NBA Playoffs 2008

I know the regular season isn't over yet and many of you don't care about the NBA in general, but I thought I'd get this started up. First of all, my condolensces to Tom and his Warriors who are incredibly not going to the playoffs when you have teams like Atlanta (sorry Atlanta FUSA members but your team is 6 games below .500) and Philadelphia going to the playoffs w/ losing records (Philly can still finish .500). I guess that's just the way the Cookie crumbles. Anyways, I can't believe we are down to the last game or two of the regular season and the West is still a mess. :shock:

What are you thoughts on your teams? On potential matchups? On matchups once they are set? On anything regarding the NBA? Should be an exciting month and more of upcoming action!

 

RE: NBA Playoffs

I'm deliriously excited. I'll save my predictions for the matchups, since we really know nothing until then. All I will say is that Philly is better than most people think. They have a better point differential than Cleveland or Washington, and have been pretty unlucky. I don't think they'll beat Detroit, but they could make a scrappy series out of it.

Atlanta, on the other hand, will be lucky to win a quarter against Boston.

 

Re: NBA Playoffs

Thanks Omsdogg, you provided me with an opportunity to rant and possibly hijack the thread, but here goe anyway.

I had the pleasure (?) of watching the Cavs-Heat game on Sunday. The Cavs are basically Lebron and 11 other milllionaires, and the Heat are beyond bad. It was a terrible game. The final was something like 84-76. Neither team shot over 40 percent. There was a three minute stretch in the third where neither team made a field goal. I got the tickets in the upper bowl for free, but if I wanted to pay for this train wreck, the face value of the seats was $65 a pop, for seats that were not very good.

Add to this the fact that the Jumbotron and PA system made it impossible to hear yourself think, let alone show any spontaneous display of emotion. I thought I was watching Cribs or something on MTV. Too bad, because it is always a treat to see LeBron do his thing, but they trt to sell too many things along with the game. I don't need to see a noogie competition, I want to see some of the best athletes in the world do what they do.

The next time I hear someone who hasn't watched a footy game go on about how boring soccer is, this turkey is my first counterpoint. Sure, a 0-0 draw between, uh, Derby and Fulham is a stinker of a game. Does that mean the whole sport stinks as a result?

As far as the playoffs, I want to see the Cavs win the whole thing. That won't happen because they have not improved their supporting cast from last year, but I want to see aht the city of Cleveland does with a championship, more so than for any emotional interest I have in them, which is less than most Ohioans (I'm not originally from Cleveland).

I didn't mean to hijack the thread w/ my rant, let's hear what everyone else has to say on the issue.

 

RE: Re: NBA Playoffs

I understand what you're saying, but that just sounds like you were at the arena on the wrong night. This has been the most fiercely competitive NBA season in 15 years. It has been a TERRIFIC season. And I'm saying that as a Knicks fan, so...

 

Re: RE: Re: NBA Playoffs

A Fulham fan AND a Knicks fan. You must like pain and suffering.

 

Steve, I completely understand and agree. NBA seats are way too expensive for what you get. Even when I watch games on TV, I often dont bother to turn them on until the last five minutes, when the teams actually start playing to win. So much of the game is poor when you consider the quality of the athletes involved. The free throw shooting is poor, the rebounding is poor, and the offensive discipline is poor. I find high school and college basketball more exciting.

Cleveland's offense consists of giving the ball to LeBron, he leans one way, then he leans down (or maybe in the other direction), and then he either shoots or drives. I love LeBron but I would also like to see the Cavs play. Once when complaining about this to someone they told me that a "motion offense" wouldnt be a good idea for Cleveland. What? Offense used to mean motion - you know passing, pick and roll, backdoor, etc. Cleveland needs a new coach. Brown is good with defense but he has no mind for offense.

I'll still be pulling for the Cavs, though. Cleveland has great sports fans who could really use a championship.

And Nick, if you read this, keep your greedy little Knicks hands off of LeBron. I heard that knicks fans have started a fund to raise money to bring LeBron to New York as a way of sidestepping the salary cap. Shameless.

 

RE: Re: RE: Re: NBA Playoffs

Haha, don't leave out the Jets.

Full disclosure though, I am also a Yankees fan.

 

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I'm just excited that the Nuggets squeaked in.

 

This didn't work out too well for me last time, but I don't give a shit. The Lakers are gonna dominate the playoffs and I pity the Eastern Conference team that plays them. For one thing we have 4 legitimate stars on our team. No team can boast Kobe,Bynum,Gasol and Odom in the same starting 5. Not to mention Derek Fisher who gets his 10 points and dishes out 5-6 assists and leads the team with experience. We have the best bench in the league. It isn't even close. I mean NOT EVEN CLOSE. Show me a team that can have Turiaf,Walton,Radmonovic,Vujacic,Farmar etc etc etc come off their bench. Can you? NOPE. This bench can get 50 points if they wanted too. I'm being serious. I've seen them score that many points. We have the best player in the game and if he has to, he gets his 40. You know why he's only been getting 28 a game? Because the Lakers have been beating teams down in the 4th quarter and he doesn't even play.



The only problem is Bynum. I expect him to be back for the 2nd series and if he can dominate like he did, the Lakers take everything and beat teams down. I wanna see Shaq in the conference finals. So we can beat down the Suns and take what's rightfully ours. The Western Conference. I wanna see the Celtics in the finals. To show that they are nothing, but a fluke and sweep them. The Title is going through LA.

 

I agree that the lakers are going to win the title this year, something about Kobe sticking it to everybody tells me that they are going to pull it off. I wish the Warriors had made it though as a Lakers-Warriors first round series would have been fun to watch even if it would end at 1 AM CDT.

 

FFC24- A Tar Heel and Lakers fan??? a little bourgeios no? :wink:

The Western Conference is the best 1-8 in history and the level of play has been terrific. My poor Blazers would be in the Eastern playoffs, but were basically eliminated in early March out here. As a Laker hater in SoCal I'm afraid they will be tough to beat. Getting Derek Fisher back, combined w/Gasol (Don you were being kind, getting rid Kwame Brown for a couple of rolls of athletic tape would have been a good trade for LA, getting an All-Star for him was insanity). When the matchups come out, I'll throw out my predictions (quick go to Vegas and put $ on the opposite choices)

The Eastern Conference should go to form and anything else but a Boston-Detroit final will be surprising.

 

What's this thing you call basketball anyway ?

 

A Laker hater in Socal? HAHA. I bet you love the trash talking at work?



Did anybody see who came back for the Lakers last night? Do I hear a Chris Mihm? HELL YEAH! That means that even without Bynum we can compete for the title. Mihm is not that bad and can cover for Bynum if he deosn't play. However, I think Bynum will be back for the 2nd round or at the very least the Conference finals.

 

Unloading Kwame Brown was one of the best things that could have happened to the Lakers. Getting Gasol is huge. I think it was Popovich that said something along the lines of who in the hell approves these trades.

If Bynum comes back in decent form, the Lakers are really big with Bynum at the 5, Gasol at the 4, Odom at the 3 and Kobe at the 2. Tough to deal with for any team.

 

Needless to say I am disappointed my Warriors did not make the playoffs. I was hoping for another magical few weeks from them this year. 48 or possibly 49 wins and they are not going to get in. That is one tough Western Conference.

 

too bad because I would've loved to have seen them and the Lakers. That being said, they did it to themselves losing that home game with the Nuggets. Lakers are tough, no doubt about it. Spurs will be tough. Hopefully my Jazz won't have to play them in the first round, and hopefully they could avoid them and the Lakers until the Conference Final if they can get there. The ideal scenario would be Houston in the first round, New Orleans in the second cuz we own both of them. Of course, who knows what the scenario will be as there are still about 4-5 different scenarios as to who they'll play and who will have home court.

 

You can say the Warriors lost it against the Nuggets, but more than that, they blew it by losing once to the Bulls, Minnesota, the Clippers, the Hawks, New Jersey and Indiana among others. It is one thing to lose against good teams, but losing to teams like this is just unacceptable and it comes back to bite you in the ass.

 

Forget about work, I'm married into a family of all Laker fans. Frankly it's been 6 years and I'm still not over the Blazers' 4th quarter meltdown in game 7 v the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals, the only 2 words you need to say to me to get me to shut up is "Scottie Pippen". That said I do love to talk trash and its been my solemn duty to let Laker fans know that they are the Evil Empire (they generally are shocked to hear that is how everyone else views them). As Eric can attest this is a Laker town and flags attached to car windows are already in evident on the freeways.