First Round <u>East</u> Miami defeats New Jersey, 4-1 Detroit defeats Philadelphia, 4-2 Indiana defeats Boston, 4-3 Washington defeats Chicago, 4-2 <u>West</u> Phoenix defeats Memphis, 4-2 San Antonio defeats Denver, 4-3 Sacramento defeats Seattle, 4-2 Houston defeats Dallas, 4-3
East Miami/New Jersey - Jersey in 7 .. Yes, I am serious. Jefferson is back, no? Shaq is out? Detroit/Philly - Detroit in 5 .. IMO, all the games will be close. Boston/Indiana - Indy in 6 .. Reggie goes crazy on the Celts. Washington/Chicago - Washington in 7 .. Hardest one to call though. West Phoenix/Memphis - Phoenix in 6 .. Memphis puts up a good fight, though. San Antonio/Denver - Spurs in 5 .. maybe 4. If Duncan is back.. San Antonio will get it. Sacramento/Seattle - Kings in 7 .. IMO, one of the most entertaining series. Dallas/Houston - Rockets in 7 .. Yes, I am biased.
i'll take philly in an upset over the pistons cuz philly plays wit heart. and i take new jersey over miami. all those series will have probably 6 or 7 games. but i'm rootin' for the underdog. LET'S GO PHILLY!!!!!!
<u>Eastern Conference</u> Miami- 4 Nets- 2 Pistons- 4 Sixers- 2 Celtics- 2 Pacers- 4 Chicago- 3 Washington- 4 <u>Western Conference </u> Suns- 2 Grizzlies- 4 Spurs- 4 Nuggets- 2 Seattle- 3 Kings- 4 Dallas-2 Houston- 4 ============================== and yes people, flame me all you want, but I have Houston winning the chip this year...Miami has no depth and the injury concern with Shaq, plus very little playoff experience amongst their role players...SA will be there, but I'm not convinced Barry or Parker play well in the playoffs, due to their shaky playoff pasts...I believe Detroit will make it out of the east, and play Houston in the Finals...Phoenix is a regular-season made team who cannot play in the halfcourt and do not have sufficent enough defense in order to win in the playoffs...Seattle is bleh, I respect them but their lack of an inside game will be their downfall... those are my predictions...you heard it from me...its just my opinion so chill with the hate or flameworks... Houston beats Detroit 4-3 to win the 2005 NBA Championship... HoLLa...
Eastern Conference in First Round: Heat vs. Nets -- Miami will sweep the Nets in 4 games. I keep reading how the Nets will scare the Heat especially with Shaq may be unable to play a game in the playoffs. I still think Miami will beat the Nets or even sweep em without Shaq. I just like Miami's starting lineup a lot better and they got a better bench. Nets are not that good at all. I thought they backed in thanks to the Cavs choking in the season. I give the Nets credit for making the most out of a rough situation this year, but the bottom line is that the Cavs just fell apart in the end with the firing of Paul Silas and the fact Lebron had no trust with his teammates in the end. This is a mismatch IMO Pistons/Sixers -- AI has had a great year and I am sure he is going to will his team with a win, but the bottom line is the Pistons are a better team and they got a better bench. They are very experienced. Pistons in 6 Celtics/Pacers -- This should be a good series as this first round matchup is a rematch of last year. I think Boston is going to fare a lot better against the Pacers this year as they won't get swept. With that said, I will take the Pacers. Pacers seem to dominate Boston and I just think they got a better team. Celtics do have a good bench with the rookies there. Still I will take my chances with the Pacers. I trust Rick Carlisle to find a way to outcoach Doc Rivers. Pacers in 5. Washington/Chicago -- Scott Skiles's Bulls has had a great year and I can't say enough about the job Skiles has done this year as he should win the Coach of the Year. With that said, the magic run is over. Bulls got some injuries with Deng and Curry out. Chandler will be playing hurt. Gordon is slumping. I just think Washington got veteran saviness to beat the Bulls. Wizards in 6 Western Conference First Round: Memphis/Phoenix: Memphis are thankful to avoid the Spurs in the first round as they got swept last year. They got a better shot of beating the Suns in the first round than the Spurs. Memphis has played Phoenix tough this year as the series was 2-2 in the regular season. Memphis can do a good job slowing Phoenix fast-pace offense. With that said, I can't see Steve Nash, Amare Stoudamire, and company going down early in the first round. I just can't. Phoenix in 6 Spurs/Nuggets -- What a job George Karl has done. He is a great story. After the way he finished his Bucks career, it's good to see him make the most of his opportunity with the Nuggets. He has done a great job getting the most out of his roster unlike his predecessor, Jeff Bzdelik. His offense seems to suit well for Andre Miller and Kenyon Martin. Melo has done good too. With that said, this is not a great matchup for the Nuggets as they were better off facing a team like the Supersonics in which they would have likely beat them. Spurs are too polished and experienced. Duncan will have a field day against Camby. I am sure Karl can get two wins in this playoff series and I am sure Denver will be a lot better this time around than last year against Minnesota in the playoffs, but in the end, Spurs will prevail. Spurs in 6. Sonics/Kings -- This is the best matchup Seattle can ask for. They matchup well against the Kings. They have dominated Sacramento all year. Seattle play good defense and Kings are going to find that the hard way. Seattle has lot of firepower than Sacramento. Seattle in 6 Mavericks/Rockets -- This is by far the best playoff series of the first round for sure. Houston has played very well as the season went along. McGrady has had a great season and Yao has done good. Rockets have a good bench. Dallas has done pretty well under Avery Johnson, but it will be interesting how Johnson fares against his counterpart, Jeff Van Gundy with Xs and Os. One thing going for Avery is that he has emphasized his team to play defense. I think that will help Dallas in this round. It should be fun to see Dirk and Tracy to do their thing for their respective teams. With that said, I just like Dallas better here. Dallas in 7 I think it will be Spurs vs. Heat in the Finals with Miami winning it in 7. It should be a good playoff run as always. I am hoping it will be a Phoenix vs. Miami Final. Talk about both teams scoring at a average of 110 points.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Timberwolf:</div><div class="quote_post"> Heat vs. Nets -- Miami will sweep the Nets in 4 games. I keep reading how the Nets will scare the Heat especially with Shaq may be unable to play a game in the playoffs. I still think Miami will beat the Nets or even sweep em without Shaq. I just like Miami's starting lineup a lot better and they got a better bench. Nets are not that good at all. I thought they backed in thanks to the Cavs choking in the season. I give the Nets credit for making the most out of a rough situation this year, but the bottom line is that the Cavs just fell apart in the end with the firing of Paul Silas and the fact Lebron had no trust with his teammates in the end. This is a mismatch IMO</div> What is so great about Miami? They're a two man team this year. They have no depth and hardly any balance. Aside from Shaq and Eddie Jones, they don't have much of any playoff experience. Speaking of Eddie, he has a tendency to disappear in the playoffs as well. Damon Jones has never been in the playoffs either. You never know what he'll do. Nerves could get to him and he could choke. So, I personally don't see why you like them. And, if Shaq isn't healthy, they won't win. They have no depth and they've shown that they can't consistently win if Dwayne Wade has to score 35 or 40. No shaq equals no sweep and no escaping the first round. Oh, and about the Nets, why don't you like them? They've been playing great basketball since Kidd came back. Vince Carter has become the Vince Carter of old since he came to Jersey. Kidd has been playing great. Krstic has shown that he is a very solid center and will be for years to come. And beyond all that, Richard Jefferson is back. I think they have all the potential in the world to pull an upset of the Heat, especially if Shaq isn't playing. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Washington/Chicago -- Scott Skiles's Bulls has had a great year and I can't say enough about the job Skiles has done this year as he should win the Coach of the Year. With that said, the magic run is over. Bulls got some injuries with Deng and Curry out. Chandler will be playing hurt. Gordon is slumping. I just think Washington got veteran saviness to beat the Bulls. Wizards in 6 </div> I'm sorry to tell you this, but the Bulls are still winning, even without Curry and Deng. They've still been playing marvelous basketball without them. Skiles will still have that team ready to play. Another thing, Tyson will be ready for the playoffs. Beyond that, the Bulls still have great depth. They'll still get plenty out of their bench and that'll help them out About Ben....how has he been slumping? Scored 10+ in 8/11 games in April, and that's a slump to you? He still averaged 13.4 ppg last month. Granted that it's less than his season average, he's still not in much of a slump. The only reason he didn't average more was his games of 2, 6, and 9.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">[quote name='Timberwolf']Eastern Conference in First Round: Heat vs. Nets -- Miami will sweep the Nets in 4 games. I keep reading how the Nets will scare the Heat especially with Shaq may be unable to play a game in the playoffs. I still think Miami will beat the Nets or even sweep em without Shaq. I just like Miami's starting lineup a lot better and they got a better bench. Nets are not that good at all. I thought they backed in thanks to the Cavs choking in the season. I give the Nets credit for making the most out of a rough situation this year, but the bottom line is that the Cavs just fell apart in the end with the firing of Paul Silas and the fact Lebron had no trust with his teammates in the end. This is a mismatch IMO</div> Isnt this why the season is 82 games, usually the teams that arent ready to that next step to a playoff level fade at the end when games become more important this teams like Cleveland and Orlando who arent really that good got off to strong starts but faded out at the end it happens every year. And I cant beleive you think that without Shaq the Heat will still sweep based on what? Most of Miami's roster plays off Shaq, without him their concept completely changes. Damon Jones wont be the same player because he isnt a guy that creates alot of his own shoots, he gets his looks off of Shaq double teams or Wade penetration, if you take away the good looks that Shaq creates for him then his shot selection could mean trouble for the Heat cause isnt going to put the ball on the floor much to get to the hoop, he is still going to keep firing from long range just with a hand in his face cause Shaq isnt their to attract the defense. Udonas Haslem needs Shaq as well to be effective cause he isnt your typical 4 man who likes to play with his back to the basket. He more likes that high post mid range shot, when Shaq creates open looks for...so if you start to take away guys that really need Shaq to make them better than you start to see their team isnt that good, outside of Shaq & Wade. And like Mook said the expereince is mininumal to none on this roster..Eddie Jones, Shaq, Zo that is it...legitimate playoff expereince is up & down New Jersey's roster. From Cliff Robinson all the way down with the exception of Krstic & Billy Thomas, everyone else has exereinced going to the playoffs and making legitimate runs deep in.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Chungster:</div><div class="quote_post">Heat > Nets Pistons > 'Sixers Pacers > Celtics Wizards > Bulls Suns > Grizzlies Nuggets > Spurs Sonics > Kings Rockets > Mavericks</div> Agrees
FIRST ROUND: East Miami over Nets in 5 (if Shaq injured, in 7) Detroit over Philly in 4 Indiana over Boston in 7 Washington over Chicago in 7 West Phoenix over Memphis in 5 San Antonio over Denver in 7 (if Duncan injured, Denver over in 7) Seattle over Sacramento in 6 Dallas over Houston in 7
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Sonics/Kings -- This is the best matchup Seattle can ask for. They matchup well against the Kings. They have dominated Sacramento all year. Seattle play good defense and Kings are going to find that the hard way. Seattle has lot of firepower than Sacramento. Seattle in 6</div> Timberwolf, you are a hater.
Here are my predictions on the series: Eastern Conference Miami- 3 Nets- 4 (SURPRISE SERIES WIN OF THE PLAYOFFS) Pistons- 4 Sixers- 1 Celtics- 3 Pacers- 4 Chicago- 2 Washington- 4 Western Conference Suns- 4 Grizzlies- 1 Spurs- 4 Nuggets- 2 Seattle- 3 Kings- 4 Dallas- 4 Houston- 3
Hmm, this thread is for the first round only? I've done predictions for the entire playoffs, but meh. First round then: Eastern Conference: Miami New Jersey Miami, 4-1 Chicago Washington Chicago, 4-3 Detroit Philadelphia Detroit, 4-2 Boston Indiana Indiana, 4-3 Western Conference: Phoenix Memphis Phoenix, 4-0 Dallas Houston Houston, 4-3 San Antonio Denver San Antonio, 4-2 Seattle Sacramento Seattle, 4-2
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Turn those predictions into PRIZES in the JBB Playoff Pick'Em game.</div>Is it to late to enter the Pick'Em Game Shape? First Round <u>Eastern Conference</u> Miami- 4 Nets- 0 Pistons- 4 Sixers- 1 Celtics- 4 Pacers- 2 Chicago- 4 Washington- 3 Western Conference Suns- 4 Grizzlies- 2 Spurs- 4 Nuggets- 2 Seattle- 4 Kings- 2 Dallas- 2 Houston- 4 Conference Semi Finals <u>Eastern Conference</u> Miami-4 Chicago-1 Celtics-4 Pistons-3 <u>Western Conference</u> Suns-4 Rockets-3 Spurs-4 Seattle-2 Conference Finals <u>Eastern Conference</u> Miami-4 Celtics-2 <u>Western Conference</u> Spurs-4 Suns-3 <u>NBA Finals</u> Miami -4 Spurs-3
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Turn those predictions into PRIZES in the JBB Playoff Pick'Em game.</div> Is it to late to enter the Pick'Em Game Shape?
I know i am late, but none of the 1st games really affected my predictions: East Miami- 4 Nets- 0 Pistons- 4 Sixers- 2 Celtics- 4 Pacers- 3 Chicago- 4 Washington- 3 West Suns- 4 Grizzlies- 0 Nuggets- 4 Spurs- 2 Seattle- 4 Kings- 3 Dallas- 1 Houston- 4
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Moo2K4:</div><div class="quote_post">What is so great about Miami? They're a two man team this year. They have no depth and hardly any balance. Aside from Shaq and Eddie Jones, they don't have much of any playoff experience. Speaking of Eddie, he has a tendency to disappear in the playoffs as well. Damon Jones has never been in the playoffs either. You never know what he'll do. Nerves could get to him and he could choke. So, I personally don't see why you like them. And, if Shaq isn't healthy, they won't win. They have no depth and they've shown that they can't consistently win if Dwayne Wade has to score 35 or 40. No shaq equals no sweep and no escaping the first round. Oh, and about the Nets, why don't you like them? They've been playing great basketball since Kidd came back. Vince Carter has become the Vince Carter of old since he came to Jersey. Kidd has been playing great. Krstic has shown that he is a very solid center and will be for years to come. And beyond all that, Richard Jefferson is back. I think they have all the potential in the world to pull an upset of the Heat, especially if Shaq isn't playing. </div> Umm..check the scores for today. Damon jones played his 16th playoff game today. He hasn't "NEVER" played in playoff game. Listen to yourself and see how foolish it may sound when you don't know what you speak of. I rather not speak when i don't know about something. East Miami- 4 Nets- 1 Pistons- 4 Sixers- 1 Celtics- 4 Pacers- 2 Chicago- 4 Washington- 3 West Suns- 4 Grizzlies- 1(after watching tonight's game, i THINK the Grizzles's defense will at least get them 1 win...but I really am not sure....) Nuggets- 4 Spurs- 3 (all depends on TD) Seattle- 4 Kings- 2 Dallas- 2 Houston- 4
