NBA Playoffs 2009

[Morfiend]

I did a few searches and didnt see a thread on this so here goes.

I have been completely enthralled by the playoffs this year. They have been fantastic. It helps that I am a Lakers fan, but also the Cavs v Magic has been great basketball. Having a game every day is awesome, but also tiring. I feel like there is so much good basketball to watch, I dont have time to do anything else.

Loved the Lakers game last night. The Lakers really stepped up, with Koby only taking 13 shots, but using himself as bait to draw the doubleteam away from the basket and opening it up for others to score.

Is anyone else enjoying the playoffs like I am?

[Azuredream]

As soon as we drew the Magic I was worried. It wasn't too long ago they thumped us by 40 in their building.. now we're down 3-1 and though we're still where we were at at 0-1 (win a road game) it still looks pretty bleak. We played our best game in game 4 (minus OT) and still came out with a loss. "LeShot" won't mean much if we don't win the series.

I have a bit of a Lakers grudge simply because of the ridiculous LeBron/Kobe comparisons that major networks like to do, when at the level they played this season Kobe doesn't even deserve to be on the All-NBA first team. If the Magic close out the Cavs I'll probably bid for Denver to win out of spite, but if the Cavs pull some kind of miracle then I'd like to see the Lakers in the finals with them.

[Paelos]

I keep up with it, but I can't say I've been watching games in full like I have been with hockey. NBA games just bore me early on way way too much. Either it's a completely blowout in the first half, or it's close and there's no point in watching until the last 6 minutes. I have watched the Magic-Cavs series much closer than the Lakers-Nuggets series because of the timing. Barring Lebron's ridiculous 1 second buzzer-beater, the Cavs should have been swept. Orlando just looks more in control in the close games.

I also don't think the Lakers can close it out on the road in game 6 because they are headcases. I think that one is bound for seven, and it is probably the more even matchup of teams. Personally, I'd love to hear the wailing of the networks if it was Nuggets-Magic in the finals rather than the Lebron v. Kobe matchup they so desperately want.

[Azaroth]

NBA games just bore me early on way way too much. Either it's a completely blowout in the first half, or it's close and there's no point in watching until the last 6 minutes.

About how I feel.

And I WILL watch the last six minutes.

But generally not much more, because the last six minutes take an hour to play.

[Azuredream]

NBA games just bore me early on way way too much. Either it's a completely blowout in the first half, or it's close and there's no point in watching until the last 6 minutes.

I don't think that's a good criticism. That's like saying you should only watch the last few innings in baseball since those are the only innings that "matter."

Hockey bores me because of the scarcity of the scoring. It's hard to get excited about the game when 95% of the game is guys skating around and 5% are actual goals. Whether or not that's a valid criticism I don't know, but I'd rather just watch the highlights of a hockey game than the actual hockey game.

[Paelos]

What bothers you about hockey is the reverse of what bothers me about the NBA.

There's simply too much scoring, and with rare exceptions that hit the highlight reels, it's all pretty much the same. I can't really give a shit about the first 50 points in a game, because they are essentially meaningless. The other team is going to wash out those points, guaranteed. That's not at all the same in hockey, football, soccer, baseball, lacrosse, cricket, you name it. Basketball just has a ton of scoring and it really takes the "oohhahhh" factor out of the game for me when they put it in the bucket. I get more jacked up by good defense in basketball, because it's rarer, but that happens more in college and I do watch games in their entirety for that.

Back to the NBA though, I did actually watch the whole game 5 Cavs-Magic matchup. Cavs jumped out early by like 18 and I thought, wait for it...we've seen this collapse before. Sure enough, they let the Magic back to within 1 by the half. At this point, I'm basically thinking they are screwed if they don't come out firing in the second half. Instead, they let the Magic take the lead. I'm thinking we've seen this game before, and they are probably screwed. To their credit, Lebron went out of his mind in the 4th quarter and just decided that it was time to win. The rest of the team made good cuts to the hoop, and Lebron just schooled whatever pitiful bastard was trying to guard him at the top of the arch. The play where he drove past the dude with 5 seconds on the shotclock, got to the hoop and made it with the foul was the icing point of the game.

Good match, I don't think they can do it in Orlando in that hostile environment though.

[Threash]

What a horrible job by the everyone on the cavs besides Lebron, its no wonder hes so frustrated.  The Magic won that series because they were playing 5 on 4, their whole team vs Lebron and 3 refs.  Besides from wearing him out i don't see why the cavs ever need to do anything else besides giving the ball to Lebron at the top of the key and let him drive to the basket, if he doesn't score the refs are going to call a foul no matter what, usually it will be a score and a foul.

[Mosesandstick]

Predictions anyone? Lakers in 6.

[Paelos]

Magic in 7.

[vos]

The NBA is all about match ups. The reason Cleveland lost is because they had no one that could guard Lewis and the Turkish Michael Jordan in pick and rolls. The big difference in the next series is that Odom and Ariza can handle them, or at least not make is so damn easy for them to score. Gasol will pull Howard out away from the basket thus limiting his defensive impact, and he can score enough to cancel out Howard's offense.

The biggest match up mismatch is the fact that no on on the Magic can guard Kobe.

Lakers in 5. (Assuming they freaking try hard in every game)

[Threash]

Orlando in 7.  Kobe is not as good as Lebron but his supporting cast is better, but the Lakers don't show up to play every game.  They won't win against the Magic if they give away a couple games.  Neither Gasol nor Bynum have shown that they can match up against Howard, i would have picked the Magic in 5 if they had Jameer Nelson (which they might, but most certainly not at his all star level) who scored 27 and 28 for Orlando in their regular season sweep of the Lakers.

[Hoax]

Lakers in 4.  Fuck I hate fucking LA.

[Paelos]

Well the first game was a big ole' pile of fail. Yeesh. 

[Rasix]

The Finals usually are.  And yah, even before last night I would have said the Lakers are going to walk away with this one.  Mainly just because I don't like them. 

[Nebu]

I cheer for the Lakers simply because I've met Buss on a few occasions and he seems like a good guy.  He is an alum of a school I used to be faculty at.  I also think it would be good for Kobe to get a ring on his own.  Kobe may have a strong personality, but he's one of the finest players I've ever watched.  He certainly took over in Game 1 of the finals.

[Rasix]

I think he's a douche.  But yah, no denying he's good.

[Paelos]

Lakers take 2 at home, winning the second in OT. The world was completely not shocked, and Jack Nicholson got some camera time on the floor. Kobe was not Kobe but it didn't matter. The Magic shot like shit. Outside of Turkoglu, Lewis, and Howard, the rest of the Magic shot 8 of 31 from the floor, which is a robust 25.8%. Oh, and they also only made 75% of their freethrows, which is simply not acceptable in the playoffs.

The fact that the game was close with the team playing that poorly is a testament to how average Kobe was. He was outscored in the game by Lewis, and didn't score more than 30, which has almost become commonplace for him as the superstar. The Magic look lost in these finals though. They had a chance to steal the game with a wide-open alley-oop lay-up, and they missed that too.

They better do something at home, or they will be embarrassed and swept on their home turf.

[stray]

They'll be lucky if they ever win one game. They depend on the 3 too much. Whether Kobe scores bad or not, it's not the easiest thing to pull off against LA. LA is still a great defensive team.

[stray]

On another note, my friend had the funniest observation about Howard: The Three Headed Monster. Heh. I don't know if he got from somewhere else or not, but Seriously! That's dude's shoulders are like other heads. He's more fit looking than David Robinson was.

[Rasix]

Outside of that inbounds pass (Lee should have made that shot), Van Gundy has looked like a moron in this finals.  Jameer Nelson hasn't played for months? Let's have him play an entire quarter!  JJ Redick needs some minutes.  Courtney Lee can guard Kobe 1 on 1!

The Lakers are a defensive match up nightmare for his team just like his team was an offensive match up nightmare for the Cavs.  Tall guys with long arms make it tough for Hedo to just shred an offense.

[Nebu]

Outside of that inbounds pass (Lee should have made that shot), Van Gundy has looked like a moron in this finals.  Jameer Nelson hasn't played for months? Let's have him play an entire quarter! 

I'm conflicted on this one.  You have two sides of the coin.  On one side is team chemistry and on the other, you want your best 5 players on the floor.  Even though chemistry is important in basketball, it's tough to leave an ALL STAR sitting on the bench when he has the wind to play some minutes. 

Alston hasn't looked very good this series either, so either way he goes seems to = lose. 

[stray]

I don't think that alley oop pass was good coaching either. He made it all ride on a rookie. Hell, Howard was right there open just feet away. Close enough to get a tip in too late. Nope, the rookie catches it and misses a tip without any contest to the shot. Good nerves, yo.

Then again, maybe it was good coaching and meant to go to Howard in the first place. Either way, fail.

edit: Oh, and if I'm talking too much shit, yes, I'd probably miss it too. But I have a right to miss. I'm not in the NBA playoffs. Or even in the NBA.

[Paelos]

90% of the time, an NBA player can make that shot. It's a catch and release lay-up. 90% of them can't do it under pressure though.

[stray]

Hence, not good coaching. :)

[Rasix]

Pfffft.  I'd expect Ben Wallace to make that shot.  The reason he was open in the first place is because the Laker defenders were staring at Dwight Howard's lovely sculptured chest.

Some of the biggest shots in NBA finals history have been made by most unlikely of players.  Being open means you get to try and be the hero.

[Paelos]

I don't think it's bad coaching, I just think it's one of the only options in a very low-percentage scenario. With .6 seconds, a full catch and shoot isn't a good choice given the heavy D, so you have to try some sort of tip play or find someone basically standing wide open, facing forward, and with a quick release.

[trias_e]

If you get that kind of shot up with .6 seconds left, I'd say that's a good playcall.  I would also argue that, had the pass been a little better, Lee could have put up an easier balanced layup.  But with .6 seconds left, to get that kind of quality attempt to win the game, you have to be happy with the call and even the execution. 

The more threes you take, the more streaky you're going to be, and the more randomness influences your final outcome.  I wouldn't be too surprised by any outcome of this series due to that fact alone.  Orlando could fall over in 4 if they never get hot, or they could take it to 7.

[Mosesandstick]

I'm siding with trias. Better timing on the pass and it would've almost been a gimme.

[stray]

Eh? He missed.  I would not be happy with the execution.

[Mosesandstick]

I know. But I'm pretty damn sure that wasn't the ideal play considering that Lee can dunk the ball 

[Threash]

Talk about streaky, from 29% shooting in game 1 to 63% in game 3.  That first half was amazing to watch.

[Nebu]

If you need to shoot 63% to win by a few points... at HOME, you're not in good shape.  

If Howard had a move... a duck under, a head fake, a hook shot, ANYTHING, then Orlando would be in much better shape.  I hope he gets busy this summer.  He could really be something special.

[Threash]

If you need to shoot 63% to win by a few points... at HOME, you're not in good shape.  

I keep hearing people say this, yet they played an incredibly mediocre game in game 2 and were a gimme layup away from winning on the road.

[Paelos]

The Magic are completely dependant on how the Lakers decide to play. If they turn on the jets, the Magic have absolutely no hope.

[Azaroth]

Hey, I tuned it on just in time to see that Fisher 3 at the end of overtime.

What a perfect time to turn on a basketball game.


 

You know, all I ever do on this board anymore is troll.