2018 Playoffs start 4/14!

The Raptors really kept it together down the stretch this year. I had a feeling they might this year, but i feel like they're a vulnerable 1 seed. The Knicks finished even worse than i'd expected, but to be fair i knew i was being optimistic, and i still feel reasonably optimistic for the future of the franchise though i don't necessarily see any championships rolling into MSG any time too soon.

I could see the Pelicans upsetting the 'Blazers in the first round maybe. Other than that, the first round looks like straight chalk to me.

well this shows how I've been away from the NBA awhile. I didn't even know there was a Pelicans team.

Well, the Pelicans not only upset the Trailblazers, they swept them.

FYI Zaph, the Pelicans' best player is Anthony Davis, who took Kentucky to the NCAA national championship several years ago.

Other than that, the Jazz and OKC series is tied up, and Indiana has taken two of the first three against Cleveland, which is ridiculous. The Pacers wouldn't have even been in the playoffs if they played in the Western Conference. Things are going bad for the Cavs, and King James' amazing "consecutive NBA Finals appearances" streak is in danger of ending.

LBJ looks tired and frustrated, and as usual he doesn't have enough support, but other than that my predictions for the first round are all proceeding apace.

Wednesday's game Pacers at Cavs. Refs blow two calls, the first against the Cavs, the second against the Pacers, so I guess it's even steven in terms of incompetence. Lebron drains the 3 to win the game.

I think the Cavs will win the series, but the East is a mess. Only the 76ers have won in any convincing way. All the glitz is still out west. I'll root for the Pelicans there, just because they did sweep. But seriously, the west's finals probably should be the NBA finals. I wish the NBA would just get rid of divisions and conference since all teams play one another anyway. Then if brackets would follow a true numerical format, the finals would likely be Houston vs Golden State. Not automatically, but likely.

Cavs beat the Raptors by one pt in overtime.

Well, aside from the Jazz upsetting the Thunder, i called the first round well enough, which usually isn't too difficult anyway.

It's nice that the Cavs won game 1 in Toronto, and gives me hope. There is no doubt in my mind that Toronto is the superior team, though there is also no doubt in my heart that LBJ is still the best player in the game. He was able to rise up and carry his team on his back against the Pacers, but there's no way he can do that against the Raptors AND the Celtics, who should have a little rest before the Conference Finals as i don't see Philly taking them past game 6, if even that far. No disrespect to the 76ers, they became a fine team this year as many predicted they would.

I don't think Cleveland will be making it to the Conference Finals this year, i'm picking Toronto. I'm rooting for Cleveland, but even if King James plays 44 minutes a game and somehow squeaks out another game 7 victory, he'll be way too exhausted to go the distance against Boston, who i think could take either Toronto or Cleveland after the series they've just started.

Out west, everything looks headed for the 1-2 Conference Final i predicted, not that there's anything remotely ballsy about that pick. I'm actually glad the OKC got shocked in the first round even though it was the only series pick i missed. Fuck Carmelo Anthony, and the Pacers were just as good without Paul George as they were with him. I do feel a little bad for Westbrook, but he's young yet and i hope this teaches him valuable lessons about how championship calibre teams are NOT assembled. Houston and the Dubs could be the most epic series of the whole playoff season, and i think it'll come down to health. If GSW can get to the series with healthy starters and most of the their bench, they can win the series; if not, Houston will capitalize.

I'm looking forward to Houston vs Golden State. In fact the rest of the west playoffs can now be skipped with the Pelicans down 0-2.

The Cavs are a tricky team. On paper and by record three teams are better. But the Cavs always seem to skip the season and thrive in the playoffs. Plus the Cavs may adopt a plausible I guess underdog status because the worst they can do is lose. But I think this is the LeBron show. Plus a productive supporting cast. If the Cavs win the whole thing (doubtful I know) I wonder if he won't retire.

I would be shocked if he retires, but i also really don't see Cleveland winning the Finals this year. LeBron is still playing with a chip on his shoulder, it's a chip with a name (Michael Jordan Sr.), and i don't see him as being ready to let go of it yet even if the Cavs somehow miracle their way into a Finals Championship - too many things would have to go very wrong for too many other teams, many pundits would say LBJ didn't really deserve this one...

Cleveland wins 128-110 over Toronto. Cleveland is up 2 games to 0.

Both Eastern conference semis game 3s are today.

I'm pleasantly stunned that the Cavs were able to win both of the first two games in Toronto, and it's particularly good news that Kevin Love had such an impact in Game two. It's nice to see JR starting in the postseason and scoring well too. I don't get what goes wrong for this Raptors team - they're making Lue look like a genius. If the Cavs can wrap this series up in 4 or 5 games, they'll get some badly needed rest, which might give them a chance against Boston. I have to admit that deep down i've been hoping for a Cavs-Celtics conference finals matchup all year, second only to my unreasonable hope that the Knicks would get their shit together.

As for the idea that LBJ might retire... i really hope not. He's currently 7th all-time in points, 11th in assists, 17th in steals, 28th in defensive rebounds, and tops in all kinds of Sabermetric stats. He's also still only 33 years old, i realize that he started in the NBA right out of high school, so i wouldn't expect him to play until he's 40 or anything unrealistic like that, but i'm sure he's still got at least another couple years left at the top of his game, and i don't think another 5 seasons is out of the question although i'll admit that 3 or 4 sounds more realistic.

The Cavs beat the Raptors 105-103 on last second bank shot by James. The Raptors came back from a couple of substantial Cavs leads. A boatload of 3's from both sides.

Cavs demolish Raptors for the sweep and a probable meeting with the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals.

I really thought Toronto had improved enough to be able to give the Cavs a series at least, and the way the Cavs looked coming off the Indiana series, i really didn't have a whole lot of hope for them. But man did the Raptors get pwned. And with Philly winning at least one game now, the Cavs will get at least a little more rest than Boston. I feel like the Eastern Conference Finals could go either way, i'll be pulling for LeBron.

Both conference finals series could be amazing this year.

Houston and Boston are of course the new editions this year. All four teams can win on the road and lose at home so it should make for two enjoyable series.

The only really big difference i see in the Eastern Conference Finals this year as opposed to last year is that Irving is playing for Boston this year instead of for Cleveland.

Interesting that Isaiah isn't even on the roster for the Cavs for this series. Last year i felt very confident that Cleveland had the better team and would win handily. This year i felt otherwise, but with Cleveland getting their groove back against Toronto AND getting some serious rest between series, it feels more like a tossup. Once again i think Cleveland has the best player but the weaker team. I think the series could turn on something as minor as one bad call, so i'll be keeping my fingers crossed.

Irving had a season ending knee injury, acc. to more than one news source. I thought this was the case, but I checked to be sure. But other players have stepped up. They mattered against Philadelphia after the seven game series against Milwaukee.

Celtics clobber the Cavs in game one. My Rhode Island friends are happy. I'm sure all the Massachusetts folks here are happy as well.

Boston won two of three in the regular season, too. All four games this year between these two teams have been blowouts.

I'm not ready to give up yet but i kinda feel like this is the series for runner-up anyway. The champs will be crowned out west in the series starting tomorrow.

I agree. The real finals are in the West, at least in terms of genuine seeding. Again, get rid of conferences and divisions and we'd likely end up with the probability of Houston and Golden State meeting in the finals. But if anyone upset them, fine and good. Gotta play the games.

Oh hell yeah, i'll take any East Coast team except Indiana (because fuck Reggie Miller, even more than love for Bird) over pretty much any West Coast team if i had my druthers. But yeah i don't think my druthers are coming home to roost this year.

A seriously big win for GS or a huge loss by Houston depending on your perspective. Could this be the west's repeat of Cleveland vs Toronto? I think this is a situation where Houston needed to hold serve. Cleveland at Boston game 2 tonight.

I'd be more inclined to call it a bad loss for Houston. I think the Dubs expect to win in the playoffs regardless of the regular season record, and furthermore the Rockets defense was pretty much helpless, which has got to sting, especially at home, after being one of the best defensive teams in the association all season long. Maybe they can turn it into some motivation, i still expect a series here not a sweep, but Houston really looked outmatched in Game 1.

davidalan wrote:

Celtics clobber the Cavs in game one. My Rhode Island friends are happy. I'm sure all the Massachusetts folks here are happy as well.

As a Rhody native that now lives in Mass, I can confirm that everyone over the age of 35 is STOKED right now.  Except Dan Shaughnessy (writer for the Globe), because that guy is an asshole. Many of the younger crowd are Jabron Lames fans, probably in the same way I was a huge Jordan fan after the Bird/McHale/Parish peak in the mid-80's, so once you get past the generation that actually SAW Bird and the gang play, it's still all "Kobe/Jabron/Curry" nonsense.

Where are your RI friends from?  It's a small state, I probably know them (not really).

Jabron Lames! Hilarious.

My friends live in Providence. One is a prof locally. He was also my college boyfriend way back when. He's now long long long term partners with my other friend who's lived in RI eternally as you can tell by his accent.

New Englanders should just root for the local team, particularly one that's evolved to where they have a good chance of being in the finals. LeBron is great of course, but as with anyone who has won a championship it's the supporting players that pushed the team to victory. To be honest though, outside of a sidelined Irving, I don't know any of the Bostonians. The coach I know, but that was of course from the amazing Butler days. And now look at him! Hasn't aged a day. Bastard. But he's probably a factor in the Celtics doing well.

As for Houston... I think Houston's toast to be honest. Unless Houston shows me different. GS will not relinquish home games as easily as Utah did. Not by a long shot. They're looking to be a dynasty. Three out of Four championships would about do that. But I think they can win more.

Well, Houston tricked me and won a close game on the road. So that series is now 2-2.

Cleveland also won but at home. That series is also 2-2.

Yeah after 6 blowouts we finally had a game worth watching on each coast there.

Good shit.

OMG & WTF

Cavs win in 7

davidalan wrote:

The Cavs are a tricky team. On paper and by record three teams are better. But the Cavs always seem to skip the season and thrive in the playoffs. Plus the Cavs may adopt a plausible I guess underdog status because the worst they can do is lose. But I think this is the LeBron show. Plus a productive supporting cast. If the Cavs win the whole thing (doubtful I know) I wonder if he won't retire.

Well called. I still hope you're wrong about retirement.

________

The Cavs really dug deep to win those last two games without Love. Jeff Green really stepped up in both games 6 & 7, and i love seeing J.R. getting a big performance in game 7. But man it was all about King James... in game 6 & 7 combined he dropped 81 pomts, served up 18 assists, and pulled down 26 rebounds.

I hope Love will be back for The Finals. I haven't heard anything about his prognosis. I think the Cavs will really need him down low.

I'm kinda torn about the Western Conference game 7. I like the Warriors better as a team, and though i'm sure it's not a opinion that's widely shared, i think it would be kinda cool to see Golden State and Cleveland meet for the fourth consecutive time. The Celtics and Lakers repeated as Finalists three different times that i recall, meeting 4 times in 5 years and 6 times in 8. I'm pretty sure that last year being the third straight Finals matchup had never happened before, and i'm CERTAIN that it's never happened 4 years in a row. On the other hand, i think the Cavs match up against Houston better, especially if Chris Paul is out or even just a step slower than usual. I can't see Houston winning game 7 w/o a healthy Chris Paul, though.

Regardless of what happens out West, LeBron James will be in The NBA Finals for the 8th consecutive year. I didn't bother looking it up, but i'm pretty sure nobody's done that since back when Bill Russell was playing for the Celts. Sadly though, i think it would take a miracle for his team to win the title this year. I know i've consistently underrated them this postseason, so here's hoping they can prove me wrong again!

It is the Lebron James show. But without a productive and contributing supporting cast it's just LBJ. That's where wins and losses happen. With or without the supporting cast. Maybe with this team, LBJ can remind them not to be intimidated as I think they were last year. But we'll see. I feel a sort of weird indifference as to results. Perhaps it's a defense mechanism. That way if the Cavs lose I can go about my business. If they win, well, it's a party.

Well, i watched tonight's game wire-to-wire, though at the end of the third quarter i had an urge to give up on it and i should have.

I had been looking forward to that series for months, and it was mostly a dud. After three straight blowout games, games 4 & 5 were mostly good, but seeing Chris Paul get hurt kinda soured game 5. Game 6 was another blowout.

It's really unfortunate that CP3 couldn't play tonight. I don't know if his presence would've changed the ultimate outcome, but it damn sure would've been a better game. Houston came out of the gate charging hard and took a good lead into half time, but i knew the other shoe would drop. Harden would get tired, and more importantly, Kerr does a far better job at halftime adjustments than D'Antoni ever will. I knew in my bones that without CP3 the Dubs would pwn the third quarter, and i watched it anyway because i knew it would be awesome to see, and it was. Like i say, idk if CP3 would have been enough to bring Houston home the hardware, but i am pretty sure that if he'd been healthy and playing, they'd have had a chance.

So it's on. Cavs-Dubs IV. Once again it's the best player of his generation (at least) vs the best team in the world right now. The Dubs are stacked as deep as ever, with 4 all-stars, at least two future hall-of-famers, and one of the best benches in the Association. LBJ is finishing his 15th year as a pro and has been playing >40 minutes in every game this postseason, including way too many 48 minute nights like game 7 in Boston.

Even if Kevin Love comes back at 100%, i don't see Cleveland winning more than two games. Of course the networks, the fans, and the association itself all love a game 7.

The more i think about it, the more sense the idea his potential retirement makes. Which makes me sad. He's only 33; assuming he avoids serious injuries, he could remain one of the top elite talents in the game for at least another 4-5 years. But where would he go? I guess New Orleans could make sense. He could potentially turn Toronto into a dynasty. But there would be weirdness involved in either of those choices. He did what he had to do for the city of Cleveland and he fulfilled his promise and then some; it seems clear that the ownership there sucks and think that he can just do everything himself - staying put would be a worse option than retiring.

Obviously i hope he comes to New York. I won't be mad when he doesn't want any part of the Knicks's psycho circus though.

Meh.

i think a fourth meeting is fitting too. while i hope that Cleveland wins the series i won't be particularly mad if they don't. the victory year mattered most. the rest is gravy.

what LBJ will do? I don't know. if he goes west may as well merge the conferences, eliminate division play, and give up the pretense of all that because everyone plays everyone anyway. but LBJ might like NYC simply because it's NYC. But that team's a mess isn't it? There was some crazy talk of his going to Philadelphia but I don't know what that would serve. I don't know. Maybe he wants to go to a state that didn't vote for Trump. I wouldn't blame him there.

Overtime. Then GS runs away with it. Game 2 Sunday.

woohoo go Warriors!

So congrats yet again to the Dubs and their fans!

I have to be honest, i didn't watch any of The Finals this year. I really didn't expect a sweep, even after seeing the insane ending to game 1 (via highlight, gogs bless SportsCenter).

I guess it's Decision II time. Iirc Golden State will be returning their core next year. There's not a whole lot LBJ could do to surprise me, but taking a severe enough paycut to go to a current West coast contender would be one of them. Granted my list of "West coast contenders" is pretty short given that the Dubs should still be full strength for at least one more year.

I still think New Orleans and Toronto make sense but not much else does. A lot can change over the next couple months though.