NBA '08 Playoff Thread

[Boobie Miles]

Gilbert Arena is out for the rest of the season.

Hopefully, that season ends tonight in Cleveland, because I can't take any more of the bullshirt going on in this series. I mean, the primary trash-talkers from the Wizards are Brendan Haywood and DeShawn Stevenson. Could there be two more irrelevant players in the NBA?

EDIT WITH LINK ON ARENAS: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs2008/news/story?id=3375695

Sean Marks and Eric Piatkowski?

True. I bit of hyperbole on my part.

Oh no I get it, on a further note -- where exactly is Gil going to be next year? I'm pretty sure folks around the Wizards organization echo the statements you made about being fed up. Pulling himself out of this series when his team needs him the most has to be close to the last straw -- shades of Rashard Lewis sitting out with a broken pinky during the 04-05 playoffs.

As a Cavs fan, I'm happy as heck he's not playing. Now, if Cleveland would freakin' figure it out and take advantage of it.

And, as an aside, good to see Stevenson wasting little time getting a technical foul. What a punk.

Really? I'd think I'd want him to play if I was a Cavs fan. The Wiz have done much better without him this year and this series.

 

[Boobie Miles]

I like Al Horford a lot. I'd love him if he was on my team. But man I never knew he had this nasty streak in him at Florida. Maybe he was just overshadowed by Noah, but he's certainly not taking a backseat to anyone in this series. He's been talking a ton of trash (no problem here), just had a flagrant foul (happens in the playoffs) but the one thing that stuck out was Powe drew a charge early in the game and as Horford fell over him he subtly tried to catch him in the face with his foot. Not saying he tried to kick him, just more like as he was falling he had no problem at all if his foot caught Powe in the face. I don't like that sneaky stuff. But like I said, I have been impressed with how he hasn't backed down any in this series.

 

[Tripp McNeely]

Good to see the whinin' Celtics are back. We even got Danny Ainge's "who me??!!??" face in there for a minute.
Pierce's heel WAS on the circle on the first charge and he DID bump a driving Josh Smith on the second blocking call.

And KG came REAL CLOSE to getting ejected. Most anyone else (or anywhere else??) and he'd have been gone, the way he was frontin that referee.

 

[Boobie Miles]

Whining Celtics? Are they really any worse than any other team? The second foul on Pierce was not a good call. He stepped out in front of Smith who stuttered his feet and should have been called for a travel. There was little to no contact. Garnett does get more rope with officials than the average player, probably because he seems to be unleashing a steady stream of expletives at all times so it's probably hard to determine when he's really being offensive.

I think the whining and flopping league-wide that so many complain about is an indication that officiating is too great a factor in the NBA. The way they reward flopping encourages more flopping and leaves the other side bitching because they know they didn't commit a foul. Then if they don't call a flop the guy who flopped gets pissed and he benches. They REALLY need to rectify this in the offseason. It's ruining the game.

 

[Tripp McNeely]

Whining Celtics? Are they really any worse than any other team? The second foul on Pierce was not a good call. He stepped out in front of Smith who stuttered his feet and should have been called for a travel. There was little to no contact. Garnett does get more rope with officials than the average player, probably because he seems to be unleashing a steady stream of expletives at all times so it's probably hard to determine when he's really being offensive.

I think the whining and flopping league-wide that so many complain about is an indication that officiating is too great a factor in the NBA. The way they reward flopping encourages more flopping and leaves the other side bitching because they know they didn't commit a foul. Then if they don't call a flop the guy who flopped gets pissed and he benches. They REALLY need to rectify this in the offseason. It's ruining the game.

Yes, they are worse than any other team. They're worse than EVERY other team, too. [/Lakersfanrant]

 

[Some Guy]

One man's "flopping" is another man's "trying to draw a charge." I understand there are extremes, but for the most part, it's part of the game and always has been.

People think of Ginobili as the posterboy for this, but frankly, he's calmed down A LOT in the past couple of years. Of all the NBA I've seen this year, I don't think he'd even crack the top 10.

 

[Boobie Miles]

And the Hawks are in full meltdown mode. Two techs in about 30 seconds.

 

[Boobie Miles]

One man's "flopping" is another man's "trying to draw a charge." I understand there are extremes, but for the most part, it's part of the game and always has been.

People think of Ginobili as the posterboy for this, but frankly, he's calmed down A LOT in the past couple of years. Of all the NBA I've seen this year, I don't think he'd even crack the top 10.

I have no problem with trying to draw charges when there is a collision and a guy is driving to the hoop. I have a much bigger problem with the flopping on incidental contact in the open floor, which doesn't happen at ANY other level of basketball I've ever seen. Only in the NBA do guys act like they've been shot by a sniper when a guy comes down to post up or some such ordinary basketball play. I think it's directly related to the fact that NBA officials have made a habit of rewarding such behavior.

 

[nafselon]

I like Al Horford a lot. I'd love him if he was on my team. But man I never knew he had this nasty streak in him at Florida. Maybe he was just overshadowed by Noah, but he's certainly not taking a backseat to anyone in this series. He's been talking a ton of trash (no problem here), just had a flagrant foul (happens in the playoffs) but the one thing that stuck out was Powe drew a charge early in the game and as Horford fell over him he subtly tried to catch him in the face with his foot. Not saying he tried to kick him, just more like as he was falling he had no problem at all if his foot caught Powe in the face. I don't like that sneaky stuff. But like I said, I have been impressed with how he hasn't backed down any in this series.

Horford always had the mean streak at Florida. Noah was more emotional but Horford was the enforcer and the guy that no one wanted to cross.

 

[rube]

Apparently 3-1 is not Cleveland's lucky number.

Oops.

 

[rube]

12 minutes for Leon Powe...7 points, 5 offensive rebounds, 2 defensive rebounds, 2 charges taken. And I'm just waiting for Doc to fork with his minutes some more.

Cassell's having his best game of the series too thus far. He's actually passing the ball a little.

Even with the victory, you can tell there's a chink in Bostonbred's armor as well. No mention of KG's unmatched desire, intensity and male potency. No talk of Rondo's magical transformation and nary a compliment for Rivers!
Don't let it get to you, bb ... hang tough!

 

[bostonbred]

12 minutes for Leon Powe...7 points, 5 offensive rebounds, 2 defensive rebounds, 2 charges taken. And I'm just waiting for Doc to fork with his minutes some more.

Cassell's having his best game of the series too thus far. He's actually passing the ball a little.

Even with the victory, you can tell there's a chink in Bostonbred's armor as well. No mention of KG's unmatched desire, intensity and male potency. No talk of Rondo's magical transformation and nary a compliment for Rivers!
Don't let it get to you, bb ... hang tough!

I didn't want to let you down rube...

Rondo played a heck of a game. In the series, I beleive he has 40 assists and 4 turnovers. Doc did a much better job distrubuting minutes, his biggest weakness. The Big Three did what they were supposed to do - Pierce scored and led the team when they needed it, Ray Allen drained a handful of huge 3-pointers, and KG's intensity and defensive presence helped limit ATL's offense. Now they need to take it to Atlanta on the road and wrap it up.