bobobrazil1984 0 Report post Posted April 19, 2005 My predictions on the West first round, since those matchups are locked up. (all predictions subject to change right before the playoffs start!) 1- Phoenix vs -8- Memphis Phoenix in 4 -4- Dallas vs -5- Houston Dallas in 7 -3- Seattle vs -6- Sacramento Seattle in 6 -2- San Antonio vs -7- Denver Spurs in 5 Good probability that the last spot in the East is decided today. Cle and NJ are tied and NJ has the tiebreaker. if NJ wins against the Wizards, then Cle basically have to win their last two games and hope NJ loses their last. Cle is playing the Celts. Their best chance at the moment is winning, and hoping to god NJ loses. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alfdogg 0 Report post Posted April 20, 2005 Ric Bucher just said Brad Miller is out for the first round. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Shanghai Kid 0 Report post Posted April 20, 2005 I think even without homecourt Washington will take Chicago in 6. Gilbert Arenas will own them. People keep talking about Ben Gordon, Arenas is pretty clearly the best player in this series and he will show it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nogoodnick 0 Report post Posted April 20, 2005 1- Phoenix vs -8- Memphis (Phoenix in 5) 4- Dallas vs -5- Houston (Houston in 7) 3- Seattle vs -6- Sacramento (Sacramento in 5) 2- San Antonio vs -7- Denver (San Antonio in 6) Rockets/ Mavs could go either way. None of these are easy matchups for the higher seed. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Report post Posted April 20, 2005 1- Phoenix vs -8- Memphis (Phoenix in 4) 4- Dallas vs -5- Houston (Dallas in 6) 3- Seattle vs -6- Sacramento (Seattle in 7) 2- San Antonio vs -7- Denver (Spurs in 6) The only series that has a chance of going either way is the Seattle-Sacramento series. Houston doesn't have a chance in response to the previous post. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Czech Republic 0 Report post Posted April 20, 2005 Ric Bucher just said Brad Miller is out for the first round. Did four or five black guys then yell at the tops of their lungs about how wrong he is? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt Angle Mark 0 Report post Posted April 20, 2005 Here is the weekend schedule, All times EST Saturday, April 23 TBD at Detroit, 3 p.m. ABC Houston at Dallas, 5:30 p.m. ESPN TBD at Boston, 8 p.m. ESPN Sacramento at Seattle, 10:30 p.m. ESPN Sunday, April 24 TBD at Miami, 3 p.m. ABC Washington at Chicago, 5:30 p.m. TNT Denver at San Antonio, 8 p.m. TNT Memphis at Phoenix, 10:30 p.m. TNT Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ripper 0 Report post Posted April 20, 2005 I think even without homecourt Washington will take Chicago in 6. Gilbert Arenas will own them. People keep talking about Ben Gordon, Arenas is pretty clearly the best player in this series and he will show it. Chicago plays D, Washington doesn't. It will be a question of which will prevail. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Styles 0 Report post Posted April 20, 2005 I think even without homecourt Washington will take Chicago in 6. Gilbert Arenas will own them. People keep talking about Ben Gordon, Arenas is pretty clearly the best player in this series and he will show it. Chicago plays D, Washington doesn't. It will be a question of which will prevail. Our triple threat persistent inside scoring will be too much for the weak Bulls to handle, especially with their big out. And we rebound like nobodies business and usually convert on those rebound. I forget how the NBA does playoff rounds, is it 2/3/2 or 2/2/1/1/1? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bobobrazil1984 0 Report post Posted April 20, 2005 ^ 2/2/1/1/1 , until the NBA FINALS, at which point they switch to 2/3/2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ripper 0 Report post Posted April 20, 2005 I think even without homecourt Washington will take Chicago in 6. Gilbert Arenas will own them. People keep talking about Ben Gordon, Arenas is pretty clearly the best player in this series and he will show it. Chicago plays D, Washington doesn't. It will be a question of which will prevail. Our triple threat persistent inside scoring will be too much for the weak Bulls to handle, especially with their big out. And we rebound like nobodies business and usually convert on those rebound. I forget how the NBA does playoff rounds, is it 2/3/2 or 2/2/1/1/1? Chandler/Harrington/Davis are ridicuolous rebounders. The scoring from the perimeter is going to be the difference in this series, and Arenas and Hughes are going to have to work their offensive mismatches, because they are not going to be able to contain Duhon, Hinrich, and Gordon on D. Chandler will give Jamison fits(and I LOVE Antwain Jamison) and own the boards in this series. And personally I think either hughes or Jamison are the best players in this series. Its going to be something to watch. and its 2-2-1-1-1. Its 2-3-2 in the finals. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
A Happy Medium 0 Report post Posted April 20, 2005 Another interesting thing about the Bull/Wizards series is the fact only Kirk Hinrich plays over 30 minutes a game for the Bulls. Due to this, the Bulls may be a better fourth quarter. Also, the Bulls have a fairly deep rotation. I see it going seven games. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Damaramu 0 Report post Posted April 21, 2005 Wow. I hate the girl that works with me. She's such a Spurs/basketball elitist and she wrote this column today.....well hell I'll just let you guys read and see if you agree. Figuring out the NBA playoffs Staff Column Jenny Dial April 20, 2005 Few things in life compare to the excitement that is the NBA playoffs. Even people who don't like basketball can appreciate the seven-game series and the race to the top. This year will be no exception. In fact, we are looking at what might be the best NBA playoffs in years this season. This weekend, teams will face off, trying to top one another on the road to the championship. Things are going to get interesting, especially in the West. (The following is based on NBA standings as of Tuesday.) Let's start in the East. The East contains defending champion Detroit Pistons, but the Pistons, as well as every other team in the East have one huge obstacle in the way: Shaq and the Miami Heat. While I'm not a fan of the big man, I won't for a second deny what he has done for Miami. He and Dwyane Wade will get rings sometime in their careers together and they might have that opportunity in June. O'Neal should also win MVP over the Suns' Steve Nash. Shaq has had the biggest impact on his team. Contenders in the East include the Pistons, who have stayed under the radar since the infamous NBA brawl earlier in the season. But Detroit is second in the East with a 53-27 record for good reason. They have managed to get on track at the perfect time in the season. They'll face Philly in round one, which poses no threat. Chris Webber has managed to weaken that team and they won't go far in the playoffs, which is sad since Allen Iverson is having a great season and is deserving of some positive attention for once. Boston will face Indiana and Chicago will face Washington in round one. It's Reggie Miller's final season, and as a sentimentalist, I'd like to see him go far, but that is doubtful. Boston has pulled together a tough little squad with former Big 12 stars Paul Pierce and Tony Allen both having admirable seasons. Boston will probably pull away in what could be a really entertaining series. Chicago, fourth in the East, is the little team that can and will this year. Kirk Hinrich and Ben Gordon are a tough pair of guards and have absolutely nothing to lose. Gordon should undoubtedly win Rookie of the Year and well as Sixth Man of the Year for what he has done on the Bulls' squad. Chicago has been so terrible the last few years that they have everything to gain by winning in this year's playoffs. My money is on the Bulls. When push comes to shove, Detroit and Miami will probably see each other in the Eastern Conference Finals and Miami will be heading to the Championship Series after sweeping--that's right, 4-0--the Pistons. Now the West--Phoenix faces Memphis to kick it off... no contest. Phoenix is the best team in the league right now. Expect Mike D'Antoni to win Coach of the Year for what he has done with the Suns this season. The No. 2 spot is held by the San Antonio Spurs, who were a favorite until the loss of Tim Duncan for several late games. The Spurs have the toughest road in the West with Denver, a team who has come together late in the season. The Nuggets are 24-4 in their last 28 games and have defeated the Spurs twice this season. Both Denver wins came when the Spurs were lacking Duncan and Manu Ginobili. The good news for the Nuggets is that they have the recipe to win. The bad news is the Spurs have Duncan back for the playoffs. This is a toss-up. Denver is scary, but the Spurs have Duncan, Ginobili, Tony Parker and players like Robert Horry who carry playoff experience to spare. Seattle will face Sacramento. Ray Allen and company should sweep the Kings. Seattle has been impressive all season. They seem to be falling a little lately, but should pick things up for the playoffs, as most good teams do. Dallas and Houston are the final two in the West and as much as basketball fans would like to see Tracy McGrady do well in the playoffs after several miserable years in Orlando, the Mavs will prevail. Avery Johnson, the former Spur, has fit in perfectly as head coach in Dallas. If Dallas plays Seattle, it would probably be one of the best series in the entire playoffs. All in all, the West is crazy. Phoenix will probably play Miami in the finals. But hopefully, for the sake of exciting upsets, someone else in the West will come out on top. San Antonio, Seattle, Dallas and Denver are the teams to beat. Well first of all I'm in the "Steve Nash deserves the MVP" camp. And I know she's only saying that b/c he played for the Mavericks and she hates that team. She's always had something against Nash. She even admitted it to me when we were hanging out one day. And then saying that a Suns/Heat finals wouldn't be good? I'm sorry but I think that'd be awesome. And I'll disagree with the Pistons losing in 4. Any thoughts? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Vitamin X Report post Posted April 21, 2005 When push comes to shove, Detroit and Miami will probably see each other in the Eastern Conference Finals and Miami will be heading to the Championship Series after sweeping--that's right, 4-0--the Pistons. !! Shaq or no Shaq, the Heat aren't going to steamroll through the playoffs like a lot of these basketball pundits are saying. I won't deny they have the best record in the East for good reason, but they're certainly not infallible. Oh, and Nash deserves the MVP. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bobobrazil1984 0 Report post Posted April 21, 2005 miami could certainly win against Detroit (i think its 50-50 right now imo), but a sweep? uh no... no team has shown any dominance over the other. Detroit leads the series 2-1 but that last game was without Shaq so lets just say 1-1. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Damaramu 0 Report post Posted April 21, 2005 When push comes to shove, Detroit and Miami will probably see each other in the Eastern Conference Finals and Miami will be heading to the Championship Series after sweeping--that's right, 4-0--the Pistons. !! Shaq or no Shaq, the Heat aren't going to steamroll through the playoffs like a lot of these basketball pundits are saying. I won't deny they have the best record in the East for good reason, but they're certainly not infallible. Oh, and Nash deserves the MVP. Basketball pundit my ass. She's not even a real journalist. She's a public relations major. She's already got a job when she graduates doing PR with the Houston Rockets. I hope she can curb her Spurs fandom. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt Angle Mark 0 Report post Posted April 21, 2005 Nets clinch final spot in the East with a 102-93 win Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bobobrazil1984 0 Report post Posted April 21, 2005 basically all thats left is the 6-7 spot thing... if Pacers win against Chicago, its Boston vs Indiana and Detroit vs Philly, if they lose, it's Boston vs Philly and Detroit vs Indiana. I'm rooting for Indy. I dont want the pistons to play Indiana in round 1. if they do in the semis, so be it, but i'd rather not face that grinding emotion-filled headache right from the onset of the playoffs, let that be the tough semi-matchup (a la the NJ series last year) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bob_barron 0 Report post Posted April 21, 2005 THE NETS ARE IN THE PLAYOFFS!!! OH. MY. GOD!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Damaramu 0 Report post Posted April 21, 2005 THE NETS ARE IN THE PLAYOFFS!!! OH. MY. GOD!! Are you ok Bob? Did you dance around the living room when this game ended? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bob_barron 0 Report post Posted April 21, 2005 I was going insane that whole third quarter. When Vince made that three to put us up by 10 with 2:52 left, I lost it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Czech Republic 0 Report post Posted April 21, 2005 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
EVIL~! alkeiper 0 Report post Posted April 21, 2005 I'll admit it. I laughed. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Czech Republic 0 Report post Posted April 21, 2005 Did you like your TSM Paint counterpart, Al? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt Angle Mark 0 Report post Posted April 21, 2005 East Playoff Picture set 1 Heat 8 Nets 4 Bulls 5 Wizards 3 Celtics 6 Pacers 2 Pistons 7 76ers Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bobobrazil1984 0 Report post Posted April 21, 2005 early predics: 1. Heat vs 8. NJ Nets -Miami in 5 4. Bulls vs. Wizards -Bulls in 7 2. Pistons vs. 7. Philly -Detroit in 5 3. Celtics vs 6. Pacers -Boston in 6 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Vitamin X Report post Posted April 21, 2005 East Playoff Picture set 1 Heat 8 Nets 4 Bulls 5 Wizards 3 Celtics 6 Pacers 2 Pistons 7 76ers Heat and Bulls in 6, Pacers and Pistons in 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
therealworldschampion 0 Report post Posted April 21, 2005 Heat in 5 Bulls in 7 Pistons in 5(I have a feeling that people are only showing up to games 3 and 4 to yell stuff at Larry) Pacers in 6 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Damaramu 0 Report post Posted April 21, 2005 Well I'm pulling for the Celtics.....I think that we can at least get out of the first round. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Vitamin X Report post Posted April 21, 2005 Oh, I'll be cheering on the Nets, Bulls, Pacers, and Pistons. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
