NBA

[Guest xsilentangel]

I hope Celtics win, SERIOUSLY! To end it all tonight would be niceeeeee.

Hamilton is injured, but playing, and Celtics should take advantage of that.

Pistons look pretty lazy in the playoffs too.

Homecourt advantage in the playoffs.... I wonder how things will swing..

If Celtics win tonight, I think they will be OK on the road.. (after those 2 crazy rounds!)

Spurs really can't hold a lead.. They had a great first quarter though.. After that o_O.... Dang

HAHAHA

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs2008...tory?id=3417868

Lol one more technical and he's out of here. (He currently has 6 in the playoffs.)

[Guest RE.]

Gasol was present in NONE of those four games... so regular season matchups hold zero weight in this particular scenario.

Its true that Gasol wasnt present for any of the piston series. The Lakers are 1-1 vs the pistons w/o him. So i like the odds against the pistons a lot more than against the celtics.

The Celtics have K. Perkins who is strong (Gasol have problem against strong Defenders)

And weak side help with K.G. who's going to leave Lamar to shoot jumpers (which he isnt very good at)

hopefully the Lakers prove me wrong and blow whoever the opponents out of the water. LOL

i believe the spurs lost the regular season series to both the Suns and the Hornets.

So much for the regular season.

N.O. were 2-2

Phoenix were 3-1 (losing marion, and spurs adding K.T., i think changed it up)

[Guest GO!zilla]

i believe the spurs lost the regular season series to both the Suns and the Hornets.

So much for the regular season.

i guess individual games don't matter much

but seeing how the 4 teams with the best record in the regular season

did make it to the conference finals... the regular season does matter.

[Guest xsilentangel]

Probably Celtics vs. Lakers, but Lakers are gonna win. Ray Allen hasn't been doing that well so far, but Gasol hasn't either. Rondo sometimes makes stupid decisions and stupid passes, but so does Luke Walton. KG and Pierce, but there's Kobe (MVP) and Odom.

FYI: You need more than two people to guard Kobe or he will knock shots all day.

You think the Celtics will lose because they can't watch Kobe?

[Guest mojomunkeez]

You think the Celtics will lose because they can't watch Kobe?

That's what happened to every other team so far.

[Guest supa'Wanki]

I predict a Lakers vs. Celtics Final, and a champion Lakers.

[Guest kuku]

Wow there are SO many BS calls from the refs in the Celtics VS Pistons game.

Did anyone agree how it was greatly biased towards Pistons? Seriously....

When Pierce made that three and Hamilton jumped over him... what was that about?

Seriously, the more I watch the more I'm hating the ref calls.

________________

Why doesn't Rondo ever take the opportunity? There's so many chances he can score, but he always has a tendency to pass to a teammate.

________________

Lakers VS Celtics!!!

[Guest GO!zilla]

Congrats to Celtics.

According to Soompi Forums, conspiracy has led you to the Finals.

[Guest xsilentangel]

CELTICS VS LAKERS BABY!

I'm damn proud .. Watching these guys play all season. Can't wait for Thursday!

Very nice James Posey and Leon Powe for making small plays that inched us to lead!

Wow there are SO many BS calls from the refs in the Celtics VS Pistons game.

Did anyone agree how it was greatly biased towards Pistons? Seriously....

When Pierce made that three and Hamilton jumped over him... what was that about?

Seriously, the more I watch the more I'm hating the ref calls.

________________

Why doesn't Rondo ever take the opportunity? There's so many chances he can score, but he always has a tendency to pass to a teammate.

________________

Lakers VS Celtics!!!

SERIOUSLY.

That was a possible four point play.

That was such a biased call.

I'm happy anyways.. Last time we went to the Finals = 1987

Oh gosh this is MAD exciting!

[Guest GO!zilla]

CELTICS VS LAKERS BABY!

I'm damn proud .. Watching these guys play all season. Can't wait for Thursday!

It's a long time wait.

Lakers take game 1 because of this break.

Imagine all the jitters and thoughts that'll go on for a week.

Too bad Lakers do have the guys who have been there.

Just looking at Doc Rivers after winning makes me smile

[teatoast]

ahhas oh man this thread moves quite fast, im kinda upset that pistons lost, i wanted them to play the lakers .. boo

but Celtics chanting "beat LA" .. i was thinking oh no, LAkers are going to beat them. I can't wait till thursday.

[Guest Jiwu]

I'm right with my prediction I posted here. I smelled it's gonna be Lakers vs. Celtics. About who's gonna win, I'm not sure, totally unpredictable!

[Guest supa'Wanki]

It'd be sick if they played in retro jerseys.

There's going to be tons of smack talking from now till thursday.

[xman150]

^haha, if they do that they should bring back those short shorts of doom from earlier this season. ultra retro. Lakers in 6.

[Guest KeepinItReal]

Celtics in 5.

Reasons Why

-Home-court advantage

-Celtics top three is better than the Lakers top three, Kobe> Ray Pierce > Odom KG> Gasol

-Yes Lakers are better offensively but the Celtics are better defensively and defense wins games.

-Celts-Experience veteran players who are capable of playing on the biggest stage of their career. Gasol? Odom? Famar? don't know.. More likely that they will choke

-The tradition, the dynasty, and the history of the Celts. They're just destined to win..and now is the time

[Guest Seipher]

I would love to see the Finals go for seven close, hard-fought games, but the Laker fan in me wants to see Kobe and company take the title earlier than that. It'll be very hard for the Lakers to contain the Big Three, but with the experienced Fisher running the point versus Rondo, I think the Lakers have a good chance of winning. Fisher, along with Bryant, have the experince of playing in the Finals while Boston's popular trio are playing in their first ever Finals. Granted, with players the caliber of Garnett, Pierce and Allen, I doubt the lack of experience wouldn't stop them from being productive, far from it, but I'm curious to see how will they perform on the big stage. They had trouble hitting free throws near the end that could've finished off the Pistons a little earlier, and while that didn't turn out bad at all, it makes me wonder if they'll have the poise to finish the job should the situation present itself in the Finals. With Bryant, the Lakers have their go-to guy to close out games, but it seem the Celtics don't really have that type of closer. I would think Pierce would be the guy, especially after his Game 7 performance against the Cavs, but to me there doesn't seem to one who'll step up like a Kobe Bryant or Lebron James. Whether or not it'll hurt 'em in close games remains to be seen, but it does lead me to wonder who will step up in crunch time. The Celtics have great defense, certainly, but if Radmanovic, Vujacic, Walton and the rest of the bench can get their shots to hit, it'll be hard for the Celtics to just close down on Bryant, Gasol or Odom.

Well, I hope the Lakers take the title, but the Celtics have just as good a shot as the Lakers do.

[Guest mojomunkeez]

The Lakers have shown that they could care less about playing at home or on the road. The Celtics, on the other hand.....haven't.

There is no one on the Celtics that can stop Kobe Bryant, and that's the truth. On the other hand, Vujacic is more than capable defending Ray Allen, especially since Allen isn't too mobile anymore, and Kobe can lock down any player. The combination of Gasol and Odom has proven that they can slow down premier post players such as Boozer and Duncan.

Too often people overlook the Lakers' defense, which is actually very good. They limit other teams to one of the lowest FG% in the league. The Lakers have shown that they are capable of adjusting to the halfcourt style of stay just as well as their regular fast-paced offense. Boston hasn't shown any versatility in their play style.

The Celtics also have no experience whatsoever playing on this stage. Their "veterans" on the bench consist of nonfactors such as Sam Cassell and PJ Brown. The bench is extremely thin and overmatched compared to the Lakers' bench.

And what happens when Ray Allen forgets how to play basketball again? It's all too likely.

Lakers in 6, at most.

[Guest GO!zilla]

i think rad and vuja is going to guard pierce. just a hunch.

garnett will be defended by lamar

kendrick by paul

kobe will guard rando

fisher on allen.

^the last two can change

i have lakers in 5

Celtics in 5.

Reasons Why

-Home-court advantage

-Celtics top three is better than the Lakers top three, Kobe> Ray Pierce > Odom KG> Gasol

-Yes Lakers are better offensively but the Celtics are better defensively and defense wins games.

-Celts-Experience veteran players who are capable of playing on the biggest stage of their career. Gasol? Odom? Famar? don't know.. More likely that they will choke

-The tradition, the dynasty, and the history of the Celts. They're just destined to win..and now is the time

not really... its 2-3-2 format.

you're saying celtics will steal two in staples... i can laugh at that thought.

[Guest I<3SunSunYeMi]

lakers will win,no doubt

[Guest RE.]

the biggest concern is who is going to guard P.P.?

Ariza? He's not gonna get much minutes

Newble? Is he even going to suit up?

Kobe? Maybe in the last couple mins. P.P. is too strong for Kobe

Rad? I laugh

Luke? Puke

Lamar? Not quick enough

Sasha? He's gonna be on the ground all day