I think the spurs will stay and up into second round,,
but who knows!!,all teams are more aggressive to get the championship trophy!!!

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ecig

Here's my picks:

East:
1. Bulls vs. 8. Pacers
Bulls in 4

2. Heat Vs. 7. Sixers
Heat in 5

3. Celtics Vs. 6. Knicks
Celtics in 7

4. Magic Vs. 5. Hawks
Magic in 4


West:
1. Spurs Vs. 8. Grizzlies
Spurs in 6

2. Lakers Vs. Hornets
Lakers in 4

3. Mavericks Vs. 6. Blazers
Blazers in 6

4. Thunder Vs. 5. Nuggets
Thunder in 7 (I'm really looking forward to this series)

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i think the hornets can take 1 game from the lakers. no love for the mavs? i'll take the blazers, too.

The last 2 seasons of playoff ball have been very entertaining. Match-ups like OKC vs. Denver are why I watch basketball more than any other sport.

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I think the Lakers are playing like shit, but this series is almost a bye for them. No David West, and Chris Paul's knee isn't healthy right now.

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i hear the majority of people picking portland over dallas, i don't see it..mavs should take that series in 5

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I agree. if the Hornets were healthy they might have won a game in the series. This might be the easiest first round matchup for any team in the playoffs.

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Picks are underlined

Bulls vs Pacers
Heat vs 76ers (I'm hoping I'm wrong here)
Celtics vs Knicks (Eastern Upset Special of the Week)
Magic vs Hawks

Spurs vs Grizzlies (Western Upset Special of the Week, just gotta feeling...)
Lakers vs Hornets
Mavericks vs Blazers (I'd be upset if Portland didn't upset)
Thunder vs Nuggets (Could go either way)

Bulls over Pacers in 5.

Heat over 76ers in 6

Boston over Knicks in 6

Hawks over Orlando in 7


Spurs over Griz in 6

Mavs over Portland in 6

Lakers over Hornets in 5

Thunder over Nuggets in 7

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

avatar challenge?

heat woke up before the bulls did. motherfuck.

Lets go Sixers. Someone needs to start knocking the shit out of Lebron.

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That's my purse! I don't know you!

careful, UMN. rfdc may start saying you're a sixers fan now.

you know, now the heat are pissing me off.

If the Heat are going to get bullshit calls like that its going to be a long series.

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That's my purse! I don't know you!

sixers finish like killer v. christ.

This is why the NBA playoffs are upset free in the early rounds and top seeds typically move on. Heat +13 on FT attempts, Bulls were +15. Nothing new and it's not just this or that official. Just the way the NBA is and has been as long as anyone can recall.

+1 Great point.

There should be an ongoing thread documenting such discrepancies throughout the playoffs.

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You're citing two teams that consistently drive to the basket and get to the line. Rose, Lebron, and Wade don't settle for jump shots like other teams that are not as good. It has nothing to do with "getting calls".

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I wouldn't call for an investigation or anything like that 2 games into the postseason, but the sketchiness of NBA referees (Like Joey "I Piss in my hotel ice bucket" Crawford) should not be discounted. It worked out in our favor today, I'm not complaining. Your points about driving to the lane are valid, but the Sixers and Pacers do a lot of work around the hoop as well.

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The Pacers took a bunch of 3's today, and knocked down a good percentage of them. That's why the game was so close. You're not going to get to the line often when you're shooting 3's and outside jumpshots. It takes a little more than just looking at the box score to just make accusations like this.

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+ (.)(.)

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i want to see more of thad in this series. the guy's a fucking MAN.

You got me... Somewhat. I listened to the first quarter, watched the last three on TV. After watching the game and then looking at the box score I wasn't surprised the Pacers went 10-18 from 3pt range. Collison was consistently getting loose off pick and roll action and that was the main reason the Bulls were stifled the majority of the game. Granger catching serious fire in the 3rd/4th qtrs and Hansborough knocking down open top of the key jumpers were also major factors in the Pacers ability to maintain a lead for 47 minutes.

His first 2 years in the league, and even into his 3rd year, Bulls announcers and talking heads would always complain Rose wasn't getting enough calls for the amount of time he spent driving to the lane. Something obviously changed around December of this year. Sure Rose started upping his free throw percentage, but his attempts per game went up as well even though he drove to the lane just as much.

What NWH says isn't some far out conspiracy. I'm sure there is statistical data to back him up. I'm sure Tim Donaghy's book "Personal Foul" provides more insight into NWH's point as well. Who cares about this debate really? Let's just relish the stolen win by the Bulls.

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At the end of the 1st half, when Collison drove the lane and Rose grabbed him and instead of calling the foul on Rose, the ref called traveling on Collison. Pacers head coach couldn't take it any more, flat out called the refs out on their bias and got T'd up for it. Even the announcers wondered what was going on with that play. At one point in the 2nd half, Rose is driving the lane and the ref whistles a foul and makes the blocking motion BEFORE Rose even leaves the floor to shoot. Hibbert had position to take a charge, Rose acrobatically avoided the charge. Didn't matter, the ref was already running up to the scorer's table to call a blocking foul on Hibbert.

What's surprising is that this egregiously biased officiating is happening in the 1st games of the 1st round, to save a couple of top seeded teams from embarrassing early losses.



and that's from the guy who wrote the book on the NBA. Tho Simmons is an NBA hoops guy first, he's much less an NBA apologist than a Red Sox apologist (w/r/t Manny and Ortiz et al being PED'd to the max during the '04 run).


It's like if the top seeds in the NHL playoffs got an extra couple of PP's every game in the 1st round. Then the NHL top seeds would march right on as they do in the NBA. As it is, the NHL (*usually*) goes out of its way to even up PP chances, esp in the playoffs, and let the teams decide the game, not the officials. Which results in number 1 and 2 seeds in the NHL playoffs regularly getting bounced out of the Stanley Cup playoffs in the first round.

Good info man. Though Simmons has backed off his love for the Red Sox World Series winning teams.

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nyah!

Great weekend of games so far. This has already been better than that shit NCAA Tourney with only 2 days in.

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Fuck Edwards and Zobrist

Horrible shot by Melo to end the game. Could of gone to the basket or had a guy wide open at the top of the key.

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Fuck Edwards and Zobrist

I agree. Best opening weekend in NBA Playoffs Ive ever seen. Just about every game had last minute drama and exciting finishes

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"You can kill the revolutionary, but you can't kill the revolution."

The games are fixed to hopefully prevent a lockout. Everyone is in on it. AHHHH!!!

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