2012 NBA Playoffs!

[Tornicade]

ahh kobe and his 6 million dollar knee. crunch time will be in the 2nd round for the lakers

[Pavlovic3Ball]

How stupid was Terry's foul on Durant with 2 seconds on the shot-clock?
Really stupid, I say.

This Mavs team looks the same as the ones that got knocked out early before 2011. Dirk literally has to put that team on his back and do everything in the 4th quarter. Last year he had a defensive center, matchup nightmare guard, and Stevenson's attitude is probably missed. This year they lose Odom, if Carter isn't scoring than he is worthless, Kidd lost a step, and Delonte is Delonte. The problem is having a 2nd option as inconsistent as Jason Terry. Last year they had more guys to fall back on. They still have a shot, but I don't think their offense has the juice to win 4 games against OKC.

[Pavlovic3Ball]

ahh kobe and his 6 million dollar knee. crunch time will be in the 2nd round for the lakers

OKC would be a tough matchup. Gasol/Bynum would tear that overrated Spurs team apart though.

[dano_24_26]

Missed the game but seen this on sportscenter. In atlanta, pierce just went up in my my book.

[Northstar]

I think the Nuggets are making the Lakers look better than they really are...

I mean, you're talking Koufos, Javale McGee, Kenneth Faried, and Al Harrington vs. Gasol/Bynum most of the time. That's a joke by itself, not even considering the rest of the matchups. Lawson is the only one that create on the Nuggets, and he's not a threat to finish at the rim vs Gasol/Bynum. It's just a terrible matchup for the Nuggets.

The Thunder have Perkins/Ibaka to throw at Gasol/Bynum, Sefalosha to throw on Kobe and make him shoot his patented 6/28, and they really don't have much of an answer for Westbrook or Durant, especially if MWP is out for the first two games (if the Lakers sweep the Nuggets he will be out for 2 games). Plus, you can't breath in the same area code as Durant without being called for a foul.

I think the Thunder beat the Lakers, and the Spurs beat the Thunder.

[JSS2306]

The Spurs are great but I don't see them meshing against the Heat. Who do they have to guard both Bitch and Wade if they are to make it to the finals? If they put pressure on those two then old man Battier, Chalmers, Bosh, and Jones are going to kill you before long.

Danny Green is playing fantastic and it just goes to show you can't judge a book unless you judge the team. Both Ramon Sessions and Danny Green are playing great role ball because they have the other pieces to succeed and it's a sobering moment for me as a Cavs fan because we are years away from accomplishing this no matter our draft pick. We see this with Knicks, your team is only as good as your bench unless you have 2 top 5 (perhaps 6ish?) players in the league.

Also, why is Shaq an analyst?

[Numbers Guy]

Blake Griffin is so bad in the post. He's incredibly mechanical and slow and just has a hard time getting off a good looking shot from that position.

[Obawan12]

OKC would be a tough matchup. Gasol/Bynum would tear that overrated Spurs team apart though.

I'll be quoting this when the Spurs win the finals, as I believe it epitomizes how badly the Spurs are being overlooked right now. They have been crushing everyone.

And I doubt Gasol and Bynum get the chance, I have a hard time seeing this Lakers team getting past the Thunder.

[Obawan12]

The Spurs are great but I don't see them meshing against the Heat. Who do they have to guard both Bitch and Wade if they are to make it to the finals? If they put pressure on those two then old man Battier, Chalmers, Bosh, and Jones are going to kill you before long.

Everybody keeps pointing out the Spurs match-up problems with other teams; how about somebody tell me how anybody is stopping the Spurs? I would like to remind everyone that the Spurs had the best offense in the league this year (by a comfortable margin also), and they did that with Ginobili out for large portion of the season. We haven't even seen them at their best yet this year. The Spurs are an offensive juggernaut and have quite literally been unbeatable for over a month. The funniest thing about it all is that the Spurs have gotten the best record while resting their starters more than all the other playoff teams; they used the regular season as a warm-up.

I guess it doesn't really matter what I say though, the Spurs could have gone 66-0 and nobody would have known unless they won the title. That's the best part about the Spurs though, they let their play do all the talking for them...

[Northstar]

Memphis could give the Spurs trouble. They have the bigs down low to compete (I give the edge to Memphis) and they have some good perimeter defenders to throw at Parker and Ginobili.

The Heat can definitely guard the Spurs. Putting LeBron on Parker would be an advantage that no other team would have. They could also put Battier at the SF and just not use a PG. Then who does Parker guard? Battier could post him up pretty easily. He obviously isn't going to guard Wade or LeBron.

[bushwick_bill]

I really like Leonard for SAS. Spurs are my team for this playoffs.

[bushwick_bill]

Mayo, I'd love him with Kyrie... Go Memphis!

[Mdog1]

Everybody keeps pointing out the Spurs match-up problems with other teams; how about somebody tell me how anybody is stopping the Spurs? I would like to remind everyone that the Spurs had the best offense in the league this year (by a comfortable margin also), and they did that with Ginobili out for large portion of the season. We haven't even seen them at their best yet this year. The Spurs are an offensive juggernaut and have quite literally been unbeatable for over a month. The funniest thing about it all is that the Spurs have gotten the best record while resting their starters more than all the other playoff teams; they used the regular season as a warm-up.

I guess it doesn't really matter what I say though, the Spurs could have gone 66-0 and nobody would have known unless they won the title. That's the best part about the Spurs though, they let their play do all the talking for them...

I personally think the Spurs vs. Heat is a terible match up for both teams. Duncan against Bosh/Haslem is a terrible matchup for the Heat, LeBron and Wade vs. and is a terrible matchup on both ends of the court, Parker is goin to shred Chalmers. Seriously a bad matchup, and imo a coin flip as to who will win. It all depends on LeBron though. As usual if he wilts under the pressure (kind of an ironic expression considering Wilt Chamberlain is often considered a choker) the Heat will get handled, but if he plays like his superstar self the Heat will cruise to a win. The man has the power to lose a series or win a series.

[Obawan12]

Memphis could give the Spurs trouble. They have the bigs down low to compete (I give the edge to Memphis) and they have some good perimeter defenders to throw at Parker and Ginobili.

The Heat can definitely guard the Spurs. Putting LeBron on Parker would be an advantage that no other team would have. They could also put Battier at the SF and just not use a PG. Then who does Parker guard? Battier could post him up pretty easily. He obviously isn't going to guard Wade or LeBron.

You make it sound like the Spurs are built like every other NBA team and their offense is based on 1-on-1 ball. The Spurs offense is completely team oriented, putting LeBron on Parker isn't changing anything. Also if the Heat start going to Battier in the post I think the Spurs will live with that over LeBron/Wade/Bosh getting shots lol.

As for Memphis, If Randolph starts playing like he did last year then I will definitely give them a fighter's chance against the Spurs but until then I don't see how they would be able to keep up with them.

[Believeland-OH]

Crazy to think the Mavericks the #7 seed in the West would likely be considered the second best team in the East with Rose out. In all honestly the Thunder, Lakers, Grizzles, or Spurs could represent the West; the second round should be very entertaining. The Heat still have to go through Indiana and Boston. I don't want to give them a free pass to the Finals.

I'm going with the Spurs v. Lakers in WCF.