NBA '08 Playoff Thread

APB: Al Horford and Josh Smith. Man, where have these guys been today?

 

I would be more impressed with the Celtics if they had won something resembling a close game in this series.
Cleveland is not as talented as Boston. More talented than the Hawks, though. And they have reels of tape to demonstrate the idea that the Celtics do not handle adversity very well.
If/when the Celts lose a home game, then we shall have grounds to assess their championship caliber or lack of same. Until then, color me unimpressed with a team that impressed me a great deal during the regular season.

 

What an embarrassing performance by the Hawks. I know they're green, but given that there was no pressure on them to win this game -- that it was all on the Celtics -- I expected a much better game from them.

Re: Cavs-Celtics, LeBron has done well against Boston all season -- roughly 33 points per game, going 32 for 40 at the line. Cavs might be able to pull the upset.

 

G1 will be Tuesday, correct?

 

The perks of owning the best record, you don't have to win a road game to win a series.

So I'm picking the Celtics to win every series in seven games.

 

The Bill Simmons Doesn't Know Dick line begins on the left.

 

"Na na na na, hey hey hey, goodbye" chant from Boston fans with 2 minutes to go. Nice. You show that 37-win team that just stretched you to seven games who's boss! Celtic pride~!

And in regards to Bibby running his mouth before the series about the Boston fans, find me anything in his quote that wasn't true.

 

Whether or not it was true, if you're going to make any type of comment about another team's crowd it's typically recommended to actually show up for at least one of the games in their building.

And I love the first sentiment. What, are they not supposed to be happy? Sure they got pushed much further than anyone expected, but a 40 point win in a game 7 is a 40 point win in a game 7. It was a chippy series with a lot of trash talk capped off by a ridiculous flagrant foul today. The fans are going to be excited to see the home team blow them out.

(They actually started the chant with about six minutes to go in the third anyways)

 

I'd be shocked if this Utah-LA series goes less than six. I think the Jazz are the most underrated team in the league. For all the hype (deservedly so) that Paul gets, Williams is right there with him IMO.

 

Celtics fans have been front-runners for 50 years. This is not news. Bibby need not have mentioned the obvious. I think the serious fan base, which can no longer afford tickets, is probably a little less overjoyed with this series than the hedge-fund refuse in the loge seats.

 

Yeah, I think this is gonna be a fun series with a lot of good basketball played.
The Lakers won the season series 3-1 (none of those four games after the Gasol trade). The difference in those first four games was the Lakers' depth. They were able to wear down the Jazz.

 

The whole "fair weather" fan thing? I've attended plenty of Celtics games during the past few years, including this season. Nothing different, except the product on the floor and harder-to-find tickets. I went to a meaningless Hawks-Celtics game at the end of last season and the place was damn near sold out and loud as hell. Bibby's statement is simply not true and is just ironic, considering Atlanta sports fans are known to be some of the worst in sports.

As far as the game goes...it all starts with defense with this team and I'm glad they brought their A-games tonight. From top to bottom, the Celtics did a nice job throughout, even allowing a record low 26 points in the first half. Josh Smith looked completely out of his game, but the team worked well on the other bigtime Hawks' threat, Johnson, who got a few good looks but for the majority of the game was hounded. Perkins played perhaps the best quarter of his life during the 1st, with 8 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 blocks. He's had a terrible series, but he was a bright spot tonight. And the officials refreshingly actually let the teams play physical and aggressive for the first time in the series and did not call ticky tacky fouls, which interrupt the flow of the game.

Marvin's hit on Rondo was violent and scary...it looked worse in real time than it did on the replay. It certainly wasn't intentional, but I think the refs, Rondo, and even Doc handled it well, avoiding potential chaos.

And I think I want that KG pick of Zaza framed in my office someday. Beautiful.

Onto Round 2 vs. Cleveland...should be a great series. The Celtics must prove that they can win on the road though.