BS Report NBA playoffs preview

[Mr October]

Part 1 was so-so, fairly entertaining/informative.

But, the 3 way discussion in the first 20 minutes of part 2 between Simmons, Stein and Bucher was very interesting.

They had some good debates over Chicago/Miami/Boston coming out of the East. It really left me thinking that its wide open.

Check out the first half of the 4/14 podcast if you have the time.

[Mr October]

http://sports.espn.go.com/espnradio/show?showId=bsreport

The toughness - Chicago has it, Miami lacks it the most out of the 3.
 
The having been there before-ness of the Celtics.

The urgency of needing to win it now. Who has that urgency the most?

The best players on the floor - although Miami has an excellent trio, the drop off is huge after that.

If Boston beats Miami, wouldn't they then have the swagger to take down Chicago?

When the game slows down will Miami have enough shots to keep Bosh involved in the game, or does Miami go into Lebron/Wade vs 5 mode?

If Rose is stopped, who steps up for Chicago? Deng is gonna have to play big for them. Boozer is too short to be a big factor against KG or Bosh.

Does Shaq have anything left?

Who is playing at their highest gear right now? Miami and Chicago are playing at maybe gear 4 out of 5. The Celtics have been in gear 2 or 3 for a while now... the switch has been off. What does Boston look like at their top gear.

Anyway, Bucher is the only national media guy out there picking Boston to go the the finals.

[blake]

Agreed.  It made me wish that there was some quality sports talk radio where I live.  It was great to hear rational thought out talk about NBA while in the car.

[Lucky17]

http://sports.espn.go.com/espnradio/show?showId=bsreport

The toughness - Chicago has it, Miami lacks it the most out of the 3.
 
The having been there before-ness of the Celtics.

The urgency of needing to win it now. Who has that urgency the most?

The best players on the floor - although Miami has an excellent trio, the drop off is huge after that.

If Boston beats Miami, wouldn't they then have the swagger to take down Chicago?

When the game slows down will Miami have enough shots to keep Bosh involved in the game, or does Miami go into Lebron/Wade vs 5 mode?

If Rose is stopped, who steps up for Chicago? Deng is gonna have to play big for them. Boozer is too short to be a big factor against KG or Bosh.

Does Shaq have anything left?

Who is playing at their highest gear right now? Miami and Chicago are playing at maybe gear 4 out of 5. The Celtics have been in gear 2 or 3 for a while now... the switch has been off. What does Boston look like at their top gear.

Anyway, Bucher is the only national media guy out there picking Boston to go the the finals.

Jon Barry also said he's picking the C's, last time I saw him on ESPN.

[Mr October]

Agreed.  It made me wish that there was some quality sports talk radio where I live.  It was great to hear rational thought out talk about NBA while in the car.

As much as Simmons plays the clown/entertainer, these 3 guys are excellent observers of the game. Smart dialog between them. I really hope they do it again before round 2.

...

And then Bucher's observations on Kobe's decline look to be spot on.

Kobe can't do what he could even a couple years ago. The blow-by ability has dropped off, leaving him with the long range jump shot in those late game isolation moments. And there's only so many times you can ride long distance shooting.

In addition to watching the Celtics, I am fascinated in watching the old guard vs young battle out there. Can the Celtics, Lakers and Spurs withstand the quickly rising Thunder, Bulls and Heat?

[Mr October]

Jon Barry also said he's picking the C's, last time I saw him on ESPN.

I found a WEEI interview from 3/31:

http://audio.weei.com/a/38561372/jon-barry-picks-the-celtics-to-win-the-east.htm

Sounds much like Bucher in this interview. Its very hard to ignore the experience factor. They know how to execute in the pressure of the playoffs.

[Finkelskyhook]

If Rose is stopped, who steps up for Chicago? Deng is gonna have to play big for them. Boozer is too short to be a big factor against KG or Bosh.

Actually, IMHO, the key matchup.  Boozer can score against anybody.  Anybody.  To say he's not going to be a big factor is....Well....    At best, Boozer will be exploited defensively.  But in Thib's system, I doubt it. 

I fully expect the C's to play Chicago.  If Garnett and Boozer are even statistically, we win. 

[Q_FBE]

If Rose is stopped, who steps up for Chicago? Deng is gonna have to play big for them. Boozer is too short to be a big factor against KG or Bosh.

Actually, IMHO, the key matchup.  Boozer can score against anybody.  Anybody.  To say he's not going to be a big factor is....Well....    At best, Boozer will be exploited defensively.  But in Thib's system, I doubt it. 

I fully expect the C's to play Chicago.  If Garnett and Boozer are even statistically, we win. 

If Rose is slowed down we have a decent chance agaist Chi. Deng vs Pierce may decide this series if Rondo-Rose and KG-Boozer is a push. Rebounding is so critical in this series.

[GreenFaith1819]

I believe Rose will be stopped by ORL and Dwight, or slowed down  (and still defeated) by Rondo and Boston. Either way, he's not getting out of the East.

CHI is a great team and well-coached, but every time I see the comparisons to the "Previous" Bulls teams, I rest at night knowing three things:

As great a player that Derrick Rose is - he is no Michael Jordan. And as nice a player as Luol Deng is - he's no Scotty Pippen.

And Thibs - I love ya for what you did for Boston - but he's no Zen Master.

We got this - but ORL may take CHI out before we do. If a potential ORL-CHI series is fairly reffed, then I believe Dwight Howard alone will be too much for CHI to overcome.

Dwight, Ryan Matthews, Hedo and Bass >> Noah, Boozer, Asik, Gibson.

And as for LA? Skip Bayless had some rather chilling comments about Kobe and the Lakers...he stated on ESPN while discussing Kobe's recent deragatory comments that he believed that Kobe's outburst that night was borne more out of frustration in that he see LA's opportunity winding down......

[Mr October]

If Rose is stopped, who steps up for Chicago? Deng is gonna have to play big for them. Boozer is too short to be a big factor against KG or Bosh.

Actually, IMHO, the key matchup.  Boozer can score against anybody.  Anybody.  To say he's not going to be a big factor is....Well....    At best, Boozer will be exploited defensively.  But in Thib's system, I doubt it. 

I fully expect the C's to play Chicago.  If Garnett and Boozer are even statistically, we win. 

KG has a huge advantage over Boozer. Boozer historically struggles against length. Heck, you can even look at his splits against teams like Boston, Miami and LA (and also consider that he got a numbers boost against Baby whenever those 2 were head to head).

If Boozer has length assigned to him, he will not be that big of a factor.