NBA Playoffs 1st Round

The Game Room
1

Didn’t see a thread. Who you got?

Eastern Conference

(1) Boston
(8) Atlanta
**Boston in 4 **

(4) Cleveland
(5) Washington
Washington in 6

(3) Orlando
(6) Toronto
**Orlando in 5 **

(2) Detroit
(7) Philadelphia
**Detroit in 6 **

Western Conference

(1) LA Lakers
(8) Denver
**Lakers in 6 **

(4) Utah
(5) Houston
Utah in 6

(3) San Antonio
(6) Phoenix
**San Antonio in 7 **

(2) New Orleans
(7) Dallas
New Orleans in 5

The Wiz-Cavs, San Antonio-Phoenix & Utah-Houston Series strike me as the most interesting and telling with alot of drama.

2

Eastern Conference

(1) Boston
(8) Atlanta
Boston in 5 - I’ve got to give Atlanta a game, they’ve played alright down the stretch.

(4) Cleveland
(5) Washington
Cleveland in 6 - what can I say, I’m high on the LeBron James Kool-aid

(3) Orlando
(6) Toronto
Orlando in 6 - a lot of people around Toronto think the Raps have a real shot. I don’t, but I think they’ll get more than one. They have one of the best guards in the game in Calderon.

(2) Detroit
(7) Philadelphia
Detroit in 4 - I like Detroit, they’ve flown under the radar this year thanks to Boston. They’re really good.

Western Conference

(1) LA Lakers
(8) Denver
Lakers in 5 - They’re really good without Bynum, if they get him back for the second round, the rest of the west is in real trouble.

(4) Utah
(5) Houston
Houston in 7 - this is the year TMAC gets out of the first round.

(3) San Antonio
(6) Phoenix
Suns in 7 - huge San Antonio fan, but the Suns have thrashed the Spurs the last two games.

(2) New Orleans
(7) Dallas
New Orleans in 5 - can’t argue with the OP here.

Remembering what happened last year has me excited for Suns/Spurs. Dallas/New Orleans should be a fun series too.

3

Eastern Conference

(1) Boston
(8) Atlanta
**Boston in 4 **

(4) Cleveland
(5) Washington
Washington in 5

(3) Orlando
(6) Toronto
**Orlando in 5 **

(2) Detroit
(7) Philadelphia
**Detroit in 5 **

Western Conference

(1) LA Lakers
(8) Denver
**Lakers in 5 **

(4) Utah
(5) Houston
Utah in 5

(3) San Antonio
(6) Phoenix
**San Antonio in 6 **

(2) New Orleans
(7) Dallas
Dallas in 6

4

I was going to do something like this, so thanks jimmmy for getting this off the ground.

Boston in 5
Detroit in 5
Orlando in 5
Cleveland in z

And now for the bloodbath that is the Western Conference.

Los Angeles in 7
Dallas in 6
Utah in 5
San Antonio in 7

Homer pick on the last one. For some reason Shaq Daddy is in Timmy’s head. If he gets off today then the Spurs cruise - if not then it better be Manu to the rescue.

5

I was going to edit my Cleveland pick but you know what - z is probaly Freudianly correct.

6

Boo Yah. Wanna watch a series to remember check out Spurs/Suns. Every game is going to be like today. What a flippin’ ride. Go Spurs Go.

7

Well, let’s see where we are…

WEST

Lakers (2), Nuggets (0): The Lakers remind me of a cat playing with a mouse before they kill it. They get out to an early lead, Denver closes, Lakers hit the gas late in the 3rd.

Jazz (2), Rockets (0): T-Mac continues to be criticized for the unpardonable sin of not being Michael Jordan. This one’s over.

Hornets (2), Mavs (0): How many times did you hear this one before the series started; “Even though Dallas is the seven seed, I think their playoff experience will win out in the end, but this will be a positive learning experience for this young Hornets team…”? Oops. Look for somebody from the Mavs to try and thug Chris Paul on a drive to the basket tonight, but only if that set of balls they ordered off of eBay arrives prior to tipoff.

Spurs (2), Suns (0): Nine out of ten times, Duncan misses that three to tie it in Game One, and this series is on a very different arc right now. But he hits it, like all the great ones seem to do when it matters. Regardless, the Suns might still make a series of this, if their spirit isn’t totally crushed.

EAST

Celtics (2), Future NBA Champions Atlanta Hawks (0): This scrappy young Hawk team has managed to keep the margin of victory below 25 points in the first two games of this series, which is a victory in and of itself. Watch for Boston to run the three-man weave, the hidden ball trick, and the ever-popular hook shot from half-court for the enjoyment of the bandwagon-ing Celtics fans crowding into Atlanta’s Philips Arena.

Pistons (1), Sixers (1): As any fan of the underdog knows, it is a singularly ecstatic feeling to see your team win Game One on the road. Which makes it all the more crushing when the other team decides to quit dicking around and proceeds to hand your team’s collective ass to it in the following four games.

Cavs (2), Bullets (0): Boy, DeShawn Stevenson really got into King James’ head, didn’t he?

Magic (2), Raptors (0): This weird little series just can’t seem to get any traction or attention, can it? I’ll just say I’m glad its not me that has to deal with Dwight Howard.

8

I was off on the Mavs pick so far. Dammit, I thought they’d grow a pair. You’re 100% correct, though. Knock Paul on his ass as he comes into the lane. The Bad Boys wouldn’t let him leave unbruised, and when it comes playoff time, you’ve got to have a little evil in you.

9

That is a good observation on T-Mac Shot Clock. Except for 200-01 (when he averaged 32 points in the regualr season) his point production has increased in the playoffs vs. the season. I don’t know that he gets enough credit for showing up when the crunch comes.

The "Bulletts (hehheh) Cavs are all about emotion. They do seem to hate each other and its not just DeShawn vs. James. [James and Arenas are actually pretty tight] I was there this last game and at one of the previous regular season games & there is alot going on - in warm ups guys bumping - away from the whistle bumps & pushes that aren’t being called or ignored. Even James skying that dunk after the first “overrated” taunts … this is all emotion which is why I think we can see a 30 point win one night and a 36-point loss in 72 hours. Z. Ilgauskas and JSmith are NBA rough guys (no jokes about that like being a message board tough guy) & the Wizards were playing a swarming defense that made the Cavs (all except James) seem at times like college team & they wilted. I like this series alot but I am biased. I think both are firing each other and pushing buttons on each team and I have no idea how the rest will play out

10

Not so fast, guys.

Let’s go Sixers!

11

Yep, to be honest, I thought this pick was a lock. Doesn’t much matter, I really couldn’t care less about the east.

I’m Spurs fan, I’m thinking I’ll start picking against them in every series.

12

Huge Spurs fan. But after the butt whomping that Phoenix got last night I think this short sell is going to be costly. TD perfect as usual and Pop riding TP is going to make us tough. Bring out the brooms.

And 76er’s up 2-1, WTF.

13

Ya know, crow doesn’t taste so bad if you use some strawberries, or a balsamic reduction. :slight_smile:

14

Yeah, the Pistons. What can you say? They seem to fall asleep on lesser opponents in the playoffs. They’ll get past the Sixers, I’m pretty confident about that, but they might expend so much energy doing so that unless the bench plays insanely good, they might only hit the conference finals.

15

Parker and Duncan have sure been playing well which is a great sign. I feel bad for Nash though, did you see his face with about a minute left? It made it tough to celebrate the win (I’m Canadian, he’s the one guy we have to cheer for in the NBA - Maglore? Come on…).

In the history of sports, an injury to one player hasn’t effected a franchise this much (I’m sure everybody knows what I’m talking about, but just in case: David Robinson playing 6 games in 96-97 had the spurs going from 59 wins to 20 wins and winning the draft lottery allowing them to draft Dunan).

16

Tell me about it. Talk about everything coming together perfectly, huh?

17

The poor guy can’t catch a break. He’s the best point guard in the league (behind Parker, of course :)) and you give him an overweight Shaq daddy and slow him down - bad Steve bad. Shaq on the floor, run like maniacs, Shaq off the floor, slow it down and pound it inside.

And I too saw that look of total dejection and felt bad for him - for, oh, about two seconds. LOL

GO SPURS GO

18

Well, someone must’ve forgot to tell the Hawks that they were supposed to be the Washington Generals to the Celtics Team of Destiny. I have no grand illusion that the Hawks are going to win this series, but I absolutely love their attitude. They don’t remember watching Larry Bird play and think that KG is an old fart who came into the league when they were in elementary school and who the hell is Red Auerbach? and Paul Pierce ain’t never been nothin’ but the best guy on bad teams. The Celts have tried intimidation, but the Hawks are too young and too stupid to know they’re supposed to be scared of these guys, and its paying off.

19

Okay, so, I had the Suns upsetting the Spurs and Lakers and the Celtics and taking the trophy. I wouldn’t make the prediction now, obviously, but I’m still not ruling it out. But with the Suns likely out of it, I like my favorite team of purple and gold to come out of the West. They match up particularly well against Utah and kicked some serious Jazz backside last time they played in SLC.

How 'bout them Hawks!?! Here’s a toast to the ghost of Tree Rollins munching the hand of Danny Ainge!

20

Gotta love Tree…gotta hate Ainge :stuck_out_tongue:

Not to harp too much on the Celtics-Hawks dust-up, but KG picked a pretty bad time to have a brain cramp. Let’s review:

  1. Wild elbow aimed at Zaza Pachulia. Perhaps not bad enough by itself to warrant suspension (especially since Jason Kidd avoids suspension after attempting to drive Jannero Pargo’s skull into the foundation of American Airlines Arena), but he follows this up by

  2. Getting physical with referee Ed (blessed are the peacemakers) Rush, with

  3. NBA Commissioner David Stern (looking like a very unamused Old Testament style God) in attendance.

For the record, I don’t want to see Garnett suspended. If the Celts are truly the better team I want to see them move on; likewise, I don’t want Celtic fans(?) to be able to make excuses if the Hawks win this series. But KG should know better than to get put into a position where a one game suspension is a possibility.

The Hawks seem to have stolen a play from the old Celtic handbook and caused their opponents to lose their collective composure.