The 2013 NBA Playoffs

[whomario]

Playoff Seeding (thanks to Korme for compiling it )

EASTERN CONFERENCE
1. Miami Heat (66-16)
8. Milwaukee Bucks (38-44)

4. Brooklyn Nets (49-33)
5. Chicago Bulls (45-37)

3. Indiana Pacers (49-32)
6. Atlanta Hawks (44-38)

2. New York Knicks (54-28)
7. Boston Celtics (41-40)


WESTERN CONFERENCE
1. Oklahoma City Thunder (60-22)
8. Houston Rockets (45-37)

4. Los Angeles Clippers (56-26)
5. Memphis Grizzlies (56-26)

3. Denver Nuggets (57-25)
6. Golden State (47-35)

2. San Antonio Spurs (58-24)
7. Los Angeles Lakers (45-37)



Carmelo Anthony (after averaging 37/10 his last 8 games in the RS) off to a quick start with 10 points on 4-4 shooting.

Looking forward to the Denver-Golden State Series, all 4 West Series have great potential (although it´s likely most people will not like both the GS/Den and the Mem/LAC series, considering how vastly different those games will likely be played )

[murrayyyyy]

I have the Nuggets at 40-1 to win the title so I am hoping for a quick Denver sweep. I didn't middle my bet this round.

[murrayyyyy]

David Lee is out for the playoffs...

Twitter / KBergCBS: David Lee tore his right hip ...

[Vince, Pt. II]

Such a disappointment. Dude plays zero defense, but is a good rebounder and can score. Going to be difficult to go anywhere without him.

[whomario]

Paul George is badly exposing the Hawks defense. Has become a really good player, but there´s no excuse to let him get to the rim like that time after time.
Only 2-9 from the field, but 16-16 from the FT line (and not much to argue there imo, he´s literally been at the rim every posession and simply hacked a ton). His previous season high was 12 ... Also has 10 assist due to the Hawks having to send help every time he blows past his man.
(8 boards too, so a TD is looking likely)

On the other end, the Hawks only shoot jumpers and even when they drive, they don´t go past the FT line and rather set up an open long 2 pointer than attack the rim (and are actually hitting them, but without many 3s or FTs ...)

[Danny]

Indiana is a fun team to root for I imagine. Shame Granger has the injury bug the way he does.

[lungs]

Bucks in 6

[Matthean]

I remember when the Tigers went 35-5 to start the season. Miami ended at 37-2. That's just ridiculous.

[Crapshoot]

Kobe / Phil Jackson tweeting regarding Mike D'antoni.

Kobe Bryant, Phil Jackson make things awkward for Mike D'Antoni in Game 1 - SBNation.com

[Groundhog]

Milwaukee are particularly poorly equipped to play these Heat.

[Groundhog]

Originally Posted by Crapshoot

Kobe / Phil Jackson tweeting regarding Mike D'antoni.

Kobe Bryant, Phil Jackson make things awkward for Mike D'Antoni in Game 1 - SBNation.com

Yikes. I don't rate D'antoni as a coach and I'm sure Kobe was right in saying what he did about working the freakin' ball inside (didn't watch the game), but this still rates as a very, very uncool thing to broadcast to the twitterverse.

[Chief Rum]

Quality win for the Clips last night. It will be very hard for Memphis to take this series now. The all time series record for teams that win the first two games at home is something like 200-12.

[Vince, Pt. II]

Not likely, but losing Lee may be a boom for the Warriors, at least against Denver. Force them to go smaller ad quicker, abuse the fact that Denver defends the three really poorly.

[whomario]

Originally Posted by Vince, Pt. II

Not likely, but losing Lee may be a boom for the Warriors, at least against Denver. Force them to go smaller ad quicker, abuse the fact that Denver defends the three really poorly.

Lee´s ability to score inside, his passing ability (from postups and even after a drible or 2) were a huge reason the Warriors got open looks from 3 though.

[Vince, Pt. II]

Bogut can do that. He hasn't been the offensive presence since the injury, but he can. And the W's want to break it down to a half court game so the Nuggets can't run.

[Groundhog]

Originally Posted by Vince, Pt. II

Bogut can do that. He hasn't been the offensive presence since the injury, but he can. And the W's want to break it down to a half court game so the Nuggets can't run.

What's going to be most interesting is who starts at the 4 spot for them. I think they're better off playing Barnes at the 4 and keep Landry as 6th/7th man.

[korme]

So glad I stayed up to watch Clips/Grizz last night. What a finish, hell of a game.

[nol]

Originally Posted by Vince, Pt. II

Not likely, but losing Lee may be a boom for the Warriors, at least against Denver. Force them to go smaller ad quicker, abuse the fact that Denver defends the three really poorly.

Hopefully you were able to make some money off that prediction!

[BishopMVP]

Zero idea what's happened to the Celtics in the 2nd half of the last 2 games, and I don't particularly want to rehash it. I do however want to nail Doc Rivers to the metaphorical cross for playing any lineup with Jordan Crawford and Jason Terry together when Courtney Lee is collecting dust on the bench. It's inexplicable. (I also wouldn't mind Shavlik playing more over Brandon Bass, but Bass actually did ok rebounding tonight, and certainly wasn't the reason they lost.)

[Vince, Pt. II]

Originally Posted by nol

Hopefully you were able to make some money off that prediction!

Apparently I should have put my money where my mouth is

[Groundhog]

To be fair to David Lee, Warriors shot the ball incredibly well, but I think for this matchup having Barnes playing the 4 spot does not have a lot of disadvantages, especially with Faried still rusty. Barnes is also pretty good at vanishing for 3-4 games in a row after having a decent night though, so let’s see what happens in game 3…

[Vince, Pt. II]

Originally Posted by Groundhog

To be fair to David Lee, Warriors shot the ball incredibly well, but I think for this matchup having Barnes playing the 4 spot does not have a lot of disadvantages, especially with Faried still rusty. Barnes is also pretty good at vanishing for 3-4 games in a row after having a decent night though, so let’s see what happens in game 3…

I agree. Shooting 64.5% from the field isn't how I envisioned them winning. There's no way they keep that up. That being said, they've been stronger on the boards in both games, and have played pretty amazing defense as well (Lee being out is actually helping the defense a pretty good amount...he's really that bad). Now they've taken home court and get to play two in a row at home, with a ridiculously raucous crowd behind them. If they can hold home court, the Nuggets are in huge trouble.

That's a very big if...but that's why they play the games.

[Groundhog]

I see no reason why the Warriors couldn't take it out. I always thought it would be the best series of the round, and it's a tough call for me as far as who to cheer for because I like both teams. They both play a fun style of basketball and have a lot of guys on their rosters that I like a bunch, but having big Bogut in the middle puts me in the Warriors camp.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by Vince, Pt. II

Now they've taken home court and get to play two in a row at home, with a ridiculously raucous crowd behind them.

I remember how awesome watching those 2007? 2008? games were when they upset the Mavs. I just wish game 3 was Thursday or 2 hours earlier on Friday (I know - it'll be a fun distraction at the bars, but you don't get to hear the crowd there.)

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by BishopMVP

Zero idea what's happened to the Celtics in the 2nd half of the last 2 games, and I don't particularly want to rehash it. I do however want to nail Doc Rivers to the metaphorical cross for playing any lineup with Jordan Crawford and Jason Terry together when Courtney Lee is collecting dust on the bench. It's inexplicable. (I also wouldn't mind Shavlik playing more over Brandon Bass, but Bass actually did ok rebounding tonight, and certainly wasn't the reason they lost.)

They just aren't that skilled offensively. Run into the same problem the Bulls do where they'll have stretches where they just can't find any way to score.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

They just aren't that skilled offensively. Run into the same problem the Bulls do where they'll have stretches where they just can't find any way to score.

I know we're not good on offense, but the 1st/2nd half splits are ridiculous

Game 1: 53/25
Game 2: 48/23

Game 1 set a franchise low for points in a half... and we "beat" it in game 2. I actually can't comment on what's going wrong since I was busy coaching my own team that can't space out correctly or finish during game one, and my friend's cable was (thankfully?) going out due to rain for game two's second half, but Jeff Green bullrushing at the hoop or Paul Pierce shooting fadeaways for the whole quarter should result in more points than that. (And the fact we're sucking that much on offense only reinforces my belief that Courtney Lee and AB should be playing every available minute over Terry and Crawford. We can suck at scoring without your horrific attempts at defense.)

[Lathum]

In hindsight betting the under in the Denver game was a bad call.

[murrayyyyy]

Shocked how the Rockets have hung in this game so far with Lin out.

[sterlingice]

Close but not enough and there was some home cooking down the stretch until the too late makeup calls.

Well, I'll be at Game 3 in Houston on Saturday night

SI

[bhlloy]

The Lakers would be such a better team without MWP. He's not even an impact defender any more to the naked eye

[korme]

Did the NBA pass a memo that all playoff teams with home alts must wear them in Round 1?

[nol]

Originally Posted by korme

Did the NBA pass a memo that all playoff teams with home alts must wear them in Round 1?

Not all of them. The Spurs just don't want to get their home uniforms dirty until they face some real competition, so they're going with those practice jerseys until then

[murrayyyyy]

Originally Posted by korme

Did the NBA pass a memo that all playoff teams with home alts must wear them in Round 1?

I actually like the two contrasting color in most games. Never been a fan of white jerseys. Seems like every time I look up a team in MLB is doing the same now. Also just wait until next year when the "pride" jerseys come out in the NBA. Some teams, including one in purple tonight will have five different jerseys next year (including Xmas day game jersey)

[whomario]

Manu with 2 great games, if he plays that way the Spurs will be tough to beat.

[korme]

Westbrook tears miniscus, has surgery, probably will miss the rest of the Playoffs. Really opens up the West. Too bad.

[LloydLungs]

I feel like the Westbrook thing has Ewing Theory written all over it though, I see Durant going into some ridiculous mode we can't even conceive of for a few weeks. But then they'll still lose to Miami.

[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by korme

Westbrook tears miniscus, has surgery, probably will miss the rest of the Playoffs. Really opens up the West. Too bad.

Keep in mind that Metta World Peace tore his meniscus and was back in two weeks or so.

Also makes that physical play by Beverly look a little different IMO. Not as cute as it had been made out to be by some in the media before knowledge of the injury surfaced.

[murrayyyyy]

really... Watch the nuggets blow my ticket now with Westbrook gone.

[nilodor]

God I hate the NBA playoff schedule. 3 days off here, 2 days here. I know for tv they don't want to compress the schedules down any but it just wrecks the intrigue for me.

[whomario]

I for one am happy that at least during the playoffs Teams actually get the rest needed to play hard every game.
Not saying they are doing it for that reason, but i´m happy about the side effect at least.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by nilodor

God I hate the NBA playoff schedule. 3 days off here, 2 days here. I know for tv they don't want to compress the schedules down any but it just wrecks the intrigue for me.

Agreed. I wish it was more like baseball playoffs: pretty much the only days off are travel days.

SI

[kingfc22]

Oracle is ROCKING tonight. Amazing atmosphere.

[Vince, Pt. II]

Great to pull out the win, especially after that second quarter. That being said...

...the last two minutes of that game was some of the most atrocious basketball I've ever seen from two teams. Just absolutely terrible on both sides. Denver not fouling, the Warriors shooting (poor shot selection, as well) with tons of time left on the clock, throwing the ball away with the lead and under a minute to play, failing to inbound the ball...jeez. That was a harrowing end of the game that should have been a much more comfortable win. If I'm Mark Jackson, I'm absolutely tearing the team up in the locker room after that end of game performance.

[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by whomario

I for one am happy that at least during the playoffs Teams actually get the rest needed to play hard every game.
Not saying they are doing it for that reason, but i´m happy about the side effect at least.

This. The length of time between is not the problem. Teams averaged approximately 3.4 games a week over the regular season. Most if not all will have played four games in he first week of the playoffs. Smashing together back to backs, three games in four days, four in five (though it would be funny to see if Pop sat his starters in that last game) just hurts the game.

That being said, if we get the first round back to the 3 of 5 format, that would be wonderful.

[Neon_Chaos]

No Kobe, No Title

[heybrad]

Not just No Kobe... No Guards.

[Neon_Chaos]

[miami_fan]

I don't know if I should be more impressed with Noah with the way he is fighting through the foot injury or less impressed with Brook Lopez's overall game.

[Cuckoo]

Westbrook had surgery to repair it - definitely out for the playoffs...

[miami_fan]

That is what I get for switching to baseball. Tie game