NBA Playoffs

[Mr Tree]

Well the days of Santa Barbara Bee's NBA insights are sadly long gone, but I thought there might still be some casual basketball fans around. With a couple of games of the regular season to go, it's already certain that these 16 teams will contest the NBA playoffs this year, tho there's still time for the match-ups to change a little (the below is based on current standings)

Eastern Conference

1. Detroit Pacers (50 Wins-31 Losses) vs 8. Milwaukee Bucks (41-40)

2. New Jersey Nets (49-32) vs 7. Orlando Magic (42-39)

3.Philadelphia 76ers (47-33) vs 6. Boston Celtics (43-38)

4. Indiana Pacers (46-34) vs 5. New Orleans Hornets (46-35)

Western Conference

1. San Antonio Spurs (60-21) vs 8. Phoenix Suns (44-36)

2. Sacremento Kings (58-23) vs 7. Utah Jazz (47-34)

3. Dallas Mavericks (59-22) vs 6. LA Lakers (48-32)

4. Minnesota Timberwolves (50-31) vs 5. Portland Trail Blazers (49-31)



As can be seen, the West are currently the dominant force in America. Last season's finalists, LA and New Jersey, are reasonable bets to reach them again - the Lakers started the season horrendously, with star man Shaquille O'Neal out injured, but have finished on fire and have the NBA's best one-two punch, with Shaq unstoppable and Kobe Bryant on course to win the scoring title.

My boys, Philadelphia, probably won't make it back to the finals after their run there a couple of years ago as there is no-one really backing up star-man Allen Iverson Like-wise, Orlando currently boast the man with highest scoring average, Tracy McGrady with 32ppg, but it's doubtful they'll do anything. Detroit have been the stars of the East this year with a real collective team-spirit which could serve them well, tho worryingly Milwaukee have beaten them three out of 4 times this season and finished the season strong!

in the West, the team of the season for so long were Dallas, but they have fallen away towards the end. Sacremento have been unable to overcome the Lakers for the past two seasons in the Californian rivalry, while Tim Duncan's San Antonio have finished superbly and have a good chance of stopping the Lakers from claiming an unheard-of (in recent times) 4th title in a row, and reclaiming the silverware they won back in 1999 (i think!)

i could do this for a living, no?

 

[Mr Tree]

after the first few days of the playoffs, the series stand like this: (seedings in brackets)

East
(1) Detroit Pistons 0-1 Orlando Magic (8)
(2) New Jersey Nets 1-0 Milwaukee Bucks (7)
(3) Indiana Pacers 1-1 Boston Celtics (6)
(4) Philadephia 76ers 1-0 New Orleans Hornets (5)

West
(1) San Antonio Spurs 1-1 Phoenix Suns (8)
(2) Sacremento Kings 2-0 Utah Jazz (7)
(3) Dallas Mavericks 1-0 Portland Trail Blazers (6)
(4) Minnesota Timberwolves 0-1 Los Angeles Lakers (5)

The first round series are played best-of-five

I know someone out there's gotta be interested

 

[Mr Tree]

I know someone out there's gotta be interested

Minnesota and Milwaukee leveled their respective series last night. Come on the T'Wolves, knock the Lakers out!

 

[Pinch]

Obviously, i wouldn't bet against the lakers. Howeva, i fink that dallas are looking gd, for my outsider bet (wit my m8s, no money envolved............well, a bit)

 

[Mr Tree]

dallas stuttered towards the end of the season, but yeh, in Nash Finley and Nowitski they have an impressive triple-threat....

T'wolves won last night in LA, 33pts for Garnett, come on Minny!

 

[Gaz_Thomas]

Nobody cares Dan !

 

[Westcountry Bee]

It's a shame ITV don't follow the sport anymore, I got quite into it at one point. This was of course, in the days when the Chicago Bulls rained supreme.

Used to follow the Utah Jazz, simply because it seemed they were the only team capable of beating the bulls.

I don't suppose Karl Mallone still plays does he?

 

[Santa Barbara Bee]

Actually Dan, I'm not long gone - I was refraining from rubbing in Laker dominance over the past three years!! However, that dominance is over and I don't think they will get out of the first round this year and will hardly compete next season unless they recruit some youth (acquiring Scottie Pippin and Karl Malone over the summer simply isn't going to cut it - it will age the team by 78 years!). This year's winner will come from the West and it will probably be either San Antonio or Sacramento, with my vote going to the Spurs.

 

[Mr Tree]

It's a shame ITV don't follow the sport anymore, I got quite into it at one point. This was of course, in the days when the Chicago Bulls rained supreme.

Used to follow the Utah Jazz, simply because it seemed they were the only team capable of beating the bulls.

I don't suppose Karl Mallone still plays does he?

he does actually (i think?!) I think him and Stockton are retiring in the summer tho...

agreed about the woeful tv coverage, channel 4 used to do a good job of it!

SBB, it's been AGES since i've seen you on here

 

[Mr Tree]

East
(1) Detroit Pistons 1-3 Orlando Magic (8)
(2) New Jersey Nets 2-2 Milwaukee Bucks (7)
(3) Indiana Pacers 1-3 Boston Celtics (6)
(4) Philadephia 76ers 2-1 New Orleans Hornets (5)

West
(1) San Antonio Spurs 2-2 Phoenix Suns (8)
(2) Sacremento Kings 2-1 Utah Jazz (7)
(3) Dallas Mavericks 3-1 Portland Trail Blazers (6)
(4) Minnesota Timberwolves 2-2 Los Angeles Lakers (5)

The first round series are actually best-of-seven, which they never used to be

It's rare to see the No.8 seeds doing so well

 

[Santa Barbara Bee]

Hi Dan - how's college going? I've been on the Grapevine a few times in different sections but I was on sabbatical and finishing up a book, so I had to make the best of the time (not that being on here isn't good use of time)!
RE: Karl Malone - he's NOT retiring and is apparently house-hunting in LA with a view to moving to the Lakers. He may add some shooting power to take the weight off Kobe and Shaq but I can't see him playing more than 2 seasons at the most. What the Lakers need is youth, not aging legs. When you think back to the glory days under Magic and Kareem, they had James Worthy (just elected to the Hall of Fame) in his prime. There's no one comparable among the back-up players today.

 

[Mr Tree]

crikey, he's just trying to get higher up the all-time scorers list isn't he

"college" (or "university" as we call it here ) is good, currently on a year abroad in germany, my ankles are shot to sh*t so i play basketball very irregularly these days (plus now i have no time, very busy!)

am i right in saying that only one No.8 has ever beaten a No.1?? Denver a few years back, vs Seattle??? Or has it become more common recently??

 

[Mr Tree]

Philadelphia and Sacremento won last night, both one win from the second round

it's philly's year

 

[Jay Bee]

I know someone out there's gotta be interested

I might be interested if I had a clue what all those numbers meant. Do the Eastern and Western champions play in a final at the end?

 

[Mr Tree]

yes indeed they do Jay Bee

which numbers do u want explaining

in both conferences, the 8 teams with the best regular-season win-loss record qualify for the playoffs.

the seedings are decided in order of how many wins the teams got from their 82 games (altho this is slightly confused by the fact that there are two divisions in each conferences, and the divisional winners automatically get seeds 1 and 2 - see above, in the West: San Antonio had 60 wins so got No.1, Dallas finished second in the Midwest Division behind them and had more wins than Sacremento, but Sacremento won the Pacific Division so get the No.2 seed)

then each round of the playoffs is played as best-of-seven, with the higher seed getting "homecourt advantage" - i.e they play 4 home games and the opponent only gets 3.

the idea, of course, is that is should go:

1 vs 8
2 vs 7
3 vs 6
4 vs 5

then

1 vs 4
2 vs 3

and end up with the two divisional winners in each conference playing each other for the conference championship, with the winners of the two conferences playing each other

 

[Mr Tree]

Wins last night for New Jersey, San Antonio and LA :mad2: have put them all one game away from the conference semis, while Indiana scraped an overtime win against Boston to stay alive...

East
(1) Detroit Pistons 1-3 Orlando Magic (8)
(2) New Jersey Nets 3-2 Milwaukee Bucks (7)
(3) Indiana Pacers 2-3 Boston Celtics (6)
(4) Philadephia 76ers 3-1 New Orleans Hornets (5)

West
(1) San Antonio Spurs 3-2 Phoenix Suns (8)
(2) Sacremento Kings 3-1 Utah Jazz (7)
(3) Dallas Mavericks 3-1 Portland Trail Blazers (6)
(4) Minnesota Timberwolves 2-3 Los Angeles Lakers (5)

 

[Santa Barbara Bee]

Thanks for the update, Dan. Last night's Laker victory wasn't just a win, it was a massacre. But expect game 6 to be very close. I'm surprised by how much trouble the Spurs are having with Phoenix: at this stage of the season it's down to specific individual matchups and coaching adjustments. That's why you're seeing teams rebounding from huge losses to win the next game.

 

[Mr Tree]

further to what i said above somewhere, only two No.1 seeds have EVER lost in the first round to a number 8 - the 1995 Seattle SuperSonics (to Denver Nuggets), and the 1999 Miami Heat (to the Knicks, if i remember right....). Detroit trounced the Magic last night, but still need to win the next two games to avoid embarassment....

them darn blasted Lakers have made it thru, on the back of Mr. Overrated (Kobe Bryant) coming up big in the 4th quarter

East
(1) Detroit Pistons 2-3 Orlando Magic (8)
(2) New Jersey Nets 4-2 Milwaukee Bucks (7)
(3) Indiana Pacers 2-4 Boston Celtics (6)
(4) Philadephia 76ers 3-2 New Orleans Hornets (5)

West
(1) San Antonio Spurs 4-2 Phoenix Suns (8)
(2) Sacremento Kings 4-1 Utah Jazz (7)
(3) Dallas Mavericks 3-2 Portland Trail Blazers (6)
(4) Minnesota Timberwolves 2-4 Los Angeles Lakers (5)

SBB, have the MVP and other awards been announced yet? The nba.com website's such an arse to try and find info on

 

[Santa Barbara Bee]

Hi Dan: The MVP awards are always announced during the Conference Finals, so it should be in a couple of weeks.

 

[Santa Barbara Bee]

Tim Duncan was voted the league's MVP today for the second year running.

 

[Mr Tree]

A great comeback by the Pistons was completed last night, so the first round ended like this:

East
(1) Detroit Pistons 4-3 Orlando Magic (8)
(2) New Jersey Nets 4-2 Milwaukee Bucks (7)
(3) Indiana Pacers 2-4 Boston Celtics (6)
(4) Philadephia 76ers 4-2 New Orleans Hornets (5)

West
(1) San Antonio Spurs 4-2 Phoenix Suns (8)
(2) Sacremento Kings 4-1 Utah Jazz (7)
(3) Dallas Mavericks 4-3 Portland Trail Blazers (6)
(4) Minnesota Timberwolves 2-4 Los Angeles Lakers (5)

Conference Semis
East
(1) Detroit Pistons vs Philadelphia 76ers (4)
(2) New Jersey Nets vs Boston Celtics (6)

West
(1) San Antonio Spurs vs Los Angeles Lakers (5)
(2) Sacramento Kings vs Dallas Mavericks (3)

Those two series in the West should be amazing

 

[Mr Tree]

On the first night of the second round, New Jersey survive an inspired 34-point, 8-assist effort from Boston's Paul Pierce and San Antonio suvive Kobe Bryant's 37-point effort to both go 1-0 up. Come on San An, PLEASE!!!

East
(1) Detroit Pistons vs Philadelphia 76ers (4)
(2) New Jersey Nets 1-0 Boston Celtics (6)

West
(1) San Antonio Spurs 1-0 Los Angeles Lakers (5)
(2) Sacramento Kings vs Dallas Mavericks (3)

Oh, and go 6ers tonight

 

[Mr Tree]

East
(1) Detroit Pistons 1-0 Philadelphia 76ers (4)
(2) New Jersey Nets 1-0 Boston Celtics (6)

West
(1) San Antonio Spurs 1-0 Los Angeles Lakers (5)
(2) Sacramento Kings 1-0 Dallas Mavericks (3)

Iverson's 27pt, 8 assist effort couldn't stop the pistons. Think the sixers are doomed, unfortunately

SBB, i'm a bit confused - do the mavs have homecourt advantage or the kings i only briefly read it today, but i thought it said the kings had won in dallas (whereas i was expecting sacramento to be at home...)

 

[Santa Barbara Bee]

Hi Dan. It IS confusing but there's a difference between the seedings (based on winning your division) and home court advantage (based on overall records during the season). The Spurs and Kings are seeded 1 & 2 because they won their respective divisions. Dallas came in second to the Spurs but because they had a better overall record than the Kings they get home court advantage (not that it will do them any good). Does that make sense?

 

[Banana]

The Spurs and Kings are seeded 1 & 2 because they won their respective divisions. Dallas came in second to the Spurs but because they had a better overall record than the Kings they get home court advantage (not that it will do them any good). Does that make sense?

What the point of seeding if you don't get home court advantage over lower seeds?

 

[Santa Barbara Bee]

Exactly - it's really stupid. The only advantage is that you get drawn against a lower team in the bracket in the first round. However, if you go through, you still have to face a quality team in the second round and with no home advantage.

 

[Mr Tree]

Hi Dan. It IS confusing but there's a difference between the seedings (based on winning your division) and home court advantage (based on overall records during the season). The Spurs and Kings are seeded 1 & 2 because they won their respective divisions. Dallas came in second to the Spurs but because they had a better overall record than the Kings they get home court advantage (not that it will do them any good). Does that make sense?

i thought that's what it must have been, but i was expecting Sacramento at home. Pissed that I can't get to see any of this, imagine the two series in the West are great. And what the hell is Paul Pierce up to?! He's playing amazing (not that Boston are ), a triple-double last night, 32pts, 10 rebounds and 11 assists not looking good for the Lakers, who'd have thought they'd miss Rick Fox THAT much lol

EAST
(1) Detroit Pistons 1-0 Philadelphia 76ers (4)
(2) New Jersey Nets 2-0 Boston Celtics (6)

WEST
(1) San Antonio Spurs 2-0 LA Lakers (5)
(2) Sacramento Kings 1-0 Dallas Mavericks (3)

Let's hope it's to the Lakers soon....

The limited TV coverage i have managed to get here, by the way, focuses on Dallas a lot, for the obvious reason of the German hero, Dirk Nowitski. Had a great game in Game 7 vs Portland

When did they introduce the 7-game first round series then, SBB, and why?

 

[Santa Barbara Bee]

Yep, the Lakers are cooked - no bench, no forwards, apparently no defence. Still, we had a good run - it's hard to repeat championships these days, let alone three in a row.
The 7 game first round series was introduced this season - presumably because too many lower seeded teams were eking out wins from a best of five - after all, you only need to split the first two on the road and then win out at home and the other team doesn't get to return to home court. The other reason is, of course, $$$$$$ - more games, more moolah.

 

[GABS]

You score, we score, you score, we score, you score, we score, you score, we score... zzzzzzzzzzzz :zzzzz:

 

[Santa Barbara Bee]

Or in the case of the Lakers, you score, we miss, you score, we miss...

 

[Mr Tree]

Or in the case of the Lakers, you score, we miss, you score, we miss...

rofl rofl rofl

keeping my fingers crossed that that is the case

GABS, it's SO infuriating when people say that :mad2: have u ever played the game? have u ever watched more than 5 minutes of one? i could watch basketball all day long, tho i believe my uni would be a tad annoyed if i did.......

6ers are looking screwed, lost in overtime last night, and Detroit are the better team. Come on Philly!! In the other game, Dallas set an NBA playoff first-half record of 83 points on their way to tying the series....

 

[Mr Tree]

Those darn pesky lakers are back in it after back-to-back wins in Los Angeles

But the good news is Philly are making a fight for it, Iverson's 36-pt, 11 assist effort inspiring them last night - come on Philly

EAST
(1) Detroit Pistons 2-2 Philadelphia 76ers (4)
(2) New Jersey Nets 3-0 Boston Celtics (6)

WEST
(1) San Antonio Spurs 2-2 LA Lakers (5)
(2) Sacramento Kings 2-2 Dallas Mavericks (3)

 

[Mr Tree]

EAST
(1) Detroit Pistons 2-2 Philadelphia 76ers (4)
(2) New Jersey Nets 4-0 Boston Celtics (6)

WEST
(1) San Antonio Spurs 3-2 LA Lakers (5)
(2) Sacramento Kings 2-3 Dallas Mavericks (3)

The Nets completed the first sweep of the playoffs on Monday, and will now get plenty of rest before Philly annihilate them (probably)

The Spurs held on last night and are one game away from putting the bastards out. Hopefully that'll shut up all the people who say Kobe's the best. Be good to see "The Admiral" David Robinson finish his career with a title.....

The Kings-Mavs series has been superb, tho Sacramento lost their star player Chris Webber to a knee injury in Game 2 and will struggle to win the series now. Harsh, cos this could have been their year. Game 3 was a double-overtime 141-137 win for Dallas

 

[Santa Barbara Bee]

Come on you bastards!!!!

 

[Mr Tree]

Chucky Atkins broke Sixers' hearts last night with a finger roll with less than a second to go, to win the game 78-77. Sixers facing elimination now

EAST
(1) Detroit Pistons 3-2 Philadelphia 76ers (4)
(2) New Jersey Nets 4-0 Boston Celtics (6)

WEST
(1) San Antonio Spurs 3-2 LA Lakers (5)
(2) Sacramento Kings 2-3 Dallas Mavericks (3)

What do you think of Kobe, SBB? I buy SLAM a lot, and the letters page is basically always full of people arguing over him. Some say he's the best in the league, some say he's nothing without Shaq. I definitely fall in the latter camp - if he had no help, i doubt he would be able to lift a team into the playoffs in the way that, for example, Iverson can.

 

[Santa Barbara Bee]

We have pretty much the same controversy regarding Kobe over here. The LA Times letters page is full of Kobe baiting when the Lakers are struggling but (surprise, surprise) deathly silence when the Lakers are doing well. It's difficult to tell how Kobe would fit into a different team dynamic. He plays with Shaq so they're both forced to adapt to each other's games to compliment the presence of the other. Yes, Kobe would struggle without the Big Fella but the reverse has also proved to be true. If Kobe joined, say, the Sixers, he would probably alter his game to compliment Iverson but they would still be reliant on the right role players to support them. If he joined the Spurs (who have tons of depth) they would be unbeatable. Kobe tends to hog the plays (often to the team's detriment) in L.A. because there's essentially no support if Shaq is double-teamed. The 1980s Lakers had Magic, Kareem, Cooper and Worthy as bona-fide all-stars so Magic never felt he had to "take over" a game if Kareem was having an off-night. I would never rank Kobe in the same class as Worthy at this point (or Iverson for that matter), but it's a bit too early to assess his career overall as he's still young. For his age he's phenomenal but let's see how he performs when Shaq has retired and he's forced to adapt to a different team chemistry. That's the acid test for me.

 

[Mr Tree]

Tim Duncan's huge 37-pt game put paid to the champs last night, while Sacramento forced a Game 7.

EAST
(1) Detroit Pistons 3-2 Philadelphia 76ers (4)
(2) New Jersey Nets 4-0 Boston Celtics (6)

WEST
(1) San Antonio Spurs 4-2 LA Lakers (5)
(2) Sacramento Kings 3-3 Dallas Mavericks (3)

I read that Jason Kidd (New Jersey's star) is a free agent at the end of this year and San Antonio are widely rumored to be after him Kidd and Duncan - that'd be crazy and damn near unstoppable!!

 

[Santa Barbara Bee]

Despite a pathetic performance by the Lakers last night, San Antonio look to be the team to beat. I can't see either the Kings or Mavericks beating them without homecourt advantage.

 

[California Bee]

Yep

Despite a pathetic performance by the Lakers last night, San Antonio look to be the team to beat. I can't see either the Kings or Mavericks beating them without homecourt advantage.

I agree although with Chris Webber on the team the Kings would have had a better chance than most of beating the Spurs.

 

[Santa Barbara Bee]

I agree. Injuries play a key role in the playoffs - which shows how fortunate the Lakers have been over the past three years. It's finally caught up with them.

 

[California Bee]

Golden State rules, sorry, rues!

I agree. Injuries play a key role in the playoffs - which shows how fortunate the Lakers have been over the past three years. It's finally caught up with them.

Of course the best team over the past few years is the Warriors..... or rather it could have been if their best players would have stayed with them more than a year or two.

 

[California Bee]

Who?

I agree. Injuries play a key role in the playoffs - which shows how fortunate the Lakers have been over the past three years. It's finally caught up with them.

Webber, Sprewell, Hardaway, Richmond...need I go on?

 

[Mr Tree]

Re: Who?

Webber, Sprewell, Hardaway, Richmond...need I go on?

well yes, quite frankly

Detroit vs New Jersey in the East final, with New Jersey winning Game 1 last night to swipe homecourt advantage. Bastard pistons knocked Philly out

And Dallas got thru in the West, on Nowitski's 30pts and 19 rebounds. The Germans are getting quite excited about a genuine German superstar in this year's Finals, tho I'd still go for San Antonio....

 

[California Bee]

Re: Re: Who?

well yes, quite frankly

Don Nelson (coach)

 

[Mr Tree]

rofl

tis a bit like saying Brentford could be in Europe now if Gayle, Forster, Bent, Mickey Adams etc had stayed....

still, noticed that Antawn Jamison had a good year - i think he's still there, i'm a bit out of the loop to be honest, but he finished in the top 20 at least in scoring, i think....

Dallas went 1-0 up last night, swiping homecourt advantage despite Tim Duncan's 40pt, 15 rebound effort. Dallas have already had 2 7-game series tho, so tiredness could undo them....

 

[California Bee]

Not really

rofl

tis a bit like saying Brentford could be in Europe now if Gayle, Forster, Bent, Mickey Adams etc had stayed....

In a way that's true but Brentford were in a situation that they needed the money the sale would raise. The Warriors lost these guys through basic mismanagement.

 

[Mr Tree]

it's one of the things i like about the American set-up, is that bad teams can become good and good bad....

Portland have made the playoffs for about 12 years in a row, but then have never won anything....

Chicago won 6 in 8 years, and are now one of the worst in the league

New York, Miami and Chicago reguarly battled for top honours in the east 5 years back - now all of em missed the playoffs

Golden State and LA Clippers seem to be that sort of team that keep assembling potential but can never translate it into anything. It's sad....

Plus, i remember that Dallas, San Antonio, New Jersey and Detroit have all had one of the worst records in the league for a particular season within the past 7 or 8 years, and yet now one of these 4 will win the title....

Anyway, New Jersey look like they're coasting - won both games in Detroit, so if they win their next two at home then it's all over.

EAST
(1) Detroit Pistons 0-2 New Jersey Nets (2)

WEST
(1) San Antonio Spurs 0-1 Dallas Mavericks (3)

 

[California Bee]

Spure

it's one of the things i like about the American set-up, is that bad teams can become good and good bad....

Portland have made the playoffs for about 12 years in a row, but then have never won anything....

Chicago won 6 in 8 years, and are now one of the worst in the league

New York, Miami and Chicago reguarly battled for top honours in the east 5 years back - now all of em missed the playoffs

Golden State and LA Clippers seem to be that sort of team that keep assembling potential but can never translate it into anything. It's sad....

Plus, i remember that Dallas, San Antonio, New Jersey and Detroit have all had one of the worst records in the league for a particular season within the past 7 or 8 years, and yet now one of these 4 will win the title....

Anyway, New Jersey look like they're coasting - won both games in Detroit, so if they win their next two at home then it's all over.

EAST
(1) Detroit Pistons 0-2 New Jersey Nets (2)

WEST
(1) San Antonio Spurs 0-1 Dallas Mavericks (3)

It looks like San Antone to me. The West is so much stronger than the East this year and recently in general since MJ left the Bulls. Spurs because Dallas will not shoot 98% of their free throws every time.

 

[Santa Barbara Bee]

The Spurs for me too - Dallas are a streaky team and home court advantage doesn't seem to be worth much in these play-offs. The Spurs play well night in and night out and should prevail over seven games.

The American system - where there is no relegation and everyone starts afresh each year - is designed to guarantee $$$$ in the smaller markets like Sacramento and Minnesota instead of large franchises dominating every year. That means that mediocre teams can make the playoffs every year but still be lacking the vital ingredient to win the title. I don't care who wins it once the Lakers are out provided it isn't the Celtics. The whole thought of Red Auerbach sucking on that victory cigar makes me want to hurl.

 

[Pinch]

I fancy the mavericks to win now that the lakers are out.