powerclown

All over but the shouting for NJ. Really effed up what Uncle Cliffy pulled on that team...Miami closes it out next game.

After being shut down the first 2 games, LeBron "GOES OFF" for a triple double (barely) in a Cavs win, and suddenly the series is back in the headlines. I like LeBron, but the Pistons continue to get no love. Fortunately, this is a source of motivation for Detroit, and they will end this series in the next 2 games.

Battle Royal in Dallas last night. Duncan is a monster. A nappy-headed monster. Nowitzki is a drooling, sweating Ostrogoth. I'd like to see Dallas win, because I think SA has another "Finals" gear they pull out of their asses against Detroit.

Poor Minnesota. How stupid can you be to give up Sam Cassell for nothing. Clippers in seven!!!

Kadath

powerclown:
I agree that LeBron get a lots of love from the media even if the Cavs are getting beat (which seems likely in this series, as much as I hate to say it). However, "barely" getting a triple double is like hitting a home run just over the wall -- it's still a great feat. I think the Cavs can probably get one more game, but they'll lose the series 4-2.

The media is going to report what the casual fan cares about. Tiger Woods, LeBron, Bonds' HR chase, even if nothing happened.

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powerclown

So true...but jesus, the LeBron corporate headjob is ridiculous.

Example: During Game 3 in Cleveland, the Pistons are up by 10 in the second quarter, and we gets this from Brent Musberger:

(long, awkward silence from the commentators) .... "Yeah, I'm just waiting for something good to happen."

SOMETHING GOOD IS HAPPENING...THE PISTONS ARE UP BY 10, FOOL!!! DON'T YOU HAVE ANYTHING WHATSOEVER TO SAY ABOUT THAT?

You watch tonight. Detroit will be up by 25 at halftime, and all we'll see are LeBron highlights. If there aren't any of those, we'll just see highlights from last night's games.

Kadath

I say this with full knowledge that the Cavs will lose this series:
HAHA!

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powerclown

Just unbelievable. I've watched just about every Pistons game in the last 3 years, and these last 2 have been among the absolute worst. Out of nowhere, Billups suddenly decides to become Allen Iverson, play 1 on 1, and stop passing the ball (and not scoring). Rasheed played like shit after talking shit, then he rolls his ankle on top of that. God only knows why Maurice Evans is on this team - he should be flipping burgers at Burger King. The rest of the bench was uncharacteristically useless. The Pistons scored over 100 points the first 2 games for christ sake! 7 turnovers in the 4th quarter!!

Credit to Cleveland. They played extremely good defensively, they played with emotion, and they deserved to win both these games. If the Pistons continue to play this way, Cleveland will win this series.

This is very disturbing!

maximusveritas

These playoffs have been very good this year. There have been some bad calls as well, but overall, this has been one of the better ones in recent memory. So many close finishes and clutch performances.
I think the Pistons have been way too over-confident. They really needed this to scare them back into shape.
And even though I picked the Mavs, I'm still surprised to see them up 3-1. But as we saw with the Suns-Lakers series, it's not over yet. Duncan looks like he's back to normal and they've just got too many weapons to be counted out.

Lockjaw

But the Mavericks present some horrible matchup issues for the Spurs and the Mavs are not the soft team that shoots jumpers all night anymore. I'd wager the Spurs won't punk out in San Antonio but I'm saying the Mavs close it out in Game 6 after they beat on San An in Game 5 but maybe don't get the bounces to win.

inkriminator

It really looks like San Antonio is done...I think the Spurs took their place in the finals for granted and turned it on too late.

Rasheed is either an idiot or a genius for his comments before game 4. I think it definitely provided the extra emotion for bothplayers and fans to help the cav's pull out the game...but all they did was hold serve. I think it was too emotional of a game and the pistons will blowout the cav's in the next game....games six and possibly seven will be great basketball, I guarantee it. (anybody know why Drew Gooden was on the bench with 2 fouls during crunch time?)

Stick a fork in NJ because they are done...why the hell is Carter ball-handling late in the game when you have Jason Kidd on the roster...i don't get it. Dwayne Wade is proving he is the real deal and will lead Miami to the finals over Detroit/Cav's

powerclown

I'd choose idiot to describe Rasheed right now. He's talking, the Pistons are sucking, the Cavs are fired up, and Sheed is now injured.

That Mavs-Spurs game last night took some of the taste of vomit out of my mouth after Detroit's putrid non-performance. How great was that game? While the Spurs are in a deeep hole, I can't count them out. I still have nightmares of Robert Horry burying that 3 (ON SHEED) to destroy the Pistons last year. SA is too good, and they're playing extremely well. Dallas has just been playing better, which I never thought would happen. But if anyone can pull this out, it's the Spurs.

inkriminator

I haven't been able to see too much of any of the games out west due to The timezone split and more importantly the fact that this is fiinals week at uni...

from what i've been reading, its the small ball that avery johnson is using thats giving the spurs trouble...the spurs are a dominating defensive team when their big men are controllign the paint but due to small-ball they can't do that. Avery johnson really deserves the award he got this year.

the clippers are clearly enjoying one of the biggest turnarounds in sports history (i enjoy hyperbole) but if they win they are goign to lose to the spurs/mavs (i also enjoy getting ahead of myself)

I haven't been this into the playoffs since the Philadelphia Iversons played the Lakers in the Finals....You Gotta Love It

inkriminator

You know, if I were the Spurs I would play:
Duncan,
Nazr Mohammed
Ginobili
Finley
Parker
for their main minutes, this would allow the spurs to assert their dominance in rebounds/blocks while keeping flexibility to D up the quick guys and score in bunches.

powerclown

I like that rotation -- a lot of firepower in that group. Plus they'd have a superior defender and decent shooters coming off the bench. Sooo deep. Yet, so many guys have been stepping up for Dallas too, especially Devin Harris. For a 23 year old kid in only his 2nd NBA season, he's been phenomenal this series. Jason Terry has been excellent as well. Unlike a certain underperforming top team in the East, all the teams left in the West have been playing great basketball.

The Philadelphia Iversons...has a certain ring to it.

inkriminator

I give vast amounts of credit to Avery Johnson. Jason Terry has always had ability but I can't remember a situation in which he's played so well inside the team concept. Devin Harris is an absolute gift to the Mav's....i would LOVE to see the Mav's - Suns reunite in the finals....Cuban would be good for at least $50,000 worth in fines.

Halx

Oh man.. tonight's Clippers game was nervewracking. So tense.. and they let it get away. The Suns just have so much firepower and depth. You can foul out their stars and they still come right back at you. If the fuckin' Suns beat both of my teams, I'm gonna be very disappointed. The least I can ask of my guys is to take them to 7 games.

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inkriminator

I hate you west-coasters....I just watched the clips on ESPN
[http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=260516021]

I was getting goosebumps watching the way Marion was struggling to get up after tweaking his ankle...that is one of the reasons I love sports...indescribable

I think there's a good chance Marion finished the game on an endorphin high....if this is the case and if he can't play 100% game six will be the clips...fuck finals, i'm watching.

Lockjaw

Ok but you have a couple of problems here.
Nazr is not going to be able to guard Dirk. They do that high pick and roll with Dirk and Mohammed is not going to be able to keep up with him when Dirk puts it on the floor. Bowen is the only reason Dirk has been some what silent. I mean he's only averaging 24 PPG and that includes him getting to the line a lot. Dirk will have Mohammed in foul trouble early or he's going to get torched.

Parker can NOT D up Devin Harris right now. Devin is looking against the Spurs like Parker looks like against everybody else.

Finley...you do not want him starting the game right now. The man is a defensive liability. Daniels would abuse him.

I like the idea of the defender coming off the bench to maybe help stem the runs the Mavs tend to go on when Duncan is sitting but there are one too many match up problems that for this line up to work one would hope Dirk is going to have an off night. Otherwise it's going to be a massacre early if Dirk gets hot and gets on track for a 40 point game.

powerclown

Well, Uncle Cliffy, hope that joint was worth costing your team an early exit in the 2nd round of the 2006 NBA Playoffs. Your ganja bill is going to rise exponetially when you have to face Jason Kidd and Vince Carter to explain how you could screw your team over when they needed you most. Have fun playing in Siberia for the rest of your career.

On the opposite spectrum of athletic excellence, how clutch is Raja Bell??? How tense of a game was that? I thought LA had it locked up for sure, but Raja Bell hits an evil, demonic, cold-blooded 3 in OT that would've make Kobe Bryant weep. Just sick! If the Clippers can come back from this to force a game 7, it will be some kind of miracle. The Clips really missed having Kaman down the stretch.

Sam Cassell, on The Executioner's OT 3: "We had a young guy in the game. It's not his fault that Raja made his shot, but we've got to know better in that situation," Cassell said. "We've got a foul to give, we've got to put Raja Bell in the fifth row with the popcorn man, but we didn't do it." Classic!

maximusveritas

The Suns sure look like a team of destiny right now. Wins like that really bring teams together. The problem for them might be that their bodies are breaking down and they might not have enough left in the tank to go on. Tim Thomas, Marion, and Nash have all had injuries and are suffering physically. Kurt Thomas isn't ready to come back and may never be. Brian Grant is finished. Eddie House has disappeared. They're relying on just 7 guys, at least 3 of whom are worn down. It's gonna take alot of guts for them to pull this off, but luckilly, I think they have it.

I do expect the Spurs and Pistons to come through tonight as well. They know what's at stake and they'll be ready at home.

Kadath

powerclown: you have my sympathies. That game could easily have gone either way.

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byesman

I think some will need to rethink their Cavs-Pistons predictions. Ever since the GuaranSheed, the Pistons have imploded...

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maximusveritas

I think the death of the brother of Larry Hughes probably also had an effect. It looks like the team has really rallied around Larry and the decision to go to the funeral was a very good one, not just for basketball reasons.
I never would have expected both the Spurs and Pistons to be one game away from elimination this early. I still wouldn't count either of them out, but I wouldn't want to be in their position.

powerclown

Thanks but the Pistons earned that loss. Again, they didn't play anywhere near how they've been playing all year long and up to the last 3 games. Who knows why. Bottom line: The Cavs have come to play, LeBron is a force and Detroit is struggling with something. I agree: the Larry Hughes thing could be bringing a lot of confidence to the Cavs. Hard to believe the Spurs are on the verge of elimination also. No lack of drama this year...

Lockjaw

The Mavs/Spurs overtime game and the Suns/Clips Double OT game wasn't drama enough for ya?

powerclown

That's what I'm saying...it's been a great playoffs. At this point, I'm just hoping the Pistons series ends already and I can enjoy the rest of the playoffs without worrying about how Detroit is doing. I can't take the stress anymore!!

Kurant

I don't understand.

The TNT crew is stressng defense for the Pistons, I have news for you. Numbers don't lie.

Cleveland is more then 13 less per game then the regular season in this series. Lebron is more then 10 under his points per game. Almost every single player on the roster except Varejao is under in almost every category when compared to the regular season.

It's not defense, The Cavs are making the Pistons work for every bucket through hard fouls, and good perimeter defense and with no interior Detroit is working that much harder, somthing they haven't had to do since Larry Brown left.

I still think Detroit wins this series, but really. Defense isn't the problem.

Halx

I'm performing voodoo rituals right now to make sure the Clippers win tonight.

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maximusveritas

Voodoo rituals? Does that involve sticking pins into a Raja Bell doll? If so, I'd be careful. Raja Bell is so tough that when you stick his voodoo doll with a pin, it reaches up and clotheslines you. Yes, Raja Bell is Chuck Norris with a 3-point shot.

In other news, the Jason Terry suspension just made things even more interesting in the Mavs-Spurs series. Personally, I don't think Jason should have been suspended, but I also think this could work out in the Mavs' favor, just like Raja's suspension worked in the Suns' favor. Jason has a bigger offensive role than Raja did, but now that Devin Harris is playing well, I think Dallas might be able to compensate. Dirk will need to take a bigger role than he has so far in the series, but he's more than capable of doing that.

powerclown

People are not happy campers here in Detroit. They are blaming everyone and everything, from the coach to the towel boys. My only concern is getting out of the city alive once the rioting starts.

Should be a heck of a game tonight in LA. Hopefully Brand and Cassell will be at the top of their games...and that Kaman is playing. And GUARD RAJA BELL. Can anyone say triple overtime? Clippers 126 - Suns 122.

Wow thats the first I heard Jason Terry was suspended. Was it really that bad that it deserved a suspension? Christ, people pay good money to see bloody fighting in hockey -- these NBA guys are treated like children. (edit: just saw it on espn, quick rabbit punch to the nuts, no big deal. Jaysus christ. What a break for SA.)

Clippers Karma!

Halx

My voodoo is strong.

I am so proud of my Clippers. They totally dominated that game. Something tells me Phoenix bought into the fact that they had played a shitload of basketball in the past month. Now they have a few days to rest and maybe they'll come out on Monday with a lot of energy. Either way, with Brand playing like the basket is 15 feet wide, and Kaman simply owning the inside, I feel like the Clippers have a better chance than the Lakers did.

I'd like to step back and reflect on these playoffs so far.. and note that they have been the most entertaining playoffs in recent history. Anyone else agree?

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pan6467

Two words:

GO CAVS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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maximusveritas

With all the injuries that the Suns have had to their big men (Amare, Kurt Thomas, and Brian Grant), the Clippers should be dominating every single game. The Suns have only made it this far on luck and heart. That's what's going to have to carry them in Game 7 as well. Getting Brand in foul trouble would probably help as well.

sgn43

I totally agree, Halx. These playoffs have been amazing. The first round was great, and the second round has been even better. The Clips and Suns trading blows and taking it to game 7 completely up in the air. The two favorites from each conference being put up against the wall by surprising underdogs and then pushing it to game 7 in both match-ups. I almost feel bad for the teams that make the finals, because at this rate basketball fans will be completely emotionally drained before the tipoff of game one, hah. Either way, my faith has been somewhat restored in pro hoops.

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pacaveli

just imagine how good the suns series would be if they had amare, and kurt thomas. It would be that much better

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dtheriault

When I saw that there would be days and days between game six and seven in the Suns Clips series I told myself... I bet Kurt Thomas plays in game 7.

What a psychological boost it would be. Game 7, a new face and facet to their game- at home.

ESPN Tonight: "Thomas has a chance of playing spot duty in game 7."

Add to the fact that Dunleavy hasn't done to well in pressure packed game 7s and we have a very interesting game 7 coming up on Monday.

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dylanmarsh

TO THE GOLF COURSE!!!

powerclown

I post this out of love. I love LeBron's game.
One day, King James is going to win multiple championships.
But not this year.
He is the real deal. And he will get his. But not now.

In the meantime, and for one day only, I will gloat.

--

2 game 7's tonight.
Gentleman, we have been spoiled this year with these phenomenal playoff series. Hope the Mavs and Clippers prevail!

Lockjaw

Well the Mavs upheld their end. I'm cheering for the Clips as well.

I'm TRYING not to get over confident about them though.

maximusveritas

Great wins by the Mavs and Suns.
The rest paid off for Nash, but can he keep it up throughout the next series? I think he can. Suns in 6.
The Pistons-Heat matchup should be fun as well. The Heat are coming in confident, while the Pistons have to be doubting themselves. Heat in 6.

powerclown

I did not think Dallas would beat SA in a 7 game series, and they almost didn't. I think Dallas is going to win the Championship now, because the Suns are too one-dimensional while the Mavs are bigger, play better defense and they can score at will.

I thought LA would give the Suns a better match in game 7...hopefully that team (LA) will stay together and make a strong return . Once and if Stoudemire returns to the Suns, then they can talk about seriously winning a championship.

Detroit is playing poorly once again and I don't see them beating the Heat after watching the first game, which was basically a continuation of the Cavs series. Out of sync, no flow, poor shooting. Each Detroit player is trying to do too much, which simply won't work because there are no LeBron's or Wade's on this team. Flip Saunders should take A LOT of the blame for this, as the starting 5 are out of control, and the bench rotation is terrible - No energy out there. None of these things ever happened under Larry Brown. Disappointing for me to see after watching them play so great all year.

powerclown

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