NBA Playoffs

The Game Room
#1

For the few hoops fans on the board.

As a Wizards fan, let me just say that it’s simultaneously encouraging and disheartening to see Golden State and The Clippers, both traditionally doormats, in the playoffs, and the Wizards still looking at a lottery pick.
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That said, (really, just clearing space for mouseover clearance)First game was good. Nuggets up 3 late, Curry ties it for Golden State, Andre Miller wins it with 1.3 seconds on the clock.

Anyone with picks? A favorite team? Awards predictions?

#2

Alright, someone else made a topic! :smiley:

Miami will kill Milwaukee
Before the weekend, I would have picked Chicago as an upset over Brooklyn, but its halftime now and the Nets are up big. Looks like Boston is going to really give NY a run for its money though. I also can’t wait to see the Pacers and if they’re really as good as advertised.

I am SUPER psyched about the Clippers/Grizz game. If last year is any indication, this will be good. Unfortunately, they’ll probably lose to a strong OKC team. I don’t really buy into any of the drama in that OKC/Houston series. So Harden’s back, so what? He’s not going to cuss out Durant or moon the crowd. He used to play for them, big deal. At best, I see Houston winning one game and at least 2 blowouts by OKC.

Nuggets and Warriors was fun, though I hope the scoring picks up. Not having any emotional connection to either team, I just want to see a good series.

Lastly, my Lakers…GO LAKERS!!! Spurs are just as old as we are! They’re hurt, Ginobili’s out. Sure we lost Kobe but a Dwight/Pau/Nash team should still be able to beat them. I’m calling the upset here. Lakers in 7. Fuck yeah! Next year, please please please be on the same side of the bracket as the Clippers so we can finally have that inter-city series all Los Angelinos want!

No, I don’t see anyone really beating Miami, and that depresses me. Stupid Lebron. I fully expect Kobe to be back and be almost as good as he is this year. He’ll amaze people, just you watch. They better not amnesty him. 17 years and 5 championships is a lot to give to a city, they owe him. Plus, he can’t come back to the Lakers until after his contract’s over if they amnesty him, so fuck that. Kobe will be back by January or earlier!

#3

Good to see the Pacers are back. Loved those scrappy 90s Reggie Miller teams.

Boston-NY is going to be good. All the first round matchups look good, except Heat-Bucks, but I can’t imagine anyone blaming the Bucks for that; most teams look bad against the Heat these days.

#4

Wow. Bulls are really missing Derrick Rose.

#5

In what I say was the Lakers’ most frustrating season ever… they continued to frustrate in the playoffs. A game ripe for the taking, they missed open jumper after open jumper in a game where San Antonio shot just as poorly. :smack:

I imagine the Lakers will improve offensively in Game 2, but so will the Spurs. Still, I can see the Lakers upsetting the Spurs in this series. Which is not the same as expecting it.

Was really hoping Golden State would upset Denver (would be the Lakers 2nd round matchup), but with David Lee gone now I don’t see it happening. Before Galinari went down I had the Nuggets as my surprise team to come out of the West (to get trounced by Miami).

#6

Celtics may have had a chance with a healthy Rondo, but without him they just look overmatched and old.

#7

Celtics and Bucks seem to have a good half of play, but stink it up the 2nd half. Or maybe the teams they are playing just decides to get serious after the first half. I still don’t believe NY is as good as their seeding.

#8

This Nuggets/Warriors game is a good one…

#9

Brandon Jennings is probably rethinking his “We’ll win in 6” tweet.

#10

Nuggets and Warriors has been a really fun series. It’s too bad David Lee is out, but it looks like Golden State will keep it interesting for a few more games anyway. Watching Stephen Curry shoot is amazing- I think he just has the easiest shot I’ve ever seen. The Lakers-Spurs game was interesting and it looked like the Lakers could have won if they’d just made some open shots and that could be a good sign for them, but maybe that was the best chance they’ll get. Ginobili was great there. Watching Bulls-Nets is just kind of sad. The whole year is kind of a lost cause without Rose, Noah is banged up, and everybody seems exhausted. It seems like they were all just worked too hard this year. They were very good last night but I don’t know how many more times they can play like that at this point.

#11

Houston could’ve won that game last night. I was hoping they’d gain a little confidence from game one, where they managed to stay even with Oklahoma City until maybe the middle of the second quarter, but I didn’t think they would come so close to winning. OKC is going to win anyway but this should be a great learning experience for that team.

And the Lakers’ season of broken mirrors continues: Steve Blake (who has been playing very well) is out for game three with a hamstring injury, Steve Nash is probably out, and Jodie Meeks is probably still out. So Chris Duhon, among others, could see significant minutes. I wonder if Kobe is thinking about playing in a wheelchair.

#12

I tend to think that that performance was a once-in-a-lifetime thing rather than a sign of things to come. It wasn’t just Curry - every single player who took the court had a career shooting day - Draymond Green shot 1-2 (both three pointers) and at 50%, he was the worst shooter that night on the team.

As a team they shot 65%, something that hasn’t been done in the playoffs for more than 20 years. On the season they averaged .458. The Nuggets actually played well, although Kenneth Faried was clearly not 100%. I think GSW come back to earth next game.

#13

That’s a good point, but I still think it’ll be a fun series. Curry is struggling with his ankles again, so we’ll see if he plays and how good he is if he takes the court. Bigger news here, though: Russel Westbrook has a cartilage tear in his knee and he’s out for at least a few weeks, if not the rest of the playoffs (assuming OKC can keep things going into the conference finals without him). If Houston had held onto game two and they were tied 1-1 going back to Houston against an OKC team without Westbrook, this would be a very different series. I’m sure OKC will still be good, but can they beat the Spurs or Nuggets without him? I’d expect some awesome performances from Durant regardless of their ultimate fate.

#14

The Lakers are about to start Darius Morris and Andrew Goudelock at guard in a home playoff game against the Spurs. Somewhere in the American West, Phil Jackson is smoking some very fine hashish and laughing his ass off.

#15

Russell Westbrook out indefinitely after tearing his meniscus.

I’d put this slightly under Rose’s injury last year in terms of impact on the playoffs. I’m really interested to see how far Durant can carry them now.

#16

This Denver-Golden State is crazy. It’s like an early 80’s game, the score could be in the 90’s at the start of the fourth quarter. Both teams are shooting over 50%. Ty Lawson has 26 points with 6 1/2 minutes to go in the third quarter.

#17

Yup. Another very exciting, very fun game with kind of a crazy ending. I still think Denver are the favorites down 2-1, but it really comes down to who has the hottest shooting hand.

#18

Nate Robinson went MJ on the Nets.

#19

That triple-OT Nets-Bulls game was amazing. Bet the Celtics wish they still had Nate Robinson.

Glad to see the Lakers gone; not as satisfying of a sweep as the one Dallas gave them two years ago, but it’ll do.

With Westbrook out, probably looking at Spurs-Heat. If Kawhi Leonard can keep Lebron remotely in check, and if Wade’s knee continues to bother him, Duncan can continue his renaissance, and the Spurs can make their threes (without Miami’s defense running them off the line, which they love to do), an upset is possile.

#20

Pretty amazing week for the playoffs. Oh, by the way can we change this year’s playoffs name to the Injury Playoffs 2013? I’ve never seen so many impact guys go down with injuries than this year and guys who are simply not playing because of injuries.

Amazing triple OT game between the Nets/Bulls. That one deserves a replay on ESPN Classic. It reminds me of the Bulls/Celtics series from a few years ago where almost every game went into OT. The Nets started off good in game 1 but something happened, they just can’t make any shots. Deron Williams is looking less and less like the foundation to a championship with each passing day. I think they’ll win game 5 though, they have to, but look for the Bulls to close this out in 6.

The Warriors are one of those interesting teams that pop up almost every playoffs where they jump-shoot their way to a berth. Usually they flame out pretty quickly though, but with Curry, the new 3 point champ, and their offense of 3 guards, I think they are definitely a threat to at least make the conference finals. Its disappointing to see Denver not put up more of a fight, but then they got injuries too. I hope they’ll take game 5 but I think maybe GS’s hot shooting will continue on for at least a few more games. I’m excited to see how this young group of hot shooters fare against the veteran Spurs team that knows how to execute.

I am loving the Clippers/Grizzlies series. I think this one will definitely go 7. Neither team seems to be able to win on the other’s home court. Hopefully, that will extend to game 7 and the Grizz won’t take revenge for last year.

What the hell happened to Indiana at Atlanta? They shot 27%??! That’s not going to get it done against Miami.

The Knicks blow a chance to close out Boston. Frankly, I didn’t think the Knicks had this much fight in them. I wasn’t a believer of them before the playoffs, I thought Boston would punch them in the mouth and Carmelo would resort to his old one-on-one duels that leaves the other guys standing around. His stepping up and being a real leader, not to mention still shooting well, will help to extend the next series.

Lakers got swept :frowning: Damn injuries. I hope Dwight stays though and everybody gets healthy. I am not a fan of amnestying Kobe. After 17 years, I think he’s more than made up for the extra money they have to pay him. Plus, if he does come back before the playoffs, then amnestying him would make him ineligible to play with the Lakers until after next season is over. There is no way Kobe sits for a year and a half. Pay him the money and let him ride out his retirement season with the only team he’s ever played for. He deserves it. Next year has a lot of doubt, yes, and I heard we may be kind of tanking so that we’ll free up cap space for 2014. Personally, I’m not a fan of that, I think the Lakers earn more than enough money to pay whatever free agent a load of cash, and this is a marquee destination. Go for broke next year, get a few younger guys, but most importantly get everyone healthy. I still think the Lakers of 28-12 after the All-Star Break is the real deal and not the crappy one we saw at the beginning of the season. I don’t want to get rid of Pau, I think his contributions are still more than what we can get in a trade. I want to see what Nash can do with the ball in his hands instead of in Kobe’s and not go down in fucking GAME 1!!! of the god damn season. Whatever happens though, I trust Kupchak and the Lakers organization and I think they’ll be more competitive next year, even without Kobe for part of it. That’s my belief and I’m sticking to it. Go Lakers!