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2011 NBA Playoffs

Discussion in 'Sports Board' started by Czechvodkabaron, Apr 14, 2011.

  1. Czechvodkabaron

    Czechvodkabaron
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    It's that time of the year again to make predictions about and discuss the NBA playoffs.

    My predictions:

    Eastern Conference
    Bulls over Pacers 4-0
    Magic over Hawks 4-1
    Celtics over Knicks 4-2
    Heat over 76ers 4-1

    Bulls over Magic 4-1
    Heat over Celtics 4-3

    Heat over Bulls 4-2

    Western Conference
    Spurs over Grizzlies 4-1
    Thunder over Nuggets 4-1
    Mavericks over Trail Blazers 4-2
    Lakers over Hornets 4-0

    Spurs over Thunder 4-1
    Lakers over Mavericks 4-0

    Lakers over Spurs 4-1

    Finals
    Lakers over Heat 4-3


    Last year I predicted the Magic over the Mavericks in the Finals, so I am hoping to do better this year.
     
  2. MoreCowbell

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    If you're a Spurs fan, you have to feel pretty anxious about the way they limped into the playoffs, especially with Manu hurt and Duncan not too far removed from an injury (admittedly, his numbers since his return have been fairly good). While the casual fan might not give them a lot of love, the Grizzlies can be a dangerous team. And then you see the Thunder in round 2. I would be mildly surprised if they make it to the Western Conference Finals, but we'll see.


    I would have had some enthusiasm about the Celtics chances pre-trade, but they've played so poorly since then that I can't see them making it past either Miami or Chicago at this point. Rondo looks lost and depressed half the time, Rondo & Allen have been shooting poorly recently, they lost a great interior defender, and Jeff Green has been inconsistent at best.

    I also miss Nate Robinson, but that's admittedly mostly for entertainment value:

     
    #2 MoreCowbell, Apr 14, 2011
    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 27, 2015
  3. Parker

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    I love how people who haven't posted in the regular season thread are about to be all over the playoff thread.

    You're fucking nuts* about the bolded part. The Bulls are going to have Homecourt. Ignoring the fact the Bulls have already beaten the Heat 3 times, I believe they've lost a total of 5 games at home. 5 games. Now "anything can happen in the playoffs" but you're fucking nuts* if that isn't a 4-3 series either way.


    *I mean this in the nicest way possible.
     
  4. KIMaster

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    No clue why you're calling him out, especially for that prediction. The Heat will play at home in game 6 and will be away at Chicago for game 7. They have a much better chance of winning the series in 6 than in 7, so if he thinks Miami will prevail, 4-2 is more reasonable than 4-3.
     
  5. MoreCowbell

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    I don't often agree with KIMaster, but nuts?

    Predicting that the #2 seed will beat the #1 seed in the Conference Finals is nuts?

    You need to scale back your definition of the word nuts. Pacers 4-2 over the Bulls is nuts. I'm not sure I agree with him, but Heat over Bulls in 6 is well within the realm of reasonable opinions.
     
  6. Rob4Broncos

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    Agreed. I certainly don't expect anyone to beat the Bulls, and I think they're gonna be all over that Larry O'Brien trophy. But that's not to say they couldn't be beat, of course. In fact, if anyone can beat Chicago, Miami is just as capable as any team, at least out of the East (head-to-head performance notwithstanding).

    20 bucks says Andrew Bynum will fuck up the rest of his knee in round 1. Any takers? Seems like he's the new Yao Ming: at a certain point, we're tired of being told he's injured, because it's pretty much expected by now.
     
  7. KIMaster

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    That's actually quite the insult to Yao Ming; Ming missed a grand total of 2 games in his first 3 seasons while being a key contributor, competing in the play-offs, and also spending the off-season on the Chinese national team.

    Except for his second season, when he was a minor role player, Bynum has missed a bunch of games each and every season, while playing a fraction of the time, and asked to carry way less of the load.

    Ming might have made it if it wasn't for the insane demands placed upon him by the Chinese government. Bynum is just injury prone, with structurally weak ankles and knees given his frame.
     
  8. Czechvodkabaron

    Czechvodkabaron
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    No offense taken. I didn't get to watch as many regular season games this year as I would have liked, and I probably won't get to watch a lot of the playoff games, but I have kept up with what has been going on.

    As far as predicting that the Heat will beat the Bulls in the Eastern Conference finals, I just think that Miami having more experienced players will help them prevail. And KIMaster is correct: I used home games vs. away games largely to make my predictions. The Cavaliers finished with the best record in the NBA the last two seasons but didn't have any chance of winning a title either year, despite what anybody believed. The Bulls are a better team than the Cavs were either of the last two years, but I just don't see them getting by the older Miami or Boston teams.

    And I do think that Bynum and Artest will step up in the playoffs. I don't like the Lakers, but their height will make them hard to beat.
     
  9. Parker

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    My very good friend has playoff-finals tickets for the Bulls, I touched them today, and was promised to go to at least 2 home games and 1 finals game if they make it for no cost. Therefore I'm going totally homer and non-objective with the Bulls from here on out. It is my right as a fan to do so. Neg rep all you want for it, but you've been warned. Please do not take any attacks on ideas or character personally. With the cold winter dying away, and the Bulls winning, Chicago will turn into my heaven city. Rational thought has no place here. Thank you for your understanding in advance.

    Every other game, I'll speak analytically.

    I think the Lakers and Bulls are going to be in the finals. What I really want to see is the Nuggets do well until the ECF, then lose to the Lakers in 7. Something about those plucky Nuggets. I'm interested in watching at least 4 of the series (besides the Bulls) in the first around.
     
  10. Rob4Broncos

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    April 29, 2001. That was the last time the Knicks won a game in the playoffs. That's all I want. One win, and I'll be happy.

    That was also the last time they had 40+ wins.
     
  11. Parker

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    Just got the first call. Game 1 Bulls - Pacers in 84 minutes. YESSIR!
     
  12. MoreCowbell

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    Wow. That was a great game.

    The Pacers played 45 minutes of, if not perfect basketball, pretty damn close. Especially Collison and Hansborough, and Granger made up for a shittastic first half with a great second.

    But those last 3 minutes from the Bulls...damn. Noah's interior defense at the end of that game was unbelievable, and Rose is just so hard to get in front of when he drives. I have literally never seen a player with the sort of lateral quickness with the ball that he has. It's almost unfair to the guys trying to guard him.
     
  13. Parker

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    We should not have won that game. Collison and Hansborough were lighting us up. Keith Bogans needs to die yesterday. No idea how he is ranked 72nd in PER out of all SGs and is ranked 77th out of 78 in usage rate and starts games. Thank god Hot Sauce (aka Kyle Korver) was 4-4 and iced the game at the end.

    Also, I could rant about this game, but I barely have a voice after that 4th quarter. Joey fucking Crawford. Thank god he only is officiating one game a series.
     
  14. Rob4Broncos

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    That motherfucker is still officiating games??
     
  15. MoreCowbell

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    Yes, sadly. I don't really get it, given the pure volume of complaints about him in recent years for blatantly obvious things. Seniority and unions are funny like that.





    For the record, though, I didn't think there was anything egregiously bad about his work today.
     
    #15 MoreCowbell, Apr 16, 2011
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  16. Tom Ato

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    Nowitzki and Kidd looked amazing yesterday. I cannot believe Kidd has any jump left in those legs - he's 38.

    I would really like to see them get a ring, but I doubt it's ever going to happen.
     
  17. $100T2

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    My predictions:

    Eastern Conference
    Bulls over Pacers 4-1
    Magic over Hawks 4-3
    Celtics over Knicks 4-2
    Heat over 76ers 4-1

    Bulls over Magic 4-2
    Celtics over Heat 4-3

    Celtics over Bulls 4-3*

    Western Conference
    Spurs over Grizzlies 4-2
    Thunder over Nuggets 4-3
    Blazers over Mavericks 4-3
    Lakers over Hornets 4-1

    Thunder over Spurs 4-2
    Lakers over Blazers 4-1

    Lakers over Thunder 4-2

    Finals
    Celtics over Lakers 4-3

    *Disclaimer: I'm trying not to let homerism cloud my judgment too much, being a Celtics fan and all, but I think this is the last hurrah for the Cs, and both the series with the Bulls and the Lakers will be full out war. Honestly, the Bulls/Celtics could go either way, and it wouldn't surprise me to see the Bulls win in 5.
     
  18. Rob4Broncos

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    So today, the Grizzlies beat the Spurs for their franchise's first playoff win, and the Hornets (supposedly the worst team in the playoffs that isn't from Indiana) beat the Lakers (who are favored to win it all).

    This postseason is definitely not full of gimmes. That makes me feel slightly better about tonight's NY-Boston game.
     
  19. JeffPrevails

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    Watched some good games at the bar last night. Ray Allen's clutch three didn't surprise anybody, did it? That man is a professional. Then I watched the Knicks half ass it down the court and Melo took a garbage shot as the clock ran out. At first I was upset with Melo, but upon watching the replay the rest of the team just stood around and waited for him to shoot. I guess I can't blame him, but why wasn't there a play holstered for this situation? Knicks had a real good chance to get one over on Boston and blew it hard.

    The Nuggets/OKC game delivered on what we all thought it would be; awesome.
     
  20. Rob4Broncos

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    As soon as Ray Allen caught the pass, my heart sank. You knew it was going in. As for the subsequent play, I think the fact that they were out of timeouts and had to turn on the jets immediately might have played a detrimental factor. And all things considering, I didn't think it was that bad of a shot. I mean, there was only like 4 seconds left; what else could he have done?

    Considering how much the team melted down in the 2nd half, it doesn't really matter. There's no way they should have been in the position to need a buzzer-beating shot in the first place, given how much they outplayed Boston in the first half.