NBA Playoff Thread

[lawyerman]

Isn't funny how people get up and down after each game in the playoffs. I'm not sure how this series is "interesting" now. The Cavs held serve and won at home. The Celts are still up 2-1 and if they win Game #4, it's as good as over. This series is going seven and the Celts will prevail because of home court.

A series doesn't become interesting untill a team wins on the road.

Orlando continues to show how inexperienced they are. I don't buy into the idea of waking up Rip since with CB-Smooth being out, Hamilton knew he had to be aggressive on O. Plus having the half pint on him, you pretty knew Rip would post the midget. What is amazing about the Magic is the continued bad shot selection in the 4th. Hedo made a couple of 3's but there some early in shot clock looks that weren't great that he took. Furthermore, the last drive was a bit odd and he probably should have started his move quicker to allow for more time in the case of the miss. I do think McDyess took a charge on that too.

When I watch Orlando I have to wonder, isn't this the type of team Coangelo wants to have?

I'd also like to note that Dwight Howard is incredibly overrated at this point in his career. I think people get too excited about the dunk contest and try to extrapolate on that. There's no doubt about his raw ability and how good he could be but I'd say Bosh is a better all around guy at this point. Howard just looks awkward when he's on the post and in the half court very much like Shaq in his early years.

Wow that broadcast team for the DET/ORL game was tough to listen to. Way to research solely from the media guides.

Boston defeated Cleveland big time in game 2 but they get killed in game 3. Home court is a definite advantage but it made an unbelievable difference in game 3. Cleveland destroyed Boston in game 3 and that is what I meant by the series is interesting. I wish people would lighten up.

Hamilton was playing well but what I meant was that when he was fouled at one point, he had gotten upset and started playing so much better.

Dwight Howard has grown by leaps and bounds during his short career. Too say that he is overrated is ludricious. There are some areas where he can improve but he is only 22 years old! You are comparing two players in different positions. Howard is a centre while Bosh is a power forward.

In my opinion, Bosh is one of the best power forwards in the league.

 

[lawyerman]

Bargnani is definitely not there yet. He is only 22 years old. Personally, I would give Bargnani one more year and that's it. If he plays well, keep him. If not, let him go. It would be nice to see Bargs turn into that type of calibre player. He does not necessarily have to be a banger in order to be successful but like I said before, it will help his game if he is more physical.
I know he is more finesse and if he is going to be more of a finesse type of player, then I want to see that scoring average soar. There should not be an excuse for that.

I think that Turkoglu and Okur were not given the same opportunity that Bargnani has been given Okur was with the Pistons (everyone knows the depth of recent Pistons teams and Turkoglu was with the Kings at the time playing behind Chris Webber and Peja Stojakovic.

The have both blossomed into pretty good ball players. Bargnani has had the chance to start in this league and will be given the opportunity to start more this year considering the lack of depth (presently) on this ball club.

It is do or die for Bargnani this year. Enough said.

 

[lawyerman]

The Celtics are in trouble because of their bench and it has been questioned throughout the year for their lack of depth.

Considering the Cavs have the best all around player in the NBA and perhaps LeBron might be the greatest in the history of the league might help.

Don't get me wrong. The Cavs are a good team and when playing to their potential can beat anyone in the league. Boston was so dominant during the season whether it was home or away, they put on a clinic almost every night.
They just can't seem to win on the road.

If the Celtics lose to the Cavs, they have to fire Doc Rivers.
Five players last night did not have one field goal and that is unaccepatable.
I don't understand why when the Celtics were down that most of their starters were sitting at the same time. Put them in there and try to regain the lead. I guess Rivers thought "even if we are down a few points, I'll put my big guys out there with a few minutes left to go and we will come back and win". That mentality does not work. Then their big gunners will be pressured to make almost every shot and when you are not making the shots, you are just further and further behind as last night will attest to that.

I really don't know how Orlando is going to pull off a victory in Detroit. Jameer Nelson guarantees a victory. What a joke. I think he should keep his comments to himself and try and motivate his other teammates some other way. He is a good player but he has put himself in a tough spot. Good luck to him.

The game that intrigues me the most is the Spurs/Hornets. If Peja and David West are going full speed ahead, then I believe that the Hornets will win tonight. Tyson Chandler is by no means a big time scorer but he should score more than 0 baskets. The Spurs will not roll over though and are always tough. Duncan is an absolute monster.

The Lakers are in trouble if Kobe's back is still sore. If the Lakers lose Kobe, they are done. Period.

 

[lawyerman]

Shouldn't you wait to post this until after the series has been decided

Agreed.

 

[lawyerman]

So if Cavs don't beat the Celtics you will still deem that trade a sucess ??? Why do you want me to compare the stats from last night only .... Why not games one and two also ... These two teams are playing like crap on the others teams court and Celtics have game 7..

All I know is nobody's Big 3 in the East looks as good as Lakers Jazz Spurs and Hornets Big 3 ...

Are you saying that the big 3 in Boston do not match up against the Lakers, Jazz, Spurs and Hornets big 3?

You cannot compare the big 3 on these teams that you have stated above simply because of their positions. All I know is that the big 3 on the Celtics are going to the Hall of Fame. I cannot say that about the big 3 on the teams that you mentioned.

The Celtics will be hurt in the playoffs due to an ineffective point guard situation. Rondo will be very good and played pretty well last night but he must pass the ball more and Cassell has lost a step but he has been a very good point guard in the past. Rondo is trying to go through the whole team himself and it is nice to see the determination but he is young and hopefully will utilize his teammates more.

 

[lawyerman]

We are talking about 2008 .... They are HOF players based on career achievements but not based on 2008 playoff achievements ... These Big 3 had to dispose of the Hawks in 7 games ... Do you honestly think the Hawks would have gotton one game for those 4 teams I mentioned .. One of those Big 3 of the Celtics got 0 points in game 1

The Hawks have a better team than their record showed. We will never know because if Atlanta keeps the same roster and the coaching remains similar to the way they were playing in the playoffs, then they will have a very good year. The acquired a decent point guard in Mike Bibby which helped somewhat. BTW, Boston won 66 games this year and the playoffs are not over. They definitely have not played to their potential but there is only one basketball on the court and Boston is a defence first mentality.

 

[lawyerman]

Yes, it'll be LeBron vs. KG in game 7.

Am I to presume that game will also be boring?

Game 7's are never boring. The anticipation is awesome. It would be great if I could get tickets for that game.

 

[iluvbtca]

Dwight Howard has grown by leaps and bounds during his short career. Too say that he is overrated is ludricious. There are some areas where he can improve but he is only 22 years old! You are comparing two players in different positions. Howard is a centre while Bosh is a power forward.

I stand by my statement that Howard is incredibly overrated at this point in his career. Now I realize they need to put someone on the marquee for Orlando but to speak in continued superlatives of someone who can do nothing in a halfcourt set is silly. Yes, he's improved but I'm saying he's getting all this praise because of the dunk contest and we all know how overrated that event is. Comparing him to Bosh as a big man who is more polished and asked to do similar things for his team seems pretty reasonable to me. Plus when Italian perimeter loafer is in the game, Bosh pretty much is the center.

PS: If anyone out there continues to think GM Danny Ferry doesn't know what he's doing then come on over for a brew.

DQ ... Don't they have to make it to the Finals for the trade to be seen as positive? Furthermore, didn't they add contract length in the deal? I thought Hughes had a balloon payment next year where as Ben has two more big balloon payments. I'm thinking during the next two off-seasons when Ferry can sign anyone that we can talk about why Ferry didn't know what he was doing.

Speaking of inept GM's, thank you Paxson for making it much easier to watch the deterioration of Ben Wallace. Avoided bitching about a bad contract and the lack of development of Maxiell and Amir. I'll look forward to putting on the Pistons Ben jersey again as retro when he retires in a year or so. Untill then ... ha ha.

Game 7's are never boring. The anticipation is awesome. It would be great if I could get tickets for that game.

Especially when Chauncey gets to heal that much longer.

 

[lawyerman]

Chauncey was not needed as the Pistons hung on to win both of those games without him in the lineup. More time to rest for Chauncey and the Pistons. Free throws made the difference in this game. Stuckey played well and looks like he will develop quite nicely.

I will say that Howard did not play as well as he did against the Raptors because Detroit has the players to defend against Howard as the Raptors did not. Detroit simply was too strong for Orlando. The Magic had a very easy time with the Raptors but were outplayed by the Pistons. It just goes to show how far the Raptors need to go in order to succeed. I think people's hopes are quite high but they need a lot of help.

The Hornets did it again. They seem to hang around for the first half and then put on a clinic in the second half. Like I said before, when David West is on his game, the Spurs do not have an answer to stop him. Chris Paul was good but his shot was suffering a bit. The player who has really disappointed me lately is Peja. He is a pure, flat-out scorer and he has not done much shooting in the past three games. West definitely picked up the slack last night and if Peja can score like he can, the Hornets could win the series in the next game. The Spurs are one of those teams that just will not die.

 

[lawyerman]

This is going to go to seven games ... I can't see the Spurs wanting their
fans to see a team celebrate on their home court ...

As for the Pistons ....

6 Consecutive Eastern Conference Finals ...

The Spurs will not go down without a fight. What a great team.

The Pistons are so strong every year that they cannot be taken for granted.

This has been one of the most exciting NBA playoffs I have seen in quite a while. I find it very strange that the home teams win an incredibly high percentage of the games. I know that usually when a team plays at home they are more likely to win but not to this extent. Strong road teams have not been strong on the road at all. A prime example would be the Celtics.

How could a team win 66 games overall and have a road record of 31-10 during the regular season have this much trouble on the road? i understand that the regular season and the playoffs are different but losing 5 road playoff games in a row is unacceptable.

Tonight should be very interesting. If the Lakers do not have Kobe in the lineup due to his back problems, I cannot see the Lakers winning without Kobe. He is the heart and soul of that team.

 

[iluvbtca]

How could a team win 66 games overall and have a road record of 31-10 during the regular season have this much trouble on the road? i understand that the regular season and the playoffs are different but losing 5 road playoff games in a row is unacceptable.

With continuing string of highest regular season win leaders stumbling in the playoffs year after year it really makes you question how often pro players take night's off.

Yes, the Celts' road record in the playoffs is pathetic but that's why you play the regular season is for home court and they can lose all they want on the road as long as they win at home.

Even with Rip and Tayshaun's heroics, it's hard to believe but Antonio McDyess was the best Piston in the 4th quarter. Considering Dyess played so huge with the passing of his grandmother, who he credits for raising him, only makes it more incredible. Add to that the crazy 24 hrs he had against the 76ers when he got his nose busted, flew back to DET for surgery and came back to play the next day with the mask and really the career altering knee surgeries he's endured and fought back from, Dyess is the one guy in all of sports that I'd like to see win a ring.

 

[lawyerman]

Surprise Surprise. Home teams won again last night. It would have been nice to see a road team win more regularly.

Pierce and Garnett were the story last night. LBJ played a much better game as well. Ray Allen has not played well at all and I would have to question the status of his health. He is not playing to his potential at all.

The Jazz came close last night and played quite well. I just believe the Lakers are too strong. It would be nice to see a Jazz/Hornets matchup for something a little different.

Can the Hornets knock off the defending champs? That is a tall order and the Spurs will not go down without a fight. They have to be the most relentless bunch I have ever seen. I am hoping for a great game tonight.
Peja must step it up. Ever since Popovich put Bowen on Peja, Bowen has shut him down. Chandler and West both have injuries but Coach Scott said that they will play. Without those two in the lineup, the chances are extremely slim to none to win.

 

[lawyerman]

It's not like that all the time. The home crowd is like a sixth man out there and many of the players appreciate that. There are many players that have a solid game on the road. BTW, West is playing with a bad back and that doesn't help matters. He looked pretty rough when he was sprawled on the floor.

If you do look at his stats over the past year, you can see that he is extremely consistent and there is practically no difference if he plays on the road or at home. He is quite a player.

http://www.nba.com/playerfile/david_west/season_splits.html

 

[LatinDancer]

Spurs experience will make the difference in the 7th game. Also thanks to Horry (again!), West may see limited action.

 

[smart_alek]

Spurs experience will make the difference in the 7th game. Also thanks to Horry (again!), West may see limited action.

Horry actually helped to make sure that West may see limited action.

 

[lawyerman]

The games last night were extremely hard fought. Looking forward to the game 7's on Sunday and Monday. Either way, I am sure they will be great games indeed.

Thanks for the breaking news that the Cavs won. Granted, the home teams seem to be a huge factor in this year's playoffs and it has been predictable for the most part.

It is really too bad that Horry used to be an extremely clutch player and now that he is riding the bench, he feels that he needs to resort to cheap shots. He is an idiot. I like the Spurs and their organization is first class but Horry is bringing them down. Go Hornets.

 

[basketcase]

Don't bash Horry over that pick. Last year he deserved it. This one was barely a foul; it wouldn't have been called if West didn't fall down. The guy was playing hurt as it was. None of the American commentators of the game saw anything wrong with it, even suggestied it should have been a no-call.

 

[Mr. Lucky]

Lakers vs. Detroit final


Lakers when championship in 6 games

 

[lawyerman]

Don't bash Horry over that pick. Last year he deserved it. This one was barely a foul; it wouldn't have been called if West didn't fall down. The guy was playing hurt as it was. None of the American commentators of the game saw anything wrong with it, even suggestied it should have been a no-call.

I really don't care what the commentators said. He knew what he was doing and it was deliberate. He practically ran his head into West's back. I guess he found a new way to try and deliberately hurt someone. To think I actually used to like him as a player. It's a shame that towards the end of his career that he has to act in such a despicable manner.

 

[basketcase]

Maybe you should actually watch the video. All he does is lean into him and yes, he deliberately set the pick and the only reason that his head is anywhere near West is that West is jumping to try and pick off a pass as he backs up.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUh1kJLrYu8


His hit on Nash last year was a clear bodycheck. This was something that happens on pretty much every pick except West was jumping (and arching his already sore back).