The OAO NBA Playoffs/Finals Thread

[Guest Crazy Dan]

Ahh the second round is upon us, finally. I hope they go back to the 5 game series for the first round, because the seven game series is killing any chance of an upset.

 

But now we get some meaty games, I am thinking business is going to finally pick up. And so here are my picks for the next round.

 

West Conference

 

Spurs vs Lakers

 

What can I say. This shall be a great series. But, I do think the Spurs will take this one. Duncan could be MVP every year. He makes this team run. And he never gets hurt, so the Lakers can't count on that. Also, Malone is way past his prime, and will not stop Duncan from getting his usual 20 - 10 - 5. But, Malone has enough tricks up his sleave to at least be productive. Popovich whined that Bowen should be defensive player of the year. Well, Bruce, you get your chance to show everyone who did not vote for you wrong, as you get to defend Kobe. And Kobe is not an easy task. Sure Kobe has shown "head case" tendencies, but when he is on, he makes shots that regular players normally air bal. And I don't see Bowen really stopping Kobe here. Sure he will have his moments, but Kobe will get his points.

 

And Shaq will also be dominating. But, Nastrovich should be big enough to slow him down, some what. But come on, Shaq is still the best Center in the league, and Nastrovich, is a white center who is 7 feet tall. No, the big problem the Lakers are going to have is the Payton-Parker match up. I see Parker blowing by Payton numerous times. That is the key. Payton is unfortunately past his prime, and no longer quick. And that is going to be the Lakers downfall. The Spurs are playing like the defending Champion, and the Lakers were lucky that the Rockets choked about two games away to the Lakers. I am sure every Laker fan placed their order for Championship T-Shirts/Hats/Videos when they found out about the signing of Malone and Payton. At times the Lakers looked like they were the best team, but last series they were exposed. The Spurs win this in 6.

 

Kings-T-Wolves

 

Another great series. I am pulling for the Kings here, but I think that Minnesota has too much, and the Kings have some issues. The Wolves will win this series because they play defense and can play some offense too. Getting Latrell and Cassell gives the T-Wolves much needed playoff experience. KG is the MVP this year. So the T-Wolves have a triple threat that will prove too much. But, the Kings have a whole bunch of experience playing together as well. A very crafty bunch. Bibby is playing like he did two years ago, when he almost got the Kings into the finals. I do think that the Kings do have a chance because they have two solid centers, and well, the T-Wolves have Garrett (aging wonder) and my boy Olowakandi (UOP representing). So the Kings do have the advantage here. Also, I hope Adelman makes Peja the focal point, like he was before Webber made his return. C-Webb has struggled. Some games he looks awesome, and others he looks very slow. If Webber can play to his strengths, then he will cut down on Garnett completly dominating. IE lets say Garnett scores 25 points, if Webber can get the Kings 22 points, then Garnett has not hurt the Kings as bad. So I see this going 6 games, with the Wolves going to their first Confrence Finals. If the Kings had Jackson, then they might get past the Wolves. But, without him, the Kings are worn thin. The Kings were fortunate to get past the Mavs, but their run ends here. And if I am the Kings, please look for some defenders who can rebound, ok.

 

East Conference

 

Pistons vs Nets

 

Before the playoffs began, I thought that this would be the Pistons year to get to the Finals. They play defense, defense, defense. And Rip Hamilton is evolving into a very solid player. He is a go to player. I also like the addition to Rasheed Wallace, who left his head case tendencies in Portland. The Pistons hit you with two good Power Forwards. Ben Wallace is the best defensive power forward in the game. And he also has the best Fro too. Never underestimate the power of the Fro. Normally you would be crazy to fire your coach who turned your franchise around, but they did bring in Larry Brown, who can take you to the next level.

 

Imagine how good team would have been if Dumars had ignored the hype, and taken the player that might have given them the missing piece to their puzzle. No, instead he took Darko, who collects dust on the bench. And when he does play, he looks slow, scared and like he has no business being out on the floor. For a team that was known as the bad boys, he just looks bad. And maybe he will turn into a nice player in 6-7 years, maybe. Boy Dumars, how is that upside treating you. Man, I bet you wish you had Melo about now. I hope that all teams learn from this blunder, and never pass up a chance to get a player who is showing that he has that something special, by taking a tall-white-soft European Center who doesn't like to play inside. I am sorry, if you are 7 feet tall, you better be willing to post up. Derk not withstanding. I am having so many flashbacks to this: "With the second pick in the NBA draft, the Portland Trailblazers take Sam Bowie, Forward, Kentucky".

 

All kidding aside, the Pistons still have a great team. But, I am torn on taking them, or going with the team who is peaking at the right moment. The Nets have the best point guard in Kidd, who has develope quite a nice post-spin move which makes him very hard to guard. Throw in the best Forward combo, Martin and Jefferson, and this is a very dangerous team. They know how to get to the Finals. The Sports Guy summed up the Nets nicely in his new column on ESPN, so I won't bore you with the details. I think that this will be a great series, going 7. If the Pistons had Melo, I would go with them, but I am going to go with the hot hand and the Nets move on.

 

Pacers vs Miami (who I think will beat the Hornets)

 

The Pacers have the best record in the Pros. They have the East's best big man in O'Niel. And the best defender in the NBA, in Artest. And their bench is solid. Carlisle was great addition who has gotten this team to play to their talent, unlike Isiah Thomas. And Reggie is as clutch as you can get. But, where is the point guard? Can a team make it to the Finals without one?

 

Miami brings a very talented team. They are young, hungry, and have the Van Gundy who looks like Ron Jeremy's child (Rome). Lamar Odom has blossomed into a player that can cause havoc. Wade was the third best rookie this year, and forms a nice guard combo with Eddie Jones. Oh yeah, throw in a hard working Grant, who does your dirty work like rebounding, playing defense, and getting you some points. Caron Butler is also a solid player. But they once again have no center who can stop Oniel.

 

This will be a tougher series for the Pacers. The Pacers got to play one of the least deserving playoff teams ever. Man did the Celtics suck, or is me. I am sure the huge F-Bomb you heard was from Ainge, after learning the Celtics made the playoffs. Miami, I can guarantee will not quit, like the Celtics did. I see dog fight, but the Pacers have too much in their favor this time. Maybe next year Heat. Pacers win this in 6. But, I will not be suprised if they manage to pull the upset. I honestly think the representative from the East comes from the other Series.

[NoCalMike 0]

I think the one thing the Kings have to look forward from here on out, is that they won't have to worry about guys like Divac & Webber not being able to run the floor CONSTANTLY to maintain transition defense against the Mavs sprinters. Now yes occassionally they will have to get their asses in gear and run, but NOTHING like how it was with the Mavs. We should see guys like Webber/Divac/Miller play a much bigger role on the inside. This is a series where hopefully Divac can join the postseason roster, since he has been all but invisible since the playoffs started(although for good reasons/coaching decisions).

 

My brain says T-Wolves in 7, but my Kings bias says, Kings in 7.

 

Kings in 7 baby~!

[NoCalMike 0]

Also, yeah the Lakers did look like gold when the season began, but remember all those old bodies had to endure the regular season and now quite possibly could be tired and worn. Not to mention Payton all but DETESTS his role on the Lakers, but has sworn to comply in the name of getting a ring, but still if the truth is inside his head, it will affect his play on the court.

 

Spurs in 6.

[Guest OctoberBlood]

Pups over Kings in 5.

Spurs over Lakers in 7.

Pistons over Nets in 6.

Pacers over Heat in 5. (Probally Heat)

 

I agree with you guys. Should be some great matchups.

[Guest NaturalBornThriller4:20]

- Sacramento over Minnesota in 6.

 

- San Antonio over Los Angeles in 7.

 

- I'm a Nets fan so I want to say the Nets, but this is a different Pistons team since last year's playoffs. All i'll say is that it'll be an excellent series, which will go 7.

 

- Indiana over Miami in 5.

[razazteca 0]

I think the key to victory for the Spurs will be the use of the bench players Manu Ginobili, Robert Horry, Malik Rose, Kevin Willis, and even Charlie Ward. Who is on the Lakers bench? Medivenko and Bring It Down Luke Walton and the pretty boy actor Rick Fox? The way I see it the Spurs guards will run circles around Gary Payton, and the forwards will do their best to Hack-The-Shaq. Maybe have Bowen & Willis throw some elbows on Karl Malone and have Horry flop on some touch fouls while guarding Shaq.

 

Duncan could be MVP every year. He makes this team run. And he never gets hurt

Timmy did miss some games with knee problems but it was actually a good thing that Duncan sit out the games since it gave RASHO NES-TERO-VIC [/stephen A Smith voice] and Turkaglu more time to learn the system. After a few games of the MVP sitting out a few games the Spurs made a few changes to the starting line up making Turkaglu the starting shooting guard and moving Manu back to the 6 man position as the back up point guard. This strategy has become so successful that the Spurs cut Ron Mercer from the team.

[Vern Gagne 0]

Would it be all right if the Pacers received a bye into the Eastern Conf. finals? Neither the Heat or the Hornets have a snowball's chance in hell of beating them.

[alfdogg 0]

No.

 

We'll already be going 11 straight days without playing, as we won't be starting our round 2 series until Thursday.

 

I'm a Nets fan so I want to say the Nets

 

That's funny...on the last page you were a Kings fan.

[alfdogg 0]

The Pacers have the best record in the Pros. They have the East's best big man in O'Niel. And the best defender in the NBA, in Artest. And their bench is solid. Carlisle was great addition who has gotten this team to play to their talent, unlike Isiah Thomas. And Reggie is as clutch as you can get. But, where is the point guard? Can a team make it to the Finals without one?

We have Tinsley, Anderson and Anthony Johnson. That's more than enough.

[Guest Redhawk]

When the fuck are the Pacers going to play someone? Is there a reason NO and Miami are only playing twice a week? By the time Indy plays again, Reggie Miller will have grown an Afro.

[Vern Gagne 0]

Thursday the Pacers play again.

[Steviekick 0]

My predictions:

Lakers over Spurs in 7

TWolves over Kings in 6

Pistons over Nets 7

Pacers sweep Heat/Hornets

[razazteca 0]

Spurs are running the fastbreak on the Lakers with Tim Duncan on the bench......Fear the small line up.

[Guest OctoberBlood]

The Heat/Hornets series has been very good so far. Going game 7.

[razazteca 0]

What an ugly 1st half by both teams neither the Spurs or Lakers can make a FT and considering that the Lakers shot 29% and are only down by 8......damn this looks to be a low scoring game that might be 80-68 final.

[Steviekick 0]

Ugh. It looks like the Lakers decided to fly home early this afternoon.

[Guest OctoberBlood]

Great game Spurs! Gotta love this team. They have real players. Not just shooters. Real players. No ego's here, just exciting, team players. It's hard to NOT root for these guys. *Clap Clap*

[The Robfather 0]

worst 4th quarter in Laker history?

[The Electrifyer 0]

Tony Parker rules. Gary Payton is gonna get owned this series and I'm gonna love every minute of it. I think LA might even do better if Fisher started instead of Payton.

[The Robfather 0]

Gary Payton was moving in slow motion out there... ha hah ha

 

[Dangerous A 0]

It was extremely important for the Spurs to win Game 1 from a psychological point of view. Phil Jackson led teams don't lose when they win game 1. The Lakers must take game 2 to stay competitive because the Spurs are good enough to take one game in LA, possibly even two.

 

Kings/T-Wolves won't take place until Tuesday. The Kings are in the same boat as the Lakers in that they have to take one of the first two games on the road to stay in it. The Kings also have to finish this off in 6 games because I don't see them beating the T-Wolves in a 7th game in Minnesota. It was announced that KG will be named League MVP tommorrow. (big shocker there)

 

NJ/Detroit will be a war. If NJ takes game 1, I wouldn't even think about trying to forcast that series. NJ is rested up now, which has to be a concern for the Pistons.

[Steviekick 0]

Tony Parker rules. Gary Payton is gonna get owned this series and I'm gonna love every minute of it. I think LA might even do better if Fisher started instead of Payton.

I don't know about starting Fisher, but I would definitely think that they should have Kobe guarding Parker.

[Spicy McHaggis 0]

Nah, Kobe's not fast enough. The problem with GP was his failure to rotate off the ball. As long as Malone & O'Neal let Parker get to the rim unchallenged, the Lakers will be at the mercy of the Spurs.

 

Oh, and they need to shoot better......

[razazteca 0]

What happened with the Lakers? In the 3rd quarter the team scored 34 points then in the 4th they went for a futile 8 points.........the whitey triple team (Manu, Hedo, Rasho) will prevent anyone from scoring in the post.

[Just John 0]

I loved both games today. Game 7 in Miami is gonna be extremely physical. Too bad that the Pacers have had about 10 days to rest and will molest which ever worn down team comes from this series.

 

I think the Spurs will end their series a lot faster than most people think. They played at a consistently high level for most of the game and the Lakers couldn't keep up. Their washed up stars won't be able to compete with the speed of Parker and Ginobli. Duncan also murdered the Lakers in 4th and he will most likely continue to do so. I see the Spurs putting this on away in 5 games, but a sweep isn't out of the question.

[Steviekick 0]

The Lakers just didn't show up.

 

Hornets/Heat rocked my socks off, and I actually can't wait to see game 7.

[Fökai 0]

Pacers over Heat in 5.

Pistons over Nets in 6.

Spurs over Lakers in 6. (my opinion was unaffected by today's game)

Timberwolves over Kings in 7.

[Guest Choken One]

Assuming that The Heat can even get pass the Hornets first...

 

Pacers in Six over Heat.

Pistons over Nets in Seven.

Lakers downed in 5 by Spurs

Kings falls in 6 To Wolves.

 

Pacers trump The Wallaces in 7.

Spurs repeat W.C Title in 6.

 

Spurs win the title in low rated 7 game series.

[The Electrifyer 0]

The Miami/New Orleans series is going to game 7, but only the home teams have won. Does this mean its still not a series? That quote is confusing as hell.

 

After watching today's game, I am predicting Spurs in 5. They are quite the team, they work hard and each player knows there individual roles on the team. LA looks lazy and don't seem to only play in 3rd quarters of games. A 4-game sweep wouldn't surprise me.

[The Electrifyer 0]

Tony Parker rules. Gary Payton is gonna get owned this series and I'm gonna love every minute of it. I think LA might even do better if Fisher started instead of Payton.

I don't know about starting Fisher, but I would definitely think that they should have Kobe guarding Parker.

Statiscally, Payton may look better than Fisher. However, I believe if you look at what the players do while on the court and look at the things they do for the team that doesn't show up in the boxscore, I think Fisher is better at this point. He is more used to and accepting of Phil Jackson's offense and he might not be as fast as Parker, but I think he can get in front of Parker and draw some offensive fouls and force turnovers. Of course, I'm not saying that overall Fisher is better than Payton, but in this situation and at this time, I think Fisher is a better choice.