[virometal]

Sorry usc goose. I didn't know whether you would start one this year or not. And what a year in the West!

Anyway, that's about all I can say. I'm nt NBA expert but always follow the playoffs.

Let's talk about this darn thing. I'll take Lakers/Celtics in the finals with the Boston boys emerging victorious. I'll root for the Suns because I'd really like to see Nash get a ring.

 

[ezkcdude]

I'm so pissed my Warriors didn't make it. Anyway, I think it will end up Boston vs. Los Angeles this year. Why not have a replay of those mid-eighties series?

 

[uraflit]

if bynum comes back for the lakers and dominates again... i can't seem the lakers losing, even to the celtics.

i am bummed that the warriors got kicked out too... =(((

 

[Cousin Patty]

I'd like to see my Spurs win their first back to back championship but they've been playing very squirlly lately. Guess we'll see what happens. Its going to be a tough start too with us playing the Suns. We havent been able to beat them since they got Shaq.

 

[Hi-Finthen]

I'm pumped for these playoffs to start, my Celtics need the competition and their eventual reward!

Should be a great ride, inclusive of highs and lows as the entire season has been...

Hope Bynum makes it back in time so there will be no excuses with what I predict will be a great series, for the Celtics in 6

 

[Borat]

As a Laker fan, I've already resigned myself to the fact that Andrew Bynum will not be coming back this season. I'm sure the players have done the same and have prepared to play the entire postseason with the team as it stands. But man, if he does come back Willis Reed style, that would be such a great boost for them.

Even without Bynum, the Lakers have one of the most potent offenses in the league. But the team defense with Gasol at center instead of Bynum is not championship level. Bryant has played at an MVP level in the regular season, but his right pinkie on his shooting hand needs to be surgically repaired. Gasol is still recovering from ankle and back issues. And Derek Fisher's knees are busted up so the lift on his jumper has been off. With these factors in mind, I am not expecting a title this year.

But next season after a full training camp and everyone coming back healthy, it is ON!

Here are my regular season award winners:

Most Improved Player - Hedo Turkoglu

Coach of the Year - Rick Adelman

Got his team motivated to win 22 straight games even when they lost one of their best players. Had a chance to win the Western Conference until the last two days of the season.

Sixth Man of the Year - Leandro Barbosa

Manu Ginobili will win, but that's stupid. He comes off the bench, but ends up playing more minutes than almost everyone on the team. He is a starter.

Defensive Player of the Year - Kevin Garnett

Easy choice.

Rookie of the Year - Kevin Durant

The Sonics sucked, but can't blame Durant for that. Could argue for Al Horford here as well.

Most Valuable Player - Kobe Bryant

This one is the most difficult. 3 players have a legitimate argument here - Bryant, Paul, and Garnett. LeBron just on the outside because his team did not win enough, but statistically he was amazing.

Anyway, here is why Bryant deserves it this year over the others and it's not because of career achievement:

#1 - The Lakers won the most competitive conference in the history of the NBA and he is the most important player on the team. There were 8 teams with 50+ wins and a 9th place lottery bound team with 48 wins. Insane.

#2 - He had to deal with more adversity than the other candidates. A team with Bynum and Gasol is a lot of talent, but how many times did they all play together? Zero. He had Bynum for only 35 games (kneecap injury) and Pau Gasol for only 27 games (midseason trade + ankle injury). Kobe, Bynum, and Gasol have never played together on the floor at the same time. The starting lineup was constantly in flux and Bryant still led them to the top of the conference.

Chris Paul had David West, Peja, and Chandler healthy for at least 76 games this season. Paul was fantastic, but much of their turnaround this season is because last season they had so many injuries. Last season West only played 52 games and Peja only 13 games.

#3 Kobe played all 82 regular season games even though he has an injury that requires surgery. Garnett missed 10 games and his team still won without him.

Kevin Garnett and Chris Paul were both phenomenal this year. With the seasons they've both had, any other year they'd be shoe-ins for the MVP award. But Kobe was just a little bit better.

If Kobe wins the award this year, it will be simply because he deserves it based on 2007-2008 alone, not because of "lifetime achievement".

Oh, I almost forgot:

NBA Executive of the Year - Chris Wallace (Memphis Grizzlies)

Thank you Chris!

 

[Hi-Finthen]

Here's the link if anybody needs it:
ESPN - Who will win it all? The numbers speak - NBA

ESPN's Hollinger Quote:

4. How good is Boston, really?

A lot better than you might think. Most observers look at the East and see the Celtics as a really good team who may or may not get past Detroit in the conference finals.

Wake up, folks -- this is one of the best teams of all time, and you might be surprised how easily they roll through the playoffs. I realize this is raining on the parade a bit since everybody is so jacked up about the competition in store this postseason, but I have to warn you there's a chance the Celtics are just going to flat-out destroy everybody.

Boston went 66-16, one of the best marks in league history, but even that mark sells the Celtics short. At 10.3 points per game, they had the scoring margin of a 70-win team. That scoring margin is better than all but three teams since the ABA-NBA merger, and those teams all had Michael Jordan. By contrast, last season the Spurs had a scoring margin of 7.8 ppg, and that was easily the best mark in the league.

Here's the real crazy part: their numbers were this good even though they coasted the final month and a half! Kevin Garnett didn't play 40 minutes in a game after March 5; he averaged 31.9 minutes in March and 25.4 in April. For Paul Pierce, it was 32.6 and 27.4; for Ray Allen, it was 31.2 and 29.0. Plus, each of them skipped two April games just to freshen up.

They have the three stars, yes, but they also play suffocating defense -- the Celts had one of best defensive seasons of all time, in fact (we'll get into that more as we get deeper into the playoffs). Meanwhile, a bench that was supposed to be a liability has instead kicked some serious butt, and the late-season addition of Sam Cassell added a crunch-time scorer to the mix.

The Western Conference is where all of the excitement and most of the quality resides, but I'd be very surprised if the West champs can beat Boston in the Finals ... and even more surprised if somebody besides Boston was their opponent.

 

[virometal]

Speaking of ESPN, just overheard that the last time both one seeds made the finals was 2001. That's something to consider before taking the chalk. Granted, as Borat alluded to, 1-8 in the West ain't a whole hell of a-lot.

Here's the first round match-ups:

East:
1.Boston/8.Atlanta
4.Cleveland/5.Washington
3.Orlando/6.Toronto
2.Detroit/7.Philadelphia

West:
1.Lakers/8.Denver
4.Utah/5.Houston
3.San Antonio/6.Phoenix
2.New Orleans/7.Dallas

It's worth asking over and over; just how good does that Western first round look! Darn, I'm locking the doors and closing the blinds tomorrow.

 

[Borat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by virometal /img/forum/go_quote.gif It's worth asking over and over; just how good does that Western first round look! Darn, I'm locking the doors and closing the blinds tomorrow.

We don't even have to wait until the 2nd round or conference finals to see a rematch between Phoenix vs. San Antonio. That series was so good last year and I expect more of the same this time. Hopefully, no more suspensions this year to put any controversy in the result.

 

[purk]

Go Spurs go!! I am a big fan of Spurs, but it will be very tough for them to repeat ...or even make it through the Suns.

 

[saint.panda]

Unrealistic as it may seem but I'd love to see the Mavs go all the way and after a ridiculous loss against the Heat and a ridiculous post-season last year, they do deserve it. Big fan of Nowitzki. If Howard can keep his game as when Dirk was out for injury, if Kidd can continue to rack up the triple doubles and if Dirk is at the top of his game, maybe. But in the end, I think Boston is going to win.

 

[Hi-Finthen]

Speaking of ESPN, just overheard that the last time both one seeds made the finals was 2001. That's something to consider before taking the chalk.

Well then, I predict yet another record then will be set or broken added to the long list, in the wake of this teams '08 Celtics season! LOL



I know, I know, but what would you expect from a Celtics fan having played and enjoyed the game competitively on my level, in my younger days. I love this game!

I'm confident, but not at all taking anything for granted, be assured~

Defense wins on this level and more so in the playoffs and that 10.3 point differential stat is simply glaring and being accomplished with a deep bench commited to playing aggressive team defense while having more fouls to waste.

Of course they can be beat, and I expect that to happen, along the way. I just don't see that style of play by the other teams high scoring offensive players being able to do so in a series of 7 or 6 games.

Should be very entertaining, whatever the outcome. I enjoy my team as a fan, but I also do so love to watch great competition, no matter the outcome!

May everyone elses favorite team play their best, and that we can all enjoy

 

[Orcin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by virometal /img/forum/go_quote.gif 4.Utah/5.Houston

Hey, virometal, are the Aggies in this dang thing? I can't find College Station OR Norman in your list. Oh well, at least there are more teams from Texas than any other state.

Nobody seems to be giving the Rockets much love. Well, I guess 22 wins in a row doesn't get you much once the regular season err... playoffs start. Historically, we don't do well against Utah in the playoffs, and we aren't exactly healthy. So McGrady will probably still be carrying that "one and done" monkey on his bad back for another season.

I think your Boston-L.A. matchup looks good right now, but don't count the Spurs out. Duncan is still an elite player with an experienced and talented supporting cast.

It should be fun in the West. I see no point in watching the East for a week or two since the top 4 seeds all get byes.

 

[floydenheimer]

Regular season awards:

MIP- Hedo Turkoglu. David West was a very close 2nd, but I gave Hedo the nod because he didn't have the best PG in the league spoon feeding him open jumpers and layups.

Coach of the Year- Mo Cheeks. I go with teams that surprise and overachieve with this award. I narrowed it down to Cheeks and McMillan and gave the nod to Mo because his team surged at the end of the year and had big wins over the quality teams in the league while McMillan's blazers faded.

6th Man- Leandro Barbosa. Simply because Manu is a starter that comes off the bench, he doesn't count in my book.

DPOY- Kevin Garnett. No brainer, dude plays out of his mind every night.

Rookie- Kevin Durant. I was pretty much sold on Horford for ROTY until towards the end of the season Durant turned the corner. He started scoring more efficiently, a lot of the holes in his game were getting filled. On top of that I factored in that teams were trying to stop Durant every night and Horford was the 4th or 5th banana on that Hawks team, he just did janitorial work.

MVP- Lebron James. Yes, Kobe and CP3 had incredible seasons and their teams had great records. I don't subscribe to best player on the best team. On a garbage team, Lebron put up historical numbers and managed to push his team into the playoffs. If you take the best player off every team in the league, I think the Cavs are probably the worst. KG and Amare were also terrific, but Lebron was other-worldly.

As for the playoffs, I'm pretty biased, but I like the Suns chances this year. There are no back to back games so Hill and Shaq will be rested. This is probably their last legit shot with this squad and they are all playoff tested. The Spurs supporting cast looks like it is in decline and their big 3 won't be able to get it done. The Celtics look like the east representative, although the Pistons will probably give them all they can handle. A 1976 finals rematch between the Suns and Celtics would be a fun one. Maybe we can get another "Shot Heard 'round the world" moment this year.

Seriously, the west is such a crapshoot, I could make a case for the Lakers, Suns, and Hornets to be in the finals. (sorry Spurs and Jazz fans, I don't think it's your year)

 

[Rednamalas1]

Suns vs. Celtics in the final - that's going to be a series!