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The NBA Playoffs Thread

#221
So whose going to win the Boston-Cleveland series? My heart says Cleveland because they have Lebron. But my head says the Celtics, because no team gets a better homer whistle then the C's. Those refs might as well just put on Green jerseys! It will be interesting, The loss of Gibson will hurt the Cavs, but Allen might as well be injured. :D I don't think up till this point that the C's have shown Championship "mettle" in these playoffs.

Same question, on Hornets-Spurs. My heart says the Spurs because of their extra experience and West being hurt. But my head says SA's role players have been worthless on the road. Michael Findley plays like an ex Mav in pressure situations, Horry, doesn't seem to have it on the road, in fact with the exception of the Ginobli and Parker, these Spurs have been woeful in NO. It will be interesting.

I'm thinking more and more it's going to be a Detroit-LA final. As always I may be wrong.
 
#227
burk48237 said:
I didn't "burst in here", I've been posting on this thread since post #11 and while I'll admit I'm a Pistons Fan I sure haven't been talking like "my team has it locked up". In fact one of my comments was I think "their just not that good". The sum of the Pistons parts is much better then any of their individuals. They didn't place one player on the all NBA team. I will say this, they are the only team that doesn't have a starter with a glaring weakness. I feel like I've evaluated the teams pretty fairly and the only series I blew it on (so far) was the Magic Toronto series. I'll admit I underestimated the inability of ANYONE on Toronto to play low post defense. I do watch a LOT of NBA basketball, I am opinionated (now thats an understatement!:D) but my calls have been right on so far this season.

But someone did "burst" in here with an immediate put down of the Pistons. Of course I can understand that since your poor little Magic keep getting eliminated by those same Pistons. ;)
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:confused: I was clearly referring to justjake in my post, not you, burk. And like I said, I was responding to his trash-talking about how it doesn't matter, because the Pistons are going to take it. Enough already.
 
#228
Cleveland's midseason deal was beneficial but they still aren't a balanced team. And yet, the Celtics are going to game 7 with yet another opponent. I think the C's will pull it out, but it makes me think that I was right in the beginning of the season when I said they needed one more year together to be real contenders.

I had to take that back when I saw how well they played in the regular season, but clearly as a team they haven't learned what it takes to win close games in the postseason.

I think Detroit beats them in 5.

In the West it will be interesting to see how the Lakers match up with either the Spurs or the Hornets. I actually think New Orleans presents more problems for them but we'll have to see. I'll certainly be rooting for whichever team advances to play LA.

It's good that the Lakers are winning, I was afraid that they might have a couple losing seasons which in LA means the loss of 90% of your "diehard" fans. Which is how the 2nd largest market in the US finds itself without a football team. But as long as they're winning, every So Cal native will tell you how he/she's been a lifelong fan.:rollno:
 
#231
Lorenzini said:
Huge +1 from me too.
Nonetheless, Robert Horry is undoubtedly a future hall of famer in my mind.
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Why? I mean sure he's hit some big shots in the playoffs, but he was barely a starter for half his career. His career stats aren't that impressive (7 ppg, 4 rpg) and he's always been surrounded by superstars on the floor who take the pressure off him. He never averaged more then 12 ppg. Has he responded well to pressure? Yep, but that's what NBA players are payed to do. I like Vinnie Johnson a lot, but I don't see him as HOF, but I would vote for Vinnie before Robert Horry. Robert Horry's greatest career accomplishments have been playing beside Shaq, Akeem, David Robinson, and Tim Duncan.
 
#233
TheBigO said:
I've had the Robert Horry HOF discussion with people before. In the end I can't see an induction for a guy who doesn't bother to play in the regular season. Great clutch shooter? Absolutely. Hall of Famer? Not in my mind.
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Databasebasketball.com has what they call a HOF index. They consider the HOF baseline to be a score of about 135. As an example Bill Lambeer rates a 115 similar to Horace Grant, Jojo White. Robert Horrys HOF number is 90, which puts him in the same class as Doynell Marshall and Craig Ehlo. I don't think the Hall is going to be clearing any space for Doynell anytime in our lifetime.:D
 
#235
Lorenzini said:
And I don't believe it's JUST coincidence he has played on 3 of the last 5 or so great NBA teams during his career. Perhaps he just has a Hall of Fame agent!
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Not to discount Horry's contributions (he was a key cog in several of those championship teams during the playoffs) but Steve Kerr has five championship rings as well. One of the league's best three point shooters ever, but the only way he'll see the Hall of Fame is if he buys a ticket.
 
#236
TheBigO said:
Not to discount Horry's contributions (he was a key cog in several of those championship teams during the playoffs) but Steve Kerr has five championship rings as well. One of the league's best three point shooters ever, but the only way he'll see the Hall of Fame is if he buys a ticket.
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Good point. And Kerr wasn't dirty. (he was too tiny to be dirty! lol)
 
#239
i am cheering for anything, ANYTHING but a spurs-pistons finals. the hornets need to eliminate that possibility tomorrow night! :mad:

also glad the cavs finally lost. i don't think they'd hardly do better against any of the west teams this year than they did against the spurs last year. the way the celtics have been playing in the playoffs, though, they're looking to get swept, too. :hmm:
 
#240
Classic performances by James and Pierce tonight. Great contribution from P.J. Brown to help offset the total absence of Ray Allen. I've said it before about the Celts - they need Allen to play well to go the distance. Not superstar well, but option #3 well. He missed a couple of wide open 3's tonight that could have been daggers.

The matchups against Detroit:

Perkins vs. Wallace - edge to Wallace, but only if he's shooting well from outside. If Perkins can outrebound him and clog the lane on the help defense, he's done his job.
Garnett vs. McDyess - edge to Garnett.
Pierce vs. Prince - edge to Pierce.
Allen vs. Hamilton - edge to Rip.
Billups vs. Rondo - Edge to Billups.

Doc Rivers vs. Flip Saunders - edge to Boston, although I'm sure Steve will take exception. :D

I like Boston's team defense, and Detroit's experience as a team.

Bench - a wild card for both teams, as both benches are good. House, Brown, and Posey have played well for Boston. Cassell has looked too slow to defend at this level, and if his shots aren't falling, that pretty much makes him a non factor.

For Boston, it comes down to the play from the guard positions. If Allen can score, they're tough to stop. Rondo has played well as a penetrator and distributor, and has rebounded and defended well. For Detroit, the two keys will be bringing their full energy every night, and maintaining some sort of balance offensively. Should be a great series.
 

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