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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Atlanta, GA

    2019 NBA Playoffs

    Time to crank this one up. To me, this year's playoffs look like a bit of a script-flip vis-à-vis the last ~5 years: instead of the Warriors being the best overall team and having a tough West to fight through with Cleveland clearly topping a weak East, it’s now Golden State topping a weak(er) West (though I don’t think this GS is as good as their best vintages), and the East the deeper conference in my opinion, plus I don’t think it would be outlandish to call Milwaukee the best team in the league over the Warriors.
    It’ll also be interesting to see who, if anyone, gels and has good team performances...fractured chemistry has been something of a league theme this season.
    Lastly, a nice Duke-related tidbit from ESPN.com’s playoff preview. Under “Get to Know” for the Warriors, the Worldwide Leader lists Quinn Cook, praising his team play and strong shooting and concluding that “Cook has the ability to be a difference-maker in short bursts.”
    http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/2...yoffs#warriors

    My picks: The Warriors get tested by Denver and perhaps a nudge (if not a push) from Houston in the Conference Semis, and the Bucks take a brawl of a series over Toronto in the Eastern Conference Finals. Ultimately, I think the Warriors are still better than everyone else and they take the Finals in 6. But I also think their margin atop the league is narrowing and could be gone as soon as next season.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Seattle, WA
    Duke players on playoff teams (not 100% sure everyone will be on the postseason roster):

    Golden State - Quinn Cook
    Denver - Mason Plumlee
    Portland - Seth Curry, Rodney Hood, Gary Trent
    Houston - Austin Rivers, Trevon Duval
    Utah - Grayson Allen

    Philadelphia - J.J. Redick
    Boston - Kyrie Irving, Jayson Tatum, Semi Ojeleye*
    Orlando - Amile Jefferson
    Detroit - Luke Kennard

    *I know, I know, I've heard all the arguments. He played at Duke.
    Just be you. You is enough. - K, 4/5/10, 0:13.8 to play, 60-59 Duke.

    You're all jealous hypocrites. - Titus on Laettner

    You see those guys? Animals. They're animals. - SIU Coach Chris Lowery, on Duke

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Colorado
    Happy to have the Nuggets in the playoffs, really like their team and their style, and having a Plumlee is an added bonus. But I think they will be tested by any team with veterans and playoff experience, and a savvy head coach. IE, I am not optimistic that they will make it past the Spurs in the first round.

    The Jazz seem to fly below the radar due to lack of superstar talent (and location?) but they could give any team they encounter trouble.

    Overall with the exception of the clippers, I think any of the lower seeds in the Western conference has a chance at pushing through to the finals but no one is beating Golden State.

    Don't watch as much Eastern conference but looking to see if the Bucks can keep their regular season success rolling.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Halifax, Nova Scotia
    LeBron may have coasted through the regular season but now it’s playoff time and no one wants to face him now.

    Ummmm...wait a minute.

  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by fc3 View Post
    Happy to have the Nuggets in the playoffs, really like their team and their style, and having a Plumlee is an added bonus. But I think they will be tested by any team with veterans and playoff experience, and a savvy head coach. IE, I am not optimistic that they will make it past the Spurs in the first round.

    ...
    Against everyone in the WC but the Warriors the Nuggets have the home court advantage. That's a big deal for any team - but it's gigantic for the Nuggets because of the altitude differential. Denver was 34-7 at home this season, best in the NBA. As for the Spurs - Pops is a genius but they were 16-25 on the road this season.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Hot'Lanta... home of the Falcons!
    First round picks:

    Milwaukee (60-22) vs Detroit (41-41): Has a 60-win team ever lost to a team that was not above .500? Milwaukee won all 4 regular season matchups. Bucks in 4.

    Toronto (58-24) vs Orlando (42-40): I saw some dude on ESPN pick Orlando this morning. He might be on drugs. It is worth noting that Orlando did really well against good teams and poorer than expected against bad teams this year an that they went 2-2 against the Raptors during the regular season. But there is a reason Kawhi is one of the 5 best players in the game. Raptors in 6.

    Philly (51-31) vs Brooklyn (42-40): What a great story that the Nets made the playoffs for the first time in 139 years. I think they will show more than just being happy to be here. I suspect this is where folks start really talking about how limited Ben Simmons is because of his shooting. 76ers in 7.

    Boston (49-33) vs Indiana (48-34): Team dysfunction vs Team Noladipo. If their best player was playing, I might be tempted to take Indiana because it sure feels like Boston is trying to tear itself apart. But without him, I just don't see it, even with Marcus Smart missing for Boston (I think he is their 4th most important player). Celtics in 6.

    Golden St (57-25) vs LA Clippers (48-34): I figured LA would make the playoffs, but not this LA team. The Clippers have a really bright future with a good cap situation and some fine young pieces... but the Warriors are the present and I suspect they will really turn it on once the playoffs start. Warriors with the sweep.

    Denver (54-28) vs Spurs (48-34): Full credit to Pops for getting this team to 48 wins. Really impressive. But I think Denver is on a mission to announce themselves to the league. Nuggets in 5.

    Portland (53-29) vs OKC (49-33): Upset time! The Thunder won all 4 of the regular season matchups between these two teams and clearly have the two best players on either team. Thunder in 6.

    Houston (53-29) vs Utah (50-32): I love the Jazz and want to pick them, but Houston went 20-3 down the stretch and are arguably playing the best ball of any team in the league. Rockets in 5.

    -Jason "sorta dull, I know.. sorry, that is just how I see it" Evans
    Why are you wasting time here when you could be wasting it by listening to the latest episode of the DBR Podcast?

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Apr 2010
    Location
    Seattle
    My playoff predictions:

    East Round 1:
    76ers over the Nets in 6
    Raptors over the Magic in 4
    Celtics over the Pacers in 6
    Bucks over the Pistons in 5

    West Round 1:
    Warriors over the Clippers in 4
    Nuggets over the Spurs in 6
    Thunder over the Blazers in 7
    Rockets over the Jazz in 6

    East Round 2:
    Toronto over the 76ers in 6
    Bucks over the Celtics in 7

    West Round 2:
    Warriors over Houston in 5
    Thunder over the Nuggets in 7

    East Round 3:
    Toronto over the Bucks in 7

    West Round 4:
    Warriors over the Thunder in 6

    Finals:
    Warriors over Toronto in 6

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by pfrduke View Post
    Duke players on playoff teams (not 100% sure everyone will be on the postseason roster):

    Golden State - Quinn Cook
    Denver - Mason Plumlee
    Portland - Seth Curry, Rodney Hood, Gary Trent
    Houston - Austin Rivers, Trevon Duval
    Utah - Grayson Allen

    Philadelphia - J.J. Redick
    Boston - Kyrie Irving, Jayson Tatum, Semi Ojeleye*
    Orlando - Amile Jefferson
    Detroit - Luke Kennard

    *I know, I know, I've heard all the arguments. He played at Duke.

    Just about every time I see Semi I think about the article detailing that supposedly bizarre meeting/encounter between Coach K and Semi's parents.

    Anyway, the playoffs... very much looking forward to them. And to watching Inside the NBA five nights a week, as it's obviously the greatest show in television history.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Hot'Lanta... home of the Falcons!
    Quote Originally Posted by luburch View Post
    My playoff predictions:

    East Round 1:
    76ers over the Nets in 6 *
    Raptors over the Magic in 4 *
    Celtics over the Pacers in 6 *
    Bucks over the Pistons in 5

    West Round 1:
    Warriors over the Clippers in 4 *
    Nuggets over the Spurs in 6 *
    Thunder over the Blazers in 7 *
    Rockets over the Jazz in 6 *

    East Round 2:
    Toronto over the 76ers in 6 *
    Bucks over the Celtics in 7

    West Round 2:
    Warriors over Houston in 5
    Thunder over the Nuggets in 7 *

    East Round 3:
    Toronto over the Bucks in 7 *

    West Round 4:
    Warriors over the Thunder in 6 *

    Finals:
    Warriors over Toronto in 6 *
    *= games where road team wins elimination game

    You must hate home crowds.
    Why are you wasting time here when you could be wasting it by listening to the latest episode of the DBR Podcast?

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    Outside Philly
    Quote Originally Posted by JasonEvans View Post
    First round picks:

    Philly (51-31) vs Brooklyn (42-40): What a great story that the Nets made the playoffs for the first time in 139 years. I think they will show more than just being happy to be here. I suspect this is where folks start really talking about how limited Ben Simmons is because of his shooting. 76ers in 7.
    Not before they figure out what the hell is going on with Joel Embiid. Here's an article titled, What the Hell is Going on with Joel Embiid that explains it.

    In all seriousness, Philadelphia sports radio is politely, in very reasonable terms talking about Ben Simmons' shooting woes in earnest. The 76ers have just had a bizarre series of events with Hinkie and The Process, Embiid's early injuries, Simmons' early injury and long-range shooting reticence, Markelle Fultz and his issues...just a bunch of weird stuff.

    If Embiid doesn't play, I think the 76ers can be had by the Nets (or any team). They're just not the same and despite the talent of the starting 5, they've not quite unlocked all the potential.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Mount Kisco, NY
    Zach Lowe and David Thorpe breaking down every series in 8 minute increments on The Lowe Post pod
    http://www.espn.com/espnradio/play?id=26500910

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Dec 2014
    Location
    On the Road to Nowhere
    Didn't want to start a new thread and figured this was as good a place as any.

    Luke Walton out with the Lakers.

    https://www.latimes.com/sports/laker...412-story.html

    Will LeBron's rep as a coach-killer hurt his legacy? Probably not. I thought Walton did ok, even pretty good, considering what the front office gave him.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    Outside Philly
    Quote Originally Posted by dudog84 View Post
    Didn't want to start a new thread and figured this was as good a place as any.

    Luke Walton out with the Lakers.

    https://www.latimes.com/sports/laker...412-story.html

    Will LeBron's rep as a coach-killer hurt his legacy? Probably not. I thought Walton did ok, even pretty good, considering what the front office gave him.
    Hah. Maybe Magic and Luke just wanted to free up more time to be in the Space Jam reboot. Hear they’re having trouble getting big names. Yeesh, what a mess.

  14. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by pfrduke View Post
    Duke players on playoff teams (not 100% sure everyone will be on the postseason roster):
    Boston - Kyrie Irving, Jayson Tatum, Semi Ojeleye*
    *I know, I know, I've heard all the arguments. He played at Duke.
    Yep, and in more games than Kyrie.

  15. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by pfrduke View Post
    Duke players on playoff teams (not 100% sure everyone will be on the postseason roster):

    Golden State - Quinn Cook
    Denver - Mason Plumlee
    Portland - Seth Curry, Rodney Hood, Gary Trent
    Houston - Austin Rivers, Trevon Duval
    Utah - Grayson Allen

    Philadelphia - J.J. Redick
    Boston - Kyrie Irving, Jayson Tatum, Semi Ojeleye*
    Orlando - Amile Jefferson
    Detroit - Luke Kennard

    *I know, I know, I've heard all the arguments. He played at Duke.
    NBA Commissioner - Adam Silver

    Boston - Steve Pagliuca (managing partner)
    Philadelphia - Elton Brand (GM), Lindsey Harding (scout), Alaa Abdelnaby (color commentator)
    Indiana - David McClure (asst coach for player development)

    Denver - Martynas Pocius (basketball operations assistant)
    Utah - Quin Snyder (head coach), Antonio Lang (assistant coach)
    San Antonio - Chip Engelland (assistant coach)

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Location
    North of Durham
    Quote Originally Posted by Reilly View Post
    NBA Commissioner - Adam Silver

    Boston - Steve Pagliuca (managing partner)
    Philadelphia - Elton Brand (GM), Lindsey Harding (scout), Alaa Abdelnaby (color commentator)
    Indiana - David McClure (asst coach for player development)

    Denver - Martynas Pocius (basketball operations assistant)
    Utah - Quin Snyder (head coach), Antonio Lang (assistant coach)
    San Antonio - Chip Engelland (assistant coach)
    Brooklyn - Trajan Langdon (asst GM), Jim Spanarkel (TV analyst)

  17. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by fc3 View Post
    Happy to have the Nuggets in the playoffs, really like their team and their style, and having a Plumlee is an added bonus. But I think they will be tested by any team with veterans and playoff experience, and a savvy head coach. IE, I am not optimistic that they will make it past the Spurs in the first round.

    The Jazz seem to fly below the radar due to lack of superstar talent (and location?) but they could give any team they encounter trouble.

    Overall with the exception of the clippers, I think any of the lower seeds in the Western conference has a chance at pushing through to the finals but no one is beating Golden State.

    Don't watch as much Eastern conference but looking to see if the Bucks can keep their regular season success rolling.
    The Nuggets are really good and should beat the Spurs in 5 games.

    The Jazz are probably one of the top 6 or 7 teams in the league and are led by three very solid players in Rudy Gobert, Donovan Mitchell, and Ricky Rubio as well as one of the five best coaches in the NBA (and the next Duke coach), Quin Snyder. It’s really unfortunate that they have to play the Houston Rockets in the first round. They’re going to need a couple of breaks to go their way if they’re going to beat the Rockets.

    And as far as no one beating Golden State goes, I think the Rockets could very well shock the sports world by taking out the Warriors in the second round. Wouldn’t be at all surprising to me.

  18. #18
    Quote Originally Posted by pfrduke View Post
    Duke players on playoff teams (not 100% sure everyone will be on the postseason roster):

    Golden State - Quinn Cook
    Denver - Mason Plumlee
    Portland - Seth Curry, Rodney Hood, Gary Trent
    Houston - Austin Rivers, Trevon Duval
    Utah - Grayson Allen

    Philadelphia - J.J. Redick
    Boston - Kyrie Irving, Jayson Tatum, Semi Ojeleye*
    Orlando - Amile Jefferson
    Detroit - Luke Kennard

    *I know, I know, I've heard all the arguments. He played at Duke.
    Trevon and Amile did not have their contracts converted so they cannot play. I do believe that they are still allowed to be around the team and practice.

    The Blazers have 14 healthy players so we will see which player they do not dress or if they rotate a lot. Trent and Simons have been with the team all season, but with a lack of post depth they may want to dress Labissiere for emergencies.

  19. #19
    Join Date
    Dec 2011
    Location
    Albemarle, North Carolina
    Quote Originally Posted by wilson View Post
    Time to crank this one up. To me, this year's playoffs look like a bit of a script-flip vis-à-vis the last ~5 years: instead of the Warriors being the best overall team and having a tough West to fight through with Cleveland clearly topping a weak East, it’s now Golden State topping a weak(er) West (though I don’t think this GS is as good as their best vintages), and the East the deeper conference in my opinion, plus I don’t think it would be outlandish to call Milwaukee the best team in the league over the Warriors.
    It’ll also be interesting to see who, if anyone, gels and has good team performances...fractured chemistry has been something of a league theme this season.
    Lastly, a nice Duke-related tidbit from ESPN.com’s playoff preview. Under “Get to Know” for the Warriors, the Worldwide Leader lists Quinn Cook, praising his team play and strong shooting and concluding that “Cook has the ability to be a difference-maker in short bursts.”
    http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/2...yoffs#warriors

    My picks: The Warriors get tested by Denver and perhaps a nudge (if not a push) from Houston in the Conference Semis, and the Bucks take a brawl of a series over Toronto in the Eastern Conference Finals. Ultimately, I think the Warriors are still better than everyone else and they take the Finals in 6. But I also think their margin atop the league is narrowing and could be gone as soon as next season.
    The LeBron-less east should be exciting and I fully expect the Raptors to come out on top. Too many people are sleeping on them I think.

    The Warriors are too stacked for the west to matter and they will make the finals again.

    Warriors over Raptors or anyone else in the finals 4-1
    "The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge" -Stephen Hawking

  20. #20
    Join Date
    Dec 2011
    Location
    Albemarle, North Carolina
    My playoff predictions:

    East Round 1:
    76ers over the Nets in 6
    Raptors over the Magic in 4
    Celtics over the Pacers in 7
    Bucks over the Pistons in 4

    West Round 1:
    Warriors over the Clippers in 4
    Nuggets over the Spurs in 6
    Thunder over the Blazers in 7
    Rockets over the Jazz in 6

    East Round 2:
    Toronto over the 76ers in 6
    Bucks over the Celtics in 7

    West Round 2:
    Warriors over Houston in 5
    Thunder over the Nuggets in 6

    East Round 3:
    Toronto over the Bucks in 5

    West Round 4:
    Warriors over the Thunder in 4

    Finals:
    Warriors over Toronto in 5
    "The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge" -Stephen Hawking

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