2007 NBA Playoffs

WillHunting · Post by **WillHunting** » Fri May 04, 2007 2:24 pm

Unless the ping pong ball dropped nicely, I won't be referring the Celtics as MY Celtics.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Sun May 06, 2007 12:49 am

Go TMac!

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Sun May 06, 2007 6:36 pm

Tough break for Nash and the Suns but Spurs were lights out on offense. Duncan was left one on one most of the game and when the other Spurs got their looks from the outside, they put those shots away.

Feanor · Post by **Feanor** » Sun May 06, 2007 7:41 pm

I really, really wish the NBA re-seeded after the first round the way the NHL does. I am a Suns fan who would have much rather faced the Warriors than the Spurs, but I think it makes sense in general.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Mon May 07, 2007 1:03 am

wco81 wrote:Tough break for Nash and the Suns but Spurs were lights out on offense. Duncan was left one on one most of the game and when the other Spurs got their looks from the outside, they put those shots away.

Yeah, that was a tough break, but the way the Spurs executed down the stretch, I don't think it would have much mattered.

The Suns would be fine if they had an answer to Tony Parker...he's the guy that just kills the Suns. I almost wish they would go to a matchup zone...and just leave two guys at the top against TP. Oh well, I'm not the coach, but I just wish they would try something else. Three years running, they have no answer.

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Tue May 08, 2007 2:02 pm

Warriors had a chance to win and they went for the aggressive 3-pointer to win rather than to try to tie.

They were crushed on the boards but shot pretty well.

Problem is, so did Utah and they didn't win the turnovers or points off turnovers by enough to offset all those rebounds they gave up.

Winning in Utah is going to be a tough nut to crack. Boozer didn't go off on scoring but the rebounding disparity can't continue.

Small lineup may meet its limit.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Tue May 08, 2007 3:11 pm

wco81 wrote:Small lineup may meet its limit.

The Suns know all about it...they got destroyed by SA in the first game as well. A lot of it was hustle though...SA getting 4 possessions down the stretch with offensive rebounds cannot happen in a tight game.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Wed May 09, 2007 12:21 am

Is anyone else watching the Suns/Spurs? They just interviewed Gretzky and dude was slurring and mixing his words...was dude trashed? I thought he was always pretty well spoken, so it was strange. LOL.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Wed May 09, 2007 1:12 am

That's the Suns team I know and love. Now they gotta get it done in San Antonio at least once. The media in the past two days has been hammering them saying they have given up or whatever...maybe that'll shut em up for a bit. Geeze. I thought it was funny on Rome is Burning yesterday when the guest host (I forget who) called this series the NBA Finals...and he's pretty much right.

lexbur · Post by **lexbur** » Wed May 09, 2007 10:34 am

dbdynsty25 wrote: I thought it was funny on Rome is Burning yesterday when the guest host (I forget who) called this series the NBA Finals...and he's pretty much right.

Definitely.

lexbur · Post by **lexbur** » Fri May 11, 2007 1:42 pm

Was kinda hoping the Bulls would put up at least a little bit of a fight.

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Fri May 11, 2007 1:47 pm

Warriors' ride may be over. They're going to have to work so hard to win 2 at home. Then they get to go up to Utah again.

Giving up too many easy baskets off rebounds while they have to cast so many 3-pointers to be in the game.

Too many minutes for the 7-man rotation too.

But it's been a great ride, even if they got past the second round, Spurs would crush them and Suns would probably win easily as well. Warriors had some success against the Suns but none versus the Spurs.

Utah is looking a lot better than they actually are but Kirilenko is the X-factor and Williams is playing like an all-pro.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Fri May 11, 2007 2:02 pm

wco81 wrote:Too many minutes for the 7-man rotation too.

That's not an excuse...the Suns play a 7 man rotation 90% of the time if they aren't playing the Spurs. James Jones and Barbosa are usually the only guys used outside of the starters. If anyone else comes in, it's for like 5 min. and only because of foul trouble.

Brando70 · Post by **Brando70** » Fri May 11, 2007 2:26 pm

lexbur wrote:Was kinda hoping the Bulls would put up at least a little bit of a fight.

They have just been abyssmal. I thought they would have a lot of momentum coming out of the Heat series, but Detroit just punched them in the mouth. It's like they're Tyrone Hill and Detroit are Charles Oakley looking for his dice money.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Fri May 11, 2007 2:34 pm

Brando70 wrote:
lexbur wrote:Was kinda hoping the Bulls would put up at least a little bit of a fight.
They have just been abyssmal. I thought they would have a lot of momentum coming out of the Heat series, but Detroit just punched them in the mouth. It's like they're Tyrone Hill and Detroit are Charles Oakley looking for his dice money.

That just goes to show you how BAD the Heat really were this year. The Bulls absolutely ROLLED them, but when they play a team that has a little bit of defense, the Bulls just can't get it going.

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Fri May 11, 2007 6:04 pm

Excuse or not, they're not running down the lose balls or swarming to the ball like they've been doing the past two months.

Utah has had more energy despite having fewer days of rest after the first round.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Tue May 15, 2007 7:54 pm

Nothing like the NBA handing the Spurs the series.

jLp vAkEr0 · Post by **jLp vAkEr0** » Tue May 15, 2007 8:18 pm

dbdynsty25 wrote:Nothing like the NBA handing the Spurs the series.

Dirk who?

Robert Horry is the real MVP.

Wow.. horrible break for the Suns.

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Tue May 15, 2007 8:58 pm

The Suns should just send out a scrub to deck Duncan right in front of the Spurs bench to see if they can get anyone to leave their seat.

At TrueHoop today, I thought I read Duncan technically left the bench after a hard foul against the Spurs earlier in the game. If so, gotta go by the letter of the rule, right?

*edit*
Of course someone's posted it on YouTube...looks like it wasn't after a foul, but after an up-ending of a Spur:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y39nRO5keRM

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Tue May 15, 2007 11:59 pm

Yes you are right. A little birdy told me (well, my mom who works for D'Antoni) said that they were all furious that nothing happened to Duncan and Bowen who did the same thing. That is what took the league so long this morning to come to the conclusion they came to. Just unfair. That is all you can really say.

Jackdog · Post by **Jackdog** » Wed May 16, 2007 5:31 am

dbdynsty25 wrote:Yes you are right. A little birdy told me (well, my mom who works for D'Antoni) said that they were all furious that nothing happened to Duncan and Bowen who did the same thing. That is what took the league so long this morning to come to the conclusion they came to. Just unfair. That is all you can really say.

Your right. It's horseshit! If they are going to go by the letter of the law,then Duncan and Bowen should be out for a game as well. This is really one of the most stupid calls I have ever seen in sports. I hope the Suns pull this off and make it to the Finals.

Brando70 · Post by **Brando70** » Wed May 16, 2007 9:55 am

I really wish the Bulls hadn't blown game three now. I am rooting for them but winning two more against the Pistons will be pretty tough.

The Suns suspensions are just complete nonsense. They need to change that rule. I understand they are trying to prevent fights, but I'd rather see them punish fighting than someone getting a bit worked up and just leaving the bench. Could you imagine what would happen to baseball if they had this rule?

EZSnappin · Post by **EZSnappin** » Wed May 16, 2007 2:02 pm

JackDog wrote:
dbdynsty25 wrote:Yes you are right. A little birdy told me (well, my mom who works for D'Antoni) said that they were all furious that nothing happened to Duncan and Bowen who did the same thing. That is what took the league so long this morning to come to the conclusion they came to. Just unfair. That is all you can really say.
Your right. It's horseshit! If they are going to go by the letter of the law,then Duncan and Bowen should be out for a game as well. This is really one of the most stupid calls I have ever seen in sports. I hope the Suns pull this off and make it to the Finals.

I don't have a dog in this race, unless you count wanting to see the best basketball the NBA has to offer. That is not going to happen because two Suns players couldn't keep their cool and trust that their teammates on the floor, three officials and their own coach would be able to make sure Nash was okay (I'll give them the benefit of the doubt that what they wanted to do was protect Steve, not go after any of the Spurs). That was dumb, and it is those two players that should apologize to their team and fans.

As far as Duncan and Bowen coming onto the floor, the ref could have T'd them up for it (you're not supposed to be on the floor unless you're checked in), but that's it. The auto suspension rule is in regards to altercations only, and though no real punches were thrown the aftermath of the Horry foul it was definitely an altercation, with people restrained etc. In the 2nd quarter incident, there wasn't an altercation; no Spur player jumped in James Jones' face, the refs didn't jump in between to separate anyone. Heck, Elson looked at the official with a WTF expression - he didn't chase after Jones or yell at him or anything. It is disingenuous to compare the two on the floor activities.

The rule is in place because the NBA can't judge intent. More people on the floor adds to the turmoil regardless of the reason; think of the Rudy T incident. He was trying to break up the fight, but Kermit Washington just saw a player from the other team charging at him and, feeling threatened, hit Rudy and almost killed him. Amare and Boris getting into the mass of bodies could have easily turned it to a fight, regardless of if that was what was on their mind.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Wed May 16, 2007 2:33 pm

Amare and Boris lost their cool? How so? They took a few steps toward their best player to make sure he was ok. Now, had they walked toward Horry, I could see how you could say they lost their cool...but they didn't come charging at the guy to attack him or even get in the middle of things. Boris went straight for Steve and I assume Amare was doing the same but he was just casually walking. Now, were they wrong, yes. They know the rules. But saying they lost their cool...that's a stretch.

Had they headed toward mid-court where Bell was surrounded by 4 Spurs, fine, I can see your point, but they went straight for Steve and that's it. It's a ridiculous suspension when you take into account the "other" stuff that has gone on in the series. Bowen purposely kicking Amare while jumping. Bowen kneeing Nash in the package...and stuff like the Baron Davis incident in the Utah/GS series. That stuff is 10x worse than anything Amare or Boris did. And do you really think Boris is gonna fight anyone. If anything, he'd pull the 'Melo...punch and run. He's FRENCH!

All in all, it's just unfair. The Suns get punished for Robert Horry's cowardly cheapshot. That's what it comes down to. If the Suns had come out throwing punches...you'd have an arguement...but they didn't. There is a reason why damn near every columnist is up in arms this morning. And it's not cuz the Pastry and Stat came off the bench.

EZSnappin · Post by **EZSnappin** » Wed May 16, 2007 4:44 pm

dbdynsty25 wrote:Amare and Boris lost their cool? How so?

They left the bench when they knew the consequences. Them going over does nothing in that situation.

The end result sucks. But it is the player's fault for not trusting the situation was under control. If they don't leave the bench, Horry is gone for two games and they have an advantage. They cost their team by losing their cool or their minds or trying to show that they're tough or whatever you want to call it. I don't want to call them stupid, but the NBA has had this rule in black and white for a decade.

Davis should have been benched, and Richardson too - his foul on Okur was worse than the Stackhouse one last year that cost Stack a game in the finals. Bowen got a flagrant assessed after the fact for the knee to Nash and probably should have for the kick. But none of these are comparable to this incident; these two were boneheads and broke a rule of which there are no exceptions, whereas each and every one of the others is a judgment call, with some leeway written into it. Leaving the bench is hard and fast one game, plus more if you do anything besides add to the tension and milling about. The commissioner has no ability to rule otherwise at this time, though hopefully this rule will be revised and some opportunity for wiggle room or adjudication introduced.

The Suns hurt themselves, no ifs ands or buts. Total shame, as they don't deserve it.