2008 NBA Playoffs: What to look out for in the west

[Wes]

^ Why stop there?

 

Parker: Hate his style of play.

Ginobli: Hate his style of play, and the fact he's the worst flopper ever.

Duncan: So boring. Like watching a robot play basketball.

Bowen: Dirtiest of dirty players.

Horry: Like Anakin Skywalker of the basketball world...used to be a great player, but has been corrupted by Darth Popavich and now plays dirty and cheap.

All these guys represent my hate in pro basketball (even Horry now that he takes cheap shots at other players).

[Hercules]

Horry? Once a great player? I agree with everything you said other than that. He was always a jerk on the floor even back in his Rockets days, another team that I couldn't stand.

[Wes]

^ This immortalized him in Lakers history... Him and Fish were our best role players.

 

http://youtube.com/watch?v=xp19op8uK1E

[RIP Psyclone]

^I'll tell you, it was absolutely incredible seeing that at the Mandalay Bay sports book amongst a very pro-Lakers crowd.

 

And yes, why stop there...there is nothing good to be said about the Spurs.

[Hercules]

^^ Ahhhh, just because he hit a big shot for the Lakers.....

 

I think you summed it up Wes. ROLE player. He is and never was a great player. He was a pretty good role player, but no where near an overall great player. Now, will he be a hall of famer? Probably, just because of the playoff games, championships, and big shots.

[Bolliger&Mabillard]

Being a factor when it counts (Playoffs) overshadows any high flying dunk or scoring leading season. The fact that Robert Horry has more championship rings than Michael Jordan is appauling, but like I said...he's a factor when it counts.

 

As for the Lakers-Spurs match up.

 

This will be considered a rivalry game obviously and we can look to a hot blooded series. With the exception of the Pistons in 2004, the winner of this Western Conference match up goes on to to win it all. The roster is slighty...okay COMPLETELY different for the Lakers, but I still like their chances. Lamar Odom will run the floor and beat Tim Duncan in transition, and Pau Gasol kinda has this sense of a need to win against the Spurs (0-8 in playoffs, he's probably thinking revenge). Regardless of all the praise Bruce Bowen gets for being a "superior" defender, Kobe has proven he's still good for 30+ points. Plus, it's been a while since we've had home court advantage against the Spurs, let's hope we can exploit that.

[BeemerBoy]

Okay, as for Robert Horry, I'll pose this question.....would anyone not want him on their team down the stretch?

 

Oh, and Wes, the offer still stands.....$10.99/series for me to display a Spurs avatar.

[Bolliger&Mabillard]

^In the playoffs, yes Horry will be on the floor, regular season, I've never seen a guy 6'10'' miss so many dunks...UNCONTESTED

[schotj]

UGHH... I am pissed the Hornets lost. When will the Spurs not make the NBA finals?? The Lakers still have a chance to win, but the Spurs are too good.

[Hercules]

The Bulls won the freakin' lottery!!!

 

Jay "Just another reason for me to get my hopes up and have them come crashing down next season" Willis

[BeemerBoy]

^ Yeah, something tells me they'll find some way to screw it up with the management they have.

[Hercules]

There really isn't that hard of a choice this year. It is between a forward that was awesome, and a guard that was definitely very good. It just depends on what they want to do with Hinrich, Gordon and Deng. Plus, they already have a platoon of guards that they need to get rid of anyway.

 

By the way, Celtics are on their way to another Game 7 win, eh?

[BeemerBoy]

^ We signed on to the David Stern package this year. Play ALL 7 games, and collect the revenue. It's all about marketing, Jay.

[mcjaco]

^ Yeah, something tells me they'll find some way to screw it up with the management they have.

 

Paxson is making really strange decisions. I liked the direction he got them headed to, but it's fallen flat the last two years. For a coach to pick New York over the Bulls, must mean the organization is a disaster.

 

I think Gordon will be the one that gets traded. I'd rather see Hinrich, and I think Deng has the most upside of all of them. So they'll probably trade him.

 

Either way, they'll draft someone that will end up falling flat on their face. Or trade them (ahem, Chandler. ahem, Brand).

[Hercules]

I would rather see Gordon go. I think he is way too inconsistent. Hinrich just had a bad year, but I think he can rebound and be a good leader. As for the rest of the team, I just don't know what to think. At any rate, I miss Brand, not to mention, Skiles.

[Bolliger&Mabillard]

If the Bulls still had Brand, Chicago would be a much better team. If the Clippers get too good, they feel they're doing something wrong. I see Gordon getting traded and becoming a headliner somewhere else. I mean it happened for every othe player except for Jamaal Crawford and Eddy Curry.

[Bolliger&Mabillard]

The Pistons won in Boston...uh oh.

[BeemerBoy]

^ Yeah, but I'm not *too* concerned, considering Detroit had to shoot lights out down the stretch to do so. A loss in Boston was bound to happen at some point, as is a win on the road...hopefully.

[Bolliger&Mabillard]

Shooting lights out down the stretch, on the road...That's something to tip your hat to. The Celts have their work cut out for them. If The Pistons can keep the Celtics winless on the road, who knows what could happen...heck they couldn't beat the Hawks at home!

[BeemerBoy]

Shooting lights out down the stretch, on the road...That's something to tip your hat to.

Agreed. But that's my point though. As bad as Boston played early, and as hard as they fought to get back in it, Detroit still had to come up clutch. So although it's still a loss, it's not as bad as it could've been. But yes, definitely still an uphill battle.

[Wes]

Oh, and Wes, the offer still stands.....$10.99/series for me to display a Spurs avatar.

 

With the way they've been playing, I'm thinking we don't need it!

[Bolliger&Mabillard]

^What a difference home court makes. I hope that at the very least the Spurs keep their winning mentality in San Antonio

[Wes]

That game was crazy. That last play...I don't know man. As much as I love the Lakers and hate the Spurs, I just don't know. Though Pop isn't going to contest it...

“If I was the official I wouldn’t have called that a foul,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.

 

I'm going to say the Lakers got extremely lucky, and that all my birthday wishing came true in a sort of dubious way. Not that the Spurs didn't have a ton of opportunities to win the game, and not that there weren't bad calls that hurt the Lakers too. I just get the vibe we're gonna hear about the David Stern conspiracy for the next month.

[65skylark]

I think it was a very good "no call" from the officials. I watched the re-play several times and Barry initiated a lot of that contact himself. I just don't think you call that in the last second of a conference finals game.

 

As much time as I seem to spend rooting against the Lakers, I really do think they are the best team in the league this year. I would love to see Lakers vs Celtics in the finals. That's pretty much the NBA equivalent of Yankees vs Red Sox. I do think the NBA has been steadily improving over the last few years after pretty much hitting rock bottom for a while.

 

Portland should be back in the playoffs next year, so that helps, too

[BeemerBoy]

Tough "no call." Just going off of memory, he did seem to impede Barry from sidestepping, and possibly getting a clearer shot. I've always hated the grey area of "whistle swallowing" in the last minute of playoff games. I mean, would that have been a foul in the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd quarter? Probably. So why not show some consistency?

 

With that said, Barry's only mistake was not going straight up for a shot when he saw the defender leave his feet. Then it's clearly a no-brainer.

Oh well. Can't worry about L.A.

 

We've got our own problem to worry about....and it's called inconsistency.