NBA Playoffs

[muzikfrk75]

Before today's games my predictions were Thunder and Heat in 7, Bulls and Lakers in 5. Grizz and Heat looked impressive in their respective Game 1s.

No opinions on the Pierce ejection?

[moonpie23]

PP gettin ejected today was a rookie mistake....dwade set him up and pearce walked right into it....


pitiful...

[_Gary]

No opinions on the Pierce ejection?

Other than the fact that it was a joke? No.

[muzikfrk75]

PP gettin ejected today was a rookie mistake....dwade set him up and pearce walked right into it....


pitiful...

Yep, fell for it hook, line and sinker.

[darjum]

Even with physical big guys like Perkins and Ibaka the Thunder were totally manhandled by Gasol and Randolph. When focused Randolph has been on of the top offensive power forwards in the league. I am very impressed with how much Marc Gasol has progressed. He is just as much a threat away from the basket as he is in the paint.

When the hell did this happen? I always knew Randolph had talent to put up numbers, but to couple winning with those numbers also? What?!

Coming into this playoffs I thought L.Aldridge would show how he's grown and really become the break out player during the PO. Nope, Dirk out played him in the end and Randolph ends up being the guy that nobody in the league wants to see in a seven game playoff match up. Amazing how the worm turns.

Perkins and Ibaka have got to figure this out. Perkins was brought in for this exact reason...defense on big bodies. I'm sure OKC was envisioning Perk being essential for Duncan, Bynam and Gasol (Pau, not Marc)! But winning game 1 was huge for the Grizzles and there is only so far Durant and Westbrook can go if their interiors defenders can't stop the Griz from getting high % points inside. Add Battier to the mix and the Grizz become must watch viewing for me.

Love the fact the Heat and Celtics hate on each other, should be the way professional basketball is played. No need to carry it off the court, but no need to be buddy, buddy on it. Had the Celtics beaten the Heat in game 1 I think the Heat would've had a real confidence drain and found this series too difficult to win. But now the first punch has been thrown by the Heat and the Celts better do something about it. Smacking up a weak Knicks team is one thing, taking on two of the best five players in the NBA is another. Actually, the Knicks series did nothing to get the Celtics ready, if anything it gave them a false sense of security that they had fixed their issues. Can't wait for game 2.

Does anybody give the Mav's a chance to steal any games in LA? The Lakers have looked pretty crap for the last month? As for Duke, woops I meant the Utah Jazz, woops I mean the Chicago Bulls, if they put their foots down early it could be a quick series with Alt, without Hinrich to guard Rose, a shame.

[muzikfrk75]

I definitely think that the Mavs can still a game in LA...Dirk And JET would prob have to drop 30 each.

[darjum]

I definitely think that the Mavs can still a game in LA...Dirk And JET would prob have to drop 30 each.

It is such a shame they don't have Caron Butler for this series though, he would've added some real defensive pressure to Kobe.

Also interesting to see a couple of old vets such as Kidd and Fisher going at it.

I wonder how Pau will match up with Dirk over a 7 game series, can't imagine they will have Bynum guard him. Although I'd imagine he sees a fair bit of Odom and even Barnes in this series. Wasn't Barnes on the Warriors team when the by Dallas in 07?

[CDu]

Before today's games my predictions were Thunder and Heat in 7, Bulls and Lakers in 5. Grizz and Heat looked impressive in their respective Game 1s.

No opinions on the Pierce ejection?

Weak call or not, Pierce should have known better. He's a veteran, he's no stranger to trash talk, and he's no stranger to hard playoff fouls. He should know better than to have gotten the second tech - especially after he'd just been issued the first one. Frankly, I don't feel too bad for him, mainly because I don't find him to be a terribly likeable player. That said, as a Bulls fan I can't decide whether I want the Celtics or the Heat to win this series. Part of me thinks "the Celtics look old," and "Wade and James could give the Bulls problems." But part of me worries about the Celtics' playoff experience and Rondo.

On the West side, it's too bad that OKC and Memphis will have to eliminate one or the other. I don't want to see the Lakers win again, and I'd rather them have to go through both the Grizz and the Thunder. I don't think the Mavs will push the Lakers too much. The Lakers have too much versatility and skill in the frontcourt. Hopefully whomever wins the Thunder/Grizz series can match up inside and do enough against Bryant to win.

The Grizzlies are fun to watch. They move the ball really well. All of their bigs can pass (I can't believe I'm saying that about Randolph), and Randolph seems to have found his mojo offensively. The backcourt isn't great, but it's been good enough. And they play so well together. That series should be fun to watch with Durant and Westbrook capable of averaging 60 together.

[JasonEvans]

So, what kind of odds could I have gotten in Las Vegas 3 days ago on Jeff Teague outplaying Derrick Rose in the first half of game one? 50-1? 500-1? 50,000-1?

-Jason "so far, Luol Deng has been the best player on the floor... and it ain't been close" Evans

[superdave]

So, what kind of odds could I have gotten in Las Vegas 3 days ago on Jeff Teague outplaying Derrick Rose in the first half of game one? 50-1? 500-1? 50,000-1?

-Jason "so far, Luol Deng has been the best player on the floor... and it ain't been close" Evans

Dare I say that Teague is quicker than Rose? That Hinrich injury was maybe a good thing for ATL.

[gotoguy]

Dare I say that Teague is quicker than Rose? That Hinrich injury was maybe a good thing for ATL.

Joe brung it tonight. Bout time. Hawks win. Rose tweaks ankle with 10 sec left. Evens out the Hinrich loss...

[darjum]

It is interesting to consider if this is a break out potential series for Teague (who surely has talent) or was it a one game aberration that will be corrected over the course of seven games. Hard to belive that experts say his brother is much better than him at the same age, should be a good one for UK...for at least one year at least.

Either way a great victory for the Hawks and much like the Heat in Game 1 it really is a series. Both teams needed G1 victories to shrug off some doubters.

Any COYS if you read this your sentiments regarding M.Williams were only more rammed home today. The guy is just a dud. How much better is he than Kwame Brown, really, how much better? M.Williams over D.Williams and C.Paul, oh for a do over.

[superdave]

It is interesting to consider if this is a break out potential series for Teague (who surely has talent) or was it a one game aberration that will be corrected over the course of seven games. Hard to belive that experts say his brother is much better than him at the same age, should be a good one for UK...for at least one year at least.

Either way a great victory for the Hawks and much like the Heat in Game 1 it really is a series. Both teams needed G1 victories to shrug off some doubters.

Any COYS if you read this your sentiments regarding M.Williams were only more rammed home today. The guy is just a dud. How much better is he than Kwame Brown, really, how much better? M.Williams over D.Williams and C.Paul, oh for a do over.

I dont see Teague besting Rose for 4-5 straight games. I really think the Hawks played out of their minds last night. I'd expect them to come back to earth a little bit and the Bulls to step it up a notch. The Bulls are banged up though which could turn this into a really tough series for them.

[COYS]

I dont see Teague besting Rose for 4-5 straight games. I really think the Hawks played out of their minds last night. I'd expect them to come back to earth a little bit and the Bulls to step it up a notch. The Bulls are banged up though which could turn this into a really tough series for them.

Teague doesn't have to outplay rose, he just has to contain him. I'm fine with Rose scoring a lot as long as he doesn't also get lots of assists. Last night was a huge win for the Hawks. Joe Johnson looked like a max-level player for the first time all year. The team played with focus and poise during the entire game to end a (gasp!!!) 15 game second round losing streak! As a long suffering Hawks fan, I am thrilled at the victory and am happy that the Hawks have served noticed that they mean business this time around . . . for the first time in forever. That being said, I doubt Joe Johnson goes 5-5 on threes in game two. The Hawks have to pretend like last night never happened and come out with focus again in game 2. The Bulls just need to relax, trust their defense, and know that it is unlikely Johnson hits so many threes again. If I were entirely neutral, I'd still bet on the Bulls to pull out the series, but my heart is with the Hawks.

(P.S. It is so weird watching these games because I root for every shot Carlos and Luol take to go in while simultaneously hoping every single other shot by a Bull is an airball)

[theAlaskanBear]

Watched both of the games last night after work (thank god for DVR!).

1. Bulls-Hawks: Atlanta played out of their mind last night. The Bulls played good defense, the Hawks just had one of those nights where they couldn't miss -- even shots over defenders right in their face with arms outstretched and the shots from Joe Johnson and Crawford were just splashing! If Crawford and Johnson stay this hot, look out.

On the other hand, Rose had his worst game of the playoffs and he didn't shoot a single free throw. That tells me a) he wasn't being aggressive enough and b) the refs were also lettings around the basket fouls go. This could be a very physical series like Indiana. The positives of the game is that Boozer showed some signs of life, and had several important sequences in the second half. He started to score on post moves right under the basket. He had a vicious dunk of his defender (rare to see Boozer elevate like that anymore!), and when the Hawks started to double him on the elbow he deftly passed to Noah for a dunk. Also, Deng was his usual stellar self -- efficient shooting %, kept CHI in the game single-handedly for awhile.

2. Mavs-Lakers: I am really glad the Mavs took game 1. They needed that for confidence. The Mavs shot better, and while Pau had a good game, he was ineffective defending Dirk. There are only two players on the Mavs you need to stop: Terry and Nowitzski, the Lakers couldn't do either, and let the team shoot nearly 50%.

[JasonEvans]

Interesting to note...

I think every single one of the round 2 opening games was won by the underdog. Even the Celtics seem to have been at least a tossup or maybe a mild favorite versus the Heat.

How much of a freak-out would the NBA and ABC/ESPN have if the conference finals featured the Hawks, Memphis, and Dallas!?!?!? Ha!

-Jason "I am still rooting for an OKC versus Atlanta or Chicago NBA final" Evans

[mr. synellinden]

Atlanta played out of their mind last night. The Bulls played good defense, the Hawks just had one of those nights where they couldn't miss -- even shots over defenders right in their face with arms outstretched and the shots from Joe Johnson and Crawford were just splashing! If Crawford and Johnson stay this hot, look out.

On the other hand, Rose had his worst game of the playoffs.

It Happens. Good thing for the Bulls (and Lakers) it's not a 1 and done tournament like the NCAA's

ARIZONA played out of their mind last night. DUKE played good defense, the WILDCATS just had one of those nights where they couldn't miss -- even shots over defenders right in their face with arms outstretched and the shots from DERRICK WILLIAMS and MOMO JONES were just splashing! ...

On the other hand, NOLAN SMITH had his worst game of the SEASON.

[Billy Dat]

-Very tough to stop Wade and Lebron when they are rolling the way they were in the 2nd half. The move Wade made where he literally spun KG around was remarkable. Boston could not score down the stretch.

-OKC played like it was a must-win and Durant took over for large stretches of time. Even our Shane couldn't do much to slow him down. OKC did a much better job defending the Memphis frontline, a nice adjustment by the Memphis team. I was very impressed by Darrell Arthur, he is a budding star and needs to assert himself even more. James Harden is also coming on.

-It could be said about any conference, but watching these playoffs is evidence as to why the Pac 10 has been down based on all the early departure talent on display - Westbrook, Mayo, Harden, Fields, Collison without even mentioning non playoff guys such as Kevin Love and Demar Derozen. I guess the Pac 10 hasn't been as successful at replacing that talent.

[darjum]

-Very tough to stop Wade and Lebron when they are rolling the way they were in the 2nd half. The move Wade made where he literally spun KG around was remarkable. Boston could not score down the stretch.

-OKC played like it was a must-win and Durant took over for large stretches of time. Even our Shane couldn't do much to slow him down. OKC did a much better job defending the Memphis frontline, a nice adjustment by the Memphis team. I was very impressed by Darrell Arthur, he is a budding star and needs to assert himself even more. James Harden is also coming on.

-It could be said about any conference, but watching these playoffs is evidence as to why the Pac 10 has been down based on all the early departure talent on display - Westbrook, Mayo, Harden, Fields, Collison without even mentioning non playoff guys such as Kevin Love and Demar Derozen. I guess the Pac 10 hasn't been as successful at replacing that talent.

A very good synopsis, thank you. From my perspective:

It felt like Miami was in complete control of that game. I know it was reasonably tight, but at no point did I feel that Boston had the ability to up gear and take their play to another level, maybe that will change in Boston. Miami appears to have cranked uo the defense nicely.

I didn't watch the OKC game, but the boxscore tells me it was a beat down. I still believe that OKC wins this series before 7 games.

The Pac-10 is a bit of a mystery really. Arizona appears to be coming on in recruiting but I guess the USC sanctions and Ben Howland's rough couple of years has led to a down time in the Pac-10. It must be hard when your top programs go through slumps at the same time.

[Duke: A Dynasty]

-Jason "I am still rooting for an OKC versus Atlanta or Chicago NBA final" Evans

I really would like for a Lakers vs Miami game with the Lakers winning and Kobe and Phil retire on top with another 3 peat. Then the following years I look forward to all the games with the Knicks, Heat, Bulls, Celtics, Lakers, OKC

Knicks will get better especially after they get a pg and learn to play defense (Chris Paul?)

Heat, well they will just be really good anyway especially after a full year now

Bulls look like they arnt going anywhere anytime soon (youngest ever MVP, Noah is young, Deng is in his prime, Boozer is still good)

Celtics are getting old but got a good young pg and dont expect them to fall to far when guys start retiring.

Lakers even when Kobe leaves are a great team with solid bigs (Bynum, Gasol, Odom)... hmm maybe they could get Paul

OKC, how can you not like them especially with Durant and Westbrook around they wont be going anywhere and Harden is getting better alll the time