SomaliNet Forums

Murax wrote:

Mr. Yungnfresh wrote:

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

The Western conference will be a lot of fun to watch cause anything can happen there. I would like to see Carmelo vs Lebron much more than any other finals. Right now Lebron seems to have a better chance of making it there than Carmelo but we'll just hope for the best.
I wonder how the post season's outcome will shape Lebron's future as a Cavalier. The Knicks seem to be pretty sure that they will get the king regardless of the playoff outcome, but I think they're out of luck. They probably have a better chance of getting Wade/Bosh combo.

Gatsby/Youngfresh,

Utah is looking great in the West, but they cannot seem to get past the 2nd round at best. Deron Williams has to do everything for them down the stretch and Carlos Boozer is like two notches below Pau Gasol.

Oklahoma City might actually get past the first round. Durant is a matchup nightmare, Westbrook is too athletic for any PG, and they have a bunch of long players that can defend. They gave LA fits this year.

Denver is going to need Kenyon Martin badly for them to beat the Lakers.No Kenyon no finals. He's the only big in the West that can shut Gasol down, and Nene bullies Bynum. Only thing is JR Smith Has to keep His mouth shut, and not piss off Kobe.


East,

I really, really like Atlanta but they just will not be able to do anything with Lebron in the playoffs. They simply have no answer for Him.

Orlando, I like them too, but VC is just a soft player. When the pressure gets turned up He'll either get hurt or simply not show up. He's not a winner.

Celtics, they are just done. KG is definitely not the same, and there is no way Rondo is gonna carry You to the finals. Their run is over, a one hit wonder.

Cavs, they might be in trouble if they play Orlando if Shaq is still hurt. Dwight just like last year will go nuts and walk the dog with Varejo, Ilguaskus, etc. Those Guys cannot move or body Him up in the paint.

Yeah Murax,, like you said Deron is doing his share and Boozer is really trying but they will need guys like Okur, Millsap and hurting Kirilenko to step up their game to get through the first round against the Suns.

Both the Lakers and the Nuggets look weaker than they were two months. I don't think either team can beat the Mavs in a seven games. Dallas is really the sleeper team in this post season but they have history of falling short in playoffs so it could go either way still.

Man tonight Lebron sits cause apperently he deserves the rest and it turns out that he picked the worst day to sit. They played the Bulls who now after beating the Cavs are tied with the Raps for the eighth spot in the east. Now both the Raps and the Bulls have four left each, one which they play each other. Looking at their matchups it might come down to the game they're playing against each other. Raps are doomed

Raptors : @Atlanta,Chicago, @Detroit, New York
Chicago : @New Jersey, Toronto, Boston, @Charlotte

Murax,

Deron and Boozer can't get it done on their own just like Stockton and Malone couldn't do it under Jerry Sloan either. They need their role-players to step up if they want to even make it to the second round. The West is too stacked this year...the other day, seeds 2-5 were tied with the same record and seeds 6-8 were also tied with the same record, with only 3 games separating them...basically, you could lose 4 games (sometimes, all that is in 1 week) and go from 2nd to 8th. We won't even know any of the matchups until the last day of the season, since so much can change between now and then...which will be interesting to see how teams manage a best of 7 against a team they didn't know they were even going to play.

Oklahoma City is no joke this year...they're on route to winning 50 games and are a legit playoff team. I'm thinking they can easily pull off an upset...KD is leading the league in scoring, Russell Westbrook is a near triple-double machine every night, Jeff Green can do damage too...none of the top four teams in the West want to draw Oklahoma in the first round.

The Mavericks also have a legit chance at making it as far as they did in 2006...the only thing between them and the finals is the LA Lakers, in my opinion. Dallas is ready though, with the addition of Brendan Haywood, they can battle with the Laker bigs down low. Dirk Nowitzki is having an MVP season and they got tougher with Caron Butler. Jason Terry, likely 6th man of the year, will give them an explosive 4th quarter and Jason Kidd is playing like he's still a kid instead of a man in his mid-30's. It'll be interesting to see if they can stay focused...if they are, them against the Lakers is gonna be a classic series.

As for the Lakers, both them and the Nuggest started the season on a tear, but both have been plagued by injuries lately and haven't been playing like themselves. If Bynum returns, it's gonna be hard to beat the Lakers 4 times in 2 weeks...and if Kenyon Martin can get healthy, Denver is also a powerhouse. The Lakers might end up playing Portland too, who've given them matchup problems all year and have had the Lakers number. Which is surprising, since you'd think without Greg Oden, they wouldn't be hanging around as far and as long as they have.


As for the East, the only answer for Lebron is GET THE FUCK OUTTA THE WAY and don't become part of his highlight reel . 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.

Orlando is possibly the deepest team in the NBA right now, who's second unit can matchup with a lot of teams' starting lineup. If all their players are healthy and they show up to play, it's gonna be very hard to beat these guys in a 7-game series too. I think VC is the wildcard...if he plays well and gives you 20 a night, it's basically a wrap. Otherwise, they're gonna need big games from their role-players if Orlando wants to make it back to the finals.

Celtics waa lagu khasaaray. The biggest disappointment of the year by far, especially considering the dominant start to the year. You never know though, the playoffs sometimes bring out the best in people...they have too much talent for anyone to count them out. Pierce/Allen/Garnett are definitely past their glory years, but they're only in their early 30's and still have a good year or two left in the tank. They're capable of pulling off what is now sadly gonna be considered an "upset", which is ironic since at the beginning of the year, they were one of the "favourites" to take the East.

For Cleveland, it's all a matter of whether or not Shaq gets healthy. Otherwise, Varejao and Ilgauskas are gonna get raped with no vaseline by Howard in the paint. Lebron is Lebron, but last year's inside-outside game with Dwight Howard showed even he can't beat Orlando by himself.


Gatspy,

I don't even know if I want Toronto to make it to the playoffs anymore. They already lost both Bosh and Turkoglu to the facial fractures, and even with them they weren't playing playoff basketball. I don't see how those misfits can win a single one of their next four games without their two best players...and even if they do and end up making the playoffs, it'll only be to lose to Cleveland in a quick four by an average of 30 points a game.

Gatspy wrote:Man tonight Lebron sits cause apperently he deserves the rest and it turns out that he picked the worst day to sit. They played the Bulls who now after beating the Cavs are tied with the Raps for the eighth spot in the east. Now both the Raps and the Bulls have four left each, one which they play each other. Looking at their matchups it might come down to the game they're playing against each other. Raps are doomed

Raptors : @Atlanta,Chicago, @Detroit, New York
Chicago : @New Jersey, Toronto, Boston, @Charlotte

Toronto lost to Atlanta today (it was a foregone conclusion) and Chicago lost a double overtime thriller to New Jersey. Looks like Sunday's game between the Raptors and the Bulls is gonna have a game 7 feel since both their seasons are likely on the line with that game (their records are tied right now, but Toronto owns the tie-breaker so they're basically a game ahead...with only 3 left for each of them, Sunday is gonna be huge)

Nice topic

Yung, I am of your opinion that Toronto shouldn't be in the playoffs...with Bosh out, they'll just be playing spoilers, better they be put out of their misery now.

Toronto has not had a legit guy since Vince. Chris Bosh is the 2nd option on a good team but He's not a A List player. The Raps are idiots they should have not spent their caproom on Hedo, saved some more money and went after a big free agent.


Btw, any hope for My Knicks to get 2 Franchise players this Summer? Lebron, Wade def ain't comin

Murax,

Bosh can put up some big numbers and would have been a top class power forward if he wasn't such a faggot down the stretch. As for Turkoglu, I never liked the retarded looking fish but I was excited about his signing because he's a skilled big man that would have complimented Bosh's game. He's been a major disappointment

Skippa wrote:Murax,

Bosh can put up some big numbers and would have been a top class power forward if he wasn't such a faggot down the stretch. As for Turkoglu, I never liked the retarded looking fish but I was excited about his signing because he's a skilled big man that would have complimented Bosh's game. He's been a major disappointment

Yea I agree, let chicago get in they'd be more of a challenge against Cleveland then a wounded raptors team.

Bosh has been the top dominant Power Forward for the first halfs of both this season and last season. Statistically out performing big names in his position like Dirk and Pau. But like Skippa he gets weak down the stretch and misses valuable time. The Raptors were sitting pretty at 5th before he went down and now I even though its good to see your team make it to the post season, you still don't want to see them get annihilated in four games by a much better team. plus the Bulls seem to wanted it more so they do deserve the last spot in the east.

Fresh sunday's game between the Raptors and The Bulls will probably be a boring one. Just because I really don't see Toronto being able to beat any of their pending opponents. The Bulls are much weaker than they were with Salmons in their lineup so there is a chance that they might not show up either.

Well its official. The Bulls are in and Raptors are out. It was Rose the other night and Noah tonight, the Bulls deserve to be in the playoffs even though their fate is sealed going against the Cavs.

Sucks for Toronto, but even they know they don't deserve to make it to the postseason. This is a team that won 29 games by the all-star break (a franchise-record set when they had VC) and had talk of possibly finishing in 3rd or 4th place, at least on paper. Their dismal downward spiral from there (9-19) showed they weren't ready for the playoffs with or without Bosh. He'll probably leave Toronto in search of greener pastures where he'll get a max contract and be paid a ridiculous amount, plus play for a legit contender if he can land in a situation with either D. Wade or Lebron...even seeing him next to Joe Johnson, Amare Stoudemire or Carlos Boozer is gonna be a problem. There's nothing left for him in Toronto...Turkoglu was an exciting addition at the beginning of the year but turned out to be the biggest flop and hasty contract in the history of free agency. Andrea Barngnani is looking like the 1st overall pick he is, but only when he decides to show up and play aggressive. Demar Derozan ain't developing fast enough. It's a wrap.

It's funny though, their season came down to a bunch of "1 shots"...that game-winning shot Kobe made a few weeks ago, the one Carmelo made about a week ago, the one Bosh missed against Golden State a few nights back...even the game Sunday against Chicago was a game-changer (literally).

What do you guys think about Larry Brown not playing Gerald Wallace and Stephen Jackson big minutes against the Bulls today? Should he have treated this game as a competitive one out of respect for the Raptors since he knew them making the playoffs was on the line?

Mr. Yungnfresh wrote:

What do you guys think about Larry Brown not playing Gerald Wallace and Stephen Jackson big minutes against the Bulls today? Should he have treated this game as a competitive one out of respect for the Raptors since he knew them making the playoffs was on the line?

I can't really blame him, he was trying to save them for the playoffs, he was probably thinking about Brandon Roy's knee injury on Sunday and didn't want to take any risks with his players. Portland btw has to be one of the unluckiest team in sports history.
Dallas is playing hot right but they're going against San Anton who may be just a few steps over the hill yet remains a dangerous team. That and denver/Utah are the series that I'm most looking forward to watching

I agree sxb, the Raptors squandered their own opportunity and Larry Brown didn't owe them anything. They played 82 games and any one of their 40+ losses could have made the difference, and they wouldn't have needed Larry Brown's Bobcats to bail them out. It's no big loss anyway, competing for who's gonna get elimated by Cleveland in the first round ain't really much to play for.

For me, the only competitive series in the East is gonna be the 4-5 matchup between the Celtics and the Heat, which will likely go the distance if everyone brings their A game (KG, Allen, Pierce, Rondo, D Wade, Q Rich, Beasley, Jermaine O'Neal, etc). Cleveland in 5, Orlando in 5, Atlanta in 5. In the West, a little closer since the teams are separated by a few games and matchups were mostly decided on the final day of the season. LA in 6, Dallas in 7, Phoenix in 5 and Denver in 7.