2009 NBA Playoffs

Pst... I'm not the only one who criticized the Lakers lack of effort. If you watched the post game show on TNT following the Magic/Celtics game, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith went into a rant on how the Lakers don't deserve to win the title because they "packed it in" on several games during the playoffs. They said that as a former player it disgusts them that with as much talent as they have, for them to just flip the switch on and off instead of playing up to their potential every game of the night is a disgrace.

Charles went on to say that as a broadcaster, he never roots for or against a team. He tries to stay neutral. However, he said last night that for the first time in this profession, he's going to root AGAINST the Lakers the rest of the way, just because of their lack of effort!

If you have any more rebuttal Salsa, you can take it up with King Charles. :p

Yeah....he also said that Orlando will BEAT Cleveland....so take whatever you want from Charles for what it's worth....:rolleyes:
 
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?

No offense Sabres, but you didn't exactly go out on a limb here. The Lakers and Nuggets are the top 2 seeds out of the West.
 
Oh yeah....so much for "they HAVE to feed it alot to Superman to win....". Dwight Howard only had 9 shots.....NINE!

Last night was one of those games the Magic won by being absolutely on fire from outside. Jump shooting teams are streaky like this. Either they're on or not. Last night, they were nearly flawless. If they play this way during the ECF, they most likely won't shoot 62% from the 3 point arc.
 
Cleveland will not even come close to losing a game in the eastern conference finals.

Charles Barkley is officially certifiable. He actually picked the Magic to beat the Cavs! :eek::eek::eek:

According to the dictionairy, certifiable.is defined as "fit to be certified as insane."

Good word usage.:up

Looking ahead to the ECF I like Cleveland. Did I just say that? :eek: I mean I like the Cavs. They have been dominant so far. The only question is will they sweep again? I say they'll lose at least one game, but they will win the series.


I wish I shared the optimism all of you seem to have. I DO still think the Cavs will prevail in this series, but I don't think it'll be as easy as the rest of you are making it out to be.

The Magic pose some legitamite matchup issues for the Cavs.

But then again, the Cavs pose some matchup issues for the Magic. I'll be doing an in depth position by position break-down of this upcoming ECF, to be posted shortly...
 
Eastern Conference Final: Cavs vs. Magic. In-Depth Preview by HD MM

How they got here: Leading up the ECF, quite honestly, I expected Orlando to take care of business and dominate the injured and tired defending champions, but that didn't happen. Instead, the teams went back-and-forth throughout their 7 game series. The Cavs on the other hand have dominated their first two round opponents by a double-digit margin in each defeat. What does this mean? Most likely it means the Cavs seem to be in a zone and locked into their ultimate goal of winning a Championship, while the Magic aren't as scary as they are made out to be.

What do the Cavs have to play for: The Cavs are firing on all cylinders and there seems to be no letting up on their opponents. Anything short of a Championship will be considered a disappointment to this team, city and fan base.

What do the Magic have to play for: The Magic may be content in just getting to the ECF. The Sixers (which IMO was the worst team in the Eastern bracket) took them to 6 games. The decimated Celtics took them to 7 games. The Magic are still a young and somewhat inexperienced team led by an often-criticized coach, Stan Van Gundy. This is as far as the Magic have been in the playoffs since the 1995 team. No one from the 1995 team is with the current batch of talent on this years team.

How the Cavs win: The Cavs defense will be the toughest that the Magic have seen all playoffs. The Magic's base offense involves feeding Dwight Howard down low, hoping he is double teamed, then kicking it out to one of their perimeter shooters for an open basket. They will have to get a lot more creative for that strategy to work against the Cavs. For one, a missed long shot creates a lot of long rebounds and fast-break opportunities for an outstanding offensive rebounding team such as the Cavs. Secondly, settling for outside shots and avoiding contact will limit the amount of times the Magic will go to the free-throw line. If the Cavs can win the free-throw battle, that will help offset the uncontested 3-pointers that do happen to go in by the Magic.

Another key is to attack the post. LeBron will have to continue to drive to the basket and force Dwight Howard to contest his shot. Pure muscle on muscle. (6'8" 250lbs vs. 6'11", 265lbs) The winner will score a basket or will earn a chance at the foul line. The loser will end up in foul trouble. If the Cavs can get Dwight Howard into foul trouble, that will eliminate the one advantage the Magic have over the Cavs.

Center:
As for Dwight Howard, sure he poses a legitamite mis-match against our Bigs. He is the most dominating big man in the NBA and will pose a mis-match against any other team in the entire league. However, the Cavs front court isn't nearly as decimated as the Celtics and they seemed to contain him for the most part, with the exception of Game 7, during the first half. That was the best I've seen him play all series. The combination of Anderson Varajao, Big Z, Joe Smith and Ben Wallace should be enough amo to try and contain the big fella. We won't be able to stop him, but we may be able to contain him. Advantage: Orlando

Guards
: The Cavs backcourt poses a mismatch with the Magic's. Delonte West is our best perimeter defender and he will most likely have the pleasure of locking down Rafer Alston. Mo Williams will have the honor in guarding JJ Redick. Advantage: Cleveland.

Forwards: As for the Magic's forwards, all I keep hearing is how great they can shoot from the outside for being so tall and how athletic they are. Let me give the Magic a clue. We have the most athletic forward in the league and the runner up Defensive Player of the Year in LeBron James to guard one of them, most likely Rahard Lewis. The other forward, Hedo Turkaglu will be matched up against Varajao or Big Z. Turkaglu is a tremendous shooter, but Anderson Varajao is a tremendous defensive player. Advantage: Cleveland.

Bench: The only players of significance comming off Orlando's bench is Courtney Lee and Mickael Pietrus, both shooting guards. The Cavs may have the deepest bench in the NBA in Sasha Pavlovic, Ben Wallace, Joe Smith, Daniel "Boobie" Gibson and Wally Szczcerbiak. Advantage: Cleveland.

Coaches: The Cavs are led by the Coach of the Year. Mike Brown is a defense first coach. He's been here for 4 years now. In each of the previous 3 years, he's coached the Cavs to the Conference Semi-Finals twice ('05-'06 & '07-'08) and the NBA Championship once ('07-'08). He's really grown into this position and deserves more credit than what he get's around the league. His team respects and trusts him. I'd take his stout defensive schemes over any other coaches in the league. The Magic are led by Stan Van Gundy. This is only his 2nd year with Orlando. He coached a little over 2 years with the Heat before coming to Orlando. His teams have never made it past the Conference Finals. This is uncharted territory for Stan. However he did coach the Magic to the 3rd best record in the East, so that should count for something. Advantage: Cleveland

Final Thoughts: I've broken down every aspect of the matchup on paper and all but 1 area (center) favors the Cavs. And I didn't even get into X-factors in home-court advantage or the LeBron factor. With that said, games aren't won on paper and I see this as a much tougher series than the first 2 rounds. I wouldn't be surprised if it went 6 or 7 games. I still like the Cavs to prevail.

Good luck to all parties involved. I can't wait until Wednesday!
 
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.


Well said Matt.
 
I wish I shared the optimism all of you seem to have. I DO still think the Cavs will prevail in this series, but I don't think it'll be as easy as the rest of you are making it out to be.

The Magic pose some legitamite matchup issues for the Cavs.

But then again, the Cavs pose some matchup issues for the Magic. I'll be doing an in depth position by position break-down of this upcoming ECF, to be posted shortly...

I don't know how to say this without it sounding like sour grapes. But, Dwight Howard gets away with a lot. 3 seconds, goaltends, over the backs, ect.. I don't think he will be getting these calls against Cleveland.

Cavaliers have a healthy team with a bench, something the Celts sorely missed against Orlando.
 
I wish I shared the optimism all of you seem to have. I DO still think the Cavs will prevail in this series, but I don't think it'll be as easy as the rest of you are making it out to be.

The Magic pose some legitamite matchup issues for the Cavs.

But then again, the Cavs pose some matchup issues for the Magic. I'll be doing an in depth position by position break-down of this upcoming ECF, to be posted shortly...

Here is my assesment:

PG: Rafer Alston vs. Mo Williams. MO is the better player, Alston has the more playoff experience. But experience is never the end all/be all deciding factor. Mo is average 6 more points but these teams do not use the traditional point guard setting up players...the use the POINT FOWARD setting up the offense. This will be big because Lebron will be guarding Turkoglu and will hamper the point forward offense of Orlando. IF it comes down to these guys having to QB their offenses, I give the edge to MO...if they play their tradional roles of shooting guard/point guard.....I give it to Rafer because he is better freeing himself for a shot than Mo is.

Edge: Slight edge to MO.

SG: JJ Reddick vs. Delonte West. Reddick has come on his own since getting out of the Van Gundy's doghouse. He has better than average defense and when he is on....there is no better pure shooter on either team. Delonte is a good player and only has a slight edge in speed over JJ.

Edge: Reddick

SF: Lebron James vs. Hedo Turkoglu. Man, on paper, this looks like such a huge edge to the Cavs. But because the Magic use the point foward system, similar to Cleveland....this is gonna pose a small problem for Cleveland. NOW Lebron will put his 'ALL NBA Defensive Team' status to the test guarding Hedo....WHY? Because Hedo sort of runs the offense. He will have to go through a hundred screens, not for Hedo to free upi for his shot, but to setup the rest of the team...which I think will be the key to the series. WHEN Lebron does that, which I think he will defend Hedo well....that means there is more pressure on the PG to run the show...and there like I listed before, to run the team....I gave the edge to MO...but he will now have to think pass 1st, shoot 2nd. Lebron SHOULD dominate Hedo.....should....

EDGE: BIG to Lebron

PF: Rashard Lewis vs. Anderson Varejao: Well, here is one of Orlando's big advantages. Rashard is too quick in the dribble AND the step on Anderson. IF you were talking about JUST rebounding....I would give a good edge to Anderson, but that is not the case. I do not think Anderson can keep up with Rashard defensively nor offensively.

EDGE: Big to Rashard Lewis.

CENTER: Dwight Howard vs. Zydrunas Ilgauskas. Here is the OTHER big advantage to Orlando. Almost the IDENTICAL advantages Rashard has over Anderson....The ONLY advantage that the Big Z has is weight and size advantage...and that would help if it was Sumo wrestling...not here.

EDGE: Big to Dwight Howard.

Bench: I would have to lean to Orlando ONLY because of the sudden emergence of JJ Riddick. He has not pushed the issue as far as his shot and played better than expected defense. Other than that, the benches are just about even.

EDGE: VERY small edge to Orlando.

COACHES: I think Brown has the distict edge here. He has been able to have every single player to believe in THEIR ROLE on the team. I mean really, out side of Lebron and Mo to a certain extent.....it's Michael Jackson and THEN the Jackson 5. But this is all due to how well Coach Brown has been able to sell his idea to his team. I am now convinced NO OTHER coach has sold his system better since Phil Jackson did when he coached the Bulls with Michael Jordan.

EDGE: Mike Brown big!

INTANGIBLES: Two words..... Lebron James. 'Nuff Said!

In the end, I think there are too many match-up issues with the Cavs. BUT, they have the BEST PLAYER in the world on their team...so that sort of nullifies almost everything. The issue is, what is stronger...Lebron's will to win or Orlando's match-up advantages.

I will go with Orlando.
 
Here is my assesment:



SG: JJ Reddick vs. Delonte West. Reddick has come on his own since getting out of the Van Gundy's doghouse. He has better than average defense and when he is on....there is no better pure shooter on either team. Delonte is a good player and only has a slight edge in speed over JJ.

Edge: Reddick


Sorry, I just spit Root-Beer all over my monitor and am still choking on my Chicken Sandwich!!! :eek:

Does anyone out there know how to perform the Heimlich over the internet?!

Seriously dude, Reddick over D-West?! Delonte is arguably our best defensive player. He can also score at will by driving to the basket. Sorry, but D-West is leaps and bounds better than Reddick.
 
Sorry, I just spit Root-Beer all over my monitor and am still choking on my Chicken Sandwich!!! :eek:

Does anyone out there know how to perform the Heimlich over the internet?!

Seriously dude, Reddick over D-West?! Delonte is arguably our best defensive player. He can also score at will by driving to the basket. Sorry, but D-West is leaps and bounds better than Reddick.

LOL.

I like you, Salsa, but I think we have a nomination for worst post of the year. The ONLY think Reddick does better than West is spot up and shoot open 3s.
 
Here is my assesment:

PG: Rafer Alston vs. Mo Williams. MO is the better player, Alston has the more playoff experience. But experience is never the end all/be all deciding factor. Mo is average 6 more points but these teams do not use the traditional point guard setting up players...the use the POINT FOWARD setting up the offense. This will be big because Lebron will be guarding Turkoglu and will hamper the point forward offense of Orlando. IF it comes down to these guys having to QB their offenses, I give the edge to MO...if they play their tradional roles of shooting guard/point guard.....I give it to Rafer because he is better freeing himself for a shot than Mo is.

Edge: Slight edge to MO.

SG: JJ Reddick vs. Delonte West. Reddick has come on his own since getting out of the Van Gundy's doghouse. He has better than average defense and when he is on....there is no better pure shooter on either team. Delonte is a good player and only has a slight edge in speed over JJ.

Edge: Reddick

SF: Lebron James vs. Hedo Turkoglu. Man, on paper, this looks like such a huge edge to the Cavs. But because the Magic use the point foward system, similar to Cleveland....this is gonna pose a small problem for Cleveland. NOW Lebron will put his 'ALL NBA Defensive Team' status to the test guarding Hedo....WHY? Because Hedo sort of runs the offense. He will have to go through a hundred screens, not for Hedo to free upi for his shot, but to setup the rest of the team...which I think will be the key to the series. WHEN Lebron does that, which I think he will defend Hedo well....that means there is more pressure on the PG to run the show...and there like I listed before, to run the team....I gave the edge to MO...but he will now have to think pass 1st, shoot 2nd. Lebron SHOULD dominate Hedo.....should....

EDGE: BIG to Lebron

PF: Rashard Lewis vs. Anderson Varejao: Well, here is one of Orlando's big advantages. Rashard is too quick in the dribble AND the step on Anderson. IF you were talking about JUST rebounding....I would give a good edge to Anderson, but that is not the case. I do not think Anderson can keep up with Rashard defensively nor offensively.

EDGE: Big to Rashard Lewis.

CENTER: Dwight Howard vs. Zydrunas Ilgauskas. Here is the OTHER big advantage to Orlando. Almost the IDENTICAL advantages Rashard has over Anderson....The ONLY advantage that the Big Z has is weight and size advantage...and that would help if it was Sumo wrestling...not here.

EDGE: Big to Dwight Howard.

Bench: I would have to lean to Orlando ONLY because of the sudden emergence of JJ Riddick. He has not pushed the issue as far as his shot and played better than expected defense. Other than that, the benches are just about even.

EDGE: VERY small edge to Orlando.

COACHES: I think Brown has the distict edge here. He has been able to have every single player to believe in THEIR ROLE on the team. I mean really, out side of Lebron and Mo to a certain extent.....it's Michael Jackson and THEN the Jackson 5. But this is all due to how well Coach Brown has been able to sell his idea to his team. I am now convinced NO OTHER coach has sold his system better since Phil Jackson did when he coached the Bulls with Michael Jordan.

EDGE: Mike Brown big!

INTANGIBLES: Two words..... Lebron James. 'Nuff Said!

In the end, I think there are too many match-up issues with the Cavs. BUT, they have the BEST PLAYER in the world on their team...so that sort of nullifies almost everything. The issue is, what is stronger...Lebron's will to win or Orlando's match-up advantages.

I will go with Orlando.

Put that one in the "Words I wish I didn't say" file.:D:eek:
 
He can also score at will by driving to the basket. Sorry, but D-West is leaps and bounds better than Reddick.

And why was he traded to the Cavs? I mean REALLY, he was not that expensive to keep and IF he was AS GOOD as you make him out to be...the Celtics would still have him on the roster with all the good SG in the Eastern Conference. And he has done this "scoring at will" WHEN in the playoffs? When I see this so-called 'explosion of scoring'...then I will believe it.

....sorry, but I will file your assessment under homer talk. ;)
 
And why was he traded to the Cavs? I mean REALLY, he was not that expensive to keep and IF he was AS GOOD as you make him out to be...the Celtics would still have him on the roster with all the good SG in the Eastern Conference. And he has done this "scoring at will" WHEN in the playoffs? When I see this so-called 'explosion of scoring'...then I will believe it.

....sorry, but I will file your assessment under homer talk. ;)

He came from Seattle. And he was traded because both Boston and Seattle had too many guards already. He was expendable and they didn't know how to use him. I think that's obvious in what he has been able to accomplish with the Cavs as opposed to his short stint with Seattle... errr the Thunder.
 

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