2015-2016 NBA Playoffs

[DarthFed]

Thought this should have it's own thread. One of the best times of the year for sports IMO. The regular season, which is much too long, is over and now all the teams can and will bring it every night. It makes for better games when everyone can give it their all for 48 minutes and they don't have to pace themselves.

The East is a little more interesting than prior years. The last decade or so have featured a Lebron team and then 1 or at most 2 other strong teams out East and then a bunch of scrubs. It's gotten a little more "middle" heavy this year yet the problem is I can't take the #2 seed Toronto that seriously until they show any sign of life in the playoffs. Even if they play up to their ability they would be big underdogs vs. Cleveland.

6 years ago the law of averages would say no way in hell Lebron makes 6 straight finals but since he has made 5 it's tough to see an upset this year. The Pacers, Bulls, and Celtics of a few years ago were better teams than what the Cavs are up against this year. But due to more teams being decent I figure the 1st and 2nd round matchups could be tougher than the average matchups Lebron has had in years past.

There are some interesting matchups though: Miami-Charlotte, Hawks-Celtics, and Raps-Pacers all could be good. I'd like to see Miami and old man Wade make a bit of a run and I feel that they do have a chance at making the ECF.

Out West it is more top heavy. Golden State is the big favorites obviously. For OKC and SA to win the West they will have to beat each other and Golden State while GS only has to go through one of them. That, and the fact they are obviously better than both teams to begin with is a huge edge. I don't see the Clips being able to make the 2nd round interesting if they get there. It might be interesting since the teams hate each other but that's about it. I don't see any good first round matchups, maybe Clippers vs. Blazers only because LA is wacky and have repeatedly shown they can snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory in quite amazing fashion. I do think OKC has a decent chance vs. San Antonio. I usually get my upset pick wrong but I will make it anyways and say OKC wins that series or at least it wouldn't surprise me. I think if Leonard can come close to canceling out KD the Spurs win but if not OKC definitely has a good chance.

Finals Prediction: Warriors over Cavs in 5.

 

[brokenshoelace]

Yeah I think we get a repeat of last year's finals. The potential match-up that excites me the most is OKC vs. the Spurs in the second round. It will also be fun to see the Warriors beat the ever living snot out of the Rockets though.

 

[DarthFed]

Same old Raps. Great performance from Paul George though. It is incredible that he returned from THAT injury and is playing at a high level again. George is probably still the best player in that series and it highlights Toronto's main problem, similar to Atlanta last year, they don't have a true superstar and it's hard to get by without one this time of year. DeRozan and Lowry are stars but just not quite enough.

They may still win the series of course but if it comes down to Toronto vs. Cleveland in the ECF it would be a pretty quick series even if you had a bunch of scrubs around Lebron. Ultimately Boston and even Miami (Wade is obviously way past it) would have the same problem but I feel like they could match up a little better.

 

[brokenshoelace]

Houston Rockets getting absolutely embarrassed. Especially hilarious considering how much Harden whined about deserving MVP last season.

 

[Billie]

How about those Pistons? I don't even know half of the players there. I was surprised how tough they made it for Cleveland in game 1.

 

[brokenshoelace]

Wow, this is legit the worst I've seen Kevin Durant play.

 

[DarthFed]

^ Pretty shocking given Dallas is hardly good on defense, hell they are hardly good period. It might go 6 now but I'd still bet on 5. Golden State was wise to sit Curry and they probably could do so in game 3 if they want. They can win that series without him. Indy and Toronto might be the only 7 game series this round.

 

[kskate2]

Let's just put all the playoff news and talk here.

 

[kskate2]

Curry suffered an injury in game 2. He sat out game 3 and the Rockets go into today's game with a chance of tying it at 2-2. Curry should be back today and I suspect GSW will make it 3-1.

Meanwhile, Murat's Raps are tied 2-2 w/ Indy as they head North of the Border for game 5.

The Spurs are preparing their brooms for a sweep of the Grizz.

 

[Billie]

Not surprising that San Antonio is the first team to make it to the next round with a clean sweep. Without two od the starters Grizzlies really didn't stand a chance.

Cavs can do the same thing tonight although Pistons are giving them all they can handle tonight.

GS might be in trouble (not in this series) if Curry is seriously injured, I guess they will do an MRI on him tomorrow.

 

[DarthFed]

Curry is going to be done for the playoffs. Most likely some ligament damage there and even if not, a sprained knee would probably be many weeks. Pretty sad that a wet spot on the court is probably going to end up playing a pivotal role in deciding the NBA champion. The Spurs title chances just skyrocketed.

 

[brokenshoelace]

Someone cursed Curry. Talk about terrible luck. What's even sadder is a wet spot may not only end up deciding this year's playoffs, but also be a difference maker in a historical sense. This was a legacy year for GSW and especially, Curry, with the way he's played. We're talking about a potential all-time great who was likely going to crown arguably the best individual regular season in history with a well-earned championship.

With regards to the above, I also think Lebron's title chances just skyrocketed.

 

[DarthFed]

That's definitely true. No one can take 73-9 away but they'd have been one of the all time great teams in any sport if they capped it off with a title. I don't think the Cavs' chances are much better vs. the Spurs than they would be vs. the Warriors. They'd probably prefer the Spurs but I still see SA as the heavy favorite in that series. I think OKC has a better chance vs. the Spurs. OKC's chances are much better too now. I think they have a decent chance vs. San Antonio but would've had very little vs. a healthy Golden State. Where Cleveland's chances are much better now is due to the possibility that the Thunder make it instead of Golden State or the Spurs. An OKC-Cavs final would probably be close to 50-50 with slight edge to Cleveland.

 

[the AntiPusher]

Step had a nasty fall on Sunday probably due to excess mositure on the court and left the game with a sprained knee.. I dont think its too serious but he will have an MRI. I hope that he will be able to sit out the rest of the series and recover.

 

[the AntiPusher]

The playoffs thus far has been a bit lackluster, IMO.

 

[kskate2]

Agreed. But that ATL/BOS series is pretty good. It went to OT yesterday and now it's 2-2 going back to ATL.

 

[Murat Baslamisli]

Curry suffered an injury in game 2. He sat out game 3 and the Rockets go into today's game with a chance of tying it at 2-2. Curry should be back today and I suspect GSW will make it 3-1.

Meanwhile, Murat's Raps are tied 2-2 w/ Indy as they head North of the Border for game 5.

The Spurs are preparing their brooms for a sweep of the Grizz.

After having home court for the last two years and having lost in the first round, I emotionally detached myself from Raps to avoid another disappointment this year. IF they go past the Pacers, I will jump on the bandwagon quickly.

 

[DarthFed]

Well I was wrong, apparently Curry could come back a lot sooner. It is a sprained MCL and apparently a slight one and he will miss at least two weeks. I honestly think they could take the Clips without Curry but it'd be a tough series for sure. They'd have no chance vs. the Spurs or OKC without Curry.

 

[DarthFed]

All the 1st round matchups out West figured to be straightforward and they have been unless Portland can beat the Clips tonight. Out East you naturally had the Cavs winning easy. I figured Hawks-Celtics would definitely be good and that Heat-Hornets and Raps-Pacers had the potential to be good. Celtics are annoyingly decent. They are scrappy and just win ugly and I think they're going to win that series now. Heat and Raptors should advance and I think Miami will win that series.

That's really good news with Curry today. After hearing it was a sprained knee with an MRI it made me think he'd be done for the playoffs but apparently it was about the best a sprained knee could possibly be. He might only miss 2 weeks but even if it's 3 weeks he'd have a chance to play in the conference finals. They will beat the Rockets without Curry and I'd give them a shot against the Clips without him too. Against the Spurs or Thunder they'd have no chance without Curry.

 

[Murat Baslamisli]

^You almost want the next match-up for the Warriors to go the distance to give Curry a chance to come back. I know , not fair to the other players but still...