NBA Playoffs 2009

[Selachimorpha]

East:

(1) Cleveland vs (8) Detroit
(2) Boston vs (7) Chicago
(3) Orlando vs (6) Philadelphia
(4) Atlanta vs (5) Miami

West:

(1) LA Lakers vs (8) Utah
(2) Denver vs (7) New Orleans
(3) San Antonio vs (6) Dallas
(4) Portland vs (5) Houston


Playoffs start this weekend, what are everybody's predictions? I'm going with:

Cleveland in Four
Boston in Five (though no KG adds some intrigue)
Orlando in Six
Miami in Seven

LA Lakers in Five
Denver in Six
Dallas in Six
Portland in Seven

 

[joel caine number 1 fan]

Cavs in 6
Bulls in 7
Magic in 5
Atlanta in 7

west all games in 7 except Lakers/Utah which will be 5

west is so even i dont think you will see many away wins,all wins will go to the home teams and that will suit denver to make the wcf finals

 

[McLovin]

Forget it...

Lakers/Cavs Finals...

 

[joel caine number 1 fan]

Forget it...

Lakers/Cavs Finals...

no way Magic>Cavs

 

[Ridders]

If Jameer Nelson was healthy, i would give the edge to the Magic, but without him, i can see the Cavs taking the series.

Western conference intrigues me. Denver are the two seed, and hornets are the seven seed yet i wouldn't be surprised at all if Hornets advanced.

 

[McLovin]

Don't the Magic have injury worries coming into the playoffs??

 

[joel caine number 1 fan]

Don't the Magic have injury worries coming into the playoffs??

Lewis and Turkolgu are set to play apparently

teams have met 3 times this year Magic 2-1

 

[Ridders]

Chicago winning Game 1 certainly makes the Boston series alot more interesting. I kinda feel for the Spurs, hopefully this wont be the second year in a row that their title chances are eliminated because of Ginobili's health. Lebron with a man-beast performance in Game 1, boy this guy is going to be hard to stop.

 

[Ridders]

The chicago - boston series is getting interesting, currently at 2-2. I still think the Celts should win through home court, but i mean, this has to be gruelling for them, especially with their limited roster. Rondo's effing amazing, i think he's averaging a triple double for this series, or if not, than he would be pretty close.

Edit* He's averaging 22.7 ppg, 10.7 rebounds and 9.7 assists, shooting 50% FG and 4 steals a game for this series :crazy::crazy::crazy:. Enough cannot be made of the Suns decision to trade him.

 

[McLovin]

I hope Chicago and Phili go through. Seeing Boston and Orlando eliminated will just about lock in a Lakers/Cavs finals. I'd love to see Kobe and LeBron go at it for 6 or 7 games...

 

[Ridders]

So would David Stern...

Its essential that Kobe wins a ring this year, he's not going to get many more chances like this. Imo the Cavs are still a low-post All-star player away from being a juggernaut in this league. Once Cleveland adds another legit big man to their team, thats when the age of Lebron will really begin. Cleveland will be unstoppable for over a decade.

On a sidenote, who would have thought that Shannon Brown would be the Lakers best PG going into the playoffs (imo he has surpassed Fisher, who shouldn't be starting in the league anymore)

 

[Tiger Hawk]

Hate to break it to you, but the Cavs already are a juggernaut. They posted the leagues best record, whilst battling injuries to several key players throughout the year (like all teams, sure, but they still got the best record) and they've just completed a sweep with each win coming by double digit margins. They are hands down the best team in the league, with quite obviously the best player in the game.

 

[Ridders]

Don't get me wrong, i think they're odds on favourites to win a ring this year, even if they face Lakers in the finals. My point is that atm, they are a team that can occasionally be dominated at the forward positions in terms of scoring. The only reason LA swept the Cavs in the regular season was that they weren't able to stop Gasol and Odom in the paint. I just think that if they were to add an all-star calibre PF or C to their team that they would absolutely have no weaknesses.

 

[Danger]

Anyone watching the game now... Its a cracker.

Tied with a minute to go.

 

[Danger]

It's gone into OT.

 

[willvillain]

It was all quality. Pierce came through in the end though.

 

[El Coconuto]

I can't believe how badly Del Negro OWNED Doc Rivers on that last play call. If Brad Miller was only a foot closer to the ring, he throws it down, takes the foul, probably makes the free throw without the pressure, and the Bulls walk off with the win. Very unlucky. Doc got bailed out by Rondo again. Can't wait to play the Celtics in the next round.

 

[El Coconuto]

Play of the match: Rondo's slap shot on Miller on the last Bulls play. Saved the game for the C's.

In the meantime: Dwight Howard - 24pts and 24rbs vs. Philly \\\\/

 

[El Coconuto]

Hate to break it to you, but the Cavs already are a juggernaut. They posted the leagues best record, whilst battling injuries to several key players throughout the year (like all teams, sure, but they still got the best record) and they've just completed a sweep with each win coming by double digit margins. They are hands down the best team in the league, with quite obviously the best player in the game.

All true, but I'd still pick the Lakers over the Cavs. I think Ariza will mark LeBron considerably better than anyone the East can serve up and I think that Gasol is going to abuse Varejao. If the Lakers can sneak one of those first two games in Cleveland, the 2-3-2 format means they'd just have a shot to polish off the Cavs back at home. More than do-able.

 

[Ridders]

Chicago vs Boston series is turning into an instant classic. Seriously how many clutch plays have we seen in this series, has to be some kind of record. I'm growing a serious man cruch on Ben Gordon. Like coco said, have no idea what boston's plan was on that last play. The paint area opened up as if moses was at work.

Cleveland vs Lakers series will depend on how Lakers play. If Kobe tries to push things and take over games, it will really hurt the lakers. On the the hand, if we play through Gasol, Odom and Bynum, the Lakers will be very hard to beat.