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alfdogg

NBA Playoffs 2007: Round 1

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IIRC, Kobe was a standout defender when the Lakers first started winning. When he started becoming a big-time scorer, though...I don't want to say he stopped trying, but you never really noticed him that much on that end. Much like McGrady when he got to Orlando.

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Man, that Rockets/Jazz game was intense. We really need to play that small line-up more, because when Yao was in the game, Boozer was getting to the basket every time. The big key to this game was at least keeping Williams out of the paint. Most importantly, the Jazz still haven't shown they can win in Houston, so I'm comfortable with this going to a Game 7. Although, it would just be better if T-Mac went off for 40 and put it away in Utah.

 

And it looks like the garbage in the East has been cleaned out. I wouldn't be surprised if NJ disposed Toronto tomorrow (though there's a decent shot of that one still going 6), leaving us with 2 interesting matchups in the East.

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Let me clarify my view on the Houston Rockets circa 1994-95. In no way am I saying their wins weren't legit. I mean it's not like the Spurs winning their first title in 1999 in a strike year, which I've always found a bit dubious (doesn't really matter since the Spurs were hardly a 1 hit wonder). Houston's main problem has always been a PR thing that boils down to two things:

 

1. They may have beaten the Suns, Spurs, Jazz, Knicks, and Magic, but they never beat the Jordan Bulls and thus history will never put them on as high of a level than if they had beaten the Bulls. This isn't their fault, it's just the way it is.

 

2. The Rockets were frankly a dull team and there were other teams that captured the public's imagination a lot more. The Suns, Magic, Knicks (as a heel), and even the Reggie Miller Pacers all were more interesting than the Rockets.

 

The 1994 playoffs were all about what the Knicks were doing. Namely the screwy way they finally beat the Bulls, then the crazed series against the Pacers, and then finally the Knicks getting their comeuppance against Houston in the Finals. The Rockets were just kinda the team that was there to beat them and people were like "Yay, those bastard Knicks finally lost!"

 

Hell, in 1995 the Rockets were kind of an afterthought up until the Finals. Most of the interest in those playoffs was for the Bulls/Magic series, and the Knicks/Pacers rematch. Considering the Rockets had to go through Utah, Phoenix, and San Antonio to get back to the Finals I don't think anyone much paid attention nationally until they actually DID get back and faced the Magic. That's quite the impressive run, but I think Phoenix choked big time against the Rockets that year. They were 12 games better in the standings, had home court, had a 3-1 series lead, and still blew it.

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There's a real lack of guards to pick from when choosing the defensive teams. Maybe they should just change the format to a straight pick-5.

 

Of the guards they put out there, I would have switched Kidd's and Kobe's places. Kobe only turns his play on the defensive end to the max when he's facing a premier player that Odom can't guard (rare) or the team is in desperate need of a stop. If he played hard defense all the time, Kobe on that first team would be a no-brainer. But he doesn't, so it's not.

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Guest Queen Leelee
You two are Knick fans all of a sudden?

I was a diehard Knick fan in my younger days. I heart Oakley and Mason. Then, when they got Spree, I hated the team. Now, for the Isiah days, I just laugh at them.

 

Edit: And Horry continues to be the only true "clutch" player in all of team sports.

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I know it's still early in his career but it might be time to start wondering about 'Melo's ability to win in the playoffs. Especially when Wade has a ring and LeBron's advancing in the playoffs with arguably a lesser set of teammates. Granted, the West is much tougher but this is 4 straight years now.

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I know it's still early in his career but it might be time to start wondering about 'Melo's ability to win in the playoffs. Especially when Wade has a ring and LeBron's advancing in the playoffs with arguably a lesser set of teammates. Granted, the West is much tougher but this is 4 straight years now.

 

It is sort of tough to win a series when you are not on the better team.

 

Wade and James have had homecourt and that makes a big difference.

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I know it's still early in his career but it might be time to start wondering about 'Melo's ability to win in the playoffs. Especially when Wade has a ring and LeBron's advancing in the playoffs with arguably a lesser set of teammates. Granted, the West is much tougher but this is 4 straight years now.

 

It is sort of tough to win a series when you are not on the better team.

 

Wade and James have had homecourt and that makes a big difference.

True, but at least he should be showing some progression right now. Denver has lost the last three 1st-round series in 5 games and it looks like this one will end in 5 as well. They didn't have home-court last year against the Clippers but they were the #3 seed and I believe should've at least given them a better series. Same goes for this year.

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I know it's still early in his career but it might be time to start wondering about 'Melo's ability to win in the playoffs. Especially when Wade has a ring and LeBron's advancing in the playoffs with arguably a lesser set of teammates. Granted, the West is much tougher but this is 4 straight years now.

 

It is sort of tough to win a series when you are not on the better team.

 

Wade and James have had homecourt and that makes a big difference.

True, but at least he should be showing some progression right now. Denver has lost the last three 1st-round series in 5 games and it looks like this one will end in 5 as well. They didn't have home-court last year against the Clippers but they were the #3 seed and I believe should've at least given them a better series. Same goes for this year.

 

 

Yes Denver was a #3 seed last year, but if you went by records they were the #8 team in the West.

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There's a real lack of guards to pick from when choosing the defensive teams. Maybe they should just change the format to a straight pick-5.

 

Of the guards they put out there, I would have switched Kidd's and Kobe's places. Kobe only turns his play on the defensive end to the max when he's facing a premier player that Odom can't guard (rare) or the team is in desperate need of a stop. If he played hard defense all the time, Kobe on that first team would be a no-brainer. But he doesn't, so it's not.

 

 

Baron Davis, Tracy Mcgrady, and Gerald Wallace(Wallace was the starting two guard for most of the year for the Bobcats) all would have been a better option over Kidd and Kobe. Josh Smith got moved to PF mid season so I guess you wouldn't place him there.

 

And really, what player wouldn't be a great defender if they played hard defense all the time? Thats exactly why Kobe shouldn't be on a all defensive team. Phil kept Kobe away from big time scorers even when Shaq was the focal point on defense. Teams would draw up their offense to go AT Kobe because he always gambled for steals or was always roaming around to court and would lose his man constantly, and he couldn't play a screen and roll for shit(still can't).

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Baron Davis, Tracy Mcgrady, and Gerald Wallace(Wallace was the starting two guard for most of the year for the Bobcats)

How many Bobcats games did you watch? Wallace started more games at power forward than he did at shooting guard.

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475097416_4877bae7a5.jpg

 

Baron on safari.

Well some ppl are already all up in arms because of the bullets in his hat

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Baron Davis, Tracy Mcgrady, and Gerald Wallace(Wallace was the starting two guard for most of the year for the Bobcats)

How many Bobcats games did you watch? Wallace started more games at power forward than he did at shooting guard.

 

 

Quite a few. That whole atlanta thing. BobCats, Grizzlies and atlanta alls the time. And he started ALOT of games at two guard before Matt Carol stepped up and did his thing. Right around the time Brevin Knight went down unti matts explosion in the last two months, it was Wallace at the two. Not counting that week of the Derek Anderson experiment.

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Well, they shoot horses don't they? Seems fitting considering the way the Mavs have been playing. They can't get out to prevent the Warriors from getting open three's, Dirk looks lost most of the time on offense AND defense, and Josh Howard seems to completely vanish from the gameplan in the fourth.

 

I don't know what is going on with them but I wish they would get it corrected. I knew this was the worse possible match-up for them but I thought they would at LEAST win the series. If they don't get going, there is going to be talk about Dirk's playoff disappearance AGAIN and how Avery Johnson can't get the job done in the playoffs.

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I have to agree with the "Jordan wasn't back in the groove in '95 crowd." Here are his numbers before, during, and after his return.

 

Pts:

93: 32.6

95: 26.9

96: 30.4

 

Stl:

93: 2.8

95: 1.8

96: 2.2

 

FG%

93: 49.5%

95: 41.1%

96: 49.5%

 

FT%

93: 83.7%

95: 80.1%

96: 83.4%

 

His other numbers were roughly the same, showing that while he stayed the same in some areas, in others he was considerably down from his usual "Jordanesque" numbers. He was mentally different too, I remember he didn't look right in '95 when he returned, and was definitely not the unstoppable player he was during the three-pears.

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I know it's still early in his career but it might be time to start wondering about 'Melo's ability to win in the playoffs. Especially when Wade has a ring and LeBron's advancing in the playoffs with arguably a lesser set of teammates. Granted, the West is much tougher but this is 4 straight years now.

 

It is sort of tough to win a series when you are not on the better team.

 

Wade and James have had homecourt and that makes a big difference.

True, but at least he should be showing some progression right now. Denver has lost the last three 1st-round series in 5 games and it looks like this one will end in 5 as well. They didn't have home-court last year against the Clippers but they were the #3 seed and I believe should've at least given them a better series. Same goes for this year.

 

If the Cavs had to play the Spurs or last year's Clippers, they wouldn't have gotten out of the first round either. Likewise, the Nuggets could've probably taken the inexperienced teams the Cavs drew in round one, and they would also sweep this year's Wizards.

 

Wade, though, has shown more leadership than both. Remember, before he got Shaq, he still carried the Odom/Butler Heat to the second round and put up a decent fight against top-seed Indiana.

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I have to agree with the "Jordan wasn't back in the groove in '95 crowd." Here are his numbers before, during, and after his return.

 

Pts:

93: 32.6

95: 26.9

96: 30.4

 

Stl:

93: 2.8

95: 1.8

96: 2.2

 

FG%

93: 49.5%

95: 41.1%

96: 49.5%

 

FT%

93: 83.7%

95: 80.1%

96: 83.4%

 

His other numbers were roughly the same, showing that while he stayed the same in some areas, in others he was considerably down from his usual "Jordanesque" numbers. He was mentally different too, I remember he didn't look right in '95 when he returned, and was definitely not the unstoppable player he was during the three-pears.

 

 

Um. No.

 

PLAYOFF NUMBERS(which is the real thing here because they got eliminated in the PLAYOFFS not regular season:

 

Pts:

93: 35.1

95: 31.5

96: 30.7

 

Stl:

93: 2.5

95: 2.3

96: 1.8

 

FG%

93: 50.0%

95: 48.0%

96: 48.0%

 

Rebounds

93: 6.7

95: 6.5

96: 4.9

 

Assist

93: 6.7

95: 6.5

96: 4.9

 

FT%

93: 86%

95: 80%

96: 81%

 

Minutes Played

93: 41

95: 42

96: 41

 

I don't see how you can argue that he wasn't the same unstoppable force putting up the same if not better numbers in 95 than he did in 96. The difference is that it was a better team in 96 than it was in 95 and THATS ALL. Dennis Rodman changed that team. He averaged 15 rebounds per game his first year with the bulls. In 95, Scottie pippen led the team with 8 rebounds per game followed by 6.7 by Will Purdue. In other words, Dennis rodman came in and out rebounded the Bulls top TWO rebounders from the year before.

 

So you took the most effecient team in basketball and added a guy that would get the rebound if they did miss. Thats how you win 70+ games and that is why the bulls were better the next year. Jordan, in the playoffs, gave pretty much the same performance.

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Another thing to remember is that they lost Horace Grant to Orlando in 95. So say they don't lose Horace that year and Jordan returns, does that push them past the Magic in that series? I won't say yes to that, but it would've been close. It also makes you wonder if they would've continued on to be as dominant with Horace instead of Rodman in those last three championships.

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Another thing to remember is that they lost Horace Grant to Orlando in 95. So say they don't lose Horace that year and Jordan returns, does that push them past the Magic in that series? I won't say yes to that, but it would've been close. It also makes you wonder if they would've continued on to be as dominant with Horace instead of Rodman in those last three championships.

 

 

Nah. The first three bulls championships were nearly as dominant as the last three(at least in the regular season). Plus, Grants back was on the decline already. And Dennis rodman was easily 3 times the player that Horace Grant was. I do think it is a good question though, about the 95 Bulls with grant. I think they might have taken the Magic. But they were just SO weak in the front court that year.

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I don't recall anyone on that Magic team that would've taken his spot at starting PF (the legendary Jon Koncak?) unless they went out and signed someone. So without him they may not even have made it that far. Anyways it was just a thought.

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Just finally saw this quote today and it's making me crazy:

 

"I got to take what they give me and they don't really give me a lot," said Nowitzki, who is averaging 20 points and has yet to score more than 23. "So I've got to make other stuff happen -- help out on defense more; hit the glass harder, as hard as I can, get some extra possessions; if I have a shot, try to knock it down and if I don't, move the ball and let someone else make a shot."

 

I think Avery Johnson needs to sit Dirk down and just make him watch some tape of himself winning playoff games. Show him Game 5 against Utah in 2001 when Dallas came back from a 2-0 series deficit and being down 14 in the 4th quarter of game 5 to win the series 3-2. Show him Game 7 against San Antonio last year when he scored 37 points to lead the Mavs to the road victory. Show him the game where he went off for 50 against Phoenix. The fact is that Dirk's capable of being one of the top two scorers in the league and he just needs to get rid of this stupid mental block so he can get the job done and lead the Mavericks past Golden State. If he sticks with this bitchy attitude of "there's nothing I can do to score on Golden State", the Mavericks are done.

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Another thing to remember is that they lost Horace Grant to Orlando in 95. So say they don't lose Horace that year and Jordan returns, does that push them past the Magic in that series? I won't say yes to that, but it would've been close. It also makes you wonder if they would've continued on to be as dominant with Horace instead of Rodman in those last three championships.

 

 

Nah. The first three bulls championships were nearly as dominant as the last three(at least in the regular season). Plus, Grants back was on the decline already. And Dennis rodman was easily 3 times the player that Horace Grant was. I do think it is a good question though, about the 95 Bulls with grant. I think they might have taken the Magic. But they were just SO weak in the front court that year.

 

I guess you could also make the argument that he had to do more with less, since the three peat teams were better, but I still remember watching him during the playoffs and thinking his game was off.

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Stephen Jackson on Barkley and T-Mobile

 

"The only reason Chuck won't put Dwyane on his 5 is because it's full. He got McDonalds, Burger King, Dominos, and it was Subway. But he cut that out so now he got Cinnabun. Oh and Krispy Kreme"

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This is the real Dirk Nowitzki and these are the real Dallas Mavericks. Golden State doesn't have the talent to match up with them when they're on their A game.

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Guest Richard McBeef

Shut it, Johnny Blackjack. We're rooting for the Warriors here, and they're gonna win this series.

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