NBA Playoff Thread

The Celtics are playing the way they were playing at the start of the year. I don't think it should come as any surprise how well they're playing, but it's a legitimate question whether they'd ever play like that again.

Rondo is a beast.

 

To the Lakers fans on this board: Make a case your team can beat Boston. Hell, make a case they can be competitive against Boston. Show your work, that is, explain how the Lakers can lie down and die for a game or two as they did on the road against OKC and still win.
As noted before, I was a Celtics hater long before most NBA fans were born. But real fan hate ought to be accompanied by respect. Respect says this team is playing the best of the remaining four teams in the playoffs by a wide margin.
That could end in the Finals, of course. But why? Somebody tell me, if you can.

 

By a wide margin? Really?

Not saying it's gonna happen, but will you still feel that way if the Lakers win by 20 again tonight? The Celtics are barely beating a slack-ass Orlando team.

Also...how annoying is Paul Pierce?

 

Ryan, you are one of the posters whose opinions I respect very much, but I must point out your last post was not exactly an answer to my question. Aside from Stuart Scott love, why are the Lakers better than the Celtics?
Also, Pierce is no more annoying than most NBA stars, which is to say, he can be plenty annoying, but he hardly stands out in that regard.

 

1. Kobe > Anyone on the Celtics
2. Gasol > Any of the Celtics' bigs
3. Orlando isn't that good and the Celtics are barely beating them. (winning 2 on the road is damn impressive, though)

That said, I think it'll be a hell of a series if it comes down to those two teams. That rivalry alone can wipe out any perceived advantage or disadvantage. I'm looking forward to it.

But again, to say that the Celtics are playing the best basketball of any playoff team "by a wide margin" isn't completely accurate, IMO.

Also, Pierce stands out more to me as a Lakers fan, obviously. But to call for a broom on his twitter -- or whatever it is he did? Annoying.

 

The Lakers have the best player. In the NBA, that means a lot (if the guy has any track record of success).

 

Pierce's Twitter account was hacked.

 

That's fine. He was annoying before that.

 

Ryan, No doubt Bryant is the best player in a Lakers-Celtics matchup. But James was the best player in the Celts-Cavs series. And without debating whether Gasol would be the best big man on the floor in a Boston-LA series, I will note that nobody on earth thinks he's better than Dwight Howard, and it's Celts 2-Magic 0 at this point.

 

Dwight Howard is the only big man on the court for the Magic. The Lakers have Bynum, Gasol and Odom to match with the length of the Celtics. Gasol has a low-post game so the Celtics will have to help out when the ball is dropped down. Gasol and Odom are both excellent passers for big men. Dwight Howard is not.

Lakers in 6.

 

Agree with Pancamo. The Lakers should -- should -- handle the Celtics inside. I'd be interested to see who they put Artest on.

Howard is playing like a second-level guy. We all know he's not, but he's playing like ass.

 

Gasol might not be better than Howard but he might be tougher to defend. Howard has no game outside of 6 feet from the basket. Gasol does.