2011 CB Draft Western Playoffs: 1st Round

[Kwhit10]

I'm not the Nene fan that some others are, and I think that KG will really shut down Bosh.  Pierce over Wright is going to be a big mismatch, and I think that gives Utah the edge.

mbah

Yeah, sorry.  I'm sure this is as much about my personal biases as it is about the quality of your team.

Sorry that was a mistake from using my phone. I meant to say

mbah a moute will be on pierce and the last two games they played and had equal limits they shot the same %'s pierce was out rebounded while out scoring 14 to 7 and 23  to 19. Wright is coming off the bench.

[Roy H.]

As Who(the GM of the Suns) said a few days ago: "Lebron will not be denied"...

Unlike every other NBA Playoffs he's ever participated in?

Has Lebron ever lost a first round series?

Well, so long as "will not be denied" only applies to the first round, I think you guys are safe.

Conference Finals / Finals, though, I think Lebron's history of choking needs to be acknowledged. 

Well Who said it not me haha.  I think Just saying, "we have Lebron, nah nah neh nah nah" is not enough of a strategy, we have built a very strong team around him

Based upon last year, you guys need to build a team good enough to win *without him*.  That's absolutely crazy to say about a superstar, but man, that guy just collapsed and curled up in the fetal position on the court. 

I'd love to hear *anybody's* explanation for that, other than that he shrunk massively under pressure.  It was literally one of the oddest things I've ever seen.

[Roy H.]

I'm not the Nene fan that some others are, and I think that KG will really shut down Bosh.  Pierce over Wright is going to be a big mismatch, and I think that gives Utah the edge.

mbah

Yeah, sorry.  I'm sure this is as much about my personal biases as it is about the quality of your team.

Sorry that was a mistake from using my phone. I meant to say

mbah a moute will be on pierce and the last two games they played and had equal limits they shot the same %'s pierce was out rebounded while out scoring 14 to 7 and 23  to 19. Wright is coming off the bench.

I see that as somewhat fluky.  In the other games they played last season, Paul outscored him 52-2.  Your argument, presumably, is that the minutes weren't even, so it's not a fair comparison.  The counterargument to that is that MAM couldn't contain Pierce at all, a fact recognized by his coach.  He still only managed 2 points in 25 minutes, while presumably not really containing Pierce during those times he was in the game.

Pierce is just a much better player, and I think he'll handily win that matchup more often than not.

[Rondo2287]

As Who(the GM of the Suns) said a few days ago: "Lebron will not be denied"...

Unlike every other NBA Playoffs he's ever participated in?

Has Lebron ever lost a first round series?

Well, so long as "will not be denied" only applies to the first round, I think you guys are safe.

Conference Finals / Finals, though, I think Lebron's history of choking needs to be acknowledged. 

Well Who said it not me haha.  I think Just saying, "we have Lebron, nah nah neh nah nah" is not enough of a strategy, we have built a very strong team around him

Based upon last year, you guys need to build a team good enough to win *without him*.  That's absolutely crazy to say about a superstar, but man, that guy just collapsed and curled up in the fetal position on the court. 

I'd love to hear *anybody's* explanation for that, other than that he shrunk massively under pressure.  It was literally one of the oddest things I've ever seen.

If you want me to give my reasoning for why our team is a much better fit for Lebron than the real Miami heat team and why I would expect different playoff results I would be happy to do that

[Roy H.]

As Who(the GM of the Suns) said a few days ago: "Lebron will not be denied"...

Unlike every other NBA Playoffs he's ever participated in?

Has Lebron ever lost a first round series?

Well, so long as "will not be denied" only applies to the first round, I think you guys are safe.

Conference Finals / Finals, though, I think Lebron's history of choking needs to be acknowledged. 

Well Who said it not me haha.  I think Just saying, "we have Lebron, nah nah neh nah nah" is not enough of a strategy, we have built a very strong team around him

Based upon last year, you guys need to build a team good enough to win *without him*.  That's absolutely crazy to say about a superstar, but man, that guy just collapsed and curled up in the fetal position on the court. 

I'd love to hear *anybody's* explanation for that, other than that he shrunk massively under pressure.  It was literally one of the oddest things I've ever seen.

If you want me to give my reasoning for why our team is a much better fit for Lebron than the real Miami heat team and why I would expect different playoff results I would be happy to do that

I think that's the only way you really can go.  However, Lebron was already surrounded with a team that had good shooters and a great defense, and he came up short repeatedly (despite being favored in the playoffs multiple times).  Then, he was put on a team with another superstar and a third star, and he shrunk under pressure.

Lebron's play in the Finals had nothing to do with "fit".  It was all between the ears, and he collapsed under pressure.  Unless your team is good enough to carry Lebron's lack of performance -- like the real Heat almost were, due to Wade -- then I think you're going to face an uphill battle in terms of some voters.  Lebron was favored against the Magic, Celtics, and Mavs, but couldn't get by any of them.

[mgent]

Hobbs, it's simple.  LeBron is an absolute beast against bad teams.  That is why he's so statistically dominant during the regular season.  That's how it's been since he's been in the league.  I bet if you look at his record vs. contenders it's horrible (like the Heat last year).

Towards the end of the playoffs, when the teams get tougher, he's not the same person we all vision him to be in our minds.  As soon as he hits a defense that can keep him out of the paint, he turns into a pass-first player or an outside shooter.

Does that mean he couldn't have had a better series if he was more aggressive?  No.  But Wade was embarrassing him on the court, and he absolutely shouldn't have been the second option vs Dallas.  What LeBron did in the Finals was actually the right thing, Wade was looking like the two-time MVP.

[mgent]

As Who(the GM of the Suns) said a few days ago: "Lebron will not be denied"...

Unlike every other NBA Playoffs he's ever participated in?

Has Lebron ever lost a first round series?

Well just like he's due for a season-ending injury, he's due for a first round choke. 

I'll say it again, this Suns team is 100 times better than any first round opponent LeBron has faced.

[StartOrien]

This is going to be a real tough matchup to call. I like both of these teams a lot.

I agree. I need to know who Denver will be getting the ball too in late game situations and why they think that will be to their advantage. Also, Bosh can turtle at times versus KG, will that be a problem here. Can Nene neutralize Jefferson in the low post? How will the bench be used and to what extent?

I also need to hear from Utah and listen to the reason why he thinks Pierce and KG won't have the inconsistent, up and down post season game to game like they did this year. It seems they can bring it one game and then not the next. Is that age? is that the beginning of the end? And without a PG that gets them their shots where they want them and when they want them will that make things even worse?  How extensive is Crawford's involvement as a PG handling the ball when he is in the game because everyone knows that he looks for his shot before anyone else's?

[dark_lord]

my vote goes to utah

[dark_lord]

my vote goes to kings

[Rondo2287]

As Who(the GM of the Suns) said a few days ago: "Lebron will not be denied"...

Unlike every other NBA Playoffs he's ever participated in?

Has Lebron ever lost a first round series?

Well just like he's due for a season-ending injury, he's due for a first round choke. 

I'll say it again, this Suns team is 100 times better than any first round opponent LeBron has faced.

And I think his supporting cast is 100 times better than any that he has ever had prior to this heat team, where I think due to the way it was constructed they could not get the full ammount out of lebron.  This is basically Lebron's cleveland team on whatever steroids bonds and lance armstrong were on combined.  

[dark_lord]

my vote goes to spurs

[dark_lord]

my vote goes to memphis

[RebusRankin]

I'm a HUGE fan of this Spurs team, but let's be honest the Blazers are the last team you wanted to face.

I think Amare and Bogut are gonna score so easily that there's just no way Westbrook and Boozer will win 4 games.

Bogut has 5 games of play-off experience and is coming up a season of scoring under 13 a game. Don't think he'll go off.

[StartOrien]

Rebus, will you have Boozer on Amare or Bogut?