2010 NBA Playoffs thread

[Audiodrama]

Im not a fan of watching the same teams win over and over again, other than yankees vs redsox i hate it. Maybe it's because im younger and i've never seen Bird Magic.

Then I suggest you find your way over to YouTube.com. Larry Bird and Magic Johnson had the best rivalry in the history of the sport. Both supremely talented, hard-working and determined players. Watch film of those gentlemen in the 1980s and you'll understand why a Celtics/Lakers final is so amazing. (And that's not even mentioning anything between the teams BEFORE the '80s.)

[Lights Out]

Sigh, looks like unless theres a miracle by the magic and a suns road victory where looking at LAKERS VS CELTICS again

And for the NBA Finals, it really gets no better than that.

Yes, that's EXACTLY what the sport needs! Another pre-determined, league-engineered Lakers vs. Celtics Finals! Hell, why don't we have a Yankees/Cardinals World Series every year, and a Steelers/Cowboys Super Bowl too!

We've seen a Lakers/Celtics Finals 11 times already. Most NBA fans don't want to see it a 12th time. Plus, the same teams going to the Finals over and over again isn't going to help the image of the league or its officials.

And don't even mention Bird/Magic. It was a great rivalry, but it's over now. Now, it's all about Pierce and Kobe battling it out to see who can be the bigger drama queen. And of course, because the league wants it to be so, they'll have seven games to compete for that title.

The NBA is a joke.

[infrared41]

Im not a fan of watching the same teams win over and over again, other than yankees vs redsox i hate it. Maybe it's because im younger and i've never seen Bird Magic.

Then I suggest you find your way over to YouTube.com. Larry Bird and Magic Johnson had the best rivalry in the history of the sport. Both supremely talented, hard-working and determined players. Watch film of those gentlemen in the 1980s and you'll understand why a Celtics/Lakers final is so amazing. (And that's not even mentioning anything between the teams BEFORE the '80s.)

He'll also see the golden era of NBA Basketball. There were fewer teams and more developed talent. In the 80's the level of play was the best it's ever been.

[gingerbreadmann]

Alright, this is personal now.

No it isn't. You're a spectator. This is like the opposite of personal.

Yeah, I can't really argue with that. Anything I say during or immediately after big games is very likely to be emotionally charged, kneejerk reaction that doesn't really hold up later on. I can tell you really enjoyed exposing me, and you did so very effectively, but it wasn't meant as a literal comment, if that makes sense.

Again, color me impressed. I should seriously stop doubting this team. That's all I really have to say. Hopefully the rest will let some people get healthy and ready. This is such an exciting run. If we get Lakers-Celtics it would be amazing (But that didn't stop me from cursing Ron Artest on Thursday).

[HedleyLamarr]

Thanks to this post....

Alright, this is personal now. Orlando. This game could not have really gone any worse, save for Sheed. It's gametime now. Time to crack down and whoop some sorry behind Friday night. The Plan: Suit up everyone we have; suit up Scal, Shelden, Tony Gaffney, Doc, Eddie Lacerte, Tommy Heinsohn, Bill Russell, and even Red Auerbach. It's Hack-a-Howard for the entire Game 6.

I am NOT witnessing another 3-0 chokefest. Put them away Friday, or it could mean go home (by way of Orlando) crying. This is where it gets intense, irrational, and really, really interesting. It would also be nice to have Perkins, but that would mean rescinding at least one of two crap-ass technicals. I wouldn't count on it.

Oh, and if Doc calls one more Pierce Iso at the end of a quarter, fire him. This could have been a 4-0 sweep if Doc had called timeout at the end of Game 4, or even called a different play, instead of letting Pierce blow it yet again.

....I'll be rooting for the Western Conference's representative in the Finals.

[lordsketor]

Here's the C's Conference Championship gear, for those who haven't seen:

Its nice that they incorporated the Eastern Conference Trophy into the shirts . My only gripe though is that the Eastern Conference Trophy is silver, the gold trophy is reserved for the Western Conference Trophy.

[The_Admiral]

I can tell you really enjoyed exposing me, and you did so very effectively

Yeah, man. This was me after that post,

except I was at a computer and I wasn't dressed as a Los Angeles Laker.

[Jigga]

Sigh, looks like unless theres a miracle by the magic and a suns road victory where looking at LAKERS VS CELTICS again

And for the NBA Finals, it really gets no better than that.

Yes, that's EXACTLY what the sport needs! Another pre-determined, league-engineered Lakers vs. Celtics Finals! Hell, why don't we have a Yankees/Cardinals World Series every year, and a Steelers/Cowboys Super Bowl too!

We've seen a Lakers/Celtics Finals 11 times already. Most NBA fans don't want to see it a 12th time. Plus, the same teams going to the Finals over and over again isn't going to help the image of the league or its officials.

And don't even mention Bird/Magic. It was a great rivalry, but it's over now. Now, it's all about Pierce and Kobe battling it out to see who can be the bigger drama queen. And of course, because the league wants it to be so, they'll have seven games to compete for that title.

The NBA is a joke.

I call bull:censored: here. Most NBA fans are fine with Lakers/Celtics at the end of the day. Casual observers and conspiracy theorists chasing black helicopters may have a problem with it, but they seem to have a problem with everything the NBA does, so if they don't like...:censored: 'em. Can't please everyone.

LeBron is the biggest star in the league. If the league engineered their series it would be Lakers vs. Cleveland. No way in hell the league engineered conference finals would ever have included Orlando and Phoenix. The Knicks would be in the league engineered playoffs every year and the league engineered Spurs would have never won all those league engineered titles when the two biggest stars were both in Los Angeles.

If you think the NBA is such a joke, go watch hockey. They need the ratings help. You'd probably give them a whole Nielsen point by yourself.

[rams80]

Sigh, looks like unless theres a miracle by the magic and a suns road victory where looking at LAKERS VS CELTICS again

And for the NBA Finals, it really gets no better than that.

Yes, that's EXACTLY what the sport needs! Another pre-determined, league-engineered Lakers vs. Celtics Finals! Hell, why don't we have a Yankees/Cardinals World Series every year, and a Steelers/Cowboys Super Bowl too!

We've seen a Lakers/Celtics Finals 11 times already. Most NBA fans don't want to see it a 12th time. Plus, the same teams going to the Finals over and over again isn't going to help the image of the league or its officials.

And don't even mention Bird/Magic. It was a great rivalry, but it's over now. Now, it's all about Pierce and Kobe battling it out to see who can be the bigger drama queen. And of course, because the league wants it to be so, they'll have seven games to compete for that title.

The NBA is a joke.

I call bull:censored: here. Most NBA fans are fine with Lakers/Celtics at the end of the day. Casual observers and conspiracy theorists chasing black helicopters may have a problem with it, but they seem to have a problem with everything the NBA does, so if they don't like...:censored: 'em. Can't please everyone.

LeBron is the biggest star in the league. If the league engineered their series it would be Lakers vs. Cleveland. No way in hell the league engineered conference finals would ever have included Orlando and Phoenix. The Knicks would be in the league engineered playoffs every year and the league engineered Spurs would have never won all those league engineered titles when the two biggest stars were both in Los Angeles.

If you think the NBA is such a joke, go watch hockey. They need the ratings help. You'd probably give them a whole Nielsen point by yourself.

To be fair, this point is only valid for the 1999 and 2003 titles.

[Jigga]

Sigh, looks like unless theres a miracle by the magic and a suns road victory where looking at LAKERS VS CELTICS again

And for the NBA Finals, it really gets no better than that.

Yes, that's EXACTLY what the sport needs! Another pre-determined, league-engineered Lakers vs. Celtics Finals! Hell, why don't we have a Yankees/Cardinals World Series every year, and a Steelers/Cowboys Super Bowl too!

We've seen a Lakers/Celtics Finals 11 times already. Most NBA fans don't want to see it a 12th time. Plus, the same teams going to the Finals over and over again isn't going to help the image of the league or its officials.

And don't even mention Bird/Magic. It was a great rivalry, but it's over now. Now, it's all about Pierce and Kobe battling it out to see who can be the bigger drama queen. And of course, because the league wants it to be so, they'll have seven games to compete for that title.

The NBA is a joke.

I call bull:censored: here. Most NBA fans are fine with Lakers/Celtics at the end of the day. Casual observers and conspiracy theorists chasing black helicopters may have a problem with it, but they seem to have a problem with everything the NBA does, so if they don't like...:censored: 'em. Can't please everyone.

LeBron is the biggest star in the league. If the league engineered their series it would be Lakers vs. Cleveland. No way in hell the league engineered conference finals would ever have included Orlando and Phoenix. The Knicks would be in the league engineered playoffs every year and the league engineered Spurs would have never won all those league engineered titles when the two biggest stars were both in Los Angeles.

If you think the NBA is such a joke, go watch hockey. They need the ratings help. You'd probably give them a whole Nielsen point by yourself.

To be fair, this point is only valid for the 1999 and 2003 titles.

Fair enough.

[gingerbreadmann]

I can tell you really enjoyed exposing me, and you did so very effectively

Yeah, man. This was me after that post,

except I was at a computer and I wasn't dressed as a Los Angeles Laker.

While you are still pumped, power-walk out to the barber and get yourself a nice shave and haircut. A man of your wit and humor deserves a beautiful face. The shagginess really draws away from your sophistication, and I mean that as a compliment.

...I'll stop now.

Hedley: That's too bad. I'm sure that you were going to root for the Celtics if I didn't say anything because you used to like me and Boston in general so much!

[Lights Out]

I call bull:censored: here. Most NBA fans are fine with Lakers/Celtics at the end of the day.

Really? I have yet to meet an Orlando fan who wanted to see Lakers/Celtics, or a Suns fan for that matter. Clippers fans certainly don't want to see the Lakers there. Sure, there are fans of other teams out there that love Lakers/Celtics series, but all the basketball fans I know find the constant renewal of that contrived rivalry boring. I'd like to see a couple teams who haven't been there before, instead of the same three or four teams.

Casual observers and conspiracy theorists chasing black helicopters may have a problem with it, but they seem to have a problem with everything the NBA does, so if they don't like...:censored: 'em. Can't please everyone.

But you can try, which the NBA doesn't even do. They'd rather openly place the most crooked refs in the league together in deciding games in order to get their desired result.

LeBron is the biggest star in the league. If the league engineered their series it would be Lakers vs. Cleveland.

I must have missed that classic rivalry between the Cavs and Lakers... because there wasn't one. Or the decades of the Cavs being one of the league's biggest cash cows, since that just started this decade. Marketing-wise, the Celtics beat the Cavs on every count.

No way in hell the league engineered conference finals would ever have included Orlando and Phoenix.

Oh, believe me, other teams are allowed to advance, but Kings fans will be the first to tell you what happens to a non-league-favored team in the conference finals.

The Knicks would be in the league engineered playoffs every year

The refs and the league give them plenty of chances, but the organization is too stupid and disorganized to be competitive.

and the league engineered Spurs would have never won all those league engineered titles when the two biggest stars were both in Los Angeles.

Duncan, Parker, and Robinson aren't/weren't stars in the NBA? And Popovich one of its premiere coaches?

If you think the NBA is such a joke, go watch hockey. They need the ratings help. You'd probably give them a whole Nielsen point by yourself.

If I actually enjoyed watching hockey, I would watch hockey, but I don't.

[Eye]

I can tell you really enjoyed exposing me, and you did so very effectively

Yeah, man. This was me after that post,

except I was at a computer and I wasn't dressed as a Los Angeles Laker.

While you are still pumped, power-walk out to the barber and get yourself a nice shave and haircut. A man of your wit and humor deserves a beautiful face. The shagginess really draws away from your sophistication, and I mean that as a compliment.

...I'll stop now.

Hedley: That's too bad. I'm sure that you were going to root for the Celtics if I didn't say anything because you used to like me and Boston in general so much!

I actually don't think the admiral exposed you; he really just commented on your dumbass post.

[TFoA]

Barring a comeback from the Suns, if it is indeed Lakers/Celtics for the 75576794985th time in NBA history, I'll do the same thing that I did in 2008: Ignore it, unless something so utterly ridiculous happens (like, I don't know, Paul Pierce faking injury to the point where he needs to be carried off the court while writhing in agony & then brought back to the court in a wheelchair, only to show no signs of the injury that he faked. I think that Kendrick Perkins will be the one to do something outrageous this time).

See you folks at draft time!

[HedleyLamarr]

The good thing about a Lakers-Celtics final is that it'll minimize the LeBron talk for two weeks....

[TFoA]

Unless LeBron shows up to a game...then it'll be ramped up like crazy.

[Lights Out]

The good thing about a Lakers-Celtics final is that it'll minimize the LeBron talk for two weeks....

....and amplify the equally-annoying Lakers-Celtics rivalry talk. Seriously, nobody cares anymore. The rivalry was about as dead as Lakers-Kings is now for about two decades ('90s and most of the '00s) until the Celtics traded into that championship. It is nowhere near as fierce as it once was. It's time to drop it.

[gingerbreadmann]

Looks like the Lakers will take the game and the series at this point, but if Phoenix came back from 16 to tie at Staples, then they can surely do it from 18 at home (Right?). I'm having trouble looking away from this crazy hockey game for too long, though.

[NJTank]

The good thing about a Lakers-Celtics final is that it'll minimize the LeBron talk for two weeks....

....and amplify the equally-annoying Lakers-Celtics rivalry talk. Seriously, nobody cares anymore. The rivalry was about as dead as Lakers-Kings is now for about two decades ('90s and most of the '00s) until the Celtics traded into that championship. It is nowhere near as fierce as it once was. It's time to drop it.

That is unless ESPN starts to peruse the rumor, LeBron, Wade, Bosh, and Joe Johnson will all take the league minimum for three years to win sure thing rings with the Lakers, news to wish Stuart Scott would surely respond with the following.

Boooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah, 82-0 all ya haters dont hate the Lake show hate the game, and drink some hater aid.

[infrared41]

Is it just me or is LightsOut really annoying in just about every thread in which he posts?

Anyway, I'm with Hedley. After Gingerbread's post I too will be rooting for the Lakers. Actually, I was pretty impressed by The Celtics' postseason run until Gingerbread reminded me of how annoying Boston fans are.