What a second round that was. This playoffs season has been so much better than last year's.
I picked the winners in all 4 series, though really, that wasn't all that hard. Here's how it broke down:
Miami/Washington: I knew the Heat would steamroll the Wizards. I just didn't think they'd do it in four games, and mostly without Shaq. Wade is the breakout star of this year's playoffs. He is just unbelievable. Now, let's see what he does against a team that's both very physical and very good defensively.
Detroit/Indiana: What a war. That one went exactly as it was supposed to. War. Pacers scare the hell out of the Pistons, and Pistons win. Reggie Miller went out in style, and ended his career with a great game.
San Antonio/Seattle: Ok. I should start giving Seattle some respect. They gave the Spurs fits, and were a much tougher out than I thought they'd be. Even without the injured Lewis, they were tough. If they can keep the team together next year, they're a legit contender.
Phoenix/Dallas: What a series. This one had everything AND the kitchen sink. League MVP Nash going against his old team and playing amazingly, an overtime win in the last game, terrific offense. This was the series that had to restore many people's faith in the NBA. Just terrific. Phoenix won despite losing Joe Johnson to injury, which is amazing in itself. Also, I watched the final game. And I wonder if Mati, who argued with me over Shawn Marion, watched it. Marion was just awesome. 38 points, 16 rebounds, great defense, and the clinching free throws.
And on to my conference finals predictions:
Miami/Detroit: Shaq's health will be key, but also crucial will be Wade's ability to cope with Detroit's defense. Expect to see Prince on him at times, and that should be interesting. This series will go one of two ways - either Miami destroys the Pistons, or the Pistons make it a war. In a war, Detroit wins. I think a war is what we'll get. Pistons in 7.
Phoenix/San Antonio: It's the battle of offense versus defense. And it should be one for the ages. Amare versus Duncan should be amazing. I think this series also goes to seven. Predicting a winner here is damn hard, but I'm going to go with playoffs experience and the superior defense. Spurs in 7.
Saturday, May 21, 2005
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3 comments:
This is Mati talking...forgot my password.
I see you went for the less exciting final - what happened to the restored faith? I want to see Suns Vs. Heat!
I never said Marion was not a good player.But his performance doesn't change the fact that he's still a role player - one of the best, no doubt, a lot better than Posey/Battier - and not a potential franschise player like Gasol.Nash was responsible for getting him into the game, this guy cant create for himself, you could see it at the end of regular time, when he tried to take Nowitzky 1-on-1, this almost cost in their loss.
I have faith in the league. Less faith in the ability of a team with neither depth nor a decent D to beat the Spurs in a 7 game series.
And the Spurs do have one of the players in which I have the most faith in Manu Ginobili.
I never said Marion can create his own shot effectively. But you talk as if offense is the only side to the game. Marion is a defensive superstar, and an offensive star. Not a superstar on offense, but certainly a star.
And I never disagreed with you on Gasol's potential. He's got all the potential in the world, whereas Marion is all he will ever be. Certainly Gasol can be a better player than Marion some day. But this whole argument started when I said Marion is a better player than Gasol. And he is. And it escalated when you said he is the same "type of player" as Posey and Battier (even though you always said he's better than they are). And he isn't. He's third team all-nba. And while he isn't a superstar, and could never be, he absolutely is a star, and is playing like a star in the playoffs.
OK.You're right about Marion giving a better season than Gasol.I just thought you meant that you would rather build around the former than the latter.
But again I'm saying, put Marion in Memphis and he wont be as good as he's now with Nash.
I actually thought at the begining of the playoffs that Dallas would eliminate the Suns, I would've even choose Denver over them.Dont like their lack of D and small use of becnh (Hunter is great, and why doesn't Outlaw play over Mccarthy? he can bring so much more).
Now Pheonix still looks good, but the Spurs gave them a hard time during the season, so now it would even be harder.But after the eliminations of Houston and Seattle, I'm rooting for them, so they better not let me down.
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