Feel free to add to the discussion at any time. (though I suspect you just said this because you think you're funny)

I was talking about Pierce's freethrow where it almost missed but bounced in.

If I talked about the playoffs, I'd be discussing it with myself. Must've missed the thread title of "Who has the biggest whiny bandwagon fanbase?"

Fair enough and agreed Ronnie.

Boston fans are really uptight. Thankfully their time has come to pay the Billups.

It has nothing to do with my fanbase, it's just that my #1 message board pet peeve is people who drop into a thread just to say that the whole conversation sucks. That's what I was responding to.

I like this.

My #1 message board pet peeve is when people take a thread off topic with a pissing match. That's what I was responding to.

And just for the record, just because someone doesn't have 100 posts in a thread, it doesn't mean he or she "just dropped in."

I don't really follow the NBA all that closely. I keep tabs on how the Pistons are doing, but have probably watched a grand total of 15 minutes of NBA basketball this year (all playoffs).

That said, what accounts for such a ridiculous home court advantage? Does the home team get that many more free throw opportunities?

My apologies for interrupting this fascinating debate with something vaguely on-topic. I beg the board's forgiveness for this faux pax.


Every time I turned on the TV the last couple weeks and Cavs-Celtics was being discussed, it was A) Why can't Boston win on the road, and B) What the heck is wrong with LeBron James. So I think it isn't accurate that he'll take zero heat for it inasmuch as he was already taking a fair amount earlier in the series when he deserved it(the last three or four games he shot a much better rate than the first half of the series). I do give him some blame, but I don't think it's accurate to say that he's underacheived compared to previously with the same cast, since the cast isn't the same(two starters are now playing for the Bulls) and Boston is a better defensive team than he's faced with the possible exception of SA last year and that didn't turn out so well for him.

Might Cleveland have won if he'd played better? Sure. I also think they'd have been more likely to win before the trade of Hughes and Gooden, or if Sczerbiak had provided the shooting he was brought in to provide, or if Gibson had played the way he did against Detroit last year, etc. There's plenty of blame to go around and I wouldn't land a particularly large amount of it at LeBron's feet, particularly since they nearly beat a clearly superior team.

Oh, and I say the winner of tonight's Hornets-Spurs game will be the champ this year.

lol nice foul by Ginobili there.

It's an anomaly this year. Same round last year was 13-10 for the home team, 13-8 the year before.

Ughhh. I despise the Spurs.

Ah well, Spurs-Pistons, here we come...

Still, Hornets are some bench depth and a SG away from being a very, very good team.

Lakers in 6

I have Pistons and Spurs each winning in six. The Lakers are certainly capable of beating SA, but their lack of a bench is a big issue and they don't have anyone who can handle Duncan in the post.

BTW Tyson Chandler was most impressive tonight. Duncan couldn't do a thing against him late.

The better question is who is Duncan going to guard?

Duncan will almost certainly guard Gasol, it's the only matchup that makes sense.

With Duncan on Gasol and Bowen on Kobe, Lakers should be looking to get the ball to Odom in the post.

I'd argue that the Hornets are a very, very good team as-is. They're some bench depth and a SG away from being flat-out amazing.

Agreed, Hornets are pretty darn good and other than LA and Portland I can't think of a team in the West with a brighter future.

As far as posting up Odom -- that may work some but it's not really his strength and I don't see him doing much in there against Thomas, though he could certainly have success against Oberto with a big edge in athleticism much as West had in the last series.

He's not a "back the guy down" kind of player, but his athleticism works well enough for him when he turns his back to the basket. He has some nice explosive spins out of the post and finishes well in traffic.

Lakers do have a size advantage. I would imagine Lakers can hid Walton and Rad Mon on Bowen. He did torch the Lakers for quite a few 3's earlier in the year however.

Odom will be the key player

Actually, Odom might be the best player on the team with his back to the basket, and has been for some time. The problem has been getting him to go to the block and to stay there long enough to receive a pass. He isn't all that wild about playing from the block.

David Stern and all the ABC Executives are on the verge of a heart attack.

They are facing the dream Lakers vs. Celtics match-up... or....

the dreaded Spurs vs. Pistons ratings killer!

:D

I really do think the Lakers will take the Spurs next round. My impression of SA is that they needed absolutely every ounce of guile and grizzled veteran experience to eke this one out over a playoff novice that really looked like a playoff novice in its first game 7. I don't think that they will have the same advantage over the Lakers. I just feel like their window is almost closed.

The Hornets' window is just starting to open. More so than in any other sport, in the NBA it's basically impossible for a young fresh team to maneuver all the way to a championship in its first playoff try. They are going to be around a long time and I can't wait. I feel like New Orleans is finally going to get a damn pro sports championship from this team within the next few years. Barring devastating injuries, Chris Paul is going to win at least one ring in his career.

I think the NBA will get its wish for the Lakers in the finals, but I don't know how they're going to be able to get the Celtics there without their interference being incredibly blatant. I'm thinking Lakers-Pistons. Hey, it's still a classic 80s rematch.

That or taking the initiative to actually shoot more. Some of his 4-6 games are frustrating. No matter what you think of Kobe, Odom does see the ball more then just 6 times a game

The negativity on this board sucks! j/k

But seriously, saying the Celtics won't make it there without blatant interference? No, they don't look like they are going steamroll the Pistons, but they do still have home-court and are still a very good team.

We'll see what happens tonight, but I still (blatant homerism) see C's in 6.

All 8:30 starts for detoilet/c's. That's goddamn fucking ridiculous.

They don't look like they could steamroll the Grizzlies right now.

I dunno, I know there's more to this team than what I've seen thus far in the playoffs, but I have yet to be impressed. We'll see. Maybe they've just been saving up the good basketball for the conference finals.

What's wrong with 8:30 starts? That's prime time, baby.

What start times would have made you happy?

earlier obviously

what a joke for kids especially

don't even get me started on the 9pm finals games

6 weeks from now, when the finals start, kids will all be home from school for the summer.

so. doesn't mean they can all stay up all night to watch these things.

8:30 isn't too late. It'll be 5:30 on the West Coast. That seems pretty reasonable.

The kids should be able to stay up to catch most of the game. It will build character.

Detroit fans routinely have to suffer through 10:00 pm starts for hockey playoff games.

An 8:30 start is nothing.

The Spurs have had some bad losses, but (a) the Hornets are much tougher competition than the Hawks and Cavs, and (b) the Spurs won a game 7 on the road in a very tough environment, one of the harder things to do in sports. That said, I don't see them getting past LA either.

Again, I'm sure Boston didn't win 66 games and have a lights-out record against the West by accident, but it's just really hard to see how they managed to do that based on their playoff performance.

Just a heads-up that the draft lottery airs from 8-8:30 (probably more like 8:22-8:30) on ESPN tonight.

The only time that makes people on the East Coast happy is a time when people on the West Coast are still at work. 8:30 is a fair compromise, and I imagine there's been a little research into this to maximize viewership.

bulls jump into the top 3 picks

Wow...Bulls get the top pick.

Minnesota #3
Miami #2
Chicago #1

Derrick Rose back to his hometown?

Well I just shit my pants.

Boy, Mike must be kicking himself for passing up Chicago for NY.

lol seriously

Tough to pick who goes #1 now. If I'm Chicago I probably go with Beasley, which would probably please the Heat as well.

Knicks can kiss goodbye their hopes of getting a quality bigman or PG.

Boy I hope Chicago takes Beasley.

Just got tickets for Game 3 of the ECF. I'm pumped.

That Allen 3 was a chance to make a HUGE statement, his confidence has to be completely shot.

poor Ray-Ray :(