NBA Playoffs, 2005

Inuyasha · Post by **Inuyasha** » Thu Apr 21, 2005 11:38 am

This should be an exciting playoffs. Some new teams in there plus no one really dominating as previous years.

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Thu Apr 21, 2005 11:49 am

Well Lebron isn't the only young player. Lot of key young players are in the playoffs including Anthony who's been playing real well.

In fact, I like Anthony's game better than James' right now, as he will force teams to put a big man on him or he will overpower most small forwards who try to guard him down in the block. The main question is his perimeter shot. I think he was shooting around 42% for the season but maybe his aggressiveness (going for high percentage shots against smaller defenders) may have raised that.

There are also a number of players in their 3rd or 4th seasons that people have kind of taken for granted because they've accomplished much already, like Prince, who seem capable of guarding everyone except centers and all but a few power forwards in crunch time.

Some people are picking the Mavs as their darkhorse. If they have any success, they will need big contributions from Howard and Daniels, two more young players.

Then there are players like Wade and Arenas. And because they're already big stars or have won it all, we forget that players like Yao and Stoudemire have their whole careers ahead of them. Or that Tony Parker is only 22 or 23 and has already won a ring.

So I would say the future of the NBA is well-represented in these playoffs, even if the biggest young star didn't make it.

reeche · Post by **reeche** » Thu Apr 21, 2005 12:00 pm

wco81 wrote:In fact, I like Anthony's game better than James' right now,

Well I couldn't disagree more with that statement than is humanly possible but that's what makes for debate.

Lebron just put together what is arguably one of the finest seasons ever had in the NBA statistically and he did it on a crap team in my opinion where he basically has to run the offense and he's 20 years old to boot.

I like Carmelo but imo his game is nowhere near Lebron's and he plays on a much more talented team to boot.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Thu Apr 21, 2005 12:14 pm

reeche wrote:I like Carmelo but imo his game is nowhere near Lebron's and he plays on a much more talented team to boot.

There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that the statement above is 100% true.

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Thu Apr 21, 2005 12:29 pm

Yes Carmelo is on a better team so he's not as easy to double-team.

Maybe if he were double-teamed as much, he wouldn't be anywhere near as productive.

I just think he puts a lot of pressure on opponents, especially against small lineups.

He certainly hasn't shown as much proficiency from the perimeter. But he can go inside which I've rarely seen Lebron do (admittedly, most of what I've seen of Lebron is in highlights and he probably plays a different role on their team).

Denver's success is in large part due to Carmelo's performance. Now Cleveland's success is probably more dependent on Lebron. But Denver has been winning way more.

reeche · Post by **reeche** » Thu Apr 21, 2005 1:08 pm

wco81 wrote:Yes Carmelo is on a better team so he's not as easy to double-team.

Maybe if he were double-teamed as much, he wouldn't be anywhere near as productive.

I just think he puts a lot of pressure on opponents, especially against small lineups.

He certainly hasn't shown as much proficiency from the perimeter. But he can go inside which I've rarely seen Lebron do (admittedly, most of what I've seen of Lebron is in highlights and he probably plays a different role on their team).

Denver's success is in large part due to Carmelo's performance. Now Cleveland's success is probably more dependent on Lebron. But Denver has been winning way more.

Well like I said. I do like Carmelo. I think he is a very talented player and he's very young also so it's a win win for the league in either case. There are a lot of very legitimate young stars in the NBA. Probably the most since the magical 80's so there is a lot of hope in the league right now.

I'm not going to toot Lebron's horn here to much because it's already been done in the media enough but this is one of the rare cases where I think the hype actually approaches the substance. We are talking about a kid who just averaged 25 7 and 7 and shot 47% doing it. This is on a squad with the likes of Jeff McInnis, Drew Gooden, and a very over-rated (if that is possible to describe him) Ilgauskas.

The surprise to me isn't so much that they faded (and firing Silas didn't help) but that they got off to such a flying start early on in the season. It's kind of an unfair statement to make because different teams have different needs for their players but if you swapped Lebron and Carmelo on each other's teams, I think the Nuggets would be contenders instead of the perennial dark horse they seem to have been the last two seasons and Cleveland wouldn't even be contending for the playoffs. Obviously just pure BS speculation on my part but I can honestly say when I watch Lebron play it reminds me of Larry and Magic in his feel for the game, if not necessarily in the specifics of how he plays it.

The other bit I like to point out is Jordan's win totals in his first three years: 38 games, followed by 30 (injury year), followed by 40 in his third year. The breakout year was the next where they won 50 so it's not like every superstar comes into the league and starts winning titles and playoff series or even a mega number of games in some cases.

Brando70 · Post by **Brando70** » Thu Apr 21, 2005 1:42 pm

dbdynsty25 wrote:
reeche wrote:I like Carmelo but imo his game is nowhere near Lebron's and he plays on a much more talented team to boot.
There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that the statement above is 100% true.

Yeah, I think WCO got some dust in his basketball processors

Anthony is a very good player, but James really seems like something special. You look at the rest of that roster and you can't believe they were even contending for a playoff spot. If they can get just a little free agent help, Cleveland should be able to make the postseason next year.

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Thu Apr 21, 2005 1:45 pm

I wasn't making a judgement about their entire careers. Just what they've done this year.

Actually it's hard to argue against 27/7/7 and 47.5% shooting. The shooting percentage is a strike against Carmelo.

What I see is that Lebron is an elite athlete and he's just flying to the rim. He doesn't have to make much moves (not saying he doesn't have them just that a lot of times, it's one crossover or jab step and he's there).

Carmelo has shown more shake and especially on the block, a real savvy which belies his years.

Plus he seems to have a mean streak, like he won't take s***. He was Punk'd and he sounded like a jaded 40-year old than a 20-year old. He's had the focus in the second half of this season but the rap against him is that he may not work the hardest. If that's true, then about 10 years from now, he may not be able to get by just on young legs.

Lebron definitely needs his Pippen. There's talk about them getting Redd but I'm not sure that's necessarily the solution.

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Sat Apr 23, 2005 4:33 pm

76ers hanging in a lot better against Pistons than most people would have expected. Can they steal one?

Parker · Post by **Parker** » Sat Apr 23, 2005 4:36 pm

If Iverson gets a foul call everytime he hits the floor, the 76ers can beat anyone.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Sat Apr 23, 2005 5:10 pm

Parker wrote:If Iverson gets a foul call everytime he hits the floor, the 76ers can beat anyone.

The game has already been officiated terribly...hell, even the great Iverson had two fouls in the first 3 minutes.

Parker · Post by **Parker** » Sat Apr 23, 2005 6:11 pm

Although the Pistons have an accomplished flopper of their own with Hamilton.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Sat Apr 23, 2005 6:36 pm

Could Yao be any slower. Holy crap I'm glad the Suns didn't draft till the 9th pick in 2002...that guy is like watching a game in slow motion.

jLp vAkEr0 · Post by **jLp vAkEr0** » Sat Apr 23, 2005 9:24 pm

Did I say Celtics in 6?

Ok I changed my mind. C's in 5.

No, seriously, that 1st half was total domination. Even though they started 1-13 from the field they still won the half by over 20 pts.

Celtics just have too much firepower for Indiana.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Sat Apr 23, 2005 9:42 pm

Wanna bet that the C's lose to Indiana in the series? So what, you played one good half.

jLp vAkEr0 · Post by **jLp vAkEr0** » Sat Apr 23, 2005 9:48 pm

dbdynsty25 wrote:Wanna bet that the C's lose to Indiana in the series? So what, you played one good half.

I'd actually take that kind of bet.

I don't see how someone would have so much faith in a team run by Anthony Johnson and that his only inside threat has a bumed shoulder.

Up by 33 btw.

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Sat Apr 23, 2005 9:53 pm

Indy's playing rope-a-dope. The C's are going to implode on their over-inflated confidence before game two.

Rick Carlisle is a great coach, I never would have come up with that strategy.

Actually, you hit on the main reason I think the Pacers don't have a chance to get anywhere in the playoffs--Anthony Johnson.

It is only one half though, you kind of sound like T-Mac when he talked about how nice it was to finally get out of the first round a few years ago. Still a long way to go me boy.

Parker · Post by **Parker** » Sat Apr 23, 2005 10:02 pm

Even with no artest, Pierce can't do anything against the Pacers....but anyway, what a horrible performance by them.

jLp vAkEr0 · Post by **jLp vAkEr0** » Sat Apr 23, 2005 10:05 pm

Dave wrote:Indy's playing rope-a-dope. The C's are going to implode on their over-inflated confidence before game two. Rick Carlisle is a great coach, I never would have come up with that strategy.

Actually, you hit on the main reason I think the Pacers don't have a chance to get anywhere in the playoffs--Anthony Johnson.

It is only one half though, you kind of sound like T-Mac when he talked about how nice it was to finally get out of the first round a few years ago. Still a long way to go me boy.

Yeah I know.

Still, my opinion is that the CURRENT Pacers can't beat these Celtics more that twice in this series.

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Sat Apr 23, 2005 10:56 pm

I've given up on trying to figure out this current Pacers team this year. They have alternated from amazingly competent (immediately after the brawl, a great stretch with about a month to go in the season) to the team you saw tonight. They might get swept or they might run off 4 straight at some point in the series.

Since I missed the first quarter, I didn't watch much of the game at all, so I have to ask--did they play Fred Jones at the point at all?

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Sun Apr 24, 2005 6:43 pm

Where did Larry Hughes buy a jump shot from?

Kwamme Brown actually showed some signs of the athleticism that Jordan must have seen.

Ben Gordon is some rookie. Instant offense. Kind of like Andrew Toney.

Boom · Post by **Boom** » Sun Apr 24, 2005 11:29 pm

Nuggets steal the home court advantage from the Spurs in game 1. Long way to go, but Denver taking game 1 in San Antonio makes this series very exciting.

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Sun Apr 24, 2005 11:39 pm

They allowed a lot of physical play. Chicago played very physical (but Washington was so soft inside that Nocioni almost got 20 rebounds) and they were letting them play in the Denver-San Antonio game too.

I think that got into Arenas' head and at the end of the game, he tried to bull his way through, got an offensive foul, may have gotten a teammate knocked out.

The Memphis-Phoenix game is all flash. White Chocolate used to be in the SC highlights all the time. His ballhandling and passing will get lost with all the 3s and dunks tho.

Brando70 · Post by **Brando70** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 12:09 am

wco81 wrote:Where did Larry Hughes buy a jump shot from?

Kwamme Brown actually showed some signs of the athleticism that Jordan must have seen.

Ben Gordon is some rookie. Instant offense. Kind of like Andrew Toney.

A nice end to a long, terrible basketball drought for the Bulls. Gordon and the mad Argentinian played like 10-year veterans. Nocioni was just everywhere, playing harder as the game went on. I think he was pissed about Arenas's comment about being dirty. I don't imagine that Jamison and Arenas will be cold for long, but I feel pretty good that the Bulls held Washington under 100 despite getting only 16 minutes out of Tyson Chandler. It looked like they turned back the clock five years on Antonio Davis tonight.