Showtime

My favorite time of the year. Rankings will be done by Wednesday and it's time to hear what teams people think will go all the way.

Round 1 Schedule
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...ked/index.html

WEST
No. 1 San Antonio vs. No. 8 Sacramento
No. 2 Phoenix vs. No. 7 Los Angeles Lakers
No. 3 Denver vs. No. 6 Los Angeles Clippers
No. 4 Dallas vs. No. 5 Memphis

EAST
No. 1 Detroit vs. No. 8 Milwaukee
No. 2 Miami vs. No. 7 Chicago
No. 3 New Jersey vs. No. 6 Indiana
No. 4 Cleveland vs. No. 5 Washington

Teh Predictions*
West
Round 1:
San Antoino in 5
Lakers in 5
Clippers in 6
Dallas in 6

Round 2:
Lakers in 4
San Anonio in 6

Conference finals: Lakers in 7

East
Round 1:
Detroit in 4
Miami in 6
New Jersey in 5
Washington in 6

Round 2:
Detroit in 5
Miami in 5

Conference finals: Detroit in 7

NBA Finals: Lakers in 6

*Teh Predictions is done for my amusement. Any attemp to profit from this information is done at your own risk.

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Showtime

Soon, it begins...

MikeD

Nice poll...

I'll defer until the seeds are settled. Right now I'm leaning towards the Wizards or Bucks, but we'll see.

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brainsmile

Kings in 6

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"Nobody beats Vitus Gerulaitis 18 times in a row." - Vitus Gerulaitis on beating Jimmy Connors after 17 failed attempts.

wung

i second that ...

kgsilvas

I'm opting for some other team.

Showtime

Predictions anyone?

brainsmile

Kobe wins MVP and then loses in round 1

Showtime

I don't think kobe will get MVP though he deserves it. Especially since he played better than anyone else in the league and if you replaced him with any other player, the Lakers miss the playoffs. Can't say the same about any of the other candidates.

Oh and I'm pretty sure Phil is about to get his 1st Coach of the Year award.

Good times.

RoniMan

i'll just do round 1 predictions for now

WEST
No. 1 San Antonio vs. No. 8 Sacramento (SAS in 5)
No. 2 Phoenix vs. No. 7 Los Angeles Lakers (sigh...as much as it hurts me to say this, but i think AND i prefer to see PHX in 6)
No. 3 Denver vs. No. 6 Los Angeles Clippers (LAC in 6)
No. 4 Dallas vs. No. 5 Memphis (DAL in 5)

EAST
No. 1 Detroit vs. No. 8 Milwaukee (DET in 3...j/k...4)
No. 2 Miami vs. No. 7 Chicago (MIA in 5)
No. 3 New Jersey vs. No. 6 Indiana (NJN in 7)
No. 4 Cleveland vs. No. 5 Washington (CLE in 6)

VTGreg

Ummm.... LeBron???

LeBron and Kobe have similar supporting casts but LeBron has his team with a 50-32 record and a #4 seed and the Lakers are 45-37 and the #7 seed.

The seeds would be just about the same if they switched conferences but LeBron has more complete stats and his team was 5 games better than Kobe's.

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Showtime

Wrong. LeBron, Nash, etc. are all great players, but you could have used someone else to fill their roles. Chauncy running point and Phoenix gets into the playoffs. Nash running point for the Cavs they get into the playoffs. Could any of them provided the points the Lakeshow needed to make it? What about clutch baskets? This year Kobe was the best player out there and he was the only one who could have made the playoffs with this roster. Kobe's 35+ has only been done by Wilt (4 times), Rick Barry (once) & MJ (once). His D' was better than any of the other candidates even though it was subpar by his standards.

It's all moot since Nash is most likely going to win it again. No biggie as long as we knock Nash out of the playoffs.
---------------

Anyways who's falling and whos moving past 1st round?

ray

A close look at the numbers shows that, in the final two minutes of one-possession games, James is shooting 18-for-28 this season. No other NBA player, including Kobe Bryant, is even shooting 50 percent. The truth is that LeBron has come up big in the clutch, and perhaps more importantly, he's trusted his teammates to make big shots as well.

RoniMan

and technically, by your logic Showtime, i can say that if Lebron filled in for Kobe, we'd be in same position or maybe even higher rankings.

ialsohaveadream

Look, it pains me to say this, but Kobe deserves MVP. Showtime (man it's weird getting used to different names for people, at least nickel only shortened hers...) is right, Kobe made that Lakers team get to the playoffs. LeBron is great, but the Cavs have more talent around him than the Lakers do with Kobe. Other than Odom, the Lakers are a bunch of scrubs. At least Bron had Hughes (when he wasn't hurt), Damon Jones, and Big Z.

WEST
San Antonio vs. Sacramento: San An
Phoenix vs. Los Angeles Lakers: Phoenix
Denver vs. Los Angeles Clippers: Clippers
Dallas vs. Memphis: Dallas

EAST
Detroit vs. Milwaukee: Detroit
Miami vs. Chicago: Miami (and the whole thing about Shaq being able to just flip the switch? If you've watched Heat games closely, you can tell that when he wants to, he can still dominate...just not for long periods of time)
New Jersey vs. Indiana: Jersey, although I think this one might be close
Cleveland vs. Washington: Washington (I don't think Bron's ready yet)

A closer look at the numbers shows that LeBron was 4 for 19 on game-winning shots. Kobe was 7 for 32. Biggest clutch player? Carmelo- 11 for 17. That's 65%. Next highest is Ray Allen at 45%.

And here's the source, because that's what we do around here.

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Showtime

Numbers don't tell the whole story. Unlike the other teams, you know who is taking the last shot on the Show. Any GM, coach, etc. will tell you that if could have one guy to make the last shot it would be #8. He averages the most 4th quarter points. He is the only player in the league that teams focus their entire defense around. Either let him score and shut down the other guys or try to stop him with double/triple teams. No other individual player commands that kind of attention and he still averaged over 35 points a game, doesn't get anywhere near the amount of calls mj got and is shooting a good percentage.

Now where are the predictions?

ryan_self

I'll take the Spurs to beat Detroit in six games in the Finals. Not many upsets, except for Clips over Suns in Round 2.

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bachviet

Western Conference:

San Antonio over Sacramento in 5
Phoenix over LA Lakers in 6
LA Clippers over Denver in 5
Dallas over Memphis in 6

Eastern Conference:

Detroit over Milwaukee in 4
Miami over Chicago in 5
New Jersey over Indiana in 7
Cleveland over Washington in 7

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molecularfire

Western Conference:

San Antonio over Sacramento in 4
Phoenix over LA Lakers in 5
LA Clippers over Denver in 6
Dallas over Memphis in 7

Eastern Conference:

Detroit over Milwaukee in 4
Miami over Chicago in 6
New Jersey over Indiana in 6
Cleveland over Washington in 6

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Showtime

So far the playoffs have been better than the regular season and worth watching. With the exception of Detroit/Bucks and Clippers/Nuggets series.
Detroit has set their will and that is that. Nuggets have given up and that is that. Kmart has imploded and that is that for him either way.
After 2 games Detroit looks to be playing the best basketball.

San Antonio was one very lucky bounce away from losing the 2nd game to "Ron Ron" less Sacramento after blowing them out by 30+ in the 1st game. Now they lead 2-0, but this series could/should have been tied at 1 each.

Lakeshow is starting to set their will and stole homecourt last night. Apparently Nash is getting the MVP... Kobe posterized him on the most sick dunk of the playoffs so far. Poor Nash complained after the game. Very un-MVP like imo. You didn't see #8 do that after the crucial no call in game 1.

Not much to see in Dallas, but there might be something in Memphis.

Miami has squeaked by in the 2 wins. Chicago won't stay hot, but could get 1 at this rate.

New Jersey and Indiana all tied at 1 each. Vinsanity made up for his poor shooting in the 1st game and Jersey is starting to look nice. 1st team to score 90 wins in both games.

Going in the opposite direction of Carter... Lebron went from legendary to only superstarish (10 turnovers in game 2) and now the series is tied. Obviously, it all hinges on Washingtons D on James.

Showtime

Video of the dunk on Nash is currently in the #5 box at the top right side.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/dailyd...ilydime-060427

CornMonkey

that dunk was nasty... haha, espn reports nash's mvp = "most visciously posterized"



and nash getting a handful of kobe's nuts

MikeD

I think a bit too much is being made over this dunk. It was a dunk...that's it. A single basket. Two points.

It won't mean much when the Suns win the series. Hell, it won't mean much if they don't (which isn't going to happen).

It's a team game, folks. That's the big problem with the Lakers and, more directly, Kobe. I'd take a 60 win season with a league MVP over an 81 point game anytime...

Now, in the spirit of fairness, Kobe is a great player. Hell of a talent. Too bad he ran the team out of town, all the way down to South Beach.

Showtime

In all fairness... Lol . The Dunk was spectacular and it was in a winning effort.

From where we LA fans sit, we made out really well. Kept the best player in the league and trimmed all the fat that is Shaq. We had one bad season and are in the playoffs once again with a great chance to win the 1st round. Don't read what the writers are predicting, watch the game and you will see how the Show is coming together.

As for Shaq... Imagine paying his overweight underperforming egotistical ass 30 million a year for 20 & 10. Add to that losing Kobe to Clippers and getting bounced in the 1st round last year and this year and for the rest of Shaqs contract. Miami will never get a title with Shaq and that is that. But at least Miami didn't have to pay him 30 million and he got into better shape and makes you feel like you have a shot.

MikeD

Hey, we on this. Dunks are important to you, winning games are important to me.

ialsohaveadream

That Ginobli drive-and-dish play was beautiful. No way that should've gone to OT, though. Had it been in Sacto, different story.

Nash getting the MVP is pure crap. I would've legitimately picked four other players over him for MVP: Kobe, Bron, Dirk, and Wade.
I think NJ wins this, but it's not gonna be easy for them. It'll go at least 6, probably 7. Which, by the way, is great news for the Heat.

Showtime

Wow! If you missed game 4, you missed one of all time greatest playoff matches. Kobe hit 2 clutch baskets, 1 to tie in regulation and 1 to win by 1 point in OT. Smush parker stripped Nash in the final seconds of OT after Nash hit a 3 and Kobes shot wins an amazing game. It will be on Sports center/espn all night. Enjoy

This weekend had some good and some very bad basketball. Cleveland is getting it done thanks to Lebron.

What the Bucks happening to the 1 seeds? Detroit and San Antonio lost. San Antonio should be down 2-1, and Ron Ron is giving them fits. Detroit should compose themselves and win the next couple of games.

Dallas is the only undefeated team in the playoffs and if they can carry that momentum, will be a force.

The bulls and heat are tied 2-2. GP and Wade went at it and even if they win this series, GP/Shaq will never get a/another ring.

Lakers and the Clippers could meet in the 2nd round. Both teams up 3-1 and look locked in to go to the 2nd round. A all Los Angelese 2nd round. So ultra rare, that it's better than USC/Ucla or the Dodgers/Angels games that huge out here. Anyways, Lakers should sweep the clippers and if that happens, will be in great shape for the conference finals.

ialsohaveadream

Phoenix blew it themselves in the 4th, and Kobe's shot to win it was impressive, but terrible call by the refs to even allow that to happen. The Lakers were fouling Nash as he called for a timeout, and the referee calls a jump ball. Clearly he's from the Dick Bavetta school of officiating.

Still, you knew Kobe was hitting that final shot as soon as he got the ball. The refs can make bad calls all they want, but they can't put the ball in the net.

And by the way, Nash looked...scared in the 4th and OT, and you're telling me that guy's an MVP? Kobe, Bron, and Dirk carry teams. With a game on the line, I'm not counting on Nash.

brainsmile

this will go at least 5 games

A Day

Lakers stuck it in the Suns ASSSSSS today, HELL YEAH, best game of the playoffs yet...lol @ the people who picked the Suns over the lakers in 4 or 5 or even at all, so much for that.

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