Pre-Playoff NBA Talk

[naiwf]

Oh, fuck. The Blazers have the Rockets first round. So much for going past the first round this year. Fucking Spurs.

Which team are you expecting to lose? As much as I'd like the T-Mac less Rockets to get it done, I expect the Blazers to stomp them in 5 or 6 tops.

 

[Vitamin X]

The Blazers match up horribly with the Rockets, and I'm afraid of getting it done even with HCA. Houston plays incredible defense against just about anyone and their middle is crazy clogged up enough that one of the Blazers' biggest strengths- driving inside- is negated against Yao, Artest, and yes, Shane Battier. The only two teams I didn't feel comfortable matching up with in the playoffs were Houston and Dallas. Anyone else is cake, except for the Lakers.

 

[OG]

Am I the only one who has Dwight Howard in top 3 for MVP? My list goes LeBron, Wade then Howard. Kobe's great and all but people are overlooking how great Gasol has been this year. It's still the Kobe show, but Gasol has picked up his game heavily this season and is, by far, the best complimentary player any of the MVP candidates have.

 

[Psycho Penguin]

What players in the NBA can "carry a team by themselves"? Are you implying that Wade, by leading the Heat to a whopping 43 wins and the 5th playoff spot in the East, can? I don't care much for MVP talks, but I'm interested in your list of "carriers," for lack of a better term.

They had 15 wins last season. I wouldn't expect them to be a 65-win team since they don't have a bunch of above-average players on the roster.

 

[still fly]

Kobe carried a horrid Lakers team to the playoffs in 2006 and lost out to the MVP race to Steve Nash. Due to past precedent, D-Wade isn't going to win the MVP this year. But I'm sure he'll get the ESPN PUSH at the beginning of next season.

 

[Edwin]

They had 15 wins last season. I wouldn't expect them to be a 65-win team since they don't have a bunch of above-average players on the roster.

Given that standard, how is true that LeBron has never met it? I think you could say it for the three seasons before this one, but the 2006-2007 Finals run stands out in particular; it featured an all-star supporting cast of Drew Gooden, Eric Snow, and Larry Hughes (who shot all of 40% that year), and was off a 50-win season led largely by James.

 

[Psycho Penguin]

They had 15 wins last season. I wouldn't expect them to be a 65-win team since they don't have a bunch of above-average players on the roster.

Given that standard, how is true that LeBron has never met it? I think you could say it for the three seasons before this one, but the 2006-2007 Finals run stands out in particular; it featured an all-star supporting cast of Drew Gooden, Eric Snow, and Larry Hughes (who shot all of 40% that year), and was off a 50-win season led largely by James.

Okay great. That has what to do with 2009 again? I would have given Lebron the MVP in that season, but this isn't that season.

 

[Edwin]

You said "[LeBron and Kobe] have proven they can't carry a team by themselves." If you mean that for James' career, you'd be overlooking the seasons I mentioned. If you mean it for this year, it's a weird point; the Cavs have the best record in the league and nothing about this season shows that James can't carry a team. I don't disagree that Wade is a great MVP candidate, but I think you've set up a false dichotomy between James and him as far as this season goes.

 

[Psycho Penguin]

Fair point. I meant this season when I said "they both have proven they can't carry a team by themselves", and it is an unfair point since no body can truly take a team to a title by themselves, and the season isn't over yet, but what I am basically saying is this: no player means as much to their team as Wade means to theirs. At least this season. In my opinion. And the stats are similar I believe. So that's what I give the edge to. Just like I'd have given Kobe the MVP the season he led a bad Lakers team to the playoffs.