2008 NBA Playoff Thread

Off Topic
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Alright it’s that time of year, time for the NBA Playoffs!!! Same as last year, I’ll give nightly updates, and a stud of the night.

With the West being so ridiculously stacked this year, it’s going to be a tough road for the team who comes out of the West. The East looks good at the top, but so-so the rest of the way.

It’s nice to have the 80s theme back with the Celtics and Lakers at the top of their conferences. If they meet in the Finals, it will be very nostalgic for a lot of NBA fans, and will probably be the highest-rated Finals in recent history.

Let’s get started!!

EASTERN CONFERENCE

  1. Celtics vs. 8) Hawks
  2. Pistons vs. 7) 76ers
  3. Magic vs. 6) Raptors
  4. Cavs vs. 5) Wizards

WESTERN CONFERENCE

  1. Lakers vs. 8) Nuggets
  2. Hornets vs. 7) Mavericks
  3. Spurs vs. 6) Suns
  4. Jazz vs. 5) Rockets
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I don’t know if you remember, but I posted about how upset I was how Boston traded away all of their young talent to acquire Ray Allen last summer…

Boy do I look stupid now, huh?

The C’s role players have been marvelous in the regular season. Here’s hoping they can keep it up in the playoffs!

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[quote]tGunslinger wrote:
I don’t know if you remember, but I posted about how upset I was how Boston traded away all of their young talent to acquire Ray Allen last summer…

Boy do I look stupid now, huh?

The C’s role players have been marvelous in the regular season. Here’s hoping they can keep it up in the playoffs![/quote]

You talking about this thread?

http://www.T-Nation.com/tmagnum/readTopic.do?id=1667290

You did make for it at the end of the post, so it’s all good.

KG is actually my favorite player, and has been for a long time. No one has more heart than him (maybe Iverson), and his energy and the way he plays is awesome!

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Nuggets!!!

I can’t stand the Lakers and Kobe.

The Nuggets will upset the Lakers

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[quote]tGunslinger wrote:
Boy do I look stupid now, huh?[/quote]

I thought the same thing for a few hours. Then I realized that in the NBA, you only need 2 great players to go along with 2 efficient role players and 1 decent guy to be a truly successful team (that’s a basic formulate that my brother and I came up with). Boston has 3 great players and more than 2 efficient role players (Big Baby Davis being one of them).

As for everything else basketball, I don’t give two shits. However, I do predict that it’ll be Celtics/Pistons vs Spurs/Lakers. Pick your matchup from there, it’ll be two of those four teams. Sorry Cavs fans…LeBron’s my favorite player, but the Cavs won’t make it past the second round, they aren’t anywhere near the team they were last year.

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Although I don’t think that the Nuggets know how to play defense.

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I am worried that the West will cannibalize itself and hand the trophy to Boston(or Detroit) on a silver platter.

This was an incredible season of basketball, and the post season is looking even better.

First round predictions:

Varsity:

Lakers in 4. Lakers have decimated Denver all season long, and they’ve been playing better than ever recently.

Utah in 6. I think Utah has been playing some really good ball recently, And they got home court, which they are historically very good on.

Suns in 7. The Spurs have not been playing very well lately, I think that the Suns acquired Shaq specifically to defeat the Spurs in the Playoffs. Additionally, all season long the Suns have edged the Spurs.

Hornets in 7. Actually, I have no clue about this one. The Hornets fell apart in the last week of the season, and Dallas has a lot more experience than they do handling Playoff basketball. Hornets do seem to have a knack for not giving up and for making surprising comebacks. This might be the most interesting Series in the first round.

J.V… I mean the East:

Doesn’t really matter, it will come down to Celtics v. Detroit in the end.

Lakers have surprised me very much this season. Kobe has become a team player, Odom is not injured, Sasha is dropping treys with the best of them. Obviously the theft of Pau Gasol has been immeasurably important, but even before that the Lakers were playing championship caliber ball.

Lakers V. Boston in the Finals does not seem at all unlikely at this point.

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oh yeah, and Kobe is the MVP

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HAHAHA Varsity/JV, good one MV.

Good point about the West, never thought of it like that. Whoever wins the West will definitely be battle tested come Finals time.

I think the Lakers will win in 5. Denver goes bananas and scores 130+ points in one game to get a random win.

Utah in 6 sounds good, considering Utah was 37-4 at home this year (ridick), best in the league.

Gonna have to disagree with the Suns/Spurs. I think Spurs take it in 6. They have proven themselves time and time again in the playoffs, and I don’t think this year will be any different.

I think Hornets will go 7 also, with them winning. They are a scrappy team, and will pull it together. The games Dallas wins, however, I see them getting out of hand and blowing out the Hornets.

East:

Celtics in 6 over the Pistons. Anything else besides Celtics/Pistons will be shocking.

[quote]Malevolence wrote:
I am worried that the West will cannibalize itself and hand the trophy to Boston(or Detroit) on a silver platter.

This was an incredible season of basketball, and the post season is looking even better.

First round predictions:

Varsity:

Lakers in 4. Lakers have decimated Denver all season long, and they’ve been playing better than ever recently.

Utah in 6. I think Utah has been playing some really good ball recently, And they got home court, which they are historically very good on.

Suns in 7. The Spurs have not been playing very well lately, I think that the Suns acquired Shaq specifically to defeat the Spurs in the Playoffs. Additionally, all season long the Suns have edged the Spurs.

Hornets in 7. Actually, I have no clue about this one. The Hornets fell apart in the last week of the season, and Dallas has a lot more experience than they do handling Playoff basketball. Hornets do seem to have a knack for not giving up and for making surprising comebacks. This might be the most interesting Series in the first round.

J.V… I mean the East:

Doesn’t really matter, it will come down to Celtics v. Detroit in the end.

Lakers have surprised me very much this season. Kobe has become a team player, Odom is not injured, Sasha is dropping treys with the best of them. Obviously the theft of Pau Gasol has been immeasurably important, but even before that the Lakers were playing championship caliber ball.

Lakers V. Boston in the Finals does not seem at all unlikely at this point.

[/quote]

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Really you think it would be shocking to see cavs in finals? With how absolutely inhuman lebron was last year in playoffs I do not doubt them ever.

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I’m sure there are tons of mixed opinions on the guy, but ESPN’s John Hollinger predicts the Celtics over… THE JAZZ.

I’m personally pulling for the Celtics and Lakers for a ton of reasons, but I can certainly see scenarios where the Jazz or the Pistons make the finals, too. Beyond those 4 teams, I don’t think any other team has “it”.

If only I were tall.

…and talented.

I love the NBA playoffs.

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For the record, Houston has home court over the Jazz in round 1.

Utah is the 4 seed based on their division title, but Houston has the better record. Thus, Houston gets home court.

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Oof! My mistake. The west was such a clusterfuck this year.

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Wow. Tim Duncan just hit a clutch three pointer.

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I can’t stand the Spurs, Celtics, Mavs, Jazz, or Cavs, so I’m rooting for the Lakers and Wizards. Lakers vs. Celts wouldn’t be terrible to watch though.

I’m a knick fan so I’m out of luck for at least a couple of seasons.

Looking forward to the draft.

But I love basketball so I’ll watch pretty much every game anyway

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I vote for CP3 for stud of the night.

Hornets looking pretty darn good.

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Saturday, April 19 Recap (FIRST DAY OF THE PLAYOFFS!!!)

  1. Cavs defeat 5) Wizards 93-86: LBJ with 32 points, including a monstrous alley-oop in the first half, and big Z added 22 to go up 1-0. Gilbert Arenas (HIBACHI!!!) added 24 off the bench, including a ridiculously long 3 pointer in the first half, and Antawn Jamison added 23 points and 19 boards (!), but it wasn’t enough.

  2. Spurs defeat 6) Suns 117-115 (2OT): Man, what a great start to the playoffs!!! Tim Duncan goes off for 40 and 15, and Manu Ginobili with 24, and Tony Parker with 26 as the Spurs get off to a great start to defend their title. Suns get 33 from Amare Stoudemire and 25 and 13 dimes from Steve Nash in a losing effort.

  3. Hornets defeat 7) Mavericks 104-92: Chris Paul goes off for 35 and 10 helpers and 10 and 15 boards from Tyson Chandler, and the Hornets use a big second half to go up 1-0. Dirk Nowitzki had 31 points and 10 boards in a losing effort.

  4. Jazz defeat 4) Rockets 93-82: Andrei Kirilenko had 21 points, and Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer had 20 points each to help the Jazz beat the Rockets on the road. Shane Battier had 22 and Tracy McGrady chipped in 20 points in the loss.

Stud(s) of the night: Tim Duncan and Chris Paul. Duncan gets it not only for the 40 point effort, but for making his first and only 3-point attempt of the season. No better time to convert. CP3 gets it for a beastly first career playoff game effort. 35 and 10 is tough to top, even for Steve Nash, but Paul is the undisputed leader of the Hornets, and proved it tonight.

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Is it just me, or is anyone else happy to see Grant Hill playing again on a consistent basis?

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[quote]tmoney1 wrote:
Is it just me, or is anyone else happy to see Grant Hill playing again on a consistent basis?[/quote]

Nope, it’s me too. I’m so glad his luck has turned around. He definitely deserves this chance.

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[quote]joshjuk wrote:
Nuggets!!!

I can’t stand the Lakers and Kobe.

The Nuggets will upset the Lakers[/quote]

Keep dreaming.