2009 NBA Playoffs

Off Topic
21

Good to see this thread back!

I think my C’s have been bit too hard by the injury bug to make a deep run this year, let alone defend their title.

Even if they were healthy, they’d have a hard time getting past Cleveland and/or the Lakers. They’re not as good as last season, and they have NO shot at beating those teams without KG.

Still, the playoffs this season look to be more intriguing than last years. Portland/Houston and Hawks/Heat are GREAT 1st round matchups. Those two series look like they could go the distance.

I’ve become much more attached to the OKC Thunder than I thought I would be; I didn’t care a whit about the Sonics before.

But they HAVE to make a strong effort to trade up for Blake Griffin if they don’t win the lottery. They NEED Blake Griffin more than any franchise has needed a player since Cleveland needed LeBron.

22

Yeah, it is kind of a shame that KG isn’t healthy and we don’t get to see the champs at full strength.

Then again, it might just be simple karma after KG inexplicably turned into a bit of a classless fool: KG taunts Jerryd Bayless with doggy style on ESPN - YouTube

Plenty of other clips of him dishing out cheap shots and not knowing how to act. And considering how well-respected he was in MIN, none of his nonsense in BOS makes much sense.

23

btw, great to see all the usual suspects in this thread. Hope you all are doing well.

24

Wow, a first game upset by the bulls… what a good game going into over time. Damn rose was phenomenal today!

Now the Cavs and Pistons :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

25

Derrick Rose has just put his name down as one of the Elites of the NBA. We will be seeing a lot more of this kid in the future. Incredible performance.

26

HAHAHA, pistons got RICK ROLLED!!

27

[quote]Malevolence wrote:
Derrick Rose has just put his name down as one of the Elites of the NBA. We will be seeing a lot more of this kid in the future. Incredible performance. [/quote]

I just want to echo this. I’ve watched nearly every Bulls game this year and I knew he was incredible, but he was absolutely off the charts today. An amazing player and an extremely modest and courteous guy, did anyone see that interview at the end? I don’t think I’ve ever heard a professional athlete say “ma’am” or “thank you” as much as he did. It is a phenomenal day to be a Bulls fan.

28

[quote]AngryVader wrote:
On a parting note, this is for you my friend:

That is still one of the sickest playoff dunks ever!
[/quote]

That dunk always makes me happy.

29

[quote]Dabba wrote:
Malevolence wrote:
Derrick Rose has just put his name down as one of the Elites of the NBA. We will be seeing a lot more of this kid in the future. Incredible performance.

I just want to echo this. I’ve watched nearly every Bulls game this year and I knew he was incredible, but he was absolutely off the charts today. An amazing player and an extremely modest and courteous guy, did anyone see that interview at the end? I don’t think I’ve ever heard a professional athlete say “ma’am” or “thank you” as much as he did. It is a phenomenal day to be a Bulls fan. [/quote]

I realize my Bulls are still being counted out of the first round, but while things are good: “How about Them Bulls” or as the Chicago Superfan Bill Swerski will say, “Da Bulls!”

30

Tonight Dwayne Wade will show why he deserves to be in conversation with Kobe and Lebron at ALL times.

Miami Heat in 6!

As a Heat fan I wish to see them in the finals, but honestly there is no way they are going to get past the second round.

Cavs/Lakers Finals is most likely. It will be a great series to watch, seeing Lebron and Kobe go at it!

31

Few notes from the first day:

Derrick Rose. Enough said.

I thought Houston would win game 1, but I didn’t think they would blow out POR on the road. Props for them

Dallas HUGE road win at a tough place to play. Big 4q and big time play by Josh Howard.

LeBron nailing half court shots is becoming a regular thing. In practice, for the cameras, during games, etc. I think he’s got it figured out.

32

[quote]Malevolence wrote:
I don’t expect to be involved with this thread as much as last season, but props to Tmoney1 for starting it nonetheless.

As much as I want to see the Lakers get their revenge for last season, I really don’t expect Boston to make it deep, and would not be at all surprised if they get tossed by Derrick and his crew(who have been playing very well in the latter half of the season).

I think that Cavs Vs. Lakers is a likely finals match-up, and I think the Lakers will win in 6. That said, I have to admit I am a little nervous about the officiating. Watching Cavaliers home games this season was kind of embarrassing for the officials. The bias awarded to the Cavs(and Lebron especially) was unprecedented.

That said, it’s the Lakers own fault for losing Home Court Advantage. They dropped games they absolutely should not have dropped. So if they are fighting an uphill battle against the refs, that’s why.

Still though, the Lakers are deeper than the Cavs. Kobe is better than Lebron, and two 7-footers is > than one 7’3"-er. All the Lakers need to do is guard the 3, harass Lebron, and execute their game and they will make short work of the Cavs.

As to your first round match-ups, I do mostly agree. The only quibble I have is with the Portland vs. Houston series. That’s definitely one to watch, I think it is very much up in the air.[/quote]

Agree all the way through with you MV, with the exception of HOU/POR obviously. I was honestly surprised HOU smoked POR on the road. I expect POR to play much better in Game 2.

I wasn’t going to bring up officiating, but since you mentioned it, I’m going to have to agree. LBJ has definitely earned Jordan-like love from the refs, and can pretty much get away with anything on the court. Even crab dribbles lol.

Good to see you back on here MV, hope all is well.

33

Derrick Rose was nasty at Memphis too, was in the lead basically for the whole season in terms of ROY voting, and I’m glad he’s blowing up in the playoffs too, a lot of people are getting their first look at him.

Rajan Rando had a hell of a game. Two awesome PG in the east, I love it. But as a Knicks fan, I hate it…

34

[quote]pushmepullme wrote:
So tmoney, you’re not going to become a Nuggets fan?[/quote]

PMPM, OKC is my hometown and since the Thunder are here, I’m a Thunder fan first and foremost. Gotta support the hometown. However, I do like the Nuggets, and when I move to CO, I will definitely watch them, and will try to make it down to Denver when OKC comes to town.

Being from CO, I assume you are a Nuggets fan.

35

[quote]SergeantQ wrote:
As a die hard Chicago fan ( Bears, Bulls, Sox…) Bulls all the way!!!

On a more serious note, I am picking Dallas as my sleeper in the first round. They have to be tired of having a good season and getting blown out in the first round. And Dirk has to have cleared his throat finally from the piss poor playoffs he swallowed down in the past.

Other than that, gotta agree with the rest of the picks. Good thread “tmoney1”. Are you from OKC or from general area? I was stationed at Tinker for years until I got pulled down to Sheppard.[/quote]

SergeantQ, nice to see you on the thread. Yeah, Dallas looked good at SAS, tough place to play. I see what you are saying about Dallas having a good regular season, then sucking in the playoffs. Especially a couple of years back when they steamrolled the league, then the Warriors beat em down in the first round (my boys AngryVader and Kalle were super excited about this, being Warriors fans). I think it turned around for them for the worse when they went up 2-0 in the 2006 Finals to the Heat, then lost four straight.

Yes sir, I am from OKC, grew up here and live here (although I’m heading off to Colorado in a few months). That’s awesome you were stationed at Tinker, how did you like it in Midwest City and Oklahoma City in general? Hope things at Sheppard are going well. Thank you for your service and enjoy the playoffs!!!

36

[quote]DeterminedNate wrote:
Tmoney, you have done it again. I was pleasantly surprised to see The Nation’s resident NBA fan start the PLAYOFFS THREAD. For me, this is undoubtedly the best couple weeks in sports throughout the year.

I will touch on a couple over-arching themes, rather than discussing every team/match up.

Starting with MY Los Angeles Lakers. This one is obvious. Lakers in the NBA Finals, no questions asked, not a single concern in my mind. I don’t get the hullabaloo around Portland. Yes they are young, yes they are fresh, yes they have exciting players, yes they have a closer in B. Roy, and yes they have beat the Lakers twice at home this season. But thats the regular season, boys. When the bright lights of the playoffs come on, their respective assholes will all suddenly tighten up. I will be surprised if they get passed a more experienced Houston team.

The rest of the West deserves no discussion.

The East has several major players this year. The entire landscape and structure of the Celtics team has changed with the loss of KG. His absence notwithstanding, I believe the Celtics know how to win, are an extremely scrappy bunch, and have that mental toughness edge over the rest of the poseurs. I see them in the Eastern Conference Finals.

The best description that I’ve heard of the Orlando Magic is that they are a “mirage.” Perfect description. Lots of flash, lots of smiles, but ultimately they lack the mental toughness and the heart to battle through the East.

The Cavs. Lebron. Lebron. Lebron. Lebron and his band of misfits have played beyond themselves all year. What is left to be said about Bron Bron? The guy is an absolute, once in a lifetime, FREAK OF NATURE. His teammates like him and he is a natural leader. I expect him to inspire confidence in his teammates through his play and through his leadership. They are a lock for the finals, and will dispose of the Celtics in 6 (not without a fight though).

That leaves us with a Lakers/Cavs Finals. I believe the Lakers possess the psychological edge, the experience, and ridiculously more talent than the Cavs. I see Lakers winning this in not more than 6.

LAKERS CHAMPS IN 2009.

[/quote]

Nate, good to see you on here again this year, hope all is well. I agree with all of your points, including Lakers being champs. Honestly, anything less than the Lakers making it out of the West will be shocking. As for the East, it’s shocking to see how the absense of one player (KG) can shift the landscape around. I still think they make the conference Finals, but LBJ and Co. will go to the Finals.

Good point about the Magic. I wonder, though, how much of it is the coaches’ fault. I like Stan Van Gundy, and he’s a great regular season coach, but as for the playoffs, something happens and he just can’t get it done. It’s ironic that Stan Van Gundy stepped down from the Heat, Pat Riley took over, and they won a title, all in 2006. I don’t like putting blame on anyone, but just a thought.

37

[quote]tGunslinger wrote:
Good to see this thread back!

I think my C’s have been bit too hard by the injury bug to make a deep run this year, let alone defend their title.

Even if they were healthy, they’d have a hard time getting past Cleveland and/or the Lakers. They’re not as good as last season, and they have NO shot at beating those teams without KG.

Still, the playoffs this season look to be more intriguing than last years. Portland/Houston and Hawks/Heat are GREAT 1st round matchups. Those two series look like they could go the distance.

I’ve become much more attached to the OKC Thunder than I thought I would be; I didn’t care a whit about the Sonics before.

But they HAVE to make a strong effort to trade up for Blake Griffin if they don’t win the lottery. They NEED Blake Griffin more than any franchise has needed a player since Cleveland needed LeBron. [/quote]

tGun, good to see you bro! How you been man?

Yeah I agree with you, without KG, unfortunately, your boys have an outside chance of repeating. Yeah, this year’s playoffs have much better matchups than last year, and should make for exciting matchups.

Oh man, the Thunder are going to be sick!!! Young, talented, team chemistry, meshing, it’s all good. I couldn’t agree more, we have to get B-Griff, no matter what. And the Thunder are in a good position to bargain, with five first-round picks in the next two years. I also think Jeff Green is expendable, as much as I like him. It will be worth it to give up Green and a first-round pick (maybe two) to move up to get B-Griff. Just like you said with LBJ being from Ohio, B-Griff from OKC, going to the hometown team, it’s gotta happen.

38

[quote]tGunslinger wrote:
Good to see this thread back!

I think my C’s have been bit too hard by the injury bug to make a deep run this year, let alone defend their title.

Even if they were healthy, they’d have a hard time getting past Cleveland and/or the Lakers. They’re not as good as last season, and they have NO shot at beating those teams without KG.

Still, the playoffs this season look to be more intriguing than last years. Portland/Houston and Hawks/Heat are GREAT 1st round matchups. Those two series look like they could go the distance.

I’ve become much more attached to the OKC Thunder than I thought I would be; I didn’t care a whit about the Sonics before.

But they HAVE to make a strong effort to trade up for Blake Griffin if they don’t win the lottery. They NEED Blake Griffin more than any franchise has needed a player since Cleveland needed LeBron. [/quote]

tGun, good to see you man! Hope you are doing well.

Yeah, agree with you all the way through. Without KG, your Celtics unfortunately are going to have a tough time defending their title. Yeah, much better matchups this year than last year, for sure.

Yeah, the Thunder are awesome!!! Young, talented, good team chemistry, it’s all good. I couldn’t agree more, it is critical we get B-Griff. We have plenty of bargaining power, with five first-round picks in the next two years. Jeff Green is expendable, as much as I like him, so he will be used as trade bait, along with one (maybe two) first-round picks. Hometown guy, hometown team, need an inside presence, it’s a perfect fit.

39

Holy shit…

Just when you thought Orlando was going to win. 76ers came back, with Iggie’s game winning shot… unbelievable!!

40

[quote]aznt0rk wrote:
Holy shit…

Just when you thought Orlando was going to win. 76ers came back, with Iggie’s game winning shot… unbelievable!![/quote]

The result of that game sort of shocked me.