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.... and for the 3rd year in a row, I bring to you the NBA Playoffs thread! Check the season thread: here.
I'll get right to the point.
Matchups:
Clevland vs Chicago
Orlando vs Bobcats
Atlanta vs Milwaukee
Miami vs Boston
Lakers vs OKC
Dallas vs Spurs
Phoenix vs Portland
Denver vs Utah
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Storylines:
1) Welcome to the Playoffs: We have three "new comers" this season: Milwaukee, Bobcats, and OKC. Will any of them make some noise this season? I think Milwaukee has the most chance, although losing Bogut probably killed it. The Bobcats match up poorly against Orlando, but are an exciting and scary opponent. Sadly (since I'm a Lakers fan... but ALSO a huge OKC fan so not so sad), OKC has the best chance to surprise people. While I don't expect an upset, I think the series will be highly competitive. Looking forward to Kobe v. Durant.
2) Is Orlando tougher? They were the cinderella story of last season's playoffs, but got roughed up in the finals. A year later, are they up to the task?
3) Is Clevland for real? All signs point to THIS YEAR being LeBron's year. Will be live up to his "best player alive" status and bring home a ring? Bigger question : if he fails in the playoffs again, will he get the same amount of respect he's been getting the past 2 years? At what point does a player begin to take responsibility for failing to bring home the goods? Can Clevland prove the pundits right and take it all?
4) What's up with Kobe? Does he need rest, or is he seriously fucked? We'll see..
5) Is Boston washed up? They sure look like it. Miami is actually (IMO) the weakest of all the 8 East teams... Boston should be able to win handily, unless they're washed up that is.
6) Can the Lakers repeat...
DISCUSS!
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I pick Lakers to win it all just because I get a tingling sensation everytime lebron fails.
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Roffles
Pitcairn19291 Posts
First round matchups out West look good, much better than those in the East. I think 3 of the series will be highly contested, with the exception of the Portland/Phoenix series. Don't think Portland has a shot without Roy.
I see landslides in the East. I just don't see it happening. Milwaukee without Bogut is gonna get smashed by the high flying Hawks. The Bulls are pretty bad, and I don't see the Bobcats pulling one off against the Magic. I think the closest one will be the Heat vs the Celtics cause you never know what's gonna happen with Wade.
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Cleveland 4-0 Chicago
Orlando 4-1 Charlotte. I want to say 4-2 because it's Larry Brown and they play well vs good teams at home, but the gaps pretty big. 2-0 1-1 clinch.
Atlanta 4-1 Bucks, because Hawks will be inconsistent.
Miami 4-3 Boston
Lakers 4-2 Oklahoma. +1 win to Oklahoma if Kobe's still playing badly.
Dallas ??? Spurs Not enough Manu data
Phoenix 4-2 Portland Portland's kind of scrappy, and the Suns are a better underdog.
Utah 4-3 Denver If Kirilenko and Boozer are healthy, otherwise 3-4 or 2-4.
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My question is all about Mike Brown and Cavs coaches. Will they deliver or not
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Cleveland 4-0. I'd be surprised if the Bulls got close to winning a game let alone the series. Cavs will do this without raising a sweat. The Bulls are awful.
Orlando 4-2. The Bobs are pretty unpredictable, but have a solid enough lineup to steal a couple of games vs the Magic. I think they're too erratic to cause the Magic any real problems though.
Atlanta 4-1. I feel so sorry for the Bucks. If Bogut was fit, this matchup would go either way and be really exciting. Atlanta will have too much athleticism and skill for the Bucks. I suspect Horford, and Josh Smith, in particular will have a big series here.
Miami 4-3. Miami has had a soft run over the last 10 games, which could give them a false sense of confidence. The Celtics have been looking really tired since the New Year, but have a lot of experience in that squad that will lift to the occasion. This will be the closest series in the East, but I believe this will be the start of a rebuilding phase for the Celts.
Lakers 4-2 OKC. I really want OKC to win, but can't see them doing it. As I said in the other thread, I think this is the worst matchup in the first round for OKC. Lakers experience to prevail here, but OKC will take a couple of games where they have "one of those nights."
Dallas 4-3 Spurs. Gah, neither of these teams inspire much for me. I'll back Dallas' home court advantage to get the over the line -- just.
Phoenix 4-1 Portland. Roy is out (last I heard) and with him goes the Blazers' chances in this series.
Denver 4-3 Utah. Tough series to pick. The Nuggets don't look as slick without Karl running things. I look at the go to guys on each team, and for me Melo is ahead of Williams. It'll be close - very close - but I give Denver the edge.
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im gonna laugh at you all when the bulls win 1 game against the cavs!!!
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Is roy completely out of the post season or is he gonna miss couple of games?
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It's pretty doubtful he'll play.
Brian T. Smith said via Twitter that a source has said that it's "highly unlikely" Brandon Roy will play for the Blazers in the playoffs.
He has a tear in his meniscus, so it makes sense. Roy says he's going to try to go full speed before Game 1 and if he's pain free, he's playing. If he can't go, Rudy Fernandez will likely start in his place, while Martell Webster will get a lot of run off the bench.
source:http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/36532583/ns/sports-player_news/
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Matchups:
Clevland vs Chicago
Orlando vs Bobcats
Atlanta vs Milwaukee
Miami vs Boston
Lakers vs OKC
Dallas vs Spurs
Phoenix vs Portland
Denver vs Utah
Cleveland 4-1
Orlando 4-1
Atlanta 4-2
Miami 4-2
Lakers 4-1 (this kills me as OKC is one of my favorite teams... they've been playing awfully at the close of games lately though)
Dallas 4-3
Phoenix 4-1
Denver 4-1
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Also, roy has a torn meniscus. I suffered the same injury, and let me tell you, he will not play. There is no way he will be even 30%.
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pulling for the old school san antonio
but they won't win =/
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Cleveland might be able to bring a ring home this, but even if they do I still can't say that LeBron is "the best player alive". Yeah he might be the best player in the league, but MJ is still living and LeBron will need to atleast fill one hand with rings to be compared to Jordan.
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No one is saying he's the best player alive but he it is without question he is the best player right now. There are plenty of great players still alive aside from MJ, namely Hakeem, Bill Russell, and Larry Bird.
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Lakers 4-0 OKC
Honestly, playoff Lakers are a different animal. OKC is going to a bigger stage for the first time in forever... jitters and being a little over-hyped is going to equal broom.
Dallas 4-2 Spurs
I love the Spurs, but they are getting no younger and Dallas has played well through the season.
Phoenix 4-0 Portland
Will not be close.
Utah 4-3 Denver
This may be bloody, but out in the first round is so Denver's style.
Cavs 4-0 Bulls
Cavs are imbal.
Orlando 4-1 Cats
I'm being nice with the 1.
Atlanta 4-1 'waukee
Could be 4-2 depending on how seriously Atlanta takes them. This shouldn't be close. Just highlights how boring the East can be.
Miami 4-3 Boston
I want to call this for Boston... but the refs love calling fouls for Wade. If it's anything like 2006... Celtics stand no chance. If they are actually allowed to rough him up, then 4-2 Boston.
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Sad thing is even with Roy Portland was going to lose. Missing 2 Centers(especially Oden) plus a so-so SF spot isn't going to help you beat Phoenix.
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United States4471 Posts
Lakers - Thunder
As a Lakers fan, I'm worried that this may turn out like the series against the Yao-less Rockets, arguably a much less talented roster. There is the huge disparity in experience, but I think that's balanced against just how poorly the Lakers have been playing in the second half of the season and not having a 100% Bynum (if they have him at all). The Thunder could make this series close if the Lakers don't take them seriously and/or improve significantly on their recent play.
Mavs - Spurs
I think the Mavs have this. They killed them last year in the playoffs with an arguably weaker roster. While the Spurs have been tremendous in the past few months, I don't know if even Manu's monster play can overcome a not-as-dominant Duncan and a less-than-100% Parker.
Suns - Blazers
I agree with most people that the Suns should be able to take this series rather handily with Roy being out. They started out the season really well, slumped a bit in the middle, but are looking real good again recently. I was quite impressed with their defense against the Jazz last night, which, combined with their stellar offense, make them a very tough opponent, particularly one that has only one borderline Allstar-level talent left healthy.
Jazz - Nuggets
I think this might be the best first-round series. The Jazz have been tearing it up in the second half of the season, but both Boozer and AK have missed games recently and they won't have homecourt (huge in this series as both teams are very good at home). Having KMart back will be big for the Nuggets, but Karl not being around hurts them. Hard to pick, but it should be a fun series either way. I'll go with the Jazz just because I think Karl not being there is having a significant impact on the Nuggets' play.
Cavs - Bulls
The Cavs should win this series handily, but I don't agree with those who don't think the Bulls can take even one game from them. While the second game was sans-Lebron, the Bulls did win twice against CLE this season, so there is a sliiight chance. The fact that the first win was early in the season back when they still had Salmons and Tyrus also works against them, but you can also point to the fact that Rose was playing much worse then too. Cavs will likely sweep, but we may see one very entertaining win by the Bulls.
Magic - Bobcats
The Magic should take this series easily. The Bobcats are tough, and will probably take at least one game due to the Larry Brown factor, but they're clearly outmatched in this series. However, CHA did beat the Magic fairly recently in early March, despite a huge game from Howard, so we may get a few surprises.
Atlanta - Milwaukee
If Bogut were playing, this would be a very interesting series. As it stands, I don't think MIL has what it takes to beat what has become a very impressive ATL roster. I don't the Hawks are serious contenders, but I think they're good enough to scare any team in the league in a 7-game series.
Miami - Boston
I think Boston will win this series. They beat the Heat each time they played this season, despite great performances by Wade. Wade just doesn't have enough talent around him, while Boston has enough to account for insane performances by Wade.
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Damn... Last year the NBA League Pass Broadband Playoff package was 30$, now it's 70$. What is up with that? 
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On April 15 2010 21:13 iLoveKT wrote:
im gonna laugh at you all when the bulls win 1 game against the cavs!!!
4-1 is such a spineless call against an extreme underdog. Be a man and put yourself on the record as 4-2 or 4-3.
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EPT
