The playoffs have been very competitive, with 3 of the 4 series going to 7 games. I think the key series is the Mavs-Spurs. I pick the winner of that one to go all the way.

As a Raptor fan, I'm waiting for the ping pong balls. When is the lottery?

What I find most exciting about these playoffs--even the Cleveland/Detroit series, which is ugly basketball to watch--is the closeness of pretty much all the games. It's painful to watch blowouts in the playoffs.

~Adam

This has to be one of the better Playoff years I've seen in a while. Well, maybe if we forget the first round. The second round has created the drama of the Cleveland/Lebron - Detroit series and my personal favorite - Spurs and Mavericks. These games have been awesome to watch. As a Spurs fan we have had the fun of waiting for the Cleveland-Detroit game to finish before our's starts. I have to tell you, they have been fun to watch.

I agree with one other poster (and not because I'm a Spurs fan) that whoever wins the Spurs-Mavericks series will probably take home the Larry O'Brien trophy. It's a shame that series came in round 2. Maybe if Stern implements the new seeding system next year we'll see more balanced playoff games.

BTW, I have to give Mark Cuban a hand for being the best owner of an NBA team. I know, some of you hate the guy but he probably gets what it means to build an NBA franchise better than anyone else. I'll have to admit that I'll be one of those rabid Spurs fans booing him in the AT&T Center on Monday night. However, it's all in the spirit of the game. What's better is that he's a dot commer so he leverages the Internet more than anyone else I know. Check his blog out for more.

Careful Canmark, the way the Raptors played this year, they might just get beat by the lottery too. Just kidding, dude. The 2006 Draft Lottery is scheduled for May 23rd.

Mark Cuban will need a respirator if the Mavs don't win game seven. Might even get fined again. I like that guy; that's an owner I'll bet the players can sit down and have a beer with.

Three game sevens in two days. Love it!!!!

my picks

Detroit over Cleveland in a rout

Dallas stuns San Antonio

and finally -

Buffalo shocks the Suns in OT Elton Brand goes nuts tommorow night.

Go Pistons!! wink

Hoping the Heat are cold after a bit of a layoff.

I am rooting for a Mavericks/Suns next round.

Would love to see Cuban have to face the ghost/torment of Nash. Just would be great drama.

Blueraider, you must be a big Sabres fan. I see they beat the Hurricanes,, so they're off to a good start. Good luck in that series. But don't know if they could beat the Suns though.

Let's see. The Cavs made 20 of 65 shots (31%) and had just 9 offensive rebounds. The Pistons were just a little better, making 29 of 68 attempts (42%), with 13 offensive rebounds. Not exactly a deft display of shooting touch. The Pistons beating the Cavs in game seven at home surprised no one, and you gotta give credit for double teaming LeBron in the second half to take away the Cavs only consistent scoring threat. Don't expect huge television ratings for the Miamai/Pistons series. The Pistons win ugly all the time and their defense is usually good enough that it makes their opponent look ugly too (e.g., low shooting percentage). Good basketball perhaps, but not exactly exciting. Anyway, Congrats to the Pistons (they found a way to win when they had to) and good luck against Miami; they will definitely need it. I expect Shaq to have Wallace waking everyday for the next week or so with sore ribs; that dude is a load for any defender.

I had no idea that LeBron shot so poorly. He couldn't hit anything but layups and put backs and missed way too many shots from 10-15 feet and everything three-point attempt. Is his outside shot really that bad? When are the Cavs going to get some spot up shooters and three point specialists? All the other play-off teams have that.

Damon Jones was supposed to be the 3 point, spot up shooter. What a joke.

Donyell Marshall is a pretty good long range bomber, but his best days are behind him. Still, I don't think Cleveland will have that tough a time tweaking their roster -- who wouldn't want to play with LeBron (OK, Boozer maybe, but that was just avarice)?

What has surprised me about Detroit is how their offense has regressed. Saunders was supposed to free them up. This is the time of year that Richard Hamilton is supposed to be killing every one off of screens, like he did to the Lakers in 2004, but it isn't happening. And their deadly 3 point shooting has vanished. Cleveland isn't exactly a defensive powerhouse. I'm really thinking Miami is going to take them out, so long as Wade holds up physically.

Larry, is there some point in Detroit's recent offensive history that you consider exciting and/or innovative? Not for me. They've always been boring, even with Isaiah. The fact that they are boring on offense doesn't detract from their accomplishments; it just means I don't want to watch them. Plus, they are so good defensively that they disrupt and slow down opposing teams' offensive schemes and they can't score effectively either. The end result is when the Pistons are on the floor, you inevitably end up watching, not one, but two boring teams. Because of all this, the Pistons are a television and ratings nightmare. If they get past Miami (and that's a big if), don't believe for a second that Phoenix or Dallas will be allowed to run up a hundred points against them. As exciting and fun to watch as Phoenix and Dallas are, the Pistons will have them struggling so bad on offense they won't even resemble the same teams we've seen so far in the West. That's why I don't want the Pistons in the NBA finals; they are just too good on defense. I hate slow down basketball.

Regaring the grind it out offense that we saw from the Pistons in the last game against the Cavs, Flip said that they had to abandon their staggered screen plays designed for Hamilton because the Cavs took it away from them. This might explain why you didn't see that play so much. But, as to why they shot so poorly from the three point line, that could be because Tayshaun and Wallace take most of the three pointers, and it's obvious to all of us that something is way wrong physically with Rasheed. Tayshaun is holding up his end of the bargain; it's Walace and the bench that let them down against the Cavs, but, then again, I could just as easily surmise that LeBron had a lot to do with the troubles they had in disposing the Cavs.

My condolences to you. I know you had high hopes for the Clippers. You'll get em next year. It has been a long time since the city of Los Angeles had two quality basketball teams. I'll bet everybody out there is feeling good about next year.

Well, I'm not saying that Detroit has ever been an exciting offensive team to watch. But earlier in the year, I think Saunders had them playing (and scoring) more freely. I agree that Rasheed's ankle (and whatever else) is a big part of what ails them now. Also, Billups hasn't been as effective lately. And Ben Wallace should get a lot more grief for his free throw shooting! (Jjust because he doesn't get to the line like Shaq and Duncan doesn't mean he should get a pass)

Thanks for the sympathy on the Clippers. I actually was surprised they pushed it to 7 games, given their usual inability to defend teams with great shooters all over the floor. And I absolutely adore Steve Nash, so they couldn't have lost to a nicer guy.

Wish I could take consolation in the fact that Miami took game one in the Pistons' own gym, but I can't. Not after the Cleveland series. I still expect this series to stretch to six or seven games. Rasheed did this in the last series; disappearing offensively. I think his injury flares up some nights and is okay other nights. Maybe that's why his shooting is sporadic and unpredictabel. And there's no way the Heat's subs will play that well again. The next time Shaq and Wade are sent to the bench with foul trouble, I'll bet the Pistons will take full advantage.

I like Steve Nash too. Don't know why though. Off the court, he's boring as heck.

Well, at the risk of injecting politics into this discussion, I had a lot of respect for Nash when he came out against the Iraq war. And this is when he was in the Bush-ian bastion of Dallas.

Larry, it is believed that this is the reason Cuban wanted both Nash and Van Exel out of town.

Thank you DAllAS!!!

I am soooo glad I don't have to see the Spurs anymore this season.

Really? That's fascinating... and disgusting. I have to say I was wondering why he was so eager to trade Van Exel, after Nick proved to be the one Maverick willing to take (and make) a big shot in the playoffs that year. Now I'm really going to root against the Dallas Cubans, even though I like their game.

Raja Bell goes down -- if it's an Achilles tear like people are speculating, that will cripple the Suns. They were already the thinnest team in the playoffs. Ironically, Bell is the one Sun I don't like, but I'm not cheering this event.

In fairness, Cuban said last night he was ready to re-sign Nash. So I don't claim to know the full story. It could be he was ready but Nash felt it would be hostile, or that he was OK with Nash but not Van Exel. That, in fact, was a common reaction; Nash was Canadian and outside "mainstrem" NBA culture while Van Exel was very much inside.

At any rate, based on ownership it's hard to know who to root for: Cuban who came down on at least one antiwar protester or Colangelo who regularly uses his sports facilities to host anti-choice rallies where a bunch of male athletes talk about outlawing abortion and in some cases birth control (I'm guessing most are not virgins). So I'll have to go by players, I guess.

Ms. de Blazer, you're destroying all my illusions! Didn't know that about Colangelo either. Well, he's almost out as an owner -- I hope you don't have any horror stories about Robert Sarver too.

As for Nash, Cuban's stated reason was that he didn't think an aging and somewhat fragile Nash was worth $60 million. I think the perception that Phoenix was taking a huge risk was commonly shared at the time. But just because that's a plausible explanation doesn't mean Cuban didn't have some hidden agenda too.

[ May 25, 2006, 10:25 AM: Message edited by: Larry@LA ]

Nope, no horror stories about Sarver.
Most owners avoid controversy, probably for good reason. The few, like Colangelo and Richard DeVos (Orlando Magic, promoting anti women's rights and anti gay agenda), are mostly exceptions.
I can comfort myself by saying Mark Cuban is probably pro-choice, most Jewish people are. But those plaid shorts?

If you go here:
http://www.newsmeat.com/sports_political_donations/

you get donations of sports figures. (Sorry, I still cannot figure out how to make UBB links work. I try, it doesn't happen.)

Oh, and then there was that item about Larry Miller's (Jazz owner) theater refusing to show Brokeback Mountain. I'm probably better off not knowing about team owners' political propensities...

Did anyone see Leandro Barbosa kiss Boris Diaw? If they werent from France can you imagine the uproar? It was after o-dude from the Mavs passed the ball out of bounds and for some reason I guess in France people get a kiss for hitting game winners :-D

As a Suns fan (Their fun to watch..) I was thrilled to see them beat the Mavericks in game
1. All this hoopla about how the Suns don't play defense, but what those people fail to realize is that most teams that play the Suns can't STOP THEM either. More importantly, the Suns defense isnt as bad as their rebounding. When they lose or struggle it's when they shoot miserably or don't rebound.

Small versus Big - First round goes to small.
Go Suns!!

[ May 25, 2006, 08:41 PM: Message edited by: RobertsInOkc ]

I have a feeling the Pistons are just about over. frown

I don't know about that, eddiec. Considering that only one of their players had any sort of game last night, the score should really have been worse than it was. Add to that that Shaq can't sustain that level of play without exhausting himself and this series may still go the distance (especially if the Pistons make Wade pay for every drive to the basket he makes.)

~Adam

I agree. The Pistons had awful shooting nights against the Cavs as well, but were able to pull it together. I don't think they're done. They got a lot of fight in them. If they were quitters, they would have lost to the Cavs. But if they continue to play defense like they did last night, they will be done.

[ May 28, 2006, 11:04 PM: Message edited by: Thomas ]

Disregard my last post. After tonight's game and the Heat's 3/1 lead, the Pistons are toast. They can't do anything to stop Wade or Shaq, and, the Heat is averaging twice as many free throws as the Pistons. That spell doom.

Burnt toast. Guess we won't have to hear them whine about how no one respects them for a while...

You'd never guess Ben Wallace is up for a contract extension the way he's been playing. Suddenly, he seems to be aging faster than Shaq.

I thought Barbosa was Brazilian?

I am really surprised at the Pistons. They don't score, don't defend and don't hit free throws so obviously they don't win. They beat Miami 3 of 4 this year, my recollection is the games were not close. Right now they look really bad. What on earth is going on? Aside from Sheed's ankle, there do not seem to be injury issues.

But I won't shovel dirt on the coffin until the patient is good and dead. Remember how people tried to hold a funeral for the Suns?

Even when the Lakers were up 3 to 1, I thought the odds were about 50/50, because the Suns are clearly the better team.

But Miami is dominating Detroit in every way. I know one always counts the Pistons out at one's peril, but they just have not seemed right at all throughout the playoffs (give or take game 1 against Cleveland and some of the early games against Milwaukee). I guess Flip Saunders is going to take the fall for this, whether that's fair or not.

I've been pouring over the stats trying to see why the Pistons are getting manhandled by the Heat. It looks like the Pistons are averaging about 4-5 fewer points in the 2006 playoffs (92.6ppg) than in the 2005-2006 regular season (96.8 ppg). And, they are allowing their opponents about an average of 89.9 ppg in the play-offs as opposed to about 90.2 in the regular season. In other words, the Pistons defense is allowing about the same number of points in the playoffs that it did in the regular season, while, at the same time, scoring fewer points.

Here's something that stands out though. The year the Pistons won the NBA title (2004), their regular season stats looked like this: 93.3 ppg on offense while holding their opponents to 84.3 ppg; that's a nine point differential. But get this. During 2004 playoffs, the Pistons averaged 87.1 ppg on offense but ramped up their defense to allow their opponents an average of only 80.1 ppg. That's why the won that year. Despite a drop in offensive output, they won the title because they stepped up their defense.

The same thing happened in the 2005 playoffs. When the Pistons lost to the Spurs last year, they got outplayed, but followed the same script. Their offensive productivity faltered a bit but they were able to force a seventh game by ramping up their defense. The Pistons lowered their regular season opponents scoring average (89.5 ppg) to 85.6 ppg in the playoffs. They didn't win but gave the Spurs all they could handle.

This year, there's a new script. The Pistons averaged 96.8 ppg during the regular season, and they are still averaging a healthy 92.6 ppg in the playoffs. The problem is this: while the Pistons held their opponents to 90.2 ppg during the regular season, they are still allowing an average of 89.0 points in the playoffs. In other words, the Pistons could not (or simply refused to) ramp up that vaunted defense in this year's platoffs like they did in 2004 and 2005.

Previously, they had always clamped down on their opponents scoring, but that just has not happened this year. And, they are now paying the price for their failure to do so.

One other thing. The offensive post-season numbers for Rashaed Wallace are almost identical to his regular season totals. And, the post-season defensive numbers for Ben Wallace are actually even better than the regular season. These two guys are doing their parts. So why are they struggling? They have too few role players; they are hurt; their bench is too old and too young; and they've lost the will to win.

Yeah, Larry he is. He will become an unrestricted free agent. He's only 31 and is a real banger; someone Toronto or the Bulls would love to have. He is also someone the Pistons can not do without; his rebound/game totals are more than twice Rasheed's, and Rasheed's is almost twice that of the team's third best rebounder. What will the Pistons look like next year if management allows the team's only rebounding ace to depart?

[ May 30, 2006, 05:51 PM: Message edited by: Thomas ]

I'm sure the Pistons won't let him go. And maybe they can retool, by building their bench back up. But somehow I feel that they've had their moment in the sun, and will not be among the league's elite teams much longer.

I can't help but wonder what it's like to have a body like that (Ben's) wink

So is Detriot's win over the Heat a sign that they are ready to play ball, or, just a last horrah for their home fans? There's no way Miami will allow the Pistons three straight victories. Lightening won't strike twice in the same season, and, Miami is a much better team than the Cavs.

[ May 31, 2006, 08:41 PM: Message edited by: Thomas ]

A last hurrah. Although I congratulate them on their free throw defense. They held the Heat to 6 for 20 from the line (and Shaq only missed 4 of those)!

Are y'all forgetting that Detroit went 64-18 this season??? Or that they took the regular season series over the Heat 3-1???
You should all apply for jobs at ESPN or ABC!!
Watching tonight's NBA Shoot-Around pregame show with their "love-fest" for Shaq and D-Wade could only make me laugh and remember the same pregame show a couple weeks back, but just substituting the name "King James" or "Lebron" where they were mentioning the HEAT All-stars...OH, by the way, Lebron WHO?!
I would venture to guess that at least all the Pistons Players know who Yogi Berra is!!! But then again Udonis Haslem went to Florida and grew up in Miami, so what can u expect?

If the Heat and the Mavericks make it to the Finals, games will be played in the American Airlines Arena (Miami) and American Airlines Center (Dallas.) Has it ever before happened that both teams in the Finals play in stadia named for the same entity?

~Adam

Nowitzki with 50! I love up-tempo basketball more than anyone, but you can't allow a single player to score 50 points. Even if the Suns don't have much use for defense and don't have any big men, they still could have moved their feet to get position to take a charge or double teamed him. They have got to find a way to shut that guy down.

NFLjockguy: All of us know the Pistons regular season record and I think a lot of us thought that the Pistons would breeze through the series with Cleveland. But, that did not happen. And, you gotta admit the Pistons have not looked good against Miami. That's why some of us are doubting them. Plus, some of us don't like the Pistons offense, and, their defense is usually so good (not in this year;s playoffs though) that they force their opponents into slow, half-court ball; the kind of ball many of us here just don't like to watch.

[ June 01, 2006, 11:15 PM: Message edited by: Thomas ]

Stop being such a "homer" wink wink wink

Eddie!!..I took enuf abuse for my Pistons loyalty while I was in Miami all weekend, I didn't expect it from home!
Someone has to stand up for this town! This board has a history of Motor City-haters...you just wait, when the Tigers are in the race for the AL Championship at the end of the season, there will be all kind of reasons that they are there from this bunch, EXCEPT that they are a good, well-managed team. eek!
I always love how the people who have the most negative things to say about this town have never been here!

Well,my friend I'm not feeling too positive about it myself these days but that has nothing to do with the sports teams and I actually live IN the city.I think somewhere along the way,I fell off the Piston's bandwagon and decided the Tigers need me more than they do.

Well, Wade has the flu, so maybe you guys will get lucky like last year when he had pulled rib muscles. (Of course, he might pull a Jordan and go for 50, then collapse in Shaq's arms at the buzzer).

And, gosh, folks, don't have such a chip on your shoulder. I've never been to Detroit and have nothing at all bad to say about the place. And I think it's cool that the Tigers are doing so well.

Tim Thomas blowing kisses at Nowitzki wasn't smart; Nowitzki responded by laying 50 points on the Suns last night? I'm sure Nowitzki talks smac too, but he can back it up. Is this the same 7ft Tim Thomas that played for the Knicks? The same guy who used to let guys six inches shorter than him block his shots, dunk over him, and push him around like a rag doll when fighting for rebounds. Tim has come a long way since those days (he's a much better player), but not far enough to be talking smac, blowing kisses, and calling out players like Nowitzki with words like "pussy". The best thing that he and the Suns could've done was to play solid defense against the guy. Wait a minute. The Suns playing defense?

For the record, I don't dislike Detroit either. I don't like the style of game the Pistons play though. And I agree with NFLjockguy: the Tigers are the best team in baseball, but my money is still on the White Soxs. Some of the Tigers pitchers are performing way over their heads this year; that's not likely to last all season. A slump usually happens to most teams at some point during the season, and when it hits the Tigers pitching, the Soxs will pounce. But if the Tigers continue doing what they're doing right now, I'll be the first to congratulate them, because they will have earned it.

[ June 02, 2006, 04:53 PM: Message edited by: Thomas ]

I didn't hear that Tim Thomas was calling out Nowitzki as a "pussy." What an idiot. I remember when he was also calling out Kenyon Martin (back when Martin still had 2 knees) as a "fugazi" tough guy (whatever that was supposed to mean). Martin could squash Thomas like a bug.

Thomas has played really well (offensively, at least) for Phoenix, but not well enough to justify that kind of b.s.

I don't understand why the Heat would make Wade's "flu-like" condition public. It's as though they're already waving the white flag for game 6 and giving the Pistons an advantage (Wade is weak.) What's gained by the Heat by making his condition known before the game?

~Adam

Good question Adam, but the only white flag tonight is being waved by Detroit. Bye bye Pistons.

Congrats to the Heat for making their first Finals appearance after being close several times. Glad they took out Detroit, too, 'cause their fans are annoying as hell...

Hey! That was uncalled for!

Present company excluded of course... wink

You forget, I had to put up them during my time at State...

At first, I thought the Heat would have an easy time with the Mavs or the Suns. Now, I'm not so sure. The Mavs are playing well enough to beat the Heat. But, I wonder if Dirk will dribble penetrate against the Heat interior like he did against the defense-what's-that Suns. Something tells me the Heat defense will not allow that to happen. Expect to see a lot of banging and hard fouls in this series. I sure hope so. Let the fun begin!

[ June 03, 2006, 11:14 PM: Message edited by: Thomas ]