2014-15 NBA thread v. 2015-16 thread now playing

[Nekov]

Congrats to the Cs! I can't believe they reached the playoffs with the personnel they have, coach Stevens is doing an amazing job.

Talking about the west, I feel sorry for the Pelicans. I really want them to make the playoffs but they have to beat the Spurs or wait for OKC to lose against the Wolves which is very unlikely to happen

[Azyiu]

Between the Pelicans and the depleted Thunder. I'd much rather see the Pelicans in the playoffs. 

[Azyiu]

I am glad the Pelicans made it!!

Just a little trivia:

The Warriors became the 10th team in NBA history to win 67 or more games in a single season. Among the previous 9 teams, 7 of them won the championship, one reached the conference Finals, and only one didn't make it pass the first round. (06-07 Mavs) We will see how far the Dubs would go this year.

[bosk1]

Interesting matchups in the west.  My pics:

GS vs. NOLA:  Kudos to the Pelicans for clawing their way into the playoffs.  No disrespect to them, but I think the Warriors are going to be too much.  Warriors in 5.

Houston vs. Dallas:  The Rockets have looked pretty good down the stretch.  I think they take it in 6.

L.A. vs. San Antonio:  This is the hardest one to call.  San Antonio is hotter right now.  But I hate L.A. ever so slightly less.  Hmm...  I think I still have to go Spurs on this one.  Probably 6 games, but will feel a lot closer than 6 games in the Houston/Dallas series.

Portland vs. Memphis:  Poor Portland.  They are just too beat up to do this.  And despite Memphis fading down the stretch, they are still a very good team.  Grizz in 5.

[lonestar]

Bay Area should be insane in the coming weeks, this is gonna be a fun one to watch for sure.


*jumps on Dubs bandwagon*

[Aefenwelg]

Woo! Playoffs!

EAST:

1 ATL vs 8 BKN

I was really hoping for Indiana to make it, because the Nets are just so not even interesting.
I fully expect a sweep here.

2 CLE vs 7 BOS

I expect a sweep here, too. But a fun sweep.
I'm interested in how the young guys on Boston perform, and don't forget this is the first time we'll see Kyrie and Love in the post season, as well.

3 CHI vs 6 MIL

As you can tell from my sig (which is completely outdated, I know), I'm a Chicago sports fan.
Being a Chicago sports fan, I'm quite aware that the Bulls have the potential to really suck at times for some reason.
They should still win the series, but I'm not confident enough to predict a sweep.
I do hope that this starts a neighbors-rivalry.

4 TOR vs 5 WAS

This should be the closest series in the East, but I'm feeling really meh about it.
I don't know why. I mean, you got Wall vs Lowry, Beal vs Derozan, Dwane Casey vs Randy Wittman.... oh, maybe that's it.
Also, maybe because the winner of this series is just going to get beaten by Atlanta.

WEST:

The matchups in the West did not shake out as I'd hoped. I wanted Spurs/Mavs, Rockets/Blazers, and most of all Grizz/Clips. 

1 GSW vs 8 NOP

I do like that the Pelicans made it over the Thunder though.
Similarly to CLE/BOS, I do expect a sweep, but a fun sweep.
Very much looking forward to playoffs AD.

2 HOU vs 7 DAL

Does playoff Rondo show up? Can Dallas stop Harden?
There is the proximity rivalry to spice things up, but I don't see the Rockets dropping this one.

3 LAC vs 6 SAS

I'm a big Tim Duncan fan. The matchups here are interesting. It would be a waste to have Kawhi on Barnes; I think we see him on CP3 while TP gets to hide.
Old Man River Walk against Blake? or will he try to keep Deandre off the boards? I don't know, I guess that's why I'm not Popovich.
I think this series'll be decided by the bench. Clips are sporting the likes of: Big Baby Davis, Hedo Turk o' glue, Austin Rivers.
What I'm saying here is that I think the Spurs win.

4 POR vs 5 MEM

I don't know how hurt either team is going to be. But if the Grizz have a healthy Conley and a healthy Gasol limiting Lillard and Aldridge, I'm not sure what the Blazers can do.
Plus, I want to see GS/MEM in the second round.

[Azyiu]

I will be paying attention to both the Wiz / Raptors and Bucks / Bulls series. As I think those two (along with with the Clippers / Spurs) could go either way; and they all should be fun to watch!

Speaking of the Bucks, I think Jason Kidd deserves at least some recognition and be a COY candidate. He took over a 15-win team with virtually the same players from a year ago, and led them to 41 wins and a playoffs spot in the very next year! Sure, I know Kerr will win COY, no doubt, but whatever Kidd did was so underrated, y'all 

[Azyiu]

Congrats to coach Bud. I think, while the Dubs won't 67 games in the season, the Hawks' performance and record were a surprise to all. No disrespecting Kerr at all, I think coach Bud deserves this COY award a 100%. And I am also glad those voters not as stupid as I once feared, and they voted J-Kidd as the #3 in the voting. 

[King Postwhore]

Damn Kyrie sure can shoot.

[Accelerando]

I nearly had a stroke, but the Spurs pulled it off. They have such a clutch bench!

[Syzzle]

The Thunder finally fired Scott Brooks it's about 3 years overdue, but at least they got rid of one of their biggest problems right now.

[Azyiu]

Great win for the Spurs!! I love it!! 

[lonestar]

Dubs baby.

[Azyiu]

Dubs baby.

What an improbable come back! Wow! No disrespecting the Pelicans, they will be very good in the future, but for now they still have to learn how to close games. 

[lonestar]

The restaurant I work at is kind of a Warriors place, and went fucking apeshit last night. Things could get really insane if the Dubs make a solid run.

[Aefenwelg]

I turned to my roommate with, like, three minutes left, Warriors still down by 10, and told him they were winning this game.

[Dimitrius]

You know what the sad thing about that game? I believe pretty much everyone knew the pelicans were gonna lose once the Warriors sent it to overtime.

[lonestar]

And that game was there one shot to take any semblance of control over the series. They're just plain fucked now.





Edit- just noticed the thread title change. Lol Floyd....

[Azyiu]

The Spurs are sticking it up the Clippers', I love it!   

[Accelerando]

The Big Fundamental is now 39 today, and he is still playing at a high level.  Happy Birthday to my boy Tim Duncan!

[Azyiu]

Even though the Grizzlies are leading the Blazers 3-0, there are concerns with their PGs. Jon Leuer is hurt and didn't play in game 3, and Mike Conley was injured in game 3; and there is no words on his condition yet. 

[orcus116]

That was a pretty blatant trap and pull on Love's arm there.

[Azyiu]

That was a pretty blatant trap and pull on Love's arm there.

The NBA may need to review all these 4 games, and decide whether to suspend any of those refs who worked in these games. Or else stuff like that could happen again.

[Nekov]

That was a pretty blatant trap and pull on Love's arm there.

The NBA may need to review all these 4 games, and decide whether to suspend any of those refs who worked in these games. Or else stuff like that could happen again.

The Olynyk - Love play happens a lot and normally it ends in a foul call and that's it. Love had bad luck there but I don't think Olynyk deserves any punishment for that. On the other hand, JR Smith and Kendrick Perkins should get a suspension.

[Azyiu]

The Olynyk - Love play happens a lot and normally it ends in a foul call and that's it. Love had bad luck there but I don't think Olynyk deserves any punishment for that. On the other hand, JR Smith and Kendrick Perkins should get a suspension.

That's why I think the refs should also be held somewhat accountable for these borderline dirty plays. They must try and make calls more consistently to prevent things from escalating.

[orcus116]

That was a pretty blatant trap and pull on Love's arm there.

The NBA may need to review all these 4 games, and decide whether to suspend any of those refs who worked in these games. Or else stuff like that could happen again.

The Olynyk - Love play happens a lot and normally it ends in a foul call and that's it. Love had bad luck there but I don't think Olynyk deserves any punishment for that. On the other hand, JR Smith and Kendrick Perkins should get a suspension.

How many times did you see the replay? Bad luck had nothing to do with it. There was clear intent behind that play.

[King Postwhore]

The intents was to hold him from getting to the ball, not to injure him which is only a foul.

[Nekov]

The intents was to hold him from getting to the ball, not to injure him which is only a foul.

Exactly

[contest_sanity]

Hawks - wut r u doing???

[FlyingBIZKIT]

Hawks - wut r u doing???

I know right?

Oh shit.. it is an Atlanta based team after all... and you know what that means

[FlyingBIZKIT]

I fucking love Popovich

Post game interview:

Reporter - "How would you describe tonight's win?"

Pop - "Uh, what? It's a win. How do you describe a win? It's better than a loss."

Silence

[Azyiu]

I fucking love Popovich

Post game interview:

Reporter - "How would you describe tonight's win?"

Pop - "Uh, what? It's a win. How do you describe a win? It's better than a loss."

Silence

    

And I am happy the Spurs won!!

[TheOutlawXanadu]

Anyone else feel like the playoffs have kind of sucked this year? There's only been one series thus far that is both competitive and being played at a high level, which is Clippers - Spurs. The other close series are only close because the higher seeds (Bulls, Hawks) are playing poorly. On top of that, Conley and Love will both be out for an extended period of time.

[Azyiu]

Anyone else feel like the playoffs have kind of sucked this year? There's only been one series thus far that is both competitive and being played at a high level, which is Clippers - Spurs. The other close series are only close because the higher seeds (Bulls, Hawks) are playing poorly. On top of that, Conley and Love will both be out for an extended period of time.

Sadly yes! This year's first round sucks in general! IMO, things would've been a little more interesting if the Pacers got in instead of the Nets.

As for the Bulls / Bucks series, I think Kidd is simply out coaching Thibodeau as the series progresses. I mean, at least the Bucks are starting to play much better D, while the Bulls somehow seem uninterested at times, or they are starting to tune out Thibodeau?

Man, I wish Conley is ok but then injury is a part of the game. At full strength, the Grizzlies is pretty fun to watch, and to me their style of plays and personnel (along with the Hawks) are like the Spurs 2.0 in a good way. If Grizzlies get pass the Blazers and Conley can somehow play in the second round, the Warriors / Grizzlies series should bring some fun back to the playoffs. 

[senecadawg2]

All that intentional fouling in the middle of the game leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I know it's within the rules, as they currently stand, but it's also fundamentally a cheating strategy (i.e. Breaking the rules to gain an advantage). I don't blame the Spurs as much as I blame the rules and refs. I think if there is a clear pattern of intentional fouling, not en route to an end-of-game comeback, the fouls should be called as they are- intentional fouls. And the fouled team should be able to select who to send to the line.

With all that being said. Screw the Clippers and go Spurs!