2008 NBA playoffs, anyone?

Hello everyone!

Long time lurker, first time poster.

The NBA playoffs are here. It seems it will be a very intense battle in the West. Any favorites? I'd like to see "los" Suns make the finals but what I'd really like is to see the Lakers lose as early as possible, no offense to Lakers fans out there, I just don't like that team (specially Bryant). I think the Celtics will win in the East.

I hope the games will live up to the expectation.

Hey there m, welcome to the forum.

I'm for the Spurs because they've got Tony Parker! OR maybe I'm just saying this to spite GNM.

We've got Ronny Turiaf, he's from France, and looks like the Predator.

Anyway, m, what makes you a Laker/Kobe hater, are you a true purple-blue Suns fan? If so, look out, because we've got a Laker double agent on your team, with plenty of backstabbing experience: The Big Saboteur. =)

Griffith No More! said:

We've got Ronny Turiaf, he's from France, and looks like the Predator.

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Alright, alright, I retract my former statement.

I am rooting for Cleveland Cavaliers because of Lebron, though I think their chances of winning is practically next to none.

I also hope for a Lakers-Cavaliers final, but I think a pistons/lakers finals is more likely. Well, everything is based on the assumption that Bynum is back and healthy though.

I actually don't think the Lakers need Bynum to get out of the West (of course, that's because anybody could come out of the West as things stand), and his awkwardly returning mid-playoffs and trying to work himself back in could totally disrupt the team's chemistry. I just don't think he's going to be healthy enough, and it's not like he's a veteran who knows how to just come in, fit in, and be confident and effective, he needs minutes to work it out, and I don't know that the team can afford to give them to him (maybe if they made it to the second round and drew small, short-handed Houston, but that's at least one big IF, and if they get past Utah, then it might be case of careful what you wish for).

Speaking of Bynum being gone until next season, the one thing that concerns me about the future of this team...

http://theassociation.blogs.com/the_association/2008/03/the-lakers-have.html

http://theassociation.blogs.com/the_association/2008/04/a-follow-up-to.html

Yeah, I've also noticed, Kobe aside, that people get injured on this team and then just disappear. Can we trade for the Suns' medical staff?

Anyway, rooting for my team to get the easiest draw aside, my dream final four from an entertainment standpoint is Lakers/Suns and Celtics/Pistons, though the Cavs and Spurs would make entertaining alternates in each Conference final, but I definitely want a classic Lakers/Celtics Finals like nothing else. Kobe vs. KG, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen? Sign me up please, and I know the league is praying to the Basketball Gods for that one. The ratings/profit difference between that and say, another Spurs/Pistons series, has to be like over $100 million.

Griffith No More! said:

Speaking of Bynum being gone until next season, the one thing that concerns me about the future of this team...

http://theassociation.blogs.com/the_association/2008/03/the-lakers-have.html

http://theassociation.blogs.com/the_association/2008/04/a-follow-up-to.html

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Well that's some pretty scary shit. The misdiagnoses they mention speak to me of total incompetence and beyond that, sloppy work. It's hard to believe something like this could happen in this day and age, it's practically sabotage.

You'd think that with careers on the line, they'd play it safe and run enough tests to know for sure what is going on with an injury. I've heard of the occasional misdiagnoses, but that kind of consistency is ridiculous.

Wow, reading through the article Griffith No More! posted and with a name like mine I should probably stay away from Laker related threads but...
I find it amazing how often things like this happen in professional sports (for reference type Arsenal or Inter Milan football/soccer clubs). Teams treat their players horribly, as if they weren't their most valuable asset

Scorpio said:

You'd think that with careers on the line, they'd play it safe and run enough tests to know for sure what is going on with an injury.

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Yeah, exactly. With the ridiculously high budgets they get, it's baffling that they don't run tests everytime something happen. I know I would do it as a non-professional, which is why this whole deal seems so irresponsible... The least the team's trainers could do is to send them to be examined by qualified practicians if there aren't themselves.

Aazealh said:

Well that's some pretty scary shit. The misdiagnoses they mention speak to me of total incompetence and beyond that, sloppy work. It's hard to believe something like this could happen in this day and age, it's practically sabotage.

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'

Wow, this is something you expect from a third rate D-league team, not an NBA team with a rich tradition like the Lakers. I think someone better forward these links to Jerry Buss or someone up there. You'd be surprised how little these owners know about their teams, or their medical support staff, for that matter.

Griffith No More! said:

Anyway, m, what makes you a Laker/Kobe hater, are you a true purple-blue Suns fan? If so, look out, because we've got a Laker double agent on your team, with plenty of backstabbing experience: The Big Saboteur. =)

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I guess I mostly dislike Bryant and that extended to the team. I think he's an excellent player but he's a little too arrogant for my taste, and let's not forget the way in which he kicked Shaq out of the team (although from your post I'm led to believe that you disagree) or last year's trade demands. I understand he wanted a competitive team but I think that the way he handled the whole thing was just wrong, at least that is my opinion.

I don't really have a favorite team but I do appreciate good basketball.

I don't think Kobe's ego is any bigger than say Shaq, LeBron, or Michael Jordan, but he's not as good as saying the right things, and tried too hard to do it in the beginning. Also, he got the blame for Shaq, but Jerry Buss kicked Shaq out of town for his own reasons (Shaq was publically demanding a huge extension, was fat and on the decline, and was unwilling to accept a lesser role to Kobe even though it only made sense at that point, and which Kobe actually had accepted the previous years so they could win with Shaq in his prime). The Shaq thing did force media members to choose sides, and that, along with Colorado, and his personally, meant we heard a lot more about Kobe the bad dude and not the basketball player. A lot of media basically tried to bury this guy since 2005, and I actually kind of feel sorry for Kobe, seeing him play almost every other day, he routinely does amazing things (the 81 point game is an extreme example of success, but he basically played with that zeal every night), he's the best all-around player since Michael Jordan, is technically better in some ways, and yet he's sometimes portrayed like he's some kind of bum on the court because people don't like him personally.

As for last summer, I sure as hell wouldn't change how anything went down, it lit a fire under Bynum's and the team's butt and instead of losing Kobe we got Pau. And remember, even "ace team mate" Michael Jordan sucker punched at least two of his own team mates in the face during his career, but nobody calls him out for it.

I'm amazed at the Laker's turnaround. I was happy when they imploded post-Pistons, but I actually like Kobe (and Shaq)...it was the rest of their Laker teammates who struck me as being arrogant. I'm glad Kobe's got a decent team behind him, now. I thought the Shaq trade to the Suns was moronic, but they've been doing ok with him. This year's playoffs will be interesting. I just hope Detroit doesn't collapse early like they did the past couple years...I want to see them go up against the Celtics in the conference finals.

Are the Bulls in there this year? I haven't followed them since the Rodman era.

So when do they start and how much will ABC cover?

I've got all my beer ready!

Playoffs start tomorrow! Not sure about what's being covered though.

Tomorrow's big game is Suns/Spurs at noon pacific time on ABC. That's going to be a war, last year's series between these two was the de facto Finals.

Sunday, same time and place, check out Kobe and the Lakers versus Allen Iverson, Carmello Anthony and the Nuggets. Lots of star power and offensive power.

Here's the full schedule, I wish TNT had more of the really juicy match ups this weekend:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/schedule

Griffith No More! said:

As for last summer, I sure as hell wouldn't change how anything went down, it lit a fire under Bynum's and the team's butt and instead of losing Kobe we got Pau.

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Of course no Lakers fan would change anything seeing how everything turned out more than fine.

I'm so annoyed with the Suns right now.

Shaq is a walking pile of useless.... 0 points and 3 fouls in 5 minutes? Utterly disgusting. I'm not a "Suns" fan, technically, I just like to see them and the Lakers do well. However, I do hate the Spurs, so I think that is what's getting my goat. It's in overtime right now, and to be honest, I don't know if my blood pressure can handle much more anger.

Grrrr.com!

HOLY SHIT, glad I'm not the only one who saw that! Jesus, what a game, and this is just day one and game 1 of the series!

And yeah, I'd be pulling my hair out if I were a Suns fan, the one thing the Spurs have over them, and everybody really, is that nobody executes like them in the last 2 minutes. No matter how bad they might be playing beforehand, they know who they are in crunch time and how to win, and that's the biggest difference between them and everybody else. I mean, how many totally up for grabs games have we seen them win like this? The Suns basically outplayed the Spurs in the middle of every quarter and OT, but the Spurs made all the big plays down the stretch while the Suns lost their idenity and were scrambling, letting the likes of Leandro Barbosa and Boris Diaw make their last plays... yeah, because you really want your season in the hands of your 5th and 6th options.

Anyway, FANTASTIC game, it's going to be hard for the rest to live up to it, and I hope this series goes 7.

I was disappointed that Phoenix lost...the Spurs have such ridiculous floppers on their team...Ginobli, Thomas, Bowen, and Parker. But, they are also great players...Duncan making that 3 in overtime was amazing. The Spurs deserved that win. The Suns should get much more physical, though...they're going to get fouls called on them anyways (Ginobli running into Thomas, both flop, then foul is called on Raja Bell who's 2 feet away), so they should make them count.

Well, New Orleans may not have playoff experience, but at least they don't have playoff baggage like Dallas. Yeesh.

And Chris Paul's line for the night: 35 points, 10 assists, 4 steals, 3 rebounds and a 1 block, all on only 1 turnover. Yikes.

Paul's a freaking meteorite, and Dallas is the unsuspecting Texas village waiting to be obliterated.

Los Angeles are making me proud. I've been especially impressed with Gasol. First LA NBA playoff game and he's got 30 points? Start of the the fourth is coming up and LA has a 19 point lead with 97 on the score sheet. Break 130 and it'll hammer the message home!

Edit - 130 might have been a tad ambitious.

Yeah, not a bad way to start, though I was frustrated throughout the game. The Lakers should have won this going away by 25 but they kept letting up when they'd get any sort of lead. This has been their M.O. for the last three years no matter the talent of the team, Lakers play great, get a big lead, then the Fakers show up and start launching 3's and holding layup drills on the defensive end. It's burned them enough already, but I'm afraid they've yet to learn from it, and I'm especially afraid it's going to take a premature post-season out to do it. On that note, while Kobe didn't bring his A game, he sure brought his A-hole game. Did he have to make it personal? They still have to play the Nuggets at least three more times (and in COLORADO, so way to chant D.U.I. at Carmello Lakers fans, it doesn't take a lot of imagination to realize how Denver will return the favor with Kobe).

On the plus side, hey, they won! And despite Kobe shooting about as badly as I've seen him, but the real scary part is that they didn't need him, and increased the lead with him on the bench and Lamar running the show beautifully (and Luke filling in with 16 points off the bench, that's big). Basically, Kobe played poorly (still had 18 in the fourth =), the Lakers played half-hearted for extended periods and even left the door open for a Denver comeback with a few minutes left... and they still won comfortably. Finally, congrats to Pau on his first playoff win, and it was truly his win, 36 pts, 16 rebs, and 8 assists on 70% shooting! Yozaa!