2009 NBA Playoffs
- Thread starter BillD1984
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Points well taken, but still no excuse for a 37 win team to take a 66 win team to a Game 7.
In contrast, Houston was 53 games this year.
(Let's not also forget that Houston could have been a #2 or #3 seed/division champ heading into the last night of the season had they not blown a second-half lead in Dallas or if the Spurs didn't make a miracle comeback against the Hornets)
Well, the Lakers put Houston away.
They didn't get to 90 points- scored 87- and still won by 19.
They played great defense- 10 blocks- and got a total team effort- Kobe only had 14 points. Gasol had 21 and 18, Bynum had 14 tough points.
They didn't get to 90 points- scored 87- and still won by 19.
They played great defense- 10 blocks- and got a total team effort- Kobe only had 14 points. Gasol had 21 and 18, Bynum had 14 tough points.
Congrats to the Lakers. They came through in Game 7, hopefully so will the Celtics.
Now it's on to the WCF vs. Denver, which I think will be a great series. :up
Nuggets vs. Lakers- Western Conference Finals
Game 1- Tue 5/19- at Los Angeles- 9:00pm ET (ESPN)
Game 2- Thur 5/21- at Los Angeles- 9:00pm ET (ESPN)
Game 3- Sat 5/23- at Denver- 8:30pm ET (ABC)
Game 4- Mon 5/25- at Denver- 9:00pm ET (ESPN)
Game 5- Wed 5/27- at Los Angeles- 9:00pm ET (ESPN)
Game 6- Fri 5/29- at Denver- 9:00pm (ESPN)
Game 7- Sun 5/31- at Los Angeles- 8:30pm ET (ABC)
Now it's on to the WCF vs. Denver, which I think will be a great series. :up
Nuggets vs. Lakers- Western Conference Finals
Game 1- Tue 5/19- at Los Angeles- 9:00pm ET (ESPN)
Game 2- Thur 5/21- at Los Angeles- 9:00pm ET (ESPN)
Game 3- Sat 5/23- at Denver- 8:30pm ET (ABC)
Game 4- Mon 5/25- at Denver- 9:00pm ET (ESPN)
Game 5- Wed 5/27- at Los Angeles- 9:00pm ET (ESPN)
Game 6- Fri 5/29- at Denver- 9:00pm (ESPN)
Game 7- Sun 5/31- at Los Angeles- 8:30pm ET (ABC)
Celtics/Magic vs. Cavaliers- Eastern Conference Finals
Game 1- Wed 5/20- at Cleveland- 8:30pm ET (TNT)
Game 2- Fri 5/22- at Cleveland- 8:30pm ET (TNT)
Game 3- Sun 5/24- at BOS/ORL- 8:30pm ET (TNT)
Game 4- Tue 5/26- at BOS/ORL- 8:30pm ET (TNT)
Game 5- Thur 5/28- at Cleveland- 8:30pm ET (TNT)
Game 6- Sat 5/30- at BOS/ORL- 8:30pm ET (TNT)
Game 7- Mon 6/1- at Cleveland- 8:30pm ET (TNT)
Game 1- Wed 5/20- at Cleveland- 8:30pm ET (TNT)
Game 2- Fri 5/22- at Cleveland- 8:30pm ET (TNT)
Game 3- Sun 5/24- at BOS/ORL- 8:30pm ET (TNT)
Game 4- Tue 5/26- at BOS/ORL- 8:30pm ET (TNT)
Game 5- Thur 5/28- at Cleveland- 8:30pm ET (TNT)
Game 6- Sat 5/30- at BOS/ORL- 8:30pm ET (TNT)
Game 7- Mon 6/1- at Cleveland- 8:30pm ET (TNT)
Let the record show that I called for these teams to meet in the WCF before the playoffs started (some people thought the Spurs could put it together and there were sone lingering doubts about Denver's playoff past).
Bill, did you predict this matchup?
This will be preceded by the NBA Draft Lottery, which I'll get to later tonight.
Nope. I freely admit that I was dead wrong about the Nuggets.
Not only have they advanced further than I thought they would, they've also been the second most impressive team in the playoffs!
Guess who has tickets to these two game?.....
THIS GUY!!!!
What happens if the series doesn't go 7?
(In othr words, what would happen to your game 7 ticket if the series ends in 5, 6, or a sweep)
With all due respect to both Orlando and Boston, I think the Cavs can beat either of these teams, so believe it or not, I don't have a particular team I want to face more so than the other.
Let me break down each of the Pro's & Con's of playing each the Celtics or the Magic anyways. Each team poses a different challenge to the Cavs...
The Magic have Dwight Howard. The Cavs single weakest link is our lack of a physical center. The times we've lost this year, we lost to teams committing to attacking the post the entire game. While Howard is capable of posing as such a mis-match, the Magic have yet to prove that they can commit to this style of play for an entire game. Instead of running their offense through Howard, they tend to settle for many outside shots. Jump shooting teams don't have too much success in the NBA Playoffs.
The Celtics are a veteran team. They are still the defending NBA Champions, despite being happered by injuries. They have a Champions heart. This is not to be underestimated. In the last 18 games the Celtics and Cavs have played, the home team has won. For this reason alone, I feel a lot more at ease knowing the Cavs will be playing 4 of the 7 games in Cleveland. There's no particular position that the Celtics have a clear advantage over the Cavs, however these teams will present some pretty intriguing matchups: LeBron vs. Pierce, Deonte vs. Ray Allen, Mo vs. Rondo, Perkins vs. Illgauskas, Varajao vs. Big Baby. IMO, this series would be much more attractive to a National audience.
With that said, I do have one selfish reason to root for one team over the other. I want to face the Boston Celtics in the ECF so the Cavs will have to go through the defending Champions to get to the Title game. It's only right that in order to BE the man, you must BEAT the man. Plus, I think a C's vs. C's series would be the higher profile series.
If it ends before Game 7 with the Cavs winning, then I will have Game 1 of the NBA Championship (on top of Game 2 of the ECF).
So IOW, you have tix to Game 1 of the NBA Finals.
Because there's NO WAY, IMO, that the ECF goes more than 5 games (whether it's Orlando or Boston).
When the Lakers bothered to play hard they did to Houston what everyone expected. That said the Nuggets have looked impressive. If LA brings the same weak act that they have Denver will beat them bad.
I'll go out on a limb and say Denver in 5. My repect for the Lakers went away a long time ago and Colorado isn't Kobe's favorite place to visit if you know what I mean.
