The Official NBA Thread

[antioxGT]

If the Lakers continue to play as they did in game 5 against OK, NO TEAM will beat them. (key word is "if")

[upengineer]

Lakers won the series against OK. it was a close call though (thanks a lot Pau!). anyway, a win is a win so they move forward to the next round against Utah.

For other teams besides LA, im not happy that Dallas lost. hahaha. i was expecting a lot from them and yet those expectations were never realized.

i feel sorry for Milwaukee forced to a Game 7 by the Hawks, nonetheless they are having themselves a great series except for that awful Game 6 loss.

and Cavs vs Boston, i really hope for Pierce and the Celts to step it up and give james some trouble. i hope they beat them. if not, well there's still orlando to kick their butt.

Go Lakers! :laugh:

[Codename73]

Glad that LA was able to wrap up that series on the road

Utah should be a better match up for them vs the nuggets. Ready for game 1!

[upengineer]

ok. i'll do a little update here about the playoffs. hahaha.

WEST:
1. PHX vs SAS - the suns lead the series 1-0. 111 for phoenix and 102 for the spurs. yay! go Suns!! i so want phoenix to win this series. The Spurs are just too old. I think the Suns would win 4-2, but who knows maybe Manu will step up and pull another upset. But i still think the suns are better.

2. LAL vs UTA - lakers lead 1-0!!!!! though utah can cause problems for the lakers but since i like LA so much i believe that they will win the series 4-1. They are the defending champs after all. nuff said.

EAST:
1. ORL vs ATL - its orlando's win no doubt about that. it may be a sweep or there may be a game 7 but regardless of the number of games they'll play, it will be howard and orlando's victory.

2. BOS vs CLE - oh yeah! series is tied at 1 a piece. i knew James couldn't do it. hahaha. they loss home court and i dont think boston will lose at home unless the cavs step their game up. this will be a tough series. statistically, cavs would win. but i just dont want to see lebron at the finals. hahaha. so im picking boston for this one.

pretty good matchups for the conference semis. each of which will be exciting to watch. but i firmly believe that the Lakers will win it. hahaha. once again, Lakers for the win!

[Huskas]

A shame about the Mavericks, they were playing well in the last weeks and once again go out in the 1st round. Mark Cuban can only be fuming.

It was a good run for the Bucks, it really seemed that they were going to pull it out but it was not to be. The Hawks really need to step up their game against the Magic and try not to lose all games by 43 points like today.

I like the Suns chances if they reach the finals, but they need to keep homecourt advantage against the Spurs, if not them they might suffer the same fate as the Mavs.

The champions advanced and as I write this they are 11 points up on the 3rd quarter of game 2, so it's looking good for them atm.

The Celtics sure got a sweet win in game 2, let's see if they do it again on game 3 at the Garden.

[Codename73]

And the Lakers win Game 2! Lets see if they can shake em up in Utah on Saturday

[upengineer]

here's your friendly neighborhood NBA fan for another (Lakers) update!

Lets start with the East this time since I want to save the best for last. hahaha.

Here goes...

EAST:

1. BOS vs CLE - still 1 a piece. nothing new here since they haven't played Game 3 yet. but here's my prediction, Games 3 and 4 will be boston's victory. hahaha. i think it is more of an opinion than a calculated prediction. Simply because i don't want to see the Cavs win (sorry king james. You're still my MVP though. )

2. ORL vs ATL - so...... Howard and the Magic dominated this one. 43 point victory for the Magic. They made the Hawks that i think is a good team look bad. By the end of the first half, i lost interest in the game already with the Magic up 53-33. I hope they continue dominating in Game 2 and sweep the Hawks, and i want Atlanta to perform good enough so as to not embarrass themselves. Poor poor start for the Hawks

now we go to the....

WEST:

1. PHX vs SAS - im very happy for Nash and Amare. With Suns up 2-0 and with Nash's and Amare's recent performances, i feel confident that the Suns can finally win against the Spurs. Though it made me nervous that the Spurs led at the first half of Game 2 but thanks to the Suns' second unit, they managed to make a comeback victory (thanks Dudley, thanks Frye). I can definitely see the Suns winning this series. They got depth like never before and its not just the same old run-and-gun offense. They finally have some defense in their game. I hope that i will not be disappointed as to how this series turns out. :001_tongue:

2. LAL vs UTA - woohoo!!!! Lakers are up 2-0. Impressive Game 2 victory for the Lakers. Splendid performances by the big guys. Bynum contributed 17 points and 14 rebounds. Odom, with a perfect 4-4 shooting, got 11 points and 15 rebounds off the bench. Pau had himself a double-double with 22 points and another 15 rebounds. This enormous count of rebounds just shows how impressive their defense is. They got a 58-40 advantage in rebounds. Oh, and how could I forgot the MVP-like outing of Kobe. 30 points, 8 assists, 5 rebounds, 3 BLOCKS! He's definitely transformed into the Bryant that led the Lakers to a championship a year ago. Great defense by the Lakers, offensively efficient and with Kobe back in top shape, Utah needs a miracle to turn the tables here. They are underhanded in terms of height and an Andrei Kirilenko coming off an injury wont be able to keep up with Kobe easily. My conclusion: it is hard to see (almost impossible actually) the Lakers lose this series.

** I got all statistical there with the LA - Utah series. hahaha. it just shows how much i love the Lakers. hahaha. To hell with James, he wont make it past Boston and if he manages to make it though, Howard will just stop him in his tracks. And Pau, Bynum, Odom will dominate Howard and Kobe just blitzing through for a Lakers victory and a repeat championship.

[Balauru]

Good playoffs so far. Lakers might sweep Utah this series. They have really stepped up and they have the attitude with a repeat. It's also one of the years Kobe was not dominating. Pau Gasol and Bynum are frequent 25/10 players in these playoffs.

I love the suns. I hope they go far and i would enjoy it even if they won. Steve Nash is a great guy and he must win at least once. I feel sorry for Tim Duncan if they lose though. This will probably be his last chance for a championship.

Dunno about Boston, they look good and yes it would be great to see them putting an amazing performance and diss everybody that called the old and washed up.

But most of all with my Heat going out ( Thank u D-wade for an amazing performance even though your supporting cast sucked) i want to see the Magic win more than anything. Howard and Vince are both great players they deserve a ring.

I don't care about the Hawks or Utah.

[hokiehi9109]

I know people are really counting the Jazz out against the Lakers, but don't forget that they have the best point guard in the league, Deron Williams, who is playing his best basketball at the right time, during the playoffs. I know they lost their first two games in LA, but Energy Solutions is always a very tough place to play at, so do not count out the Jazz evening up the series 2-2 after Game 4.

For the Cavs-Boston series, I have to take Cleveland to not only beat Boston, but to win the championship as well. They have the best player in the NBA (by a clear margin) and I really think that they have yet to reach their full peak. They played the Bulls last series, who are extremely weak, so they are a bit rusty now that they are playing an actually challenging, veteran Boston Celtics team. The Cavs are just too deep and have too great of a supporting cast to not win the Finals this year. Otherwise, it will be a big failure for Lebron James and maybe his biggest missed opportunity at winning a championship in his entire career.

Eastern Conference Finals: Cavs over Magic
Western Conference Finals: Lakers over Suns

Finals: Cavs over Lakers in 6 (if the series does go to 7, I have to take the Lakers; they win big games better than the Cavs. Period)

[Achfoxz]

I know people are really counting the Jazz out against the Lakers, but don't forget that they have the best point guard in the league, Deron Williams, who is playing his best basketball at the right time, during the playoffs. I know they lost their first two games in LA, but Energy Solutions is always a very tough place to play at, so do not count out the Jazz evening up the series 2-2 after Game 4.

For the Cavs-Boston series, I have to take Cleveland to not only beat Boston, but to win the championship as well. They have the best player in the NBA (by a clear margin) and I really think that they have yet to reach their full peak. They played the Bulls last series, who are extremely weak, so they are a bit rusty now that they are playing an actually challenging, veteran Boston Celtics team. The Cavs are just too deep and have too great of a supporting cast to not win the Finals this year. Otherwise, it will be a big failure for Lebron James and maybe his biggest missed opportunity at winning a championship in his entire career.

Eastern Conference Finals: Cavs over Magic
Western Conference Finals: Lakers over Suns

Finals: Cavs over Lakers in 6 (if the series does go to 7, I have to take the Lakers; they win big games better than the Cavs. Period)

Boston Baby I want the celtics to win it all. Im not a fan of kobe nor Lebron