NBA Playoffs

[bookelly]

Bosh out indefinitely. Gives LeBron the excuse he was looking for to lose.

[OldDawg]

Watching the Lakers vs OKC game last night, I was wondering who was more regretful...

The 12 teams in 1996 who passed on Kobe, including the Cavs at #12...
1. Philadelphia Allen Iverson Georgetown
2. Toronto Marcus Camby Massachusetts
3. Vancouver Shareef Abdur-Rahim California
4. Milwaukee (1) Stephon Marbury Georgia Tech
5. Minnesota (1) Ray Allen Connecticut
6. Boston (from Dallas) Antoine Walker Kentucky
7. LA Clippers Lorenzen Wright Memphis
8. New Jersey Kerry Kittles Villanova
9. Dallas (from Boston) Samaki Walker Louisvile
10. Indiana (from Denver) Erick Dampier Mississippi State
11. Golden State Todd Fuller North Carolina State
12. Cleveland (from Wash.) Vitaly Potapenko Wright State
13. Charlotte Kobe Bryant Lower Merion HS
14. Sacramento Predrag Stojakovic PAOK (Greece)
15. Phoenix Steve Nash Santa Clara
16. Charlotte (from Miami) Tony Delk Kentucky
17. Portland Jermaine O'Neal Eau Claire HS
18. New York (from Detroit) John Wallace Syracuse
19. New York (from Atlanta) Walter McCarty Kentucky
20. Cleveland Zydrunas Ilgauskas Lithuania
21. New York Dontae' Jones Mississippi State
22. Vancouver (from Houston) Roy Rogers Alabama
23. Denver (from Indiana) Efthimis Rentzias PAOK
24. LA Lakers Derek Fisher Arkansas-Little Rock
Some good players in that group...

Or Portland, who drafted Greg Oden instead of Kevin Durant at #1.

I'll go on the record to say that I said drafting Oden over Durant was gonna be a mistake at the time. Oden looked like he was a 40 yr old physical wreck in college. I think Portland should have done a Danny Almonte check before they drafted him.

[StewieG]

IIRC, wasn't Kobe trying to force his way into a big market anyways? But still, Vitaly Potopenko...good lord. Coulda had Peja, Nash, or O'Neal. Hindsight is 20/20 and all that.

[Orenthal]

^yup. I remember watching a video on Prodigy :), and Vitaly was explaining how he was he Ukraine Train...

That was when the Cavaliers were stuck trying to replace Brad...

[googleeph2]

Coach Mike Fratello was asked about the draft after they picked Ilgauskas and Potapenko. He obviously had no idea. Was calling them "Iggy and Potty" hahaa


edit: Kobe was only 18, and wasn't Kobe yet. Nobody knew what he would become IIRC.

[YahooFanChicago]

.....come on, no one is even mentioning the Pacers/Heat series? What's the deal with that?

- no one gives a shit (unlikely)
- everyone too cool to care what happens to Lebron and the Heat?
- everyone is at the Tribe game (no, scratch that, it's over and no
one goes to those games any more any way)
- everyone at the Casino making Gilbert rich?
- everyone busy planning the bar location for next year's NFL draft?


WTF?

[e0y2e3]

No team is wearing shit and orange

[YahooFanChicago]

I am out of the country right now so I can't watch the games....are the Pacers just dominating in the paint and playing great D or what is happening?

[e0y2e3]

That and Wade and LBJ have 12 second half points. Hibbert is a freaking monster too.... just pure domination in this second half.

[e0y2e3]

and you might be able to get it on ESPN3.com

[YahooFanChicago]

It looks like the Heat have only taken about 12 shots in the paint since the begining of the 2nd quarter.

[e0y2e3]

Pretty much. This Miami team plays great team ball, but this is silly. Man if they get Eric Gordon and he gets healthy.....

[YahooFanChicago]

thanks eO.... who do you have winning this series?

[e0y2e3]

I'm at a fucking loss right now. This is beyond dumbfounding.

[YahooFanChicago]

I gotta go get some work done now but damn it looks like that game was a Jersey-style ass kicking. Lebron and Dwade a combined 12 for 35. Unbelievable.

[e0y2e3]

Wade looked dead most of the game and LBJ did his now three year old "disappear in the fourth if we are getting pushed around" act.

[OldDawg]

The only thing better than watching the Heat lose in the playoffs would be to see the Cavs knock them out of the playoffs. Win the Lottery and grab a sleeper at 24 and we are a lot closer to that... Then Gilbert would open up his pocket book for some FAs or trades.

[jerryroche]

"...They play the games for a reason..."

[e0y2e3]

One board and one dime for Blake tonight.... hustle is his thing......

[YahooFanChicago]

Old dawg, that would be very cool but as you alude to, we are light years away from that happening and it would take some real big breaks in the draft to make that a reality.

If it did happen someone would make a movie out of it. Hell, I'd go watch it. Billy Beane hasn't won shit and they made a movie about him and his A's so they could definitely do one about the Cavs. Wouldn't even need Gene Hackman to play Byron Scott or Brad Pitt to play Chris Grant.

Joe Pesci could pay Gilbert.

[comish]

I don't care that I'm bitter, stupid, or whatever...watching the Heat lose is just fantastic. You couple that with a Tribe come from behind win and that's a great sports day and a little cheerful whistling in the morning.

Is it possible that we are heading to a Grumpier Old Men death match between the Celts and Spurs? They forgot to read the memo that they are to old to be contending...BOTH of them

The NBA reg season is laborious (don't yell at me Eye), but the playoff are fun as hell, even without the Cavs.

LBJ

[Orenthal]

The Heat are being out muscled and out hustled. The rebound and second point stats were just silly. Indiana is utilizing Hibbert well and hasn’t been burnt too bad on the pick and roll. Also Indiana limited turnovers which led to few fast break opportunities for the Heat. Without Bosh LeBron is playing West on defense and you can just watch that battle going on down low, and it is one LeBron doesn't feel comfortable with and forces him to expend a lot of energy.

IOW this Miami team minus a key component just isn't tough enough in my opinion to persevere. They built it up to big thinking it would be simple fun time. Making fun of Dirk = KARMA!

[Orenthal]

Also Wade acts like such a bitch on the court with his psuedo tough guy bullshit (his stupid stares and giving the business to Spo) and tumbling act; I actually hate him more than LeBron

[e0y2e3]

On top of Bosh being hurt Haslem forgot how to play basketball like four months ago and he was supposed to be a core player for them, a guy that drains the 15 footer and gets the hussle hoops.

And I've hated Wade far more than LBJ for sometime. Even the shit last year, making fun of Dirk being sick, was all Wade then LBJ just mirroring his "big brother." This entire Miami thing was Wade's doing, LBJ just followed someone he looked up to... void of men in his life and stuff.

[Orenthal]

^agree. Never cared for Wade, but sans 2006 never really had to worry about him on this stage. Last year just re-ignited the hate. Good point on Haslem, nowhere to be seen really, replaced by Battier who forgot how to make 3's.

Dexter Pittman - Ronny Turiaf - Joel Anthony...

[Triple-S]

I'm watching it with one open eye, curious when one of the two will wake up and take over.

Is it bad I don't want to see San Antonio in the finals?

love Duncan, and respect him. Just they really drain a lot of the excitement out of the playoffs for me.

[CAVSTRIBEBROWNSin07!]

Then you haven't watched the 2011-12 Spurs much. They're not boring anymore.

[e0y2e3]

Then you haven't watched the 2011-12 Spurs much. They're not boring anymore.

Nope, they are the exact opposite of boring.

[Triple-S]

Then you haven't watched the 2011-12 Spurs much. They're not boring anymore.

Nope, they are the exact opposite of boring.

this is great to here. Would always get old to hear the old stand by from reporters going "Well, this is how basketball is supposed to be played! they play it the right way" none sense.

shamefully, I've been focusing more on the hockey playoffs.

Wanted to ensure that at least we'd have a shot at a good finals this year.

[e0y2e3]

Yeah, the Clippers series is the definition of good execution and coaching shitting on athletes that are shit basketball players. And now the Spurs are crazy exciting.

Not to mention that Danny Green, he of Cavs 2nd round draft pick (FERRY SUCKZ!!!) fame is now starting for them.....

[e0y2e3]

Yall just like OKC because they a bunch of hipsters yall can't be:

[noles1]

Just watched the Spurs and OKC games this morning as I was busy all day yesterday.

Spurs are just fantastic. Just a great offensive team and truly enjoyable to watch play and handle situations.

Don't see how teams playing can beat them four times. Still WC Finals will be really exciting to watch.

[e0y2e3]

This is the story of everything: http://www.bouncex3.com/2012/05/full-lo ... board.html

[dmiles]

Well that really sucked. Pacers couldn't get any meaningful stops and looked out of rhythm on offense. A dagger to the heart was needed, I'd love to see Miami out of the news cycle.

[e0y2e3]

This Celtics team, with Bass instead of Big Baby is infinitely more likable.

And that win tonight was pretty damn definitive. Talk about stepping on the gas.....

[peeker643]

This Celtics team, with Bass instead of Big Baby is infinitely more likable.

And that win tonight was pretty damn definitive. Talk about stepping on the gas.....

Casual fans are too quick to jump on every C's loss as a harbinger of their demise. It can get dicey, but no team knows how to accelerate and pace themselves like that team. And they have three legit killers. Maybe 2 1/2 if Allen isn't Allen. Maybe 3 1/2 if you think Rondo is past his late game panic moments.

[e0y2e3]

Allen is clearly still hurting, but Rondo was extremely aggressive in the fourth tonight, which is huge for them.

And Brandon Bass was a man-child. The Bass - KG duo has been unreal this playoffs.

[motherscratcher]

I'll preface this by saying that I rally don't give much of a crap one way or the other. I won't lose any sleep no matter what happens. But my preference is that LeDouche does not win a championship.

So, who matches up better with the Heat if they get past Boston? The Spurs or the Thunder?

[StewieG]

Spurs, I'd say. They play absurdly good team ball, and like to pass and share. And the Heat would have to put LeBron or Wade on Parker, because there's no way Chalmers is even able to slow him down. But I think both the Spurs and Thunder are capable of beating the Heat.

[e0y2e3]

Westbrook is the hardest PG not named Paul to guard in the league so meh.

It doesn't matter who wins, each team is ridiculously good and has the potential to beat Miami.

[YahooFanChicago]

I'll preface this by saying that I rally don't give much of a crap one way or the other. I won't lose any sleep no matter what happens. But my preference is that LeDouche does not win a championship.

So, who matches up better with the Heat if they get past Boston? The Spurs or the Thunder?

Why do you feel the need to preface it or soft talk this? Lebron is an entitled dick who kicked the city in the nuts on his way out of town. It's ok to have a Cleveland chip on your shoulder and hope that he falls on his face and loses.

You ask an interesting and valid question. Why soft talk it?

I question any real Clevelanders who say they don't care if he wins or not. Go ahead and hate and be a proud hater. It's free and it's your right.

[JCoz]

, I don't see the Heat being able to beat either one of the west teams. I think the Spurs are a bit better because they have pops and the Thunder are still a little green, but either way I'm not really buying the Heat being the team they've been the last three games for the rest of the playoffs. They will probably have a long series vs the C's, Bosh is still out indefinitely.

Really going to enjoy these last three series, last night was fantastic, missing my dvr and my HDTV being on vacation though, lol.

[motherscratcher]

Because the guy is fucking amazing and I like watching him play. I'll be happier if he loses, I guess, but it really doesn't matter to me. There's just so much more important shit than to waste energy obsessing over whether LeBron gets a ring.

That's not to say I don't enjoy the vitriol of haters like Raab, who is hilarious and I love. And it also doesn't mean that I don't get tired of guys like Nate Jones who doesn't let his browneye stray more than 9 inches from LBs cock, and spends 87% of his twitter timeline arguing with people who dare to say anything derogatory about LeKing.

Meh. I just don't really care any more.

And I prefaced the post because I wanted an answer to the question, not for it to turn into a discussion about how Clevelandfans can't let go etc, etc, blah blah blah.

And I got an answer. So that's col.

I honestly don't know yet who I'd prefer to win the west. Usually I find myself pulling for one team or another without consciously thinking about it, for reasons I can't explain. Hasn't happened yet.

[e0y2e3]

Because the guy is fucking amazing and I like watching him play. I'll be happier if he loses, I guess, but it really doesn't matter to me. There's just so much more important shit than to waste energy obsessing over whether LeBron gets a ring.

That's not to say I don't enjoy the vitriol of haters like Raab, who is hilarious and I love. And it also doesn't mean that I don't get tired of guys like Nate Jones who doesn't let his browneye stray more than 9 inches from LBs cock, and spends 87% of his twitter timeline arguing with people who dare to say anything derogatory about LeKing.

Meh. I just don't really care any more.

And I prefaced the post because I wanted an answer to the question, not for it to turn into a discussion about how Clevelandfans can't let go etc, etc, blah blah blah.

And I got an answer. So that's col.

I honestly don't know yet who I'd prefer to win the west. Usually I find myself pulling for one team or another without consciously thinking about it, for reasons I can't explain. Hasn't happened yet.

Yep.

[leadpipe]

My two least favorite teams are in the ECF. Eo, in no way can you say "likeable" about the Celtics Big Baby or not. If Garnett, the biggest phony tough guy in the history of sports snapped a leg tomorrow, well, that'd be a-ok with me. Fucking smug Rondo, Pierce...Christ.

Anyway, both teams have big issues in comparison to Okla and San Antone. The Celts - while they seemed to put age on the shelf a bit, I'm still not sure you're going to get the best games out of those guys for seven. Philly shoulda never got to seven, but if they play a team that can truly get them to seven, I don't think they're gonna make it. And they've got some pretty bad players eating up minutes. Christ, Ryan Hollins is still doing the same stupid shit - and he's bad. They miss their best perimeter defender as well - not just because of the D, but he eats up minutes they gotta give to someone else.

And Miami has the same shit, running out brand new starters two years into this thing. And I can't see what's left of Miller making it another couple weeks.

Probably too much star power for it to come down to this but.....could it come down to guys that suck, sucking less? Probably just a component.

Interesting series, but I think they're playing for second.

[e0y2e3]

I'll put it this way, I've always loved Pierce in the same way I have always loved Artest. Bulldogs of that sort are few and far between.

KG, well hating him is perfectly understandable (just so long as you admit he is probably a top 3 PF ever)... that said I'm amazed to be watching a guy in his 17th season in the league leading the playoffs in double doubles. Just a strange and somewhat amazing thing to watch.

As to Rondo, I watched the game Friday with an Oak Hill coach that had coached him in high school and he admitted he was a complete and utter asshole then and that he is still is. That said, there are probably two or three players in the league that are more fun to watch. The unpredictability keeps him interesting for me.

I'll never call the Celtics a likeable team, but there is something about the fact that they are supposed to be dead and are desperately trying to claw back that I find enjoyable. That and they do play the game the right way. Also, Perk + Big Baby on top of the other personalities really just pushed the needle to far for me.

I still figure they lose in five max, no Bradley is huge, Allen is clearly still hurt, Jermaine O'Neal dying means Hollins and Steitsma get minutes... etc. The Celtics deprth has been ravaged by injury. Not mention that in their first three games with the Heat this year they shot some absurd total of like 65% which is a complete and utter statistical anomaly (unless you are Pros, then it makes the C's the greatest team ever).

Also, Windhorst re: Pierce being LBJ's only true rival: http://t.co/UmK06SHk

[peeker643]

Two things, one of which I've previously mentioned concerning the Celtics.

The series could go 7 if the C's are to win. But that means the C's actually played 4 games. Never seen a team able to rest while the game/series is going on like them. They'll look like complete shit for three games of a series they win 4-3. Almost no margin for error that way, but obviously they don't have much anyway.

As to OKC or San Antonio, I prefer San Antonio for the reasons Stewie mentioned but also because the Thunder have just a little too much immaturity compared to the Spurs. You CAN get Westbrook and Durant distracted, even if it's for shorter periods of time now than ever before. They can pout for a few minutes and give up a run or two in a series. That may be the difference IN a series.

I'd take the Spurs if I had to defend against the Heat wining a ring this season even though physically I think OKC is the far superior choice.

[CAVSTRIBEBROWNSin07!]

I wasn't able to watch Spurs-Thunder live and my goddamn DVR errored out on me. Anyone have anything enlightening to offer about the game?

Recaps and box score make it seem like it was just "one of those nights" for the Thunder where no one could shoot straight. If that's the case I'd be worried if I'm the Spurs, as you're not getting that every night from the Thunder, and even with that you only won by 3.

Again - didn't watch, what am I missing?

EDIT: Also, DeJuan Blair hurt or something?

[e0y2e3]

Zach Lowe ‏@ZachLowe_SI
I'm re-watching these possessions in slow-mo, and I'm not even sure what OKC is supposed to do, other than, "Be perfect and trade for KG."

Yup

[pup]

Every time I watch the Spurs, I spend the first 10 minutes thinking they are out of control, driving to the hoop, getting lucky to find a kick out guy available, drive again, get lucky to find another kick out option...


Then the light bulb goes off and I remember, at times like last night, they play perfect offensive basketball and it is a thing of beauty. Nobody is ever in more control than they are, nobody is ever in the perfect location to receive the kick out pass as they are and nobody is more deadly once they work it around and end up with a wide open look. They are as close to watching a clinic on offensive hoops as anyone could ever be.

OKC is too good at home. And Miami/Boston will surely take a game, but if anyone gave you the impression they could pull off 4-4-4-4...it is these San Antonio Spurs.