2008/2009 NBA Thread v2.0

[Mr Evil Guy]

the Magic are going to win the championship.

They should be up 3-0 right now if LeBron's circus shot didn't go in. Holy shit.

[DMN in the House]

They couldn't beat Denver or LA. Especially since they wouldn't have home court.

Everyone was gushing over Cleveland, but they aren't that great. LeBron is amazing, no doubt, but they have NOTHING outside of him. As a Laker fan, I should know, one player can't do it himself.

[alldaws1]

Our season sweep of the Lakers suggests we'd have a chance.

The Eastern finals aren't done with yet, though, if the Magic are going to win it I would think it will be in at least six games.

[DMN in the House]

Two games in the regular season don't really mean anything to me in terms of a Finals series. I'm not saying it's a foregone conclusion, but I don't see Orlando beating LA four times. The match-up with Dwight Howard would be harsh, depending on Bynum's play, but... otherwise? The Lakers match up with Orlando a LOT better than Cleveland does.

Besides, with LA, it always comes down to Kobe, and no one, outside of Houston, really has anyone that can guard him.

[gunnar hendershow]

Magic are a live/die by the three team, and they very rarely win. I like Dwight Howard, but Kendrick Perkins made him his bitch a lot in the Celtics series. He is a fantastic defensive player, but on offense he's not the killer weapon people make him out to be. Birdman and Nene would trash him if the Nuggets made the Finals, and Bynum + Gasol would do the same. Lakers stack up so nicely agaisnt the Magic that I really don't want to see that series. It would just be a trouncing.

[JStarr]

Magic are a live/die by the three team, and they very rarely win. I like Dwight Howard, but Kendrick Perkins made him his bitch a lot in the Celtics series. He is a fantastic defensive player, but on offense he's not the killer weapon people make him out to be. Birdman and Nene would trash him if the Nuggets made the Finals, and Bynum + Gasol would do the same. Lakers stack up so nicely agaisnt the Magic that I really don't want to see that series. It would just be a trouncing.

Dunno if they'd trash him, but they'd give him a rough time of it, to be sure. But Bynum and Gasol shutting Dwight down? That would be a big surprise to me. Gasol's not known for his rugged interior defense, and Bynum still doesn't look like his head and heart are consistently back in the game yet.

[DMN in the House]

The problem would be that the Lakers CAN guard the Magic's tall three shooters, Lewis and Hedo, with Ariza and Odom. Howard is a beast, but he wouldn't shut down Gasol, at best, he'd be able to equalize the offensive production, because Dwight isn't an amazing inside scorer. So it comes down to Kobe... and... yeah... Magic lose. At least Cleveland would have 'The King', but... even then.

Denver or LA will be your champion.

[Blaze09]

Everyone in Cleveland just took a sigh of relief

Now I expect to see Dwight vs SA all over again

I think it might be time to change my name, but gotta fight it out to the end

Edited May 27, 2009 by LeBlaze James

[naiwf]

Let's go Magic. *clap clap clap clap clap clap*

[KeepinThatFunkAliveV4]

Nobody would "trash" Dwight Howard.

And can LeBron get a legit post player to complement him? All year people talked about how the supporting cast was soo much better this season for him. Mo Williams is your #2 option and you're supposed to win an NBA title? Give me a break.

Give LeBron Kobe's team and he would have a ring, guaranteed.

[livid]

Yeah that same supporting cast that continues to under perform? It's not Kobe's fault that they've lost, the other players need to hit some shots.

And please, take off your LeBron-colored glasses, he played awful down the stretch last night and he's the reason they lost it in overtime because he turned the ball over way too much.

[kingtut307]

Strange that a DEN-ORL final is a distinct possibility consider how everyone (including the league) seemed to want it. I love LeBron, but he looked bad down the stretch last night. He had no help, either.

I would love for Denver just to take it all so Billups could throw a figurative middle finger at the Pistons.

[DMN in the House]

Denver is DONE. They needed a win tonight, because they won't win a game 7 in Staples. Not gonna happen.

LA/Orlando... the 'Hey, lets ask Shaq what he thinks' series!

[KeepinThatFunkAliveV4]

LOL, how can you possibly blame LeBron for any of these Cavs losses? He's been unstoppable and was the reason they went to overtime in the first place. He would probably have less turnovers if his teammates were able to give him some extra confidence by being a bit more reliable.

and you blame Lebron for a loss, and yet KOBE's teammates need to hit some shots? Give me a break...If you gave LeBron James a post player the caliber of Pau Gasol, nobody would touch Cleveland.

[livid]

He lost Game 4 for them because of his turnovers. If you think anything different, you're clearly nothing more than a LeBron fanboy. The guy turned the ball over 7 times in the 4th quarter and overtime and don't even say that it's his teammates' fault that HE turned the ball over those times because they were just bad plays. I don't blame him for all of the losses, but if he didn't turn turn the ball over like that at the end Game 4, they might not have lost the game. And I'd hardly call Game 3 in which he went 11-28 "unstoppable".

And that doesn't change the fact that Lamar Odom was basically MIA until last night, Ariza was hit and miss, and Bynum and Fisher weren't playing well either. Gasol was good, but nobody else was. You need at least 3 consistently good players on a team to win in the NBA and nobody else outside of Kobe and Gasol were playing well at all, so yes, the other players needed to hit shots. I don't understand how somebody can't see that.

[KeepinThatFunkAliveV4]

I'm not a LeBron fanboy, I'm simply a LeBron fan who knows that he is the best player in the world right now.

Of course they need to hit shots. But the same has to be said for LeBron's team. And yes, he was unstoppable in game 3, despite 11/28 shooting he also went 18-24 from the free thow line - getting to the free throw line is part of the game and considering how much work LeBron had to do, 75% on 24 shots from the charity stripe is pretty damn good. You can't throw out 11/28 FGs and say because of that stat he was unstoppable - because he was. 41 points, 7 rebounds, 9 assists and just two turnovers speaks for itself. And I will admit he was the key reason for Cleveland's game four loss. But it's hard to blame LeBron when he has been only the reason you're in the series. Game one he had 49 on 20-30 shooting which is absolutely ridiculous, and game two do I really need to say anything?

That being said I think the 'Cavs will win tonight before falling at Orlando in game six.

I don't know if I see LA being able to close out the Nuggets in Denver, I think that series go the distance but ultimately the Lakers will get it done at home in game seven. If we do get an Orlando/LA matchup, I think it's an intriguing one that would offer us a long, competitive series.

Edited May 28, 2009 by KeepinThatFunkAliveV4

[naiwf]

I'm not a LeBron fanboy, I'm simply a LeBron fan who knows that he is the best player in the world right now.

Of course they need to hit shots. But the same has to be said for LeBron's team. And yes, he was unstoppable in game 3, despite 11/28 shooting he also went 18-24 from the free thow line - getting to the free throw line is part of the game and considering how much work LeBron had to do, 75% on 24 shots from the charity stripe is pretty damn good. You can't throw out 11/28 FGs and say because of that stat he was unstoppable - because he was. 41 points, 7 rebounds, 9 assists and just two turnovers speaks for itself. And I will admit he was the key reason for Cleveland's game four loss. But it's hard to blame LeBron when he has been only the reason you're in the series. Game one he had 49 on 20-30 shooting which is absolutely ridiculous, and game two do I really need to say anything?

That being said I think the 'Cavs will win tonight before falling at Orlando in game six.

I don't know if I see LA being able to close out the Nuggets in Denver, I think that series go the distance but ultimately the Lakers will get it done at home in game seven. If we do get an Orlando/LA matchup, I think it's an intriguing one that would offer us a long, competitive series.

If he was the best player in the world right now his team wouldn't be down 3-1 to Orlando and a miracle shot away from being swept.

[KeepinThatFunkAliveV4]

Lol, what's your logic, especially considering that miracle shot was made by him?

You have to lead your team all the way without problems to be the best player in the world? If your argument is going to be about Kobe, he hasn't won a title since the departure of Shaq. And to goto a different sport, like the NHL, it's pretty clear that Alex Ovechkin is the best player in the world, yet his team didn't even make it out of the second round.

[naiwf]

Lol, what's your logic, especially considering that miracle shot was made by him?

You have to lead your team all the way without problems to be the best player in the world? If your argument is going to be about Kobe, he hasn't won a title since the departure of Shaq. And to goto a different sport, like the NHL, it's pretty clear that Alex Ovechkin is the best player in the world, yet his team didn't even make it out of the second round.

The Magic are an inferior team. The Cavs shouldn't have been on the verge of being swept by a weaker team with a bad coach. If LeBron is going to get the neverending blowjob that compares him favorably to Jordan he can't lose this series to the Magic after his team won 66 games in the regular season. Let's not forget that they got swept by the Spurs as well. Hockey teams need 3 lines and a goalie to get the job done, but in basketball a single player can win a series, or in Dwyane Wade's case a championship pretty much on their own.

[KeepinThatFunkAliveV4]

The regular season is a different story from the playoffs man. How can you simply say Orlando is an inferior team because they had an inferior regular season record? How many times in sports do you see the team with the best record in the regular season failing to capture the championsihp? It happens all the time.

The bottom line is Orlando is a terrible matchup for Cleveland in the confines of a 7 game series. Although Dwight Howard is a mismatch for virtually any team, he has exposed the lack of athleticism in the Cleveland front line. Then there's Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis, both 6-10, and the only guy capable of guarding either is LeBron himself, and he can't guard them both. With Cleveland's weak front line the Cavs have to sag off of those two guys on the outside to try to contain Howard, and when Turkoglu and Lewis (especially Lewis) have been hitting enough shots like they have in the series, it stings pretty bad.

In hockey a single player can win a cup, or at least come damn near close. See Giguere in '03, who was one game short of putting the entire Ducks team on his back and winning the Stanley cup.

So who are you touting as the best player in the world right now since LeBron can only score 49 points and come a couple rebounds and assists shy of a triple double every game and is in danger of his team suffering defeat in the second to last round of the playoffs?