2010 NBA Playoffs thread

[PurpleRush]

Let's just hope... this reversed!

1985 NBA Finals

Game 1	May 27	Los Angeles Lakers	114	@ Boston Celtics	148
Game 2	May 30	Los Angeles Lakers	109	@ Boston Celtics	102
Game 3	June 2	Boston Celtics	111	@ Los Angeles Lakers	136
Game 4	June 5	Boston Celtics	107	@ Los Angeles Lakers	105
Game 5	June 7	Boston Celtics	111	@ Los Angeles Lakers	120
Game 6	June 9	Los Angeles Lakers	111	@ Boston Celtics	100

I just hope that will happen again someday. Both teams scoring at least 100 points a game in the Finals? THAT IS :censored:ING NBA BASKETBALL AT ITS BEST.

I borrowed this entire series on DVD so I could watch a few games.

Figures, game one (Memorial Day Massacre)is incomplete - starting from 2 minutes left in the 2nd quarter, when the "massacreing" part was done and Boston was up 20..........but what stood out to me was that once either team scored, the ball was over half court in 3 seconds or less, and the half court offense was in motion a mere 5 seconds or so into the shot clock.

Series also signifies Red Auerbach's worst move - hounding Stern to go to the 2-3-2 format to cut down the cross country travel. If only game 5 were at Boston as it should have been, we could have had a repeat of 1984.

[PurpleRush]

#1: Consider the circumstances: No KG, rest of the team was banged up, Dwight Howard finally decided to be Superman, the demise was imminent in that series if the Magic won Game 6 of that series.

#2: lol, 1969.

#3: I understand, but this ain't the Celtics dealing with a team that "woke up" all of a sudden, nor a team that gives a damn about what happened in 1969. This is the 2010 Lakers, coached by Phil "If I get a series lead, I never lose and have 10 championships to prove it" Jackson and Kobe "I'm not gonna get punked out like I did in 2008" Bryant.

Just saying.

Good points, well excepting #2 lol.

I'm just sayin' I'm worried more by the Celts play, not Jackson's streak.

BTW, this Celtics starting 5 hasn't lost a playoff series when starting together (7-0).

Jackson hasn't lost a series after winning game 1.

So something that has never happened is going to happen.

[lordsketor]

Is it me or its Ray Allen is on fire right now, 5 for 5 from 3 point land so far.

[gingerbreadmann]

Shelden Williams sighting!

Someone, call 911 and get me an AED... Ray Allen is unconscious.

[gingerbreadmann]

Doooooouble post.

[Brass]

FOR SALE: Basketball player who is great at free-throws, but can't make a regular basket to save his life. If interested, please call the Boston Celtics and inquire about "Paul Pierce".

[lordsketor]

Ray Allen has now hit 8 3-point FGs a new NBA Finals record.

[See Red]

Aside from the officials playing a bigger role than maybe they should, this is a great basketball game. Ever since the opening minutes of the second half, the game's been played within' about three points either way.

[rams80]

FOR SALE: Basketball player who is great at free-throws, but can't make a regular basket to save his life. If interested, please call the Boston Celtics and inquire about "Paul Pierce".

I presume you wish for him to actually be injured now.

[Brass]

FOR SALE: Basketball player who is great at free-throws, but can't make a regular basket to save his life. If interested, please call the Boston Celtics and inquire about "Paul Pierce".

I presume you wish for him to actually be injured now.

Nah, would never wish that on anybody. I guess it's just frustration. Expecting a lot out of him this postseason.

[See Red]

Not sure how they didn't overturn that out-of-bounds call. That baseline shot looked pretty conclusive. That was too big of a call to up twice.

I hate instant replay.

[Hoopskid]

Technically that should have been a foul on Gasol, because he hit Garnett's hand which hit the ball out. The refs didn't want to give Pau a foul, but knew that it wasn't fair for the Lakers to get the ball, so I think they made the right call there. However, a few plays could've gone either way. I'm just happy the Celtics won, hopefully they can build up a good series lead at home.

[See Red]

Technically that should have been a foul on Gasol, because he hit Garnett's hand which hit the ball out. The refs didn't want to give Pau a foul, but knew that it wasn't fair for the Lakers to get the ball, so I think they made the right call there. However, a few plays could've gone either way. I'm just happy the Celtics won, hopefully they can build up a good series lead at home.

Garnett didn't have control. That'd be an extremely ticky tack call to make on a loose ball, and that's without even mentioning that they could've gotten Garnett for an over-the-back.

[Still MIGHTY]

1) These refs suck. They are terrible both ways. But with Kobe having 5 fouls in the 4th quarter, he couldn't play defense. He just had to stand there and hope not to get hit. He also couldn't attack the basket with the fear of a Celtic taking a flop and he getting called for the charge. Same with Ron Artest.

2) Thank God for Pau Gasol in games like this.

3) I would have preferred someone tackling Ray Allen or taking a crowbar to his knees compared to how he was being guarded tonight. At least be within 5 feet of him when he shoots, ugh.

That is all.

See you in Boston.

[TFoA]

1) These refs suck. They are terrible both ways.

We all agree.

Even though I find it hilarious that fans of either team are complaining about the officiating after their teams (outside of LeBron) have gotten the benefit of the doubt of most calls since November, this is actually a valid complaint. The whistles have gone up 71% compared to the regular season. 71%!!!!! And the refs supposedly swallow the whistle during the playoffs, eh?

And of course, it's never consistent. The C's had a clean block called a foul in the 2nd quarter, they had a block that was probably less ball than the one that was called a foul, but that got a "play on" call from the refs. This is what irks me the most about NBA referees: Most of them are wildly inconsistent.

It's really a shame that the officiating has played such a huge role in the series so far.

(I've also come to grips that I can't ignore this series like I said I would. I still love me some NBA basketball. )

[PurpleRush]

1) These refs suck. They are terrible both ways. But with Kobe having 5 fouls in the 4th quarter, he couldn't play defense. He just had to stand there and hope not to get hit. He also couldn't attack the basket with the fear of a Celtic taking a flop and he getting called for the charge. Same with Ron Artest.

2) Thank God for Pau Gasol in games like this.

1) I agree. Same with Ray Allen in game one. He couldn't be on the court to score and keep the Celts in it, for fear of being called for breathing on Kobe behind the 3 point line.

2) He's been big. However he only took 1 shot in the 4th quarter of game 2, a 3 pointer in the final minute. Not sure what that was about.

As for the OB play, they call those all the time where it should be a foul, and instead they let the team that lost the ball keep it.

[tBBP]

Allow me to reaffirm the fact that Ray Allen is still one of my all-time favorite ballers. Not flashy, not brash, doesn't really talk much, just damn effective. And has probably the sweetest hair-trigger shot in the game today. (Also, for those curious as to how a guy from Florida ends up becoming a fan of the Milwaukee Bucks, this guy is the primary reason why--well, he and Glenn Robinson, yet another Purdue product [which by saying that I guess I'm letting my closet Boiler fan get out a lil bit]).

This guy did it to the Lakers back in '08, too. We'll see what kind of adjustments the Lake Show will make for Game 3.

(Oh--and can someone please revoke Paul Pierce's rights to speak? I almost feel like calling Tonya Harding to pull a Nancy Kerrigan on this guy just to see him get bound to a wheelchair for real. Maybe that'll shut him up.)

[slightly shotgunned]

So with the Lakers win tonight, are the C's going to throw the remaining games so Pierce's "we're not coming back to LA" boast is correct?

[dfwabel]

Allow me to reaffirm the fact that Ray Allen is still one of my all-time favorite ballers. Not flashy, not brash, doesn't really talk much, just damn effective. And has probably the sweetest hair-trigger shot in the game today. (Also, for those curious as to how a guy from Florida ends up becoming a fan of the Milwaukee Bucks, this guy is the primary reason why--well, he and Glenn Robinson, yet another Purdue product [which by saying that I guess I'm letting my closet Boiler fan get out a lil bit]).

This guy did it to the Lakers back in '08, too. We'll see what kind of adjustments the Lake Show will make for Game 3.

(Oh--and can someone please revoke Paul Pierce's rights to speak? I almost feel like calling Tonya Harding to pull a Nancy Kerrigan on this guy just to see him get bound to a wheelchair for real. Maybe that'll shut him up.)

Paul failed to have a right to speak until he cleans up his facial hair. What is that? Boston is home to Gillette, learn to trim that whatever you have.

Ray was 0-13. On the bright side for them, they are making Kobe take more shots to get his points.

Game 1: 22 shots for 30 points

Game 2: 20 shots for 20 points

Game 3: 29 shots for 29 points

Odom and Gasol on the floor at the same time works better than any minutes with Bynum. Pau has to take more shots.

[Still MIGHTY]

Celtics fans, a little quiet today? What's up?

Derek Fisher came up big tonight. Besides guarding Allen pretty effectively (0-for-13, how bout them apples?), he came up huge in the 4th quarter. After the Lakers pulled out to the big lead and got bored and lazy to bring it within one, D-Fish does what he does in the playoffs. He knocked down some big shots, including that stretch of three in a row to get the lead back out there, and helped the Lakers maintain the lead into the end. And that coast-to-coast, lay-up and one... Amazing. I love Derek Fisher. He's always been my favorite Laker.

Kobe did a much better job guarding Rondo tonight. For whatever reason, Rondo is deathly afraid of shooting 3-pointers. Kobe stood at the free-throw line to clog up the passing lanes and screens, so Rondo's passing ability was curtailed. What the hell was with Rondo, though? He'd have a 10-foot radius of clear floor around him, but refused to shoot the outside shot. He at least needs to attempt those or the Lakers will just clog up the lanes and prevent him from penetrating and passing. There isn't that outside threat at this point.

I'm just curious if more than one of the "Big 3" will show up from night to night. It was Allen last game, but as mentioned 0-13. Garnett was invisible last game, but was into the game tonight. Pierce hasn't been a real factor yet either.

Gasol needs more shots, like dfwabel said. Bynum is effective in spurts, but he isn't able to sustain a long effort in the game. And Odom finally showed his face tonight, good to see.

And had Kobe not gone cold in the 4th, this game wouldn't have been as close. I don't think the Celtics can count on Kobe going cold like that night to night either. It just won't happen. Not in the Finals

Lakers definitely showed me more than the Celtics did tonight. The Lakers will win at least one more in Boston. I'm gonna stick with Lakers in 6. But I would love Paul Pierce's proclamation to come true. Part of me doesn't want the Celtics to come back to LA, just so the Lakers can celebrate in the Garden

GO LAKE SHOW!

(Also, the refs were slightly better in tonight's game. They didn't call as many fouls, but the ones they were calling were still terrible, Lakers and Celtics. The new refs helped cut down on the number, but the quality (or lack thereof) remained.)