NBA Playoff Thread

[Herodotus]

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.

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.

Dude, there was absolutely nothing wrong with that play. It was a clean screen / back pick. That's basketball the way it's supposed to be played - and that's why Horry's a winner. The only reason West was even hurt was because of a pre-existing back injury. If anything, you should save some of your outrage for his teammates who didn't call it out to give him a heads-up.

There isn't a basketball player on the planet that would call that a cheap shot or an attempt to injure. You're totally overreacting.

PS - Even the play with Nash last year was totally over-hyped. Nash should have changed directions or pulled up and Horry barely did anything except slide over and block his path - a moving pick, but not "an attempt to injure" or a dirty play as everyone tried to characterize it.

The only miscarriage of justice was the NBA suspending Stoudemire and Diaw for their part in the fracas.

 

[lawyerman]

Dude, there was absolutely nothing wrong with that play. It was a clean screen / back pick. That's basketball the way it's supposed to be played - and that's why Horry's a winner. The only reason West was even hurt was because of a pre-existing back injury. If anything, you should save some of your outrage for his teammates who didn't call it out to give him a heads-up.

There isn't a basketball player on the planet that would call that a cheap shot or an attempt to injure. You're totally overreacting.

PS - Even the play with Nash last year was totally over-hyped. Nash should have changed directions or pulled up and Horry barely did anything except slide over and block his path - a moving pick, but not "an attempt to injure" or a dirty play as everyone tried to characterize it.

The only miscarriage of justice was the NBA suspending Stoudemire and Diaw for their part in the fracas.

I am not going to argue about this. It looked innocent enough but when you watch the replay, you can see that Horry was playing innocent. There is no denying that Horry is a winner. The only thing that I am saying is that he knows how to pick his spots. Horry has always been known as a clutch player and I respect that aspect of his career.

I think you might have to see that play again in regards to Nash. Horry basically through his shoulder into him with nowhere to go. Granted, Nash was trying to go on the outside but you don't throw your shoulder into the guy. That is just plain wrong.

 

[lawyerman]

West stayed in the game with a bad back (pinched nerve) and that must hurt like a son of a bitch.
But basketball is a contact game, especially in the playoffs.

These guys have been playing for what 6 games now and I'm sure that there's been physical contact between West and Horry before.
Because he's a veteran player, Horry was surely looking for any advantage that he could get over his opponent.

I think that like in boxing, you can tell when a hit you put on an opponent really hurts him. He may step back, flinch or let out some kind of grunt so that you know you've hit a sensitive spot, a chink in the armour.

Being the old school veteran player that Horry is, I think that he knew exactly where to place those forearms to make West feel it big time.
Is is a smart play or is it dirty?

I think "old school" guys would say the it's smart and the new finesse type guys would say it's a cheap shot.

Just depends on your philosophy on how the game should be played IMO.

Well said. He basically exploited his injury and all hell broke loose. Maybe I was overreacting. Sorry guys, I have had a very difficult start to the weekend and I am taking it out on my fellow members. Herodotus knows his stuff and I commend him for it. I just can't wait to see the game tomorrow afternoon. I think it is really stupid to have the hockey game at 3 PM and the basketball game at 3:30 PM. I guess the sports gods do not want to interfere with the Sunday night baseball game. Don't get me wrong, I love baseball but it takes a backseat to hockey and basketball in my opinion.

At least they should have all sports games on television spread out for Sunday or changed the hockey game to tonight instead of this afternoon.

I hope everyone enjoys the rest of this long weekend.

Cheers.

 

[friendz4evr]

Boston will win today.

 

[Herodotus]

No thanks to Kevin "never will be 'the man'" Garnett. How many turnaround jump shots and mid-range hooks can a man over seven feet tall settle for? Other than Paul Pierce (who is finally getting the chance to show what kind of star he is), the Celtics looks very average. How did P2 ever slip to 10th in the '98 Draft?

Boston and its fans must be shitting themselves right now. LBJ is THE MAN.

 

[lawyerman]

No thanks to Kevin "never will be 'the man'" Garnett. How many turnaround jump shots and mid-range hooks can a man over seven feet tall settle for? Other than Paul Pierce (who is finally getting the chance to show what kind of star he is), the Celtics looks very average. How did P2 ever slip to 10th in the '98 Draft?

Boston and its fans must be shitting themselves right now. LBJ is THE MAN.

I know that before KG arrived on Boston, they were horrible.

It's funny how one year and trading their bench away for him and the success they have had was more or less due to KG.

Lest we forget what an effective player he is (maybe not so much yesterday), he scored about 20 points and 11 rebounds per game against Cleveland who has a deeper bench than Boston does.

By the way, Garnett is 6'11".

It is pretty difficult to score on a solid defender as Ilgauskas who is 7'3". They also had Varejao, Smith and Wallace helping double team Garnett at times! It will be tough again for him against Detroit and he has to put up with Rasheed Wallace and Antonio McDyess and I hope the Celtics will beat the Pistons who are always tough. It will be a great matchup.

I have said in previous threads that LBJ is the best all-around player in the league. There is no doubt about that in my mind.

Pierce has always been a star in this league. He played extremely well yesterday. It was nice to see him shine in the spotlight. I have no idea how he was drafted 10th overall. When he played for Kansas, he could do no wrong. To think we drafted (Wince) Carter ahead of him. I know there were worse players to choose from. Olowakandi was chosen first overall and probably the biggest bust in NBA history so Carter doesn't look too bad right now. Even though the Raptors did not receive anything from the Nets for Carter but that is the Raptors fault. He wanted to get out of Toronto because of management and that's that. There are others that were drafted who were worse but I am not going into that right now.

Herodotus, you are truly have an excellent basketball mind and I completely respect your opinions. I don't understand why you are so harsh on Garnett. Do you not think he wants to get to the basket? Who the hell wants to do fadeaways and mid-range jumpers? Cleveland defended him very well but he still managed to produce solid numbers and Boston wins the series.

 

[lawyerman]

I hope it's a great game tonight between the Spurs and the Hornets. Yesterday's game was an absolute classic. It will be hard to match that type of intensity. This one is definitely too tough to call. Each team has a distinct advantage when playing at home but this is game 7 and the Spurs know what it takes to win but I really like the Hornets. I am surprised that they have not won on the road against the Hornets.

 

[Herodotus]

I know that before KG arrived on Boston, they were horrible.

It's funny how one year and trading their bench away for him and the success they have had was more or less due to KG.

Lest we forget what an effective player he is (maybe not so much yesterday), he scored about 20 points and 11 rebounds per game against Cleveland who has a deeper bench than Boston does.

By the way, Garnett is 6'11".

It is pretty difficult to score on a solid defender as Ilgauskas who is 7'3". They also had Varejao, Smith and Wallace helping double team Garnett at times! It will be tough again for him against Detroit and he has to put up with Rasheed Wallace and Antonio McDyess and I hope the Celtics will beat the Pistons who are always tough. It will be a great matchup.

I have said in previous threads that LBJ is the best all-around player in the league. There is no doubt about that in my mind.

Pierce has always been a star in this league. He played extremely well yesterday. It was nice to see him shine in the spotlight. I have no idea how he was drafted 10th overall. When he played for Kansas, he could do no wrong. To think we drafted (Wince) Carter ahead of him. I know there were worse players to choose from. Olowakandi was chosen first overall and probably the biggest bust in NBA history so Carter doesn't look too bad right now. Even though the Raptors did not receive anything from the Nets for Carter but that is the Raptors fault. He wanted to get out of Toronto because of management and that's that. There are others that were drafted who were worse but I am not going into that right now.

Herodotus, you are truly have an excellent basketball mind and I completely respect your opinions. I don't understand why you are so harsh on Garnett. Do you not think he wants to get to the basket? Who the hell wants to do fadeaways and mid-range jumpers? Cleveland defended him very well but he still managed to produce solid numbers and Boston wins the series.

Actually, Garnett is over 7' tall. He has asked that his height not be listed any taller for whatever reason - one rumour is so he won't be considered a centre in historical terms. Check it out on most NBA insider sites. T-Mac and others who have played with him swear he's at least 7'1". Hell, he was 6'10.75" in bare feet at age 18 for the NBA draft camp.

Garnett is a great team player but the NBA end game comes down to individual dominance, particularly guard play. He is not the offensive force he should be, particularly given his skills and the fact that teams were built around him.

Listen, when all-time greats (Magic, Barkley, Jordan, Bird, etc.) call him out for his lack of aggressive offensive play in crunch time, there's something to it. For a man as big, quick and skillful as he is, Garnett does not get to the rim. He should be taking guys like Z, Joe Smith and Ben Wallace to school, dribble-driving past them and dunking, putting in easy layups, passing off to wide open teammates or getting fouled. He should have taken Varejao into the post and had him jumping up and down like a cheerleader before schooling him with up and unders. Instead, he settles for turnaround jumpers and weak jump hooks. He has no go-to move to speak of and tends to take on a backseat role in the offence, which as I stated earlier, is a shame given his abilities. A great player, but not an all-time dominant force.

What the Celts should be worried about it Ray Allen's demise...

 

[Herodotus]

Well the 3 big trades in the NBA this season have offically all turned out bad and at the expense of the future ... Shaq to Suns ... Kidd to Mavs and finally Wallace who on the last Lebron Drive wasn't anywhere near the rebound ... A more athletic Godden would have had more hops to get that ball ..

What future? Ira Newble, Drew Gooden, Larry Hughes, Cedric Simmons, Shannon Brown and Donyell Marshall? Hughes was mismatched on that team and Gooden was too inconsistent. The rest were spare parts and dead weight.

The trade was, at worst, a wash. Joe Smith and Ben Wallace are more reliable than Gooden. Delonte West is young and can play D and shoot from both guard spots. Wally Szczerbiak was a reliable shooter. The contracts pretty much evened out.

 

[Herodotus]

The Cavs have something like $30 million in expiring contracts after 2009 - and then another $15 million the year after (Ben Wallace). As a GM, that's a start. In the meantime, they are still very competetive... we'll see how good a GM Ferry is over the next year.

And we'll see how loyal LBJ is. The allure of New York (or perhaps the brand new Brooklyn Nets + Jay Z) may be too much, especially for a man who wants to make over $1 billion over his career and go down in history as the greatest ever... can you do that in Cleveland? Only time will tell...

 

[lawyerman]

The Spurs put on a solid performance with very few lapses and New Orleans made it kind of interesting near the end. The Hornets do not have the depth and the veteran saavy that the Spurs have. It would have been nice to see the Hornets win after what those people have been through with Hurricane Katrina. I can't wait until the Lakers and Spurs meet on Wednesday. I don't think that we could have received better matchups than these two matchups for the conference finals.

The Celtics and Pistons should be a great matchup. Ray Allen must get his act together in order for them to win against the Pistons. What a series this will be. It will be interesting to see if Boston actually wins at least one game on the road. It has been their achilles heel so far in this year's playoffs.

 

[lawyerman]

The Draft Lottery will take play at 7:30 this evening. Miami is expected to receive top pick and they have the best chances at 25%.

 

[friendz4evr]

Pistons and Celtics - Boston wins this one - Detriot is rusty after their long rest, and home team almost always wins first game.

 

[basketcase]

Just saw a piston set the exact same kind of screen as Horry set last series. Back screen, player jumped and screener leaned in to his back. No foul called.

 

[lawyerman]

Pistons and Celtics - Boston wins this one - Detriot is rusty after their long rest, and home team almost always wins first game.

No excuses. Detroit should have shaken off the rust by the second quarter. It does not take that long to shake off the rust but it does take a bit of time (not the whole game). I believe the Pistons played relatively well.

 

[iluvbtca]

No excuses. Detroit should have shaken off the rust by the second quarter. It does not take that long to shake off the rust but it does take a bit of time (not the whole game). I believe the Pistons played relatively well.

Definitely. Two biggest possessions that sealed DET's fate were at about the 3 min mark left in the 4th and Sheed took an explicibly bad 3-ptr and then Rip followed up a good defensive stand with a patented "I'm going 1-on-5 and I'm out of control" drive. Instead of making it a 4-pt or better deficit, the lead became a 3-possession game and slipped away.

I think a concern is how tentative CB Smooth looks and the public claim that he's not 100%. At first I thought that might have been a rope-a-dope but he definitely looked like he's thinking about it. Why would he not get into the 4th quarter before the 5 min left mark?

 

[Mr. Lucky]

I say Lakers Vs. Celtics

Lakers win in 6 games final

 

[lawyerman]

I can't believe the Spurs gave up a 20 point lead. They are known for their defence and could not score at all. Kobe was on fire in the second half. Wow.

It should be another great game between the Celtics and Pistons tonight.

 

[johnhenrygalt]

I've been following the NBA playoffs with a modicum of interest for the first time in 25 years. Why has home court been so decisive this year? I think the Celtics are undefeated at home and winless on the road. The home team has won something like 80% of all games in the 2008 playoffs. Is this unusual or is home court always a huge advantage in basketball?

 

[lawyerman]

The Celtics bench was absolutely pathetic. It didn't help matters much that Ray Allen had regained his scoring touch and had to sit on the bench after receiving his fifth foul in the third quarter.

We shall see what happens at the Palace on Saturday.