NBA Conference Finals

[alfdogg 0]

Predictions:

 

Detroit in 7. The Heat, namely Antoine Walker, impressed me with the way they handled the Nets, but not enough for me to say they can beat the Pistons. It'll be a more competitive series than some will probably expect, but the Pistons go back to the Finals again.

 

Dallas in 6. The Mavs have got to be feeling like they can beat anyone in the world right now, and I just think they roll the Suns this time around. We're back to every other day now, and Nash isn't playing old man Sam anymore. He's going to run out of gas, and he can't get away with that against guys like Terry/Daniels/Harris.

 

Of course, I've been wrong before. Like three times out of four in the last round.

[alfdogg 0]

Here's the schedules:

 

Eastern Conference Finals

 

1. Detroit vs 2. Miami

G1: @ Detroit, Tue, May 23 (draft lottery as well)

G2: @ Detroit, Thu, May 25

G3: @ Miami, Sat, May 27

G4: @ Miami, Mon, May 29

*G5: @ Detroit, Wed, May 31

*G6: @ Miami, Fri, June 2

*G7: @ Detroit, Sun, June 4

 

Games 4 & 7 will be on ABC, the rest on ESPN, all at 8:00 ET.

 

 

Western Conference Finals

 

4. Dallas vs 2. Phoenix

G1: @ Dallas, Wed, May 24

G2: @ Dallas, Fri, May 26

G3: @ Phoenix, Sun, May 28

G4: @ Phoenix, Tue, May 30

*G5: @ Dallas, Thu, June 1

*G6: @ Phoenix, Sat, June 3

*G7: @ Dallas, Mon, June 5

 

All games on TNT, 4 & 6 at 9:00 ET, the rest at 8:30 ET.

[Just John 0]

Predictions:

 

Detroit d. Miami (6): I badly, badly want Miami to win, but I just don't see it happening. The Pistons know how to defend Shaq, and even though Wade is awesome, the Heat don't have another consistent offensive threat. The only redeeming quality of this series is that it can't end with SA/DET waiting to happen.

 

Phoenix d. Dallas (6): Somewhat of an upset pick, but I like the way Phoenix matches up offensively. I'm not convinced Dallas has enough D to stop the Suns. Also, Dallas doesn't have any major inside presence to speak of (like Elton Brand), but they do have lots of guys who like to take mid-range jumpers... I think that means a Suns basketball series. Should be fun to watch at the very least.

[Guest Princess Leena]

Detroit in 6. Miami is going to have to rely on Wade having super performances to win. I don't think he can do it enough.

 

Dallas in 5. I don't see Phoenix being able to stop Dallas defensively, at all. And, I'm just tired of the Suns run around here. Homers talk like they're great... but they barely beat two of the weakest teams in the playoffs... I think there's a rude awakening here.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

Detroit in 7. Detroit is a much better team than Miami, but there are two things that have scared me watching this team in the playoffs: 1. the team's focus and 2. Flip Saunders. If Cleveland can push it to 7 games, Miami will to but in the end the better team always wins out.

 

Dallas in 6. This one shouldn't go past five, but I could see Phoenix' offense pushing them through a couple of times. Tha gap in talent here is a lot bigger than most people realize and Dallas really stepped it up in the San Antonio series.

[bobobrazil1984 0]

Detroit in 6. I don't believe Miami has the perimeter defensive ability to do what Cleveland did. They just don't have the personnel for it. J-Will and Shaq/Zo switching on picks in the backcourt? lol. Please. Of course there's always the chance Flip Saunders will wait until Game 5 or 6 before he realizes "hey, they can't do that!" and exploit.

 

Dallas in 6. Dallas has the offense and the defense. they're for real folks. Last year's Suns coulda taken em, not this year's. I actually think Dallas will go up a few games, 2-1 or 3-1, then lose their second, and close it out in 6.

[Brett Favre 0]

Since when were the Clippers a bad playoff team? They are arguably the 4th best team in the West, and 6th best team overall (arguably). They had Sam Cassell, Elton Brand, Corey Maggette, Livingston, Mobley, Kaman, I mean they are an alright group. The Suns/Mav series should be decided by tempo.

[Guest Coffey]

Detroit in six over Miami - At the beginning of the post-season, I prediction Dallas/Detroit in the Playoffs. I want Detroit to lose, I don't mind being wrong, but I still think it's going to be Detroit/Dallas in the finals. Hopefully, I'm wrong. I'd like something new. At least the Spurs got eliminated.

 

Dallas in six over Phoenix - Dallas is playing good and Nash is hurt. That's not to say that Phoenix hasn't been playing well, even with Nash hurt, but if the Lakers can take them to seven games and the Clippers can take them to seven games, then Dallas should be able to beat them.

[Dangerous A 0]

Detroit in 7- Miami is definitely going to take one of the first 2 in Detroit. Either game 1 because they had the rest or game 2 because fatigue is going to catch up to Detroit for playing 7 with the Cavs. I think Detroit will win game 1 though, Miami will take the next 2, Detroit takes game 4 to tie, then the home teams wins out the rest of the series.

 

 

Dallas in 5- I'd like this to go longer, but I think the high of knocking off the Spurs will give Dallas a ton of positive momentum and propel them to the Finals. Dallas can shoot it out with the Suns, they just can't do it for the entire series. They'll pick and choose their spots of when to go shot for shot. The difference here is Dallas can get a stop if the game is close. Phoenix is good for one on their floor.

[iggymcfly 0]

Bumping the thread to officially put my playoff picks in (Dallas in 5, Miami in 7), but mainly to point out the new sig. Thank god someone in the mainstream media noticed how hard Bavetta tried to fuck the Mavs last night.

 

EDIT: Yeah, that's the problem with changing your sig in the middle of a Simmons column. It's easy to find something else that you need to add.

[Damaramu 0]

Steve Nash was more valuable during the regular season which is what the award is for. Nowitzki will probably be finals MVP(i'd say easily actually) if they go all the way.

[Guest Vitamin X]

I'm sticking with my original prediction of course (that being a Dallas-Detroit Finals). However, if Phoenix wins this, it would be fitting that they do it in 7 games. Last year's best series arguably was the Phoenix-Dallas series, and this year looks to be even better. I think Dallas takes it in 6, though.

 

As for the East, it's a total crapshoot, and I have a feeling we'll get surprised by who wins in what fashion. Detroit looks like they have a chink in their armor after almost facing elimination from a team they should have annihilated, and the Heat won in 5 games against a team they looked like they were pretty even with. Funny how short a memory we can have sometimes. Think back to the first round and now how these guys got here. Remember how Miami had an unbearably hard time against a team they should have whooped also? The Heat nearly imploded at times against Chicago, and playing games at the Palace, especially considering the Pistons have homecourt, isn't going to be good for them. Also add to the fact that Detroit's all of a sudden rediscovered their tenacity on defense when their backs were against the wall, and to be honest, I just don't have a whole lot of respect for Miami and their aging, ego-driven squad. The Pistons whipped a similar version of this team in 04 with the Lakers, now you have Wade in place of Kobe, and Antoine Walker + Jason Williams in place of Karl Malone and Devean George, and Pat Riley in place of Zenmaster Phil. I'm calling, and hoping for a repeat of the same thing this time around with the Pistons being a complete mismatch on offense for the Heat.

 

Both Dallas-Detroit or Phoenix-Detroit would be great series. Dallas has found out how to play defense, and they have the offensive weapons to match the Pistons, and the Suns-Pistons was the matchup I was hoping for last year before San Antonio went in and fucked everything up. It may not be as good this year without Amare, but the Suns are a very interesting, particularly resilient, battle-tested squad that you just can't count out no matter what. All three of those teams would deserve being called champions.

 

Question for the Suns, though.. Is Kurt Thomas going to be healthy enough and contribute enough in the series to make a difference? I didn't get to watch Game 7, but I heard a rumor he was supposed to play in it.

[naiwf 0]

Simmons speaks the truth. Dirk should have won the MVP and Dick Vendetta lived up to his first name once again. The NBA really needs to get rid of these officials who try to make themselves the most important person on the floor.

[chaosrage 0]

Bumping the thread to officially put my playoff picks in (Dallas in 5, Miami in 7), but mainly to point out the new sig. Thank god someone in the mainstream media noticed how hard Bavetta tried to fuck the Mavs last night.

 

EDIT: Yeah, that's the problem with changing your sig in the middle of a Simmons column. It's easy to find something else that you need to add.

 

"Nash only played two good games in [the Clippers] series -- Games 1 and 7 -- and the Suns still won the series. If Nowitzki goes 2-for-7 against the Spurs, Dallas is going home right now. So who's more valuable? You tell me."

 

I know this is just saying the obvious, but wow, Bill Simmons is a fucking retard.

 

1. The MVP award is for the regular season, in which there's no question that Nash was more valuable.

2. Nash has really been playing injured for awhile. Players do get injured. Few hurt players could play 13 games without any breaks and not get tired.

3. In every game in this series, Nash has played good. He has only played a fantastic MVP performance for 2 of them, but they were all good. Let's take his game 6 loss. He had 17 points and 11 assists. So he was responsible for a minimum of 39 points. How is that not a good game? I would say that's easily comparable to most of Dirk's performances in his series.

[iggymcfly 0]

"Nash only played two good games in [the Clippers] series -- Games 1 and 7 -- and the Suns still won the series. If Nowitzki goes 2-for-7 against the Spurs, Dallas is going home right now. So who's more valuable? You tell me."

 

I know this is just saying the obvious, but wow, Bill Simmons is a fucking retard.

 

1. The MVP award is for the regular season, in which there's no question that Nash was more valuable.

2. Nash has really been playing injured for awhile. Players do get injured. Few hurt players could play 13 games without any breaks and not get tired.

3. In every game in this series, Nash has played good. He has only played a fantastic MVP performance for 2 of them, but they were all good. Let's take his game 6 loss. He had 17 points and 11 assists. So he was responsible for a minimum of 39 points. How is that not a good game? I would say that's easily comparable to most of Dirk's performances in his series.

 

Who's the retard here? In what universe is there no question that Nash was more valuable in the regular season? He was one of the most controversial MVPs in recent memory. After the regular season, I had Nash at fourth, Simmons had him in fifth, and less than half of the MVP voters actually gave him first. Really, he didn't put up the numbers to warrant MVP consideration this year, especially when you factor in what a complete liability he is on the defensive side of the ball. He was only given the award because he outplayed his MVP season, even though Dirk, Kobe, and LeBron all had breakthrough seasons which were much better than anyone's season the year before.

 

Oh, and here are Nash's point totals for games 2 through 6: 14, 12, 8, 17, 17. Nash didn't shoot over 50% from the field in one of those games. That's just not what an MVP does on a big stage. That's what an above average point guard does who counts on the rest of his team to provide scoring. Nowitzki, meanwhile, shot over 50% from the floor in five out of the seven games, scored at least 20 points in every game (averaging 27+), and averaged over 13 rebounds per game for the series, all against the best defensive team in the conference. The fact is that when the players really need to perform, you can see who was really the most valuable to his team.

 

Really, the emergence of Diaw and Barbosa was how the Suns replaced Amare this year, and believe it or not, Nash didn't make them good players by himself with magic pixie dust. They developed because they're 23 and 24 year olds that are just learning how to play the game at the highest level. If you want to measure Nash's impact, look at Marion. His stats are almost exactly the same as they were before Nash got there. I'm not saying that Nash doesn't make his teammates somewhat better, but his impact is vastly, vastly, overrated. He's more comparable to Chauncey Billups than he is to Magic Johnson. He's the key player on a team that plays well together in their system. If you really want to go on the makes teammates better argument, Dallas lost Nash and Finley over the last two years, and the Mavs have similarly replaced them with young players that Nowitzki's helped develop such as Devin Harris, Marquis Daniels, and Josh Howard. Do you remember Jason Terry playing like this with the Hawks? I certainly don't. Having that primary scoring option to lean on has helped him perform at levels that he never dreamed of two years ago.

[alfdogg 0]

Portland falls from first to fourth. Down to the Bulls, Bobcats and Raptors for #1.

[naiwf 0]

Miami does not look rusty thus far. 9-0.

[CanadianChris 0]

Nice start for the Heat. 9-zip.

 

I still can't see Jim Gray without remembering his epic interview with Chad Curtis.

[Guest]

Miami is going to hurt Detroit in this series. They have the options that they were lacking in order to beat Detroit last year.

 

Plus, they can't contain Shaq.

[Dangerous A 0]

D-Wade put it down in the 1st! 6-6 from the field.

[Dangerous A 0]

And just like that the Pistons are back in it.

[bobobrazil1984 0]

the Heat weren't gonna shoot 75% all game. the other thing is, they were just blowing past the defenders and getting wide open layups and shots, which is also pretty rare, and they didn't get the advantage of their defenders getting fouls called on them because of it. I expect it to stay close till the end, but the Heat have energy still. The rest did em good i think.

[CanadianChris 0]

Detroit should have the lead by halftime with both Shaq and Wade in foul trouble. Possibly a healthy one.

[bobobrazil1984 0]

or not. lol. in fact, miami is playing more of a team game without the superstars in.

[CanadianChris 0]

Yeah, good on Miami's bench for stepping it up.

[Damaramu 0]

If Detroit loses this it has to be b/c of Saunders. They're a way better TEAM than Miami.

[Damaramu 0]

Or maybe b/c their stars can't drop it in the ocean.

[chaosrage 0]

Who's the retard here? In what universe is there no question that Nash was more valuable in the regular season? He was one of the most controversial MVPs in recent memory. After the regular season, I had Nash at fourth, Simmons had him in fifth, and less than half of the MVP voters actually gave him first. Really, he didn't put up the numbers to warrant MVP consideration this year, especially when you factor in what a complete liability he is on the defensive side of the ball. He was only given the award because he outplayed his MVP season, even though Dirk, Kobe, and LeBron all had breakthrough seasons which were much better than anyone's season the year before.

 

In what universe is a landslide win controversial? Last year's win was controversial because he barely edged out O'Neal. Having 57 1st place votes while Lebron has 16 and Dirk has 14 is not controversial in the slightest. Look at the stats for the regular season. Nash has better field goal percentage (.512 to .48), better three point percentage (.439 to .406), better free throw percentage (.921 to .9). While Dirk has him beat on points scored (26.6 per game to 18) and rebounds (9 per game to 4.2), Nash more than makes up for it in assists (10.5 to 2.8). Even when he isn't getting assists or scoring points, he still draws in defenders, frees players up, and creates plays on practically every possession. All of the assists and constantly giving his teammates open looks at the basket has the added effect of increasing their confidence and making them a part of the game. You're kidding yourself if you think Diaw or Barbosa would be playing anywhere as good without him. Dallas is also a much deeper team. They don't have to rely as much on Dirk and always go to him as the Suns do with Nash. Nash pretty much is the Suns.

 

Oh, and here are Nash's point totals for games 2 through 6: 14, 12, 8, 17, 17. Nash didn't shoot over 50% from the field in one of those games. That's just not what an MVP does on a big stage. That's what an above average point guard does who counts on the rest of his team to provide scoring. Nowitzki, meanwhile, shot over 50% from the floor in five out of the seven games, scored at least 20 points in every game (averaging 27+), and averaged over 13 rebounds per game for the series, all against the best defensive team in the conference. The fact is that when the players really need to perform, you can see who was really the most valuable to his team.

 

Yes, Dirk has played better in this second round. But I don't think it's that much better as you're making it out to be. Okay, in game 6, Nash made 6 out of 16 while in Dirk's game 6, he made 9 out of 16. That's just 3 more baskets. Nash still made 11 assists. It's not a MVP performance, but it's not exactly bad either.

[naiwf 0]

In what universe is a landslide win controversial? Last year's win was controversial because he barely edged out O'Neal. Having 57 1st place votes while Lebron has 16 and Dirk has 14 is not controversial in the slightest. Look at the stats for the regular season. Nash has better field goal percentage (.512 to .48), better three point percentage (.439 to .406), better free throw percentage (.921 to .9). While Dirk has him beat on points scored (26.6 per game to 18) and rebounds (9 per game to 4.2), Nash more than makes up for it in assists (10.5 to 2.8). Even when he isn't getting assists or scoring points, he still draws in defenders, frees players up, and creates plays on practically every possession. All of the assists and constantly giving his teammates open looks at the basket has the added effect of increasing their confidence and making them a part of the game. You're kidding yourself if you think Diaw or Barbosa would be playing anywhere as good without him. Dallas is also a much deeper team. They don't have to rely as much on Dirk and always go to him as the Suns do with Nash. Nash pretty much is the Suns.

 

I don't recall a single game the Suns have played this postseason where Nash was their best player from start to finish. Granted, I didn't see either game 7, but Diaw, Barbosa, Thomas and Marion have all shone much brighter than anyone on Dallas' supporting staff with the exception of Terry. There's no other team in the postseason that would win a 7 game series if their "best" player was playing like shit for at least 4/7 of the games.

 

Detroit has been a horrible, horrible offensive team in all of the games I've seen this postseason. I really don't want to see these guys win another title.

[Ripper 0]

Peopls seriously stop with the Nash debate thing. Once anyone names Kobe as being a MVP over Nash their opinion becomes null and void honestly.

 

Dirk, Nash, Billups...you couldn't have gone wrong with any of them. Between Dirk and Nash, to pretend that there is no reason to name either of them MVP is pure stupidity. They both had MVP seasons. They both have had great post season. They are both in the same place. They both got ALOT of help from supporting cast (unless you don't count Stackhouse, Terry and Howard). Nash won it. End of story.