[txusa03]

there are rumors already about shake up with the Dallas Mavs knowing how pissed Mark Cuban is yesterday when their season come to a stop. can't wait for the muddy water to spill out of Dallas

[BMW_TT]

they finally got rid of avery

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3375306

[Bimmer335i]

Originally Posted by txusa03

no other options but to win from here on out...

Your prayers have been answered...for now.

[Bimmer335i]

It'll be an interesting matchup between Spurs and Hornets. On one side is experienced, disciplined and will to win, and on the other is young, talented, hungry and want to prove something.
I am looking forward to this series. I kinda lean towards the Hornets, just because they're young and disciplined as well.

Lakers in 6 for West Conference...ultimately.

[TheAcAvenger]

The Spurs not having home court advantage to the Hornets might be problematic. I see them losing the first or second games before amping it up to win the series in 6 or 7. I'm afraid for the Hornets that the first round came too easily for them going against a team that had no answer for CP3 and going against a team that didn't want any part of tyson chandler. The Hornets play a style of basketball eerily similar to what we've seen from the suns the last couple of years. The paul to chandler connection reminds me alot of the nash to amare connection. Unfortuntaly, Duncan won't let them throw those silly alley's to the paint like Dirk/Dampier did. Paul's jumpshooting will be tested as San Antonio guards the paint better than any other team this decade. It's just going to be more of the same. IMO. The Mavericks never could beat the suns, and the hornets beat them the same way the suns did. The spurs always beat the suns, and it will be hard for the hornets to bring something the spurs havent seen before.

With that said, the Lakers should win in 6.

Spurs vs. Lakers in the eastern conference finals. I'll go with Spurs in 7.

[SpecC]

Originally Posted by TheAcAvenger

The Spurs not having home court advantage to the Hornets might be problematic. I see them losing the first or second games before amping it up to win the series in 6 or 7. I'm afraid for the Hornets that the first round came too easily for them going against a team that had no answer for CP3 and going against a team that didn't want any part of tyson chandler. The Hornets play a style of basketball eerily similar to what we've seen from the suns the last couple of years. The paul to chandler connection reminds me alot of the nash to amare connection. Unfortuntaly, Duncan won't let them throw those silly alley's to the paint like Dirk/Dampier did. Paul's jumpshooting will be tested as San Antonio guards the paint better than any other team this decade. It's just going to be more of the same. IMO. The Mavericks never could beat the suns, and the hornets beat them the same way the suns did. The spurs always beat the suns, and it will be hard for the hornets to bring something the spurs havent seen before.

With that said, the Lakers should win in 6.

Spurs vs. Lakers in the eastern conference finals. I'll go with Spurs in 7.

wrong conference bro

Yeah, I totally agree with you. I do believe the Spurs are experienced enough to win on the road though. I just think they might be in for a little shock coming into NO in game 1. I'm still eagerly waiting on how pop is going to fight the pick and roll with CP3. It's going to be fun watching two speed demons guarding each other at times! The face Parker makes when CP3 picks him for the first time is going to be priceless!

Lakers vs Spurs... now that's a tough call. Nobody can stop Kobe. He's extremely mature, so it's not like Bowen can easily anger him like he does to players such as Ray Allen. I don't know, but just because I think the spurs are too good to allow Kobe to take over the series by making EVERYONE around him better, I'd take the Spurs in 6 for that one. It's unlikely that they'd want or let it go to 7 since they don't have home court in that series either.

Then there's the Pistons! I think Philly has lit a fire under their asses and now they're finally going. Talk about turbo lag

[TheAcAvenger]

Originally Posted by SpecC

wrong conference bro

Yeah, I totally agree with you. I do believe the Spurs are experienced enough to win on the road though. I just think they might be in for a little shock coming into NO in game 1. I'm still eagerly waiting on how pop is going to fight the pick and roll with CP3. It's going to be fun watching two speed demons guarding each other at times! The face Parker makes when CP3 picks him for the first time is going to be priceless!

Lakers vs Spurs... now that's a tough call. Nobody can stop Kobe. He's extremely mature, so it's not like Bowen can easily anger him like he does to players such as Ray Allen. I don't know, but just because I think the spurs are too good to allow Kobe to take over the series by making EVERYONE around him better, I'd take the Spurs in 6 for that one. It's unlikely that they'd want or let it go to 7 since they don't have home court in that series either.

Then there's the Pistons! I think Philly has lit a fire under their asses and now they're finally going. Talk about turbo lag

"Wrong conference bro" Hahahaaha, e90post induced sleep deprivation.

I'd love to see lakers/spurs. I've kind of grown tired of the King James phenomenon, especially after old man Bowen completely kept him in check during that finals sweep and no one talks about it. Kobe has never been shut down by Bowen and it will beautiful to see him play at a beyond-superstar level against the greatest playoff defender since Pippen. There's no one on the Spurs that can stop bryant, but they will force gasol and odom into taking jumpshots, and close a lot of the passing lanes that makes the Lakers offense so successful. On the other side of the ball, the Lakers have no one that can stop Parker and no one that can stop Duncan (i'm looking forward to seeing bynum mature, but when you take a player with Duncan's raw talent and add it to Duncan's experience... Bynum is done). Not to mention that I don't understand why people look back on how the Spurs played in the regular season when Pap and Duncan openly admit to letting games slip by taking out the vets at important times to keep them rested.

I'm actually equally excited by the eastern conference. Philly really is a lot better than anyone gave them credit for. But it does indeed seem like the Pistons are ready to be the pistons again. I'm actually not surprised by the Hawks. When they're on, they're on. People forget that Joe Johnson was an integral part of the Suns success when he was there. Leaving him open is just as bad as leaving Ray Allen open. Mike Bibby is starting to play like the Mike Bibby of old... which automatically means one of the top 5 pg's of the decade. Horford and Smith are playing out of their minds right now. Going back to boston will fan them off alot though. Boston having home court for the rest of the year will be a problem. They'll win the next game in Boston, taste victory, and finish the Hawks off in Atlanta. The pistons will do the same.

Interestingly, I think the Hawks and the 76ers will give the Celts/Pistons more problems than the Cavs, Wiz, Raptors, or Magic. Of those 4, the only team that will be able to force a 6 game series will be the Cavs.

I feel like the western conference finals and the eastern conference finals will be really symbolic of the two conferences. The celtics and pistons will play slow, gritty, low scoring basketball and pound each other until someone wins. The Lakers and Spurs will highlight some of the best offensive players in the game.

[SpecC]

Originally Posted by TheAcAvenger

"Wrong conference bro" Hahahaaha, e90post induced sleep deprivation.

I'd love to see lakers/spurs. I've kind of grown tired of the King James phenomenon, especially after old man Bowen completely kept him in check during that finals sweep and no one talks about it. Kobe has never been shut down by Bowen and it will beautiful to see him play at a beyond-superstar level against the greatest playoff defender since Pippen. There's no one on the Spurs that can stop bryant, but they will force gasol and odom into taking jumpshots, and close a lot of the passing lanes that makes the Lakers offense so successful. On the other side of the ball, the Lakers have no one that can stop Parker and no one that can stop Duncan (i'm looking forward to seeing bynum mature, but when you take a player with Duncan's raw talent and add it to Duncan's experience... Bynum is done). Not to mention that I don't understand why people look back on how the Spurs played in the regular season when Pap and Duncan openly admit to letting games slip by taking out the vets at important times to keep them rested.

I'm actually equally excited by the eastern conference. Philly really is a lot better than anyone gave them credit for. But it does indeed seem like the Pistons are ready to be the pistons again. I'm actually not surprised by the Hawks. When they're on, they're on. People forget that Joe Johnson was an integral part of the Suns success when he was there. Leaving him open is just as bad as leaving Ray Allen open. Mike Bibby is starting to play like the Mike Bibby of old... which automatically means one of the top 5 pg's of the decade. Horford and Smith are playing out of their minds right now. Going back to boston will fan them off alot though. Boston having home court for the rest of the year will be a problem. They'll win the next game in Boston, taste victory, and finish the Hawks off in Atlanta. The pistons will do the same.

Interestingly, I think the Hawks and the 76ers will give the Celts/Pistons more problems than the Cavs, Wiz, Raptors, or Magic. Of those 4, the only team that will be able to force a 6 game series will be the Cavs.

I feel like the western conference finals and the eastern conference finals will be really symbolic of the two conferences. The celtics and pistons will play slow, gritty, low scoring basketball and pound each other until someone wins. The Lakers and Spurs will highlight some of the best offensive players in the game.

I completely agree with your Lakers/Spurs analysis. Gasol can't defend Duncan even though he has freaklishly long limbs. I think that caveman beard is hindering him... I mean look at Chris Kaman! He got rid of his caveman looks and became one of the most underrated centers this season.

Philly really caught my attention during the end of the season. Reminds me of last year's Warriors making a run for the playoffs and eventually upsetting Dallas. It's a totally different situation, but seriously, who saw the Sixers meshing so well after trading a bunch of people? They're young and Andre Miller is extremely underrated in my opinion. They'll be a force in a few years!

The Hawks were a bit of a surprise to me. I don't watch them very often. In fact, I am guilty of never watching one of their nationally televised regular season games. Joe Johnson has to be one of the best all around 2-guards in the game today though. I remember him on the Suns being the #2 ballhandler which is unique for his size, somewhat Pippen-esque. After watching Boston maul the entire regular season, it's really hard to choose the Hawks though. I'm still going to assume Boston is gong to cruise through the rest of this series. You know, it's strange that the lower seeded teams are more dynamic than say Orlando, Cleveland, or even Washington!

I am hoping we see a Spurs-Pistons finals, but it's really hard to predict who's going to come out of either conference. I'm not going to ever count out Detroit or San Antonio. Either way, I think the conferences and the championships are going to be won by defense which every team is pretty damn good at right now.

[3onDubs]

Bynum's gonna be back for the western conference finals....

Twin towers > Duncan

[Kensta335]

Originally Posted by SpecC

I am hoping we see a Spurs-Pistons finals, but it's really hard to predict who's going to come out of either conference. I'm not going to ever count out Detroit or San Antonio. Either way, I think the conferences and the championships are going to be won by defense which every team is pretty damn good at right now.

Please no more Spurs/Detroit finals please. I don't want another snorefest. Acutally Spurs vs anyone would be boring.

[3onDubs]

Bynum! Bynum! Bynum! lol

[3onDubs]

Read this last week...

"Ive been in the music industry for years I currently have a deal with MTv to produce music for their Tv shows, I got a message from my manager who happened to be in the studio last night with one of Lamar Odoms artists he has more that just Ali Vegas for the last year we have been going back in forth for a while attempting to work together on some music. Well my manager who is a die hard Laker fans like myself and hes also a radio personality for 102.3 kjlh said that he asked if Bynum would be back this year to Lamar Odoms business partner who Lo's right hand man. He said Lamar told him "YESTERDAY" that BYnum finally has gotten control over the knee swelling and He played one on one basketball and was very very dominate. He said that the Lakers are basically coddling their future franchise player and that they feel like they can handle the next two rounds without him so they are allowing him to get his conditioning back and be ready to contribute 100% in the wcf. Im going to be getting alot of info from the Odom camo because our business deals with rich soil entertainment look to be very solid Im going to try to steal what info I can. HOPEFULLY THIS IS TRUE Theres no doubt in my mind that this info was given to my manager because we are friends and he wouldnt lie to me about this but I dont know if this info from LO'S partner is accurate we really dont know him that well. CROSS YOUR FINGERS"

[TheAcAvenger]

Originally Posted by 3onDubs

Bynum's gonna be back for the western conference finals....

Twin towers > Duncan

I'm really still waiting for someone to explain to me how Bynum is more than a role player. With bynum on the floor, you'll have one less perimeter shooter on the court and outside shooting is the only way the spurs are ever beaten. Bynum nor Gasol will score in the paint against the spurs. Gasol scores more than half his points getting passes on cuts to the post that he won't get against the spurs defense in the middle. You think the spurs losses and they all come when another team gets hot from the outside. You look at when the Lakers played the Spurs in april and won without bynum... it had everything to do with going 10-19 from downtown, take into account that the spurs don't play playoff defense in the regular season and the Lakers will really need those outside shots to fall. I'm all for Bynum/Gasol against teams like the Mavs or the Suns or the Nuggets that let you pass the ball inside but the Pistons/Celtics/Spurs and to some extent the Hornets won't let you do it. Gasol has a somewhat reliable outside shot that bynum hasn't yet solidified. Thus, the best lineup the Lakers can throw at the Spurs is the one they're using now. Spread the court and pour it from the outside.

The Suns went out and brought Shaq in for the sheer purpose of beating the Spurs. The big fella put up 15, 10, and 2 and a half blocks per game which is about what you'd see from bynum. The result? The suns lose in 5 games instead of 7 because they couldn't spread the ball enough with all the interior clutter.

Originally Posted by Kensta335

Please no more Spurs/Detroit finals please. I don't want another snorefest. Acutally Spurs vs anyone would be boring.

Spurs v. Suns in 06 and 07 were the two most exciting series from each respective year. People do exist on this planet who would rather watch the quality team basketball and defense the pistons and spurs play over a one man show like lebron or sloppy turnover play like the suns.

[3onDubs]

Originally Posted by TheAcAvenger

I'm really still waiting for someone to explain to me how Bynum is more than a role player. With bynum on the floor, you'll have one less perimeter shooter on the court and outside shooting is the only way the spurs are ever beaten. Bynum nor Gasol will score in the paint against the spurs. Gasol scores more than half his points getting passes on cuts to the post that he won't get against the spurs defense in the middle. You think the spurs losses and they all come when another team gets hot from the outside. You look at when the Lakers played the Spurs in april and won without bynum... it had everything to do with going 10-19 from downtown, take into account that the spurs don't play playoff defense in the regular season and the Lakers will really need those outside shots to fall. I'm all for Bynum/Gasol against teams like the Mavs or the Suns or the Nuggets that let you pass the ball inside but the Pistons/Celtics/Spurs and to some extent the Hornets won't let you do it. Gasol has a somewhat reliable outside shot that bynum hasn't yet solidified. Thus, the best lineup the Lakers can throw at the Spurs is the one they're using now. Spread the court and pour it from the outside.

The Suns went out and brought Shaq in for the sheer purpose of beating the Spurs. The big fella put up 15, 10, and 2 and a half blocks per game which is about what you'd see from bynum. The result? The suns lose in 5 games instead of 7 because they couldn't spread the ball enough with all the interior clutter.




Spurs v. Suns in 06 and 07 were the two most exciting series from each respective year. People do exist on this planet who would rather watch the quality team basketball and defense the pistons and spurs play over a one man show like lebron or sloppy turnover play like the suns.

You don't need one more perimeter shooter...is luke walton a perimeter shooter? Is lamar odom a perimeter shooter?

With Kobe, fisher/farmar, sasha/radmonovic up top, you have the perimeter covered. Pau can go back to his usual number 4 spot where he is more comfortable and he'll most likely dominate that position since Bynum will take the 5 spot. Bynum will be much more effective at blocking/rebounding than Pau will ever be, and they'll have that one two punch that the lakers were lacking down low (lamar/pau provided a little of that and you saw how dangerous that could be).

If the lakers choose to go big with lamar/turiaf, pau, and bynum, they're pretty much guaranteed the offensive rebound, and radmanovic can make it rain all day.....

[SpecC]

Originally Posted by Kensta335

Please no more Spurs/Detroit finals please. I don't want another snorefest. Acutally Spurs vs anyone would be boring.

why is good basketball boring? I like watching how defense makes more of an impact on the game. The coaching strategies would be genius too!

[///sniper]

I'm still surprised at how Bowen gets away with the things that he does. I wouldn't mind it if he were banned from the NBA. Ginobili should win an award for the flops that he pulls and Horry should retire for the mere fact that he's still 'clutch' come playoff time...

[Kensta335]

Originally Posted by TheAcAvenger

Spurs v. Suns in 06 and 07 were the two most exciting series from each respective year. People do exist on this planet who would rather watch the quality team basketball and defense the pistons and spurs play over a one man show like lebron or sloppy turnover play like the suns.

Yes Suns vs Spurs have been great. But I'm talking about the Finals. Casual fans do not like watching the Spurs. The last 3 times they reached the Finals, 2 of those times was a record low for TV ratings.

[Kensta335]

Originally Posted by SpecC

why is good basketball boring? I like watching how defense makes more of an impact on the game. The coaching strategies would be genius too!

I'm sorry but Spurs are just boring. Tim Duncan is known for being boring. Defense is great and all but when you can't even score more than 9 points a quarter makes it damn boring.

[txusa03]

I see a few ppl here are rockets fans and are that rockets make it out of game 6 in Utahhhhh.

Go Rockets, we believe...Friday night bring that same intensities to game 6 and don't let Boozer or Williams bush you out of the way (get in there and rebound Scola)

[3onDubs]

Spurs are definitely boring...it's not about arriving, it's about arriving in style

[mrwma237]

Go rockets.

I rather see Lakers play Rockets than Lakers vs Jazz.

Rockets > Jazz in 7
Lakers > Rockets in 4

[txusa03]

Originally Posted by mrwma237

Go rockets.

I rather see Lakers play Rockets than Lakers vs Jazz.

Rockets > Jazz in 7
Lakers > Rockets in 4

one step at a time my friend, lets not look beyond game #6

We believe in game #6 go rockets

This would have been over with had they (rockets) stand their ground in the first 2 games