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Official April NBA Thread - Playoffs coming sooooooon!

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H

Heezzi

Banned
bionic77 said:
The Mavs?

Damnit, everywhere I turn you are there, Kobexing up everything I like! Why don't you bother DM or some of the other GAFers for awhile. I am all Konexed out. :(
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Only one thing can survive atomic holocausts, warfare, and KoHEX.



Roaches.
av616.jpg

image_1335580.jpg
 
B

Bowser

Member
The Chosen One said:
:lol

The upside of the Cavs not making the playoffs is that we'll see what kind of person he is. Players like Michael Jordan when faced with similar disappoints continued to improve themselves and brought their game to the next level. They didn't play the blame game or bolt town.

If Bron really is the heir apparent, then he'll come out of this setback that much better. Might also help him to have the spotlight off him for a little bit.
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No, the upside of the Cavs not making the playoffs is that the Bobcats get an extra lottery pick.

:p

edit: And I think the Cavs will lose to Boston and beat Toronto, while NJ will beat Boston and Washington, meaning the Cavs miss the playoffs.
 
K

kgHavok23

Member
a page late...but I thought I'd share my thoughts anyway :)

MVP (Top 3)
1 - Nash
2 - S. O'Neal
3 - Iverson

Rookie of the Year
1 - Gordon
2 - Okafor
3 - Howard

Defensive Player of the Year
1 - Garnett
2 - Wallace
3 - Iverson

Sixth Man
1 - Gordon
2 - Stackhouse
3 - Davis

Most Improved
1 - Wade
2 - Simmons
3 - Stoudamire

Coach of the Year
1 - Skiles
2 - Carlisle
3 - Karl
 
C

Cloudy

Banned
Bowser said:
No, the upside of the Cavs not making the playoffs is that the Bobcats get an extra lottery pick.

:p

edit: And I think the Cavs will lose to Boston and beat Toronto, while NJ will beat Boston and Washington, meaning the Cavs miss the playoffs.
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Even if they end up tied, the Cavs miss out. They need to win and hope Philly and NJ lose out...
 
D

DMczaf

Member
http://www.cleveland.com/cavs/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/sports/111373908254081.xml

LeBron James will finish third in the Most Valuable Player voting if an unofficial poll of 25 NBA writers holds true in the official ballot due on Thursday.

James received 12 third-place votes and no first- or second-place votes. The battle for MVP is between Miami center Shaquille O'Neal and Phoenix guard Steve Nash. O'Neal, accord ing to the unofficial poll, will win the MVP. He had 13 first-place votes and 11 second- place votes. Nash had 12 first- and 12 sec ond-place votes.

Despite finishing third in the unofficial voting, James makes a strong case for MVP. James is averaging 27 points, 7.2 rebounds and 7.2 assists. He's on pace to become only the fifth player to average 25-plus points, seven-plus rebounds and seven-plus assists in a season. Oscar Robertson, John Havlicek, Larry Bird and Michael Jordan are the others.
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Cavs media and fans might want to start worrying about the playoffs more then James winning the MVP :lol
 
M

Matlock

Banned
Jesus christ, Cleveland. Why don't you just fucking piss away first place in the east for the lottery within two months oh wait
 
K

kevm3

Member
In the unofficial poll, Lebron James finished ahead of guys like Duncan? Hell, AI? What are these guys smoking on?
 
S

Shinobi

Member
Fifty said:
If the Nets make the playoffs I'll kill myself.
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Based on that information...go Nets. :lol

Few things would be more satisfying then to see the Nets make it into the playoffs. And with RJ on the verge of making a return and the Nets playing as well as they are, I wouldn't laugh at the prospects of them upsetting the Heat. Any team that has a player in the sort of zone VC has been in the last few months is capable of stealing a couple of wins in a seven game series.

But first they've gotta take care of business...the Celtics and Wizards games are both winnable, but they've gotta stay focused.
 
A

AirBrian

Member
Cue "The Final Countdown" music...

Last PRs:

1 (4) Suns 61-19
So they didn't maintain that 31-4 pace. Big deal. A 30-15 follow-up looks quite sufficient.

2 (2) Mavericks 56-24
Don't say they have nothing to play for. Those increasingly confident Mavs are trying to finish ahead of Miami . . . just in case they need homecourt advantage in the Finals.

3 (3) Spurs 59-21
It didn't always seem so with Duncan missing 16 games (9-7), but this actually was a fairly easy season for the most versatile Spurs yet. Forty of S.A.'s 59 wins are by 10 points or more.

4 (1) Nuggets 48-32
We don't want to worry Furious George, but the last team to post the best record after the All-Star break and lose in Round 1 was . . . George's 1994 Sonics. To Denver, remember.

5 (6) Pistons 53-27
Highest compliment we can give the champs? They placed no one on the committee's All-NBA team, but even without a top-15 player they remain our pick to win the East.

6 (5) Heat 57-23
S. Van Gundy is undoubtedly panicky about the way his Heat are stumbling to the finish line, but at least one recent trend is encouraging: Zo has averaged 23.2 mpg since April 8.

7 (8) Rockets 49-31
Postseason success, of course, is what really matters for T-Mac, who has never won a playoff series. But 50 wins would be nice, too. T-Mac's previous teams have never topped 45-37.

8 (11) SuperSonics 52-28
It wasn't the smoothest divisional clinch, but c'mon. Fifty-two wins! Nate must have done some coaching to coax 52 wins out of a smallish squad universally picked to be a doormat.

9 (7) Bulls 46-34
Don't write Baby Bulls off in the first round, even without Curry and Deng. They're 14-2 since that worrisome four-game skid in March.

10 (13) Celtics 45-35
The reward for Boston's first division crown since '91-92 looks like a first-round series with Indy for the third successive spring. Don't know that we'd call it a welcome reward, though.

11 (9) Grizzlies 44-36
An 0-4 trip means Memphis backed into the playoffs a bit, but don't forget these guys do have road wins over Suns, Pistons and Spurs. Phoenix knows Grizz pose a physical threat.

12 (10) Kings 49-31
Wouldn't be Kings playoff season without injuries: B. Miller, B. Jackson and now Peja. Chances are they all play in the playoffs; chances are better none of them will be 100 percent.

13 (15) Nets 40-40
The way Nets are rolling, it looks like they'll snare the eighth spot. But if they don't, Nets can't point to a league-leading 13 losses in which they led by at least 10 points.

14 (14) 76ers 41-39
As promised Friday, Iverson will get LeBron's spot on our MVP ballot and our All-NBA first team if Sixers make it and Cavs miss out. Which looks like a lock now, doesn't it?

15 (12) Pacers 43-37
Losing to Miami in Jermaine's return, after Shaq got injury, was a bit of downer. Here's the pick-me-up: Pacers went on a season-saving run of 15-7 while their O'Neal was out injured.

16 (16) Wizards 45-35
References to '97-98 aren't meaningful to only the Bulls. Until now, Wiz haven't had a winning season since His Airness retired, either.

17 (17) Warriors 32-48
They've faded a little, sure, since that record-setting road win streak. But it's been a fun ride since Baron arrived, as wins over Suns (twice), Kings (twice), Rockets and Sonics would suggest.

18 (21) Clippers 36-44
The magic number to clinch a better record than their Staples Center co-tenants is one. And if not for a season-long injury epidemic, it probably wouldn't have been close.

19 (19) Timberwolves 42-38
Here's a hunch that the best record of any non-playoff team isn't much consolation. Another hunch: McHale resigns as coach and GM, leaving Wolves to fill both posts before anything else.

20 (18) Cavaliers 40-40
Gone is Cavs' first winning record since '97-98. LeBron's Cavs now face becoming just the second team in history to drop out of the playoffs from 10 games over .500 after 50 games.

21 (22) Raptors 32-48
If Pape's starting, we'll be watching. We'll also be watching Wednesday's finale to track Cleveland's fate and see two of our favorite lefties for the last time 'til fall: Bosh and Jalen.

22 (20) Magic 35-45
Like Frank Hamblen says to all moms: ''Don't let your sons grow up to be interim coaches.'' Injury-ravaged Magic are 4-12 under Jent after losing six straight before he took over.

23 (25) Bucks 30-50
Does anyone remember that Bucks' season started 3-1? It certainly didn't help that Milwaukee, amid increasing sale and Redd's Leaving speculation, went 0-15 on the road vs. the West.

24 (23) Knicks 32-48
On Jan. 1, at 16-13, a playoff berth seemed reasonable. Zeke's Knicks have won only 16 games since, and only that many because they're 3-0 on the road after a 2-20 away stretch.

25 (24) Lakers 34-46
Lakers are actually a robust 27-6 when they hold the opposition under 100 points. Unfortunately there's the small matter of how poorly they defended in those other 47 games.

26 (27) Trail Blazers 26-54
The kiddies' 2-14 mark in March -- the worst month in club history -- has given way to an 2-8 April. At least Portland should get a high draft pick for its season of suffering.

27 (26) Jazz 25-55
Injuries were obviously a killer, but last season's 42-40 magic disappeared just before Thanksgiving . . . when Jazz lost back-to-back home games to then-winless Hornets and Bulls.

28 (29) Bobcats 17-63
In the end, Bobs couldn't secure the first three-game win streak in club history. But seeing Bobs with 17 wins still shocks us almost as much as seeing Utah with only 25.

29 (28) Hornets 18-62
It's all good. Owner George Shinn, in a recent letter to season-ticket holders, announced that ''I am committed to building a team that will be successful in New Orleans.'' No worries.

30 (30) Hawks 13-67
At least they avoided 70 losses. Not by much, but Hawks -- after losing twice to Charlotte to make sure they have the most lottery Ping Pong balls -- achieved that much.
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http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/powerranking?season=2005&week=24
 
D

DMczaf

Member
http://www.nba.com/news/pow_050418.html

T-Mac named the Western Conference Player of the Week for the 4th time! Woo!

McGrady led the Rockets to a perfect 3-0 week against playoff-bound Seattle, Memphis and Denver. He averaged a conference-high 31.0 points on 48.4% shooting, 7.0 rebounds, 6.7 assists and two blocks per game. McGrady scored 38 points at Seattle on April 11 and 32 points against Denver on April 16, as Houston improved to 22-3 when he scores 30 or more points this season.

:)
 
K

kgHavok23

Member
those are probably Stein's best attempts at the Power Rankings. Still think the Heat should be atleast one spot higher, but the rest is pretty solid.
 
B

bigfurb

Member
Not bad, Carter had a better week though. 34.6 points, 8.3 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals a game shooting 51% from the field and 40% from three. But I don't mind Vince not getting it if he's losing out to Mr. triple double J-Kidd. It's scary that these two guys are on the same team. Even scarier when you take into account the fact that they're without the services of Jefferson.
 
B

BatiGOOOOOOL

Member
Who's the greatest? Wilt or MJ? The protagonists discuss...

Interesting recollection by Bill Walton:
http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/3540608

TSN: When you were named one of the NBA's 50 greatest players in 1997, they introduced the players at the All-Star Game in Cleveland. What do you remember about that experience?

WALTON: At the end of this four-day celebration, all the guys were alone in this big room. No media, no personal managers, not even David Stern. Everyone was in the happiest mood ever. Even Bill Russell was signing autographs. I remember looking over in a corner, and Wilt (Chamberlain) and Michael (Jordan) were arguing loudly over who was the greatest of all time. Finally, Wilt got up, looked down at Michael and said, "When you played, they changed the rules to make it easier for you. When I played, they changed the rules to make it harder for me." That was the end of the conversation.
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:lol :lol :lol
 
L

Loki

Count of Concision
They were probably just arguing playfully. Jordan always deflected questions about whether he was the best ever, saying that you can't compare different players from eras like that, and even expressing deference for Wilt's accomplishments a few times ("100 points in one game is hard to argue with", I believe he said in response to one "who's the best ever?" question). Though he DID once say to Ahmad that he considered himself the best ever, it was only once in an off-the-record talk which Ahmad then revealed, it's hard to picture him all of a sudden getting riled up enough over it to argue it in public with his main competition for the throne. :p
 
E

etiolate

Banned
They were probably just arguing playfully. Jordan always deflected questions about whether he was the best ever,
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That's because he had a posse of cocksuckers at NBC and SI to make the claim for him. In a room alone without jocksniffers he starts whining for it himself and gets told. That is a beautiful thing.
 
N

Ninja Scooter

Member
etiolate said:
That's because he had a posse of cocksuckers at NBC and SI to make the claim for him. In a room alone without jocksniffers he starts whining for it himself and gets told. That is a beautiful thing.
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etiolate=
SonnyKogel2.jpg
 
D

DMczaf

Member
etiolate said:
That's because he had a posse of cocksuckers at NBC and SI to make the claim for him. In a room alone without jocksniffers he starts whining for it himself and gets told. That is a beautiful thing.
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The thing is, he was winning MVPs, Finals MVPs, scoring titles and titles while the cocksucking was going on. :)
 
L

Loki

Count of Concision
etiolate said:
That's because he had a posse of cocksuckers at NBC and SI to make the claim for him. In a room alone without jocksniffers he starts whining for it himself and gets told. That is a beautiful thing.
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:lol
 
M

Matrix

LeBron loves his girlfriend. There is no other woman in the world he’d rather have. The problem is, Dwyane’s not a woman.
DMczaf said:
LA Clippers 31 18 49 Half

Houston 40 30 70

E. Brand
11-12, 26 Pts
1 Rebs, 1 Assists

:lol
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Clippers are f-ing sad :lol Brand is a one man team.
 
F

Fifty

Member
From Bill Simmons latest column:

THUMBS UP: The WNBA draft, which was Saturday, used to be one of the funniest events of the year until they stopped showing the wide-angle camera shot of the girls walking onto the stage in high heels. But have you ever read a WNBA draft report card? It's entertaining to read the grades when you know nothing about the league -- even better than reading Chad Ford's 2003 and 2004 NBA draft report cards after the fact. For instance, ESPN.com's report card includes the revelation that Jia Perkins' draft stock dropped because she just gave birth (Shawn Kemp and Calvin Murphy were unavailable for comment), as well as my favorite quote of the weekend, "Some say the Sun were just a Margo Dydek away from winning the WNBA title last season." It's funny, I was just saying that last week.

THUMBS DOWN: For Vince Carter, who twisted the knife even further with Raptors fans in a phenomenal return to the city that already couldn't have hated him any more -- he ended up dropping 28 points in the second half of a Nets comeback win (then followed it up with a 43-and-11 yesterday against the Sixers). I know I keep writing about this, but Carter's resurgence during the season has to go down in the pantheon of "Worst things an athlete has ever done to a city." It's not as though he even had an offseason where they could have justified it with, "Well, he used the summer to get in crazy shape." Nope. He didn't try ... they traded him ... and now he's trying. I feel like he should be banned from the playoffs or something. Seriously.
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B

bionic77

Member
etiolate said:
That's because he had a posse of cocksuckers at NBC and SI to make the claim for him. In a room alone without jocksniffers he starts whining for it himself and gets told. That is a beautiful thing.
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Preach it brother.

Everyone knows that Jordan was just a mouthpiece for the Man.
 
E

etiolate

Banned
Man, Kings laying eggs in the past two games. They need the playoff break to get everybody back and practiced.

Rockets looking pretty good huh Konex?
 
B

bionic77

Member
etiolate said:
Man, Kings laying eggs in the past two games. They need the playoff break to get everybody back and practiced.

Rockets looking pretty good huh Konex?
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You better hope that none of the mods are Rockets fans...

You are fooling no one!
 
M

Matrix

LeBron loves his girlfriend. There is no other woman in the world he’d rather have. The problem is, Dwyane’s not a woman.
:lol @ Bionic

BRING ON THE F-ING MAVS! WHOOOO!
 
D

DMczaf

Member
STEVE KERR'S ALL-NBA TEAMS
FIRST TEAM
F LeBron James, Cavaliers
F Dirk Nowitzki, Mavericks
C Shaquille O'Neal, Heat
G Steve Nash, Suns
G Allen Iverson, 76ers

SECOND TEAM
F Shawn Marion, Suns
F Kevin Garnett, Wolves
F/C Tim Duncan, Spurs
G Dwyane Wade, Heat
G/F Vince Carter, Nets
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WTF? Kerr hating on T-Mac?

Fuck you Kerr!
 
M

Matrix

LeBron loves his girlfriend. There is no other woman in the world he’d rather have. The problem is, Dwyane’s not a woman.
DMczaf said:
WTF? Kerr hating on T-Mac?

Fuck you Kerr!
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YOU WERE NOTHING WITHOUT JORDAN !!! YOU HEAR ME KERRRRRR!
 
S

Shinobi

Member
Ninja Scooter said:
etiolate=
SonnyKogel2.jpg
Click to expand...

:lol





THUMBS DOWN: For Vince Carter, who twisted the knife even further with Raptors fans in a phenomenal return to the city that already couldn't have hated him any more -- he ended up dropping 28 points in the second half of a Nets comeback win (then followed it up with a 43-and-11 yesterday against the Sixers). I know I keep writing about this, but Carter's resurgence during the season has to go down in the pantheon of "Worst things an athlete has ever done to a city." It's not as though he even had an offseason where they could have justified it with, "Well, he used the summer to get in crazy shape." Nope. He didn't try ... they traded him ... and now he's trying. I feel like he should be banned from the playoffs or something. Seriously.
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This is just stupid. I know the guy hates Vince, but to say that dropping 39 points in one of the most hostile gyms I've ever seen (after starting cold to boot) is beyond stupid. I know it flies in the face of all the "Vince is mentally soft" stuff that idiots like him like to preach, but that shouldn't get in the way of the facts. Bottom line is he manned up on Friday...most players would've fallen flat on their face in that atmosphere.

Frankly people would be better served in wondering why a franchise has had one man in a coaching or GM role with previous experience in the franchise's history, along with Damon Stoudamire, Doug Christie, Antonio Davis, T-Mac and VC all wanting the fuck out of dodge. Vince was part of the problem...but he's far from THE problem. Maybe people will wise up when Bosh trots off to Dallas.
 
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