• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

The TB NBA Playoff thread

#121
Chris Fitzgerald said:
LOL. I'm not a Cavs fan. I'm a Celtics fan who also likes the way the Rockets played this year. I suspected that the Celts couldn't go all the way without KG, but I'm proud of the fight they showed. Likewise with the Rockets and Yao, although I don't think they were as good as the Celts with KG. I also intensely dislike the Lakers because they underachieve and whine constantly. They're like the Dallas Cowboys/NY Yankees of basketball. Buy the best stars, turn on the lights, and watch them underachieve and whine. When they win, it's because they at some point decide to put some effort into it. Talentwise, they're always stacked. I'd love to see the Magic beat the Lakers, and there would be some interesting matchups there. Lewis is playing like what Odom could be if he showed up every night. Howard could own Gasol *if* the Lakers home whistle doesn't foul him out. Lee and Pietrus on Bryant would be a great dogfight.

After watching a lot of the playoffs this year, here's my blue collar dream team so far:

Scola/Rockets: plays hard and gives everything every night, and on every play. His skills continue to improve, and he's all about the team.

Battier/Rockets: Not great offensive skills, but a great "foxhole" guy. Fights on every play, never gives up.

Ariza/Lakers: As much as I hate the Lakers, this guy is playing great, and playing team ball.

Perkins/Celtics: Improving skills, but a warrior in the paint, and the will to win. He never mails it in, and plays incredible defense.

Lee&Pietrus/Magic: I put them together because they're doing a lot of the same things, and both are deserving. I think Pietrus should play guard even though he's capable of defending the small forwards. Lee is amazing for a rookie.

Rose/Bulls: played his heart out and didn't cry for momma when things didn't go his way. He's one to watch.




See above. :)
Click to expand...

Ahhh...ass/u/me....my apologies sir! ;)

Celtics, hm? Meh...guess it's better than being a Fakers fan! :D I'm with you on the Fakers, I feel about them the same I do about the Cowpatties and the Yankmes. :spit:

I see the Magic finishing this Thursday, they've got the Cavs figured out (stay in LeBron's face, harass him as much as possible, the rest of the team is hopeless) and the Cavs have not solved the Magic in any way yet. Stop Turkoglu, Lee and Lewis kill you, go hard on the perimeter (ala Game 1), and Howard beats you to death, go after Lee & Lewis outside and box Howard out, Turkoglu kills you. Like a big circle....

I think the Magic will match up pretty well against the Fakers, I won't predict a win, but I will say no one sweeps it, 6-7 games minimum...unless the Fakers lay down and die against the Thuggets...
 
#123
GARD Oh and what was that last foul on Howard, the "you can't block King James' shots" foul? Man, Howard STUFFED the ball back in Lebron's face, clean as a whistle, and he gets tossed for it? Apparently, only James is allowed to block a shot from behind, it's his signature move, anyone else does it, they get called, right?

James is great, but he can have shots blocked, and he CAN charge as well......apparantly, however, no one can see it when he does
Click to expand...

I linked to an article on this earlier in the thread. James had the lowest average of fouls per game of any NBA player in history who played 24 or more minutes per game this year. Under two fouls a game, which was less then MJ in his best season. James NEVER had a game with five fouls this season!:rollno:

He is a great player, so great at times (game 2) that it is almost ridiculous. But the whistle he gets is also ridiculous. When the league builds it's marketing campaign around someone this is what you get. The most absurd thing about it is, he is such a physical player he could get called for a foul an many of his offensive moves. Did he get called when he pushed off on Turkelo to get free to make the shot? No, now granted that call isn't made a ton, but Howard or Billups would have been called for it. Justice would be if the Nuggets and Orlando ended up in the finals just so David Stern wouldn't get his "dream" Kobe-Lebron match up. Basketball is a team game but the add guys at NBA central hate teams and love stars.

As far as the quality of Cleveland as a team, they do play very effective team defense (although again it helps that Lebron somehow can't ever foul on defense). And they are as good a defensive team as anyone when Ben Wallace is on the floor. Both Wallace and Verflopahoo do do a good job of showing on screen rolls. Unfortunately Wallace is only Wallace for about ten minutes a game. Ilguskis OTOH is a pylon, and Orlando gets a ton of open three point looks when he's on the floor. On Offense they run everything thru Lebron and Brown runs one of the simplest offenses in the league, which is fairly easy to defend in the playoffs (if you can avoid breathing on Lebron and getting called for a foul). As far as the D at the end of game 2, they had to put two guys on Lebron, if anything foul him while he's shooting. I'd take me chances with him on the foul line for three shots anytime.
 
#124
CHRIS FITZGERALD After watching a lot of the playoffs this year, here's my blue collar dream team so far:

Scola/Rockets: plays hard and gives everything every night, and on every play. His skills continue to improve, and he's all about the team.

Battier/Rockets: Not great offensive skills, but a great "foxhole" guy. Fights on every play, never gives up.

Ariza/Lakers: As much as I hate the Lakers, this guy is playing great, and playing team ball.

Perkins/Celtics: Improving skills, but a warrior in the paint, and the will to win. He never mails it in, and plays incredible defense.

Lee&Pietrus/Magic: I put them together because they're doing a lot of the same things, and both are deserving. I think Pietrus should play guard even though he's capable of defending the small forwards. Lee is amazing for a rookie.

Rose/Bulls: played his heart out and didn't cry for momma when things didn't go his way. He's one to watch.
Click to expand...

To me you what the saddest thing is about that list is. There are no Pistons on it, and I'm not sure any deserve it (well maybe McDyse in the second half of the season). The one thing the Pistons didn't do this year is Work. Rasheed took the season off, Hamilton sulked after Chauncy was traded, Prince looked like he didn't have his legs for the second half of the season, and with the exception of Stuckey and Bynum the younger guys didn't seem to develop.

I understand why Joe did the trade, he didn't want to have the collapse that the "bad boys" team experienced as they got older. I also think Joe has come to realize that in todays NBA the refs won't let you win without a star, so he decided to free up some cap space and try to get one. I was sorry they made the playoffs this year, they didn't deserve it, it meant nothing to them, and they needed a lottery pick badly.

I must admit I was surprised some one didn't take a flier on Rasheed, I can think of a couple of teams that he would have fit in with and perhaps been reenergized with. But he did seem to be slowed by nagging injuries most of the season.
 
#130
Nuggets make it a laugher, sweet!:hyper:

The Magic and the Nuggets have been my two favorite teams for a long time (Orlando was the first city I lived in that had an NBA team, my dad lives in Denver). The thought of them screwing things up for the NBA hype machine is beyond delicious.
 
#131
GregC said:
Nuggets make it a laugher, sweet!:hyper:

The Magic and the Nuggets have been my two favorite teams for a long time (Orlando was the first city I lived in that had an NBA team, my dad lives in Denver). The thought of them screwing things up for the NBA hype machine is beyond delicious.
Click to expand...

Word.

I have a lot of interesting Magic connections, I was in Orlando when they got the team, and I for a couple of years, I worked for a shop that tinted all the car windows for the players, so I got to know (in passing - I'm not that into the whole "star trip") a few of the early players (Nick Anderson, Shaq, Brian Shaw) from the early 90's. I also got to play at halftime once during a game for 5 minutes a few years ago.

So, yeah, I'm happy to see the team do well.

As for the West, I'm definitely pulling for the Nuggets, mainly because like in baseball, where my two favorite teams are the Cubs and whoever is playing the Yankmees; and in football, where my two favorite teams are the Saints and whoever is playing the Cowgirls; in basketball, it's the Magic and whoever is playing the Fakers.

So, I enjoyed watching Jack Nicholson's favorite team get an almost 20 point spanking tonight. If they continue the kind of slack-@$$ ball they played tonight, they will be watching the next series on their couch at home. :)

Greg, I'm with you, nothing would give me more joy than to see the whole hype machine fall flat on it's face, no Kobe versus LeBron in the finals....even better, for neither to be there would be just perfect.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back