NBA '08 Playoff Thread

That's what I was thinking, regarding Stuckey. He seemed to be the only one who played with any urgency for the Pistons. I definitely see some Dwyane Wade in him...he uses his body well and can make shots while drawing fouls almost effortlessly. Quick hands and active defender. If I'm Joe Dumars, I'm prepared to take offers for Billups this off-season.

Shocking game last night. Ray Allen once again struggled shooting (surprise, surprise), Paul Pierce scored 11 points on only 6 shots from the field, and the Celtics still won handily. Minus a few brainless turnovers, Rondo played a really good game, but Garnett was clearly the Player of the Game. Kendrick Perkins also played extremely well...I maintain that he's an underrated defender, but offensively he can also score a little and I'd like to see him shoot a little more.

I wonder if we will see more Sam Cassell in this series? Eddie House has struggled handling the ball against the Pistons, as he is not a true point guard but has been effective as a backup PG this year. He was a DNP-CD last night.

 

BB, I agree with your analysis. Going walkabout is one of the distinguishing traits of this Pistons' team since the last days of Larry Brown. Their two losses to the poor 76ers in the first round were even more disgraceful than last night's non-effort.
The home/road thing has been overplayed with the Celts because it was such an odd anomaly. As we saw in the fourth quarter last night, the real issue is that Boston has not done a good job protecting its leads. If they play poorly Monday, to me that would be more worrisome than their previous road losses, because now the supernatural part of the deal is gone.

 

For all the concern about Allen, the Celtics are at their best when everyone is playing well (duh) rather than having just one guy going off. Look at G2, Allen heats up but the team gets out of its rhythm and Pierce barely touched the ball down the stretch. They're at their best when they're moving it and getting everyone involved. You know Pierce and Garnett can get theirs; it's getting the other guys going that makes them tough to beat.

 

Sure as shit looks like the Lakers/Spurs are going to play more than four or five games in this series. I'm guessing seven.

Sorry, Tripp.

 

Ok let me clarify something ... I think Stuckey is on the doorstep of being something very, very great. BUT, with that said, there is no way in hell I shop Billups in the offseason. Excuse or not, he's been hurt in every game of this series and you can't say that doesn't have something to do with the way he's played.
And I'm not going to sit here and say he lives up to that Mr. Big Shot nickname, because often times he really doesn't. But you see how weird this team is when he's off. And when he's on? Well, he was in G2 and you saw how good they were then.
He's the key to everything ... not Rasheed. He's been the one guy that when he's out of the game or misses a few from injury during the season that changes everything. They simply aren't the same.
So while Stuckey's going to be great, Billups is STILL one of the top five PGs in the game right now -- and yes, Bostonbred, he's still better than Rajon Rondo.

If anyone needs to be shopped, it's Rasheed. Although you probably can't get as much out of him anymore -- I personally wouldve moved him before this season, but who knows.

Onto G4 ... I can't see Detroit dumping this one. I mean they've laid some HUGE eggs in the past, but it's almost always when momentum or whatever seems to be on their side. Their backs are to the wall, they're at home, I think it'll be a close one but at the same time I think we'll head back to Boston tied at two with a STELLAR best of three series to watch.

 

I thought this was a pretty interesting take on 'Sheed and Garnett.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/steve_aschburner/05/22/wallace.garnett/?cnn=yes

But I also think Wallace gets entirely too much credit for his alleged prodigious talent. I just don't get why everyone (including the scout in the linked story) touts Wallace's talent while seemingly overlooking how he's squandered it. How the hell can "the most talented player in the league" be averaging 13 points per game in these playoffs? How can he average less than seven rebounds per game for his career? Would anyone really prefer him over Garnett? Is Wallace anything other than this generation's Derrick Coleman (who actually has better career numbers)?

 

If Detroit loses G4, this is most likely over in 5. I don't think that happens though. Everyone seem particularly knee-jerk this year. After every loss people were burying the C's, but now that they've won a game on the road, people seem to think they're in control. This thing is going 7.

And to those who buried SA, you just haven't been paying attention the last decade. I think LA wins the series, but it won't be near as easy as it looked after game 2.

 

I swear, Lamar Odom has to be the most infuriating player I've ever had the displeasure of rooting for. The guy just plays like he's spent the weekend at Josh Howard's house. Fisher and Gasol also had awful games. Combine that with Ginobili's hot shooting and the Lakers not getting to the free throw line (Kobe Bryant shoots one FT the entire game? C'monnnnnnnnnn, something fishy about that) and it all equals a Spurs blowout.

I still believe the Lakers have an excellent shot at winning in San Antonio. They're a very good road team and have proven it thus far in the playoffs (two wins in Denver; two close losses at Utah; a series-clincher AT Utah). I'm not saying that the Spurs can't win or won't win (hell, they could win the series). But my opinion is the Lakers will finish this series in either Game 5 or 6.

 

Consider things even after Kobe going to the line every time someone breathed on him in the Utah series.

 

After the top 3 there's a pretty decent drop-off. I think I'd put Parker and Kidd ahead of Billups too. I think he and Wallace -- I'll never be able to comprehend the love this guy continues to get for what he *could* be -- are pretty overrated. And so I'm not accused of being anti-Detroit, Prince and Hamilton are equally underrated.

 

Boobie you know as well as I do that "talent" doesn't always mean production. To say he's the most talented guy in the league is obviously an overstatement, but at the same time -- how many guys have those tools? He's been a better outside shooter than KG over the years, and when on that 15-footer is the most unguardable shot in the league.
And it's not that he doesn't care I don't think, he simply gets himself too concerned with small battles that really don't matter. He's the definition of an enigma.
I'd take Garnett 100 times out of 100. But you can't argue that if and when Wallace puts his mind to something, he's basically unstoppable. And Detroit simply has to live with that -- fair or not -- he's obviously the reason why they're constantly "flipping the switch," but at the same time the Pistons never would have won a title if not for his influence that season.

 

My problem is that for some reason Wallace's talent is looked at as a positive by most around the game. Shouldn't it be a negative that he's that talented and doesn't maximize it?

I'm not denying that he does have the talent, just the perception of it/him irks me.