[coolman302003]

Let's discuss away...

 

[Stewart Vernon]

It's always hard to pick against the Spurs... and I like them, so I don't root against them anyway. Golden State has been strong all season, though... I hope at least we get to a Spurs/Warriors Western Conference finals.

In the east... harder to say. Atlanta has been the frontrunner all season... but they lost a player to injury recently, and I wonder if that rocks the boat. Nothing against LeBron, but I just don't "trust" Cleveland the same way you could trust Miami the last few years... I hope Rose stays uninjured for the playoffs, Chicago has a good chance if he does. I guess my rooting interest would be for an Atlanta/Chicago eastern final.

Unless something strange happens, I expect to be rooting for whomever comes out of the West in the finals... I expect that to be the Spurs or the Warriors and there's a lot to like with both of those teams in the finals. I have no strong feelings about the east at all.

 

[AntAltMike]

There are pathetic fans in Boston who think it is a good thing that they made the playoffs. A month ago, they looked like the 6th seed in the lottery, where they would have a 20% chance of drafting in the top 3 and a 40% chance of drafting 6th. Now, they draft 16th. Quite often, prohibitive favorites let up in game 4 on the road, so the Celts might win a game. Big deal. What good does it do to get playoff experience for a bunch of subs who will be subs somewhere else in a couple of years?

 

[inkahauts]

Because the celtics also have rookies that will be around for a while.

And don't tell me you can't still get good players out of the lottery. Look at Jordan clarkson. That's a huge get at the end of the second round.

I would love to see the Clippers at least make the western conference finals. I think golden state will win it all. And Id be happy with Chicago coming out of the east since Pau plays there now and I've always like what he did for my Lakers Otherwise couldn't care less as long as a west team wins it all. Oh except Huston. I want them to fail. Dwight doesn't ever deserve to win.

 

[Stewart Vernon]

Boston appears to have played about as good as anyone in the east down the stretch, no? That being the case, I think the playoff experience will be good for them... and it might help them attract some free agent talent if they decide to go that route to go along with the young good players they have.

The lottery is a crap shoot... how many recent #1 picks haven't done well? Didn't Cleveland get a couple of #1 picks in a row at one point and it didn't really help them until LeBron came back this season.

I'd rather have a team good enough to make the playoffs and build from there than have a team so bad they get the #1 pick and nothing else to go with that player.

 

[Laxguy]

Well, I am a fair weather fan of the Warriors, and living where I now do, I don't get to see them (the Kings have this territory) much. Except now. It's fun to watch Curry.

 

[Stewart Vernon]

Wow... the discussion here died just as the excitement built!

Washington kicking the Raptors all over the place... the only road team leading their series (until earlier tonight) and they might sweep!

Boston giving Cleveland all they can handle... were never going to win, but really impressive to me and tends to back up my feelings on why it was good for Boston to make the playoffs. They will have good experience going into next season with a solid roster.

San Antonio... who after game one people (once again) were saying "they are too old"... suddenly became young again. They're almost newborns again after tonight! Could have won by 40 if they wanted...

Last, but not least... Really impressed with the Pelicans... they should be a force in future years... but what an incredible game by Golden State to come back and win and go up 3-0 in that series. When you're down 20 in the 4th... and still down 17 with about 6-7 minutes to go... in the NBA, that's a game you rest your guys and call it a night and start preparing for the next game... but Golden State refused to do that... while some Pelicans collapse due to inexperience certainly helped... most other NBA teams would not have capitalized on that and would have already given up the game.

Even with most series being 3-0, this first round is more exciting and interesting to me than I can remember in recent year.... and I didn't even mention the Bulls and Rose maybe (knock on wood) being finally close to himself again.

 

[inkahauts]

Golden state. Man they are above everyone else IMHO. I see them taking it all this year.

The last time I saw a team play that way in the fourth after a terrible three quarters and just act like we want to win this and will was my Lakers against Portland in a game seven. That was the game that propelled the Lakers to win three strait IMHO.

San Antonio was just on fire tonight. I expect Clippers to win next game and for this thing to go seven. We'll see though.

And I'll write off Huston and Dallas. Any team trying to win simply by out scoring isn't going to run deep into the playoffs.

 

[coolman302003]

I always enjoy reading the many different and interesting statistics, records, streaks etc.
http://www.basketball-reference.com/

http://www.basketball-reference.com/friv/playoffs.cgi
The above site gives Golden State a 49.9% of winning it all this year. Followed by Atlanta, Cleveland, San Antonio and Chicago rounding the top 5. It's updated every morning.

As many know any team down 3-0 has never come back to win the series. Only 8 teams have come back from down 3-1 to win the series. Which is why you see the teams trailing 3-0 at the bottom of the chart (at the above site) with very low %'s or even 0% of winning 1st round and later rounds.

San Antonio has won 84% of their playoff series (16 of 19) since Coach Pop became head coach when leading 2-1 in a series. Of course anything can happen. I'm sure Clippers aren't going to give up and go out easy that's for sure. Spurs were 12-0 this past regular season when holding opponents to under < 40% FG shooting. Holding LAC to only 34% FG shooting was really huge and played a large part of why we won game 3 yesterday; of course Leonard's career high 32 points helped, in addition. The edge is definitely in favor of San Antonio in this series now but I wouldn't be surprised if it went 7 games. I expect Chris Paul and Blake Griffin will come out and play a lot stronger in game 4 tomorrow.

Golden State is playing exceptional though I have to admit, and the fourth quarter comeback was amazing and rare. I also think Steve Kerr is doing a spectacular job in his first year as head coach, loads of respect for him. For those that may not know Steve played with San Antonio for 4 seasons. Curry has a really good chance of winning the MVP award this year. I think they get it done in probably 5 games or sweep in the 1st round vs. Pelicans.

Houston is going to win the first round probably in sweep fashion. Interestingly, San Antonio hasn't eliminated Houston in a playoff series before (however) not sure it's a fair comparison considering they haven't played them since 1995. They have only met head-to-head in the playoffs 3 times all time, in 1980, 1981 & 1995, respectively. If we beat LAC it should make for an interesting series. Houston would have home court advantage (won the SW division) but I think many know that San Antonio has proved they can win on the road.

I think even with Al Horford injured (for ATL), Atlanta and Cleveland would be a great matchup in the Eastern Conf. Finals. I generally don't root for any teams in particular in the Eastern Conf. but I would root for Atlanta in ECF if they make it because I want Coach Budenholzer (who was San Antonio's former assistant coach for 18 seasons) to be successful. Atlanta is lucky to have him as he gained tons of invaluable experience at SA.

I haven't seen much discussion of the Memphis vs. Portland series, but I think Memphis could potentially win several games vs. Golden State. If they end up playing them in the next round I wouldn't be surprised to see it go 6 or 7 games. Memphis is usually pretty underrated in the playoffs, I think mainly since they have never won a division, conference or championship title in the past. They also play in (arguably) the toughest division in the Western Conf. They definitely could be due though. Probably won't get past Golden State but I think they would give them a close series. I do think Memphis will get past the Blazers relatively easy with key injuries really hurting the Blazers chances this year.

 

[Stewart Vernon]

I can see the Clippers playing better... they can't play worse! Unless San Antonio (knock on wood) suffers a major injury, though, I think they have righted the ship for this series... even if it goes 6 or 7 games, I don't think the Clippers have it in them to win. San Antonio is one of those teams that doesn't beat itself... you have to outplay them... which the Clippers did in game 1... but game 2 the Spurs showed grit with people fouling out and in the locker room... game 3 fired on all cylinders. I don't expect 40-point blowouts nor do I expect everyone in foul trouble again... but that still ends up with the Spurs being the favorite in my mind.

I have kind of ignored Memphis/Portland. Neither of those teams is "sexy" right now... nothing against Memphis, I know they have made a good showing in the playoffs several times recently... I just can't help but think of them, unfortunately, as afterthoughts to Golden State and San Antonio.

 

[lwilli201]

Blake Griffin has a history of leg problems. I noticed he had both legs wrapped at the end of game three with the Spurs. Is this a great concern for the Clippers?

 

[Laxguy]

All righty, then! Your fair weather Warriors fan congratulates his former hometown team on a 4-0 run. Next series should be interesting!

 

[joshjr]

I can see the Clippers playing better... they can't play worse! Unless San Antonio (knock on wood) suffers a major injury, though, I think they have righted the ship for this series... even if it goes 6 or 7 games, I don't think the Clippers have it in them to win. San Antonio is one of those teams that doesn't beat itself... you have to outplay them... which the Clippers did in game 1... but game 2 the Spurs showed grit with people fouling out and in the locker room... game 3 fired on all cylinders. I don't expect 40-point blowouts nor do I expect everyone in foul trouble again... but that still ends up with the Spurs being the favorite in my mind.

I have kind of ignored Memphis/Portland. Neither of those teams is "sexy" right now... nothing against Memphis, I know they have made a good showing in the playoffs several times recently... I just can't help but think of them, unfortunately, as afterthoughts to Golden State and San Antonio.

I think the Spurs are favored but I think the Clippers have what it takes to get past San Antonio. They do have to play good to beat them but should they meet Golden State in the playoffs they will need to play good to beat them as well. I think this series will tell us if the Clippers really have what it takes to win a championship. Dont forget that Dallas gave San Antonio all they could handle last year in the playoffs. It has been the best series so far by far. I do like that with the series tied at 2-2 that the Clippers have home court advantage but that dont mean alot when its a team like the Spurs. I look for a strong finish to the series and hope the Clippers move on to the next round.

 

[Stewart Vernon]

Yeah, I am expecting 7 games now that it is 2-2... I still think the Spurs are in a good position, they know they can win anywhere if they play all-out. Clippers really need Chris Paul to play consistently, and he hasn't really shown he can do that yet... IF the Clippers do get by the Spurs, they will have proved something.

 

[inkahauts]

The more games I have seen the more I pick golden state. The east teams are struggling to close out. Golden state leaped two years of experience coming back in that one game.

Cleveland will have a tough series without love.

Clippers I think will pull this out now. Paul wants it bad and will stay focused and they will wear down the Spurs.

I expect Huston will go six games now and be dismissed in the second round.

I kind of want to see Milwaukee go seven games but don't see them winning the series. Same with Brooklyn. But at least it'd be interesting.

 

[inkahauts]

The more games I have seen the more I pick golden state. The east teams are struggling to close out. Golden state leaped two years of experience coming back in that one game.

Cleveland will have a tough series without love.

Clippers I think will pull this out now. Paul wants it bad and will stay focused and they will wear down the Spurs.

I expect Huston will go six games now and be dismissed in the second round.

I kind of want to see Milwaukee go seven games but don't see them winning the series. Same with Brooklyn. But at least it'd be interesting.

 

[joshjr]

Yeah, I am expecting 7 games now that it is 2-2... I still think the Spurs are in a good position, they know they can win anywhere if they play all-out. Clippers really need Chris Paul to play consistently, and he hasn't really shown he can do that yet... IF the Clippers do get by the Spurs, they will have proved something.

Agreed. If they cant beat the Spurs, I dont think that gives much hope if they reach Golden State. I do think if they beat the Spurs that gives them great confidence in the next round. I think the 2nd round would be easier for them than the first. Golden State may be in the drivers seat but someone like the Clippers could challenge them. It would be another tuff series were LA has to leave it all on the line and give it everything they got to win it. What better way to make it to the NBA finals though then to know you fully earned it. I am not interested in the east teams at all. I dont see the Champs coming from the East this year. I think it would be nothing short of a miracle if they did win it all.

 

[Stewart Vernon]

Yeah, I feel the same about having to beat the best to beat the best. I don't count it against a team IF they face a lower seed because another team pulled an upset... but I like it more when the winning team had to play the tougher road. I always root for my team, never against a potential future opponent. If my team can't beat them, they don't deserve it.

Also feel the same about the eventual champ coming from the West... now more than ever, with Love out and Cleveland on the edge of the cliff. I don't see how Cleveland overcomes this to even get to the finals, but if they do I wouldn't give them much of a chance. It's hard to imagine anyone in the east beating anyone in the west in a best of seven at this point.

 

[coolman302003]

Very close game on Tuesday, really glad the Spurs were able to edge it out in LA. If DJ hadn't touched the ball on the rim a tad early (resulting in basket interference) it very well could have been a different outcome. Also, us getting the offensive rebound off the missed FT was yet another huge play. I also felt we were at least able to slow Chris Paul down much better than the previous game, IIRC he only had 4 points at halftime. We also finally got the three point shots to start falling in the game 11/23 (48%) and the the Clippers only made 1/14 (7%). I thought our guys off the bench stepped up big, in addition. Interesting note, coming into game 5, the Spurs had won 6 straight game 5's over the last 3 seasons. This entire first round series has been very very close, pretty much back and forth the entire games (except...Game 3 where we did dominate). It's been a very tough series overall for the first round, but we do have a great opportunity to close it out tonight on the home court. The close out games though are always the hardest, just glad since we got game 5 in LA that we have 2 chances (if needed). I think we should win tonight at home but I'm expecting another very close and competitive game from the tip...to the final buzzer. :righton: I do really hope that we start out much stronger in the opening quarter and not get down by 14 like we did in game 5.

I didn't get a chance to watch the Atlanta/Brooklyn game, but did see the highlights etc. I wouldn't be surprised if this one doesn't go to a game 7, Brooklyn very well may win the next one at home on Friday, Jack and Johnson have really improved a lot (for Brooklyn) since the series started. I do think ATL will end up winning the series in the end though.

I did watch the Memphis/Portland game and thought Memphis played pretty well but not great, I know they jumped out to a nice lead early but let Portland right back into the game by the 2nd qtr I believe. Memphis also only made 1 3PT FG shot the entire game. Memphis did close out the game pretty well at the end and made most of the crucial FT's. I do think they are definitely the better matchup for Golden State as Portland struggled tremendously in many of the early game in the series (causing the 3-0 deficit); L. Aldridge struggled pretty much the entire series, in addition. I think IF Memphis can get Conley back (from injury) they were saying possibly by game 3 (in Memphis) they can possibly give Golden State a close series, I do think Golden State will very likely prevail in the end and advance to the WCF but I do not think it will be a sweep. I would anticipate it going 6 or 7 games. I think if Memphis can at least split 1-1 the first 2 with GS I think it will probably be a good series, now if they go down 0-2..well then maybe not. We shall see...

 

[AntAltMike]

Bulls, Bucks. I just pulled up the box score. Wow! The Bucks starters played just 35% of the minutes. How is that even possible? Did the coach throw up the white flag in the second quarter?