"Official" Western Conference Playoff Thread

[closg00]

Jazz vs Nuggets 10:30PM
http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/preview?gameId=300417007

Thunder vs Lakers 4/18 3PM ABC (Go PG County Thunder)

Spurs vs Mavericks 4/18 TNT


Trailblazers vs Suns 4/18 10:30PM TNT

[closg00]

Seriously, I don't know why OKC doesn't use Etan a bit at PF or Center in spots, at-least he can block shots a and won't be pushed-around by Bynum.

[Rafael122]

When you factor in reach and all that, Etan would look like a dwarf guarding Bynum. That would be an EJ type of move.

Russell Westbrook is taking over.

[eltacoman]

F CK DALLAS ...i hope they lose... Freakin Ungrateful thieves... GO SPURS woop dat azz

[closg00]

F CK DALLAS ...i hope they lose... Freakin Ungrateful thieves... GO SPURS woop dat azz

Hey! It was Ernie who bent-over for them

[eltacoman]

F CK DALLAS ...i hope they lose... Freakin Ungrateful thieves... GO SPURS woop dat azz

Hey! It was Ernie who bent-over for them

dude ... not even !!

I Hate DALLAS !!!!!!! with Passion !! i hope they have a freakin drought and starve

[eltacoman]

Dallas is soft

GO Spurs !!!!

[pancakes3]

butler is the leading shot-taker for the mavs?

[closg00]

Interesting that Haywood could not beat Dampier out as the starting Center for the Mavs, Haywood is a part-time center for the Mavs.

[closg00]

So-much for Miller supposedly not fitting-in in Portland, he won it for them yesterday.

[verbal8]

So-much for Miller supposedly not fitting-in in Portland, he won it for them yesterday.

I think the problem is that Roy and Miller do not mesh well, rather than him not fitting with the rest of the team. With Roy out that problem is "solved". I think this performance makes Miller a lot more tradeable this offseason to a team that sees him as the final piece.

[verbal8]

http://basketball.realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/66106/20100421/blazers_remain_open_to_roy_returning/

I wonder if the the Blazers play Roy in the play-offs. I don't see any reason to do it any sooner than a game 7. However if they can get out of the 1st round they would probably have a decent shot of getting to the Conference finals. Not saying they will beat presumably Dallas, but I think that match-up looks a lot better than say playing the Lakers.

[verbal8]

It looks like the Suns have figured out the Trailblazers.

Durant is doing an amazing job defensively on Kobe so far. It will be interesting to see if he can keep it up at the end of the game. And Durant has been just as impressive on the boards and offensively.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Looks like James Harden's worth the lottery selection. Wizards could have used him for sure.

OKC is stacked. Harden's in his first season. Westbrook his second. Durant his third. They just beat LAL. Kobe won't be improving but Durant sure will. The Thunder have a bright future.

Of course, outshooting the Lakers 34 attempts to 12 attempts tonight helps. Anybody who doesn't see choreography in the league with respect to officiating just isn't watching closely enough.

[Kanyewest]

Looks like James Harden's worth the lottery selection. Wizards could have used him for sure.

OKC is stacked. Harden's in his first season. Westbrook his second. Durant his third. They just beat LAL. Kobe won't be improving but Durant sure will. The Thunder have a bright future.

Of course, outshooting the Lakers 34 attempts to 12 attempts tonight helps. Anybody who doesn't see choreography in the league with respect to officiating just isn't watching closely enough.

I hope EG wasn't serious in that he would have been willing to make a similar trade if he had the number 2 pick with guys like Evans and Harden on the board. Still, I would feel worse as Blazers fan for passing on Durant.

As for the officiating, it's hard to say it's surprising that the Thunder got to the line more. They outworked the Lakers on the glass, 53 to 39 and as a result had more possessions. And the Lakers settled for more 3 pointers (31 attempts compared to the Thunder's 19). Throw in the fact that the Thunder got to the line 8-10 more times at the end of the game because the Lakers were gambling for steals and late game fouling to stop the clock.

That being said I agree that the officiating could change from game to game, but I certainly expect Kobe to get the benefit of the doubt more in the next game because of the supposed advantage the Thunder had.

I'm surprised how good the Thunder are defensively without a real center. I guess you can make it up with long guys at the 1-4 position as well as having guys that can guard 2-3 positions in Westbrook, Durant, Green, Ibaka, and Harden especially when there are switches.

[Kanyewest]

When you factor in reach and all that, Etan would look like a dwarf guarding Bynum. That would be an EJ type of move.

Russell Westbrook is taking over.

Wasn't Collison, who is smaller than Etan, guarding Bynum- Ibaka was guarding Gasol IIRC down the stretch.

[verbal8]

I think the Thunder could steal another game from the Lakers, but I think the Lakers finish them off in 6.

It looks like the Suns have figured out how to use their superior talent and should get past the TrailBlazers.

The other two series are really up in the air.

The Jazz/Nuggets series is very close. This is not really too surprising given it is a 4-5 match-up. I think the Jazz really miss AK-47, because he could give them so help defensively against Anthony. Wesley Mathews has been disappointing for the Jazz given how well he did at the end of the season. I think the Nuggets pull it out, but it goes to 7 games.

The Spurs basically have home court advantage now. I think the key match-up may come down to Richard Jefferson vs. Caron Butler. Dirk and Duncan are going to have good games, but they basically cancel each other out. I think the Spurs have to win it in 6, if it goes to 7 I think Dallas wins at home.

[Rafael122]

Roy is going to take years off his career by coming back 8 days after knee surgery.

[closg00]

Wood with the largest +/- in a losing effort yesterday. I wonder if Dallas even cares to try and bring him back.

[JonathanJoseph]

Roy is going to take years off his career by coming back 8 days after knee surgery.

It's an unfathomable degree of stupidity.