Team, likely at Curry’s expense — Curry was phenomenal, but only appeared in 51 games, which hurts his case. Rudy Gobert also didn’t play a full season, appearing in just 56 games, but his defense was so game-changing for the Jazz that I’d be tempted to put him on the Third Team in place of Towns.

What do you think? Do you disagree strongly with any of these choices? Do you expect major discrepancies when the official All-NBA teams are announced? Let us know in the comments section!

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Poll: 2018 All-NBA Third Team

April 20th, 2018 at 11:19am CST by Luke Adams

In an NBA season packed with incredible individual performances, we’re letting you decide which 15 players are most deserving of All-NBA recognition.

On Monday, we opened voting for the All-NBA First Team, and 36 hours later, we had answers for which five players you believe deserve spots on that team. On Wednesday, we published polls for the All-NBA Second Team, and we have now have our five players for that squad too. While there were some clear-cut winners in the Second Team polls, the results at guard – where the top three finishers were within 23 votes – were particularly interesting.

Here are the voting results so far:

All-NBA First Team

All-NBA Second Team

While your First Team picks didn’t include any players who missed more than 10 games this season, you were a little more willing to reward exceptional injury-shortened performances on the Second Team. Durant and Embiid appeared in just 68 and 63 games, respectively, while Curry only played 51. If those three players had been able to stay healthy for a full 80+ games, they would’ve been strong candidates for spots on the First Team.

We’re moving on today to the All-NBA Third Team, so cast your votes below for the two guards, two forwards, and one center that you believe are most deserving of being named to that squad. Don’t forget that a few players — including Ben Simmons, Jimmy Butler, and Al Horford — qualify at two positions.

You’ll have until Monday morning before we close this round of voting and round up the final results. You can also select two players apiece in the guard and forward polls, so be sure to take advantage of that.

Who should be on the All-NBA Third Team?

Guards:

Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote on the All-NBA Third Team guards.

Forwards:

Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote on the All-NBA Third Team forwards.

Center:

Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote on the All-NBA Third Team center.

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Poll: Which Team Will Win The East?

April 19th, 2018 at 4:04pm CST by Luke Adams

The Cavaliers have been the perennial favorites to win the Eastern Conference since LeBron James returned to Cleveland in 2014, but that’s not the case at the moment. After the first two games of each first-round series, the oddsmakers at Bovada.lv have the Raptors as the frontrunners to come out of the East, followed in close succession by the Cavs and Sixers.

The Raptors took care of business during their two home games against the Wizards, while the Cavs and Sixers split their home games against Indiana and Miami, respectively. As such, it makes sense that the Raptors would be a slightly better bet to advance for now, but it’s still jarring to see a LeBron team considered an underdog of any sort in the East.

Still, even though the Cavs aren’t viewed as the favorites to win the East – at least for the time being – those same oddsmakers at Bovada consider them a much stronger bet than the Pacers to make a deep postseason run. While Cleveland is about a 5-to-3 bet to come out of the East, Indiana’s odds are just 28-to-1.

The Heat (33-to-1), Wizards (80-to-1), and Bucks (80-to-1) are even longer shots than the Pacers, and even the Celtics, who are missing stars Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward, come in at just 20-to-1. In other words, oddsmakers view the East as a three-team race featuring the Cavs, Raptors (5-to-4), and Sixers (a little over 3-to-1).

LeBron’s squad has pulled a Jekyll-and-Hyde act all year, so it’s hard to say which team will show up going forward. Even when James enjoyed a vintage performance in Game 2 vs. Indiana, racking up 46 points, the Cavs still only won by three.

The Raptors and Sixers have questions of their own though. The Raptors have never beaten James in the postseason, and lost to the Cavs twice in the second half of the 2017/18 regular season. The Sixers’ top players lack playoff experience, and Joel Embiid‘s health remains something of a question mark.

The upshot? We should have the most wide-open Eastern Conference postseason in years, with a handful of viable Finals contenders.

What do you think? Will James and the Cavs continue to hold serve in the East? Will the Raptors or Sixers take the conference crown this year? Or will a dark-horse candidate represent the East in the Finals?

Vote below in our poll and jump into the comment section to make your predictions!

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Poll: 2018 All-NBA Second Team

April 18th, 2018 at 9:31am CST by Luke Adams

In an NBA season packed with incredible individual performances, we’re letting you decide which 15 players are most deserving of All-NBA recognition.

On Monday, we opened voting for the All-NBA First Team, and we now have our answers for which five players you believe deserve spots on that team — sort of. Anthony Davis‘ multi-position eligibility at forward and center complicated matters. While our voters were in an agreement that he deserved a spot on the All-NBA First Team, Davis received nearly as many votes at forward as he did at center, winning the voting at center and placing second as a forward.

For our purposes, we’ll leave Davis at center, where he earned slightly more votes, but it’ll be interesting to see whether these results foreshadow a positional split in the actual All-NBA race.

Here are the voting results so far:

All-NBA First Team

Harden, James, and Davis were the leading vote-getters here and look to me like locks to earn spots on the All-NBA First Team, assuming Davis’ positional split isn’t a factor. Westbrook and Antetokounmpo are probably the favorites to fill out the top five too, though they’ll face stiff competition for those last guard and forward slots on the First Team.

We’re moving on today to the All-NBA Second Team, so cast your votes below for the two guards, two forwards, and one center that you believe are most deserving of being named to that squad. Don’t forget that a few players – including LaMarcus Aldridge, Ben Simmons, and Jimmy Butler – qualify at two positions.

You’ll have about 48 hours for this round of voting before we move on to the All-NBA Third Team on Friday morning. You’ll also have the opportunity to select two players apiece in the guard and forward polls, so be sure to take advantage of that. And if there’s a player not listed below that you believe deserves All-NBA consideration, be sure to mention him in the comments section too — if I agree, I’ll make sure he’s included in our All-NBA Third Team polls later this week.

Guards:

Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote on the All-NBA Second Team guards.

Forwards:

Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote on the All-NBA Second Team forwards.

Centers:

Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote on the All-NBA Second Team center.

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Poll: What’s Next For Spurs, Kawhi Leonard?

April 17th, 2018 at 11:00am CST by Luke Adams

Throughout a rocky 2017/18 season, even as rumors of discord between Kawhi Leonard and the Spurs persisted, most reports out of San Antonio have suggested that a long-term union between the two sides remains the most likely outcome. Multiple reporters over the course of the season indicated that the Spurs would likely put a Designated Veteran Extension offer on the table for Leonard during the offseason.

However, that’s no longer a lock. In his latest piece for The San Antonio Express-News, Mike Finger observes that a super-max offer still seemed like a slam dunk as of month or two ago, but he admits it’s not a certainty anymore. In fact, Finger writes, it might be a surprise if the Spurs do extend that offer to Leonard.

Given the Spurs’ history of stability, the Leonard situation this season has been fascinating. It stems from a disagreement between the Spurs’ medical staff and Leonard’s own doctors about the state of his quadriceps injury — the Spurs have cleared the star forward to return, but his doctors haven’t done so, and he still doesn’t feel comfortable enough to play.

As part of his rehab, Leonard is currently in New York, away from the Spurs as they battle the Warriors in the first round of the postseason. Finger suggests the team is fine with Leonard’s absence, but the optics aren’t great, and Gregg Popovich‘s comments after Monday’s Game 2 loss were interpreted by some observers as a subtle dig at his absent star — even though they were ostensibly intended as praise for LaMarcus Aldridge.

“LaMarcus has been a monster all year long,” Popovich said, per Sam Amick of USA Today. “He’s led our team at both ends of the floor. He doesn’t complain about a darn thing out on the court. He just plays through everything. I can’t imagine being more proud of a player as far as playing through adversity and being there for his teammates night after night after night. He’s been fantastic.”

It’s worth noting that Aldridge was in a somewhat similar position to Leonard a year ago, having broached the possibility of a trade out of San Antonio during the 2017 offseason. However, a meeting and a few conversations between Aldridge and Popovich allowed the two sides to work out their issues, with the Spurs’ big man ultimately signing an extension before the season got underway.

As Finger writes, there’s still hope that the Spurs and Leonard could follow a similar path. However, at this point, the situation is “too complicated to work out with one phone call.” Finger speculates that it would probably take a series of conversations – with both sides reiterating their commitment to one another – for the Spurs and Leonard to comfortably move forward.

The Spurs are just two losses away from officially starting their offseason, at which point addressing the Leonard situation will become the franchise’s top priority. It’s not clear how this will play out, but it wouldn’t be a huge surprise if Leonard inks an extension in the offseason — at this point, it also wouldn’t be a total shock if he has played his last game at the Spur.

What do you think? Will the Spurs work things out with Leonard like they did with Aldridge before him? Or will the team decide to move on from its best player a year before he becomes eligible for unrestricted free agency? Vote below in our poll and share your thoughts in the comment section!

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