Here are my 1st round predictions:

Minnesota vs. Denver - Minnesota in 4
Sacramento vs. Dallas - Dallas in 5
L.A.Lakers vs. Houston - Lakers in 6
San Antonio vs. Memphis - Spurs in 5

My 1st round predictions:

Minnesota vs. Denver - Minnesota in 5
Sacramento vs. Dallas - Dallas in 6
L.A.Lakers vs. Houston - Lakers in 5
San Antonio vs. Memphis - Spurs in 5

Go Rockets! Sweep the Lakers out in four. PLEAAAASSSSEEEEE? I'm sick to death of hearing about Shaq, Kobe, Phil and the rest of that insane, dysfunctional bunch.

[ September 29, 2004, 12:37 AM: Message edited by: C iz Insane ]

Randy Boyd has posted his picks, along with his hot players.

Minnesota in 5.
Sacramento in 6.
L.A. in 5.
San Antonio in 5.

f**k GP. Sorry CnSea. He came here to win a ring and what does he do? He whines to the media that the Lakers run the triangle, not the pick and roll that he likes, to start. Memo to GP: the Lakers have been running the triangle since The Zen Master and Tex Winter showed up. If you're suprised by that, you're a freakin' dolt. Then he whined about his minutes. The only good thing was that he didn't have his wife/girlfriend do it. Shut your freakin' cake hole, do what your told and you'll get your ring. Capiche, GP? And Malone? He's a Utah Jazz player, always has been, always will be. I can't stand it that a man who has tormented the Lakers down the years might get a ring because he joined them.

I work at a bank that gets a ton of free Lakers/Dodgers tickets. My boss got luxury suite tickets for Monday's game. When the HR person delivered them, I said "I hope the Lakers get swept. I hope Payton and Malone retire without rings. I hope Kobe and Shaq leave and the Lakers rebuild". She looked at me like I had three heads, but I'm sick to death of this whiny, selfish team and I want them out of the playoffs as soon as possible.

[ September 29, 2004, 12:38 AM: Message edited by: C iz Insane ]

Oh yes, it's ALL about Gary freakin' Payton. Another guy, like Malone, that tormented the Lakers for years and now he comes here just to win a ring. He KNEW what the deal was with this team: triangle offense, he's the fourth option (behind Shaq, Kobe and Mailman) and so for him to suddenly, half-way through the season, start whining that he doesn't like the triangle offense and that he's not getting enough touches is HIS problem, not the man who has used the system for a decade. HE has to adjust, not the team. I thought it was a bad move at the time, getting Payton, and I think it's a bad move now. There's going to being a clear-out in the offseason and I hope he's the first to go.

It's not that the Lakers "haven't performed to my standards"--I must have read at least three or four online things last night predicting a Lakers v. Pacers final again--it's the way they've conducted themselves this year. All the "It's my team" bullshit, sleepwalking through a large portion of the season, barely putting out just enough effort to win, the endless soap opera aspect to the team etc. HOW a team wins is just as important to me as IF they win; I watch sports for aesthetic pleasure, not just to mindlessly root for "my" teams.

Oh yeah, like THAT'S going to happen!

While watching the terrific hockey game on ESPN2, I flipped back and forth a couple of times to the Lakers game, and learned that the mighty Los Angeles Lakers managed to score a third-quarter total of.....nine points.

And still won the game. :mad:

[

[ September 29, 2004, 12:39 AM: Message edited by: C iz Insane ]

CnSea, whatever. You might want to get your tongue off of the bottom of Payton's shoes. He's the fourth option and that's all he deserves to be.

Go Rockets!

Wow, the Spurs survived a scare tonight to go up 3-0, defeating the Grizzlies in Memphis. Hopefully this game will put the dagger in the Grizzlies and Game 4 will be another double digit victory and the Spurs can get some rest. Getting some rest would really help, especially if the Rockets can steal a game or 2 from the Lakers while in Houston.

I was hoping the Rockets were gonna steal a win again from the Lakers yesterday. I think L.A. will rap it up tomorrow in Game 5, back home in the Staples Center. The good news is it's been a physical series.

The Spurs completed their sweep of the Grizzlies. This is the first playoff sweep since 1999. Hopefully they get some rest but don't lose their hot touch of 15 consecutive wins. They will have home court advantage against the Lakers.

You know what's ridiculous? That the TWolves & Nuggets wait until tomorrow to play Game 4 of their series. Too many days rest! I'm a little torn in this series - I've been a big Nuggets fan since my high school days of listening to English, Lever, Cooper & the rest on KOA - and to an extent, before that. But I like Garnett enough to wish him through to the second round of at least one playoff series! I'm still going to root for the Nuggets, but won't be terribly disappointed when (if??) the Wolves clinch.

Still, how great would it be if the series went 7 games?

Tonight: go Mavs. Hopefully these teams get back to their close game, high scoring ways. When these teams play well, it's a treat to watch.

Sad to see the Grizz go. As much as I dig the multinational Spurs, the Grizzlies were where it was at for the second half of the season. JWill, Pau, Miller, Hubie, Jerry, Bonzi, Lorenzen, Shane, Posey, Jake, and Stromile ... what's not to like? Too bad they'll be stuck in the Division of Death next year! The West is gonna be even deadlier in 04-05.

bridgeportjake: I'm in 100% agreement with you about the scheduling of the NBA playoffs--too many days between games. It's very hard to get involved in a series when one can forget when games are to be played. Excitement/momentum get sapped over time. The NHL, for all its (many, many) woes, does the playoffs right: a game every other day.

~Adam

Congratulations to the Timberwolves, who got the "haven't won a playoff series" monkey off their back tonight. Should be a good series against the Kings.