NBA Playoffs Thread

[PocketQueens90]

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O-Like, the Mavericks, especially Dirk, can handle it. ROFLMAO.

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Compared GS, the mavs are a lot better prepared for this. They have the experience.

Look at how GS reacted in game 2 when a couple of calls went against them. They had 2 guys get thrown out. You can't afford that in the playoffs. There's no excuse for that and I just don't think they can come up big in game 7, on the road, when the pressure is on them. There hasn't been any pressure on them thus far. But we'll see

[ThaSaltCracka]

Other than the GS-Dallas series, compare this year to last year(which was great IMO).

A couple boring series, Chicago-Miami, Detroit-Orlando, Cleveland-Washington, Utah-Houston.

I only really enjoyed three, and they are all in the West. Next round should be much much better.

[tdarko]

capone,

So you are one of those that thinks Dirk is the reason they lost the NBA finals and that since they lost those 4 games that now Dirk doesn't have "it," nevermind the fact that he averaged 27 points and almost 12 boards in the playoffs last year or his game 5 50 points against Pho that gave them a huge win to give a series lead 3-2. He was huge all series long and then the ENTIRE TEAM INCLUDING THE COACH (as well as many other things going wrong) fall apart and it is only Dirk's fault, he doesn't have "it."

You are right they should have been up 3-0 and closed out the series, why are you just repeating stuff everyone knows. Are you implying once again that it was only Dirk's fault b/c that is crazy. You should also know that I am maybe a Dallas homer but I am not a Dirk homer and there are guys on the Dallas team I like a lot more but the Dirk hate really makes me laugh--I guess everyone always just HAS to find someone to point their finger at.

Dirk showed more "it" as you call it than most of the Mavericks last night and it doesn't always have to be from the offensive part of the box score that is what everyone falls in love with. Nellie is going to continue to trap him with 2 and 3 small guys, you wonder why the "moron" won't go inside on the small guys? Well, b/c he can't beat all the little guys around him to the rim, but he can shoot over them...but he is shooting with a hand in his face every time. The pts he had in the paint weren't from dribble penetration and the stat the announcer came up w/ was incredibly misleading, they were from pick and rolls and defensive breakdowns--waay different. I think it is really funny that some of you still think Dirk is just going to magically "go off" on GS in this series w/ the way they are playing him...he may but it is very unlikely and this doesn't have anything to do with the "it" that you talk about it. I have already posted how active he was in the game so feel free to scroll up.

Also, don't talk about "years before in the playoffs" either b/c that is like talking about some car you buy and then putting a huge performance engine in it and then when the new engine loses a race comparing it w/ the stock engine it had before.

[capone0]

I'm just saying he isn't Michael Jordan. I think Dirk is 1 hell of a player. He just doesn't have the killer instinct I've seen in other players.

And yes, the best player on the team usually gets blamed for the loss. That goes along with being the best player on the team. I've been a Chris Webber fan for a long time and that's what I've always heard about him choking cause I heard it in the Lakers series back in the day when he averaged like 25/13 the whole series as well. Same applies for any other big name player in the league.

[iggymcfly]

If you honestly believe that the Warriors are > 50% to win Game 5, you should be betting at least half your bankroll on Golden State next game. Better than 4:1 is widely available as the Mavs are currently a 9 point favorite.

Honestly, the real odds the rest of the way are something like:
Game 5: 80-85%
Game 6: 50-55%
Game 7: 85-90%
Overall chance of winning the series: 35-40%

Remember, this same Mavericks team lost the first two at home to Houston two years ago before coming back to win the series. This is the same team that won a Game 7 at San Antonio last year. This is the same team that just had the best regular season in a decade. Going down 3-1 doesn't destroy their chances.

Really, all they need is for Dirk to wake up a little bit and realize that he can score the ball on this Warrior team. He's just been second-guessing himself the whole series and that's killed his scoring output. He hesitates on every jumper and he's taken it to the basket maybe 3 times total since Game 1. The last 20 seconds of Game 4, he didn't have time to think about whether he was "taking a good shot" or not and he quickly drilled two very difficult 3-pointers. If he can play confidently like that the rest of the series, I think the Mavs should be able to roll over Golden State, but if he plays like he did in the first four games, Dallas can't advance.

[capone0]

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If you honestly believe that the Warriors are > 50% to win Game 5, you should be betting at least half your bankroll on Golden State next game. Better than 4:1 is widely available as the Mavs are currently a 9 point favorite.

Honestly, the real odds the rest of the way are something like:
Game 5: 80-85%
Game 6: 50-55%
Game 7: 85-90%
Overall chance of winning the series: 35-40%

Remember, this same Mavericks team lost the first two at home to Houston two years ago before coming back to win the series. This is the same team that won a Game 7 at San Antonio last year. This is the same team that just had the best regular season in a decade. Going down 3-1 doesn't destroy their chances.

Really, all they need is for Dirk to wake up a little bit and realize that he can score the ball on this Warrior team. He's just been second-guessing himself the whole series and that's killed his scoring output. He hesitates on every jumper and he's taken it to the basket maybe 3 times total since Game 1. The last 20 seconds of Game 4, he didn't have time to think about whether he was "taking a good shot" or not and he quickly drilled two very difficult 3-pointers. If he can play confidently like that the rest of the series, I think the Mavs should be able to roll over Golden State, but if he plays like he did in the first four games, Dallas can't advance.

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Man, I guess the Warriors, who have won what 6 out of 7 this year just don't care. On Paper, the Mavs should be in the finals, they just can't play with the Warriors for some reason or another. Do you really think the Mavs have a 40% chance at Winning 3 in a row when they haven't won 3 in the last 2 seasons vs the Warriors.

[Huh?]

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If you honestly believe that the Warriors are > 50% to win Game 5, you should be betting at least half your bankroll on Golden State next game. Better than 4:1 is widely available as the Mavs are currently a 9 point favorite.

Honestly, the real odds the rest of the way are something like:
Game 5: 80-85%
Game 6: 50-55%
Game 7: 85-90%
Overall chance of winning the series: 35-40%

Remember, this same Mavericks team lost the first two at home to Houston two years ago before coming back to win the series. This is the same team that won a Game 7 at San Antonio last year. This is the same team that just had the best regular season in a decade. Going down 3-1 doesn't destroy their chances.

Really, all they need is for Dirk to wake up a little bit and realize that he can score the ball on this Warrior team. He's just been second-guessing himself the whole series and that's killed his scoring output. He hesitates on every jumper and he's taken it to the basket maybe 3 times total since Game 1. The last 20 seconds of Game 4, he didn't have time to think about whether he was "taking a good shot" or not and he quickly drilled two very difficult 3-pointers. If he can play confidently like that the rest of the series, I think the Mavs should be able to roll over Golden State, but if he plays like he did in the first four games, Dallas can't advance.

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why would u guys start playing with confidence now?
The Mavs have only taken down 1 game and that was with Baron and SJ ejected.

I don't buy the whole its over for GS if it goes to Game 7.
They are a #8 seed vs. a #1. If they get blown out in Games 5 and 6 then yeah maybe..but if they lose two close games they have a great chance to take Game 7 still given there is no pressure on them.
If they lose it will be like the Lakers last year...good effort/great series but the better team won.

Plus Dallas doesn't have the takeover/gamechanger like a Kobe/Wade/etc who can do it all by himself in the last minutes.

I won't be surprised if GS ends it on Dallas's homecourt tomorrow especially given all the pressure Dallas/Dirk/etc will be under to not be part of one of the biggest upsets/chokes in history.

[Huh?]

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capone,

Right now they can't handle their pricks in the shower but you do realize if they win game 5 facing elimination, game 6 on the road facing elimination that they will be a much different team as far as "being able to handle it" goes.

One of my favorite Steve Nash quotes ever is- "When you win a game in the playoffs you feel like you will never lose another game and when you lose a game in the playoffs you feel like you will never win another game." Basically it is all about momentum and getting it back, but yea you're right they have nothing going for them right now--but if it gets to game 7 they will have a lot going for them.

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I'm talking about last year in the playoffs. I'm talking about years before in the playoffs. Dirk doesn't have "it" and never has had "it." Maybe he will eventually get "it." For an MVP candidate he should have "it." Honestly, if they pull it out and win in 7, it'll be impressive but it still doesn't make up for the Finals last year when they should have easily been up 3-0 and quickly closed out the series.

GS might not have "it" but they shouldn't. Most of the team hasn't been to the playoffs and they definitely haven't been their together. Right now they have more "it" than Dirk and Dallas have. The only "it" I saw from Dirk was maybe the last minute of the game, but it was way too late. As an annoucer said, he was 4/4 or 5/5 from inside last night and 4 or 5 for 15 elsewhere and thats including the 2 late game shots. Hey "Dink" you moron, go inside against the small guys.

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1-2 minutes left in 4th quarter.
Baron Davis > Dirk "Airball" Nowitski

[iggymcfly]

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why would u guys start playing with confidence now?
The Mavs have only taken down 1 game and that was with Baron and SJ ejected.

I don't buy the whole its over for GS if it goes to Game 7.
They are a #8 seed vs. a #1. If they get blown out in Games 5 and 6 then yeah maybe..but if they lose two close games they have a great chance to take Game 7 still given there is no pressure on them.
If they lose it will be like the Lakers last year...good effort/great series but the better team won.

Plus Dallas doesn't have the takeover/gamechanger like a Kobe/Wade/etc who can do it all by himself in the last minutes.


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It's not that the Mavs as a whole haven't been playing with confidence. It's Dirk specifically. His shot wasn't falling in Game 1 and ever since then, he's been hesitant with his shot and hasn't been getting involved in the offense properly. I was thinking that those two threes he hit at the end of the game (when the Mavs did still have a chance to win) will give him his personal confidence back and get him to come out firing the rest of the way.

And I don't see how you're using last year's Lakers as an example of a team who came out loose and played well in a Game 7. They came out tight as they could possibly be, played terrible, and go destroyed. If Golden State plays anything like LA did in Game 7 against PHX last year, they're worse than toast. Besides, I didn't really give Dallas that much better of a chance of winning Game 7 at home than I did of winning Game 5 at home and the Game 5 percentage is right in line with the betting market.

Finally, what do you mean Dallas "doesn't have a player who can take over in the 4th quarter like Wade or Kobe". They have the MVP of the league! A man who carried the Mavs in a Game 7 against San Antonio last year. A man who went off for 50 when Dallas was looking like they were in trouble against the Suns last year. A man who's been leading playoff comebacks for a good 6 or 7 years now. Just because he's been playing bad for the last 4 games doesn't mean he doesn't have that ability.

[tuq]

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Good point - maybe Avery Johnson isn't as bright as he appears. Interestingly enough, on that very same night, the Clippers played the Suns, and the Suns played very close to full strength that evening. Clippers won that game, but it wasn't because of the Suns' lack of effort. Dallas, on the other hand, was playing four bench players and their short order cook against GS.

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This point can't be stated enough. Even if you believe in the concept of "resting your starters", this was a really dumb time to do so. I've said before and I'll say again that I have mad [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] for the copstache-wearing D'Antoni for playing his best players the last two games, not only do I consider it a courtesy to the paying fan but those games were kind of like "victory laps", and it could also be a time to work on some things in game situations.

Also, if I am a Clippers fan in that spot I'd be kinda pissed. Yeah, they put themselves in that situation by sucking all year, but if Dallas fields even a halfway non-ridiculous team they may have beaten GS and then the Clippers would be in the playoffs facing Dallas, not watching from the sidelines.

So if Dallas does go on to lose this series they can look at that game on the second to last night of the regular season as a likely reason why. I can't see the Clippers giving them this much of a fight (sorry, Al) - they don't have Nellie's knowledge of how to marginalize Dirk nor do they have the mismatches in the backcourt. Even more strange, the next night AJ trotted out his regular starters for a meaningless game in Seattle. Seems to me if I'm a regular starter I'd prefer to play the home game against GS and then maybe skip the flight to Seattle altogether.