NBA finals

What do you think?

 

It was much more entertaining when it was played with severed heads

 

We also don't know who will be in the Finals yet.

 

A lot will depend on the final two teams standing. That said . . .

Celtics-Magic: The Celtics have played tough, even though the upstart Bulls who barely squeaked into the playoffs, took them to 7 games. Nevertheless, the geriatric Celtics, thanks in large part to the emergence of Rajon Rondo and the ascendance of Kendrick Perkins, have taken the younger, more physical Magic to a game 7 -- at HOME in Boston. I believe the Celtics will carry game 7.

Lakers-Rockets - The Lakers were annointed months ago as the team to beat in the West. Apparently no one told the Rockets, who have played a very physical series and have a very good chance of taking down the seemingly fragile Lakers in LA. I am calling for the upset on this one -- Rockets in 7.

Cleveland - (Celtics/Magic) - With KG, a Celtics-Cleveland series would be interesting. Absent KG and Powe, Cleveland should not have any difficulty getting to the Finals. They are rested and the Celtics will have played 14 games to Cleveland's 8 in the playoffs. I give this one to Cleveland in 5.

If Orlando beats Boston, however, things will get interesting for Cleveland. Orlando won the season series against the Cavaliers and LeBron & Co. may be a bit rusty having watched two weeks of basketball in the past 3 while the Magic played. If Orlando plays Cleveland, I am calling Orlando in 6.

Nuggets-(Lakers/Houston) - This one is more difficult for me to call. Denver has very quietly put together an outstanding season. I think that Denver will beat LA in 6 if LA does advance, but Houston would out-match them and take the Conference Finals in 6.

 

I think that whichever team from the East makes it to the Finals will win it. I am not sold on Houston being an amazing team, or the Nuggets being able to pull of what would be considered a huge upset by reaching the Finals.

Orlando is a young team, but Dwight Howard is a monster in the paint and I don't think anyone in the league can play up to him. 22 Rebounds last night went a long way to his team winning the game as half of them were Offensive Rebounds. I still think the Magic should attack Celtics big-men early to get them in foul trouble, but look out for Ray Allen and Pierce lighting on fire in Game 7. Game 7 is going to be huge, and I really can't say who I think will come out on top.

 

Also, Ray Allen is due for a monster game, after his anemic shooting during the previous 6 games. The Celtics need to get the ball to Pierce and Allen and take control early.

 

Go Celtics!

Ugh... If only Garnett wasnt injured!!!

 

Garnett........Hell Larry Byrd!!!

 

Well, the Olando team has surprised me so far. Mayhaps the layoff time for Labron and company was a bad thing. Got a bit "out of sync" ? I was also rather amazed at how well Denver played in L.A., I wonder if we might not see a total surprise in the Championship game?

Orlando v. Denver? Doesn't sound that implausible right now!

 

The NBA Commissioner would love Lakers/Cavaliers Final.
It could well be Nuggets/Magic.

 

Denver looks great!

 

The Cavaliers almost lost this second home game too! That would have been devastating to go to Orlando down two games! Last second three pointer by James, or it would have been two-zip. And they came from a monster defecit which seem almost insurrmountable a couple of times.

 

Since my Suns are out of it, I'm just going against the Lakers.

I think the East will come away with it, whichever team it is.

LeBron vs. Kobe. I will give Kobe the edge in skills, but LeBron is overall a better player. Not to mention much bigger, and therefore way outmatches whatever LA could play in SF position. My guess is they would bring in the smaller Kobe to watch over King James.

Magic: No one on the Lakers can even touch Dwight Howard. The Lakers will be going into the finals with a defensive quagmire, no matter what team they play, especially without Andrew Bynum.

I don't give Denver much of a chance. If they do, it would be because Chauncey steps up. I think Carmelo has already maxed his usefulness to the Nuggets. Close game tonight, though. Sloppy play at the end by Denver.

 

Denver has surprised me this season... especially entering the playoffs. Birdman, Smith, Melo, and Martin all gaming it up in the Western Conference Finals. They have shown to be an impressive team with regard to Billups' leadership. Despite their loss last night at the Pepsi Center... I believe they will give LA a run for their money. No doubt about it, mucho proud of the Nuggs and look forward to Mon night's game 4. Go Denver!

special

 

Orlando is looking like the favorite in the East right now after beating the Cavs by ~10 last night. They should really be up 3 - 0 if not for that remarkable shot by King James. I see them going up 3 - 1 on Tuesday, losing at Cleveland, then winning it back in Orlando to advance 4 - 2 to the Finals.

Haven't watched the other games, but I think LA will pull out the win in 7 games.

 

Looks like you are going to get your wish, and in fact as well as they played in Cleveland the first round, I wouldn't be surprised if they won there. I know the Orlando fans would like to see the series end on their home floor, but James seems to be all alone. His team-mates aren't stepping up to the challenge, and just standing around to see what James will do.

The LA v Denver games have been more entertaining than I figured as well, the Nuggets just cannot seem to pull the trigger in the fourth sometimes. They shoulda-coulda won the first one in LA but for bad ball management on that in-bounds pass, and that loss in Denver was just sad. Did they think since it was a home they could "phone it in"? Been a great play-off series since the second round, enjoyed most games completely. Even the run-aways were entertaining.

 

Gotta love the playoffs!

 

Hey now, no need to try and hijack this thread! Its NBA FINALS, not NHL FINALS! Go create your own thread (though its popularity will be reflected by the popularity of the NHL....aka Zero to Nil).

 

Now the table is set, Orlando (surprise, surprise) and LA. I wonder how much the long road both teams had to take to get to this point will have on them? If the Cavs had been able to be more than "King James" spectators, and they had moved on, they might have been fresher than LA.

Now, with the long battles both have had I think the "exhaustion" factor is almost a push. Now it seems to come down to talent, coaching, and team-work. Should be a great series actually, just not whom I expected.