Allright, lets keep track of the NBA Playoffs on this thread, for everyone who is interested.
I think the Spurs are going to come out of the Western Conference, and in the Eastern Conference, I’m going with the Pistons.
The Spurs will have a harder road, with Denver, and possibly Phoenix, then possibly Dallas. The Pistons should cruise on through.
In the Finals rematch of 2005, I’m going with the same result: Spurs win.
Let’s see what happens.
Do you really think the Spurs are gonna beat the Suns, and then the Mavs?
Seriously?!?
[quote]mahwah wrote:
Do you really think the Spurs are gonna beat the Suns, and then the Mavs?
Seriously?!?[/quote]
I think they are, because I think the Mavs and Suns will be worn out from playing small ball all year, and the Spurs defense should carry them, as long as Duncan scores 20+ per game.
Even though Dallas beat San Antonio in 7 games last year, I think the Spurs are going to come back and take care of business this year.
I’m going with the Mavs winning over the Pistons.
Mavs over Pistons
I think it’s going to take the Spurs 6-7 games to take out the Nuggets. Then, it’ll probably take then another 6-7 to beat the Suns. By then, they’ll be too fatigued to beat the well-rested Mavs. GS and Rockets? Come on!
Detroit, on the other hand, really has no competition leading up to the finals. But I do hope the Bulls make a run!
[quote]tmoney1 wrote:
I think they are, because I think the Mavs and Suns will be worn out from playing small ball all year, and the Spurs defense should carry them, as long as Duncan scores 20+ per game.
Even though Dallas beat San Antonio in 7 games last year, I think the Spurs are going to come back and take care of business this year.[/quote]
So small ball run n’gun won’t work in the playoffs where it becomes a halfcourt game and every possession counts. Sure, that was conventional wisdom.
Until last year. Remember SA (with the homecourt and all that playoff experience) was expected to beat DAL. Except DAL rewrote the rules. They dictated a faster tempo (Devin Harris was huge) and SA couldn’t keep up. By Game 7, DAL knew they could win even on the road.
I’m really looking fwd to a PHO-DAL West finals.
[quote]Hook 'em wrote:
But I do hope the Bulls make a run![/quote]
Yeah, MIA-CHI has some great individual matchups in what should be a great series.
[quote]chillain wrote:
tmoney1 wrote:
I think they are, because I think the Mavs and Suns will be worn out from playing small ball all year, and the Spurs defense should carry them, as long as Duncan scores 20+ per game.
Even though Dallas beat San Antonio in 7 games last year, I think the Spurs are going to come back and take care of business this year.
So small ball run n’gun won’t work in the playoffs where it becomes a halfcourt game and every possession counts. Sure, that was conventional wisdom.
Until last year. Remember SA (with the homecourt and all that playoff experience) was expected to beat DAL. Except DAL rewrote the rules. They dictated a faster tempo (Devin Harris was huge) and SA couldn’t keep up. By Game 7, DAL knew they could win even on the road.
I’m really looking fwd to a PHO-DAL West finals.
[/quote]
I just think SA will learn from last year, and take care of business. Tim needs to be on point, and Bruce Bowen’s defense on Josh Howard is key.
I like Dallas, but to me, for right now, they are like the Indianapolis Colts (before this past season) for the past several years: regular season champs, but don’t do much in the playoffs.
I’m am not discounting the Mavs in any way. They are a great team, with Dirk, Josh, JET, Little General, etc. but I think they are still a couple of years away from a title. They should win one within the next 3 seasons, but I don’t think they will take it this season.
Who knows, next year when we hopefully start a new NBA Playoff Thread, I will have the Mavs.
April 21 recap:
First day of the playoffs!!!
Nets beat 6) Raptors 96-91 - VC goin back to Toronto, and was greeted with boos, but he had the last laugh. Raptors had a couple of chances, but could not take over and win. Looks like the Nets playoff experienced was the factor.
Bulls beat 4) Heat 96-91 (not a typo, same score as Nets-Raptors) - Bulls are the home team, even with the lower seed, because of the better record. Luol Deng with 33 points came up huge, and Ben Gordon helped with 24.
Pistons beat 8) Magic 100-92 - Pistons in traditional form, looking pretty good. Magic only shot 50% from free-throw line, which looked to prove the difference. Good to see Grant Hill healthy and playing solidly.
Rockets beat 4) Jazz - Rockets are home team because of better record. Jazz were up 9 at halftime, but were outscored 51-33 in the second half. T-Mac scored 22 of his 23 in the second half.
Stud of the Night: Luol Deng. 33 points, Bulls take 1-0 lead on the champs.
I would like to see bulls match up with the pistons in the east. Its great seeing wallace on the bulls!
GO LAKERS! i know a longshot, but hey,
maybe kobe will score 110 a game?
[quote]Kill’Em All wrote:
I would like to see bulls match up with the pistons in the east. Its great seeing wallace on the bulls!
GO LAKERS! i know a longshot, but hey,
maybe kobe will score 110 a game?[/quote]
Yeah Bulls-Pistons would be interesting, especially with Big Ben goin back to Motown to face his old team.
I think Kobe would have to score 110 a game in order for his team to have a chance. He needs L.O., Smush, Bynum, and the rest of his supporting cast to help him out.
It seems like when the Mamba is on fire, his teammates just stand around and watch him light it up. Whenever Kobe scored 50+ and 60+, the Lakers only won by a couple of points. If he gets some help from his guys, they would win comfortably even with Kobe being hot.
Cannot believe the Mavs just lost.
But I’m glad the Spurs lost!
Did my warriors just beat Dallas by double figures? NICE! I know it is 1 game in a 7 game series but GS has played Dallas well the past two seasons
Sunday, April 22
2)Cavs defeat 7) Wizards 97-82 - LeBron with 23, Larry Hughes with 27. Antawn Jamison had 28 and 14, but Cavs were just too much. Wizards are definitely missing Agent Zero and Caron.
Suns defeat 7) Lakers 95-87 - Leandro Barbosa had playoff career high 26 points. Kobe had 39 points, but only 1-10 in the 4th quarter. Lakers were up most of the game, but Lakers went cold in the fourth and lost the game.
Nuggets defeat 3) Spurs 95-89 - Melo with 31 and AI with 30 to lead the Nuggets to victory. Duncan and Horry had 14 each, Spurs came out flat.
Warriors defeat 1) Mavs 97-85 - Baron Davis went off with 33, 14, and 8. It just seems like the Warriors wanted it more. The Mavs looked stunned they were beaten on their home floor. Very impressive effort by the Warriors.
Stud(s) of the Night: Golden State Warriors - awesome team effort all around. Need to keep it up throughout the series.
Lakers played well for 3 quarters. Man if kobe had a PIPPEN things would be much different/ but hey im still glad they are giving them a slight run, and really should have won today. !
The Warriors win was HUGE!!! It was only Game 1, but Game 1 sets the tempo for a 7-game series. I was very impressed with the Warriors effort, considering they were the only team to sweep the Mavs 3-0 in the regular season. Mentor (Nelson) beating the pupil (Johnson). Should make for a great series.
Bulls will beat the Heat, Suns & Bulls in the finals. Yes, the bulls will beat the Pistons. Suns will win it all. Nash is amazing, should win the MVP 3x, but wont. Done.
It’s all about the Don Nelson factor and specific matchups. There’s a very good reason as to why Dirk was off. Nelson knows Dirk’s favourite move, a move I can guarantee everyone has etched into their minds when they see Nowitzki play.
He sends a guard in to double team right as he does his patented spin move to fadeaway, trying for either the steal or just to deter his shot, so far its been very effective, TNT showed a clip on this. Dirk was a complete no-show tonight.
It’s all about the match ups in the Western Conference. Dallas can’t beat Phoenix. Phoenix can’t be San Antonio. San Antonio can’t beat Dallas. If all 3 win based on this logic, Dallas will get into the finals (but they can’t beat GS yet either haha).
[quote]Kill’Em All wrote:
Lakers played well for 3 quarters. Man if kobe had a PIPPEN things would be much different/ but hey im still glad they are giving them a slight run, and really should have won today. ![/quote]
That’s what Odom is supposed to be. Unfortunately he isn’t as consistent, doesn’t play as aggressively, and is battling injuries.
[quote]escot4 wrote:
Kill’Em All wrote:
Lakers played well for 3 quarters. Man if kobe had a PIPPEN things would be much different/ but hey im still glad they are giving them a slight run, and really should have won today. !
That’s what Odom is supposed to be. Unfortunately he isn’t as consistent, doesn’t play as aggressively, and is battling injuries. [/quote]
I agree. LO was supposed to the Robin, a sidekick to Kobe being Batman, but it hasn’t worked out. Unfortunately for the Lakers, he’s the second best player they have. He is a more finesse type of big man; he needs to take it to the cup and be more aggressive on the boards.
That aside, I think Jordan Farmar is going to be a pretty good ballplayer for years to come.