Round 1 of the playoff is almost complete and we can see who's playing well.

Who do you think is going to be IN the NBA Championship, who is going to win, and WHY?


BGray

I would have to stay with the Kings to win it all... they have the most weapons, they are healthy, and Webber has been playing pretty well. I am not sure who will come out of the East... it is really open... I have been pretty impressed with Iverson, so maybe he can get them back to the finals again.

It will be the Nets and Lakers. The Nets surprise everyone getting into it, but the Lakers will prevail :( This comes from a Nets fan, too!

Tim

Originally posted by radioheadfloyd
I would have to stay with the Kings to win it all... they have the most weapons, they are healthy, and Webber has been playing pretty well. I am not sure who will come out of the East... it is really open... I have been pretty impressed with Iverson, so maybe he can get them back to the finals again.

so you are saying the kings, whom I like a a lot got more weapons than Dallas, I don't think so, only thing is the kings play D and dallas is getting better at D.

I like philly coming out of the east though, you still have that X-factor in AI.

For the West....

It's the Lakers....b/c no team has shown they can beat Shaq/Kobe 4 out of 7 games. Lakers have won game 7 at home (vs Portland in 2000); have won game 7 on the road (vs Kings 2002). They've won with homecourt advantage; they won WITHOUT home court advantage (witness the 4-0 sweep of San Antonio in 2000 in the 2nd round, despite Spurs having homecourt advantage).

Sure, you can have teams like Minnesota this year, who played TREMENDOUSLY in games 2 and 3, winning both and getting a brief 2-1 edge. However, game 5 showed that the shooters are getting tired, as they shot very poorly at home. Furthermore, the Wolves gave up 120 points to LA, showing that the pressure defense they used so successfully in games 2 and 3 basically wore them down.

And you saw Troy Hudson being ordinary in game 5, scoring 14 points after averaging 27 the past 4 games. -- why? b/c he's spent games 2-4 pressuring 94 square foot the entire time he was in the game.

And you saw Wally, their team's 2nd leading scorer (who just signed another contract for 6-yr, $63M) get totally discombobulated by the defense of Devean.

The Kings have the ONLY shot, b/c they're battle-tested and have suffered 3 years of heart-ache, and gotten better each year.

Webber HAS to show up, along with the Bibby performance of yester-year...that's the only way Kings will win.

As for the East...I don't have a clue. I choose NJ Nets, primarily b/c they play tremendous defense and have the shooting necessary to overcome the offense of Iverson and his Philllies, and Pierce and his Celtics.

Whoever wins the West (Lakers/Spurs/Kings) will destroy the Eastern team. Only Dallas might lose to an Eastern team.

And something to think about for next year:

Jerry Buss, owner of the Lakers, asked Phil Jackson who he preferred for power forwards and small forwards, including Scottie Pippen, Karl Malone, Keon Clark, Juwan Howard.

Imagine that!!

Next year....Devean, more athletic than Fox, should take his place in the starting lineup. Fisher now has a great backup in Pargo. And we could get Howard and Pippen (both of whom will accept the $4.75M mid-level salary cap).

Now that is scary -- our weakest position is power forward, so imagine if we got Juwan or Malone!!!!

Originally posted by gioperation
so you are saying the kings, whom I like a a lot got more weapons than Dallas, I don't think so, only thing is the kings play D and dallas is getting better at D.

I like philly coming out of the east though, you still have that X-factor in AI.

You have a good point about Dallas having tons of weapons... and you also point out the difference is Defense. I would also add that the Kings seem to be more consistent. Is Finley 100%?

Originally posted by radioheadfloyd
You have a good point about Dallas having tons of weapons... and you also point out the difference is Defense. I would also add that the Kings seem to be more consistent. Is Finley 100%?

yeah I like the kings but divac needs to stand up to shaq(hard task) and webber need not chole again and realize it is his team and play like it in crunch time...

now with dallas, that team is full of shooters and dirk can move shaq out of the paint with his 3 point bombs and then they can always bring mr. van exel off the bench, that's right how many teams can bring a van exel off the bench. not very many...

the lakers I am afraid of just like most other teams I do believe the kings can beat them as I am starting to hate them even though I like shaq, I don't like kobe, why because I believe that team belongs to shaq as anytime you have an inside presence like that, it takes alot of pressure off the guards and opens up holes, I would love to see what kobe would do, if he had a full season w/o the diesel. the rest of the team are roles players and it reminds me of jordan and the bullies.

If Kobe were the sole focus, he'd need to have an over-haul of the team, and get more athletic, active players.

Right now, the Lakers are built around Shaq. Fox, Fisher, George, Horry, Shaw are all set shooters.

You leave them open, you give them the ball, and they'll score.

But, you make them dribble drive, penetrate, and then shoot, and they'll miss.

For Kobe to be successful, the Lakers will have to replicate the team they had in the 1980s, where you had Kareem, Worthy, and Magic as options, not to mention Byron Scott.

Kobe alone is easily defendable. Heck, Andrei Kirilenkov of Utah does a TREMENDOUS job defending Kobe b/c of his very long arms and his quickness.

But, not many players have the attributes of Kirilenkov. However, if you double-team Kobe, you essentially can slow him down.

Also, I've noticed Kobe whining more and more about the calls.
I hate whiners, even though I love Kobe. He's gotta stop his ******ing, and just play.

right he is starting to whine alot, that is because teams are starting to figure him out, when shaq was out, it exposed some of his weak points in his game and people were starting to see that wasn't God with a basketball and they continued that when shaq came back, there is no doubt in my mind that he is a great player and one of the top 5 players in the league right now. but IMO behind KG, T-Mac, AI and before duncan so #4 all those guys play w/o a true big man in the middle.

Kings vs Nets FINALS

Kings because they have one of the best point guards in the league (Bibby), have one of the best shooters in the league (Peja)
Webber is awesome, Vlad is Solid, Christy's good D, and a great bench

GiOperation...I'd have to disagree with you ranking Kobe #4.

First, KG doesn't bring the ball up courts. He depends on you getting him the ball, then he can do his thing. Why is this important? B/c if you play good pressure defense on KG, you can limit him; MORE IMPORTANTLY, in close games, when you need that shot in the last seconds to win, you still need to GET him the ball so he can score.

As for Iverson....you can slow this dude down. Look at what Tyron Lue of the Lakers (bench player for most of the season) did against him in the 2001 Finals. It was a good enough performance that got Lue a rich contract. If you double team Iverson, you definitely can slow him down.

T-Mac has got the skills to bring the ball downcourt, which is very important in close games; and he's proven he can hit the last second shots.

Kobe --- when you look at what he's done in the play-offs for the past 3 years, it's just mind-boggling. He makes the right plays in key moments at the end of ball games. KG has not shown he can do that (of course, KG has a terrible group of players; but KG should be taking last-second shots, NOT looking to pass the ball).

So, here's Top 5

#1 - Shaq ---- no one has the size and power to match up. This makes him unstoppable b/c he can score even if you put 3 players on him

#2 - Kobe --- b/c of his play for the past 3 years in the play-offs; and for the multiple times he has hit that last-second shot to tie or win ball games. When the game is close, Lakers stay away from Shaq (horrible free-throws) and go solely to Kobe.

#3 - T-Mac... if T-Mac does for the next few years what he is doing this year, I move T-Mac ahead of Kobe.

Remember, one year is only one year, and this was McGrady's breakout year. now, do it again, and again, and again.

#4 - Tim Duncan

$5 - KG (inside post presence is not as good as Duncan, who can post you up, and shoot from the perimeter)