NBA finals prediction thread!!!
 

Yes my friends i know who is gunna be in the NBA Finals this year. Some of you may be asking," How the **** do you know " . Well the truth is i dont. I just wanted to write 2 dramatic lines about how i did. Anyhow.

I didnt see a predictions thread about the NBA finals , and since we are getting to the home stretch i thought i would start one. One thing i would like to see is you guys elaborate a bit on your predictions. Give stats or reasoning. I hate 2 line posts that read like

pistons
lakers


:|

So here i go. First off the east. I'm from Indiana,but before people think i'm biased let me point some things out. First, All this talk about how a East team cant beat the West is BS. Theres 2 teams that can beat the west and thats INdiana and Detroit. There records prove me right. Indiana has the best record against the West in the league! Not only that they have the best recrod in the league , and guess what ! Ron Artest is back bitches! And he's good! Reggie miller is shooting the ball like he was in the early 90's and you know Reggie always shows up in the playoffs! Last year Reggie had the ankle injury that bothered him . So he was someone what of a no show. Also Indiana has what i think is the deepest bench in the league. Chroshere, Bender, Harrington, Johnson, Jones, K. Anderson, S. Pollard. These guys are some of the best bench players you can have and a couple of the would be starters on any other team. Kings bench is good but not as deep. The only team that stands in INdiana's way is detroit. GL detroit. Pistons are 0-3 against us this year. SO INdiana is my pick to come form the East.

Heres the West. I'm not gunna offer stats or records for my pick from the west. Let me start by saying. You know how about every 4 years or so every sport has that one team that gets in the finals/series/bowl. That people always look and think," Where they come from "? Well here it is. I think the Houston Rockets are going to the Finals. Yes i said it. The Rockets. For some reason everytime i watch this team play on tv i feel as if there one of the l33t teams in the league. Ming dominates shaq for some reason. Francis seems as if he's ready to be a huge player in the playoffs, and Mobely has stopped taking the stupid shots to get his 20 a night and is passing it into Ming. Also Ming just looks as if he blends with these guys now. It wasnt like that last year. They have beef up fromt with Kato and Ming. They have a decent bench. I see them getting on a roll and going to the Finals.

Indiana in 6. If Indiana gets home court throughout the playoffs they can beat any team in the west in 7 games.

Shut the f</>uck up, you stupid homer.

Could you elaborate on that?

Indiana is the best! Indiana has the best bench and the best record against Western Conference teams than anyone else! Did I mention some of the guys on our bench would be starting in other places? Detroit is no good against us! I mustered up all this bullshit about the Pacers, but I won't bother doing the same with my choice from the West! I just think the Rockets will make it. PACERS IN SIX!!!!! If they get home court they can handle anyone!!!"


Shut the fu</>ck up.

LOL.

Personally, I'd love a Pistons-T'Wolves final, but I imagine it'll be Pacers-Kings.

Pacers - Lakers

Lakers winnin it

I picked the Pistons in the beginning and I'll stick with it

There's always talk about West Coast big men and Sheed used to be one of them. Now him and Big Ben can be a force down low against a Shaq/Malone or Miller/CWebb/Vlade or whoever. I think the Kings will make it to the finals but I think Detroit matches up well against them. Billups is a good scoring point guard and Hamilton is a solid 2. Prince is obviously the weak link and Peja would just embarass him. Maybe Carmelo would have been a better choice eh Dumars?

But yeah Pistons in 7

It will be some form of Kings/T-Wolves vs. Pacers/Pistons, so quit your moaning.

Hey you ****ing retard. How bout you stop trying to be the cool witty computer guy and come up with something to offer to a thread yourself. I gave stats as to why i thought the pacers would win. I also gave my reasoning for why the rockets would get there you stupid cocksore. So shut the **** up and find another thread to type with a stick up your ass. Until you can come up with better reasoning for who you think is going to win. You should stay out of the conversation. Its obvious that you came here only to **** with someone who isnt as popular as your retarded ass cause if you hadnt then you would have already gave an opinion on the topic at hand. Lets see 2 posts from DaveCumwadding , and non of them have to do with the topic. I think your the one that should shut the **** up . Tard boy.

Stima i dont know about the Lakers getting there. Kobe is out for a month now. As i'm typing this there losing to the Nets without Jason Kidd, and on there home court. There somewhat old and they cant keep there 4 stars on the court at the same time. I think if there fully healthy there gunna get to the finals but i also think thats a big if.

Supreme i agree Pistons worry me alot. They defenetly beefed up with the pickup of Bluntman ( sheed ) . I've always loved his game. I think Pistons Pacers series in the East finals will be a classic.

Shawn, don't worry about Dave, nobody cares about him anyway.

Nah man i'm not worried just pisses me off a little cause this is the second or third time i've seen someone try to make conversation and he posts something stupid.I just wanna talk B-ball.

Well you're probably better off jumping on the Memphis bandwagon or something, because liking your home team is a crime to some of the guys here.

Believe it or not i love Memphis. Man if Kobe gets on that team there gunna be a force in the west. They remind me of the Kings when the Kings were trying to beat the Jazz for like 3 years. I dont think its a coincidence that Jason Williams was on the Kings and is now on the Griz. He brings excitement and hope to these young teams IMO. I hope the Griz make it to the PLayoffs. Griz v.s Kings in the first round will be fun.

Memphis could be a top 4 team in the East. An incredibly deep team

They have a better 12 man roster than most teams in the NBA

I wish the NBA could have figured out a way to keep New Orleans in the East and move Memphis to the East. Milwaukee could go West, nobody would notice :shifty:

Spoke too soon. :cool:

Sure did.

Celts beat the T'wolves 2niiiiite :cool:

Here are my picks.

With the East, I'm still not convinced that anyone in the East can beat New Jersey. It's really out of three teams: Indy, NJ, and Detroit. Most might count out NJ because people don't think they can possibly come out of the East yet again.

Shawn, I agree that Indy has a chance, but if what happened last season is any indication of how they will perform in the playoffs this year, you will be very disappointed. There was no way they shoud have lost to Paul Pierce last year. That's right, Paul Pierce beat Indy almost single-handedly in the playoffs last year. In order for them to reach the Finals, J.O. has to be dominant. He needs to take his game to another level. He has the support, but he has to make it a point to be "the man".

Detroit has always been an iffy team to me. Even with the addition of Rasheed Wallace, I still don't see them in the Finals. It's not like R. Wallace would give them such a great advantage at the 4. Given they make it far enough, he'll have to face either K-Mart or J.O. I just don't care for Chauncey Billups. Out of the three teams I mentioned, the Pistons would be my third pick.

Which leads me to my pick. I pick NJ to three-peat as East champs for a few reasons. They have not changed their team much, so the guys who were there when they went to the Finals the last two years are still there. Another reason: Jason Kidd. The only player I can think of who can dominate the game without scoring a single point. I could say Ben Wallace, but he doesn't get his teammates involved. Kidd may be the reason why Lucious Harris is still in the league. Their bench isn't that great, but I like Aaron Williams and Harris. If they had another proven shooter, they'd definitely come out of the East. Of course, it's also easy to go with the team who has won the East the last two years.

So my Eastern Conference Champion would be the New Jersey Nets.

On to the West.

First of all, I want to say who I definitely think will not win the West. That team is the Minnesota Timberwolves. There is just no way I would even think of picking a team with absolutely NO playoff success, no matter how much they have improved. The Spurs are on their asses, and even if they keep the 2 seed, they'll probably end up facing Houston, who I believe can beat them like they did the other night.

Shawn, I like the Rockets, but I don't believe that they are championship contenders just yet. Yao is starting to become the dominating force everyone was expecting him to be. Steve Francis hasn't wowed me, so I don't know about him being ready to become a top playoff performer. Cat Mobley is taking better shots. It's good now that Steve and Cat don't have to do all the scoring. I believe that their best off-season acquisition was Jim Jackson. He has finally found a home in Houston and his veteran experience could help them in the palyoffs, Mark Jackson as well.

Now on to the real contenders...

Having shown what they can do with a low seeding, you have to consider the Lakers. Even though it may seem like their plans of sending a baby-Dream team and Rick Fox out on the floor and totally dominate has been foiled, eveyone knows LA saves their best for the playoffs. If they are seeded high enough, they should be able to dispose of their first-round opponent without either Kobe or Malone, except if it is Houston. They want to get back to where they were the three previous seasons. You just can't count out LA, no matter how much you don't like them.

This year mey be Sac's best chance yet to finally make it to the Finals. With C-Webb back and Peja having an MVP-like season, they have the league's best record. That means homecourt advantage. That means having to go to one of the loudest arenas in the league, Arco Arena. They are not a good defensive team, but not as bad as Dallas, who I won't even consider (as much as I love them) because they traded Nick Van Exel, the man who burned the Kings last year. B.Miller is great. And you cannot forget Bobby Jackson. Vlade can foul the other team's center out with his great flopping ability. They have great chemistry and with two superstars on your team, yor chances are definitely good. Yes, I now consider Peja a superstar.

The San Antonio Spurs. This team has one superstar, but they have everything it takes to win it all again. They finally faced their fear of the Lakers last season, but I think LA is more talented. The Spurs cannot compare to some of the West contenders in terms of talent, but they win. They are only 2 games behind Minnesota, who doesn't have a chance no matter how good their REGULAR SEASON is going. They were able to catch Dallas last year when it looked impossible. I believe they are going to do the same to the Wolves, even though the task isn't nearly as daunting as it was last year. They have Robert Horry. Defense wins championships and they allow 84.6 points per game. If they continue to allow those kind of numbers, though unlikely, they could be headed back to the Finals.

Tough decision, but I think it is Sacramento's year. So my Western Conference Champions would be the Sacramento Kings.

A Finals matchup between the Kings and Nets would be interesting. The Nets play good defense, but I don't think they can stop the Kings' firepower. This is why I think they really needed a shooter or someone off the bench not named Rodney Rogers who can score. You give New Jersey Nick Van Exel and they win. Since they don't have him, I'll have to go with the Kings.

NBA Champion= Sacramento Kings

Detroit and Sacremento- Sacremento wins

You replace T-Wolves with Kings or Lakers, then your post will make sense.

Toronto and Memphis - Toronto wins :shifty:

so it would say Kings/Kings

good call

They actually handled Peirce pretty well. He was great, but thats what great players do. Mcarty was the guy that was killing the pacers. I'm sure Stima will inform us on this because i think he's a boston fan. It was one of those series where the underdog got red hot and the favorite got Ice cold.

Wolverine, you made good points and everything, but I am not counting on the Spurs passing the second round. The only team that should for sure be in the Western finals is the Kings. If Tony Parker is playing, nobody can stay with him, but if he does what he did last year, they won't make it out of the second round.

Your 100% ruling out of the Timberwolves is also laughable. Past playoff success means nothing when your second best guy is Troy Hudson. This year the Rockets will probably lose in the first round because there players aren't good enough, that doesn't mean they will lose again next year...and the year after that...etc etc. The Timberwolves teams that lost in the playoffs in the past included the likes of Joe Smith, Anthony Peeler, Rasho Nesterovic, Marc Jackson, Dean Garrett, a few others, they are all gone now. Now they have Sam Cassell (two time NBA champion, all-star this season), Latrell Sprewell, Michael Olowokandi, Trenton Hassell, and Mark Madsen (former NBA champion). To even compare those teams is rediculous.

I am not saying the Timberwolves will win the NBA finals, make the NBA finals, or even make the Western Conference Finals, but I can guarantee you that without a doubt they will win their first round of the playoffs this year. Kevin Garnett is easilly the best and most dominant player in the league, he has a supporting cast much more talented than Tim Duncan does, and in a SI coaches poll, they were voted as having the best zone defence in the league, no other team even got votes. So when it all comes down to it, the Wolves have a good defense and a player who matches and betters Tim Duncan. I hate the Spurs by the way.

New Jersey Nets versus Los Angles Lakers

And it will suck so bad. I hate Jason Kidd, his retarded son and his wife beating ways. And I can't complain about the Lakers because I'm a Yankee fan, and the Lakers are the basketball Yankees. However in basketball if you have the most talent on your team you win. I can't wait until Shaq retires because I'm sick of this shit.

Lakers-Pacers Lakers in 7

The Lakers don't have all the talent. The Kings and Mavericks are both much more talented and they have better chemistry. Unless the Lakers go back to early season form when Malone gets back, they aren't going anywhere fast.

I am quoting this for future reference, in case the need to laugh at you arises later.

BTW, if you "hate the Spurs" then you can't be objective...which makes your opinions worthless. :y:

Jud Beuchler was an NBA champion. So was Bill Wennington. So was Dickie Simpkins. What's your point? Would adding these guy make them better? No, because they"ll be in their warmups the entire game. Being on a championship team doesn't necessarily mean that you're any good. I can see mentioning Sam Cassell because he actually contributed to Houston's championship runs. Mark Madsen was just a crowd-favorite bench warmer. You should have mentioned Sprewell's playoff experience, having been to the Finals and all, having been a contributor to the Knicks' playoff run.

You say that my ruling them out is laughable, yet you don't even have any real faith that they can win it all. I just know they won't. Second round at best. You're dreaming if you think they will get any further.

I'm tired of you saying how dominant Kevin Garnett is and how he matches and betters Tim Duncan. He can achieve dominant status when he starts winning in the playoffs. Regular season stuff doesn't count and it's not even a guarantee if they'll win the Midwest. The Spurs are only two games behind with 15 or so games left. They were able to steal the Midwest from Dallas last year. With Minnesota at the 3 seed , they could end up playing Memphis or even Dallas. At the 4, They could play LA. The only teams you could put a safe bet on them beating is Denver and Memphis. No, I wouldn't rule out Houston. Yao Ming is a pretty dominant player, too. Or at least he's getting there and it funny that now he is coming into his own, playing his best ball near the playoffs.

Don't hate the Spurs, man. The Wolves are a good team, but you have to become a great team by winning in the postseason. The 1993-94 Seattle SuperSonics had the best record in the league at 63-19. Were they a good team? Yes. Were they a great team? Hell no. They lost to an 8th seed, 42-40 Denver team and they are probably Seattle's most disappointing team ever.

I'll give them props when they win and only when they win. And didn't I tell you about mentioning Trent Hassell?

Yeah, this year is the only year he has a point saying the T'Wolves will win, ya know, since they have more than KG

But, whether or not they WILL win, we will find out soon enough.

What about Trenton Hassell? That he is one of the top defensive guards in the league this season?

Ladies and gentlemen!!! Its a miracle!! Dave has got ambition in his life! Someone get the champaigne!

Basically, your whole theory stinks. You need to have experience to win in the playoffs is basically what you are saying, so basically no new team can ever win in the playoffs. With this logic, the Jazz should still be trying to make a run to beat the Bulls in the NBA Finals. Wait though, those teams have changed, they no longer have the same players and are no longer good, so we won't be seeing them in the NBA Finals anytime soon.

Two years ago, the Nets made the NBA Finals for the first time in their franchise history, they had no playoff experience, how does that work with this logic? The Spurs hadn't done anything spectacular in the playoffs since 1999, but they took it all last year. Of course a team like Memphis isn't expected to go through the first round of the playoffs this year, that doesn't rule them out of going to the second round next year.

Both the Timberwolves and the Spurs totally changed their core players over the offseason. The Spurs added Rasho, Turkolu, and Ward as their biggest additions in the past year, none of those guys have proven that they can win a championship, especially Rasho who was a major part in all of the Timberwolves losses of the past. The Timberwolves, on the other hand, added Cassell, Sprewell, Olowokandi, Madsen, Johnson, Hoiberg, Oliver Miller, and Hassell. To judge a team who has changed all but four of their players from last year is cursed is just ignorant. The Timberwolves you are seeing in the playoffs is a team that you have never seen before, simple as that.

The whole key to the Spurs success will be Tony Parker, who more than anyone else being discussed in this topic at all has yet to proove himself in the playoffs. If Parker can play at his peak, he is almost unstoppable, the key word there is the if.

I can't argue Spree and Alien, but Kandi, who's had his ass glued to the IL ALL YEAR? Mark Madsen and E.J who are scrubs? Hoiberg and Hassell who warmed the BULLS bench last year? Are you fuc</>king kidding me?! BTW, how big is Oliver now? 400 lbs? 450?

Kandi is back for good now, but he is pretty much worthless at offense. The reason he is out there is because of his presence on defense, judging by his five blocks the other night, I think thats working out just fine.

Just wait until the playoffs, because unless you have seen the Timberwolves play a lot, you have no idea what is Trenton Hassell. He can't score worth, well you Dave, but he holds opposing shooters to such low percentages. Against Sacramento, Peja was shooting like 29% with two air balls on the night. Paul Pierce was like 10 for 23 or something the other night. Hassell can guard any of the best SG and SF's out there, whether its Kobe, AI, Pierce, Peja, put Hassell out there and he will slow them down all night.

I wasn't saying that all those guys were great players either, compare the Lakers third string center to Ollie Miller, or Fred Hoiberg. The only team that I would say is deeper is Memphis, because everyone on Minnesotas bench can play.

It's not my theory that stinks, it's your interpretation of it. For me to say no new team can win in the postseason would be stupid, but that's not what I'm saying, though you may want me to think so. I've seen teams that have never won advance, but I still don't think the Wolves will be one of those teams this year. Experience is a plus. It's not a prerequisite to winning. Having been deep into the playoffs, I think, is an advantage because it is nothing new to a team that has been there.

The Spurs haven't done anything spectacular in the playoffs since 1999. It's amazing that you would even fix your hands to type such stupidity. How can you talk about SA's playoff failures when the Wolves' entire playoff history is based on failure? Two of those seasons they didn't win, they did lose to the eventual champion and the other Tim Duncan was injured and they lost to Phoenix in the first round. At least they lost in the first round without Duncan.
Memphis will be good in about three or four years, no sooner. I see Houston going to Round 2 before I see Memphis there. I can even see Houston beating the Wolves, just like they did last Friday.

The Spurs only replaced David Robinson and added some bench players. They still have the same core. The Wolves have changed their core considerably. Well, KG was their core before this season. The Spurs added Nesterovic, Turkoglu, and Charlie Ward and none of these guys have proven that they can win a championship? You say that like these guys were former franchise players. Besides, individual players don't win titles, teams do. You talk about theories that stink. With this logic, let's say the Spurs add a player like Jermaine O'Neal. Surely this guy has never won a championship, so.....No, I really don't see your point. Among the players added by the Wolves, only Cassell and Madsen have won titles and only Cassell was an actual contributor, as was stated in a previous post. I don't understand how you tried to construe my words as if I said you need experience to win in the playoffs, yet you are saying that certain players the Spurs added haven't won a championship. That entire third paragraph was a pointless ramble. Didn't the Spurs add Robert Horry,a 5-time champion, also? That doesn't matter because you think he sucks anyway, don't you?

I guess Tim Duncan won't have anything to do with the Spurs trying to repeat. Tony Parker, more than anyone discussed in this topic has yet to prove himself in the playoffs? Oh my God. I just can't believe you would say something like that. You don't believe that yourself. Well, KG is being discussed more than any other great player in the entire NBA abbout having yet to prove himself in the playoffs. You prove yourself by winning. I just can't undesrtand why you would say these asinine things.

Yeah, the Wolves are a team I've never seen before. So what? The Lakers are a team I've never seen before either. You make it sound like it's a warning or something.

Thank you.

The Kings! They WILL do it this time. They WILL NOT choke. The Rock WILL wrestle more than once a year.......

The Pistons would get owned if they played in the west.


MY JAZZ ARE GONNA MAKE THE PLAYOFFS!!!! Sloan for coach of the year!!!


anways.

Wolves over Pacers in 6

Hassell holds down everyone, EJ held down DUNCAN the other night, Madsen is no scrub, he's a hard-nosed, tough player who most teams would love to have on their bench.

Pig Miller came here from the Globetrotters. He's way underrated, and we picked him up mid-season floating adrift in Free Agency. When most East teams have no Centers, the Wolves are pretty set there. :y:

And Hoiberg, while streaky, can destroy you when he's streaking.

um. pig miller is Anthony Miller, not Oliver Miller.

I hate Kobe as much as the next person but its pretty impressive that he basically gets off a plane and then almost drops 40 on the best team in the NBA

:shifty:

Shouldn't Oliver Miller be pig, when he's 500 pounds?

Speaking of the Pistons owning the West, they lost to the Spurs last night. Hehe.

****ING PISTONS

Cant' even beat the Spurs, what the deuce? The Spurs have to lose every game from now on for the Wolves to stand a chance :mad:

If Sacramento faces the Lakers, they may not make it.

BTW Indiana beat Dallas without O'Neil.

Hmmm, maybe that's because no one on Dallas plays Defense...

Najera plays how much though?

and Nash can't guard 5 guys at once....

Agreed. My bad.

lol

The Rockets lost to the Suns a couple of days ago.

SAD.

Every team has their day. The regular season doesnt mean shit except for home advantage in the playoffs.

Sorry guys. Lakers have the title wrapped up, especially after destroying the two best teams in the West. They play like this and it'll be 2001 again: Lakers will not lose another game (okay, so they lost to the Phillies in game 1, but that was an obvious fluke).

:D

Nope. Angels fan. I despise the Yanks.

The Timberwolves are damn lucky right now. We have lost so many games in the past few weeks that San Antonio could be like 5 games ahead of us, but somehow we are still winning the division. I don't think there will be much movement in the rest of the regular season.

*see 3rd through 5th seeds*
*see also race for #8 spot*

I meant in those seeds. My bad.

BTW, I hope Cleveland makes the playoffs in the East instead of Boston or Philly.

If the refs continue to lick the Lakers' balls, then the Lakers will repeat again. I mean, the refs have never called anything on Shaq or Kobe, or Malone for that matter. Payton gets the Technicals and such, but he's a Laker, so why not? Even Bill Walton, the biggest Lakers lover in the world, admitted the Officiating was horrid in the Wolves game.

Reminds me of the playoffs last year. HMM!

I didn't want to say anything, but from what I watched the Refs were calling a bunch of shit on the Timberwolves and not the Lakers. Not trying to make excuses, the Wolves played like shit and would have lost regardless.

lol @ C Webb getting booed by his home crowd

How is Webber a crybaby? He's putting up 18ppg 9reb and 5 asts a game. He coulda bolted after all the success he had there but he chose to stay and now the fans boo him?? I got news for you Kings fans out there. Brad Miller disapeared for us in the playoffs last year. You will need Webber. Dont burn that bridge idiots.

He is a crybaby because he says he wants to be traded and he's gonna leave because the fans dont respect him. And you know since he's a liar and all and since the Kings havent been very good since he came back Im pretty sure the fans have a good reason to boo.

If he's playing well but the team isn't gelling, it's part of the ****ing game, you know? The Wolves can't buy a win since their whole roster got healthy. Too much depth. They've won TWO STRAIGHT against scrubs, so maybe it's time they turned it around, but you understand too many cooks in the kitchen spoils the soup.

They shouldn't boo C-Webb if the ENTIRE TEAM can't win.

They know they can win without him, but they'll be much better if they can win with him.

The Kings, Spurs, and Timberwolves have all been struggling as of late, but they got themselves in good enough position so that it's not affecting their playoff seedings. If one of those teams can get their games together by then, things could be snazzy. Otherwise, unfortunately I think the Lakers are the hottest team as of right now.

Spurs ALL UP ON THE Kings

Imagine if the Kings keep losing and end up facing the Lakers in the 1st or 2nd round? That would rule. Kings may be slumping, but vs the Lakers YOU KNOW IT WILL BE ON.

Not that many games for them to end up 7th/8th place.

I think the Kings are overrated myself and they need a reality bitchslap.

Below .500 Eastern Confrence team will have home court in the playoffs

Something needs to be done to fix this

change it to a North and South divisions.



Also swap Memphis with Milwaukee and Chicago with one of the Texas teams.

The north/south thing is retarded. That is just the way things are now, you cant just shake up the whole league and make a drastic change just because the competition is lobsided. In a few years it will even itself out. Although I wouldnt mind seeing the Grizz in the East tearing shit up and gettin a 1 seed, I don't see anything happening.

Northeast:
-New Jersey
-New York
-Boston
-Philadelphia
-Washington
-Toronto
North Central:
-Minnesota
-Indiana
-Detroit
-Milwaukee
-Chicago
Northwest:
-Sacramento
-Portland
-Seattle
-Golden State

Southeast:
-Cleveland
-Miami
-Orlando
-Atlanta
-Charlotte
South Central:
-San Antonio
-Dallas
-Houston
-New Orleans
-Memphis
Southwest:
-L.A. Lakers
-L.A. Clippers
-Phoenix
-Denver
-Utah

Please tell me that that would not be sweet. Even though I know its not going to happen, what if.

Um... you do know that the league is realigning next year, right? And the Southeast will be weak... or would have been until Miami got HOT. Now Miami will win it.

Anyway, in response to the person who cried foul over the refs... gimme a break. The Laker D went ballistic and destroyed the Wolves, who played like crap. That NOT the refs giving the Lakers the game. In their last five games during this streak, the Lakers have been playing like the scary team no one wanted to face 20 games into the season (before everyone got hurt). The way we're playing, with defense tightening up and the offense gelling through unselfish play (thank you Malone!), no one can beat us, and I'm serious. I haven't seen this high level of play since 2001, when the Lakers ended the season on a tear then won 10 games in a row in the playoffs, lost a fluke, then cleared out Philly in the Finals by winning games 2 through 5.

I've been saying (not on here, but I have been saying) the Kings' weakness this year was their lack of defense. They had a great chance last year, since they had a great balance and nice chemistry, but then Webber got hurt. This year, the Kings are doing a great Dallas Mavs imitation. However, Defense wins championships. That's been proven time and time again in the playoffs. The Lakers and Spurs have great defenses. Houston has a great defense. Minnesota has a nice one. Heck, even Memphis could stand a better chance than Sacramento and Dallas in the playoffs if it weren't for the Griz's inexperience.

As for Webber... he has a right to be angry. He's been with the team since they really did play like queens. He's been THE GUY for the Kings for so long, and now the fans boo him? Geez, that's just spoiled. They ought to appreciate his commitment, because regardless of what you think about him, he HAS been a great player for the team.

And this is coming from a die-hard Lakers fan.

When people play the Lakers, any contact is a foul. Shaq elbows you in the face then dunks on you? Foul. Shaq punches you in the face before swatting you? Offensive foul. Shaq and Malone have been throwing elbows for years, and they're the ONLY TWO PLAYERS in the NBA who get away with it! On the same team!

Then take into account Kobe Bryant, who is allowed to take five steps on a layup.

Are you going to tell me the Refs aren't biased against the Lakers? You gonna say they weren't biased in the playoffs last year, either? o_O

And nowhere did I blame the refs for the Timberwolves loss in that game, fyi

Simply put


LAKERS WILL WIN IT ALL!!!!!

:shifty:

I never saw the game... I just heard that the refs took Cassell out of the game. Dunno.

Well stuff like that too, but they just didn't come out to play that night.

:nono:

wow...those Centrals are TOUGH :eek:

GUESS WHO JUST TOOK OUT THE LAKERS WINNING STREAK

OH YEA WHATS UP NOWWWWW

Damn.

Well, Spurs just vaulted into the lead for most likely to win the NBA Finals.

1. Spurs
2. Lakers
3. Kings
3. T-Wolves
5. Pistons
6. Pacers
7. Mavs
8. Grizzlies
9. Nets
10. Rockets

Wolves tied with Kings? :(

Wolves better BEAT the Kings if they don't want to be disrespected so horribly.

Christ. From favorites to tied with a team that has won like twice in the last month. :nono:

The Spurs will repeat.

Rasho will get dominated. :p

He's the reason the Wolves couldn't get out of the first round. Ha!

I was reading through this thread and you and BCWWF both like to point the finger at Rasho Nesterovic. Try blaming KG for not upping his level of play when it matters. Who on Minnesota will dominate him? I hope you don't think Ervin Johnson or Michael Olowokandi will. Neither are any better than Rasho Nesterovic. Kandi is overrated. Ervin Johnson just stinks.

Rasho is trash. He has no emotion, he just stands there and comes up with 10 points and 6 rebounds a game. Sure, Kandi shoots too much, but his presence on defense next to Garnett's is much better than Rasho's. The Timberwolves are much better with their scoring options being Cassell, Sprewell, and Szczerbiak than Szczerbiak, Rasho, and Hudson, which is exactly the reason we are so much better this year.

You can not blame Garnett for not being able to lead his shitty teams out of the first round considering he is the only reason his team got to the first round in the first place (every year prior to this year) and they have been underdogs in every playoff series they have ever played.

Plain and simply, Rasho sucks and he won't play any role at all in the Spurs playoffs. Duncan, Parker, and Ginobili are the guys that will take them places, just like Garnett, Sprewell, and Cassell are the guys who are going to take the Timberwolves places.

Garnett's statistics are all markedly better in the Playoffs than in the regular season, and everyone likes to say he chokes in the big games.

Just because the Timberwolves as a team choke doesn't mean that KG does.

Spre has been in the finals and Sam has won them. I think that is going to make the difference. The Wolves had all young players who have known nothing but first-round defeats, and Flip doesn't know any better either.

Flip doesn't have the ability to get his players up, but he has two very hungry veterans who do. If they fail, and the Wolves can't up their play -- and we KNOW for a fact KG WILL up his play bigtime -- then the Wolves will just sputter again.

However, the Wolves have it in them to beat anyone, and they now have the depth playing on all cylinders... once the Playoff injuries start, the Wolves will be the best equipped to handle it.