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The NBA Playoffs Thread

#241
Chris Fitzgerald said:
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.
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I actually think Wallace is a more effective player when his shot isn't going and he has to get down in the blocks to score. He has an unstoppable turnaround in the post, keeping the ball up high and kissing it off the glass. Not even Shaq could stop him when Sheed caught the ball in good position back in that Blazers/Lakers series a few years back.

I've never been a big proponent of comparing matchups by position, though its a fun exercise, primarily because it's more about how each guy accepts and performs his role than how talented he is relative to his counterpart.

That said, I predicted the Pistons in 5 earlier. As talented as the Celtics are, they let the worst team in the playoffs (and a team that would have finished in 12th place in the West take them to game 7. Cleveland is a better team, but even when LeBron struggled the Celts couldn't take advantage and let the Cavs stay in the series. I think Detroit is just a more battle tested team and knows how to win when it counts. Not to mention that the Pistons were leaders in the regular season in terms of fewest turnovers while the Celtics (I believe) averaged more per game than almost any other playoff team.
 
#242
Chris Fitzgerald said:
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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I actually pretty much agree:D

I think Boston (on paper) is a better team. But when Detroit plays as a team they're better. The only issue I would have with you is Perkins-Sheed, Sheed has been fairly under control this season, and he has shown himself to be a clutch player. He also is a very underrated defender. As far as the coaches the jury still out on both of them.

To me the key matchups are Billups-Rondo, and Pierce-Prince. The team that wins those matchups the most wins. And Allen must show up to open up the lane. The Pistons are not Cleveland, they have won road playoff games before in pretty tough places including, LA and San Antonio. My only prediction about this series is the winner will win at least one game on the road. But I would say these teams are very even. I also feel the winner of this series takes home the title. These are the two best defenses in the NBA.
 
#243
Garnett? No mention? :eyebrow: He'll be a key factor this series.

I like Boston's depth on the bench. I also think the two 7-game series has helped the Celts bench to prepare for the upcoming series with Detroit (and I believe the NBA Finals as well). I do think having home court advantage will be important as the series will probably be very close. ;)
 
#244
Hawaii Islander said:
Garnett? No mention? :eyebrow: He'll be a key factor this series.

I like Boston's depth on the bench. I also think the two 7-game series has helped the Celts bench to prepare for the upcoming series with Detroit (and I believe the NBA Finals as well). I do think having home court advantage will be important as the series will probably be very close. ;)
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I wouldn't argue with that, but I doubt when you look at the stats when the series is over you'll find that the C's big's outscored and outplayed the Pistons Big's by a significant number. Garnet is probably better then Sheed (not by a lot in the playoffs) but Garnett, Poe and Perkins are not as good as Sheed, Ratliff, Mcdyse, and Maxeil. Look at how well the Pistons contained Howard who averaged almost a 20/20 in the playoff series before.

To me the biggest edge on the floor for the C's is Pierce against Prince. While Prince is a very good defensive player, if Pierce brings his "A" game it will be a tough match up. For the Celtics it's the back-court, can Allen, Rondo, and House contain Billips, Hamilton, and Stuckey? If Allen plays the way he did against Cleveland it will be a tough go for the Celts. Unlike Allen, Hamilton raises his scoring and level of play significantly during the playoffs. During the regular season, the Pistons had a lot of success pressuring the Celts point guards especially in the stretch of games, House and Rondo could have a tough go of it in the fourth quarter.

I'm not as confident as the BigO, but I see shades of the Pistons team from two years ago in the Celts. You don't win it all in the regular season, and it's been almost ten years since the team with the best record won the title. The Cavs, and Hawks roles players were worthless on the road, that won't be the case against the Pistons. I still think a team won't win this series unless it wins a road game.
 
#247
MakiSupaStar said:
I'd love to see the Celtics and Lakers in the finals.
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So would I.

burk48237 said:
I actually pretty much agree:D

I think Boston (on paper) is a better team. But when Detroit plays as a team they're better. The only issue I would have with you is Perkins-Sheed, Sheed has been fairly under control this season, and he has shown himself to be a clutch player. He also is a very underrated defender. As far as the coaches the jury still out on both of them.

To me the key matchups are Billups-Rondo, and Pierce-Prince. The team that wins those matchups the most wins. And Allen must show up to open up the lane. The Pistons are not Cleveland, they have won road playoff games before in pretty tough places including, LA and San Antonio. My only prediction about this series is the winner will win at least one game on the road. But I would say these teams are very even. I also feel the winner of this series takes home the title.
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For probably the first time ever, I have to agree with most of Burke's points.

burk48237 said:
These are the two best defenses in the NBA.
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The reason why the west won't win the championship this year. Sure the Lakers, Spurs, and Hornets are great teams that can score anytime anywhere, but they haven't faced much real defense this year-- regular season or playoffs.
 
#252
If the Hornets improve their bench they'll be back. They are the only playoff team eliminated so far that doesn't have major deficiencies. Had their guards gone over a few screens, or their big men flashed out on pick and rolls they might be in the finals this year.

As far as Lakers-Spurs, I'm really not sure. The Lakers have looked really good so far in the playoffs. But they haven't played a team with the defensive skills of the Spurs. Odom could be the key for LA, if he shows up and makes smart plays he could be a difference maker. For the Spurs, Parker is going to have to make good ball decisions, not just be a scorer. My guess is Lakers in Seven, only because I don't believe this Spurs team is the same Spurs team that beat the Pistons three years ago and they won as much on the Hornets metal errors as their own down the stretch execution.
 
#254
burk48237 said:
If the Hornets improve their bench they'll be back. They are the only playoff team eliminated so far that doesn't have major deficiencies. Had their guards gone over a few screens, or their big men flashed out on pick and rolls they might be in the finals this year.

As far as Lakers-Spurs, I'm really not sure. The Lakers have looked really good so far in the playoffs. But they haven't played a team with the defensive skills of the Spurs. Odom could be the key for LA, if he shows up and makes smart plays he could be a difference maker. For the Spurs, Parker is going to have to make good ball decisions, not just be a scorer. My guess is Lakers in Seven, only because I don't believe this Spurs team is the same Spurs team that beat the Pistons three years ago and they won as much on the Hornets metal errors as their own down the stretch execution.
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I agree. I think the Spurs won game 7 against the Hornets not because they played well, but because the Hornet played poorly. Chandler did a great job on Duncan though. Chris Paul had his moments, but I think as a team they came up short - especially with fundamentals like defensive rebounding and hitting open shots.

With a bit more experience the Hornets could be a championship team.
 
#256
Disco_Gee said:
I agree. I think the Spurs won game 7 against the Hornets not because they played well, but because the Hornet played poorly. Chandler did a great job on Duncan though. Chris Paul had his moments, but I think as a team they came up short - especially with fundamentals like defensive rebounding and hitting open shots.

With a bit more experience the Hornets could be a championship team.
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+1.
NO is a tremendous team. I think they were a bit nervous at the end (in fact, both teams were). SA won but shot a poor 39.5% from the field. The Big Three were not so relevant during the game, but Udoka, Finley, Bowen and Oberto were the key players IMHO.

I personally believe LAL are a better team. In fact, I still believe they`ll be the Champs this season.
The ended up in 1st position during the regular season, with Gasol playing only the last few games.

Fisher is having a great Playoffs performance right now. Gasol and Odom are usually ending with double digits and Kobe remains as the best player in the league (of course IMO).
Vujacic and Radmanovic are a bit slept right now, but they`re terrific shooters and I`m not even considering Bynum...
 
#257
Papersen said:
+1.
NO is a tremendous team. I think they were a bit nervous at the end (in fact, both teams were). SA won but shot a poor 39.5% from the field. The Big Three were not so relevant during the game, but Udoka, Finley, Bowen and Oberto were the key players IMHO.

I personally believe LAL are a better team. In fact, I still believe they`ll be the Champs this season.
The ended up in 1st position during the regular season, with Gasol playing only the last few games.

Fisher is having a great Playoffs performance right now. Gasol and Odom are usually ending with double digits and Kobe remains as the best player in the league (of course IMO).
Vujacic and Radmanovic are a bit slept right now, but they`re terrific shooters and I`m not even considering Bynum...
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I couldn't agree with you more. :D
 

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