NBA Playoff Thread

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Sunday May 20 recap:

  1. Spurs defeat 5) Jazz 108-100 - Tim Duncan had 27, 10, and 5, Manu Ginobili added 23 and 10 dimes off the bench, and the Spurs take a 1-0 lead. Deron Williams had 34 points and 9 assists, and the Jazz tried to make a run late in the game, but it wasn’t enough.

TMONEY1’S NEAT-O STUD OF THE NIGHT, SPONSORED BY T-Nation: Tim Duncan. His dominant play and leadership helped the Spurs draw first blood in the series.

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[quote]Malevolence wrote:
Welp, anyone else ready for the 2007-2008 season?[/quote]

I sure am. With sincere apologies to DET, I think this year’s title chase has already been decided. (excepting injuries)

And on that note, I really hope PHO doesn’t tinker with their squad in the offseason. Maybe they were good enough to beat SA in an actual series and maybe they weren’t. Thanks to those clowns in the NBA front office, we’ll never know.

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Monday May 21 recap:

  1. Pistons defeat 2) Cavs 79-76 - Richard Hamilton had 24 points, Rasheed Wallace had 15 and 12, and the Pistons take a 1-0 series lead. LeBron James, although he almost had a triple double, was held to 10 points, along with 10 boards and 9 dimes. Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 22 and 13.

TMONEY1’S NEAT-O STUD OF THE NIGHT, SPONSORED BY T-Nation: Chauncey Billups. Although he had a subpar night (13 points, 7 turnovers), he hit a big three towards the end of the game to clinch the victory for Detroit. That’s why he is called Mr. Big Shot.

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So POR gets Oden and SEA gets Durant.

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I really don’t understand the lottery draft, I tried to watch it but fell asleep, Is there any real reason why it isn’t like every other sport?

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[quote]KO421 wrote:
I really don’t understand the lottery draft, I tried to watch it but fell asleep, Is there any real reason why it isn’t like every other sport?[/quote]

Basketball has considerably less players than football or baseball, so getting early picks can make an enormous impact on the franchise (especially this year). Because of this, they need to have a lottery for the non-playoff teams in order to prevent teams from purposely tanking the season once they’re out the playoff hunt.

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Tuesday May 22 recap:

  1. Spurs defeat 5) Jazz 105-96 - Tim Duncan had 26 points and 14 boards, Tony Parker had 17 points and 14 dimes, and the Spurs take a 2-0 series lead heading to Utah. Carlos Boozer had 33 points and 15 boards, and Deron Williams had 26 points and 10 dimes, but was not enough to even the series.

TMONEY1’S NEAT-O STUD OF THE NIGHT, SPONSORED BY T-Nation: Tim Duncan. Another great performance by the Spurs big man, and they are two wins away from the NBA Finals.

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[quote]chillain wrote:
So POR gets Oden and SEA gets Durant.

[/quote]

Yup. That will bring excitement back to the Pacific Northwest for basketball.

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[quote]tmoney1 wrote:
chillain wrote:
So POR gets Oden and SEA gets Durant.

Yup. That will bring excitement back to the Pacific Northwest for basketball.[/quote]

…and the western conference improves yet again. The east will likely continue to have no depth whatsoever.

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[quote]escot4 wrote:
KO421 wrote:
I really don’t understand the lottery draft, I tried to watch it but fell asleep, Is there any real reason why it isn’t like every other sport?

Basketball has considerably less players than football or baseball, so getting early picks can make an enormous impact on the franchise (especially this year). Because of this, they need to have a lottery for the non-playoff teams in order to prevent teams from purposely tanking the season once they’re out the playoff hunt.[/quote]

I guess it makes sense and I kind of like the idea, with 5 starters and 1 or 2 superstars can completly change a team

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[quote]escot4 wrote:
tmoney1 wrote:
chillain wrote:
So POR gets Oden and SEA gets Durant.

Yup. That will bring excitement back to the Pacific Northwest for basketball.

…and the western conference improves yet again. The east will likely continue to have no depth whatsoever.[/quote]

Agree. I guess it’s just a cycle. In the 1990’s the Eastern Conference dominated. Bulls, Knicks, Pacers, Magic, Heat, etc. Each conference and team has its time.

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I’m a Boston Celtics fan, and I’m fed up with the goddamn lottery.

Twice in the last eleven years, the C’s have had horrible teams (and these weren’t flukey, injury-riddled teams; they flat-out stunk), and on both occasions, there was one or two franchise saving superstars ready to be chosen in the ensuing draft. Instead, Boston go to pick 3rd in a one-man-draft in '97, and 5th in a two-man-draft this year!

If the NBA pulled their heads out of their asses and ran their draft like every other sports league on the planet, the C’s would’ve had Tim Duncan in 1997, and/or Greg Oden or Kevin Durant in 2007.

But no, Stern had to fuck the C’s up the ass not once, but twice!

All the damn lottery ever seems to do is punish the bad teams that need a lot of help, and reward the mediocre teams that are already on the verge of the playoffs.

That’s not what the draft is supposed to do!

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Thursday May 24 recap:

  1. Pistons defeat 2) Cavs 79-76 - Chauncey Billups and Rip Hamilton had 13 points each, and Jason Maxiell added 15 off the bench, and the Pistons go up 2-0 in the series by the exact same score as game 1. LeBron James had 19 points, and had a chance at the end of the game to make something happen, but couldn’t get it done. The Cavs had a solid lead at halftime, but the Pistons were too much.

TMONEY1’S NEAT-O STUD OF THE NIGHT, SPONSORED BY T-Nation: Rasheed Wallace. He had 16 points and 11 boards, and was extremely clutch in the fourth quarter, including hitting the game winning shot with 25 seconds left to seal the game.

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[quote]tmoney1 wrote:
Thursday May 24 recap:

  1. Pistons defeat 2) Cavs 79-76 - Chauncey Billups and Rip Hamilton had 13 points each, and Jason Maxiell added 15 off the bench, and the Pistons go up 2-0 in the series by the exact same score as game 1. LeBron James had 19 points, and had a chance at the end of the game to make something happen, but couldn’t get it done. The Cavs had a solid lead at halftime, but the Pistons were too much.

TMONEY1’S NEAT-O STUD OF THE NIGHT, SPONSORED BY T-Nation: Rasheed Wallace. He had 16 points and 11 boards, and was extremely clutch in the fourth quarter, including hitting the game winning shot with 25 seconds left to seal the game.[/quote]

I’m REALLY liking my Piston’s chances now.

Isn’t it strange the first 2 games with Cleveland were the exact same score, 79-76?

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[quote]Mod Laurie wrote:
Isn’t it strange the first 2 games with Cleveland were the exact same score, 79-76?[/quote]

With both games being one failed possession away from a cavalier victory. That has got to be heartbreaking.

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[quote]Malevolence wrote:
Mod Laurie wrote:
Isn’t it strange the first 2 games with Cleveland were the exact same score, 79-76?

With both games being one failed possession away from a cavalier victory. That has got to be heartbreaking.[/quote]

Yeah that’s definitely strange with the scores.

And it’s definitely heartbreaking for the Cavs. LeBron, unfairly, gets too much blame. He didn’t take the shot in the first game, and people said he should have shot it. He took the shot in the second game, missed, Larry Hughes had a chance and missed, and people say it’s LeBron’s fault.

Even though he hasn’t played up to his usual standard, it’s more the team losing than LeBron losing it for the team.

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During tonight’s game, I realized something strange: as much as I love Sheed’s game, I just hate watching him play. I mean seriously, the league hasn’t had a bigger crybaby in a long time.

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You know, I was sure I posted the link to this column when I first saw it last week. Ah well, better late than never. It is a well-written piece:

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Saturday May 26 recap:

  1. Jazz defeat 3) Spurs 109-83 - Deron Williams had 31 points and 8 dimes, and Carlos Boozer had 27 points and 12 boards, and the Jazz beat the Spurs to make the series 2-1 San Antonio. Tony Parker had 25 points and 7 assists, and Tim Duncan, who was in foul trouble most of the game, finished with 16 points and 8 boards. The Spurs were outscored by 30 points in the second half.

TMONEY1’S NEAT-O STUD OF THE NIGHT, SPONSORED BY T-Nation: Deron Williams. He had 31 points and 8 assists in another great performance. He is a superstar in the making.

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Sunday May 27 recap:

  1. Cavs defeat 1) Pistons 88-82 - LeBron James had 32 points and 9 dimes, including a jumper at the end of the game to seal the game, and the Cavs are now down 2-1. Rasheed Wallace had 16 points and Chris Webber added 15 points and 7 boards.

TMONEY1’S NEAT-O STUD OF THE NIGHT, SPONSORED BY T-Nation: LeBron James. He had a huge night, and a huge fourth quarter, and silenced his critics with his performance, especially by hitting a jumper at the end of the game. His dunk on Rasheed Wallace was beastly as well.