The 2008/2009 NBA season thread

[deadflowerII]

The lakers might through today......BUT NOT THE NUGGETS!!!...chauncy wont lose to any team as soft as the lakers.........GO BOSTON!!!

[Layne Staley's Sunglasses]

Haha, Scola is one dirty mofo.

[Bodhi]

so we are still on pace for Lakers/Cavs(that Laker series was never in doubt)  Magic won the right to get swept by the Cavs...awesome...I still say Lakers in 5 or 6...Carmelo Anthony is everything that is wrong with NBA today...so I will actually be rooting for the rapist led L.A Lakers believe it or not...

[D]

actually,Orlando gave Cleveland some problems in the regular season. Remember that 30plus pt blowout?


Orlando do better than most cause they have Howard who can bother Lebron when he goes to the goal.

If he can stay out of foul trouble, they may be able to take it to 6.

[Ignatius]

I haven't really figured the Lakers out yet.

When they have to get business done, they play aggressive. We saw that on games 2 and 7 against the Rockets. However, that same intensity was missing on games 1 and 6.

I don't think the Lakers lack the "killer instinct".- It's more like they only use it when they are really under a lot of pressure.  On game 6 the lakers were simply terrible. The big guys couldn't stop Scola (a very limited player skillwise but one of the most fierce competitors out there). On game 7th, Gasol turned things around and had a huge game. Bynum also stepped in.  I just wish the Lakers played every match with the same intensity displayed on game 7 against Houston.

Against Denver I'm sure we are going to see some changes. Bynum will have more minutes. LA needs Bynum fit against the likes of Nen? and Martin.


Now with Cleveland and Orlando, I sorta agree with D here. Orlando will push Cleveland to 6 or 7 games. Not only Howard will be important but also Turkoglu. He's clutch.

 
On a side note, the NBA draft is tonight at 8pm Eastern. Griffin seems like he'll be the #1 pick but I wouldn't put all my money on it. Spaniard's point guard Ricky Rubio (he's only 18 or 19 years old) could be the first pic it if Sacramento or Minnesota win the lottery.

[faldor]

Just a clarification.  The NBA draft LOTTERY is tonight, the draft itself is still a month away.

[Mal Brossard]

I'm calling an Orlando upset.  Magic in 7, Lakers in 6.  Magic over the Lakers in 7.

[D]

I am not big on Blake Griffin

For me, he is like the College QB that doesn't translate into the NBA

The guy can't score outside of 2 feet. He won't be able to do that in the NBA.

so, he will be productive, maybe a bit better Kevin Love. I don't see him being a franchise changer.

Ricky Rubio however, could change the franchise.

Depends on who gets the first pick really.

[Axl4Prez2004]

^I wish we could bet on that D.  I think the guy's a stud who made his opponents in college look like high school kids.
He'll be a fine pro.

[D]

^I wish we could bet on that D.  I think the guy's a stud who made his opponents in college look like high school kids.
He'll be a fine pro.

He won't be a franchise changer though like Kobe,Bron,Dirk,Chris Paul etc

he will be very solid, but I doubt he'll be an allstar unless maybe in the East.

[Axl4Prez2004]

^I wish we could bet on that D.  I think the guy's a stud who made his opponents in college look like high school kids.
He'll be a fine pro.

He won't be a franchise changer though like Kobe,Bron,Dirk,Chris Paul etc

he will be very solid, but I doubt he'll be an allstar unless maybe in the East.

franchise changer, maybe not...but solid low-post presence and future all-star, yeah, that's what I see.
There won't be another Lebron for a long time.  He's that good.

[D]

i say he will be a 16  10 guy which is very good.

Thing is, he won't be able to outmuscle NBA dudes down low. So he must develop some type of jumpshot.

[faldor]

I'm calling an Orlando upset.  Magic in 7, Lakers in 6.  Magic over the Lakers in 7.

Wow, that's a bold prediction.  While the Magic did impress me a LITTLE.  They're better than I thought they were, especially on defense after seeing them beat the C's.  I can't see them winning any more than 2 games against the Cavs, and I honestly don't see that happening either.  Cleveland lost what, 1 game at home this year?  So you have to expect they'll win their home games and I expect them to steal one in Orlando, so I'm picking the Cavs in 5.

I know the NBA would love to have a Lebron/Kobe final.  That's what they're hoping for, so I hope the refs aren't forced into making that happen.  The Nuggets are playing better ball than the Lake Show right now.  Refs be damned, I'll take the Nuggets in 6.

[Eazy E]

That's what they're hoping for, so I hope the refs aren't forced into making that happen.

As it turns out, they let a Billups out of bounds play slide to make the game close... and the Nuggets blow the next two possessions!  Too bad, I thought they had that game and I loved everything I saw out of Melo.

[faldor]

That's what they're hoping for, so I hope the refs aren't forced into making that happen.

As it turns out, they let a Billups out of bounds play slide to make the game close... and the Nuggets blow the next two possessions!  Too bad, I thought they had that game and I loved everything I saw out of Melo.

I noticed quite a few close calls going the Lakers way down the stretch.  Then again I hate the Lakers so I obviously have a biased view.

[Mal Brossard]

I'm a Cleveland sports fan.  We manage to choke everything away.  Hence my prediction.

Plus, the Magic won 2 of 3 against the Cavs in the regular season.

Kelly Dwyer, writing for Yahoo Sports Canada: "Will Cleveland's offense remind us of that old Cleveland offense? The one you hated to watch? The one that took 14 seconds to set up a bad play featuring a low percentage shot as its go-to move? The one that made you wonder if Mike Brown was long for the head coaching chair? There have been signs during the playoffs that this sort of offense might return, and Cleveland's last game in Orlando certainly reminded us of the Cavs of old, so this is worth paying attention to."

Most writers seem to be calling Cleveland in 5, 6, or 7 though.  I'm hoping for something like that, but judging on the patterns of how Cleveland sports work, they'll find a way to blow it either against Orlando or against LA/Denver.

[Eazy E]

Plus, the Magic won 2 of 3 against the Cavs in the regular season.

Pay no attention to that.  Cleveland was 2-0 against San Antonio in the regular season when they met in the finals.

[fito_gnr]

kobe shot down Billups and then melo down the stretch it will happen the same with lebron like in the regular season, if there is somebody that can guard james that's kobe

[D]

Kobe cannot guard Lebron


With players like Lebron and Kobe, nobody can guard them. Same with Dirk and D wade etc. They might miss shots, but u aren't stopping those players.

[w.axl.rose]

HAHAHA YES,