LAKERS > NUGGETS - The nuggets have 3 incredibly talented players. Unfortunately, they're all under achievers, and i don't think they particularly care.
JAZZ > ROCKETS - on the fence here. the rockets streak was great, but also misleading. however their defense might be top 5 in the NBA. in the end the Jazz win a tough series, they're too good on the boards, and Deron Williams is clutch.
SPURS > SUNS - boring as hell, but the spurs get the job done.
MAVERICKS > HORNETS - love CP but i like the way dallas finished the season, they have WAY more postseason experience, and they're a more talented team.
CELTICS > HAWKS - "the boston three party"
WIZARDS > CAVS - hate the way the cavs have played the last part of the season, they're going into the playoffs with a team that doesn't have much experience playing together. The wizards have gotten healthy at the perfect time, Arenas is a top 5 pure scorer, Jamison and Butler are legit all-stars.
MAGIC > RAPTORS - look for the magic to make noise in the next round as well.
absolutely. He might be the best scoring point guard ever, i'm not saying he hasn't put up number throughout his career. But the lack of true commitment is obvious.
Certainly in his famous "practice" speech, I can recognize that he AND the reporters are kind of goofing around. BUT it does IMO show his lack of commitment to do whatever it takes to win. He'll go out there every night and play with more heart and soul than anyone else on the court, but their is a lack of true dedication and focus. The last thing he says is IMO absolutely sincere, and very telling of his attitude, "How the hell can I make my team mates better by practicing?"
Bottom line: He plays with more than enough heart, but not enough brain. His shooting percentage is lower than it should be, and he turns the ball over too much. On defense, sure he gets steals cause he's quick as hell, but he doesn't really DEFEND for sh!t.
lakers vs nuggets........no contest. the lakers will either sweep or win in 5. denver has no defense. obviously when it comes to defense camby is all alone. they do have the offense power but the lakers can match them point for point easily.
suns vs spurs...........i really like sun's chances here. i would like to say suns in 7. shaq has been blended well to their offense. actually more like the suns adjusted to shaq's style of play.
rockets vs jazz.......i see jazz winning this one in 6 games. without yao ming, the rockets are going to have a tough time. i know the rockets have that 22 game win streak with half of it without yao ming but we all know the playoffs are much different.
hornets vs mavs........the mavs will take this in 7 games. mavs have matched up well with the hornets and kidd is finally playing mav's style ball. kidd and nowitzki are communicating well out there.
as far as east playoffs goes, it sux. we all know who will be at the conf finals.
i don't think they need to trade melo. he was tearing apart defenses at the end of the year and is a matchup horror for the other team, he's just having a rough stretch.
"He'll go out there every night and play with more heart and soul than anyone else on the court, but their is a lack of true dedication and focus"
I don't think that statement is contradictory at all in it's context. Maybe you're failing see the distinction between things like heart/passion, versus things like dedication/focus/hard work etc.
The first, you either have or you don't, and Iverson does. The latter is up to you to make what you want of it, and Iverson has under achieved.
iverson has NOT underachieved. not in the least. he is one of the most prolific scorers of all time and he barely scratches 6' tall. you may say the guy doesn't like to practice (i mean we talkin' bout practice!) but still the guy lays it on the line EVERY GAME. He is one of the best competitors in the league and shows NO lack of effort on the court. dumbest statement you've ever made.
"He is one of the best competitors in the league and shows NO lack of effort on the court. dumbest statement you've ever made."
Just for the record Reece, what EXACTLY was the dumbest statement I've ever made? Saying he isn't a competitor? Or saying he lacks effort?.... or was it something else that i never said? EDIT: I said he has under achieved, but everything else you said about him I agree on, so I don't think you're getting my logic.
I still think you're missing the point i'm trying to make, and I honestly don't have the energy to try anymore. I'm pretty sure i could say the earth is round, and you'd argue that it's flat.
if A.I where 6ft 6 or better he would be the best player in NBA history, period..every shot he takes there is a hand in his face..Im not a huge A.I. fan, but the guy is super talented..Not sure what you mean by under achieved...anywho
Celtics over Rockets in 5, watch T-Mac go on a terror
this is kobe's year. infact this year and the next few years are going to belong to the lakers. with andrew bynum back 100% healthy the lakers will be unstoppable.
underacheiving would mean he is expected to do greater things than he has or that he does. which i think he has done alot more than was ever expected of him. he has not underachieved thus he isn't an underacheiver.
i think iverson has done more than what he needed to do. when he came to the nuggets, it was carmelo's show but iverson has shown leadership and took the team under his wings. its the rest of the team that is underachieving and because of that iverson appears that way.
Iverson being a great scorer doesn't change that he doesn't give a sh!t about playing defense, or playing smart instead of wreckless.
With 2:10 left, down by 11, Iverson just got double-tech'd and thrown out after arguing profusely when he didn't even have a legit argument.
Reece if you believe A.I. really gives 100% in EVERY facet of the game, then you've been fooled. The guy wants to, and does, score a lot of points, make the occasional flashy pass, and use his quickness to get steals. He underachieves as a defender and as a point guard who doesn't care to TRULY distribute the ball and really run an offense.
In those aspects he's not on the same level as a Chris Paul, Steve Nash, Deron Williams etc. And it sure as hell isn't because of a lack of ability. It's a lack of commitment to do the things that may come less naturally to him, and aren't as individually rewarding.
the lakers are the only undefeated team in the playoffs.
but aside from that, what a playoff we got going here. i mean all teams are so fun to watch. this year's nba playoffs are just awesome. i don't know what stern did for the nba to get interesting again but keep up the good work.
whether the lakers make it to finals or not, i just don't want it to be the spurs. of course i would love to see the lakers in the finals. but i just don't want to see the spurs. the spurs get the lowest ratings in a nba game. last year's final had the lowest ratings ever. only people that did watch it are the people that wanted to see lebron james. after the spurs took game 3, no one watched game 4. except for san antonio people.
so what i am trying to say is that spurs games are boring. even when their regular season game is televised nationally on sunday, no one wants to see them. yes they got mad skills. but its just too boring watching them. after all basketball is also entertainment and the spurs don't entertain no one. lol.
round 2 lakers vs jazz sunday at 3:30 pm eastern on ABC.
now wassup with the celtics. best team in the nba can't even win a playoff game on the road. lol. i am sure they'll win the game 7 at home on sunday but mad props to atlanta hawks for forcing game 7. the hawks are 29 games behind the celtics in regular season record. lol.
i am hoping for celtics vs lakers finals. it appears though that the lakers have an easier road to the finals than the celtics. pistons are going to be tough but i think celtics will pull it off.
lakers on the other hand will steam roll through the playoffs.
the way i see it, cavs have a good chance at this. if they can win the 2 games at home, that can give them the momentum going to boston. they might be able to steal that game 5 over there. its very possible.
as far as lebron, he is still adjusting to the boston defense. hopefully he got it now. with the home crowd behind him, i expect a monster game from a monster player tonight.
in other words, i can't wait til tonight.
lebron and dwight howard are both playing tonight.
Celtics potential to win a title is dwindling IMO. They still might make the finals but I can't see them beating the likes of western conference champs.
The Cavs' chance of winning a title is, well, just about non-existent. One-man team FTL. With that said I won't be shocked at all if they beat the Celtics, hell I won't be surprised if they make the finals again, but they'll get embarrassed like they did last time.
Magic are done, couldn't win at home w/out Chauncey Billups playing? = series over.
NO vs. SA is tricky. Everyone is jumping back on the SA wagon of course since they won the last 2, but don't forget games 1 and 2 were blowouts in the Hornets favor. I say if anyone wins a road game in this series, it'll be SA in game 7.
Lakers > Jazz The games in LA were much more 1-sided than the games in Utah. I expect the Lakers to win the next 2. Hey NBA, in the future, how bout we have some kind of system to veto trades like Pau Gasol for Kwame Brown and some junk...what a joke
so pissed at kobe yesterday. i don't know why he tried to win the game by himself in over time. it was odom and fisher who got them to over time and yet kobe didn't even look to pass to them in ot. kobe was playing with a bad back so he should of dished it out to someone. yesterday's game should of been the lakers. damn.
but that fourth quarter when the lakers were down by 12 with less than 5 minutes and they came back was fricking awesome. lol.
