Track this topic | Email this topic | Print this topic

Been awhile since we've talked about sports. The Stanley Cup playoffs are heating up, but I'm a basketball fan personally, so I want to talk about the NBA, despite the fact that there have been 13 games and no upsets as of yet. I personally don't think there will be any first round upsets, and probably no game 7s (except maybe for the Heat-Hornets series.) Here's my predictions the rest of the way after that.

T-Wolves over Kings in 6
Spurs over Lakers in 7
Pacers over Heat in 5
Pistons over Nets in 7

Spurs over T-Wolves in 7
Pistons over Pacers in 7
**Best championship series' since the Lakers-Blazers/76ers-Raptors in each conference.

Spurs over Pistons in 6

--------------------

Hip-Hop QOTW:

"Yeah, where I'ma start it at, look I'ma part of that
Downtown Philly where it's realer than a heart attack
It wasn't really that ill until the start of crack
Now it's a body caught every night on the Almanac"

"Game Theory"
The Roots

Go Bibby! Go Kings! Since my 76ers and Iverson (and of course the...Bulls) are out, so I want the Kings to win it. Most likely, the Spurs will repeat with tough competition from the T-Wolves.

Pacers will be the team to lose in the finals. Let's hope it doesn't turn into another "Nets get swept like every year" championship.

--------------------

The clouds ran away, opened up the sky
And one by one I watched every constellation die
And there I was frozen, standing in my backyard
Face to face, eye to eye, staring at the last star
I should've known, walked all the way home
To find that she wasn't here, I'm still all alone

-Atmosphere "Always Coming Back Home to You"

I think the Timberwolves'll take it this year. I love Kevin Garnett's game, in a league that's getting boring and diluted by all these players who know nothing about fundamentals, KG stands out. For a guy his size to have the skills he has, just incredible. He also has support from two high quality veterans, Sam Cassell and Spree. I can't see Tony Parker guarding Cassell. PLEASE no Pistons-Spurs finals!

My poor Celtics are stuck in no man's land, not bad enough to get a high difference making pick, not good enough to do anything in the playoffs.

Oh well. *Kisses 16 championship rings, counts hall of famers, retired numbers, Celtics on the top 50 squad*

--------------------

Sabin: ... to Mom... and to Figaro.

"A true classic never goes out of style!"

"I've seen things you people wouldn't believe... attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion.... I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in the rain..."

My two favorite teams are in the playoffs this year, which is rockin... Though I'm sure the Celtics won't even win 1 game against a team as dominant in the East like Indiana. Their chance to not get swept was when Artest was sidelined for the dumbest suspension ever.
Sacramento, on the other hand has a great chance of going far. Mike Bibby, Peja Stojakavich, and Vlade Divac are my 3 favorite players in the league. I was once very protective and thinking that the Kings could not go far without C-Web. But I think he's worn out his welcome in Sac-town. I like his play, but I won't mind if he's traded or leaves next year anymore. Brad Miller can step up.
It's also good to see the Knicks back in the playoffs. Despite how I don't really like Stephon Marbury that much, the Knicks were the first NBA team that I liked way back when I was about 9 or so. But I stopped caring for the Knicks when they got rid of Patrick Ewing. Ewing is still my favorite player ever... I'm not so much a Knicks fan as I was then, but it's good to see them back in the playoffs (despite having to face the Nets)

It's been an awfully boring first round so far. All predicatble to happen, home teams 13-0. I predict no upsets in the first round... So we'll have:

TWolves-Kings
Lakers-Spurs
Pacers-Heat
Pistons-Nets


ok, there's a fine line of what I want to happen, and what probably will happen...

What I want to happen

*Kings defeat T-Wolves
*Lakers defeat Spurs, just because I want the matchup...
*Pacers defeat Heat
*Pistons defeat Nets, and Rasheed Wallace and Kenyon Martin get thrown in jail for doing something (i dunno, use your imagination) where they are given a lifetime ban from the NBA cuz that's where they belong.

*Kings defeat Lakers in exciting 7 game series where Peja or Bibby hits gamewinning 3 at buzzer to win series, finally defeating the Lakers in a playoff series, sending the land of gold and purple into comatose..
*Pacers derail Big Ben and the Pistons

*Kings defeat Pacers in exciting 7 game series, finally putting to rest any thoughts that Sacramento doesn't have enough to win a championship...


How I think it'll happen:

Kings defeat Minnesota (Yes, I really think that they have a good shot against the T-wolves)
Spurs defeat Lakers (Fab 4... meet Tim Duncan and Tony Parker! LA loses to San Antonio for second straight year)

Nets defeat Pistons (god, I hate the Nets.. I hate everyone on the Nets... but they are a good playoff team. And they seem to have the upper hand on Detroit in the playoffs)
Pacers defeat Heat (Dwayne Wade isn't good enough yet)

Spurs defeat Kings (even the outside shooting isn't good enough to beat Timmy D. and the Spurs)
Pacers defeat Nets (Jermaine O'Neal will Pwn Jason Collins.. Artest will Pwn Jefferson and K-Mart)

In the most exciting finals since MJ and the Bulls battled the Jazz, Spurs will defeat the Pacers in 6.


So the Spurs win their 2nd straight title, and 3rd in 6 years. Maybe it's changing of the guard in the west...

--------------------

"When I turn the page
The corner bends into the perfect dog ear
As if the words knew I'd need them again
But at the time, I didn't see it."

~"This Ain't a Surfin' Movie" - Minus the Bear

Blarg!!! the Blazers didn't get into the play offs for the first time in my entire life!!!!!!! They had such a streak going, the longest in any pro sports I think. I don't really care all that much who wins, now that the blazers arn't in the playoffs. *grumbles* stupid sucky blazers and their stupid club for jerks.

--------------------

We all have our own hells and fires we must pass through, but when you have passed through them, you must ask yourself.  Was I consumed by the flame? Or was I tempered by it?

Quitsis - "Whip, Chaingun, don't bug me I'm killing"

My current favorite team, the Rockets, are actually in the Playoffs and are faring surprisingly well against the monstrous Lakers. I despise the Lakers, but I'm not expecting any sudden wins for the Rockets. It's just nice to see that Francis and his squad can finally hang with the big guns now that they've got Yao on their side. The Rockets will be the team to beat in a few years, so long as they play their cards right.

As is typical of the post-Jordan era, the West makes the East look like garbage this year, with one important exception - the Pacers. In my opinion, the Pacers are the only team that stand a real chance against the Lakers, Spurs, T-Wolves, or Kings, which I believe are the four teams most likely to win the West. The Pacers have their division totally covered, by the way - I can't think of a single team in the East capable of taking them down, short of some end-game miracle or truly poor coaching decisions. So let's just say everything goes as planned, and the Pacers make meat of everyone in the East.

So, onto the big leagues. The West is full of great teams this year, but as I've said before, I really think it comes down to a few crucial games between the Lakers, Spurs, T-Wolves, and Kings. Los Angeles is still as strong as ever, much as I hate to admit it; in many ways they're the team to beat. Still, I can definitely see the Kings taking them out in a grueling series, provided that they're at the top of their game (and history shows that they rarely are against the Lakers). The T-Wolves have a great team, but it seems to me that they don't have the right kind of great team to beat their biggest rivals. Garnett is a monster, sure, and Cassell and Sprewell are fine players in their own right, but Minnesota's team strategy and make-up probably won't fare too well against unstoppable power players like Shaq and Duncan, or the overall team chemistry of the Kings. Still, they could surprise me. The Spurs are great, though I'd place them at the bottom of the big four. Duncan may still be the best at what he does, but his supporting cast seems to lack the polish of last year. Still, you should never count the returning champs out until you really see what they can do.

When it comes right down to it, I'd like to see Kings vs. Pacers in the Finals, I think. Further than that, I really can't predict. The Kings probably have an advantage over the comparatively diminuitive Pacers, but I'd say Indiana has more than a fighting chance. Either way, I'd be happy, as I respect both teams.

--------------------

"I always have a quotation for everything - it saves original thinking."
~Dorothy L. Sayers

"The truly remarkable thing about television is that it allows several million people to laugh at the same joke and still feel lonely."
~T.S. Eliot

"Defeat is not defeat unless accepted as reality - in your own mind!"
~ Bruce Lee

I'm totally rooting for the Pacers, so I'm a bit biased, but here's how I see it going down...
No upsets in the first round, same as Gears. It's easier to pick this now, especially since 15/16 first round games have been won by the team with the higher seed (suck it, Pistons).

After that...
Pacers over Heat
Pistons over Nets
Lakers over T'Wolves
Spurs over Kings

And in a really awesome conference finals setup...
Pacers over Pistons
Spurs over Lakers

And the Pacers beat the Spurs in seven games. Why not?

I would love to see the Kings in the finals against the Pacers, though, because I think Indiana matches up really well with them.

--------------------

Hey, put the cellphone down for a while
In the night there is something wild
Can you hear it breathing?
And hey, put the laptop down for a while
In the night there is something wild
I feel it, it's leaving me

Quote (Sabin @ 21st April 2004 19:59)

*Kings defeat T-Wolves
*Lakers defeat Spurs, just because I want the matchup...

*Kings defeat Lakers in exciting 7 game series where Peja or Bibby hits gamewinning 3 at buzzer to win series, finally defeating the Lakers in a playoff series, sending the land of gold and purple into comatose..

Is there any more of an exciting NBA matchup than Kings vs. Lakers? If there's anything I really want out of the playoffs this year, it's the Kings to annihilate the Lakers. I really wished it wouldve been them rather than the Spurs to take them down last year. Oh well. I'd love for this Western Conference final to end in a Kings victory over the Lakers. Also, I'd like to see Kobe at some point miss a key clutch shot to blow a game. (Saying Kobe is just a few years around the corner from Jordan is a joke. He'll never come close to MJ.)

--------------------

The clouds ran away, opened up the sky
And one by one I watched every constellation die
And there I was frozen, standing in my backyard
Face to face, eye to eye, staring at the last star
I should've known, walked all the way home
To find that she wasn't here, I'm still all alone

-Atmosphere "Always Coming Back Home to You"