any other NBA fans? playoff thread!

[Neal Clayton]

1) lakers = impressive. but utah being soft is alot of that. we'll really see what the lakers are about against houston.

2) denver = impressive. i wasn't a big fan of the chauncey trade from detroit's side, but it made a huge impact in denver. unfortunately for my hornets, the posey trade didn't really work out like they planned, i think they should've continued to develop julian wright, and dealt peja off for younger role players instead. oh well, there's next year.

3) atlanta = very impressive. it's fun to watch joe johnson's development in the NBA. giving him the money they gave him coming from phx was a gamble, but it has paid off. nice to see a local product do well too, being from arkansas.

4) the sixers? the bulls? really? derek rose is another wise gamble apparently. i don't think the sixers win that series, and in fact i'll go ahead and call the magic over cleveland when we get to that point. yeah it may be different with garnett, and yeah the dallas series may be different with ginobili, but the bulls at least still deserve alot of credt for that win considering their youth.

[Jim O'Dell]

Which team will show up for Dallas tonight? I feel bad for the Spurs. They ended up at the show without all their players. Yeah, all teams have to deal with injuries, but theirs seem to have hit at the end of the season. Thank goodness the Mavs are just about healthy just in time.
Watched a little of a few of the other games. Wish the Denver game hadn't been so late. Jim.

[Neal Clayton]

the denver game was a game for one half, but chauncey was on fire (8/9 from three, 36 points), and chris paul could only carry the hornets for one half. david west was completely ineffective.

[Greg Peterson]

Neal, I'll give you the fact that Portland looked horrible against Houston Saturday night. But I'm not ready to concede the series just yet.

Blazers showed their youth big time in game 1. How they come out and play in game two will be very telling. It has been fun watching this team mature and develop a personality. Despite how this season ultimately turns out, the future is very bright.

I use to be a Celtics fan, but that was back in the 70's and 80's. Danny Ainge took a gamble and got a championship last season. But the window on a repeat is very, very narrow and they aren't getting any younger. This is their last chance to reach for the ring.

Sixers and Bulls are pretty exciting to watch.

I could go on and on, but there are some real surprises developing in the first round.

[Jacob Mac]

I am a big Blazers fan, but this probably isn't their year. I think they will take their lumps and learn that playoff basketball is played at a completely different level. It would probably help them to have a few seasoned veterans on the team to help the young guys out. But they are going to be very good for quite some time.

[Neal Clayton]

yeah i don't deny the fact that the blazers have done a very good job of rebuilding that team, but youth shows in the playoffs, it'll take another year or two before they push past the first round and threaten to get to the conference finals. we saw the same thing with atlanta last year. last year they were an upset threat, this year they'll get out of the first round, next year, who knows.

[Robert McGowen]

Got up early and picked up tickets to the Spurs Game 5. Now I just have to wait until noon when the teenagers roll out of bed to tell them about it. :o

[Chris Padilla]

Naw, don't follow NBA at all....

[Neal Clayton]

do me a favor and call chauncey and tell him he's not supposed to be that good anymore, CP3 is supposed to be the superstar here :D

[Greg Peterson]

If only Dumars hadn't let Billups go for a song and a dance. If only..........

[Chris Padilla]

do me a favor and call chauncey and tell him he's not supposed to be that good anymore, CP3 is supposed to be the superstar here :D

CP3 may be the up and coming PG in the NBA (perhaps even the best) but Chauncey may be the best post-season PG in the NBA. :)

[Tim Morton]

Celtics looked pretty good last night...although i was afraid we were going to have to score 150 points just to stay in the game:eek:

[John Fricke]

I'm a sad Pistons fan...:confused:. We fired a decent coach (Flip) to hire a coach with no experience. We traded our most beloved player for a malcontent. Sheed has lost it completely. I'm not real sure what Dumars is up to, But there is a lot of rebuilding to do on this team.

[Greg Peterson]

Sheed is such a waste of potential. The man could have been a superstar, but he lacks the instinct or desire.

When he first came to Portland he was amazing. But his temper really got the best of him and he spent most of his time here pouting. He wouldn't even talk to the beat writers. In the end he became very difficult for the Blazers to put out there as a representative of the franchise. His two quote while here were, "sign the check" and "just playing ball". First class jerk.

Denver pulled off one the better trades in recent season. Dumping AI (please, AI, retire) and getting Billups in return. That's the kind of trade that gets GM fired on one side and contract extensions on the other end.

Blazers are playing tougher tonight. I swear the ref's just give Oden a foul for walking on the court. Hopefully next season they start lightening up on the guy. Never been a big fan of the NBA star system, but I guess it works for them.

[Neal Clayton]

I'm a sad Pistons fan...:confused:. We fired a decent coach (Flip) to hire a coach with no experience. We traded our most beloved player for a malcontent. Sheed has lost it completely. I'm not real sure what Dumars is up to, But there is a lot of rebuilding to do on this team.

i think that's exactly what he's up to.

if they were going to be a threat to boston, they would have done it last year.

sheed and whoever plays next to him obviously aren't good enough, especially with dwight howard coming up and KG in the east.

so detroit's best option was to start dealing players and rebuilding.

however i don't know why they went after AI. they could've gone with stuckey and dealt chauncey for draft picks if that's what they really wanted to do.

[Chris Padilla]

Billups, The General, leading again...31 last night. I honestly thought NO would be able to shut him down a little bit but he simply did other things and still got his points. I don't think anyone on the Hornets can guard Billups.

Melo had a quiet 22 points but 9 assists so nearly a double-double. The Nuggets are looking good...very exciting basketball in Denver! Now on to New Orleans for the next 2...we should split and come home to take round 1. :D

[Neal Clayton]

the hornets struggled with detroit when chauncey was there for the same reason. he's too big for CP3 to guard, if they put CP3 on him they'll just post him. and the hornets lack a consistent 2 guard.

[Lee DeRaud]

The Lakers are (as usual) playing down to their competition. :eek:

This is probably a good thing: if they actually played up to their potential, most of their games would be pretty boring. :p

[Chris Padilla]

I didn't cath the LA/UT game until the very end but it was nice to see UT at least get one win. Like most teams, LA struggles at the Salt Palace but Kobe did get a shot off at the end...just wasn't very close.

[Jim O'Dell]

The Mavs showed up all at the same time for a change...question is: Can they make that the norm, or will it be 2 on 8 off again? Jim.

[Neal Clayton]

on a side note, did anyone see these during last year's playoffs?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8NcET64lUI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1ewIkVRdEo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uOnCRzBrgg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwTDPvXszhw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uiI58ZDSiQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FLgNogO53c

[Chris Padilla]

Wow...how about that PASTING the Nuggets put on CP3 and Co...in NO!

121-63...a 58 point win.

I feel pretty comfortable that the Nuggets will get the 5-6 year monkey off their backs about being one and done in the first round of the NBA playoffs.

LA moved on and while they are good...very good...they aren't perfect either and can give up large leads.

[Neal Clayton]

yeah, and despite the huge loss, there are bigger fish to fry in new orleans.

tyson chandler and peja sojakovic are decent on paper, but not playoff caliber players, and they're due to make huge money next year so the hornets will have trouble dealing them off.

david west and CP3 are the only players on the floor on any given night that should be starting in the NBA playoffs.

last year janeiro pargo and julian wright helped quite a bit on the second string, but pargo is gone to play in europe and julian wright read too much into his own success, he's actually devolved since his rookie year.

if i were the lakers i'd be scared of the nuggets at this point. lamar odom can't keep up with melo every night. birdman will give pau gasol trouble. and while derek fisher is more chauncey's size and can guard him, i don't know if he can do it for 7 games either.

[Chris Padilla]

So the Nuggets, assuming they win the series tonight in Denver, will face Dallas in the 2nd round.

The Nuggets were 4-0 over the regular season facing Dallas so I like our odds. None of the wins were HUGE and Dallas had some starters out for a couple of the games as did the Nuggets but we took 'em all regardless.

Chauncey has the Nuggets focused...pure and simple.

[Greg Peterson]

Denver is playing some inspired ball right now. So is Dallas.

Sure San Antonio is beat up, sore and missing Manu, but the Spurs are a veteran team and they know how to win in the playoffs. They didn't hand the series to Dallas.

I think Denver and Dallas will be an interesting matchup. Kidd and Billups will be fun to watch.

Blazers pulled out an impressive win last night. Aside from the first game, Portland has played Houston tough. The teams are pretty evenly matched.

And Rondo should have been called for a flagrant at the end of last nights game. Just plain dirty. If that had happened on a play ground there would be some serious problems. That kind of play doesn't belong in the game. Boston has made a living out of stuff like that. Go Chicago.

[Neal Clayton]

neither does the dwight howard elbow. thankfully the league stepped up and gave him a game off for that one.

[Chris Padilla]

Whoo-hoo! Denver's 5-6 year monkey is off their back.

Now they can relax and squash the Mavericks in round 2! :D

Sunday can get here fast enough.

[Neal Clayton]

lol @ kenny smith with the "i'm gonna get a machine gun full of tic-tacs" thing aimed at barkley

[Jim O'Dell]

Whoo-hoo! Denver's 5-6 year monkey is off their back.

Now they can relax and squash the Mavericks in round 2! :D

Sunday can get here fast enough.


Although the Mavs have had problems with both Denver and N.O. this year, I'm personally glad Denver is our opponent. And I personally feel that Sunday CAN'T get here fast enough.:eek: :D:D:D Jim.

[Chris Padilla]

:D I sorta typo'ed the "can" in my original post! :D

Of course, I meant "can't" get here fast enough!

[Neal Clayton]

and all this time we thought yao ming could barely speak english, turns out he's a comedian.

ron artest unexpectedly storms out of the post game press conference, yao looks up at him and says "see you at the club".

lol

[Jim O'Dell]

:D I sorta typo'ed the "can" in my original post! :D

Of course, I meant "can't" get here fast enough!

That's why there were multiple smileys!! :p But it helps boost the rivalry!!! All in fun of course.;) Jim.

[Chris Padilla]

and all this time we thought yao ming could barely speak english, turns out he's a comedian.

ron artest unexpectedly storms out of the post game press conference, yao looks up at him and says "see you at the club".

lol

I didn't think it was unexpected...I seem to recall that he was about done?? Ron had a good game nailing jumpers.

Ah, Sunday, Sunday. Funny thing, I'll be traveling to Santa Barbara tonight for a car event (Bimmerfest if you care) this weekend and my buddy and I plan to catch the game at some bar in SLO (San Luis Obispo) on the way back home to the Bay Area. His kid is college searching and so my buddy wanted to check out Cal-Poly while we are there...just to get a lay of the land so to speak.

[Jim O'Dell]

Game one to Chris....er.... the Nuggets. :D Good game until the late 3rd, early 4th quarter. Jim.

[Tim Morton]

And Rondo should have been called for a flagrant at the end of last nights game. Just plain dirty. If that had happened on a play ground there would be some serious problems. That kind of play doesn't belong in the game.

i totally agree, i lost a lot of respect for him during that series...i said going in he needed to step and be the playmaker...instead he turned out to be a clown. This coming for a celtics fan...they will need to step it up few notches to have a chance in the next round...it never seemed like they cared about winning or losing....

[Chris Padilla]

Game one to Chris....er.... the Nuggets. :D Good game until the late 3rd, early 4th quarter. Jim.

Jim,

Yep...when my buddy and I entered the sports bar in SLO, it was the end of the 1st quarter: Dallas 24, Denver 16. YIKES! :) However, I was fairly certain the Nuggets would chip away and that they did en route to another blow-out late in the game.

I frequent the other teams' boards at ESPN and most of the Mavs' fans are blaming the refs for the loss. I know the officiating is bad (but, really, is it any worse than any other time in the playoffs in NBA history??) Kidd had a very bad game turning the ball over. I think the Nuggets had 14 points off turnovers!

Overall, I think Denver is playing very physical basketball and that is what you need to survive the playoffs in the NBA. Keep pushing, grabbing, jabbing as much as you can get away with and that is the name of the game.

[Jim O'Dell]

I agree Chris. The officiating was not top notch, but to blame losing on the refs, well, if the Mavs blamed the refs, then they let the refs dictate the game instead of playing to their potential. You are going to get bad calls. You have to play through that...both sides.
If anything, I'd say the Nuggets won by their physical play. The Mavs need to toughen up. It's not supposed to be easy at this level. Play or get off the court. (Gee, I guess I better look, maybe I am a Nugget fan:confused::confused::D ) Jim.

[Neal Clayton]

Jim,

Yep...when my buddy and I entered the sports bar in SLO, it was the end of the 1st quarter: Dallas 24, Denver 16. YIKES! :) However, I was fairly certain the Nuggets would chip away and that they did en route to another blow-out late in the game.

I frequent the other teams' boards at ESPN and most of the Mavs' fans are blaming the refs for the loss. I know the officiating is bad (but, really, is it any worse than any other time in the playoffs in NBA history??) Kidd had a very bad game turning the ball over. I think the Nuggets had 14 points off turnovers!

Overall, I think Denver is playing very physical basketball and that is what you need to survive the playoffs in the NBA. Keep pushing, grabbing, jabbing as much as you can get away with and that is the name of the game.

there are always some bad calls but you don't win on the road with 20 turnovers.

that was very uncharacteristic of j.kidd to make that many mistakes too.

if anyone has a referee complaint in this year's playoffs, it's chicago.

[Chris Padilla]

Continuing on about referees: The LA/Hou game I thought was very well done! I hardly noticed the refs in that game. Kobe even looked a bit shocked by some calls on him because, you know, he is a superstar and all and gets away with everything.

It was nice to see Houston pound the Lakeshow at home. Yao had a great game.

Game 2 tonight...I fully expect to head into Big-D Saturday 2 luv. :)

[Chris Padilla]

Yep...heading into Big D up 2 luv as I thought. I honestly did not think Denver would have a dominant 4th quarter again but it is like clockwork.

Things should be tougher in Dallas, where the Mavs are 17-1 going back 18 games. But, that one loss...against Denver! :D

[Jim O'Dell]

Glad I went to bed after the middle of the first quarter. I was able to sleep knowing the Mavs were ahead. :D:D Jim.

[Neal Clayton]

chris, barkley has cursed your nuggets by picking them to knock off LA. he came out and picked them to win it all over the weekend.

[Chris Padilla]

Sir Charles has pretty much denegrated the Nuggets for as long as he's been talking and while I like him and find him amusing and entertaining, the man knows a thing or two about basketball. He didn't per se HATE the Nuggets' players but more the way they played: erratic and with little defense. He always recognized their talent but until they played as a team and took defense seriously, he would (rightfully, I now realize) bash them pretty good.

I always liked his frankness and simple way of explaining things without being PC...because it is more clear: "Well, you see that...that was stupid." That is pretty clear! :D

Now he is really on the Nugget bandwagon and it is scary to hear him praising them and picking them to go very deep into the playoffs. It is scary to think that the Nuggets could go so far...I mean we just got out of the first round after 5 consecutive years of one and done so this is new (exciting) territory.

Last I saw, Barkley picked the Nuggets in 5 so are you saying he has no changed his prediction to 4? I think Game 3 tends to favor the Mavs only because the Nuggets need to feel out how they will play at home and it is possible they may feed off the home crowd and it could be enough to pull it out. The Nuggets will then make adjustments and win Game 4...and then take the series at home in Game 5. This is precisely what happend in NO and I think it might just happen in this series. If the Nugs grab Game 3, it is all over...they will take Game 4 as well.

As to the Houston/LA series, well, I'll hold back a bit on that. Houston looked tough in Game 1 but LA showed up in Game 2. LA is tough and I don't know how well Denver might contain Kobe but LA has a fair number of offensive weapons. Denver might play better D and that will be where they have a chance.

[Jim O'Dell]

WOW!!! What a game. Ref was looking at the sideline to see if a foot stepped out of bounds instead of watching the players to see the foul at the end, but great concentration by Denver and a 3 pt dagger to finish off the Mavs for game 3. I thought Dallas had it, but not to be. But what a great game to watch! Jim.

[Neal Clayton]

on the point of the incessant complaining that always goes on in the NBA playoffs about the refs, i think the refs do cause a problem, but i don't think there's a grand conspiracy amongst them to decide who wins.

what i do think is lacking, which results in the suspensions we see every year, is consistency.

the dwight howard suspension was the result of an escalation during that game because the refs weren't calling both dwight and the other guy for their constant holding of each other. had they called the game tightly but evenly, it wouldn't have gotten to that point.

same goes for the ron artest/kobe thing. if they had called kobe for that obvious foul, it wouldn't have escalated like it did.

[Chris Padilla]

Yes, call Carmelo Anthony: Mr. Clutch! I nearly threw my chips 'n salsa 'n beer all over the living room (LOML would NOT have been amused) when Melo sank the 3 but was quickly reeled in as they reviewed it. I was sure they would call the foul because, well, it was obvious to everyone on the planet except the ref standing there but, fortunately for Denver (maybe), his opinion was the only one that mattered. No foul, 3 good, Denver up 3-0...it is all but over. :D

Glen Davis sunk a buzzer beater as well...good stuff in the playoffs.

Hats off to Houston beating LA: no Mutombo, no Yao, TMac long gone...and they are still fighting...gotta love it.

[Chris Padilla]

Well the Mavs showed some heart! Dirk and Melo were monsters in the 4th but Dallas pulled ahead and hung on for the win.

I still don't understand how JJB can get what looks like easy lay-ups in the paint! Blows me away. Seems that Denver should just squash him when he goes to the iron. :)

Game 5 Wednesday...IN DENVER...I feel good...Nuggets will close it out at home for their first trip to the WCF since 1985!!

[Jim O'Dell]

Mavs won? :eek: :D In fact I just looked at the news online and saw that about 10 minutes ago. I was too tired to try to stay up last night. I hate these late games. (Started just before 9:00 our time)
Wednesday it is. Can I say it should be 2-2???? :D:D:D Jim.

[Chris Padilla]

You and every other Mavs' fan wants it to be 2-2. :)

Let's just put it this way: assuming the foul was called, there would have been about 3 s left on the clock. Still plenty of time to inbound the ball and jack up a prayer. Melo has hit several prayers in his career...odds are decent he would've nailed it again! :D HOWEVER, we won't ever know so at least be intelligent about requesting the 2-2 series and realize that the non-called foul was not necessarily the game decider. :)

[Jim O'Dell]

I agree, Chris....that's why the 3 smileys. Dallas didn't deserve to win the game with the chances they had in the last minute. Hit one of them and things change...they didn't. Period. I still say that game 3 was a very fun game to watch. From a fan's perspective, it couldn't have been a better game. At least with team loyalties out of the way.
I haven't looked yet. Wonder what time game 5 is? Don't have to mess with the Cavs/Hawks game so maybe this one will move up in the time slot so I can watch it. Jim.

[Jim O'Dell]

Here's wishing the Nuggets luck in the the finals. Keep playing the way you have been and this could be your year. Jim.

[Chris Padilla]

It is exciting to be Nuggets fan this season. Chauncey Billups has been something special for Denver...such an exciting story.

Check out a piece ESPN did on Chauncey:
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=090511/billups

The Lakers are likely the next obstacle in the path to the finals and it will be tough losing home court advantage because the Nuggets basically STINK when they play in LA but if they can steal one there, I like their chances.

[Neal Clayton]

i would go so far as to say denver might even be the favorite.

melo will be a real problem for lamar odom, he isn't quick enough to keep up.

kmart will be able to handle gasol much better than houston has, imo.

what's the status on birdman though? if birdman is in, bynum is nullified.

[Jim O'Dell]

GO ROCKETS!!! No, I haven't changed loyalties.:D I just don't like the Lakers. :p Jim.

[Chris Padilla]

WOW for Houston. Houston is playing outside of themselves and really showing some serious heart. I would love for them to win (and not because it would give Denver HCA) but because I think we match up better to Houston AND because LA takes games off and I don't really like LA anyway. The whole Kobe/LeBron marketing plug also makes me ill so it would be cool if LA was run out of the playoffs.

Melo, like Kobe, is tough to guard and if you double Melo, he has become a much better passer out of those situations or he'll use his quickness to avert it.

Gasol is no Dirk but Gasol is better in the paint. They are still both 7 footers and so have the height advantage over K-Mart but I agree...I think K-Mart can guard Gasol's style better than Dirk's style.

Birdman is ready to fly...he did play in Game 5 against the Mavs.... He just had some bad Taco Bell, I think. :)

Denver a favorite...it is just weird to hear, think, and believe that! :D

[Neal Clayton]

i think dirk is better than gasol overall, he's the lesser of denver's worries.

[Neal Clayton]

so the lakers decided to show up today.

so far boston hasn't.

always fun to see starbury come in for 3 minutes, 2 points, and 2 turnovers though (both of which were just him dropping the ball or tripping over his own feet with no one near him). i sense isiah's teachings in you still, young padawan! (ok not so young...)

[Chris Padilla]

Okay, WCF and ECF are all set! I thought for sure Boston would take Game 7 but it wasn't meant to be.

So, Sir Charles is picking a Denver/Orlando finals...hahaha.

Well, regardless, I think Cleveland will finally get a series they won't need to sleepwalk through and I feel pretty good my Nuggets will make the Lakers EARN their berth. However, if the Lakers take any games off, forget about it...Denver will take them out.

[Neal Clayton]

i'm pulling for ya. i'm even starting to like melo a bit, which i never thought i would do.

[Chris Padilla]

Melo was one of those young, rich, athletic, popular basketball PUNKS...no doubt about it. He has matured quite a bit but is still a young 24. The Olympics helped him see the light and Billups has further ushered him along so he is definately on a better path of enlightenment and it is paying dividends on and off the court. He is also married and has a son now so that is bound to refocus any man. Yeah, I'm liking him more as well. :)

[Chris Padilla]

Well, Denver is down 0-1 but I was proud of what they did. Yes, it hurts that they should have won but they haven't beaten the Lakers in LA in was seems like centuries and they played very well. The Nuggets can hang with the Lakers, period.

Looking forward to Game 2.

[Neal Clayton]

that's about the most positive loss you can have, imo.

they led for 3/4 of the game. melo outplayed kobe on both ends of the floor. if not for missed free throws (a simple thing that won't happen often) they win that game easily.

if i'm the nuggets, i'm encouraged by that loss, to be honest.

[Chris Padilla]

I are encouraged. :D

[Lee DeRaud]

that's about the most positive loss you can have, imo.

they led for 3/4 of the game. melo outplayed kobe on both ends of the floor. if not for missed free throws (a simple thing that won't happen often) they win that game easily.

if i'm the nuggets, i'm encouraged by that loss, to be honest.Well, that's certainly one way of looking at it... :cool:

[Neal Clayton]

called it :D

unless lebron can score 50 a night, cleveland can't beat orlando.

[Chris Padilla]

C'mon, that was a close game, Neal!! However, I'm happy to see Cleveland FINALLY get a real team to play and they even lost at home: icing on the cake! :D They'll have some competition to make 'em play and it should be a good series.

Oooooh, tonight, tonight...I can barely concentrate at work....

[Neal Clayton]

yes and the others will be close too, but everyone seems to forget that mike brown is incompetent.

the whole point of home court advantage is having last sub. when dwight howard is chuckling on the bench about fouling out (again) and orlando replaces him with a shooter, it's pretty obvious that they're going for the three, not the tie. they don't want to play overtime with howard out.

so what does mike brown do? leaves ilgauskas and varejao in, who can't possibly match up with all of those shooters on the floor.

and after he blows the defensive possession, what master plan does he have for the offensive possession? oh wait, no master plan, iso lebron let him drive the lane against three guys, just like the rest of the game.

lebron scored half of his teams points and drained himself to the point of not being able to walk off the court all for mike brown to lose the game in the last 25 seconds.

i'll bet he was thinking to himself the whole time "can't wait to get out of here, how long til i'm a free agent again?" ;).

[Chris Padilla]

LOL...nice analysis! :D Due to my wife recording American Idol, I ended up missing the 4th quarter of the Orl/Cle game!! :( However, my bad, really, I was recording it on "her" TV instead of "my" TV (we have two plasmas...each with its own DVR) so I should've known better....:o

[Neal Clayton]

it was like watching a train wreck, i'll bet, if you're a lebron or cleveland fan.

lebron got a steal and a breakaway dunk to put the cavs up by 2 with 25 seconds left due to inbound confusion, and howard fouls out about the same time. when they replace howard with petrius mike brown completely misses that fact and leaves his two centers in.

rashard lewis knocks down the three because varejao can't keep up with him, and the cavs have 15 seconds left to hit the game winner. they spend 10 of that with lebron dribbling in front of a double team by himself, then he beats those two guys but can't beat the third guy, so passes off to mo williams in the corner, who misses a three right on cue. everyone fights over the rebound as time runs out.

i gotta think mike brown is someone's brother in law or cousin or something. there's no way he has kept his job all these years otherwise.

and it would be different if this were a rare occurrence. everyone makes mistakes, no big deal, burn a time out and straighten it out, that's part of coaching.

but mike brown makes these mistakes all the time.

and to give credit where it's due, reggie miller and barkley pointed out the obvious in the post game, for those who didn't notice it while watching. ESPN doesn't dare say a negative word about any NBA coach or star player on the other hand. i really wish all of these games were on TNT :(.

[Chris Padilla]

I love Barkley...he tells it like it is...no PC about him! :D

[Chris Padilla]

Oh, yeah!!! 1-1, Baby!!

:D :D

[Neal Clayton]

and everyone will be on the edge of their seats waiting to see how the lakers play in denver.

traditionally kobe and derek fisher can play well on the road from behind, but what about all those role players the lakers have....

[Chris Padilla]

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd110/tripl3_a/KOBEOWNED.gif

Priceless. :D

[Neal Clayton]

man i had photoshop fired up with a perfect broom pic and one of those witness T-shirts getting ready to go to work, and lebron ruined it :(

[Rich Engelhardt]

Hello,

it was like watching a train wreck, i'll bet, if you're a lebron or cleveland fan.
Pfffft! Hardly.
We're used to that sort of thing - snatching defeat from the jaws of victory - here in NE Ohio.
;)
The drive - the fumble - the ball through the legs in the bottom of the ninth -, etc, etc.

[Chris Padilla]

Orlando keeps coming back...what if they actually have a large lead? I mean, I don't think they can "get it together" unless they are down 20 early in the game...this is how they function best, it seems. Dangerous territory for the Cavs. Props to LeBron for his "Melo-like" game-winner. ;)

[Neal Clayton]

mike brown's bonehead calls one day are van gundy's the next ;).

how was rashard lewis not on the ball before lebron hit that game winner? did they not see the nuggets lose two games that way? all they had to do was cover the guy throwing the ball in.

i'm beginning to understand why we had to send a college coach to win the olympic tournament, lol.

edit: and this is a summary of the future of the NBA without some sort of officiating overhaul...

http://i44.tinypic.com/szd07o.jpg

[Chris Padilla]

2-2 :D ...the Nugs closed it down HARD in the 4th...no monkeying around (kinda sorta...K-Mart's T was stoooooooopid...he should whack himself in the head good for that one...dunno how Melo got T'ed up...no clue....)

I dunno if the Nuggets can pull off Game 5 in LA but these teams are so evenly matched, whoever plays just a hair better can take it. Nugs can win in LA, LA can win in Denver...who wants it more?

If the Nugs plan to go to the finals, they pretty much need to win Game 5 in LA (and Game 6 in Denver, of course) because winning a Game 7 in LA will be tough, tough, tough....

[Dick Strauss]

Orlando up 3-1 now. Ouch for Cleveland fans! They now got a really tough path to the finals. I don't think they are that good.

[Neal Clayton]

well, i'll point out again that mike brown doesn't understand his matchup problems.

end of regulation, again, orlando has 4 shooters on the floor and howard.

and mike brown has varejao and ben wallace on the floor, wallace gets stuck on rashard lewis. lewis runs around the screen for a wide open look, took a very questionable foul call in lebron's favor to get the cavs out of that hole, just like it took a miracle shot for them to get out of game 2.

maybe when rashard lewis knocks down the game winner again in game 6 it'll sink in.

this series really should have been a sweep. orlando has outplayed and out strategized the cavs in every game.

i'm starting to fear for the nuggets, unfortunately, i think there's more to melo's injury than we've been told. they might be able to win at home without him but they have to win one more in LA. chauncey and JR smith will have to come up with one more huge game on the road for them to get out of this series.

[Chris Padilla]

I'm digging on every resource I can find as I fear the same about Melo's injury but I cannot find anything. They may be keeping it close to the cuff for their own reasons. There seems to be a bout of "stomach flu" running through the Nuggets (so to speak): Birdman had it in Dallas, now Melo at home...I dunno.... Melo still helped the team in the 4th driving to the iron and getting on the line. Chauncey and JR are quite capable of picking up the slack...Denver has a very deep bench to pull from. As long as Chauncey is out there running point, Denver has a chance....

Kobe looks SPENT...he is carrying that team every night...just like LJ is carrying Cleveland but Orlando is too much. You're right, Orlando should have swept the Cavs....

Kobe will probably be fresher with the oxgenated air back home in LA...two grueling games at altitude will do that to the finest athletes on the planet who aren't used to it.

[Neal Clayton]

what a strange game.

i kept waiting for denver to get blown out, but not only did they not get blown out but they managed to muster a lead here and there.

i saw george karl complaining about the refs in the post game but i didn't really see any terribly bad calls. and they were consistent all night so i don't think that was a factor. the lakers got 5 more FTs than denver but both missed a lot.

chauncey had a horrible game as did j.r. smith so that was the difference, imo.

whatever was bothering melo he appears to be over, he played fine today.

[Chris Padilla]

Melo looked good, Nuggets had a bad run in the 4th that they couldn't quite recover from. Nene is bipolar: plays well at home, not so on the road.

Odom had a great game as did Fisher and they made a big difference and took a load off of Kobe who looked like he had a very pleasent, easy game.

I still don't see either team winning consecutive games. The refs are the refs...they let them play in the paint for sure. The charge on Chauncey early in the game was crap...Nene's 6th foul from Gasol was crap.

The Nuggs are likely to win Game 6 and Game 7 will be, uh, interesting for sure...I hope!!! I don't like Denver's chances at LA in a Game 7 but it will have to come to that if they want to move on....

[Neal Clayton]

well it turns out that phil jackson isn't going senile after all.

last game the lakers switched to some variance of a matchup zone, and the only person who seemed to recognize it and still be able to score was j.r. smith. chauncey failed against it miserably. so did the nuggets front court, they all stood around not knowing what to do, melo included.

there are any number of ways the nuggets could have countered this (have kmart or nene run to the rack from the high screen for lob passes, switch jr smith to point and spot chauncey for weak side 3s to break it down by speed), but denver never gave any indication that they knew what to do, so phil milked it for 2 games. denver would try to drive chauncey or melo into the 3 defenders, or set screens from the wings, both of which gets them nowhere.

+1 for phil
-1 for george karl

[Lee DeRaud]

well it turns out that phil jackson isn't going senile after all.Well, duh.

A ring for each finger...that's all he asks. :cool:

[Dick Strauss]

Lakers and Magic in finals...all but certain at this point.

It's official now.

[Neal Clayton]

4) the sixers? the bulls? really? derek rose is another wise gamble apparently. i don't think the sixers win that series, and in fact i'll go ahead and call the magic over cleveland when we get to that point. yeah it may be different with garnett, and yeah the dallas series may be different with ginobili, but the bulls at least still deserve alot of credt for that win considering their youth.

:p

for all of his BS, i'll give charles barkley credit for knowing his game. he's the only commentator every year that points out that the playoffs are about matchups and breaking another team's tendencies. any other NBA fan who had seen both teams play should've been able to call orlando over cleveland too, the sports media that covers this..should've been a no brainer for them. problem is most of the sports media arn't vry smrt ;).

the cavs couldn't match up with orlando with their starting 5. for that matter, the lakers will struggle with them defensively too. walton jr. will have to play alot more minutes than he's used to, in lieu of bynum. lamar odom will have to bring his A game every day. even then it'll be tough. lanky 3 point shooters are a pain to deal with and the magic have lots of em.

the zone they beat the nuggets with won't work on orlando either, all it'll do is get dwight and rashard lots of dunks.

on the other hand, pau gasol will be a big test for dwight. he needs to learn to stop fouling out. something tells me that's a lesson that can't be learned by next week.

should be a very interesting finals. alot more interesting than a kobe vs. lebron free throw shooting contest anyways...

[Greg Peterson]

As great as Lebron is, he wasn't able to make his teammates better. I'm still not sold on Lebron at this point. The guy has crazy talent and physical ability, but I don't see the level of intensity that I saw in MJ, Bird or Magic.

Until Lebron develops that killer instinct (perhaps making free throws is a good place to start), he's just going to be another incredibly gift basketball player.

Go Orlando!!

[Chris Padilla]

Ah well...GREAT season for the Nuggets...I'm very proud of them and as Melo put it, "This is just the beginning!"

Lebron is great as well...just no supporting cast when a deep team plays them. Same goes for DWade.

I like Barkley as well but he did pick the Nuggets and Magic so he was half right. :)

[Lee DeRaud]

...if they actually played up to their potential, most of their games would be pretty boring. :pLike I said.

I realize it's fashionable in some circles to dislike the Lakers (and/or Kobe), but...
maybe they really are that good.

[Neal Clayton]

so i guess this is where the pundits finally get to be right, where they trade the next few games and the lakers win in 6.

if courtney lee could make game winning layups maybe it's a different story :(

[Lee DeRaud]

so i guess this is where the pundits finally get to be right, where they trade the next few games and the lakers win in 6.Overheard conversation:
"Obama picked the Lakers to win in 6."
"Obama actually thinks the Lakers will lose two games?!?"

[Chris Padilla]

The Lakers are playing well but Orlando is shooting uncharacteristically poor. Kobe is good...great in fact. I don't really like or hate him (loved the puppet commercials, however...they need a DHoward puppet now, I guess...maybe a 'Melo one?! :D ) but there is no question that he can take over a game and fire his team up and make them better. I loved the block Turkoglu put on him near the end of the game but it was such a shame Lee couldn't finish...that would've been on par with LeBron's "not-so-great-in-the-overall-scheme-of-things" great 3.

Later, Lee said his main thought was that the ball seemed to take forever to make its way out of the sky and into his hands.

Later, Bryant said his main thought was: "s---."

[Lee DeRaud]

Anybody else notice how quiet this thread got once the Lakers started playing like the Lakers? :cool:

Congrats to Phil, Kobe, Pau, Lamar, Derek, Drew, Trevor, Luke, Jordan, Sasha, Josh, DJ, and Shannon.
(And a tip of the hat to Mitch for keeping it together when the wheels tried to come off a couple years back.)

[Chris Padilla]

The Lakers are the Champs and rightfully so. I was pulling for Orlando, of course, but at least I can say Denver was beaten by the eventual champs (like in past post-seasons, actually) and that kinda/sorta helps....

Okay, now onto BASEBALL and my Rockies having a nice fat juicy 11-game winning streak that has pulled to 1 game within .500. I had about written them off this season but they are doing their "September 2007" run a bit early this season! :D :D

Of course, there is ANOTHER pesky Los Angeles team cramping things up again.... hahaha...can't get away from them it seems with me being a Colorado sports nut.... :rolleyes: :cool:

[Neal Clayton]

Anybody else notice how quiet this thread got once the Lakers started playing like the Lakers? :cool:

Congrats to Phil, Kobe, Pau, Lamar, Derek, Drew, Trevor, Luke, Jordan, Sasha, Josh, DJ, and Shannon.
(And a tip of the hat to Mitch for keeping it together when the wheels tried to come off a couple years back.)

well i cheer for the underdog like most do ;). that and my hornets were a huge disappointment this year due to james posey not working out.

but being from little rock, derek fisher is a local product so i'm not a huge laker hater either like alot of folks are.

they won it with smarts and defense, so they absolutely deserve it. i'm not a big kobe hater either, actually kinda glad that the media monkey is off of his back. i think alot of that blame for shaq leaving was him being thrown under the bus by the team's management.

[Greg Peterson]

Seems like every major sport has one team that attracts the bandwagon fans. Yankees, Cowboys and Lakers.

Laker fans are no more visible than your ordinary fan when they aren't in the hunt or winning a championship. But when they do win two things are guaranteed; there will be civil unrest in LA and you won't be able to avoid purple and gold.

I wouldn't have a problem if the bandwagoners would just cop to it and admit they are front runners, but they all claim to be lifelong fans.

Anyway, the Lakers played well and definitely earned the championship. Orlando had a great season too.

On to next season.