Lakers vs Magic and the 2008-2009 NBA Playoffs/Finals Thread

[Mr. Sparkle]

Joakim Noah FAIL.

[RainMaker]

All ball.

[Neuqua]

Bulls got bailed out. 5 more minutes. What a game.

[whomario]

wow, no one expected Pierce to miss, now OT !
Rose might get the most points ever in a first PO game

[Karlifornia]

Vinny Del Negro's dad: Could he be the Brenda Warner of this year's playoffs?

[Neuqua]

Bulls better pull it out here in OT because playing another 5 minutes without Rose is not going to be pretty.

[Passacaglia]

Ugh, that deep 3 by Lebron as the half ended really hurt.

[Noop]

LeBron is the man. He will not be denied.

[whomario]

The Pistons are just mediocre nowadays. Still not bad in most areas, still pretty balanced but all that on a lower level. If they had a definite strength they could surprise at times, the way it is they just are irrelevant sadly I mean, they shot 47%, had only 7 TOs, were there in terms of rebounding and their bench did fine. And results in a 18 point loss, Lebron going for 38/8/7 on 20 shots with zero Turns and the Cavs as a team shooting 53% and turning it over just 4 times.
I really can´t see Cleveland coming close to loosing a game, even at Detroit. Then again, if memory serves me right, the Pistons have a history of starting really crappy and then turn it arround in series´ .

The Celtics-Bulls game was highly entertaining. Not especially well played, but definitely entertaining with a lot of energy and tempo in the game. Rose obviously was ridculous tonight, but on the other end Rondo almost equally as impressive. a skinny 6´1 guy with no jump shot (the guy has hit 26 threes in 235 career games and shoots 64% from the line) shouldn´t be as effective as he is, that speaks volumes for how great he does everything else on offense.

And Tyrus Thomas being the x-factor and deciding the game, that was just not right ...

btw : Is Brad Miller officially the least athletic guy in the NBA right now ? Damn, that was ugly at times ... On the other end : What the hell happened to Marbury ? I´m not talking about him playing bad, but him playing timid like a little kid ... He had at least 5 wide open shots or drives to the baskets that he just passed up.

And damn, here it´s 12,30 in the night and still 4 hours till the Rockets-Blazers game ...

[MrBug708]

Everyone points to the Lakers possibly struggling with Portland because they lost two games on the road to the Blazers but then we see comments about how the Cavs won't see the Lakers as much problem to them, even though they were swept by the Lakers including their one real loss at home minus their starting post player on the last game of a 6 game road trip?

Did I get it right?

[RainMaker]

I'm surprised the Celtics played Marbury. He doesn't seem to flow with that offense at all and just got embarrased on defense.

[whomario]

I love JVG, he just projected "a blowout" for the Rockets. The guy get´s fired and still remains a Rockets homer, what´s not to love about that ?

That series is soooo up in the air, anything could happen including Rudy Fernandez taking a 2 point jump shot, Artest taking a good shot or a battle of the 42 year olds , i can´t freaking wait ...

@ Rainmaker : He does kind of do a good job on offense when he plays with the starters and Pierce and Allen hit shots, but in other scenarios he´s just a guy that doesn´t drive or shoot the ball which just isn´t an option for a Guard at this level. He´s basically playing like a big guy that only come in to set screens and play defense, just without setting screens or playing defense ... although Rose was just too much for Rondo either on that end. Maybe they should try out Tony Allen some, but in the end most likely they will bring more of that matchup-zone that kind of worked in the 4th, if Gordon doesn´t get it going just at that point that move by Thibodeau wins them the game.

On that previous note : I´ll do an Bad-Shots-Counter on Artest if i don´t loose track. I´d put the over/under at 8 for tonight including at least 3 one-legged fadeaways and 2 1 on 3 drives .
If that guy had any sort of offensive bball IQ (and the Rockets a bit more firepower) the guy could be sooo good. He´s even a pretty good passer when he wants to ...

[stevew]

Derek Rose is awesome. If LeBron leaves for anywhere I hope it is the bulls.

[Big Fo]

Hadn't Cleveland's 66 wins this season sort of quieted those "Lebron could leave" rumors?

[Mr. Sparkle]

I think the only thing that will quiet the "LeBron leaving" rumors will be LeBron re-signing with the Cavs.

[Mantle2600]

Wouldnt D-Wade have a better shot at leaving to chicago as he is from there?

But then again LBJ is from here and according to most media hes as good as gone.

[gstelmack]

Originally Posted by whomario

wow, no one expected Pierce to miss, now OT !

With KG out, bad nights by Pierce AND Allen will be hard to overcome.

[Coffee Warlord]

Originally Posted by stevew

Derek Rose is awesome. If LeBron leaves for anywhere I hope it is the bulls.

Pairing Rose with any of the big names in 2010 is going to make for a very, very scary Bulls team.

[whomario]

Dallas beats the spurs, solid pergformance by Dirk, good one by Howard and a huge lift by Bass and barea in the 4th (in fact, Howard scored like 15 in the 3rd and then those 2 took over and howard sat like the whole 4th Q)

Great basketball today.

And Houston trying to put the hammer down early here, 34-23, Yao with 16 on 7-7 in the 1st

[Passacaglia]

Why do basketball players sit on the floor right before they go in? Doesn't it seem like they would be more loose it they stood up instead?

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Passacaglia

Why do basketball players sit on the floor right before they go in? Doesn't it seem like they would be more loose it they stood up instead?

If you're talking about the ones waiting at the scorers table to enter the game, it's so they don't block the view of the scorer, clock operator, etc.

[Passacaglia]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

If you're talking about the ones waiting at the scorers table to enter the game, it's so they don't block the view of the scorer, clock operator, etc.

I guess that makes sense. You'd think there would be a better way, though.

[Logan]

At the NCAA sites where they had the raised floor, as players waited to enter the game they sat all the way off to the side, basically next to the coach's box, since sitting anywhere else would block those people.

I'd think the only other way would be for guys to run over, check in, and sit back down on the bench...but maybe it exists in that way so the opposing team can see who is entering the game and what matchups they would like to set up?

[stevew]

Originally Posted by Coffee Warlord

Pairing Rose with any of the big names in 2010 is going to make for a very, very scary Bulls team.

Agreed. If it's Wade or LeBron, you just get meat players in the middle who can dunk and defend, and an outside shooter or 3. Obviously Bosh or others would be great too, but they don't scare me nearly as much.

[whomario]

Damn, the Rockets really ended up putting the hammer down, delivering a good old ass whooping in Portland When Yao gets involved early it just opened everything up. And he came to play, getting that block on Aldridge early and scoring 16 in the first. And then they never looked back, even when Yao went out in the middler of the 3rd the Rockets continued to pull away. They simply put up their defensive intensity, Mutombo played like he was 28 again (was he ever 28 ? It feels like he´s been 40 for a decade) and Scola and later Brooks scored the ball. Brooks hit like 4 threes in a row
For the Blazers no one got going. They played an absolute stinker here. Even Roy did. Searched for contact everytime instead of just finishing, was inefficient overall and did only get 2 assists.
Oden was good later on and played with fire. That´s about it for positive aspects.

Rockets played incredible transition defense, too. The Blazers got absolutely nothing there, holy shit.

Seriously, the Blazers shot 42% (low, but not that low), got 15 offensive boards and hat just 8 Turnovers. And got only 81 points, that amazing.

What a great day of playoff basketball yesterday

Ron Artest terrible shot counter : 4. Good job Ron, you really composed yourself tonight and i´m only half kidding. That double-fake-stepin-onelegged-three point-leaner at the end of the first half was a thing of beauty ...

[whomario]

[MrBug708]

If Trevor plays this way for the rest of the playoffs, Lakers are sitting pretty

[Philliesfan980]

Time to watch the Sixers get beat by 15+ points. NBA.. it's FANTASTIC!

[Noop]

Cleveland versus L.A. should make for one of the most exciting finals in a long time.

[Logan]

Originally Posted by MrBug708

If Trevor plays this way for the rest of the playoffs, Lakers are sitting pretty

That was a RIDICULOUS reverse dunk he pulled off.

[Passacaglia]

The ball totally hit that bar there.

[Eaglesfan27]

Marshall! Great comeback by the Sixers.

[Eaglesfan27]

Great shot by Iggy!

[Big Fo]

Ugh, terrible loss. Orlando will still win the series though.

[Philliesfan980]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

Great shot by Iggy!

Yeah really. I realize that you're not in the Philadelphia area, but Marc Zumoff on CSN was going NUTS.

It seems as though they are content on letting Howard dominate and putting the game in the hands of the guards. Orlando should win the series, but it's an interesting strategy.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Look who is courtside at the Hawks game

[SirFozzie]

Here we go again in Boston

[SirFozzie]

This just in: This game is officially nuts. OT again?

[SirFozzie]

NO. Ray Ray GO BOOM!

Celtics Win!

Best first round series so far.

[RainMaker]

Great game. League will make sure it goes 7 and they get the most bang for their buck.

[Coffee Warlord]

Props to Allen on that shot, but damn. Missed chance by the Bulls to take it back to Chicago up 2-0. Helluva game though.

[Galaril]

Originally Posted by Coffee Warlord

Props to Allen on that shot, but damn. Missed chance by the Bulls to take it back to Chicago up 2-0. Helluva game though.

God, no disrespect but Da Bulls got no right winning a game in Boston KG or NO KG and if I am a fan would almost be pleased they have played so hard. Props to the Bulls for winning one and almost two. I expect the Celtics to blow the off the court in the next two games even in Chicago and maybe with out Rondo/Powe. Why Bulls were 41-41 and this isn't the George Mason story or the NCAA.

[Groundhog]

Originally Posted by Galaril

God, no disrespect but Da Bulls got no right winning a game in Boston KG or NO KG and if I am a fan would almost be pleased they have played so hard. Props to the Bulls for winning one and almost two. I expect the Celtics to blow the off the court in the next two games even in Chicago and maybe with out Rondo/Powe. Why Bulls were 41-41 and this isn't the George Mason story or the NCAA.

I really think the additions of Salmons and Miller, two guys who I've always liked, did wonders for this team.

[Neon_Chaos]

Originally Posted by Groundhog

I really think the additions of Salmons and Miller, two guys who I've always liked, did wonders for this team.

Indeed. The trade for Salmons and Miller simply changed the team. They suddenly had a legitimate center with good hands, and a hard-working wingman who didn't mind getting dirty.

They went 17-11 after the trade and basically snuck into the playoffs in April.

[watravaler]

Games 1 and 2 were simply extremely fun to watch. I don't see any significant difference in the talent level of the two teams at this point in time, and I'll be shocked if this series doesn't go the distance. I have gained mucho respect for KG's impact on the game(not that I didn't respect his game immensely before the injury, but Chicago wouldn't be sniffing 100 points if KG was on the court). The UConn gun-fest was the stuff of legends.

On one hand, Ben Gordon isn't Superman, but these outbursts, albeit on a smaller scale, are what makes Ben Gordon a very good basketball player, at least on the offensive end where his size(the man is 6'0'' at best) isn't a huge liability. The percentages may not show it due to the amount of bad-shots he throws up at times, but his jumper is about as sweet and pure as you will find. I wonder if any team in the NBA has the stones to steal him away from the Bulls this off-season? If the money is right, he is as good as gone, but will a team throw $8-10 million per year at Gordon?

On the other hand, The Celts bigs will not make everything they throw at the hoop either. Rondo's ankle worries me a bit, and if he is closer to 80% than 100%, the Celts are probably toast. Nevertheless, Paul Pierce will step up in Chicago and that will be a huge problem for the Bulls.

At this point in time I see two better than average teams running up and down the floor, not playing much in the way of defense, but the competition has been great and the casual viewer(Me) is most certainly entertained by the product on the court.

Celts in 7

[Ronnie Dobbs2]

I just have a feeling that Gordon has an 8 for 25 night coming up.

[Big Fo]

Leon Powe will miss the rest of the postseason (knee) according to ESPN.

It's not playoff related but Ricky Rubio declared for the draft, I liked watching him this summer in the Olympics.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by Ronnie Dobbs2

I just have a feeling that Gordon has an 8 for 25 night coming up.

The big difference in the Bulls now is that they have two streaky shooters. So if Gordon is off, Salmons is usually on. Salmons also gave them someone who can cover the other team's 2 guard.

I don't think the Bulls are a great team yet, but I do think they are much better than what they were earlier in the year. They can score with just about anyone in the league and can run better than most. Their problem is in the half court game. They are also rather tough at home and I do think have a good shot at taking both from the Celtics. Some of the younger players like Thomas and Noah really feed off the crowd.

I think the experience Rose is getting in the playoffs is invaluable. He is going to be a star in this league in the coming years. I'd love to see them win this round but am just happy they've made it and are playing competitive basketball. It sets up for a nice season next year and then the big leap to grab a top FA in 2010 to be contenders.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by Big Fo

Leon Powe will miss the rest of the postseason (knee) according to ESPN.

It's not playoff related but Ricky Rubio declared for the draft, I liked watching him this summer in the Olympics.

with Powe out for the postseason I'm voting that this team just doesn't have the horses this year. Already too deep into their bench as it is.

Ah well...still a solid year.

[albionmoonlight]

The Bulls are fun to watch.