Yes of course I watched the playoffs.

Look, Kobe doesn't have it. He might have 1-2 good games this series but the thunder are out of his league.

You think a megastar like James harden is concerned about a washed up shoe spokesman?

5/13/2012 1:55:00 AM

Harden better be worried about Queensbridge

If the Lakers somehow beat the Thunder (I picked Lakers in 7 on page 1 of this thread, btw), will you finally shut the fuck up about Kobe?

5/13/2012 1:56:29 AM

If he breaks out of season long slump sure.

But in the meantime why do we ignore veterans who still play like stars like pierce and garnett while we discuss washed up borderline startable role players like Kobe ad finitum?

The celtics are more relevant than the lakers.


I will say this, when Kobe defers to gasol and bynum the lakers are a lot more dangerous


George Karl is obviously senile based on the post game. They have gotta can him this offseason Jesus he might be wearing depends

[Edited on May 13, 2012 at 2:12 AM. Reason : a]

5/13/2012 2:09:08 AM

Kobe isn't washed up. James Harden isn't a megastar. Harden doesnt even sit at the same lunch table as bryant.

5/13/2012 2:09:15 AM

face April 30: "quit playing harrington and mcgee this is getting ridiculous."

face May 13: "mcgee can contest every shot"

face May 13: "Where the Fuck is mcgee"

Quote :

"washed up borderline startable role players like Kobe"

washed up

borderline startable

role player

jbrick? 90/10 huh?

5/13/2012 2:10:30 AM

the funny thing about the startable comment is that harden "the best player on the planet" doesn't even start.

After this last string of posts, I'm going ahead and chalking face up as a troll, nothing more than entertainment. He has to be the only person on the planet that thinks kobe had a bad series.

5/13/2012 4:21:44 AM

this thread sucks right now

5/13/2012 12:49:25 PM

Kobe could literally miss every shot he takes in a game and I'd still want him with the ball over Lebron in a big situation.

5/13/2012 1:11:01 PM

Quote :

"Kobe could literally miss every shot he takes in a game and I'd still want him with the ball over Lebron in a big situation."

C'mon now you guys are being ridiculous. Kobe has one of the lowest FG% in the league in "clutch" situations every season.


Have an of you guys ever had an objective thought in your life? Try muting ESPN and watching the games for once instead of just regurgitating everything you hear on tv.


I wish I could find a bet Pacers +0.5 games vs Lakers. I think they're about equally likely to win the same amount of games in the 2nd round.

[Edited on May 13, 2012 at 3:15 PM. Reason : a]

5/13/2012 3:09:43 PM

I'm not arguing Kobe is a star still, but he has the balls to take the shots when he needs to and always has. You can't not admit that Lebron has shown a pattern of shying away from taking the big shots in the playoffs. It even happened a few times in Cleveland when he was the only player on the team worth a damn. It's more understandable in Miami with a great player like Wade, I will admit that.

Is your edit an indictment of the Heat not being nearly as good as OKC? I can't imagine you're saying the Lakers are equal to the Pacers.

[Edited on May 13, 2012 at 3:34 PM. Reason : and wtf was Hollins thinking?]

5/13/2012 3:33:07 PM

instead of just regurgitating everything you hear on tv read on wagesofwins.com

also

Bulls in 6
Heat in 5
Pacers in 6
Celtics in 5

Spurs in 5
Thunder in 5
Lakers in 7
Clippers in 6

woot, 25% accuracy on my picks!

[Edited on May 13, 2012 at 3:42 PM. Reason : 87.5% of my Elite 8 intact]

5/13/2012 3:34:19 PM

Quote :

"76ERS SERIES +900 (76ERS SERIES vrs BULLS SERIES) 100/900 WINNER (9:1 odds!!!) NUGGETS SERIES +170 (NUGGETS SERIES vrs LAKERS SERIES) 100/170 LOSER (Underdog forces 7 games and has a lead in the 4th) CLIPPERS SERIES +175 (CLIPPERS SERIES vrs GRIZZLIES SERIES) 100/175 WINNER (NEARLY A 2:1 DOG!) TOTAL o5½+105 (76ERS SERIES vrs BULLS SERIES) 50/52 WINNER 76ERS SERIES +2½+140 (76ERS SERIES vrs BULLS SERIES) 50/70 WINNER (DOG WINS EASY) TOTAL u5½-125 (KNICKS SERIES vrs HEAT SERIES) 32/25 WINNER TOTAL u5½-105 (MAGIC SERIES vrs PACERS SERIES) 53/50 WINNER NUGGETS SERIES +1½-150 (NUGGETS SERIES vrs LAKERS SERIES) 75/50 WINNER CLIPPERS SERIES +1½-145 (CLIPPERS SERIES vrs GRIZZLIES SERIES) 37/25 WINNER PHI 76ERS VS CHI BULLS - EXACT SERIES RESULT 76ERS WIN 4-1 +10000 5/500 Technical winner (The Bulls were only 2:1 favorites in game 5, meaning you i won 1/3rd of the payout by hedging) PHI 76ERS VS CHI BULLS - EXACT SERIES RESULT 76ERS WIN 4-2 +3000 5/150 WINNER (30:1!!!!!) PHI 76ERS VS CHI BULLS - EXACT SERIES RESULT 76ERS WIN 4-3 +5000 5/250 LOSER ORL MAGIC VS IND PACERS - EXACT SERIES RESULT PACERS WIN 4-0 +500 5/25" LOSER (One blown 10 point lead with 4 minutes left away from hitting 5:1) "

"We provide the music, and you provide the silence"
- Leopold Stokowski

5/13/2012 3:42:18 PM

its a little bit dishonest to justify your losses by saying how the Nuggets led in game 7, you were a blown 10-point lead from winning another, etc, yet not mention that over half your wins were due to Rose and Noah getting hurt

nice picks overall though

5/13/2012 3:54:41 PM

Wow, vegas is ALL over this 2nd round these lines are tough.

Here are my picks

Spurs in 4. The Clippers could MAYBE win a game if Del Negro wasn't so scared to play Deandre Jordan. This is about as lopsided as it gets for a 2nd round matchup. Clippers looked terrible in round 1. Too many scrubs in their rotation and TWO in their starting lineup (Butler + any SG they decide to use). Plus Paul and Griffin don't appear to be healthy. Hopefully, Popp defines his real rotation in this series so we can get a better gauge on them for the WCF and potentially the Finals.

OKC in 5. Series will be fun to watch but ultimately Lakers can't match up with Thunder. The Lakers strengths are interior defense but the Thunder don't care because they don't score inside with bigs anyway. The Lakers can't guard quickness so Harden/Westbrook will have a field day. The only concern is Durant after Artest made him look terrible two years ago. Well, if the Thunder try to play an injured Perkins that's a concern too. Just take that horse to the glue factory.

Bos in 7. (bos up 1-0 right now, but i already made this pick a few days ago) Close series. Philly is terrific in transition and Boston is a halfcourt team. Turnovers are a huge key. Boston is really banged up with Allen & Pierce a threat to go down at any minute and Stiemsma barely able to go at all. Always tough to pick against the Celtics though and Doug Collins seems hell bent on letting the 76ers get dragged down by Louis Williams again.


Miami in 5. This series is closer than people give it credit for being, especially because Indiana has a balanced roster and Miami thrives more against shutting down 1-2 guys instead of an entire team. One thing we know about the Pacers is that you NEVER, EVER want to trust Danny Granger he is the biggest piece of Pyrite the NBA has seen in years. Hibbert developed into a stud this year though and you can never count out Ole Treetop. Paul George has a chance to get on the national radar if he can outplay D-Wade, he is nearly on his level already.




^ agreed the Noah injury was pretty big (although it was muted because the Bulls have arguably the best two backup big men in the league with Taj Gibson and Omer Asik.) The Rose injury was factored in to an EXTENT. No one thought the Bulls were getting 100% Rose for 6-7 games, they thought they were getting ~80% Rose who may even miss a game or two. The line would have been way higher with a 100% Rose. What we didn't factor in was CJ Watson playing so poorly after he was solid in the regdog.

[Edited on May 13, 2012 at 4:14 PM. Reason : a]

5/13/2012 4:11:57 PM

LOL, did Stern just call out the Heat for diving?

5/13/2012 4:25:30 PM

they have no answer for David West

5/13/2012 4:43:29 PM

Quote :

"Is your edit an indictment of the Heat not being nearly as good as OKC? I can't imagine you're saying the Lakers are equal to the Pacers."

Good question. The Pacers and Lakers aren't as far off as you would probably think. And OKC and Miami are fairly even (though I think OKC is better).

I'm not saying I don't think the Lakers would beat the Pacers head to head. I just think the gap between OKC - LAL is large enough that the Lakers will struggle to win more than one game. And I think the Pacers will win at least one game. The Lakers could certainly win 2 or 3, but the Pacers have nearly the same opportunity to win 2 or 3 as well.

I wouldn't take the Pacers even with the Lakers (well maybe i would now b/c the pacers are up 7 in game 1), but getting half a game I'd definitely take the Pacers.

5/13/2012 4:43:57 PM

was that Bosh down on the other end too? sprained left ankle perhaps

5/13/2012 4:48:42 PM

One thing I notice about Miami is how key Battier/Miller are each game for them.

Lebron and Wade are usually pretty consistent. And Bosh is a lot less productive but somewhat consistent.

When you look at Battier/Miller this year you never know what you're going to get. Sometimes they shoot lights out and other games they are 1/13 FG, with 3 combined rebounds. Those guys are going to need to come up big for the Heat in the Finals.

Chalmers WAS consistent before the hand injury. Then he was consistently awful after it. He looked back against the Knicks, but then again I might look good offensively against Baron/Bibby.

5/13/2012 5:04:37 PM

So is Hill full on down's

Quote :

"Paul George has a chance to get on the national radar if he can outplay D-Wade, he is nearly on his level already."

I'll admit the Pacers may as well have been playing in Spain this year for how much I saw them, but I can't remember a single thing he's done this game. Is he even playing?

[Edited on May 13, 2012 at 5:18 PM. Reason : x]

5/13/2012 5:16:50 PM

The referees are dominating this game. Fouls are like 25-10. Sad that the NBA has come to this. Why even play it out when they have already decided to go for ratings?

5/13/2012 5:31:17 PM

^^ have to admit i was busy with other things in the first half so i had it on but didn't watch much. He only got 6 mins of playing time for some reason, not sure if he got injured or the pacers just decided they wanted to play barbosa?

5/13/2012 5:34:22 PM

Love watching the Heat take all these charges!! NBA action, fantastic!!!

5/13/2012 5:38:16 PM

^ im sorry that you don't enjoy good defense. Try watching the Golden State Warriors or the Milwaukee Bucks next year instead.

5/13/2012 5:39:43 PM

^^^3 fouls. 2 of them were quick phantom fouls as part of the rotation engineering plan by the league for this series. They targeted Hill, George, Granger and Hibbert.

The Pacers starters can "play smart" by letting the heat score easy buckets and make it through the playoffs without any real physical play or they can be saddled with foul trouble the whole time. They are only in this game because of their amazing bench play.

5/13/2012 5:44:34 PM

Sweet kick, Dwayne.

5/13/2012 5:47:18 PM

kick by wade= foul on west who jumped straight up. Its obvious now. 1 foul on the big 3 while 3 indiana starters are on pace to foul out.

[Edited on May 13, 2012 at 5:49 PM. Reason : almost 2:1 team fouls]

5/13/2012 5:49:12 PM

ahh face, so you enjoy the Heat's rampant flopping?

^ agree! i understand that James and Wade play aggressively and thus draw a ton of fouls, but it's as if the refs are completely scared to ever call a foul on one of them.

[Edited on May 13, 2012 at 6:10 PM. Reason : .]

5/13/2012 6:08:34 PM

I don't even mind that they get calls. Superstars always have and always will get the benefit of the doubt more times than not. But Wade, at least, complains about non-calls more than anyone in the league that I watch on a regular basis even though he gets almost every call. Lebron isn't nearly as bad about it, but he does too.

Shit, he got a layup earlier in the game because he was whining to the ref instead of getting back and playing defense.

[Edited on May 13, 2012 at 6:11 PM. Reason : x]

5/13/2012 6:11:16 PM

You guys are ridiculous. All stars get calls. Look at Kobe last night.

It's 29-22 in fouls in this game.

The Heat are a team who goes to the basket nearly every play. Indiana was almost the worst team in the league at FG% around the basket. They shoot jumpers.

The Heat are at home. Let's be honest with ourselves. With Bosh out and the Heat supporting cast not playing very well, Lebron stepped up and had a dominant performance.

Lebron just completely crushed it and all you can say is the Heat needed the refs? Kobe struggles all series against the Nuggets and heaps of praise are thrown at him. You guys need a reality check.

5/13/2012 6:13:18 PM

cool. you're acknowledging that wade/lebron get calls, because they're stars and are playing at home. so it looks like everyone's in agreement here...

hahaha, that Hill three no call followed by that foul for lebron is a pretty good example.

5/13/2012 6:16:35 PM

charge+ charge+travel+charge= 2 free throws

^face. lebron and wade have been great but theres no way 2 guys would have won this game without some serious help and the refs stepped up big time.

[Edited on May 13, 2012 at 6:18 PM. Reason : the refs completely dominated the game. when have you seen 3 starters foul out in a game? never.]

5/13/2012 6:16:41 PM

It's no secret that stars in the NBA get calls. We all know that. How many games did Jordan win off of bogus calls? 100?


I must be watching the game in the present instead of the future because only one guy has fouled out.

[Edited on May 13, 2012 at 6:20 PM. Reason : a]

5/13/2012 6:18:50 PM

Does that make it ok?

5/13/2012 6:19:41 PM

"check, please!" is your new catch phrase, Mr. Tirico? not buyin' it bro.

5/13/2012 6:21:38 PM

I was actually suprised at a couple no-calls when kobe went to drive, sure most could go either way but usually when it is a star player they get the whistle. A couple of times Kobe got denied and was whining at the ref while Denver ran and scored.

Dwayne wade is one of the worst, can't forget that 06 game against dallas.

5/13/2012 6:54:42 PM

5/13/2012 7:10:17 PM

Quote :

" i understand that James and Wade play aggressively and thus draw a ton of fouls,"

this would also lead to more charge calls on them but it doesn't

the nba isn't much different from wwe. the rock vs stone cold pay per view has already been set

[Edited on May 13, 2012 at 8:35 PM. Reason : fixed]

5/13/2012 8:34:45 PM

Bosh ruled out indefinitely.

They should be able to handle the Pacers without him, but it'll definitely make the series more interesting.

5/14/2012 2:36:12 PM

Yeah but what aboout when they play the BoSox?

5/14/2012 3:51:16 PM

Eastern Conference basketball


LOL

5/14/2012 8:30:03 PM

Boston/Philly game is horrible

5/14/2012 8:30:27 PM

Looking forward to the Lakers-Thunder series for some reason. I'm saying Thunder in 6.

5/14/2012 8:31:36 PM

Quote :

"Boston/Philly game is horrible"

5/14/2012 8:35:15 PM

Christ this is like a Big 10 game

First to 80 wins

5/14/2012 9:12:47 PM

God I hate the Celtics

5/14/2012 9:15:15 PM

Celtics just had a big coaching mistake

5/14/2012 9:22:29 PM

LOL Fuck you Garnett

5/14/2012 9:25:00 PM

Thunder vs Lakers better be really good to make up for this travesty.

5/14/2012 9:25:54 PM

So what say you TWW, was that a good call against Garnett?

5/14/2012 9:42:47 PM