NBA Playoffs Season 2014-2015

[Csfan1984]

"Did you call bank?"

"I CALLED GAME!"

Legend. Paul Pierce is a freakin legend.

Very true

[Endless Paradise]

This was a great game. Far and away the two best teams left in the playoffs.

Agreed.  Can't imagine either team losing to any of the other teams left. 

I could see Memphis losing to the Cavs, Bulls, or Clips.  The Warriors would probably get by all three of those teams.

Memphis feasts on undisciplined teams that like to get up-and-down, so I think they'd have a shot at knocking out a Kevin Love-less Cavs team with shaky defense.

I also think they could take the Clippers because the Warriors are basically the Clippers with better defense.

[PhoSita]

This was a great game. Far and away the two best teams left in the playoffs.

Agreed.  Can't imagine either team losing to any of the other teams left. 

I could see Memphis losing to the Cavs, Bulls, or Clips.  The Warriors would probably get by all three of those teams.

With the Grizz it's never a sure thing because their style allows the possibility of them simply going cold.  They're also so very dependant on their core three guys that an injury that substantially limits any of them could knock them out.

Still, it's hard to see how any of the teams you mentioned could really match up with Z-Bo and Gasol over a seven game series.  The Clippers have managed to beat them in the past, but I think this is the best Grizz team we've seen, and Chris Paul is limited right now.


Maybe the Bulls could match up.  But they have an even harder time scoring than the Grizz.

[Dino Pitino]

Out of the 8 teams left in the playoffs, only the Bulls and Rockets have won a title in the last 20 years. Here are the others:

Hawks - one title, 57 years ago, in a different city.
Wizards - one title, 37 years ago, as the Bullets.
Warriors - one title, 40 years ago.
Clippers - no titles.
Grizzlies - no titles.
Cavaliers - no titles.

Unusually high number of ill-fortuned franchises, right?

[LarBrd33]

It's a shame The Truth probably will not get another crack at LeBron in the ECF.  I think without Love, the Bulls beat the Cavs

[SparzWizard]

It's a shame The Truth probably will not get another crack at LeBron in the ECF.  I think without Love, the Bulls beat the Cavs

Wouldn't mind if Wizards advance to ECF, as long as Cavs get past the Bulls. Then I'd like to see the classic LeBron vs Pierce showdown one last time.

[Rondo9]

It's a shame The Truth probably will not get another crack at LeBron in the ECF.  I think without Love, the Bulls beat the Cavs

What am I reading? 

[SHAQATTACK]

It's a shame The Truth probably will not get another crack at LeBron in the ECF.  I think without Love, the Bulls beat the Cavs

Ha ha .....I still give the Bulls less than a 20 percent chance of winning.  Even with only LeBron , no Irving they would be a hard out for the Bulls .

Only way I see the Bulls winning is by some miracle the refs call the game equal and James gets treated like the other 9 players on the court ......which going back to at least 2008 we see it's same old whine and give him every call by the NBA.  The rule book goes out the window when it comes to LeBron ....as does fair play


It's LeBron + the NBA vs the Bulls

[LGC88]

"Did you call bank?"

"I CALLED GAME!"

Legend. Paul Pierce is a freakin legend.

Very true

That's what happen when you spread the good words, cheer up your teammates, push them and accept to have a lesser role. That's good karma, and yesterday it was pay back for Pierce.
I'm so proud and so happy for him. Well deserved.

[LGC88]

Difficult to understand what's going on with GS.
I mean, missing easy shots, missing FT, let Gasol and Zbo crash them in the paint for 40 minutes before realizing what to do.
Wow, that's not the GS I watch during the season. They look like they don't want to win. Poor energy.They all got a flue or they are bored of their job?

[Endless Paradise]

This was a great game. Far and away the two best teams left in the playoffs.

Agreed.  Can't imagine either team losing to any of the other teams left. 

If the Grizz go on to beat the Warriors and the Clips beat the Rockets, that will be a really exciting continuation to their rivalry.  Would feel very good about the Grizz winning that one, but it'd be a long series.

If the Finals are Grizz vs Bulls, how might that affect team-building strategies league-wide?  We might see more teams willing to consider the grit-n-grind style rather than going for the Spursian pace-and-space.

Considering the last three championship teams of the past four years all used more of a Spursian-style offense, nah. People will likely view a potential Grizzlies title as a fluke due to the various injuries to star players.

Difficult to understand what's going on with GS.
I mean, missing easy shots, missing FT, let Gasol and Zbo crash them in the paint for 40 minutes before realizing what to do.
Wow, that's not the GS I watch during the season. They look like they don't want to win. Poor energy.They all got a flue or they are bored of their job?

This is what the Grizzlies do to teams in the playoffs: ask the Thunder (who've met them three times since 2011) and the Clippers (who played them twice). In fact, what we're seeing happening to Curry/Thompson is literally exactly what happened to Durant/Westbrook last year, right down to inexplicably missing free throws; the only significant difference is that, despite poor shooting, Westbrook was still able to impose his will due to his physical nature and Reggie Jackson had The Game of His Life.

Also, as a more general critique, the Warriors have looked very mortal throughout these entire playoffs and not nearly like the 67-win historically-good juggernaut they were for most of the season right until about the end of March or so. They swept the Pelicans, but outside of Game 4, they had to really work for those wins.

They've honestly looked like your run-of-the-mill good playoff team; they haven't really been head and shoulders above the competition thus far. And, to their credit, they've acknowledged as much.

[mgent]

It's a shame The Truth probably will not get another crack at LeBron in the ECF.  I think without Love, the Bulls beat the Cavs

Ha ha .....I still give the Bulls less than a 20 percent chance of winning.  Even with only LeBron , no Irving they would be a hard out for the Bulls .

Only way I see the Bulls winning is by some miracle the refs call the game equal and James gets treated like the other 9 players on the court ......which going back to at least 2008 we see it's same old whine and give him every call by the NBA.  The rule book goes out the window when it comes to LeBron ....as does fair play


It's LeBron + the NBA vs the Bulls

Great point.

I'm cheering my butt off whenever the Bulls win, but I truly want Pierce to be the one that bounces LeBron.  I'm not worried one iota about Cleveland pulling off a win over the Wiz.  Futhermore, any of the West teams right now would sweep CLE.

[GreenFaith1819]

The Memphis Grizzlies are my NBA JYD



Junkyard Dogs are mean, ugly, resolute, tough, physical, and steadfast. You don't want to run into one.

The Golden State Warriors, unfortunately, HAVE run into a LIVE one here recently. Their free-styling run and gun style of play has been hampered by this encounter.

They aren't having fun anymore.

They may very well come back and win this series. They must survive their next encounter with this beast, but I don't think Tony Allen and Co. is having ANY of that.

[ImShakHeIsShaq]

One thing hurting GSW, the defense their guards (help from the bigs) are putting on Curry. Conley is making it very hard on him!


This is why we need defensive bigs. AB will put the clamps on the PG and Smart clamps the SG and our bigs are there to help keep them out of the paint. We need a Marc Gasol!

[PhoSita]

One thing hurting GSW, the defense their guards (help from the bigs) are putting on Curry. Conley is making it very hard on him!


This is why we need defensive bigs. AB will put the clamps on the PG and Smart clamps the SG and our bigs are there to help keep them out of the paint. We need a Marc Gasol!

Every team would love to have a Marc Gasol.

I get what you're saying, though.  Having quality guard defense doesn't matter that much if you don't have bigs who have their back.

Add some above average defensive big men to the Celtics and they'd be a top 10 defense.