Kub, I think you will be seeing it too.... The way the Lakers & Hornets are playing in each of their series' is phenomenal. I think the Lakers would have their hands full with New Orleans, and I'm hoping the Hornets can put away the Spurs in 6.

Wouldn't it be quite weird if somehow the Hornets made it to the fuckin' Finals?

hell yeah it would be weird trail blazer... I can't believe how much CP3 and that entire team stepped up their game in the playoffs, theyre playing like gods of basketball right now.

I really thought that they just had a great regular season, but their lack of experience and depth would hurt them in the playoffs. I thought Dallas was going to do away with them in 6.. boy, was I wrong.

The Hornets had the 2nd worst scoring bench in the NBA(T-Wolves the worst) Not anymore.

Cavaliers vs. Celtics - Game 1

That had to be one of the worst NBA games I've ever seen . . . and I've been to plenty of Hawks games in the past. If the Celtics had lost that game . . . it would've been Doc Rivers and Paul Pierce's fault. Pierce constantly kept trying to make a shot, only to miss, turn the ball over, or make some other poor decision. Yet, Doc Rivers kept him in the game and kept giving him the ball.

The only class act in the game, Kevin Garnett, is why they ended up winning. I'll give credit to Rondo in the 1st half and Cassell in the second. Lebron, Ray Allen, and Pierce were all pathetic in the game.

Here's hoping Game 2 is better.

Boston has not impressed me at all in the playoffs. I still stand by Detroit taking them down in the Eastern finals...and maybe fairly easily and quickly.

Yeah, that'd be great. Considering the Spurs and Lakers are basically the Yankees and Red Sox of basketball, it'd be nice to see a totally different team win the trophy for once.

Being a Spurs fan, all I can say is THANK YOU for not pulling out the old, tired "Spurs and Lakers are boring" card. At least you have legitimate reasoning behind your post.

And the way the Hornets have been playing in the playoff, you might get your wish.

The way the game is called now in the playoffs it totally favours young athletic teams like New Orleans.. veteren teams can't get away with all their chippy little tricks like in the good old days..

I don't think a team like Orleans could dominate like this 2 or 3 years ago

It seems like they're actually calling the playoff games tighter than the regular season, I wish they'd just let teams play.. and why is stern at every fukking game? lol it seems like every game i watch he's sitting front row like he's making sure the refs call every little thing.. it's starting to get like soccer or even worse the NFL..

REFS
 

I'm not sure how much the Refs are helping the Hornets. Those Cajun bastards are shooting 60% every game.How can you stop that?

You can't stop CP3. The man is playing unbelievably this whole season. Only out-done by one other guy, who rightfully deserves his award:

http://www.nba.com/media/kobryant_300_080508.jpg

The Lakers are looking fucking UNSTOPPABLE so far in the post-season.... I think it's going to be a New Orleans vs. LA Western Finals and a Detroit vs. Boston Eastern Finals. I'm pretty excited about what could possibly happen.

I really hope it is NOK and Lakers/Pistons and Celts. Great series and they all match up so well.

I have a wild hunch that the Magic are going to topple the Pistons.

yeah, they got fucked over in game 2 badly.. who knows what could have happened.. it could have been 2-1 magic right now. But oh well. I just don't like the Pistons.. they're all obsessed with gaining respect and feel mistreated every year, it gets old.

With Chauncy Billups out, the Pistons may be in trouble.

What I loved was Detroit's response to getting Billups back in the line up was that they hoped he'd be ready for the Conference Finals. It looks like they're already blowing off the Magic, which may work to their advantage.

Good to see Boston getting it done again at home.... The next 2 games are the real test, to win at least one of them on the road. All their doubters are still holding that above their head, and I think there'll be a lot of pressure removed once they take one in Cleveland.

It's really sad how LeBron has been playing this series, and the even sadder part about the whole fuckin' thing is that he has absolutely ZERO help from his teammates. I think this has been a sorta transition season for the Cavs, and the big trade might lead to other future deals next year. I love James, but I don't care HOW good he is, this is a team sport, and if Cleveland doesn't do something similar to what LA has done for Kobe, he & the Cavs are NEVER winning a Championship.

Also was almost happy to see New Orleans pull one out in San Antonio... That game was fucking AWESOME until about the last 4 minutes or so.... CP3 is a fucking GOD with the basketball, as far as point guards go. Parker's good too, and their duel was a lotta fun to watch. I wouldn't be surprised to see the Hornets take game 4 on Sunday, least I'm hoping they will!

Meh. The hate for the Pistons has always confused me. They are a classy team, and it is true, the media never gives them any respect. Outside of the Spurs, Detroit has been the most consistent NBA team in the last 5 years. But if they don't win a championship this year, well maybe then I will agree with you. (besides of the dislike of them of course :))


Even if Billiups isn't back tonight, I still have a pretty good feeling they will find a way to win.


*still hoping for a Pistons/Spurs finals again this year* Although it seems unlikely.

If the Finals comes down to Detroit vs. San Antonio fucking AGAIN, I'll not bother to watch it. Yes, they're both great/consistant teams, good defense, some good offensive players, etc. "the way b-ball was meant to be played" etc. etc. etc.

But FUCK THAT SHIT! Just because all of those are true, doesn't make it any less of a gaddamn yawn-fest for me. I don't care if one or the other make it (I don't think either one will) but if they both do, prepare for another TV low-ratings NBA Finals in history.

Agree 100%. Who gives a shit about Tim Duncan and his minnie me Tony Parker anymore anyways? At this point I'd rather see the Jazz play instead of the Spurs and that's saying something.

I do.

GO SPURS GO

Don't forget,: GO PISTONS!!!


Oh and by the way, the Pistons won tonight without Billiups. :)


Bring on Boston!

someone explain why D'Antoni is coaching the Knicks instead of the Bulls. I understand there's more money, but that team is awful, and has no way to improve for another 2 or 3 years. Also, a guy who had his best team with Stoudemire and Marion on the front line, is gonna coach a team with... Eddy Curry and Zach Randolph? I guess the Bulls really low-balled him on the offer for him to willingly inherit this debacle of a "team".

Lakers/Jazz has turned out to be quite the series. I imagine the Lakers will end up winning it in 6 or 7 (its 2-2 now), but it's one hell of a series.

Celtics/Cavs is a mediocre series. The Cavs pulled one out last night, but the Celtics will definitely take the series.

New Orleans/San Antonio is a pretty solid series. I think it could definitely go 7 games, and New Orleans has a solid chance of winning, as does San Antonio. It's up in the air.

Pistons/Magic is an alright series. The Magic really fucked themselves over yesterday though. The Pistons should take it in 5.

In a perfect world, it would be a Lakers/Celtics final, and there is a very good chance it could happen. The Celtics/Pistons will be a close series, and it's tough to predict who will come out on top. I think the Lakers could take either New Orleans or San Antonio, and probably have the best chance of winning the championship.

My final NBA champion prediction: The Los Angeles Lakers

I love how when Kobe made a shot he was fine but when he missed he was in so much pain that he would fall on the court and grab his back.

Kobe was hurt and that was clear. Are you trying to say he was faking it?

I'm not saying he's faking it, only him and his doctors know for sure. I'm just pointing out something that happens in every sport and I find hilarious. Besides, Kobe's a class act....right?

If classy is Sheed getting a technical every time down the court, or rip and chauncey bitching and complaining every year about how they should be all-stars, when theyre not even in the top 5 of their position. (chauncey is close, rip isnt even in the tpo 10 SGs). They don't bitch that much at all.. I'm just saying.

I'm not denying theyre a great team, that is true, but classy? Definately not a word that comes to mind lol.

I didn't catch the Lakers game tonight but I heard Kobe hurt himself.. if that's the truth and the Jazz take game 5 this series could be in danger of being over. Winning in Utah is about as hard a place to win as any.

I gotta say...

I fucking LOVED the look on Chris Paul's face after tonight's loss to the Spurs.

Fucking LOVED it.

What's with teams (Other than Detroit) not being able to get one fucking win on the road? I don't get it. Boston won 66 games, and was one of the best road teams in the league.... I mean sure they could win a Championship never winning a single road game, but that means each series goes 7 games, and I don't want that. They'd better win tonight in Cleveland gaddamn it!

Glad to see Douche'toni OUT of Phoenix.... He'll never do anything in NY, he's a run & gun coach, and he's got guys like Randolph & Curry on his team. Plus, the situation in NY is SO bad, it'll take 2-3 years to fix, when he's only on a 4 year contract. He's not going to do a whole helluva lot for them, I don't think.

Also disappointed to see San Antonio tie up their series with the Hornets.... I think this one's going 7 games. I REALLY wanna see New Orleans take it.

I'm surprised too; not only are they losing on the road, they're looking pretty bad doing it (the HAWKS?!?!?!?!). I think they're showing their inexperience in the playoffs . . . lot of them don't have THAT much experience, and that includes Doc Rivers as a coach.

I'm surprised he took the NY job over Chicago. You would think that would've been a better fit. Money talks though, and Chicago still left looking.

The Pistons are the only team winning on the road in this round because of their intelligence and experience. Detroit is the best team in the east, and just because Boston played a great regular season doesnt mean they can go all the way.

I too, thought that Boston was going to stomp the shit out of everyone this year.. but they looked very, very vulnerable, and are dangerously close to letting Lebron and the Cavs take them out in 6. The Celtics dont have that experienced seasoned playoff veteran to bail them out of close games on the road.. They can pile on the points, but cant play from behind. They havent done it yet this post season.

Where is KG? 0 points in the 4th tonight? Are you kidding me? He always had a knack for dissapearing in big games but this is getting ridiculous. Even Ray Allen is a ghost. Paul Pierce at least is trying to step up and make shots.

It's only a matter of time before they lose at home. Hell, the Cavs lost game 1, the celtics didn't win it. It's sad to see such an incredible team playing mediocore but oh well.

Until someone actually beats Boston at home they're golden. It's getting close tho.

I think Boston looked more then vulnerable. They looked downright exposed.

I said from the beginning of the year, that even though the "Big 3" are all stars, none of them EVER take over games. This was shown in round one, and now it's showing here, with constant disappearing acts from Garnett, Allen, and Pierce, all at different times during the game, but all of them seemed to fade to black during the most important stretch: last five minutes.

They just don't really have an offensive gameplan, it's like "Well we have 3 big stars, just make sure they try and get the ball in equal portions and something good will happen cause one of them has to be hot". If this series has shown anything, it has shown us that more often then not, the big 3 have the potential to all be cold at the same time, and with Cleveland's swarming D, I'm not sure that will drastically change going back home for game five.

As a HUGE Spurs fan, I am more worried about the Hornets then Cavs fans should be about Boston, because NO has that one guy to take over a game, and he is not the type of guy to EVER disappear during any stretch of a game.

The Knicks should have hired 20 sticks of dynamite, attached them to the players and personel and blow this shit up! Then draft 10 players and let them play,at least they will try.

I HATE ESPN and ABC B-Ball coverage!!!!!!!!!
I LOVE TNT coverage! At least they talk about b-ball and not about themselves and kiss every players ass and try to come up with some stupid catch-phrase so they get more TV time. Sorry had to rant.

TNT may have one of the best all-out sports coverages in professional sports. I sure do miss Bill Walton on NBC though...

Anyone ever notice on ABC they like to show random shots of valuptious women in the crowd? At least they used to do it a lot, I've been watching most the games on TNT and ESPN.

Full timeouts are longer on ESPN and ABC... this is probably why most fans hate watching basketball on these stations.

TNT is superb! As well as Bill Walton, "Throw it down big man, throw it down."

Or, as Charles Barkley might say, "Man, those other channels are just turrible."


Me, I love how TNT sort of gives NBA games - both regular season and postseason - the NFL treatment with its extensive post-game coverage (and pre-game sometimes). I could, however, do without all of the bumpers and promos for "The Bill Engvall Show" and "House of Payne". I know TNT and TBS only have like five original programs, but come on already.

Meanwhile, what's really "Very Funny" is how D'Antoni thinks he's going to be able to trade Marbury. Then again, maybe the Grizzlies have another boneheaded move in their system.

I don't think the Grizzles have any more dumb moves up their sleeves, but they need to change their name already lol.. when i think of memphis the last thing that comes to mind is fucking grizzly bears roaming around..

And I still think N.Y has plenty of dumb moves left in their tank, like trading all their assets (lee and Balkman) for another player who's a ball chucker and doesn't know what defence is.. so i'm guessing J.R smitth will be a knick soon..

God I am SO extremely FUCKING agitated with Boston, and how they can't fucking BUY a win out on the gaddamned road! They need to turn this shit around fucking FAST, if they still think they're going to win a Championship!

And yes, I agree with everyone else - TNT is the best for the NBA games. I love Ernie, Kenny & Charles, they're fantastic together. Also, I will say that Stephen A. Smith and Bill Walton are very entertaining to listen to when they give their opinions.

Also, my favourite broadcasting team is Mark Jackson, Jeff Van Gundy and Mike Breen (I think), they're fantastic. Van Gundy I think, got a lot of undeserved heat as a coach, but he's funny as all hell as a broadcaster!

"Pound for pound? What exactly does that MEAN anyway? AI is the best 'pound for pound' - You mean he's better than Wilt & MJ?"

His banter and jokes between the other two are hilarious. So the whole "pound for pound" thing is a running joke now. :D

YOURE THE FUCKING MAN! I have been saying that to everyone I know.. they are maybe the best broadcasting team in all of sports, let alone basketball. And probably the best in a long, long time. They all contribute so well. Van Gundy knows exactly what's happening on the court, Jackson can dissect players and coaches, and Breen's emotion is incredible. He gets you into the game if for some reason, youre not.. its like he lives and dies with every basket.. I love it. His trademark BANG! is incredible.

BARON DAVIS FOR THREE!...... BANG!!!!!

:)

True. Just like the state of Utah is so commonly associated with jazz music.

Yeah, that would seem to be the only option they really have, doesn't it? Probably bundling one or both of those guys in a package with a Malik Rose or a Jerome James might get someone to bite on a deal. But Donnie Walsh and co. are probably stuck with Curry and Randolph for as long they've got D'Antoni (who could just bury them deep on his trademark shortened bench, making them the most overpaid benchwarmers in NBA history).

Maybe someone would take Marbury in a deal just for the one year he's got left...but at $20 mil I just can't see who would be willing to. He'd bring nothing but discord. Still, Walsh is a sharp guy and he's bound to make smarter moves than Isiah (though signing D'Antoni to a big contract with that roster is sorta fishy...).

And I agree with you guys on Van Gundy and that ABC/ESPN team. VG's not afraid to speak his mind, which is cool. He's a little like Barkley on TNT in that way. He's a riot. Hope he doesn't go and get himself hired somewhere next year.

Hubie Brown with ANYONE is money.

Agree that the Mark Jackson/Van Gundy/Breen team is the best the NBA or any sport has to offer. They are dead on and funny as hell.

I heard that pound for pound bit the first time and each time they go back to it, it get's a little funnier.

I also agree about Hubie Brown. Brilliant!

I HATE Steven A. Smith!!!!! His damn opinion changes everyday just to say I told you so. In the last weeks of the regular season when Dallas,GS,and Denver were all fighting for the 7th and 8th seed he was asked who would be left out of the playoffs and he changed everyday. I'm not saying he waited a week in between opinions it was shit like on Wed. "Dallas won't make it" then Thurs. "GS will not make the playoffs" And neither one of them were playing that day to give him a difference of opinion.
I do like Hubie and Van Gundy though,I mainly hate all of ESPN and ABC analyst.
Oh and maybe im a sexist but last week they had some girl calling the NO/SA game on ESPN(or ABC,can't remember)and it was extremly annoying! Let them do golf or tennis,keep them away from Football,B-ball,and Baseball.

I agree with you, kub. It just doesn't sound right when they have women calling NBA games. I don't believe I'm a sexist but I just don't like it.

Steven A. sucks butt. Not only does his opinion change daily but he is blatently racist and nobody seems to care. No matter what happens, everything always comes down to race with him and how the "white" people always get the better calls. So annoying, it's fucking 2008 Steven! Let IT GO!

I heard that woman announcing the game. I'm not sure I have a problem with that per se, but she was truly terrible. Offered no insight into the game, robotically repeated stats, and let extended periods go by without any commentary. I haven't heard her since, here's to hoping she was fired.

Hmm.

I don't know if I see the racism thing coming up with Stephen A. so much. More than anything else, he's a blowhard who just needs to stop trying to SHOUT DOWN his fellow broadcasters every time. His shtick works in print, but not so much on screen with others. A few weeks back when he was going back and forth with Jalen on set, it looked like JR was about to throttle him.

Though he had his moment a few years back when he was putting Slava Medvendenko on blast, and everyone on ESPN was copying his "HOWEVAHs", Stephen's pretty much become a loudmouth runt.

The woman you're all talking about is Doris Burke. http://www.espnmediazone.com/bios/Ta...urke_Doris.htm

I don't mind her too much. It's just a bit disconcerting hearing a woman's voice that isn't my wife's chattering on during the game.

So, who here thinks that KG might be a little motivated tonight from enduring two days' worth of replays of LBJ throwing down on his dome the other night?

I think KG will have a healluva a game. Not only was he posterized by LBJ but people have been saying he's the reason they lost that game.

In lure of the game tonight.If you were starting up a NBA team and had to draft either Chris Paul or Tim Duncan right out of college who would you take? Do you think a great PG or great PF/C is more important?

I agree, I didn't like Doris at all.... I absolutely fucking LOVE Hubie Brown too.... He's a gaddamned fucking GENIUS when it comes to Basketball. And the thing is, he breaks it down, and explains why something is happening, and I GET IT! I think he and Van Gundy would be phenomenal. :p

To answer Kub's question, give me CP3 over that heartless, emotionless, dumb-fucking-twat of a drone Duncan, anyday.

Well, the Lakers pulled out the win, and should take the series. If the Celtics lose to Cleveland in game 6, I am predicting that Cleveland will win game 7. The Celtics just don't have what it takes to make it to the NBA championship. Even if they get past the Cavs, I doubt they'll beat the Pistons. I see New Orleans winning the NO/SA series, and New Orleans Vs. Los Angeles will be fucking great! Two teams who went from being very middle of the pack and mediocre last year, to being the top 2 teams in the West this year.

ME TOO. GO SPURS!!

Hey, whaddaya know: Cheap Shot Rob strikes again.

Just kiddin. Even without the blow to West, this series was headin' back to NO.

Tough Q, Kub, on choosing between either CP or Timmy. Both are about as good as it gets at their positions: Contributors at both ends of the floor, both adept at elevating their teammates' games. You wouldn't go wrong with either one, really.

(See, this is why I turned down Sarver's offer last year to GM the Suns...I just can't make these choices.)

Howevah...looking at the league today, true premium PGs seem to bubble up more frequently than adroit PFs. Players like Timmy are also a lot easier to build a team around also, I think.

So I guess I'd choose a Timmy over a CP3. Not to take anything away from Paul at all.