Hey Guys, the Raps are officially in 3rd place today. This is a pretty interesting scenario, but everybody is caught up in the whole: 'it's better if the Raps play Chicago than Miami in the playoffs scenario.' However, what might actually be better is if Miami can take over the 4th playoff spot away from Washington, thereby placing Washington in the 6th spot, and we get to play them in the first round, thereby foregoing both Chicago and Miami in the first round. I can't believe we forgot how good Miami is and that more than likely they'll try to win their division as well. This is all assuming raps can hold onto the 3rd playoff spot all the way through. It's not inconceivable because as of today Miami is 37, 32 and Washington is 37, 31, and their remaining schedules look about the same. I'm hoping Miami takes the division, because of all the teams I feel we fare well against, we definitely have the best chance against Washington in the first round. C'mon basketball gods, make this happen. Thoughts?????
To tell you the truth, and I give the credit to Doug Smith because he brought it up to my attention, I'd rather play the Bulls than the Wizards, by a tiny bit!! Chicago's best defender, Ben Wallace, won't be able to be in the game the last two minutes because they'd be playing 4 on 5 offensivley, and we'd foul Wallace every time he touches it. Secondly, Chicago has NO low post threats. Mix that with the fact that we have two really good perimeter defenders in AP and Mo, and Jorge who is an above average defender himself, and I'd rather take the battle to the perimeter than have to defend a team inside for 7 games (yes, I do realize that Deng kills us, but come playoff time those easy shots he gets won't be there. Or at least I hope not!). Thirdly, and most importantly, Washington has a top-5 player, and with that during playoff time, it comes sh*t load of "superstar" calls and about 8 extra undeserved free throws. Did I mention he can go for 60 easily and has been the most clutch player this season? Add to that the fact that they have two All Stars in Butler and Jamison, both whom we've had problems containing in the past, and the Bulls seem a lot more attractive. Miami is the team I do not want any piece of come playoff time. That series won't be close if our rebounding stays the same and Wade is relativley healthy.
I don't know if I'd agree with that. I'd still take my chances with Washington over the Bulls. Yes Ben Wallace would be like playing 4 on 5 offensively except for the fact we suck at rebounding and he'd rip us a new one. Also, Skiles can switch up offense defense at the end of the game as much as possible so that would neutralize some of the hack-a-ben approach. The bulls defend the raptors extremely well for the most part and seem to control the pace of the game. Chicago can run the break better than we do and are more than athletic enough to handle us in a half court set. I'd prefer Arenas, the superstar calls and the questionable defense over a team that has a more technically inclined coach and a mega athletic lineup that plays defense and rebounds well.
<div class="quote_poster">02civic Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">I fear the thought of T.J defending Arenas in a 7 game series</div> TJ and especially Jose seem to do a great job defending arenas with their feet and rip him on offense.
Chicago has a lot of defensive threats. For instance Hinrich who limits a lot of star players to low point production with frustrating defense. Then you have the best charge taker in the league in Nocioni. If Noce is back to full health then that's even worse for anyone that plays against the Chicago defense. We also have Tyrus Thomas and a lengthy Luol Deng who often puts down any SF he guards. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Thirdly, and most importantly, Washington has a top-5 player, and with that during playoff time, it comes sh*t load of "superstar" calls and about 8 extra undeserved free throws. Did I mention he can go for 60 easily and has been the most clutch player this season?</div> That I can highly agree with. The NBA is full of crap in that sense, isn't it? Anyway, no worries about Arenas anymore now that he'll be out for two months.
If we only won that game against Miami, we'd be sitting pretty right now. We would have a 3 game lead on Miami and 3.5 games on Washington for the third seed. Washington is most likely not going anywhere and stay the 6th seed. They're not going to pass anyone and NJ will not likely pass them. I don't like our chances against Chicago, besides the fact that they will probably have home court advantage.
