NBA Playoffs

[alfdogg]

East

-1- Miami vs -5- Washington

-2- Detroit vs -6- Indiana

West

-1- Phoenix vs -4- Dallas

-2- San Antonio vs -3- Seattle

 

Tomorrow is the last day of the first round. Feel free to provide the final scores of the game 7's tomorrow, but please keep discussion of those games themselves in the other thread.

 

For the series already decided, Miami/Washington will go no more than 5 games, and I'll go Spurs in 6 in the other series.

 

Pistons in 5 and Suns in 6.

[Vern Gagne]

Can't see Bos/Ind or Washington beating either Detroit or Miami.

 

It should be to the Sonics advantage that many "experts" are giving the Spurs the series. Still pick the Spurs to win, but the Sonics played the Spurs very well this year.

 

Hope it's the Mavs and Suns. Those could some very entertaining games. So too could Houston and Phoenix though. Mavs over Suns, or Suns over Rockets.

[Styles]

I refuse to make a prediction.

[Vern Gagne]

What's the harm? You saying something, won't have an affect on the series outcome. Unless of course you pick the Suns to beat the Rockets, and the Suns frequent the board see Slapnuts picked the Suns..assume the series is already over and get swept.

[Guest news_gimmick]

I can see Seattle / San Antonio going 7 games. If Seattles big men can keep up their great and tough play, along with Ray Allen bringing his momentum into the series, it can be an all out war. I predict San Antonio going over, but I may root for Seattle in this one

 

Detroit / Indiana is the series I want to see, andI can see Detroit taking it in 5-6 games, seeing how the Pacers only seem to summon up gutty performances every other game.

 

Phoenix / Dallas is the series I want to see, and I think Dallas wins game 7 against Houston. Phoenix / Dallas I'm predicting goes 6 games, with the Suns coming out on top.

 

And of course theres the Heat / Wizards, Heat going over in 4 I predict....

 

 

Ok an outside chance of five, but no more

[Just John]

My picks:

 

Suns d. Mavs (6)

Spurs d. Sonics (7)

 

Heat d. Wizards (4)

Pistons d. Pacers (5)

[Kurt Angle Mark]

Second Round Predictions

 

Pistons over Pacers in 7

Heat over Wizards in 5

 

Spurs over Sonics in 6

Mavericks over Suns in 6

[Guest]

my second round predictions

 

Pistons over Pacers in 5

Heat over Wizards in 6

 

Spurs over Sonics in 7

Mavericks over Suns in 6

 

Thought these needed to be moved over to the new thread.

[Guest Shadow]

Round 2 predictions

 

Detroit Vs Indiana

 

Detroit 4-2

 

Game 3 is Reggie's last great game. He puts up 32 pts and hits a game winning jump shot with 1.6 to go). Game 2 will have a mini scruffle that causes the Announcers to scream "TAKE COVER!"...it ends respectfully as ESPN pouts. Game Six, Detroit emphatically finishes out Indiana in a big way. Reggie Miller hits a meaningless Three pointer at the closing seconds to close out his career. Ron Artest is spotted in the crowd near the Pacers bench during the Pacers home games and they do a split screen of the game and artest, for the whole game. The Brawl is replayed over 456,003 times. From all angles. in slow motion.

 

Miami Vs Washington

 

Miami 4-1.

 

Shaq dominates game 1 and 2, aggravates his injury in game 3, causing him to miss the second half in which Washington takes advantage and takes it into OT to nab their lone victory. Shaq plays a limited game 4 but his presence is felt. Game 5, Miami with their new gameplan "Score a lot and get a big lead so shaq can rest" pays off as they finish the Wizards off.

 

San Antonio Vs Seatle

 

San Antonio 4-2.

 

Seattle gets an upset win to open the series. Duncan has a career night in game two. Game 3 is a brillant double overtime thriller with Ray Allen hitting the dagger shot in the closing seconds of regulation and the second overtime to secure the win. Parker goes berzerk in game 4. Duncan's injury flares up but due to Allen's cold game, Seattle fails to capitalize. Game Six sees Seattle shoot to a big commanding lead only for a collaspe in the 4th quarter and leads to SA to narrowly defeat the spurs and advance in the playoffs.

 

Dallas Vs Phoenix

 

Phoenix 4-3

 

A very explosive scoring series excites the fans. Game 2, 4 and 7 go beyond regulation. The Suns put up a 2-0 lead, narrowly loses game 3 and in a thriller of game four take a commanding 3-1 lead but watch it unravel to a game seven where Steve Nash makes his name known in the playoff lore.

[Styles]

Fine I'll make predictions...

 

Wizards over Heat in 7 (what, like I'm going to bet against my own team? What's the harm in predicting victory? If the Heat win, well they were supposed to. If the Wiz pull off the upset I can say I called it).

 

Pistons over Pacers in 7

 

Spurs over Sonics in 6

 

Suns over Mavericks in 5

[Guest Vitamin X]

It'd be nice offering an explanation for why you think the Wiz will take the Heat to 7 games and beat them. I'd really like to see how well they can go against them.

[Styles]

Like I said, it's not scientific and maybe not realistic, but what's the fun in picking against your own team when they're already heavy underdogs? Think of it this way, it's like the odds for a fight, if it's SO lopsided in one fighters favor, sometimes it's a smart idea to bet on the underdog since anyone can win on any day. Now, granted, in this case they'd have to win 4 times. It's not likely to happen unless Shaq gets hurt, but this team has suprised me all year long and I'm not giving up hope on them.

[Styles]

The key will be to keep it close. Time and time again they've shown they can turn it on in the last few minutes of the 4th quarter but it needs to be kept close to get it to that point...

[Cuban Linx]

Miami Heat vs Washington Wizards

 

Heat in 5, 6 at the most. I like the Wizards but i don't see them really pushing Miami to the limit here, if Arenas and Hughes catch fire they can take a game or two but i doubt they can contain Shaq over a 7 game series.

 

Detroit Pistons vs Indiana Pacers

 

Detroit in 5, 6 at the most. Pistons were going to win here whether it was the Pacers or Celtics, at least facing Indiana gives the series a little bit of interest. If this is his final series fittingly Reggie Miller should hit a buzzer-beating 3 to win one game, but Detroit will win the series and give us the Eastern Conference finals matchup practically everyone called before the season even started. I also predict at least one bomb threat.

 

Phoenix Suns vs Dallas Mavericks

 

Phoenix in 5, 6 at the most. This is the dream series for anyone that likes high-scoring games, but Phoenix is the better offensive machine, after cruising past Memphis and Fallas going the distance with Houston the Suns will have more in the tank for this. Phoenix wins as both teams likely push 120 points every game.

 

San Antonio Spurs vs Seattle Supersonics

 

San Antonio in 5, 6 at the most. Actually i could see this going 7 if Seattle play against the Spurs like they did at the start of the regular season, but the playoffs are a different story, Seattle take a game or two but Duncan and friends pull it out in the end and give is the Western Conference finals matchup no one but maybe Suns fans predicted before the start of the season.

[Guest Vitamin X]

The key will be to keep it close. Time and time again they've shown they can turn it on in the last few minutes of the 4th quarter but it needs to be kept close to get it to that point...

They can definitely do that. Shaq is usually a non-factor late in games, and really, he's really not the key to Heat's overwhelming success this year. He's made everyone better on the team, but Wade was a really underrated (and apparently still is) superstar, and he's the one I see the Wiz having a hard time containing, aside from when Shaq gets in the low post.

 

Although O'Neal will be ANGRY~ because of 1. Not winning MVP, and 2. Dr. Buss' comments. So, watch out for that.

[iggymcfly]

There's enough predictions here that I doubt many people will read through all of them, but I'll throw mine in just for my own edification:

 

Pistons over Pacers in 7

Yes, the Pistons are a lot more talented than the Pacers, but I think Indiana will do a good job of holding their home court, and they should make the series closer than it deserves to be.

 

Heat over Wizards in 4

The Wizards have no answer for Shaq, no answer for Dwayne Wade, and a propensity to choke in tough situations. Easy series to pick here.

 

Spurs over Sonics in 5

The Sonics have had a nice year, but they're just not at the same level as San Antonio. Experience plus an increasingly healthy Tim Duncan should make it impossible for Seattle to compete.

 

Mavericks over Suns in 7

This is going to be a tough series, and it could definitely go either way, but if Dallas plays like they did in Game 7 against Houston they'll get the job done. Playoff experience is probably more crucial in the NBA than in any other sport, and it will likely make all the differnce here over the course of a long series.

[Guest Agent of Oblivion]

Heat over Wiz in 5.

-too many mismatches

 

Pacers over Pistons in 7.

-2 Early wins, good homecourt play, and pure luck.

 

Sonics over Spurs in 6 Very Ugly games.

-Spurs get out-uglied, and Duncan gets roughed up.

 

Suns over Mavs in 6.

-Good fast-paced series. Probably the most fun to watch unless you live in Indiana.

[Slayer]

Seems a little conspiratorial that we get Nash v. Nash's former team and Pacers-Pistons... but it'll get me to watch (at least with the latter), so I suppose it works

[bobobrazil1984]

East

-1- Miami vs -5- Washington

Miami in 5

 

-2- Detroit vs -6- Indiana

Detroit in 6 (maaaybe 7. I expect some road wins from both teams)

 

West

-1- Phoenix vs -4- Dallas

Phoenix in 7. Dynamite offensive series. I'll laugh at the defense though.

 

-2- San Antonio vs -3- Seattle

San Antonio in 6

[Styles]

Wiz/Heat are on now on ABC in case you forgot, I nearly did!!!

[Edwin MacPhisto]

What a great reacquisition Alonzo Mourning has been for Miami. I love seeing him back in the thick of things, and playing well to boot.

[Styles]

What a great reacquisition Alonzo Mourning has been for Miami. I love seeing him back in the thick of things, and playing well to boot.

I don't It almost seems unfair that they can sit Shaq and then just sub Mourning in there. Well, we're within 8, shooting 22% and Shaq has 2 fouls. Make of that what you will...

[Guest Rrrsh]

Pacers in 7 (Look for Oneal and Jackson to have carrer series. They always thought they got screwed in Detroit and make it their mission to win)

 

Heat in 5 (I think sweeps in second rounds are so tough. Wiz will win one at home)

 

Suns in 7 (God this will be a fun series. Home court makes me say Suns)

 

Spurs in 6 (Most underrated series, easy. Key is Lewis, he will be facing Manu all series, which I think is a massive mis match. If Lewis can be hot, and The Sonics bench works over Duncan, we could have an upset. I can;t count on that tho, but I sure wanna say Sonics)

[Styles]

YEEEEEESSSSSSSS! What a nice run. That inbound pass down to Arenas was sweet. We're down 2. Like I said, keep it close because the Wiz win close games...

[The Niggardly King]

Pistions in 7

Heat in 5

Suns in 5

 

for my upset pick I'll say the Sonics in 5.

[bobobrazil1984]

drawing fouls on Shaq to make him sit, the Wiz are gonna have do that all series long to have a shot.

 

edit: or not, since Miami is delivering a shellacking even without Shaq.

[Styles]

Well, no shock there. They really let it slip away in the second half. I really hope Jamison's ok and that his knee is better by Tuesday but I have a bad feeling about it. Well, they were down 0-2 to Chicago before coming back, so I'm not giving up hope yet. Remember they played the Heat all 4 times back in the first month of the season. So hopefully now they're familiar with their style of play and can make some adjustments in game 2...

[Guest Vitamin X]

Told ya guys Shaq isn't the only reason the Heat are there. The Wizzies starting five played them evenly, but having Mourning and the all of a sudden explosive Heat bench take care of business makes things interesting.

[razazteca]

At the end of the 1st Quarter the Spurs lead 35 to 24. I wonder if this game can go to 120-105 at the end or will it slow down to a 80-75 final score.

[razazteca]

Nice to see the Spurs having a 30 point lead at the half....I can't wait to see the halftime show with Charles Barkley saying MANU GINOBILI!