I dunno sxb...although this is basically the same Denver cast as last year, it's a different Denver team cuz they've had a full season with Chauncey Billups at the point, which they didn't have last year cuz they traded for him in the middle of the season, so the chemistry wasn't there. It takes time to understand things like where each player likes the ball and who to give it to when (Carmelo at the end of close games, JR when he's hot, K Mart when he's cutting, etc.). I still think Denver-LA is the same as Orlando-Cleveland...if anything, I'll give LA and Cleveland a slight edge in each of those matchups based on depth and firepower, but I still wouldn't consider Denver/Orlando winning the matchup an "upset". Carmelo vs Kobe is a bonafide marquee matchup, and while Kobe is indisputably the more fundamentally sound of the two, Carmelo is still a better pure scorer (better than Lebron, D. Wade, Durant, etc.) and can put up points in a hurry, like he showed last season when he scored 33 points in one quarter...which means Kobe has the edge across an entire season, but in a 7-game series, he just might outplay Kobe. I dunno about Gasol being the best big-man in the NBA after Dwight, I still think it's Dirk Nowitzski, but Gasol ain't a joke especially alongside Kobe. Birdman can give him quiet nights though (although he's a liability on offense), Nene can hold his own against Bynum and K Mart can give Odom a hard time defensively, so the Laker bigs aren't gonna have a field day against Denver like they have against most teams in the league. The one area that LA has a huge advantage on over Denver and ever other team in the league is having 2 players (Artest and Kobe) who play suffocating defense...and by putting Artest on Carmelo, Kobe doesn't have to work as hard on defense and can keep up better with a shorter Billups. It's gonna be an interesting series (if Denver makes it past Dallas), lakiin I wouldn't be confident enough to bet on either team coming out on top.Murax wrote:Mr. Yungnfresh wrote:How are you gonna sleep on Denver? The playoffs is all based on how teams matchup against others...an 8th seed can beat a 1st seed (like what happened a few years back with Golden State upsetting Dallas) and the only constant is homecourt advantage. Denver blew LA out (AT the Staples Center) earlier in the season and showed they have LA's number. True, LA has the most dangerous frontcourt in the NBA with Bynum, Gasol and Odom...lakiin at the same time, Denver's backcourt is also equally as disgusting with Carmelo Anthony (who can play the 2 or the 3), Chauncey Billups, and JR Smith who can explode for 40 off the bench on any given night. Ty Lawson ain't that bad either when you wanna rest Mr. Bigshot down the stretch. Denver's frontcourt is pretty serious too....Nene improved from last season, Kenyon Martin can go off too, especially playing with a veteran pointguard like Mr. Bigshot, and although Birdman ain't gonna give u much on offense, he'll still swat shots and clog up the middle. Runta, I wouldn't consider it an upset at all if Denver beat LA this year, cuz they're pretty much evenly-matched. As long as they don't get out-coached, they have a legit chance.Murax wrote:Its gonna be Lakers-Cavs definitely. Still though You can't rule out Orlando in the East,
Lakers-Cavs is gonna be a nice series, but the Cavs will need Shaq to battle all the Lakers Bigs.
I agree though, Orlando and Cleveland is a toss-up. It all depends on if Shaq returns and can make his presence felt. If not, it might be the same song as last year for the Cavs.
SMH @ how Boston fell off
Actually I'm not sleeping on Denver, I think they will take the Lakers 7 instead of 6 last year. I think their supporting casts cancel each other out, and it leaves Kobe and Carmello as to who will be more dominant, and in the clutch I gotta go with Kobe. Also I think Lamar Odom, Gasol are legitimate playoff performers and they are just superior to their counterparts Kenyon Martin, Nene Hilario. Gasol is the best big Man in the NBA after Dwight and Nene is a borderline allstar. Odom is a All Star caliber player and Kenyon is a above average, hustle type player. Kobe is top 2 player and Carmelo is like a top 5 maybe. I just think the Lakers are superior, but it will go 7. Also, Artest totally shut down Carmelo down the stretch last time in Staples, and Carmelo cannot physically overpower Artest the way He did last year with Ariza.
As far as the Cavs/Orlando, I like Orlando but I actually think Hedo Turkoglu was a 100x better playoff performer than Vince, even though Vince is more talented. Hedo last year carried the Magic, was their point guard, and single handidly took over many games. Not only that, but He created so many shots for Rashard, Dwight etc. They're gonna miss Him. Vince is a softie, and when the going gets tough in teh playoffs He'll fade, I guarantee it.
My X Factors?
Atlanta/Boston,
Nobody talks about them, but I think For Boston and Atlanta I think they're gonna have Nate Robinson/Jamal Crawford EXPLODE for them in the playoffs, especially Jamal Crawford. Having Jamal Crawford, Joe Johnson, together at the end of games is gonna be scary. For Nate, I think He'll give Boston a bench scorer they never had. As a Knick Fan, watching Crawford all these years, if the game is close in the 4th quarter there is like a 80% chance He'll win You the game. His only problem is He's not a consistant 4 quarters type Guy, but down the stretch He's lethal. Watch out for those two
With Cleveland vs Orlando, signing Vince Carter was probably the biggest move by any team in a busy offseason last year. Vince ain't nearly as dangerous as he was in his prime, but he's still one of the top players in the league when he's trying, and showed he still has the offensive touch when he scored 48 points in a game a couple weeks ago...how many players in the league can pull that off? Especially when you're playing on a team like Orlando where you're not the only player who got game, and the ball is being distributed. What KILLED Orlando last year in the finals was not having a player like Kobe who could create his own shot and create opportunities for his teammates, which they now have in VC. With Jameer Nelson at the point, Dwight in the middle, Rashard Lewis on the perimeter and VC coming off the pick and roll, Orlando has too many weapons. Throw in Marcin Gortat off the bench (who can start for most teams in the NBA), Matt Barnes' toughness, Mikael Pietrus who works hard on both ends of the floor, a legit backup PG in Jason Williams and JJ Reddick who can easily drop 5-6 3pt'ers in a game....Orlando is STACKED and is gonna give every team a serious run for their money, if they don't end up taking it all this year. I wouldn't count out VC in the playoffs either...he's never been in a situation this good in his entire career (the closest was in NJ playing with Kidd and Jefferson) and he's never won a ring, so they boy is gonna be hungry this postseason.
As for Boston....Boston is still Boston sxb. I dunno WTF happened to them, they started the season off on a rampage but flopped since then. Maybe they were just trying to prove to themselves that they have what it takes to be a contender, and were just slacking off cuz they know they can turn it on whenever they want...I dunno. If they're healthy though, you can't count out any team that has KG, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo. Nate Robinson was a monster addition as a backup PG coming off the bench, and they still got Kendrick Perkins and Sheed who can bang it up down low (and Rasheed Wallace can also knock down the 3, which not many centers can do, so gotta stay at home on him). Atlanta is also no joke either...I don't think there's a better balance on any team 1 through 6 (including Jamal Crawford) where scoring can come from any one of them on any given night. Josh Smith is a defensive-player-of-the-year caliber player, Joe Johnson is expected to drop 30 a night, Mike Bibby has the most playoff experience on the team from his Sacramento days, Marvin Williams and Al Horford were drafted #2 and #3 overall in their draft years and can put up points when they have to...and then you have Jamal Crawford who can close out games for you and is a problem in the backcourt next to Joe Johnson. I still don't think they're consistent enough to be a contender for the championship this year, but they're gonna make a lot of noise in the East this year. I think in a few years, they're gonna go head to head against Oklahoma City if they can keep the core young guys together.
As for Dallas...Dallas is the only team that can really beat Dallas if everyone is on the same page and is on point, which is what happened on their something like 13-game winning streak (a lot of them against team that were above .500). Dirk is a superstar, Jason Kidd is a future Hall of Famer, Jason Terry is probably gonna win the 6th man of the year award, Brendan Haywood is only getting better, Caron Butler can play D and get to the rim/play back-to-the-basket/spot up for a jumper/drop a 3 in your eye, Shawn Marion is built for Dallas' run-and-gun offense....they're a sick team and are neck-in-neck with Denver for a trip to the finals, so that's another team to watch for. It's gonna be a sick postseason, and either of the top 3 teams in each conference can make it to the finals and even win the whole thing.
. Atlanta is getting better and better, and have improved on their record every single year for the past 4-5 years (which no team has done for like a decade or so) so these guys know what time it is. Still, they remind me more of the Detroit Pistons of '04...they don't necessarily have one guy who is their standout star, but the closest they have to that is Joe Johnson, who's like the Chauncey Billups of that '04 Pistons team. They're a solid team, but this doesn't look like their year cuz there are more solid teams. Still, they're not gonna be a walk in the park for whoever has to go through them in the second round.
