NBA Playoff Thread

[oregonbucfan]

Blazers beat Utah take a 1 game lead on 5th, and a 1.5 out of 2nd. Denver jumped SAS for 2nd after the Spurs lost to OKC at HOME.

Big props to Joel Pryzbilla got in the face of Shaq (its becoming a routine for the 2), and then got in it with Carlos Boozer tonight and both got tossed. I love that guy

[dalbuc]

Mavs are a shadow of who they were. Dirk and Terry can go bonkers twice and beat the Lakers but not 4 times as much as I'd like to see the Lakers crash and burn.

lets go Chicago and Charlotte!

[Booker]

As long as the Lakers don't play the Bobcats they will be fine it seems

I dont see why anyone thinks the East will have a boring 1st round

Chicago, Detroit, Atlanta and Miami will be tough, talented playoff teams to face.

[oregonbucfan]

I dont see why anyone thinks the East will have a boring 1st round

Chicago, Detroit, Atlanta and Miami will be tough, talented playoff teams to face.

Not many 1st rd series will go past 6 games.

[Bucfanut]

Love my Jazz but they're in a bit of a funk right now, even the home games  they're winning they have been lackadasical, with the exception of the win vs Houston. That said, even without homecourt i think they'd stand a decent chance of beating Houston, New Orleans, or Denver. The performance last night in Portland was horrendous.

[oregonbucfan]

Love my Jazz but they're in a bit of a funk right now, even the home games  they're winning they have been lackadasical, with the exception of the win vs Houston. That said, even without homecourt i think they'd stand a decent chance of beating Houston, New Orleans, or Denver. The performance last night in Portland was horrendous.

I agree Utah will be tough e**CENSORED**ally if they have home court.

[Bucfanut]

Which they won't have thanks to their putrid road record...I can live with losses to Portland, splitting 4 games with a good division rival is fine; and they probably will lose in Denver tomorrow also which means a split (although i think they have a better shot of winning there). The loss in Miami where they blew two 8 pt leads in less than 2 minutes is the one that'll haunt them, and their putrid .500 record vs the east. In terms of talent, they match up well with a lot of teams...but in terms of maturity they leave a lot to be desired (Dwill, Korver, and Millsap are the only ones exempt from that statement, they play hard night in/night out).

[oregonbucfan]

Some SI writer was on the radio here today talking about the Blazers then mentioned that he feels Cleveland rolls through the east because he thinks Orlando is out round 1 if they play Detroit.

[escobar]

The Magic losing tonight and Boston winning isn't such a bad thing IMO. I think the Magic would be better off getting the 3rd seed and letting Detroit beat up on Boston in the first round and possibly knocking them out. I don't see Orlando beating Detroit, Boston, and Cleveland to make it to the finals. Of course with Alston and his .00034 shooting percentage it may not matter who they play.

agreed on all accounts. I am very worried about our PG play. Alston hasnt been bad, but I dont think he can lead this team deep. Since this offense doesnt have a great penetrator to break the great defenses like Cleveland and bOston we need great PG play on the pick and roll. Alston is a good pick and roll PG, but he cant do the things Nelson could. He cant come off a pick and hit a 3, he can drive the lane but he cant finish like Nelson. He is a bad FT shooter. We need great PG play to make it deep and we probably wont get it from ALston.

regardless Im excited to see this team in the okayoffs because of their depth. We have really improved our front court drastically with Battie and Gortat giving us really solid play on both ends. We have really improved our perimeter defense and size. Re**CENSORED** has become a solid player in teh rotation who is really improving defensively himself.

This team really needs either Alston or Hedo to step up big

I genuinely believe Orlando will take care of Detroit this year. People are getting wway too hung up on previous matchups. The mAgic will be too much for Detroit, butu I would expect a good series. Orlando wont fall to Detroit, I guarantee it

[oregonbucfan]

I genuinely believe Orlando will take care of Detroit this year. People are getting wway too hung up on previous matchups. The mAgic will be too much for Detroit, butu I would expect a good series. Orlando wont fall to Detroit, I guarantee it

I agree. Id be shocked if the Pistons beat the Magic. Its not the same old Pistons

[RedAlert]

Me too. I don't get all the Piston love. It's almost as if Stern asked the media to drum up interest in what will probably be a mismatch.