EPTWe have a chance against the Spurs, but really have no chance against the Thunder. Maybe if we meet the Spurs in the second round, and the Clippers upset the Thunder on the other side of the bracket, we might be able to sneak into the finals. I think us and the Clippers are long shot contenders, but if all the right pieces fall into place it could happen.
NBA 2013-14 Season - Page 214
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seiferoth10
3362 Posts
We have a chance against the Spurs, but really have no chance against the Thunder. Maybe if we meet the Spurs in the second round, and the Clippers upset the Thunder on the other side of the bracket, we might be able to sneak into the finals. I think us and the Clippers are long shot contenders, but if all the right pieces fall into place it could happen. | ||
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Ace
United States16096 Posts
Houston is a contender now that Dwight is healthy and so is the rest of the team. I hate to say it, but I don't see the Spurs making it to the Finals even though Kawhi Leonard is their most indispensable guy. They are good, but they don't look as impressive as last year. I haven't looked too closely at them since Kawhi came back from injury though so this could change. OKC I'm iffy on. Durant is great, Westbrook is so-so, Ibaka is good. They actually have a great stable of young talent surrounding. Problem is how they do once minutes tighten up vs playoff lineups. Reggie Jackson and Jeremy Lamb are fine in the regular season vs Chris Paul, in the playoff when he's playing 37+ minutes a game they are fucking toast. GSW are the most intriguing team, since their offense is broken but defense is lights out. Harrison Barnes isn't THAT good and a lot of hype came off that playoff series vs a battered Denver team. Thankfully, Draymond Green is back tho :D Everyone else is meh. Portland is a 1st round causality. The offense is buoyed by their perimeter players being great penetrators and shooters. Aldridge is wildly overrated (not even top 5 PF imo) and until they offload his usage and midrange shots - which he isn't elite at hitting - they are in trouble. Phoenix needs Bledsoe back at 100% to have a shot, Dallas is going no where unless Dirk is saving energy, and Minny is on the bubble but they have too many bad players and a league worst bench holding Kevin Love's MVP caliber season back. | ||
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AxionSteel
United States7754 Posts
Dallas has pretty much no chance of winning a series, and Phoenix are incredibly impressive just for being in the position they are in. Any success in the playoffs is a bonus. I agree that Portland will most likely lose in the first round, especially if they don't get home court (currently 5th). Could see them maybe beating the Warriors with home court, but the Clippers will pound them. I don't rate Aldridge that highly either, was shocked to see that before he injured himself and missed a string of games, he'd attempted 50 more FG's than any player in the league. Warriors are definitely going to be fascinating. With their defense and the ability of Curry to go off, with maybe one or two games of Thompson going off, they will be a really, really tough out in a 7 game series against anyone. I quite like Houston. I feel like they've got lots of bases covered. Especially Looking forward to the 4v5 and 3v6 matchups in the first round. GSW vs Houston is currently on the cards. That would be rather epic  | ||
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Ace
United States16096 Posts
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RowdierBob
Australia13294 Posts
Although Blake is the X-factor this year. He has really taken a significant leap that could take them place. He's not the soft flopper he once was. But DJ is still a weakness for them inside. The first decent defence they run into will beat them IMO and we'll be back to making excuses for them. But maybe this year I'll be proven wrong. The West is very open. Portland will struggle IMO. When the defence ramps up their O will crumble. But they are young and they do gun so will take 6 or 7 games to beat. Durant's far and away the best player in the West. Save for WB going down again I think OKC is a lock for the WCF. SAS is tricky. They're the best run and most professional team in the West but the legs are old. If the Dubs stayed fit and were coached properly last year I'm not so sure SAS takes that series. Young teams with strong offence area weakness for them. Dal and Phx will be pesky but aren't good enough to go far IMO. Definitely candidates to spring an upset but second round at most for me. And the there's the Grizz. They really don't change much but will be so hard to beat. Doubt they'll get close to WCF again though. Second round ceiling for me. Houston is just awesome right now. Dwight is defending like it was 2009 again and they have one of the smartest run offences in the NBA. With Asik back on board, they're my pick to play OKC in the WCF. And then there's my Dubs. The D is humming and they're doing well to limit the minutes on Bogues' body so far. If he's fit to hold the middle, the likes of he, Klay and Iggy will be a brutal combo to break down. Lee worries me greatly. But Steph is a guy like very few who can just torch teams so badly with his offence. If he gets going like last year and his guys around him stay fit then they're a real shot at the WCF. Blake's addition has been solid for their bench. Consistency will likely be their killer in a seven game series. They're still too streaky offensively IMO. | ||
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Ace
United States16096 Posts
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karazax
United States3737 Posts
Of course even in the playoffs a team can blowout the other team and lose the series, and the Pacers did the same thing to the Rockets back in December. But the Rockets are gelling at the right time with the best record in the league since January 1st. If they can finish this tough stretch of Portland, OKC, Chicago and Miami out strong, then the rest of their schedule sets up nicely with only 4 other games against quality playoff teams out of the last 16 games. The 2nd to last game vs the Spurs at home could be for the division lead, and the Rockets already have the tie breaker there. | ||
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AxionSteel
United States7754 Posts
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cLutZ
United States19574 Posts
On March 08 2014 19:34 Ace wrote: I think the Clippers are actually as close to the best team as possible in the West if they can get anything out of a third big. Chris Paul is the third best player in the league, and even has a claim for #2. Blake is obviously a star and DJ is the man. Once Redick comes back their top 4 is lights out. Got to disagree with the cp3 sentiment. Objectively, he is probably the best player in the NBA at the skills of basketball. But physically he is so far behind because of size, health, etc. I wouldn't consider him top 5. | ||
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MassHysteria
United States3678 Posts
And yes, watch out for Memphis. They coming on lately, and they play a "playoff style" basketball already, so they are a scary match for any team that gets them. I think SAS is looking a little old too, but you never know. With Popovich, they could just be saving it for the final stretch. Por, Phx, Dal are all just first round exits. Though if the Clippers end at #4 and Portland at #5, the Blazers would have homecourt advantage which would make it a more entertaining series at least (clips still have edge though). | ||
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Haiq343
United States2548 Posts
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Cloud9157
United States2968 Posts
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Haiq343
United States2548 Posts
Or are you looking for more matchup specifics? i.e. How would Clipps-Heat compare to Rockets-Heat etc? | ||
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Cloud9157
United States2968 Posts
Personally, I like the Clippers the most against the Heat. Thunder are up there too, but something just feels off about them. I don't think the Warriors, Blazers, or Rockets will matchup too well against them. And even though they're second seed, I'm still calling the Spurs a dark horse team, because they're always extremely quiet, and then when playoffs come around, they explode past everyone else. | ||
XaI)CyRiC
United States4471 Posts
Also, D12's fully capable of tracking a guy like Bosh on defense, and yet Bosh has no chance of guarding him on the other end. If they force MIA to play two bigs, then Lebron isn't able to do his worst damage playing at PF. At the same time, HOU has enough ball handling spread around that they have a pretty good chance of being able to handle MIA's aggressive/trapping defense about as well as anyone. | ||
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rabidch
United States20289 Posts
westbrook will get his nba head back, okc needs him anyway pacers are having the worst time of their season, if they can figure out a working offense then i think they can give heat a very hard time, otherwise its going to be the heat in the finals. clippers are doing a lot better, they're really scary right now, if their team snaps in place for the playoffs then they can win it all i dont think houston is that great. they're good, but i think this is their peak and the western conference has to get worse before they have a chance at the finals | ||
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Kenpachi
United States9908 Posts
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RowdierBob
Australia13294 Posts
On March 08 2014 22:57 Ace wrote: Blake was injured last year in the playoffs :/ Come on, they got spanked. You really think that's the reason they lost? | ||
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RowdierBob
Australia13294 Posts
On March 09 2014 06:38 XaI)CyRiC wrote: Lots of fun discussion going on. I'm just going to chime in with my opinion that HOU would actually be a pretty dangerous matchup for the Heat if they met in the finals. Dwight is playing like his pre-injury self, and is the kind of mobile defensive big that is capable of keeping Lebron and Wade under control in the paint. Having a healthy Asik coming off of the bench would give them a second such player, which is a luxury few teams have. Also, D12's fully capable of tracking a guy like Bosh on defense, and yet Bosh has no chance of guarding him on the other end. If they force MIA to play two bigs, then Lebron isn't able to do his worst damage playing at PF. At the same time, HOU has enough ball handling spread around that they have a pretty good chance of being able to handle MIA's aggressive/trapping defense about as well as anyone. I think the Rockets remind me a bit of the Bulls in 2011. They've got the talent to compete with Miami and they're deep. Ironic that Perk could actually find himself as a useful basketball player again if he matches up vs Dwight =D | ||
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Haiq343
United States2548 Posts
On March 09 2014 16:01 RowdierBob wrote: Come on, they got spanked. You really think that's the reason they lost? It was certainly a major contributor. | ||
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