NBA Playoffs, 2005

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Thu May 19, 2005 11:29 pm

They're ahead of Dallas aren't they?

San Antonio has their hands full putting away the Sonics.

Both conference finals will be good battles. Any one of the 4 teams who make it to the next round are threats to win it.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Fri May 20, 2005 12:20 am

wco81 wrote:They're ahead of Dallas aren't they?

Yes, but the Suns have had trouble closing out teams in the past. Sure, it was the Kevin Johnson era, but still. I'm nervous.

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Fri May 20, 2005 8:35 am

dbdynsty25 wrote:Yes, but the Suns have had trouble closing out teams in the past. Sure, it was the Kevin Johnson era, but still. I'm nervous.

KJ is no Kelly Leak.

Those were some damn good teams in the 90s; the Suns are underrated for their ability to torment their fans. But since they aren't from Boston, we don't hear about it much.

I just don't want a Pistons-Spurs Finals. I will not watch that match-up.

vinny-b · Post by **vinny-b** » Fri May 20, 2005 8:57 am

nor would I.

I believe we can make it to the Finals, *if* we get a recovered Joe Johnson back. If not, we don't.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Fri May 20, 2005 11:31 am

Dave wrote:KJ is no Kelly Leak.

Those were some damn good teams in the 90s; the Suns are underrated for their ability to torment their fans. But since they aren't from Boston, we don't hear about it much.

I just don't want a Pistons-Spurs Finals. I will not watch that match-up.

Hey man...I'm the biggest KJ fan there is...I'm just used to my teams letting me down. With the exception of the '95 Braves and a few Hurricanes National Championships...my life has been filled with disappointing showings in the playoffs. I'm used to, and prepared for the worst. Watching JJ take a header on the court certainly constitutes another disappointing event...because like Vinny said, the Suns do not win a championship without him. With him, it's even money with the rest of the remaining teams.

What's sad is that the Phoenix fans will consider this season a bust if they do not win it all, or at least make it to the Finals. That's a shame, because at the start of the year, hardly anyone picked them to make the playoffs (or just squeak in). It's been a very successful season and they are basically playing with the houses money. Now if we can kick JJ down some of that money this summer, as well as extending STAT's contract...it should be fun for a few more years and they can possibly make another run at it.

I just feel bad for Joe...it sucks having to watch from the sidelines...I think its cool that all the Suns have JJ 2 wristbands. This is one of the tightest teams I've ever seen when it comes to their friendships on and off the court. Did anyone hear ANYTHING about guys bitching about playing time, fights in practice, anything? It really is a testament to D'Antoni and how he gets his guys to play together and to play for the bigger prize, not all the individual crap (even though that came in droves this year).

It's been a damn fun year...now they just have to win tonight and then there is a slight chance we could see JJ in the Spurs series.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Fri May 20, 2005 11:44 am

He's baaaaack...possibly Sunday. He's been cleared by his surgeon supposedly...now it's just up to the Suns and their medical staff.

I'm betting on the conference finals...but its good to see him getting fitted for the mask none the less.

Leebo33 · Post by **Leebo33** » Fri May 20, 2005 12:18 pm

dbdynsty25 wrote:What's sad is that the Phoenix fans will consider this season a bust if they do not win it all, or at least make it to the Finals. That's a shame, because at the start of the year, hardly anyone picked them to make the playoffs (or just squeak in). It's been a very successful season and they are basically playing with the houses money.

It just doesn't work that way in sports, does it? A team in the NFL can be coming off a 6-10 season, sign only a few marginal players in the offseason, have young or unproven players starting at key positions, have all the experts predict them to finish .500 or worse, end up winning 15 games with a rookie QB and a ton of injuries, and people will still call them overrated or chokers if they don't win it all. Phoenix needs to make it to the Finals or the season is a bust for them IMO. Teams like the 2001 Patriots, Pistons, Angels, Marlins, 2000 Ravens, etc. have ridden the house money all the way to rings in recent years. Let's hope Phoenix can do the same this year.

Inuyasha · Post by **Inuyasha** » Fri May 20, 2005 12:53 pm

After seeing the 2nd round, I dont know if PHX can now get past SA. Before the playoffs I thought PHX would beat SA in 6 games, but not sure now. I'll root for the Suns in the west.

In the East, the Pistons are back to form. This series with the pacers helped them finally wake up and realize it's the playoffs. They are finally looking like the team that won it all last year with that defense.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Sat May 21, 2005 12:10 am

Awwww yeah. So sweet for Steve Nash...gotta love it.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Sat May 21, 2005 12:12 am

BTW...who said Steve Nash wasn't an MVP worthy...good god. The man has lived up to the hype.

Marion...unbelievable tonight.

vinny-b · Post by **vinny-b** » Sat May 21, 2005 12:15 am

Nash carries the team on his back (again). The debate over league MVP can stop now.

bdoughty · Post by **bdoughty** » Sat May 21, 2005 12:16 am

dbdynsty25 wrote:BTW...who said Steve Nash wasn't an MVP worthy...good god. The man has lived up to the hype.

Marion...unbelievable tonight.

Both were great but you should also give Jim Jackson a little love for the two big 3's in the 4th quarter. Would have been great to see a game 7 but they move on.

Heat over the Pistons in 5

Spurs over the Suns in 6

vinny-b · Post by **vinny-b** » Sat May 21, 2005 12:20 am

it is sweet, DB.

and at least they get a extra day or 2 of rest now. Here's hopeing Q and company get their 3 pt stroke back. They will need it.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Sat May 21, 2005 12:24 am

Now lets just hope they get Joe Johnson back on Sunday and all can be well in Suns land. I'd like them to play the Spurs at full strength to see how they really stack up.

Brando70 · Post by **Brando70** » Sat May 21, 2005 1:38 am

vinny-b wrote:Nash carries the team on his back (again). The debate over league MVP can stop now.

I was (am) an idiot. Nash has played unbelievable basketball in the playoffs. The three to tie it at the end of regulation was clutch -- he had no doubt what he was doing the minute he got the ball. He is much, much better than I gave him credit for.

What was Nowitski thinking with that turnaround 3?

Should be excellent Conference finals on both sides.

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Sat May 21, 2005 10:11 am

Nash stepped up his game with the injury to Johnson and the way the Mavs stopped switching out to contain Stoudemire. He was getting layups and looks inside the lane all the time. But it was ridiculous that they backed off him on that key 3-point shot.

Finley just disappeared and in key moments, Nowitski couldn't deliver (although he was fouled on 2 or 3 straight possessions in OT when the Suns got out to that lead). Cuban's worst nightmare come true, but I don't think Nash would have been nearly as effective if he stayed with the Mavs, who don't have anyone like Stoudemire to cause teams to collapse and leave the outside shooters so open.

Should be a good series against the Spurs and either Detroit or Miami if they get there. Spurs and Pistons are obviously way better defensive teams than the Mavs but if the Suns shoot close to or above 50% on 3-pointers as well as a very high FG percentage, they'll be hard to beat. Dallas is a better shooting team than Detroit or SA but shot poorly in a couple of games including the clincher because they were under pressure to try to keep up with the Suns' hot shooting.

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Sun May 22, 2005 6:16 pm

So much for better defense. Both teams shot really well. Well maybe a bit under average for the Suns, but the Spurs probably shot way higher than average.

Average points per game must be up this year, just based on the series the Suns play in.

bdoughty · Post by **bdoughty** » Sun May 22, 2005 6:25 pm

wco81 wrote:So much for better defense. Both teams shot really well. Well maybe a bit under average for the Suns, but the Spurs probably shot way higher than average.

Average points per game must be up this year, just based on the series the Suns play in.

Spurs averaged 114 points in the 3 games against the Suns this year. They have shown they could play a faster paced game during the regular season when needed.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Sun May 22, 2005 7:24 pm

The Suns need to just play Duncan straight up...especially if Barry and Horry keep hittin' the threes. Spurs were hitting everything...but the Suns defense on the whole was pretty horrible. It's pretty easy to hit wide open shots...at least the Spurs contested the shots by Phoenix.

Sully · Post by **Sully** » Sun May 22, 2005 7:40 pm

The Suns only went 7 deep with their roster. They desperately need Joe Johnson back in the lineup. What's his status for Game 2?

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Sun May 22, 2005 8:10 pm

Word is that he'll be back in game 3.

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Mon May 23, 2005 10:53 pm

Interesting contrast from the Western Conference game. Both teams well under 100 points, although they didn't shoot that bad. Not a whole lot of 3-point shots attempted.

Pistons made Wade work for his points.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Mon May 23, 2005 11:00 pm

Boring pretty much sums up my thoughts on Eastern Conference basketball. Sure, there is no defense in the west, but it's still a hellova lot more entertaining.

Post by **ScoopBrady** » Mon May 23, 2005 11:11 pm

Give me defense and earned baskets any day of the week.

bdoughty · Post by **bdoughty** » Tue May 24, 2005 12:04 am

dbdynsty25 wrote:Boring pretty much sums up my thoughts on Eastern Conference basketball. Sure, there is no defense in the west, but it's still a hellova lot more entertaining.

Ditto... I started get drowsy midway through the 3rd quarter. The Pistons and the Suns would make for an interesting matchup in the finals but I will still go with Miami and SA.