NBA Playoffs 2007: Round 1

[alfdogg 0]

The Warriors are in Oakland, Czech.

[Guest Queen Leelee]

Sam Perkins. How can you forget him.

[alfdogg 0]

OK, my predictions:

 

Dallas in 5. Where to begin...how about the fact that the Warriors have won only 12 road games all season. That's the same road record as Atlanta and Boston. Only three teams had worse records on the road. How about the fact that they have a grand total of three players with real playoff experience, two of whom have historically sucked balls in the playoffs (Jackson and Harrington). But yeah, they can totally beat Dallas. Whatever.

 

Houston in 6. If you asked me this a week ago, I would have picked Utah. But the Rockets have been on a major roll (the Jazz not so much), and I think this is the year McGrady finally passes the first round.

 

San Antonio in 5. Seems like the same story we heard two years ago...the Spurs are getting older, the Nuggets finished the year on fire, blah blah blah. The result will be the same, as well.

 

Phoenix in 5. As said, Kobe's good for one game, maybe two. Then again, I said the same thing last year.

 

Detroit in 5. Probably should be a sweep, but after what happened the last time I predicted a sweep, I'll just play it safe.

 

Miami. Chicago really should win, but no way the greyshirts let Wade & the Heat go down in the first round.

 

Toronto in 6. This seems to be the sexy upset pick, but I just don't see it. Jefferson's not at full strength, Krstic (who was a BIG factor in the first round last year) is out, and this team is far superior to the Indiana team they barely got by last year (let me reiterate here that Stephen Jackson sucks in the playoffs). This is one series where I see youth coming out over experience.

 

Cleveland in 5. See the Detroit/Orlando explanation.

[Guest Richard McBeef]

The Warriors are in Oakland, Czech.

I know, but it's the San Francisco Bay Area. I'm not a fucking idiot.

[Ripper 0]

There was this one guy named Stephen Jackson that played a huge part in one of the Spurs championships and was one of the main guys (along with Speedy Claxton) that shot down the Nets in the NBA finals, after a couple of rounds of pretty damn good play. Wonder if he is related to the Stephen Jackson in Indiana, who you yourself have admitted offense doesn't suit his talents...hmmm.

 

And on one hand lets ingnore the regular season because those games don't really matter, but lets bring up a teams road record in the regular season to prove a different point.

 

I am talking about healthy team versus healthy team here and the Warriors matchup VERY well with the mavs. If they did get by the mavs they would have the shit kicked out of them by ANY other team in the West playoffs 2-7. At the same time, I think the Mavs can beat any team in the playoffs, but Golden State is the worse matchup for them. Every other team there is a huge spot to exploit somewhere, but where are the points to exploit against the Warriors....outside of them being the worse defensive team I have ever seen.

[starvenger 0]

For us Raptors fans this is the best/worst scenario possible. What's better: the chance to defeat Public Enemy #1 and basically define the franchise or a free ticket to round 2? I'd probably have preferred the free ticket (Washington). Ah well, still should be fun since apparently every Toronto playoff game is already sold out with even upper level tickets going for 4 times their face value on EBay (ALREADY).

Lucky me, then, that my cousin is a season ticket holder and not only am I not paying face value, I'm paying less than that. Unlucky me, they're green level seats. Overall, I'd feel a lot better if Garbo didn't break his leg. He's the best Raptor that you've never heard of if you don't follow them.

 

West

Dallas in 5

Phoenix in 5

San Antonio in 5

Houston in 7

 

(L)East

Detroit in 4

Cleveland in 4

Toronto in 7

Miami in 6

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

Just because they share the same bay doesn't mean Oakland considers themselves San Francisco. If anything, people I talk to from Oakland hates San Francisco. Call them Oakland if you must, but not San Francisco.

[Ripper 0]

For us Raptors fans this is the best/worst scenario possible. What's better: the chance to defeat Public Enemy #1 and basically define the franchise or a free ticket to round 2? I'd probably have preferred the free ticket (Washington). Ah well, still should be fun since apparently every Toronto playoff game is already sold out with even upper level tickets going for 4 times their face value on EBay (ALREADY).

Lucky me, then, that my cousin is a season ticket holder and not only am I not paying face value, I'm paying less than that. Unlucky me, they're green level seats. Overall, I'd feel a lot better if Garbo didn't break his leg. He's the best Raptor that you've never heard of if you don't follow them.

 

 

Watching them play, he just kinda seemed like a big guy with a nice, consistant stand still jumpshot. Not saying they don't miss him, because dude was important, but I didnt see him helping with much outside of clearing the paint out for Bosh with his accurate jump shooting.

[Guest]

The Warriors are going to win one game. They're going to look like the Mavs did when they had Don Nelson, but worse.

[Ripper 0]

people pretend the Mavs sucked under Nelson. Didn't they come close to going to the finals in a WCF matchup against the Spurs before Dirk went down with a knee injury and Nick Van Excel had to carry the offensive load?

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

people pretend the Mavs sucked under Nelson. Didn't they come close to going to the finals in a WCF matchup against the Spurs before Dirk went down with a knee injury and Nick Van Excel had to carry the offensive load?

 

The Spurs won the series 4-2, but it wasn't as close as you might think. San Antonio always has a habit of letting inferior teams steal a game or two instead of just going for the throat and sweeping. The only reason Dallas even made that WCF was because they got to play the Kings without Chris Webbber... and it sill took them seven games. They were good under Nelson, but never a threat to win anything because their defense was so wretched.

[cabbageboy 0]

You know, that lack of killer instinct from the Spurs is a major part of why I can't put them on any sort of All Time level as a team. They have never had some 2001 Lakers romp through the playoffs. They just sorta do enough to win a series 4-2 or 4-3.

 

Anyway here are my predictions:

 

Eastern Conference:

 

Detroit over Orlando in 5. No brainer really but the Pistons never, ever seem to sweep even the biggest jobbers. Orlando will maybe win one at home.

 

Cleveland over Washington in 4. If the Cavs are worth a damn they will squash the Wizards without Arenas and Butler.

 

New Jersey over Toronto in 7. This should be an interesting series, but in the end I suspect Vince Carter will stick it to his former team.

 

Miami over Chicago in 6. Just about like last year really, though I feel slightly odd about this pick somehow.

 

Western Conference:

 

Dallas over Golden State in 6. Some are predicting Mavs sweep, some are even saying the Warriors might pull off a shocker. It'll be somewhere in between.

 

Phoenix over Los Angeles Lakers in 4. The Lakers just can't beat the Suns, aside from Kobe they have no real serious options.

 

San Antonio over Denver in 6. Nuggets are playing pretty well, and as usual the Spurs don't go for the jugular.

 

Houston over Utah in 7. For some reason I just can't see the Jazz beating out McGrady and Yao, but this should be as even a series as there is in the 1st round.

[MFer 0]

Detroit over Orlando in 5. No brainer really but the Pistons never, ever seem to sweep even the biggest jobbers. Orlando will maybe win one at home.

Detroit's last sweep was in 1990 against the Pacers in the 1st round back when they were 5-game series.

[Kurt Angle Mark 0]

West:

 

Warriors over Mavs in 6

Rockets over Jazz in 7

Suns over Lakers in 5

Spurs over Nuggets in 6

 

East:

 

Pistons over Magic in 5

Bulls over Heat in 5

Cavs over Wizards in 5

Raptors over Nets in 7

[TheOriginalOrangeGoblin 0]

For us Raptors fans this is the best/worst scenario possible. What's better: the chance to defeat Public Enemy #1 and basically define the franchise or a free ticket to round 2? I'd probably have preferred the free ticket (Washington). Ah well, still should be fun since apparently every Toronto playoff game is already sold out with even upper level tickets going for 4 times their face value on EBay (ALREADY).

Lucky me, then, that my cousin is a season ticket holder and not only am I not paying face value, I'm paying less than that. Unlucky me, they're green level seats. Overall, I'd feel a lot better if Garbo didn't break his leg. He's the best Raptor that you've never heard of if you don't follow them.

 

 

Watching them play, he just kinda seemed like a big guy with a nice, consistant stand still jumpshot. Not saying they don't miss him, because dude was important, but I didnt see him helping with much outside of clearing the paint out for Bosh with his accurate jump shooting.

He's Toronto's "glue guy" who does a little bit of everything and always makes the second/third pass that sets up a basket. Very underrated player. I'd compare him to Shane Battier. He's also an elite defender which makes his loss pretty huge.

[Slayer 0]

This is tough for me, because on one hand, I want Cuban to do well this year and sell high so he can get the Cubs.

While not for the same reason, I still have holdover desire from last year to see Stern have to give the O'Brien to Cuban

 

Fuckin' junker Heat

[bobobrazil1984 0]

This Raptor/Nets series should be really interesting. A lot of Toronto fans think their team is for real (in terms of being able to beat Detroit/Miami/Chicago).

 

Well, the Carter-version Nets have been a historically mediocre team, and have gone out in a sweep and in 5 games last year. they dont seem any better this season. in other words, if the raptors are for real I expect a strong win this series.

 

Who's the woman doing commentary? she sounds familiar, I'm guessing she does college and/or wnba games?

[Black Lushus 0]

as I've stated before, I haven't been really into the NBA much since the 90s, and I have a question: did the playoff format change? why are the #5 Bulls hosting game 1 against the #4 Heat? Shouldn't the Heat have home court, being a higher seed?

[Mr. S£im Citrus 0]

Doris Burke. And yes, she does.

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

as I've stated before, I haven't been really into the NBA much since the 90s, and I have a question: did the playoff format change? why are the #5 Bulls hosting game 1 against the #4 Heat? Shouldn't the Heat have home court, being a higher seed?

 

Because the Bulls have a better record. They are only a lower seed because they didn't win their division as opposed to Miami, who won a weak division.

[Broward83 0]

(1) Dallas Vs (8) Golden State: Dallas wins 4 games to 3.

 

(4) Houston Vs (5) Utah: Houston in 5

 

(2) Phoenix Vs (7) L.A.: Suns in 5

 

(3) San Antonio Vs (6) Denver: San Antonio in 6

 

 

(1) Detroit Vs (8) Orlando: Detroit wins 4 games to 2

 

(4) Miami Vs (5) Chicago : Chicago wins 6

 

(2) Cleveland Vs (7) Washington : Cavs win in 4.

 

(3) Toronto Vs (6) New Jersey: Raptors in 6

 

 

 

If a Dallas V Houston match-up pans out, no fuckin way Dallas sweeps that series. It'll go atleast six...

[Just John 0]

Not a good sign for the Raptors today. The Nets got by with a weak game from Carter and Kidd missing most of his shots. RJ looked good and the Nets got good production from their role players like Moore and Nachbar. I guess one positive the Raptors can take away is that Bosh never got going (not sure why he didn't play so much in the 2nd quarter).

[Matt Young 0]

Bulls 96, Heat 91. Fantastic game.

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

Luol Deng has gotta be one of the most underrated players in the game, way he's playing now.

[Danville_Wrestling 0]

This Bulls-Heat series is going to be a pretty fun series to watch. Weird seeing Shaq getting fouled out but I see a more mature Bulls team that was able to hold off several Heat rallies to get the victory. ESPN & Reporters are busy asking Riley if he thinks the refereeing was fair, ROFL.

 

I'll be rooting for my Utah Jazz tonight. Not too excited about having to play the Rockets in round #1 but the West is full of teams that you probably never want to get paired against anyway so we'll see how this series works itself out. I'm just glad to be back in the playoffs for the first time since Stockton left town.

[The Robfather 0]

I guess the media thinks, unless the Heat are out shooting teams from the line by 12 attempts or so, then the refs are biased.

 

In any case, Heat shouldn't be complaining considering what happened in the finals last year. They haven't even lost a home game in this series yet. Bulls needed this game alot more than the Heat, I think. I still expect the Heat to win this series. Bulls almost gave this away, but Heat ran out of time.

[The Electrifyer 0]

Good win for the Bulls. Had my heart pumping at the end of that game when the 9 point lead was cut to just one.

 

I see in the Pistons game, Darko has gone from the Human Victory Cigar to Detroit to getting booed every time he touches the ball.

[TheOriginalOrangeGoblin 0]

Not a good sign for the Raptors today. The Nets got by with a weak game from Carter and Kidd missing most of his shots. RJ looked good and the Nets got good production from their role players like Moore and Nachbar. I guess one positive the Raptors can take away is that Bosh never got going (not sure why he didn't play so much in the 2nd quarter).

Foul trouble. And neither team showed up today with Dixon, Graham and Bargnani doing nothng although Graham played Vince well. Atleast the Raps got the jitters out of the way and could've easily won it if they could grab a rebound to save their life in the 4th.

 

For whoever questioned Jose Garbajosa's worth, I am certain that, had he played, the Raptors would've won. He excels in games like this especially when the Raptors can't get much going offensively.

[Just John 0]

I know Bosh picked up 2 in the 1st quarter, but usually a coach will still give his star significant playing time under those circumstances. With the way he was controlling the first few minutes, I'm surprised Mitchell didn't just throw him back out there when no one else was doing anything.

 

On another note, this Detroit/Orlando game sucks. The Magic look atrocious.

[Guest Vitamin X]

You said it. The Magic don't even look like they belong on the same court right now. Turnovers galore.