General Chat / Official NBA Playoff Predictions/Discussion Thread

Kiss the Championship goodbye LA.

Detroit just won game 4 88-80 (and it wasn't that close) and has gone up 3-1, with Game 5 at home.

Wow! The Pistons are really impressing me. Of all the teams in the NBA an Eastern Conf. team wasn't my choice to beat LA. I have never seen Kobe look so rejected, with him pouting on the sidelines all game. I feel sorry for Karl Malone though, his career was too good to have it end without a championship. Maybe he will go one more year with another team that has a chance next year (maybe Sac?)

^ Actually, it WAS that close... closer until the middle of the fourth, when the Lakers let it slip away again.

This will either be Detroit's year (likely) or the most unbelievable movie year the Lakers have ever had (assuming they come back and make history and win the last three to win the title).

They still have a chance... it's not over till the fat lady sings, Yogi Berra once said, and I'll stick with my team till the end. If there's one thing we've seen, it's that Detroit is constant with its defense, and the Lakers have been anything but consistent this year. That's been their bane. They're going to have to stick with their game plan for ALL 48 MINUTES if they are to send this series back.

At this point, you take it one game at a time. You think winning three games in a row is hard, but you can win one, right? I mean, the Lakers aren't a horrible road team. Study some tape and see what Detroit did badly in their losses to Indiana, New Jersey, and the Bucks. See if you can use those tactics that those teams did in those games.

I'm sick of watching the Lakers get outworked and outhustled. Today was better, but when it counted, the Lakers came up dryer than a creek in Death Valley during the summer.

I said it at the beginning of the series: Lakers X-Factor is the other guy. Lakers had a monster game from Shaq, but the others didn't hit the shots when they were needed. Detroit had amazing defense on Kobe, but he couldn't get the assists when he dished it off. D-Town, meanwhile, has had Billups become the team MVP, which matches my analysis.

It's tempting to play the ref card, especially tonight, when Detroit won the game at the free throw line (after all, they were like 32% in the first half and STILL led), but frankly, that's the easy way out. Lakers still could have won despite whatever shoddy refereeing was in the game if they had hustled on EVERY posession (just like the Pistons did) and had some damn offensive support. And they MUST play 48 minutes of basketball. Not 30, not 35, not 40, not 45, not 47, but 48.

I'll always have faith until it's over. Unfortunately, I might have held the Pistons in TOO high of an esteem, because when I said they were the only Eastern team that could win the title, they decided to all but prove me correct!



Oh yeah, and anyone who says the East is good is a moron. Indiana and Detroit are the ONLY great teams over there. New Jersey is good, but that's it.

Wow! The Pistons are really impressing me.  Of all the teams in the NBA an Eastern Conf. team wasn't my choice to beat LA.  I have never seen Kobe look so rejected, with him pouting on the sidelines all game.  I feel sorry for Karl Malone though, his career was too good to have it end without a championship.  Maybe he will go one more year with another team that has a chance next year (maybe Sac?)

If he was smart he'd go to Detroit.

After all, Sacramento has that whole "blowing it when it matters" thing going on.

I agree with corky, its not over yet, the next game is huge, if LA wins i think they can take the last 2 in LA. if any team can comeback from 3-1 they can.

I agree with corky, its not over yet, the next game is huge, if LA wins i think they can take the last 2 in LA. if any team can comeback from 3-1 they can.

Winning 3 in a row would mean the Lakers have to be CONSISTENT. Which is something they haven't done all season.

It will also mean they will have to outplay the Pistons... something they've only done a grand total of 2 quarters this series.

No team in NBA history has come back after being 3-1 down.

My Pistons made me proud

And to think that if it wasn't for the buzzer shot in game 2 we would've swept...incredible.

Hello.


Detroit is a very good team, too bad the city itself is the biggest shithole on the planet.

Oh yeah...
Fuck the Lakers.


Raven-SDI
§

And to think that if it wasn't for the buzzer shot in game 2 we would've swept...incredible.

He makes a very good point. I've been saying this all season: the Lakers are not that good. It's just Kobe Bryant who carries them all the way.

He makes a very good point. I've been saying this all season: the Lakers are not that good. It's just Kobe Bryant who carries them all the way.

No, it's Shaq who carries them. When Kobe trys to do it all himself, most of the time... they lose.

And to think that if it wasn't for the buzzer shot in game 2 we would've swept...incredible.

so true

and to think after that one shot they were comparing kobe to jordan

Game set and match to the Detroit Pistons... you're new NBA champs.

Told you they would win in 5.

We just fell off the edge. I'll post my Detroit Congratulations Post in a moment.

Props to Pistons.

Defense wins championships.

There is no "I" in "team."

Slow and steady wins the race.


These three cliches can summarize the Detroit season. I honestly wasn't convinced until tonight, but the Pistons have proved that they are, without a doubt, the best team in the NBA. In a season where two of my inclinations--that Detroit was the only team in the East that could win a Title and that the Lakers might go all the way only to repeat 1989, where they were marred by injuries and were swept by Detroit--came true, as a die-hard Laker fan, I must tip my hat to the Detroit Pistons.

They played as a team, they played hard defense, they played with heart. They outhustled, outworked, outplayed the Lakers in every aspect of the game and never let them recover after game 2, and the Lakers were indeed lucky not to have been swept. This was how the Lakers were supposed to play, really, at least that was the expectation. The Lakers were supposed to have their A-game defense, force turnovers, play smooth offense through their defense, and cruise to a championship. Ultimately, someone forgot to give Detroit that memo.

This is a scary team, because they've won a championship at a young age. The same team will return next year, and down the years, we could see the same lineup grow dominant with experience. Joe Dumars might very well be the next Jerry West, picking Rasheed Wallace (the man who tipped the trophy to D-Town), drafting Prince, drafting a future potential star in Darko, acquiring Billups, Hamilton, Ben Wallace... hiring Larry Brown... he's made all the right moves. I definitely tip my hat to you.

Larry Brown is a great COACH. He is one of the best COACHes in history, and he does deserve the title. He's now won an NCAA title and a pro title, and he's consistent through the end. Even as the game was winding down, he was still COACHing. That's love for the game.

Detroit, congratulations. You do deserve this title. And Mr. Detroit X-Factor, congrats on the MVP. It should have gone to the team, but Billups is a great representative in my book.



Looking forward, the summer will be quite interesting. I'm about 99% sure that either Kobe or Shaq will be gone this summer, as will Malone and Payton. Without some drastic moves, the Lakers may not even make the playoffs next year. Karl may be going out injured. Phil may be going out having lost his only Finals ever.

But one thing's for sure, Red Auerbach's having a hell of a time right now.

So once again, congratulations to the Pistons. There's no shame in losing to the best.

I love my Pistons.

And just because hearing a crowd that big all yell this at once is SOO freakin cool...

Deeeeeeeeetroit Basketball

[QUOTE]There's no shame in losing to the best.[\QUOTE]

To bad the Lakers weren't the best team from the west. They may have won the confrence championship, but we all know they were not the best team from the west to advance. The thing that really pissed me off tonight was the absolute travisty of David Stren's trophy presentation. The first words out of his mouth were about the "fabulous" Lakers and how Detriot wasn't even supposed to be on the podium, but at the end thanked Detroit for being around. GOD I HATE THE LAKERS! shows you that "buying" a championship dosen't always work. So, see ya later Lakers, have fun with the Draft Lottery from now on. Kobe will be gone if Shaq isn't traded (which I don't think will happen) and the list of non-returners is huge; Malone, Payton, Fox, Medvedenko, and Fisher will all be on other teams or retired next year. Oh and good old Phil will be gone as well (but, what full stacked team on the brink of a championship could he go too? )


Congrats PISTONS and thier fans, well earned!

So who was the best team in the West, then, hm? Your Kings who were beaten by the Wolves? IMO, the best Western team going into the Playoffs was the Spurs. We beat the Spurs. We beat the Wolves despite not playing our best ball during half of the series. Ergo, we were the best in the West.

But I imagine a Laker hater like you is revelling in Detroit's win. I suppose you have to live vicariously when you're a NorCal sports fan, where blowing it late in the season is the norm as opposed to a fluke.

It's clear to everyone outside of LA that the Lakers were not the best team in the west this year. Don't you remember how they nearly lost to Houston in the first round? Don't you remember how the Kings destroyed them while playing without Brad Miller and Chris Webber? How about how they crushed them again by double teaming Kobe everytime he touched the ball? And I laugh at all that talk of a fearless foursome. Gary Payton's stock went way down this season. He may just stay when he finds out nobody is willing to pay him what he thinks he deserves. Karl Malone had some good games but the overwhelming majority of his games suggest retirement should be his priority. Shaq can't push people around like he used to. He's always going to get his points, but he's never going to be a leader and it's been shown time and time again that the Lakers don't win he's not paired with Kobe. So those are your Lakers. Kobe Bryant, an increasingly less dominant Shaq, and a team of role players and aging superstars. It's amazing they made it to the finals. That they lost is not unexpected, it's a rare bout of normalcy.

Who's better than the Lakers? The Timberwolves are when their whole team is healthy. The Spurs? Yes the Lakers were better than them, but only because they don't have a strong three-point threat to spread the floor. If they pick up one of those, than Duncan, Ginobli, and Parker will go to town on LA and everyone else. The Kings? It's hard for me to talk about the Kings after they keep shooting themselves in the foot. They've proven that they can beat anybody when they play a good game. They've also proven that they're more than capable of losing to everyone as well.

I love that Detroit won because they're a great team. Everyone knew about the defense, but guys like Chauncey Billups and Rip Hamilton turned out to be reliable scorers as well.

As for NorCal sports, I still remember the last Oakland World Series victory and the last San Francisco superbowl because they weren't that long ago. And furthermore, you can keep your fancy tropheys because we have teams that are fun to watch the whole season and that means a lot more to me than a half dozen buzzerbeaters in the playoffs.

But I imagine a Laker hater like you is revelling in Detroit's win. I suppose you have to live vicariously when you're a NorCal sports fan, where blowing it late in the season is the norm as opposed to a fluke.

I have stated in the past and will continue to say, The one thing I enjoy more than a Kings win is a Lakers Loss. I sickening to watch all these cocky Lakers fans strut around like they own the NBA. I mean even the broadcasters were obviously rooting for LA, that Steven A Smith guy on ESPN is a total loser. Even the headlines today read, "LA shocked by Detroit!" did they even watch the series? It was a total domination of the "Media proclaimed" best team in basketball. I just hope Laker fans enjoy falling into mediocrity again like they did after Magic left, because it seems that is going to happen again.

Oh, and Nor Cal sports is just fine because we seem to be able to get behind one team and stay that way. If we had multiple teams to be fans of then we wouldn't be as passionate as we are. I just wonder where all the LA bandwagoners will head next?