NBA/NHL Finals Chat - vote in poll!

Who's following the nba playoffs? Some exciting stuff going on right now.

Game 7 THIS AFTERNOON Cavs vs. Celtics. Will Lebron continue his path to greatness and knock off the mighty Celtics like he did last year to the Pistons? Or will KG/Pierce/Allen summon their great talent and vet experience and continue their quests for their first championship rings? Can't wait to watch this game.

Tomorrow game 7 Spurs vs. Hornets. Chris Paul is amazing. Shoulda been MVP in my opinion. 1. Paul 2. Lebron 3. Kobe. Anyways, Paul is wizard out there and he's got some good bigs in DWest and Chandler and a long range threat in Stojakovic, so they're dangerous. I hope they win because I can't stand the Spurs, but gotta admit that Duncan/Parker/Ginobili aren't going to be easy to knock off.

The possibility of a throwback Lakers/Celtics finals showdown is also very intriguing.

Count me in on being a Spurs "Hater". They have great players in Duncan, Parker & Ginobli, but what a bunch of whiners.
They also have two of the dirtiest players in the leauge in Bowen & Horry.
"CAN YOU TELL I"M A SUNS FAN"....
I think New Orleans will win but the champs will be extremely tough to put away. I like Boston in the east but would love to
see the Cav's pull off the upset. Boston has shown some weakness in the playoffs. If they get past the Cav's Detroit should
beat them handily.
My prediction for the finals. Lakers -vs- Pistons. Detroit wins in 6.

Tony

ps- Oh by the way, almost forgot. My MVP top 3 vote in order is: 1) C. Paul, 2) Kobe, 3) Lebron..

i'm not a big eastern conference fan overall...doesn't matter to me who wins but if cavs can upset the lakers will get home court for the finals i guess.

i think a lakers/no western matchup will be fun.

Is it just me, or is the NBA becoming more popular again? Basketball seems to go in spurts and it appears to have gone from completely dead to more popular again.

probably because the last few years we've had detroit and san antonio dominating the league...big YAWN.

this year the celtics are back with their stars and more importantly kobe and the lakers out here are back dominating. kobe's a polarizing figure so love him or hate him he's still the marquee name in the nba and "moves the needle".

Why the renewed excitement? Three words: Lebron, Howard, Paul.

Lebron was unstoppable today (45 points), but his supporting cast is weak. Paul Pierce had a great game and the Celtics have alot of depth. Kinda feels like Ray Allen is on the decline though.

Hopefully the Celts can beat the Pistons, but given how much trouble Atlanta and Cleveland gave them, I'm not so sure.

Not a fan of the NBA but happy to see the Bulls pulled #1 pick in the draft. 1.7% chance!! Someone should buy a Lotto ticket.

The Bulls are incredibly lucky. I don't think another team in NBA history has attained the #1 pick in the lottery with such a small percentage chance. Personally I think they'll select Derrick Rose who is a marvelous talent. The Bulls are stacked with young talented players - we'll see if they can put it all together now.

I'm a fan of the lowly Raptors and talking about the #1 pick brings me back a few years to when we selected Andrea Bargnani with the #1 overall. A pick that is looking horrible right now. If only we had selected Brandon Roy, Rudy Gay, or Lemarcus Aldridge!

Conference Finals:

Lakers 1 Spurs 0 (WOO HOO!)
Celtics 1 Pistons 0 (WOO HOO!)

Lakers Celtics finals pretty please.

I was surprised the Lakers were able to win last night.

Like many fans I would love to see a Laker/Celtics finals.

I guess I'm a minority here. I don't care to see the Celts in the Finals. I'm a diehard Pistons fan. It was nice to see them win on the road in Boston. They are the FIRST TEAM to do it this season. That's gonna make it tough for the Celts to come back, because they now have to win one on the road, which they haven't been able to do.

As for the Lakers, I don't care for them either. I've always disliked the lakers teams. But on the flipside, the Spurs are a bore.

Detroit is all that's left. I hate the Celtics and don't embrace the Lakers, and the Spurs as are as compelling as dry toast.

To me, the thought of having every Finals game interspersed wth clip after clip after clip of old Bird-Magic footage will push my stomach contents to the top, which will then erupt after we hear the media love fest of how these guys saved the NBA, two classic franchises, clash of the titans, etc. It would be tolearable, barely, for a game, but the oversaturation will be stifling beyond belief.

Gimme them Bad Boys from Motown every time.

BTW, the good news for C fans is that they will win one in Detroit. Bad news is they'll get beat again in Boston, and will not make the Finals.

This is proably the exact matchup the NBA was praying for. Can't wait to watch the Finals this year. These two teams have such a great rivalry.

VOTE IN THE NEW POLL!

I'm very excited about the finals matchup as well Wes. Both teams are loaded with talent and there will be some great head to head matchups as well. I think it's going to be a great series. Here are some random thoughts.

Boston:

-Boston has one HOF lock (Garnett) and two others with a very strong chance (Allen, Pierce). NONE of these players have won a title before and they are hungry as can be. Some question whether Ray Allen is past his prime. One thing is for sure, he's not the player he was for the Bucks/Sonicsin the late 90's - early 00's.
-They were hands down the best defensive team in the NBA this year.
-The main knock on the Celts in the preseason was they had no bench. But they solved that problem with playoff tested warrior P.J. Brown, tough defender James Posey, 3pt specialist Eddie House, and Big Baby Davis via the draft.
-PG Rondo can't shoot but does everything else very well. He distributes the ball and plays lockdown D at the 1 spot.
-Center Kendrick Perkins is a big strong body who also plays great defense and has a mean streak to him.

Lakers:

-While not as "shiny" as the Celtics big 3, I think the Lakers three headed monster of Kobe-Odom-Gasol is more dangerous. All 3 players are in their primes. Kobe is unguardable 1 on 1, and Odom/Gasol both present huge matchup problems with their size and athleticism.
-In Gasol, Kobe now has something to work with that the Jordan era Bulls never had: a highly skilled, scoring big man. Gasol will be able to keep KG in check on both ends.
-Phil Jackson is a HOF coach going for his 10th championship ring which would put him at #1 in terms of titles won by a coach, passing Red Auerbach. He can and will outcoach Doc Rivers in this series.
-Lakers also have a deep team with Fisher, Turiaf, Walton, Farmar, Radmanovic, and Vujacic all contributing.


Prediction: The Celtics have anyone who can stop Kobe (who does?). Kobe is going to get his in this series, but can that Celtics defense shut down Odom and Gasol as well while double teaming Kobe? I don't think anyone can. The Lakers youth and energy will outlast the Celtics hunger. Lakers in 6.

Gonna be a good one. I'll go with the Celt's in 7.
You won't see me betting on this series though.
To close to call....

Tony

I hate both teams. Even if KG wasn't with Boston, I'd still be cheering for them because I hate LA more than Boston. A few years ago when the Wolves p-layed the Lakers in the playoffs, KG rpetty shutdown Kobe, so I wouldn't be surprise if you see KG on him.

Jay

Yuck! Such boring stuff. I hate both teams and will not be watching the NBA finals.

I don't care who wins.

On the other hand, the DETROIT RED WINGS have the opportunity to win the Stanley Cup today! Oh, what a wonderful birthday present that would be. Oh I hope, I hope, I hope.

rooting for the lakers because if they win kobe's ego will get its own shoe contract...and my broke friend will get a sick tag heuer watch to celebrate that will bankrupt him.

p.s. yea go wings they couldn't close it out today hopefully it won't come back to bite them. i loathe the pens (besides malkin).

That Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals last night was brutal.

They came out flat as can be in the first period, and a result had to climb back against a 2 goal deficit.

Their second and third periods were awesome. It was like a brand new team out there. They were flying all over the ice, checking the pens and just physically out-hustling them. It was a beautiful thing.

1st overtime, they looked impressive, but they couldn't get it past Fleury.

2nd overtime, you could see them getting tired.

3rd overtime.....that damn high sticking major penalty and the Pens score off it.

I hope they can close it out in Game 6 on Wednesday.

My birthday wish didn't come true.....but at least they are still ahead. Would have been nice to win it at home.

AND NOW BACK TO YOU FOR THE NBA FINALS.............

Eric I changed the thread title to include NHL. I'm a big hockey guy too, lifelong Oilers fan (born and raised in Edmonton during the Gretzky era). I'll stick with my team through thick & thin but we're looking weaker now than we have in while.

Fleury was incredible last night. Wings will still take the series but it could go 7 games.

Happy belated b-day Eric!

Thank you for changing the title! It's appreciated. I love hockey. It's my favorite sport. I live and die by the Detroit teams. I grew up in Michigan, and began watching sports during the Bad Boy era of the Pistons, when they won their NBA titles.

And thank you for the birthday wish.

Congrats to my DETROIT RED WINGS!!!!!!!

2007-08 Stanley Cup Champs.

Dang they looked good.

This years Finals was unusual for me, because I always seem to have a reason to root for one team over the other, but not here. I like both teams, and haven't seen that much talent on the ice chasing a meaningful prize in years. So I was at a cantina jumping up and down when Pittsbugh scored its first goal to halve the lead, and this guy looked at me with such hatred. I told him I wanted the Wings to win, but in 7, and that if they were going to win game 6, I wanted it to go down to the wire. This series was the greatest thing the NHL had going for it in a long time, and I wanted it to last--hopefully to springboard the league back into more visual prominence. He still looked at me as if I was the enemy. Oh well.

That's what I've been saying too. What better matchup could you have for the Stanley Cup finals then there was? There aren't two other teams out there that are as loved or hated as these two.

This is what hockey needed. This is similar to what Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa did for baseball during their home run record chase.